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Dictionary 

of    the 

Apostolic    Church 


Dictionary 

of  the 

Apostolic   Church 


3S  4-4-0 

EDITED    BY 

.  H4- 

JAMES    HASTINGS,    D.D. 


WITH   THE    ASSISTANCE    OF 

JOHN   A.   SELBIE,   D.D. 

AND 

JOHN    C.    LAMBERT,   D.D. 


VOLUME    II 

MACEDONIA-ZION 

W'f'Hi 

INDEXES 


Q/ 

NEW   YORK:    CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S   SONS 

EDINBURGH:    T.     &    T.     CLARK 

1918 


GtYl 


BSUO 
.H4- 


/  / 
C 


•  13 


Messrs.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  New  York,  have  the  sole  right  of  publication  of  this 
DICTIONARY  OF  THE  APOSTOLIC  CHURCH  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 


AUTHORS  OF  ARTICLES  IN  THIS  VOLUME 


ADAM  (D.  S.),  M.A.,  B.D. 

Professor  of  Systematic  Theology  and  Church 
History  in  Ormond  College,  Melbourne, 
Australia. 

Union  with  God. 

AGATE  (LEONARD  DENDY),  B.A.  (Cantab.),  M.A. 

(Manchester). 

Curate  of  Warton,  Lancashire ;  author  of 
Luther  and  the  Reformation. 

Metaphor. 

ALLWORTHY  (THOMAS  BATESON),  M.A.  (Camb.), 

B.D.  (Dublin). 

Director  of  Religious  Education  in  the  Diocese 
of  Ely  ;  Founder  and  First  Warden  of  S. 
Anselm's  Hostel,  Manchester. 

Narcissus,     Phoebe,      Quartus,     Rufus, 
Sosipater,  Tertius,  and  other  articles. 

BANKS  (JOHN  S.),  D.D. 

Late  Professor  of  Theology  in  the  Wesleyan 
Methodist  College,  Headingley,  Leeds  ; 
author  of  A  Manual  of  Christian  Doctrine. 

Nazarene,  Way  (The). 

BATIFFOL  (PIERRE),  Litt.D. 

Chanoine  de  Notre-Dame  de  Paris  et  prelafc  de 
la  Maison  du  Pape,  Paris  ;  editeur  de  Trac- 
tatus  (Jrigenis  de  libris  scripturarum  (1900), 
Les  Odes  de  Salomon  (1911);  auteur  de 
L'Eglise  naissante  et  le  Catholicisme  (1908), 
La  Paix  constantinienne  et  le  Catholicisme 
(1914). 

Polycarp. 

BECKWITH  (CLARENCE  AUGUSTINE),  A.B.,  A.M., 

S.T.D. 

Professor  of  Systematic  Theology  in  Chicago 
Theological  Seminary  ;  author  of.  Realities 
of  Christian  Theology ;  departmental  editor 
of  the  New  Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopedia  of 
Religious  Knowledge. 

Palsy,  Physician,  Plague,  Poison,  Sick- 
ness, Tree  of  Life. 

BERNARD  (JOHN  HENRY),  D.D.   (Dublin),  Hon. 

D.D.  (Aberd.),  Hon.  D.C.L.  (Durham). 
Archbishop  of  Dublin  ;  sometime  Archbishop 
King's   Professor  of  Divinity,   Dublin,   and 
Dean  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral ;  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Ossory. 

Spirits  in  Prison. 


BOYD  (WILLIAM  FALCONER),  M.A.,  B.D.  (Aberd.), 

D. Phil.  (Tubingen). 

Minister  of  the  United  Free  Church  of  Scot- 
land at  Melrose. 

Mary,    Matthew,    Scythian,    Synzygus, 
Tribes,  Tyrannus,  and  other  articles. 

BUCHANAN  (JAMES  ROBERTSON),  M.A.,  B.D. 

Minister  of  the  United  Free  Church  at  Culross  ; 
Examiner  in   Hebrew   to   the  United   Free 
Church  of  Scotland. 
New  Jerusalem. 

BULCOCK  (HARRY),  B.A.,   B.D. 

Minister  of  the  Congregational  Church  at 
Droylsden,  Manchester. 

Mourning,        Murmuring,        Simplicity, 
Virtue,  Woe. 

BURN  (ANDREW  E.),  D.D. 

Vicar  of  Halifax  and  Prebendary  of  Lichfield  ; 
author  of  An  Introduction  to  the  Creeds 
(1899),  Niceta  of  Remesiana  (1905),  The 
Apostles'  Creed  (1906),  The  Nicene  Creed 
(1909),  The  Athanasian  Creed  (1912). 

Praise,  Prayer,  Psalms,  Spiritual  Songs, 
Thanksgiving,  Worship. 

CARLYLE  (ALEXANDER   JAMES),  M.A.,  D.Litt, 

F.R.  Hist.  Soc. 

Lecturer  in  Economics  and  Politics  at  Univer- 
sity College,  Oxford. 
Poor,  Wealth. 

CASE  (SHIRLEY  JACKSON),  M.A.,  B.D.,  Ph.D. 

Professor  of  New  Testament  Interpretation  in 
the  University  of  Chicago  ;  author  of  The 
Historicity  of  Jesus,  The  Evolution  of  Early 
Christianity ;  managing  editor  of  The 
American  Journal  of  Theology. 

Peter,  Peter  (Epistles  of),  Seed,  Theudas, 
Tribute. 

CLARK  (P.  A.  GORDON). 

Minister  of  the  United  Free  Church  at  Perth. 

Name,  Possession,  Python,  Soothsaying, 
Sorcery,  Surname. 

CLEMENS  (JOHN  SAMUEL),  B.A.,  B.D.,  Hon.  D.D. 

(St.  And.). 

Governor  of  the  United  Methodist  College, 
Ranmoor,  Sheffield. 

New  Moon,  Passover,  Pentecost,  Right, 
Sabbath,  Slave,  Unrighteousness. 


AUTHORS  OF  ARTICLES  IN  THIS  VOLUME 


COBB  (WILLIAM  FREDERICK),  D.D. 

Rector  of  the  Church  of  St.  Ethelburga  the 
Virgin,  London  ;  author  of  Mysticism  and 
the  Creed  (1914). 

Mnason,  Nicolaitans,  Phygelus,    Sodom 
and  Gomorrah. 

COOKE  (ARTHUR  WILLIAM),  M.A. 

Minister  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church 

at  Oxton,  Birkenhead  ;  author  of  Palestine 

in  Geography  and  in  History,  The  Land  of 

Israel  ana  of  Christ. 

Medes,  Mesopotamia,  Parthians. 

COWAN   (HENRY),    M.A.    (Etlin.),   D.D.  (Aberd.), 

D.Th.  (Gen.),  D.C.L.  (Dunelm). 
Professor  of  Church  History  in  the  University 
of  Aberdeen  ;  Senior  Preacher  of  the  Uni- 
versity Chapel ;  author  of  The  Influence,  of 
the  Scottish   Church   in  Christendom,   John 
Knox,  Landmarks  of  Church  History. 
Onesimus,   Philemon,  Philemon  (Epistle 
to). 

CRUICKSHANK  (WILLIAM),  M.A.,  B.D. 

Minister  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  at  Kinneff, 
Bervie  ;  author  of  The  Bible  in  the  Light  of 
Antiquity. 

Mantle,    Penny.    Shoe,   Street,    Talent, 
Tent,  Thigh,  Wall. 

DA  VIES  (ARTHUR  LLYWELYN),  M.A. 

Warden   of  Ruthin,  North   Wales  ;   formerly 
Sim  cox  Research  Student,  Queen's  College, 
Oxford. 
Testaments  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs. 

DlMONT  (CHARLES  TUNNACLIFF),  B.D.  (Oxon.). 
Principal   of  Salisbury  Theological    College  ; 
Prebendary  of   Salisbury  ;  Chaplain   to  the 
Bishop  of  Salisbury. 

Martyr,  Witness,  Work. 

VON  DOBSCHUTZ  (ERNST),  D.Theol. 

Professor  of  New  Testament  Exegesis  in  the 
University  of  Breslau. 
Philo  of  Alexandria. 

DONALD  (JAMES),  M.A.,  D.D.  (Aberd.). 

Minister  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  at  Keith- 
hall  and  Kinkell,  Aberdeenshire. 
Nation,  People,  Proselyte,  Stranger. 

Dow  (JOHN),  M.A.  (St.  And.). 

Minister    of     the    United     Free    Church    at 
Montrose. 
Mark  (John). 

DUNCAN  (JAMES  WALKER),  M.A. 

Minister  of  the  United  Free  Church  at  Lass- 
odie,  Dunfermline. 

Midian,    Pharaoh,   Red    Sea,   Shechem, 
Sinai,  Zion. 

DUNDAS  (WILLIAM  HARLOE),  B.D. 

Rector  of  Magheragall,  near  Lisburn. 
Power,  Principality,  Throne. 

EMMET  (CYRIL  W.),  M.A. 

Vicar  of  West  Hendred,  Berks;  author  of 
The  Eschatological  Problem  in  the  Gospels, 
and  of  articles  in  Faith  and  the  War  and 
Immortality. 

Romans  (Epistle  to  the). 

FALCOXKR  ( ROBERT  ALEXANDER),  M.A..  LL.D., 

D.Litt.,  C.M.G. 
President  of  the  University  of  Toronto. 

Timothy,   Timothy  and   Titus   (Epistles 
to),  Titus. 


FAULKNER  (JOHN  ALFRED),  B  D.,  M.A.,  D.D. 
Professor  of  Church  History  in  Drew  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  Madison,  N.J. 
Salutations. 

FELTOE  (CHARLES  LETT),  D.D. 

Rector  of  Ripple,  near  Dover ;  sometime 
Fellow  of  Clare  College,  Cambridge  ;  author 
of  Sacramentarium  Leonianum,  The  Letters 
and  other  Remains  of  Dionysius  of  Alex- 
andria. 

Matthias,  Place  (His  Own),  Steward. 

FLETCHER  (M.   SCOTT),   M.A.   (Sydney),   B.Litt. 

(Oxon.),  B.D.  (Melbourne). 
Principal    of  Wesley    College,    University   of 
Sydney,  New  South  Wales,  Australia. 
Preaching,  Reading,  Shadow,  Substance, 
Teaching. 

FRANKS  (ROBERT  SLEIGHTHOLME),  M.A.,  B.Litt. 
Principal   of    the   Western    College,   Bristol  ; 
author  of  The  Neiv  Testament  Doctrines  of 
Man,  Sin,  and  Salvation  (1908). 
Mercy,    Obedience,    Patience,    Ungodli- 
ness. 

[Principal  Franks  is  the  author  of  Beloved, 
Godliness,  Hope,  Humility  in  vol.  i.  His 
name  was  accidentally  omitted  from  the 
list  of  authors  in  that  volume.] 

FREW  (DAVID),  D.D. 

Minister  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  at  Urr. 

Pilate  (Pontius),  Silas  or  Silvanus. 

GARVIE  (ALFRED  ERNEST),  M.A.  (Oxford),  D.D. 

(Glas.). 

Principal  of  New  College,  London  ;  author  of 
The    Ritschlian    Theology,    Studies    in    the 
Inner  Life  of  Jesus,  and  other  works. 
Sin. 

GORDON  (ALEXANDER  REID),  D.Litt.,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Hebrew  in  M'Gill  University,  and 
of  Old  Testament  Literature  and  Exegesis 
in  the  Presbyterian  College,  Montreal  ; 
author  of  The  Early  Traditions  of  Genesis, 
The  Poets  of  the  Old  Testament. 

Old    Testament,    Quotations,    Scripture, 
Tradition,  Trial-at-Law. 

GRANT  (WILLIAM  MILNE),  M.A. 

Minister  of  the  United  Free  Church  at 
Drumoak,  Aberdeenshire  ;  author  of  The 
Religion  and  Life  of  the  Patriarchal  Age, 
The  Founders  of  Israel,  The  Judges  and 
Kings  of  United  Israel. 
Pillar,  Tattlers,  Wisdom. 

GRAY  (GEORGE  BUCHANAN),  D.Litt.,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Hebrew  and  Old  Testament 
Exegesis  in  Mansfield  College ;  Speaker's 
Lecturer  in  Biblical  Studies  in  the  University 
of  Oxford. 

Psalms  of  Solomon. 

iRIEVE  (ALEXANDER  JAMES),  M.A.,  D.D. 

Principal  and  Professor  of  Systematic  Theo- 
logy in  the  Scottish  Congregational  Theo- 
logical Hall,  Edinburgh. 
Presence. 

rROTON  (WILLIAM  MANSFIELD),  S.T.D. 

Professor  of   Systematic   Divinity,  and  Dean 
of   the  Divinity   School   of   the   Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  Philadelphia. 
Mystery. 


AUTHORS  OF  ARTICLES  IN  THIS  VOLUME 


Vll 


HANDCOCK(P.  S.  P.),  M.A. 

Member  of   the   Inner  Temple,   Barrister-at- 
La\v  ;  Lecturer  of  the  Palestine  Exploration 
Fund  ;     formerly     of     the    Department    of 
Egyptian  and  Assyrian  Antiquities  in  the 
British  Museum  ;  author  of  Mesopotamian 
A  rckceology,  Latest  Light  on  Bible  Lands. 
Olive,    Palm,   Scorpion,    Serpent,   Vine, 
Wheat,  and  other  articles. 

HOOKE    (SAMUEL     HENRY),    M.A.    (Oxon.),    B.D. 

(Lond.). 

Professor  of  Oriental  Languages  and  Litera- 
ture in  Victoria  College,  Toronto. 

Paradise,  Parousia,  Resurrection,  Sea  of 
Glass. 

JAMES  (JOHN  GEORGE),  D.Lit.,  M.A. 

Author  of  Problems  of  Personality,  Problems 
of  Prayer,  The  Coming  Age  of  Faith,  The 
Prayer-Life. 
Offence,  Rapture,  Sleep,  Trance,  Vision. 

JORDAN  (HERMANN),  Ph.D. 

Professor  der  Kirchengeschichte  und  Patristik 
an  der  Universitat  Erlangen. 
Writing. 

KlRKPATRICK  (ROGER  SANDILANDf),  B.D. 

Minister  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  at  Yarrow. 
Sacraments. 

KOHLER  (KAUFMANN),  Ph.D. 

President  of  Hebrew  Union  College,  Cincin- 
nati, Ohio. 

Proseuche,  Sanhedrin,  Shepherd, 
Synagogue. 

LAKE  (KlRSOPP),  M.A.  (Oxford),  D.D.  (St.  And.). 
Professor  of    Early   Christian    Literature    in 
Harvard  University. 
Theophilus. 

LAMBERT  (JOHN  C.),  M.A.,  D.D. 

Late  of  Fenwick,  Kilmaraock  ;  author  of  The 
Sacraments  in  the  New  Testament. 

Man  of  Sin,  Michael,  Mind,  Pattern, 
Restitution,  Soul,  Spirit,  Type,  Un- 
corruptness. 

LAW  (ROBERT),  D.D.  (Edin.). 

Professor  of  New  Testament  Literature  in 
Knox  College,  Toronto  ;  author  of  The  Tests 
of  Life:  A  Study  of  the  First  Epistle  of  St. 
John,  The  Emotions  of  Jesus,  The  Grand 
Adventure. 

Majesty,  Mortify,  Pre-existence  of  Christ, 
Triumph,  Unity,  World,  Worldliness. 

LEWIS  (THOMAS),  M.A.  (Lond.),  B.D   (St.  And.). 
Principal  of  the   Memorial   College,    Brecon, 
Wales ;  Member  of  the  Theological  Senate, 
and  of  the  Theological  Board,  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Wales. 
Persecution. 

LlGHTLEY  (JOHN  WILLIAM),  M.A.,  B.D. 

Professor  of  Old  Testament  Language  and 
Literature  and  Philosophy  in  the  Wesleyan 
College,  Headingley,  Leeds. 

Philosophy,  Science,  Stoics. 

LOFTHOUSE  (WILLIAM  F.),  M.A. 

Professor  of  Philosophy  and  Old  Testament 
Language  and  Literature  in  the  Wesleyan 
College,  Handsworth,  Birmingham  ;  author 
of  Ethics  and  Atonement,  Ethics  and  the 
Family. 

Repentance,  Will. 


MACKENZIE  (DONALD),  M.A. 

Minister  of  the  United  Free  Church  at  Tain  ; 
Assistant  Professor  of  Logic  and  Meta- 
physics in  the  University  of  Aberdeen, 
1906-1909. 

Philippians  (Epistle  to  the),  Self-Denial, 
Soberness,  Temperance,  Virgin, 
Widows. 

MACLEAN  (ARTHUR  JOHN),  D.D.  (Carab.),  Hon. 

D.D.  (Glas.). 

Bishop  of  Moray,  Ross,  and  Caithness ;  author 
of  Dictionary  and  Grammar  of  Vernacular 
Syriac  ;  editor  of  East  Syrian  Liturgies. 
Marriage,      Miracles,     Only  -  Begotten, 
Ordination,    Passion,    Roman   Law  in 
the  New  Testament,  Sign,  Transfigura- 
tion, Translation. 

MAIN  (ARCHIBALD),  M.A.  (Glas.),  B.A.  (Oxon.), 

D.Litt.  (Glas.). 

Professor    of    Ecclesiastical    History    in    the 
University  of  St.  Andrews. 
Minstrel,  Pipe,  Trump. 

MALDEN  (R.  H.),  M.A. 

Principal  of  the  Clergy  School,  Leeds. 

Oracle,  Ordinance,  Utterance,  Vow, 
Word. 

MARGOLIOUTH  (DAVID  SAMUEL),  M.A.,  D.Litt., 
F.B.A. 

Fellow  of  New  College,  and  Laudian  Professor 
of  Arabic  in  the  University  of  Oxford ; 
author  of  Mohammed  and  the  Rise  of  Islam, 
Mohammedanism,  The  Early  Development  of 
Mohammedanism. 
Sirach,  Wisdom  of  Solomon. 

MARSH  (FRED.  SHIPLEY),  M.A. 

Sub- Warden  of  King's  College  Theological 
Hostel,  and  Lecturer  in  Theology,  King's 
College,  London ;  formerly  Tyrwhitt  and 
Crosse  Scholar  in  the  University  of  Cam- 
bridge. 
Thessalonians  (Epistles  to  the). 

MARTIN  (A.  STUART),  M.A.,  B.D. 

Formerly  Pitt  Scholar  and  Examiner  in 
Divinity  in  Edinburgh  University,  and 
Minister  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  at  Aber- 
deen ;  author  of  The  Books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 
Perseverance. 

MlNGANA  (ALPHONSE),  Ph.D. 

Semitic   Palaeographer  in  the  John  Rylands 
Library ;   Lecturer  in  Arabic  to  the   Uni- 
versity of  Manchester. 
Odes  of  Solomon. 

MOE  (OLAF  EDVARD),  Dr.  Theol. 

Professor  of  Theology  in   the  Church  Theo- 
logical Faculty  of  Christiania. 
Moses. 

MOFFATT  (JAMES),  D.Litt.,  Hon.  D.D.  (St.  And.), 

Hon.  M.A.  (Oxford). 

Professor  of  Church  History  in  the  United 
Free  Church  College,  Glasgow  ;  author  of 
The  Historical  New  Testament,  and  other 
works. 

Righteousness,  Sibylline  Oracles,  War. 

MONTGOMERY  (W.  S.),  B.D. 

Minister  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Ireland 
at  Ballacolla,  Queen's  County. 

Prison,  Punishment,  Rod,  Scourging 
Stocks,  Stoning,  Thongs. 


V1I1 


AUTHOES  OF  ARTICLES  IN  THIS  VOLUME 


Moss  (RICHARD  WADDY),  D.D. 

Professor  of  Systematic  Theology  in  Didsbury 
College,  Manchester. 
Melchizedek,  Priest. 

MOULTON  (WILFRID  J.),  M.A.,  B.D.  (Cantab.). 
Professor    of    Systematic    Theology    in    the 
Wesleyan     College,     Headingley,     Leeds ; 
author  of  The  Witness  of  Israel. 
Will. 

MUIRHEAD  (LEWIS  A.),  D.D. 

Minister  of  the  United  Free  Church  at 
Broughty-Ferry ;  author  of  The  Times  of 
Christ,  The  Terms  Life  and  Death  in  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments,  The  Eschatology  of 
Jesus. 
Numbers. 

NlCOL  (THOMAS),  D.D. 

Late  Professor  of  Biblical  Criticism  in  the 
University  of  Aberdeen  ;  Moderator  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
1914. 

Predestination,  Rejection,  Reprobate, 
Schoolmaster,  Tutor. 

NIVEN  (WILLIAM  DICKIE),  M.A. 

Minister  of  the  United  Free  Church  at  Blair- 
gowrie ;    formerly    co-examiner    in   Mental 
Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Aberdeen. 
Nazirite,  Pharisees,  Sadducees,  Scribe. 

PATRICK  (JAMES),  B.D.,  B.Sc. 

Minister  of  the  United  Free  Church  at  Edin- 
burgh ;  formerly  Examiner  in  Divinity  to 
the  University  of  St.  Andrews. 
Oil,  Ointment. 

PLATT  (FREDERIC),  M.A.,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Systematic  and  Pastoral  Theology 
in  the  Wesleyan  College,  Handsworth, 
Birmingham  ;  author  of  Miracles:  An  Out- 
line of  the  Christian  View,  Immanence  and 
Christian  Thought. 
Propitiation,  Ransom,  Reconciliation, 

Sacrifice. 
PLUMMER  (ALFRED),  M.A.,  D.D. 

Late  Master  of  University  College,  Durham  ; 
formerly  Fellow  and  Senior  Tutor  of  Trinity 
College,  Oxford  ;  author  of  '  The  Gospel 
according  to  S.  Luke '  in  The  International 
Critical  Commentary,  and  other  works. 
Minister,  Ministration,  Pastor,  Teacher. 

POPE    (R.   MARTIN),  M.A.    (Cantab,   and    Man- 
chester). 

Minister  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church 
at  Keswick  ;  author  of  Expository  Notes  on 
St.  Paul's  Epistles  to  Timothy  and  Titus, 
and  other  works. 

Meekness,  Pride,  Prophecy,  Self-ex- 
amination, Tongues  (Gift  of),  Vanity, 
Vengeance,  Voice,  Waiting,  Watching. 

REID  (JOHN),  M.A. 

Late  Minister  of  the  United  Free  Church  at 
Inverness  ;  author  of  Jesus  and  Nicodemus, 
The  First  Things  of  Jesus,  The  Uplifting  of 
Life  ;  editor  of  Effectual  Words. 

Novice,  Preparation,  Profession,  Promise, 
Young  Men,  and  other  articles. 

ROBERTS  (JOHN  EDWARD),  M.A.  (Lond.),  B.D. 

(St.  And.). 

Minister  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Manchester  ; 

author     of     Christian     Baptism,     Private 

Prayers  and  Devotions,  The  Lord's  Prayer. 

Sergius    Paulus,    Simon    Magus,    Sos- 

thenes,  Stephanus,  Titus  Justus,  Zenas. 


ROBERTSON  (ARCHIBALD  THOMAS),  M.A.,  D.D., 

LL.D. 

Professor  of  Interpretation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  the  Southern  Baptist  Theological 
Seminary,  Louisville,  Ky.  ;  author  of  A 
Grammar  of  the  Greek  New  Testament  in  the 
Light  of  Historical  Research,  and  other 
works. 

Master,  Mediation,   Perdition,  Security, 
Treasure. 

ROBINSON  (GEORGE  L.),  Ph.D.,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  and  English 
Bible  in  M'Cormick  Theological  Seminary, 
Chicago. 

Mount,    River,    Rock,    Sea,   Sepulchre, 
Ship,  Supper,  Wing. 

ROBINSON  (HENRY  WHEELER),  M.A.  (Oxon.  and 

Edin.). 

Professor  of  Church  History  and  of  the 
Philosophy  of  Religion  in  the  Baptist 
College,  Rawdon  ;  sometime  Senior  Kenni- 
cott  Scholar  in  the  University  of  Oxford  ; 
author  of  '  Hebrew  Psychology  in  Relation 
to  Pauline  Anthropology'  in  Mansfield 
College  Essays,  The  Christian  Doctrine  of 
Man,  The  Religious  Ideas  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

Man,  Mouth,  Tongue,  Woman. 

VON  SCHLATTER  (ADOLF). 

Professor  of  New  Testament  Introduction  and 
Exegesis  in  the  University  of  Tubingen. 

Paraclete. 

SHAW  (JOHN  MACKINTOSH),  M.A. 

Professor  of  Apologetics  and  Church  History 
in  the  Presbyterian  College,  Halifax,  N.S. 

Resurrection  of  Christ. 

SlDNELL     (HENRY     CARISS    JONES),     B.A.,     B.D. 

(London). 

Minister  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church 
at  Halifax. 

Marks,       Reproof,         Restoration       of 
Offenders. 

SLATER  (JOHN  WHITE),  B.D. 

Minister  of  the  United  Free  Church  at  Scone. 

Prize. 

SMITH  (SHERWIN),  M.A.,  B.D. 

Minister  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church 
at  York. 


Pollution, 
Strangled. 


Profane, 


Purification, 


SOARES  (THEODORE  GERALD),  Ph.D.,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Homiletics  and  Religious  Educa- 
tion, and  Head  of  the  Department  of 
Practical  Theology  in  the  University  of 
Chicago,  111. 

Regeneration. 

SOUTER  (ALEXANDER),  M.A.,  D.Litt. 

Regius  Professor  of  Humanity  and  Lecturer 
in  Mediaeval  Palaeography  in  the  University 
of  Aberdeen ;  formerly  Professor  of  New 
Testament  Greek  and  Exegesis  in  Mansfield 
College,  Oxford ;  author  of  A  Study  of 
Ambrosiaster,  The  Text  and  Canon  of  the 
New  Testament,  A  Pocket  Lexicon  to  the 
Greek  New  Testament. 

Nero,  Province,  Roads  and  Travel, 
Roman  Empire,  Rome,  Trade  and  Com- 
merce, Vespasian,  and  other  articles. 


AUTHORS  OF  ARTICLES  IN  THIS  VOLUME 


SPOONER  (WILLIAM  ARCHIBALD),  D.D. 

Warden  of  New  College,  Oxford  ;  Hon.  Canon 
of  Christ  Church,  Oxford ;  Examining 
Chaplain  to  the  Bishop  of  Peterborough. 

Manaean,  Nicolas,  Philip  the  Evangelist, 
Stephen,  and  other  articles. 

STALKER  (JAMES),  M.A.,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Church  History  in  the  United 
Free  Church  College,  Aberdeen ;  author  of 
The  Life  of  Jesus  Christ,  The  Life  of  St. 
Paul,  Imago  Christi,  The  Preacher  and  his 
Models. 

Paul. 

STEVENSON  (MORLEY),  M.A. 

Principal  of  Warrington  Training  College  ; 
Hon.  Canon  of  Liverpool  ;  author  of  Hand- 
book to  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  Luke, 
The  Spiritual  Teaching  of  '  In  Memoriam ' ; 
joint-editor  of  The  Prayer-Book  Dictionary. 

Moon,     Schism,     Star,     Sun,     Vessel, 
Wandering  Stars. 

STEWART  (GEORGE  WAUCHOPE),  M.A.,  B.D. 

Minister  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  at  Had- 
dington  (First  Charge)  ;  author  of  Music  in 
the  Church. 

Officer,    Potentate,    Prince,    Queen,    Sa- 
baoth,  Tetrarch. 

STONE  (DARWELL),  D.D. 

Principal  of  Pusey  House,  Oxford. 

Salvation. 

STRACHAN   (ROBERT    HARVEY),  M.A.   (Aberd.), 

B.A.  (Cantab.). 

Minister  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Cam- 
bridge. 

Saint,  Sanctincation. 

STRAHAN  (JAMES),  M.A.,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Hebrew  and  Biblical  Criticism  in 
the  Magee  Presbyterian  College,  London- 
derry ;  Cunningham  Lecturer ;  author  of 
Hebrew  Ideals,  The  Book  of  Job,  Life  of 
Andrew  Bruce  Davidson. 

Macedonia,  Melita,  Nazareth,  Pergamus, 
Samaria,  Temple,  and  other  articles. 

STRONG  (ROBERT),  M.A.,  B.Litt. 

Minister  of  the  United  Methodist  Church, 
London. 


Man-Stealers,      Murder,      Robbers 
Churches,  Robbery,  Stealing. 


of 


TASKER  (JOHN  G.),  D.D. 

Principal  and  Professor  of  Church  History  and 
Apologetics  in  the  Wesleyan  College,  Hands- 
worth,  Birmingham. 

Mysticism,     Natural,    Nature,     Perfect, 
Religion. 


TOD  (DAVID  MACRAE),  M.A.,  B.D.  (Edin.). 

Minister    of     the     Presbyterian     Church    of 
England  at  Hudderstield  ;  formerly  Hebrew 
Tutor     and      Cunningham     Fellow,     New 
College,  Edinburgh. 
Truth,  Unbelief. 

VOS  (GEERHARDUS),  Ph.D.,  D.D. 

Charles  Haley  Professor  of  Biblical  Theology 
in  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Princeton,  N.J. 
Peace,  Pity,  Wicked. 

WADDY  (P.  STACY),  M.A.  (Oxford  and  Sydney). 
Headmaster  of  the  King's  School,  Parramatta, 
Australia ;    Fellow   of    St.    Paul's    College, 
University  of  Sydney. 
Zeal. 

WALKER  (DAWSON),  M.A.,  D.D. 

Professor  of  Biblical  Exegesis  in  the  University 
of  Durham  ;  Principal  of  St.  John's  Hall, 
Durham. 

Reformation,  Remnant,  Reproach,  Repu- 
tation, Respect  of  Persons,  Rest,  Re- 
ward, Token. 

WARFIELD    (BENJAMIN    BRECKINRIDGE),   D.D., 

LL.D.,  Litt.D. 

Charles     Hodge    Professor    of    Didactic    and 
Polemic     Theology     in      the     Theological 
Seminary   of    the   Presbyterian   Church  at 
Princeton,  New  Jersey. 
Redemption. 

W ATKINS  (CHARLES  H.),  D.Th. 

Minister  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Liverpool ; 
Lecturer    in   the   Midland   Baptist  College 
and  University  College,  Nottingham  ;  author 
of  St.  Paul's  Fight  for  Galatia. 
Neighbour,  Oath. 

WATSON  (WILLIAM),  B.D.,  D.Litt. 

Minister  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  at  Oyne  ; 
Examiner  in  Biblical  Criticism  and  Hebrew 
in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews  ;  Assistant 
to  the  Professor  of  Hebrew  and  Oriental 
Languages  in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews, 
1907-1909. 

Suffering,  Temptation,  Torment,  Tribu- 
lation. 

WILLIS  (JOHN  ROTHWELL),  B.D. 

Canon   of  St.    Aidans,  Ferns,  and  Rector   of 
Preban  and  Moyne,  Co.  Wicklow. 
Son  of  Man,  Tithes. 

WORSLEY  (FREDERICK  WILLIAM),  M.A.,  B.D. 

Sub-Warden  of  St.  Michael's  College,  Llandaff; 
author  of  The  Apocalypse  of  Jesus. 
Market-Place,  Mercury,  Moloch,  Rephan, 
Superstitious,  Unknown  God. 

ZENOS  (ANDREW  C.),  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Professor     of     Historical     Theology    in    the 
M'Cormick  Theological  Seminary,  Chicago. 
Time. 


LIST   OF  ABBREVIATIONS 


I.  GENERAL 


App.  =  Appendix. 

Arab.  =  Arabic. 

art.,  artt.  =  article,  articles. 

A.S.  =  Anglo-Saxon. 

Assyr.  =  Assyrian. 

AT  =  Altes  Testament. 

A V= Authorized  Version. 

A Vm  =  Authorized  Version  margin. 

Bab.  =  Babylonian. 

c.  =  circa,  about. 

cf.  =  compare. 

ct.  =  contrast. 

ed.  =  edited,  edition. 

Eng.  ^English. 

Eth.  =  Ethiopia. 

EV,  EVV  =  English  Version,  Versions. 

f.  =and  following  verse  or  page. 

ff.  =and  following  verses  or  natres. 

£    1          r    i  •  to 

lol.  =  roho. 
f r.  =  fragment,  from. 
Fr.  =  French. 
Germ.  =  German. 
Gr.=  Greek. 
Heb.  =  Hebrew. 
Lat.  =  Latin. 


lit.  =  literally,  literature. 

LXX  =  Septuagint. 

m.,  marg.  =  margin. 

MS,  MSS  =  Manuscript,  Manuscripts. 

n.  =note. 

NT  =  New  Testament,  Neues  Testament. 

N.S.  =  New  Series. 

OT=  Old  Testament. 

pi.  =  plural. 

£v.,  gq.v.  =  quod  vide,  quce  vide,  which  see. 
hem.  =  Rhemish  New  Testament, 
rt.  =  root. 

RV= Revised  Version. 
RVm  =  Revised  Version  margin. 
Sem.  =  Semitic, 
sing.  =  singular. 
Skr.  =  Sanskrit. 
Syr.  =  Syriac. 
Targ.  =Targum. 
tr.  =  translated,  translation. 
TR  =  Textus  Receptus,  Received  Text, 
v.  =  verse.        » 

v.l.  =  varia  lectio,  variant  reading. 
VS,  VSS  =  Version,  Versions. 
Vulg.,  Vg.  =  Vulgate. 


II.  BOOKS  OF  THE  BIBLE 


Old  Testament. 


Gn  =  Genesis. 

Ex  =  Exodus. 

Lv  =  Leviticus. 

Nu  — Numbers. 

Dt  =  Deuteronomy. 

Jos  =  Joshua. 

Jg= Judges. 

Rn=Rnth. 

1  S,  2  S  =  1  and  2  Samuel. 

1  K,2K  =  1  and  2  Kings. 

1    Ch,   2    Ch  =  l    and    2 

Chronicles. 
Ezr=Ezra. 
Neh  =  Nehemiah. 
Est= Esther. 
Job. 

Ps  =  Psalms. 
Pr=  Pro  verbs. 
EC  =  Ecclesiastes. 


Ca  =  Can  tides. 
Is  =  Isaiah. 
Jer= Jeremiah. 
La = Lamentations. 
Ezk=EzekieL 
Dn  =  Daniel. 
Hos  =  Hosea. 
Jl  =  Joel. 
Am  =  Amos. 
Ob=Obadiah. 
J  on = Jonah. 
Mic=Micah. 
Nah  =  Nahum. 
Hab=Habakknk. 
Zeph  =  Zeplianiah. 
Hag— HaggaL 
Zec  =  Zechariah. 
Mai  =  Malachi. 


1    Es,    2    Es  = 

Esdras. 


Apocrypha. 

and    2    To  =  Tobit. 
Jth=  Judith. 


Ad.     Est= Additions    to    Sus= Susanna. 


Esther. 
Wis  =  Wisdom. 
Sir^Sirach    or     Ecclesi- 

asticus. 
Bar=Baruch. 
Three  =  Song  of  the  Three 

Children. 


Bel  =  Bel      and      the 

Dragon. 
Pr.    Man  =  Prayer    of 

Manasses. 
1  Mac,  2  Mac=l  and  2 

Maccabees. 


Mt  =  Matthew. 
Mk=Mark. 
Lk  =  Luke. 
Jn  =  John. 
Ac  =  Acts. 
Ro  =  Romans. 
1    Co,    2    Co  =  l 

Corinthians. 
Gal  =  Galatians. 
Eph  —  Ephesians. 
Pn  =  Philippiana. 
Col  =  Colossians. 


New  Testament. 

1    Th,    2    Th  =  l    and    2 

Thessalonians. 
1    Ti,    2    Ti  =  1    and   2 

Timothy. 
Tit  =  Titus. 
Philem  =  Philemon, 
and  2  He  =  Hebrews. 
Ja  =  James. 

1  P,  2P  =  1  and  2  Peter. 
1   Jn,  2  Jn,  3  Jn  =  l,  2, 

and  3  John. 
Jude. 
Rev  =  Revelation. 


xn 


LIST   OF  ABBREVIATIONS 


III.  BIBLIOGRAPHY 


^4GGr=Abhandlungen  der  Gottinger  Gesellschaft 

der  Wissenschaften. 

A  JPh= American  Journal  of  Philology. 
A  JTk= American  Journal  of  Theology. 
AEW  =  Arc\iiv  fiir  Religions  wissenschaft. 
AS = Ada.  Sanctorum  (Bollandus). 
J3«7=Bellum  Judaicum  (Josephus). 
.BZ  =  Bampton  Lecture. 
BW= Biblical  World. 
CE= Catholic  Encyclopedia. 
CIA  =  Corpus  Inscrip.  Atticarum. 
GIG  =  Corpus  Inscrip.  Grsecarum. 
OIL  =  Corpus  Inscrip.  Latinarum. 
CIS=  Corpus  Inscrip.  Semiticarum. 
CQR= Church  Quarterly  Review. 
CR= Contemporary  Review. 
CSEL  =  Corpus  Script.  Eccles.  Latinorum. 
Z>5=Dict.  of  the  Bible. 
DC  A  =  Dict.  of  Christian  Antiquities. 
DCS=T)ict.  of  Christian  Biography. 
DCG  =  Dict.  of  Christ  and  the  Gospels. 
DGRA  =  Diet,  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities. 
=  Dict.  of  Greek  and  Roman  Biography. 
=  Dict.  of  Greek  and  Roman  Geography. 

i  =  Encyclopaedia  Biblica. 
.E'.8r= Encyclopaedia  Britannica. 
EGT= Expositor's  Greek  Testament. 
ERE=  Encyclopaedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics. 
Exp  =  Expositor. 
ExpT=  Expository  Times. 
GA P  =  Geographic  des  alten  Palastina  (Buhl). 
GB  =  Golden  Bough  (J.  G.  Frazer). 
G(?.4=iGottingische  Gelehrte  Anzeigen. 
G(?^=Nachrichten  der   konigl.   Gesellschaft  der 

Wissenschaften  zu  Gottingen. 
GJ"F=Gesehichte  des  jiidischen  Volkes  (Schiirer). 
Grimm-Thayer  =  Grimm's  Gr.-Eng.  Lexicon  of  the 

NT,  tr.  Thayer. 

HDB  =  Hastings'  Diet,  of  the  Bible  (5  vols.). 
HE  =  Historia  Ecclesiastica  (Eusebius,  etc.). 
HGHL  =  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land 

(G.  A.  Smith). 

HI=  History  of  Israel  (Ewald). 
.//./=  Hibbert  Journal. 
HJP= History  of  the  Jewish  People  (Eng.  tr.  of 

GJV). 

#Z.  =  Hibbert  Lecture. 
HN=  Historia  Naturalis  (Pliny). 
ICC= International  Critical  Commentary. 
ISS= International  Science  Series. 
JA=  Journal  Asiatique. 
JBL  =  Journal  of  Biblical  Literature. 
JE  =  Jewish  Encyclopedia. 
JHS= Journal  of  Hellenic  Studies. 
JPh  =  Journal  of  Philology. 

«7PT&  =  Jahrbucher  fiir  protesta^itische  Theologie. 
JQR= Jewish  Quarterly  Review. 
JRS  =  Journal  of  Roman  Studies. 
JThSt  =  Journal  of  Theological  Studies. 
.SVlT^Keilinschriften  und  das  Alte  Testament2 

(Schrader,  1883). 
-K".4^=Zimmern-Winckler's  ed.  of  the  preceding 

(a  totally  distinct  work),  1902-03. 


KIR  =  Keilinschriftliche  Bibliothek. 

LCBl  =  Literarisches  Centralblatt. 

ZJVT=Introd.  to  Literature  of  the  New  Testament 

(Mottatt). 
LT=Life     and    Times    of    Jesus    the    Messiah 

(Edersheim). 
MG  WJ= Monatsschrif  tf  iir  Geschichte  und  Wissen- 

schaft  des  Judentums. 
^GG^Nachrichten   der  konigl.  Gesellschaft  der 

Wissenschaften  zu  Gottingen. 
JV.firZ=Neue  kirchliche  Zeitschrift. 
ATZ£  =  Neutestamentliche  Zeitgeschichte  (Holtz- 

mann  and  others). 
OED  =  Oxford  English  Dictionary. 
OTJC=O\d  Testament  in  the  Jewish  Church  (W. 

R.  Smith). 
Pauly-Wissowa  =  Pauly-Wissowa's    Realencyklo- 

padie. 

PB=  Polychrome  Bible. 
PC=  Primitive  Culture  (E.  B.  Tylor). 
PEF=  Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 
PEFSt  =  Palestine    Exploration    Fund    Quarterly 

Statement. 

P-KJ£=Realencyklopadie  fiir  protestantische  The- 
ologie und  Kirche. 
PSBA  =  Proceedings    of    the   Society  of   Biblical 

Archaeology. 

RA  =  Revue  Archeologique. 
RB= Revue  Biblique. 
REG  =  Revue  des  Etudes  Grecques. 
RGG  =  Religion  in  Geschichte  xind  Gegenwart. 
RHR  =  Revue  de  1'Histoire  des  Religions. 
Roscher=Roscher's     Ausfiihrliches    Lexikon    der 

griecli.  und  rom.  Mythologie. 
RS  =  Religion    of    the    Semites    (W.    Robertson 

Smith). 
SB  A  ff^Sitzungsberichte  der  Berliner  Akademie 

der  Wissenschaften. 
SBE  =  Sacred  Books  of  the  East. 
Schaft'-Herzog=The  New  Schaff-Herzog  Encyclo- 
pedia. 
SDB  =  Hastings'   Single-vol.   Dictionary    of    the 

Bible. 

SEP  =  Memoirs  of  Survey  of  Eastern  Palestine. 
5^T=Studien  und  Kritiken. 

S  WP= Memoirs  of  Survey  of  Western  Palestine. 
77iZZ=Theologische  Litteraturzeitung. 
ThT=Theo\.  Tijdschrift. 
TS= Texts  and  Studies. 
T^7=Texte  und  Untersuchungen. 
Wetzer-AVelte=Wetzer-Welte's  Kirchenlexikon. 
WH  =  Westcott-Hort's  Greek  Testament. 
ZATW  =  Zeitschrift    fiir    die     alttest.     Wissen- 

schaft. 
ZDMG  =  Zeitschrift  der  deutschen   morgenland- 

ischen  Gesellschaft. 

ZKG  =  Zeitschrift  fur  Kirchengeschichte. 
ZKWL  =  Zeitschrift  fiir  kirchl.  Wissenschaft  und 

kirchl.  Leben. 

ZNTW  —  Zeitschrift    fiir    die    neutest.    Wissen- 
schaft. 

ZTK= Zeitschrift  fiir  Theologie  und  Kirche. 
ZWT= Zeitschrift  fiir  wissenschaf tliche  Theologie. 


DICTIONARY 
OF   THE   APOSTOLIC    CHURCH 


M 


MACEDONIA  (MaxthrttA.—tluB  was  the  land  of 
the  Macedones,  a  Doric  branch  of  the  Hellenic 
stock,  who  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Haliacmon 
and  Axius,  above  the  Thermaic  Gulf,  and  gradually 
extended  their  power  over  the  hill-peoples  in  the 
N.  and  W.,  as  well  as  the  lowland  tribes  which 
separated  them  from  the  sea.  Their  enlarged 
country,  with  its  '  vast  plains,  rich  mountains, 
verdant  prairies,  extended  views,  very  different 
from  those  charming  little  mazes  of  the  Greek 
site'  (E.  Kenan,  St.  Paul,  Eng.  tr.,  1889,  p.  82), 
was  a  meet  nurse  for  a  successful  and  conquer- 
ing race.  Centuries  of  undisturbed  growth  gave 
them  a  great  reserve  of  moral  as  well  as  material 
strength.  '  As  for  Macedonia,  it  was  probably  the 
region  the  most  honest,  the  most  serious,  the  most 
pious  of  the  ancient  world '  (ib.  p.  80).  And  ere 
long  it  had  the  opportunity  of  showing  its  quality. 
When  Greece  lay  weakened  by  the  mutual  jealousy 
of  her  city-states  and  consequent  incapacity  for 
concerted  action,  the  genius  of  Philip  of  Macedon 
unified  and  consolidated  a  group  of  free  and  hardy 
races,  fostered  their  national  spirit,  and  created 
the  most  effective  fighting-machine  known  to 
antiquity.  Entering  on  a  splendid  heritage,  his 
greater  son  achieved  the  conquest  of  the  world 
(1  Mac  I1'9).  Even  a  century  later,  when  the 
Macedonians  had  to  try  conclusions  with  the 
Romans,  whom  in  many  respects  they  strikingly 
resembled,  their  strength  and  spirit  were  but  little 
impaired,  and  '  with  a  power  in  every  point  of 
view  far  inferior'  Hannibal  was  'able  to  shake 
Rome  to  its  foundations'  (T.  Mommsen,  The 
History  of  Rome,  Eng.  tr.,  1894,  ii.  491).  But  the 
bravest  armies  can  do  little  unless  they  are 
efficiently  led,  and  at  Cynoscephalae  (197  B.C.), 
and  again  at  Pydna  (168),  the  once  invincible 
phalanx  was  broken  at  last. 

The  conquered  nation  was  disarmed  and  divided. 
1  Macedonia  was  abolished.  In  the  conference  at 
Amphipolia  on  the  Strymon  the  Roman  commission 
ordained  that  the  compact,  thoroughly  monarchi- 
cal, single  state  should  be  broken  up  into  four 
republican  -  federative  leagues  moulded  on  the 
system  of  the  Greek  confederacies,  viz.  that  of 
Amphipolia  in  the  eastern  regions,  that  of  Thessa- 
lonica  with  the  Chalcidian  peninsula,  that  of  Pella 
on  the  frontiers  of  Thessaly,  and  that  of  Pelagonia 
in  the  interior '  (Mommsen,  op.  cit.  p.  508).  No  one 
was  allowed  to  marry,  or  to  purchase  houses  or 
VOL.  11. — i 


lands,  except  in  his  own  tetrarchy.  The  Mace* 
donians  compared  the  severance  of  their  country 
to  the  laceration  and  disjointing  of  a  living  creature 
(Livy,  xlv.  30). 

It  has  been  supposed  that  a  reference  to  this 
partition  is  contained  in  Ac  1612,  where  Philippi 
is  described  as  irpdm]  rfjs  pepidos  Ma/ceSoi'taj  TroXis, 
KoXwvia.  This  cannot  mean  that  Philippi  was  the 
first  city  of  Macedonia  readied  by  St.  Paul,  for  he 
had  landed  at  Neapolis.  Following  Blass,  T.  Zahn 
(Introd.  to  the  NT,  Eng.  tr.,  1909,  i.  532  f.)  there- 
fore proposes  to  read  trp^r^,  and  to  paraphrase  : 
'  a  city  belonging  to  the  first  of  those  four  districts 
of  Macedonia,  i.e.  the  first  which  Paul  touched  on 
his  journey.'  But  the  interpretation  is  not  plaus- 
ible. Not  only  is  the  suggested  detail  regarding  the 
Apostle's  movements  singularly  Hat  and  common- 
place, but  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  old  division 
into  tetrarchies  had  long  ceased  to  have  more  than 
an  antiquarian  interest.  For  the  best  explanation 
of  the  difficult  phrase  '  the  first  of  the  district '  see 
PHILIPPI. 

In  146  B.C.  Macedonia  received  a  provincial 
organization,  and  Thes?alonica  was  made  the  seat 
of  government.  Including  part  of  Illyria  as  well 
as  Thessaly,  the  province  extended  from  the 
Adriatic  to  the  ^Egean,  and  was  traversed  by  the 
Via  Egnatia,  which  joined  Dyrrhachium  and  Apol- 
lonia  in  the  West  with  Amphipolis  and  another 
Apollonia  in  the  East.  Augustus  made  it  a  sena- 
torial province  in  27  B.C.,  Tiberius  an  Imperial  in 
A.D.  15,  and  Claudius  restored  it  to  the  senate 
in  A.D.  44.  In  St.  Paul's  time  it  was  therefore 
governed  by  a  proconsul  of  prtetorian  rank. 

In  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles  Macedonia  is  often 
linked  with  Achaia  (Ac  1921,  Ro  1526,  2  Co  92,  1  Th 
I7- 8),  and  as  the  latter  term  can  denote  only  the 

Srovince,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  Macedonia 
as  also  its  official  Roman  meaning.  St.  Paul's 
entry  into  Europe  was  occasioned  by  the  vision 
of  'a  man  of  Macedonia'  (Ac  169).  Ramsay  (St. 
Paul,  1895,  p.  202  ft'. )  has  hazarded  the  suggestion 
that  this  man  was  no  other  than  the  historian  of 
the  Acts;  in  which  case  the  night  vision  would 
doubtless  be  preceded  and  followed  by  substantial 
arguments  by  day.  The  theory  is  supposed  to 
account  for  the  abundance  of  detail,  as  well  as  the 
apparently  keen  personal  interest,  with  which  St. 
Luke  tells  this  part  of  his  story.  He  seems  to 
hurry  breathlessly  over  wide  tracts  of  Asia  Minor, 


2 


MADIAN 


until  he  gets  St.  Paul  down  to  Troas  and  across 
the  ^Egean  (Ac  161'11),  after  wliich  his  style  of 
narration  at  once  becomes  leisurely  and  expansive 
(see  LUKE).  St.  Paul  founded  Macedonian  churches 
in  Philippi,  Berrea,  and  Thessalonica ;  to  two  of 
them  he  wrote  letters  that  are  extant ;  and  all  of 
them  were  conspicuous  for  their  loyalty  to,  and 
affection  for,  their  founder.  He  had  happy  memo- 
ries of  '  the  grace  of  God  in  the  churches  of  Mace- 
donia' (2  Co  81)  and  of  'all  the  brethren  in  all 
Macedonia'  (1  Th  410}.  He  loved  to  re- visit  his 
first  European  mission-field  (Ac  1921  201'3,  1  Co  165, 
2  Co  I20  21S  78  81  912-  <),  and  among  other  '  men  of 
Macedonia'  who  aided  and  cheered  him  were 
Gaius  and  Aristarchus  (Ac  1929),  Secundus  of  Thes- 
salonica (204),  Sopater  of  Berosa  (204),  and  Epaphro- 
ditus  of  Philippi  (Ph  225).  One  of  the  most  re- 
markable features  of  all  the  churches  of  Mace- 
donia was  the  ministry  of  women,  on  which  see 
J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Philippians*,  1878,  p.  56. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 
MADIAN.— See  MIDIAN. 

MAGIC.— See  DIVINATION. 

MAGISTRATE.— The  word  '  magistrates '  in  the 
NT  is  as  a  rule  a  translation  either  of  the  abstract 
word  al  apxal  (literally  'the  authorities'),  as  in  Lk 
1211,  Tit  31,  or  of  the  cognate  word,  originally  a 
participle,  ol  &p\ovres.  The  former  term  is  the 
more  general  of  the  two,  but  an  examination  of 
the  two  passages  suggests  that  apxai  is  an  allusion 
to  magistrates,  while  l£oi/<rfat  is  rather  a  reference 
to  governors,  if  indeed  we  can  distinguish  words 
which  had  long  been  used  by  Greek-speaking  Jews 
of  the  world  of  spirits.  There  is  less  doubt  about 
the  other  equivalent,  apxovres,  which  occurs  in  the 
singular  in  Lk  1258,  where  the  reference  is  clearly 
to  two  litigants  going  before  a  magistrate  (corre- 
sponding to  the  English  alderman  and  the  Scottish 
bailie)  in  a  civil  case  (a  comparison  with  ||  Mt  5251- 
will  show  that  Luke  is  more  explicit). 

The  variety  of  magistrates  throughout  the 
Roman  Empire  was  infinite.  In  Rome  the  magis- 
trates were  called  prcetores  (see  art.  PRAETOR). 
Throughout  the  Italian  and  Western  communities 
generally  the  city-constitution  approximated  to 
that  of  Rome.  In  colonies  it  was  a  copy  as  nearly 
as  possible.  The  names  by  which  the  magistrates 
were  called  varied.  For  example,  at  Arretium  in 
Etruria  (Persius,  Sat.  i.  130)  and  at  Ulubrae  in 
Latium  (Juvenal,  Sat.  x.  102)  they  were  called 
cediles ;  an  inscription  at  the  latter  place  mentions 
also  a  prcefectus  iure  dicundo,  a  special  com- 
missioner sent  from  Rome  to  try  cases  (see  Mayor's 
note).  At  other  places  they  were  called  prcetores 
(cf.  below),  the  original  name  of  the  consuls  at 
Rome,  e.g.  at  Fundi  in  Latium.  (Horace  [Sat.  I.  v. 
34-36]  mocks  at  the  consequential  airs  and  dress  of 
one  of  them. )  In  yet  other  cases  they  were  known 
as  duo  uiri  cediles,  with  duo  idri  iure  dicundo 
forming  a  board  of  four.  They  held  office  for  one 
year.  The  competence  of  such  magistrates  was 
strictly  defined,  and  higher  cases  were  sent  to 
Rome  for  trial.  So  in  the  provinces  the  governor 
had  to  try  the  most  important  cases,  both  civil 
and  criminal,  while  ordinary  cases  were  doubtless 
left  to  the  judicial  machinery  .already  in  existence 
in  the  province.  The  Romans  commonly  left  the 
system  current  already  in  each  country,  unless  it 
was  radically  bad. 

St.  Luke  is  an  authority  of  primary  value  for 
the  jurisdiction  of  magistrates  in  an  Eastern  town. 
From  him  we  learn  that  in  Philippi,  a  colonia, 
they  were  called  ffrparyyoi  (an  exact  translation 
of  prcetores).  They  unknowingly  transgressed  the 
law  in  flogging  the  two  Roman  citizens,  St.  Paul 
and  Silas,  without  trial.  Their  chagrin  was  all 


the  greater  as  they  prided  themselves  on  then 
true  Roman  spirit.  At  Thessalonica  St.  Luke's 
accuracy  is  particularly  evident,  as  there  he  applies 
to  the  magistrates  a  title  comparatively  rare 
throughout  the  Grseco- Roman  world,  but  attested 
for  Thessalonica  by  a  number  of  inscriptions — the 
title  politarchs  (iroXirapxai,  Ac  176'8) ;  this  title 
occurs  also  in  Egypt.  At  Thessalonica  the  rabble 
were  hostile  to  the  new  religion,  but  the  politarchs 
and  the  better-educated  classes  generally  looked 
upon  it  with  more  favour  (see  also  AUTHORITIES, 
ROMAN  EMPIRE,  TOWN-CLERK,  etc.). 

LITERATURE. — On  the  subject  in  general  see  T.  Mommsen, 
Rom.  Staatsrecht3,  Leipzig,  1888;  A.  H.  J.  Greenidge;  Roman 
Public  Life,  London,  1901,  cbs.  iv.,  viii.,  x.,  xi.  especially;  an 
admirable  synopsis  by  B.  W.  Henderson  in  A  Companion  to 
Latin  Studies^,  ed.  Sandys,  Cambridge,  1913,  p.  372  f. ;  on  the 
relations  between  Romans  and  non-Romans  in  provincial  towns, 
see  Mommsen  in  Ephemeris  Epigraphica,  vii.  [1892]  436  ff. ;  on 
the  scene  at  Philippi,  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller 
and  the  Roman  Citizen,  London,  1895,  p.  217ff.,  JThSt  i. 
[1899r1900]ll4ff.;  and  F.  Haverfield,r6.p.434f.;  Thessalonian 
inscriptions  containing  the  title  '  Politarch'  collected  by  E.  D. 
Burton  in  AJTh  ii.  [1898]  598  ff. ;  for  the  title  in  Egyptian 
documents,  see  Oxyrhynchw  Papyrus,  no.  745  (iv.  [1904]). 

A.  SOUTER. 

MAGOG. — See  GOG  AND  MAGOG. 
MAGUS.— See  SIMON  MAGUS. 

MAJESTY: — Two  words  are  so  translated — /j.eya- 
XeioTTjs  and  ittyaXucrvvr),  According  to  formation 
(the  first  from  yueyaXetoys:' stately,'  'magnificent'; 
the  second  from  ^70X0-= 'great')  they  denote  re- 
spectively the  appearance  and  the  fact  of  great- 
ness, regal  state,  and  regal  might.  On  the  whole, 
the  distinction  holds  good  in  usage. 

1.  /j.eya\fi6Tijs,  '  magnificence,'  is  applied  to  Solo- 
mon (1  Es  I6),  and  in  the  NT  (by  Demetrius,  the 
silversmith)  to  the  Ephesian  Artemis  (Ac  1927). 
In  2  P  I16  it  is  used  of  Christ's  transfiguration- 
glory  on  the  mountain-top,  and,  with  interesting 
coincidence,  in  Lk  9^  of  the  manifestation  of  Divine 
power  in  His  healing  of  the  demoniac  boy  at  the 
mountain-foot  (cf.   Clement,  Ep.    ad  Cor.   xxiv., 
Ign.  ad  Rom.  i. ;   ra  fj.eya\eia  TOV  6eov,  Ac  211). 

2.  /tryaXwtnV?;  is  used  in  the  LXX  as  the  trans- 
lation of  nVif  or  SiS.    It  is  applied  to  David  (2  S  721) 
and  to  the  "kings  of  the  earth  (Dn  727) ;  elsewhere 
to  the  sovereign  greatness  of  God  (Dt  323, 1  Ch  2911, 
Ps  1453- 6,  etc. ).     From  the  LXX  it  has  passed  into 
the  vocabulary  of  Hellenistic  Judaism  (e.g.  Book 
of  Enoch,  v.  4,  xii.  3,  xiv.  16),  of  the  NT,  and 
the  Apostolic  Fathers  (Clement,  Ep.  ad  Cor.  xx., 
xxvii.,  Iviii.,  Ixi.,  Ixiv.).    In  He  I3  'the  Majesty  on 
high,'  and  in  81  'the  Majesty  in  the  heavens,' 
is  equivalent  to  God    Himself  in   His   heavenly 
dominion  (cf .  Book  of  Enoch,  v.  4,  '  ye  spake  hard 
words  .  .  .  against  His  Majesty';   Clement,  Ep. 
ad  Cor.  xxvii.,  'by  the  word  of  His  Majesty  all 
things  were  framed  together').     Most  frequently 
it  is  used  in  doxology  ( Jude  *,  1  Ch  29"  ;  Clement, 
Ep.  ad  Cor.  xx.,  Ixi.,  Ixiv.).  ROBERT  LAW. 

MALICE  (/ca/cfa). — Malice  is  the  propensity  to 
inflict  injury  upon  another,  or  to  take  pleasure 
in  his  misfortunes.  In  early  English  it  denoted 
wickedness  in  general  (HDB  iii.  223),  but  the 
modern  meaning  is  found  in  Shakespeare,  e.g.  in 
Othello's  words  : 

'  Speak  of  me  as  I  am  ;  nothing  extenuate, 
Nor  set  down  aught  in  malice ' 

(Act  v.  so.  ii.  line  342). 

KaKia  changed  its  connotation  in  much  the  same  way. 
In  classical  Greek  it  was  not  a  particular  fault 
or  vice,  but  that  badness  of  nature  or  character 
(opp.  to  d-per-f),  'virtue,'  'excellence')  which  is  the 
root  of  all  faults.  Cicero  discusses  the  point  in 
Tusc.  Disp.  IV.  xv.  34  :  '  Hujus  igitur  virtutis  con- 
traria  est  vitiositas.  Sic  enim  malo  quam  malitiam 


MAN 


MAX 


appellate  earn,  quam  Grseci  Kaidav  appellant.  Nam 
malitia  certi  cujusdam  vitii  nomen  est ;  vitiositas 
omnium.'  In  the  NT  the  context  generally  in- 
dicates that  Kada.  is  a  specific  fault  or  vice.  The 
compound  /caKorjfeta  ('  malicious  disposition ')  desig- 
nates but  one  of  the  many  elements  or  workings  of 
the  reprobate  mind  (lio  !'•*).  Christians  recall  the 
time,  before  '  the  washing  of  regeneration,'  when 
they  were  '  living  in  malice  (iv  Kaidq.)  and  envy ' 
(Tit  3s).  nania  is  one  of  the  sins  which  the  believer 
must  resolutely  put  away  (Eph  431,  Col  38) ;  he  is 
not  to  eat  the  Christian  passover  with  the  leaven 
of  malice  (1  Co  58) ;  in  malice  he  is  to  be  a  babe 
(1420).  Without  apparent  cause  the  Revisers 
prefer  '  wickedness '  in  Ja  I21,  1  P  21- 16,  relegating 
'  malice '  to  the  margin.  Only  once  is  the  wider 
meaning  unquestionable  :  the  Kaicia  of  which  Simon 
the  Magian  is  urged  to  repent  is  no  specific  fault, 
but  the  deep-seated  wickedness  of  a  man  who  is 
still  in  the  gall  of  bitterness  (Ac  S22-  *>). 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

MAN. — Introduction. — The  fundamental  fact  for 
apostolic  anthropology  is  the  new  value  assigned 
to  human  nature  by  Jesus  Christ,  both  through 
His  personal  attitude  and  teaching,  and  through 
His  life,  death,  and  resurrection.  Jesus  saw  every 
man  thrown  into  relief  against  the  background 
of  the  kingly  Fatherhood  of  God — encompassed 
by  His  mercy,  answerable  to  His  judgment.  For 
Jesus,  the  supreme  element  in  human  person- 
ality was  its  moral  content,  as  the  supreme  value 
in  the  life  of  men  was  human  personality  itself. 
This  conception  of  human  nature  goes  back  to  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures,  in  which  we  can  trace  five 
principles,  summarily  stated  in  modern  terms  as 
follows,  (a)  Human  nature  is  conceived  as  a  unity ; 
there  is  no  dualism  of  body  and  soul  as  in  Greek 
thought,  and  consequently  no  asceticism.  Man 
becomes  man  by  the  vitalization  of  a  physical 
organism  (for  which  Hebrew  has  no  word)  by  a 
breath-soul  (nephesh,  ruah} ;  death  is  their  divorce, 
and  they  have  no  separate  history,  (b)  Man  de- 
pends absolutely  on  God  for  his  creation  and  con- 
tinued existence ;  his  inner  life  is  easily  accessible 
to  spiritual  influences  from  without,  bo  h  for  good 
and  for  evil,  (c)  Man  is  morally  responsible  for  his 
conduct,  because  ultimately  free  to  choose ;  if  he 
chooses  to  rebel  against  the  declared  will  of  God, 
he  will  suffer  for  his  sin.  (d)  The  will  of  God  gives 
a  central  place  to  the  realization  of  social  righteous- 
ness, the  right  relation  of  man  to  man.  (e)  In  the 
purposes  of  God  man  has  consequently  a  high  place, 
as  in  the  visible  world  he  has  a  unique  dignity.  In 
the  period  between  the  OT  and  the  NT,  this  con- 
ception of  human  nature  received  two  important 
developments  (cf.  W.  Fairweather,  The  Background 
of  the  Gospels2,  1911,  pp.  283-291).  From  the 
Maccabaean  age  onwards  there  is  a  much  more 
pronounced  individualism  ;  along  with  this  there 
is  the  extension  of  human  personality  into  a  life 
beyond  death.  Both  developments  are  begun  in 
the  OT  itself  ;  but  neither  beginning  is  comparable 
in  importance  with  the  established  doctrine  of  the 
time  of  Christ.  These  two  developments,  separ- 
ately and  in  union,  formed  a  most  important  con- 
tribution to  the  Christian  interpretation  of  human 
nature.  But  its  foundation  was  already  laid  in  the 
OT,  the  main  ideas  of  which  Jesus  liberated  from 
the  restraints  of  Jewish  nationalism  to  incorporate 
them  into  a  universal  faith.  He  gave  them  a  new 
religious  significance  by  His  conception  of  the 
Father.  He  added  the  purified  ethical  content  of 
the  prophetic  teaching  to  the  current  supernatural- 
ism  of  apocalyptic  writers,  purged  of  its  vagaries. 
In  His  own  person,  He  gave  to  man  an  example,  a 
motive,  and  an  approach  to  God  which  have  made 
His  teaching  a  religion  as  well  as  a  philosophy. 
The  result  is  seen  in  the  Christian  doctrine  of  man, 


pre-snpposed  by  apostolic  evangelism,  and  adum- 
brated in  apostolic  writings.  Three  types  of  this 
may  be  studied  in  the  pages  of  the  NT,  viz.  the 
Pauline  and  the  Johannine  (the  latter  in  large 
measure  a  development  of  the  former),  and  what 
may  be  called  the  non-mystical  type,  as  inclusive 
of  the  other  material  (chiefly  Hebrews,  1  Peter, 
James). 

1.  Pauline  anthropology.— Perhaps  any  formal 
statement  of  St.  Paul's  conception  of  human  nature 
is  apt  to  misrepresent  him.  The  data  are  frag- 
mentary and  occasional ;  the  form  is,  for  the  most 
part,  unsystematic ;  the  interest  of  the  writer  is 
experiential,  and  his  aims  are  practical.  It  is  not 
easy  to  recover  the  full  content  of  his  thought- 
world.  But  we  probably  come  nearest  to  it  when 
we  recognize  that  he  continues  the  lines  of  OT 
thought  indicated  above,  with  a  deepening  of 
ethical  contrast  (not  to  be  identified  with  Greek 
dualism),  and,  in  particular,  with  an  emphasis  on 
the  Spirit  of  God  in  Christ  as  the  normal  basis  of 
the  Christian  life.  This  last  is  characteristically 
Pauline,  and  forms  St.  Paul's  chief  contribution  to 
the  present  subject.  Recognition  of  the  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  belongs  to  early  Christianity 
in  general,  and  marks  it  off  from  the  religious  life 
and  thought  of  contemporary  Judaism  (cf.  W. 
Bousset,  Die  Religion  ctes  Judentums*,  1906,  p. 
458).  The  specifically  Pauline  doctrine  of  life  in 
the  Spirit  is  a  legitimate  development  of  OT  ideas. 
But  it  may  well  have  been  quickened  by  current 
Hellenistic  ideas  of  a  Divine  TrveO/xa  (on  which  see 
H.  Siebeck,  Geschichte  der  Psychologic,  1884,  ii. 
130-160).  Similar  influences  may  have  contributed 
to  the  accentuation  of  the  ethical  contrast  already 
indicated  between  the  pneumatic  and  psychic,  the 
inner  and  the  outer  man.  But  the  real  principle 
of  this  Pauline  contrast  is  already  implicit  in  the 
OT  differentiation  of  ruah  (irvev/j.a)  and  nephesh 
('/'I'*7?)-  On  this  side  of  Pauline  thought,  the 
Greek  influences  seem  often  to  have  been  over- 
emphasized (e.g.  by  Holtzmann,  Neutest.  Theologie, 
1897,  ii.  13ff.). 

(a)  St.  Paul  conceives  human  life  as  an  integral 
element  in  a  vast  cosmic  drama.  This  conception 
receives  graphic  illustration  when  he  compares  the 
suffering  apostles  with  those  doomed  to  death  in 
the  arena :  '  We  are  made  a  spectacle  unto  the 
world,  both  to  angels  and  men  (1  Co  4tf).  Man 
plays  his  part  before  an  audience  invisible  as  well 
as  visible ;  nor  are  those  whose  eyes  are  turned 
upon  him  mere  spectators.  There  is  arrayed 
against  the  righteous  man  a  multitude  of  spiritual 
forces :  '  our  wrestling  is  not  against  flesh  and 
blood,  but  against  the  principalities,  against  the 
powers,  against  the  world-rulers  of  this  darkness, 
against  the  spiritual  hosts  of  wickedness  in  the 
heavenly  places'  (Eph  612).  At  the  head  of  this 
kingdom  of  evil  is  Satan,  '  the  prince  of  the  power 
of  the  air,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  sons 
of  disobedience '  (Eph  22 ;  cf.  2  Th  29),  to  whom  is 
to  be  ascribed  the  power  to  work  both  physical 
(1  Co  5s,  2  Co  127)  and  moral  (1  Co  78 ;  cf.  2  Co  11s) 
evil.  Similar  to  this  was  the  general  outlook  of 
contemporary  Judaism  ;  the  distinctive  feature  in 
the  case  of  St.  Paul  was  his  faith  that  victorious 
energies  for  good  were  mediated  through  Christ. 
This  conception  of  '  the  Lord  the  Spirit '  (2  Co  3le) 
sprang  from  St.  Paul's  experience  on  the  road  to 
Damascus,  by  which  he  was  convinced  of  the 
continued  existence,  the  Divine  authority,  and  the 
spiritual  power  of  Christ.  Union  with  Christ, 
thus  conceived  (1  Co  617),  brought  the  Christian 
into  a  new  realm  of  powers  and  possibilities.  No 
longer  dismayed  by  the  spiritual  host  arrayed 
against  him,  hitherto  so  often  victorious  over  his 
fleshly  weakness,  the  Christian  became  conscious 
'  in  Christ '  that  God  was  for  him,  and  convinced 


MAN 


MAN 


that  none  could  prevail  against  him,  through  the 
practical  operation  of  spiritual  energies  within  him. 
He  must  indeed  be  made  manifest  before  the  judg- 
ment-seat of  Christ,  but  that  thought  could  bring 
no  terror  to  one  who  was  already  '  in  Christ.'  The 
Christian  warrior  (Eph  6lu£-)  shares  in  the  conflict 
of  Christ,  whose  final  victory  (1  Co  15>24f>)  is  to  be 
the  last  act  of  the  great  cosmic  drama.  The  fact 
that,  at  its  culmination,  God  shall  be  all  in  all 
(v.28)  is  significant  of  the  whole  character  of  this 
interpretation  of  life.  There  is  here  no  Gnostic 
dualism ;  the  evil  of  the  world  is  moral,  not 
physical,  in  its  origin,  and  the  cosmic  issues  are 
safe  in  the  hands  of  the  one  and  only  God.  The 
way  in  which  the  cosmic  forces  are  imagined  and 
described  betrays  Jewish  origin  ;  but  this  ought 
not  to  prejudice  the  great  principles  involved. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  whole  outlook 
gives  to  man's  life  a  meaning  and  a  dignity  which 
are  a  fit  development  of  the  high  calling  assigned 
to  him  in  the  OT. 

(b)  Because  this  cosmic  conflict  is  essentially 
moral,  its  peculiar  battle-field  is  the  heart  of  man. 
There  the  cosmic  drama  is  repeated  in  miniature — 
or  rather,  there  the  issues  of  the  world  conflict  are 
focused.  The  cardinal  passage  is,  of  course,  Ko  7, 
and  this  chapter,  rather  than  the  5th,  should  be 
the  point  of  departure  for  any  statement  of  Pauline 
anthropology.  St.  Paul  is  analyzing  his  own 
moral  and  religious  experience  prior  and  up  to  his 
deliverance  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  But  he  does 
this  in  general  terms,  implying  that  it  is  substanti- 
ally true  for  all  men,  since  even  the  Gentiles  have 
the  requirements  of  the  Law  written  in  their 
hearts  (216).  The  Jewish  Law,  'whose  silent  rolls, 
in  their  gaily  embroidered  cover,  the  child  in  the 
s}-nagogue  had  seen  from  afar  with  awe  and 
curiosity'  (Deissmann,  Paulus,  1911,  p.  64),  became 
eloquent  to  St.  Paul  as  a  unique  revelation  of 
man's  duty,  imperfect  only  in  the  sense  that  devo- 
tion to  it  could  not  generate  the  moral  energy 
necessary  to  the  fulfilment  of  its  high  demands. 
Without  such  new  motive  power,  man  is  helpless, 
for  on  his  physical  side  he  belongs  to  the  realm 
of  fleshly  weakness,  the  antithesis  to  that  of  the 
Spirit  to  which  the  Law  itself  belongs  (Ro  714). 
Through  this  weakness,  he  has  been  taken  captive 
by  Sin,  conceived  as  an  external,  personalized 
activity  (vv.8- 2S).  Yet  the  vovs,  or  inner  man, 
desires  to  obey  that  spiritual  Law,  for  there  is 
a  spiritual  element  (rtiah]  in  human  nature  (816). 
St.  Paul  does  not  contemplate  the  case  of  the  man 
who  in  his  inmost  heart  does  not  desire  to  obey 
that  Law,  any  more  than  the  OT  sacrifices  provide 
for  deliberate,  voluntary  sin.  He  is  concerned 
with  his  own  experience  as  a  zealous  Pharisee, 
eager  to  find  the  secret  of  morality,  and  discovering 
instead  his  own  captivity  to  sin.  The  body  of  flesh 
is  found  to  be,  for  a  reason  other  than  that  of 
Plato's  dualism,  the  prison-house  of  the  soul.  The 
actiial  deliverance  from  this  death-bringing  cap- 
tivity St.  Paul  had  found  in  the  new  spiritual 
energies  which  reinforced  his  captive  will  'in 
Christ.'  These  gave  him  a  present  moral  victory 
over  his  '  psychic '  nature,  and  the  promise  of  the 
ultimate  replacement  of  this  inadequate  organism 
by  a  '  pneumatic '  body.  Sin  thus  lost  the  advan- 
tage gained  by  its  insidious  use  of  Law  (7n)  and 
could  be  overcome  by  those  who  were  led  by  the 
Spirit  (814,  Gal  518).  For  where  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  is,  there  is  liberty  (2  Co  317}. 

Several  points  should  be  particularly  noticed  in 
this  generalized,  yet  most  vivid,  transcript  from 
experience.  In  the  first  place,  St.  Paul  does  not, 
here  or  elsewhere,  regard  the  'flesh'  (ffdp£)  as 
essentially  evil,  but  as  essentially  weak.  It  is 
therefore  accessible  to  the  forces  of  evil,  affording 
to  them  an  obvious  base  of  operations  in  their 


siege  of  the  inner  or  'spiritual'  man.  If  it  be 
urged  that  sin  is  not  committed  until  the  inner 
man  yields  to  the  attack  of  sin,  we  must  remember 
that  the  Hebrew  psychology  (which  supplies  the 
real  content  of  St.  Paul's  Greek  terms)  regarded 
the  '  flesh'  (basar)  as  a  genuine  element  in  human 
personality,  alive  psychically  as  well  as  physically. 
The  man  did  sin  when  the  weakest  part  of  his 
personality,  viz.  the  flesh,  yielded  to  sin.  The 
often  alleged  dualism  of  St.  Paul  thus  becomes  the 
conflict  between  the  stronger  and  the  weaker 
elements  in  the  unity  of  personality.  Secondly, 
the  whole  of  Christian  character  and  conduct  is 
related  to  the  dominating  conception  of  the  Lord 
the  Spirit.  Through  this  conception  St.  Paul  was 
able  to  unite  two  lines  of  OT  development,  viz. 
the  experience  of  continuous  fellowship  with  God 
which  sprang  from  the  realization  of  ethical  ideals, 
and  the  doctrine  of  the  intermittent  and  '  occa- 
sional '  Spirit  of  God.  One  of  St.  Paul's  greatest 
services  to  Christian  thought  has  been  to  unite 
these  two  lines,  and  to  unite  them  in  Christ.  The 
Spirit  of  God,  acting  through  Christ,  becomes  the 
normal  principle  of  Christian  morality,  and,  con- 
sequently, of  permanent  fellowship  with  God. 
Thirdly,  St.  Paul  gives  no  indication  that  actual 
sin  is  anything  but  what  the  OT  religion  made 
it — the  rebellion  of  the  human  will  against  the 
Divine.  In  Ro  7  he  recognizes  no  '  original  sin,'  no 
hereditary  influence  even,  as  active  in  producing 
the  captivity  from  which  the  Spirit  of  Christ  de- 
livers. That  captivity  is  traced  to  the  deceitful 
attack  made  on  each  successive  individual  by  sin, 
the  external  enemy. 

(c)  From  this  point  of  view,  we  may  best  approach 
what  St.  Paul  has  to  say  of  the  racial  history.  For 
this  the  cardinal  passage  is  Ro  512"21 — a  passage 
difficult  to  interpret,  not  only  because  of  its  abrupt 
transitions,  but  even  more  because,  in  conventional 
theology,  the  later  system  of  Augustinian  anthro- 
pology has  been  welded  into  it.  St.  Paul  is  in  these 
verses  contrasting  Adam  and  Christ  as,  in  some 
sense,  both  unique  in  their  influence  on  human 
history  ;  the  debatable  point  is,  in  what  sense  ? 
The  entrance  of  death  into  the  world  is  clearly 
ascribed  to  Adam's  sin,  just  as  the  entrance  of  new 
life  is  ascribed  to  Christ's  obedience  (v.17).  But 
when  we  read  that '  through  one  man's  disobedience 
the  many  were  made  sinners'  (v.ia),  we  must  not 
assume  with  Augustine  that  this  refers  to  the 
peccatum  originale  handed  down  by  the  inherent 
concupiscentia  of  the  sexual  act ;  nor  must  we  be 
influenced  unconsciously  by  the  popular  science  of 
to-day,  so  as  to  imagine  that  there  is  a  reference 
to  heredity.  Here,  as  in  the  well-known  saying 
quoted  by  both  Jeremiah  (3129)  and  Ezekiel  (188) — 
'  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes,  and  the 
children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge'— it  is  not  the 
biological  succession  of  individuals  that  is  in  view, 
but  the  far-reaching  conception  of  '  corporate  re- 
sponsibility,' as  the  protest  of  those  two  prophets 
makes  evident  enough.  In  their  assertion  of 
moral  individualism  St.  Paul  would  have  joined 
heartily ;  but  his  recognition  of  the  individual 
relation  of  men  to  God  does  not  prevent  him  from 
accepting  the  fact  that  the  Ishmaelites  were  cast 
out  in  Hagar's  son  (Gal  430),  and  that  the  Edomites 
were  'hated'  in  Esau  (Ro  913).  Just  as  Achan's 
sin  brought  death  on  his  whole  family,  since  it 
brought  them  as  a  group  under  the  ban  (Jos  724-  **), 
so  Adam's  sin  brought  death  on  the  whole  human 
race,  since  it  constituted  them  '  sinners  '  as  a  group. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  St.  Paul  adds  that  all  men 
have  actually  sinned,  though,  prior  to  the  giving 
of  explicit  law,  their  sin  was  different  in  kind  from 
Adam's  wilful  disobedience  (Ro  512'14).  But  St. 
Paul  does  not  connect  this  universality  of  actual 
sin  in  the  race,  which  has  justified  the  Divine 


MAN 


MAN 


sentence  of  death  upon  it,  with  the  initial  sin  of 
Adam,  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  them  effect  and 
cause.  Such  a  connexion  may  seem  obvious  to 
a  mind  prepossessed  by  Augustinian  anthro- 
pology on  the  one  hand,  or  by  popular  biological 
science  on  the  other ;  but  there  is  no  proof 
that  it  was  obvious  to  St.  Paul.  In  fact,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  evidence  of  Ro  7  is  the  other 
way.  Adam's  sin  was,  indeed,  fatal  to  man,  since 
it  brought  the  Divine  penalty  of  death  upon  the 
race ;  but  St.  Paul  recognizes  to  the  full  the  indi- 
vidual freedom  and  responsibility  of  its  individual 
members,  who  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  Adam. 
It  should  be  noted  that  contemporary  Jewish 
theology  gives  no  sufficient  warrant  for  ascribing 
a  doctrine  of  '  original  sin '  to  St.  Paul's  teachers, 
but  only  for  ascribing  to  them  the  doctrine  of  the 
yezer  hara,  the  evil  impulse  present  in  Adam  and 
in  successive  individuals  of  his  race,  though  not  due 
to  his  sin  (cf.  F.  C.  Porter's  essay  on  this  subject 
in  Biblical  and  Semitic  Studies  [Yale  Bicentennial 
Publications],  1901,  pp.  93-156).  Men  acted  like 
Adam  because  they  themselves  had  the  evil  heart 
(4  Ezr.  iii.  26).  In  this  way,  '  every  one  of  us  has 
been  the  Adam  of  his  own  soul '  (Apoc.  Bar.  Hv.  19). 
We  may  reasonably  conjecture,  in  the  light  of  Ro  7, 
that  this  substantially  represents  St.  Paul's  posi- 
tion. But  he  has  not  definitely  said  this  ;  in  Ro  5 
his  interest  lies  in  the  relation  not  of  Adam  to  the 
race,  but  of  Adam  to  Christ,  i.e.,  in  the  antithesis 
of  death  and  life,  of  the  psychic  and  pneumatic 
orders  of  humanity.  His  point  in  Ro  5  is  fairly 
summed  up  in  1  Co  1522  :  '  As  in  Adam  all  die, 
so  also  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive.'  The 
Church,  as  the  body  of  Christ  (1  Co  1212-  *)  is  a 
new  organism  of  life  within  the  present  general 
environment  of  death.  The  final  redemption  of 
the  Christian  will  consist  in  the  quickening  of  this 
mortal  body  of  flesh — 'the  body  of  this  death' — 
into  a  spiritual  body  (Ro  811,  1  Co  1544),  a  body 
like  that  of  the  Risen  Lord  (Ph  321).  Thus  St. 
Paul  looks  forward  to  escape  from  the  fleshly 
weakness  of  the  body,  not,  as  a  Greek  might  have 
done,  along  the  line  of  the  soul's  inherent  im- 
mortality, but,  as  a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews,  in 
the  hope  of  receiving  a  body  more  adequate  to 
the  needs  of  the  soul.  The  resurrection  of  the 
(spiritually  transformed)  body  will  create  anew  the 
unity  of  personality,  which  pliysical  death  destroys. 
In  view  of  the  assertion  that  'flesh  and  blood 
cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God '  (1  Co  1550),  we 
may  perhaps  suppose  that  St.  Paul  would  postulate 
the  original  mortality  of  human  nature,  with  a 
potential  immortality  lost  through  sin  (Ro  512). 

2.  Johannine  anthropology. — The  NT  enables 
us  to  trace  a  further  development  of  the  Pauline 
anthropology  in  that  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  the 
First  Epistle  of  John.  '  John,'  as  Deissmann  has 
said,  '  is  the  oldest  and  greatest  interpreter  of 
St.  Paul';  his  writings  form  'the  most  striking 
monument  of  the  most  genuine  understanding 
of  Pauline  mysticism'  (op.  cit.  pp.  4,  90).  The 
Johannine  development  is  towards  greater  affinity 
with  Greek  thought,  the  Logos  doctrine  (cf.  the 
parallel  phenomenon  in  Philo)  being  the  most 
notable  example  of  it.  This  greater  adaptation  to 
the  thought  and  experience  of  a  Greek  world  ex- 
plains the  greater  influence  of  the  Johannine 
presentation  of  the  gospel  on  the  earlier  theology 
of  the  Church.  The  more  Hebrew  anthropology 
of  St.  Paul  had,  in  large  measure,  to  wait  for 
those  thinkers  of  the  West  who  culminated  in 
Augustine.  St.  Paul's  more  subjective  and  indi- 
vidualistic outlook  is,  indeed,  harder  to  realize 
than  that  broad  display  of  great  contrasts  which 
gives  to  the  Fourth  Gospel  part  of  its  fascination 
for  simple  souls.  In  these  contrasts  we  may  see 
the  emergence  of  the  opposing  realms  of  Jewish 


apocalypse  (cf.  Fairweather,  op.  cit.  p.  295).  The 
sense  of  a.  present  judgment,  however,  constituted 
by  the  simple  presence  of  Christ,  the  Light  of  Life 
in  this  dark  world  (319  1231),  replaces  the  eschato- 
logical  outlook  of  the  Synoptics. 

(a)  The  opposition  of  the  world  and  God  is  the 
primary  Johannine  emphasis.     Interest  is  trans- 
ferred from  the  Pauline  struggle  within  the  soul 
(e.g.  Ro  7,  Gal  517)  to  the  external  conflict  which 
gathers  around  the  Person  of  Christ.     The  world 
(a  characteristic  Johaunine  term)  is  the  realm  of 
darkness  (Jn  1s  319  etc.),  sin  (77),  and  death  (524, 
1  Jn  3").    Christ  is  the  Light  of  the  world  (Jn  812), 
its  Saviour  from  sin  (I29  317),  and  its  Life  (316  G68). 
His  conflict  with  that  darkness  which  is  sin,  and 
issues  in  death,  is  continued  by  His  Spirit  (168). 
Sin  is  defined  in  the  characteristic  Pauline  (Hebrew) 
way  as  '  lawlessness '  ( 1  Jn  34)  ;  it  is  a  voluntary 
act  (Jn  9"),  and  reaches  its  culmination  in  the 
wilful  rejection   of  life   in  Christ  (5*°;    cf.    169). 
Thus    the    conflict    remains    essentially    ethical, 
though    it    is  more  objectively  presented.      The 
protagonist  on  the  side  of  evil  is  the  devil,  who 
stands  behind  the  evil-doer  as  his  spiritual  parent 
(S44) ;  the  world  lies  in  his  power  (1  Jn  5la),  and  he 
is  its  prince  (Jn  1231  1430  16"). 

(b)  The  spiritual  transformation  of  individual 
men  from  lovers  of  darkness  (319)  to  sons  of  light 
(1236)  is  conceived  both  biologically  as  a  new  birth, 
and  psychologically  as  a  product  of  faith  ;  no  formal 
attempt  is  made  to  correlate  these  two  ways  of 
describing  the  change,  or  to  solve  the  problem  of 
the  relation  of  Divine  and  human  factors  in  con- 
version.    John  specializes  the  Pauline   idea  of  a 
'  new  creation '  (2  Co  517,  Gal  615)  into  that  of  a  new 
birth  (Jn  3s),  which  springs  from  a  Divine  seed  (1 
Jn  39).     This  spiritual  birth  (much  more  than  a 
mere  metaphor)  is  sharply  contrasted  with  natural 
birth  (Jn  I13).     The  new  life  it  initiates  is  ascribed 
to  the  Spirit  of  God  (36),  and  is  nourished  sacra- 
mentally  (35  653).     The  contrast  of  Spirit  and  flesh 
is  not,  however,  dualistic  in  the  Gnostic  sense  (cf. 
the  rejection  of  docetic  tendencies) ;  it  springs,  as 
in  St.  Paul's  case,  from  the  OT  contrast  of  their 
respective  power  and  weakness,  as  seen  in  their 
ethical  consequences  (II  Jn  216).     This  new  birth 
from  the    Spirit  has    its  conscious    side    in    the 
believer's  faith  (Jn  I12) ;  that  there  is  no  contra- 
diction between  the  two  ideas  is  shown  by  such 
a  passage  as  1  Jn  51 :  '  Whosoever  believeth  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  begotten  of  God.'    Such  belief 
primarily  concerns  the  Divine  mission  of  Christ 
(Jn  1244  178*  21),  knowledge  of  which  is  imparted 
through  His  '  words '  (6s8),  which  are  themselves 
Spirit  and  life  (v.63).   It  will  be  seen  that  faith  has  a 
more  intellectual  content  for  St.  John  than  for  St. 
Paul,   though  it  does  not  forfeit  its  essentially 
mystical  character ;  belief  in  the  mission  of  Christ 
marks  a  stage  of  development  later  than  the  faith 
of  direct  moral  surrender  to  Him.    The  ethical 
emphasis  is  still  fundamental  in  this  Johannine 
conception  of  faith,  as  is  shown  by  the  recognition 
that '  obedience  is  the  organ  of  spiritual  knowledge' 
(717;  cf.  F.  W.  Robertson,  Sermons,  2nd  ser.,  1875, 
pp.   94-105).     The  intimate  relation  of  character 
and  faith  is  further  suggested  by  the  assertion  that 
'  Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth  heareth  my  voice ' 
(1837),  i.e.,  that  there  is  an  intrinsic  affinity  between 
truth  and  the  Truth  (146). 

(c)  The  product  of  this  '  faith-birth '  is  eternal 
life,  a  term  as  central  for  St.  John  as  '  righteous- 
ness '  is  for  St.  Paul,  and  one  that  characteristically 
marks  St.  John's    more  Greek    and  less  Jewish 
atmosphere.     This  eternal  life  is  life  like  Christ's 
(1  Jn  32),  and  is  nourished  by  such  a  relation  to 
Him  as  the  allegory  of  the  Vine  (Jn  15)  suggests. 
The  peculiar  mark  of  this  life  is  that '  love '  which 
St.  Paul  had  described  as  the  greatest  amongst 


MAN 


MAS 


abiding  realities  :  '  We  know  that  we  have  passed 
out  of  death  into  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren ' 
( 1  Jn  314).  In  such  life  sin  has  no  place  as  a  fixed 
habit  of  character  (518) ;  sin  unto  death  (219  516),  in 
fact,  would  show  that  there  had  been  no  genuine 
entrance  into  life.  For  single  acts  of  sin  confessed 
there  is  forgiveness  and  cleansing  (I9).  The  issue 
of  sin  is  death  (Jn  S24),  whereas  Christ  teaches  that 
'  if  any  man  keep  my  word  he  shall  never  see  death ' 
(v.B1;  cf.  II25-  'x').  Except  for  one  passage  (529),  in 
which  the  term  'the  resurrection  of  judgment' 
may  have  become  a  conventional  phrase,  resurrec- 
tion appears  to  be  confined  to  the  believer  (640), 
and  is  intended,  as  with  St.  Paul,  to  restore  the 
full  personality.  Eternal  life  is  already  the 
believer's  possession  (1  Jn  513),  and  the  future  life 
is  really  the  direct  development  of  what  is  begun 
here.  In  this  way,  faith  is  the  victory  that  hath 
overcome  the  world  (54). 

3.  Non-mystical  anthropology. — The  apostolic 
writings  other  than  those  of  the  Pauline  and 
Johannine  group  hardly  supply  sufficient  data  to 
make  a  detailed  statement  of  their  distinctive  con- 
ceptions of  human  nature  practicable.  There  are, 
however,  a  number  of  incidental  references  of  con- 
siderable interest.  The  psychology  of  temptation 
as  given  in  the  Epistle  of  James  (I13-15)  singles  out 
desire  as  the  parent  of  sin,  and  makes  death  the 
natural  issue  of  sin,  in  a  sequence  that  should  be 
compared  with  the  fuller  Pauline  analysis  in  flo  1. 
The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  teaches  that  the  wilful 
sin  of  apostasy  after  a  genuine  Christian  experience 
excludes  a  second  repentance  ;  the  appended  illus- 
tration of  the  fruitless  land  suggests  that  those 
who  commit  this  sin  are  incapable  of  repentance 
(64'8;  cf.  1217).  The  Petrine  reference  to  'the 
spirits  in  prison'  (1  P  319'20  45)  has  afforded  a  basis 
for  much  speculation  on  the  possibility  of  moral 
change  after  death.  Of  more  importance  than 
these  isolated  points  is  the  general  characteristic 
that  distinguishes  Hebrews,  1  Peter,  and  James 
from  the  Pauline  (and  Johannine)  writings,  viz. 
the  absence  of  the  idea  of  faith  as  involving  mys- 
tical union  with  Christ.  In  the  Ep.  to  the  Hebrews, 
according  to  the  underlying  idea  of  the  high  priest 
in  the  OT,  Christ  rather  represents  man  before  God 
than  brings  the  energies  of  God  into  the  world. 
Faith  in  His  work  means  confidence  to  approach 
God  through  Him  (414'18  1019-22).  Through  Christ, 
according  to  this  Epistle,  the  realities  of  the  unseen 
world  (II1)  find  their  supreme  substantiation ; 
whereas,  for  St.  Paul,  Christ  was  primarily  the 
source  of  new  energy  to  achieve  the  ideal,  a  new 
dynamic  within  the  believer  who  is  mystically 
united  to  Him.  The  more  objective  conception  of 
faith  in  the  Ep.  to  the  Hebrews  (along  a  different 
line  from  that  of  the  Johannine  tendency  noticed 
above)  is  further  illustrated  by  the  outlook  in 
1  Peter,  where  the  example  of  Christ  is  specially  em- 
phasized (I15  221 41).  This  non-mystical  Christianity 
finds  its  most  extreme  example  in  the  polemic  of 
St.  James  against  faith  without  works  (214'26).  The 
Pauline  faith  as  a  mystical  energy  is  here  appar- 
ently misunderstood  and  taken  to  be  a  bare  in- 
tellectual assent.  The  presence  within  the  NT  of 
this  more  prosaic  type  of  Christian  experience  is 
of  considerable  interest.  It  reminds  us  that  the 
non-mystical  temperament  has  its  own  legitimate 
place  and  can  make  its  own  characteristic  contri- 
bution ;  indeed,  the  genuine  mystic  will  probably 
always  belong  to  the  minority.  This  non-mystical 
background  to  the  Pauline- Johannine  anthropology 
is  indeed  more  than  background ;  it  probably 
represents  the  general  type  of  Christian  ethics  in 
the  1st  century.  A  notable  example  of  this  may 
be  seen  in  the  Didacke  (c.  A.D.  120).  The  first  five 
chapters  form  a  manual  of  instruction  for  baptismal 
candidates  (cf.  §  7,  '  Having  first  recited  all  these 


things'),  and  are  concerned  with  the  moral  dis- 
tinctions of  right  and  wrong  in  practical  life — the 
'Two  Ways' — without  a  touch  of  Pauline  'mys- 
ticism.' This  may  be  further  illustrated  from  the 
Epistle  of  Clement  of  Home  to  the  Corinthians,  at 
the  end  of  the  1st  century  :  '  If  our  mind  be  fixed 
through  faith  towards  God  ;  if  we  seek  out  those 
things  which  are  well  pleasing  and  acceptable  unto 
Him  ;  if  we  accomplish  such  things  as  beseem  His 
faultless  will,  and  follow  the  way  of  truth,  cast- 
ing off  from  ourselves  all  unrighteousness  and 
iniquity,'  we  shall  be  '  partakers  of  His  promised 
gifts'  (xxxv.  5).  We  have  only  to  compare  such 
an  attitude  with  that  underlying  the  moral  exhor- 
tations of  St.  Paul  in  his  Letters  to  the  same  Church 
(transformation  through  the  Lord  the  Spirit)  to  feel 
the  externalism  of  the  later  writer  and  the  inward- 
ness of  the  earlier.  We  must  not,  of  course,  forget 
the  mysticism  of  Ignatius,  to  which  must  now  be 
added  that  of  the  Odes  of  Solomon,  as  implying  a 
deeper  interpretation  of  human  nature.  But  the 
Pauline  anthropology  can  have  been  little  under- 
stood, and  in  the  neglect  of  it  lay  already  some  of 
the  seeds  of  anthropological  controversy  in  the  days 
of  Augustine  and  of  the  Reformation.  Failure  to 
understand  the  Pauline  experience  robbed  the  early 
Church  of  an  important  part  of  its  inheritance. 

Conclusion. — An  exegetical  survey  of  the  apo- 
stolic anthropology  must  frankly  recognize  the 
existence  of  various  problems — e.g.  the  relation  of 
human  freedom  to  Divine  control — not  only  un- 
solved by  the  writers,  but  hardly  realized  by  them. 
We  must  not,  under  the  guise  of  '  exegesis,'  read 
our  later  dogmatic  or  philosophical  solutions  into 
these  lacunae.  But  neither  must  we,  because  of 
their  existence,  under-estimate  the  value  of  the 
contribution  made  by  these  writers  to  a  doctrine 
of  human  nature.  Primarily,  no  doubt,  the  NT 
supplies  data  for  all  Christian  theories  rather  than 
dogmatic  solutions  of  the  problems  which  Christian 
experience  raises.  But  that  experience,  as  re- 
corded in  the  NT,  rests  on  an  acceptance  of  certain 
fundamental  truths — on  the  one  hand,  the  worth 
of  human  nature  and  its  responsibility  to  God  ;  on 
the  other,  the  reality  of  that  spiritual  world  which 
men  enter  through  Christ.  We  are  made  most 
effectually  to  feel  the  far-reaching  power  of  those 
truths  in  their  simple  majesty  when  we  read  the 
story  of  His  life.  But  they  are  not  absent  from 
any  of  the  pages  of  the  NT.  Indeed,  its  subtle 
fascination,  its  peculiar  and  unique  atmosphere,  its 
constant  vision  of  a  land  of  distances,  are  largely 
due  to  the  presence  and  interaction  of  these  truths. 
Even  the  book  which  reveals  most  clearly  its  debt 
to  Jewish  supernaturalism,  the  Apocalypse,  begins 
with  the  vision  of  the  Risen  Lord  amongst  the 
golden  lampstands  of  His  Churches,  and  ends  with 
the  recognition  of  individual  freedom  and  its 
momentous  issues  (Rev  2211).  These  truths,  like 
their  Lord  in  His  incarnation,  may  seem  to  have 
emptied  themselves  of  their  universality  in  taking 
the  form  natural  to  the  first  Christian  generation. 
But,  like  Him,  they  have  proved  their  power  as 
the  perennial  basis  of  Christian  thinking.  Neither 
the  science  nor  the  philosophy  of  the  present  day 
has  any  quarrel  with  them.  We  are  happily 
leaving  behind  us  the  naturalism  which  looked  on 
men  as  'streaks  of  morning  cloud,'  which  soon 
'  shall  have  melted  into  the  infinite  azure  of  the 
past'  (Tyndall's  Belfast  Address  to  British  Asso- 
ciation, 1874).  The  modern  interest  in  the  psy- 
chology of  religion,  combined  with  the  growing 
emphasis  of  philosophy  on  personality,  may  well 
become  the  prelude  to  a  genuine  revival  of  Paulin- 
ism,  destined  to  be  not  less  influential  than  that  of 
the  Reformation. 

LITERATURE. — (a)  Relevant  sections  of  the  chief  works  on  NT 
Theology,  e.g.  those  of  B.  Weiss  (Eng.  tr.,  1882-83),  W.  Bey- 


MAN  OF  SIX 


MAN  OF  SIN 


schlag  (Eng.  tr.,  1895),  H.  J.  Holtzmann  (21911),  J.  Bovon 
(21902-05),  G.  B.  Stevens  (1899).  (6)  Biblical  Anthropology : 
J.  Laidlaw,  The  Bible  Doctrine,  of  Han*,  1895 ;  E.  H.  van 
Leeuwen,  Bijbelsche  Anthropologie,  1906 ;  R.  S.  Franks, 
Man,  Sin,  and  Salvation  (Century  Bible  Handbooks,  1908) ;  H. 
Wheeler  Robinson,  The  Christian  Doctrine  of  if  an,  1911 ;  M. 
Scott  Fletcher,  The  Psychology  of  the  NT,  1912.  (c)  Special 
discussions  of  the  Pauline  doctrine  of  man,  as  a  whole  or  in 
some  of  its  aspects :  H.  Liidemann,  Die  Anthropologie  des 
Apostels  Paulus,  1872 ;  J.  Gloel,  Der  heilige  Geist  in  der 
Heilsverkiindigung  des  Paulus,  1888 ;  T.  Simon,  Die  Psycho- 
logie  des  Apostels  Paulus,  1897 ;  C.  Clemen,  Die  christliche 
Lehre  von  der  Sunde,  1897 ;  H.  Gunkel,  Die  Wirkungen  des 
heiligen  Geistes^,  1899  ;  E.  Sokolowski,  Die  Begriffe  Geist  und 
Leben  bei  Paulus.  1903;  F.  R.  Tennant,  Sources  of  the 
Doctrines  of  the  Fall  and  Original  Sin,  1903 ;  H.  Wheeler 
Robinson,  '  Hebrew  Psychology  in  Relation  to  Pauline  Anthro- 
pology,' in  Mansfield  College  Essays,  1909 ;  P.  Volz,  Der  Geitt 
Gottes,  1910 ;  J.  Moffatt,  Paul  and  Paulinism  (Modern  Re- 
ligious Problems,  1910) ;  G.  A.  Deissmann,  Paulus,  1911,  Eng. 

tr.,  1912.  H.  WHEELER  ROBINSON. 

HAN  OF  SIN  (2  Th  23 ;  RVm  '  man  of  lawless- 
ness,' substituting  the  better  reading  dvoytuaj  for 
afjLaprias  of  TR). — Apart  from  such  apparent  refer- 
ences to  the  subject  as  2  Co  615,  Col  215,  St.  Paul's 
doctrine  of  the  Antichrist  is  found  in  the  passage 
2  Th  21"12,  in  which  he  associates  '  the  coming  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ'  with  a  previous  'falling 
away '  or  apostasy  (airoo-raffla)  and  the  revelation  of 
'  the  man  of  lawlessness,'  whom  he  also  designates 
'  the  son  of  perdition  '  (v.s),  '  the  opponent '  (avriKei- 
nevos)  of  God  (v.4),  '  the  lawless  one'  (6  &vo/j.os,  v.8), 
whose  future  revelation  in  his  own  time,  however, 
is  anticipated  even  now  by  a  working  of  '  the 
mystery  of  lawlessness '  (v.').  The  revelation  of 
the  man  of  lawlessness,  he  further  says,  is  delayed 
by  a  restraining  power  which  he  refers  to  in  v.tf  as 
an  impersonal  influence  (TO  Kar^xov)  and  in  v.7  as 
an  actual  person  (6  Kurt^M).  From  the  days  of 
the  early  Fathers  the  interpretations  of  this  pas- 
sage have  been  exceedingly  various.  A  good  sum- 
mary of  the  history  of  previous  opinion  is  given  by 
H.  Alford  (Gr.  Test.*,  Hi.  [1871],  Proleg.,  p.  55  ff.), 
but  modern  scholars  are  agreed  in  holding  that  the 
Apostle  was  speaking  of  an  apocalypse  of  evil 
which  was  only  a  crowning  manifestation  of  con- 
temporary influences  hostile  to  God  and  His  King- 
dom (v.7),  and  of  a  restraining  power  within  the 
knowledge  of  the  Thessalonians  themselves  (v.6). 
They  are  also  generally  agreed  in  the  view  that 
the  two  magnitudes  which  underlay  the  Apostle's 
cryptic  language  in  regard  to  the  man  of  lawless- 
ness and  the  restrainer  are  to  be  found  in  Judaism 
and  the  Roman  Empire  as  represented  by  its  ruler. 
But  at  this  point  opinion  divides  into  two  exactly 
contradictory  theories,  each  of  which  is  able  to 
point  to  some  favouring  considerations  in  the 
language  used  by  the  Apostle. 

(1)  According  to  one  theory  the  man  of  lawless- 
ness is  Roman  Imperialism  with  the  Emperor  at 
its  head,  while  the  restraining  power  is  Judaism 
(for  a  clear  and  able  exposition  of  this  view  see  B. 
B.  Warfield  in  Expositor,  3rd  ser.  iv.  [1886]  40 ff.). 
The  deification  of  the  Emperors,  and  especially 
Caligula's  attempt  to  set  up  his  statue  in  the 
Temple  of  Jerusalem  (cf.  E.  Schurer,  HJP  I.  ii. 
[1890]  98  ff.),  certainly  afford  a  very  direct  explana- 
tion of  the  language  of  v.4  as  to  the  blasphemous 
pretensions  of  the  man  of  lawlessness.  Moreover, 
the  early  history  of  Christianity  suggests  that  it 
was  part  of  the  Divine  plan  that  the  new  religion 
should  be  developed  for  a  time  under  the  protect- 
ing shadow  of  Judaism  as  a  religio  licita.  The 
failure  of  the  Roman  authorities  at  first  to  dis- 
tinguish the  Church  from  the  Synagogue  (cf.  Ac 
Igw-isj  did  shelter  the  former  in  its  days  of  weak- 
ness from  the  persecuting  rage  of  pagan  Imperial- 
ism that  burst  upon  it  as  soon  as  its  separateness 
and  its  absolute  claims  were  clearly  recognized. 
But  the  objection  to  this  theory  is  that  it  attributes 
to  St.  Paul,  whose  authorship  of  2  Thess.  may  now 
be  assumed  with  some  confidence,  an  attitude  to 


Judaism  and  to  Rome  respectively  which  finds  no 
counterpart  either  in  the  Thessalonian  Epistles  or 
in  any  other  of  his  writings.  It  was  from  Judaism, 
not  from  the  Empire,  that  the  opposition  and  per- 
secution he  had  to  encounter  as  the  Apostle  of 
Christianity  invariably  came  (1  Th  214'16  ;  cf.  Acts, 
passim).  The  philosophic  historian  may  see  in 
Judaism  the  protective  sheath  of  the  opening  bud 
of  Christianity  ;  but  it  was  not  so  that  St.  Paul 
regarded  it.  On  the  contrary,  the  language  in 
which  he  describes  its  treatment  of  Christ  and  the 
gospel,  and  his  denunciation  of  the  wrath  of  God 
upon  it  (1  Th  21M-),  suggest  that  the  'mystery  of 
iniquity'  already  at  work  (2  Th  27)  was  nothing 
else  than  the  secret  ferment  of  its  own  anti-Chris- 
tian spirit.  And  Rome  with  its  Emperor  could 
hardly  be  the  man  of  lawlessness  to  St.  Paul,  not 
only  because  it  had  not  yet  begun  to  persecute  the 
Church,  but  because  he  sincerely  respected  its 
authority  as  a  power  ordained  of  God  (Ro  131'7), 
and  did  not  hesitate  to  appeal  to  Caesar  himself 
against  his  Jewish  enemies  (Ac  25Iof-). 

(2)  The  other  and  more  probable  theory,  accord- 
ingly, takes  the  man  of  lawlessness  to  be  anti- 
Christian  Judaism  coming  to  a  head  in  the  person 
of  a  pseudo-Messiah,  and  the  restraining  power  to  be 
the  Roman  Empire,  personified  in  the  Caesar  him- 
self. It  is  sometimes  objected  that  under  this 
theory  an  insuperable  difficulty  is  presented  by  v.4, 
as  it  would  be  contrary  to  the  r61e  of  a  Jewish 
Messiah  to  sit  in  the  Temple  of  God  and  set  himself 
forth  as  God.  But  this  is  to  overlook  the  fact  that 
we  have  to  do  here  with  an  apocalyptic  picture 
coloured  with  the  language  of  an  Or  apocalypse 
(cf.  Dn  II36)  and  influenced  by  the  Antichrist 
tradition  which  had  been  developing  in  Judaism 
ever  since  the  days  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  (see 
art.  ANTICHRIST,  1).  To  St.  Paul  as  a  Rabbinical 
scholar  the  portentous  figure  of  the  Jewish  Anti- 
christ, Satanic,  blasphemous,  and  God-defying, 
must  have  been  very  familiar.  His  familiarity 
with  it  may  be  traced  not  only  in  the  language  of 
v.4,  but  in  the  references  to  the  Beliar-Satan  con- 
ception which  are  present  in  the  passage.  In  v.9 
the  coming  of  the  man  of  lawlessness  is  said  to  be 
'according  to  the  working  of  Satan.'  And  E. 
Nestle  has  pointed  out  (ExpT  xvi.  [1904-05]  472) 
that  on  the  evidence  of  the  LXX  and  Aquila  T? 
aiToo-raffia  (v.8)  is  a  rendering  of  Heb.  ^t'^3,  6 
&i>6pwros  rrjs  dvo/j.las  (v.3)  of  ?%'}?$  »'x  ('man  of 
Belial'),  and  6  bv-riKeinevos  (v.4)  of  \$y.  The  Jewish 
conception  of  the  Antichrist,  not  as  a  mere  politi- 
cal figure  but  as  an  eschatological  monstrosity  in 
the  shape  of  a  diabolic  opponent  of  God,  St.  Paul 
boldly  transfers  from  the  sphere  of  paganism  in 
which  Jewish  apocalyptic  had  placed  it,  and  sets 
down  in  the  sphere  of  Judaism  itself.  Out  of 
Judaism  he  pictured  the  Antichrist  as  coming, 
though  there  are  features  in  his  representation 
which  imply  that  the  sway  of  the  man  of  lawless- 
ness would  extend  far  beyond  the  confines  of  Juda- 
ism —  that  he  would  cause  an  apostasy  in  the 
Church  (v.3),  that  he  would  break  down  the  re- 
straining power  of  the  Empire  (v.7),  that  he  would 
draw  after  him  a  deluded  and  perishing  world 
(vv.1(M2).  In  the  persistent  malevolence  of  his  own 
race  against  Christ  and  the  gospel,  the  Apostle 
saw  the  mystery  of  iniquity  working  ;  but  he  con- 
ceived of  that  malevolence  as  culminating  at  length 
in  the  appearance  of  an  Antichrist  endowed  with 
Satanic  and  superhuman  qualities,  who  would 
deceive  men  by  'power  and  signs  and  lying 
wonders'  (v.9ff-  ;  cf.  Mk  IS21'23),  and  whose  hostility 
to  the  truth  of  God  which  brings  salvation  would 
reach  its  climax  in  the  blasphemous  claim  to  be 
himself  Divine.  Then  Christ  would  return  to  a 
world  now  ripe  for  judgment,  slaying  the  lawless 
one  with  the  breath  of  His  mouth,  and  bringing 


MANAEN 


MARK  (JOHN) 


him  to  nought  by  the  manifestation  of  His  coming 

(v.8). 

LITERATURE. — Besides  the  references  given  in  the  art.,  and 
the  Literature  appended  to  art.  ANTICHRIST,  see  A.  Sabatier, 
The  Apostle  Paul,  Eng.  tr.,  1891,  p.  117  ff.  ;  B.  Weiss,  Biblical 
Theology  of  the  NT,  Eng.  tr.,  i.  [1882]  305  ff.  ;  J.  Moffatt,  The 
Historical  NT,  1901,  p.  142 ff.,  LNT,  1911,  p.  76 ff. 

J.  C.  LAMBERT. 

MANAEN  (Heb.  Menahem}.—As  St.  Luke  pre- 
faces his  account  of  the  Church  of  Jerusalem 
(Ac  1-5)  by  giving  a  list  of  the  apostles  who  were 
its  chiefs  and  leaders  (I28),  so  he  prefaces  his  account 
of  the  Church  of  Antioch,  and  the  missionary 
activity  of  which  it  was  the  centre,  by  a  list  of  the 
most  noted  prophets  and  teachers  who  were  con- 
nected with  it :  they  were  Barnabas,  and  Symeon 
called  Niger,  and  Lucius  the  Cyrenian,  and  Manaen, 
the  foster-brother  of  Herod  the  tetrarch,  and  Saul 
(131).  What  brought  Manaen  to  Antioch  we  do  not 
know.  As  foster-brother  or  playmate  of  Herod 
Antipas  (for  the  Greek  term  bears  either  meaning) 
he  must  have  been  brought  up  mainly  at  Jerusalem. 
The  connexion  between  Manaen  and  the  Herod 
family  seems  to  have  been  hereditary.  Josephus 
tells  (Ant.  XV.  x.  5)  the  story  of  an  elder  Manaen, 
father  or  uncle  of  the  present  one,  a  noted  Essene, 
who  made  a  prophecy  to  Herod  the  Great  that 
he  would  become  king  of  Judaea ;  and  when  the 
prophecy  was  fulfilled  Herod  treated  Manaen,  and 
the  Essene  sect  to  which  he  belonged,  with  great 
consideration.  If,  as  tradition  asserts,  St.  Luke  was 
a  native  of  Antioch  and  a  resident  there,  he  may 
well  have  known  Manaen  personally  and  have 
learnt  from  him  the  many  details  respecting  the 
Herod  family  which  he  has  introduced  into  both 
his  Gospel  and  the  Acts.  Of  Manaen's  subsequent 
career  we  know  nothing.  W.  A.  SPOONER. 

MANASSEH — See  TRIBES. 

MANNA  (nawa). — 1.  Among  the  sacra  contained 
in  the  Tabernacle  the  writer  of  Heb.  mentions  (94) 
the  pot  of  manna,  which  Aaron  was  directed  to 
lay  up  before  the  Lord  as  a  perpetual  memorial  of 
the  miraculous  food  whereby  the  Israelites  were 
sustained  in  the  wilderness  (Ex  1633).  The  Heb. 
text  does  not  describe  the  pot  as  golden,  but  the 
NT  writer  follows  the  LXX,  which  reads  XdjSe 
ffrafivov  xpvffow  Zva.  In  Solomon's  Temple  the  two 
tables  of  stone  were  the  sole  contents  of  the  ark  of 
the  covenant  (1  K  89),  but  the  Rabbis  assumed  that 
the  jar  of  manna  was  also  deposited  there,  evidently 
basing  their  belief  on  the  words  '  before  the  Lord.' 

2.  The  Message  to  the  Church  of  Pergamos  (Rev 
212'")  contains  the  promise  that  he  who  overcomes 
— refusing  at  all  costs  to  eat  things  sacrificed  to 
idols — shall  be  fittingly  rewarded  by  receiving  the 
hidden  manna  to  eat.  There  is  here  probably  an 
allusion  to  the  Jewish  tradition  that,  before  the 
Fall  of  Jerusalem,  the  ark  and  its  sacred  contents 
were  removed  by  Jeremiah  and  hidden  in  a  cave  of 
Mount  Sinai  (2  Mac  21),  from  which  they  were  to  be 
restored  to  their  place  at  the  coming  of  the  Messiah, 
when  all  the  old  miracles  would  be  repeated.  '  And 
at  that  time,'  says  Apoc.  Bar.  (xxix.  8),  '  the  stores 
of  manna  shall  descend  again  from  above ;  and 
they  shall  eat  of  it  in  those  years.'  After  manna 
had  come  to  be  named  '  corn  of  heaven '  (Ps  7S24), 
'  bread  of  the  mighty '  (7S25),  '  heavenly  bread ' 
(10540),  panis  angelorum  (4  Ezr.  i.  29),  dyy4\w» 
rpoQ-f)  (Wis  1620),  auppoo-la.  rpottf  (1921),  it  was  natur- 
ally regarded  not  merely  as  material  nourishment 
but  as '  spiritual  food '  (ppwfM  irvevfMTiK6v  [1  Co  103]). 
Like  the  bread  of  Christ's  own  miracles,  It  had 
sacramental  value,  feeding  the  soul  as  well  as  the 
body  (cf.  Jn  681-38).  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

MAN-STEALING.— See  MEN-STEALERS. 


MANTLE.  —  The  word  'mantle'  occurs  in  the 
RV  in  He  I12,  replacing  '  vesture  '  of  the  AV.  The 
passage  is  a  quotation  from  Ps  10226  f27)  ;  cf.  Ps 
1046.  In  both  places  the  LXX  irepi/36\aiov  is  a  trans- 
lation of  Heb.  e*n^,  '  clothing.'  The  term  is  ap- 
propriate to  certain  over  -  garments  of  ancient 
peoples,  which  were  literally  cast  around  the  body, 
in  contrast  to  the  under-garments,  which  were  put 
on.  In  a  more  restricted  sense  the  same  term  is 
employed  in  1  Co  II18  to  denote  'veil.' 

A  description  of  the  only  specific  mantle  occur- 
ring in  the  relevant  section  of  Scripture  will  be 
found  under  art.  CLOKE.    See  also  art.  CLOTHES. 
W.  CRUICKSHANK. 

MARAN  ATHA.—  See  ANATHEMA. 


MARBLE  (fjidpfjMpos,  Lat.  marmor  ;  from  nap- 
,  '  sparkle,'  '  glisten  ').  —  Marble  is  the  name 
given  to  any  limestone  which  is  sufficiently  close 
in  texture  to  admit  of  being  polished.  It  is  men- 
tioned as  part  of  the  merchandise  of  '  Babylon,'  i.e. 
Rome  (Rev  1812).  It  began  to  be  used  there  for 
the  adornment  of  buildings  about  the  beginning  of 
the  1st  cent.  B.C.  For  a  time  such  luxury  was 
viewed  with  jealousy  by  stern  republicans  (Pliny, 
HN  xxxvi.  7),  but  the  Empire  effected  a  great 
change  of  sentiment,  and  Augustus  boasted,  not 
without  reason,  that  he  '  found  Rome  of  brick  and 
left  it  of  marble*  (Suet.  Octav.  xxix.).  'The 
Emperor  obtained  this  result,  seconded  by  his 
friend  and  minister,  Agrippa,  and  succeeded  in 
leaving  behind  him  truly  a  city  of  marble,  to  which 
the  Pantheon  bears  sufficient  witness  '  (Mary  W. 
Porter,  What  Rome  was  built  with,  1907,  p.  7). 
While  the  white  marble  of  Luna  (near  the  modern 
Carrara),  Hymettus,  Pentelicus,  and  Paros  was 
used  for  statuary,  many  varieties  of  coloured 
marble  were  available  for  architecture.  See, 
further,  art.  ROME. 

LITERATURE.  —  F.  Corsi,  Delle  pietre  antiche,  Rome,  1845  ; 
G.  P.  Merrill,  Stones  /or  Building  and  Decoration*,  New  York, 

1903.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

MARK  (JOHN).  —  The  name  appears  eight  times 
in  the  NT  (Ac  1212-  »  15a7-3a,  Col  410,  2  Ti  4U, 
Philem  **,  1  P  513),  and  the  consensus  of  opinion 
assigns  all  the  references  to  one  individual.  To 
the  Jewish  name  (John)  was  added,  for  use  in 
extra-Palestinian  circles,  the  Latin  prcenomen 
Mark  *  (cf.  '  Saul  —  Paul  '  ;  see  C1G  passim).  The 
son  of  Mary,  a  prominent  and  well-to-do  member 
of  the  early  Christian  society  (Jn  1816-  ",  Ac  1218), 
to  whose  house  the  brethren  used  to  resort,  Mark 
had  easy  introduction  to  the  apostolic  cabinet,  and 
probably  fell  under  the  influence  of  the  dominating 
personality  of  Peter.  His  non-aggressive  tempera- 
ment has  carved  out  no  clear  line  by  which  history 
can  remember  him.  He  shines  here  and  there  in 
the  borrowed  light  of  greater  men  and  flits  ever 
back  into  a  tantalizing  darkness.  Hence  conjecture 
has  sought  to  find  him  at  other  points  of  his  career, 
.g.  as  the  man  carrying  the  pitcher  of  water,  as 
one  of  the  Seventy,  as  the  young  man  of  Mk  1451. 
Only  one  personal  note  comes  to  us,  and  that  from 
the  3rd  century.  He  is  termed  6  Ko\o^o6d.KTv\os  t 
(Hippolytus,  Philos.  vii.  30).  Possibly  this  in- 
firmity was  a  natural  one  (cf.  Codex  Toletamts, 

The  correct  form  of  the  name  is  Maarcus,  Mapxo?,  not 
M<ip<cos  ,  as  in  editions  of  the  NT.  This  is  clear  from  Greek  and 
Latin  inscriptions  (cf.  Blass,  Gramm.  des  neutest.  Greichischt, 
1902,  §  4.  2  (Eng.  tr.2,  1905). 

t  Several  explanations  of  this  term  have  been  given  :  (1)  that 
it  means  '  deserter  '  (Tregelles)  and  is  applied  to  Mark  because 
of  his  defection  at  Perga  ;  but  one  so  honourably  remembered 
would  not  be  ao  opprobriously  nicknamed  ;  (2)  that  Mark  was 
a  Levite  and  'amputasse  sibi  post  fidem  pollicem  dicitur  ut 
sacerdotio  reprobus  haberetur  (Manarchian  Prologues  [TU 
xy.  1  [1896]  10])  ;  but  this  is  probably  an  inference  from  his 
kinship  (ave>//(.o<0  with  Barnabas  ;  (3)  that  the  term  is  meta- 
phorical and  refers  to  the  abrupt  ending  of  the  Second  Gospel. 


MARK  (JOHN) 


MARKET-PLACE 


Preface  in  Wordsworth-White,  Novum  Testa- 
mentum  Latine,  1889-1905,  p.  171),  and  caused  him 
to  take  habitually  a  secondary  place  throughout 
life,  a  servus  servorum  del.  He  stands  out  succes- 
sively as  the  assistant  of  Barnabas,  Paul,  and  Peter. 
1.  Association  with  Paul  and  Barnabas.— 
Having  displayed  practical  gifts  probably  in  the 
famine  relief  work  in  Judsea,  Mark  returned  to 
Syria  with  Paul  and  Barnabas  and  was  chosen  to 
journey  with  them  (Ac  1223  138).  His  duties  may 
be  assumed  to  have  been;not  unlike  those,  mutatis 
mutandis,  discharged  by  the  secretary  of  a  modern 
evangelistic  campaign — the  selection  of  routes, 
arrangement  for  hospitality,  interviews  and  general 
detail  (but  cf.  F.  H.  Chase,  art.  '  Mark  (John) '  in 
HDB).  At  Perga  he  cut  himself  adrift  from  the 
party — it  may  be  because,  being  sensitively  timid 
from  his  physical  defect,  he  shrank  from  the 
hazardous  venture  across  the  Taurus  ;  or,  holding 
the  narrower  views  of  his  teacher  Peter  concerning 
the  Gentiles,  he  was  out  of  sympathy  with  a  cam- 
paign that  had  overshot  its  intentions  ;  or  because 
some  filial  duty  called  him  (cf.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul 
the  Traveller,  1895,  p.  90).  His  reason  certainly 
did  not  satisfy  Paul.  After  the  Jerusalem  Council, 
when  the  two  colleagues  contemplated  a  return 
visit  to  their  churches  (Ac  1536),  Paul  came  into 
sharp  collision  with  Barnabas,  who  wished  again 
to  take  his  cousin  Mark  with  them,  and  they 
separated.  Barnabas  and  Mark  sailed  for  Cyprus, 
probably  as  unauthorized  evangelists,  while  Paul 
with  Silas  left  for  Syria  under  the  official  benedic- 
tion (irapa5o6els  r-g  \dpiri  TOV  Kvpiov  vwb  ruv  dd(\<j>wv). 

2.  In  Cyprus  and  Egypt.— The  veil  is  not  lifted 
on  the  doings  of  the  missionaries  to  Cyprus.    They 
were  among  their  own  people  there.    Barnabas  was 
apparently  a  native  (Ac  4s6),  and  his  act  of  self- 
sacrifice  on  behalf  of  the  cause  he  served  may  have 
predisposed  the  honest-minded    among  his  com- 
patriots to  listen  to  him  with  peculiar  attention. 
Mark,  too,  was  a  Hellenist  and  had  Cyprian  blood 
in  his  veins.     The  prophets,  according  to  the  late 
and  unreliable  Acts  of  Barnabas  (liepiodoi  Eapvdfia), 
had  no  honour  in  their  own  country,  and  Barnabas 
suffered  martyrdom.     Mark  may  then  have  passed 
to  Egypt,  ana  traditions  certainly  point  that  way. 
Eusebius  (HE  ii.  16),  Jerome  (de  Vir.  Illustr.  8), 
the  Apostolic  Constitutions  (vii.  46),  and  Epiphanius 
(Ucer.  li.  6)  unite  in  their  testimony  on  the  point. 
Though  their  details  will  not  precisely  fit,  we 
may  possibly  regard  Mark  as  the  founder  of  the 
Christian  Church   in  Alexandria  and  as  its  first 
bishop.    Jerome  makes  out  that  he  died  there  in 
A.D.  62  ('  Mortuus  est  autem  octavo  Neronis  anno 
et  sepultus  Alexandriae  succedente  sibi  Anniano '). 
But '  the  statement  seems  to  be  merely  an  unsound 
inference  from  the  Eusebian  date  for  the  succes- 
sion of  Annianus '  (Swete2,  p.  xxvii)  to  the  see  of 
Alexandria. 

3.  With  Paul.— Shall  we  say,  then,  that  Mark 
returned  from  his  Egyptian  journey,   his  spurs 
won?    He  reappears  in  Paul's  favour  and  serves 
under  his  direction.     The  Gentile  Apostle  com- 
mands that  welcome  be  given  him  at  Colossse  (Col 
410) — if  he  come.     Is  there  just  a  touch  of  Paul's 
old  distrust  of  Mark  in  the  hypothetical  phrase? 
He  does  not  seem  to  have  actually  reached  Colossse. 
The  lure  of  Egypt  may  have  drawn  him  there  in- 
stead.    Later  still  he  is  stationed  somewhere  be- 
tween Ephesus  and  Rome  (2  Ti  411).     Paul  may 
have  used  his  now  trusted  companion  as  a  deputy 
to  various  churches.     But  particularly  he  had  need 
of  him  often  at  the  home  base  (Rome) :  there  '  the 
vTTijptTijs  of  the  first  missionary  journey  became  the 
o-wepy6s  of    the  Roman   imprisonment'   (Col  411, 
Philem  M).     The  ageing  Apostle  needed  just  such 
personal  services  as  Mark  was  specially  fitted  to 
give. 


4.  With  Peter. — Assuming  the  genuineness  of 
1  Peter,  we  next  find  Mark,  probably  after  the 
death  of  Paul,  again  in  close  touch  with  Peter. 
This  apostle  had  helped  to  form  Mark's  early  im- 
pressions by  his  visits  to  Mary's  house,  and  claimed 
him  by  the  affectionate  title  of  son  (vi6s),  if  indeed 
he  was  not  a  spiritual  son  (T&KVOV).     Now,  if  tradi- 
tion be  correct,  he  was  destined  to  furnish  Mark's 
mind  with  a  treasure  that  has  enriched  the  whole 
Christian  Church.    Peter  spoke  Aramaic  ordinarily, 
and  so  he  required  an  attendant  who  could  trans- 
late easily  into  Greek.     For  this  task  of  dragoman 
Mark  was  eminently  suited.     As  his  Latin  name 
and  Hellenistic  descent  implied,  he  was  proficient 
in  Greek  as  well  as  in  Aramaic.    As  Peter  preached 
Mark  took  mental  note  of  his  reminiscences  of 
Jesus,  and  thence  grew  that  memoir  which  is,  or 
has  become  in  expanded  forms,  the  Second  Gospel. 
The  Fathers  disagree  as  to  how  and  when  the  com- 
pilation was  made.    Origen  would  even  make  Peter 
responsible  for  personal  oversight  of  the  work,  but 
Irenaeus  is  probably  right  in  stating  that  it  was 
after  Peter's  death  that  Mark  wrote  down  the 
memoirs  (cf.  Menzies,  The  Earliest  Gospel,  p.  44  ff.). 

5.  In  legend. — Later  legend  has  been  busy  with 
the  name  of  Mark.    The  most  probable  and  earliest 
tradition  is  that  already  mentioned  which  links 
his  name  to  Alexandria.    A  7th  cent,  tradition 
speaks  of  a  ministry  in  N.  Italy,  and  from  this 
springs  Mark's  association  with  Venice  (notably 
the  Church  of  St.  Mark).    Marty  rologists  claim 
him  and  represent  him  as  dying  a  violent  death  by 
burning  or  by  being  dragged  over  stones.     But  tke 
earliest  mention  of  martyrdom  is  not  of  earlier 
date  than  the  4th  or  5th  cent.  (Acta  Marci). 

The  Acts  of  Barnabas  profess  to  be  written  by 
the  evangelist,  but  that  compilation  is  of  the  4th 
cent,  at  earliest.  Attempts  have  been  made  to 
assign  to  him  various  books  of  the  NT — Hebrews, 
the  Apocalypse,  Jude — but  on  quite  inadequate 
grounds.  A  liturgy  bears  his  name. 

LITERATURE. — H.  B.  Swete,  Gospel  ace.  to  St.  Mark*,  1902, 
pp.  xiii-xxviii ;  A.  Menzies,  The  Earliest  Gospel,  1901,  Intro- 
duction, pp.  40-47  ;  artt.  '  Mark,  St.' in EBr™,  '  Mark  (John)'  in 
HDB,  and  'Mark'  in  EBi ;  T.  Zahn,  NT  Introd.,  Eng.  tr., 
1909,  ii.  427  ff.  For  later  legend  cf.  Molini,  De  vita  et  iipsanis 
S.  Marci  Evanqelistce,  ed.  Jfieralisi,  1864  ;  R.  A.  Lipsius,  Die 
apok.  Apostelgeschichten  und  Apostellegenden,  1883-84 ;  T. 
Schermann,  Propheten-  tmd  Apostellegenden  (TU,  3rd  ser.,  i. 

[1907]).  JOHN  Dow. 

MARKET  OF  APPIDS.— See  APPIUS,  MARKET  OF. 

MARKET-PLACE.— Market-place  (Ac  1619  17") 
is  the  translation  of  Gr.  dyopd,  which  corresponds 
to  Lat.  forum.  It  was  the  favourite  resort  of  the 
populace  in  a  Greek  city  for  social  and  political 
purposes.  At  Philippi  St.  Paul  was  taken  there 
in  order  that  he  might  be  accused  before  the 
magistrates.  This  town  being  a  colonia,  the 
Roman  custom,  according  to  which  the  magistrates 
sat  in  the  Forum,  was  followed.  That  St.  Paul 
should  preach  in  the  Agora  at  Athens  was  only 
natural,  since  here  he  would  find  the  greatest 
number  of  people  gathered  together.  It  was  the 
new  Roman  Agora  which  lay  to  the  north  of  the 
Acropolis  in  the  Eretrian  quarter.  It  was  sur- 
rounded by  porticoes  of  great  beauty,  embellished 
as  ,they  were  by  sculptures,  and  rich  in  associa- 
tions dear  to  the  heart  of  the  Athenian.  In  the 
Stoa  Basileios  was  the  judgment-seat  of  the  king 
archon  ;  from  the  Stoa  Poikile  the  Stoics  received 
their  name ;  and  so  forth.  Here  slaves  were  en- 
gaged in  making  purchases  on  behalf  of  their 
masters,  students  and  philosophers  met  for  con- 
versation and  discussion,  and  nobles  lounged  in 
easy  state.  It  was  the  one  place  where  general 
attention  could  be  drawn  to  the  new  preaching. 

F.  W.  WORSLEY. 


10 


MARKS,  STIGMATA 


HARKS,  STIGMATA.  — The  word  stigma,  in 
addition  to  its  literal  and  moral  use,  is  employed 
technically  in  botany,  anatomy,  pathology,  zoology, 
and  geometry.  The  only  uses  that  fall  to  be  con- 
sidered are  the  literal,  moral,  and  pathological. 

A  ffrlyfj.a  (from  vb.  <m'fw ;  cf.  Lat.  stimulus, 
Germ,  stecken,  Eng.  'stick,'  'sting')  is  a  mark 
upon  the  body  produced  by  pricking,  cutting,  or 
branding.  In  the  East  such  marking  was  very 
common  in  ancient  times,  and  even  yet  cases  may 
be  found,  though  they  are  rare  (Mrs.  W.  M. 
Ramsay,  Everyday  Life  in  Turkey"*,  London,  1903, 
p.  7).  The  wounds  were  prevented  from  healing 
quickly  so  that  broad  scars  might  be  produced. 
Sometimes,  with  the  same  end  in  view,  coloured 
matter  was  rubbed  into  the  brand-mark.  These 
signs  of  ownership  were  impressed  upon  certain 
classes  of  the  community. 

(1)  Temple-slaves  (iep68ov\oi)  were  branded  with 
some  token  of  the  deity  worshipped.     See  Herod, 
ii.  113  :  drey  avOpilnrw  ^Tri^SdXijrcu  ffrLyfiara  ipd,  euvrbv 
8i8ovs  rtf  6t<£,  OVK  ££ecTTi  TOVTOV  tiij/affOai,  also  vii.  233  ; 
Lucian,  de  Dea  Syr.  §  59,  ffrlfovrai  8t  irdvrfs  ol  (iti>  te 
Kapirovs  ol  5£  ts  avxtvas  5  Philo.  de  Monarch,  i.  8,  iv 
TOLS  ffd}/j.a<n  Kanurlfomt  avTTjv  ffidr/pifj  TrfTrvpu/j-fry  irpbs 
dvf%d\(nrTOV   dia/j.ovrii',    ovdt  yap  XP^V  ravra    5ta/u.ai/- 
povvrai.     Ptolemy  Philopator  commanded  the  Jews 
of  Alexandria  to  be  branded  with  an  ivy-leaf,  the 
symbol  of  Dionysius.     See  3  Mac  229  :  rote  re  diro- 
ypa<po/J.£vovs   %apd(rcre<r0ai    Kal    Sid    irvpbs    e/s   rb   ffu/Mi 
irapao-ri/jUi}    Aiovvffov    Kiffffo<pv\\if ;     cf.     Rev     1316' 17 : 
'  And  he  caused  all,  the  small  and  the  great,  and 
the  rich  and  the  poor,  and  the  free  and  the  bond, 
that  there  be  given  them  a  mark  on  their  right 
hand,  or  upon  their  forehead  ('in  fronte,  propter 
professionem  :     in    manu,    propter    operationem ' 
[Aug.  Civ.  Dei,  xx.  9.  3]) ;  and  that  no  man  should 
be  able  to  buy  or  to  sell,  save  he  that  hath  the 
mark,  even  the  name  of  the  beast  or  the  number 
of  his  name.'     Sometimes  the  foreheads  of  the 
martyrs  were  branded  with  the  name  of  Christ. 
Note  also  the  references  to  the  '  sealing '  in  Rev  7 
141,  2  Mac  67,  3  Mac  7s  141  224. 

(2)  Household-slaves. — The  Greeks  and  Romans 
branded  those  who  were  re-captured  after  attempt- 
ing to  escape,  and  those  of  bad  behaviour.     The 
common  method  was  to  press  upon  the  forehead 
a  red-hot  iron  with  embossed  letters.     This  custom 
is  mentioned  by  Pliny  (HN  xviii.  3),  Varro  (de  Re 
Rustica,  i.  18),  Suetonius  (Calig.  xxvii.),  and  other 
classical  writers.      Such  slaves  were  called   0-7-17- 
p.a.Tla.1,  literati,  notati,  inscripti,  and  were  held  in 
disgrace.      Slaves    of    good    character    were    not 
branded  as  a  general  rule  (Pseudo-Phocyl.   212: 
OTry/iara  jur?  ypd<prjs  tiroveiSlfav  Oepdtrovra. ;  Seneca,  de 
Benef.  iv.  37,  38). 

(3)  Captives   taken   in    war    were   occasionally 
marked  with  the  stigma  of  the  captor. 

(4)  Soldiers  sometimes  bore  on  their  bodies  the 
name  of  their  commander.      So  some  Christians 
marked  their  hands  and  arms  with  the  name  of 
Christ  or  the  sign  of  the  cross  (Deyling,  Observa- 
tiones  sacrce,  Leipzig,  1720-26,  iii.  423-427). 

The  word  ffriyna.  is  used  by  St.  Paul  in  Gal  617 
only:  £yw  ya,p  TO,  ariynaTa.  TOV  \_Kvpiov,  TR]'l7;(roO  iv 
T$  ffu/jLarl  /j.ov  ftcwTdfa  ;  Vulg.  :  '  Ego  enim  stigmata 
Domini  Jesu  in  corpore  meo  porto ' ;  RV  '  for  I  bear 
branded  on  my  body  the  marks  of  Jesus.'  Most 
modern  commentators  hold  the  view  that  St.  Paul 
had  in  mind  the  JepoSoCXoj,  or  Temple-slave,  bearing 
the  stigma  of  the  deity  worshipped.  This  custom 
would  be  well  known  in  that  part  of  Asia  Minor, 
where  the  worship  of  Cybele  was  celebrated.  A 
slave  of  this  class  is  mentioned  in  a  Galatian  in- 
scription (Texier,  Asie  Mineure,  1835,  i.  135).  Two 
objections  to  this  theory  have  been  raised.  One 
is  that  St.  Paul  was  not  likely  to  refer  to  this 
custom  because  it  was  associated  especially  with 


the  temple-women  whose  lives  were  notoriously 
immoral.  The  other  is  that  St.  Paul  uses  the 
simple  form  SoDXoj  in  his  Epistles  (cf.  Ro  I1,  1  Co 
722,  2  Co  45,  Gal  I10,  Ph  I1).  He  does  not  employ 
the  compound  word  JepoSoDXos. 

It  is  not  likely  that  the  Apostle  had  in  mind  the 
soldier,  who  deliberately  marked  himself  with  the 
name  or  token  of  his  commander,  as  the  context 
does  not  suggest  any  such  idea,  though  elsewhere 
St.  Paul  manifests  a  liking  for  metaphors  from 
military  life  (cf.  1  Co  97,  2  Co  104,  Eph  6ut,  1  Ti 
612,  2  Ti  47).  That  he  refers  here  to  the  refractory 
slave,  the  runaway,  the  deserter  from  the  army,  is 
impossible. 

In  what  sense  did  St.  Paul  use  the  word  /Scwrdfw  ? 
It  has  a  variety  of  meanings  in  the  NT.  It  is 
employed  for  the  taking  up  of  stones  (Jn  1031) ; 
for  bearing  the  cross  (Lk  14*7,  Jn  1917) ;  for  under- 
taking a  matter  with  calmness  and  sufficient 
strength  (Jn  1612,  Gal  65) ;  for  bearing  the  sentence 
of  a  judge  (Gal  510) ;  for  bearing  or  enduring  (<ptpeiv 
is  the  classical  word  generally  used)  (Mt  2012, 
Ac  1510,  Ro  151,  Gal  62,  Rev  22f-) ;  for  carrying 
(Mt  3",  Mk  1413,  Lk  714  2210,  Rev  17,  and  passive 
in  Ac  32  2135) ;  for  carrying  knowledge  by  preach- 
ing (Ac  91S) ;  for  carrying  on  the  person  (Lk  104, 
Gal  617) ;  for  carrying  the  fcetus  in  the  womb  (Lk 
IP7) ;  for  sustaining  (Ro  II18);  for  bearing  away 
or  carrying  off  (Mt  817,  Jn  126  201S).  In  this  same 
chapter  (Gal  62- 5  ;  cf.  510)  the  word  is  used  in  con- 
nexion with  the  bearing  of  burdens,  and  probably 
means  '  bear  as  a  burden '  in  617.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  suggestion  of  something  more.  Chrysos- 
tom's  idea  (Com.  in  loc.)  has  much  to  commend 
it :  OVK  elirfv,  Hxu,  dXXd,  /Ja<rrdfa>,  utrirep  TI?  ^Trt  rpo- 
TTCUOIS  /jitya  (ppovtav  •))  <rrj/j,eiois  ^SacnXiAcots  ;  cf.  2  Co  410. 
No  doubt  he  referred  to  the  marku  left  upon 
him  by  the  scourgings,  stonings,  imprisonments, 
privations,  and  toils  of  his  missionary  career  (cf. 
Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller  and  the  Roman 
Citizen,  London,  1895,  pp.  107,  304).  On  the  pages 
of  his  flesh  his  personal  history  was  inscribed  (see 
2  Co  II24'28).  These  stigmata  "proved  that  Christ 
was  his  Master,  Commander,  Owner.  The  meta- 
phor was  ready  to  his  hand.  In  the  dungeon  every- 
thing suggested  ownership — the  marked  walls,  the 
marked  chains,  the  marked  slaves,  the  marked 
soldiers.  He  too  was  no  longer  his  own  but 
Another's.  The  servant  was  not  a  mere  hireling, 
but  a  possession,  made  secure  by  the  unbreakable 
bonds  of  mutual  affection.  It  is  significant  that 
in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  written  soon  after 
the  Galatian  letter,  St.  Paul  describes  himself  as 
a  SoOXos,  'slave,'  '  bond  -  servant '  of  Jesus  Christ 
(Ro  I1),  distinctly  adopting  that  title  for  the  first 
time.  This  term  is  found  in  Phil.,  Tit.,  James, 
2  Pet.,  Jude,  'showing  that  as  the  Apostolic  Age 
progressed  the  assumption  of  the  title  became 
established  on  a  broad  basis'  (Sanday-Headlam, 
ICC,  '  Romans  '8,  Edinburgh,  1902,  p.  3). 

Deissmann  suggests  that  the  stigmata  were  pro- 
phylactic against  trouble  and  evil  (Bibelstudien, 
Marburg,  1895,  p.  266  f . ),  but  this  view  is  not  in 
harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  Galatian  Epistle 
in  general,  and  the  closing  passage  in  particular. 
To  understand  Gal  617  it  is  necessary  to  note  Gal 
p-12.  isf.  2i9i.  412-20^  and  compare  2  Co  410.  Possibly 
the  scars  caused  Lysias  to  conclude  that  St.  Paul 
was  the  Egyptian  bandit  ( Ac  2138;  cf.  J.  H.  Moulton, 
ExpT  xxi.  [1909-10]  283-284). 

Not  only  did  the  Apostle  bear  the  physical  stig- 
mata, but  he  displayed  also  the  spiritual  '  marks 
of  Jesus ' — love,  gentleness,  humility,  unselfishness 
(Jn  1335,  Ph  2s,  2  Ti  224). 

In  the  'Age  of  Faith,'  in  reality  the  'Dark  Age,' 
many  believed  that  the  body  of  the  Apostle  bore 
marks  resembling  the  wound-prints  on  the  body 
of  the  Crucified  Jesus.  A  similar  belief  prevailed 


11 


with  regard  to  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  upon  whose 
body  the  marks  were  impressed  on  loth  Sept. 
1224  by  a  seraph  with  six  wings.  Bonaventura 
says,  'Jam  enim  propter  stigmata  Domini  Jesu 
quae  in  corpore  tuo  portas,  nemo  debet  tibi  esse 
molestus'  (Life  of  St.  Francis,  13.  4).  These 
words  were  paraphrased  afterwards  by  Aquinas 
as  follows:  'portabat  insignia  passionis  Christi,' 
but  what  he  says  subsequently  proves  that  he  did 
not  accept  the  view  of  Bonaventura.  Another 
very  famous  instance  is  that  of  St.  Catherine  of 
Siena.  Altogether  there  are  about  ninety  cases 
of  stigmatization  on  record.  It  is  alleged  that  in 
some  cases  all  the  marks  were  present ;  in  others 
some  were  visible  and  the  rest  caused  pain  but 
produced  no  outward  sign  ;  in  others,  again,  there 
was  no  visible  mark  at  all,  but  local  pains  were 
felt.  Occasionally  the  marks  became  visible  after 
death.  There  are  fewer  cases  of  stigmatization 
recorded  amongst  men  than  amongst  women. 

Investigation  has  proved  that  some  instances 
were  fraudulent,  others  the  result  of  self-mutila- 
tion (cf.  Mt  1912),  and  some  owing  to  a  kind  of 
hysteria.  But  all  cannot  be  explained,  or  ex- 
plained away,  in  these  ways.  The  influence  of 
the  mind  upon  the  body  is  great  and  mysterious. 
Beaunis  states  that  rubefaction  and  vesication 
have  been  produced  by  suggestion  in  the  hypnotic 
state  (Recherches  exptrimentales  sur  les  conditions 
de  Vactiviti  cirebrale).  In  certain  varieties  of  re- 
ligious ecstasy  a  bloody  sweat  may  leave  a  red 
mark  upon  the  skin,  and  such  marks  are  caused 
also  by  capillary  congestion.  It  has  been  main- 
tained that  transudation  of  blood  through  an 
unbroken  skin  is  an  unknown  and  impossible 
phenomenon.  Pathological  facts  probably  gave 
rise  to  the  belief  that  the  stigmata  of  the  crucified 
body  of  Jesus  were  seen  upon  some  of  His  followers. 

LITBRATDRE. — Artt.  ' Cuttings  in  the  Flesh'  and  'Mark'  in 
HDB,  '  Stigmata'  in  DCG  ;  Commentaries  on  Gal  d1?,  by  H.  A. 
W.  Meyer  (41862),  H.  Alford  (51871),  J.  A.  Beet  (1885),  J.  B. 
Lightfoot  (121896),  W.  M.  Ramsay  (1899) ;  '  Stigmatization  ' 
in  EBr'i'i  and  '  Stigmatisation  '  in  PRE3  ;  Lives  of  St.  Francis 
of  Assigi  by  Thomas  de  Celano  (ed.  Rosedale,  London,  1904) 
and  St.  Bonaventura  (ed.  Amoni,  Rome,  1888),  Mrs.  Oliphant 
041o.,  1871),  Paul  Sabatier  (Fr.  ed.'",  Paris,  1899,  Ens.  tr., 
London,  1901,  etc.) ;  H.  Beaunis,  Recherches  experimentales  sur 
les  conditions  de  Vactivite  cerebrale,  Paris,  1886 ;  P.  Dearmer, 
Body  and  Soul :  An  Inquiry  into  the  Effects  of  Religion  upon 
Health,  London,  1909 ;  ExpT  xx.  [1908-09]  485-86. 

H.  -CARISS  J.  SIDXELL. 

MARRIAGE.— 1.  Christian  conception  of  mar- 
riage.— During  the  Apostolic  Age  the  Church  was 
both  Jewish  and  Gentile,  and  its  ideas  on  mar- 
riage had  a  double  background  in  those  of  the  OT 
and  the  heathen.  The  gravest  danger  was  that 
the  laxity  of  heathenism  with  regard  to  marriage 
should  remain  among  the  Gentile  converts.  In  the 
heathen  world,  though  the  marriage  ceremony  was 
in  some  sort  a  sacred  act,  the  marriage  itself  was 
looked  on  as  an  easily-broken  contract  which 
either  party  might  dissolve  at  will.  It  is  not  sur- 
prising, therefore,  that  one  of  the  earliest  questions 
which  the  Corinthians  put  to  St.  Paul  should  be 
on  the  subject  of  marriage  (1  Co  71).  The  Apostle, 
writing  as  he  does  to  Gentiles,  dwells  on  the  fact 
that  marriage  is  a  remedy  against  sin  (v.2 ;  cf.  also 
1  Th  43f-,  whether  with  most  modern  commentators 
we  interpret  rb  £avrov  o-/ceOos  in  that  passage  of  a 
man's  wife,  or,  with  G.  Milligan,  of  the  human 
body,  for  the  context  implies  marriage),  and  gives 
many  warnings  against  heathen  impurities  (Ho 
I24  ^  [idolatry  and  impurity  inseparable]  612f-  1314, 

1  Co  51-9'11  613-20,  2  Co  1221,  Gal  516'24,  Eph  22f-  417'19 
['as  the  Gentiles  also  walk ']  o3,  Col  35-3,  2  Ti  222). 
Other  NT  writers  give  like  warnings  (1  P  I14  211  42f-, 

2  P  218,  Jude  16' 18). 

The  Jews  had  a  much  higher  conception  of  mar- 
riage than  the  heathen.  Almost  all  of  them  were 
married,  as  is  the  case  at  the  present  day  with 


practically  the  whole  of  the  Christian,  Jewish,  and 
Muslim  populations  of  the  Near  East — the  excep- 
tions are  very  few.  They  looked  on  the  saying 
'  Be  ye  fruitful  and  multiply'  (Gn  I28)  as  a  univer- 
sal command.  Marriage  was  a  sacred  duty  and 
was  considered  most  holy.  '  The  pious  fasted 
before  it,  confessing  their  sins.  It  was  regarded 
almost  as  a  Sacrament.  Entrance  into  the  mar- 
ried state  was  thought  to  carry  the  forgiveness  of 
sins '  ( Edersheim,  LT*  i.  352  f. ).  Yet  the  Jews  had 
not  escaped  from  heathen  contamination  ;  not  only 
was  divorce  extremely  common  (below,  7),  but,  as 
frequent  passages  in  the  OT  show,  impurities  of 
all  kinds  had  to  be  strongly  repressed.  In  Eph  22t 
St.  Paul  does  not  acquit  his  own  nation  in  this 
respect,  contrasting  the  pronouns  'ye'  (Gentiles) 
and  '  we  also '  (Jews). 

Our  Lord  greatly  raised  the  conception  of  mar- 
riage, even  as  compared  with  that  of  the  Jews  of 
the  time.  It  was  a  Divine  institution,  which  made 
man  and  one  wife  to  become  one  flesh,  for  God  had 
joined  them  together  (Mk  106"9,  Mt  194'6,  quoting 
Gn  224).  The  primeval  marriage,  the  idea  of  which 
was  obscured  by  the  hardness  of  man's  heart,  was 
revived,  and  the  teaching  about  divorce  (below,  7) 
was  revolutionized.  Nevertheless,  marriage  was 
intended  only  for  this  life,  for  there  are  no  mar- 
riages in  heaven  (Mt  2230,  Mk  1228,  Lk  2035— these 
passages,  it  is  needless  to  say,  do  not  teach  that 
loved  ones  will  be  parted  hereafter).  Jesus  chose 
a  marriage  feast  for  His  first  miracle  (Jn  2lff-). 
Following  the  Master's  teaching,  St.  Paul  insists 
on  the  holiness  of  marriage  in  Epli  522-33  (cf .  He  134) ; 
the  quotation  from  Genesis  is  repeated  (v.31),  and 
marriage  is  said  to  symbolize  the  union  between 
Christ  and  His  Church  (vv.23'28) — a  metaphor  drawn  . 
out  in  the  ancient  homily  known  as  2  Clement  j 
(§  14 :  '  the  male  is  Christ,  and  the  female  is  the 
Church ').  Hence  St.  Paul  dwells  on  the  love  that 
ought  to  exist  between  husband  and  wife,  even 
as  Christ  loved  the  Church  (vv.25-  »  &  •  cf.  Col  319). 
St.  Peter  in  a  corresponding  passage  (1  P  37)  dwells 
rather  on  the  honour  due  by^he  husband  to  his 
wife ;  and  both  apostles,  speaking  of  the  duty  of 
wives  to  husbands  in  these  passages,  rather  dwell 
on  their  subjection  to  their  consorts  [see  FAMILY, 
§  2  (a)],  though  in  Tit  241-  the  love  of  the  wife  to 
the  husband  is  mentioned  as  well  as  her  subjection. 
In  1  Co  7Sff-  St.  Paul  reminds  married  persons  that 
they  no  longer  are  mere  individuals,  but  belong  to' 
one  another,  and  must  not  refuse  cohabitation  with 
one  another  except  by  consent  for  a  season. 

2.  Christian  conception  of  celibacy. — We  must 
remember  that  celibacy  was  extremely  uncommon 
both  among  the  Jews  and  among  the  heathen  in 
the  first  ages  of  the  Church.  It  was  not  part  of 
the  Nazirite's  vow  (Nu  63"5),  though  no  doubt  many 
Nazirites,  like  John  Baptist  (if  indeed  he  was  one 
of  them),  were  celibates.  And  there  were  some, 
but  not  all,  of  the  Essenes  who  preached  the  duty 
of  abstinence  from  marriage,  and  admitted  members 
to  their  body  only  after  a  probation  of  three  years 
to  test  their  continency  (Josephus,  BJ  II.  viii.  2, 
7).  In  them  we  see  the  germ  of  Gnostic  dualism, 
which  taught  the  inherent  evil  of  matter  (Light- 
foot,  Colossians,  ed.  1900,  p.  85  ;  see  also  his  essay 
on  this  sect,  p.  375  tf. ).  In  this  respect  the  Essenes 
were  in  direct  antagonism  with  the  Pharisees,  who 
strongly  supported  marriage ;  but  they  had  some 
influence  in  promoting  Christian  celibacy  in  the 
post-Apostolic  Age.  Among  the  heathen  celibacy 
can  hardly  be  said  to  have  existed. 

Our  Lord,  while  teaching,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
holiness  of  marriage,  nevertheless  commended 
celibacy  for  those  '  to  whom  it  is  given '  and  who 
are  'able  to  receive  it'  ;  for  so  we  must  interpret 
the  phrase  '  which  made  themselves  eunuchs  for 
the  kingdom  of  heaven's  sake'  (Mt  1911'-).  As  St. 


12 


MARRIAGE 


MARRIAGE 


Paul  says  (1  Co  77),  'each  man  hath  his  own  gift 
from  God,  one  after  this  manner,  and  another 
after  that.'  Nowhere  in  the  NT  is  marriage  re- 
ferred to  as  a  state  inferior  to  that  of  celibacy, 
however  much  the  latter  may  be  commended  under 
certain  circumstances  to  certain  persons.  And  so, 
probably,  we  are  to  interpret  our  Lord's  words  about 
leaving  '  house,  or  wife,  or  brethren,  or  parents,  or 
children,  for  the  kingdom  of  God's  sake '  (Lk  1829 ; 
in  ||  Mt  1929,  Mk  1(P  the  best  MSS  omit  'or  wife'). 
He  could  not  have  counselled  a  man  to  desert  his 
wife  or  children  if  he  had  them.  J.  Wordsworth 
suggests  (Ministry  of  Grace,  London,  1901,  p.  207) 
that  the  words  may  also  include  leaving  an  un- 
believing and  unfaithful  wife,  or  a  temporary 
separation  by  agreement,  when  the  husband  has 
to  go  to  a  part  of  the  world  where  he  cannot  take 
a  family  (1  Co  75  is  somewhat  analogous). 

In  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul  we  notice  a  certain 
change  of  view  between  the  earlier  and  later 
Epistles,  (a)  In  the  earlier  Epistles  the  Apostle 
plainly  expected  that  the  Parousia  was  imminent 
(cf.  1  Th  417  :'  we  that  are  alive,  that  are  left '  ;  1  Co 
1622  and  perhaps  1551).  If  that  were  the  case,  the 
increase  of  the  race  would  not  be  of  primary  im- 
portance ;  and  therefore,  while  marriage  was  en- 
tirely lawful  (1  Co  728),  and  indeed  imperative  for 
those  who  had  not  the  gift  of  cpntinency  (vv.2>  9), 
celibacy  was  encouraged.  '  It  is  good  for  a  man 
not  to  touch  a  woman ' ;  '  I  would  that  all  men 
were  even  as  I  myself ' ;  'it  is  good  for  them  if 
they  abide  even  as  I'  (vv.1'7'*) ;  '  it  is  good  for  a 
man  to  be  as  he  is' — whether  married  or  single 
(v.26).  Yet  St.  Paul  does  not  say  that  celibacy  is 
a  higher  state,  but  only  that  it  is  expedient  by 
reason  of  the  present  distress  (v.26),  because  the 
time  is  shortened  (v.25),  and  he  would  have  Chris- 
tians free  from  cares  (v.32).  The  lawfulness  of 
marriage  is  further  emphasized  by  the  assertion  of 
the  right  to  marry  by  St.  Paul  himself,  '  even  as 
the  rest  of  the  apostles,  and  the  brethren  of  the 
Lord,  and  Cephas'  (95).  The  meaning  of  these 
words  is  not  quite  plain ;  Cephas  certainly  was 
married  (Mt  814,  Lk  4s8),  but  were  all  the  other 
apostles  and  all  our  Lord's  four  brethren  in  like 
case  ?  If  so,  why  is  Cephas  mentioned  separately  ? 
To  the  last  question  there  is  no  clear  answer,  but 
the  whole  verse  seems  to  show,  especially  in  view 
of  Jewish  customs  (see  above),  that  at  least  a 
majority  of  the  apostles  and  of  our  Lord's  brethren 
were  married,  and  that  the  married  state  was  not 
inconsistent  with  the  work  of  a  travelling  mission- 
ary. As  a  comment  on  this  we  have  the  fact  that 
Aquila,  a  great  Christian  worker,  travelled  about 
with  his  wife  Prisca  (Ac  182- 26,  Ro  163,  1  Co  1619, 
2  Ti  419).  (b)  In  the  Epistles  of  the  Captivity  mar- 
riage is  mentioned  as  the  normal  state,  and  noth- 
ing is  said  in  favour  of  celibacy  (Eph  531ff-,  Col 
318*- ;  cf.  1  P  31'7),  while  we  notice  also  that  in 
these  Epistles  little  is  said  of  the  nearness  of 
Christ's  coming  (Ph  4B  stands  alone),  (c)  In  the 
Pastoral  Epistles  marriage  is  recommended,  or  as 
some  think  required,  for  the  local  clergy  (1  Ti  32-  •"-, 
Tit  I6 ;  see  HOME),  and  is  also  advised  foi  young 
women  (1  Ti  514  AV,  RVm)  or  for  young  widows 
(RV).  Whatever  may  be  the  force  of  the  phrase 
'  husband  of  one  wife '  (fuas  ywcuicfo  dvSpa)  as  exclud- 
ing certain  persons  from  the  ministry  (see  below, 
§  5),  the  whole  context  would  appear  to  show  that 
St.  Paul  desired  his  local  officials,  the  presbyters 
('bishops')  and  deacons,  to  be,  at  least  as  a  rule, 
married  men,  just  as  the  Orthodox  Eastern  Church 
demands  at  the  present  day  that  her  parish  priests 
should  be  married,  and  that  their  wives  should  be 
alive.  This  does  not  depend  on  the  untenable 
exegesis  which  makes  fu&t  the  indefinite  article 
('  husband  of  a  wife '),  but  on  the  word  '  husband ' 
and  the  context.  There  might  perhaps  be  excep- 


tions, of  which  the  Apostle  dors  not  stop  to  speak. 
We  must  always  bear  in  mind  hr  is  a  mistake 
to  interpret  a  biblical  passage  wiui  reference  to 
the  bearing  that  it  has  on  later  Christian  practice  ; 
a  disciplinary  rule,  by  its  nature,  is  not  intended 
to  be  for  all  time,  however  suitable  it  may  have 
been  for  the  First  Age.  Another  passage  in  these 
Epistles  may  also  be  noticed.  St.  Paul  denounces 
as  a  heresy  the  prohibition  of  marriage  (1  Ti  43)  ; 
though  this  does  not  involve  any  change  of  view  as 
compared  with  the  earlier  Epistles.  In  what  has 
been  here  said,  the  Pauline  authorship  of  the 
Pastoral  Epistles  is  assumed ;  if  this  be  .  lot 
allowed,  the  alteration  of  the  Christian  view  as 
to  the  expediency  of  celibacy  between  the  earli  >.r 
and  the  later  periods  still  holds  good.  But  m 
argument  against  the  Pauline  authorship  must  bt- 
deduced  from  it,  for  a  change  of  view  is  very 
natural  in  the  course  of  a  decade  or  more,  during 
which  a  longer  experience  showed  that  the  early 
expectation  of  Jesus' immediate  return  was  founded 
on  a  too  hasty  assumption  ;  and,  moreover,  the 
Epistles  of  the  Captivity  serve  as  a  bridge  between 
the  earlier  and  the  later  views. 

In  the  apostolic  period  we  read  of  a  few  persons 
who  led  the  celibate  life.  St.  Paul  himself  was  un- 
married (1  Co  77f-  95) ;  so  were  the  four  daughters 
of  Philip  the  Evangelist  who  '  prophesied '  (Ac  219) ; 
St.  John  Evangelist  was  frequently  known  in  the 
early  Church  as  6  irapfftvos,  as  in  the  3rd  cent. 
Gnostic  work  Pistis  Sophia  ;  Tertullian  had  already 
called  him  a  '  celibate  (spado)  of  Christ '  (de  Mono- 
gam.  17).  It  is  not  quite  easy  to  say  who  are 
meant  by  the  '  virgins '  (masc. )  of  Rev  14*.  The 
word  is  interpreted  by  Tertullian  (de  Res.  Cam. 
27,  referring  to  Mt  1912)  of  celibates  ;  but  Swete 
(Com.  in  loc.)  gives  good  reasons  for  thinking  that 
it  must  apply  to  married  as  well  as  unmarried 
chastity,  and  '  be  taken  metaphorically,  as  the 
symbolical  character  of  the  Book  suggests.  .  .  . 
No  exclusion  of  the  married  from  the  highest 
blessings  of  the  Christian  life  finds  a  place  in  the 
NT.'.  '  ~  ^~^ 

In  interpreting  the  NT  it  is  of  some  importance 
to  note  the  comments  of  those  writers  who  imme- 
diately followed  the  apostles.  Ignatius'  idea  of 
celibacy  (Polyc.  5)  does  not  go  further  than  our 
Lord's  teaching.  'My  sisters'  (he  says)  are  to 
love  the  Lord  and  be  content  with  their  spouses 
(<rv/j.plots)  in  flesh  and  spirit ;  '  my  brothers '  are  to 
love  their  spouses  as  the  Lord  loved  the  Church 
(cf.  Eph  529).  If  anyone  can  abide  in  purity  (ayvetq., 
i.e.  'virginity')  to  the  honour  of  the  flesh  of  the 
Lord  (cf.  1  Co  615),  let  him  abide  without  boasting. 
If  he  boast,  he  is  lost ;  and  if  it  be  known  beyond 
the  bishop  (ir\tov  rov  tiricrK6irov  :  not  '  if  he  be  more 
famous  than  the  bishop '),  he  is  corrupted.  All 
who  marry  should  do  so  with  the  consent  of  the 
bishop,  that  the  marriage  may  be  after  the  Lord 
(cf.  1  Co  I39).  Thus,  in  Ignatius'  opinion*  the 
bishop  is  to  be  taken  into  the  confidence  both  of 
those  who  marry  and  of  those  who  wish  to  remain 
celibates ;  in  the  latter  case  the  intention  must 
not  be  noised  abroad.  Similarly  Clement  of  Rome 
(ad  Cor.  i.  38)  says  :  '  He  that  is  pure  (ayt>6?)  in  the 
flesh,  let  him  be  so,  and  not  boast,  knowing  that 
it  is  Another  who  bestows  his  continence  (tyKpdrfiav) 
upon  him.'  We  note  that  both  Ignatius  and 
Clement  use  ayi>6s  or  ayveia  of  celibacy,  though 
they  do  not  say  that  celibacy  is  the  higher  state. 
Hernias,  on  the  other  hand,  in  his  Shepherd  (Mand. 
iv.  4),  describes  the  chastity  both  of  the  married 
and  of  the  unmarried  as  ayveia.  The  phrase  of 
Ignatius,  '  virgins  who  are  called  widows  (Smyrn. 
13),  has  been  much  discussed.  It  can  hardly  mean 
unmarried  women  included  in  the  order  of  widows, 
for  Ignatius  in  that  case  would  have  omitted  in 
his  salutation  all  those  who  were  literally  widows, 


MARRIAGE 


MARRIAGE 


13 


and  such  a  '•"stor1"-  is  treated  as  unheard  of  by 
Tertullian  t  ^Virg.  Vel.  9);  and  'virgins'  is 
therefore  probably  to  be  interpreted  symbolically 
as  in  Rev  144  (above),  of  women  who  are  pure  in 
heart  (see  Lightfoot,  Apostolic  Fathers*,  pt.  ii.  : 
'S.  Ignatius  and  S.  Polycarp,'  London,  1889,  ii. 
323  f.). 

3.  Marriage  ceremonies.  —  The  betrothal  pre- 
ceded the  actual  marriage  by  several  months,  but 
not  by  more  than  a  year  (Edersheim,  op.  cit.  i. 
354).  It  is  referred  to  in  2  Co  II2,  where  St.  Paul 
says  that  he  betrothed  (^pnoff6.p.-r)v,  here  only  in  the 
NT)  the  Corinthians  to  Christ ;  cf.  Dt  2830,  Pr  1914. 
In  arranging  for  the  betrothal,  the  intended  bride- 
groom took  no  part,  and  matters  were  settled,  as 
they  still  are  in  the  East,  by  the  respective  parents, 
or,  if  they  were  not  alive,  by  the  brother  or  nearest 
relative.  In  the  parable  the  father  is  said  to  make 
a  marriage,  or  a  marriage  feast  (iroiftv  ydpov),  for 
his  son  (Mt  222)  ;  so  in  the  OT,  Gn  24s  (Abraham 
and  his  steward  for  Isaac)  344- 8  (Hamor  for 
Shechem)  38s  (Judah  for  Er),  Jg  142'10  (Manoah 
for  Samson).  When  the  father  was  not  available, 
the  mother  sometimes  acted,  as  when  Hagar  acted 
for  Ishmael  (Gn  2121)  or  the  mother  for  her  son 
(2  Es  947).  It  is  instructive  to  see  how  marriage 
customs,  as  well  as  others,  persistently  survive  in 
the  East  from  biblical  times,  and  we  find  that 
among  the  Oriental  Christians  of  to-day  the  same 
practice  obtains  (Maclean-Browne,  Catholicos  of 
the  East,  p.  144) ;  courtship  in  the  Western  sense 
of  the  term  is  little  known,  and  the  courting  is 
done  by  the  parents.  The  betrothal,  having  been 
accomplished  by  crowning  with  garlands  and  with 
some  ceremony  (Edersheim,  loc.  cit.),  was,  and  is, 
absolutely  binding,  and  a  breach  of  it  is  treated  as 
adultery  in  Dt  22fflf-  (ct.  v.28,  Lv  1920) ;  this  is  illus- 
trated by  the  position  of  Joseph  as  a  betrothed 
husband  in  Mt  I19.  It  is  suggested  by  Plummer 
(HDB  i.  326)  that  the  woman  taken  in  adultery 
(Jn  84)  was  betrothed,  not  married,  as  she  was  to 
be  stoned,  not  strangled.  This  may  be  so,  since 
stoning  is  mentioned  in  Dt  22M,  but  not  in  Lv  2010, 
which  gives  the  death-penalty  for  the  adultery  of 
married  persons.  Yet  in  Ezk  1638"40  married  adul- 
teresses seem  to  be  meant,  and  there  stoning  is 
mentioned.  Strangling  was  a  later  form  of  execu- 
tion. 

The  night  procession  is  perhaps  the  principal 
feature  of  the  marriage.  The  bridegroom  goes  to 
fetch  the  bride  at  night,  as  in  the  parable  of  the 
Ten  Virgras,  and  brings  her  to  his  house  at  mid- 
night (Mt  256),  with  lamps  —  not,  according  to 
Edersheim  (ii.  455)  and  Trench  (Parables,  248), 
with  torches,  as  the  Roman  custom  was.  These 
lamps  were  placed  in  a  hollow  cup,  affixed  to  a 
long  pole.  A  relic  of  this  custom  is  seen  in  the 
present  day  among  the  East  Syrians  (Nestorians), 
who  have  the  procession  in  the  daytime,  but 
carry  two  unlighted  candles  before  the  bride 
(Catholicos  of  the  East,  p.  153) ;  in  their  case  the 
bridegroom  does  not  fetch  his  bride  himself,  but 
sends  his  father  or  friends,  whence  the  usual  ex- 
pression for  '  to  marry  a  son  'is  'to  bring  a  bride 
for  him '  (ib. ).  A  reference  to  these  lamps  has  been 
seen  in  2  Es  102,  but  this  seems  to  refer  to  the 
lights  in  the  guest-room.  Before  the  bridegroom 
comes,  the  bride  makes  herself  ready  (Rev  197) 
with  the  bath  ;  this  was  the  custom,  and  seems  to 
be  referred  to  in  Eph  S25'27.  The  herald  going 
before  the  bridegroom  and  crying,  '  Behold  the 
bridegroom,  come  ye  forth  to  meet  him'  (Mt  256), 
is  a  common  feature  of  Eastern  life,  in  which  an 
expected  magnate  is  usually  preceded  by  such  an 
announcement.  But  in  the  parable  was  the  bride- 
groom returning  with  his  bride  to  his  own  house, 
or  going  to  fetch  her  ?  The  latter  view  is  taken 
by  Edersheim  (ii.  454  ff. ),  who  thinks  that  the 


bridegroom  was  coming  from  a  distance  to  the 
wedding  in  the  bride's  house  ;*but  the  other  view, 
held  by  most  commentators,  is  much  more  probable. 
Normally  the  wedding  is  in  the  bridegroom's 
house,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  requirement  of 
the  parable  to  the  contrary  the  usual  custom  must 
be  assumed.  And  there  is  an  early  interpretation 
of  the  meaning ;  the  words  '  and  the  bride '  are 
added  to  Mt  25 l  by  DXS,  Syr-sin,  Syr-psh,  Vulg., 
Arm.,  some  Fathers,  and  some  cursives.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  these  words  are  an  interpolation, 
but  their  addition  shows  that  the  authorities 
named  understood  the  bridegroom  to  be  returning 
with  his  bride.  It  is  true  that  in  the  best  text  she 
is  not  mentioned ;  but  that  is  because  she  is  not 
needed  for  the  purpose  of  the  parable.  In  a  village 
it  would  be  natural  for  some  of  the  virgin  friends 
of  either  party  to  await  the  couple  outside  the 
place  of  marriage  ;  and,  indeed,  our  own  custom, 
by  which  the  bridesmaids  go  to  the  door  of  the 
church  to  await  the  bride,  is  exactly  parallel. 

No  benediction  of  the  marriage  is  mentioned  in 
the  NT,  though  it  will  be  remembered  that  the 
feast  itself  was  a  religious  act,  as  was  the  Agape 
(ERE  i.  166,  173 f.).  According  to  Edersheim  (i. 
355)  it  was  customary  among  the  Jews  for  the 
benediction  to  take  place  immediately  before  the 
supper  ;  a  blessing  was  said  over  a  cup,  and  presum- 
ably the  bride  and  bridegroom  drank  of  it.  A 
benediction  seems  to  be  implied  in  Ignatius,  Polyc. 
5,  where  the  'consent'  of  the  bishop  is  required 
(above,  §  2) ;  and  it,  with  a  nuptial  Eucharist,  is 
expressly  mentioned  in  Tertullian,  ad  Uxor.  ii.  8. 
For  the  present  custom  among  Eastern  Christians 
see  Catholicos  of  the  East,  p.  151.  The  benediction, 
which  is  much  overshadowed  by  the  marriage  feast, 
should  take  place  among  the  E.  Syrians  in  church, 
but  in  practice  is  usually  in  the  house ;  a  little 
consecrated  earth  from  the  martyrs'  tombs  and 
the  ring  are  put  into  a  cup  of  wine  and  water,  and 
both  parties  drink  of  it.  They  are  crowned  with 
threads  of  red,  blue,  and  white,  and  many  prayers 
are  said. 

The  marriage  supper  follows  the  benediction, 
when  the  bridegroom  has  returned  with  his  bride  ; 
yd/j.os  and  ydpot  properly  mean  this  (Mt  228'-),  and 
then  come  to  mean  marriage  in  general,  as  in 
He  134.  The  feast  is  given  by  the  bridegroom's 
father  (Mt  222)  or  by  himself  ;  Samson  provided  it, 
though  he  came  from  a  distance,  and  this  is  said  to 
have  been  the  custom  of  the  time  (Jg  1410).  The 
supper  was  prolonged  till  late  in  the  night 
(Lk  1236-  ^J.  The  parable  of  the  marriage  of  the 
king's  son  (Mt  222~14,  apparently  quite  a  different 
incident  from  that  of  Lk  1416"24)  gives  an  account 
of  it.  To  refuse  an  invitation  to  it  without  good 
cause  was  counted  a  great  insult  (Mt  227),  for  to  be 
bidden  at  all  was  an  honour ;  the  bidding  to  the 
marriage  of  the  Lamb  conveys  a  blessing  (Rev  19a  ; 
cf.  Lk  141S).  Before  the  supper  a  servant  goes  to 
summon  the  invited  guests  (Mt  2231- ;  cf.  Est  614) ; 
and  this  continues  to  this  day  in  the  East,  where 
the  absence  of  clocks  makes  tne  custom  necessary. 
At  the  feast  the  guests  are  arranged  in  order^ 
according  to  their  rank  (Lk  147a).  Not  only  is  thes 
bride  arrayed  in  '  fine  linen,  bright  and  pure ' 
(Rev  198),  but  each  guest  wears  a  wedding  garment 
(IvSvfia  yd/j.ov,  Mt  2211) ;  the  lack  of  it  is  an  insult, 
whether  or  not  we  are  to  suppose  a  reference  to  the 
custom  of  giving  garments  as  presents  by  kings 
and  great  men  in  the  East  (so  Edersheim,  Trench) 
— and  refusing  a  gift  is  ever  a  sign  of  contempt  (cf. 
the  story  of  Esau  and  Jacob's  presents,  Gu  33) ;  in 
the  parable  no  excuse  is  offered.  The  feast  lasts 
for  seven  or  fourteen  days  (Gn  29",  Jg  1412,  To  819), 
and  during  this  time  all  fasting  is  superseded 
(Mk  218;  cf.  Edersheim,  i.  663).  The  bride  and 
bridegroom  are  treated  as  king  and  queen,  and  are 


14 


MARRIAGE 


MARRIAGE 


crowned  (of.  abovej,  and  the  bride  veiled  (Gn  2Q23-  ^ : 
this  is  why  Jacob  did  not  discover  Laban's  fraud). 

The  friend  of  the  bridegroom  (6  0/\os  TOV  vvfjufiiov, 
Jn  S29)  is  the  same  as  the  irapavvufaos  or  wdpoxos 
yd/Mw  (Aristophanes,  Av.  1740)  of  ancient  Greece  ; 
he  accompanied  the  bridegroom  to  fetch  the  bride 
— in  Palestine,  no  doubt,  then  as  now,  on  horseback, 
but  formerly  among  the  Greeks  in  a  chariot,  for 
irdpoxos  means  'one  who  sits  beside  another  in  a 
chariot '  (8x05).  The  corresponding  feminine  is 
irapdi>vft.(pos,  the  'bridesmaid'  (in  Latin  paranym- 
phus  is  a  '  bridesman,'  while  paranympha  is  a 
'  bridesmaid ').  The  '  friend  of  the  bridegroom,' 
then,  was  the  best  man  ;  according  to  Edersheim 
(i.  148,  354  f . )  his  office  was  well  known  in  Judaea, 
but  did  not  exist  in  Galilee,  and  therefore  he  is 
not  mentioned  in  Jn  2.  But  who,  then,  was  the 
'  ruler  of  the  feast '  (dpx<-rpiK\ivos)  in  Jn  29f<  ?  Souter 
(DCG  ii.  540)  supposes  that  he  was  a  steward  or 
head  waiter ;  but  his  language  to  the  bridegroom 
is  too  familiar  for  this.  More  probably  he  was  one 
of  the  guests  (so  apparently  also  in  Sir  321),  who 
was  entrusted  with  the  management  of  the  feast, 
but  did  not  in  any  way  provide  it  himself ;  he 
compliments  the  bridegroom  on  doing  this  so 
successfully. 

The  sons  of  the  bridechamber  {Mt  915,  Mk  219, 
Lk  534)  are  the  bridegroom's  companions  (cf.  Jg  1411 
— Samson  had  thirty  of  them),  or  probably  (Eder- 
sheim) all  the  guests.  They  may  even  include  the 
bridesmaids  (cf .  Ps4514  and  the  Ten  Virgins  of  Mt  25). 

After  the  marriage  the  bridegroom  was  excused 
military  service  for  a  year  (Dt  245  ;  cf.  Lk  1420), 
and  also  between  the  betrothal  and  the  marriage 
(Dt207).  For  bride  and  bridegroom  see  also  FAMILY. 

4.  Monogamy,  polygamy,  and  bigamy. — The  two 
last  are  not  directly  forbidden  in  the  NT,  but  their 
unlawfulness  for  Christians  is  assumed.  Among 
the  Jews  polygamy  had  greatly  decreased  since 
the  time  of  the  patriarchs,  and  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Christian  era  was  little  practised. 
This  was  perhaps  largely  in  consequence  of  Roman 
influence.  Josephus  says,  indeed,  that  it  was 
sometimes  found  among  the  later  Jews  (BJ  I. 
xxiv.  2,  Ant.  xvil.  i.  2f.).  He  is  speaking  of 
Herod  and  his  sons,  who  were  not  pure  Jews  ;  yet 
their  polygamy  was  not  condemned  by  public 
opinion.  In  both  passages  it  is  implied  that, 
though  an  old  Jewish  custom,  it  was  uncommon. 
In  Josephus'  account  of  the  laws  of  Moses  (Ant. 
IV.  viii.  23)  two  wives  (at  a  time)  are  mentioned  ; 
but  this  throws  no  light  on  the  custom  of  the  later 
Jews.  Polygamy  among  Jews  in  the  2nd  cent. 
A.D.  is,  however,  mentioned  by  Justin  Martyr  (Dial. 
134).  For  Christians  it  was  inconsistent  with 
Jesus'  elevated  teaching  about  marriage,  which 
assumes  monogamy.  W.  P.  Paterson  points  out 
(HDB  iii.  265a)  that  in  the  OT  itself  the  polygamy 
of  the  patriarchs  is  spoken  of  apologetically. 
Noah  was  monogamous  (Gn  77) ;  and  monogamy 
was  held  to  be  symbolical  of  God's  union  with 
Israel  (Hos  219ff-),  while  polygamy  was  symbolical 
of  idolatry.  We  may  also  notice  that  spiritual 
monogamy  is  emphasized  by  St.  Paul  in  2  Co  II2, 
where  '  to  one  husband '  is  emphatic ;  he  is  speak- 
ing of  God's  union  with  His  Church.  It  should  be 
remembered  that  in  most  or  all  countries  where 
polygamy  is  allowed,  it  is  not  in  practice  very 
common,  because  only  the  rich  can  afford  more 
than  one  wife.  Thus  at  the  present  day  the  great 
majority  of  Muslims  are  monogamous,  though 
their  law  allows  them  four  wives  and  an  unlimited 
number  of  concubines.* 

*  In  the  3rd  and  4th  cents,  the  Church  had  some  difficulty 
with  regard  to  the  reception  of  heathens  who  had  concubines. 
The  Church  Orders  do  not  allow  Christians  to  keep  concubines ; 
if  a  man  has  one  and  desires  to  become  a  Christian  he  must 
marry  her  or  leave  her  (Egyptian  Church  Order,  §  41,  Ap. 
Const,  viii.  32  [ed.  Funk],  Testament  of  our  Lord,  ii.  2) ;  and 


5.  Digamy. — The  re-marriage  of  widows  and 
widowers  stands  on  an  entirely  different  basis  from 
polygamy,  and,  though  it  was  disliked  by  many 
Christians  in  the  early  ages  of  the  Church,  it  was 
regarded  by  all,  or  almost  all,  as  permissible.  St. 
Paul  allows  it  to  widows  (Ho  I21-,  1  Co  739),  and  no 
reproach  attaches  to  those  who  practise  it,  though 
the  Apostle  thinks  that  widowhood  will  give 
greater  happiness  than  re-marriage  (1  Co  740 ;  see 
above,  2).  If  with  RV  we  render  vewrtpas  in  1  Ti  514 
'  younger  widows '  ( AV  and  RVm  '  younger  women'), 
he  encourages  or  commands  digamy  in  some  cases. 
'  I  desire  that '  they  '  marry,  bear  children,  rule  the 
household.'  But  it  seems  probable  that  he  did  not 
approve  of  '  digamy '  for  his  local  clergy,  or  the 
'  widows '  who  are  on  the  Church  roll,  supported 
by  the  Church  (1  Ti  59- 16).  These  widows  must  be 
over  threescore  years  old,  '  having  been  the  wife  of 
one  man '  (v.9).  This  phrase,  at  least,  is  unambigu- 
ous (the  participle  yeyowTa  applies  both  to  this  and 
to  the  preceding  clause)  ;  it  excludes  bigamy, 
digamy,  and  marriage  after  divorce  alike.  The 
meaning  of  the  qualification  of  the  '  bishop '  or 
'  presbyter,'  that  he  '  must  be  ...  the  husband  of 
one  wife'  (1  Ti  32,  so  Tit  I6),  a  qualification  re- 
peated in  the  case  of  deacons  in  1  Ti  312,  is  on  the 
negative  side  less  clear ;  for  the  qualification  on 
the  positive  side,  see  above,  2.  It  has  been  variously 
interpreted  as  forbidding,  in  the  case  of  the  Chris- 
tian minister,  polygamy,  digamy,  ,or  marriage 
entered  upon  after  a  divorce — which  for  simplicity, 
and  so  as  not  to  complicate  the  issue,  we  may  sup- 
pose to  have  taken  place  in  the  clergyman's  heathen 
days — or  after  a  separation  such  as  that  contem- 
plated in  1  Co  715  (see  below,  6  (b)).  In  favour  of 
the  phrase  referring  to  polygamy,  it  has  been  said 
that  as  the  Jews  sometimes  practised  it  in  the 
apostolic  period  (above,  4),  probably  some  Christians 
followed  their  example.  But  there  is  no  evidence 
of  Christian  polygamy  ;  and  the  very  fact  that  the 
apostles  did  not  find  it  necessary  to  forbid  it  ex- 
plicitly prevents  us  from  thinking  that  St.  Paul 
merely  meant  that  a  '  bishop '  or  deacon  must  not 
be  a  polygamist.  If  this  were  the  meaning,  the 
prohibition  of  polygamy  to  the  clergy  would  imply 
that  it  was  not  uncommon  among  the  laity.  We 
may  therefore  safely  dismiss  this  view.  No  Chris- 
tian would  be  allowed  to  be  a  polygamist.  The 
other  two  interpretations  may  well  be  joined 
together,  and  that  they  give  the  true  meaning  of 
the  phrase  *  is  confirmed  by  the  injunction  about 
widows  (1  Ti  510).  This  clearly  forbids  the  recep- 
tion on  the  roll  of  a  widow  who  at  any  time  of  her 
life  has  had,  by  divorce,  or  death,  or  otherwise, 
more  than  one  husband.  It  is  true  that  a  widow, 
and  a  fortiori  a  widower,  may  lawfully  marry 
again  (above)  after  the  death  of  their  spouses  ;  but 
a  higher  standard  is  required  in  the  case  of  the 
clergy.  It  is  necessary  here  again  to  remark  that 
a  disciplinary  regulation,  even  of  St.  Paul,  is  not 
intended  to  be  a  cast-iron  law  for  all  time.  But 
that  it  was  a  desirable  regulation  in  the  Apostolic 
Age  we  can  well  understand,  for  there  was  a  con- 
siderable prejudice  against  digamy ;  and,  however 

this  is  evidently  the  meaning  of  Can.  of  Hippolytus,  xvi.  [ed. 
Achelis,  §  80],  which  says  that  a  Christian  who  has  lived  with  a 
single  (speciali)  concubine,  who  has  borne  him  a  son,  must  not 
cast  her  off,  i.e.  he  must  marry  her.  The  clause  common  to 
these  books  apparently  comes  from  their  lost  original,  which 
may  not  improbably  be  assigned  to  Hippolytus,  and  be  dated  soon 
after  A.D.  200.  But  some  of  these  Orders  say  that  under  some 
circumstances  a  concubine  of  a  heathen  may  herself  be  re- 
ceived. 

*  The  Church  Orders,  if  they  deal  with  the  matter  at  all,  in- 
terpret the  injunction  of  digamy,  and  some  of  them  extend  the 
prohibition  to  the  minor  orders  (Maclean,  Ancient  Church  Orders, 
Cambridge,  1910,  p.  92).  The  Orthodox  Eastern  Church  (see 
above,  a)  does  not  allow  her  parish  priests  to  marry  again  after  the 
death  of  their  wives.  In  that  case  they  must  leave  their 
parishes,  and  they  usually  enter  a  monastery.  Marriage  after 
ordination  is  not  treated  of  in  the  NT. 


MARRIAGE 


MAREIAGE 


15 


unreasonable  the  prejudice  might  be,  it  was  well 
not  to  give  unnecessary  offence  to  public  opinion. 
This  prejudice  may  be  seen,  for  example,  in 
Josephus,  Ant.  XVII.  xiii.  4,  where  Glaphyra  is 
reprimanded  for  re-marriage,  in  a  vision,  by  her 
first  husband  ;  this  was  also  a  case  of  forbidden 
degrees,  for  her  first  and  third  husbands  were 
brothers.  Perseverance  in  widowhood  was  com- 
mended not  only  in  the  NT  (Lk  237,  1  Co  740),  but 
by  the  heathen  Romans  (Josephus,  Ant.  XVIII.  vi. 
6  :  Antonia,  widow  of  Drusus).  In  the  2nd  cent. 
Hernias  says  (Mand.  iv.  4)  that  digamy  is  not  a 
sin,  but  that  a  widow  [or  widower]  who  remains 
single  is  commended.  So  Clement  of  Alexandria 
(Strom.  \ii.  12),  commenting  on  St.  Paul,  says  that 
one  who  re-marries  does  not  sin,  but  that  he  does 
not  follow  the  most  perfect  course. 

Digamy  in  a  man  was  much  less  disliked  than 
in  a  woman.  The  '  Epiphanian '  view  of  the 
Brethren  of  our  Lord,  that  they  were  Joseph's 
children  by  a  former  marriage,  would  hardly  have 
been  possible  in  the  4th  cent,  if  there  had  been  a 
very  strong  prejudice  against  a  widower  marrying 
again.  Third  and  fourth  marriages  were  strongly 
rejtrobated  in  the  early  Church  (see  ERE  iii.  493). 

6.  Prohibited  marriages.  —  We  may  in  this 
section  discuss  certain  prohibitions  against 
marriage,  leaving  aside  for  the  moment  the  question 
of  marriage  after  divorce  (see  7). 

(a)  Forbidden  degrees. — Whatever  were  the  for- 
bidden degrees  in  the  OT,  they  appear  to  have 
remained  unaltered  in  NT  times.  There  are  a 
few  passages  which  deal  with  the  subject.  In 
1  Co  51'5- 13  St.  Paul  deals  with  the  case  of  a  Cor- 
inthian who  took  his  father's  wife,  evidently  his 
stepmother,  not  his  own  mother.  It  is  not  quite 
clear  if  the  father  was  alive  ;  if  2  Co  712  refers  to 
the  same  incident,  as  appears  to  the  present  writer 
the  more  probable  supposition,  he  was  alive ;  but 
if  so,  it  is  not  clear  whether  he  had  divorced  his 
wife  and  the  son  had  married  her.  In  any  case, 
the  inference  is  that  even  if  it  were  only  a  case  of 
marriage  between  a  son  and  a  stepmother  it  would 
be  repugnant  to  the  Apostle,  as  it  would  be  even 
to  the  better  heathen.  Otherwise  a  heathen  would 
have  got  over  the  difficulty  by  the  father  divorcing 
his  wife  and  the  son  then  marrying  her ;  but  the 
marriage  or  adultery  of  persons  so  closely  related 
by  affinity  had  shocked  both  Christians  and 
heathens  alike.  Another  case  is  that  of  Herod 
Antipas  and  Herodias  his  brother  Philip's  wife 
(Mk  617'-).  Here  again  it  is  immaterial  whether 
Philip  was  alive  or  dead,  or  whether  Herodias  had 
been  divorced  ;  the  connexion  would  be  prohibited 
in  any  event  (Lv  1816) :  '  it  is  not  lawful  for  thee 
to  have  thy  brother's  wife  '  (she  was  also  niece  of 
both  her  husbands).  Ramsay  thinks  (St.  Paul  the 
Traveller,  1895,  p.  43)  that  the  prohibited  degrees 
are  probably  referred  to  in  the  Apostolic  Letter 
(Ac  1520- 29  2125),  and  he  understands  'fornication' 
there  to  mean  marriage  within  these  degrees. 
Others  deny  this,  and  say  that  Gentile  Christians 
had  to  be  reminded  that  fidelity  to  the  marriage 
bond  was  not  a  matter  of  indifference,  and  that 
fornication  and  idolatry  went  hand  in  hand.  But 
it  is  not  quite  easy  to  see  why  this  sin  alone  of  all 
others  is  mentioned  in  the  Letter,  coupled  as  it  is 
with  such  ceremonial  injunctions  as  not  eating 
things  strangled  or  with  the  blood  ;  and  Ramsay's 
view  appears  to  deserve  greater  support  than  it 
has  generally  received.  The  Letter,  which  is 
somewhat  of  the  nature  of  a  compromise,  indicates 
what  part  of  the  Mosaic  Law  the  Gentile  Chris- 
tians, to  avoid  scandal,  ought  to  keep.  The  exist- 
ence of  prohibited  degrees  may  be  partly  due  in 
their  origin  to  the  general  feeling  that  those  of 
the  same  household,  where  several  families  (in  the 
Western  sense)  lived  in  one  house  (see  FAMILY), 


should  not  intermarry  ;  and  it  is  a  striking  fact 
that  the  East  Syrian  Christians,  who  have  pre- 
served the  custom  of  several  families  living  under 
one  roof,  have  considerably  extended  the  Table  of 
Forbidden  Degrees  (Catholicos  of  the  East,  p.  146  f.). 

The  custom  of  the  levirate  does  not  affect  this 
question.  It  was  a  special  provision  of  the  OT  to 
prevent  the  dying  out  of  a  family  (see  ADOPTION). 
It  was  perhaps  still  practised  in  NT  times,  as  it 
is  referred  to  by  the  Sadducees,  almost  as  if  still 
existing,  in  Mt  2225ff-,  Mk  1220ff-,  Lk  2029ff-  (note  vap' 
T)iuv.  Mt.).  But  at  least  it  was  obsolescent. 

1$)  Mixed  marriages. — The  Israelites  in  the  OT 
had  frequently  been  urged  not  to  intermarry  with 
the  heathen  nations,  especially  with  the  Canaan- 
ites(Dt  73  ;  cf.  Nu  256f-,  etc.) ;  and  mixed  marriages 
were  one  of  the  great  troubles  of  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah  in  restoring  the  captivity  of  the  people 
(Ezr  9lff-,  Neh  IS23*-,  etc.).  The  strict  Jew  would, 
like  St.  Peter,  think  it  unlawful  '  to  join  himself 
or  come  unto  one  of  another  nation'  (Ac  1028). 
Yet  there  were,  both  in  OT  and  in  NT  times, 
many  cases  of  mixed  marriages,  of  which  that  of 
Timothy's  parents  is  a  later  example  (Ac  161 ; 
th|ere  seems  to  be  a  reference  to  it  in  Gal  2s,  where 
St.  Paul  says  that  Titus,  being  a  Greek,  was  not 
compelled  to  be  circumcised — he  was  doubtless 
thinking  of  Timothy's  circumcision,  Ac  163).  For 
OT  mixed  marriages  in  practice  see  Ru  I4,  1  K  714, 
2  Ch  2426,  etc.,  besides  the  alliances  of  the  kings. 
In  dealing  with  Christian  marriage,  St.  Paul 
tolerates  the  union  of  Christians  with  heathen  (or 
Jews  ?)  only  when  it  has  been  entered  into  before 
conversion  ;  in  such  a  case  the  parties  should  con- 
tinue to  live  together  if  the  unbelieving  partner  is 
willing  (1  Co  712'16 ;  see  below,  7) ;  the  reason  given 
is  not  only  the  well-being  of  the  non-Christian 
spouse,  but  also  that  of  the  children  (v.14) — 'now 
are  they  holy,'  words  which  perhaps  refer  to  the 
probability  that  the  children  of  one  Christian 
parent,  if  not  separated  from  the  other  spouse, 
will  be  brought  up  in  the  faith.  Marriage  between 
one  already  a  Christian  and  an  unbeliever  is  for- 
bidden :  '  Be  not  unequally  yoked  with  unbelievers ' 
(2  Co  614 — though  these  words  have  a  wider  appli- 
cation than  marriage).  If  a  widow  re-marries,  it 
must  be  '  in  the  Lord,'  i.e.  the  second  husband  must 
be  a  Christian  (1  Co  739).  St.  Peter's  reference 
to  mixed  marriages  (1  P  31)  probably  deals  with  a 
marriage  before  conversion  and  is  parallel  with 
1  Co  7121f'.  The  prohibition  of  mixed  marriages 
among  the  Jews  extended  to  those  of  free  men 
and  women  with  slaves  (Josephus,  Ant.  IV.  viii. 
23).  There  is  nothing  on  this  head  in  the  NT. 

7.  Divorce. — Whatever  view  we  take  of  some 
controverted  texts,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
our  Lord  completely  revolutionized  men's  ideas  on 
this  subject.  With  the  heathen  divorce  was  the 
easiest  possible  thing ;  it  was  open  to  a  husband 
or  to  a  wife  to  terminate  the  marriage  at  will. 
The  Roman  satirist  scoffs  at  the  woman  who  had 
eight  husbands  in  five  autumns  (Juvenal,  Sat.  vi. 
224  ff.).  Things  were  not  much  better  with  the 
Jews,  though  there  was  a  difference  of  opinion 
among  the  Rabbis.  Some  held  that  a  man  could 
'  put  away  his  wife  for  every  cause,'  interpreting 
the  '  unseemly  thing '  of  Dt  241  as  anything  for 
which  he  may  dislike  her.  The  great  Hillel  is 
said  to  have  held  this  view,  and  Josephus  so 
understood  the  matter  (Ant.  IV.  viii.  23) ;  this  is 
probably  what  our  Lord  refers  to  in  speaking  of 
the  bill  of  divorcement  (Mt  531*-).  Others  held 
that  the  husband  could  give  his  wife  a  bill  of 
divorcement  only  if  she  were  guilty  of  adultery, 
interpreting  the  '  unseemly  thing '  in  this  stricter 
sense  (Edersheim,  ii.  332 ff.). 

Divorce  was  forbidden  by  our  Lord,  with  at 
most  one  exception  (Mt  532  198- 9,  Mk  109-  >"•,  Lk 


16 


MARRIAGE 


MARRIAGE 


1618) :  '  what  God  hath  joined  together  let  not 
man  put  asunder.'  St.  Paul  gives  charge  ('yet 
not  I,  but  the  Lord ' — it  is  a  Divine  ordinance,  not 
his  private  opinion)  that  a  wife  is  not  to  depart 
from  her  husband  ;  but  that  if  she  depart,  she  is 
to  remain  unmarried  or  else  be  reconciled  to  her 
husband  ;  and  '  let  not  the  husband  put  away  his 
wife'  (1  Co  71M-).  And,  later,  he  repeats  that  'a 
wife  is  bound  for  so  long  time  as  her  husband 
liveth '  (v.39). 

Postponing  for  the  moment  the  exceptive 
clauses  of  Mt532 199,  and  therefore  the  signification 
of  iropveia,  let  us  consider  in  detail  our  Lord's  teach- 
ing about  divorce.  One  who  puts  away  his  wife 
makes  her  an  adulteress  (532)  and  becomes  an  adul- 
terer if  he  marries  again  (199,  Mk  10",  Lk  1618) ; 
and  a  woman  who  puts  away  her  husband  and 
marries  again  commits  adultery  (Mk.) ;  the  second 
husband  of  a  divorced  wife  commits  adultery 
(Mt.  twice,  Lk. ).  All  this  is  clear  except  the  first 
saying.  How  does  a  wife,  presumably  innocent, 
become  an  adulteress  because  her  husband  divorces 
her  ?  One  reply  ( W.  C.  Allen,  ICC,  '  St.  Matthew,' 
Edinburgh,  1907,  p.  52  ;  so  Bengel,  Alford)  is  that 
she  is  placed  in  a  position  in  which  she  is  likely 
to  marry  again,  and  a  second  marriage  would  be 
adultery.  Lyttelton,  however,  suggests  (Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  p.  178)  that '  adulteress '  here  means 
that  the  woman  is  placed  in  a  different  position 
in  the  eye  of  the  law  from  that  which  she  holds  in 
the  sight  of  God.  '  According  to  the  one  she  is  a 
freed  woman,  not  a  wife ;  according  to  the  other 
she  is  still  a  wife,  still  bound  to  her  husband.' 

We  may  now  take  the  exceptive  clauses  found  in 
both  the  Matthsean  passages,  but  not  in  Mk.,  Lk., 
or  1  Cor.,  or  indeed  anywhere  else  in  the  NT.  In 
Mt  532  the  Evangelist  adds,  '  saving  for  the  cause 
of  fornication '  (jrape/crdj  \6yov  iropvelas),  and  in  199 
'  except  for  fornication '  (et  HT)  tirl  vopvelq.),  though 
in  some  MSS  the  text  of  199  is  brought  nearer  to 
53a.  In  the  first  place,  are  these  words  an  authentic 
utterance  of  our  Lord  ?  Are  they  really  part  of  the 
First  Gospel  ?  (these  are  two  quite  distinct  ques- 
tions). The  view  that  they  are  not  authentic  is 
upheld  by  Votaw  in  HDB  v.  p.  27b ;  for  the  view 
that  they  are  an  integral  part  of  Mt.  see  Plummer, 
St.  Matthew,  London,  1909,  pp.  81,  259,  and  J.  R. 
Willis  in  DOG  i.  31.  Votaw  upholds  his  view  by 
the  arguments  that  '  the  account  in  Mt.  is  second- 
ary,' that  there  is  a  divergence  between  Mt.  and  the 
other  Synoptists  and  St.  Paul,  that  the  exceptive 
clauses  are  of  a  statutory  nature  while  Jesus 
enunciates  principles  rather  than  legislative  enact- 
ments, and  that  in  our  Lord's  general  teaching 
adultery  is  not  enough  in  itself^  for  divorce — the 
Gospel  urges  mercy  rather  than  justice,  and  leaves 
time  for  repentance  (cf.  the  story  of  the  woman 
taken  in  adultery,  Jn  88ff-).  Of  these  arguments 
the  divergence  between  the  Evangelists  seems  to 
the  present  writer  to  be  the  only  important  one  ; 
there  is  no  real  reason  for  saying  that  the  excep- 
tive clauses  do  not  enunciate  a  principle  just  as 
much  as  the  general  teaching  about  divorce ;  and 
with  regard  to  the  last  statement,  it  is  to  be  noticed 
that  the  exceptive  clauses  do  not  state  that  adultery 
in  itself  dissolves  marriage,  but  that  it  is  a  legiti- 
mate cause  for  dissolving  it.  On  the  other  hand, 
every  known  authority  for  the  Matthsean  text 
attests  these  clauses — the  assimilating  of  the  two 
passages  in  some  MSS  is  a  very  natural  thing  for  a 


scribe  to  do,  and  does  not  show  that  the  archetyp 
of  any  of  our  MSS  lacked  the  clauses;  and  tn< 
tendency  found  in  some  writers  to  reject  words  on 
purely  a  priori  grounds,  against  all  MSS  and  VSS, 
is  one  which  is  justly  deprecated  by  scholars  in 
this  country.  The  evidence,  then,  is  enough  to 
bring  us  to  the  conclusion  that  the  words  were 
written  by  the  First  Evangelist.  But  were  they 


uttered  by  our  Lord?  It  seems  to  be  a  tenable 
view  that  they  are  a  gloss  by  the  Evangelist,  or  by 
his  authority — that  Jesus  gave  the  general  principle 
of  non-divorce  without  explicitly  naming  any  ex- 
ceptions ;  and  that  the  first  disciples  understood 
adultery  to  be  such  an  exception,  and  therefore 
the  exceptive  words  were  added  as  a  true  interpre- 
tation. If  so,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  Church 
in  later  times  could  add  other  exceptions  for  which 
the  Evangelist  gives  no  warrant.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  a  tenable,  and  perhaps  more  probable 
view,  that  our  Lord  gave  the  exception  Himself,  on 
some  other  occasion  than  that  described  in  Mt  193 
and  ||  Mk.  St.  Luke  (1618)  gives  the  injunction  as 
to  divorce  as  an  isolated  fragment,  without  the 
context  of  the  Pharisees'  question.  The  fact  that 
the  First  Evangelist  gives  the  injunction  twice 
leads  us  to  suppose  that  in  an  authority  other  than 
Mk.  he  found  the  record  of  a  second  occasion  on 
which  our  Lord  taught  about  divorce,  for  otherwise 
why  should  he  repeat  the  words  ?  It  may  well  be 
that  he  found  there  an  exceptive  clause.  Thus 
the  silence  of  the  other  authorities  (always  a 
doubtful  argument)  does  not  prohibit  the  supposi- 
tion that  Jesus  spoke  the  exceptive  words  Himself 
(so  Edersheim). 

What  then  does  vopvela  mean  in  the  two 
Matthsean  passages?  It  is  distinguished  from 
noixela.  in  Mt  1519,  Mk  721'-,  and  in  inferior  MSS  of 
Gal  519 ;  cf.  1  Co  69  and  He  134  (irbpvoi  and  poixol). 
Lyttelton  (op.  cit.  p.  174  ff.)  makes  iropveia  the  sin 
of  the  flesh,  and 'jnotxet'a  the  breaking  of  the  marriage 
bond  by  iropveia  or  otherwise.  According  to  some, 
iropvda.  denotes  pre-nuptial  sin,  and  the  meaning 
is  that  a  man  who  finds  himself  deceived  in  the 
woman  he  marries  may  repudiate  her.  But  as 
Swete  points  out  (St.  Mark*,  London,  1902,  p.  218), 
while  iropveia  and  /totxeia,  when  named  in  the  same 
context,  are  to  be  distinguished,  iropveia.  in  the 
exceptive  clauses  can  hardly  have  the  meaning 
assigned  ;  in  Hos  2B,  Am  717  LXX,  iropvetiw  is  used 
of  post-nuptial  sin  (see  also  Gore,  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  p.  73).  The  fact  that  in  Mt  5s8  our  Lord 
teaches  that  poixeta  can  be  committed  by  intention 
somewhat  militates  against  Lyttelton's  view,  and 
shows  that  there  is  not  always  a  very  sharp  distinc- 
tion in  the  NT  between  the  two  words.  We  may, 
then,  probably  take  vopvela  in  the  exceptive  clauses 
to  signify  adultery  of  any  kind. 

If  these  clauses  are  authentic,  or  are  true  glosses, 
do  they  allow  re-marriage  to  either  party,  and  if 
so  to  both  husband  and  wife  ?  Here  it  is  instructive 
to  note  two  2nd  cent,  interpretations  of  our  Lord's 
words,  (a)  Hernias  (Mand.  iv.  1)  says  that  a 
husband  must  put  away  an  adulterous  wife  if  she 
continue  in  sin ;  he  must  divorce  her,  but  he  may 
not  himself  marry  again — for,  if  he  does,  he  com- 
mits adultery  himself  ;  he  must  receive  her  back  if 
she  repent,  and  the  forbidding  of  re-marriage  is 
expressly  said  to  be  for  this  reason.  So  a  wife 
should  not  live  with  an  adulterous  husband  who 
does  not  repent;  yet  she  may  not  marry  again. 
(b)  Justin  Martyr  in  his  Secona  Apology  (.§  2)  tells 
of  a  woman  who  after  becoming  a  Christian  divorced 
her  heathen,  intemperate,  and  unchaste  husband  ; 
but  he  implies  that  she  did  not,  and  could  not, 
marry  again. 

Light  is  thrown  on  the  matter  by  the  further 
question  whether  a  wife  could  divorce  her  husband 
or  only  a  husband  his  wife.  Greeks  and  Romans 
allowed  divorce  by  a  wife  (see  Swete  on  Mk 
1012) ;  but  this  was  not  in  accord  with  Jewish 
custom  (so  expressly  Josephus,  Ant.  XV.  vii.  10, 
speaking  of  Salome,  wife  of  Costobarus,  to  whom 
she  '  sent  a  bill  of  divorce  and  dissolved  her  marriage 
with  him').  Among  the  Parthians  the  custom 
obtained  (Ant.  XVIII.  ix.  6,  where  Mithridates' 
wife  threatens  to  divorce  him).  In  the  NT  appar- 


ently  a  difference  was  made  between  the  marriage 
of  two  non-Christians  one  of  whom  was  afterwards 
converted,  and  that  of  two  Christians.  In  the 
former  case  St.  Paul  recognizes  the  legal  right  of  a 
Christian  woman  to  leave  an  unbelieving  husband, 
though  he  urges  her  not  to  do  so  if  he  be  content 
to  keep  her  (1  Co  I13  ;  see  above,  6  (£>)).  And  in  that 
case  the  wife  may  re-marry ;  the  same  applies  to 
the  parallel  case  of  a  Christian  husband  and  an 
unbelieving  wife — the  '  brother '  or  the  '  sister ' 
[see  FAMILY]  is  '  not  under  bondage  in  such  cases' 
(v.18).  But  the  general  rule  for  married  Christians 
is  that  the  wife  is  not  to  depart  from  her  husband 
or  re-marry  (v.10).  In  Mk  1012  there  is  a  clause, 
not  found  in  the  parallels,  which  forbids  a  wife  to 
put  away  her  husband  and  marry  another.  Here 
the  scribe  of  Codex  Bezse  (D),  scandalized  at  the 
very  idea  of  the  possibility  of  a  woman  divorcing 
her  husband,  alters  the  phrase  to  '  if  a  woman  leave ' 
(t&\6y  <i7r6),  etc. 

On  the  whole  question  of  re-marriage  after 
divorce,  and  the  interpretation  of  the  NT  teaching, 
there  has  long  been  a  divergence  of  opinion  between 
the  more  logical  West  and  the  less  logical  East. 
The  former  considers  the  question  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  possibility  of  adultery  dissolving 
marriage  ;  the  latter  from  that  of  punishing  an 
offence.  While,  then,  for  many  centuries  the  West 
did  not  allow  re-marriage  in  any  case  (other  than 
in  that  of  nullity  of  marriage),  the  East  has  always 
allowed  the  re-marriage  of  the  'innocent  party.' 
Here  we  note  that  the  Jewish  law  absolutely  for- 
bade the  marriage  of  the  adulterer  with  the  adulter- 
ess (Edersheim,  ii.  335) ;  this  was  with  a  view  to 
punishing  the  guilty,  rather  than  for  any  theoretical 
cause.  And  the  Christian  East  follows  the  same  line 
of  reasoning.  Again,  there  is  a  great  difference  be- 
tween '  blessing '  a  marriage,  and  so  giving  the 
Church's  sanction  to  an  act  which  she  perhaps  dis- 
approves, and  recognizing  the  existence  of  a  valid 
marriage.  For  the  Church's  benediction,  accord- 
ing to  the  once  universal  view — modified  by  the 
Council  of  Trent  for  those  who  receive  its  decrees 
— is  not  of  the  essence  of  marriage,  as  the  consent 
of  the  parties  is,  but  is  only  a  solemn  and  edifying 
addition.  The  Church  may  therefore,  if  it  sees  fit, 
refuse  to  solemnize  a  marriage  without  thereby 
asserting  that  the  marriage  is  non-existent. 

Where  two  views  are  possible,  the  Church  will 
do  well  to  allow  for  both.  This  does  not  mean  that 
she  must  necessarily  allow  divorce  for  adultery  and 
recognize  re-marriage  by  pronouncing  her  benedic- 
tion on  it ;  but  only  that  she  should  keep  an  open 
mind  on  the  subject,  and  that  different  parts  of  the 
Church  may  legitimately  agree  to  differ  in  the 
regulations  they  make  with  regard  to  it. 

LITERATURE. —  A.  Edersheim,  LT&,  2  vols.,  London,  1897  ; 
R.  C.  Trench,  Notes  on  the  Parables  of  ounLordW,  do.,  1877, 
chs.  xii.,  xiii. ;  artt. '  Marriage,' '  Divorce,'  *  Bride,' '  Bridegroom,' 
etc.,  in  HDB,  SDB,  DCG,  and  in  EBi;  artt.  'Chastity  (Chris- 
tian)' and  'Celibacy  (Christian)'  in  ERE.  For  Christian 
marriage  in  the  East  at  the  present  day  as  illustrating  NT 
customs  see  A.  J.  Maclean  and  W.  H.  Browne,  The  Catholicos 
of  the  East  and  his  People,  London,  1892.  For  marriage  gener- 
ally see  H.  M.  Luckock,  History  of  Marriage,  do.,  1894  ;  O.  D. 
Watkins,  Holy  Matrimony,  do.,  1895  ;  W.  J.  Knox-Little,  Holy 
Matrimony,  hi '  Oxford  Library  of  Practical  Theology,'  do.,  1901. 
For  divorce  see  E.  Lyttelton,  Studies  in  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  London,  1905 ;  E.  Schurer,  H JP  n.  ii.  [Edinburgh, 
1885]  123;  Edersheim  (as  above):  S.  R.  Driver,  Deutero- 
nomys,  London,  1902 ;  C.  Gore,  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
do.,  1897;  C.  W.  Votaw,  in  HDB  T.,  art.  'Sermon  on  the 

Mount.'  A,  J.  MACLEAN. 

MARS'  HILL.— See  AREOPAGITE,  AREOPAGUS. 

MARTYR.— 1.  The  name.—'  Martyr'  is  given  as 
the  rendering  of  /wipri/j  in  the  RV  only  in  Rev  17". 
The  word  is  used  in  practically  the  same  sense  in 
Rev  2U  (Antipas)  and  Ac  2220  (Stephen),  but  is  in 
both  passages  translated  'witness.'  As  Jesus  is 

VOL.  II. — 2 


said  to  have  '  witnessed '  by  accepting  death  (Rev 
Is ;  cf.  1  Ti  613),  the  expression  was  appropriately 
transferred  to  His  followers  who  suffered  for  Him. 
The  absolute  use  of  fj.aprvpia  and  naprvpelv  to  signify 
this  did  not  become  fixed  until  the  middle  of  the 
2nd  cent,  (see  J.  B.  Lightfoot  on  Clem,  ad  Cor.  v. 
in  Apostolic  Fathers,  I.  ii.  [1890]  26). 

2.  The  position  of  Christians. — Our  Lord  warned 
His  disciples  that  active  hostility  would  be  the 
normal  attitude  of  the  world  toward  the  Church 
(Mt  5n).     The  Apostolic  Age  provided  a  continu- 
ous commentary  on  this  saying.     It  is  customary 
to  distinguish  one  or  two  epochs  in  that  period  as 
moments  of  great  persecution.     But  this  must  not 
obscure  the  truth  that  persecution  seldom  ceased 
altogether.     In  the  first  days  of  the  Church  this 
was  exclusively  the  work  of  Jews.     Besides  the 
attacks  mentioned  in  the  Acts  there  were  others 
to  which  we  have  only  passing  allusions  (e.g.  1  Th 
214,  Ja  26  510,  He  1034).     These  prove  that  the  Jews, 
not  only  of  Palestine,  but  also  of  the  Dispersion, 
were  active  in  compelling  Christians  to  pay   for 
their  faith  by  enduring  legal  and  social  oppression. 
The  Romans  did  not  at  first  discriminate  between 
Jews  and  Christians,  and  extended  to  the  latter 
the  privileged  toleration  accorded  to  the  former. 
This  confusion  of  thought  appears  in  the  state- 
ment of  Suetonius  (Claud.  25)  that  Jewish  dis- 
orders were  provoked  by  'Chrestus,'  and  in  the 
notion  of  Lysias  that  St.   Paul  was  one  of  the 
Zealots  (Ac  2138).     But  under  Nero  the  Imperial 
policy  changed.    The  mere  profession  of  Christi- 
anity now  became  matter  for  a   capital  charge 
(see  this  maintained  in  Hardy,  Studies  in  Roman 
History,   ch.   iv.,  as  against   Ramsay,  in  Church 
in  the  Roman  Empire6,  ch.  xi.  sect.  7).     By  both 
people  and  rulers  it  was  held  to  involve  '  odium 
humani  generis.'    It  incurred  popular  hatred  be- 
cause of  the   divisions  which   it  introduced  into 
family  and  social  life.     It  became  a  political  crime 
through  its  incompatibility  with  Csesar-worship, 
its  refusal  to  '  worship  the  image  of  the  beast ' 
(Rev  1315),  which  led  the  Roman  authorities  to 
regard  it  as  anarchy.     No  special  laws  were  passed 
against  it,  but  there  were  standing  police  orders 
that  it  should   be  suppressed.      This  policy  was 
steadily  maintained,  and  such  a  reference  as  that 
made  by  Pliny  in  his  letter  to  Trajan  (Epp.  x.  97) 
concerning  an  unknown  persecution  in  Bithynia 
twenty  years  before  shows  thattheremust  have  been 
much  official  activity  against  Christians  of  which 
no  record  survives.     The  NT  reflects  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  govern- 
ment.    In  Acts  Rome  is  the  power  which  protects 
Christians  against  Jewish  assault  (Ac  2510) ;  in  the 
Apocalypse  Rome  is  drunk  with  the  blood  of  the 
saints  (Rev  176). 

3.  The  number  of  the  martyrs.  —  Later  ages 
naturally  tended  to  exaggerate  this  in  order  to 
add  glory  to  the  Church.     It  was  held  that  the 
truest  following  of  Christ  was  found  among  those 
who  had  been  put  to  death  for  His  name.     Legends 
grew  up  which  in  time  invested  every  member  of 
the  apostolic  college  with   the  martyr's  halo  (a 
collection  of  these  stories  may  be  seen  in  the  Ante- 
Nicene  Christian  Library,  vol.  xvL  [1873]).     It  is 
instructive  to  note  that  Clem.  Alex.  (Strom,  iv.  9) 
quotes  an  early  protest  against  supposing  that 
salvation  belonged  to  martyrs  only,  which  is  justi- 
fied by  citing  the  instances  of  some  of  the  apostles 
who  had  died  a  natural  death.     But  it  remains 
true  that  the  Biblical  and  other  records  leave  the 
impression  that  great  numbers  of  believers  were 
slain  in  the  1st  century.     In  the  Jewish  persecution 
Saul  is  said  to  have  entered  into  every  house  (Ac 
8s),   and  to  have  searched   every  synagogue  for 
Christians.     The  number  of  converts  was  already 
considerable  in  Jerusalem  (cf .  Ac  241-  °  67},  so  that, 


18 


MAETYR 


MAKTYK 


unless  we  hold  (with  R.  B.  Rackham,  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  1901)  that  he  pursued  Hellenists  only, 
the  list  of  sufferers  must  have  been  very  large. 
Imprisonment,  beating,  and  even  death,  the 
Romans  presumably  conniving,  were  the  penalties 
incurred  (Ac  224- 8>  19).  On  this  occasion  the 
leaders  of  the  Church  seem  to  have  escaped,  but 
the  next  onslaught  affected  them  specially  (Ac  12). 
James  the  son  of  Zebedee  fell,  and  Peter  was  cast 
into  prison.  These  attacks  left  a  lasting  impres- 
sion on  the  Church  (cf.  1  Th  214). 

Still  heavier  was  the  toll  of  martyrs  exacted  by 
the  Roman  persecutions  of  the  1st  century.  Tacitus 
(Ann.  xv.  44)  speaks  of  a  multitude  ingens  of 
victims  in  the  Neronian  outbreak,  and  to  this 
answers  the  TTO\I>  ir\fj6os  of  Clem.  Rom.  (ad  Cor. 
vi.).  In  Rev  137  testimony  is  borne  to  the 
thoroughness  with  which  the  whole  of  the  Empire 
was  made  to  feel  the  effects  of  this  policy.  The 
same  impression  is  conveyed  by  1  P  58"9.  The 
adversary's  rage  is  like  the  fury  of  a  lion  ;  all  over 
the  Roman  world  Christians  are  united  in  a  com- 
munity of  suffering.  It  is  noteworthy  that  both 
Jewish  and  Gentile  persecutors  seem  to  have 
found  a  special  object  of  attack  in  the  Christian 
prophets,  who  were  no  doubt  brought  into  promi- 
nence by  their  preaching  of  the  gospel  (cf.  1  Th  215, 
Rev  166  1824).  The  horrors  inflicted  by  the  Roman 
torturers  may  be  gathered  from  the  two  passages 
of  Tacitus  and  Clement  mentioned  above.  The 
victims  were  crucified,  or,  by  a  diabolical  refine- 
ment of  cruelty,  clad  in  the  skins  of  beasts  to 
serve  as  the  quarry  of  dogs.  At  nightfall  they 
were  smeared  with  pitch  to  stand  as  living  torches 
in  the  gardens  of  Nero.  For  women  there  were 
brutalities  more  shameful  than  death. 

4T~The  historic  martyrs.  —  Among  those  who 
were  done  to  death  in  the  Jewish  persecutions 
mentioned  in  the  Act&the  names  of  two  only  are 
preserved — Stephen,  anoJames  the  son  of  Zebedee. 
Stephen  was  nominally  charged  with  blasphemy, 
but  the  proceedings  were  no  trial  in  any  legal 
sense,  and,  if  the  Sanhedrin  were  ever  called  to 
account  for  them,  they  doubtless  pleaded  that  a 
sudden  and  uncontrollable  tumult  had  occurred. 
Of  the  martyrdom  of  James  the  account  is  in  Ac 
122  and  in  Eusebius,  HE  ii.  9,  quoting  Clement  of 
Alexandria.  James  was  beheaded,  and  his  bearing 
so  impressed  his  accuser  that  it  converted  him, 
and  he  suffered  with  the  apostle.  This  must  have 
been  before  A.D.  44,  as  in  that  year  Herod  Agrippa 
died.  Attempts  have  recently  been  made  (e.g.  by 
W.  Bousset,  Die  Offenbarung  Johannis6,  1896,  pp. 
47-8)  to  establish  the  allegation  of  Philip  of  Side 
that  Papias  had  said  that  John  the  Apostle  was 
slain  with  his  brother.  But  if  this  were  so,  the 
silence  of  Ac  122  is  incomprehensible.  We  have 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  John  died  anything  but 
a  natural  death.  The  stories  of  his  escape  from 
the  boiling  cauldron  before  the  Latin  Gate,  and 
of  his  drinking  poison  without  harm,  come  from 
Gnostic  Acta  Johannis  of  the  2nd  century.  Some 
years  after  the  passion  of  the  first  James,  another 
James,  'the  Lord's' brother,'  was  murdered  (?A.D. 
61).  Ananus,  the  high  priest,  in  the  interval 
between  the  death  of  Festus  and  the  arrival  of 
Albinus,  caused  him  to  be  stoned.  The  dramatic 
account  of  his  end  given  by  Hegesippus  is  pre- 
served in  Eusebius,  HE  ii.  23.  A  shorter  and  more 
authentic  record  may  be  found  in  Josephus,  Ant. 
XX.  ix.  1  (see  J.  B.  Mayor,  Ep.  of  St.  James3, 
1910,  p.  xxxix). 

In  Rome  the  first  shadow  of  the  Neronian  perse- 
cution fell  upon  Pomponia  Graecina.  The  evi- 
dence of  the  Catacombs  has  made  it  almost  cer- 
tain that  the  '  foreign  superstition '  with  which  she 
was  charged  (Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  32)  was  Christianity 
(cf.  Lightfoot,  Apostolic  Fathers,  I.  i.  30).  Her 


trial  resulted  in  her  acquittal  (A.D.  57).  Seven 
years  later  Rome  was  burnt,  and  Nero  turned  the 
popular  rage  against  the  Christians.  His  success 
cost  the  Church  on  earth  the  lives  not  only  of  a 
great  host  of  unknown  saints  but  also  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul.  Lightfoot  points  out  (on  Clem. 
Rom.  ad  Cor.  v. )  that  the  NT  raises  the  expecta- 
tion that  these  two  would  be  martyrs.  In  Jn  211H 
there  is  what  is  virtually  a  description  of  St. 
Peter's  death,  and  in  2  Ti  46ff-  St.  Paul  writes  as  one 
who  knew  that  his  end  was  near.  That  they  both 
suffered  in  Rome  is  a  constant  tradition.  Clement 
(loc.  cit.)  couples  them  together  as  '  athletes '  who 
'struggled  to  the  death,'  and  were  familiar  to 
Roman  believers.  Ignatius  (ad  Rom.  iv. )  implies 
that  both  had  been  teachers  of  authority  in  Rome. 
Eusebius  (HE  ii.  25)  collects  testimonies  to  the 
same  effect.  He  cites  Dionysius  of  Corinth  as 
asserting  that  both  apostles  suffered  about  the 
same  time  in  Rome,  and  adds,  from  the  Roman 
Gaius,  a  minute  description  of  their  tombs.  Ter- 
tullian  (Scorp.  15,  de  Prcescr.  36)  affirms  that  St. 
Peter  was  crucified,  and  Origen  (ap.  Euseb.  HE 
iii.  1)  says  that  he  was,  at  his  own  request,  placed 
on  the  cross  head  downwards.  The  '  Domine,  quo 
vadis?'  story  is  preserved  in  pseudo-Ambrose, 
Sermo  contra  Auxentium.  St.  Peter's  death  may 
be  dated  in  the  early  days  of  the  Neronian  perse- 
cution (A.D.  64).  His  Epistle  implies  an  imminent 
onslaught,  and  the  tradition  which  puts  his  grave 
in  the  Vatican  suggests  that  he  was  among  the 
victims  butchered  there  after  the  great  fire. 
Eusebius  (HE  iii.  30)  repeats  the  story  of  Clem. 
Alex,  that  the  Apostle  before  his  own  death  saw 
his  wife  led  away  to  execution,  and  comforted  her 
in  a  manner  typical  of  Christian  martyrs.  He 
'rejoiced  because  she  had  been  called  and  was 
going  home.'  Tertullian  and  Origen,  in  the 
passages  to  which  allusion  is  made  above,  name 
Rome  as  the  scene  of  St.  Paul's  martyrdom, 
and  Tertullian's  expression  is  to  the  effect  that  he 
was  beheaded.  Jerome  (de  Vir.  Illustr.  v.)  alleges 
that  the  two  apostles  died  on  the  same  day.  This, 
though  supported  by  the  commemoration  of  both 
on  29th  June,  is  in  itself  improbable  and  the  tradi- 
tion varies  (cf.  L.  Duchesne,  Lib.  Pont.,  1886-92, 
i.  119). 

The  date  of  the  death  of  Antipas  of  Pergamum 
(Rev  213)  was,  according  to  legend,  in  the  reign  of 
Domitian,  when  he  was  burnt  to  death  in  a  brazen 
bull.  But  the  phrase  'in  the  days  of  Antipas' 
suggests  a  date  some  years  before  the  words  were 
written,  and  Antipas  was  probably  killed  in  some 
unknown  persecution  under  the  earlier  Flavians. 

Under  Domitian  suffered  three  persons  whose 
Christianity,  if  not  absolutely  certain,  is  highly 
probable.  The  Emperor's  own  cousin,  the  consul 
Flavins  Clemens,  was  condemned,  according  to  Sue- 
tonius (Domitian,  15),  'ex  tenuissima  suspicione.' 
If  Clemens  was  a  Christian,  he  would  be  unable 
to  take  part  in  public  functions  which  involved 
Emperor-worship.  This  fits  in  with  the  assertion 
of  JDio  Cassius  (Ixvii.  14)  that  he  was  charged 
with  adedrris,  i.e.  'sacrilege,'  and  with  practising 
'  Jewish  '  ways.  It  also  explains  the  scornful  ver- 
dict of  Suetonius  that  he  displayed  '  contemptible 
indolence.'  At  the  same  time  his  wife,  Domitilla, 
was  banished  to  Pontia  (Jerome,  Ep.  108  [or  86], 
'ad  Eustochium').  With  these  two  Dio  couples 
M'.  Acilius  Glabrio  as  a  victim  of  Domitian's  fury. 
The  evidence  as  to  his  religion  is  inconclusive. 
Lightfoot's  denial  of  his  Christianity  (Apostolic 
Fathers,  I.  i.  81  n.)  is  questioned  by  Ramsay  (op. 
cit.  p.  261). 

With  Trajan  we  reach  the  last  martyr  of  this 
period.  It  is  related  in  Eusebius,  HE  iii.  32,  that 
Symeon  the  son  of  Clopas,  '  the  second  bishop  of 
Jerusalem,'  was  arrested  on  the  ground  that  he 


MARY 


IS 


was  descended  from  David,  and  was  a  Christian. 
After  many  days  of  torture  he  was  crucified. 
With  him,  in  the  opinion  of  Eusebius,  passed  away 
the  last  survivor  of  the  Apostolic  Age. 

LITERATURE. — H.  B.  Workman,  Persecution  in  the  Early 
Church'*,  London,  1911  (with  full  bibliography);  A.  J.  Mason, 
Historic  Martyrs  of  the  Primitive  Church,  do.,  1905  ;  B.  F. 
Westcott,  The  Two  Empires,  do.,  1909,  ch.  ii. ;  H.  M. 
Gwatkin,  Early  Church  History,  do.,  1909,  vol.  i.  chs.  v.-vii. ; 
W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire5,  do., 
1897,  chs.  x.-xvi.  ;  E.  G.  Hardy,  Studies  in  Roman  History 
(formerly,  Christianity  and  the  Roman  Government),  do.,  1906  ; 
H.  B.  Swete,  Apocalypse  of  St.  John"2,  do.,  1907,  Introd.,  sect, 
vii.  C.  T.  DlMONT. 

MARY  (Gr.  Mapfe,  Mapfa/t,  Heb.  anz?).— Mary, 
one  of  the  commonest  Jewish  names  for  women,  was 
derived  from  Miriam  the  sister  of  Moses,  and  very 
frequently  used  in  NT  times  because  of  the 
sympathy  felt  for  the  beautiful  Hasmonsean 
princess,  the  ill-fated  wife  of  Herod.  As  it  was 
the  name  borne  by  the  mother  of  Jesus,  it  became 
in  its  Greek  form,'  which  passed  into  all  languages, 
the  most  familiar  Christian  name  for  women. 
Many  and  varied  derivations  have  been  suggested, 
but  it  is  practically  certain  that  the  names  Moses, 
Aaron,  and  Miriam  are  all  of  Egyptian  origin. 
Miriam  is  probably  mer  Amon,  '  beloved  of  Amon ' 
(cf.  Mereneptah,  'beloved  of  Ptah'). 

In  the  NT  we  find  several  distinct  persons  bear- 
ing the  name,  although  in  some  cases  it  is  rather 
difficult  to  be  certain  that  the  same  person  is  not 
referred  to  under  slightly  varied  descriptions  by 
the  different  evangelists.  In  all,  the  name  is  found 
in  eight  connexions,  which  are  as  follows  :  (1)  the 
Virgin  Mary  ;  (2)  Mary  the  mother  of  James  and 
Joses  ;  (3)  '  the  other  Mary ' ;  (4)  Mary  (wife)  of 
Clopas ;  (5)  Mary  Magdalene ;  (6)  Mary  of  Beth- 
any J  (7)  Mary  the  mother  of  John  Mark ;  (8)  a 
Christian  lady  of  Rome.  It  is  almost  certain  that 
the  same  person  is  referred  to  in  (2),  (3),  and  (4). 
Some  have  identified  (5)  and  (6),  but  this  is 
extremely  doubtful.  Of  the  eight,  only  (7)  and 
(8)  belong  properly  to  a  Dictionary  of  the  Apostolic 
Church.  On  the  others  see  artt.  in  HDB  iii.  and 
DOG  ii. 

1.  Mary  the  mother  of  John  Mark.— In  Ac  12ia 
we  read  that  St.  Peter,  after  he  had  been  released 
from  prison  by  the  angel,  went  to  the  house  of 
Mary  the  mother  of  Mark,  where  several  members 
of  the  Church  of  Jerusalem  had  assembled  to  pray 
for  his  deliverance.     From  this  notice  we  gather 
that  Mary  was  a  Christian  lady  residing  in  Jeru- 
salem in  the  early  years  of  the  Apostolic  Church. 
As  John  Mark  was  a  cousin  (ave\j/i6s,  Col  410)  of 
Barnabas,  the  companion  of  St.  Paul  on  his  first 
missionary  journey,  Mary  was   thus  the  aunt  of 
Barnabas.      She   seems  to    have   been  a  woman 
possessed  of  considerable  wealth,  as  she  was  able  to 
entertain  the  members  of  the  Jerusalem  Church. 
We  cannot  tell  how  long  she  remained  in  Jerusalem 
or  whether  she  died  there  or  not.     Later  writers 
believed  that  her  house  was  situated  on  Mt.  Zion 
and  that  it  was  the  meeting-place  of  the  disciples 
from  the  Ascension  to  the  Day  of  Pentecost.     The 
house  was  also  reported  to  have  escaped  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  city  by  Titus  and  to  have  been  used  as  a 
church  at  a  later  period  (Epiphanius,  de  Mens.  et 
Pond.  14  ;  Cyril  Jerus.  Catech.  16).    It  is,  however, 
not  impossible  that  this  Mary  is  identical  with — 

2.  The  Christian  lady  of  Rome  to  whom  the 
Apostle  sends  greeting  (Ro  166),  and  to  whom  he 
refers  as  '  Mary  who  bestowed  much  labour  on  us.' 
The  fact  that  early  tradition  associates  Mark  with 
Rome  and  that  his  Gospel  is  undoubtedly  intended 
for  Roman  Christians  does  not  make  at  all  impos- 
sible the  idea  that  Mary  the  mother  of  Mark  moved 
to  Rome.     Evidently  the  Mary  of  Ro  166  had  not 
bestowed  labour  on  the  Apostle  in  Rome,  which  as 


yet  he  had  not  visited  at  the  date  of  writing  the 
Epistle.  If  the  Apostle  by  the  reference  '  who 
bestowed  much  labour  on  us'  alludes  to  personal 
service  to  himself,  it  must  have  been  at  some  place 
already  visited,  and  the  conclusion  is  unavoidable 
that  Mary  had  recently  settled  in  Rome.  But  it 
is  not  safe  to  draw  any  conclusion  from  this  refer- 
ence, because  the  reading  'you'  (v(j.S.s)  is  much 
better  supported  than  'us'  (q/uis).  In  this  case 
the  Apostle  may  have  known  Mary  only  by  reputa- 
tion as  a  benefactress  of  the  Roman  Church,  prob- 
ably a  woman  of  the  type  of  Lydia  of  Ac  1614"18. 
The  way  in  which  the  Apostle  refers  to  her  implies 
that  she  was  well  known  to  those  he  addressed. 
She  may  have  held  the  position  of  a  deaconess  or 
a  '  widow  '  at  Rome.  W.  F.  Bo  YD. 

MASTER.  —  In  the  Acts,  Epistles,  and  Apoca- 
lypse three  words  (Kv^epvTrrrr]s,  SecnroTrjs,  KI^HOS)  are 
translated  'master'  in  the  RV.  The  AV  has 
'  masters  '  for  diddo-Ka\oi  in  Ja  31,  the  etymological 
meaning  of  rnagistri  (so  the  Rhem.  in  He  512).  The 
RV  uses  '  teacher  '  uniformly. 

1.  In  Ac  2711  the  RV  has  '  the  master  '  for  6  nvpep- 
VT)ri\<i  (from   Kv^epvav,   Lat.    gubernare,    'govern'), 
'  governor.'     So  also  Rev  1817.     The  notion  is  that 
of  steersman  (cf.  Ezk  278-27'-). 

2.  The  term  Seo-irbr^  is  strictly  the  antithesis  of 
SoOXos,  and  signifies  '  absolute  ownership  and  uncon- 
trolled power  '  (Grimm-Thayer).     So  we  have  it  in 
1  Ti   611',  a  pertinent  warning  to   the   Christian 
SovXoc  not  to  presume  on  the  new   fellowship  in 
Christ  with  their  deo-irdrai,  but  to  give  them  all  the 
more   honour    and    service.      Christianity   should 
make  better   dov\oi  (cf.  also  Tit  29).     In   1  P  218 
dfo-n-6Ti]s  is  in  contrast  with  okerijs  ;  so  in  2  Ti  221 
it  is  i]  oiida.  TOV  Seo-Tr6rou.     In  2  P  21  Christ  is  called 
6eo-ir6rris  as  One  Who  has  purchased  His  servants. 
So  also  Jude4  and  possibly  Rev  610,  though  the 
latter  may  refer  to  God  as  in  the  LXX  (cf.  Gn 
152.  s  etc.)  and  Ac  424. 

3.  The  other  term,  Kijpios,  has  a  wider  meaning  and 
is  applicable  to  various  relations  and  ranks  of  life, 
and  does  not  necessarily  suggest  absolutism.     The 
word  is  originally  an  adjective  from  Kvpos,  meaning 
'  valid,'  '  authoritative  '  (6  txuv  Kvpos),  and  so  the 
'  master  '  or  '  owner.'    It  is  applied  to  the  '  masters  ' 
who  exploited  the  poor  girl  for  gain  in  Ac  1616-  19. 
It   stands  in  opposition  to  5ov\oi,  as  in  Eph  65>  9, 
Col  41-  22.     In  Ac  1630  the  jailer  uses  Ktipioi  merely  as 
a  term  of  respect  to  St.  Paul  and  Silas.     In  95  (228) 
St.  Paul  uses  it  in  asking  Jesus  who  He  is,  '  Who 
art  thou,  Lord  ?  '     It  is  not  certain  that  St.  Paul 
here  meant  more  than  respect.     It  is  applied  to 
God  as  the  Ruler  of  the  universe,     /ttfptos  used  for 


God  is  translated  '  Lord  '  (q.v.)  (cf.  Ac  1724,  1  Ti  615, 
Rev  48,  etc.).  With  St.  Paul,  it  may  be  noted, 
utipios  usually  refers  to  Christ  (cf.  Ro  I4,  Gal  618) 
except  in  the  OT  quotations  (cf.  Ro  48  9281-  ;  but 
note  1  Co  3s).  The  use  of  /ctfpios  for  Nero  makes  '  a 
polemical  parallelism  between  the  cult  of  Christ 
and  the  cult  of  Caesar'  (Deissmann,  Light  from  the 
Ancient  East,  Eng.  tr.,  1911,  p.  353). 

A.  T.  ROBERTSON. 

MASTERS  AND  SERVANTS.  —  See  SLAVE, 
SLAVERY. 

MATTHEW  (Ma.r6a.ios  TR,  Ma.eOa.tos  Lach.,  Tisch., 
WH).  —  The  person  bearing  this  name  in  the  NT  is 
represented  as  one  of  the  twelve  apostles  who 
before  his  call  by  Christ  had  been  engaged  as  a 
publican  or  custom-house  officer  in  Capernaum. 
He  is  also  called  Levi  (Mk  214,  Lk  529),  and  many 
have  supposed  that  he  received  the  name  Matthew 
after  his  call  by  Jesus,  just  as  Simon  became 
Peter.  On  the  other  hand,  it  seems  to  have  been 
common  in  Galilee  for  a  man  to  possess  two  names 
—  a  Greek  and  an  Aramaic  (cf.  Edersheim,  LT4, 


20 


MATTHIAS 


MEDIATION,  MEDIATOR 


1887,  i.  514).  In  the  various  lists  of  the  apostles, 
Matthew's  name  occurs  seventh  in  Mk  318  and 
Lk  615  and  eighth  in  Mt  10s  and  Ac  I13.  All  the 
Synoptists  narrate  the  story  of  the  call  of  Matthew 
from  his  tax-gatherer's  booth  and  the  subsequent 
feast  in  his  house  which  aroused  the  wrath  of  the 
Pharisees  and  led  Jesus  to  defend  Himself  by  the 
declaration :  '  They  that  are  whole  have  no  need 
of  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick.  I  came  not 
to  call  the  righteous  but  sinners'  (Mt  99"13,  Mk 
214'17,  Lk  S27'3*).  As  a  publican  Matthew  was 
employed  collecting  the  toll  at  Capernaum  on  the 
highway  between  Damascus  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean, and  was  no  doubt  in  the  service  of  Herod 
the  Tetrarch. 

Matthew  is  called  the  '  son  of  Alphaeus '  (Mk  214), 
and  the  question  has  arisen  whether  he  is  to  be 
regarded  as  the  brother  of  James  the  son  of 
Alphseus  (Mt  103,  Mk  318,  Lk  615,  Ac  I13).  In  the 
four  lists  of  apostles,  while  Matthew  and  James 
occur  in  the  same  group  of  four,  the  two  are  not 
placed  alongside  one  another  as  is  usual  with  the 
other  pairs  of  brothers  in  the  apostolic  band. 
Again,  if  we  identify  Clopas  of  Jn  1925  with 
Alphaeus  of  the  Synoptists  (Aram.  Chalphai  ;  cf. 
1  Mac  II30),  and  consequently  assume  that  James 
the  Less  of  Mk  1540  is  the  son  of  Alphaeus,  it  is 
extremely  unlikely  that  Matthew's  name  would  be 
omitted  in  Mk  1540  if  he  were  one  of  the  sons  of 
Mary  and  the  brother  of  James,  Joses,  and  Salome. 
On  the  whole,  it  is  almost  certain  that  the  two 
apostles  were  not  related. 

(  In  the  story  of  the  Apostolic  Church  as  we  find 
it  in  the  NT  the  name  of  Matthew  occurs  only 
once,  viz.  in  the  list  of  apostles  in  Ac  I13.  Probably 
he  became  a  preacher  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the 
htmse  of  Israel  and  for  the  most  part  confined  his 
labours  to  the  land  of  Palestine.  His  name  became 
associated  with  the  First  Gospel  either  because  he 
was  supposed  to  be  the  author  or  because  he  was 
the  author  of  one  of  the  sources  on  which  the  work 
was  based.  Eusebius  makes  three  interesting  state- 
ments regarding  Matthew.  He  says  (HE  iii.  24) : 
'  Matthew  and  John  are  the  only  two  apostles  who 
have  left  us  recorded  comments,  and  even  they, 
tradition  says,  undertook  it  from  necessity. 
Matthew,  having  first  proclaimed  the  gospel  in 
Hebrew,  when  on  the  point  of  going  also  to  other 
nations,  committed  it  to  writing  in  his  native 
tongue,  and  thus  supplied  the  want  of  his  presence 
to  them  by  his  writings.'  Again  we  find  in  HE 
iii.  39  the  famous  statement  of  Papias  quoted  by 
Eusebius,  '  Matthew  composed  his  logia  in  the 
Hebrew  tongue,  and  everyone  translated  as  he  was 
able.'  We  also  find  in  Eusebius'  review  of  the 
canon  of  Scripture  the  statement :  '  The  first 
(Gospel)  is  written  according  to  Matthew,  the 
same  that  was  once  a  publican  but  afterwards  an 
apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  who,  having  published  it 
for  the  Jewish  converts,  wrote  it  in  the  Hebrew ' 
(HE  vi.  25).  These  varied  quotations  associate 
Matthew  with  a  Hebrew  Gospel  or  collection  of 
the  Sayings  of  Jesus  which  in  some  way  or  other 
is  connected  with  or  incorporated  in  our  First 
Gospel.  Probably  Matthew  the  ex-publican  and 
apostle  did  form  such  a  collection  of  the  Sayings  of 
our  Lord  which  were  wrought  into  a  connected 
narrative  of  the  Life  of  Christ  by  the  First 
Evangelist,  a  Palestinian  Jew  of  the  1st  century. 
But  for  full  discussion  see  art.  '  Matthew,  Gospel 
of,'  in  HDB  and  DOG.  Unfortunately,  Eusebius 
does  not  tell  us  what  the  '  other  nations  '  were  to 
whom  Matthew  proclaimed  the  gospel,  and  we  have 
no  certain  knowledge  of  his  subsequent  missionary 
labours.  W.  F.  BOYD. 

MATTHIAS.— Matthias  (  =  Theodore,  'God's  gift') 
fe  only  once  mentioned  in  the  NT,  viz.  Ac  I23*, 


where  his  appointment  by  lot  to  fill  the  place  of 
Judas  among  the  Twelve  Apostles  is  described. 
We  there  gather  (1)  that  he  was  one  of  those  who 
had  'companied  with"  the  apostles  'all  the  time 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  went  in  and  out  among '  them, 
4  beginning  from  the  baptism  of  John '  until  the 
Ascension ;  (2)  that  he  was  antecedently  the  less 
prominent  of  the  two  put  forward,  his  bare  name 
only  being  given,  while  Joseph  is  further  described 
by  a  patronymic  '  called  Barsabbas,'  and  also  by  a 
surname  'Justus'  (5t'/ccuos) ;  for,  says  Bengel,  '  eo 
cognomine  videri  poterat  praeferri  debere,  nisi,'  as 
he  justly  adds,  '  postea  demum  hoc  cognomen 
nactus  est  ut  agnosceret  quamvis  Matthias 
electus  esset,  ipsum  tamen  sua  laude  non  ex- 
cidisse ' ;  and  (3)  that  anyhow  the  Lord  who  is 
KapdioyvuffTys  unerringly  declared  him  (ava8ei£cu) 
the  more  suitable  for  the  apostleship.  In  view  of 
these  considerations,  it  is  a  good  illustration  of 
Bible  methods  that  no  further  mention  of  him 
occurs  in  its  pages.  Matthias  is  said  by  Eusebius 
(HE  i.  12,  ii.  1)  and  Epiphanius  (Hcer.  i.  22)  to 
have  been  one  of  the  Seventy  (Lk  101),  and  the 
former  authority  (HE  iii.  25),  as  well  as  Origen 
(Horn,  in  Luc.  i.),  speaks  of  a  spurious  Gospel 
of  Matthias,  on  which  it  seems  likely  that  the 
Basilidian  Gnostics  based  their  teaching  (Philos. 
vii.  20;  Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  iii.  4,  vii.  13).  One 
early  tradition  assigns  Ethiopia  as  the  scene  of  his 
apostolic  labours,  another  Jerusalem  ;  but  of  these 
the  former  is  the  better  attested.  There  is  little 
probability  in  the  identification  which  has  been 
suggested  of  Matthias  with  Nathanael  (which 
means  'God-given').  For  a  fuller  discussion  of 
this  and  other  points  the  reader  should  refer  to 
HDB,  s.v. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  exact  method 
by  which  the  lots  were  cast  was  the  ancient  one  bv 
which  the  two  names  were  put  into  a  vessel,  which 
was  shaken  until  one  of  them  leapt  out,  and  that 
was  chosen :  the  idea  of  a  ballot  is  of  later  date 
and  not  Scriptural  (see  LOTS).  C.  L.  FELTOE. 

MEDES.— Medes  are  mentioned  in  Ac  29  in  con- 
nexion with  the  special  events  of  the  Day  of  Pen- 
tecost. These  sojourners  in  Jerusalem  would  be 
descendants  of  Jewish  settlers  among  the  Medes, 
with  perhaps  a  few  Median  proselytes.  In  Biblical 
times,  the  Medes  are  closely  associated  with  the 
Persians,  along  with  whom  they  occupied  the 
western  portion  of  Iran,  extending  north  and  south 
from  the  Caspian  Sea  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  from 
the  Zagros  Mountains  on  the  west  to  the  nearer 
edge  of  the  great  desert  separating  Media  and 
Persia  from  Bactriana  and  Sogdiana  on  the  east. 
Along  this  western  portion  of  Iran,  Media  Minor 
lay  to  the  north,  Media  proper  in  the  middle,  and 
Persia  to  the  south. 

The  Medes  were  Aryans  using  a  cuneiform  script 
of  their  own,  and  worshipping  (after  the  earlier 
half  of  the  7th  cent.  B.C.)  according  to  the  faith  of 
Zarathustra.  Their  art  shows  little  originality  or 
development,  and  their  manners,  simple  and  uncor- 
rupted  at  first,  quickly  degenerated  under  foreign 
influence.  The  so-called  Median  Empire  lasted 
from  647  to  550  B.C.,  after  which  date  Cyrus 
founded  the  Medo-Persian  dominion,  in  which  the 
Persian  branch,  hitherto  subject,  became  the  ruling 
power.  A.  W.  COOKE. 

MEDIATION,  MEDIATOR.— For  mediation  in 
paganism  and  in  the  OT  see  W.  F.  Adeney's  art. 
m  HDB.  For  mediation  in  the  Gospels  see  L. 
Pullan's  art.  in  DCG.  While  no  formal  discussion 
of  these  matters  occurs  here,  one  cannot  ignore  the 
importance  of  a  full  knowledge  of  the  OT  teaching 
and  the  possible  influence  of  the  philosophy  and 
religion  of  the  Graeco  -  Roman  world  upon  the 


MEDIATION,  MEDIATOE 


MEDIATION,  MEDIATOR 


21 


minds  of  the  apostolic  teachers  of  Christianity.  It 
is  easy  to  go  to  extremes  in  either  direction.  But 
the  study  of  comparative  religion  does  not  dim  the 
glory  of  Christ.  The  modern  Christian  rather 
claims  that  all  the  '  true  light  that  lighteth  every 
man '  comes  from  Christ  ( Jn  I9).  One  can  welcome 
all  truth  that  may  be  taken  up  into  Christianity 
(cf.  C.  Clemen,  Primitive  Christianity  and  its  Non- 
Jeurish  Sources,  1912 ;  H.  A.  A.  Kennedy,  St.  Paul 
and  the  Mystery-Religions,  1913).  It  is  hardly 
likely,  however,  that  Jesus  Himself  felt  the  influ- 
ence of  this  non-Jewish  teaching.  His  conception 
of  His  own  sacrificial  death  finds  its  roots  in  the 
OT,  and  appears  in  the  oldest  form  of  the  Synoptic 
Gospels  (Mk  1045,  Mt  2028 ;  see  also  Mk  1038,  Mt  2628). 
It  may  be  said  at  once  that  the  central  place  here 
given  to  the  atoning  death  of  Christ  for  the  sins  of 
men,  emphasized  also  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  (I29  316 
1232,  etc.),  is  just  that  conception  of  the  relative 
value  of  the  Cross  in  the  mediatorial  work  of  Christ 
found  in  Acts  and  the  rest  of  the  NT.  It  is  em- 
bedded in  the  primitive  Christian  tradition  too 
deeply  to  be  a  mere  theological  interpretation  of 
the  apostles,  read  back  into  the  thought  of  Christ 
(see  J.  Denney,  The  Death  of  Christ,  1902,  and  Jesus 
and  the  Gospel*,  1913,  where  the  writer  powerfully 
argues  that  Christianity  is  justified  in  the  mind  of 
Christ).  Mediation  lies  at  the  heart  of  all  religion 
which  assumes  human  sin  and  a  righteous  God  who 
will  forgive  the  sinner.  The  consciousness  of  sin 
demands  a  mediator  to  plead  the  cause  of  man  with 
God  ;  hence  the  existence  of  the  priesthood  in  all 
religions  worthy  of  the  name.  Paganism  has  its 
'  redeemer  gods,'  but  Christianity  is  rooted  in  the 
OT.  The  head  of  the  family  was  first  the  priest, 
then  the  patriarch  of  the  tribe.  Then  the  Aaronic 
priesthood,  and  in  particular  the  high  priest, 
exemplified  the  mediatorial  office.  There  was  also 
prophetic  and  angelic  mediation  (Ac  753,  Gal  319). 
Mediation  took  the  form  of  intercession,  of  cove- 
nant, or  of  sacrifice.  Christ  sums  up  the  whole 
mediatorial  office  as  prophet,  priest,  and  sacrifice. 
The  term  'mediator1  (/oieo-tr^s)  or  'middleman' 
occurs  once  of  Moses  (Gal  319f>)  as  the  mediator 
between  God  and  the  people  in  the  giving  of  the 
Law.  The  other  instances  all  refer  to  Christ, 
'  the  one  mediator  between  God  and  man '  (1  Ti  25), 
'the  mediator  of  a  better  covenant'  (He  86),  'the 
mediator  of  a  new  (KCUJ'TJS)  covenant '  (916  ;  i^ay  in 
1224).  In  He  617  God  '  interposed  with  an  oath ' 
(^/j.effiTfvffev  SPKQ  ;  here  the  notion  of  '  middleman ' 
recedes).  But  the  notion  of  mediation  is  far  more 
common  in  the  NT  than  the  use  of  the  word  /uecrfrr/s 
would  imply.  It  is  indeed  regulative  of  the  thought 
of  the  entire  NT,  as  can  be  easily  seen. 

1.  The  Acts. — It  is  the  living  Christ,  active  in 
leading  the  disciples  (Ac  I1*-),  who  meets  us  in  the 
Acts.  He  was  received  up  (v.2),  but  He  will  come 
again  (v.11),  and  meanwhile  His  Name  has  power 
(36).  Jesus  is  Lord  (KI^HCS,  I6-  21),  and  is  addressed 
in  prayer  (I24  789)  after  the  Ascension.  Peter  on 
the  Day  of  Pentecost  boldly  interprets  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah  (231)  of  whose  resurrection  from  the  dead 
they  were  all  witnesses  (v.32).  He  is  at  (or  by)  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father,  and  is  actively  engaged 
in  His  Messianic  work,  of  which  the  outpouring  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  one  evidence  (v.33).  The  death 
of  Jesus  is  not  an  obstacle  to  His  Messiahship. 
Peter  does  not  here  formulate  a  doctrine  of  the 
Atonement  nor  specifically  mention  the  mediatorial 
work  of  Jesus,  but  he  calls  upon  all  the  house  of 
Israel  to  understand  '  that  God  hath  made  him 
both  Lord  and  Christ,  this  Jesus  whom  ye  crucified  ' 
(v.38).  On  the  strength  of  the  claim  that  Jesus  is 
both  Lord  and  Messiah  as  shown  by  His  resurrec- 
tion, Peter  urges  repentance  and  baptism  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  address  at  Pentecost, 
as  reported  by  Luke,  is  the  first  formal  interpreta- 


tion on  the  part  of  the  disciples  of  the  significance ' 
of  the  work  of  Christ.  It  is  too  early  for  the  full 
perspective  to  be  drawn,  but  at  heart  the  message 
is  the  same  as  we  find  in  the  later  years.  Jesus 
Christ  is  central  in  Christianity.  The  place  of  the 
Cross  is  recognized,  though  not  fully  expounded. 
The  Lordship  of  Jesus  the  Messiah  is  accented  as 
the  ground  for  repentance.  Already  the  reproach 
of  the  Cross  was  felt,  and  Peter  justifies  the  suffer- 
ing of  Christ  as  part  of  God's  purpose  as  shown  in 
the  prophets  (318),  though  not  excusing  the  sin  of 
Christ's  murderers  (v.13).  Peter  also  calls  Jesus 
God's  'servant  Jesus'  (v.13),  'the  Holy  and  Right- 
eous One  '  (v.14),  '  the  Prince  of  life '  (v."),  a  Prophet 
like  unto  Moses  (v.22),  the  fulfilment  of  the  cove- 
nant promise  to  Abraham  for  the  blessing  of  all 
the  families  of  earth  (v.25).  The  nearest  statement 
to  the  later  interpretation  of  redemption  on  the 
basis  of  the  death  of  Christ  comes  in  v.18ff-,  where 
he  says,  '  Repent  ye  therefore,  and  turn  again, 
that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out.'  Here  '  there- 
fore '  points  back  to  v. 18,  which  presents  the  necessity 
of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  in  particular  His  death 
on  the  cross.  The  clearness  of  Peter's  conception 
of  the  power  of  the  living  Christ  appears  in  4llM2, 
where  he  claims  that  the  impotent  man  is  made 
whole  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  that  Jesus  is  the 
Stone,  rejected  by  the  Jewish  builders,  but  made 
the  Head  of  the  Corner  by  God  in  His  Kingdom 
and  the  only  hope  of  salvation  for  men  everywhere 
(cf.  1  P  24'8).  Here  the  mediatorial  work  of  Christ 
comes  out  sharply,  and  it  is  astonishing  to  note 
Peter's  courageous  boldness  before  the  Sanhedrin. 
There  is  thus  no  doubt  as  to  the  immediate  inter- 
pretation of  the  Risen  Christ  as  Lord  and  Saviour 
from  sin.  His  death  was  not  of  a  piece  with  that 
of  Stephen  and  James,  who  died  as  martyrs.  The 
death  of  Christ  was  part  of  God's  foreseen  plan 
(2K),  was  predicted  by  the  OT  prophets  (318),  was 
the  basis  of  repentance  and  forgiveness  of  sin  (v.la), 
and,  with  His  resurrection,  proved  Him  to  be  the 
sole  hope  of  salvation  (410'12). 

The  absence  of  the  later  technical  terminology 
in  these  early  addresses  is  proof  of  the  substantial 
correctness  of  Luke's  report.  The  reference  to 
Is  53  ('Servant  Jesus')  is  natural,  and  has  the 
essence  of  Christ's  mediation,  though  the  idea  is 
not  worked  out.  In  his  address  to  the  household 
of  Cornelius  Peter  pointedly  says  :  '  That  through 
his  name  every  one  that  believeth  on  him  shall 
receive  remission  of  sins '  (Ac  1043).  He  is  also 
'the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead'  (v.42).  Peter 
also  says  that  the  Jews  '  shall  be  saved  through 
the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  like  manner  as ' 
Gentiles  (15U).  Stephen  called  Jesus  '  the  Right- 
eous One '  (752),  and  died  saying,  '  Lord  Jesus, 
receive  my  spirit'  (v.89).  Immediately  on  his 
conversion  Saul  '  proclaimed  Jesus,  that  he  is  the 
Son  of  God  '  (920).  At  Antioch  in  Pisidia  St.  Paul 
announces  the  heart  of  his  message  about  Jesus  : 
'  Through  this  man  is  proclaimed  unto  you  remission 
of  sins  :  and  by  him  every  one  that  believeth  is  justi- 
fied from  all  things,  from  which  ye  could  not  be 
justified  by  the  law  of  Moses' (IS381-).  From  this 
position  St.  Paul  never  swerved.  His  collision  with 
the  Judaizers  (Ac  15)  turned  on  the  sufficiency  of 
the  work  of  Christ  to  save,  apart  from  the  Jewish 
ceremonialism.  To  the  Philippian  jailer  he  preached 
salvation  through  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  (1630'-)- 
On  the  Areopagus  he  set  forth  the  Risen  Jesus  as 
the  Judge  of  the  world,  and  urged  repentance  for 
that  reason  (IT30'*)-  At  Ephesus  he  interpreted  the 
preaching  of  John  the  Baptist  as  urging  faith  in 
Jesus  as  the  hope  of  salvation  (194).  The  elders  of 
Ephesus  he  urged  '  to  feed  the  church  of  God ' 
(correct  text),  '  which  he  purchased  with  his  own 
blood '  (2028),  where  at  once  the  deity  of  Jesus  is 
asserted  and  also  the  atoning  nature  of  His  death. 


22 


MEDIATION,  MEDIATOR 


MEDIATION,  MEDIATOR 


Even  Festus  understood  that  St.  Paul  affirmed 
Jesus  to  be  alive  (2519).  To  the  Jews  in  Rome  St. 
Paul  spoke  'concerning  Jesus'  (2K23)  and  called  his 
message  '  this  salvation  of  God '  (v.28),  which  the 
Gentiles  at  least  will  hear.  The  conception  of 
Jesus  as  Mediator  thus  runs  all  through  the  Acts 
from  the  very  beginning. 

2.  The  Pauline  Epistles.— (a)  The  First  Group 
(1  and  2  Thess.). — At  bottom  the  same  conception 
of  Christ  appears  here  as  in  the  later  Epistles. 
The  work  of  Christ  comes  out  incidentally,  but 
very  clearly :  '  For  God  appointed  us  not  unto 
wrath,  but  unto  the  obtaining  of  salvation  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  died  for  us,  that, 
whether  we  wake  or  sleep,  we  should  live  together 
with  him '  (1  Th  59f-).  St.  Paul's  whole  gospel  of 
grace  is  here  set  forth  though  in  somewhat  general 
terms — TOV  &iroda.vbvTos  irepl  i]fJ.uv,  though  WH  give 
vwtp  in  the  margin.  These  two  prepositions  (•ffpi. 
and  vwtp)  differ  in  etymology  ('  around '  and  '  over'), 
but  in  the  Koine  are  sometimes  used  quite  in  the 
same  resultant  sense  (Moulton,  Grammar  of  NT 
Greek,  vol.  i.,  '  Prolegomena,'  1908,  p.  105).  There 
is  no  getting  away  from  the  idea  that  the  death 
of  Christ  lies  at  the  root  of  the  obtaining  of  salva- 
tion on  our  part,  though  St.  Paul  does  not  here 
explain  the  relation  of  Christ's  mediatorial  work 
to  our  redemption.  Another  general  phrase  appears 
in  1  Th  I10  :  '  Jesus,  who  delivereth  us  from  the 
wrath  to  come,'  TOV  pv6/j.tvov  i]/j.8.s  tic,  KT\.  Here  the 
historical  Jesus  is  pictured  as  the  present  deliverer 
from  the  wrath — a  complete  deliverance  (£K).  In 
2  Th  214  St.  Paul  says  that  we  realize  God's  purpose 
'  through  our  gospel.'  He  does  not,  of  course,  mean 
to  put  mere  creed  in  the  place  of  Christ.  Already 
we  find  the  mystic  term  '  in  Christ '  (1  Th  41S).  No 
objective  work  on  the  part  of  Christ  or  man,  no 
ordinance  and  no  creed,  can  take  the  place  of  vital 
union  with  God  in  Christ,  '  in  sanctification  of  the 
Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth  '  (2  Th  213). 

(b)  The  Second  Group  (1  and  2  Cor.,  Gal.,  Rom.). 
— We  may  still  follow  Lightfoot's  grouping  in  spite 
of  the  doubt  about  the  date  of  Galatians.  Here 
the  material  is  very  rich.  In  1  Co  I30  St.  Paul  sums 
up  his  idea  of  the  mediation  of  Christ :  '  But  of 
him  are  ye  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  was  made  unto  us 
wisdom  from  God,  both  righteousness  and  sanctifica- 
tion and  redemption.'  Thus  Christ  is  shown  to  be 
the  wisdom  of  God.  St.  Paul  magnifies  '  the  cross 
of  Christ'  (v.17).  His  message  is  '  the  word  of  the 
cross '  (v.18).  '  We  preach  Christ  crucified  '  (v.23). 
'  For  I  determined  to  know  nothing  among  you, 
save  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified '  (22).  The 
death  of  Christ  occupies  the  central  place  in  St. 
Paul's  message  about  salvation.  He  is  aware  that 
the  Jews  find  it  a  stumbling-block  and  the  Greeks 
foolishness,  but  he  claims  that  it  is  '  God's  wisdom 
in  a  mystery '  (v.7),  little  as  the  philosophers  sup- 
posed it  to  be  true.  The  blood  of  Christ  makes  an 
appeal  for  holy  living.  He  is  our  passover  sacrifice 
(57),  in  His  name  we  were  washed  and  justified  (611), 
we  were  bought  with  a  price  (620  T23),  and  owe  a  life 
of  holiness  to  Christ.  It  is  thus  no  mere  mechanical 
notion  with  St.  Paul,  but  a  vital  union  with  Christ 
on  the  basis  of  His  atoning  death  on  the  cross. 
Christ  died  '  for  the  sake  of '  (did)  the  weak  brother, 
who  for  that  reason  deserves  consideration  (811). 
His  death  for  man  has  glorified  humanity.  This 
intimate  bond  between  the  disciple  and  his  Lord, 
the  blood-bond,  is  set  forth  by  the  ordinances  of 
baptism  and  communion  in  a  far  wider  sense  than 
was  contemplated  by  the  '  mystery-religions '  and 
their  '  redeemer-gods '  (1  Co  102fl- 16-22  II24'26).  Per- 
haps by  irvevtMTiK6i>  in  103''  St.  Paul  means  '  super- 
natural' (Denney,  Death  of  Christ,  p.  134  f.),  but 
he  does  not  teach  that  the  ordinances  impart  the 
new  life  in  Christ.  They  are  symbols  of  the  work 
of  Christ  made  effective  in  the  soul  by  the  Holy 


Spirit,  not  the  means  for  procuring  the  redemptive 
grace.  Jesus  Christ,  not  baptism  and  not  the 
Lord's  Supper,  is  the  Mediator.  St.  Paul  expressly 
places  baptism  on  a  lower  plane  than  the  gospel  which 
he  preached  (I18"17),  which  he  could  not  have  done  if 
it  had  per  se  saving  efficacy  or  was  the  means  of 
obtaining  the  benefit  of  Christ's  mediatorial  work. 
He  interprets  the  Supper  as  symbolic,  picturing 
'the  Lord's  death  till  he  come'  (II26),  which  ye 
thereby  '  proclaim  '  (KaTa-yy^XXere).  The  ordinances 
are  thus  preachers  of  the  death  of  Christ  for  sinners 
and  of  the  new  life  in  Christ.  The  cup  proclaims 
'  the  new  covenant  in  my  blood,'  as  St.  Paul  quotes 
from  Jesus  (v.25),  and  is  to  be  drunk  '  in  remem- 
brance of  me.'  The  worthy  celebration  of  the 
ordinance  consists  in  discerning  the  body  of  Christ 
(v.29)  and  not  making  a  mere  meal  of  the  emblems. 
All  believers  are  members  of  the  mystical  body  of 
Christ  the  Head  ( 1212ff- ).  St.  Paul's  gospel,  in  short, 
has  as  its  first  word  that  '  Christ  died  for  sins '  (153). 
The  preposition  is  fartp  ('over,'  'on  behalf  of). 
This  death  would  have  been  in  vain  had  He  not 
risen  from  the  dead  (v.17).  But  the  resurrection 
of  Christ  is  guarantee  of  His  power  to  save,  so  that 
'  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive '  (v.22).  So^hen 
the  Christian,  the  one  in  Christ  (6  tv  Xptory),  is 
victorious  over  sin  and  death  '  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ '  (v.67). 

In  2  Cor.  St.  Paul  touches  the  very  heart  of  his 
message  about  salvation  in  Christ.  The  challenge 
of  the  Judaizing  sacramentalism  called  forth  this 
passionate  emphasis  on  the  sufficiency  of  the 
redemptive  and  reconciling  work  of  Christ.  '  The 
sufferings  of  Christ  abound  unto  us,'  irepicrcrei>ei  T&. 
irad'/i/ji.ara  TOV  'KpiffTOv  eis  r}/j.a^  (1s).  Here  we  have 
the  notion  of  example  rather  than  of  redemption. 
St.  Paul  suffers  as  Jesus  did.  So  as  to  410,  '  always 
bearing  about  in  the  body  the  dying  of  Jesus. 
His  '  sufferings  are  killing  him  as  they  killed  his 
Master'  (Denney,  Death  of  Christ,  p.  139).  See 
also  4s.  The  face  of  Jesus  Christ  gives  the  know- 
ledge of  God's  glory.  But  the  locus  classicus  is 
514'21,  where  the  mediatorial  work  of  Christ  receives 
formal  discussion.  St.  Paul  is  willing  to  be  con- 
sidered 'beside'  himself  (v.13)  in  this  matter  (cf. 
1  Co  I23).  The  love  which  Christ  has  for  St.  Paul 
keeps  him  in  love  (<nWx«)»  holds  him  intact  what- 
ever men  think  of  him.  Knowing  the  love  of 
Christ,  he  deliberately  interprets  (Kpivu)  His  death  : 
'  One  died  for  all,  therefore  all  died,'  Sri  eft  virtp 
irdvTuv  dtrtdavev  &pa  oi  vdvTes  dirtOavov  (514).  We 
need  not  stop  to  show  that  inrep  can  be  used  where 
the  notion  of  substitution  is  present.  It  is  common 
enough  in  the  ostraca  and  papyri  of  the  Koine 
(Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Ancient  East,  Eng.  tr., 
1911,  p.  153).  But  see  also  Jn  II80,  where  ets  S.vOp^- 
iros  diroBdvr)  virtp  TOV  \aov  is  explained  by  Kal  pr)  o\ov 
TO  tdvos  diro\rjTai.  See  further  Gal  313,  to  be  discussed 
later.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  in  2  Co  514  the  &pa 
clause,  though  parenthetical,  clearly  means  that  ol 
wdvTfs  died  in  the  death  of  Christ  and  do  not  have 
to  die  in  that  sense  again.  Jesus  therefore  died  in 
their  stead.  It  is  not  here  contended  that  this 
notion  exhausts  the  meaning  of  the  death  of  Christ. 
St.  Paul  himself  speaks  of  the  mystic  crucifixion 
with  Christ  (Gal  2-°).  No  theory  can  set  forth  the 
wealth  of  meaning  in  the  death  of  Christ,  but  St. 
Paul  here  places  the  notion  of  substitution  to  the 
fore.  Love  prompted  this  wonderful  gift.  God 
carries  on  the  work  of  reconciliation  (KaraXXeryrJ). 
This  is  done  'through  Christ'  (2  Co  518)  and  'in 
Christ'  (v.la).  God  offers  Christ  to  the  world  as 
supreme  proof  of  His  love  and  as  the  ground  of 
reconciliation.  It  is  all  'of  God'  (v.18),  and  He 
even  made  Christ  to  be  sin  on  our  behalf,  that  we 
might  become  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Christ 
(v.'21).  No  sin  actually  touched  Christ,  but  He  bore 
our  sins  as  the  sacrifice  for  sin  that  we  might  go 


MEDIATION,  MEDIATOR 


MEDIATION,  MEDIATOR 


23 


free.  So  then  St.  Paul  bears  the  message  of  recon- 
ciliation to  men  as  the  ambassador  of  Christ.  All 
that  he  has  said  elsewhere  is  in  accord  with  this 
central  passage.  See  also  89,  where  the  voluntary 
poverty  of  Christ  in  place  of  His  pre-existent  state 
of  riches  in  heaven  was  for  our  sakes  (Sid),  that  we 
'  through  his  poverty  (TTJ  vTuxfty.,  instrumental 
case)  might  become  rich.'  Here  the  whole  earthly 
life  of  Christ  is  brought  into  view,  and  not  merely 
His  death,  as  constituting  the  mediatorial  work 
of  the  Saviour.  Hence  915,  where  Jesus  is  the 
unspeakable  gift,  firl  T-fj  dveicdfrjyriTV  o-irrov  duptq..  St. 
Paul  is  positive  about  his  conception  of  Jesus — so 
much  so  that  he  calls  the  Jesus  of  the  Judaizers 
'another  Jesus, '  flXXov  'Irivovv,  and  that  gospel  'a 
different  gospel,'  etayytXtov  Zrepov  (II4).  Only  one 
historic  Jesus  in  the  sense  of  St.  Paul  is  possible, 
so  that  he  uses  fiXXo*',  not  Zrepov. 

The  aim  of  Galatians  is  to  show  that '  all  Chris- 
tianity is  contained  in  the  Cross ;  the  Cross  is  the 
generative  principle  of  everything  Christian  in  the 
life  of  man'  (Denney,  Death  of  Christ,  p.  152). 
The  mediatorial  work  of  Christ  is  set  over  against 
the  legalistic  bondage  of  the  Judaizing  gospel 
which  St.  Paul  fiercely  denounces  as  not  '  another ' 
(&\\o)  gospel,  but  a  'different'  (irepof)  gospel  (I7), 
in  reality  a  complete  departure  from  the  grace  of 
God  in  Christ  (54).  In  I8'-  St.  Paul  describes  '  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  gave  himself  for  our  sins, 
that  he  might  deliver  us  out  of  this  present  evil 
world.'  Here  we  have  inrtp  in  the  text  and  vepi- 
in  the  margin  of  WH's  text  before  rdv  d/m/mwi'. 
Justification  before  God  is  obtained  by  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ,  not  by  works  of  the  Law  (216).  This 
is  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  the  liberty  in  Christ  as 
opposed  to  the  bondage  of  the  Law  (vv.3'8- 14f-),  the 
weak  and  beggarly  rudiments  of  the  world  (43-9ff-). 
The  life  of  faith  which  St.  Paul  now  lives  in  Christ, 
-'  who  loved  and  gave  himself  up  for  me '  (virtp  faou), 
means  that  Christ  has  charge  of  his  life,  and  St. 
Paul  is  in  a  mystic  sense  crucified  with  Christ  (220). 
Christ  did  an  objective  work  for  St.  Paul,  but  it 
has  become  effective  through  the  subjective  sur- 
render to  Christ,  even  identification  with  Him.  A 
notable  passage  is  313,  'Christ  redeemed  us  from 
the  curse  of  the  law,  having  become  a  curse  for  us.' 
The  meaning  is  plain  enough.  He  is  speaking 
not  simply  for  Jews,  but  for  all.  The  curse  that 
came  upon  Christ  is  death.  By  Christ's  death  He 
'brought  us  out  from  under  (fifty  6pa<rcv  £K)  the 
curse  of  the  law.'  We  escape  spiritual  death 
because  Christ  received  in  Himself  the  curse  of  the 
law  for  sin,  though  He  Himself  had  no  sin.  The 
prepositions  give  the  same  picture.  Those  who 
rely  on  the  law  are  'under  (inr6)  a  curse.'  Christ 
.•steps  ' under '  that  curse  and  ' over '  (vwtp)  us. 
Thus  we  are  rescued  'out  from  under'  (£K)  the 
curse  and  go  free.  That  is  the  inevitable  teaching 
of  St.  Paul  in  this  passage.  It  presents  clearly 
the  notion  of  substitution.  It  may  be  remarked 
that  dvri  does  not  itself  mean  '  instead '  any  more 
than  v-a-tp  does ;  that  is  a  secondary  notion  with 
both  prepositions.  In  the  Koine  it  is  quite  common 
with  virtp  and  is  not  unknown  in  the  older  Greek. 
In  Christ  Jesus  therefore  the  blessing  of  Abraham 
comes  upon  the  Gentiles  (314).  Christ  is  the  seed 
promised  to  Abraham  long  before  the  Law  (vv.16'19). 
Christ  is  the  schoolmaster,  while  the  Law  was 
merely  the  psedagogue  to  bring  us  to  Christ,  '  that 
we  might  be  justified  by  faith '  (v.34).  Through 
faith  in  Christ  we  become  sons  of  God  in  the  full 
sense  of  sonship  (v.28).  The  very  incarnation  of 
Christ,  God's  Son,  '  born  of  a  woman,  born  under 
the  law,'  made  it  possible  for  Him  to  redeem  us 
from  the  Law  and  for  us  to  receive  the  adoption  of 
sons  and  to  have  the  privilege  of  sons  and  heirs 
and  say  'Abba,  Father'  (44"6).  Christ,  and  Christ 
alone,  set  us  free  and  called  us  for  freedom  (51- 1S). 


But  liberty  is  not  licence  (v.24),  and  the  Cross  oi 
Christ  is  the  glory  of  St.  Paul  (614). 

Romans  gives  the  same  interpretation  of  the 
work  of  Christ  as  we  find  in  Galatians,  though 
with  less  passion  and  vehemence.  The  wrath  of 
God  rests  upon  both  Gentile  and  Jew  because  of 
sin,  which  consists  in  violation  of  what  conscience 
tells  one  is  right  (l^-S20).  The  Law  brought  a 
keener  sense  of  sin,  and  all  the  world  comes  under 
the  judgment  of  God.  The  Gentile  is  without 
excuse  (I20),  as  is  the  Jew  (21)  who  is  first  in 
privilege  and  in  penalty  (v.91-).  St.  Paul  expounds 
his  gospel  with  care  in  321'31.  The  failure  of  man 
to  obtain  righteousness  made  plain  the  necessity 
for  a  revelation  of  God's  righteousness,  and  this  is 
found  in  the  gospel  and  is  mediated  through  faith 
in  Christ  (I1™-).  Real  righteousness  is  thus  apart 
from  Law  (321)  and  is  purely  of  grace  (v.24). 
God  'justifies'  the  sinner,  declares  him  righteous 
(diKaiou)  '  freely  by  his  grace  through  the  redemp- 
tion that  is  in  Christ  Jesus,'  Sid  TJJS  aTroXirrpuxrews 
TTJJ  (v  Xpurry  'lyvov  (v.24).  The  repetition  of  the 
article  removes  all  ground  for  speculation  as  to  St. 
Paul's  meaning.  Christ  is  thus  the  Redeemer,  the 
Agent  through  whom  (Sid)  redemption  is  secured, 
and  it  is  a  free  gift  on  God's  part,  provided  the 
sinner  exercises  faith  in  Christ,  5id  viffTcus  (v.25). 
More  exactly  St.  Paul  explains  how  this  redemp- 
tion is  made  possible  in  Christ,  that  we  may  obtain 
the  righteousness  of  God  (v.26),  '  that  he  might 
himself  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  that  hath 
faith  in  Jesus.'  On  man's  part  God  requires  faith 
(trust),  which  involves  repentance  from  sin.  This 
we  can  understand  as  proper.  But  what  about  the 
death  of  Christ  as  the  ground  for  this  free  otter  of 
mercy  on  God's  part  ?  Here  we  touch  the  fathom- 
less depths  of  God's  love  and  elective  grace  ( 1 1s3-38). 
It  is  all  '  of  him,  and  through  him,  and  unto  him ' 
(<!£,  Sid,  els).  But  St.  Paul  boldly  puts  forth  the 
death  of  Christ  as  God's  own  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem :  '  whom  God  set  forth,  to  be  a  propitiation, 
through  faith,  in  his  blood '  (S25).  The  middle  voice 
(irpotdeTo)  accents  the  will  of  God  in  the  matter. 
The  word  IKaar-fjpiov,  asDeissmann  has  conclusively 
shown  from  the  inscriptions  (Bible  Studies,  Eng. 
tr.,  1901,  pp.  124-135),  means  'propitiatory  sacri- 
fice,' neuter  adjective  as  substantive,  and  is  not 
here  used  in  the  sense  of  '  cover '  for  the  mercy-seat. 
He  brands  the  old  view  as  '  one  of  the  most  popular, 
most  pregnant  with  results,  and  most  baneful '  of 
all  exegetical  errors  (p.  124).  The  phrase  4v  T<# 
airrov  afyum  makes  the  meaning  clear  also.  It  is  a 
propitiation  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  '  to  show  his 
[God's]  righteousness '  (S25).  As  to  how  the  death 
of  Christ  met  the  requirements  of  God's  righteous- 
ness St.  Paul  gives  us  no  light.  We  must  let  it  go 
at  that,  save  that  we  see  the  greatest  love  in  it,  in 
that  Christ  died  for  us  while  we  were  yet  sinners 
(58'8).  Indeed,  while  we  were  yet  enemies  to  God 
(v.10),  He  showed  His  love  to  us  by  not  sparing  His 
own  Son  (832),  so  that  '  we  were  reconciled  to  God 
through  the  death  of  his  Son'  (510).  The  point 
here  is,  not  that  God  needed  to  be  reconciled, 
though  He  had  to  remain  just  when  justifying  (3-6), 
but  that  we  were  reconciled  to  God.  Certainly  we 
can  understand  to  some  extent  the  power  of  the 
appeal  of  the  death  of  Christ  for  us  while  we  were 
ungodly  sinners,  enemies  of  God.  There  is  far 
more  in  the  great  mystery  of  Christ's  death  than 
this,  but  we  can  at  least  grasp  something  of  that 
love  for  sinners  that  allowed  the  sinless  Christ  to 
be  regarded  as  sin,  and  die  for  sinners,  that  they 
might  become  righteous  in  Christ  (2  Co  521).  The 
great  passage  in  Rom.  (321'31)  stands  beside  that  in 
2  Cor.  (514'21),  and  they  concur.  The  rest  of  Romans 
confirms  this  view.  In  42S  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
is  associated  with  His  death.  If  He  had  not  risen, 
the  Death  would  have  been  in  vain.  We  enjoy 


24 


MEDIATION,  MEDIATOR 


MEDIATION,  MEDIATOR 


'  peace  with  God  through  (did)  Jesus  Christ,  through 
whom  (5i'o5)  we  have  had  our  access  (irpotraywyriv, 
'  introduction ')  by  faith  into  this  grace'  (Ro  5"-). 
The  reconciliation  is  accomplished  through  Christ 
(v.11).  We  shall  obtain  final  salvation  because 
Christ  ever  lives  (v.lu).  In  some  sense  parallel 
with  the  relation  of  Adam  to  the  race,  Christ 
stands  at  the  head  of  all  who  are  redeemed,  as  the 
channel  of  life  and  grace  (vv.12'21).  Christ  mediates 
to  the  believer  more  grace  than  Adam  did  sin  and 
death  (v.20).  But  this  wealth  of  grace  brings 
obligation  to  holy  living,  not  to  licence  (61  I6). 
St.  Paul  uses  the  figures  of  death  to  sin  as  sym- 
bolized by  baptism,  the  new  slavery  to  God,  and 
marriage  to  Christ,  to  illustrate  the  permanence  of 
the  bond  with  Christ.  Jesus  Christ  set  St.  Paul 
free  from  the  bondage  of  sin  and  the  Law  (T25  83). 
God  sending  His  Son  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh 
condemned  man's  sin  in  the  flesh  of  Jesus  (83). 
The  absence  of  the  article  before  iv  rfj  vapid  makes 
this  interpretation  probable.  Christ  is  not  merely 
the  Mediator  and  Redeemer,  but  He  dwells  in  the 
Christian  (v.10).  We  are  in  Christ  and  Christ  is 
in  us.  We  are  joint-heirs  with  Christ  (v.17)  and 
destined  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  the  Son 
of  God,  the  First-born  among  many  brethren  (v.29). 
More  than  that,  Jesus  is  now  the  champion  of  the 
elect  and  makes  intercession  for  us  at  God's  right 
hand  (v.34).  St.  Paul  defies  the  universe  to  lay  a 
charge  against  the  elect,  rescued  by  the  death 
of  Christ  and  preserved  by  His  unchanging  love 
(vv.83'39).  It  is  God's  plan,  and  He  declares  us 
righteous.  St.  Paul  seems  to  call  Christ  God  in  9s. 
Christ  died  and  came  to  life  again  that  He  might 
be  Lord  of  both  the  dead  and  the  living  (149).  So 
St.  Paul  interprets  in  Romans  the  mystery  of  the 
ages  (1625). 

(c)  The  Third  Group  (Phil.,  Philem.,  Col.,  Eph.,. 
— We  shall  treat  tnese  Epistles  in  this  order, 
though  the  position  of  Philippians  is  disputed. 
These  are  the  Epistles  of  the  first  Roman  im- 
prisonment. The  standpoint  of  Phil,  does  not 
differ  essentially  from  that  of  Gal.  and  Romans. 
St.  Paul  here  emphasizes  his  notion  of  life  with 
Christ  (I21).  The  incarnation  and  death  of  Christ 
are  treated  as  the  supreme  example  of  humility 
(2s'8).  Christ  in  His  pre-incarnate  state  left  a  place 
on  an  equality  with  God  for  the  lowliest  rank 
among  men  and  for  the  shameful  death  of  the 
Cross.  All  this  brought  its  consequent  exaltation 
(vv.9-11),  and  thus  some  light  is  thrown  upon  the 
philosophy  of  the  Cross  of  Christ.  St.  Paul  uses 
the  language  of  the  mystic  to  express  his  passionate 
devotion  to  Christ  and  his  purpose  to  realize  all 
that  Christ  has  in  store  for  him  (37'16),  '  that  I  may 
know  him,  and  the  power  of  his  resurrection,  and 
the  fellowship  of  his  sufferings,  becoming  con- 
formed unto  his  death'  (v.10).  The  very  difficulty 
of  his  language  shows  the  wealth  of  meaning  in 
his  conception  of  his  personal  relation  to  Christ. 
Jesus  was  Mediator,  but  in  no  artificial  way ; 
rather  He  had  gripped  the  whole  of  St.  Paul's 
nature.  Christ  had  become  the  passion  of  his  life 
(£i>  5t,  v.ls).  Christ  is  the  great  reality  of  life 
to  him,  irdvra  larxtu  &  T^  f^ovvafj-ovvrL  fj.e.  Christ 
brings  all  good  (419). 

There  is  nothing  distinctive  in  Philem.  on  the 
subject,  though  St.  Paul  urges  Philemon  to  receive 
the  converted  runaway  slave  as  a  '  brother  beloved ' 
'in  the  Lord'  (v.16).  Thus  Christ  sets  free  the 
slaves  of  the  world. 

In  Col.  and  Eph.  St.  Paul  combats  the  heresies 
of  incipient  Gnosticism  with  perhaps  a  tinge  of  the 
current  'mystery-religions.'  The  horizon  is  wider 
than  the  Roman  Empire  or  even  the  earth  itself. 
The  whole  range  of  the  universe  of  spirit  and 
matter  comes  into  view,  so  far  as  the  Ancients 
conceived  it  (rd  TTO-VTO.).  Already  in  Ro  819"22  '  the 


whole  creation '  is  represented  as  being  in  some 
sense  involved  in  sin  and  redemption.  The  Gnostic 
philosophy  posited  matter  as  essentially  evil,  and 
explained  the  Creation  by  the  existence  of  sub- 
ordinate aeons  who  came  in  between  God  and 
matter.  Christ  was  conceived  as  one  of  these 
aeons.  Thus  the  Person  of  Christ  is  forced  to  the 
front,  and  St.  Paul  interprets  Christ  in  relation  to 
the  universe.  He  places  Him  on  a  par  with  God 
in  nature  (Col  I14),  and  treats  Christ  as  the  Agent 
and  Conserver  of  the  material  universe  (vv.15"17). 
Thus  he  answers  the  degrading  view  of  the  Gnostics. 
Besides,  Christ  is  also  the  Head  of  the  spiritual 
universe  (vv.18"23), '  that  in  all  things  he  might  have 
the  pre-eminence'  (v.18).  As  Creator  and  Head  of 
all  things,  as  the  fullness  of  God  (v.19  29),  Christ  is 
able  to  reconcile  unto  God  all  things,  KO.L  Si'  avrov 
diroKa.ra\\d£ai  TO.  irdvTa  el$a{rr6i>  (I20).  This  peace  of 
the  universe  is  made  possible  by  the  blood  of  His 
Cross  (I20).  Here  the  mediatorial  work  of  Christ 
is  lifted  to  the  highest  possible  plane  (cf.  1  Co 
1524-28  for  an  adumbration  of  this  conception).  The 
triumph  of  the  Cross  is  emphasized  further  in 
Col  2"'-.  The  Docetic  Gnostics  denied  the  real 
humanity  of  Christ,  and  so  St.  Paul  mentions 
'blood'  and  'bodily.'  The  Cerinthian  Gnostics 
separated  the  Christ  from  Jesus,  and  so  St.  Paul 
identifies  them  as  one  '  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord  '  (v.B). 
It  is  essential  for  the  Christian  to  hold  fast  the 
Head  (v.19).  The  tufiarevw  of  v.18  is  now  known  to 
be  used,  in  an  inscription  in  the  sanctuaiy  of  Claros, 
of  the  initiate  '  entering  in  '  (cf.  The  Independent, 
1913,  p.  376).  Some  of  these  initiates  in  the 
mystery-religions  had  apparently  dethroned  Christ 
from  His  place  as  Head.  Christ  did  not  do  all  His 
mediatorial  work  on  the  Cross.  He  will  keep  it 
up,  as  we  have  seen  (1  Co  IS28*),  till  the  last  enemy 
is  put  under  His  feet,  when  He  shall  deliver  up  the 
kingdom  unto  the  Father  (v.24).  Now  He  is  at 
the  right  hand  of  God,  and  our  life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God  and  is  doubly  safe  (Col  31'3).  St. 
Paul  is  bold  to  speak  the  mystery  of  Christ  (43), 
who  is  the  mystery  of  God  (22).  In  Eph  I3  every 
spiritual  blessing  is  '  in  Christ.'  God  chose  us  '  in 
him '  (v.4).  We  become  sons  '  through  Jesus  Christ ' 
(v.6).  He  bestowed  His  grace  'in  the  Beloved' 
(v.6).  '  We  have  our  redemption  through  his 
blood'  (v.7).  God  purposed  His  will  'in  him'  (v.9), 
'to  sum  up  all  things  in  Christ'  (v.10),  'in  whom 
also  we  were  made  a  heritage'  (v.11),  '  in  whom  ye 
also  .  .  .  were  sealed'  (v.13).  Christ  is  Head  of 
the  Church,  which  is  His  body  (v.22 ;  cf.  Col  I18). 
This  mystic  body  of  Christ  includes  both  Jew  and 
Gentile,  who  have  been  made  one  in  Christ  and  are 
drawn  together  by  the  blood  of  Christ,  the  middle 
wall  of  partition  being  thus  broken  down  and  both 
being  united  to  God  and  to  each  other  (Eph  211'14). 
This  '  one  new  man '  is  the  household  of  God, 
the  holy  temple  of  the  Lord  (vv.15-22).  Thus  the 
wisdom  of  God  is  shown  (31T)  'according  to  the 
eternal  purpose  which  he  purposed  in  Christ  Jesus 
our  Lord.'  Christ  is  not  a  mere  official  Mediator. 
He  is  the  vital  Head  of  the  living  body  which  is 
growing  up  to  the  fullness  of  Christ  (412"16).  Christ 
loved  His  body,  the  Church  (the  Kingdom),  and 
gave  Himself  up  for  it  that  in  the  end  it  might  be 
without  spot  or  wrinkle,  holy  and  blameless  (525~27). 
This  mystery  is  great  (v.32)  in  regard  to  Christ  and 
the  Church.  It  is  the  whole  mystery  of  redemp- 
tive love. 

(d)  The  Fourth  Group  (1  Tim.,  Tit.,  2  Tim.).— 
The  Pastoral  Epistles,  which  in  the  present  writer's 
opinion  may  be  accepted  as  genuine,  do  not  contain 
anything  essentially  new  on  this  theme.  In  1  Ti  11S 
we  read  that  '  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to 
save  sinners."  In  2M>  we  have  the  famous  passage, 
'one  mediator  also  between  God  and  men,  himself 
man,  Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for 


MEDIATION,  MEDIATOR 


MEDIATION,  MEDIATOR 


25 


all.'  Here  the  humanity  of  Christ  is  accented  in 
His  mediatorial  work,  and  the  word  /ietrn-Tjy  is 
applied  directly  to  Jesus.  But  His  atoning  death 
as  '  ransom  for  all,'  dvri\vrpov  virtp  irdvruv,  is  em- 
phasized (note  both  &vrl  and  inrtp,  to  make  plain 
the  substitutionary  character  of  Christ's  death ; 
cf.  \trpov  dvrl  wo\\uv  in  Mt  2028).  In  Tit  214  the 
voluntary  giving  of  Christ  is  presented  to  redeem 
us  and  purify  for  Himself  a  people  of  His  own. 
The  reference  is  to  His  death.  In  Tit  S4*-  the 
Pauline  teaching  of  salvation  by  mercy  and  faith, 
not  by  works,  appears,  '  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Saviour.' 

3.  Epistle  of  James. — There  is  nothing  in  this 
book  specifically  on  the  subject,  though  the  media- 
torial work  of  Christ  is  assumed  and  implied  in 
several  passages.     In   I1  James  terms  himself  '  a 
servant  of  God  and  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ' ;  here 
the  word  Kvpiot  is  to  be  noted  and  also  the  fact  that 
Christ  is  placed  on  a  level  with  God  in  what  may 
possibly  be  the  earliest  document  in  the  NT.    Still 
stronger  is  21 :    '  Hold  not  the  faith  in  our  Lord 
Jesus,  the  glory ' ;  if  we  accept  the  interpretation 
of  Mayor  and  several  other  commentators,  Christ 
is  here  the  object  of  faith  and  so  of  worship,  andr^s 
86£r]s  is  in  descriptive  apposition.    '  The  honourable 
(KO\&V)  name  which  is  called  upon  you '  refers  to 
Christ.     There  may  be  a  reference  to  the  death  of 
Christ  in  56,  though  this  is  not  certain  ;  but  the 
Second  Coming  is  presented  in  v.7.     '  The  Judge 
standeth  before  the  doors  '  (v.9).    Though  the  stress 
in  the  Epistle  is  on  the  ethical  side  of  Christianity, 
one  notes  the  same  doctrinal  conception  of  Christ 
and  His  work  at  the  basis  of  it  all.     The  new  birth 
is  mentioned  in  I18'21. 

4.  Jade. — There  is  a   positive   note  in   Jude's 
Epistle,  as  the  writer  describes  '  Our  only  Master 
and  Lord  (rbv  fj.6vov  deffirorrjv  /ecu  Ktipiov  TJ/JLUV),  Jesus 
Christ'  (v.4).     Cf.  v.3,  '  the  faith  which  was  once 
for  all  delivered  unto  the  saints,'  clearly  having 
Jesus  as  'only  Master  and  Lord.'    See  also  'our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ'  in  v.17  ;  '  the  mercy  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  unto  eternal  life '  (v.41),  where  '  eternal 
life '  is  posited  in  '  the  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.'     In  v.241-  we  are  plainly  told  that  we  can 
be  set  before  the  presence  of  God's  glory  '  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.' 

5.  Epistles  of  Peter. — The  genuineness  of  these 
Epistles  cannot  here  be  discussed,  nor  their  '  Paul- 
ine '  features.     They  certainly  give  the  same  view 
of  Christ's  mediatorial  office  as  we  find  in  St.  Paul's 
writings.     This  conception   of  Christ's  sacrificial 
death  meets  us  in  1  P  I2,  '  sprinkling  of  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ '  (cf.  Ex  24).     The  new  birth  comes 
to  pass  '  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from 
the  dead'  (1   P  1s).     The  readers  of  the  Epistle 
receive  the  end  of  their  faith,  even  the  salvation 
of  their  souls,  'through  Jesus  Christ '(I9).     'The 
sufferings  of  Christ'  were  prophesied  beforehand 
by  the  Spirit  of  Christ  (v.11).     Redemption  is  not 
with  gold,  '  but  with  precious  blood,  as  of  a  lamb 
without  blemish  and  without  spot,  even  the  blood 
of  Christ'  (v.19).     Here  the  point  of  view  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (chs.  9  and  10)  is  approached. 
Christ  is  the  Living  Stone  through  whom  the  living 
stones  in  the  spiritual  house  '  offer  up  spiritual 
sacrifices,  acceptable  to  God  '(IP  25),  a  clear  picture 
of  the  mediatorial  work  of  Christ  (cf.  Mt  1618).    In 
221  we  are  told  expressly  that  '  Christ  also  suffered 
for  you  (virtp  v/j.iav),  leaving  you  an  example  (i>vo\in- 
irdvuv  viraypaij.ij.6v),  that  you  should  follow  his  steps,' 
where  the  death  of  Christ  is  given  as  an  example 
for  us  in  suffering.     But  that  this  is  not  the  sole 
idea  in  the  atoning  death  of  Christ  we  need  only 
recall  (I18f>),  not  to  mention  the  rest  of  the  sentence 
in  221'24,  where  we  read  that  Jesus  '  did  no  sin  '  and 
'  his  own  self  bare  our  sins  in  his  body  upon  the 
tree,  that  we,  having  died  unto  sins,  might  live 


unto  righteousness  ;  by  whose  stripes  ye  were 
healed.'  There  is  an  evident  reference  to  Is  53, 
and  the  substitutionary  character  of  the  death  of 
Christ  for  sins  is  clear  enough.  St.  Peter's  own 
interpretation  of  tirafffv  vwtp  vpCiv  is  thus  quite 
pertinent.  Hence  it  is  plain  what  is  meant  in  318  : 
'  Because  Christ  also  died  (dirtOavev,  WH,  but  some 
MSS  firaOfv)  for  (irtpl)  sins  once  for  all  (fiiraf),  the 
righteous  for  (virtp)  the  unrighteous,  that  he  might 
bring  you  (or  us,  Uyttas  or  r/juas)  unto  God.' 


This 


significant  passage  pictures  Christ  as  both  Sacrifice 
and  Priest  (cf.  Hebrews).  In  321  baptism  is  given 
a  symbolic  interpretation  'through  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ,'  and  in  v.23  the  mediatorial  work 
of  Christ  continues,  '  who  is  on  the  right  hand  of 
God,  having  gone  into  heaven.'  Christ  suffered  in 
the  flesh  (31*  41).  Through  Jesus  Christ  God  is  to 
be  glorified  in  all  things  (411).  We  are  to  rejoice  if 
we  become  partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings,  only  we 
must  be  innocent  of  wrong  and  suffer  as  Christians 
(v.13ff>).  This  imitation  of  Christ  in  suffering  is 
ennobled  by  the  fact  that  Jesus  has  bought  us  by 
His  own  precious  blood  (cf.  I18'-  510).  St.  Peter 
calls  himself  a  witness  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ 
and  a  partaker  of  the  glory  to  be  revealed  (51). 

In  2  P  I1  the  Greek  text  rov  0eoO  Tj^dv  /cat  <TWTTJ- 
pos  'Iijcrov  "Kpurrov  (cf.  I11  :  rov  Kvplott  riftdov  KO.L  ffurfj- 
pos'Iijo-ov  Xpiffrov)  calls  for  the  translation,  'Our 
God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.'  Thus  the  deity 
and  redemptive  work  of  Christ  are  presented.  Cf. 
also  '  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  '(I11), 
'  the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ' 
(v.16).  In  21  the  heretics  are  described  as  '  denying 
even  the  Master  that  bought  them.'  In  32  Jesus 
is  described  again  as  '  the  Lord  and  Saviour.'  The 
Lord  Jesus  is  to  return  for  His  people  (ch.  3). 

6.  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  —  The  mediatorial 
work  of  Jesus  is  the  distinctive  note  in  this  wonder- 
ful book.  Everything  turns  on  the  peculiar  quali- 
fications of  Christ  in  His  humanity  and  deity  to 
fulfil  His  mission  as  Redeemer  from  sin.  The  Jews 
had  challenged  the  worth  of  Christianity  in  com- 
parison with  Judaism.  They  claimed  the  superi- 
ority of  Judaism  in  the  revelation  in  the  OT,  in  the 
fact  that  this  revelation  was  mediated  through 
angels,  in  the  greatness  of  Moses,  in  the  glory  of 
the  Aaronic  priesthood,  in  the  promises  to  Israel. 
It  was  an  impressive  plea,  and  Christianity  was 
made  to  appear  barren  beside  the  richness  of  ritual 
and  worship  present  in  Judaism.  The  reply  is 
a  striking  apologetic  for  Christianity  as  in  all 
points  superior  to  Judaism  by  showing  that  in  each 
of  these  points  the  former  has  the  advantage.  The 
revelation  in  Christianity  comes  through  the  Son 
of  God  as  compared  with  the  OT  prophets  (I1"8); 
Christianity  is  mediated  through  the  Son  of  God, 
who  is  superior  to  angels  both  in  His  Divine  nature 
as  God's  Son  (  l4-^)  and  in  His  human  nature  as  the 
Son  of  man  (25'18)  ;  Jesus  is  superior  to  Moses  since 
He  is  God's  Son  over  God's  house,  not  a  servant  in 
the  house  (3l-4ls)  ;  the  priesthood  of  Christ  is 
superior  to  that  in  Judaism  (414-123)  since  Jesus 
Himself  is  a  better  High  Priest  than  Aaron 
(414_728)  .  ge  ig  j.Qe  minister  of  a  far  better  covenant 
(81*18)  ;  He  now  ministers  in  a  better  sanctuary 
(91'12)  ;  He  offers  a  better  sacrifice  which  is  His  own 
blood  (918-1018),  and  His  work  rests  on  better 
promises  (lO19-!^).  The  argument  is  masterful 
and  complete,  and  furnishes  the  richest  interpreta- 
tion of  the  work  of  Christ  in  existence^  It  is  a 
complement  to  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul  in  its 
emphasis  (414-128)  on  the  pnestly  work  of  Jesus. 
But  for  Hebrews  we  should  have  only  glimpses  of 
this  aspect  of  Christ's  mission.  The  wealth  of 
material  in  the  Epistle  renders  extended  comments 
on  important  passages  impossible.  In  the  very 
first  section  (I1"3)  we  see  the  nature  of  Christ  s 
Person  as  the  effulgence  of  God's  glory  and  the 


26 


MEDIATION,  MEDIATOR 


MEDIATION,  MEDIATOR 


very  image  of  His  substance.  His  work  is  described 
as  universal  in  the  cosmic  relation  (creation)  and 
maintenance  of  the  universe  (cf.  Col  I15ff-) ;  but  He 
is  described  at  once  as  the  Priest  who  made  puri- 
fication of  sins  and  as  He  Who  sits  on  the  right  hand 
of  the  Majesty  on  high  as  the  Mediator  between  God 
and  man.  Jesus — and  the  writer  loves  the  human 
name — is  qualified  for  His  work  as  the  Son  of  God, 
and  is  thus  superior  to  angels  (1*  25)  by  the  high 
inheritance  as  Son.  But  His  humanity  likewise 
equips  Jesus  for  His  task.  He  is  the  representative 
man  (25'9),  fulfilling  man's  highest  destiny  '  because 
of  the  suffering  of  death,'  which  He  tasted  '  for 
every  man '  (v.9).  The  Incarnation  perfected  the 
human  experience  of  Jesus  through  sufferings  (v.10) 
and  made  Him  a  sympathetic  High  Priest  as  He 
makes  propitiation  (IXdo-icco-ftu)  for  the  sins  of  the 
people,  equipped  by  suffering  and  temptation  to 
succour  the  tempted  (v.18).  Our  Mediator  thus  has 
power  with  the  Father  as  His  Son  and  commands 
our  sympathy  and  confidence  as  our  Elder  Brother 
(v.111-).  Jesus  is  'the  apostle  and  high  priest  of 
our  confession '  (31).  The  double  nature  of  Jesus 
as  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  man  makes  a  powerful 
appeal  to  Christians  to  come  boldly  to  the  throne 
of  grace,  for  grace  to  help  in  time  of  need  (414~16). 
Jesus,  like  Aaron,  has  both  human  sympathy  and 
Divine  appointment  (51*9).  By  His  obedience  and 
suffering  He  became  the  Author  of  eternal  salva- 
tion (v.*'').  But  Jesus  is  far  superior  to  Aaron  in 
that  He  is  like  Melchizedek  (510  728).  He  has  His 
priesthood  unchangeable  (724),  'wherefore  also  he 
is  able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  them  that  draw 
near  unto  God  through  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth 
to  make  intercession  for  them '  (v.*5).  Being  free 
from  sin  He  is  the  kind  of  Priest  that  sinners  need 
( v  v.  26-28).  He  is  '  the  mediator  of  a  better  covenant ' 
(86)  in  that  this  covenant  is  one  of  grace  in  the 
heart  and  not  mere  ineffective  form.  So  He  is  the 
'  mediator  of  a  new  covenant '  (915).  His  sanctuary 
is  heaven  itself,  '  the  greater  and  more  perfect 
tabernacle'  (911),  into  which  He  entered  once  for 
all,  having  obtained  eternal  redemption  (v.12).  He 
is  both  Sacrifice  and  High  Priest  (cf.  W.  P.  DuBose, 
High  Priesthood  and  Sacrifice,  1908).  His  offering 
is  His  own  blood,  that  of  the  God-man,  which  was 
voluntary  and  so  with  moral  value  in  the  realm  of 
spirit  (v.'3t).  This  offering  was  made  once  for  all 
(ftra£,  v.26)  and  really  accomplishes  cleansing  from 
sin  (1012'18).  He  will  come  a  second  time  for  salva- 
tion alone  (928).  The  blood  of  Jesus  has  given  us 
boldness  to  enter  into  the  holy  place  ( 1019a-).  There 
is  no  other  sacrifice  for  sin  if  we  reject  this  (v.26). 
The  heroes  of  faith  hold  on  to  the  promise  of  the 
Messiah  which  has  come  true  in  Christ  Jesus,  who 
is  Himself  the  best  example  of  faith,  the  Author 
and  Perfecter  of  our  faith  (llsa-123).  Once  more 
the  writer  speaks  of  '  Jesus  the  mediator  of  a  new 
covenant'  (1224).  Christians  should  be  loyal  to 
Christ.  He  has  not  changed  (138).  He  suffered 
without  the  gate  that  He  might  sanctify  His  own 
people  through  His  own  blood,  and,  if  need  be,  we 
should  be  willing  to  leave  the  camp  of  Judaism 
and  take  our  stand  with  Jesus,  bearing  His  re- 
proach (v.m).  God  brought  from  the  dead  'the 
great  shepherd  of  the  sheep  with  the  blood  of  an 
eternal  covenant,  even  our  Lord  Jesus'  (v.20). 

7.  The  Johannine  Epistles  and  the  Apoca- 
lypse.— We  can  see  clear  teaching  about  the  media- 
tion of  Christ  in  1  John  :  '  The  blood  of  Jesus  his 
Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin'  (I7).  Here  we  have 
the  picture  of  the  continuous  sacrificial  efficacy 
of  the  blood  of  Christ  (cf.  Hebrews).  '  And  if  any 
man  sin,  we  have  an  Advocate  (irapaKXrirov)  with  the 
Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous '  (21).  He  pleads 
our  cause  with  the  Father  (cf.  Ho  S34).  '  And  he  is 
the  propitiation  (l\a.afj.6s)  for  (irepi)  our  sins ;  and 
not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the  whole  world' 


(22).  Here  the  universal  aspect  of  the  work  of 
Christ  is  presented.  St.  John  opposes  the  Cer- 
inthian  Gnostics  who  distinguished  between  Jesus 
and  Christ  (222 ;  cf.  51-  6),  and  shows  that  confession 
of  the  Son  brings  knowledge  of  the  Father  (223). 
He  presents  also  the  purifying  power  of  hope  in 
Christ  (33).  The  Son  of  God  destroys  the  work  of 
the  devil,  who  sins  from  the  beginning  (v.8f-).  God 
showed  His  love  for  us  by  sending  His  only  be- 
gotten Son  into  the  world  as  a  propitiation  for 
our  sins  (4M-).  The  Father  has  sent  the  Son  to  be 
the  Saviour  of  the  world  (v.14).  God  abides  in  the 
man  who  confesses  the  Son  (v.15).  The  water  and 
the  blood  bear  witness  to  Jesus  and  His  work  (56'8), 
meaning  probably  the  baptism  and  the  blood.  The 
baptism  symbolizes  the  death  and  resurrection  of 
Christ  for  our  sins.  By  the  Son  of  God  we  come 
to  know  the  true  God  and  eternal  life  (v.20).  Con- 
fession of  the  true  humanity  of  Jesus  as  opposed  to 
the  Docetic  Gnostics  is  absolutely  essential  (421-, 
2  Jn7). 

The  Apocalypse  gives  a  powerful  picture  of  the 
mediatorial  work  of  Christ.  He  'loosed  us  from 
our  sins  by  his  blood'  (Rev  I8).  He  will  come 
again  for  judgment  of  the  wicked  (v.7)  and  for  the 
blessing  of  the  redeemed  (2220).  He  was  dead  and 
is  now  alive  for  evermore,  with  the  keys  of  death 
and  Hades  (I17'*)-  Christ  is  the  Lion  of  the  tribe 
of  Judah,  the  Root  of  David,  victorious  and  able  to 
open  the  seals  of  the  book,  because  He  is  also  as  a 
Lamb  standing,  as  though  He  had  been  slain  (55~7). 
Here  the  power  of  Christ  is  lodged  in  His  atoning 
death.  With  His  blood  He  purchased  men  of 
every  land  and  nation  (v.81-),  who  worship  Jesus 
as  God.  Those  arrayed  in  white  robes  in  heaven 
have  been  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  (713f>)- 
Thus,  as  in  Hebrews,  Jesus  is  both  Sacrifice  and 
Priest.  The  Lamb  is  the  Shepherd  to  guide  unto 
fountains  of  water  of  life  (717).  The  Lord  was 
crucified  in  spiritual  Sodom  and  Egypt  ( 1  lb).  Christ 
is  Conqueror  at  last,  for  the  kingdom  of  the  world 
is  become  the  Kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  His 
Christ  (v.15).  Because  of  the  blood  of  the  Lamb 
the  accuser  of  our  brethren  is  cast  down  by  the 
authority  of  Christ  (1210L).  The  Lamb  that  has 
been  slain  has  a  book  of  life  written  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world  (138).  The  victors  sing  the 
song  of  Moses  and  of  the  Lamb  (IS21-).  The  Lamb 
shall  overcome,  for  He  is  Lord  of  lords  and  King 
of  kings  (1714).  The  Lamb  will  have  His  marriage 
supper,  and  the  Bride  is  the  company  of  those 
redeemed  by  His  blood  (197ff-  21W-).  As  Victor  His 
garments  are  sprinkled  with  (or  dipped  in)  the 
blood  of  His  enemies  (1913).  In  the  New  Jerusalem 
the  Lord  God  the  Almighty  and  the  Lamb  are  the 
temple  (2122).  |The  Lamb  is  the  lamp,  and  only  those 
are  there  whose  names  are  written  in  the  Lamb's 
book  of  life  (2123-  *).  Jesus  is  the  Root  and  Off- 
spring of  David,  the  bright  and  morning  Star  (2216). 
He  offers  the  water  of  life  freely  to  all  who  will 
drink  (v.17). 

See  also  artt.  ATONEMENT,  PRIEST,  PROPITIA- 
TION, RANSOM,  RECONCILIATION,  REDEMPTION, 
SACRIFICE,  SALVATION,  SAVIOUR. 

LITERATURE. — See  books  on  NT  Theology  bv  W.  F.  Adeney 
(1894),  W.  Beyschlag  (Eng.  tr.,  1895),  J.  Bovon  (21902-05), 
D.  F.  Estes  (1900),  H.  J.  Holtzmann  (21911),  G.  B.  Stevens 
(1899),  B.  Weiss  (Eng.  tr.,  1882-83);  A.  B.  Bruce,  St.  Paul's 
Conception  of  Christianity,  1894,  The  Humiliation  of  Christ, 
1876 ;  D.  Somerville,  St.  Paul's  Conception  of  Christ,  1897 ; 
H.  A.  A.  Kennedy,  St.  Paul  and  the  Mystery-Religions,  1913 ; 
W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Teaching  of  Paul  in  Terms  of  the  Present 
Day,  1913  ;  W.  P.  DuBose,  The  Gospel  according  to  St.  Paul, 
1907;  works  on  the  Atonement  by  J.  M.  Campbell  (1907), 
R.  W.  Dale  (71873),  J.  Denney  (1903),  J.  Stalker  (1908); 
works  on  Hebrews  by  A.  B.  Bruce  (1899),  F.  Delitzsch  (Eng. 
tr.,  1868-70),  M.  Dods  (EGTiv.  [1910]),  W.  P.  DuBose  (High 
Priesthood  and  Sacrifice,  1908),  G.  Milligran  (1899),  A.  Nairne 
(The  Epistle  of  Priesthood,  1913),  B.  F.  Westcott  (1889). 

A.  T.  ROBERTSON. 


MEEKNESS 


MELCHIZEDEK 


27 


MEEKNESS.  —  Meekness  was  hallowed  as  a 
Christian  virtue  by  the  beatitude  of  Mt  55,  though 
it  is  not  improbable  that  our  Lord's  use  of  the 
phrase  '  the  meek '  implied  the  semi-technical  con- 
notation of  the  OT,  where  they  are  the  godly 
remnant,  often  oppressed  and  nearly  always  obscure, 
in  opposition  to  '  the  rich,'  the  men  of  violence  and 
pride,  who  dominated  the  society  of  Israel  in  the 
ages  of  warfare,  defensive  and  offensive.  Christ's 
own  character  (Mt  II29)  was  the  immortal  witness 
of  His  sympathy  with  the  saint,  who  was  down- 
trodden, misunderstood,  and  persecuted,  and  who 
endured  contradiction  with  courage  and  patience. 
'Christ  Himself  is  the  Christian  law,'  and  His 
moral  pre-eminence  was  the  ground  of  His  claim 
to  human  obedience  ;  but  in  calling  upon  the  race 
to  take  His  yoke,  He  speaks  as  One  '  meek  and 
lowly  of  heart,'  i.e.  as  One  who  had  Himself 
mastered  self-will,  especially  in  the  form  of  'the 
restless  desire  for  distinction  and  eminence,'  and 
had  subordinated  His  nature  to  the  love  which 
seeketh  not  its  own,  but  the  things  of  others  (cf. 
J.  R.  Seeley,  Ecce  Homo11,  1873,  ch.  xv.).  Thus, 
the  meekness  which  He  blessed  and  taught  by  His 
own  conduct  was  the  self-conquest  which  rendered 
Him  indifferent  to  the  glamour  of  external  condi- 
tions such  as  wealth,  ease,  fame,  and  sovereignty, 
by  which  even  the  greatest  minds  have  been 
dazzled  ;  and  further,  it  was  opposed  to  the  spirit 
of  resentment,  hatred,  and  pride,  which  is  often 
the  product  of  contumely,  pain,  unjust  suffering, 
and  obscurity.  For  the  application  of  this  prin- 
ciple to  slavery  in  the  Christian  economy  of  life, 
see  art.  SLAVE,  SLAVERY. 

In  apostolic  literature  the  word  'meekness' 
(irpoOrr/s,  also  found  in  the  form  TT/XNSTIJS  or  irpq.6n)t, 
and  irpaijirdOeia.,  only  in  1  Ti  6'1  and  Ign.  ad 
Trail,  viii.  1)  is  of  frequent  occurrence.  St.  Paul 
uses  it  eight  times  and  the  Apostolic  Fathers  about 
a  dozen.  In  1  Co  421  it  is  linked  with  'love,'  and 
indicates  the  forgiving  spirit  which  has  abandoned 
stern  measures ;  in  2  Co  101  with  irielxeta,  and  is 
used  of  Christ  in  a  memorable  phrase ;  in  Gal  521 
it  is  one  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  and  in  61  is 
applied  to  the  kindly  treatment  of  an  offender ; 
in  Eph  4a  the  context  suggests  the  gentleness  of 
patience  (cf.  Col  312,  2  Ti  225,  and  Tit  32).  In  Ja  I21 
it  refers  to  the  attitude  of  humble  receptivity,  and 
in  313  is  a  quality  of  Christian  'wisdom.'  In  1  P 
315  it  is  united  with  0<5/3os  as  a  safeguard  against 
the  calumny  with  which  the  opponents  of  Christi- 
anity pursued  the  believer. 

In  1  Clem.  xxi.  7  and  xxx.  8  we  find  it  allied 
with  tirieiicfia.  (cf.  Diog.  vii.  4),  and  in  Ixi.  2  with 
elp-fiv-q ;  in  Ep.  Barn.  xx.  2  it  stands  side  by  side 
with  vvofjLovTi  (cf.  Did.  v.  2).  In  Ign.  ad  Trail,  iii. 
2  it  is  described  as  '  the  power  of  the  bishop,'  and 
later  on,  in  iv.  2,  as  the  weapon  which  is  to  destroy 
the  ruler  of  this  world  (cf.  ad  Polyc.  ii.  1  and  vi.  2). 
Hermas  (Mand.  V.  ii.  6)  links  it  with  yevxla  (cf. 
1  P  3*  and  1  Clem.  xiii.  4,  where  the  corresponding 
adjectives  are  used,  the  former  being  defined  by 
Bengel  as  mansuetus,  '  one  who  does  not  cause  dis- 
turbance,' the  latter  as  tranquillus,  '  one  who  bears 
calmly  the  disturbances  of  others')  and  (ib.  xil. 
iii.  1)  with  TTIOTIS. 

Thus,  it  would  appear  that  the  ideas  of  patience 
under  injury,  the  forgiving  spirit,  peaceableness  of 
disposition  and  life,  and  gentleness  toward  the 
erring  enter  into  the  use  of  the  word  in  apostolic 
and  sub-apostolic  literature. 

R.  MARTIN  POPE. 

MELCHIZEDEK.  — The  original  meaning  was 
probably  '  My  king  is  Zedek ' ;  but  the  name  is  in- 
terpreted ideally  in  lie  72,  where  it  is  taken  to 
mean  '  king  of  righteousness,'  and  at  the  same 
time,  because  of  Melchizedek's  rule  over  Salem  ( = 
'peace'),  'king  of  peace.'  Thus  the  personal  and 


the  official  titles  point  to  the  actual  character  oi 
the  man.  The  typical  hero,  first  righteous  and 
therefore  self-governed  and  blessed  with  the  tran- 
quillizing consciousness  of  the  presence  of  God, 
appears  to  the  writer  as  an  anticipation  of  Him  in 
whom  alone  righteousness  and  peace  are  completely 
realized  both  in  His  own  person  and  life  and  in  His 

fifts  to  men.     Thereupon  the  writer  proceeds  to 
evelop  the  comparison  in  the  interest  of  his  con- 
ception of  the  supreme  and  permanent  priesthood 
of  Jesus  Christ. 

1.  The  original  source  of  the  story  is  Gn  H1™-20, 
of  which  the  literary  history  is  still  uncertain.     It 
is  not  an  integral  part  of  any  of  the  principal  docu- 
ments, though  the  chapter  as  a  whole  has  a  few 
affinities  with  P.    At  present  the  only  safe  con- 
clusion is  that  it    comes   from    an    independent 
source,  of  which  the  special  characteristics  cannot 
yet  be  determined.     Isor  is  there  any  real  evidence 
of  a  lack  of  historicity.     The  combination  of  kingly 
and  priestly  offices  in  one  person,  who  was  invested 
with  a  sacred  character  as  a  descendant  of  a  deity, 
was  a  not  unusual  feature  of  government  in  the 
primitive  ages  (see  J.  G.  Frazer,  Lectures  on  the 
Early  History  of  the  Kingship,  1905,  p.  29  ff.),  and 
may  well  have  prevailed   among  the  Canaanite 
tribes.     Yet  the  writer  of  Hebrews  need  not  be  re- 
garded as  a  witness  to  the  historicity  of  the  narra- 
tive, or  as  concerning  himself  with  such  a  question. 
He  treats  Melchizedek  ideally  rather  than  histori- 
cally, and    interprets    the    picture    preserved    in 
Genesis  without  committing  himself  to  any  opinion 
as  to  its  literal  or  biographical  accuracy.      His 
object  is  not  to  confirm  nor  to  question  the  narra- 
tive, but  to  work  out  a  conception  of  priesthood 
which  he  found  in  the  priestly  archives  of  his 
nation  ;  and  in  so  doing  he  makes  at  least  as  much 
use  of  the  silences  of  Scripture  as  of  the  assertions. 
Accordingly,  B.   F.    Westcott  (Hebrews,  1889,   p. 
199  f. )  takes  him  as  pronouncing  no  judgment  on  the 
historical  problems,  but  as  eliciting  the  typical  and 
abiding  value  of  the  story. 

2.  Immediate  source  of  the  exposition.— The 
writer  need  not  be  conceived  as  going  back  through 
Ps  HO4  to  the  original  tradition  in  Gn  14  and  work- 
ing upon  it  independently ;  for  there  is  sufficient 
reason  to  believe  that  the  narrative  had   for  a 
couple  of  centuries  engaged  the  attention  of  some 
of  the  religious  leaders  of  the  people,  and  in  the 
interpretation  an  interesting  development  may  be 
traced.     'God  Most  High'  (He  71)  is  a  phrase  of 
frequent  occurrence  in    the  Apocrypha  (for  the 
passages  see  E.  Hatch  and  H.  A.  Redpath,  Con- 
cordance to  the  LXX,  1892  ft'.),  especially  in  Ecclesi- 
asticus ;  and  the  title  '  priest  of  the  Most  High 
God'  was    revived  by    the    Maccabsean   princes, 
whilst  John  Hyrcanus  (137-105  B.C.)  combined  in 
himself  the  triple  functions  of  prophet,  priest,  and 
king  (see  Josephus,  Ant.  XIII.  x.  7,  BJ  I.  ii.  8; 
and  R.   H.   Charles,  Book  of  Jubilees,   1902,   p. 
Ixxxviii,    Testaments    of  the   Twelve   Patriarchs, 
1908,  p.  liff.,  with  references  there  cited).     Evi- 
dently the  Melchizedek  tradition  was  considered 
as    pointing   to    the    Maccabsean   leaders  (cf.   J. 
Skinner,  Genesis,  1910,  on  1420),  in  whose  period  Ps 
110  may  have  undergone  its  final  liturgical  revision. 
The   Testaments  of  the    Twelve   Patriarchs  is  a 
Palestinian  book ;  but  Philo  is  a  witness  for  the 
prevalence  of  a  similar  interest  in  the  ancient  story 
in  Egypt.     He  argues  in  favour  of  an  identifica- 
tion of  Melchizedek  with  the  Logos,  whose  priest- 
hood, however,  is  viewed  as  a  symbol  of  the  action 
of  reason  in  bringing  righteousness  and  peace  to 
men  (Mangey,  i.  103,  533,  ii.  34).     The  thought  in 
Hebrews  is  clearly  an  advance,  parallel   in  part 
to  that  between  the  Philonic  and  the  Johannine 
Logos,  but  confronting  the  reader  with  a  religion 
instead  of  a  philosophy,  and  with  a  supreme  per- 


28 


MELITA 


MELITA 


sonal  Helper  instead  of  with  a  dubious  process  of 
reasoning. 

3.  Significance    in    Hebrews.  —  The    apparent 
object  of  the  writer  was  to  mark  the  adequate  and 
final  character  of  the  priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ. 
As  a  person   He  is  compared  with  Melchizedek, 
whose  order  of  priesthood  was  confessedly  above 
that  of  Aaron  (q.v.)  ;  while  in  regard  to  priestly 
acts  and  functions  His  efficiency  and  freedom  from 
limitations  are  exhibited  in  comparison  with  the 
necessary  defects  of  the  Aaronic  office.       More 
particularly  three  features  in  the  story  of  Melchi- 
zedek are  singled  out.     (a)  He  was  king  as  well  as 
priest,  and  as  priest-king  he  possessed  the  endow- 
ments of  righteousness  and  peace,  and  was  able  to 
impart  them  with  royal  bounty.     (6)  He  was  dis- 
sociated  from  all   the  relations  of  time,  neither 
qualified   by  priestly  descent   for  his  office,   nor 
interrupted   in  its  discharge  by  death  (He    I3). 
(c)  Accordingly,  through  these  timeless  and  regal 
qualities  his  priesthood  becomes  unique,  incom- 
parably above  all  Aaronic  and  Levitical  institutions, 
and  with  nothing  like  it  in  human  history  until  the 
Incarnate  comes  upon  the  stage  and  takes  to  Him- 
self a  Priesthood  in  which  He  admits  no  peer,  and 
of  which  eternal  and  superabundant  adequacy  is 
the  note  (see  PRIEST). 

4.  Later  developments. — In  the  patristic  litera- 
ture of  our  period  no  objection  appears  to   have 
been  taken  to  the  use  of  the  story  in  Hebrews, 
though  its  classification  among  the  alleged  theo- 
phanies  was  early  and  had  probably  already  begun. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Jewish  writers  adopt  an 
interpretation  of  their  own,  either  through  dislike 
of  the  teaching  in  Hebrews,  or  in  substitution  for 
its  application  to  John  Hyrcanus,  which  had  been 
discredited  by  the  collapse  of  his  influence  before 
the  end  of  his  reign.      Shem  was  identified  with 
Melchizedek  in  early  parts  of  the  Talmud  and 
Targums  (Nedarim,  326,  Sanhedrin,  1086,  Targ. 
Jonathan),  and  the  narrative  was  taken  to  mean 
that  the  priesthood  was  transferred  to  Abraham, 
while  the  rest  of  the  descendants  of  Shem  were 
excluded.     Another  tradition  distinguishes  Shem 
from  Melchizedek,  but  associates  them  in  the  work 
of  transferring  the  body  of  Adam  to  Jerusalem. 
The  story  survives  with  many  embellishments  in 
the  Ethiopia  Book  of  Adam  ;  and  only  for  its  be- 
ginnings, with  mixed  Jewish  and  Christian  influ- 
ences at  work  upon  it,  can  a  place  be  allowed 
within  our  century.  R.  W.  Moss. 

MELITA  (MeX£r77).— Melita,  now  Malta,  is  an 
island  in  the  Mediterranean,  47  miles  S.  of  Sicily, 
17  miles  long,  9  miles  broad,  and  95  square  miles 
in  area.  Its  excellent  harbours,  together  with  its 
position  in  the  track  of  ships  sailing  east  and  west, 
gave  it  commercial  importance  from  very  early 
times.  Occupied  by  Phosnician  settlers  (Diod.  v. 
12),  it  was  long  under  the  power  of  the  Cartha- 

finians,  who  surrendered  it  to  the  Romans  in  the 
econd  Punic  War,  218  B.C.  (Livy,  xxi.  51),  after 
which  it  was  annexed  to  the  province  of  Sicily. 
The  identity  of  Malta  with  the  island  on  which 
St.  Paul  was  shipwrecked  on  his  voyage  to  Italy 
(Ac  281)  was  formerly  disputed,  but  is  now  univer- 
sally admitted.  The  case  for  another  Melita  on 
the  Dalmatian  coast — the  modern  Meleda — was 
presented  by  Padre  Georgi,  a  Dalmatian  monk 
who  was  a  native  of  the  island  (1730),  and  by  W. 
Falconer  in  his  Dissertation  on  St.  Paul's  Voyage 
(81872).  The  theory  was  examined  and  refuted  by 
James  Smith  in  his  admirable  monograph  on  The 
Voyage  and  Shipwreck  of  St.  Paul  (41880).  It  was 
based  on  two  groundless  assumptions :  (1)  that 
'  the  Adria '  through  which  St.  Paul's  ship  drifted 
must  have  been  the  modern  Adriatic,  or  Gulf  of 
Venice,  whereas  the  term  is  known  to  have  in- 


cluded in  the  Apostle's  time  the  whole  expanse  of 
sea  between  Sicily,Italy,Greece,  and  Crete  (Adria) ; 
and  (2)  that  the  N.E.  hurricane,  which  threatened 
to  drive  the  ship  upon  the  African  quicksands, 
must  have  veered  completely  round  and  sent  her 
northwards  through  the  Strait  of  Otranto ;  an 
essential  point,  which  the  passenger  St.  Luke, 
whose  narrative  is  the  most  vivid  and  instructive 
account  of  a  voyage  and  wreck  that  has  come  down 
from  antiquity,  could  not  have  failed  to  mention. 

All  the  facts  are  in  harmony  with  the  theory 
that  '  St.  Paul's  Bay '  in  Malta  was  the  scene  of 
the  shipwreck.  (1)  If  the  E.N.E.  wind,  known  to 
present-day  sailors  as  the  '  Gregalia '  or  '  Levanter,' 
continued  to  blow  day  after  day,  as  it  often  does 
in  the  late  autumn,  the  ship,  having  been  laid  to 
on  the  starboard  tack  (i.e.  with  her  right  side  to 
the  wind)  to  avoid  being  swiftly  driven  to  the 
African  coast,  would  move  in  the  exact  direction 
of  Melita  at  the  mean  rate  of  1^  miles  an  hour, 
covering  the  distance  from  Clauda — about  480 
miles— in  a  little  over  13  days  (Ac  27s7).  The 
nautical  problem  is  worked  out  by  Smith  (p.  125  f.). 
(2)  Driven  in  the  direction  indicated,  the  ship  could 
not  enter  St.  Paul's  Bay  without  passing  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  low  rocky  point  called 
Koura,  and  it  was  the  ominous  roar  of  the  Avaves 
breaking  on  this  headland— a  sound  at  once  de- 
tected by  practised  ears — that  led  the  sailors  to 
surmise  that  some  land,  which  they  could  not  see 
in  the  stormy  night,  was  'nearing'  them  (v.27; 
irpoffdyetv  is  one  of  the  many  nautical  terms  which 
St.  Luke  heard  the  crew  use  ;  B*  has  7iy>o<rdx«j' = 
resonare).  (3)  At  the  first  indication  of  danger, 
orders  were  given  to  heave  the  lead,  and  the  suc- 
cessive measurements  of  20  and  15  fathoms  (v.28) 
exactly  correspond  to  modern  soundings  taken  at 
the  entrance  of  the  bay.  (4)  As  the  rapid  shoaling 
proved  that  not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost,  four 
anchors  were  cast  from  the  stern,  not,  according 
to  the  usual  practice,  from  the  bow,  for  in  that 
case  the  ship  would  have  swung  round  from  the 
wind,  and  either  have  wrecked  herself  in  so  doing, 
or  at  any  rate  have  put  herself  in  the  worst  posi- 
tion for  grounding  on  the  following  day.  The 
anchors  could  not  have  held  in  the  hurricane  ex- 
cept in  a  bottom  of  extraordinary  tenacity,  and 
the  Sailing  Directions  state  that  '  the  harbour  of 
St.  Paul  ...  is  safe  for  small  ships,  the  ground, 
generally,  being  very  good ;  and  while  the  cables 
hold  there  is  no  danger,  as  the  anchors  will  never 
start' (Smith,  p.  132).  (5)  On  attempting  at  day- 
break to  beach  the  ship,  the  sailors  came  unex- 
pectedly upon  '  a  place  where  two  seas  met '  (r6irov 
SiOdXaffo-ov,  v.41),  which  probably  means  (though 
there  are  other  explanations  of  the  difficult  expres- 
sion) the  narrow  channel  between  the  little  island 
of  Salmonetta,  on  the  western  side  of  the  bay,  and 
the  mainland.  Si0dXacr<ros,  '  two-sea'd,'  was  a  term 
commonly  used  to  describe  the  great  Bosporus 
(Strabo,  II.  v.  12),  and  St.  Luke  notes  the  fact 
that  the  ship  met  her  fate  at  the  end  of  a  miniature 
Bosporus.  (6)  When  she  grounded  herself  on  a 
bank  covered  with  water  too  deep  for  wading, 
'the  prow  struck'  (v.41).  This  fits  the  conditions 
exactly,  for  the  nearest  soundings  to  the  mud 
indicate  a  depth  of  3  fathoms,  which  is  what  the 
corn-ship  would  draw ;  and  the  bottom  which 
she  struck  is  'of  mud  graduating  into  tenacious 
clay,  into  which  the  fore  part  would  fix  itself  and 
be  held  fast,  whilst  the  stern  was  exposed  to  the 
force  of  the  waves '  (Smith,  p.  144).  (7)  The  only 
physical  feature  that  is  now  missing  is  the  sandy 
or  shingly  beach  (alyia\6v,  v.89),  but  there  are  in- 
dications that  a  creek  (ic6\irov  &f  nva)  '  must  at  one 
time  have  had  a  beach  which  has  been  worn  away, 
in  the  course  of  ages,  by  the  wasting  action  of  the 
sea '  (Smith,  p.  247). 


MEN-STEALERS 


MEECY-SEAT 


29 


The  scene  of  the  wreck  was  about  8  miles  N.W. 
of  Valetta,  and  5  miles  N.  of  Medina,  or  Citta 
Vecchia,  the  old  capital.  The  local  tradition  on 
the  subject  is  certainly  ancient,  either  dating  back 
to  the  event  itself,  or  resting  on  early  and  reason- 
able conjecture.  The  earliest  maps  of  Malta,  made 
in  the  16th  cent.,  contain  the  Gale  di  S.  Paolo.  To 
the  Hellenist  Luke  the  kind-hearted  natives  of  the 
island  were  '  barbarians '  (284),  a  term  which  does 
not  imply  that  they  were  savages,  but  merely 
that  they  did  not  speak  Greek.  They  belonged  to 
the  highly  civilized  Phoenician  race,  of  which  the 
Carthaginians  were  a  branch.  The  educated  men 
in  the  island,  of  course,  knew  Greek,  and  bilingual 
inscriptions,  in  Greek  and  Punic,  come  down  from 
the  1st  century.  St.  Paul  and  his  company  spent 
three  months  in  Melita,  and  Publius,  the  irpwros, 
or  chief  man,  of  the  island,  who  was  subject  to  the 
praetor  of  Sicily,  treated  them  with  marked  respect 
(vv.7<  10).  That  irp&ros  was  an  official  designation  is 
proved  by  a  Greek  inscription  bearing  the  name 
of  Prudens,  a  Roman  knight,  vpuTos  MeXira/wv  /cai 
Ildrpuv,  and  by  a  Latin  one  containing  the  words 
'  Municipii  Melitensium  primus  omnium.'  The 
fact  that  no  snakes  (v.3),  either  venomous  or  harm- 
less, are  now  found  in  Melita  is  accounted  for  by 
the  increase  of  the  population  and  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil.  St.  Paul's  further  labours  in  Melita, 
apart  from  certain  acts  of  healing  (vv.8-  9),  are  left 
unrecorded  by  the  historian,  whose  mind  and  pen 
hurry  on  to  Rome.  And  one  other  fact  which 
tells  decisively  against  the  Dalmatian  Melita  is 
the  call  which  the  Dioscuri  made  at  Syracuse  on 
the  way  to  Puteoli  (v.12).  There  was  a  tradition, 
referred  to  by  Chrysostom  (Horn.  54)  that  St. 
Paul's  stay  at  Melita  resulted  in  the  conversion  of 
the  inhabitants.  The  Maltese  have  attached  the 
name  of  San  Paolo  to  a  church  (1610)  and  a  tower 
near  the  bay,  and  they  drink  out  of  the  'Ayin  tal 
Razzal,  or  Fountain  of  the  Apostle. 

LITERATURE. — Albert  Mayr,  Die  Insel  Malta  im  Altertum, 
1909  ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller  and  the  Roman 
Citizen*,  1900,  p.  314  f. ;  W.  J.  Conybeare  and  J.  S.  Howson, 
"",  ii.  421  f. ;  R.  L.  Playfair,  in  Murray's  Handbook 


St.  Paul,  1865,  ii 

to  the  Mediterranean^,  1890. 


JAMES  STRAHAN. 


MEN-STEALERS.— The  word  occurs  only  once 
in  the  NT— in  the  First  Epistle  to  Timothy  (I10), 
where  the  writer  includes  the  term  in  his  list  of 
those  for  whom  the  Law  is  intended.  '  A  law  is 
not  intended  for  a  righteous  man  but  for  the  law- 
less and  unruly  .  .  .  for  men-stealers  (avdpairo- 
5t<rra?s,  plagiariis  [Vulg.]).'  That  kidnapping  was 
regarded  as  a  serious  offence  by  the  Hebrews  is 
clear  from  the  definite  statements  in  Ex  2116  ('  and 
hethatstealethaman  .  .  .  he  shall  surely  be  put  to 
death ')  and  in  Dt  247  ('if  a  man  be  found  stealing 
any  of  his  brethren  of  the  children  of  Israel  .  .  . 
then  that  thief  shall  die').  By  the  time  of  this 
Epistle,  however,  the  term  had  less  special  colour 
and  could  describe  that  subtler  form  of  man-stealing 
by  which  one  man  is  made  the  victim  of  another's 
will  and  the  instrument  of  his  selfishness. 

R.  STRONG. 

MERCURY. —  'Mercury'  (Ac  1412  RV ;  AV 
'Mercurius,'  RVm  'Gr.  Hermes'),  like  'Jupiter' 
(q.v.),  is  used  as  the  Greek  equivalent  of  some  local 
Lycaonian  god.  Hermes  '  is  the  name  of  a  Greek 
god  (corresponding  to  the  Roman  Mercury)  whose 
origin  and  real  character  are  perhaps  more  difficult 
to  define  than  is  the  case  with  any  other  Greek 
deity '  (Ramsay,  EBr*  xi.  [1880]  749).  He  was  the 
accredited  messenger  between  gods  and  men.  Be- 
sides this  he  was  the  god  of  social  intercourse,  and 
hence  came  to  be  regarded  as  the  personification 
of  cleverness  ;  that  he  should  then  be  regarded  as 
the  patron  of  thieves  was  but  a  step.  He  is  also 
spoken  of  as  conducting  the  souls  of  the  departed 


to  their  last  home — an  idea  inherited  from  the 
Vedic  mythology.  Because  of  his  connexion  with 
the  wind  he  is  generally  represented  as  wearing 
winged  shoes.  St.  Paul,  however,  was  dubbed 
'Hermes,'  'because  he  was  the  chief  speaker,' 
which  reminds  us  that  this  deity  was  thought  of 
as  the  god  of  eloquence.  The  statue  of  the  god  by 
Praxiteles  in  the  Heraion  at  Olympia  conceived 
him  as  possessing  peculiar  beauty  and  grace,  which 
accords  ill  with  the  traditional  portrait  of  the 
Apostle.  The  fact  is  that  the  Lycaonians  were  so 
wrought  upon  by  the  miracle  that  had  been  per- 
formed, and  so  delighted  at  the  eloquence  of  St. 
Paul,  that  they  did  not  stop  to  consider  such  details. 

F.  W.  WORSLEY. 

MERCY  (IXeos,  oiKTip/j.6s). — -"EXeos  means  properly 
'a  feeling  of  sympathy,'  'fellow-feeling  with 
misery,'  'compassion.'  In  the  sense  of  God's  pity 
for  human  woe,  which  manifests  itself  in  His  will 
of  salvation,  eXeos  is  found  not  infrequently  in  the 
apostolic  writings  (cf.  Ro  9s8  159,  1  P  I3,  Jude21,  2 
Ti  I16- 18).  It  is  found  joined  with  ayd-n-r)  in  Eph  24, 
with  /j.aKpo6v/j.la  in  1  Ti  I16,  and  with  x<fy>«  in  He 
416.  We  find  the  group,  grace,  mercy,  peace,  in 
the  greetings  of  1  Ti  P,  2  Ti  I2,  2  Jn  3 ;  mercy  and 
peace  together  in  Gal  616,  Jude2. 

The  verb  Ae^w  is  found  in  a  similar  sense  in  Ro 
9is.  16  nso-32,  2  Co  41,  1  Ti  I13-  16,  1  P  210.  It  is  also 
found  of  the  mercy  of  man  towards  his  fellow  (Ro 
128,  1  Co  T25,  Ph  227). 

oiKTipfj.6s  also  means  '  compassion,' '  pity,' '  mercy,' 
and  with  the  adj.  otKrip/j-wv  and  the  verb  okrefpoj 
is  used  both  of  God's  compassion  for  men  and  of 
men's  compassion  for  one  another.  In  the  NT 
oiKTip/j,6s  is  mostly  used  in  the  plural,  conformably 
to  the  Heb.  D'pq-i,  which  it  translates  in  the  LXX. 
Cf.,  for  olKTipph  with  reference  to  God,  Ro  121,  He 
1028.  In  2  Co  Is  God  is  called  'the  Father  of 
mercies.'  otKTipfj,6s  is  used  of  human  pity  in  Col 
312 ;  cf.  olKrlpfiuv  (of  God)  Ja  511,  olKrelpu  (of  God) 
Ro  91B. 

In  the  sub-apostolic  writings  the  usage  is  parallel. 
1  Clem,  is  specially  fond  of  both  eXeos  and  oiKrip^s 
(cf.  ix.  1,  xviii.  2,  xxii.  8,  xxviii.  1,  1.  2,  Ivi.  5,  xx. 
11,  Ivi.  1).  In  Polyc.  Phil,  we  have  'mercy '  (eXeos) 
and  '  peace '  in  the  introduction. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
Divine  mercy  is  an  OT  rather  than  a  NT  doctrine.  In  the  OT 
it  is  represented  hy  the  ascription  to  God  of  the  following  at- 
tributes :  '(a)  tender  compassion,  rahamtm,  etc.,  for  man's 
misery  and  helplessness;  (6)  a  disposition  to  deal  kindly  and  gener- 
ously with  man,  hanan,  etc. ;  (c)  the  divine  affection  and  fidelity 
to  man,  on  which  man  may  confidently  rely,  as  he  would  on  the 
loyalty  of  his  tribe  or  family,  he$edh '  (W.  H.  Bennett  in  HDB 
iii.  345).  Bennett  points  out  that  the  NT  use  of  the  correspond- 
ing terms  is  neither  frequent  nor  characteristic,  and  is  only  a 
faint  reflexion  of  OT  teaching.  '  The  great  ideas  represented 
in  OT  by  rahamlm,  hanan,  hefedh,  and  their  cognates,  are 
mostly  expressed  in  NT  by  other  terms  than  eAeot,  OCKTIP/U.OI,  etc. 
One  might  almost  say  that  heqedh  covers  the  whole  ground  of 
vapts,  eAeos,  eipiji/i)  (but  see  Hort  on  1  P  12),  and  implies  the  NT 
doctrine  of  the  Divine  Fatherhood.' 

LITERATURE. — H.  Cremer,  Bibl.-Theol.  Lexicon  of  NT  Greeks, 
Eng.  tr.,  1880,  p.  248  f. ;  W.  H.  Bennett  in  HDB  iii.  345  f. 

R.  S.  FRANKS. 

MERCY-SEAT  (l\a.ffr-f]piov,  propitiatorium).—The 
mercy-seat  was  the  cover  of  the  Ark  (q.v.)  of  the 
Covenant  in  the  Holy  of  Holies.  It  was  sprinkled 
with  the  blood  of  the  victim  slain  on  the  annual  Day 
of  Atonement  (He  98).  'Mercy-seat'  is  admitted 
on  all  hands  to  be  an  imperfect  translation  of  the 
Greek  word,  being  rather,  like  Luther's  Gnaden- 
stuhl,  equivalent  to  6p6vos  rrjs  x6pir°s  (He  416).  It 
is  also  frequently  contended  that  l\a<TTr)piov,  which 
is  the  LXX  rendering  of  rnsj,  is  itself  a  mistake. 
In  the  view  of  Rashi  ar»d  Kimchi,  followed  by 
many  Christian  scholars,  the  Heb.  word  means  no 
more  than  a  literal  '  covering'  (so  RVm  in  Ex  2517, 
etc.).  Ritschl  maintains  that  in  both  the  OT  and 
the  NT  l\a<TTit)pioi>  designates  '  the  piece  of  furniture 
over  the  ark  of  the  covenant  in  the  holy  of  holies ' 


30 


MESOPOTAMIA 


METAPHOR 


(Rechtfertigung  und  Versohnung3,  ii.  [1889]  168). 
Nowack  (Heb.  Archdologie,  1894,  ii.  60  f.)  also 
gives  the  word  a  material  sense,  regarding  it,  how- 
ever, as  denoting  a  kind  of  penthouse  (Schutzdach, 
Deckplatte)  for  the  ark.  But  the  analogy  of  the 
Arabic  kaffdrat  seems  to  justify  Lagarde  (and 
many  others)  in  holding  (1)  that  the  LXX  has 
rendered  the  original  quite  accurately,  and  (2)  that 
l\affr^piov  means  '  the  propitiating  thing,'  or  '  the 
propitiatory  gift.'  Wherever  the  word  is  used  by 
Philo  (de  Vit.  Mos.  iii.  8,  de  Profug.  19,  de  Cherub. 
8,  etc.)  this  is  the  meaning  indicated  by  the  con- 
text, and  recently  discovered  inscriptions  (W.  R. 
Paton  and  E.  L.  Hicks,  The  Inscriptions  of  Cos, 
1891)  prove  that  IXaa-rripiov  ordinarily  bore  this 
sense  in  the  early  Imperial  period  (cf.  Dio  Chrys- 
ostom,  Or.  xi.  355  [Reiske]). 

With  such  a  connotation  the  word  lies  at  the 
heart  of  St.  Paul's  gospel  (Ro  S25).  When  he 
depicts  Christ  Jesus  as  set  forth  to  be  a  iKaar-^piov 
(or  his  word  may  be  an  adj.,  i\a<m}/uos),  it  is 
scarcely  possible  that  he  conceives  the  Messiah  as 
a  'mercy-seat,'  or  'covering  of  the  ark,'  sprinkled 
with  blood — His  own  blood.  The  figure  is  inap- 
propriate and  unintelligible.  But  the  Apostle's 
thought  is  at  once  apparent  and  impressive  if  he 
represents  Christ  as  a  Propitiatory.  The  exact 
shade  of  meaning  which  may  thereafter  be  detected 
in  the  word — whether  '  the  means  of  propitiating,' 
or  '  the  propitiatory  gift,'  or  '  the  propitiatory 
One  ' — is  of  less  importance.  What  is  essential  is 
the  large  and  luminous  idea  of  atonement.  The 
Pauline  teaching  and  the  Johannine  are  here  in 
agreement,  each  emphasizing  the  same  central 
thought.  Christ  as  the  i\a<rrr)pioi>  (propitiatory)  is 
the  i\a<Tfj.6s  (propitiation)  for  our  sins  (1  Jn  22). 

LITERATURE. — P.  de  Lagrarde,  Uebersicht  uber  die  im  Aram., 
Arab,  und  Heb.  ubliche  Bildung  der  Nomina,  Gottingen,  1889  ; 
H.  Cremer,  Bibl.-theol.  WvrterbuchP,  Gotha,  1895,  p.  474  ff. ;  G. 
A.  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  Eng.  tr.,  1901,  p.  124  ff.,  also  art. 

in  EBi-  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

MESOPOTAMIA.— Mesopotamia  is  referred  to 
in  Ac  2s,  where  it  is  evidently  the  well-known 
district  between  the  rivers  Euphrates  and  Tigris 
with  which  the  name  is  generally  associated,  and 
also  in  Ac  72,  where  it  is  roughly  parallel  with  '  the 
land  of  the  Chaldaeans'  in  v.4.  The  name  'Meso- 
potamia '  represents  the  Hebrew  Aram- Nahar aim 
in  the  OT,  which  is  usually  rendered  '  Aram  of  the 
two  rivers,'  but  is  more  correctly  Aram  Naharim 
or  Naharin,  i.e.  '  Aram  of  the  river-lands '  (EBi  i. 
287).  Mesopotamia  reached,  on  the  north,  to  the 
plains  beneath  the  Masius  range  of  hills.  To  the 
south  its  limits  were  about  where  Babylonia  begins, 
at  the  so-called  Median  Wall,  which  runs  from  a 
little  below  Is  (Hit),  on  the  Euphrates,  to  a  point 
just  above  Opis  (Kadisiya),  on  the  Tigris.  It  thus 
formed  a  deep  triangle  with  the  apex  to  the  south 
and  the  base  along  the  foot  of  the  northern  moun- 
tains. The  country  fell  steadily  from  1,100  ft.  in 
the  north  to  65  ft.  at  its  southern  extremity,  and 
consisted  for  the  most  part  of  a  single  open  stretch 
of  steppe-land. 

The  river  Chaboras  (Khabur),  entering  the 
Euphrates  from  the  east  near  Circesium,  marks  off 
the  three  divisions  of  Mesopotamia— (a)  the  north- 
ern tracts  on  its  west  side,  (b)  the  similar  tracts  to 
east  of  it,  and  (c)  the  steppe-land  stretching  away 
south  to  the  Median  Wall.  As  to  (a),  the  north- 
western tracts  bore  the  name  of  Osrhcene,  or 
Orrhcene,  in  Seleucid  times,  and  the  chief  city  of 
the  district  was  Urfa,  the  Edessa  of  the  Greeks 
and  Romans.  To  the  south  of  Urfa  lie  the  ruins 
of  Harran,  and  along  the  western  bank  of  the 
Habor  stretched  Gauzanitis,  the  Hebrew  Gozan, 
to  which  Israelites  were  deported  by  the  king  of 
Assyria  (2  K  176).  As  to  (b),  the  principal  city 


of  the  north-eastern  region  was  Nisibis,  a  busy 
trading  centre  and  a  place  of  frequent  conflict 
between  Roman  an*d  Persian  armies.  As  to  (c), 
the  southern  region  of  Mesopotamia  contained 
several  cities  of  importance.  Among  these  may 
be  mentioned  Corsothe,  Anatho,  and  Is  (on  the 
Euphrates),  and  Atrae  and  Caenae  (on  the  Tigris). 
Along  the  banks  of  the  two  rivers,  in  this  southern 
country,  was  a  belt  of  cultivated  land,  outside 
of  which  the  conditions  were  (for  the  most  part) 
those  of  the  Syrian  Desert. 

Mesopotamia  was  constantly  being  crossed  and 
traversed  by  armies  and  caravans  in  ancient  times, 
and  was  repeatedly  a  scene  of  conflict  between  the 
nations  of  the  West  and  of  the  Farther  East.  In 
the  earliest  times,  its  history  was  closely  bound  up 
with  that  of  Babylonia  on  the  south.  The  Baby- 
lonians held  predominance  for  long  periods,  in- 
fluencing the  civilization  to  a  very  considerable 
extent.  At  the  same  time,  the  land  lay  open  to 
Syria  and  Arabia,  whose  tribes  were  constantly 
breaking  across  its  borders.  From  the  Tel-el- 
Amarna  tablets  and  certain  Egyptian  tribute-lists, 
it  appears  that  a  non-Semitic  people,  called  Mitani, 
occupied  the  district  of  Naharin  between  1700  and 
1400  B.C.  Harran  was  probably  their  capital  city. 
After  the  Mitani  supremacy,  the  country  fell  under 
the  rule  of  the  Assyrian  kings,  and  in  the  10th  cent. 
B.C.  seems  to  have  become  part  of  Assyria  proper. 
When  the  Assyrian  power  declined,  ftlesopotamia 
was  overrun  (as  it  had  been  more  or  less  all  along) 
by  Aramaean  hordes  from  the  west  and  south. 

LITBRATPRE.—  EBi  Hi.  3050-3057 ;  H.  Winckler,  History  of 
Babylonia  and  Assyria,  Eng.  tr.,  1907. 

A.  W.  COOKE. 

MESSIAH.— See  CHRIST,  CHRISTOLOGY. 

METAPHOR.  —  Metaphor  has  been  defined  as 
'the  figure  of  speech  in  which  a  name  or  descriptive 
term  is  transferred  to  some  object  different  from, 
but  analogous  to,  that  to  which  it  is  properly 
applicable'  (OED,  s.v.).  Again,  'in  metaphor  a 
word  in  the  sentence  to  be  expressed  is  replaced 
by  a  word  denoting  an  object  in  some  respect 
similar ;  frequently  it  is  an  abstract  word  which  is 
replaced  by  a  concrete '  (L.  E.  Browne,  The  Parables 
of  the  Gospels,  p.  2).  Simile,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  used  simply  of  explicit  comparison,  often 
introduced  in  English  by  either  'like'  or  'as.'  A 
parable  is  an  extended  simile,  and  an  allegory  an 
extended  metaphor.  It  is  only  in  modern  languages 
that  the  various  forms  of  figurative  speech  have 
become  sharply  distinguished.  Thus  the  Greek 
jrapa/3o\i}  in  the  NT  means  not  only  '  parable '  but 
'comparison'  (He  99),  and  in  Lk  4^  the  proverb  or 
adage  '  Physician,  heal  thyself,'  is  called  irapapoX-fi. 
Likewise  the  Heb.  ^o  means  not  only  'parable' 
but  '  by- word,'  '  similitude ' ;  and  it  is  used  more 
generally  still  of  ethical  maxims,  didactic  poems, 
or  odes.  But,  though  definitions  differ  slightly, 
the  meaning  of  the  English  'metaphor'  is  now 
generally  standardized. 

According  to  Konig, '  Metaphor  springs  from  the 
putting  together  of  comparable  instances  of  the 
material  and  visible  and  the  ideal  spheres '  (Stilis- 
tik,  Rhetorik,  Poetik  in  JBezng  auf  die  biblische 
Litteratur  fcomparativisch  dargestellt).  Thus  he 
does  not  agree  with  W.  Reichel,  who  in  his 
Sprachpsychologische  Studien  (1897,  p.  179)  says: 
'There  is  really  no  essential  difference  between 
actual  and  metaphorical  designation.'  '  Accord- 
ing to  my  view,'  says  Konig,  '  there  is  still  an 
essential  difference  in  method  of  expression  when 
the  sphere  of  existence  of  both  ideas  that  appear 
in  the  subject  and  predicate  is  the  same,  and  when 
it  is  different.' 

Konig  divides  metaphor  into  four  classes:  (1) 
both  ideas  are  in  the  inanimate  sphere,  such  as  the 


METAPHOR 


METAPHOR 


31 


association  of  joy  with  light,  and  sorrow  with 
darkness  ;  (2)  an  idea  is  taken  from  the  inanimate 
sphere  to  the  animate,  e.g.  the  term  '  Kock  '  applied 
to  God  (frequently  in  the  Psalms  and  elsewhere 
in  the  OT) ;  (3)  both  ideas  are  in  the  animate 
sphere,  e.g.  the  comparison  of  a  man  to  a  lion, 
bear,  panther,  dog  or  swine,  serpent,  eagle,  raven, 
etc.  ;  (4)  an  idea  is  transferred  from  the  animate 
sphere  to  the  inanimate,  e.g.  '  the  tops  of  the 
mountains'  (Heb.  'heads'),  and  the  'face  of  the 
waters'  (Gn  I2).  Closely  connected  with  the 
last  is  the  idea  of  personification  :  e.g.  inanimate 
objects  are  bidden  hearken  to  the  word  of  God, 
as  in  Is  I2,  '  Hear,  O  heavens,  and  give  ear,  O 
earth.' 

Not  only  are  there  no  parables  outside  the 
Synoptists,  but  the  use  of  metaphorical  language 
is  both  more  complicated  and  more  extended. 
We  still  have  the  familiar  conceptions  drawn  from 
everyday  life  —  sowing,  reaping,  and  harvest, 
animals  and  birds,  the  seasons,  light  and  dark- 
ness, life  and  death — but  as  the  scene  shifts  from 
the  hillsides  of  Nazareth  and  the  streets  of  Jeru- 
salem to  the  busy  cities  of  the  Graeco-Roman  world 
with  their  ceaseless  and  varied  activity,  there  are 
many  phrases  and  metaphors  in  the  Acts,  the 
Epistles,  and  the  Apocalypse  which  could  hardly 
have  fallen  from  the  lips  of  our  Lord  Himself.  Many 
of  these  expressions,  too,  have  since  so  become 
part  of  ordinary  theological  language  that  we 
do  not  always  at  first  see  that  they  are  metaphors 
at  all. 

It  will  be  convenient  to  divide  the  metaphors  under  dis- 
cussion as  follows : — 

I.  New  Testament : 

(1)  Acts. 

(2)  Pauline  Epistles. 

(3)  Epistle  to  Hebrews. 

(4)  Catholic  Epistles. 

(5)  Revelation. 

II.  Early  Christian  literature  to  A.D.  100  : 

(1)  Agrapha. 

(2)  1  Clement. 

(3)  Odes  of  Solomon. 

(4)  Didacbe. 

1.  IN  THE  NT. — 1.  Acts. — Not  many  metaphors 
are  found  in  Acts ;  such  as  there  are  have  mostly  a 
Jewish  flavour  and  are  not  remarkable.    2s7 :  '  they 
were  pricked  in  their  heart '  (Karevirfnffav  TT\V  icapSlav  ; 
cf.  Gn  347  LXX  Karev^xd^ffav  ol  dvSpes ;  Plutarch, 
de     Tranquill.     Animi,     xix.    [without    prefix]). 
533  754.  «were  cut  to  the  heart'  (the  Gr.  Siairpieiv 
means  '  to  saw  through,'  used  literally  in  Aristo- 
phanes, metaphorically  particularly  in  late  and 
ecclesiastical  Greek).    751 :    '  Ye  stiff-necked  and 
uncircumcised  in  heart  and  ears '  (cf .  Lv  2641,  Jer 
6io  986).     12i .  «  Herod  the  king  put  forth  his  hands ' 
(this  can  fairly  be  called  a  metaphor ;  cf.  Polyb. 
III.  ii.  8,  ^rt/SdXAetj'  xeipas  rots  /cor'  Atywrov).     if27 : 
'  if  haply  they  might  feel  after  him.'    \jsri\a.<t>3.v, '  to 
grope,    is  also  found  metaphorically  in  Pplybius. 
This  idea,  like  that  in  172*,  'in  him  we  live,  and 
move,  and  have  our  being,'  may  have  come  from 
contemporary  philosophy.      St.   Paul    like    Stoic 
teachers  '  had  a  profound  disbelief  in  the  power  of 
men  to  find  God  for  themselves'  (P.  Gardner  in 
Cambridge  Biblical  Essays,  1909,  p.  400  f.).     1920: 
'  So  mightily  grew  the  word  of  the  Lord.'    2029: 
'  grievous  wolves  shall  enter  in '  (men  represented 
as    beasts  —  a   striking    metaphor).     2614 :    '  kick 
against  the  goad.'    Ktvrpov  is  also  used  metaphori- 
cally in  1  Co  1555-86  of  the  '  sting'  of  death. 

2.  St.  Paul's  Epistles. — It  is  obvious  that  in  no 
writer  of  the  NT  is  metaphor  more  important  than 
in  St.  Paul.     '  A  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews '  who  had 
sat  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  a  student  who  had 
absorbed  much  of  the  intellectual  culture  of  the 
Greek  world  of  his  day,  and  a  citizen  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  it  is  not  surprising  that  all  the  sides  of 
his    personality    have    left    their    mark    on    his 


language.  Sometimes  his  metaphors  are  plain 
and  straightforward :  sometimes  he  passes  imper- 
ceptibly from  what  is  metaphor  to  what  is  not, 
weaving  ideas  into  and  out  of  one  another  in  a 
way  possible  only  for  one  who  combined  in  such  a 
rare  degree  spiritual  freshness  and  intellectual 
subtlety.  '  One  of  the  most  striking  character- 
istics of  St.  Paul  is  a  sort  of  telescopic  manner,  in 
which  one  clause  is  as  it  were  drawn  out  of  another, 
each  new  idea  as  it  arises  leading  on  to  some 
further  new  idea'  (Sanday-Headlam,  Romans?,  p. 
Ix  ft'. ).  Hence  his  metaphors  become  changed 
almost  in  the  same  sentence,  while  the  thought  is 
being  developed.  Some  of  his  simple  metaphors, 
however,  claim  consideration  first. 

(1)  The    way.— I    Th    I9:    'What    manner  of 
entering    in    (bvolav    etffoSov)   we   had   unto  you,' 
elffoSov  being  used  of  the  act  (as  in  1  Th  21),  rather 
than  of  the  means,  of  entering  (He  1019,  2  P  I11). 
1  Th  212 :  '  that  ye  should  walk  worthily  of  God.' 
Christianity  is  called  ^  656s,  '  the  way '  (Ac  92,  etc.), 
a  metaphor    which,   as    Milligan    says   (Epp.   to 
Thess.,  ad  loc.),  though  found  in  classical  Greek,  is 
Hebraistic  and  is  characteristic  of  the  LXX.     The 
same  idea  appears  again  in  Ko-revOvvai  TTJV  656v  TI/J.WV, 
'  direct  our  way '  (1  Th  311 ;  cf.  Lk  I79,  2  Th  3s). 

(2)  The  athletic  ground.— This  is  obviously  a 
metaphor  which  would  appeal  to  Greeks.     Ph  I80 : 
'  having  the  same  conflict  which  ye  saw  in  me  and 
now  hear  to  be  in  me.'    1  Ti  613 :  '  Fight  the  good 
fight  of  faith '  (this  would  also  come  under  '  War- 
fare') (cf.  1  Th  22,  He   1032) :   the  words  &e\ijffis, 
a&\eiv,  'contest,'  'to  take  part  in  a  contest,'  are 
obviously  borrowed    from    the    athletic  ground ; 
likewise  &y&v,    '  conflict,'   has    not    our  sense  of 
'  agony '  at  all  but  was  simply  used  of  the  games, 
though  the  word  appears  metaphorically  in  Thuc. 
iii.   44.     1   Co  9s4-27:    'Know   ye  not   that  they 
which  run  in  a  race  run  all,  but  one  receiveth  the 
prize?  .  .  .'    Gal22:  'lest  by  any  means  I  should 
be  running  or  had  run  in  vain '  (the  metaphor 
here  might  almost  equally  well  be  taken  from  the 
'  Way ').     The  same  thought  is  in  Ph  216  :  '  that  I 
did  not  run  in  vain,  neither  labour  in  vain'  (cf. 
Epictetus,  Diss.  iv.  4.  30  :  (\6t  ijSrj  M  TOJ>  ayCiva, 
Sel^ov  iifuv  rl  tfM0es,  irtus  tfd\7)ffas ;  '  Come  now  to  the 
conflict,  show  us  what  thou  hast  learned,  how  thou 
hast  contested ').     In  2  Th  31,  '  that  the  word  of 
the  Lord  may  run  and  be  glorified'  is  a  curious 
mixed  metaphor  in  the  typically  Pauline  style — 
one  thought  quickly  passing  into  another. 

(3)  Warfare. — The  athletic  games  lead  on  natur- 
ally to  warfare.    2  Co  10s- 4 :  '  For,  though  we  walk 
in  the  flesh,  we  do  not  war  according  to  the  flesh 
(for  the  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  of  the  flesh, 
but  mighty  before  God  to  the  casting  down  of 
strongholds).'    In  Eph  611"18  the  metaphor  is  sus- 
tained, and  in  the  beautiful  phrases  '  the  helmet  of 
salvation,'  '  the  sword  of  the  spirit,'  '  the  shield  of 
faith '  it  is  both  elaborated  and  interpreted  (cf.  also 
1  Co  67,  1  Th  58).     In  Ro  13U :  '  let  us  therefore 
cast  off  the  works  of  darkness  and  let  us  put  on  the 
armour  of  light,'  the  metaphor  of  warfare  is  com- 
bined with  that  of  light  and  darkness  —  equally 
beautiful  and  equally  Pauline.     This  idea  is  found 
in  Is  II5  5917,  Wis  S17'20.     For  further  metaphors 
drawn  from  warfare,  see  also  1  Ti  I18,  2  Ti  2s. 

(4)  The  family.— I   Th  217 :  '  But  we,  brethren, 
being  bereaved  of  you  for  a  short  season  .  .  .' 
(airopfavifa,  however,  is  used  so  widely  that,  as 
Milligan  says,  the  metaphor  can  hardly  be  pressed). 
Another  instance  of  this  would  be  1  Th  27,  where 
the  text  is  uncertain,  '  But  we  were  babes  in  the 
midst  of  you,  as  when  a  nurse  cherisheth  her  own 
children '  (for  v-fjirioi,  '  babes,'  some  MSS  read  •fjirioi, 
'  gentle ' ;  but  the  former  reading  seems  to  tit  in 
better  with  the  context). 

(5)  Jiuilding  is  a  favourite  Pauline  metaphor. 


32 


METAPHOR 


METAPHOR 


Ro  I11:  'to  the  end  ye  may  be  established,'  i.e. 
strengthened  or  built  up.  1  Th  3- :  'to  establish 
you  and  to  comfort  you.'  1  Ti  6ia :  'laying  up  in 
store  for  themselves  a  good  foundation  against  the 
time  to  come,  that  they  may  lay  hold  on  the  life 
which  is  life  indeed'  (here  the  metaphor  is  changed  in 
the  same  sentence  from  'building 'to  'grasping'). 
2  Ti  219:  'Howbeit  the  firm  foundation  of  God 
standeth  .  .  .'  Cf.  too  1  Co  144 :  '  He  that  speak- 
eth  in  a  tongue  edifieth  (lit.  '  buildeth  up ')  him- 
self.' 

(6)  The  sea. — Perhaps  St.  Paul's  frequent  voyages 
suggested  to  him  nautical  metaphors.     Thus,  1  Ti 
I19:  '  holding  faith  and  a  good  conscience;  which 
some  having  thrust   from   them  made  shipwreck 
concerning  the  faith.'    The  Greek  vavayew  is  used 
literally  in  2  Co  II25  :  '  thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck.' 
The  word  is  also  used  metaphorically  in  Plutarch, 
Demosthenes,  and  ^Eschines. 

(7)  Mirror. — 1  Co   1312 :  '  For  now  we  see  in  a 
mirror  darkly.'    The  significance  of   this  would 
have  been  more  apparent  to  an  ancient  than  it  is 
to  a  modern    reader,   for    ancient   mirrors  were 
always  of  polished  metal,  and  thus  their  reflexion 
was  imperfect.     According    to  Jewish  tradition, 
Moses  saw  in  a  clear  mirror  but  all  the  prophets  in 
a  dark  one.     Again,  in  2  Co  318 :  '  with  unveiled 
face  reflecting,  as  a  mirror,  the  glory  of  the  Lord.' 

(8)  First-fruits.— I    Co    1520 :    '  But    now    hath 
Christ  been  raised  from  the  dead,  the  firstfruits  of 
them  that  slept.'     '  On  the  morning  of  the  16th  of 
Nisan,  probably  the  very  morning  of  the  Lord's 
Resurrection,  the  first  ripe  sheaf  of  the  harvest 
was  offered  to  God.     It  was  the  consecration  of  the 
whole  harvest  to  Him.     So  the  Resurrection  of 
Christ  was  the  pledge  of  the  Resurrection  of  all  in 
union  with  Him'  (Goudge,  in  loc.). 

(9)  Clothing. — 1  Co   1553:   'For  this  corruption 
must  put  on  incorruption,  and  this  mortal  must 
put  on  immortality.' 

(10)  Horticulture.— Ro  II24:  'For,  if  thou  wast 
cut  out  of  that  which  is  by  nature  a  wild  olive  tree, 
and  wast  grafted  contrary  to  nature  into  a  good 
olive  tree  :  how  much  more  shall  these,  which  are 
the  natural  branches,  be  grafted  into  their  own 
olive  tree  ? ' 

(11)  Law. — 'It  is  unquestionable   that  various 
legal  metaphors,  such  as  adoption,   inheritance, 
tutelage,  slavery,  manumission,  were  consecrated 
by  him  to  the  high  office  of  conveying  his  doctrine 
and    facilitating  its    comprehension    by    heathen 
minds,  impoverished  of  spiritual  conceptions  and 
strangers  to  the  novel  truths  he  proclaimed'  (W. 
S.  Muntz,  Rome,  St.  Paul  and  the  Early  Church, 
1913,  p.  48).     This  point  has  been  elucidated  by 
Deissmann  in  Light  from  the  Ancient  East,  Eng. 
tr.,  p.  326):  'Among  the  various  ways  in  which 
the  manumission  of  a  slave  could  take  place  by 
ancient  law  we  find  the  solemn  rite  of  fictitious 
purchase  of  the   slave  by   some  divinity.      The 
owner  comes  with  the  slave  to  the  temple,  sells 
him  there  to  the  god,  and  receives  the  purchase 
money  from  the  temple  treasury,  the  slave  having 
previously  paid  it  in  there  out  of  his  savings.     The 
slave  is  now  the  property  of  the  god ;  not,  how- 
ever, a  slave  of  trie  temple,  but  a  protege  of  the 
god.'    St.  Paul  refers  to  this  in  Ro  617,  Gal  41'7  51, 
1  Co  620  723,  etc.     '  St.  Paul's  predilection  for  this 
whole  group  of  images  would  be  most  beautifully 
accounted    for    if    we  knew    him    to    have  been 
previously  acquainted  with  the  Greek  form  of  our 
Lord's  deeply  significant  saying  about  the  ransom 
(Mk  104S=Mt2028).  .  .  .  But  when  anybody  heard 
the  Greek  word  \fa-pov,    "ransom,"  in  the    first 
century,  it  was  natural  for  him  to  think  of  the 
purchase-money  for  manumitting  slaves '(p.  331  f.). 
Papyri  of  the  1st  cent.  A.D.  have  been  discovered 
granting  remission  of  debt.     Cf.  Philem 18.     In  Col 


214  there  is  some  reference  to  an  ancient  custom, 
but  exactly  what  is  uncertain. 

(12)  Miscellaneous  metaphors. — An  interesting 
passage  is  2  Co  54 :  '  For  indeed  we  that  are  in  this 
tabernacle  do  groan,  being  burdened  ;  not  for  that 
we  would  be  unclothed,  but  that  we  would  be 
clothed  upon,  that  what  is  mortal  may  be  swallowed 
up  of  life.'  There  is  here  a  double  metaphor  of 
house  and  garment.  The  explanation  of  the 
abrupt  transition  may  be  found  '  in  the  image, 
familiar  to  the  A  postle,  both  from  his  occupations 
and  his  birth-place,  of  the  tent  of  Cilician  haircloth, 
which  might  almost  equally  suggest  the  idea  of 
a  habitation  and  of  a  vesture'  (A.  P.  Stanley, 
Corinthians2,  1858,  p.  427).  ffKrjvos  means  a  '  hut, 
tent,'  and  then  the  body  as  the  tabernacle  of  the 
soul. 

Thence  we  pass  to  another  metaphor — that  of 
swallowing  up  (the  Greek  Karairlvu  is  also  used 
metaphorically  by  Aristophanes).  This  passage  is 
a  further  instance  of  St.  Paul's  method  of  develop- 
ing one  metaphor  out  of  another. 

1  Co  79 :  'it  is  better  to  marry  than  to  burn ' — 
the  metaphor  is  obvious. 

Tit  I12 :  '  Cretans  are  always  liars,  evil  beasts, 
idle  gluttons'  (lit.  'bellies')— a  quotation  from 
Epimenides.  For  the  comparison  of  men  to  beasts 
see  also  2  P  222.  The  metaphor  of  the  sow  is  based 
on  an  apophthegm  of  Heraclitus  (Wendland, 
quoted  by  Clemen  in  Primitive  Christianity  and  its 
Non-Jewish  Sources,  Eng.  tr.,  p.  50). 

So  far  the  Pauline  metaphors  we  have  been  con- 
sidering have  been  simple  and  of  fairly  obvious 
interpretation.  We  must  now  pass  to  some  less 
clear  aspects  of  his  figurative  language,  and  this 
will  take  us  rather  deeper  into  his  theology.  '  The 
reader  who  passes  from  the  early  traditions  of  the 
life  of  Jesus  to  the  letters  of  the  apostle  Paul  feels 
himself  at  once  in  another  atmosphere.  A  be- 
wildering variety  of  ideas  is  suggested  to  him. 
Speculations  of  theology  and  philosophy,  glimpses 
of  Deity  and  hints  of  various  modes  of  causation, 
large  conceptions  of  Providence  and  Creation, 
strange  and  indistinct  forms  of  Law  and  Sin  and 
Death  half  persons  and  half  powers,  quasi- magical 
notions  attached  to  particular  material  media, 
are  all  blended  with  the  impassioned  emotion  with 
which  the  writer  contemplates  the  love  which 
prompted  the  Father  to  send  forth  his  Son,  and  the 
love  which  moved  the  Son  to  forsake  his  high 
estate  and  give  himself  for  men '  ( J.  E.  Carpenter 
\j\HJ,  Suppl.,  1909:  'Jesus  or  Christ,' p.  238  f.). 
This  view  of  the  Apostle's  theology,  though  not 
always  expressed  so  well  or  so  clearly,  is  at  the 
back  of  the  minds  of  many  modern  critics  of  St. 
Paul.  But  is  it  not  safer  to  say  that  St.  Paul 
merely  drew  on  contemporary  philosophy  and 
speculation  when  searching  for  metaphorical  ex- 
pressions wherein  to  convey  the  spiritual  truths 
he  so  earnestly  desired  to  emphasize  ? 

A  crucial  passage  is  Ro  S38 :  '  For  I  am  per- 
suaded, that  neither  death,  nor  life,  nor  angels, 
nor  principalities,  nor  things  present,  nor  things 
to  come,  nor  powers,  nor  height,  nor  depth,  nor 
any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  separate 
us  .  .  .'  'St.  Paul  held  that  there  was  a  world  of 
spirits  brought  into  being  like  the  rest  of  crea- 
tion by  Christ.'  '  It  is  quite  in  the  manner  of  St. 
Paul  to  personify  abstractions'  (Sanday-Headlam, 
Romans6,  ad  loc.).  Now,  if  St.  Paul  really  believed 
the  creatures  which  he  enumerates  to  have  a 
spiritual  existence  in  the  heavenly  spheres,  we  are 
brought  at  once  into  the  region  of  mystical 
theology  ;  if  he  is  merely  personifying  for  the  sake 
of  rhetorical  effect,  we  are  simply  dealing  with 
metaphors.  St.  Paul  certainly  believed  in  the 
existence  of  angels,  but  how  did  he  regard  sin  and 
death  ?  Sin  is  to  him  something  more  than  an  act 


METAPHOR 


METAPHOR 


33 


or  acts  of  transgression,  more  even  than  a  state  ; 
it  is  a  power,  at  least  half  personified  in  the  mind 
of  the  Apostle.  Thus  his  language  in  Ro  512,  '  as 
through  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world  and 
death  through  sin,' and  v.14,  '  death  reigned  from 
Adam  until  Moses,'  is  something  more  than  meta- 
phor. Sin  and  Death  even  if  not  persons  are  at 
least  powers  with  objective  existence.  (The  close 
connexion  between  Sin  and  Death  had  appeared 
before  St.  Paul — first  perhaps  in  Sir  2524 — and  was 
frequent  in  Jewish  Apocalyptic.)  But  St.  Paul 
passes  quickly  from  what  is  metaphorical  to  what 
is  not :  thus  in  1  Co  1554  (quoting  Is  25s) :  '  Death 
is  swallowed  up  in  victory ' ;  in  the  mind  of  the 
Apostle,  Death  may  be  half  personified,  but 
victory  hardly.  Frequently  it  has  to  be  left  open 
what  exactly  St.  Paul  does  mean.  He  does  not 
define  his  terms  ;  and  his  theology,  here  as  else- 
where, is  generally  implicit  rather  than  explicit. 
'In  ancient  literature  it  is  hard  to  distinguish 
between  a  person  and  a  personification.  Animistic 
ideas  lie  deep  in  the  naive,  popular  consciousness ' 
(H.  A.  A.  Kennedy,  St.  Paul's  Conceptions  of  the 
Last  Things,  1904,  p.  108  n.). 

With  these  facts  in  view,  we  must  now  consider 
a  few  specially  difficult  and  obscure  passages. 

1  Co  104  :  '  And  the  rock  was  Christ.'  St.  Paul 
has  just  been  referring  to  the  passing  of  the 
Israelites  through  the  sea.  He  says  the  Israelites 
'  ate  the  same  spiritual  meat '  and  '  drank  the  same 
spiritual  drink.'  It  is  more  usual  to  conceive  of 
the  Jewish  sacraments  as  types  of  the  Christian. 
St.  Paul  refers  to  the  Rabbinic  legend  that  the 
rock  followed  the  Israelites  during  their  march. 
'  Wherever  the  Tabernacle  was  pitched,  the  princes 
came  and  sang  to  the  rock,  "Spring  up,  0  well, 
sing  ye  unto  it,"  whereupon  the  waters  gushed 
forth  afresh '  (HDB,  art.  '  Rock,'  iv.  290).  It  has 
been  remarked :  '  We  must  not  disgrace  Paul  by 
making  him  say  that  the  pre-incarnate  Christ 
followed  the  march  of  Israel  in  the  shape  of  a  lump 
of  rock!'  (quoted  by  Findlay  in  EGT,  ad  loc.). 
But  (1)  it  seems  clear  from  elsewhere  that  St.  Paul 
believed  in  the  pre-existence  of  Christ  (Ro  83, 
2  Co  89)  ;  (2)  St.  Paul  seems  to  follow  his  custom 
of  personification.  Sometimes  water  is  personified 
in  that  it  is  made  to  speak;  cf.  Is  551'3,  Wis  II4, 
Sir  2419'21,  Rev  2217.  Philo  also  (Quod  deterius 
potiori,  p.  31  [Mangey,  i.  213])  calls  the  Divine 
Wisdom  a  rock,  and  makes  it  the  same  as  the 
manna.  E.  A.  Abbott  (Son  of  Man,  p.  649)  has 
taken  these  passages  in  support  of  the  conception 
of  speaking  waters.  Meanwhile  the  other  aspect 
of  the  metaphor  is  shown  in  the  idea  of  God  as 
a  Rock  (because  He  remains  faithful  and  abides). 
'  As  in  Ro  9s  St.  Paul  affirms  of  Christ  that  He  "  is 
over  all,  God  blessed  for  ever,"  so  here  he  identifies 
Him  with  the  "Rock  of  Ages"  (Is  264  RVm) ' 
(Otton,  loc.  cit.  infra).  It  seems  as  if  St.  Paul, 
taking  the  Rabbinic  legend,  without  necessarily 
accepting  it  as  literal  truth,  blended  with  it  the 
ideas  of  the  '  speaking  waters,'  the  manna,  and 
the  everlasting  rock  of  Isaiah.  All  this  is  again 
linked  up  with  baptism  and  the  eucharist — the  only 
place  in  the  NT  where  the  two  great  Christian 
sacraments  are  mentioned  together.  Again  we  see 
St.  Paul's  intellectual  subtlety  used  as  a  vehicle  of 
spiritual  truth. 

"  For  further  discussion  of  the  '  Rock  '  see  E.  A.  Abbott,  The 
Son  of  Man,  1910,  p.  648  ;  Robertson- Plummer,  1  Corinthians, 
p.  201 ;  HDB,  art.  '  Rock ' ;  G.  W.  Otton,  in  Interpreter. 
x.  [1914]  435-439;  G.  G.  Findlay,  in  EGT,  '1  Cor.,'  1900,  ad 
loc. ;  H.  St.  J.  Thackeray,  Relation  of  St.  Paul  to  Contemp. 
Jewish  Thought,  p.  210;  K.  Lake,  Earlier  Epp.  of  St.  Paul, 
1911,  p.  213 ;  C.  Clemen,  Primitive  Christianity  and  its  Non- 
Jewish  Sources,  p.  218  ;  see  also  below,  II.  3. 

Gal  43 :  '  held  in  bondage  under  the  rudiments 
(RVm  'elements')  of  the  world.'    4":  'how  turn 
ye     back    again     to     the    weak    and     beggarly 
VOL.  n.— 3 


rudiments '  (RVm  '  elements ').  Col  28 :  '  after 
the  rudiments  (RVm  'elements')  of  the  world.' 
The  difficulty  here  is  the  exact  significance  of 
ffroixeia,  'elements' :  it  meant  in  classical  Greek  (1) 
a  letter  or  syllable  (Plato) :  in  the  Bible  only  in 
He  512;  (2)  a  shadow  of  a  sundial  (in  Aristo- 
phanes) :  non-Biblical ;  (3)  element  (or  ground 
stuff)— Plato,  Philo,  Josephus,  Wis  717 ;  then 
specially  the  stars  and  planets  ;  then,  as  every 
element  has  its  deity,  (4)  divine  spirit,  demon 
or  genius.  In  Gal.  it  may  be  (1)  rudiments  of 
religion  ;  (2)  physical  elements  ;  (3)  the  attendant 
deities  of  the  physical  elements.  It  is  probably 
(3),  and  only  if  it  were  (1)  would  it  really  be  a 
metaphor. 

See  for  oroiYeia,  C.  W.  Emmet,  Galatians,  1912,  ad  loc.  ; 
J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Galatians^,  1876,  ad  loc.  ;  C.  Clemen, 
Primitive  Christianity  and  its  Han- Jewish  Sources,  pp.  106- 
110. 

Col  218- 19 :  a  very  difficult  passage,  where  the  text 
too  is  uncertain.  It  is  related  in  idea  to  the  last. 
'  Let  no  man  rob  you  of  your  prize  by  a 
voluntary  humility  and  worshipping  of  the  angels, 
dwelling  in  the  things  which  he  hath  seen,  vainly 

Eufled  up  by  his  fleshly  mind,  and  not  holding 
ist  the  Head,  from  whom  all  the  body, 
being  supplied  and  knit  together  through  the 
joints  and  bands,  increaseth  with  the  increase 
of  God.'  To  the  student  of  metaphors  no 
passage  could  be  more  interesting — first  comes 
the  metaphor  of  robbing,  then  the  reference  to 
angel-worship,  the  second  metaphor  of  dwelling 
in  things  seen  (or  not  seen),  the  third  metaphor 
of  being  puffed  up,  the  fourth  metaphor  of  holding 
fast  the  Head,  blended  with  the  tifth  of  Head  and 
body. 

But  the  crux  really  is  a  MpaKev  ^SareiW  (so  N* 
ABD*  33*  314  424**  L  [vt.  d  m]  Boh.  Eth.  Mcion. 
Tert.  Orig.  etc.)  or  &  M  (otn>)  ewpaKtv  (tfcCDb-etc- 
GH  [Lvt  «vg]  Syr.  [vg  hi]  Aeth.  Chr.  etc. 

Some  have  proposed  slightly  to  emend  the  text 
and,  dividing  the  letters  differently,  read :  acpa 

fuparevvv,  '  vainly  treading  the  air '  (or '  stepping 
on  emptiness') — a  suggestive  metaphor  ;  but  there 
is  no  necessity  to  emend.  According  to  Moulton 
(Grammar  of  NT  Greek,  'Proleg.,'  1908,  p.  239), 
fj.-fi  is  '  indisputably  spurious,'  so  we  must  follow 
the  first  reading.  This  has  been  elucidated  by 
Ramsay  (Teaching  of  St.  Paul  in  Terms  of  the 
Present  Day,  1913,  p.  288):  'Among  a  series  of 
very  interesting  inscriptions  from  the  Sanctuary 
of  Apollo  of  Klaros  was  one  which  instantly 
arrested  attention  :  it  contained  the  verb  "entered 

f^drevfffv),  describing  the  performance  of  some 
act  or  rite  in  the  mystic  ritual.'  The  Colossians 
knew  the  word  in  the  mysteries.  'As  a  quoted 
word,  it  causes  a  certain  awkwardness  in  the 
logical  sequence  ;  but  when  we  take  it  as  quoted 
and  put  it  within  inverted  commas,  we  under- 
stand that  it  is  like  a  brick  imbedded  in  the 
living  well  of  Paul's  words '  (p.  299). 

3.  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.— He  32 :  'In  all 
his  [God's]  house.'  OIKOS  in  the  Gospels  is  used  of 
the  Temple,  here  of  the  people  of  God  (cf.  1  P 
4",  1  Ti  315).  412 :  The  word  of  God  is  living,  and 
active,  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword 

o-TOfiov  is  lit.  'double-mouthed').  That  it 
'  pierces  even  to  the  dividing  of  soul  and  spirit ' 
means  that  it  penetrates  to  the  very  depths  of 
a  man's  being.  512:  'such  as  have  need  of  milk' 
(cf.  1  P  22,  1  Co  31'5).  Young  students  were 
called  '  sucklings '  by  the  Rabbis.  64 :  '  and 
tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift.'  The  idea  of 
'  tasting '  divine  things  is  from  the  OT.  67- 8  : 
the  land  which  hath  drunk  the  rain  .  .  .  re- 
ceiveth  blessing' :  cf.  Plut.  de  Educ.  Puer.  Hi.  and 
Eurip.  Hecuba,  590-6  ;  the  idea  is  '  the  free  and 
reiterated  bestowal  of  spiritual  impulse'  (Marcus 


34 


METAPHOR 


Dods  in  EOT,  ad  loc.).  619 :  '  anchor  of  the  soul ' : 
AyKvpa  is  used  metaphorically  in  Soph.  fr.  612 : 
/j.r)Tpl  iraiSes  AyKvpai  ffiov,  '  children  are  anchors  of 
life  to  their  mother.'  722 :  Jesus  is  the  '  surety  of 
a  better  covenant ' ;  cf.  St.  Paul's  legal  metaphors 
(in  his  case  drawn  mostly  from  slavery).  1013 : 
'the  footstool  of  his  feet'  (cf.  Ps  HO1).  1022 : 
our  hearts  are  sprinkled  from  an  evil  conscience. 
121 :  'cloud  of  witnesses,'  'the  race.'  1215 :  'root 
of  bitterness.'  1229 :  '  Our  God  is  a  consuming 
fire'  (cf.  Dt  4M  Q3).  1315 :  'the  sacrifice  of 

5 raise '  is  the  '  fruit  of   lips.'     1320 :  the  familiar 
ohannine    metaphor    of    the    'shepherd   of    the 
sheep.' 

4.  Catholic  Epistles. — (a)  The  Epistle  of  James 
is  peculiarly  interesting :  traditionally,  and  in 
the  opinion  of  many  modern  critics,  the  work 
of  James,  the  Lord's  brother,  it  shows  many 
parallels  with  the  Synoptic  Gospels.  '  The  love 
of  nature,  the  sympathy  in  all  human  interests, 
the  readiness  to  find  "  sermons  in  stones  and  good 
in  every  thing "  must  have  characterized  the  child 
Jesus  and  coloured  all  His  intercourse  with  His 
fellows  from  His  earliest  years.  It  is  interesting, 
therefore,  to  find  the  same  fondness  for  figurative 
speech  in  the  Epistles  of  His  brothers,  St.  James 
and  St.  Jude'  (Mayor,  Ep.  of  St.  James3,  p.  Ixii). 
Thus  Ja  I15 :  '  The  lust,  when  it  hath  conceived, 
beareth  sin :  and  the  sin,  when  it  is  fullgrown, 
bringeth  forth  death.'  The  same  metaphor  is 
found  in  Ps  714  and  in  Philo  (ed.  Mangey,  i. 
40,  149,  183).  1":  'The  Father  of  lights,  with 
whom  can  be  no  variation,  neither  shadow  that 
is  cast  by  turning ' ;  cf.  Mai  42,  Ps  271  369),  Is 
601-19-20,  1  Jn  I5,  Wis  726;  also  Test.  Abr.  (ed. 
M.  R.  James,  p.  37)  (where  the  archangel  Michael 
is  called  '  Father  of  all  lights '),  Philo  (ed.  Mangey, 
i.  579,  637),  and  Plato  (Rep.  vi.  505,  vii.  517). 
Sometimes  St.  James,  in  his  symbolical  language, 
reminds  us  of  the  Synoptists.  The  remarkable 
passage  35"12  contains  several  metaphors ;  most 
striking  is  v.8 :  the  tongue  '  setteth  on  fire  the 
wheel  of  nature  and  is  set  on  fire  by  hell.'  The 
wheel,  catching  fire  from  the  glowing  axle,  is 
compared  to  the  wide-spreading  mischief  done 
by  the  tongue.  ytve<ra  (tr.  'nature')  means  (1) 
birth ;  (2)  creation  ;  (3)  the  seen  and  temporal 
as  opposed  to  the  unseen  and  eternal ;  the '  wheel ' 
means  either  the  incessant  change  of  life  or  (if 
the  wheel  is  at  rest)  the  circle  of  life.  Other 
metaphors  are  414  52,  etc. 

(b)  1  and  2  Peter.— I  P  I2:  'sprinkling  of  the 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ.'     I18  :  'girding  up  the  loins 
of  your  mind.'     2s'7:    'chief  corner  stone.'     225: 
'  shepherd  of  your  souls."    The  same    metaphor 
appears    again    in    52- 3<  4  :  '  flock   of    God,'  '  chief 
Shepherd.'    513 :  'Babylon 'may  be  either  literal 
or  metaphorical  :  probably   the   former.     2  P  I8 : 
'unfruitful.'     I". ":    'tabernacle'   (cf.    2  Co  51). 
I19:    'and    the    day-star    arise  in  your    hearts.' 
23 :    '  make    merchandise    of    you.'    217  : '  springs 
without  water.' 

(c)  The    Johannine    Epistles   have    not    many 
metaphors — those  there  are  are  of  course  conceived 
of  as  are  those  in  the  Fourth  Gospel,  e.g.  the  dwell- 
ing on  light  in  1  Jn  1.     In  41 :  '  prove  the  spirits, 
whether  they  be  of  God,'  irve^ara  do  not  seem 
to  be  personified.    418 :  '  perfect  love  casteth  out 
fear.'     In  1  Jn  218  and  2  Jn7  we  have  mention  of 
the   Antichrist   (see   below   under   '  Revelation '). 
The  phrase,   '  Even  now  have  there  arisen  many 
antichrists,'    seems    to    show    that    the  word    is 
taken    generally    and    metaphorically    for    false 
teachers. 

(d)  Jude  has  resemblances  sometimes  to  James, 
sometimes  to  Revelation  (cf.  Jude  9  with  Rev  127). 
In  v.6  that  the  angels  are   '  kept  in  everlasting 
bonds '  is  to  be  taken  literally,  not  metaphorically. 


In  vv.12-13  we  have  a  string  of  metaphors:  the 
wicked  are  called  'hidden  rocks,'  'shepherds 
that  without  fear  feed  themselves,'  '  clouds  with- 
out water,'  'autumn  trees  without  fruit,'  'wild 
waves,' ' wandering  stars.'  v.23:  ' snatching  them 
out  of  the  fire '  (cf.  Zee  32). 

5.  Revelation. — Metaphor  in  Revelation  raises 
peculiar  difficulty.  Though  elsewhere  in  the  NT 
metaphors  are  frequent  and  not  always  sharply 
defined,  here  in  an  Apocalypse  they  are  so  much 
part  and  parcel  of  the  whole  book  that,  short  of 
discussing  them  in  detail  along  with  allied  problems 
of  interpretation,  the  only  possible  course  in  a 
short  article  is  to  make  a  few  brief  generalizations. 
Ordinary  metaphors  shade  off  into  theological  and 
(occasionally)  mythological  conceptions,  so  that  we 
cannot  separate  one  from  the  other.  But  it  is 
necessary  to  state  briefly  the  method  of  interpre- 
tation of  the  Apocalypse  without  which  the  meta- 
phors, as  everything  else  in  it,  are  obscure.  This 
seems  to  be  done  satisfactorily  only  if  we  pursue 
concurrently  several  different  lines  of  interpreta- 
tion:  (1)  the  contemporary-historical  (reference  to 
events  of  the  writer's  own  day) ;  (2)  the  eschato- 
logical  (the  foretelling  of  the  end  of  all  things 
under  symbolic  imagery) ;  and  (3)  the  mythological 
(particularly  in  ch.  12) ;  also  (4)  the  author  un- 
doubtedly had  visions  wherein  he  saw  spiritual 
things  portrayed  ;  and  (5)  it  is  difficult  to  leave  out 
of  account  the  existence  of  sources.  The  danger 
of  interpretation  is  not  so  much  to  refuse  to  see 
metaphor,  as  to  see  it  where  it  is  really  not  present 
at  all :  many  things  which  to  some  critics  have 
seemed  only  'crude  symbols'  of  spiritual  truth 
were  probably  to  the  writer  literal  truth  of  things 
he  had  seen — none  the  less  real  because  he  had 
seen  them  not  with  his  bodily  eyes  but  with  the 
eye  of  faith  in  a  vision.  How  far  this  was  so 
must  remain  uncertain,  but  the  point  must  not  be 
overlooked  entirely.  'No  scene  in  the  great 
Christian  Apocalypse  can  be  successfully  repro- 
duced upon  canvas  ;  "  The  imagery  ...  is  symbolic 
and  not  pictorial "  (Westcott)'  (Swete,  Apocalypse2, 
p.  cxxxviii).  But  because  we  cannot  pictorially 
conceive  of  a  thing,  we  have  no  right  simply  to 
say  it  is  a  metaphor. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  difficulty  of  interpreta- 
tion in  this  book  we  may  take  the  conception  of 
Antichrist,  mentioned  only  by  name  in  the  Epistles 
of  St.  John.  Here  an  ancient  Babylonian  myth, 
which  has  passed  through  various  stages  and  has 
left  traces  in  the  OT,  and  which  is  referred  to  in 
2  Th  3,  is  taken  over  by  the  Apocalyptist.  The 
beast  in  Rev  13  and  17  is  somehow  Antichrist, 
though  he  may  also  stand  for  Nero  and  Domitian. 
Can  we  say  that  the  term  '  beast '  is  a  '  metaphor ' 
standing  for  a  Roman  Emperor?  The  value  we 
attach  to  the  Apocalypse  is  dependent  on  whether 
we  think  it  substantially  a  divine  vision  vouch- 
safed to  the  Seer  of  Patmos  or  a  mere  interesting 
congeries  of  symbols.  But  a  question  of  termino- 
logy shades  off  indistinctly  into  one  of  theology 
and  interpretation. 

For  Antichrist  see  W.  Bousset,  The  Antichrist  Legend,  Eng. 
tr.,1896;  H.  B.  Swete,  'Antichrist  in  the  Province  of  Asia,' 
in  Apocalypse  of  St.  John'2,  pp.  Ixxviii-xciii ;  A.  E.  Brooke, 
Johannine  Epistles,  pp.  69-79. 

II.  IN  EARLY  CHRISTIAN  LITERATURE  TO 
A.D.  100.—  1.  Agrapha.— (a)  Oxyrhynchus  Logion 
5  (No.  SQinHDB  v.,  art.  'Agrapha'):  tyeipov  rbv 
\l6ov  K&Kfi  evpriffeis  fj.e,  yxlffov  TO  £<j\ov  Kayu  ^/cet  et>/, 
'  Raise  the  stone  and  you  will  find  me,  cleave  the 
wood  and  there  am  I.'  The  metaphor  means  that 
we  shall  find  our  Lord  in  the  ordinary  occupations 
of  daily  life,  (b)  Saying  quoted  in  Clem.  Alex. 
Strom,  'i.  28.  177  (No.  58  in  HDB) :  yivev6e  dt  d6Ki/j.oi 
Tpa.irefiTa.1,  ra  fdv  d.TrodoKtfj.a.£'ovTfS,  ri>  dt  KaXbv  KO.T&- 
,  '  Show  yourselves  approved  money-changers, 


METAPHOR 


MICHAEL 


35 


rejecting  some  but  keeping  what  is  good '  (rpa 
in  the  NT  only  in  Mt  25™).  Origen,  in  Johann. 
xix.  7,  also  quotes  66ici/j.oi  rpa.ire£lTa.i  yivetrde  ;  and 
it  is  quoted  elsewhere.  Cf.  the  other  Oxyrhyn- 
chus  Logion  (3)  (No.  28  in  HDB),  'and  I  found 
all  men  drunken  and  none  was  athirst  among 
them.  And  my  soul  is  pained  for  the  sons  of  men 
because  they  are  blind  in  their  heart  and  see  not, 
poor  and  they  know  not  their  poverty.'  In  another 
fragment  we  have :  '  Jesus  saith,  Who  are  they 
that  draw  us  into  the  Kingdom,  if  the  Kingdom 
be  in  heaven  ?  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  The  birds 
of  the  heaven,  and  every  creature  that  is  under 
the  earth  and  in  the  earth  and  the  fishes  of  the 
sea,  these  are  they  that  draw  you '  (see  Grenfell- 
Hunt,  Sayings  of  Our  Lord,  1897,  and  New 
Sayings  of  Jesus,  1904). 

2.  1   Clement. — viii.  :   lav  S>ai.v   aZ   d/uapr/at  vpQv 
a.irb  rrjs  yfjs  ?ws  TOV  ovpavov,   Kal  {"a.v  Gxrtv   irvppdrepcu 
KdKKov,  Kal  /j,e\av<j}repai  ffdicicov,  '  if  your  sins  reach 
from  earth  to  heaven  and  are  redder  than  scarlet 
and  blacker  than  sackcloth  .  .  .'  (a  reminiscence 
of  Is  I18),     xxx.  :   £vd(j<ru>[j.e6a  rijv  bfiovoiav,   '  let  US 
clothe  ourselves  with  concord.'     xxxiii.  :  4v  epyois 
dyadois'irdvTfs  £KOo-(j.ridr)ffa.v  ol  diicaioi,  '  All  righteous 
men  have  been  adorned  with  good  works.'    xxxvii.  : 
Christians  are  compared  to  soldiers  ;  the  metaphor 
is  sustained  throughout  the  chapter.     Ivii. :  Kdfj.\f/av- 
res  TO.  y6va.ro.  TTJS  tcapdias  \>n.Civ,   '  bending  the  knees 
of  your  hearts.'     tdovrai  rfjs  eavrCiv  odov  rovs  napTrofa, 
'they  shall  eat  the  fruits  of  their  way.' 

3.  Odes  of  Solomon.— These  are  full  of  beautiful 
and  striking  metaphors,  of  which  the  following  are 
instances,     i.  4 :  '  Thy  fruits  are  full  grown  and 
perfect,  they  are  full  of  thy  salvation.'   iv.  9 :  '  distil 
thy  dews  upon  us  and  open  thy  rich  fountains  that 
pour  forth  to  us  milk  and  honey.'    ix.  8  :  '  An  ever- 
lasting crown  for  ever  is  truth.     Blessed  are  they 
who  set  it  on  their  heads.'    xi.  5,  7  :  '  And  I  was 
established  upon  the  rock  of    truth  .  .  .  and  I 
drank  and  was  inebriated  with  the  living  water' 
(cf.  1  Co  104  :  '  the  rock  was  Christ,'  above),    xiii.  2 : 
'  Love  His  holiness  and  clothe  yourself  therewith.' 
xvii.  13 :  '  And  I  sowed  my  fruits  in  hearts,  and 
transformed  them  into  myself.'    xxii.  4,  5 :  '  He 
who  gave  me  authority  over  bonds  that  I  might 
loose  them  ;  He  that  overthrew  by  my  hands  the 
dragon  with  seven  heads '  (Titus  or  Pompey  [?] ;  cf. 
Ps  7414,  Ezk  293).    xxv.  8  :  '  And  I  was  clothed  with 
the  covering  of  thy  Spirit,  and  thou  didst  remove 
from  me  my  raiment  of  skin '  (here  and  in  xxi.  2  the 
reference  is  to  Gn  321).    xxxi.  2 :  '  error  went  astray 
and  perished  at  His  hand  :  and  folly  found  no  path 
to  walk  in,  and  was  submerged  by  the  truth  of 
the  Lord'  (here,  as  elsewhere  in  Jewish  and  early 
Christian  literature,  qualities  are  personified). 

See  J.  H.  Bernard,  Odes  of  Solomon  (TS  viii.  3  [1912]) ; 
J.  Rendel  Harris,  Odes  of  Solomon?,  1911,  An  Early  Christian 
Psalter  (abridged  translation  of  Odes),  1909. 

4.  Didache. — i.  1  :  odol  Stio  elal,  pla  rijt  f&njs,  Kal 
fj.ia  TOV  Oa.va.Tov,  '  the  way  of  life  and  the  way  of 
death '  (cf.  Christianity  as  '  the  way,'  Ac  9s,  2  P 
22).     i.    6  :    ISpurdrd)  ^  ^\erj/j.o<rvvrj  o~ov  eh  rds  xeTpds 
ffov,    'Let  thine  alms    sweat    into  thine  hands.' 
vi.  2  :  el  p.ev  yap  5vvao~ai,  /3aord<rai  S\ov  TOV  £vybv  TOV 


ffTpa<frriffoi>Tai  TO.  vpbfii 
\VKOVI,  c  and  the  sheep  shall  be  turned  into  wolves.' 
General  results  of  study  of  metaphors.  —  The 
above  lists,  by  no  means  exhaustive,  of  metaphors 
in  the  NT  and  early  Christian  literature,  show 
how  rich  and  various  was  the  stock  of  ideas  from 
which  the  writers  of  Christian  antiquity  drew  to 
illustrate  the  gospel  message  with  which  their 
heart  was  aflame.  It  is  obvious  that  to  under- 
stand aright  we  must  know  something  of  the  back- 
ground of  the  Early  Church  in  the  pagan  world, 


that  welter  of  rites  and  cults  in  the  Grseco- 
Roman  and  Oriental  world  which  modern  research 
has  done  so  much  to  make  vivid.  Yet  some  are 
probably  mistaken  in  attaching  too  much  import- 
ance, or  the  wrong  sort  of  importance,  to  all  this  : 
the  phraseology  in  which  the  gospel  message  was 
first  clothed  had  often  extraneous  origin ;  the 
message  itself  was  fresh  and  unique.  External 
influences  may  account  for  the  form  but  not  for 
the  fact.  It  may  be  that  in  some  cases  a  metaphor 
or  figure,  not  only  of  word  but  of  thought,  affected 
the  thought  which  it  clothed,  and  this  is  the  sole 
argument  for  '  mythology '  in  the  NT.  This  leads, 
in  conclusion,  to  the  psychological  aspect  of  meta- 
phor. Psychology  'proves  the  fundamental  con- 
nexion between  the  religious  and  the  non-religious 
aspects  of  Life  and  Thought '  (S.  A.  Cook,  Founda- 
tions of  Religion,  1914,  p.  91).  All  spiritual  truths 
are  conceived  through  imperfect  symbols,  but  the 
symbol  must  be  examined,  and  what  is  essential 
separated  from  the  outward  form,  before  the  truth 
within  can  be  clear. 

LITERATURE.— For  Metaphor  as  a  whole  :  F.  E.  K8nigr,  artt. 
'Style  of  Scripture'  and  'Symbols  and  Symbolical  Actions  "in 
HDB  v.,  Stilistik,  Rhetorik,  Poetik,  in  Bezug  auf  die  biblische 
Litteratur,  kornparativisch  dargestellt,  1900 ;  L.  E.  Browne, 
The  Parables  of  the  Gospels  (Hulsean  Prize  Essay),  1913 ;  W. 
Sanday,  Christologies  Ancient  and  Modern,  1910,  ch.  ix. : 
'  The  Guiding  Principle  of  Symbolism." 

For  the  books  of  the  NT,  the  best  Commentaries ;  especially 
Sanday  -  Headlam,  Romans  5  (ICC),  1902  ;  Robertson  - 
Plummer,  1  Corinthians  (ICC),  1911 ;  H.  L.  Goudge, 
1  Corinthians  (Westminster  Com.,  1903) ;  J.  Armitage 
Robinson,  Ephesians,  1903  ;  G.  Millig-an,  Thessalonians,  1908  ; 
J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Philippians*,  1878;  J.  B.  Mayor,  Ep.  of  St. 
Jamest,  1910 ;  A.  E.  Brooke,  Johannine  Epistles  (ICC),  1912  ; 
H.  B.  Swete,  Apocalypse  of  St.  John"*,  1907. 

General :  C.  Clemen,  Primitive  Christianity  and  its  Non- 
Jetcish  Sources,  Eng.  tr.,  1912  ;  H.  St.  J.  Thackeray,  Relation 
of  St.  Paul  to  Contemporary  Jevrish  Thought,  1900 ;  G.  A. 
Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Ancient  East,  Eng.  tr.2,  1911. 
Other  authorities  quoted  in  the  text.  L.  D.  AGATE. 

MICHAEL  (Heb.  ^s, 'Who  is  like  God?').— 
In  Dn  1021  Michael  is  described  as  the  '  prince,'  i.e. 
the  patron  or  guardian  angel  of  Israel,  in  antithesis 
to  the '  prince '  of  Persia  and  the  '  prince '  of  Greece 
(v.20).  In  the  account  of  the  troublous  times  of  the 
Last  Days  in  121,  Michael,  '  the  great  prince,'  is 
Israel's  champion,  by  whom  deliverance  is  wrought. 
These  are  the  only  references  supplied  by  the  OT, 
but  they  exercised  a  powerful  influence  upon  the 
Jewish  tradition  that  grew  up  regarding  Michael 
(in  which  he  further  appears  as  one  of  the  seven 
archangels  and  the  chief  of  the  four  great  arch- 
angels), and  through  this  upon  NT  conceptions. 
In  the  NT  he  is  twice  mentioned  by  name  (Jude9, 
where  he  is  described  as  '  the  archangel,'  and  Rev 
127),  and  in  both  cases  discharges  functions  that 
are  in  keeping  with  the  position  assigned  him  in 
Daniel.  (1)  In  Jude9  (cf.  Dt  346),  which  is  based 
on  the  apocryphal  Assumption  of  Moses  (see  Orig.  de 
Princip.  III.  ii.  1),  he  stands  forward  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  Israel  to  dispute  the  Devil's  claim  to 
possess  the  body  of  Moses,  a  claim  made,  according 
to  the  apocryphal  book,  on  the  two  grounds  that 
the  Devil  was  the  lord  of  matter  and  that  Moses 
had  been  guilty  of  slaying  the  Egyptian  (see  Charles, 
Assumption  of  Moses,  1897,  p.  105  tf. ).  (2)  In  Rev  127 
as  in  Dn  12  Michael  plays  a  leading  part  in  the 
conflict  that  is  to  issue  in  the  Messianic  triumph 
of  the  Last  Days.  In  accordance  with  the  Jewish 
eschatological  idea  of  a  celestial  battle  which  is  to 
precede  this  triumph  (Sib.  Orac.  iii.  796  ff.),  there 
is  war  in  heaven,  and  Michael  and  his  angels  go 
forth  to  war  with  the  great  red  dragon  (otherwise 
described  as  '  the  old  serpent,  he  that  is  called  the 
Devil  and  Satan,'  v.9)  and  his  angels,  with  the 
result  that  the  latter  are  overthrown  and  cast 
down  to  the  earth.  The  significant  thing  here  is 
the  position  assigned  to  Michael.  It  is  by  him, 
not  by  the  '  man  child  who  is  to  rule  all  the  nations 


36 


MEDIAN 


MILETUS 


with  a  rod  of  iron'  (v.5),  that  the  dragon  is  over- 
come and  cast  out  from  heaven  (cf.  Bousset,  Der 
Antichrist,  1895,  p.  151  ff.). 

There  are  two  other  passages  in  the  NT  where 
Michael,  though  not  mentioned,  appears  to  be 
referred  to.  (1)  In  Ac  I38  he  is  probably  to  be 
identified  with  the  angel  who  spoke  to  Moses  in 
Mount  Sinai.  According  to  Gal  319  the  Law  was 
'ordained  by  angels,'  and  in  He  22  'the  word  "is 
described  as  '  spoken  by  angels '  (cf .  Jos.  Ant.  XV. 
v.  3).  In  Jub.  i.  27,  ii.  1,  however,  it  is  the  angel 
of  the  presence  who  instructs  Moses  and  delivers 
to  him  the  tables  of  the  Law,  and  in  what  was 
probably  the  original  Assumption  of  Moses  (pre- 
served only  in  Greek  fragments)  '  Michael  the 
archangel '  is  expressly  said  to  have  taught  Moses 
at  the  giving  of  the  Law.  (2)  In  1  Th  416  'the 
voice  of  the  archangel  and  the  trump  of  God '  sug- 
gests another  reference  to  the  Michael  of  Jewish 
tradition.  This  is  the  only  place  in  the  NT  besides 
Jude 9  where  the  word  '  archangel '  occurs,  and 
though  the  archangel  in  this  case  is  not  named,  it 
is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  great  archangel  is 
meant.  '  The  voice  of  the  archangel '  and  '  the 
trump  of  God  '  are  evidently  to  be  taken  as  parallel 
expressions  (cf.  Mt  24S1,  '  He  shall  send  his  angels 
with  a  great  sound  of  a  trumpet'),  and  it  is  a 
common  feature  of  the  later  Jewish  tradition  of 
the  Day  of  Judgment  that  the  trumpet  is  blown 
by  Michael  the  archangel  (see  Bousset,  op.  cit.  p. 
166).  J.  C.  LAMBERT. 

MIDIAN  (AV  Madian,  Ac  7s9).— This  was  the 
name  of  a  people  broken  up  into  several  clans  and 
inhabiting  N.W.  Arabia.  One  clan,  the  Kenites, 
dwelt  near  Mount  Sinai,  and  to  it  Moses  fled  from 
Pharaoh  (Ex  215).  Its  chief  was  Jethro  (or  Reuel), 
whose  daughter  Moses  married  (v.21).  In  the  days 
of  the  Judges  they  extended  further  north  and 
made  inroads  into  central  Palestine.  But  they 
were  severely  defeated  by  Gideon  ( Jg  6.  7),  and  are 
soon  after  lost  to  history.  The  town  of  Modiana 
mentioned  by  Ptolemy  (Geog.  vi.  7)  as  being  on 
the  N.W.  coast  of  Arabia  may  be  a  late  trace  of 
them.  Midian  is  probably  used  by  later  Jewish 
writers  with  a  spiritual  reference,  symbolizing  the 
Church's  final  triumph  over  its  foes  (e.g.  Is  94  606, 
Hab  3'). 

LITERATURE.  —  G.  A.  Smith,  HGHL,  1897,  p.  525  ;  also  art. 
'Midian'  in  HDB.  J.  W.  DUNCAN. 

MILETUS  (MOIJTO?).— Miletus  was  an  ancient 
Greek  colony  on  the  coast  of  Caria,  and  became 
the  most  nourishing  of  the  twelve  free  cities  which 
formed  the  Ionian  League.  Five  centuries  before 
Christ  it '  had  attained  the  summit  of  its  prosperity, 
and  was  accounted  the  ornament  (irpdo-xww)  of 
Ionia'  (Herod,  v.  28),  being  unquestionably  the 
greatest  of  Greek  cities  at  the  time.  Favourably 
situated  on  the  S.  shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Latmos,  and 
possessing  four  harbours,  it  controlled  the  trade  of 
the  rich  Maeander  Valley,  and  was  without  a  rival 
in  the  commerce  of  the  ^Egean. 

'  The  citizens,'  says  Strabo  (xiv.  i.  6,  7),  '  have  achieved  many 
great  deeds,  but  the  most  important  is  the  number  of  colonies 
which  they  established.  The  whole  Euxine,  for  example,  and 
the  Propontis,  and  many  other  places,  are  peopled  with  their 
settlers.  .  .  .  Illustrious  persons,  natives  of  Miletus,  were 
Thales,  one  of  the  seven  wise  men,  his  disciple  Anaximander, 
and  Anaximines  the  disciple  of  Anaximander.' 

After  the  capture  of  Miletus  by  Darius,  who 
massacred  the  inhabitants  (494  B.C.),  and  by  Alex- 
ander the  Great  (334),  its  days  of  greatness  and 
glory  were  ended.  The  trade  of  the  Maeander 
Valley  was  diverted  to  Ephesus,  and,  before  the 
coming  of  the  Romans,  Miletus,  though  still  called 
a  '  metropolis '  of  Ionia,  had  become  a  second-rate 
commercial  town,  which  the  conquerors  did  not 
think  it  necessary  to  link  up  to  any  important  city 


by  one  of  their  great  roads.  Having  no  longer  any 
political  importance,  it  became  more  and  more 
isolated,  and  nature  gradually  completed  its  ruin 
by  filling  its  harbours  and  almost  the  whole  gulf 
with  the  siltof  the  Maeander  (Pliny,  fi'./Vii.  91,  v.31). 
Its  site — known  as  Palatia,  from  the  ruins  of  its 
great  theatre — is  now  5  or  6  miles  from  the  sea, 
and  the  island  of  Lade,  which  Strabo  (xiv.  i.  7) 
mentions  as  lying  '  close  in  front  of  Miletus,'  is  now 
a  small  hill  in  the  plain. 

St.  Paul  did  not  select  such  a  decaying  city  as  a 
base  of  missionary  operations,  and  its  connexion 
with  the  record  of  his  activity  is  a  mere  accident. 
At  the  end  of  his  third  journey,  when  he  was 
hastening  to  Jerusalem  to  attend  the  Feast  of 
Pentecost,  he  deliberately  chose  at  Troas  a  ship 
which  was  not  to  touch  at  Ephesus,  where  it  was 
probably  still  unsafe  for  him  to  appear,  and  where 
in  any  case  his  time  would  have  been  very  short 
(Ac  2016).  But  when  the  coaster  in  which  he  was 
sailing,  and  whose  movements  he  naturally  could 
not  control,  came  to  Miletus,  he  unexpectedly 
found  that  he  would  be  detained  there  for  some 
days,  and  it  occurred  to  him  that  in  the  interval 
he  might  send  a  messenger  to  Ephesus — 30  miles 
distant  in  a  straight  line,  and  somewhat  further  by 
boat  and  road — and  summon  its  elders  to  meet  him. 

If  his  ship  sailed  from  Samos  (or  Trogy Ilium,  ac- 
cording to  D)  early  in  the  day,  and  thus  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  northerly  breeze  which  rises  in  the 
.iEgean  every  morning  during  the  summer  and  dies 
away  in  the  afternoon,  he  would  reach  Miletus,  25 
(or  20)  miles  distant,  before  noon.  His  messenger 
probably  did  not  make  the  great  detour  by  Heracleia 
at  the  head  of  the  gulf,  but  waited  for  the  gentle 
south  wind  (called  the  Imbat),  which  blows  after 
sunset,  to  take  him  across  to  Pyrrha  or  Priene. 

Strabo  makes  the  ancient  topography  clear.  '  From  Heracleia 
to  Pyrrha,  a  small  city,  is  about  100  stadia  by  sea,  but  a  little 
more  from  Miletus  is  Heracleia,  if  we  include  the  windings  of 
the  bays.  From  Miletus  to  Pyrrha,  in  a  straight  line  by  sea,  is 
SO  stadia ;  so  much  longer  is  the  journey  by  sailing  near  the 
land '  (xiv.  L  8,  9). 

Passing  through  Priene,  crossing  Mt.  Mycale, 
and  speeding  along  the  coast  road,  the  messenger 
might  reach  Ephesus  by  midnight.  The  elders 
would  travel  south  next  day  to  Priene  or  Pyrrha, 
and  get  the  northerly  wind  to  take  them  over  the 
bay  to  Miletus  on  the  following  morning.  St.  Luke 
writes  as  an  eye-witness  of  the  meeting,  fellowship, 
and  parting  of  St.  Paul  and  the  Ephesians,  the 
record  of  which  has  given  Miletus  an  abiding  con- 
secration. The  Apostle's  address  to  the  eiders, 
with  its  lofty  ideal  of  pastoral  duty,  reads  '  as  an 
unconscious  manifesto  of  the  essence  of  the  life  and 
ministry  of  the  most  influential  exponent  of  Chris- 
tianity' (J.  V.  Bartlet,  Acts  [Century  Bible,  1901], 
p.  327). 

Miletus  is  mentioned  again  in  2  Ti  420  :  '  Trophi- 
mus  I  left  at  Miletus  sick.  This  has  been  regarded 
as  proving  that  St.  Paul,  released  from  his  Roman 
prison,  resumed  his  work  in  the  East,  and  after  all 
revisited  the  scene  of  his  pathetic  farewell.  But 
many  scholars  prefer  a  different  construction.  As- 
suming that  the  passage  in  question  occurs  in  a 
brief  note  (2  Ti  49-  "-18-  '*•  au)  sent  to  Timothy  from 
Macedonia,  and  afterwards  editorially  incorporated 
in  a  longer  letter  written  to  him  from  Rome,  they 
date  the  visit  to  Miletus  before  the  one  recorded 
in  Ac  2015.  When  St.  Paul  was  leaving  Ephesus, 
intending  to  return  by  Macedonia  to  Corintn  (1  Co 
165),  he  may  have  had  reasons  for  first  visiting 
Miletus,  and  been  obliged  to  leave  Trophimus, 
who  became  sick  there ;  or,  though  he  did  not 
personally  visit  Miletus,  he  might  use  a  condensed 
expression,  which  meant  that  his  friend,  having 
been  sent  to  Miletus  and  detained  there  by  sick- 
ness, was  unable  to  return  to  Ephesus  before  the 
time  of  sailing,  and  so  was  left  behind. 


MILLENNIUM 


MINISTER,  MINISTRY 


37 


Miletus  has  extensive  ruins,  of  which  the  most 
remarkable  is  the  theatre,  and  the  site  has  been 
excavated  by  Wiegland  for  the  Berlin  Academy 
(SBA  W  1900  ff.).  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

MILLENNIUM.—  See  ESCHATOLOGY,  PAROUSIA. 


MILLSTONE  (n&m  ;  in  Rev  1821  TR,  following 
B,  has  fj.v\ov  ;  L  WH,  following  A,  have  fj.v\ivov  • 
C  has  fj.v\iK6v  ;  Lat.  mola).  —  The  mill  of  the  ancients 
(as  of  many  Syrians  to-day)  was  a  quern  —  two 
circular  stones,  of  which  the  upper  and  smaller 
rotated  upon  the  other.  The  hard  and  monoton- 
ous labour  of  grinding  was  imposed  on  women  ;  in 
wealthier  houses,  on  female  slaves  (Ex  II5,  Mt  2441). 
If  the  upper  stone  was  small,  it  was  turned  by  one 
person  ;  if  it  was  of  greater  size,  two,  three,  or 
even  four  slaves  required  to  work  together  at  the 
task.  The  heavy  toil  was  often  somewhat  lightened 
with  a  song.  The  writer  of  the  Revelation  alludes 
to  these  things  in  two  successive  verses.  A  great 
millstone  flung  impetuously  (6pjui?>ar(,  'with  a 
rush,'  or  '  indignantly  '  ;  see  LXX  Hos  510)  into  the 
sea,  to  rise  no  more,  is  his  image  of  the  overthrow 
of  Imperial  Rome  (Rev  1821).  So  complete  is  the 
desolation  he  foresees,  that  the  sound  of  the  mill 
(<t>uvri  /j.v\ov,  the  (£5i)  fin/j.v\i.os  of  the  classics;,  cf. 
LXX  <t>tavri  TTJS  d\r)0ovo-rjs  in  EC  124),  the  familiar 
murmur  of  domestic  life,  will  never  be  heard  again 
in  the  ruined  city,  which  will  have  become  a  city 
of  death  (Rev  1822). 

LITERATURE.—  J.  Yates,  art.  '  Mola  •  in  Smith's  DGRA*  ;  G. 
M.  Mackie,  Bible  Manners  and  Customs?,  1903  ;  W.  Carslaw, 
art.  'Mill,  Millstone'  in  HDB  •  A.  R.  S.  Kennedy,  art.  'Mill, 
Millstones  '  in  EBi  ;  C.  M.  Doughty,  Travels  in  Arabia  Deserta, 
1888,  ii.  179.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

MIND.—  1.  The  noun  —  While  in  the  OT  'heart' 
is  used  to  represent  man's  whole  mental  and  moral 
activity  (cf.  Gn  65  'every  imagination  of  the 
thoughts  of  his  heart'),  psychological  terms  begin 
to  be  employed  in  the  NT  with  more  discrimination 
and  precision,  and  '  mind  '  comes  into  use  to  denote 
the  faculty  of  thinking,  and  especially  the  organ 
of  moral  consciousness  ;  the  fundamental  Gr.  word 
being  vovs,  with  which  must  be  associated  its  deriva- 
tives v67i/j.a,  Sidvota,  Hvvoia.  It  is  suggestive,  how- 
ever, of  the  persistence  of  the  OT  psychology  and 
terminology  in  the  early  Apostolic  Church  that, 
outside  of  the  Pauline  Epistles,  vovs,  the  specific 
word  for  '  mind,'  occurs  only  in  Lk  24*5,  Rev  1318 
179,  though  didvoia  and  Zwoia  are  occasionally  found. 
In  the  AV  of  Ac  148,  Ph  I27,  He  123  '  mind  '  repre- 
sents TJ/V-XT),  which  in  the  RV  is  properly  rendered 
'  soul  '  ;  in  Philem  M,  Rev  1713  it  stands  for  71^17, 
'judgment,'  'opinion';  in  Ro  87-  "  for  <pp6vrj/j.a, 
which  denotes  not  the  mental  faculty  itself,  but  its 
thoughts  and  purposes. 

As  illustrating  St.  Paul's  use  of  vovs  and  helping 
us  to  appreciate  the  distinctive  meaning  he  at- 
taches to  the  word,  it  is  important  to  notice  two 
contrasts  in  which  he  sets  it,  in  the  one  case  with 
'  flesh  '  (<rdp%)  and  in  the  other  with  '  spirit  '  (irvevfjia). 
In  Ro  7s3-  m  he  contrasts  the  mind  with  the  flesh, 
i.e.  with  the  sinful  principle  in  human  nature  ;  and 
the  law  of  his  mind,  which  is  also  the  law  of  God, 
with  the  law  in  his  members  or  the  law  of  sin. 
Here  the  mind  is  clearly  the  conscience  or  organ 
of  moral  knowledge,  man's  highest  faculty,  by 
which  he  recognizes  the  will  of  God  for  his  own 
life.  And  when  in  Ro  88  the  Apostle  speaks  of 
'  the  mind  of  the  flesh  '  (cf.  Col  218,  '  fleshly  mind  '), 
the  suggestion  is  that  man's  highest  faculty  has 
been  debased  to  the  service  of  what  is  lowest  in  his 
nature,  so  that  the  mind  has  itself  become  fleshly 
and  sinful.  In  1  Co  1414-  «•  19,  again,  where  vovs 
(which  EV  renders  here  by  'understanding')  is 
contrasted  with  TrveO.ua,  the  antithesis  is  between 


man's  natural  faculty  of  conscious  knowledge  ana 
reflexion  and  that  higher  principle  of  the  Christian 
life  which  is  Divinely  bestowed,  and  which,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  gift  of  tongues,  may  manifest  itself 
in  ways  that  lie  beyond  the  reach  of  consciousness. 
The  mind,  as  man's  highest  natural  faculty,  thus 
stands  between  the  flesh,  as  the  lower  and  sinful 
principle  in  his  nature,  and  the  spirit,  which  is  the 
distinctive  principle  of  the  Divinely  given  Chris- 
tian life.  And,  as  the  mind  may  be  dragged  down 
by  the  flesh  until  it  becomes  a  '  mind  of  the  flesh,' 
so  it  may  be  upraised  and  informed  by  the  spirit 
until  it  becomes  a  '  mind  of  the  spirit '  (Ro  8s  :  cf 
122,  Eph  423).  See  artt.  FLESH,  SOUL,  SPIRIT. 

2.  The  verb.— The  verb  'to  mind'  is  used  in- 
transitively, in  the  sense  of  to  intend  or  purpose, 
in  Ac  2013  (Gr.  t^XXovres,  RV  'intending').  With 
the  same  signification  'to  be  minded'  occurs  in 
Ac  2739  (Gr.  /3otfX«r0<u),  v."  (TR  /SoiAefcrtfcu,  WH 
Pov\f<r0at).  More  frequently  'to  mind'  (Gr.  <f>pov- 
elv)  is  found  in  the  transitive  sense  of  'to  think 
about,'  '  to  direct  one's  mind  to '  (Ro  8s,  Ph  316-  19). 
Sometimes  <j>povelv  is  translated  '  to  be  minded,'  and 
in  such  cases  the  phrase  is  equivalent  in  meaning 
to  the  transitive  verb  (Gal  510,  Ph  315).  The  parti- 
ciple '  minded '  is  met  with  in  the  AV  in  a  number 
of  phrases— ' likeminded '  (Ro  155,  Ph  22),  'feeble- 
minded' (1  Th  514),  'doubleminded'  (Ja  I8  48), 
'highminded'  (Ro  II20,  1  Ti  617,  2  Ti  34),  'sober- 
minded'  (Tit  26),  which  are  represented  in  the 
original  by  various  verbs  and  adjectives.  For 
'  carnally  minded '  and  '  spiritually  minded '  in  Ro 
86  (TO  <pp6vi}u.a  rijs  ffa.pic6s  .  .  .  rov  irvev/jMros)  should 
be  substituted  as  in  the  RV  '  the  mind  of  the  flesh,' 
'  the  mind  of  the  spirit.' 

LITERATURE.— Grimm-Thayer,  Greek-Eng.  Lex.  of  the  NT*, 
1890,  g.v.  vovs ;  H.  Cremer,  Bib.-Theol.  Lex.  of  NT  Greeks, 
1880,  p.  435  ff.  ;  J.  Laidlaw,  The  Bible  Doctrine  of  Man,  1895, 
p.  123 ff.;  B.  Weiss,  Biblical  Theology  of  the  NT,  Eng.  tr., 
1882-83,  i.  475  f. ;  HDB,  art.  '  Mind.'  J.  C.  LAMBERT. 

MINISTER,  MINISTRY — In  discussing  these 
two  terms  we  have  to  consider  six  groups  of  Greek 
words  which  occur  in  the  Bible  in  connexion  with 
ministering  or  serving.  They  run  in  triplets,  each 
triplet  consisting  of  a  concrete  noun,  an  abstract 
noun,  and  a  verb — '  minister,'  '  ministry,'  and  '  to 
minister.'  These  six  groups  are — didicovos,  diaKovta, 
dia.Koi>eii>  •  dovXos,  dovXeia,  SovXevtiv ;  virijptnjs,  [yiri)p- 
eo-ia],vTnjperfiv;  [Xdrpts],  Xorpeta,  Xarpeveiv  •  Xfirovpy6s, 
Xeirovpyia,  Xeirovpyflv  ;  Oepdwwv,  Ofpairela,  Bepaireveiv. 
All  these  are  found  in  the  NT  excepting  virrjpfffia, 
which  occurs  in  the  LXX  in  Job  and  Wisdom, 
and  Xdrpis,  which  occurs  only  in  the  enlarged  text 
of  Job  29.  With  regard  to  nearly  all  of  them  it 
will  be  found  that  both  the  AV  and  the  RV  use 
different  English  words  to  translate  the  same  Greek 
word,  while  different  Greek  words  are  sometimes 
translated  by  the  same  English  word.  This  could 
hardly  be  avoided  without  doing  injustice  to  the 
meaning  of  various  passages.  In  all  languages 
words  have  different  shades  of  meaning,  and  in 
some  cases  the  same  word  has  two  or  more  very 
different  meanings  ;  there  are  very  many  instances 
of  this  in  the  Greek  of  the  NT.  ' 

The  fact  that  we  have  no  less  than  six  sets  of 
words  to  express  the  idea  of  'minister'  and 
'  ministry '  is  strong  evidence  that  there  was  as 
yet  no  regular  organization  of  ministers  with 
distinct  titles  indicating  specific  duties.  This  im- 
pression is  confirmed  when  we  find  that  English 
translators  are  unable  to  reserve  a  separate  English 
word  for  each  of  the  different  Greek  words.  Evi- 
dently these  different  Greek  terms  do  not  each 
represent  a  class  of  officials  ;  but  individuals  who 
undertake  work  of  a  similar  character  are  called 
by  the  same  name.  On  the  other  hand,  the  name 
varies,  without  there  being  in  all  cases  a  correspond- 


38 


MINISTER,  MINISTRY 


MINISTER,  MINISTRY 


ing  change  of  meaning.  The  same  person,  from 
somewhat  different  points  of  view,  might  bear  four 
or  five  of  the  six  names  ;  and  even  from  the  same 
point  of  view  might  bear  more  than  one  of  them. 
In  the  earliest  congregations  of  Christians  it  was 
soon  found  that  some  individuals  had  certain  gifts, 
and  they  exercised  these  gifts  for  the  good  of  the 
congregation.  Such  useful  persons  were  distin- 
guished by  words  already  in  use  for  similar  services. 
At  a  later  time,  when  the  Christian  ministry 
became  organized,  some  of  these  words  acquired  a 
technical  meaning  and  designated  Church  officers 
with  specific  duties.  It  will  be  useful  to  exhibit 
the  diversity  of  translation  somewhat  in  detail. 

didKovos  is  found  in  Mt.,  Mk.,  and  Jn.,  in  all  four 
groups  of  the  Pauline  Epistles,  and  nowhere  else 
in  the  NT.  In  the  Gospels  it  is  rendered  '  servant,' 
in  the  Epistles  '  minister,'  except  Ph  I1  andl  Ti  38- 1\ 
where  it  is  rendered  '  deacon.'  SiaKovia  occurs  in 
Ac.  and  in  all  groups  of  the  Pauline  Epistles,  except 
1  and  2  Th. ;  elsewhere  thrice.  The  usual  transla- 
tion is  '  ministry ' ;  but  we  have  '  ministration ' 
(2  Co  37-  «•  9  913),  '  ministering '  (2  Co  84  9l),  '  relief ' 
(Ac  II29),  'serving'  (Lk  1040),  also  'service'  and 
'administration.'  The  RV  changes  'ministry'  to 
'  service '  (1  Ti  I12),  '  service '  to  '  ministry '  (Rev  219), 
'ministry'  to  'ministering'  (Eph  412,  2  Ti  411), 
'  ministry'  to  'ministration'  (2  Co  63),  and  'adminis- 
tration '  to  '  ministration '  (2  Co  912).  dtaKovelv  is 
always  'to  minister'  in  Mt.  and  Mk.,  always  'to 
serve'  in  Jn.,  and  nearly  always  '  to  minister'  in 
the  Epistles  :  in  Lk.  and  Ac.  both  translations  are 
used — '  to  serve'  most  frequently.  The  RV  changes 
'administer'  to  'minister1  (2  Co  819- 20),  and  'use  the 
office  of  a  deacon '  to  '  serve  as  deacons '  (1  Ti  310- 13). 
\eiTovpy6sis  rendered  '  minister '  in  nearly  all  places ; 
\eirovpyia  is  '  ministration '  in  Lk. ,  '  service  '  in  Ph. , 
and  '  ministry '  in  Heb.  ;  \eirovp-yeiv  is  always  '  to 
minister.'  The  translations  of  i^per^s  vary  between 
'attendant,'  'minister,'  'officer,'  and  'servant.' 
The  RV  changes  '  minister '  to  '  attendant '  (Lk  420, 
Ac  13s),  and  '  servant'  to  ' officer'  (Mk  1454).  umjper- 
eiv  is  'to  serve'  (Ac  1336)  and  ' to  minister'  (Ac  2034 
24s3).  These  instances  of  variations  in  rendering 
the  same  word  may  suffice.  The  different  shades 
of  meaning  between  the  groups  of  Greek  words  are 
of  more  importance  ;  but  the  fact  that  '  minister  ' 
and  '  servant,'  with  their  cognates,  appear  in  the 
translations  of  so  many  of  the  groups  is  evidence 
that  the  meanings  frequently  overlap. 

The  triplets  connected  with  SoCXos  and  Oepdiruv 
are  somewhat  closely  allied.  The  SoGXos,  '  slave ' 
or  '  bondservant,'  is  in  a  permanent  condition  of 
servitude  to  the  person  whom  he  serves,  and  he 
cannot  free  himself  from  it.  The  Bepdirwv  renders 
temporary  and  voluntary  service.  Both  words 
may  be  used  of  man's  relation  to  God  :  Moses  is 
called  the  Oepdirwv  (He  35,  the  only  place  in  the  NT 
in  which  the  word  occurs)  and  the  ooOXos  (Rev  15s) 
of  God  ;  and  in  the  LXX  both  words  are  used  to 
translate  the  same  Hebrew  word  (ebed) :  e.g.  Nu  127, 
Jg  28.  Gepaireia  is  used  (abstract  for  concrete)  of  a 
body  of  domestic  servants  (Lk  1242),  and  of  the 
special  service  of  healing  (Lk  9U,  Rev  222).  6epa.v- 
f6civ  means  '  to  serve '  in  any  way,  and  also  '  to 
treat  medically'  and  'to  heal.'  The  verb  is  very 
frequent  in  the  writings  of  the  beloved  physician, 
and,  except  Ac  1725,  always  in  the  medical  sense. 
Except  indirectly  in  the  metaphor  of  the  healing 
leaves  (Rev  222),  this  triplet  is  not  used  of  spiritual 
ministry  by  man  to  man  ;  and  neither  Oepaireia  nor 
Oepaireteiv  is  found  in  any  Epistle.  Nor  is  the  SoCXos 
triplet  used  of  man's  spiritual  ministry  to  his  fel- 
lows. Both  SoDXos  and  8ov\cfatv  are  used  of  service 
to  God  or  to  Christ,  but  the  nearest  approach  to 
spiritual  service  to  man  is  Ph  222,  where  Timothy 
is  said  to  '  serve '  with  St.  Paul  '  in  furtherance  of 
the  gospel.' 


It  is  probably  correct  to  say  much  the  same  of 
wrTjpeTTjs  and  virrjpfrelv.  They  indicate  a  more  dig- 
nified kind  of  service  than  that  of  the  ooCXos,  but 
they  are  commonly  used  of  attendance  to  physical 
needs  or  external  duties  rather  than  of  ministration 
to  souls.  The  '  attendant '  in  Lk  420  is  one  who 
looks  after  the  fabric  and  the  books,  not  one  who 
preaches  in  the  synagogue.  Ac  135  probably  means 
that  John  waited  on  Paul  and  Barnabas,  attend- 
ing to  their  bodily  wants,  so  as  to  leave  them  free 
to  preach.  He  had  not  been  set  apart  for  missionary 
work  as  they  had  been  (Ac  132).  The  exceptions 
are  Lk  I2,  Ac  2616,  and  1  Co  41,  where  the  idea  of 
spiritual  ministration  is  prominent.  But  in  none 
of  these  three  passages  is  there  any  allusion  to  the 
derivation  of  the  word  ('  under-rower '),  as  if  it 
meant  a  rower  in  a  ship  of  which  Christ  was  captain. 

The  three  remaining  triplets  are  different,  for  all 
of  them  are  frequently  connected  with  the  idea  of 
religious  service.  In  the  art.  DEACON,  DEACON- 
ESS it  has  been  pointed  out  that  Sidicovos,  which 
in  classical  Greek  commonly  implies  ignoble  service, 
such  as  waiting  at  table,  in  Christian  language  has 
high  associations.  We  find  the  nobler  use  of  the 
term  in  the  teaching  of  that  anima  naturaliter 
Christiana,  Epictetus.  'The  philosopher  should 
without  distraction  be  employed  only  on  the  service 
of  God.'  '  I  think  that  what  God  chooses  is  better 
than  what  /  choose :  I  will  attach  myself  as  a 
servant  to  Him.'  '  I  obey,  assenting  to  the  words 
of  the  Commander  and  praising  His  acts  ;  for  I 
came  into  the  world  when  it  pleased  Him,  and  I 
will  also  depart  when  it  pleases  Him.'  '  I  depart 
as  Thy  servant,  as  one  who  has  known  Thy  com- 
mands and  Thy  prohibitions'  (Diss.  III.  xxii.  69, 
xxiv.  65,  xxvi.  28,  IV.  vii.  20).  In  the  LXX  Sidicovos 
and  dtaKovia  are  rare  (ten  times  in  all),  and  SiaKovelv 
does  not  occur.  St.  Paul  calls  heathen  magistrates 
'servants  (SidKovoi)  of  God'(Ro  134);  and  all  idea 
of  ignoble  service  is  excluded  when  apostles  are 
called  SidKom  (1  Co  35,  2  Co  36,  Eph  37,  Col  I23). 
The  whole  triplet  has  for  its  root-idea  the  supply- 
ing of  serviceable  labour,  whether  to  the  body  or 
the  soul,  diaieovia  is  used  often  of  the  sending  of 
money  to  help  the  poor  brethren  in  Judaea  (Ac  II29 
1225,  2  Co  84  91- 12- 1S,  Ro  1531).  Archippus  is  told  to 
take  heed  to  the  ministry  (diaKovia)  which  he  had 
received  in  the  Lord  (Col  417)  for  work  in  the  Church 
of  Colossae,  but  we  are  not  told  what  kind  of 
ministry  it  was. 

There  are  several  passages  in  which  the  didKovot 
triplet  seems  to  be  used  of  personal  service  to  St.  Paul 
rather  than  of  ministerial  service  in  the  Church  : 
Sidicovos  (of  Tychicus,  Eph  621,  Col  47),  diaxovia  (of 
Mark,  2  Ti  411),  diaKoveiv  (of  Timothy  and  Erastus, 
Ac  1922  ;  of  Onesimus,  Philem  13 ;  and  of  Onesi- 
phorus,  2  Ti  I18).  diaKovetv  is  clearly  used  of  supply- 
ing bodily  needs  in  Ac  62- 3,  where  the  Seven  are 
elected  '  to  serve  tables.'  But  the  Seven  are  not 
called  didKovoi,  and  there  is  no  evidence  in  the  NT 
which  can  connect  them  with  the  '  deacons '  at 
Philippi  or  Ephesus.  To  call  the  Seven  the  first 
deacons  is  a  conjecture  which  can  be  neither  proved 
nor  disproved. 

It  may  be  mere  accident  that  Of  panda  and  6epa- 
ireijeiv  are  never  used  in  the  NT  in  the  classical 
sense  of  Divine  worship,  although  both  are  used  in 
this  sense  in  the  LXX  (Jl  I14  215,  Is  54",  Dn  710, 
Jth  II17).  For  Divine  worship,  the  NT  writers  use 
either  \arpela  and  Xarpeifeti'  or  \eirovpyla  and  \eirovp- 
7«c,  words  which  may  signify  adoration  of  God  in 
general  and  sometimes  sacrifice  in  particular.  \ar- 
peia  or  \arpeveiv  is  used  of  heathen  worship  (Ro  I28), 
of  Jewish  worship  (Ac  77,  Ro  94,  He  8s  91  1310),  of 
Christian  worship  (Ro  121,  Ph  33),  and  of  worship 
in  heaven  (Rev  715  223).  In  Apost.  Const,  viii.  15, 
ad  fin.,  '  mystical  \arpeia '  is  used  of  the  eucharist. 
But  in  the  LXX,  in  connexion  with  religious  wor- 


MINISTRATION 


MIRACLES 


39 


ship,  the  group  \eirovpy6s,  \firovpyia,  \eirovpyeiv  is 
more  common.  The  classical  use  of  these  words 
for  the  rendering  of  public  services,  or  contribu- 
tions to  the  State,  at  Athens,  prepared  the  way 
for  the  religious  use  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the 
employment  of  these  expressions  by  the  writers 
of  the  NT  in  describing  Christian  woi'ship  is  not 
entirely  due  to  the  influence  of  the  LXX.  Numerous 
papyri  of  about  160  B.C.  or  earlier  show  that  Xeir- 
ovpyia  and  \eirovpyew  were  frequently  used  in  Egypt 
in  this  ceremonial  sense  (Deissmann,  Bible  Studies, 
Eng.  tr.,  1901,  p.  140).  The  different  members  of 
the  triplet  occur  in  the  writings  of  St.  Luke  and  St. 
Paul,  and  all  three  in  Hebrews  :  e.g.  Lk  I23,  Ac  132, 
Ph  217,  He  82- 6  1011  (see  Westcott,  Ep.  to  Hebrews, 
1889,  ad  loc.).  In  his  full  notes  on  Ph  217  (Philip- 
plans*,  1878)  Lightfoot  remarks  :  '  The  Philippians 
are  the  priests ;  their  faith  (or  their  good  works 
springing  from  their  faith)  is  the  sacrifice  :  St. 
Paul's  life-blood  the  accompanying  libation.  Com- 
mentators have  much  confused  the  image,  by 
representing  St.  Paul  himself  as  the  sacrificer.' 
This  passage  is  one  of  those  which  point  to  '  the 
fundamental  idea  of  the  Christian  Church,  in  which 
an  universal  priesthood  has  supplanted  the  exclusive 
ministrations  of  a  select  tribe  or  class.'  In  the  NT 
all  Christians  have  in  Christ  that  immediate  access 
to  God  which  is  the  special  privilege  of  priests,  and 
the  sacrifices  which  they  offer  are  spiritual — their 
wills,  praises,  and  prayers.  The  priesthood  belongs 
to  Christians,  not  as  individuals,  but  as  members 
of  the  Church,  in  the  '  royal  priesthood '  of  which 
each  has  a  share ;  and  the  sacrifice  which  each 
brings  is  service  and  self-consecration,  made  accept- 
able by  union  with  the  sacrifice  offered  by  Christ. 
When  certain  selected  individuals  exercise  priestly 
functions  on  behalf  of  the  whole,  they  act  as  organs 
or  representatives  of  the  community.  But  we  need 
to  consider  the  point  at  which '  sacrifice '  and '  priest- 
hood '  become  metaphors. 

LITERATURK. — F.  J.  A.  Hort,  The  Christian  Ecelesia,  1897 ; 
T.  M.  Lindsay,  The  Church  and  the  Ministry  in  the  Early 
Centuries,  1902 ;  A.  W.  F.  Blunt,  Studies  in  Apostolic  Chris- 
tianity, 1909  ;  C.  H.  Turner, '  The  Organisation  of  the  Church ' 
in  The  Cambridge  Medieval  History,  i.  [1911]  ch.  vi.,  Studies  in 
Early  Church  History,  1912 ;  L.  Duchesne,  Early  History  of 
the  Christian  Church,  ii.,  Eng.  tr.,  1912. 

A.  PLUMMER. 

MINISTRATION  (Ac  61).— Neither  AV  nor  RV, 
except  in  the  margin,  indicates  that '  ministration ' 
(SiaKovLa)  in  v.1  and  'serve'  (diaKoveiv)  in  v.2  are 
cognate  words  ;  or  that  '  ministration '  in  v. x  is  the 
same  word  as  '  ministry '  in  v.4.  The  '  ministra- 
tion '  or  '  serving  tables '  is  the  distribution  of  food 
at  the  common  meals :  tables  of  exchange  for 
money  cannot  be  meant.  Hellenist  converts  com- 
plain that  Hebrew  distributors  '  overlooked '  Hel- 
lenist widows.  The  Twelve  forthwith  initiate  and 
regulate  the  first  attempt  at  self-government  made 
by  the  Church.  They  state  the  number  and  quali- 
fications of  the  new  officials,  leave  the  election  to 
the  whole  body  of  Christians,  and  ordain  the 
elected.  A.  PLUMMER. 

MINSTREL  (at\r,r-?is,  from  at>\6s,  'pipe').— The 
word  appears  twice  in  the  NT.  In  Alt  9s3  atXr/rds 
is  translated  'minstrels'  in  the  AV,  and  more 
correctly  in  the  RV  'flute-players.'  In  Rev  1822 
otfXijTwj'  is  rendered  '  pipers '  in  the  AV,  while  the 
RV  retains  '  flute-players ' ;  but  the  latter  version 
specifies  the  general  term  /j-ovcnicuv  in  the  same 
verse  as  '  minstrels '  (see  PIPE,  FLUTE). 

ARCHIBALD  MAIN. 

MIRACLES. — In  this  article  we  may  consider 
the  meaning  of  the  words  used  in  the  NT  for 
'  miracles,'  and  the  evidence  for  the  apostolic  belief 
in  them  ;  the  evidence  will  then  be  compared  with 
that  for  miracles  in  the  succeeding  ages,  and  the 
evidential  value  of  miracles  will  be  weighed.  But 


the  limits  assigned  preclude  a  general  investigation 
of  the  a  priori  credibility  of  miracles  as  such.  As, 
however,  this  has  been  done  very  fully  by  Bernard 
in  HDB  ii\.,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  here  to  repeat 
what  has  there  been  well  said. 

1.  Meaning  of  the  words  used. — (a)  The  principal 
NT  words  for  what  we  should  now  call  a  '  miracle ' 
are  ffrujLelov,  repas,  SiWyius,  fpyov.  Of  these,  <rri/j.eiov, 
'sign,'  denotes  that  which  conveys  spiritual  and 
symbolic  instruction  ;  rtpas,  '  wonder  '  or  '  pro- 
digy,' denotes  a  work  above  the  ordinary  working 
of  nature  ;  8ti>a/j.i j  denotes  a  work  showing '  power ' ; 
while  tpyov,  '  work,'  is  in  itself  a  neutral  word, 
the  context  of  which  in  many  passages,  especially 
in  Jn.  (5s6  etc.),  shows  it  to  denote  a  'miracle'  (so 
Mt  II2 ;  but  in  Jn  17*  the  word  includes  the  whole 
of  Jesus'  deeds).  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  mighty 
deeds  of  our  Lord  and  His  disciples  are  never  called 
'  prodigies '  (rtpara)  alone  ;  the  only  apparent  ex- 
ception to  this  rule  is  in  Ac  219  ('I  will  show 
wonders  in  heaven '),  which,  however,  is  a  quota- 
tion from  Jl  230,  and  '  wonders  in  heaven '  are 
coupled  with  '  signs  on  earth,'  and  both  are  inter- 
preted by  St.  Peter  as  '  powers  and  wonders  and 
signs'  in  v.22.  A  Christian  miracle  is  not  a  mere 
prodigy  exciting  astonishment,  but  is  intended  for 
instruction ;  and  here  we  see  at  once  the  great 
difference  between  the  NT  miracles  and  most  of 
those  of  the  apocryphal  Gospels,  which  are  mere 
exhibitions  without  any  teaching  purpose,  and  are 
often  repulsive  to  the  Christian  sense  of  reverence. 
It  must  be  added,  also,  that  herein  lies  the  differ- 
ence between  the  NT  miracles  and  most  of  those 
commonly  known  as  'ecclesiastical'  (see  below,  4). 
The  mighty  deeds  related  in  the  NT  did,  indeed, 
excite  wonder  and  fear  (Mk  212  441  651  I37,  Lk  718, 
Ac  3lof-),  but  this  was  not  their  only  or  even  their 
chief  object.  Hence,  when  rtpa.*  is  used  it  is 
always  combined  with  ati^lov  (Jn  448,  Ac  219-  •"  430 
512  6s  736  14s  igut  an(j  [Of  faise  prophets]  Mt2424,  Mk 
1322,  and  [with  StW/ws  added]  Ac  2™,  Ro  1518,  2  Co 
1212,  2  Th  29,  He  24) ;  3wa/us  and  o-r,/jxioi>  are  joined 
in  Ac  813.  It  may  be  noticed  that  6av/j.a  is  not 
used  in  the  NT  of  miracles,  but  0av/Md<ria  ('  wonder- 
ful things')  is  used  in  Alt  2115,  wapddol-a  ('strange 
things')  in  Lk  5X,  tv5o£a  ('glorious  things')  in 
Lk  13". 

(6)  Turning  to  the  English  versions,  we  are 
struck  by  the  confusion  occasioned  by  the  indis- 
criminate use  of  the  word  'miracle.  In  AV  it 
often  represents  <rt]nflov  (in  the  singular  in  Lk  238, 
Jn  454,  Ac  416-  22,  and  in  the  plural  in  Jn  2n-  23  32 

62.  26  731  916  U47  1237}  Ac  68  g6  1512>  Rev  1314  JgH  jg.20)  . 

in  these  passages  RV  rightly  substitutes  'sign' 
except  in  the  text  of  Lk  238,  Ac  4)6-  ^  where 
'  miracle '  is  with  some  inconsistency  retained. 
Again,  in  AV  '  miracle '  represents  5iW/*ts  in  Mk 
93tf,  Ac  2™  813 19",  1  Co  1210-  «»•,  Gal  35,  He  24,  while 
in  these  passages  there  is  an  unfortunate  confusion 
even  in  the  RV  text  (though  RVm  gives  '  power '), 
as  we  find  '  mighty  work '  in  the  first  two  passages, 
'  miracle '  in  the  next  five,  and  '  powers '  in  the 
last ;  if  '  powers '  was  thought  somewhat  unintelli- 
gible, '  mighty  works '  or  '  mighty  deeds '  might 
with  a  little  ingenuity  have  been  used  in  all  these 
places.  The  confusion  in  AV  is  increased  by 
fff]fj.eia  being  translated  'wonders'  in  Rev  1313  and 
'  miracles'  in  v.14,  and  by  8ui>dfj.eis  being  translated 
'mighty  deeds'  in  2  Co  1212;  in  Alk  652,  AV  un- 
necessarily  inserts  'the  miracle,'  which  is  not  in 
the  Greek.  It  is  a  serious  misfortune  that  'miracle' 
should  be  so  much  used  in  the  AV  to  represent 
ar/fie'iov,  for  the  connotation  of  the  English  word  is 
exactly  what  that  of  the  Greek  word  is  not,  and  it 
has  given  the  English  reader  an  erroneous  idea  of 
the  purpose  of  the  works  of  our  Lord  and  the  dis- 
ciples ;  it  was  not  so  much  to  produce  wonder  as 
belief. 


40 


MIRACLES 


MIEACLES 


2.  Evidence  for  miracles  in  the  Apostolic  Age. 

— (a)  The  Gospels  are  all  full  of  the  mighty  deeds 
worked  by  our  Lord,  nor  is  it  possible  to  separate 
the  miraculous  from  the  non-miraculous  in  these 
histories.  The  Synoptic  Gospels  do  not  profess  to 
be  written  by  eye-witnesses,  but  the  Fourth  Gospel 
does  claim  to  give  first-hand  testimony  (Jn  2124, 
confirmed  by  many  internal  indications),  though  it 
was  written  more  than  half  a  century  after  the 
events  which  are  recorded.  It  narrates  healings 
(4i«fr.  58  62);  giving  sight  to  the  blind  (96'-),  raising 
the  dead  (II44),  and  several  'miracles  of  nature' — 
water  made  wine  (29),  feeding  the  five  thousand 
(6Uf>),  walking  on  the  sea  (619),  the  miraculous 
draught  of  fishes  (216) ;  also  the  Resurrection  (20. 
21 )  and  '  many  other  signs '  (2030).  It  is  to  be  noted 
that  in  all  the  Gospels  the  evidence  for  '  miracles ' 
of  nature  is  as  strong  as  that  for  miracles  of  heal- 
ing, and  that  the  evidence  of  Jn.  does  not  differ  in 
kind  from  that  of  the  Synoptists.  For  the  evi- 
dence of  the  Gospels,  reference  may  be  made  to 
Sanday's  art.  'Jesus  Christ'  in  HDB  ii.  625 f. 
Though  the  witness  of  the  Synoptists  is  not  in 
form  at  first  hand,  it  still  rests  on  very  good 
authority,  and  there  is  excellent  reason  for  believ- 
ing that  the  evidence  of  Mk.  is  in  effect  that  of 
St.  Peter  himself  (see  DCG  ii.  121  f.,  and,  for 
the  autoptic  character  of  the  Second  Gospel,  ib. 
124).  Also  the  first-hand  evidence  of  St.  Paul 
that  he  himself  had  the  power  of  working  miracles 
(see  below)  indirectly  gives  good  testimony  to  the 
fact  that  our  Lord  worked  them,  for  we  can  hardly 
imagine  that  St.  Paul  could  have  thought  that  he 
himself  had  the  power  from  Christ  unless  his 
Master  also  had  it.  For  a  classification  of  the 
Gospel  miracles  see  DCG  ii.  186  ff.  (T.  H.  Wright). 

Further,  in  the  Gospels  it  is  recorded  that  our 
Lord  bade  the  disciples  heal  the  sick,  raise  the 
dead,  cleanse  the  lepers,  cast  out  devils  (Mt  108) ; 
and  that  they  would  have  power  to  do  so  if  only 
they  had  faith  is  implied  in  1720.  So  in  the  ap- 
pendix to  Mk.  (1617f>)  the  signs  which  would  follow 
believers  are  said  to  be  casting  out  devils  in  Christ's 
name,  speaking  with  new  tongues,  taking  up 
serpents,  drinking  poison  without  hurt,  and  healing 
the  sick  by  laying  on  of  hands. 

(b)  We  may  proceed  to  consider  how  these  pre- 
dictions are  borne  out  by  the  Acts  and  Epistles. 
It  will  be  convenient  to  separate  the  evidence 
which  is  at  first  hand  from  that  which  is  at  second 
hand. 

(i. )  Under  the  former  head  will  come  those  mighty 
deeds  and  outward  charismata  which  are  attested 
by  those  who  claimed  to  see,  or  to  do,  or  to  possess 
them.  In  the  '  we '  sections  of  Acts  (accounts  of 
events  in  which  the  author  took  part)  and  in  St. 
Paul's  Epistles  we  read  of  several  mighty  works, 
prophecies,  and  visions,  attested  at  first  hand.  In 
Ac  1618  the  Python  is  cast  out  of  the  ventriloquist 
girl ;  in  1626  there  is  an  earthquake,  the  doors  of 
the  prisons  are  opened,  and  the  prisoners'  bonds  are 
loosed  ;  in  2012  we  read  of  the  raising  of  Eutychus 
(q.v.),  though  it  is  not  said  that  he  was  dead  (the 
reverse  seems  to  be  implied  inv.10);  in  219  of  the 
prophesying  of  Philip's  daughters ;  in  2111  of  the 
prophecy  of  Agabus ;  in  285  of  St.  Paul's  shaking 
off  the  viper  without  hurt  (cf.  '  Mk '  1618  as  above) ; 
and  in  288L  of  the  healing  of  Publius'  father  by  St. 
Paul  by  the  laying  on  of  hands ;  and  of  the  healing 
of  others,  in  which  St.  Luke  himself  seems  to  have 
taken  part  (see  v.10 :  'honoured  us ').  Further, 
the  narratives  in  Ac  &s-  226ff-  26J2ff-  of  the  appear- 
ances of  our  Lord  to  St.  Paul  at  his  conversion 
are  brought  almost  to  the  level  of  first-hand  evi- 
dence by  the  corroboration  of  Gal  I1'16.  St.  Paul 
claimed  that  Christ  worked  miracles  through  him 
(Ro  1518t,  2  Co  1212),  and  testifies  to  the  fact  that 
some  (not  all)  of  his  converts  also  had  the  power 


(Gal  35,  1  Co  1291-  28-30  1422).  These  works,  which 
are  instances  of  •n-vfv/j.ariKii  or  spiritual  [gifts],  in- 
clude healings  and  other  '  powers,'  speaking  with 
tongues  and  interpretation  of  tongues,  and  pro- 
phecy. We  have  it  at  first  hand  that  the  Jews 
expected  such  signs  of  Christian  preachers  (1  Co 
I22).  The  visions  of  St.  Paul  are  attested  by  him- 
self in  2  Co  122'4. 

(ii. )  Of  other  works  and  charismata  in  the  NT, 
we  have  not,  outside  the  Gospels,  first-hand  evi- 
dence ;  yet  even  what  we  have  must  be  pronounced 
exceptionally  good  when  we  remember  the  oppor- 
tunities which  St.  Luke  had  of  converse  with  those 
who  actually  saw  the  events.  At  the  outset  we 
note  that  St.  Peter  in  his  speeches  attributes  to  our 
Lord  '  power  and  wonders  and  signs  '  (Ac  222),  and 
the  healing  of  demoniacs  (1038).  Then,  signs  and 
wonders,  healings  of  the  sick  and  of  demoniacs, 
are  attributed  to  the  apostles  generally  (243  512- 16). 
In  37  9s4  St.  Peter  heals  the  lame  man  and  ^Eneas  ; 
in  55- 10  he  inflicts  sudden  death  on  Ananias  and 
Sapphira ;  in  940  he  raises  Dorcas  from  the  dead  ; 
and  in  515  the  sick  are  brought  so  that  his  shadow 
may  fall  on  some  of  them,  though  it  is  not  said 
that  they  were  thereby  cured.  In  68  Stephen  works 
wonders  and  signs  ;  in  S6" 13  Philip  works  signs  and 
powers  at  Samaria.  In  1512  Barnabas  and  Paul 
relate  to  the  Apostolic  Council  how  signs  and 
wonders  had  been  worked  by  them.  In  13U  St. 
Paul  strikes  Elymas  blind ;  in  1410  he  heals  the 
impotent  man  at  Lystra  ;  in  1911  he  works  '  special ' 
(oi>  ray  ruxot/traj)  powers  at  Ephesus,  and  even  his 
garments  taken  to  the  sick  and  the  demoniacs  heal 
them.  In  He  24  the  first  preachers  of  the  gospel 
are  said  to  have  worked  signs  and  wonders  and 
powers.  Divine  interpositions  are  recorded  in  Ac 
519  i210,  where  an  angel  opens  prison  doors.  We 
read  of  speaking  with  tongues  and  prophesying  at 
Pentecost  (24)  and  at  Ephesus  (196),  and  the  same 
thing  is  probably  implied  in  817f-,  because  Simon 
Magus  saw  that  the  Holy  Ghost  was  given  at 
Samaria.  Another  prophecy  of  Agabus  (this  time 
at  second  hand)  is  quoted  in  II28.  Numerous 
visions  of  our  Lord  are  recorded :  in  Ac  I3ff-  (be- 
tween the  Resurrection  and  the  Ascension),  93ff- 
etc.  (to  St.  Paul  at  his  conversion),  910  (to  Ananias), 
22i8  2311  (to  St.  Paul  at  Jerusalem) ;  and  something 
of  this  sort  is  implied  by  the  direction  of  the 
Spirit  in  166t.  Visions  of  angels  are  recorded  in 
S26  (to  Philip),  10s  (to  Peter),  2T23  (to  St.  Paul  on 
his  voyage  to  Italy) ;  in  169  St.  Paul  sees  the 
'certain  man  of  Macedonia.' 

Miraculous  deeds  are  ascribed  to  non-Christians 
and  also  to  Satan  and  his  ministers.  The  Jewish 
exorcists  might  expect  to  cast  out  demons,  though 
as  a  matter  of  fact  they  were  not  successful  in 
doing  so  (Ac  1913f<).  Simon  Magus  by  his  'magic' 
did  wonderful  things,  so  that  he  was  named  '  that 
power  of  God  which  is  called  Great'  (810).  The 
Lawless  One  in  2  Th  29  is  marked  by  '  power  and 
signs  and  lying  wonders ' ;  in  Rev.  the  second  beast 
(1313f-),  the  spirits  of  demons  (1614),  the  false  pro- 
phet (1920),  who  is  apparently  to  be  identified  with 
the  second  beast  (see  H.  B.  Swete,  Apoc.*,  1907,  p. 
206),  work  signs,  just  as  our  Lord  had  said  that 
false  Christs  and  false  prophets  should  show  signs . 
and  wonders  (Mt  2424,  Mk  1322). 

3.  Examination  of  the  evidence. — In  consider- 
ing the  facts  enumerated  above,  it  is  quite  possible, 
and  even  probable,  that  we  must  deduct  several  of 
the  incidents  mentioned  as  not  being  in  any  real 
sense  miraculous,  even  though  they  might  have 
seemed  so  to  the  bystanders.  It  is,  for  instance, 
probable  that  Eutychus  was  not  really  dead. 
Agabus'  prophecies  may  have  been  but  shrewd 
forecasts  of  events.  The  viper  in  Malta  may  not 
in  reality  have  been  poisonous.  It  is  conceivable 
that  Dorcas  was  in  a  state  of  coma  and  not  really 


MIRACLES 


MIRACLES 


41 


dead.  The  visions,  the  gift  of  tongues  and  of  pro- 
phesying may  not  belong  properly  to  the  category 
of  the  miraculous.  Yet  when  all  possible  deduc- 
tions have  been  made,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  NT  is  saturated  with  miracles,  and  that  the 
writers  were  firmly  persuaded  that  Jesus  and  His 
disciples  had  worked  them. 

How,  then,  are  we  to  interpret  the  'signs,' 
'  powers,'  and  '  wonders '  of  the  NT  ?  There  is  an 
increasing  disposition  at  the  present  time  among 
those  who  formerly  would  have  denied  all  miracles 
to  accept  as  genuine  many  of  the  NT  narratives, 
especially  those  of  healings  and  of  expulsions  of 
demons ;  and  this  is  due  to  the  greater  knowledge 
which  we  now  have  of  the  power  of  mind  over 
matter.  But  much  depends  on  what  we  mean  by 
a  'miracle.'  To  the  man  in  the  street  it  usually 
conveys  the  idea  of  a  contravention  of  nature. 
This,  however,  is  not  a  good  definition.  Augustine, 
in  an  often-quoted  passage,  remarks  that  a  miracle 
(portentum)  is  not  against  nature,  but  against  known 
nature  (de  Civ.  Dei,  xxi.  viii.  2).  What  may  ap- 
pear to  one  eye  to  be  a  contravention  of  the  laws 
of  nature  is  often  found  in  a  later  age  to  be  in 
reality  in  accordance  with  them.  As  an  example, 
wireless  telegraphy  would  have  seemed  in  the  1st 
cent,  to  be  a  miracle,  whereas  we  now  know  it  to 
be  a  natural  phenomenon.  Many,  therefore,  of  the 
'  signs '  of  the  NT,  not  only  those  which  we  are 
now  beginning  to  see  are  no  contravention  of 
nature,  such  as  the  healings  in  nervous  cases,  but 
also  others,  may  before  long  be  found  to  be  in 
accordance  with  law.  When  we  ourselves  shall 
have  risen  from  the  dead,  and  see  '  face  to.  face,'  we 
may  find  that  our  Lord's  resurrection  and  our  own 
are  the  necessary  outcome  of  law.  The  theory  of 
'  relative  miracles '  was  propounded  by  Schleier- 
macher,  and  has  perhaps  hardly  been  done  justice 
to,  though  it  is  not  possible  to  assent  to  all  his 
reasoning.  The  theory  substitutes  for  a  contra- 
vention of  nature  a  miracle  of  knowledge.  Certain 
persons  had  a  greater  hold  on  the  secrets  of  nature 
than  their  contemporaries ;  but  this  was  by  a 
Divine  interposition.  Even  in  the  case  of  Jewish 
and  heathen  magicians  this  may  to  some  extent  be 
true  ;  it  is  not  necessary  to  brand  men  like  Simon 
and  Elymas  and  Apollonius  of  Tyana  (a  Cappa- 
docian  of  the  1st  cent,  of  our  era)  as  mere  impostors. 
It  follows,  then,  that  while  the  stories  of  miracles 
are  narrated  in  the  way  that  was  best  suited  to 
the  comprehension  of  the  Apostolic  Age,  several  of 
them,  had  they  been  written  in  our  day,  would 
have  been  given  in  different  language  (Sanday, 
HDB  ii.  625»). 

It  is  answered  to  what  has  been  suggested  here, 
that  this  reasoning  makes  the  miracles  to  be  no 
miracles  at  all.  But  this  is  not  a  substantial 
objection,  and  is  based  only  on  the  presupposition 
that  miracles  are  contraventions  of  nature.  A 
miracle  of  knowledge  implies  Divine  intervention 
as  much  as — nay,  more  than — a  breach  of  natural 
law.  Sanday  remarks  :  '  The  essential  point  is  the 
Divine  act ;  and  that,  I  think,  is  proved.  We  are 
beginning  to  learn  the  lesson  that  an  act  is  not 
less  Divine  because  it  is  fundamentally  in  accord- 
ance with  law '  (Life  of  Christ  in  Recent  Research, 
p.  218). 

It  may  be  that  what  has  been  said  does  not 
directly  apply  to  all  the  'signs'  recorded  in  the 
NT.  Yet  these  suggestions  may  at  least  give  us 
pause  if  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  the  ex- 
cellent evidence  which  we  possess  cannot  stand 
against  the  a  priori  improbability  of  a  miracle 
happening. 

4.  Miracles  in  the  sub-Apostolic  and  later  ages. 
— It  is  important  to  compare  NT  records  with 
those  of  subsequent  ages  in  this  respect. 

(1)  Let  us  first  examine   two  actual    miracles 


which  have  been  thought  to  have  happened  in  the 
2nd  century. 

(a)  Miracles  at  Polycarp's  death  (see  Lightfoot, 
Apostolic  Fathers,  pt.  ii.:  'Ignatius'2, 1889,  i.  614ff., 
iii.  392  f . ). — The  Letter  of  the  Smyrnaeans  (Martyr- 
dom of  Polycarp),  written  c.  A.D.  156  immediately 
after  the  event,  relates  (§§  9,  15 f.)  that  on  the 
saint's  entering  the  stadium,  a  voice  was  heard 
from   heaven,  saying,  'Be  strong,  Polycarp,  and 
play  the  man ' ;  no  one  saw  the  speaker,  but  the 
bystanders  heard  the  voice.     A  little  later,  they 
saw  a  marvel— the  flame  enveloping  the  martyr 
like  a  sail,  and  a  fragrant  odour  was  perceived. 
When  the  executioner  stabbed  Polycarp  to  death 
'  there  came  forth  [a  dove  and]  a  quantity  of  blood, 
so  that  it  extinguished   the  fire.      Here  the  only 
real  '  miracle '  is  the  dove ;  but  all  mention  of  it 
is  omitted  by  Eusebius,  who  quotes  the  letter  at 
length  (HE  iv.  15).     It  is  therefore  probable  that 
Trepiffrepd.  xa.1  is  either,   as   Lightfoot    thinks,   an 
insertion  by  a  later  writer,  perhaps  by  pseudo- 
Pionius,  a  4th  cent,  biographer  of  Polycarp,  or  else 
a  corruption,  perhaps  of  irepl  <rri//>cua,  '  about  the 
sword-haft '  (Christopher  Wordsworth),  or  of  irepl 
a-Tepvd   (Ruchat),   or  of  lir'  apiffrepq.   (Le  Moyne). 
The  life  of  pseudo-Pionius  (for  the  text  and  trans- 
lation of  which  see  Lightfoot,  '  Ign.'2  iii.)  describes 
several  miracles,  but  the  MS  breaks  off  in  the 
middle,  and  does  not  give  Polycarp's  death  :  the 
Life  is  followed  in  the  MS  immediately  by  the 
Letter  of  the  Smyrnseans. 

(b)  The   Thundering  Legion    (c.   A.D.    174). — A 
letter  of  Marcus  Aurelius  details  the  incident  of 
the  Christian  soldiers  praying  for  rain,  and  of  its 
falling  in  abundance.     The  letter,  however,  is  '  a 
manifest  forgery '  (Lightfoot,  '  Ign.' 2  i.  488).    There 
may  be  elements  of  truth  in  the  story,  but  it  can 
hardly  be  called  a  miracle,  unless  every  answer  to 
prayer  be  deemed  such.     Thus  the  two  descriptions 
of  actual  miracles  fail  us. 

(2)  Next,  let  us  examine  the  testimony  of  the 
writers  who  succeeded  the  apostles. 

(a)  Papias,  a  '  hearer  of  John  and  companion  of 
Polycarp '  (Iren.  Hcer.  V.  xxxiii.  4),  in  words  quoted 
by  Eusebius  (HE  iii.  39),  says  that  in  the  time  of 
Philip  the  Apostle  one  rose   from  the  dead,  and 
that  Justus  Barsabbas  (Ac  I23)  drank  deadly  poison 
without  hurt.     This,  however,  was  in  the  Apostolic 
Age. 

(b)  The  writer  of  the  Didache  (10  f.)  and  Hernias 
(Mand.  11)  speak  of  the  existence  of  true  and  false 
prophets  in  the  Christian  Church  in  their  time. 

(c)  Justin  testifies  to  the  healing  of  demoniacs  in 
his  day  (c.  A.D.  150 ;  Apol.  ii.  6,  Dial.  30,  76 :  in 
the  last  passage  he  apparently  speaks  of  this  as 
the  fulfilment  of  the   promise  that  they  should 
tread  on  scorpions,  etc.,  Lk  1019) ;  he  says  that  one 
received  the  gift  of  healing,  another  of  foreknow- 
ledge, etc.  (Dial.  39),  and  that  '  prophetical  gifts 
remain  with  us  even  to  the  present  time '  (82). 

(d)  Irenseus  (c.  A.D.  180 ;  Hcer.  II.  xxxii.  4)  says 
that  Christians  '  in  Christ's  name  perform  [works] 
.  .  .  some  cast  out  devils  .  .  .  others  have  fore- 
knowledge and  see  visions  and   prophesy,  others 
heal  the  sick  by  laying  on  of  hands.  .  .  .  Even 
the  dead  have  been  raised  up  and  remained  among 
us  for  many  years.'     Note  the  change  of  tense 
here.     The  raising  of  the  dead   in  Irenseus'  own 
time  is  not  alleged,  and  the  reference  may  be  to 
Dorcas  or  to  such  a  case  as  is  mentioned  by  Papias. 
Irenseus  ascribes  the  miracles  of  heretics  to  magic. 

(e)  At  the  end  of  the  2nd  cent.  Tertullian  speaks 
of  the  healing  of  demoniacs  in  his  day  :  Apol.  23, 
37  ('  without  reward  or  hire'),  43  (heathen  demon- 
iacs healed). 

(/)  In  the  3rd  cent.  Origen  says  (c.  Cels.  i.  2)  that 
traces  of  the  signs  and  wonders  of  the  First  Age 
were  still  possessed  by  those  who  regulated  their 


42 


MIEACLES 


MIRROR 


lives  by  the  precepts  of  the  gospel ;  and  (ib.  iii. 
24),  speaking  of  heathen  ascriptions  of  healings  to 
.^sculapius,  that  by  the  invocation  of  Jesus'  name 
some  Christians  of  his  time  had  marvellous  power 
of  healing ;  he  would  seem  to  speak  chiefly  of 
mental  diseases. 

These  passages  show  that  healings,  especially  in 
nervous  cases,  continued  in  the  2nd  cent,  and 
later  ;  but  there  are  indications  that  even  they 
were  not  very  frequent,  and  there  is  no  good  evi- 
dence of  the  other  miraculous  works  of  which  we 
read  in  the  NT  being  continued.  In  the  Church 
Orders  we  read  of  the  benediction  of  oil  for  healing 
and  for  the  exorcism  of  candidates  for  baptism, 
and  these  features  may  probably  be  due  to  the 
lost  original  of  several  of  the  Orders,  which  may 
be  dated  about  the  beginning  of  the  3rd  century. 
But  here  we  have  passed  from  the  stage  of  miracle 
to  that  of  ordinary  liturgical  usage.  At  the 
end  of  the  4th  cent.  Chrysostom  implies  that 
miracles  had  ceased — and  this  in  the  face  of  the 
fact  that  that  century  saw  the  rise  of  miracle-loving 
hagiography.  He  says  (de  Sacerd.  iv.  6  [416])  that 
his  contemporaries,  though  they  all  came  together 
with  myriads  of  prayers  and  tears,  could  not  do  as 
much  as  the  'aprons'  (ffiiuitlvBia.)  of  St.  Paul  once 
did  (Ac  1912). 

The  evidence,  then,  seems  to  show  that  miracles 
gradually  died  out,  and  that  after  the  Apostolic 
Age  they  scarcely  went  beyond  '  healing  by  sug- 
gestion.1 The  case  is  very  different  after  the  4th 
cent.,  when  lives  of  the  saints  and  martyrs  are  full 
of  miracle,  and  eventually  the  power  of  working 
miracles  became  a  test  of  saintship,  in  direct  con- 
trast with  the  restraint  of  Holy  Scripture,  in  which 
it  is  said  that  '  John  did  no  sign '  ( Jn  1041),  and  no 
miracle  is  ascribed  to  the  great  majority  of  the 
heroes  of  the  OT.  Moreover,  most  of  the  '  ecclesi- 
astical '  miracles  are  mere  prodigies,  and  can  in  no 
sense  be  called  'signs.'  In  many  cases  they  are 
demonstrably  the  invention  of  later  biographers, 
and  contemporary  writers  show  no  knowledge  of 
them.  But  we  cannot  apriori  deny  the  possibility 
of  miracles  happening  in  any  age  of  the  Christian 
Church,  and  it  is  quite  probable  that  some  mighty 
deeds  of  later  times,  notably  healings,  may  have  a 
modicum  of  truth  in  them,  and  may  be  such  as 
would  have  been  termed  ffij^tla  in  the  NT.  (For 
miracles  in  the  Columban  Church  see  J.  Dowden, 
Celtic  Church  in  Scotland,  London,  1894,  ch.  viii.) 
5.  Evidential  value  of  NT  miracles.— The  object 
of  the  miracles  was  to  arrest  attention  ( Jn  2^  3-)  ; 
they  were  not,  however,  faith-compelling  (Mt  II20, 
Jn  1237).  Since  the  apostles  believed  (see  above,  3) 
that  even  evil  men  and  evil  spirits  could  work 
miracles,  they  would  not  have  said  that  a  miracle- 
worker  must  be  a  true  teacher.  Now  a  miracle, 
because  of  its  anomalousness,  requires  more  proof 
than  an  ordinary  event.  The  latter,  if  properly 
vouched,  at  once  becomes  probable ;  not  so  the 
former,  unless  it  has  a  certain  degree  of  a  priori 
likelihood.  Such  we  find  in  the  belief  in  the 
spiritual  world.  If  we  believe  in  a  God  who  is  not 
aloof  from  the  world,  but  loves  His  creatures,  it  is 
not  improbable  that  He  should,  for  good  cause, 
intervene.  The  method  of  intervention  may  be 
unusual,  and  not  in  accord  with  the  ordinary  course 
of  nature  as  we  know  it  (cf.  Augustine,  above,  3) ; 
but  if  an  unusual  event  such  as  the  Incarnation 
happens,  it  is  not  improbable  that  such  interven- 
tions should  accompany  it.  It  follows,  however, 
that  we  cannot  rest  our  argument  for  the  existence 
of  God,  or  for  the  truth  of  Christianity,  merely  on 
the  fact  that  miracles  happened,  and  it  was  a  mis- 
take in  the  reasoning  of  the  18th  cent,  apologists 
that  they  to  a  large  extent  did  so.  If  for  other 
reasons  we  believe  in  the  Godhead  of  our  Lord,  we 
can  also  believe  that  He  worked  miracles,  and 


empowered  His  disciples  to  do  so — whether  for  one 
generation  or  for  longer  we  need  not  stop  to  dis- 
cuss. 

It  was  never  professed  that  miracles  were  worked 
to  make  those  who  were  without  any  faith  believe. 
The  Risen  Christ  appeared  only  to  believers, 
though  this  does  not  mean  that  the  disciples  be- 
lieved merely  because  they  wished  to  believe ; 
here  their  '  hardness  of  heart '  is  of  great  evidential 
value.  And  miracles  were  only  worked  when  there 
was  a  certain  amount  of  faith  (Mk  65,  Mt  1358 ;  cf. 
Lk  1631).  Indeed,  it  is  seen  that  miracles  did  not 
make  the  great  impression  on  the  First  Age  that 
they  would  make  now.  Did  they  happen  now,  the 
impression  would  be  so  great  that  they  would  be 
almost  faith-compelling,  and  this  is  a  very  good 
reason  for  their  having  ceased.  Even  the  disciples 
were  not  so  much  impressed  by  the  Resurrection 
that  they  believed  it  without  any  doubt.  Some 
of  those  who  had  seen  the  Risen  Lord  at  first  be- 
lieved, then  disbelieved  (Mt  2817  :  '  some  doubted '), 
and  only  after  a  time  were  fully  confirmed  in  the 
faith.  So,  again,  though  the  story  of  the  raising 
of  Lazarus  made  a  stir  at  the  time  in  Jerusalem, 
it  is  quite  intelligible  that  the  impression  did  not 
extend  very  far  or  last  very  long.  To  say,  there- 
fore, that  St.  Mark  could  not  have  known  of  the 
raising  of  Lazarus  because  he  does  not  mention  it 
in  the  account  of  Jesus'  ministry  in  another  part 
of  the  country  is  to  import  20th  cent,  ideas  into  the 
narrative  of  the  Apostolic  Age. 

The  conclusion  would  seem  to  be  that  miracles 
have  never  been  intended  to  be  a  direct  proof  of 
the  truth  of  the  gospel,  or  of  the  holiness  of  those 
who  worked  them  ;  and  their  absence  does  not 
imply  want  of  authority  or  of  saintliness.  But 
when  at  great  crises  of  the  world's  history  they 
were  worked,  they  at  once  arrested  attention,  and 
so  led  men  on  to  believe  in  doctrines  which  for 
other  reasons  commended  themselves  to  the  sense 
of  humanity. 

LITERATURE. — Out  of  a  voluminous  literature  may  be  men- 
tioned :  W.  Sanday,  Life  of  Christ  in  Recent  Research, 
Oxford,  1907,  ch.  viii.,  and  art.  'Jesus  Christ'  in  HDB  ii. 
(section  on  the  'Miracles  of  Jesus');  J.  H.  Bernard,  HDB  iii., 
art.  'Miracle';  T.  H.  Wright,  DCG  ii.,  art.  'Miracles';  J.  R. 
Illingworth,  Divine  Immanence,  London,  1898  ;  R.  C.  Trench, 
Xoteg  on  the  Miracles  of  our  Lord?,  do.,  1870,  which  is  never  out 
of  date ;  G.  Salmon,  A" on- Miraculous  Christianity,  London, 
1881.  For  other  works  see  H DB  and  DCG  as  above. 

A.  J.  MACLEAN. 

MIRROR  (to-oTrrpov,  1  Co  1312,  Ja  I23 ;  the  classical 
word  was  Kdroirrpov,  whence  KaToirrpi^effdat,  in  2  Co 
318 ;  Lat.  speculum,  late  Lat.  moratorium,  from 
mirari,  whence  Fr.  miroir). — The  mirrors  of  the 
ancients  consisted  of  a  thin  disk  of  metal — usually 
bronze,  more  rarely  silver — slightly  convex  and 
polished  on  one  side.  Glass  mirrors  coated  with 
tin,  of  which  there  was  a  manufactory  at  Sidon 
(Pliny,  HN  xxxvi.  66,  193),  were  little  used,  and 
the  art  of  silvering  glass  was  not  discovered  till  the 
13th  century.  Corinthian  mirrors  were  considered 
the  best,  and  it  is  interesting  that  St.  Paul's  two 
figurative  uses  of  the  word  occur  in  his  letters  to 
Corinth. 

1.  To  bring  home  to  the  imagination  the  limita- 
tions of  human  knowledge,  he  says  that  in  the 
present  life  we  see  only  by  means  of  a  mirror  darkly 
(Si'  tffoirrpov  iv  aiviy/jLan,  1  Co  1312).  In  a  modern 
mirror  the  reflexion  is  perfect,  but  the  finest 
burnished  metal  gave  but  an  indistinct  image. 
To  see  a  friend  in  a  mirror,  and  to  look  at  his  own 
face,  was  therefore  to  receive  two  different  impres- 
sions. So  this  world  of  time  and  sense,  as  appre- 
hended by  the  human  mind,  imperfectly  mirrors 
the  true  and  eternal  world,  leaving  many  things 
'enigmatic.'  Mediate  knowledge  can  never  be  so 
sure  and  satisfying  as  immediate.  Plato  (Rep.  vii. 
514)  in  his  well-known  simile  of  the  cave  compares 


MITYLENE 


MORTIFY 


43 


oar  sense-impressions  to  shadow-shapes  that  come 
and  go,  giving  but  hints  of  the  real  world  beyond  ; 
and  the  figure  of  the  mirror  is  found  in  such 
Platonists  as  the  writer  of  Wisdom  (7'K)  and  Philo 
(de  Decal.  21).  J.  H.  Newman  directed  that  his 
memorial  tablet  at  Edgbaston  should  bear  the 
words  —  Ex  umbris  et  inutginibus  in  veritatem. 
Many  writers  have  supposed  that  St.  Paul  refers 
not  to  a  mirror  but  to  a  semi-transparent  window- 
pane  :  '  velut  per  corneum  specular  obsoletior  lux  ' 
(Tertullian,  de  An.  53).  But  a  window  of  talc 
would  be  SLoirrpov  (Lat.  speculare],  not  Iffoirrpov. 
Tertullian  has  indeed  the  right  interpretation  in 
adv.  Prax.  16,  '  in  imagine  et  speculo  et  aenigmate.' 

2.  St.  Paul  says  that  we  all,  with  unveiled  face 
mirroring  (Ka.TOTrTpi£6/j.evoi)  the  glory  of  the  Lord, 
are  transfigured  (cf.  Mk  92)  into  the  same  image 
(2  Co  318).     While  Moses,  who  saw  God  and  for  a 
little  while  outwardly  reflected  His  glory,  gradu- 
ally lost  the  supernatural  radiance,  the  disciples  of 
Christ  steadily  beholding  (cf.  Jn  I14)  and  reflecting 
His  moral   glory,  become  daily  more   like  Him  : 
'  the  rays  of  Divine  glory  penetrate  their  innermost 
being  and  fashion  them  anew '  (Bousset,  Die  Schrift- 
en  des  NT,  1908,  ii.  179).     The  older  interpretation 
— '  beholding  as  in  a  mirror ' — loses  the  parallel 
between  Moses'  direct  vision  of  God  and  ours  (by 
faith)  of  Christ,   and  fails  to  do  justice  to  the 
'  unveiled  face.' 

3.  James  (I23-25)  compares  the  law  of  liberty — a 
splendid  paradox — to  a  mirror  in  which  a  man  sees 
himself  as  he  is.     The  mere  hearer  of  the  law  is 
like  a  person  who  gives  a  hasty  glance  at  his  face 
in  a  mirror  and  then  turns  his  attention  to  other 
things  ;  but  he  who  continues  to  look  into  the  mirror 
of  the  law  till  the  moral  ideal  fascinates  him  and 
the  categorical  imperatives    win    his  passionate 
assent,  so  that  his  own   will  is  more  and  more 
conformed  to  the  will  of  God — that  man  shall  learn 
the  secret  of  true  happiness.      JAMES  STKAHAN. 

MITYLENE  (Miri/Xij^.—Mitylene.or— according 
to  the  usual  spelling  in  classical  writings  and  on 
coins — Mytilene,  was  the  chief  town  in  the  island 
of  Lesbos,  lying  on  the  S.E.  coast,  about  12  miles 
from  the  mainland  of  Asia  Minor.  Built  on  a 
peninsula  which  had  once  been  an  island,  it  had 
two  excellent  harbours,  the  northern  for  merchant- 
men, the  southern  for  triremes. 

Horace  calls  it '  Mitylene  pulchra '  (Ep.  i.  xi.  17),  and  Cicero 
praises  it  as  '  urbs  et  natura  de  situ  et  descriptione  aediflciorum 
et  pulchritudine,  in  prirais  nobilis '  (Leg.  Agr.  ii.  41).  Mitylene 
was  the  home  of  Alcseus  and  of  Sappho,  'an  extraordinary 
person  (0aviJ.a<rr6v  n  xpijf*<0.  for  at  no  period  within  memory 
has  any  woman  been  known  at  all  to  be  compared  to  her  in 
poetry'  (Strabo,  xin.  ii.  3).  For  its  old  renown  the  Romans 
left  the  city  free—'  libera  Mitylene '  (Pliny,  v.  39). 

Mitylene  is  mentioned  only  incidentally  in  Acts 
(20M).  The  ship  in  which  St.  Paul  sailed  from 
Assos  to  Patara  in  the  month  of  April  lay  over- 
night either  in  the  northern  harbour  of  Mitylene 
(which  Strabo  mentions  as  tdyas  /ecu  (laBus  [xin.  ii. 
2]),  or  else  in  the  roadstead  outside.  Mitylene 
was  about  30  miles  S.  from  Assos — an  easy  day's 
sail.  It  was  contrary  to  the  general  practice  to 
sail  at  night  in  the  ^Egean,  where,  throughout  the 
summer  season,  the  N.  wind  commonly  blows  fresh 
in  the  morning  and  dies  away  towards  evening. 
In  later  Christian  times  the  whole  island  of  Lesbos 
came  to  be  called  Mitylene.  The  Turks,  who 
captured  it  in  A.D.  1462,  have  corrupted  its  name 
into  Midullu. 

LITERATURE.— Conybeare-Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul,  new  ed.,  London,  1877,  ii.  261 ;  H.  F.  Tozer,  The  Islands 
of  the  jEgean,  Oxford,  1890,  p.  134  f. ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul 
the  Traveller  and  the  Roman  Citizen,  London,  1895,  p.  291  ff. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

MNASON. — Mnason,  an  'early  disciple'  (apxai^ 
u.a.dr)Trj,  i.e.,  probably,  a  disciple  from  the  beginning 


[cf.  Ac  II15,  eV  dpxii]),  is  mentioned  in  Ac  21 16  as  the 
host  of  St.  Paul  in  Jerusalem.  The  ambiguity  of  the 
text  has  caused  much  discussion.  Grammatically 
it  may  mean  either  that  Mnason  accompanied  St. 
Paul  and  his  friends  from  Csesarea  to  Jerusalem 
and  then  took  in  St.  Paul,  .or  that  St.  Paul's 
friends  brought  him  to  Jerusalem  to  lodge  with 
Mnason.  Moreover,  Cod.  D  and  Syr.  p.  marg. 
(Tisch. )  introduce  a  variant  reading  which  makes 
Mnason  entertain  St.  Paul  in  a  village  on  the  way. 
But  the  difficulty  is  met  by  observing  that  the 
mind  of  the  author  of  Acts  is  picturing  the  com- 
pany after  v.15  as  already  in  Jerusalem,  as  having 
Mnason  as  host,  and  being  welcomed  by  the  dis- 
ciples. Nothing  further  is  known  of  Mnason.  The 
name  occurs  as  a  personal  one  some  30  times  in 
the  CIG,  Grsec.  sept.,  vol.  i.,  and  also  in  Kaibel,  no. 
2393  (368).  Cod.  N  and  one  or  two  Versions  read 
'  Jason '  for  '  Mnason  ' ;  cf .  '  Mambres '  for  '  Jam- 
bres '  (see  JANNES  AND  JAMBRES). 

W.  F.  COBB. 
MODERATION.— See  TEMPERANCE. 

MOLOCH. — Moloch  (Ac  I43)  occurs  in  a  quota- 
tion from  Am  S26.  The  Hebrew  has  '  your  king ' ; 
thus  the  LXX  may  either  be  an  explanatory  gloss 
or  represent  another  text.  Moloch  is  spoken  of  in 
the  OT  as  the  god  of  the  Ammonites,  and  is  evi- 
dently the  national  deity,  just  as  Chemosh  is  the 
god  of  Moab,  and  Jahweh  the  God  of  Israel, 
though  the  worship  of  other  gods  is  not  precluded. 
The  Israelites  regarded  Moloch  as  an  '  abomina- 
tion,' and  their  temporary  adoption  of  the  worship 
of  Moloch  in  the  Valley  of  Hinnom  gave  rise  to 
the  ominous  meaning  attaching  to  '  Gehenna.' 

F.  W.  WORSLEY. 

MONEY.— See  WEALTH. 
MONOGAMY.— See  MARRIAGE. 
MONTH.— See  TIME. 

MOON. — There  is  only  one  reference  to  the 
natural  light  of  the  moon — there  will  be  no  need 
of  the  moon  to  shine  in  the  heavenly  Jerusalem 
(Rev  2123).  The  change  in  colour  or  obscuring  of 
the  moon  denotes  some  great  judgment,  e.g.  the 
moon  will  be  turned  into  blood  before  the  great 
Day  of  the  Lord  (Ac  220).  So  again  at  the  opening 
of  the  sixth  seal  '  the  moon  became  as  blood '  (Rev 
612).  At  the  sounding  of  the  fourth  trumpet  a 
third  of  the  moon's  disk  is  obscured  (Rev  81'2).  In 
Rev  121  the  woman  who  appears  as  a  sign  in  heaven 
has  the  moon  under  her  feet  as  a  footstool  (see 
SUN).  In  Col  216  St.  Paul  warns  the  Colossians  to 
let  no  man  judge  them  in  respect  of  a  holy  day  or 
of  the  new  moon — a  monthly  festival  of  the  Jews. 
These  things  had  served  their  purpose  under  the 
old  dispensation  and  were  but  shadows  and  types  of 
the  realities  of  the  new.  See  HOLY  DAY. 

MORLEY  STEVENSON. 

MORALITY.— See  ETHICS. 

MORNING-STAR.— See  DAY-STAR. 

MORTIFY.— This  word  translates  (AV  and  RV) 
BO.VO.TOVV  (Ro  813)  and  veicpovv  (Col  35).  Elsewhere  in 
the  NT  the  former  word  is  applied  only  to  the  in- 
fliction of  physical  death  (by  the  Greek  medical 
writers  to  '  mortification '  in  the  pathological  sense), 
the  latter  to  senile  decay  of  the  vital  powers  (Ro 
419,  He  II12).  In  the  passages  cited  the  words  are 
synonymous,  and  are  used,  as  the  contexts  plainly 
show,  in  an  ethical  sense.  Although  St.  Paul  is 
far  from  disparaging  the  necessity  of  wholesome 
self-discipline  (1  Co  927),  the  idea,  readily  suggested 
by  the  associations  of  the  word  '  mortify,  of  a 
gradual  subjugation  of  the  bodily  appetites  by  tht 


MOSES 


MOSES 


practice  of  bodily  austerities,  is  here  foreign  to  his 
thought.  His  exhortation  is  to  '  put  to  death  the 
(evil)  practices  of  the  body'  (Ro  813),  and  this  is  to 
be  done,  not  by  physical  means,  but  by  the  '  spirit ' ; 
and  again  to  put  to  death  '  the  members  which 
are  upon  the  earth'  (i.e.  the  impure  and  selfish 
lusts  of  which  the  bodily  members  are  the  natural 
instruments  —  fornication,  uncleanness,  etc.),  and 
for  this  end  the  rules  of  an  arbitrary  asceticism 
are  of  no  value  (Col  216-23). 

The  main  emphasis  of  St.  Paul's  doctrine  of 
sanctification  is  ever  on  the  positive  issue  of  the 
believer's  vital  union  with  Christ — that  '  newness 
of  life'  which  by  its  native  force  expels  and  ex- 
cludes the  lustings  of  the  lower  nature  (Ro  1314, 
Gal  516,  Eph  518,  2  Ti  222) i;  yet  necessarily  the 
negative  principle  is  also  involved.  By  man,  in 
his  present  state,  spiritual  life  is  realizable  only 
through  the  slaying  of  sin  ;  union  with  the  Cruci- 
fied implies  crucifixion  of  the  passions  and  lusts 
(Gal  5M).  While  '  raised  together  with  Christ,'  we 
'seek  the  things  that  are  above'  (Col  31),  the  con- 
verse fact  that  in  Christ  '  we  died '  (Col  33)  carries 
with  it  the  converse  requirement,  as  it  does  also 
the  power,  to  kill  out  what  is  base  and  sensual  and 
to  hold  all  natural  appetites  in  rigid  subordination 
to  the  highest  ends  of  life.  ROBERT  LAW. 

MOSES. — Just  as,  in  the  Synagogue,  the  Law 
(the  Torah),  was  accounted  the  most  important 
division  of  the  Canon,  and  as  Holy  Scripture  in  its 
entirety  might  thus  a  parte  potiori  be  designated 
the  '  Law '  (6  v6nos,  the  tdrdh),  so  in  the  primitive 
Church  Moses  was  regarded  as  the  supreme  figure 
of  the  OT. 

1.  Moses  as  the  author  of  the  Pentateuch.— 
Moses  was  honoured  as  the  author  of  the  '  Law,' 
i.e.  the  Pentateuch  :  Ro  105  ('  Moses  writeth') ;  cf. 
Ac  S22  737.     His  name  had  become  so  closely  identi- 
fied with  the  books  of  the  Torah  that  we  even  find 
it  said,  '  Moses  is  read '  (Ac  1521,  2  Co  315  [cf.  v.14]). 
The  Mosaic   origin    of    the    Pentateuch   was    an 
assumption  of  Jewish  tradition  and,  as  such,  seems 
to  have  been  taken  over  by  Jesus  and  His  apostles 
without  criticism  of  any  sort.     It  is  to  be  noted, 
however,  that  they  attached  no  special  importance 
to  the  belief  that  Moses  himself  wrote  the  Penta- 
teuch.    This  is  in  no  sense  the  point  of  the  above 
references,   as  the  name   '  Moses '  is  used  either 
metonymically  for  the  Law  ('the  Old  Covenant') 
as  in  Ac  1521  and  2  Co  315  (cf.  v.14),  or  as  a  designa- 
tion of  the  correlative,  i.e.   the  first,  portion   of 
Holy    Scripture    or    Divine    revelation ;    cf.    e.g. 
Ro  1019  (where  Moses  is  referred  to  only  as  the 
mouth-piece  of  God,  exactly  like  '  Isaiah '  in  the 
next  verse).     Occasionally,  however,  special   em- 
phasis is  laid  upon  the  fact  that  Moses,   as    a 
prophet,  gave  utterance  to  certain  sayings,  since, 
as  the  recognized  representative  of  Judaism,  he 
forms  in  some  sense  a  contrast  to  Jesus  ;  cf.  Ac  737 
and  S22  ('  Moses  said ')  with  Jn  S46  (Ro  105). 

2.  Moses    as    a    prophet.  —  Among    the    early 
Christians  generally  Moses  was  honoured  as  pre- 
eminently a  prophet.     While  the  religion  of  the 
OT  revolved  around  the  two  foci,  Law  and  Promise, 
primitive  Christianity — in  contrast  to  later  Judaism 
— laid  the  chief  emphasis  upon  the  Promise  ;  and, 
if  the  Jews  exploited  Moses  in  their  controversies 
with  the  Christians,  the  latter  could  always  appeal 
to  his  Messianic  prediction  ;  cf.  Ac  3s2  T37  2622  2S23, 
Lk  2427-44,  Jn  545"17  (Dt  1815:  'The  Lord  thy  God 
will  raise  up  unto  thee  a  prophet  from  the  midst 
of  thee,  of  thy  brethren,  like  unto  me')-      More 
especially    in    the  speech    of    Stephen    a    strong 
emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  prophetic  character  of 
Moses  (Ac  737) ;  here,  moreover,  Moses  does  not 
merely   foretell  the  coming  of  Christ,  but  in  his 
calling,  and  even  in  his  experiences,  he  is  also,  as 


indicated  in  the  passage  cited  from  Dt.,  a  prototype 
of  Christ,  having  been  first  of  all  disowned  by  his 
people  (vv.23'29),  then  exalted  by  God  to  be  their 
leader  and  deliverer  (v.35),  and  at  length  once  more 
rejected  by  them  (vv.39-41).  St.  Paul,  too,  uses  the 
figure  of  Moses  as  a  type  of  Christ :  the  Israelites 
in  their  exodus  from  Egypt  '  were  all  baptized 
unto  Moses'  in  the  Red  Sea  (1  Co  102) ;  and  in 
He  32  Moses  is  spoken  of  as  typifying  Christ's 
faithfulness  in  the  service  of  God's  house.  That 
Christ  is  called  the  Mediator  of  the  New  Covenant 
(He  86  1224)  doubtless  presupposes  that  Moses  was 
the  mediator  of  the  Old  (cf.  Ac  7s8,  Gal  319).  In 
the  speech  of  Stephen  the  life  of  Moses  is  sketched 
at  some  length,  and  is  furnished  with  certain  par- 
ticulars which  were  derived  from  the  oral  tradition 
of  the  Synagogue  (the  Haggada),  as  e.g.  in  Ac  722 
('instructed  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians') 
— just  as  the  names  of  the  Egyptian  magicians, 
Jannes  and  Jambres,  are  given  by  St.  Paul  (2  Ti 
38).  Further,  among  the  heroes  of  the  faith 
enumerated  in  He  11,  Moses  wins  more  than  a 
passing  reference  as  a  pattern  of  faith  (vv.24'26). 

High  as  Moses  stands  in  the  Old  Covenant, 
however,  his  glory  pales  before  that  of  Christ,  as 
the  transient  and  the  material  gives  place  to  the 
permanent  and  the  spiritual  (2  Co  37'18,  He  33's). 
Moses  was  but  the  servant  of  God,  while  Jesus 
Christ  is  God's  Son,  who  not  merely  superintends, 
but  actually  governs  God's  house,  and  was  in  fact 
its  builder  (He  33'5).  In  the  fading  away  of  the 
dazzling  glory  on  the  face  of  Moses  (Ex  34s3'35)  St. 
Paul  finds  a  symbol  of  the  transient  glory  of  the 
Old  Covenant  mediated  by  Moses,  while  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  (i.e.  Christ),  and  thus  also  of  the  New 
Covenant,  is  imperishable  (2  Co  312'18  ;  cf.  vv.7'11). 

3.  Moses  as  the  law-giver. — This  brings  us  to 
the  function  of  Moses  as  the  law-giver.  As 
Judaism  became  more  and  more  definitely  legal- 
istic, an  ever  higher  position  was  assigned  to  the 
great  intermediary  of  the  Law.  He  towered  above 
every  other  character  in  the  OT,  and  Judaism 
became  neither  more  nor  less  than  Mosaism.  To 
impugn  the  Law  in  any  way  was  to  speak  blas- 
phemy, not  only  against  Moses,  but  even  against 
God  (of.  the  charge  against  Stephen,  Ac  611).  The 
primitive  Church,  on  the  other  hand — as  was  said 
above — laid  great  stress  upon  the  prophetic  and 
prototypic  character  of  Moses,  as  also  upon  his 
subordinate  position  in  relation  to  Christ.  But 
as  long  as  Moses  remained  the  great  canonical 
standard,  the  Church  could  not  renounce  his  legis- 
lative authority.  Even  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself 
had  sanctioned  the  Law  of  Moses,  and  co-ordinated 
it  with  the  Prophets  (MtS17'20,  Lk  1617 ;  cf.  vv.29- 31), 
and  the  primitive  community  in  Jerusalem  could 
never  have  entertained  the  thought  of  disparaging 
the  authority  of  Moses  for  Christians  as  well  as 
Jews.  Still,  the  relation  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus 
to  the  Mosaic  Law  could  not  permanently  remain 
the  same  as  that  of  the  unbelieving  Jews ;  the 
differentiating  factor  of  belief  in  Jesus  was  felt 
more  and  more  to  be  paramount,  and  at  length  it 
was  fully  realized  that  salvation  could  be  secured 
not  by  the  Law  but  by  faith,  or  grace,  and  that 
it  came  not  from  Moses,  but  from  Jesus  Christ. 

Thus  too  had  come  the  time  when  the  believing 
Gentiles  must  be  fully  recognized  as  brethren,  and 
received  into  the  Church  without  circumcision.* 
Yet  this  does  not  in  any  sense  imply  that  the 
mother  church  in  Jerusalem  and  the  rest  of  the 
Jewish  Christians  believed  themselves  to  be 
exempt  from  the  obligation  of  the  Law.  On  the 
contrary,  we  are  told  in  Acts  that  the  many 
thousands  of  Jewish  Christians  continued  to  be 
'  zealous  for  the  law '  (2120),  and  in  a  continuation 

*  A  detailed  explanation  ol  this  development  is  given  in  the 
art.  LAW. 


MOSES 


45 


of  the  passage  we  are  shown  that  the  rumour  of 
St.  Paul's  having  taught  the  Jewish  Christians  in 
his  churches  to  forsake  Moses  was  without  founda- 
tion (vv.21'26),  while  we  learn  from  St.  Paul's  own 
letters  that  within  certain  limits  he  desired  the 
distinction  made  by  Moses  between  Jew  and 
Gentile  to  be  maintained  in  his  churches  (cf.  1  Co 
718,  Gal  53 ;  see  also  art.  LAW,  p.  690b).  Further- 
more, even  as  regards  a  Gentile  Christian  com- 
munity, the  Apostle  could  appeal  to  particular 
regulations  of  the  Mosaic  Law  as  expressions  of 
the  Divine  will  in  contrast  to  the  dictates  of  human 
reason  (1  Co  98f-  ;  cf.  1  Ti  518,  where  the  same  OT 
passage — Dt  254— is  placed  side  by  side  with  a 
saying  of  Jesus) — just  as  elsewhere  he  frequently 
refers  to  special  provisions  of  the  Law,  or  to  the 
Law  as  a  whole.  Yet  this  in  no  way  detracts  from 
the  validity  of  the  principle  that  all  things  are 
spiritually  judged  (1  Co  214'-),  and  that  nothing  is 
to  be  enforced  according  to  the  letter  which  killeth 
(2  Co  36),  the  regulative  canon  being  that  the 
external  statutes,  '  the  commandments  in  ordin- 
ances'  (Eph  21S),  are  merely  the  shadow  of  things 
to  come,  while  the  body  is  Christ's  (Col  217) — 
whence  it  follows  that  the  outward  regulations  of 
the  Law  are  to  be  applied  in  a  typological  (or 
allegorical)  way.  A  further  result  was  a  certain 
relaxation  of  the  Mosaic  ordinances  relating  to 
practical  life,  enabling  the  Jewish  Christians  to 
live  in  brotherly  intercourse  with  the  believing 
Gentiles. 

In  this  connexion,  however,  certain  difficulties 
arose  which  seemed  actually  to  necessitate  some 
limitation  of  Gentile  Christian  liberty,  and  it  was 
this  state  of  things  that  led  the  primitive  Church 
to  promulgate  the  '  Apostolic  Decree.'  According 
to  Ac  1519"21,  St.  James,  the  brother  of  the  Lord, , 
justified  his  proposal  regarding  the  Decree  by  the 
circumstance  that  '  Moses  from  generations  of  old 
hath  in  every  city  them  that  preach  him,  being 
read  in  the  synagogues  every  sabbath."  The  point 
of  this  statement  is  much  debated.  Does  St.  James 
mean  thereby  that  the  apostles  do  not  need  to 
trouble  regarding  the  dissemination  of  the  Mosaic 
legislation,  and  that  they  should  therefore  lay  upon 
the  Gentile  Christians  nothing  beyond  the  four  pro- 
hibitions specified  by  him,  since  Moses  had  from  of 
old  been  sufficiently  represented  throughout  the 
Diaspora  (so  e.g.  Zahn)  ?  If  this  be  the  true  inter- 
pretation, the  statement  of  St.  James  fails  to  ex- 
plain why  these  particular  prohibitions  were  fixed 
upon.  We  must  thus  rather  look  for  an  interpre- 
tation according  to  which  v.21  provides  a  reason  why 
precisely  these  four  injunctions  were  laid  upon  the 
Gentile  churches.  Such  a  reading  of  the  passage 
would  be  as  follows  :  Since,  not  only  in  the  Holy 
Land,  but  also  in  heathen  lands,  the  doctrines  of 
Moses  are  every  Sabbath  inculcated  upon  those  who 
attend  the  Synagogue,  it  is  necessary  that  the 
believing  Gentiles — like  the  so-called  '  God-fearing ' 
(ol  fftp6/j.evoi  rov  Oebv)— should  give  some  consideration 
to  the  Mosaic  Law,  and  should  at  least  abstain 
from  taking  part  in  those  heathen  practices  which 
were  most  revolting  to  the  Jewish  mind.  The  pro- 
hibitions of  the  Apostolic  Decree,  which  resemble 
those  imposed  upon  Jewish  proselytes,  were  prob- 
ably framed  in  conformity  with  Lv  17.  18,  which 
contain,  inter  alia,  laws  to  be  observed  by  aliens 
resident  in  the  land  of  Israel.  They  seem  at  first 
sight  to  be  a  strange  mingling  of  moral  and  purely 
ritual  laws,  the  prohibition  of  sexual  immorality 
being  conjoined  with  three  interdicts  about  food 
(cf.  Ac  1529).  But  while  this  collocation  has 
certainly  an  appearance  of  arbitrariness,  a  glance 
at  Rev  220'24  (where  we  undoubtedly  hear  an  echo 
of  the  Apostolic  Decree),  as  also  a  comparison  with 
1  Co  1071t,  shows  us  that  abstinence  from  idolatrous 
sacrifices  and  abstinence  from  sexual  immorality 


are  closely  related,  and  that  iropveia  here  refers  not 
merely  to  the  forbidden  degrees  of  marriage  but  alsc 
to  ceremonial  prostitution  ;  the  Gentile  Christians 
must  abstain  both  from  taking  part  in  the  sacri- 
ficial meals  of  the  heathen  world  and  from  the  im- 
moralities connected  therewith,  i.e.  from  practices 
regarded  among  the  heathen  as  adiaphora  (cf.  1  Co 
612).  As  regards  the  other  two  restrictions,  it  is 
clear  that  they  converge  upon  a  single  point—  the 
supreme  necessity  of  maintaining  the  sacredness  of 
blood  in  every  form,  as  already  recognized  in  the 
so-called  Noachian  dispensation  :  the  believing 
Gentiles  must  no  longer  partake  of  blood  either 
in  the  flesh  or  by  itself  (e.g.  mixed  with  wine,  as 
drunk  by  the  heathen  in  their  sacrificial  feasts)  ; 
in  other  words,  only  the  flesh  of  ritually  slaughtered 
animals  may  be  eaten. 

The  essential  equivalence  of  these  two  prohibitions  might  also 
explain  the  uncertainty  attaching  to  the  reading  nvnerov  in  the 
textual  tradition.  Here,  however,  another  consideration  arises. 
In  the  Western  text,  which  omits  (cod  ITVIKTOV  (irviKriav),  we  find 
an  addition  which  points  to  an  entirely  different  conception  of 
the  Apostolic  Decree,  viz.  xal  6<ra  fxi)  8f\ov<riv  eourois  yiv«r6ai 
rre'pois  /J.T)  iroielv  (15-°  ;  so  D,  Iren.,  Tert.,  Cypr.,  some  Minus- 
cules, and  the  Sahidic).  The  '•  golden  rule  '  being  thus  added 
to  the  prohibitions  of  idolatrous  sacrifices,  fornication,  and 
blood,  the  Decree  is  transformed  into  a  short  moral  catechism, 
in  which  are  forbidden  the  three  cardinal  vices  —  idolatry,  forni- 
cation, and  murder  (atfia=  '  shedding  of  blood  ').  But  although 
the  genuineness  of  this  form  of  the  text  is  defended  by  able 
scholars,  such  as  Blass  and  Harnack,  it  should  in  all  probability 
be  rejected  as  of  secondary  origin.  For  not  only  is  the  golden 
rule  introduced  most  inaptly  in  a  formal  respect,  butthe  purely 
ethical  character  of  the  decree  as  thus  transformed  presupposes 
the  conditions  of  a  later  time  —  a  time  when  the  Church  was 
no  longer  concerned  with  the  specific  problem  that  had  called 
for  the  attention  of  the  Apostolic  Council  ;  in  the  West,  where 
the  '  ethical  '  form  of  the  Decree  took  its  rise,  Jewish  Christianity 
was  a  relatively  insignificant  force,  and  what  was  wanted  there 
was  a  brief  compendium  of  the  anti-heathen  morality  of  Christi- 
anity. At  the  same  time,  however,  the  altered  form  of  the 
Decree  shows  that  the  Church  never  regarded  it  as  an  inviolable 
law,  but  thought  of  it  simply  as  a  provisional  arrangement 
which  might  be  varied  to  suit  local  and  temporary  circum- 
stances. 

In  Rev  2  the  prohibitions  of  idolatrous  sacrifices 
and  (ritual)  immorality  are  once  more  brought  to 
view,  while  in  1  Co  68"10  St.  Paul  urges  the  same 
restrictions,  though  without  appealing  to  the 
Apostolic  Decree.  Nor,  strangely  enough,  does 
he  mention  the  Decree  in  Gal  21'10  ;  this,  however, 
would  be  sufficiently  explained  on  the  ground  that 
the  Apostle  had  emphasized  its  provisions  (which, 
be  it  remembered,  were  not  new,  but  had  already 
found  a  regular  place  in  the  Jewish  propaganda) 
in  his  missionary  labours  in  the  Galatian  region 
(Ac  166).  In  that  case  it  was  not  necessary  that 
he  should  complicate  the  deliverance  of  the  Council 
as  to  the  recognition  of  his  gospel  and  his  apostolic 
status  by  mentioning  the  Decree,  and  all  the  less 
so  because  the  account  in  Ac  15  does  not  imply  that 
St.  Paul  himself  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  en- 
forcing its  provisions  in  his  missionary  sphere. 

We  may  sum  up  the  whole  by  saying  that  while 
primitive  Christianity  originally  set  Moses  and 
Jesus  side  by  side,  it  came  at  length,  in  the  pro- 
cess of  development,  to  contrast  them  with  each 
other,  and  St.  John,  in  the  Prologue  to  his  Gospel, 
gives  expression  to  this  result  in  his  great  saying  : 
'The  law  was  given  by  Moses;  grace  and  'truth 
came  by  Jesus  Christ'  (I17). 

LITERATURE.  —  H.  H.  Wendt,  Apostelgeschichte*,  in  Meyer's 
Kommentar,  1899  ;  G.  Hoennicke,  Apostelyeschichte,  Leipzig, 


, 

1913  ;  text-books  of  NT  Theology,  by  B.  Weiss  (Eng.  tr.,  1882- 
83),  H.  J.  Holtzmann  (21911),  P.  Feine  (1910),  G.  B.  Stevens 
(1899);  E.  B.  Reuss,  Hist,  of  Christian  Theology  in  the 
Apostolic  Age,  Eng.  tr.,  1872-74,  i.  139,  205,  etc.  ;  J.  R.  Cohu, 
St.  Paul,  1911,  p.  40  ff.  ;  A.  E.  Garvie,  Studies  of  Paul  and  his 
Gospel,  1911,  p.  192  ff.  OLAF  MOE. 

MOTHER.—  See  FAMILY. 

MOUNT,  MOUNTAIN   (6>os).—  '  Mountain  '  is  a 
somewhat  elastic  term  expressing    not   only  an 


46 


MOUNT,  MOUNTAIN 


MOURNING 


isolated  peak,  but  an  extended  range,  or  even  a 
whole  district  of  high  elevation.  Palestine  being 
an  exceptionally  mountainous  country,  it  was 
natural  that  Biblical  writers  should  often  allude  to 
its  physical  features ;  but  it  is  noteworthy  that 
they  spend  little  time  in  describing  the  mere 
scenery.  To  the  ancients  mountains  played  a  con- 
spicuous part  in  religion ;  they  were  not  infrequently 
the  scenes  of  theophanies,  and  when  great  men, 
such  as  Aaron  and  Moses,  died,  they  were  buried 
on  the  tops  of  mountains.  Mountains  are  also  the 
natural  image  for  eternal  continuance  and  stability. 
But  even  these  monuments  of  firmness  and  sta- 
bility are  pictured  as  moved  out  of  their  place  in 
the  final  cataclysm  (Kev  614  1620). 

In  apostolic  history  four  conspicuous  mountains 
are  especially  referred  to :  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
Sinai,  Zion,  and  'the  Mount'  (of  Transfiguration). 

1.  The    Mount    of   Olives   (rb  6pos   -rCbv  t\atwi>, 
Ac  I12). — In  this  passage  it  is  related  that  after  the 
Ascension  the  disciples  returned  '  unto  Jerusalem 
from  the  mount  called  Olivet.'     Apostolic  history 
thus  begins,  geographically,  where  Gospel  history 
leaves  off  (cf.  Lk  245°-53,  Mk  619-  20).     The  Mount 
of  Olives,   called   by   the   Muslims    Jebel    et-Tur 
('  Mountain  of  Light '),  and  Jebel  ez-Zeitun  ( '  Mount 
of  Olives'),  is  the  name  of  the  somewhat  elevated 
range  (c.  2,650  ft.)  lying  due  east  of  the  Holy  City 
and  separated  from  it  by  the  deep  Kidron  ravine. 
Its  northern  portion  is  called  Scopus  by  Josephus 
(BJ  v.  ii.  3) ;  its  southern  is  known  to  the  Arabs 
as  Batn  el-Hawa,  and  by  many  is  identified  as  the 
'  Mount  of  Offence.'    The  distance  from  Jerusalem 
to  its  summit  is  2,000  cubits,  or  about  6  furlongs. 
This  was  fixed   by  the  Rabbis  as  the  maximum 
distance  to  be  travelled  on  the  Sabbath  day.     The 
view  from  Olivet  is  one  of  the  most  extensive  in 
all   Palestine,   including  the  Holy  City,  the  hill 
country  of  Judaea,  much  of  the  Jordan  Valley,  a 
portion  of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  the  broad  sweep  of 
the  mountains  of  Gilead  and  Moab. 

2.  Mount  Sinai  (Stro,  Ac  730- »,  Gal  424-  »  He  85 
12's.  so).  _in  the  first  of  these  passages  (Ac  730- 38) 
the  martyr  Stephen  recalls  to  his  murderers'  minds 
Moses'  vision  of  the  Burning  Bush  (Ex  3lff>),  and 
thus  defends  himself  against  the  charge  of  speak- 
ing against  Moses  and  the   Law.     In  the  second 
(Gal    424- K)   St.   Paul    makes   Hagar,   Abraham's 
bondwoman,   representative  of  the  earthly  Jeru- 
salem and  the  bondage  of  the  Law,  whereas  Sarah 
was  free  and  represents  the   heavenly  Jerusalem 
and   the   freedom   of    the   gospel.       Hagar's    son 
Ishmael   was  a  child   according  to  the  course  of 
nature,  whereas  the  birth  of  Isaac  was  according 
to  the  promise,  and  therefore  a  Divine  event.     The 
whole  OT  story  is  here  allegorized,  and  is  intended 
to  show  the  incompatibility  of  a  spirit  of  bondage 
with  a  spirit  of  sonship.     Mount  Sinai  is  usually 
identified  with  Jebel  Musa  (c.  7,000  ft.  in  altitude), 
though  some  prefer  to  identify  it  with  Jebel  Serbal 
(c.  6,500  ft.),  a  few  miles  to  the  N.W.  of  the  former, 
both  being  located  in  the  southern  portion  of  the 
Sinai  Peninsula.     Of  the  two  passages  in  Hebrews, 
the  first  (85)  affirms  that  the  tabernacle  constructed 
in  the  wilderness  was  a  mere  copy  and  shadow  of 
the  heavenly  things,  made  by  Moses  according  to 
the  pattern  that  was   showed  him  in  the  Mount 
(cf.    Ex  2540).     Even  the  furniture  of  the  earthly 
tabernacle  had  its  heavenly  archetypes  ;  so  also 
the  priesthood  of  Aaron  and  his  descendants  is  but 
a  copy  of  the  priesthood  of  Jesus.     In  the  other 
passage  from  Hebrews  ( 121S-24)  the  terrors  of  the  Old 
Covenant,  given  at  Sinai,  are  contrasted  with  the 
glories  of  the  New.     The  words  '  a  mount '  are  not 
in  the  original  of  v.18,  but  they  are  implied  by  the 
words  '  mount  Zion '  in  v.22  (cf.  v.20).     The  Apostle 
paints  the  theophany  of  Sinai  (Ex  19)  vividly,  in 
order  to  appal  his  readers  with  the  awful  sanctity  of 


the  mountain  where  God  proclaimed  His  Law.  So 
great  was  the  sacredness  of  the  mountain,  indeed, 
that  even  unconscious  trespass  was  visited  by 
death. 

3.  Mount  Zion  (Stc&v,   He   1222).— Over  against 
Sinai,  which  quaked  at  the  giving  of  the  Law,  the 
Apostle  places  Zion,  using  it,  however,  in  a  spirit- 
ual  sense  :    '  But  ye  are  come  unto  mount   Zion, 
and  unto  the  city  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem,'  etc.     The  contrast  between   the  two 
Dispensations  is  thus  emphasized  :  Sinai,  sensible, 
provisional,    and    accompanied    by    the    physical 
phenomena  of  the  world ;  Zion,  ideal,  super-sensible, 
abiding,  final,  and  pertaining  to  the  world  above. 
To  the  Apostle,  Zion  is  here  not  the  earthly  Jeru- 
salem, but  the  heavenly  world  of  realities,  '  Jeru- 
salem the  golden.'    As  there  was  a  Zion  below 
after  the  order  of  the  world,  there  is  also  a  Zion 
above  true  to  the  ideal ;  the  one  here  is  only  the 
symbolic  abode  of  God,  that  above  is   His  real 
abode  ;  yea,  the  abode  also  of  the  Lamb  (Rev  141). 

4.  '  The  Holy  Mount.' — The  expression  occurs  in 
St.  Peter's  description  of  the  transfigured  glory  of 
Christ,    '  when   we  were  with    him   in   the   holy 
mount '  (£v  T$  6pei  r<f  ayiy,  2  P  I18).     Doubtless  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration  is  meant  (cf.  Mt  171"13). 
This  was  very  probably  one  of  the  spurs  of  Mount 
Hermon,  Jebel  esh-Sheikh,  '  the  mount  of  the  chief.' 
It  is  the  highest  peak  in  all  Palestine  and  Syria, 
rising  9,050  ft.  above  sea-level,  and  covered  with 
snow  during  a  great  part  of  the  year.     The  name 
'  Hermon '  signifies  that  it  was  considered  sacred. 

5.  The  other  references  in  apostolic  history  to 
'  mountains '  are  for  the  most  part  mere  figures  of 
speech.     For  example,  St.  Paul  says  in  his  match- 
less psean  on  love  (1  Co  132),  '  And  if  I  have  all 
faith,   so   as  to  remove  mountains.'      Mountains 
were  the  image  of  eternal  stability,  yet,  though 
one  had  faith  to  remove  the  unmovable,  without 
love  one  would  be  nothing.     In  He  II38  there  is  an 
allusion  to  the  sacrifices  which  the  heroes  of  faith 
endured  in  OT  times,  wandering  '  in  deserts  and 
mountains '  —  mountains    being    symbols    of    the 
difficulties  and  dangers  of  life.     On  the  other  hand, 
the    apostle    John,    attempting    to    describe   the 
terrors  of  the  Final  Judgment,  pictures  kings  as 
hiding  themselves  '  in  the  caves  and  in  the  rocks  of 
the  mountains,'  and  as  saying  '  to  the  mountains 
and   to  the  rocks,  Fall   on  us  and   hide  us,  etc.' 
(Rev  615- 16),  the  swift  agony  of  being  crushed  to 
death  being  considered  preferable,  as  the  implica- 
tion is,  to  being  left  face  to  face  with  an  angry 
God.      The  same  Seer,   when    the  second    angel 
sounded,  beheld  a  great  burning  mountain  cast  into 
the  sea  (Rev  88).     Perhaps  he  had  seen  such  pheno- 
mena in  his  lonely  life  of  exile  amid  the  islands  of 
the  ^Egean  !    The  allusion  in  Rev  179  is  likewise 
figurative,  '  The  seven  heads  are  seven  mountains.' 
Finally,  the  Apostle  is  '  carried  in  the  spirit  to  a 
mountain  great  and  high '  (Rev  2110),  from  which 
as  a  vantage-ground  of  elevation  he  saw  '  the  holy 
city  Jerusalem,  coming  down  out  of  heaven  from 
God.'      This  was  St.  John's   mode  of  describing 
heaven.      There  is  a  peculiar  ecstasy  associated 
with  mountain  tops,  even  to  the  most  prosaic. 

GEORGE  L.  ROBINSON. 

MOURNING.  —  Mourning  is  primarily  the  ex- 
pression of  sorrow  for  the  dead ;  but  the  term  is 
also  applied  to  the  grief  over  sin  and  to  the  distress 
over  calamity. 

1.  A  list  of  mourning  customs  among  the 
Hebrews  will  be  found  in  the  art.  '  Mourning '  in 
HDB.  Among  them  are  weeping  and  wailing  of 
an  intentionally  demonstrative  and  unrestrained 
kind,  the  rending  of  garments,  the  wearing  of 
sackcloth,  the  sprinkling  of  dust  and  ashes  on  the 
head,  the  striking  of  breast  and  head,  fasting, 
ejaculations  of  woe,  the  recital  of  elegies  for  the 


MOUTH,  LIPS 


MURDER 


47 


departed.  Keference  is  made  to  several  of  these 
customs  in  the  description  given  in  Rev  18  of  the 
mourning  over  the  destruction  of  Babylon.  The 
worldly  kings,  the  merchants  and  mariners,  act  as 
mourners :  they  weep  and  wail,  cast  dust  upon 
their  heads,  utter  exclamations  of  woe,  and  in 
turn  dirgefully  declare  the  past  glories  of  the 
fallen  (v.lof-).  The  term  Koirer6v  (used  in  Ac  82  to 
indicate  the  lamentation  of  the  devout  men  over 
Stephen ;  cf.  ntyovran  [Rev  I7  189] ;  derivation, 
K6irTfiv,  '  to  strike ')  indicates  the  association  of  the 
beating  of  head  and  breast  with  mourning.  In 
Ac  Q3"-  the  widows  gather  round  the  body  of 
Dorcas,  weep  and  recount  her  good  deeds.  In  Ja 
51  the  rich  are  bidden  to  weep  and  howl,  i.e.  as 
wailing  mourners. 

2.  The  Pauline  version  of  the  eucharist  intro- 
duces the  words,  '  Do  this  in  remembrance  of  me ' 
(eis  TTJV  .>T)»'  dvdfjivrjffiv),  and  the  rite  is  regarded  as 
a  proclamation  of  the  Lord's  death  till  He  come 
( 1  Co  1 I24'26).     This  language  suggests  a  comparison 
with  the  customs  of  commemorative  mourning  for 
the  dead  (cf .  the  annual  lamentation  for  Jephthah's 
daughter  [Jg  II40] ;  see  art.  '  Jahrzeit'  in  JE).     If 
the    Pauline   version   of   the   eucharist   has   been 
influenced  by  the  mysteries,  the  mourning  customs 
for  Attis  and  Adonis  ('weeping  for  Tammuz,'  see 
J.   G.    Frazer's  Adonis,  Attis,  Osiris3,  1914)  may 
not  be  without  significance  for  the  study  of  this 
feature  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

3.  The  gravity  with  which  sin  was  regarded  is 
suggested  by  the  application  of  terms  of  mourning 
to  the  grief  over  transgression.    Sinners  are  bidden, 
as  a   sign  of  humble  penitence,  to   be  afflicted, 
mourn,  and  weep.     Laughter  is  to  be  turned  to 
mourning  ( Ja  49  ;  cf.  1  K  I27).     Among  the  welcome 
indications  of  a  repentant  Corinthian  church  is  its 
mourning  (6dvpfj.6s  [2   Co    77]).     The  idea  in  the 
writer's  mind  in  Rev  I7  ('Behold,  he  cometh  with 
the  clouds,  and  every  eye  shall  see  him,  and  they 
that  pierced  him,  and  all  the  tribes  of  the  earth 
shall  mourn  over  him ')  was  probably  the  mourning 
of  guilt,  regret,  and  shame — there  was  no  need  to 
mourn  a  living  Christ  returning  in  glory.    Possibly, 
however,  the  words  indicate  that  now  all  nations 
recognized  that  the  ignominiously  crucified  One 
was  worthy  of  a  world's  mourning. 

4.  National    calamity  is   presented   under  the 
figure  of  a  bereavement    (cf.   the  mourning  for 
Israel  [Jl  I8- 13]).     Babylon  in  her  strength  boasts, 
'  No    widow    am    I,   and    shall    in    no    wise    see 
mourning'  (Rev   187).     In   a  day  she   knows  the 
widowhood  of  retributive  disaster  (v.8).     The  re- 
presentation changes — widowed  Babylon  is  herself 
mourned  for  by  others  (vv.8'19) ;  see  1. 

5.  The  emphasis  placed  by  the  early  Church  on 
the  overthrow  of  death  as  an  elemental  power  by 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  on  the  certainty  of  a 
future  life,  the  conception  of  a  fuller,  richer  exist- 
ence beyond  the  grave — a  '  clothing  upon '  rather 
than  a  stripping  of  personality — all  tended  to  rob 
death  of  its  sting   and  the  grave  of  its  victory. 
The  believer  had  no  need  to  sorrow  as  did  the  rest 
that  had  no  hope.     On  the  other  hand,  it  is  signi- 
ficant that  the  parting  of  St.  Paul  from  his  children 
in  the  faith  at  Miletus,  who  expected  to  see  him 
no  more,  was  with  loud  lamentation  (Ac  2036),  and 
the  Apostle    felt    that    the    severance  from   the 
brethren  at  Csesarea  was  breaking  his  heart  (2113). 
Faith  lights  up  the  tomb,  but  does  not  make  the 
human  heart  unnatural.     Human  grief  '  will  have 
way'  until,  as  in   the  Apocalyptist's  vision,  God 
shall  wipe  away  all  tears   from   men's  eyes,  and 
death    and    mourning    shall    be    no    more    (Rev 
214).  H.  BULCOCK. 

MOUTH,  LIPS.— As  in  the  OT,  the  mouth  (<7T6^a) 
and  lips  (xfi^n)  are  sometimes  named  simply  as  a 


result  of  the  particularization  to  which  graphic 
description  tends,  especially  in  the  Oriental  world 
(e.g.  Ac  8s5  II8,  He  II33,  Rev  316).  We  may 
usually,  however,  trace  the  influence  of  Hebrew 
psychology,  which  ascribed  psychical  or  ethical 
quality  even  to  peripheral  organs,  regarding  them 
as  constituent  parts  of  the  unity  of  personality  (cf. 
H.  W.  Robinson,  in  Mansfield  College  Essays,  1909, 
p.  275).  Isaiah's  lips  were  purged  of  their  unclean- 
ness  by  the  coal  from  the  altar  (Is  6s- 7) ;  with  this 
we  may  compare  the  command  of  the  high  priest 
to  smite  St.  Paul  on  the  mouth  (Ac  232) — a  com- 
mand prompted  by  the  apparent  blasphemy  of 
which  that  organ  had  been  guilty.  The  same  idea 
underlies  the  demand  that  the  mouths  of  evil 
speakers  be  stopped  (Tit  I11,  iTriaTOfu^eiv  •  cf.  Ro  3ia 
and  the  contrasted  statement  of  2  Co  6n).  EvenT" 
in  such  purely  imaginative  descriptions  as  those  of 
Christ  seen  in  vision,  with  the  sword  proceeding 
from  His  mouth  (Rev  I16,  etc.  ;  cf.  2  Th  28),  or  of 
the  frog-vomiting  mouths  of  the  three  evil  powers 
in  the  Apocalypse  (1613),  the  latent  psychology  helps 
to  explain  the  harshness  of  the  metaphor.  '  The 
mouth  as  the  organ  of  speech,  the  chief  source  of 
human  influence,  is  frequently  in  the  Apocalypse 
the  instrument  of  good  or  evil'  (H.  B.  Swete,  The 
Apocalypse  of  St.  John3,  1907,  p.  207).*  The 
detached  ethical  quality  of  the  organ  of  speech 
gives  added  force  to  such  apostolic  words  as  '  mortify 
your  members  .  .  .  put  away  .  .  .  shameful  speak- 
ing out  of  your  mouth '  (Col  35'8) ;  '  in  their  mouth 
was  found  no  lie '  (Rev  145) ;  '  out  of  the  same 
mouth  cometh  forth  blessing  and  cursing '  ( Ja  310) ; 
'the  poison  of  asps  is  under  their  lips'  (Ro  313= 
Ps  1403). 

In  apostolic  writings,  the  mouth  has  a  three-fold 
function  in  regard  to  the  proclamation  of  truth — 
viz.  revelation,  evangelization,  and  confession.  It 
was  the  instrument  of  the  original  revelation  of  the 
OT,  given,  e.g.,  through  the  '  mouth '  of  David 
(Ac  I16  4s8)  or  of  the  prophets  (318-21).  It  is  the 
instrument  of  gospel-preaching  (Ac  157,  Eph  619  ; 
cf.  Odes  of  Solomon,  xlii.  6),  and  the  Epistle  of 
Barnabas  claims  that  'every  word,  which  shall 
come  forth  from  you  through  your  mouth  in  faith 
and  love,  shall  be  for  the  conversion  and  hope  of 
many '  (xi.  8).  It  is  the  instrument  of  that  con- 
fession which  is  necessary  in  order  to  unite  the 
whole  personality,  body  and  soul,  with  its  Re- 
deemer :  '  the  word  is  nigh  thee,  in  thy  mouth  .  .  . 
with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salvation ' 
(Ro  108"10).  This  confession  elsewhere  appears  as 
'a  sacrifice  of  praise,'  '  the  fruit  of  lips  which  make 
confession  to  his  name'  (He  1315  ;  cf.  Is  5719  and 
the  LXX  of  Hos  142).  The  unity  of  outer  word 
and  inner  experience  in  the  case  of  the  true  Chris- 
tian is  frequently  emphasized  in  the  Odes  of 
Solomon,  e.g.  xxi.  7  :  '  my  heart  ran  over  and 
was  found  in  my  mouth  :  and  it  arose  upon  my 
lips.'  On  the  other  hand,  the  painful  contrast 
possible  between  the  spoken  testimony  and  the 
real  character  of  the  life  was  not  absent  even  from 
these  early  Christian  communities ;  e.g.  Hermas 
speaks  of  those  '  that  have  the  Lord  on  their  lips, 
while  their  heart  is  hardened '  (Mand.  XII.  iv.  4  ; 
cf.  Sim.  IX.  xxi.  1,  1  Clem.  xv.  2,  2  Clem.  iii.  4). 

See  also  artt.  MAN  and  TONGUE. 

H.  WHEELER  ROBINSON. 

MURDER. — The  prevalence  of  murder  was  one 
of  the  dark  facts  in  the  social  and  political  back- 
ground of  the  early  Apostolic  Church.  Fanaticism 
of  a  tierce  and  ruthless  type  was  in  the  air,  and 
human  life  was  frequently  as  little  regarded  as  is 
normal  under  such  conditions.  The  resentment  of 
the  Zealots  against  the  authority  of  Rome  was  a 

*  In  Eev  109- 10  the  mouth  is  the  organ  of  taste ;  according  to 
the  curious  statement  of  Ep.  Barn.  x.  8,  the  weasel  conceives 
through  her  mouth . 


48 


MURMURING 


MYSIA 


persistent  fact  in  the  situation  from  the  third 
decade  to  the  final  catastrophe  in  A.D.  70,  and 
when  cruelty  and  oppression  were  carried  to  excess 
by  Felix  it  was  inevitable  that  there  should  arise 
in  opposition  a  body  of  extremists  to  whom  murder 
was  merely  a  detail  in  a  policy. 

Thus  during  the  time  of  Felix  and  Festus  there 
arose  the  Sicarii  (see  ASSASSINS),  whose  Jewish 
patriotism  took  a  murderous  shape.  Their  weapons 
were  daggers  (sicce  ;  cf.  Latin  sicarius,  '  a  mur- 
derer.' The  law  passed  under  Sulla  against 
murderers  was  Lex  Cornelia  de  Sicariis).  Armed 
with  these,  they  moved  with  stealth  through  the 
crowds  at  festival  seasons,  seeking  to  remove  their 
opponents  by  assassination.  Then,  in  order  to  turn 
aside  any  possible  suspicion,  they  gave  way  to  loud 
expressions  of  grief.  We  find  a  reference  to  this 

froupin  AC2138,  where  the  chief  captain  (6  xiMa/>x°s), 
nding  that  St.  Paul  speaks  Greek,  asks :  '  Art 
thou  not  then  that  Egyptian,  which  before  these 
days  stirred  up  to  sedition  and  led  out  into  the 
wilderness  the  four  thousand  men  of  the  Assassins 
(rerpaKiffxiMovs  dvdpas  rwv  ffiKapiuv)  ?'  The  Sicarii 
must  have  been  the  easy  instrument  at  hand  to 
every  clever  impostor,  and  the  incident  referred  to 
here  was  the  most  notable  example.  An  Egyptian 
Jew  gave  himself  out  as  a  prophet  and  held  out  to 
a  crowd  in  the  wildnerness  the  alluring  promise 
that  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  would  fall  down  at 
his  word  and  so  make  the  city  theirs  once  more. 
Felix,  however,  put  down  the  movement  and  took 
many  prisoners.  Josephus  gives  two  accounts  of 
this  false  prophet,  in  one  of  which  (BJ  II.  xiii.  5) 
he  says  that  the  majority  of  the  30,000  followers 
were  captured  or  slain,  and  in  the  other  (Ant.  XX. 
viii.  6)  that  four  hundred  were  killed  and  two 
hundred  taken  prisoners. 

That  murder  was  not  unknown  even  among 
those  identified  with  the  Church  may  be  inferred 
from  1  P  415,  where  the  writer  addresses  a  warning 
to  Christians.  They  are  not  to  resent  the  fiery 
trial,  but  to  rejoice  as  those  sharing  the  sufferings 
of  Christ — only  'Let  none  of  you  suffer  as  a 
murderer  (u>s  </>ovefo).'  In  later  days  it  was  a 
commonplace  of  anti-Christian  abuse  to  charge 
Christians  with  the  horrors  of  child-slaying  and 
cannibalism,  but  there  seems  to  be  no  sufficient 
reason  for  reading  into  the  passage  quoted  any 
reference  to  these  charges.  As  C.  Bigg  has  said, 
'  A  Christian  might  quite  well  be  guilty  of  murder. 
The  times  were  wild,  and  conversions  must  often 
have  been  imperfect '  (ICC,  '  Epistles  of  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Jude,  Edinburgh,  1901,  p.  177). 

R.  STRONG. 

MURMURING. —  The  non-classical  'vernacular 
terms'  (H.  A.  A.  Kennedy,  Sources  of  NT  Greek, 
1895,  p.  38  ff. )  yoyyvcrfjibs  and  yoyytifetv  are  used  seven 
times  in  the  LXX  in  reference  to  Israel  in  the 
wilderness.  The  verb  is  used  in  the  same  con- 
nexion in  1  Co  1010 — '  Neither  murmur  ye,  as  some 
of  them  murmured,  and  perished  by  the  destroyer,' 
the  allusion  being  apparently  to  the  rebellion  of 
Korah  against  the  authority  of  Moses  and  Aaron, 
which  was  followed  by  the  punishment  of  violent 
death  (Nu  16).  The  OT  reference  and  the  evil 
of  partisanship  which  had  become  conspicuous  at 
Corinth  (1  Co  I12  36  46- 18f-)  suggest  that  the  'mur- 
muring' the  Apostle  had  in  mind  was  that  of 
schismatic  discontent  in  the  Church,  rather  than 
that  of  complaint  against  Providence  because  of 
the  limitations  of  the  human  lot — the  sense  which 
the  term  most  naturally  suggests  to  us. 

The  second  Pauline  passage  where  the  term 
occurs  ('Do  all  things  without  murmurings  and 
disputations '  [Ph  214]),  follows  an  appeal  for  Church 
harmony  (vv.1-4 ;  cf.  4*)  and  is  obviously  a  warning 
similar  to  that  of  1  Co  1010.  The  quotation  from 
the  Song  of  Moses  (Dt  32*  LXX)  in  the  following 


verses  hints  that  the  history  in  the  wilderness  is 
again  in  the  author's  mind. 

The  'murmurers'  of  Jude's  letter  (v.16)  are  the 
false  teachers  who  have  crept  into  the  Church  and 
are  fostering  discontent  for  their  own  advantage, 
challenging  (Church)  authority  and  railing  at 
'dignities '  (v.8).  Again  there  is  a  reference  to  the 
incident  of  Korah  (v.11). 

The  murmuring  of  the  Grecian  Jews  against  the 
Hebrews  (Ac  61) — a  complaint  against  Church  ad- 
ministration— is  the  only  instance  where  murmur- 
ing has  not  a  conspicuous  reproof.  Even  here  the 
language  of  the  Apostles  (vv.2-  4)  may  hint  censure. 

In  1  P  49  ('using  hospitality  one  to  another 
without  murmuring')  the  reference  appears  to  be 
to  the  grumbling  against  the  obligation,  imposed 
by  Church  tradition,  of  mutual  hospitality  among 
Christians  (cf.  the  communistic  spirit  of  Ac  244). 
The  AV  translation  'without  grudging'  (so  also 
Weymouth)  misses  the  above  significance. 

The  term  thus  appears  to  have  been  used  by  the 
NT  writers  in  a  specific  sense  (suggested  by  the 
classical  instance  of  Korah)  of  disloyalty  in  one 
way  or  another  to  the  Church,  its  traditions,  its 
harmony  and  unity.  1  Co  1010  and  Jude  16  suggest 
that,  as  in  the  case  of  Korah,  such  murmurings  are 
really  against  God  Himself.  H.  BULCOCK. 

MUSIC. — See  PRAISE,  and  artt.  on  various 
Musical  Instruments. 

MYRA  (Mtfpa,  a  neut.  plur. ;  often  written  M%>a, 
as  in  B). — Myra  was  'a  city  of  Lycia'  (Ac  275), 
situated  on  a  hill  2£  miles  from  the  sea  (Strabo, 
xiv.  iii.  7),  and  the  name  often  included  the  sea- 
port of  Andriaca.  In  the  time  of  the  Ptolemys, 
Myra  shared  with  other  Lycian  towns  the  benefits 
of  a  great  maritime  traffic  which  was  developed 
between  Egypt  and  Asia  Minor ;  and  when  Rome 
became  mistress  of  the  world,  the  conditions  of 
navigation  in  the  Mediterranean  made  Myra  a 
place  of  growing  importance.  The  corn-ships  of 
Alexandria,  which  brought  food  to  the  population 
of  Rome,  were  in  the  habit  of  sailing  due  north  to 
Lycia,  making  Myra  a  place  of  call,  and  then  pro- 
ceeding westward.  This  long  route  was  the  short- 
est in  the  end.  Instead  of  sailing  straight  for 
Italy,  and,  in  doing  so,  contending  with  the 
westerly  winds  which  prevail  in  the  Eastern  Medi- 
terranean during  the  summer  months,  it  was  better 
seamanship  to  make  for  the  S.W.  of  Asia  Minor, 
and  then  get  under  the  protection  of  the  south 
coast  of  Crete.  When,  therefore,  the  centurion 
who  brought  St.  Paul  from  Caesarea  found  an 
Alexandrian  corn-ship  in  the  harbour  of  Myra, 
about  to  continue  her  course  to  Italy,  this  was 
no  surprising  occurrence.  It  was  not  an  unlucky 
event  which  made  a  disastrous  change  in  his  plans, 
as  T.  Lewin  suggests  (The  Life  and  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul3,  1875,  ii.  187).  It  was  exactly  what  he  had 
expected.  Before  he  began  his  voyage  he  no  doubt 
calculated  on  being  able  to  trans-ship  into  one  of 
the  vessels  of  that  great  fleet  of  corn-ships  which 
linked  the  names  of  Alexandria  and  Myra  in  the 
common  talk  of  all  men  of  the  sea. 

St.  Nicholas,  one  of  the  bishops  of  Myra,  became 
the  patron  saint  of  Levantine  sailors.  Myra  was 
still  an  important  city  in  the  Middle  Ages,  being 
known  as  the  portus  Adriatici  maris  when  '  the 
Adriatic '  included  the  whole  Levant. 

Both  Myra,  which  is  now  called  Dembre,  and 
Andriaca  have  some  interesting  ruins. 

LITERATURE.— W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller  and 
the  Roman  Citizen,  London,  1895,  p.  298  f. ;  E.  Petersen  and 
F.  v.  Luschan,  Reisen  in  Lykien,  Milyas  und  Kibyratis, 
Vienna,  1889.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

MYSIA  (Mvffta).  —  Mysia  was  an  ill  -  defined 
country  in  the  N.W.  of  Asia  Minor,  having  the 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


49 


JEgean,  the  Hellespont,  and  the  Propontis  on  the 
W.  and  N.,  Bithynia  on  the  N.E.,  and  the 
equally  ill-defined  regions  of  Phrygia  and  Mysia 
on  the  S.E.  and  S.  The  absence  of  landmarks 
between  the  land  of  the  Mysians  and  that  of  the 
Phrygians  gave  rise  to  the  saying,  %wpJs  TO.  Mvcruv 
KO.L  Qpiryuiv  opifffMTa.  '  The  reason  is  this  :  strangers 
who  came  into  the  country  were  soldiers  and 
barbarians ;  they  had  no  fixed  settlement  in  the 
country  of  which  they  obtained  possession,  but 
were,  for  the  most  part,  wanderers,  expelling 
others  from  their  territory  and  being  expelled 
themselves '  (Strabo,  XII.  iv.  4).  For  the  most 
part  a  mountainous  country,  Mysia  was  not  so 
productive  as  Lydia  and  Caria.  It  was  sometimes 
regarded  as  including  the  Troad  in  the  W. ,  some- 
times as  separated  therefrom  by  the  river  ^Esepus. 
The  river  Caicus  and  Mount  Temnos  were  usually 
taken  as  the  southern  limits,  and  the  district  of 
Phrygia  Epictetus,  which  extends  a  considerable 
distance  eastward  —  as  far  as  Dorylseum  and 
Nakoleia — was  at  one  time  in  the  hands  of  the 
Mysians.  The  Romans,  who  showed  little  regard 
for  ethnical  distinctions,  absorbed  Mysia  in  the 
great  province  of  Asia. 

Mysia  is  referred  to  in  an  important  but  difficult 
passage  of  Acts  (167- 8).  St.  Paul  and  Silas,  having 
in  the  second  missionary  tour  '  come  over  against 
Mysia '  (t\66t>Tes  /card  rrjv  Mvffiav),  were  restrained 
by  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  from  going  into  Bithynia ; 
whereupon  they  turned  westward,  and  '  passing 
by  Mysia  (ira.pe\66vTes  ri]v  MvcrLav)  they  came  down 
to  Troas'  (Ac  167<8).  For  a  discussion  of  the 
vexed  question  as  to  the  apostles'  movements 
before  they  came  to  the  borders  of  Bithynia  and 
over  against  Mysia  see  PHRYGIA  and  GALATIA. 
Assuming  that  St.  Paul  and  Silas  were  travelling 
from  Pisidian  Antioch  northward  through  Phrygian 
Asia,  Ramsay  observes  that  they  would  be  '  over 
against  Mysia'  when  they  reached  such  a  point 
that  a  line  drawn  across  the  country  at  right 
angles  to  the  general  line  of  their  route  would 
touch  Mysia  (The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire, 
1893,  p.  75  n.).  This  point  would  be  the  city  of 
Dorylaeum.  From  there  they  turned  due  westward, 
and,  '  passing  by,'  or  neglecting,  Mysia — this  does 
not  mean  passing  along  its  borders,  but  going 
straight  through  it  without  pausing  to  do  any 
evangelistic  work  in  it — they  came  down  to  the 
Mgean.  The  other  reading,  8ie\06vres,  preferred 
by  Blass  despite  its  weak  authority  (D  and  Vul- 
gate), seems  in  Acts  and  the  Pauline  Epistles  in- 
variably to  designate  a  missionary  tour,  which  is 
in  this  case  out  of  the  question,  as  the  apostles 
have  just  been  forbidden  to  preach  in  Asia  (Ac  166). 
The  distance  from  Dorylseum  to  Troas  is  about 
240  miles.  The  route  would  lead  through  the 
valley  of  the  Rhyndacus  and  the  town  of  Apameia, 
where  there  is  a  local  tradition  of  a  Pauline  visit 
(ExpT  x.  [1898-99]  495).  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES.  —  i.   Meaning   and 

usage. — The  word  '  mystery '  (nv<rr-f)piov)  is  derived 
from  the  Greek  fj.veti>,  '  to  initiate ' ;  but  it  is  also 
connected  with  fj.6eit>,  'to  shut  the  eyes  or  the 
mouth. '  Consequently  it  stands  for  rites  and  truths 
which  must  be  closely  guarded  by  those  who  possess 
them.  J.  E.  Harrison  (Prolegomena  to  the  Study  of 
Greek  Religion,  Cambridge,  1903,  p.  154)  ventures 
to  suggest  as  its  source  yutfcros,  '  pollution.'  And, 
since  in  her  judgment  the  aim  of  the  mysteries  is 
primarily  purification,  the  yu&ros,  or  pollution, 
from  which  the  liberation  is  desired,  gives  the  cere- 
monies of  purification  their  name.  But  this  deriva- 
tion restricts  the  compass  of  the  word,  and  leaves 
its  use  in  the  Scriptures  unintelligible.  Whence 
did  it  come  into  Christian  use  ?  Was  it  taken 
over  from  pagan  sources,  or  did  it  reach  the  writers 
VOL.  n. — 4 


of  the  NT  and  of  the  early  Christian  literature 
through  Jewish  channels  ?  There  is  sufficient 
ground  to  decide  for  the  latter  view.  The  word 
occurs  several  times  in  the  LXX  (e.g.  in  Dn 

218.  1».  27.  28.  29.  30.  47    46)  .    it    meetg    ug    afjain    {„    gome 

of  the  apocryphal  books  (Sir  322  2222  2716,  Wis 
222  622>  To  127.  uf  jth  22,  2  Mac  13al).  In  these 
passages  the  word  is  applied  to  dreams  and  their 
interpretation,  or  else  to  the  political  and  military 
plans  of  the  king  which  have  not  been  divulged. 
These  plans  are  the  king's  secrets,  which  no  one 
should  know  until  he  has  revealed  them  or  put 
them  in  operation  (G.  Anrich,  Das  antike  Myster- 
ienwesen,  p.  144  ;  Hans  von  Soden,  ZNTVV  xii. 
[1911]  197).  Von  Soden  says  that  without  doubt 
the  passages  in  the  book  of  Daniel  suggest  the 
origin  of  the  NT  use  of  /jLva-r^piov,  '  mystery.'  The 
idea  of  the  king's  secrets  becomes  that  of  God's 
secrets,  the  plans  of  God,  which  remain  hidden 
until  He  reveals  them.  This  is  already  apparent 
in  the  Book  of  Enoch  (ciii.  2,  civ.  10,  cvi.  19).  In 
the  Gospels  the  word  occurs  in  this  sense.  But 
singularly  it  is  found  in  only  one  Synoptic  passage 
(Mk  411,  Mt  1311,  Lk  810),  which,  according  to  Carl 
Clemen,  contains  no  word  of  the  Lord  (Der  Einfluss 
der  Mysterienreligionen,  p.  24),  whereas  in  the 
Fourth  Gospel,  which  some  critics  view  as  the 
most  Hellenistic  of  all  the  Gospels,  it  is  not  found 
at  all.  From  this  solitary  occurrence  we  may  in- 
fer that  the  word  had  no  attraction  for  the  writers 
as  a  means  for  expressing  their  thought.  But 
evidently  it  had  a  charm  for  St.  Paul.  He  uses  it 
21  times  in  his  Epistles,  of  which  1  Corinthians, 
Ephesians,  and  Colossians  give  us  by  far  the 
largest  number  of  examples.  In  every  case  the 
word  retains  its  LXX  meaning,  which  leads  Von 
Soden  to  affirm  that  St.  Paul  did  not  borrow  the 
word  from  the  Greek,  but  from  Jewish  sources. 
It  may  have  already  become  characteristic  of 
Jewish  eschatology,  but  Von  Soden  intimates  that 
it  was  now  a  term  of  Jewish  Christian  theology 
which  St.  Paul  both  used  and  developed  still 
further  (see  A.  Schweitzer,  Geschichte  der  paulin- 
ischen  Forschung,  Tubingen,  1911,  p.  141  ff.).  It 
is  possible  that  St.  Paul  made  this  term  con- 
spicuous in  his  Epistles  in  order  to  oppose  it  to  the 
same  term  as  used  in  the  mystery-religions.  But  it 
has  yet  to  be  demonstrated  that  he  was  familiar  with 
their  thought,  terms,  and  rites.  W.  M.  Ramsay's 
fine  discussion  of  the  matter  in  his  Teaching  of 
Paul  in  Terms  of  the  Present  Day,  London,  1913, 
pp.  283-305,  needs  more  proofs  than  those  given  by 
him  to  carry  conviction.  The  only  one  of  the 
mysteries  prevalent  in  St.  Paul's  sphere  of  work 
was  the  Attis-cult,  but  he  gives  no  hint  of  a  know- 
ledge of  it  save  in  the  obscure  passage  in  Col  2 
discussed  by  Ramsay. 

The  word  occurs  in  the  early  Church  Fathers 
with  noticeable  infrequency.  It  is  absent  in  the 
writings  of  Clement,  Barnabas,  and  Hermas.  It 
appears  three  times  in  the  Epistles  of  Ignatius  (ad 
Eph.  xix.  1,  ad  Magn.  ix.  1-3,  ad  Trail,  ii.  3)  and 
twice  this  number  in  the  anonymous  Epistle  to 
Diognetus  (iv.  6,  vii.  1-2,  viii.  10,  x.  7,  xi.  2,  5). 
In  the  Didache,  or  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles, 
it  occurs  only  once  (xi.  11).  In  these  passages 
HVffTTipiov  is  no  central  conception  and  no  sacra- 
ment, although  T.  Zahn  explains  the  term 
'  mysteries '  in  Ignatius,  ad  Trail,  ii.  3,  as  baptism 
ana  the  Lord's  Supper  (Ignatius  von  Antiochien, 
Gotha,  1873,  p.  323) — an  explanation  rejected  by 
both  Lightfoot  and  Srawley.  The  mysteries  are 
in  the  main  the  Incarnation  and  the  Atonement  of 
Christ. 

The  Apologists  using  the  word  took  another 
step.  In  the  writings  of  Aristides,  Athenagoras, 
and  Tatian  the  word  is  wanting  ;  but  in  Justin  it 
occurs  many  times,  and  usually  signifies  not  any 


50 


MYSTEKY,  MYSTEKIES 


MYSTEKY,  MYSTEEIES 


particular  rite,  but  '  the  whole  complex  of  re- 
ligion' in  which  the  Passion  of  Christ  pre-eminently 
appears  (Apol.  i.  13  ;  Dial.  74,  91,  106,  121).  It  is 
placed  by  him  on  the  same  plane  with  symbol  or 
parable  or  type,  a  usage  which  continues  until  the 
time  of  Augustine.  The  serpent  is  a  mystery  or 
symbol  (Apol.  i.  27) ;  a  prophecy  is  a  mystery  : 
'  that  which  God  said  to  David  symbolically  [iv 
HWT-qplqi]  was  interpreted  by  Isaiah  as  to  how  it 
would  actually  come  to  pass  '  (Dial.  68,  quoted  by 
E.  Hatch,  Essays  in  Biblical  Greek,  Oxford,  1889,  p. 
60).  Justin,  however,  does  not  go  much  beyond  his 
predecessors  except  to  emphasize  cosmological  and 
ethical  aspects.  But  he  is  the  first  to  compare 
the  Christian  fj-vo-rripiov  in  its  individual  features 
with  the  pagan  mysteries  (Apol.  i.  66  ;  cf.  i.  25, 
27).  This  was  ominous,  for  it  tended  to  weaken 
the  idea  that  the  Christian  mystery  is  peculiar  and 
distinct,  although  Justin  shows  in  his  condemna- 
tion of  the  pagan  rite  that  he  had  no  thought  of 
bringing  about  this  result. 

Irenseus  uses  the  term  in  a  Gnostic  sense.  It 
stands  for  what  he  calls  '  these  portentous  and 
profound  mysteries,'  against  which  he  writes  his 
famous  work,  c.  Hcereses.  Therefore  little  light  is 
thrown  by  him  on  the  Avord  '  mystery '  as  it  was 
used  in  the  early  Church.  However,  from  him  is 
drawn  much  of  the  information  which  enables  us 
to  determine  to  some  extent  the  Gnostic  concep- 
tion of  '  mystery.'  Apparently  he  represents  it  as 
magical  in  character  (see,  e.g.,  Hcer.  I.  xiii.  2). 
The  Gnostic  conception  is  important,  for  it  is 
regarded  by  some  as  introducing  the  change  of  the 
idea  of  mystery  in  the  Christian  Church.  Carl 
Schmidt,  Harnack,  and  others  view  the  sacra- 
mentalism  of  Gnosticism  as  an  anticipation  of 
Christian  sacramentalisrn.  But  to  this  Catholicism 
replies  that  the  relationship  was  just  the  reverse, 
and,  therefore,  that  Gnostic  sacramentalism  found 
its  source  in  the  sacramental  ideas  of  the  Church 
(Schmidt,  TU  viii.  [1892]  525;  A.  Struckmann, 
Die  Gegeniuart  Christi,  Vienna,  1905,  p.  97  ;  CQR 
xlii.  [1896]  412).  Neither  position  has  thus  far  been 
sufficiently  substantiated  to  carry  conviction. 

Two  great  writers  at  the  end  of  the  2nd  cent, 
did  exercise  a  marked  influence  on  the  Christian 
conception  of  '  mystery. '  One  was  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  who  brought  the  Christian  sacra- 
mental idea  still  nearer  to  that  of  the  pagan 
cults.  Von  Soden  affirms  that  '  with  him  an 
essential  extension  and  a  hellenizing  change  of  the 
use  of  /j.vffT7ipioi>  begins '  (ZNTW  xii.  205),  and  E. 
Bratke  in  his  article  '  Die  Stellung  des  Clem. 
Alex,  zum  antiken  Mysterienwesen,'  in  SK  Ix. 
[1887]  i.  647)  is  an  ardent  advocate  of  the  same 
belief.  Anrich  takes  a  similar  view  but  is  more 
cautious  in  his  support  of  it  (Das  antike  Mysterien- 
wesen, p.  140).  From  the  time  of  Clement  the 
Christian  sacraments  began  to  be  called  the 
Christian  mysteries  ;  and,  while  it  is  possible  that 
they  already  bore  this  name,  the  influence  of 
Clement's  writings  must  have  done  much  to  estab- 
lish it.  He  speaks  of  Christ  as  initiating  us  into 
the  mysteries,  and  quotes  from  Euripides,  Bacchce, 
470-473  :  '  Seeing  those  who  see  he  bestows  his 
mysteries.  Of  what  fashion  are  these  mysteries  ? 
Seci'et  except  to  the  initiate '  (Strom,  iv.  25). 
Christianity  is  the  true  Divine  mystery,  a  mystical 
miracle  ;  consequently  the  Church  is  an  institution 
of  mysteries  (Protre.pt.  11).  We^  as  perfected 
Christians,  are  permitted  by  Jesus  to  communicate 
'  those  divine  mysteries '  and  '  that  holy  light '  to 
persons  capable  of  receiving  them  (Strom,  i.  1). 
In  the  same  chapter  Clement  says  that  '  there  are 
some  mysteries  before  other  mysteries.'  He  also 
draws  a  direct  parallel  between  Christianity  on 
one  side  and  the  Eleusinian  and  Dionysiac  cults  on 
the  other  (Protrept.  12).  Clement  had  no  inten- 


tion, as  Bratke  seems  to  imply  (SK  Ix.  662  ;  cf. 
Anrich,  Das  antike  Mysterienwesen,  p.  140),  of 
breaking  down  all  demarcations  between  Christi- 
anity and  heathenism,  nor  was  he  bent  on  an 
accommodation  of  one  to  the  other.  But  his  use 
of  mystery  terminology,  which  he  probably  drew 
from  the  philosophy  of  his  day  rather  than  directly 
from  the  cults,  must  have  affected  the  Christian 
conception  of  mystery  and  given  it  the  idea  of 
a  secrecy  that  could  be  uncovered  only  to  the 
initiated.  His  doctrine  of  the  sacraments  is  still 
a  matter  of  dispute  ;  especially  is  his  view  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  difficult  to  determine.  Almost  all 
the  Protestant  historians  of  dogma  deny  that 
he  believes  in  a  real  presence  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ  within  and  under  the  consecrated 
elements.  Catholic  theologians  confidently  attri- 
bute to  him  this  belief  (C^  Bigg,  The  Christian 
Platonists  of  Alexandria,  Oxford,  1913,  p.  105  ; 
A.  Harnack,  History  of  Dogma,  ii.  [London,  1896] 
145;  Struckmann,  Die  Gegenwart  Christi,  p.  117; 
P.  Batittbl,  L'Eucharistie6,  Paris,  1913,  pp.  248- 
261). 

The  other  great  writer  who  exercised  a  marked 
influence  on  the  Christian  conception  of  '  mystery ' 
was  Tertullian.  He  accepted  the  term  sacra- 
mentum  as  the  Latin  rendering  of  /jLva-T^piov.  The 
earliest  use  of  the  Latin  word  in  connexion  with 
Christian  life  occurs  in  one  of  Pliny's  letters  (Ep. 
x.  96  [97])  wherein  he  speaks  of  the  Christians  as 
binding  themselves  by  an  oath  ( '  seque  sacramento 
.  .  .  obstringere ').  But  Pliny's  use  of  the  term 
throws  no  light  on  its  ecclesiastical  meaning,  for 
ecclesiastical  Latin  had  not  yet  come  into  exist- 
ence (E.  C.  S.  Gibson,  The  Thirty-Nine  Articles  of 
the  Church  of  England,  London,  1896-97,  vol.  ii. 
p.  594).  The  adherents  of  the  mystery-religions 
were  familiar  with  the  word  as  designating  their 
rites  of  initiation,  particularly  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance taken  at  some  point  in  them.  It  would  be 
hazardous  to  state  dogmatically  how  early  the 
word  took  its  place  among  their  religious  terms. 
But  '  the  votaries  of  Mithra  likened  the  practice  of 
their  religion  to  military  service.  When  the  neo- 
phyte joined  he  was  compelled  to  take  an  oath  (sac- 
ramentum)  similar  to  the  one  required  of  recruits 
in  the  army'  (F.  Cumont,  Oriental  Religions,  p. 
xix).  Livy  records  in  his  history  of  Rome  the 
recognition,  on  the  part  of  the  Romans,  of  the  use 
of  the  sacramentum  in  the  mysteries.  In  a  speech 
of  one  of  the  consuls  condemning  the  Bacchanalian 
rites,  the  consul  asks,  '  Can  you  think  that  youths, 
initiated  under  such  oaths  as  theirs,  are  fit  to  be 
made  soldiers?'  ('  hoc  sacramento  initiates  juvenes 
milites  faciendos  censetis  ? ',  xxxix.  15  ;  cf.  x.  38). 
As  an  element  in  mystery  terminology  sacramentum 
would  naturally  assume  a  religious  significance, 
and  we  understand  why  its  use  in  the  cults  awoke 
hostile  suspicions  of  them  among  the  Romans  of 
the  Republic  and  the  early  Empire.  Even  Ter- 
tullian occasionally  applies  the  word  to  the  rites 
of  the  mystery -religions  (adv.  Marc.  i.  13,  adv. 
Valent.  30,  Scorp.  10).  Tims  its  association  with 
the  mysteries  and  its  resulting  religious  character 
might  easily  suggest  it  as  a  rendering  of  ^var^piov 
itself.  Points  of  contact  between  the  two  terms 
would  become  apparent  (F.  Kattenbusch,  art. 
'Sakrament'  in  PEE3  xvii.  250).  And  this  must 
have  happened  speedily,  for  sacramentum  repre- 
sents fj.vffT-rjpiov  in  the  old  Latin  texts,  with  some  of 
which  Tertullian  was  evidently  familiar.  But  he 
himself  employed  the  term  in  a  varied  applica- 
tion. On  the  one  hand,  he  applied  it  to  types  and 
prophecies  in  the  OT  (adv.  Marc.  iii.  18,  iv.  40 ; 
adv.  Jud.  9,  10,  11,  and  many  other  passages  in 
these  two  works).  In  this  use  it  is  purely  a  trans- 
lation of  the  biblical  fjivarripiov.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  employed  it  very  frequently  in  the  sense 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


51 


of  an  oath  of  allegiance  or  an  obligation  (de  Cor. 
Mil.  11,  adv.  Valent.  30).  Between  these  two  ap- 
plications all  other  uses  of  the  word  fall— namely, 
as  designating  baptism,  the  Eucharist,  the  rule  of 
faith,  salvation,  and  religion  itself.  Nothing  could 
show  more  clearly  that  the  word  is  not  always  a 
strict  rendering  of  '  mystery,'  and  Tertullian  at 
times  seems  to  have  realized  this  himself. 

But  how  did  sacramentum  come  to  have  the 
significance  of  obligation  and  pledge  ?  Two  con- 
ceptions are  implied  in  the  term:  (1)  that  of  a 
deposit  of  money,  given  by  persons  about  to  engage 
in  a  law-suit,  relinquished  to  the  deity  by  the 
loser,  and  thereby  becoming  actually  a  sacred  or 
devoted  thing ;  (2)  that  of  the  military  oath  of 
allegiance  taken  on  the  standard.  The  idea  of 
sacred  obligation  is  thus  common  to  both  concep- 
tions. The  two  were  brought  closer  together  by 
the  payment  of  award  for  military  service  (Tacitus, 
Hist.  I.  Iv.  2).  Thus  sacramentum  as  a  military 
oath  assumed  the  meaning  of  a  sacred  bond  be- 
tween the  pledge-giver  and  the  pledge-receiver. 
This  characteristic  was  carried  into  the  significance 
of  sacrament  in  the  terminology  of  the  Church  and 
gave  her  sacramental  rites  the  nature  of  pledges. 
But  the  idea  embodied  in  /j.v<rr-?ipiov  was  still 
retained,  so  that  sacramentum  became  as  well  the 
outward  sign  of  an  inward  meaning  or  a  spiritual 
grace.  From  this  it  is  apparent  that  sacramentum 
has  a  wider  and  more  varied  meaning  than  the 
Greek  term,  which  it,  rather  than  arcanum,  was 
chosen  to  represent. 

The  full  conception  held  by  Tertullian  of  the 
sacraments  is  still  a  debated  question.  G. 
Thomasius  (Die  christliche  Dogmengeschichte*, 
Erlangen,  1886-89,  i.  425),  Harnack  (History  of 
Dogma,  ii.  145,  n.  2),  and  Roman  Catholic  theo- 
logians (Struckmann,  Die  Gegenwart  Christi,  p. 
229  ff.)  attribute  to  him  realistic  views,  while  the 
great  majority  of  Protestant  theologians  believe 
that  he  held  symbolical  conceptions.  But  Harnack 
is  quite  sure  that  '  Leimbach's  investigations  of 
Tertullian's  use  of  words  have  placed  this  [that 
Tertullian  did  not  accept  a  symbolical  doctrine] 
beyond  doubt.' 

2.  The  kinds  of  mystery  -  religions.  —  The 
mystery-religions  differed  from  each  other  in  vari- 
ous ways.  Some  were  State  religions,  such  as  the 
mysteries  of  Eleusis, near  Athens,  and  the  mysteries 
of  Samothrace,  an  island  in  the  Thracian  Sea. 
Others,  enjoying  no  State  recognition,  were  cele- 
brated in  secret  associations  by  private  individuals. 
To  the  latter  class  the  Orphic  mysteries  and  the 
mysteries«of  certain  Oriental  gods  belong.  Again, 
some  centred  about  a  male,  others  about  a  female 
divinity.  The  mysteries  of  Mithras  constitute  an 
example  of  the  former,  the  mysteries  of  Cybele 
and  Attis,  and  the  mysteries  of  Isis,  examples  of 
the  latter.  Miss  Harrison  remarks  (Prolegomena, 
p.  150f.)  that  'in  general  mysteries  seem  to  occur 
more  usually  in  relation  to  the  cult  of  women 
divinities,  of  heroines  and  earth-goddesses,'  which 
is  a  well-supported  statement.  In  the  majority  of 
the  cults  the  female  deity  plays  the  chief  part ;  the 
male  deity,  Attis,  or  Adonis,  or  Osiris,  occupies  an 
inferior  position.  This  may  be  explained  by  the 
assumption  that  the  ceremonies  of  these  cults  had 
their  remote  source  in  pre-historic  rites  which 
were  intended  to  renew  the  strength  of  the  harvest 
field  and  enable  it  to  produce  abundant  returns. 
Consequently  Mother  Earth,  with  her  vegetation 
unfolding  in  the  spring  and  disappearing  in  the 
autumn,  was  prominent  in  the  primitive  days,  and 
retained  her  pre-eminence  in  the  persons  of  the 
Egyptian  Isis,  the  Phrenician  Astarte,  the  Phry- 
gian Cybele,  and  the  Greek  Demeter,  although 
J.  G.  Frazer  (GB3,  pt.  v.,  Spirits  of  the  Corn  and 
of  the  Wild,  London,  1912,  i.  40)  distinguishes 


Demeter  from  Mother  Earth.  We  reach  here  a 
striking  contrast  between  the  cults  on  the  one  side 
and  Christianity  on  the  other.  While  the  pagan 
deity  had  his  female  associate,  the  Christ  of 
the  Christian  in  the  earlier  centuries  was  wholly 
unaccompanied.  It  was  not  until  400  years  had 
elapsed  that  Mary  the  Virgin  assumed  a  position 
in  which  her  relation  to  Christ  could  feebly  suggest 
the  old  association  of  female  and  male  deities  in  the 
mysteries. 

In  many  other  respects  the  mysteries  differed 
from  one  another.  Dissimilarities  marked  oft'  those 
of  Eleusis  from  those  of  Isis  ;  and  the  mysteries  of 
Mithras  possessed  a  genius  or  spirit  of  their  own. 
And  yet  they  were  united  in  one  purpose  and  aim. 
They  were  essentially  similar  ;  so  that  they  mutu- 
ally recognized  each  other  and  excluded  no  one  on 
the  ground  that  he  belonged  to  another  cult  or 
compelled  him  on  his  initiation  into  the  new  to 
relinquish  his  membership  in  the  old  cult.  To- 
gether they  were  supposed  to  confer  on  the  initi- 
ate protection  against  danger,  to  bring  healing  to 
his  infirmities,  and  to  assure  him  of  a  happy  pil- 
grimage through  this  world  and  a  blessed  immor- 
tality in  the  next.  The  question  of  the  moral  in- 
spiration of  the  mysteries  has  been  for  some  time 
a  centre  of  earnest  discussion.  Eminent  scholars 
are  in  disagreement  here.  So  great  an  authority 
as  E.  Rohde  (Psyche,  Freiburg  i.  B.,  1894,  i.  298- 
300)  believes  that  the  pagan  cults  were  not  uplifting 
in  their  effect  on  the  initiate.  Others,  as  H.  Lietz- 
mann  (An  die  Homer  [=Handbiieh  zum  NT,  ii.], 
Tubingen,  1906, on  Roe'-^andK.H.E.  de  Jong(Das 
antike  Mysterienwesen,  p.  69),  are  equally  positive 
in  the  belief  that  the  moral  effect  of  the  mysteries 
was  elevating  and  helpful.  The  fact  that  the 
mysteries  were  pre-eminently  ritualistic  and  formal 
would  support  the  former  view.  Their  rites  of 
initiation  appear  to  have  been  regarded  as  fully 
capable  of  accomplishing  all  that  was  necessary 
to  bring  their  subject  into  union  with  the  deity. 
Amid  such  conceptions  it  is  likely  that  little  em- 
phasis would  be  laid  on  the  need  of  an  upright 
moral  life  as  an  aid.  On  the  other  hand,  the  im- 
pressive and,  in  some  respects,  beautiful  ceremonies 
would  have  their  influence  on  the  mind  and  heart 
of  the  candidates.  It  is  possible  that  revolting 
features  characterized  the  ceremonies  of  some  of 
the  cults.  But,  if  such  features,  relics  of  the  old 
Nature  religions,  accompanied  the  ceremonial,  they 
were  offset  by  others  fitted  to  exercise  an  uplifting 
power.  Isis  herself  was  viewed  and  extolled  as  the 
guardian  of  chastity  ;  and  consequently  her  initia- 
tions could  have  been  no  stimulation  to  a  careless 
life.  The  testimony  of  the  early  Christian  writers, 
however,  and  even  of  Flavius  Josephus  (Ant. 
XVIII.  iii.  4),  concerning  the  moral  tone  of  the 
mysteries  should  not  be  contemptuously  dismissed. 
Granted  that  they  were  inclined  to  exaggerate  the 
dark  side  of  the  ceremonial  of  the  pagan  cults,  they 
can  hardly  be  charged  with  complete  falsification 
of  their  true  character.  On  the  whole,  it  is  highly 
probable  that  Rohde  was  nearer  the  truth  in  his 
unfavourable  estimation  of  the  soundness  of  the 
moral  tendencies  of  the  mysteries. 

(a)  The  mysteries  of  Eleusis. — Of  the  State  cults 
the  most  famous  were  the  mysteries  of  Eleusis  and 
of  Samothrace.  The  Eleusinian  mysteries  existed 
for  at  least  1.000  years,  and  were  brought  to  an  end 
in  A.D.  395  by  Alaric.  The  oldest  documentary 
evidence  of  their  existence  is  contained  in  the 
Hymn  to  Demeter  (v.  274,  473-482),  which  may 
have  been  composed  as  early  as  the  7th  cent.  B.C. 
This  poem  narrates  the  story  of  the  search  of  De- 
meter  for  her  lost  daughter  Persephone,  who  while 
gathering  flowers  in  a  lonely  field  had  been  seized 
by  Pluto  and  enthroned  as  his  wife  in  his  subter- 
ranean realm.  Demeter,  indignant  at  the  outrage, 


52 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


checked  the  sprouting  of  sown  grain  and  deprived 
the  farmer  of  his  harvest  until  her  daughter  should 
be  restored  to  her.  The  rich  fields  lay  desolate 
until  Zeus,  fearing  lest  the  people  should  perish 
with  hunger,  commanded  Pluto  to  surrender  his 
bride  to  her  mother.  The  unscrupulous  ruler 
obeyed,  but  craftily  induced  Persephone  to  swallow 
the  seed  of  the  pomegranate,  whose  magic  properties 
would  compel  her  annually  to  come  back  to  him 
and  remain  in  the  under  world  for  a  part  of  the 
year.  Consequently  Persephone  returned  to  the 
world  from  which  she  had  been  stolen,  and  Demeter 
in  her  joy  released  the  powers  of  the  seed,  and 
taught  the  happy  Eleusinians  her  sacred  rites  and 
mysteries.  The  myth  clearly  had  its  origin  in  a 
time  when  men  were  used  to  deify  the  energies 
of  the  vegetable  world,  and  to  see  in  its  springing 
life  the  embodiment  of  the  deity  herself.  The 
gender  of  the  deity  was  determined  by  causes  which 
are  still  the  sport  of  speculation ;  but  in  the 
Eleusinian  mysteries  the  corn  deity  was  a  goddess, 
Demeter,  who,  originally  solitary  in  her  glory,  was 
subsequently  associated  with  a  second  goddess, 
Kore  or  Persephone.  Demeter  may  have  been  the 
original  Mother  Earth,  but  Frazer  (GB*,  pt.  v., 
Spirits  of  the  Corn  and  of  the  Wild,  i.  41),  on  the 
alleged  authority  of  the  Hymn  to  Demeter,  regards 
her  as  separate  from  Mother  Earth  and  as  exclus- 
ively the  personification  of  the  ripened  and  har- 
vested grain  ;  while  Kore  represents  the  grain  in 
its  sown  and  sprouting  state.  As  the  corn  goddess, 
reappearing  from  the  soil,  Kore  naturally  was  re- 
lated to  Demeter  as  offspring  and  daughter,  and 
appropriately  received  her  celebration  and  worship 
in  the  early  spring.  But  the  perplexities  which 
attend  the  myths  will  be  dissipated  only  when  the 
mythology  of  the  old  ^Egean  or  Minoan  civilization, 
which  is  just  coming  into  view,  is  better  known, 
for  the  myth  of  Demeter  and  the  myth  of  Kore 
probably  have  their  roots  in  it. 

At  the  time  of  the  composition  of  the  hymn, 
Eleusis  was  a  petty  independent  State,  and  cele- 
brated its  mysteries  without  the  co-operation  of  the 
neighbouring  Athens.  Its  government  then  was 
in  the  hands  of  a  ruler  who  combined  in  himself 
the  powers  of  both  priest  and  king,  and  who  always 
belonged  to  the  family  of  the  Eumolpidse  descended 
from  Eumolpus,  a  supposed  Thracian  soldier  and 
immigrant  described  in  the  hymn  as  founding  the 
mysteries  under  the  instructions  of  Demeter  her- 
self. As  a  result  of  the  conquest  of  Eleusis  by 
Athens  the  mysteries  became  the  ruling  cult  of  the 
whole  of  Attica,  and  subsequently,  through  the 
supremacy  of  Athens,  the  chief  cult  of  the  Greek 
world.  But  the  conservatism  of  religion  kept  it 
centred  at  Eleusis  and  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Eumolpidse.  The  hierophant,  or  revealer  and  inter- 
preter of  the  sacred  objects,  was  always  chosen 
from  this  family,  and  was  the  object  of  such  pro- 
found reverence  that  the  mention  of  his  name  dur- 
ing his  lifetime  was  a  legal  offence.  The  quali- 
fications required  for  his  election  were  advanced 
age,  personal  charm,  and  a  beautiful  voice,  which 
was  needed  particularly  for  the  recitation  of  the 
sacred  formulae.  As  second  in  rank,  another 
priestly  family,  that  of  the  Kerykes  or  '  Heralds,' 
shared  the  authority  of  the  Eumolpidae.  They  were 
also  the  '  torch-bearers,'  symbolizing  under  this 
term  the  search  of  Demeter  for  her  lost  daughter 
in  the  under  world.  These  two  families,  the  latter 
belonging  to  Athens,  worked  together  for  several 
centuries  directing  the  mysteries,  and  apparently 
continuing  in  their  co-operation  the  ancient  council 
of  Eleusis.  With  them  were  associated  priestesses, 
few  in  number,  belonging  to  the  family  of  the 
Phillidae  and  enjoying  a  dignity  almost  equal  to 
that  of  the  priests  themselves,  and  performing 
functions  of  an  important  character.  But  the 


enumeration  of  these  individuals  does  not  exhaust 
the  official  life  of  the  cult.  For  there  were  several 
officers,  four  in  all,  who  were  not  of  the  priestly 
circle ;  they  were  chosen  by  the  people  of  Attica, 
and  had  under  their  care  the  financial  affairs  of  the 
cult.  Yet  this  arrangement  did  not  exclude  the 
priestly  families,  for  one  of  their  number  must 
always  be  a  member  of  the  financial  committee. 
The  polity  of  the  mysteries  is  noticeable,  for  it  had 
no  influence  on  the  polity  of  the  Christian  Church. 
Bratke,  who  believes  that  the  mysteries,  through 
the  writings  of  Clement  of  Alexandria,  strongly 
influenced  the  sacramental  life  of  the  Church,  ex- 
cludes their  influence  in  relation  to  the  official 
ordering  of  the  Church  (SK  Ix.  695  ff. ).  It  is  singu- 
lar that,  if  their  influence  was  so  potent  in  her  sac- 
ramental sphere,  it  should  have  failed  to  extend  its 
activity  to  her  polity  also.  But  no  sign  of  this 
activity  is  perceptible  in  the  ecclesiastical  official 
life.  The  Christian  deaconess  might  be  designated 
as  corresponding  to  the  Eleusinian  priestess.  But 
women  performed  important  religious  functions 
everywhere  in  the  Western  religious  world,  both 
in  the  State  cults  and  in  the  mystery-religions, 
except  the  cult  of  Mithras  ;  and  it  is  quite  in 
keeping  with  their  general  recognition  that  they 
should  assume  some  prominence  in  Christian  wor- 
ship. They  held  in  the  primitive  Church,  how- 
ever, a  position  far  less  official  than  that  allotted 
to  the  pagan  priestess,  and  it  was  only  after  the 
lapse  of  several  centuries  that  the  deaconess  ac- 
quired her  limited  sacerdotal  character. 

As  a  primary  stage  of  initiation  into  the  mysteries 
at  Eleusis,  mysteries  were  celebrated  in  the  month 
of  February  at  Agra,  a  suburb  of  Athens.  Our 
information  concerning  their  rise,  their  ceremonial, 
and  their  mystic  significance  is  very  defective.  It- 
is  probable  that  they  were  once  exclusively 
Athenian,  and  on  the  incorporation  of  Eleusis  be- 
came subordinated  to  the  Eleusinian  rites.  Clement 
of  Alexandria  calls  them  the  '  minor  mysteries  which 
have  some  foundation  of  instruction  and  of  pre- 
liminary preparation  for  what  is  to  come  after,' 
namely,  the  great  mysteries  at  Eleusis  (Strom,  v. 
11).  The  goddess  who  presided  over  them  ap- 
pears to  have  been  exclusively  Kore  or  Persephone, 
the  daughter  of  Demeter.  We  learn  from  Hip- 
polytus,  a  writer  of  the  3rd  cent.,  that  'the  in- 
ferior mysteries  are  those  of  Proserpine  [Perse- 
phone] below  '  (Philos.  v.  3).  The  scholiast  on  the 
Plutus  of  Aristophanes  (845)  also  tells  us  that  '  in 
the  course  of  the  year  two  sets  of  mysteries  are 
performed  to  Demeter  and  Kore — the  greater  were 
of  Demeter,  the  lesser  of  Persephone,  her  daughter,' 
although  the  genuineness  of  this  passage  is  subject 
to  doubt.  Dionysus,  also,  was  a  sharer  in  the 
mysteries,  and  was  known  by  the  name  of  lacchos. 
On  the  Ninion  Pinax,  a  monument  dedicated  by  a 
woman  named  Ninion  to  the  '  Two  Goddesses,'  he 
is  represented  as  a  full-grown  man  and  as  the 
bearer  of  the  torch.  Apparently  he  has  no  essen- 
tial connexion  with  the  mysteries,  especially  at 
Eleusis,  and  might  be  regarded  as  a  visitor.  The 
exact  date  of  his  entrance  into  the  mysteries  has 
not  been  determined.  About  these  three  deities 
the  interest  of  the  mysteries  turns.  On  Demeter, 
Kore,  and  lacchos  the  devotion  of  the  worshippers 
is  centred. 

In  the  month  of  Boedromion,  early  in  the  autumn 
(September),  the  initiation  into  the  greater  mysteries 
occurred.  On  the  13th  of  the  month  the  tyijpoi,, 
soldiers  still  in  their  young  manhood,  went  out, 
armed  with  spear  and  shield,  to  Eleusis  to  bring 
back  the  'holy  things'  to  the  Eleusinion,  which 
lay  at  the  foot  of  the  Acropolis  of  Athens.  The 
'  holy  things '  were  really  in  charge  of  the  priestess, 
and,  on  their  arrival  in  Athens  on  the  following 
day,  they  were  met  by  the  Athenian  priests  and 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


53 


magistrates.  On  the  15th  of  the  month  the  real 
festival  began.  The  candidates  were  assembled  for 
initiation,  and  the  order  was  proclaimed  by  the 
hierophant  in  the  Stoa  Poikile  that  no  one  of  un- 
clean hands  or  of  unintelligible  speech  should  share 
in  the  mysteries.  Thus  two  classes  of  persons  were 
rigorously  excluded.  The  first  was  composed  of 
those  who  had  been  guilty  of  murder  or  homicide. 
These  were  invariably  denied  admission  to  all  cults. 
The  second  class  was  composed  of  barbarians,  or 
else  of  persons  with  defective  speech,  which  would 
prevent  their  pronouncing  clearly  and  distinctly 
the  sacred  words.  All  others,  including  children, 
whatever  their  position  in  life  might  be,  were 
eligible  for  the  reception  of  the  secret  rites  of 
Demeter.  It  has  been  doubted  whether  slaves  were 
numbered  among  them,  but  the  doubt  is  not  well 
supported.  No  dogmatic  questions  were  asked,  as 
in  the  Samothracian  mysteries,  all  being  admitted 
without  assent  to  confessions  of  any  sort.  The 
only  requirement  to  which  all  alike  were  subjected 
was  ceremonial  purity.  Consequently  on  the  16th 
of  the  month  the  candidates  again  assembled  and 
began  their  march  of  six  miles  to  the  sea,  shouting 
as  they  went,  S.\aSe  fjujfrai,  '  to  the  sea,  ye  mystics.' 
The  salt  waters  of  the  mysterious  ocean  were  sup- 
posed to  possess  great  purifying  powers,  and  a  relic 
of  the  belief  may  be  seen  in  the  sacramental  use  of 
salt  in  Christian  sacramental  practice.  Euripides 
(Iph.  Taur.  1193)  alludes  to  the  belief  in  his  words 
ddXaa-ffa  K\v£ei  iravra  Tavdpuiruv  KO.KO.  ( '  the  sea  washes 
away  all  evils  of  men').  Each  candidate  had  pro- 
vided himself  with  a  young  sacrificial  pig  which  he 
drove  before  him,  and  on  his  arrival  at  the  shore 
took  it  with  him  into  the  sea.  Thus  both  were 
purified  and  the  pig  rendered  fit  for  the  sacrifice. 
The  blood  of  the  pig  sprinkled  on  the  candidate 
completed  the  purification,  and  the  candidate  him- 
self, with  head  veiled,  seated  on  a  rani's  skin  and 
grasping  a  winnow,  was  ready  for  the  initiation. 
But  at  this  point  the  festival  of  Asclepius,  the 
Epidauria,  which  had  been  recognized  in  Athens 
as  early  as  421  B.C.  and  which  had  no  vital  con- 
nexion with  the  initiation,  intervened,  and  lasted 
throughput  the  17th  and  18th  of  the  month. 
During  its  celebration  the  candidates  for  the  Eleu- 
sinian  mysteries  remained  quietly  at  home,  while 
the  interval  gave  an  opportunity  to  late  comers  to 
begin  their  initiation,  or  to  complete  the  initial 
ceremonies,  if  they  had  already  realized  a  part  of 
them.  On  the  19th  day  of  the  month,  perhaps  one 
of  the  most  solemn  in  the  celebration,  the  proces- 
sion of  purified  candidates  set  out  from  the  Eleu- 
sinipn  on  its  tedious  march  over  the  sacred  way 
leading  to  Eleusis.  It  followed  the  sacred  image 
of  lacchos,  which  was  borne  aloft  before  it,  and  it 
carried  back  to  Eleusis  the  '  holy  things'  which  the 
ttprjpoi.  had  brought  to  Athens.  The  number  of 
those  who  composed  it  was  comparatively  great, 
sometimes  10,000  persons  being  in  line ;  of  course 
these  could  not  all  have  been  candidates,  for  the 
hall  of  initiation  at  Eleusis  could  not  have  con- 
tained so  many.  They  were  in  part  the  initiated 
who  accompanied  the  candidates  and  sang  hymns 
in  praise  of  lacchos  on  the  way,  or  at  certain  places 
indulged  in  coarse  ribaldry  and  witticisms  in  order 
to  hold  aloof  the  evil  spirits.  On  the  evening  of 
the  20th  the  mystics  reached  the  '  holy  city,'  which 
they  entered  with  flaming  torches,  and  passed  the 
following  day  in  rest  or  in  offering  the  sacrifice. 
Probably  on  the  22nd  the  initiation  took  place  in 
the  Telesterion,  a  large  square  building  surrounded 
by  thick  walls  to  shield  its  secrets  from  prying  eyes. 
It  was  set  almost  in  the  centre  of  an  extensive 
enclosure,  which  contained  the  large  and  small 
propylcea  or  massive  gateways,  through  which  the 
candidates  were  conducted  past  the  small  temple  of 
Pluto  along  the  sacred  way  leading  to  the  doors  of 


the  Telesterion.  Seats  of  stone,  partly  hewn  from 
the  native  rock  and  partly  constructed,  rose  tiei 
on  tier  around  the  hall  with  a  capacity  for  accom- 
modating about  3,000  persons.  The  original  build- 
ing of  course  did  not  have  this  magnitude,  for  the 
Telesterion  was  repeatedly  rebuilt,  each  time  on  a 
larger  scale.  What  part  the  outer  buildings  played 
in  the  initiation  is  not  known.  Possibly  the  descent 
of  Kore  into  the  under  world  and  Demeter's  search 
for  her  may  have  been  represented  in  the  temple  of 
Pluto ;  but  this  is  doubtful,  for  the  ruins  of  the 
temple  reveal  no  subterranean  construction.  It  is 
more  probable  that  the  final  initiation  was  begun, 
continued,  and  completed  in  the  Telesterion.  What 
the  nature  of  the  mystic  ceremony  was  is  not  easy 
to  determine.  Clement  of  Alexandria  tells  us  that 
'  Deo  [mystic  name  for  Demeter]  and  Persephone 
may  have  become  the  heroines  of  a  mystic  drama ; 
ana  their  wanderings,  seizure,  and  grief  Eleusis 
celebrates  by  torchlight  processions '  (Protrept.  2). 
Perhaps  it  would  be  precarious  to  take  the  word 
'  drama '  literally.  It  may  have  had  the  character 
of  a  passion  play,  as  L.  R.  Farnell  suggests  (EBr11 
xix.  120) ;  or  it  may  have  expressed  the  rehearsal 
of  the  story  of  Demeter  in  the  pantomimic  dance 
accompanied  by  songs,  sacramental  words,  and 
other  ceremonies,  as  De  Jong  suggests  (Das  antike 
Mysterienwesen,  p.  19  f.).  But  beyond  such  con- 
jectures we  know  nothing  of  the  manner  in  which 
the  experiences,  of  which  Demeter  and  Kore  were 
the  subject,  were  presented.  In  some  way  they 
were  rendered  so  vivid,  solemn,  and  impressive 
amid  the  dim  light  as  to  lift  the  observer  up  into  a 
consciousness  of  union,  even  of  identity,  with  the 
immortal  goddess.  Nor  do  we  know  what  the 
'  holy  things '  were  which  the  hierophant  revealed 
at  the  most  solemn  moment  of  the  initiation. 
Farnell  (EBr11  xix.  120)  suggests  that  they  '  in- 
cluded certain  primitive  idols  of  the  goddesses '  and 
perhaps  '  "  a  cut  corn-stalk.'"  A.  Dieterich  (Eine 
Mithrasliturgie,  Leipzig,  1903,  p.  125)  would  find 
among  them  symbols  significant  of  phallic  worship. 
The  presentation  of  the  corn  token  rests  on  the 
authority  of  Hippplytus,  who  says  that  '  the 
Athenians,  while  initiating  people  into  the  Eleu- 
sinian  rites,  likewise  display  to  those  who  are  being 
admitted  to  the  highest  grade  of  these  mysteries, 
the  mighty,  and  marvellous,  and  most  perfect 
secret  suitable  for  one  initiated  into  the  highest 
mystic  truths :  [I  allude  to]  an  ear  of  corn  in 
silence  reaped '  (Philos.  v.  3).  Hippolytus  may  not 
be  trustworthy  in  his  statement.  But  the  majority 
of  our  authorities,  such  as  Frazer,  Farnell,  and  De 
Jong,  are  inclined  to  think  that  such  a  token  was 
really  shown.  De  Jong  believes  that  the  rendering 
of  the  words  referring  to  it  should  be  '  display  .  .  . 
in  silence  a  reaped  ear  of  corn '  (Das  antike  Mys- 
terienwesen,  p.  23,  n.  1).  Dieterich's  suggestion  of 
the  presence  of  the  phallic  symbol  rests  on  the 
retention  of  the  old  reading  ^ao-ci/uei/os,  which  C.  A. 
Lobeck  (Aglaophamus,  p.  26)  found  unintelligible 
and  changed  to  ^yyevffd/j,evos.  His  contention  is  that 
we  have  no  right  to  alter  a  text,  especially  the  text 
of  a  mystic  formula,  simply  because  we  cannot 
understand  it  in  its  actual  sense  (Eine  Mithras- 
liturgie, p.  125).  If  Dieterich's  interpretation  of 
the  difficult  term  is  correct,  we  can  hardly  regard 
this  element  in  the  Eleusinian  mysteries  as  morally 
elevating,  even  taking  into  view  its  religious  sig- 
nificance. It  may  be  that  at  this  point  in  the 
ceremonies  a  'holy  marriage'  was  celebrated  in 
imitation  of  the  marriage  of  Demeter  and  Zeus,  or 
of  Kore  and  Phito.  Its  possibility  rests  mainly  on 
the  assertion  of  Asterius,  who  lived  at  the  close  of 
the  4th  cent,  and  who  briefly  alludes  to  the  act 
(Encomium  in  SS.  Martyres  [PG  xl.  325]).  De 
Jong  seems  to  place  great  reliance  on  his  witness 
(Das  antike  Mysterienwesen,  p.  22),  while  Farnell 


54 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


regards  the  passage  embodying  it  as  doubtful. 
With  this  sacred  marriage  the  words  of  Hippolytus 
may  be  connected  :  '  by  night  in  Eleusis  .  .  .  [the 
hierophant]  enacting  the  great  and  secret  mysteries, 
vociferates  and  cries  aloud,  saying,  "  August  Brimo 
has  brought  forth  a  consecrated  son,  Brimus,"  that 
is,  a  potent  [mother  has  been  delivered  of]  a  potent 
child'  (Philos.  v.  3).  Brimo  is  commonly  believed 
to  have  been  another  name  for  Demeter  ;  but  Miss 
Harrison  explains  it  as  another  name  for  the  Thes- 
salian  Kore  and  designating  in  the  Eleusinian 
mysteries  simply  a  maiden  (Prolegomena,  p.  553). 
Brimus,  the  child,  is  understood  by  J.  N.  Svoronos 
('  Erklarung  der  Denkmaler  des  eleus.  mystischen 
Kreisen,'  in  Journal  international  d'archeologie 
numismatique,  iv.  [1901])  to  be  Pluto,  by  Dieterich 
to  be  lacchos  (Eine  Mithrasliturgie,  p.  138). 
Frazer  attributes  reality  to  this  feature  of  the 
ceremonies,  and  explains  it  as  magical,  '  intended 
to  make  the  fields  wave  with  yellow  corn'  (GB3, 
pt.  i.,  The  Magic  Art,  London,  1911,  ii.  138).  If 
the '  holy  marriage'  really  occurred  in  the  mysteries, 
it  must  have  been  a  relic  of  the  old  Nature-religions 
preserved  in  the  cult  and  having  the  meaning  which 
Frazer  gives  it.  One  more  interesting  feature  of 
the  mysteries  of  Demeter  is  the  KVKZ&V,  or  sacred 
drink.  Clement  of  Alexandria  refers  to  it  in  the 
only  confession  he  ascribes  to  the  initiate  :  '  I  have 
fasted,  I  have  drunk  the  cup  (KVKCWV)  ;  I  have  re- 
ceived from  the  box  ;  having  done  (having  tasted) 
I  put  it  into  the  basket,  and  out  of  the  basket  into 
the  chest '  (Protre.pt.  2).  The  KVKe&v  was  a  mixture 
of  grain,  water,  and  other  ingredients,  which  was 
the  tirst  food  that  Demeter  had  taken  after  her 
long  wanderings  and  fastings.  Among  these  in- 
gredients the  sacramental  wine  must  have  been 
absent,  for,  while  it  was  offered  to  other  deities,  it 
was  not  used  in  the  cult  of  the  underground  gods 
(K.  Kircher,  Die  sakrale  Bedeutung  des  Weines  im 
Altertum,  Giessen,  1910,  p.  21  ;  P.  Stengel,  Op- 
ferbrauche  der  Griechen,  Leipzig,  1910,  p.  129). 
Stengel  explains  its  absence  on  the  ground  that 
the  chthonic  cult  reaches  back  to  a  remote  time 
when  the  Greeks  had  not  yet  begun  to  cultivate 
the  vine,  and  by  reason  of  the  conservatism  of 
religion  were  disinclined,  on  the  introduction  of 
wine  into  use,  to  make  any  change  in  the  practices 
of  the  religious  cult.  Moreover,  the  ancients  were 
loath  in  their  reverence  for  the  chthonic  deity  to 
use  anything  which  did  not  spring  directly  from  the 
soil.  However,  the  KVKG&V  was  '  a  sort  of  soup ' 
(Miss  Harrison,  Prolegomena,  p.  156)  or  '  a  kind  of 
thick  gruel,"  as  Frazer  describes  it  (GB3,  pt.  v., 
Spirits  of  the  Corn  and  of  the  Wild,  p.  161,  n.  4). 
The  part  which  it  played  in  the  progress  of  the 
ceremonies  cannot  be  determined.  But  apparently 
it  was  not  an  important  part,  and  therefore,  in  this 
respect,  the  icviceuv  cannot  be  likened  to  the  Lord's 
Supper.  It  was  a  feature  of  the  experience  of 
Demeter  in  her  search  for  her  daughter,  and,  as 
every  feature  of  that  experience  was  closely  fol- 
lowed in  the  pantomime,  the  manner  in  which  she 
broke  her  protracted  fast  would  be  imitated.  It 
is  quite  possible  that  sharing  in  the  sacred  drink 
meant  also  a  formal  induction  into  the  community 
life  of  the  mysteries  and  a  reinforcing  of  the  bonds 
which  were  binding  its  new  members  to  the  old. 
More  than  this — e.g.  that  the  reception  of  it  im- 
plied a  belief  of  the  presence  of  the  deity  with, 
in,  and  under  its  elements — can  hardly  be  claimed 
for  it.  On  the  23rd  day,  the  last  day  of  the 
festival,  the  final  ceremony  was  performed.  The 
worshippers  assembled  and,  casting  water  from 
two  vessels,  now  toward  the  east,  and  again  toward 
the  west,  looked  up  to  the  heavens  with  the  brief 
cry  '  Rain  ! '  and  then  looking  down  to  the  earth 
cried  '  Be  fruitful ! '  or  '  Conceive  ! '  The  prayer, 
pregnant  with  significance,  throws  back  a  bright 


light  on  the  real  meaning  of  the  mysteries  cele- 
brated at  Eleusis. 

We  have  no  means  of  determining  the  extent 
of  the  influence  of  these  mysteries.  Numerous 
sanctuaries,  dependent  on  the  main  sanctuary  at 
Eleusis,  arose  in  other  parts  of  Greece.  We  hear 
of  a  sanctuary  or  chapel  even  in  Italy.  Of  these 
daughter  institutions  we  know  but  little  that  we 
can  call  trustworthy.  The  '  truce  of  God,'  which 
suspended  all  hostilities  during  the  Eleusinian  cele- 
bration, was  proclaimed  in  lands  as  distant  as 
Syria  and  Egypt.  Emperors,  such  as  Hadrian  and 
Marcus  Aurelius,  gladly  became  initiated  adherents 
of  the  cult,  and  when'Valentinian  I.,  in  the  year 
364,  forbade  religious  celebrations  at  night,  he 
was  obliged  to  make  an  exception  of  the  cere- 
monies at  Eleusis.  An  influence  so  extensive  makes 
it  possible  that  St.  Paul  knew  of  the  mysteries. 
But  if  he  did,  it  is  singular  that  he  did  not  allude 
to  them  in  his  speech  at  Athens  on  Mars'  Hill. 
The  slightest  apparent  allusion  to  them  would  have 
been  eagerly  seized  by  those  who  affirm  his  famili- 
arity with  mystery -religions.  But  his  silence  would 
seem  to  show  that  he  knew  little  or  nothing  of  the 
Eleusinian  mysteries,  or  else  viewed  them  with  a 
disfavour  which  the  courtesy  of  the  moment  com- 
pelled him  to  refrain  from  revealing.  Their  in- 
fluence on  the  Church  can  only  be  assumed,  not 
proved.  Svoronos,  as  quoted  by  De  Jong  (Das 
antike  Mysteriemvesen,  p.  29),  affirms  that  the  Greek 
Church  is  the  successor  of  the  Eleusinian  cult,  that 
she  borrowed  much  from  Eleusis.  If  this  be  true, 
the  act  of  borrowing  could  have  taken  place  only 
at  a  comparatively  late  period.  Examples  of  this 
act  are  found  in  her  celebration  of  important  cere- 
monies at  night,  in  her  processions  with  their  icons, 
in  the  revealing  of  holy  objects,  in  the  confession 
of  sins  before  the  Eucharist,  and  in  the  adoration 
of  the  Virgin  Mary.  With  these  are  supposed  to 
correspond  the  initiation  at  night  in  Eleusis,  the 
procession  bearing  the  image  of  lacchos,  the  dis- 
closure of  '  holy  things'  in  the  Telesterion,  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  unworthy,  and  the  practice  of  con- 
fession at  Samothrace,  the  mourning  of  Demeter, 
having  for  her  Christian  parallel  the  '  mater 
dolorosa,'  and  the  worship  of  Demeter,  whose  cult 
ceased  just  before  the  worship  (hyperdulia)  of  the 
Virgin  assumed  unusual  importance,  and,  therefore, 
seems  to  have  replaced  that  of  Demeter.  One  could 
speak  more  confidently  of  the  exactness  of  these 
similarities  if  one  knew  accurately  what  the  cere- 
monies in  the  Telesterion  really  were.  Moreover, 
the  origin  of  the  ceremonial  customs  and  rites  of 
the  Greek  can  be  traced  and  has  been  traced  to 
other  sources  than  to  the  cult  at  Eleusis  ;  and  when 
more  than  one  source  can  be  ascribed  to  a  practice, 
its  assumed  origin  in  a  particular  quarter  is  ren- 
dered doubtful.  At  all  events,  this  comparison  does 
not  come  within  the  limits  of  the  primitive  Church, 
for  such  rites  as  make  the  comparison  possible  had 
not  yet  been  developed. 

(b)  The  mysteries  of  Samothrace. — The  Samo- 
thracian  mysteries  are  far  less  known  to  us  than 
the  Eleusinian.  They  get  their  name  from  the 
fact  that  their  chief  seat  was  in  the  island  of 
Samothrace,  which  was  an  object  of  superstitious 
regard  from  pre-historic  times  to  a  comparatively 
late  period.  The  cult  itself  is  very  ancient,  and 
seems  to  be  a  relic  of  the  religious  life  of  the  old 
Pelasgian  or  ^Egean  civilization  which  flourished 
even  as  far  as  Sicily  before  the  Greek  civilization 
arose.  The  ruins  of  its  ancient  sanctuaries  in 
Samothrace  reveal  remnants  of  the  same  massive, 
Cyclopean  walls,  which  are  found  elsewhere  in  the 
islands  and  on  the  coasts  of  the  Mediterranean. 
Its  mysteries  were  important  in  ancient  times,  and 
from  the  4th  cent,  rivalled  the  Eleusinian.  They 
attained  their  greatest  distinction  under  Philip 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


55 


and  his  queen  Olympia,  who  were  initiated  into 
them,  and  under  the  Ptolemys,  who  patronized 
them  and  cared  for  their  sacred  buildings.  Later 
the  cult  extended  its  influence  among  the  citizens 
of  the  Roman  Republic.  Among  its  adherents  were 
such  Roman  soldiers  and  leaders  as  M.  Claudius 
Marcellus.  We  know  little  about  its  ceremonies 
and  formulae,  which  is  a  misfortune,  for  such 
knowledge  might  have  thrown  light  on  the  growth 
of  the  religious  terminology  which  St.  Paul  found 
and  used.  They  centred  in  the  Kabeiroi,  concern- 
ing whom  we  have  only  the  most  meagre  informa- 
tion. They  seem  to  have  belonged  to  the  class 
of  spirits  known  as  demons,  goblins,  and  satyrs. 
Originally  they  were  chthonian  deities  or  gods  of 
the  under  world,  as  the  excavations  on  the  island 
reveal.  Their  name  is  probably  of  Phoenician 
origin,  for  it  appears  to  be  connected  with  the 
Semitic  Kabeirim,  the  '  mighty  ones.'  They  were 
really  gods  native  to  the  islands  of  the  JEge&n  sea ; 
but  inasmuch  as  they  were  gods  of  navigation,  the 
Phoenician  sailors  naturally  were  interested  in 
them  and  gave  them  the  name  by  which  they 
came  to  be  generally  known.  On  Samothrace 
they  were  called  presumably  Axieros,  Axiokersos, 
Axiokersa,  and  Casmilos.  Like  all  deities  of  in- 
determinate character,  they  were  identified  at 
various  times  with  deities  of  another  name.  The 
possible  affinity  of  their  mysteries  with  those  of 
Eleusis  led  to  the  subsequent  retirement  of  these 
barbaric  names,  and  the  substitution  in  the  place 
of  the  first  three  of  the  names  of  Demeter,  Kore, 
and  Pluto  or  Hades.  Cybele  and  Dionysus  rival 
Demeter  and  Pluto  as  usurpers  of  the  native 
Samothracian  names.  A  worship  of  the  Kabeiroi 
existed  near  Thebes  also  at  an  early  period. 
Excavations  of  the  sanctuary  belonging  to  the  cult 
have  brought  to  light  pottery  dating  from  the  end 
of  the  5th  and  beginning  of  the  4th  centuries  B.C., 
which  bears  on  its  surface  a  figure  apparently  of 
Dionysus  with  the  word  'Kabiros'  written  just 
above  it.  The  god  is  evidently  chthonic  in  char- 
acter. Probably  the  Kabeiroi  were  remotely 
deities  of  vegetation  ;  but  their  office  in  historic 
times  was  to  safeguard  the  mariner.  He  who  had 
been  initiated  into  their  mysteries  and  had  the 
purple  thread  bound  about  his  person  was  secure 
from  the  perils  of  the  sea.  We  know  nothing 
more  of  their  mystic  festival  than  that  it  was 
ecstatic,  and  that  it  contained  a  sacramental  com- 
munion, if  we  accept  H.  Hepding's  interpretation 
of  a  Samothracian  inscription  (Attis,  seine  Mythen 
und  sein  Kult,  Giessen,  1903,  p.  185).  Nor  is 
there  any  way  of  determining  tneir  influence  on 
the  development  of  the  religious  life  which  finally 
found  its  complete  satisfaction  in  the  Christian 
faith. 

(c)  The  mysteries  of  Andania. — The  Andanian 
mysteries  were  celebrated  at  Andania  in  Messenia, 
the  south-western  part  of  Greece  (Peloponnesus). 
Originally  they  were  consecrated  to  Demeter  and 
to  Kore,  who  was  called  Hagne,  'the  Holy  One.' 
But  at  a  later  period  Hermes,  the  Kabeiroi,  and 
Apollo  were  added  to  these  deities.  The  Andanian 
inscription  of  91  B.C.  gives  us  some  information 
concerning  their  external  rites.  The  manner  in 
which  the  priests  take  the  oath,  the  various  crowns 
or  head-dresses  which  the  priests  and  the  mystics 
should  wear,  the  dress  of  linen  in  which  they 
should  be  clothed,  are  described.  Women  are 
directed  to  be  present  with  hair  unbound  and  feet 
unshod,  and  the  animals  to  be  offered  to  the  dif- 
ferent deities  are  designated.  Married  women 
figure  as  priestesses,  and  grades  of  initiation  ap- 
pear here  as  in  the  Eleusinian  mysteries.  While 
evidences  of  required  baptisms  and  anointings 
are  apparent,  there  is  no  indication  of  a  sacra- 
mental meal ;  but  as  such  meals  were  customary  in 


the  secret  cults,  it  is  possible  that  it  had  a  place  in 
the  Andanian  mysteries.  Of  the  purpose  of  these 
mysteries  we  know  nothing,  but  we  can  conjecture 
that  they  were  related  to  the  harvest,  and  that 
they  gave  to  the  initiate  a  happy  lot  in  the  future 
world. 

(d)  The  Egyptian  mysteries. — As  early  as  the 
XlXth  dynasty  the  Egyptian  cults  had  already 
begun  to  spread  into  other  lands.  They  were 
founded  on  the  legend  of  Osiris,  who,  like  Demeter, 
was  originally  a  deity  of  vegetation.  The  myth 
that  centres  about  him  is  gathered  from  various 
sources,  among  which  Plutarch's  account  may  be 
regarded  as  the  chief.  He  is  usually  represented 
as  the  son  of  the  earth-god  Keb  and  the  sky- 
goddess  Nut,  which  is  the  reverse  of  the  cus- 
tomary relationship  of  the  parental  deities.  On 
reaching  manhood  he  ruled  his  country  for 
twenty-eight  years,  and  proved  to  be  a  beneficent 
monarch.  He  taught  his  subjects  how  to  culti- 
vate their  fields,  to  train  their  vines,  and  to  work 
with  tools.  He  even  left  his  country  and  carried 
everywhere  his  knowledge  of  the  arts  of  a  helpful 
life.  On  his  return  his  evil-minded  brother,  Set, 
persuaded  him  to  test  the  capacity  of  a  chest  to 
receive  his  body,  and,  as  soon  as  he  had  stretched 
himself  in  it,  set  shut  the  lid,  fastened  it  down, 
and  threw  the  chest  into  the  Nile.  Isis,  the  sister- 
wife  of  Osiris,  in  an  agony  of  grief  went  every- 
where seeking  him,  and,  finally  recovering  the 
body,  returned  with  it  to  Egypt  and  hid  it  among 
the  reeds  by  the  river.  But  Set,  while  hunting  at 
night,  discovered  it  under  the  moonlight,  and,  dis- 
membering it,  scattered  the  several  parts  through- 
out the  country.  Isis  renewed  her  search,  and  on 
finding  the  fragments  gave  them  a  fitting  burial. 
Another  version  of  the  story  tells  us  that  Anubis, 
sent  by  Ra,  came  to  her  aid,  and  with  the  help  of 
Thot  and  of  Horus  (in  Greek  times  Harpocrates) 
fitted  the  parts  together,  enveloped  them  in  a  linen 
winding-sheet,  and  then  by  his  magical  power 
restored  him  to  life.  From  this  moment  Osiris 
presided  over  the  under  world  as  its  king  and 
judge.  All  disembodied  souls  had  to  appear  before 
him,  make  their  confession  to  him,  and  receive 
at  his  hands  the  award  of  their  deeds.  In  this 
capacity  Osiris  was  viewed  as  the  representative 
and  giver  of  immortal  life.  In  order  to  receive  it, 
one  must  have  become  even  identified  with  him 
and  be  called  by  his  name.  His  great  festival  be- 
gan on  28th  October  and  ended  on  1st  November. 

It  was  not  until  the  time  of  Ptolemy  I.  (306-285 
B.C.)  that  the  Egyptian  mysteries  made  rapid  pro- 
gress. He  seems  to  have  given  the  first  impulse 
to  the  syncretism,  or  amalgamation  of  cults  and 
divinities,  which  for  six  or  seven  centuries  was  to 
direct  the  religious  life  and  practice  of  men,  and 
which  is  supposed  by  some  scholars  to  have  deeply 
influenced  even  the  beginnings  of  Christianity. 
The  first  step  in  this  syncretistic  movement  was 
the  adoption  of  the  name  Serapis  for  that  of 
Osiris.  The  origin  of  the  name  is  still  doubtful. 
Some  find  its  source  in  the  Chaldaean  Sar-apsi. 
But  more  probably  it  is  simply  the  reduced  form 
of  Osiris-apis  (Oser-hapi).  The  union  of  the  god 
with  the  sacred  bull,  Apis,  which  was  regarded  as 
his  incarnation,  would  suit  Egyptian  prejudices, 
and  the  name  Serapis  itself  would  appeal  to  the 
Greek  mind.  Thus  Serapis,  Isis,  and  Horus  or 
Harpocrates  were  the  leading  deities  in  the 
Egyptian  cults,  Anubis,  Jupiter  Hammon,  and  the 
Sphinx  ranking  after  them.  They  were  invoked 
sometimes  together,  and  sometimes  separately. 
Usually  the  name  Serapis  leads  the  rest,  and  when 
alone  is  identified  with  Zeus  and  Helios,  giving 
rise  to  the  formula,  inscribed  on  amulets,  '  Zeus, 
Helios,  and  Serapis  are  one.'  More  frequently 
two  names,  Serapis  and  Isis,  are  united  in  one 


56 


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MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


invocation,  but  Isis  also  often  stands  alone,  as 
in  Spain  and  Gaul,  and  receives  the  exclusive 
worship. 

Under  the  Ptolemys  the  cults  spread  through 
the  .ZEgean  islands  and  found  numerous  adherents 
along  the  shores  of  Asia  Minor.  In  the  same 
period  they  had  reached  Greece,  and  they  arrived 
in  Sicily  about  the  year  298  B.C.  The  later  pro- 
gress of  Christianity  was  hardly  more  rapid.  The 
ability  of  the  cult  of  Serapis  by  itself  to  arouse  the 
emotions  and  fancies,  its  capacity  to  answer  the 
ascetic  longings,  its  power  to  amalgamate  itself 
with  other  cults,  and  to  meet  the  monotheistic 
tendency,  combined  to  give  it  a  victorious  career. 
However,  it  was  Isis,  the  queen  deity,  that  became 
the  more  celebrated  of  the  two.  The  charm  of 
her  personality  attracted  the  affections  of  many 
peoples.  Her  gracious  attitude  toward  women, 
especially  young  women,  enlisted  in  her  following 
one  of  the  most  potential  aids  to  the  dissemination 
of  a  religious  cult.  Her  dark  temples,  solemn  and 
mysterious,  drew,  rather  than  repelled,  the  re- 
ligiously inclined.  About  150  B.C.  her  cult  reached 
Italy,  but  did  not  enter  Rome  until  the  middle  of 
the  1st  cent.  B.C.  There  it  encountered  a  deter- 
mined opposition,  its  altars  and  images  being 
destroyed  four  times  in  the  course  of  one  decade. 
But  the  cult  was  tenacious.  The  emperor  Tiberius 
dealt  it  another  blow  in  A.D.  19.  Soon  after  this 
resistance  gave  way,  for  the  cult  of  Isis  did  what 
the  State-religions  were  not  doing — gave  to  the 
worshipper  the  consciousness  of  direct  and  personal 
communion  with  the  deity.  In  A.D.  38  Caligula 
built  the  great  temple  of  Isis  on  the  Campus 
Martius,  which  figures  in  the  story  of  Apiileius. 
In  A.D.  215  Caracalla  placed  the  cult  on  a  level 
with  the  State-cults  and  built  for  the  worship  of 
Isis  one  of  her  finest  temples.  The  goddess  of 
countless  names,  Isis  Myrionyma,  had  conquered. 
She  is  rightly  called  Domina,  Victrix,  Invicta, 
Mater,  Panthea ;  and,  had  her  worship  finally  pre- 
vailed, the  Creator  of  all  things  visible  and  invisible 
would  have  been  conceived  as  the  feminine  rather 
than  as  the  masculine  principle  of  the  universe. 
But  her  reign  ceased,  although  years  after  every 
other  mystery-religion  had  vanished.  Her  cult 
lingered  on  in  southern  Egypt,  where  probably,  in 
pre-historic  times,  the  goddess  began  her  career, 
and  in  A.D.  560  Justinian  closed  her  only  remain- 
ing temple  on  the  little  island  of  Philse. 

Our  chief  source  of  information  concerning  the 
mysteries  of  Isis  is  Metamorphoses,  or  Golden  Ass, 
written  by  Lucius  Apuleius  (born  A.D.  125).  At 
the  close  of  the  work  the  author  describes  the 
experiences  of  one  undergoing  initiation  into  the 
Egyptian  cult.  We  may  accept  the  information 
with  confidence,  for  the  account  is  marked  by  too 
much  sincerity  to  pass,  like  the  story  which  pre- 
cedes it,  as  a  product  of  the  imagination.  Un- 
fortunately, the  information  bears  on  the  rites  of 
preparation,  not  on  the  transactions  in  the  sanctu- 
ary itself.  We  learn  from  it  that  the  candidate 
for  initiation  had  to  await  the  summons  of  Isis, 
even  after  he  had  been  assured  by  her  that  he  was 
destined  for  her  ministry.  During  this  period  of 
waiting  he  must  carefully  perform  his  religious 
duties  and  preserve  a  dignified  silence.  At  the 
proper  time  Isis  makes  her  will  known  to  him  in 
a  vision,  and  the  priest,  to  whom  she  has  addressed 
herself  at  the  same  moment,  in  the  'darksome 
night'  and  by  no  'obscure  mandate,'  informs  him 
that  Isis  is  ready  to  communicate  to  him  her 
secrets.  After  certain  ceremonies,  whose  signifi- 
cance is  not  disclosed,  the  priest  '  washed  and 
sprinkled  him  with  the  purest  water,'  and,  after 
giving  him  further  secret  instructions,  enjoined 
upon  him  abstinence  for  ten  days  from  all  but  the 
simplest  food.  At  the  close  of  the  fast  he  was 


led,  clothed  in  new  linen  garments,  to  the  innei 
recesses  of  the  sanctuary,  where  the  mysteries  of 
the  cult  were  revealed  to  him.  Of  course  the 
revelations  were  inviolably  secret,  but  no  doubt 
they  centred  about  the  cruel  treatment  of  Serapis, 
the  search  of  Isis  for  his  dead  body,  and  the  resur- 
rection of  the  god.  We  should  be  glad  to  know 
what  was  said  and  done  in  the  sanctuary. 

'I  would  tell  you, 'answers  Apuleius,  'were  it  lawful  forme 
to  tell  you ;  you  should  know  it,  if  it  were  lawful  for  you  to 
hear.  But  both  the  ears  that  heard  these  things,  and  the 
tongue  that  told  them,  would  reap  the  evil  results  of  their 
rashness '  (xi.  23). 

The  final  initiation  was  consummated  at  night, 
as  it  was  in  all  the  mystery-religions  ;  for  it  is  in 
the  midnight  hours  that  mind  and  heart  are  the 
most  deeply  impressed. 

In  those  hours,  Apuleius  goes  on,  '  I  approached  the  confines 
of  death,  and  having  trod  on  the  threshold  of  Proserpine,  I 
returned  therefrom,  being  borne  through  the  elements.  At 
midnight  I  saw  the  sun  shining  with  its  brilliant  light,  and  I 
approached  the  presence  of  the  gods  beneath,  and  the  gods  of 
heaven,  and  stood  near  and  worshipped  them '  (xi.  23). 

In  the  morning  he  appeared  crowned  with  palm 
leaves  and  dressed  in  a  many-coloured  robe,  and 
was  received  by  the  people  with  joy  and  adoration. 
Apparently  they  regarded  him  as  identified  with 
the  deity  and  worthy  of  divine  honours.  Christi- 
anity escaped  this  partial  idolatry  prevalent  in  all 
mystery-religions,  for  at  no  time  in  its  history 
was  the  worshipper  of  Christ  identified  in  like 
manner  with  the  Christ  Himself.  -No  sacramental 
meal  is  mentioned  as  a  part  of  the  ceremony  by 
Apuleius.  He  speaks  of  a  '  religious  breakfast'  as 
a  feature  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  third  day  ;  but 
this  formed  no  element  in  the  initiation  itself. 
Since  the  Egyptian  cults  had  become  syncretistic 
they  may  have  adopted  the  sacramental  meal,  for, 
as  in  the  Semitic,  so  in  the  Egyptian  religion,  it 
was  not  emphasized  in  earlier  times.  The  fact 
that  it  occurs  in  the  Eleusinian  mysteries  is  no 
proof  of  its  presence  in  the  mysteries  of  Isis  ;  for, 
while  the  resemblances  between  the  two  cults  are 
sufficiently  striking,  the  differences  are  equally 
impressive.  De  Jong  sums  them  up  briefly  :  the 
respective  tasks  of  Isis  and  Demeter  are  wholly 
unlike  :  the  one  sought  her  brother  and  husband, 
who  is  dismem  bered ;  the  other  sought  her  daughter, 
who  remains  physically  sound.  The  initiation  into 
the  mysteries  of  Isis  involved  unreserved  consecra- 
tion to  her  service  ;  initiation  into  the  mysteries  of 
Demeter  did  not  make  this  extreme  demand.  In 
the  one  case  the  individual  was  initiated  by  him- 
self ;  in  the  other  the  initiation  embraced  many 
individuals  at  once.  The  cult  of  Isis  received  the 
candidate  at  any  moment,  as  her  will  decided,  the 
cult  of  Demeter  at  a  stated  moment.  The  one 
was  open  to  astrological  ideas,  the  other  was  proof 
against  them.  These  differences  reveal  a  mutually 
independent  development,  although  somewhere  in 
pre-historic  times  they  perhaps  sprang  from  a 
common  source. 

The  extent  of  the  influence  of  the  Egyptian  cults 
can  be  more  satisfactorily  determined  than  the 
extent  of  the  Eleusinian  influence.  Cumont 
regards  it  as  very  great.  'At  the  beginning  of 
our  era,'  he  says,  '  there  set  in  that  great  movement 
of  conversion  that  soon  established  the  worship  of 
Isis  and  Serapis  from  the  outskirts  of  the  Sahara 
to  the  vallum  of  Britain,  and  from  the  mountains 
of  Asturias  to  the  mouths  of  the  Danube '  ( Oriental 
Religions,  p.  83).  Again,  he  informs  us  that  the 
priests  of  the  Egyptian  religion  '  made  proselytes 
in  every  province '  of  the  Roman  world  (ib.  p.  86). 
But  Toutain  disputes  this  conclusion  and  restricts 
the  influence  of  the  Egyptian  mysteries.  They 
did  not  take  root  in  the  provincial  soil,  did  not 
modify  sensibly  the  ideas  and  practices  of  the 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


57 


immense  majority  of  the  people,  and  remained 
always  exotic  cults  in  the  Western  world  (Les 
Cultes  pa'iens,  ii.  34).  This  conclusion  is  based 
largely  on  the  absence  of  monuments  and  inscrip- 
tions in  certain  parts  of  the  Roman  Empire,  and 
is,  therefore,  an  inference  from  silence.  But,  as 
we  determine  the  extent  of  the  influence  of  a 
mystery-religion  by  the  indications  of  its  presence, 
the  absence  of  such  indications  forms  a  reasonable 
basis  for  judgment.  The  Egyptian  cults,  however, 
were  sufficiently  extensive  to  make  their  influence 
felt  in  wide  areas.  Yet  that  influence  cannot  be 
said  to  have  reached  with  any  degree  of  potency 
the  writings  of  the  NT.  Schweitzer  seems  to 
admit  that  St.  Paul  may  have  known  of  the  cult 
of  Serapis  and  Isis  (Geschichte  der  paulinischen 
Forschung,  p.  150,  tr.  W.  Montgomery,  Paul  and 
his  Interpreters,  London,  1912,  pp.  191-192).  But, 
if  he  did,  his  knowledge  must  have  been  extremely 
limited,  for  it  exercised  no  perceptible  moulding 
power  over  his  thought.  The  effects  of  the  cult 
on  the  ceremonial  of  the  Church  are  more  apparent ; 
but  even  here  the  resemblances  take  the  form  of 
analogy  rather  than  of  genealogy.  The  division 
of  the  followers  of  Isis  into  believer  and  initiate 
corresponds  with  the  Christian  division  into  cat- 
echumen and  faithful.  But  the  Christian  parallel 
would  be  more  striking  had  the  Christian  division 
been  into  layman  and  priest,  as  in  the  Egyptian 
cult.  The  Egyptian  fasts,  processions,  morning 
and  evening  worship,  have  their  answering  Chris- 
tian ceremonies,  but  are  not  causally  related  to 
them  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  sources.  The 
tonsure,  it  is  possible,  came  directly  from  the 
Egyptian  cults  into  the  Christian  Church.  From 
the  earliest  times  it  was  practised  by  the  priest  of 
Isis  and  Serapis  for  the  purpose  of  cleanliness  at 
the  sacrifice.  It  was  peculiar  to  him,  for  the  Attis 
priest  wore  his  hair  long,  like  the  modern  dervish. 
From  the  Egyptian  cult  it  passed  into  the  Chris- 
tian communities  of  Egyptian  ascetics,  and  thence, 
by  the  end  of  the  5th  cent.,  to  the  Christian  clergy. 
Again,  the  derivation  of  the  adoration  of  Mary, 
the  mother  of  Christ,  from  the  worship  of  Isis  is 
not  wholly  convincing,  for  the  Christological  con- 
troversies of  the  4th  and  5th  centuries  may  have 
been  the  sole  factor  in  bringing  about  this  fateful 
result.  All  this  took  place  at  a  comparatively 
late  period.  At  any  rate,  as  Clemen  intimates 
(Der  Einfluss  der  Mysterienreligionen,  p.  9),  the 
influence  of  the  Egyptian  mysteries  in  the  1st 
cent,  must  not  be  assumed  to  be  extensive  in  the 
sphere  of  the  Christian  Church. 

(e)  The  mysteries  of  Asia  Minor. — The  mysteries 
of  Attis  and  Cybele  were  the  most  famous  and 
influential  in  the  early  religious  life  of  Asia  Minor. 
Nowhere  and  at  no  time  does  Attis  appear  to  be 
worshipped  apart  from  Cybele.  He  is  related  to 
her  now  as  her  lover,  now  as  her  child.  The  story 
of  this  double  relation,  like  other  mythological 
tales  of  leading  deities,  is  various.  One,  the 
Lydian  story,  represents  Attis  as  killed,  like 
Adonis,  by  a  wild  boar.  The  other,  the  Phrygian 
story,  represents  him  as  driven  to  frenzy  by  the 
jealousy  of  Cybele,  and  as  dying  from  the  effects 
of  self-mutilation  under  a  pine  or  fir  tree,  which 
thereby  became  sacred  to  him.  Cybele  herself  was 
the  greatest  of  the  deities  of  Asia  Minor.  She 
bore  many  names,  and  the  seat  of  her  worship  was 
in  the  Galatian  city  of  Pessinus.  Here  in  very 
early  times  the  stone  of  meteoric  character,  '  a 
black  aerolite '  (Cumont,  Oriental  Religions,  p.  47), 
which  was  to  play  an  important  part  in  the 
religious  life  of  Rome,  was  to  be  found.  And  here 
was  the  grave  of  Attis,  over  whose  death  the 
Phrygians  mourned  in  their  annual  festival. 

The  primitive  history  of  the  cult  is  unknown. 
The  supremacy  of  Cybele  seems  to  point  back  to  a 


matriarchal  order  of  social  life.  And  the  name  of 
Attis,  for  which  no  explanation  has  been  reached, 
appears  to  have  belonged  to  some  remote  and  for- 
gotten speech.  A  few  scholars  suggest  the  Hittite 
tongue.  But  possibly  it  may  yet  prove  to  be  a  relic 
of  the  old  ^igean  civilization  which  had  its  seat  in 
Crete  and  whose  ruler  bore  the  title  of  '  Minos,'  as 
the  ruler  of  the  Egyptians  bore  that  of  '  Pharaoh.' 
Farnell  thinks  that  '  in  following  back  to  its 
fountain-head  the  origins  of  this  cult,  we  are  led 
inevitably  to  Minoan  Crete'  (Greece  and  Babylon, 
Edinburgh,  1911,  p.  92).  It  was  Attis,  not  Cybele, 
who  was  the  prominent  figure  in  the  mysteries. 
What  Osiris  was  among  the  Egyptians,  or  Adonis 
among  the  Phrenicians,  Attis  was  among  the 
Phrygians.  He  bore  the  character  of  a  chthonic 
deity,  a  god  of  vegetation,  for  he  had  his  death  and 
his  resurrection,  like  the  grain.  His  priests  were 
called  Galli,  or  Galloi,  and  the  chief  priest  claimed 
the  name  of  Attis  himself.  In  honour  of  the  god, 
and  in  a  moment  of  extreme  ecstasy,  they  unmanned 
themselves — an  act  which  distinguishes  the  cult  of 
Attis  from  all  others,  and  whose  source  and 
explanation  still  baffle  the  investigator.  In  the 
year  204  B.C.  the  sacred  stone  of  Cybele  was  taken 
from  Pessinus  and  carried  to  Rome.  This  was 
done  in  obedience  to  a  Sibylline  oracle,  which 
declared  that  the  conquests  of  Hannibal  in  Italy 
would  not  cease  until  a  sanctuary  was  established 
for  the  worship  of  Cybele  in  Rome.  The  stone 
was  received  with  much  ceremony  and  was  placed 
in  the  temple  of  the  goddess  of  victory  on  the 
Palatine.  This  inauguration  of  the  worship  of 
Attis  and  Cybele  in  Rome  is  regarded  as  the  first 
step  toward  the  conquest  of  the  West  by  the 
Oriental  cults.  But  at  the  outset  the  Phrygian  cult 
gained  no  perceptible  control  over  the  Roman 
mind.  Romans  were  forbidden  by  legislative  acts 
to  take  part  in  its  ceremonies.  It  was  placed  ex- 
clusively in  the  hands  of  Phrygian  priests,  who 
alone  were  permitted  to  perform  its  rites  and  to 
receive  alms  from  the  citizens  for  its  support.  This 
rigorous  exclusion  of  Romans  from  the  cult  con- 
tinued until  the  reign  of  Claudius  (A.D.  41-54), 
who  placed  the  Phrygian  festival  among  the 
publicly  recognized  festivals  of  the  city.  The 
cause  of  this  act  is  attributed  by  Cumont  to  the 
desire  of  Claudius  to  establish  a  rival  of  Isis,  whose 
worship  had  already  been  favoured  by  Caligula, 
and  whose  processions  were  attaining  a  constantly 
increasing  popularity.  This  early  date  is  disputed, 
but  both  Hepding  (Attis,  seine  My  then  und  sein 
Kult,  p.  145)  and  Cumont  (Oriental  Religions,  p. 
55)  agree  on  its  correctness. 

The  festival  of  Attis  was  brilliantly  celebrated 
in  Rome  at  the  spring  equinox  in  the  second  half 
of  the  month  of  March.  It  evidently  possessed 
the  main  characteristics  of  the  wild  and  ecstatic 
worship  as  practised  in  the  native  home  of  the 
cult.  It  was  introduced  by  a  preparatory  cere- 
mony on  15th  March,  when  the  cannophori,  or 
reed-bearers,  had  their  procession,  commemorating 
some  forgotten  event  or  rite  in  the  remote  cere- 
monial life  of  Asia  Minor.  The  reed  played  an 
important  part  in  the  commemoration  of  Cybele, 
but  only  speculation  can  explain  its  connexion 
with  her  worship.  A  week  later,  on  22nd  March,  a 
pine  or  fir  tree  was  cut  down  in  the  sacred  grove 
of  the  goddess  and  was  borne  by  the  dendrophori, 
or  tree-bearers,  in  procession  to  the  temple  of  the 
Idaean  mother  on  the  Palatine.  Its  branches  were 
garlanded  with  violets  and  its  trunk  swathed  with 
woollen  bands.  It  represented  the  dead  body  of 
Attis,  and  the  garlands  were  woven  of  violets, 
because  violets  sprang  from  the  blood-drops  which 
fell  from  his  person  when  he  unmanned  himself  at 
the  foot  of  the  pine.  Julius  Firmicus  Maternus, 
who  wrote  about  A.D.  347,  is  responsible  for  the 


58 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


statement  that  the  effigy  of  a  youth,  apparently  of 
Attis,  was  bound  to  the  tree  (de  Err.  Prof.  Relig. 
xxvii.  1).  The  succeeding  day  was  passed  in 
mourning  the  death  of  Attis.  It  is  possible  that 
on  this  day  the  mourners  joined  in  the  Tubi- 
lustriuin,  or  the  Feast  of  Trumpets,  when  the 
trumpets,  used  at  the  sacrifice,  were  purified.  But 
our  sources  do  not  assure  us  of  this.  The  24th 
was  the  dies  sanguinis,  the  day  of  blood,  when  the 
mourning  reached  its  highest  intensity.  Under 
the  shrill  sounds  of  various  instruments,  the 
hoarse  cries  of  the  Galli,  and  the  spectacle  of  their 
whirling  dances,  the  crowd  of  worshippers  were 
lifted  to  unrestrained  ecstasy,  in  which  they 
slashed  themselves  with  knives  that  the  blood 
might  sprinkle  the  statue  of  the  goddess,  and 
when  the  neophyte,  insensible  to  pain,  emasculated 
himself  in  her  honour  with  a  sharp  stone.  His  use 
of  the  sharp  stone  to  complete  his  self-consecration 
to  the  deity  is  but  another  indication  of  the  con- 
servatism of  religion,  which  preferred  to  retain  in 
the  sacred  rite  the  ancient  means  rather  than 
adopt  the  more  modern  means  of  metal.  Our 
sources,  however,  give  us  but  slight  information 
concerning  this  stage  of  the  ceremonies.  The  real 
initiation  was  probably  consummated  under  the 
light  of  torches  and  in  the  sanctuary  of  Cybele 
during  the  hours  of  the  succeeding  night.  This 
can  be  gathered  only  from  hints  of  early  writers 
and  from  a  few  existing  monuments  relating  to  the 
cult.  The  25th  was  called  the  Hilaria,  the  joyous 
festival,  when  the  announcement  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Attis  was  made  and  the  expressions  of 
mourning  were  turned  into  extravagant  expres- 
sions of  joy.  It  was  characterized  by  a  sort  of 
carnival,  when  a  certain  amount  of  freedom  was 
permitted  in  the  public  streets.  Later,  in  the  3rd 
cent.,  this  masked  and  hilarious  procession  had 
become  one  of  the  most  important  among  Roman 
festivals.  The  next  day  was  given  up  to  quiet  and 
rest.  But  on  the  27th,  called  the  Lavatio,  the  cere- 
monies were  resumed.  The  silver  image  of  the 
goddess  was  borne  on  a  wagon  drawn  by  cows 
from  the  sanctuary  on  the  Palatine  through  the 
Pprta  Capena  to  the  Almo,  which  entered  the 
Tiber  not  far  from  Rome.  There  the  Archigallus 
bathed  the  image  in  the  stream,  and  thoroughly 
washed  the  wagon  and  the  rest  of  the  sacra.  On 
the  return  of  the  procession  to  the  sanctuary  the 
wagon  was  filled  with  flowers  cast  into  it  by  the 
people  who  lined  the  way,  and  the  Galli  made  good 
use  of  their  opportunity  to  receive  alms  from  the 
charitable.  So  the  great  celebration  of  the  rites 
of  Attis  and  Cybele  was  closed. 

We  infer  from  formulae  recorded  by  Firmicus 
and  Clement  of  Alexandria  that  a  sacramental 
meal  was  administered  to  the  candidate  during  the 
initiation.  Firmicus,  quoting  the  Greek  equiva- 
lent of  his  Latin  formula,  gives  it  as,  '  I  have  eaten 
from  the  tambourine,  I  have  drunk  from  the 
cymbal,  I  have  become  a  mystic  of  Attis'  (de  Err. 
Prof.  Relig.  xviii.  1).  Clement  gives  the  same 
formula  more  fully  (Protrept.  ii.  15).  It  is  prob- 
able that  the  rite  was  celebrated  at  the  beginning 
of  the  initiation  as  a  preparation  for  other  rites, 
such  as  the  '  holy  marriage,'  though  we  have  but 
the  slightest  evidence  that  the  'holy  marriage' 
figured  in  the  cult.  The  elements  of  the  com- 
munion were,  according  to  M.  Bruckner  ( Der  ster- 
bende  und  auferstehende  Gottheiland,  Tubingen, 
1911,  p.  24)  and  Hepding  (^4ttts,  p.  186),  bread,  wine, 
and  the  fish.  The  belief  that  the  fish  was  one  of 
the  elements  is  based  by  Hepding  on  the  much-dis- 
cussed inscription  found  on  the  tomb  of  Abercius, 
who  he  thinks  was  a  follower  of  Attis,  and  not,  as 
others  affirm,  a  Christian  bishop  (Attis,  p.  188). 
It  is  true  that  certain  species  of  fish  were  sacred  to 
Atargatis,  the  Phoenician  goddess,  and  were  eaten 


sacramentally  by  her  priests.  Phoenicia  lay  not 
far  away  from  Phrygia.  But  the  proof  that  the 
features  of  her  communion  meal  characterized  that 
of  Phrygia  resolves  itself  under  close  examination 
into  mere  supposition.  Hepding  himself  confesses 
that  his  opinion  rests  only  on  assumption.  How  the 
Attis  communicant  regarded  his  sacramental  meal 
is  also  open  to  conjecture.  Dieterich,  reasoning 
from  words  of  Firmicus  which  follow  his  quotation 
of  the  Attis  formula,  concludes  that  the  communi- 
cant recognized  in  this  sacrament  a  real  presence 
of  the  deity  (Eine  Mithrasliturgie,  p.  103  ;  see  also 
0.  Pfleiderer,  The  Early  Christian  Conception  of 
Christ,  London,  1905,  p.  127).  O.  Seeck  says  dog- 
matically that  '  what  he  consumed  was  regarded 
as  the  flesh  and  blood  of  Attis,  which  he  absorbed 
in  order  to  deify  his  mortal  body'  (Geschichte  des 
Untergangs  der  antiken  Welt,  iii.  [Berlin,  1909] 
128).  Hepding  falls  back  on  the  theory  of  Robert- 
son Smith  that  the  solemn  act  of  eating  and 
drinking  together  is  the  ceremonial  introduction 
to  personal  relationship  to  the  deity  and  to  the 
common  life  of  the  community  (US2,  London,  1894, 
p.  265).  Yet  Hepding  adds  that,  while  in  the  mys- 
teries the  idea  of  admission  to  a  brotherhood  is 
not  ignored,  '  the  personal  relation  of  the  indi- 
vidual to  the  deity  was  emphasized '  (Attis,  p.  188). 
Cumont  takes  a  similar  view  of  the  sacrament 
(Oriental  Religions,  p.  69).  But  the  evidence  cited 
for  the  belief  of  the  Attis  worshipper  in  a  real 
presence  of  the  deity  in,  with,  and  under  the 
elements  is  not  wholly  assuring.  "We  do  not  know 
from  any  trustworthy  source  what  conception  he 
had  of  the  elements,  as  consecrated,  though  the 
chances  are  that  it  was  decidedly  realistic.  The 
position  of  the  sacrament  in  the  initiation  is  also 
unknown.  It  probably  followed  the  fast,  and,  as 
Bruckner  suggests,  was  the  first  step  in  the  cere- 
monies. The  final  ceremony  was  the  resurrection 
of  Attis.  When  the  rites  had  reached  their  most 
impressive  stage,  amid  the  gloom  and  the  singing 
of  mournful  hymns,  a  bright  light  suddenly  irradi- 
ated the  atmosphere ;  the  tomb  was  opened,  and 
the  god  arose.  The  priest  whispered  to  the  initiates, 
'  Be  of  good  cheer,  oh  mystics,  the  god  is  saved ; 
for  there  shall  be  salvation  to  you  from  your  trials ' 
(Firmicus,  de  Err.  Prof.  Relig.  xxii.  1).  The 
words  are  significant,  for  they  reveal  the  aim  of  the 
mysteries  of  Attis — escape  from  perdition  and  the 
assurance  of  a  bright  immortality.  Thenceforth, 
not  through  the  sacrament,  but  through  the  resur- 
rection of  Attis  and  his  share  in  it,  the  initiate  was 
a  mystic  of  Attis. 

The  taurobolium  (less  frequently  criobolium,  the 
offering  of  the  ram)  became  a  part  of  the  rites  of 
the  cult  after  the  middle  of  the  1st  century.  The 
mystic,  swathed  in  linen  as  if  prepared  for  burial, 
descended,  while  the  spectators  sang  dirges,  into  a 
pit  which  was  covered  with  lattice-work.  The  blood 
of  the  slaughtered  animal  streamed  through  the 
openings  in  the  platform  on  the  mystic  below,  who 
eagerly  caught  it,  bathing  himself  with  it  and 
drinking  it.  When  he  ascended,  red  and  dripping, 
from  the  pit,  he  was  regarded  as  born  again  to 
eternal  life,  and  was  received  by  his  associates  with 
divine  honours  (Prudentius,  Peristephanon,  x.  1048). 
The  idea  of  his  re-birth  was  further  emphasized  by 
the  nourishment  of  milk  which  was  given  him,  as 
though  he  were  a  new-born  babe.  The  taurobolium 
was  not  always  regarded  as  lasting  in  its  effects, 
but  might  be  repeated  by  the  individual  after  the 
lapse  of  twenty  years  in  order  to  re-invigorate  his 
spiritual  life.  In  this  respect  it  differed  wholly  from 
the  Christian  baptism  by  water,  which  was  per- 
manent and  repeated  only  conditionally.  The  in- 
fluence of  the  taurobolium  on  the  formation  of  the 
sacramental  doctrine  of  the  Church  could  have  been 
only  very  slight.  It  is  more  likely  that  the  Chris- 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


59 


tian  idea  of  cleansing  and  purification  '  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb'  (Rev  714)  influenced  the  taurobolium. 
The  source  of  the  rite  and  even  of  its  name  is  con- 
jectural. It  is  not  strictly  Phrygian  ;  it  may  be 
traced  to  the  peoples  of  Syria,  and  even  further  to 
the  deserts  of  Arabia.  Cumont  has  changed  his 
mind  more  than  once  concerning  its  origin,  and  his 
various  conclusions  are  subjected  by  Toutain  to 
sceptical  criticism  (Cumont,  Oriental  Religions,  p. 
66  ff.  ;  Toutain,  Les  Cultes  pa'iens,  ii.  86  ff.). 

It  was  not  until  the  second  half  of  the  2nd  cent, 
that  the  cult  of  Attis  and  Cybele  began  to  command 
an  extensive  attention  and  interest  in  the  Western 
world.  In  the  time  of  Irenseus  it  was  already 
present  in  Lyons,  which  became  the  centre  of  its 
extension  in  this  part  of  the  Roman  Empire  (Tou- 
tain, Les  Cultes  pa'iens,  ii.  112-114).  It  had  been 
brought  thither  by  a  few  of  its  devotees,  whose 
missionary  zeal  may  have  been  inspired  by  the 
success  of  the  Church  in  her  missionary  enterprise. 
T\vo  factors  greatly  aided  the  spread  of  the  cult. 
One  was  the  taurobolium  already  mentioned.  Its 
assurance  of  spiritual  purification  and  immortality 
gave  it  an  inestimable  value  in  the  eyes  of  the  con- 
verts. To  have  experienced  the  taurobolium  was 
to  be  free  of  sin  either  temporarily  or  permanently, 
and  to  possess,  with  this  cleansing,  the  grant  of  a 
happy  life  hereafter.  The  other  factor  was  the 
agrarian  character  of  the  cult.  What  promises  to 
men  an  abundance  of  food  is  also  dear  to  them. 
Consequently,  the  processions  around  the  sown 
fields  with  the  image  of  Cybele  borne  aloft,  the 
accompanying  songs  and  dances  in  her  honour,  the 
resulting  assurance  of  a  rich  harvest,  increased 
the  capacity  of  the  cult  to  win  the  affections  of  the 
common  people.  Thus  a  joyful  life  here  and  the 
anticipation  of  a  joyful  life  hereafter  made  it  a  centre 
of  attraction  wherever  it  went.  By  the  middle  of 
the  3rd  cent,  its  taurobolia,  at  first  private,  had 
become  public,  and  were  offered  even  for  the  wel- 
fare of  the  imperial  family.  By  this  time  the  cult 
had  established  itself  in  Gaul,  Spain,  and  Africa. 
Where  its  sanctuary  stood  in  Rome,  the  original 
centre  of  its  propagandism,  rises  now  the  dome  of 
the  cathedral  of  St.  Peter. 

(f)  The  mysteries  of  Persia. — Mithras  was  the 
centre  of  devotion  and  worship  in  the  Persian  cult. 
In  early  Persian  times  he  was  associated  with  the 
highest  god,  Ahura,  and  afterwards  was  a  modifica- 
tion of  him.  Specifically  he  was  the  god  of  light 
— that  is,  the  light  of  day.  Daily  from  the  eastern 
to  the  western  horizon  he  rode  in  his  chariot 
drawn  by  four  white  horses.  In  him  the  dawn, 
the  brightness  of  the  noon,  and  the  sunset  glow 
were  embodied.  He  was  also  the  god  of  vegeta- 
tion, not  because  he  possessed  a  chthonic  character, 
but  because  his  warming  light  quickened  the  seed 
and  brought  forth  the  abundant  harvest.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  Mithras  also  was  remotely  a  chthonic 
deity,  like  Demeter  and  Attis.  His  association 
with  the  cave,  his  worship  in  the  underground 
chamber,  and  the  representations  of  vegetable  life 
on  his  monuments,  might  imply  it.  But  as  he  is 
portrayed  in  Persian  mythology  he  was  a  celestial 
deity  and  is  devoid  of  all  chthonic  features  (J.  Grill, 
Die  persische  Mysterienreligion  im  romischen  Reich 
und  das  Christentum,  Tubingen,  1903,  p.  28).  The 
life-giving  power  of  Mithras  was  naturally  ex- 
tended by  human  reflexion  to  the  moral  sphere. 
He  was  regarded  as  the  inspirer  of  truthfulness, 
honesty,  and  bravery  in  his  subjects.  Before 
him  the  oath  was  taken,  and  he  was  the  avenger 
of  the  violation  of  treaties.  Under  the  Persian 
kings  he  became,  as  their  protector,  the  god  of 
war.  Thus  he  was  a  soldier's  deity,  which,  in 
part,  explains  his  charm  for  Roman  legionaries. 
As  the  deity  to  whom  appeal  was  made  in  battle, 
he  became  also  a  mediator  between  gods  and  men, 


and  ruled  the  realm  intermediate  between  the 
abode  of  Ahura  and  that  of  Ahriman. 

The  Mithras  of  the  Roman  Empire  was  not  the 
same  as  the  Mithras  of  the  Persian  kingdom.  In 
the  progress  of  his  worship  from  Persia  westward 
his  cult  experienced  numerous  additions  and  modi- 
fications. It  is  difficult  to  mark  the  moment 
when  it  became  a  mystery-religion,  but  the  cult 
was  already  well  advanced,  theologically  and 
sacramen  tally,  in  the  2nd  cent.  B.C.  During  its 
sojourn  in  Babylonia  it  fell  under  the  influence  of 
the  Chaldsean  astrology  and  absorbed  much  of  it. 
Consequently,  the  instructions  given  the  candidate, 
probably  in  the  later  stages  of  his  initiation, 
assumed  a  partially  scientific  character.  When 
the  cult  reached  the  Greek-speaking  peoples,  it 
suffered  fresh  modifications,  but  these  did  not 
vitally  affect  it.  While  pliant  under  the  Chaldaean, 
it  was  unyielding  under  the  Greek  influence.  This 
conservatism  distinguishes  it  from  other  cults 
which  were  less  sturdy  in  their  capacity  for  resist- 
ance. The  Romans,  among  whom  it  was  to  assume 
its  greatest  importance,  first  came  into  contact 
with  it  in  their  invasion  of  Asia  Minor,  especially 
when  Pompey  waged  his  war  with  Mithradates 
(66  B.C.),  although  a  company  of  Mithraic  wor- 
shippers had  already  appeared  in  Rome.  The 
Roman  soldiers,  chiefly  tne  officers,  were  at  once 
drawn  to  this  martial  god,  and,  giving  him  their 
allegiance,  became  his  most  effective  missionaries 
in  the  West.  They  carried  his  cult,  as  they  moved 
from  camp  to  camp,  west  of  the  Black  Sea,  up  the 
Danube,  to  Central  Europe,  and  then  southward. 
However,  only  from  the  time  of  the  Flavian 
emperors  (A.D.  70-96)  can  it  be  said  to  have  gained 
a  foothold  in  the  Roman  Empire.  In  the  mean- 
while it  failed  to  entrench  itself  on  the  shores  of 
Asia  Minor  and  in  Greece.  This  failure  had  a 
serious  effect  on  its  destiny,  for,  when  it  came  into 
conflict  with  the  Christian  faith,  which  had  suc- 
ceeded in  capturing  the  culture  of  Greece,  it  found 
itself  labouring  under  a  great  disadvantage.  The 
religion  which  can  interest  the  intellect  to  the 
greatest  degree,  as  well  as  arouse  the  emotions, 
gains  the  day  (A.  Harnack,  Die  Mission  und 
Ausbreitung  des  Christentums,  Leipzig,  1902,  p. 
271  ;  but  see  Grill,  Die  persische  Mysterienreligion, 
p.  55  ft'.,  for  additional  reasons).  From  the  end  of 
the  2nd  cent,  its  foothold  in  Rome  was  assured. 
There  it  allied  itself  with  the  Attis  cult  and 
flourished  under  the  protection  of  the  privileges 
granted  this  cult  by  the  State.  The  reign  of 
Commodus  (180-192)  marks  an  epoch  in  the  pro- 
gress of  Mithras.  The  emperor  offered  himself 
for  initiation  into  the  mysteries,  and  raised  the 
god  to  the  position  of  patron  deity  of  the  imperial 
power  ;  and  in  the  reign  of  Severus,  his  successor, 
we  find  the  name  of  a  chaplain  of  the  imperial 
court  in  the  service  of  Mithras.  The  influence  of 
the  cult  steadily  grew  in  the  West  during  the 
century,  though  it  secured  but  slight  control  in 
Egypt  and  Spain.  In  A.D.  307  Diocletian  and  his 
associates  dedicated  a  sanctuary  to  Mithras  at 
Carnuntum  on  the  Danube,  and  in  that  dedication 
recognized  him  as  the  '  protector  of  the  Empire.' 
Fifty  years  later  Julian  became  sole  emperor  of 
Rome  (361-363) ;  and,  although  educated  a  Chris- 
tian, immediately  announced  himself  to  be  a 
follower  of  Mithras.  The  cult  was  introduced 
into  Constantinople ;  but  its  ascendancy  lasted 
only  a  brief  time.  It  quickly  lost  it,  and,  on  the 
ascent  of  Theodosius  to  undisputed  power  (A.D. 
394),  it  led  a  precarious  existence  until  it  vanished 
in  its  last  place  of  refuge  in  Cappadocia  and  its 
neighbourhood. 

The  cult  always  conducted  its  worship  in  a  cave, 
or,  if  a  natural  cave  were  not  available,  in  a 
subterranean  chamber.  The  underground  temple 


60 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


was  rectangular  in  form,  and  provided  with  rows  of 
seats  for  the  accommodation  of  the  worshippers.  It 
bore  the  name  of  Mithrseum,  and  could  not  have 
held  more  than  100  persons.  Consequently,  each 
congregation  was  small,  but  the  limited  number 
of  '  brethren '  was  an  advantage,  for  it  brought 
the  individual  members  into  the  closest  acquaint- 
ance and  sympathy  with  each  other.  Each  con- 
gregation was  well  organized.  It  had  its  summits 
pontifex,  or  high  priest,  who  had  charge  of  the 
initiates,  and,  according  to  Tertullian,  could  marry 
but  once.  He  superintended  either  in  person  or 
by  delegated  authority  the  numerous  sacrifices, 
and  kept  the  fire  on  the  altar  always  burning. 
He  directed  the  worship  of  the  planets  and  the 
sun,  to  each  of  which  a  special  day  was  devoted. 
Parallel  with  the  duties  of  the  priesthood  there 
was  also  a  system  of  duties  assigned  to  elected 
officers  of  the  corporation,  which  had  the  legalized 
right  to  hold  property.  A  college  of  decurii 
governed  it ;  besides  these  there  were  curators, 
who  had  charge  of  the  financial  affairs  of  the  cult ; 
advocates  (de/ensores),  who  defended  its  interests 
in  courts  of  law ;  patrons,  whose  private  means 
helped  to  defray  exceptional  expenses.  Thus  its 
official  ordering  was  somewhat  similar  to  that  of 
the  cult  of  Isis  (ERE  vii.  436).  Unlike  the  cult  of 
Demeter,  its  polity  seems  to  have  been  congrega- 
tional, each  community  of  worshippers  being  in- 
dependent of  every  other. 

The  candidates  for  initiation  passed  through 
seven  stages  or  grades,  each  possessing  its  own 
mask  and  robe,  which  the  candidate  wore  on  the  com- 
pletion of  its  rites.  These  seven  stages  answered 
to  the  spheres  of  the  seven  planets,  which  the  soul 
of  the  devotee  was  supposed  to  traverse  after  it 
was  liberated  from  the  body.  It  was  thus  fitted 
to  enter  and  leave  in  safety  each  sphere,  for  it 
was  no  longer  a  stranger  to  it,  and  knew  how  to 
answer  the  challenge  of  the  guardian  of  it.  At 
each  grade  the  candidate  received  a  special  name, 
appropriate  to  the  character  of  the  grade — raven, 
occult  or  veiled,  soldier,  lion,  Persian,  sun's 
messenger,  and  father.  This  is  now  the  accepted 
list,  though  the  names  are  variously  recorded  by 
different  early  writers  (Porphyry,  de  Abstinentia, 
iv.  16 ;  Jerome,  Ep.  107).  But  the  bearer  of  the 
last  of  them,  '  father,'  held  a  pre-eminent  place  in 
the  mysteries ;  in  fact,  all  the  priests  of  the  cult 
were  called  'fathers,'  as  in  the  Attis  cult.  The 
high  priest  himself  received  the  name  of  '  father  of 
fathers.'  The  holders  of  the  first  three  grades 
were  regarded  as  servants.  But  when  they  had 
passed  through  the  grade  of  'lion,'  which  is  the 
most  frequently  mentioned  in  inscriptions,  they 
entered  the  rank  of  companions  or  'participants.' 
During  the  initiation  a  system  of  tests  was  brought 
to  bear  on  the  candidate  in  order  to  prove  his 
capacity  for  endurance.  Vows  of  strict  silence 
concerning  the  things  revealed  to  him  were  re- 
quired. Baptisms  for  cleansing  appear  in  the 
various  rites ;  and  there  are  indications  of  the 
practice  of  a  sacrament  of  Confirmation.  We 
learn  from  Tertullian  that  the  brow  of  the  '  soldier ' 
was  marked  with  a  sign :  '  Mithras  set  his  mark 
on  the  forehead  of  his  soldiers'  (de  Prcescr.  40). 
A  communion  which  Cumont  describes  (Textea  et 
Monuments,  Brussels,  1896-99,  i.  320,  tr.  T.  J. 
McCormack,  Chicago,  1903,  p.  158)  figured  among 
the  rites.  It  belonged  to  an  advanced  stage  of 
the  initiation,  and  its  elements  were  bread  and 
water,  though  some  (Cumont  and  Grill)  believe 
that  the  water  was  mixed  with  wine,  of  which 
there  is  no  convincing  proof.  Doubtless  the  com- 
munion was  an  imitation  of  the  triumphant 
banquet,  which  Mithras,  just  before  his  glorious 
ascension,  enjoyed  with  the  sun-god.  It  was  prob- 
ably regarded  by  the  communicant  as  magically 


imparting  to  himself  the  vigour  of  health,  increased 
prosperity,  illumination  of  mind,  power  to  cope 
successfully  with  evil  spirits,  and  finally  a  blessed 
immortality.  De  Jong  appears  to  regard  the  com- 
munion as  the  culmination  of  the  initiation. 
Others  view  the  taurobolium,  which  was  a  rite  in 
the  Persian  cult  also,  as  the  culmination,  when 
the  candidate  emerged  from  his  repulsive  bath  and 
received  the  homage  of  the  people  as  one  who  had 
become  identified  with  the  god.  Of  the  two 
opinions  the  latter  may  be  viewed  as  the  more 
correct. 

The  relation  of  the  Persian  to  the  Egyptian 
cult  was  close.  There  were  Mithras-fathers  who 
at  the  same  time  were  priests  of  Serapis  and  Isis. 
It  is  significant  that  the  priest  who  conducted 
Apuleius  through  the  mysteries  of  Isis  bore  the 
name  of  Mithras.  The  idea  of  the  service  of  the 
god  as  a  life-long  warfare  was  common  to  both ; 
and  the  moral  requirements  received  in  them 
stronger  emphasis  than  in  the  other  mystery- 
religions.  Further,  the  followers  of  Mithras,  inas- 
much as  women  with  few  exceptions  were  excluded 
from  their  cult,  sought  and  received  the  admission 
of  their  wives  and  daughters  into  the  Isis  cult, 
where  they  were  sometimes  advanced  to  high 
official  position.  The  relations  of  the  Mithraic 
cult  to  the  Attis  mysteries  were  hardly  less  cordial. 
The  Mithraeum  in  Rome  adjoined  the  temple  of 
the  Phrygian  mother,  and  the  possession  of  the 
taurobolium  by  both  formed  a  bond  of  sympathy. 
The  attitude  of  Mithraism  to  the  growing  Christian 
Church  also  was  kindly  until  the  rivalry  between 
them  became  intense,  when  goodwill  gave  way  to 
animosity,  and  the  Mithraic  priesthood  early  in 
the  4th  cent,  inaugurated  through  the  emperor  a 
determined  persecution  of  the  Christians. 

It  has  been  affirmed  that  this  rivalry  was  deep- 
ened by  the  similarity  between  the  tenets  and 
practices  of  the  two  religions.  The  similarity  is 
striking.  The  Fathers  of  the  Church — Justin  and 
Tertullian,  for  example — were  impressed  by  the 
likeness,  and  attributed  it  to  the  effort  of  Satan 
to  imitate  the  Christian  teachings  and  rites.  Each 
religion  had  a  revelation,  a  mediator,  who  was 
both  creator  and  redeemer ;  the  story  of  his  birth 
into  the  world,  of  his  adoration  by  shepherds ;  an 
atoning  sacrifice  for  the  salvation  of  men,  a  last 
supper,  and  an  ascent  into  heaven  ;  a  baptism,  a 
communion,  a  confirmation,  a  belief  in  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul,  in  a  final  judgment,  in  the  resur- 
rection of  the  dead,  in  the  end  of  the  world  by  fire, 
in  a  heaven  for  saints  and  in  a  hell  for  the  reprobate. 
This  parallelism  of  teachings  and  practices  has  sug- 
gested to  some  students  a  borrowing  on  the  part 
of  Christianity  from  Mithraism,  or  the  absorption 
of  Mithraism  into  it.  But  with  the  similarities 
there  are  equally  impressive  differences.  Mithra- 
ism presents  a  pantheon,  a  personification  of  ab- 
stractions and  forces  ;  Christianity,  the  one  living 
God  who  is  Spirit  and  Holy  Love ;  the  one  an 
eternal  dualism  of  good  and  evil,  the  other  a  crea- 
tion subject  to  the  will  of  an  unrivalled  Creator ; 
the  one  the  controlling  and  inexorable  power  of 
fate,  the  other  the  government  of  a  wise  and  bene- 
ficent Providence  ;  the  one  a  mythological  saviour, 
the  other  a  historic  person,  who  lived  a  real  yet 
sinless  life  and  died  a  heroic  death  to  rescue  the 
world  from  sin.  Mithraism  saved  exclusively  by 
sacramentalism,  Christianity  by  faith  with  sacra- 
mentalism  subordinate  to  it.  These  distinctions 
colour  the  two  religions  through  and  through,  im- 
parting their  distinctiveness  to  the  minor  features 
which  help  to  characterize  them.  Further  than 
this,  Mithraism  was  established  in  the  Western 
world  only  after  the  Christian  doctrines  had  been 
wrought  out  in  the  Church.  Christianity  becomes 
more  wonderful  in  our  eyes  if  it  could  have  ab- 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


61 


sorbed  a  religion  so  disparate  from  itself  and  so 
powerful  without  becoming  itself  radically  affected 
by  the  act.  De  Jong  is  quite  right  in  rejecting 
utterly  the  plea  that  Christianity  borrowed  any  of 
its  tenets  from  the  Mithraic  cult  (Das  antike  Mys- 
terienwesen,  p.  60). 

It  was  only  at  the  end  of  the  2nd  cent,  that  this 
mystery-religion  began  to  assume  importance  in  the 
life  of  the  Empire,  but  it  always  remained  local  in 
its  influence.  It  was  a  soldier's  religion,  and  natu- 
rally followed  the  Roman  army  from  encampment 
to  encampment.  One  can  trace  the  movements  of 
the  army  on  the  soil  of  Europe  by  the  surviving 
Mithraic  monuments.  Outside  of  the  army  posts 
it  got  a  footing  along  the  great  routes  of  travel, 
frequented  by  the  Oriental,  who  would  naturally 
carry  his  religion  with  him.  As  a  military  religion 
it  was  confined  socially  to  a  limited  social  life — 
from  the  officers  of  legions,  governors  of  provinces, 
to  their  captives  and  slaves.  Under  such  con- 
ditions extensive  territories  would  lie  beyond  its 
influence  (Toutain,  Les  G'ultes  pa'iens,  ii.  150-159). 
And  from  these  territories,  which  \vere  not  domin- 
ated by  Mithraism,  the  religion  of  Christ  drew  in 
great  measure  its  converts.  Throughout  its  career, 
therefore,  the  Persian  cult  could  have  had  but  slight 
direct  influence  on  the  Christian  faith. 

(g)  The  Orphic  mysteries. — Orphism  is  the  specu- 
lative element  in  the  Thracian  worship  of  Dionysus. 
The  oldest  witness  to  Orphism  is  Herodotus  (ii.  81), 
who  emphasizes  the  agreement  of  some  Bacchic 
and  Orphic  customs  with  the  Egyptian  (Rohde, 
Psyche,  ii.  103).  Orpheus  was  its  founder,  and 
from  him  it  received  its  name.  There  are  two 
main  conceptions  of  him,  the  one  laying  the  stress 
on  his  humanity,  the  other  on  his  divinity.  The 
first  presents  him  as  a  historic  figure,  an  immigrant 
from  the  South,  perhaps  Crete,  into  Thrace  and 
Thessaly  (Miss  Harrison,  Prolegomena,  p.  456  ff. ). 
The  second  presents  him  as  a  god,  either  chthonic 
or  celestial.  His  assumed  chthonic  character  is 
based  on  the  derivation  of  his  name  from  6p(pv>j,  the 
darkness  of  the  nether  world.  If  he  was  a  god, 
he  was  originally  identified  with  Dionysus.  Seeck 
believes  that  the  two  were  nearly  related  forms  of 
the  sun-god,  whose  cult  was  strongly  influenced 
by  that  of  Sabazius,  who  was  Thracian  as  well 
as  Phrygian,  an  unmistakable  chthonic  deity,  hia 
symbol  being  the  serpent.  But  the  problem  of  the 
original  inter- relationship  of  Orpheus  and  Dionysus 
remains  still  unsolved.  Miss  Harrison  confesses 
that  '  mythology  has  left  us  no  tangle  more  intri- 
cate and  assuredly  no  problem  half  so  interesting 
as  the  relation  between  the  ritual  and  mythology 
of  Orpheus  and  Dionysos '  (Prolegomena,  p.  455). 
Orpheus,  however,  failed  to  keep  the  position 
which  his  supposed  identification  with  Dionysus 
gave  him  ;  for  later  he  appears  merely  as  a  priest 
of  Dionysus  and  a  promoter  of  the  Dionysiac 
mysteries.  In  spite  of  his  close  relationship  to 
him  there  are  distinctions  which  separate  them  and 
give  to  Orpheus  an  individuality  of  his  own.  Two 
distinguishing  features  characterize  the  cult,  which 
often  bears  his  name  rather  than  that  of  Dionysus. 
The  first  was  its  capacity  to  embody  the  finer  as- 
pirations of  the  soul  in  fitting  melody.  This  cap- 
acity was  presumably  due  to  Orpheus,  whose  soft 
and  gentle  music,  varied  in  its  expression,  could 
easily  be  contrasted  with  the  uniformly  wild  and 
strident  strains,  more  customary  among  his  actual 
or  adopted  countrymen.  The  second  feature  was 
its  possession  of  an  abundant  sacred  literature, 
such  as  was  wanting  in  the  other  mystery-religions, 
with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  that  of  Isis.  In 
its  form  it  was  poetical,  and  continued  to  increase 
in  volume  from  the  6th  cent.  B.C.  to  the  4th  cent. 
A.D.  (Lobeck,  Aglaophamus,  pp.  341-347).  In 
character  it  was  dogmatic,  presenting  authorita- 


tively its  peculiar  view  of  the  world  and  of  man. 
Time  was  the  original  generative  power.  Thence 
came  ^Ether  or  the  heavenly  world,  and  Chaos,' the 
mighty  void  (ireXupiov  xdcr/xa).  Time  produced  a 
silver  egg  which  yEther  fructified  and  over  which 
Chaos  brooded.  From  the  egg  Phanes,  the  mystic 
principle  of  the  world,  was  born.  The  new  deity 
was  two-fold  in  gender,  male  and  female  at  once, 
and  from  its  co-ordinated  activities  a  universe 
emerged,  which  it  reduced  to  harmonious  arrange- 
ment. Then  follows  a  succession  of  deities,  among 
which  are  the  Titans,  and  the  sole  ruler,  Kronos, 
who  swallows  his  own  children  and  is  finally  con- 
quered and  supplanted  by  Zeus.  Each  succession 
of  rulers  introduces  a  new  ordering  of  the  world — 
a  new  epoch.  At  the  end  of  the  succession  Dio- 
nysus appears,  with  the  added  name  of  Zagreus, 
possibly  a  chthonic  deity.  While  he  was  still  a 
child  his  father,  Zeus,  entrusted  to  him  the  govern- 
ment of  the  world.  The  evil  Titans,  the  enemies 
of  Zeus,  approached  him  in  disguise  at  the  insti- 
gation of  the  jealous  Hera,  and  gained  his  good- 
will by  gifts.  While  he  was  intent  on  one  of  the 
gifts  they  fell  upon  him,  but  Zagreus  escaped  from 
them  by  repeated  transformations  of  himself.  At 
last  they  caught  him  when  he  was  in  the  form  of 
a  bull  and  tore  him  into  pieces,  all  of  which  except 
the  heart  they  swallowed.  Zeus,  hearing  of  his 
death,  avenged  it  by  smiting  the  Titans  with  a 
thunder-bolt,  and  out  of  their  ashes  the  race  of  man 
arose,  possessing  according  to  its  origin  good 
qualities  (dionysiac)  and  evil  qualities  (titanic). 
The  legend  which  recounts  the  restoration  of 
Dionysus  to  his  former  life  and  glory  is  varied. 
But  he,  as  restored,  introduced  a  new  era  in  Avhich 
mankind  is  now  living.  The  story,  thus  briefly 
recounted,  is  very  old.  Onomacritus  of  Athens 
(530-485  B.C.)  evidently  had  it  under  his  hands. 
The  Orphic  theology  begins  with  it  and  continues 
in  it.  For  man  by  nature  is  dominated  by  an  evil 
principle,  from  which  he  must  seek  to  free  himself. 
It  is  his  original  sin,  which  holds  him  down  morally, 
and  his  hope  of  victory  lies  in  Dionysus  Zagreus, 
to  whom  the  government  of  the  world  has  again 
fallen.  But  in  the  effort  to  attain  victory  certain 
ritualistic  practices  are  enjoined,  such  as  abstin- 
ence from  certain  foods,  meat,  eggs,  and  beans, 
and  wearing  of  white  garments,  and  the  offering 
of  unbloody  sacrifices. 

The  Orphic  theology  dealt  with  the  soul  not 
merely  as  it  exists  in  this  world,  but  with  its  fate 
in  the  future  world.  On  the  one  hand,  the  Orphic 
doctrine  of  the  state  of  the  blessed  dead  was  the  re- 
verse of  the  dreary  conception  which,  applied  to 
all  but  a  few  persons,  was  prevalent  in  the  time  of 
Homer.  On  the  other  hand,  its  doctrine  of  final  re- 
tribution was  almost  as  sombre  as  that  of  Chinese 
Buddhism.  The  idea  of  transmigration  formed  the 
central  point  of  its  viesv  of  the  future.  This  idea, 
with  others,  seems  to  point  to  a  close  connexion  at 
some  early  period  between  the  cult  and  the  Egyptian 
mysteries,  and  to  sustain  the  theory  that  Orphism 
was  derived  mainly  from  Egypt.  But  the  con- 
nexion of  Orphism  with  Thracian  beliefs  and  trends 
is  too  deep-seated  and  unmistakable  to  give  room 
to  this  theory.  The  doctrine  of  transmigration, 
which  we  find  alike  in  India  and  Egypt,  must  have 
been  an  extensive  belief  in  remote  times.  No  one 
knows  whence  it  came,  and  it  is  likely  to  have  been 
as  native  to  Thrace  and  Thessaly  or  to  lower  Italy, 
where  the  cult  early  made  its  home,  as  to  India  or 
to  Egypt.  At  a  primitive  period  it  made  its  way, 
as  a  religious  conviction,  into  Orphic  teaching,  and 
so  came,  not  from  the  philosophers  to  the  priests, 
but  rather  from  the  priests  to  the  philosophers  (R. 
Falke,  '  Die  Seelenwanderung,"  in  Biblische  Zeit- 
und  Streitfragen,  Berlin,  1913,  p.  5). 

About  the  year  600  B.C.   the  Orphic  influence 


62 


MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES 


MYSTICISM 


began  its  march  southward  through  Greece,  inaugu- 
rating one  of  the  greatest  conversions  the  world 
has  experienced.  It  embodied  itself  in  the  form 
of  the  Dionysiac  religion,  and  reinforced  the  waning 
worship  of  Dionysus  which  had  established  itself 
in  Greece  as  early  as  the  days  of  Homer.  But  its 
advent  was  not  graciously  received  (Plato,  Rep. 
364  E).  Nevertheless,  its  missionary  spirit  was 
ardent  and  persistent.  It  not  only  continued  to 
found  its  own  sanctuaries,  but  is  supposed  to  have 
exercised  a  profound  moulding  power  over  other 
cults.  Thus  far  the  precise  degree  of  its  influence 
on  them  has  not  been  determined.  Much  discus- 
sion has  been  centred  on  its  influence  upon  the 
Eleusinian  mysteries  in  particular.  But  the  ver- 
dicts of  individual  judges  differ  widely.  Miss 
Harrison  (Prolegomena,  p.  540  f.),  Seeck  (Gesch. 
iii.  19),  and  B.  I.  Wheeler  (Dionysos  and  Im- 
mortality, Boston,  1899,  p.  35)  give  it  great  weight ; 
while  Rohde  (Psyche,  i.  285),  one  of  our  most  dis- 
tinguished authorities,  gives  it  no  weight  at  all. 
De  Jong  (Das  antike  Mysterienwesen,  p.  28)  justly 
feels  that  the  utter  denial  of  it  would  be  rash. 
But  its  influence  in  other  directions  is  undoubted. 
If  it  failed  to  touch  the  Eleusinian  cult,  it  cer- 
tainly helped  to  mould  the  thought  of  Pindar 
and  Plato  ;  it  evidently  contributed  to  the  Pytha- 
gorean philosophy  (Rohde,  Psyche,  ii.  109) ;  and 
its  teachings  were  prized  by  the  Stoics,  the  neo- 
Platonists,  and  the  Gnostic  sects.  Its  influence  on 
the  Scriptures  of  the  NT  is  quite  problematical. 
The  witness  for  the  origin  in  Orphism  of  the  custom, 
mentioned  in  1  Co  1529,  is  too  late  to  be  important ; 
and  the  story  of  the  descent  of  Orpheus  into  Hades 
bears  no  close  resemblance  to  that  of  Christ's 
descent  into  hell.  And  it  is  more  than  doubtful 
whether  the  passages  Mt  II14 1711  1614,  Jn  92-3  imply 
the  Orphic  view  of  the  hereafter.  Its  degree  of 
influence  on  the  Christianity  of  later  times  is  too 
elusive  to  be  estimated.  The  painters  of  the 
Catacombs  seem  to  have  used  Orpheus,  '  charming 
the  wild  beasts,'  as  a  symbol  of  Christ.  But  when 
one  recalls  the  pantheistic  trend  of  the  Orphic  con- 
ception of  God,  and  the  superficial  character  of  its 
idea  of  redemption,  one  becomes  sensible  of  the 
radical  distinctions  separating  the  Orphic  and  the 
Christian  theologies. 

On  the  whole,  the  mystery-religions  exercised  but 
a  slight  influence  on  the  oldest  Christianity  (Clemen, 
Der  Einfluss  der  Mysterienreligionen,  p.  81).  And 
when,  after  the  beginning  of  the  3rd  cent.,  they 
were  in  a  position  to  exert  it  with  any  degree  of 
potency,  the  Church  had  already  substantially 
formed  her  doctrines.  Similarities  of  terms  used 
by  both  can  be  explained  on  the  ground  that  both 
drew  their  expressions  from  a  common  stock  of 
language,  which  the  religious  aspirations  of  the 
past  had  formed.  St.  Paul  would  naturally  use 
the  ordinary  religious  speech  of  his  day,  but  the 
ideas  expressed  in  it  by  him  were  not  the  ideas  of 
the  mystery-religions.  They  bore  another  character 
and  breathed  a  different  spirit.  In  its  early  cere- 
monies and  customs  Christianity  gave  no  indication 
that  it  was  a  mystery-religion.  Its  Scriptures,  its 
doctrines,  even  its  sacraments,  were  open  to  the 
gaze  of  all.  It  was  not  until  the  4th  cent,  that  the 
secrecy  which  reminds  us  of  that  of  the  mystery- 
religions  made  itself  conspicuous  and  began  to  be 
strictly  enjoined  on  the  communicant.  But  even 
then  the  substantial  doctrines  of  Christianity, 
formed  centuries  before  this,  kept  it  steady  under 
pagan  accumulations,  and  enabled  it  in  the  course 
of  years  to  throw  off  more  or  less  of  this  accre- 
tion. For  example,  the  secrecy,  the  arcani  dis- 
ciplina,  attached  to  its  rites  in  the  time  of 
Augustine  fell  away  and  disappeared  not  long 
after  his  death.  Christianity  can  hardly  be  called 
a  mystery-religion  even  of  a  higher  order,  and  they 


who  thus  designate  it  have  deceived  themselves 
concerning  the  actual  potency  of  the  mystery- 
religions  over  it,  or  have  forgotten  the  steady 
dominance  and  persistence  of  an  inherited  nature. 

LITERATURE.—  L.  R.  Farnell,  The  Cults  of  the  Greek  States, 
5  vols.,  Oxford,  1896-1909,  iii.  and  v.  ;  F.  Cumont,  The  Oriental 
Religions  in  Roman  Paganism,  Chicago,  1911  ;  P.  Gardner, 
The  Religious  Experience  of  St.  Paul,  London,  1911  ;  H.  A.  A. 
Kennedy,  St.  Paul  and  the  Mystery  Religions,  do.,  1913  ;  C. 
Clemen,  Primitive  Christianity  and  its  Non-Jewish  Sources, 
Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1912;  J.  G.  Simpson,  The  Sacraments  of 
the  Gospel,  London,  1914  ;  W.  M.  Groton,  The  Christian 
Eucharist  and  the  Pagan  Cults,  do.,  1914  ;  J.  Toutain,  Leg 
Cultes  paiens  dans  I'empire  romain,  2  vols.,  Paris,  1907-11  ;  C. 
A.  Lobeck,  Aylaophamus,  Konigsberg,  1829  ;  C.  Clemen,  Der 
Einfluss  der  Mysterienreligionen,  Giessen,  1913  ;  R.  Reitzen- 
stein,  Die  hellenistixchen  Mysterienreligionen,  Leipzig,  1910  ; 
K.  H.  E.  de  Jong,  Das  antike  Mysterienwesen,  Leiden,  1909  ; 
G.  Anricb,  Das  antike  Mysterienwesen  in  seinem  Einfluss 
auf  das  Christmtum,  Gottingen,  1893;  L.  R.  Farnell,  art. 
'Mystery,1  in  EBr^  six.  117ff.  ;  L.  C.  Purser,  artt.  'Mys- 
teria'  and  'Orphica,1  in  Smith's  DGRA3,  London,  1890-91, 
ii.  202,  297;  W.  Kroll,  art.  'Mysterien'  in  RGG  iv.  [1912] 

586.  w.  M. 


MYSTICISM.—  There  are  definitions  of  mysticism 
which  place  the  subject  outside  the  limits  of  this 
work.  Harnack  says  :  '  Mysticism  is  Catholic 
piety  in  general,  so  far  as  this  piety  is  not  merely 
ecclesiastical  obedience,  that  is,  fides  implicita.  .  .  . 
If  Protestantism  is  not  at  some  time  yet,  so  far 
as  it  means  anything  at  all,  to  become  entirely 
Mystical,  it  wyill  never  be  possible  to  make  Mys- 
ticism Protestant  without  flying  in  the  face  of 
history  and  Catholicism  '  (History  of  Dogma,  Eng. 
tr.,  London,  1894-99,  vi.  98  ff.).  E.  Lehmann  asserts 
that  '  the  aim  of  mysticism  ...  is  and  always  has 
been  quiescence  and  emptiness  of  soul,  darkened 
consciousness,  and  the  suspension  of  natural  under- 
standing. All  this  eventually  ends  in  conventual 
practices  and  the  technics  of  the  confessional' 
(Mysticism  in  Heathendom  and  Christendom, 
London,  1910,  p.  235).  But  Christian  mysticism 
cannot  be  identified  with  either  its  scholastic  or  its 
ecclesiastical  forms  ;  even  Lehmann,  in  his  sym- 
pathetic account  of  Santa  Teresa,  '  the  greatest 
saint  of  mysticism,"  significantly  describes  her 
thoughts  as  '  almost  Protestant.  .  .  .  Union  with 
God  did  not  mean  union  in  a  pantheistic  sense,  but 
rather  a  transformation  of  the  soul  through  love, 
leading  up  to  a  condition  of  perfect  acquiescence 
to  the  will  of  God  '  (op.  cit.  p.  234).  Harnack  also 
acknowledges  that  '  that  Mysticism  cannot  cer- 
tainly be  banished  which  at  one  time  is  called 
Quietism,  at  another  time  "  Spurious  Mysticism"  ; 
for  the  Church  continually  gives  impulses  towards 
the  origination  of  this  kind  of  Christianity,  and 
can  itself  in  no  way  avoid  training  it,  up  to  a 
certain^point'  (op.  cit.  vii.  100).  That  mysticism 
degenerated  into  fanaticism  which  has  no  warrant 
in  apostolic  teaching  is  indisputable  ;  it  is,  for  this 
reason,  essential  that  the  false  mysticism  should 
be  distinguished  from  the  true.  '  It  was  always 
the  Ultra's,  who,  by  making  an  appeal  to  them, 
brought  discredit  upon  the  "Church"  Mystics' 
(Harnack,  op.  cit.  vi.  105  n.). 

Mysticism  and  historical  religion  are  sometimes 
regarded  as  mutually  exclusive  alternatives.  S. 
W.  Fresenius,  having  expounded  Luther's  teach- 
ing in  his  de  Libertate  Christiana,  says  :  '  that  is 
historical  religion  as  the  Reformers  understood  it, 
but  it  is  not  Mysticism  '  (Mystik  und  geschichtliche 
Religion,  Gottingen,  1912,  p.  94).  There  may, 
however,  be  a  mystical  element  in  Christianity, 
although  it  does  not  rest  upon  a  mystical  basis. 
Christianity  is  a  historical  religion  founded  on 
facts,  apart  from  which  the  experience  of  Christian 
believers  is  inexplicable  ;  that  experience  is  mysti- 
cal in  proportion  as  the  soul  has  direct  personal 
intercourse  with  God  through  Christ.  But  this 
is  not  to  affirm  that  every  Christian  realizes  the 
mystical  implications  of  his  own  experience.  From 


MYSTICISM 


MYSTICISM 


63 


Apostolic  Christianity  it  is  impossible  to  exclude 
the  mysticism  which  has  been  denned  as  '  the  type 
of  religion  which  puts  the  emphasis  on  immediate 
awareness  of  relation  with  God,  on  direct  and  inti- 
mate consciousness  of  the  Divine  Presence.  It  is 
religion  in  its  most  acute,  intense,  and  living  stage' 
(Rufus  Jones,  Studies  in  Mystical  Religion,  London, 
1909,  p.  xv). 

The  result  of  the  contact  of  Christianity  with 
non-Christian  philosophies  was  the  intrusion  of 
non-Christian  elements  into  Christian  mysticism. 
But  its  corruptions  ought  not  to  be  identified  with 
its  essence.  The  mysticism  which  Harnack  con- 
demns had  its  origin  in  the  philosophy  of  Dionysius 
the  Areopagite  (4th  cent.):  'The  mystical  and 
pietistic  devotion  of  to-day,  even  in  the  Protestant 
Church,  draws  its  nourishment  from  writings 
whose  connection  with  those  of  the  pseudo-Areo- 
pagitic  can  still  be  traced  through  its  various  in- 
termediate stages'  (op.  cit.  i.  361).  But  Christian 
mysticism  differs  essentially  from  the  '  Platonic 
mysteriosophy '  of  Dionysius  with  its  pantheistic 
tendency  and  its  exclusive  insistence  on  the  via 
negativa  (W.  R.  Inge,  Christian  Mysticism, 
London,  1899,  p.  105).  The  mystical  element  in 
the  Christian  religion  is  found  in  the  earliest 
stages  of  its  history.  Divine  revelation  could  not 
possibly  '  leave  untouched  the  mystical  yearnings 
of  mankind.  .  .  .  Not  only  in  John,  but  also  in 
Paul,  there  are  plentiful  traces  of  Mysticism'  (S. 
M.  Deutsch,  '  Theologie,  mystische,*  in  PEE*  xix. 
[1907]  635  ;  cf.  ExpT  xix.  [1907-08]  304).  To  some 
of  these  traces  attention  must  now  be  directed ; 
it  will  then  be  necessary  to  inquire  how  far  the 
apostles  had  the  mind  of  Christ. 

1.  Pauline  mysticism.  —  Inge  has  shown  that 
the  mystical  element  in  St.  Paul's  theology  has 
been  under-estimated ;  that  '  all  the  essentials  of 
mysticism  are  to  be  found  in  his  Epistles,'  and 
that  his  authority  has  been  wrongly  claimed  for 
two  false  and  mischievous  developments  of  mysti- 
cism, namely,  'contempt  for  the  historical  frame- 
work of  Christianity,'  and  '  extreme  disparagement 
of  external  religion — of  forms  and  ceremonies  and 
holy  days  and  the  like'  (op,  cit.  p.  69 ff.).  Von 
Hiigel  finds  '  in  St.  Paul  not  only  a  deeply  mystical 
element,  but  mysticism  of  the  noblest,  indeed  the 
most  daringly  speculative,  world-embracing  type ' 
(The  Mystical  Element  of  Religion,  London,  1908, 
i.  35).  Referring  to  St.  Paul  as  an  ecstatic  mystic, 
this  able  Roman  Catholic  interpreter  of  mysticism 
supplies  a  salutary  test  for  such  experiences : 
'  Visions  and  voices  are  to  be  accepted  by  the 
mind  only  in  proportion  as  they  convey  some 
spiritual  truth  of  importance  to  it  or  to  others, 
and  as  they  actually  help  it  to  become  more 
humble,  true,  and  loving'  (op.  cit.  ii.  47).  Inge 
says :  '  These  recorded  experiences  are  of  great 
psychological  interest ;  but .  .  .  they  do  not  seem  to 
me  to  belong  to  the  essence  of  Mysticism '  (op.  cit. 
p.  63  f.). 

The  most  important  elements  of  St.  Paul's 
mysticism  are  derived  from  his  experience  of 
fellowship  with  the  living  Christ.  W.  K.  Fleming 
gives  a  useful  summary  of  '  the  special  points  with 
regard  to  which  Mysticism  gains  its  inspiration 
and  direction  from  St.  Paul '  (Mysticism  in  Chris- 
tianity, London,  1913,  p.  30 ff.).  The  subject  is 
more  extensively  and  most  luminously  treated  by 
Miss  Underbill  (The  Mystic  Way,  London,  1913, 
ch.  iii.),  though  the  technical  phraseology  of  the 
great  mystics  is,  at  times,  too  rigidly  applied  to 
the  Apostle's  spiritual  experiences.  Rufus  Jones 
holds  that  the  term  '  mystic '  more  properly  be- 
longs to  St.  Paul  than  to  St.  John,  because 
'  Paul's  Christianity  takes  its  rise  in  an  inward 
experience,  and  from  beginning  to  end  the  stress 
is  upon  Christ  inwardly  experienced  and  re-lived  ' 


(op.  cit.  p.  16).  St.  Paul's  explanation  of  his  initi- 
ation into  the  spiritual  life  is :  'It  was  the  good 
pleasure  of  God  to  reveal  his  Son  in  me'  (Gal  I15f-)- 
In  his  doctrine  of  mystical  union  with  Christ  he 
gives  pregnant  expression  to  his  own  consciousness 
of  oneness  with  Christ :  '  when  he  came  to  analyze 
his  own  feelings,  and  to  dissect  this  idea  of  oneness, 
it  was  natural  to  him  to  see  in  it  certain  stages, 
corresponding  to  those  great  acts  of  Christ,  to  see 
in  it  something  corresponding  to  death,  something 
corresponding  to  burial  .  .  .,  and  something  corre- 
sponding to  resurrection  '  (Sanday-Headlam,  ICC, 
'  Romans >s,  1902,  p.  162,  note  on  Ro  61'14).  Appeal- 
ing from  Kant  and  Ritschl  and  Herrmann  to  Luther 
and  his  doctrine  of  the  unio  mystica,  Soderblom 
argues  that  '  the  mystical  union  ...  is  a  getfuine 
constituent  of  evangelical  Christianity,  inasmuch 
as  its  mysticism  is  inseparably  bound  up  with  the 
essentials  of  every  Christian  life,  that  is  to  say, 
with  the  forgiveness  of  sins  and  with  justification  ' 
(Religion  und  Geisteskultur,  vi.  [1912]  298  ff. ;  cf. 
ExpT  xxiv.  [1912-13]  117).  Another  truth  which 
St.  Paul  put  in  the  forefront  of  his  teaching  finds  its 
highest  expression  in  his  great  hymn  in  praise  of 
Love(l  Co  13),  for  therein  he  'declares  the  con- 
ditions, and  sets  the  standard,  to  which  the  whole 
of  Christian  mysticism  has  since  striven  to  con- 
form' (Under hill,  op.  cit.  p.  205).  Finally,  as 
Moberly  has  impressively  said,  '  the  real  truth  of 
Christian  Mysticism  is,  in  fact,  the  doctrine,  or 
rather  the  experience,  of  the  Holy  Ghost.'  Mysti- 
cism is  '  the  realization  of  the  Spirit  of  Holiness, 
the  Spirit  of  the  Creator  of  Heaven  and  Earth,  in, 
and  as,  the  climax  of  human  personality'  (Atone- 
ment and  Personality,  London,  1901,  p.  312).  In 
this  doctrine  the  key  to  St.  Paul's  mysticism  is 
found,  for  if  Christ  is  to  dwell  in  our  hearts 
through  faith  we  need  to  pray  that  we  may  be 
'strengthened  with  power  through  his  Spirit  in 
the  inward  man'  (Eph  316). 

2.  Johannine  mysticism. — '  The  greatest  monu- 
ment of  most  genuine  appreciation  of  St.  Paul's 
mysticism  ...  is  the  Gospel  and  the  Epistles  of  St. 
John'   (Deissmann,   St.  Paul,  Eng.   tr.,   London, 
1912,  p.  133).      The  two  apostles  agree  in  giving 
prominence  to  the  mystic  idea  of  the  believer's 
oneness  with  Christ,  to  the  pre-eminence  of  Love, 
and  to  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  Source  of  knowledge 
of  the  things  of  God,  the  Giver  and  Sustainer  of 
spiritual  life,  and  the  witness  to  the  Divine  son- 
snip  of  believers.     St.  John's  chief  contributions 
to  the  mystical  element  in  religion  are  (1)  that  by 
his  insistence  on  a  historical  revelation  in  time 
'  he  counterpoises  the  strong  mystical  tendency  in 
succeeding  ages  to  regard   the  Gospel  story  as  a 
kind  of  drama,'  as  though  the  birth,  death,  and 
resurrection  of  Christ  took  place  within  the  soul ; 
'  Yet  he  views  what  he  holds  as  historical  under 
so  mystical  an  aspect,  that  it  would  be  right  to 
say  that  for  him  all  life  is  sacramental ;  above  all, 
the  Life  of    lives '  (Fleming,  op.    cit.    p.  38) ;  (2) 
that,  by  his  use  of  symbols  in  the  expression  of 
mystical  thought,    he    so    treats  the  words  and 
works  of  Christ  as  to  ensure  that  'all  things  in 
the  world  may  remind  us  of  Him  who  made  them, 
and  who  is  their  sustaining  life'  (Inge,  op.  cit.  p. 
59). 

3.  Mysticism  of  other  NT  writers.— The  mystical 
element  in  the  remaining  NT  Epistles  is  of  minor 
importance.     In  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  visible 
things  are  regarded  as  symbols  of  invisible  realities 
of  the  spiritual  world ;  the  mystic  conception  of 
life  as  an  exile  and  a  pilgrimage  also  has  a  place 
(He  l!13ff-  1314;  cf.  1  P  I17  211).     'St.  Peter,  who 
shares  the  Johannine  conception  as  to  the  "  incor- 
ruptible seed, "echoes  the  thought  of  both  St.  John 
and  St.  Paul  as  to  the  timelessness  of  the  redemp- 
tive process '  (Fleming,  op.  cit.  p.  44). 


64 


MYSTICISM 


NAME 


As  regards  the  mystical  element  in  the  writings 
of  apostolic  men  before  the  close  of  the  1st  cent, 
it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  judgment  of  Rufus 
Jones  as  to  the  Church  Fathers  in  general  applies 
especially  to  this  early  period  :  '  The  Fathers  were 
not  "  mystics"  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word. 
Their  type  of  religion  was  mainly  objective  and 
historical,  rather  than  subjective  and  inward '  (op. 
cit.  p.  80). 

4.  Christ  'the  true  mystic.' — When  Moberly 
asserts  that  '  it  is  Christ  who  is  the  true  mystic,' 
he  is  referring  to  the  disproportionate  emphasis 
which  mystics  of  various  schools  (ascetic,  contem- 
plative, symbolic,  etc.)  have  laid  upon  their  own 
aspect  of  truth,  and  he  claims  that  '  one  and  all 
the  exaggerations  find  their  full  correction  in  the 
Person  of  the  Incarnate,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ; 
for  all  the  exaggerations  are  partial  lights  from 
the  full  splendour  of  the  presence  of  His  Spirit, 
which  is  the  ideal  meaning  of  Christian  person- 
ality.' To  those  who  hesitate  to  speak  of  Christ 
as  the  true  mystic,  Moberly  says  :  '  If  the  mode  of 
expression  be  preferred,  it  is  He  who  alone  has 
realized  all  that  mysticism  and  mystics  have 
aimed  at.  ...  In  Him  this  perfect  realization 
evidently  means  a  harmony,  a  sanity,  a  fitly  pro- 
portioned completeness.  ...  In  being  the  ideal  of 
mysticism,  it  is  also  the  ideal  of  general,  and  of 
practical,  and  of  all,  Christian  experience '  (op.  cit. 
p.  314).  When  the  Synoptic  narratives  are  read 
in  this  light,  the  main  elements  of  mysticism  are 
found  therein.  Miss  Underbill  is  more  ambitious, 
and  strives  to  show  that  the  characteristic  experi- 
ences of  great  mystics,  as,  e.g.,  Suso  and  Teresa, 
'  are  found  in  a  heightened  form  in  the  life  of 
their  Master'  (op.  cit.  p.  77).  This  involves  some 
straining  of  the  records  and  the  anachronistic 
application  to  our  Lord's  experiences  of  mediaeval 
phraseology.  But  it  remains  true  that  although 
'  the  first  three  Gospels  are  not  written  in  the 
religious  dialect  of  Mysticism,'  yet  in  the  earliest 
accounts  of  the  teaching  of  Christ '  the  vision  of 
God  is  promised  .  .  .  only  to  those  who  are  pure 
in  heart,'  the  inwardness  of  the  blessings  of  His 
Kingdom  is  emphasized,  and  He  identifies  Himself 


with  the  least  of  His  brethren.  In  the  Synoptists 
is  also  found  '  the  law  of  gain  through  loss,  of  life 
through  death, — which  is  the  corner-stone  of  mys- 
tical (and,  many  have  said,  of  Christian)  ethics' 
(Inge,  op.  cit.  p.  44). 

Of  mysticism  which  is  impatient  of  the  historical 
facts  which  are  the  foundation  of  the  Christian 
religion  and  has  no  need  of  Christ  as  Mediator, 
the  apostolic  writers  know  nothing.  P.  T.  Forsyth, 
who  has  no  sympathy  with  mysticism  of  this  type 
(cf.  ExpT  v.  [1893-94]  401  if.),  has,  nevertheless, 
said :  '  We  need  more  mystic  souls  and  mystic 
hours.  But  the  true  mysticism  is  not  raptly  dwell- 
ing in  the  mystery  of  God,  it  is  really  living  on 
His  miracle.  .  .  .  And  the  only  mysticism  with  a 
lease  of  life  is  that  which  surrounds  the  moral 
miracle  which  makes  Christianity  in  the  end 
evangelical  or  nothing.  It  is  the  mysticism  of 
the  cross'  (The  Principle  of  Authority,  London, 
1912,  p.  465).  Christian  mysticism,  as  understood 
by  the  apostles,  is  also  the  mysticism  of  the  Spirit. 
'  The  Christianity  which  is  content  to  remain 
"  non-mystical "  is  impoverished  at  the  very  centre 
of  its  being.  All  Christians  profess  belief  in  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Had  only  all  Christians  understood, 
and  lived  up  to,  their  belief,  they  would  all  have 
been  mystics '  (Moberly,  op.  cit.  p.  316). 

LITERATURE.— In  addition  to  the  works  mentioned  in  the  art., 
see  H.  Hering,  Die  Mystik  Luthersim  Zusammenhange  seiner 
Theologie,  Leipzig,  1879 ;  M.  Reischle,  Ein  Wort  zur  Contro- 
verse  uber  die  Mystik,  Freiburg  i.  B.,  1886 ;  G.  Klepl,  Zur 
UmbildungdesreligiosenDenkens,  Leipzig,  1908;  P.  Mehlhorn, 
'  Christliche  Mystik,'  in  RGG  iv.  [Tubingen,  1912-13]  600  ff. ; 
G.  Lasch,  'Mystik  und  Protestantismus,'  in  Religion  und 
Geisteskultur,  v.  [Gottingen,  1911]  34 ff.;  N.  Sbderblom,  Re- 
ligionsproblemet  inom  Katolicism  och  Protestantism,  Stockholm, 
1910  ;  W.  Herrmann,  The  Communion  of  the  Christian  urith 
God,  Eng.  tr.2,  London,  1906;  W.  Major  Scott,  Aspects  oj 
Christian  Mysticism,  do.,  1907 ;  J.  M.  Campbell,  Paul  the 
Mystic,  do.,  1907;  E.  C.  Gregory,  An  Introduction  to  Christian 
Mysticism?,  do.,  1908 ;  H.  B.  Workman,  Christian  Thought  to 
the  Reformation,  do.,  1911 ;  W.  T.  Davison,  The  Indwelling 
Spirit,  do.,  1911 ;  F.  von  Hiigel,  Eternal  Life,  Edinburgh, 
1912  ;  A.  Seth  Pringle-Pattison,  '  Mysticism,'  in  EBr^i  xix. 
123 ff.;  O.  C.  Quick,  'The  Value  of  Mysticism  in  Religious 
Faith  and  Practice,'  in  JThSt  xiiL  [1911-12]  161  ff.,  and  '  Mysti- 
cism :  its  Meaning  and  Danger,'  in  ib.  xiv.  [1912-13]  1  ff. ; 
H.  Kelly,  The  Meaning  of  Mysticism,  in  ib.  ail.  481. 

J.  G.  TASKER. 


NAME  (ovofui). — 'Naming,'  says  De  Quincy,*  'is 
not  a  pre-historic,  but  a  pre-mythical,  not  only  a 
pre-mythical,  but  even  a  pre-fabulous  and  a  pre- 
traditional  thesis.'  Indeed  man  must,  at  a  very 
early  period  of  his  history,  have  been  forced  to  give 
names  to  the  things  and  beings  around  him,  and 
even  to  those  which  existed  only  in  his  imagination. 
We  may  suppose,  either  that  sensations  and  actions 
first  received  appellations,  and  then  the  objects 
which  caused  these  were  named  after  them ;  or, 
what  is  far  more  likely,  that  first  of  all  objects  and 
actions  essential  to  life  gradually  acquired  names. 
Such  designations  would  not  be  given  unthinkingly, 
but  rather,  as  onomatopoetic  terms  indicate,  on 
account  of  some  peculiarity  in  that  to  which  the 
name  was  given. 

The  derivations  given  as  those  of  certain  names  in  the  OT,  even 
if  incorrect,  indicate  that  names,  like  nicknames,  were  given  for 
some  reason.! 

*  A.  H.  Japp,  Life  of  Thomas  De  Quincy,  1890,  p.  863. 

t  A.  Lang,  '  The  Origin  of  Totem  Names  and  Beliefs,'  in  PL 

viii.  [1902]  382  ff. 


1.  Names  of  persons.* — Ethnologists  picture  the 
earliest  men  as  living  together  in  little  herds,  '  co- 
operative groups,'  as  Bagehot  calls  them.t  Such 
a  group  would  acquire  a  name  from  some  object  or 
animal  with  which  it  was  closely  associated.  This 
would,  most  probably,  be  bestowed  on  it  by  a 
neighbouring  group  and  then  be  used  by  the  group 
to  indicate  itself  to  others.  The  animal  or  other 
thing  by  which  it  was  thus  designated  became  its 
totem.  Worshippers  of  a  totem  marked  them- 
selves with  it,  and  by  the  mark  '  men  of  the  same 
stock  recognised  one  another ' ;  J  hence  the  totem 
mark,  which  was  connected  with  the  habit  of  tatu- 
ing,  became  the  tribal  mark.  The  name  of  an 
individual  seems  originally  to  have  been  his  stock- 
name,  oy  is  primarily  a  stock-name  rather  than 
that  of  an  individual.^  Hence  arose  such  totem- 

*  Names  of  countries,  places,  nations,  natural  objects,  and 
animals,  civic  names,  and  those  of  persons  mentioned  in  the 
OT  and  in  the  Gospels,  do  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  this  article. 

t  W.  Bagehot,  Physics  and  Politics,  new  ed.,  n.d.,  p.  213. 

J  W.  R.  Smith,  Kinship  and  Marriage  in  Early  Arabia,  1908, 
p.  251. 

§  Ib.  p.  248. 


NAME 


NAME 


65 


istic  names  as  those  of  animals,  etc.*  In  course 
of  time  these  and  all  other  names  tended  to  lose 
their  primitive  significance  and  became  mere 
hereditary  designations.  Such  are'A/cuXas(Aquila),t 
the  Grsecized  form  of  the  Latin  aquila,  '  eagle  '  ; 
"A7a/3os  (Agabus),*  very  probably  a  Gr.  form  of 
33ij,  'locust';  Adyuapu  (Damaris),§  probably  a  cor- 
ruption of  Aci/mXis,  '  heifer,'  '  Damalis,'  indeed, 
being  the  reading  of  one  Latin  MS.  The  Heb. 
'3$  has  in  Aram,  the  form  N;:IQ  (Tabitha).  In  the 
LXX  this  is  translated  AopKds,[|  'gazelle';  while 
'P6Sri  (Rhoda)IT  is  simply  the  word  for  a  rose. 

As  the  totemistic  tribes  amalgamated,  the  wider 
life  demanded  more  exact,  more  personal,  designa- 
tions. Hence  some  peculiarity,  bodily,  intellectual, 
or  moral,  which  was,  or  which  it  was  hoped  would 
be,  exhibited  by  the  individual,  was  assigned  to 
him  as  a  name.  Thus  from  dX^Kw,  '  defend,'  and 
d.vr)p  we  have  '  AX^avSpos  (Alexander),**  '  a  defender 
of  men  '  ;  from  the  Latin  amplius,  '  great  or  noble,' 
we  have  the  Gr.  name  'A/x7r\iay  (Amplias),tt  or  in 
a  longer  form  'AjUTrXtarvs  (Ampliatus).  Something 
striking  in  the  appearance  is  indicated  by  the  name 
'E7ra0p65n-os  (Epaphroditus),££  the  Gr.  word  for 
'  handsome'  ;  from  dvdpelos,  'manly,'  comes  'A.v8p4a$ 
(Andrew),  §§  as  'PoO^us  is  just  the  Greek  form  of 
RufuSjHH  'red.'  Some  peculiar  circumstance  attend- 
ing a  child's  birth  may  suggest  a  name,  as  'Aypiirira 
(Agrippa),HH  'one  born  feet  first.'  What  names 
could  be  more  appropriate  for  a  trusted  slave  than 
'OTjcrijUos  (Onesimus),***  the  Greek  adjective  for 
'helpful,'  or  'Orjo-i^opo?  (Onesiphorus),tit  'the 
profit-bringer  ?  '  A  Hebrew  king  bore  the  name 
DnjD,  'comforter,'  which  in  the  LXX  is  TAa.va.-fiv 


In  the  development  of  religion  man,  having  come 
to  believe  in  spirits  and  raised  some  of  these,  partly 
by  giving  them  names,  into  divinities,  began  to  in- 
corporate in  a  personal  name  that  of  a  deity  ;  and 
thus  we  have  theomorphous  names.  Such  a  practice 
was  almost  inevitable  when  men  began  to  give 
names  to  the  lower  divinities  as  angels,  whose 
names  Mtxtt^\(Michael),§§§  and  ra£pti7X(Gabriel),|||I|| 
like  Raphael  and  Uriel,  are  both  compounds  of  SN. 
As  it  was  believed  that  a  divinity  was  of  necessity 
closely  connected  with  a  person  if  the  name  of  the 
former  was  introduced  into  that  of  the  latter,  the 
custom  was  extended  to  human  beings. 

The  names  of  exalted  personages,  like  kings,  were  often  com- 
pounded of  divine  names.  Most  of  the  names  of  the  Egyptian 
kings  have  incorporated  in  them  the  names  of  Ra,  Amon.etc.^H 
The  great  majority  of  Mesopotamian  names  contain  the  name 
of  a  god,  the  greater  number  containing  two,  some  three, 
such  elements,  as  Sin-kalama-idi,  meaning  '  Sin  knows  every- 
thing." ****  Among  the  South  Arabians,  as  among  the  Minseans 
and  Sabaeans,  a  great  many  of  the  personal  names  are  compounds 
of  ilu,  the  generic  name  for  '  God.'  tttt  A  Minsean  inscription  of 
the  Ptolemaic  period  gives  us  the  name  "JNTT  (Zaid-El)  ;  in  1  Mac 
1117  we  have  the  name  Za/SSirjA  as  that  of  an  Arabian  chief, 


'served  as  spells  for  the  protection   of  the  child'  who  bore 
them.§§§§    A  great  number  of  personal  names  in  the  OT  are 


*  ERE  i.  497.  t  Ac  182. 

t  Ezr  2-46,  Ac  1128  ;  ExpT  ix.  [1S97-! 

§  Ac  1734  ;  HDB  i.  545. 

II  Ac  9^6  .  Q.  A.  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  1901,  p.  189. 

1  Ac  1213.  **  Ac  46,  etc. 

ttRo!68.  ni'n2«. 

§5  Ac  113.  »||Rol6i3. 

HH  Ac  2513.  **»  Philem  10.  fff  2  Ti  16  4l». 

it!  Ac  131 ;  Deissmann,  op.  oil.  p.  310. 

§J§  Rev  127  ;  T.  K.  Cheyne  speaks  of  Michael  as  'a  degraded 
(but  an  honourably  degraded)  deity,'  '  a  reflexion,  not  only  of 
Jlithra,  but  of  Marduk,'  as  the  repository  of  the  Name  of  God — 
'one  might  say  that  he  is  the  Name  of 'God'  (Exp,  7th  ser.,  i. 
[1906]  299  ;  ExpT  xvi.  [1904-05]  147,  193,  287). 

II II II  Lk  119. 

^1H  A.  Ennan,  Life  in  Ancient  Egypt,  1894,  p.  56. 

****  F.  Hommel,  Ancient  Hebrew  Tradition,  1897,  pp.  60- 
72  ;  L.  R.  Farnell,  Greece  and  Babylon,  1911,  p.  195. 

tttt  Hommel,  p.  80.  JJJJ  Critical  Review,  vii.  [1897J  413. 

§§§§  Farnell,  op.  cit.  p.  195. 
VOL.  II. — 5 


compounded  of  Jahweh,  El,  or  Baal.  This  custom,  a  survival 
from  animism,  was  not  intended  to  serve  as  a  protection  to 
the  Divine  name,  which  might  not  be  uttered  ;  the  entwining 
of  the  name  of  the  deity  in  the  human  name  meant  the  enlisting 
of  the  power  of  the  god  on  behalf  of  the  man.*  In  such  theo- 
morphous names,  the  predicate  is  sometimes  a  verb  and  some- 
times a  noun ;  the  subject  may  be  at  the  beginning  as  [ru^N 
or  at  the  end  as  Na0afa>7'\.t  This  custom  is  closely  akin  to'the 
Hebrew  one  of  'calling  the  name  over.'  solemnly  invoking  the 
name  of  a  person,  Divine  or  human,  over  a  person  or  place, 
and  thus  linking  them  in  the  closest  possible  connexion.! 

The  records  of  the  Apostolic  Church  furnish  us 
with  several  such  names,  as  'Avavias  (Ananias), §  the 
Gr.  form  of  the  Heb.  rnjn  ('Jahweh  hath  been 
gracious');  Mar^aios  (Matthias), ||  an  abbreviation 
of  Marradias,  the  Gr.  form  of  .Tjpno  ('gift  of 
Jahweh ') ;  Ta/taXnjX  (Gamaliel),!!  the'  Heb.  form  of 
which,  V??3,  means  'reward  of  God.'  Bapj/d/3as 
(Barnabas),**  formerly  taken  as  the  Greek  form  of 
nwayij,  is  in  reality  a  form  of  a  recently  discovered 
Semitic  name,  Bapve/Sots,  and  is  i3}"u  ( 'son  of  Nebo '). 
Demetrius  is  another  instance  of  the  same  thing,  ft 
It  was  not  uncommon  to  brand  or  tatu  the  name  of 
the  deity  on  the  person  by  whose  name  he  was 
called.  It  is  possible  that  St.  Paul  was  alluding 
to  some  such  mark  on  himself  when  he  speaks  of 
bearing '  branded  on  my  body  the  marks  of  Jesus, 'it 
and  the  custom  is  clearly  alluded  to  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse in  the  marking  of  the  adherents  of  the  Beast 
with  his  name  or  the  number  of  his  name,§§  and  the 
marking  of  his  opponents  with  the  seal  of  the 
living  God. ||  ||  In  Greece  we  have  clear  traces,  in 
such  names  as  Apollodorus,  Zeno,  and  Diogenes,  of 
the  incorporation  of  a  divine  name  in  a  human  one. 

As  the  members  of  communities  increased  and 
nations  grew  larger,  necessity  demanded  that  in- 
dividuals bearing  the  same  name  should  be  differ- 
entiated one  from  another.  This  was  done  as  a 
rule  by  making  an  addition  to  the  original  name. 
This  addition  might  be  the  name  of  the  father,  the 
name  of  some  place  with  which  the  individual  was 
specially  connected,  or  another  name  in  some  cases 
in  a  different  language.  All  these  cases  are  dealt 
with  in  the  art.  SURNAME. 

Names,  like  other  words,  were,  in  course  of 
general  use,  subject  to  slight  alterations,  the  most 
important  of  which  may  be  classed  under — 

(a)  Abbreviations  and  diminutives. — A  number 
of  these  occur  in  the  apostolic  writings ;  thus 
Apollonius  is  shortened  into  Apollos  (Ac  1824) ; 
Ampliatus  into  Amplias  (Ro  168) ;  Demetrius  into 
Demas  (Ac  19-4,  3  Jn  12,  2  Ti  410,  etc.) ;  Epaphro- 
ditus  into  Epaphras  (Ph  225,  etc.,  Col  412,  etc.); 
Hermogenes  (like  Hermagoras  and  Hermodorus) 
into  Hernias  (Ro  1614,  2  Ti  I15,  and  the  author  of 
the  Pastor) ;  Lucanus  into  Lucas  (Philem  24,  etc.) ; 
Lucius  into  Lucullus  (Ac  131,  Ro  1621) ;  Silvanus 
into  Silas  (Ac  1522,  etc.,  2  Co  I19,  etc.);  Olympio- 
dorus  into  Olympas  (Ro  1615) ;  Prisca  into  Priscilla 
(Ac  182,  Ro  163,  etc.);  Parmenides  into  Parmenas 
(Ac  65) ;  Tertius  into  Tertullus  (Ac  242,  Ro  1622) ; 
Theodorusinto  Theudas  (Ac  536) ;  and, 'if  Nymphas 
be  the  correct  reading  of  Col  415,  it  is  probably  a 
contraction  of  Nymphodorus. 

Nicknames. — Just  as  names  were  originally  given 
on  account  of  some  peculiarity  in  or  about  a  person, 
so  in  later  times  any  such  peculiarity  was  apt 
through  ridicule  or  contempt  to  result  in  a  nick- 
name. 

An  inscription,  indicating  the  holders  of  seats  in 
the  theatre  of  Miletus,  reads  '  Place  of  the  Jews 
who  are  called  Qeoeefiiov.'  The  designation  is  evi- 
dently a  nickname  given  to  the  Jews  on  account 
of  their  religion.  In  the  times  of  the  Dispersion, 

*  Transactions  of  the  Third  International  Congress  for  the 
History  of  Religions,  2  vols.,  1908,  i.  266 ;  R.  R.  Marett.  The 
Threshold  of  Religion*,  1914,  p.  62. 

t  EBi  iil  3279.  %  Jb.  iii.  3268.  §  Ac  51 910. 

II  Ac  1.  IF  Ac  534.  **  Ac  436  1130. 

tt  Ac  1924,  3  jn  U.  jj  Gai  gi7.  §§  Kev  13"  14". 

Illl  Rev  72  9*  Hi. 


66 


NAME 


NAME 


many  Gentiles  were  attracted  by  the  monotheism 
and  imageless  worship  of  the  Jews,  and  yet  refused 
to  be  circumcised  or  observe  all  the  commands  of 
the  Law.  Such  individuals,  loosely  attached  to  the 
Jews,  were  nicknamed  (poj3oij/j.fvoi  or  <re@6fj.evoi  rbv 
Oebv.  Similarly  the  followers  of  Jesus  were  nick- 
named '  Christianoi,  "Christ's  people,"  a  base- 
Latin  improvisation  by  the  people  of  Antioch,  who 
were  notorious  in  antiquity  for  impudent  wit.'  * 

2.  Names  of  sects  and  parties. — Somewhat  akin 
to  nicknames  are  such   names  as  Herodion,t  evi- 
dently that  of  a  freedman  of  one  of  the  Herods. 
These  again  lead  on  to  names  of  sects  or  parties 
which  are  derived  from  (a)  persons,  e.g.  '  Epicu- 
reans,' J  from  Epicurus  the  founder  of  the  school ; 
'  Nicolaitans.'most  probably  fro  ma  certain  Nicolas,§ 
the  originator  of  the  heresy ;   '  Sadducees,'  from 
Zadok.H 

(6)  Others  again  are  derived  from  places,  e.g. 
'  Nazarenes '  IT — a  term  applied  to  the  followers  of 
Jesus  from  a  name  given  to  Him  from  the  town  in 
which  He  had  been  brought  up  ;  '  Stoics,'  **  from 
the  prod,  the  painted  porch  in  which  Zeno  the 
founder  taught. 

(c)  Other  such  appellations  are  derived  from  some 
peculiarity;  thus  '  Hellenists '  ft  is  a  name  given  to 
certain  Jews  who  spoke  Greek ;  '  Libertines '  IJ  to 
the  descendants  of  Jews  who  had  been  slaves ; 
'  Pharisees '  §§  from  the  Hebrew  DTn$  (Aram.  JT'1?, 
stat.  emphat.  K;?>n$),  meaning  '  the  separated,' 
those  who  had  separated  themselves  from  all  un- 
cleanness  and  illegality,  and  from  all  unclean 
persons. 

3.  Names  and  titles. — It  does  not  fall  within  the 
scope  of  this  article  to  consider  how  an  ordinary 
word  such  as  ev\oyr}T6s,\\\\  '  blessed,'  almost  becomes, 
if  not  a  name,  a  title ;  nor  how  such  a  word  as 
'apostle'  acquired  a  restricted  meaning,  and  be- 
came a  title ;  or  again  how  such  a  title  as  '  high 
priest '  HIT  was  bestowed  on  a  single  individual,  as 
our  Lord  ;  nor  yet  how  the  name  of  an  individual, 
as  'Adam,'  ***  was  applied  to  Him  to  bring  out 
some  particular  function  ;  but  we  can  see  the  word 
Xpiffr6s  passing  from  a  title  '  Jesus  the  Christ '  into 
a  personal  name  'Jesus  Christ.'  ttt  A  religion  in  its 
attempts  to  gain  men  from  another  faith  finds  the 
task  easier  if  it  can  appropriate  and  employ  names 
which  custom  has  made  familiar  to  them. $£}:    The 
religion  of  Jesus,  when  it  entered  the  Roman  world, 
could  not  apply  to  Him  the  names  of  the  pagan 
deities — these  indeed  it  degraded  into  demons — but 
familiar  appellations    could    be    used    to  convey 
kindred  but  higher  truths.     Kvpios  is  an  Oriental 
term  expressing  absolute  dominion  and  absolute 
submission.     The   LXX  used  it  to  translate  the 
exalted  name  Jahweh.§§§    In  Oriental  cults  it  ex- 
pressed such  an  abject  relation  between  a  wor- 
shipper and  his  deity.     'The  Lord  Serapis'  occurs 
in  papyri  of  the  2nd  cent.  A.D.||||||    The  title  came  to 
be  given  to  the  Roman  Emperors.     On  an  ostracon 
dated  A. D.  63  Nero  is  called  'Lord,'  and   Festus 
referring  to  him  speaks  of  writing  T$  Kvpiy.mff, 
An  inscription  at  Philse  dated  62  B.C.  calls  Ptolemy 
XIII.  '  the  lord  king  god.'  ****    We  can  appreciate 
at  once  the  necessity  and  the  advantage  of  the 
Christians  applying  this  word  to  Jesus,  making 

*Jos.  Ant.  xiv.  vii.  2;  Ac  102-22  1316. 26. 43.  so  IGH  174.17 
187;  E.  Schurer,  HJP  n.  ii.  [1885]  308,  314;  Deissmann,  Light 
from  the  Ancient  East,  1911,  p.  446  ;  HDB  i.  384  ;  Ac  1126  ;  T. 
E.  Glover,  The  Conflict  of  Religions  in  the  Early  Roman 
Empire,  1909,  p.  151. 

t  Ro  16H.  J  Ac  1718.  §  Rev  2«-  w,  Ac  6». 

II  Ac  41,  etc. ;  Exp,  8th  ser.,  vi.  [1913]  158. 
If  Ac  245,  Mt  223.          »«  Ac  1718.  tt  Ac  61  (920  1120?) 

tt  Ac  69.  §§  AC  155,  etc. ;  Schurer,  HJP  n.  ii.  19. 

HI!  2  Const,  Roiasgs.          11 «[  He  31,  etc.          ***  1  Co  15«. 
t  DCG  ii.  171,  219  ;  Exp,  8th  ser.,  viii.  [1914]  205. 
:}  L.  R.  Farnell,  The  Enohition  of  Religion,  1905,  p.  32. 
§}}  Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Anc,  East,  p.  353. 
|l||  Ib.  pp.  168,  176.  "I iff  /6.  p.  353  ;  Ac  2528. 

**  Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Anc.  East,  p.  356. 


Him  at  once  the  equal  of  Jahweh,  and  making  His 
position  intelligible  to  the  whole  pagan  world.* 
Hence  they  proclaimed  Jesus  to  be  '  both  Lord  and 
Christ,'  '  Lord  of  all,'  '  Lord  both  of  the  dead  and 
of  the  living,'  'the  Lord  from  heaven,'  'our  only 
liege  and  Lord.'t  Hence,  as  the  Egyptians  of  the 
2nd  cent.  A.D.  spoke  of  '  the  table  of  the  lord 
Serapis,'  St.  Paul  spoke  of  '  the  table  of  the  Lord,'  J 
just  as  '  Sebaste  day,'  meaning  '  Emperor's  day,'  is 
paralleled  by  '  the  Lord's  day. '  §  It  is  this  conscious- 
ness of  the  spiritual  proprietorship  of  Jesus  that 
makes  plain  the  meaning  of  St.  Paul  when  he  says  : 
'  No  one  can  say  Jesus  is  Lord  except  in  the  Holy 
Spirit,'  and  'Confess  with  your  mouth  that  Jesus 
is  Lord,  believe  in  your  heart  that  God  raised  him 
from  the  dead,  and  you  will  be  saved.'  ||  /3ao-i\etfs 
was  a  popular  title  for  princes  in  the  Hellenistic 
East,  and  was  bestowed  on  the  Emperor.  The  still 
higher  title  £ao-tXei>s  pa<ri\euv  was  the  lofty  designa- 
tion of  great  monarchs  and  was  given  to  the  gods. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  epoch  it  was 
borne  by  the  monarchs  of  Armenia,  the  Bosporan 
kingdom,  and  Palmyra.  It  was  applied  to  Jahweh. 
This  exalted  name  the  Christians  ascribed  to  Jesus.  IT 
The  designation  <ru>rrlp  ('saviour')  was  from  an 
early  period  attached  to  Zeus,  and  in  feminine  form 
to  Kore,  in  her  case  connoting  salvation  after  death. 
The  Alexandrian  Greeks  used  it  '  to  sanctify  the 
divine  man,  God's  representative  on  earth,  the 
living  image  of  God,'  as  the  monarch  was  called.** 
When  Demetrius  Poliorcetes  restored  the  Athenian 
democracy  in  307  B.C.,  the  Athenians  decreed  divine 
honours  to  him  under  the  title  '  Saviour  God,'  and 
altars  and  priests  were  appointed  to  him.tt  Philip 
of  Macedon  was  called  crurrip,  Ptolemy  VIII.  (113 
B.C. )  called  himself  o-tar^p. JJ  Inscriptions  show  that 
on  Julius  Caesar  and  many  other  Emperors  there 
had  been  bestowed  the  title  '  Saviour  of  the  world.' 
The  word  was  used  in  the  LXX  to  translate  the 
Hebrew  ST^io.  This  title  became  a  designation  of 
Jesus ;  He  is  exalted  to  be  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour,  §§ 
and  the  still  more  universal  title  '  Saviour  of  the 
World,'  very  common'  in  inscriptions  for  Hadrian, 
is  also  ascribed  to  Him.||||  The  title  Beov  vl6s  was 
a  technical  term  familiar  in  the  Empire  in  the  1st 
cent.  A.D.  We  have  it  on  an  inscription  of  Olympia, 
not  later  than  27  B.C.,  and  in  a  Fayyum  inscrip- 
tion dated  A.D.  7.  This  too  the  followers  of  Jesus 
applied  to  Him.  HIT  It  is  an  all-important  fact  that 
the  chief  names  given  to  Jesus  'were  precisely 
those  accorded  to  the  Emperors  dead  and  living, 
his  titles  the  highest  which  adorned  the  Imperial 
ruler.'***  Other  names  like  Se^aoro's  really  come 
under  the  designation  of  titles,  and  so  too  'Apeoir- 
aylrTjs,  'the  Areopagite,'  applied  to  Dionysius.ftt 
4.  Names  of  divinities. — In  the  evolution  of 
religion  one  of  the  earliest  and  lowest  stages  is 
that  in  which  the  spirits,  not  having  attained 
sufficient  individuality  to  be  possessed  of  personal 
names,  are  addressed,  as  among  the  Phoenicians, 
by  such  common  terms  as  '  Lord,'  or  '  Chenta- 
mentet,'  as  among  the  Egyptians.  JH  This  stage 

*  Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Anc.  East,  p.  354. 

t  Ac  236  1Q36,  RO  149,  i  Th  416,  2  Th  17,  Jude*  (1  Co  15«?); 
Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Anc.  East,  p.  359. 

}  Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Anc.  East,  p.  355. 

§  Ib.  p.  361 ;  Rev  lio. 

II  1  Co  123,  Ro  109;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  vii.  [1909]  292,  297;  ERE 
ii.  378. 

If  Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Anc.  East,  p.  367 ;  Exp,  7th  ser., 
vii.  296 ;  2  Mac  13-»,  3  Mac  535,  i  Ti  616,  Rev  17"  1916. 

**  Farnell,  The  Evolution  of  Religion,  p.  33. 

tt  J.  G.  Frazer,  GB3,  pt.  i.,  The  Magic  Art,  1911,  i.  390. 

Jt  Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Anc.  East,  pp.  373,  374. 

§5  Ac  531,  ph  320  ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  vii.  293,  293. 

Illl  Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Anc.  East,  p.  369;  1  Jn  4"; 
DCG  ii.  573. 

TI  Exp,  7th  ser.,  vii.  293,  301 ;  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies, 
p.  166,  Light  from  the  Anc.  East,  p.  350  ;  Ac  83?,  etc. 

***  Exp,  7th  ser.,  vii.  294,  301.  ttt  Ac  2521- »  173*. 

JJJ  F.  B.  Jevons,  Comparative  Religion,  1913,  p.  129. 


NAME 


NAME 


67 


is  exhibited  in  the  religion  of  the  primitive  Aryans, 
and  even  in  the  later  cults  of  the  Hindus,  Persians, 
Thracians,  Teutons,  Greeks,  Romans,  and  Amer- 
inds.* Some  deities  remain  in  this  state,  some 
become  departmental  deities,  others  functional 
deities  (Sonder goiter),  while  others,  who  manifest 
themselves  in  a  plant,  animal,  planet,  or  tree,  are 
named  after  it.t  In  course  of  time  this  designa- 
tion, the  meaning  having  been  forgotten,  becomes 
a  proper  name  representing  an  individual  deity. 
Gods  with  names  become,  in  this  way,  a  distinct 
class  of  divinities.*  To  a  divinity  with  a  distinct 
name  the  path  of  advancement  is  open.  The 
name  would  be  either  masculine  or  feminine,  and 
that  itself  would  gradually  determine  status, 
functions,  and  ritual. §  Epithets  applied  to  such 
a  deity,  as  '  Adon '  or  '  Melech,'  became  cult  titles 
(though  sometimes  they  developed  into  distinct 
deities).  Further,  such  a  divinity  might  come  to 
exercise  functions  besides  those  to  which  he  owed 
his  origin  and  name,  and  these  outside  the  locality 
in  which  he  had  been  primarily  worshipped,  thus 
attaining  higher  status  and  greater  dignity.il 
Again,  his  name  and  functions  might  make  him 
so  real  to  his  worshippers  that  they  represented 
him  by  a  human  or  semi-human  figure,!!  expressing 
the  physical  characteristics,  and  even  the  moral 
qualities,  of  the  deity.**  Such  a  deity  had  the 
chance  of  becoming  a  tribal  god.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  tribal  hero  or  medicine  man,  having  the 
initial  advantage  of  a  name,  might  be  deified  and 
become  in  time  the  tribal  god  in  accordance  with 
the  Euhemeristic  theory. ft  When  a  tribe  with 
such  a  deity  developed  into  or  was  merged  in  a 
nation  the  qualities  and  functions  of  the  tribal 
deity  might  be  taken  over  by  another  deity  (syn- 
cretism), or  the  deity  might  become  one  of  the 
members  of  a  pantheon,  or  even,  like  Zeus,  the 
supreme  national  god.^J  In  all  this  we  see  a  trend 
towards  monotheism  and  the  final  conception  of 
the  unity  of  the  Godhead.  §§  Through  some  such 
stages  as  these  Jahweh  had  advanced  till  the 
Hebrews  in  their  conception  of  Him  had  become 
monotheists.ini  In  the  age  of  Jesus  that  name  in 
Greek,  Ktfpios  or  simply  9f6s,  had  come  to  denote 
the  supreme  and  only  God.  HIT  It  was  one  of  the 
great  achievements  of  Jesus  to  fill  these  names 
with  richer,  finer  meaning^  by  revealing  new  and 
higher  attributes  of  the  Godhead,  i  The  transference 
of  the  name  KI//HOS  to  Jesus  marks  the  awaken- 
ing of  the  Church  to  a  true  appreciation  of  His 


Divinity   (Ac    I1- 


in    contrast    with    v.21). 


While  the  Jews  and  Christians  were  thus  mono- 
theists,  they  still  continued  to  believe  in  a  variety 
of  subordinate  spirits,  some  of  whom  were  but 
nameless,  departmental,  or  functional  deities, 
while  others  had  attained  to  distinct  names,  as 
Satan,  Michael  (Jude9,  Rev  127),  Gabriel (Lk  I19-26), 
Raphael  (To  1215),  Uriel  (2  Es  520).  In  the  Gentile 
world  the  development  had  not  reached  but  only 

*  ERE  i.  462,  ii.  285  ;  Jevons,  Comparative.  Religion, 
pp.  125,  129,  The  Idea  of  God  in  Early  Religions,  1910, 
p.  85  ;  J.  H.  Moulton,  Early  Religious  Poetry  of  Persia,  1911, 
pp.  32,  55. 

t  Jevons,  Comparative  Religion,  pp.  91,  92,  117  ;  ERE  i.  882, 
ii.  35  ;  see  also  the  classification  of  Rose  quoted  in  PEFSt  xlvi. 
[1914]  206. 

t  Jevons,  Comparative  Religion,  p.  129. 

§  Ib.  pp.  126-128.  ||  Ib. 

H  ERE  ii.  38,  39. 

**  Ib.  ii.  60 ;  Jevons,  The  Idea  of  God  in  Early  Religiont, 
p.  26  f. 

tt  W.  O.  Aston,  Shinto,  1907,  p.  8. 

Jt  Ib.  p.  10  ;  2  K  1728-28. 

5§  Jevons,  The  Idea  of  God  in  Early  Religiont,  p.  28. 

H II  Jevons.  Comparative  Religion,  pp.  125-129. 

f  U  S.  R.  Driver,  '  Recent  Theories  on  the  Origin  and  Nature 
of  the  Tetragrammaton,'  Studia  Bibliea,  1885,  p.  1  fl.  ;  T.  G. 
Pinches,  PSBA  xiv.  [1892]  13,  'The  Religious  Ideas  of  the 
Babylonians,'  Transactions  of  the  Victorian  Institute,  xxviii. 
[1896]  11 ;  Thomas  Tvler,  '  The  Origin  of  the  Tetragrammaton.' 
JQR  xiii.  [1901]  581  ff. 


tended  towards  monotheism,  Zeus  (Ac  1412>  1S) 
being  recognized  only  as  the  king  of  a  countless 
crowd  of  deities.  Among  them  there  stood  out 
local  deities  who  had  got  distinct  names,  as 
Artemis  of  Ephesus  (1928),  Mars  (1719),  and  Hermes, 
the  messenger  and  speaker  for  the  gods  (1412),  or 
the  Dioscuri,  the  twin  gods  Castor  and  Pollux 
(2811). 

5.  Name  and  personality.  —  At  a  very  early 
period  men  came  to  feel  that  there  was  a  material 
and  mysterious  but  essential  connexion  between 
the  person  or  thing  and  its  name.  To  them 
names  were  not,  as  with  us,  mere  meaningless 
designations,  symbols  without  significance  which 
could  be  changed  without  affecting  the  thing  or 
person  ;  nomina  were  numina,  not  even  essential 
attributes,  but  possessed  of  a  certain  independent 
existence,  yet  part  and  parcel  of  the  personality, 
and  therefore  supremely  important  as  affecting 
and  affected  by  a  person's  good  or  evil  fortune.* 
The  name  was  a  kind  of  '  alter  ego,'  a  vital  por- 
tion of  the  man  himself,  and  to  be  taken  care  of 
accordingly,  f 

Such  a  helief  is  found  among  the  Amerind  tribes,  the 
Australians,  the  proto  •  Aryans,  and  almost  all  other  races,  t 
The  ancient  Britons  held  that  the  soul  and  the  name  were  the 
same.§  Among  the  Annamese  when  a  child  continues  ill,  the 
parents  sell  it  to  someone  who  gives  it  a  new  name  and  it  is 
then,  being  a  completely  different  person,  re-sold  toitsparents.il 
A  young  Caffre  thief  can  be  reformed  by  shouting  his  name 
into  a  kettle  of  boiling  medicated  water,  clapping  on  the  lid, 
and  allowing  the  name  (i.e.  him)  to  steep  there  for  several  days.^] 
The  Mesopotamians  so  identified  the  name  and  the  person  that 
the  name  was  the  personality.**  In  their  religion,  as  in  the 
Mandauan,  Persian,  and  other  cults,  the  name  of  the  deity  is 
itself  a  part  of  the  divine  essence. 

'  The  Aryan-speaking  peoples  "  believed  at  one  time  not  only 
that  the  name  was  a  part  of  the  man,  but  that  it  was  that  part 
of  him  which  is  termed  the  soul,  the  breath  of  life." '  tt  Among 
the  Egyptians  the  name  was  'an  imperishable  component  of 
the  Ego,  on  a  footing  of  equality  with  soul,  form,  heart,  etc.,' 
for  they  held  'that  an  inward  and  indissoluble  connexion  sub- 
sists between  an  object  and  its  name.'  JJ  Hence  it  was  neces- 
sary that  the  name  should  be  kept  fresh,  for  so  close  was  the 
connexion  that  the  continued  existence  of  the  name  was  essen- 
tial to  the  immortality  of  the  person. §§  A  man  prayed  for  his 
name  to  be  mentioned,  or  libations  poured  out  in  his  name, 
and  monuments  were  raised  with  the  name  on  them  so  that  it 
might  live.  The  Pharaoh  sacrificed  captives  to  perpetuate  his 
name,  and  all  vassals  took  the  oath  by  the  royal  name.  In 
the  Papyri,  especially  in  indictments,  there  occurs  the  phrase 
ej/Teufts  eis  TO  TOV  /UcuriAe'ajs  oi-o/xa,  a  memorial  to  the  king's 
majesty,  the  name  of  the  king  being  the  essence  of  what  he  is 
as  ruler.  Inscriptions  mention  the  fact  of  purchasing  eis  TO 
TOV  #eoC  ovo^a,  the  nominal  purchaser  purchasing  for  the  god.llli 
Sometimes  the  name  became  almost  a  separate  personality. 
'  In  the  Tabulae  Iguvinse,  .  .  .  the  god  Grabovius  is  implored  to  be 
propitious  to  the  "  Arx  Fisia"  and  to  "the  name  of  the  Arx 
Fisia,"as  if  the  name  of  the  city  was  a  living  and  independent 
entity.'  HH 

This  practical  identification  of  the  person  and 
the  name  gave  rise  to  a  number  of  practices.  The 
name  was  honoured  equally  with  the  person. 

The  Egyptian  kings  made  offerings  to  the  names  of  their  pre- 
decessors ;  honour  was  paid  to  the  name  of  Pharaoh,  while  the 


*  Farnell,  The  Evolution  of  Religion,  p.  32 ;  E.  Clodd,  Tom 
Tit  Tot,  1898,  p.  53. 

t  H.  J.  D.  Astley,  in  Transactions  of  the  Third  International 
Congress  for  the  History  of  Religion,  i.  266 ;  Farnell,  The 
Evolution  of  Religion,  p.  184 ;  HDB  v.  640 ;  A.  C.  Haddon, 
Magic  and  Fetishism,,  1906,  p.  22.  The  close  connexion  be- 
tween a  name  and  the  thing  is  echoed  in  the  words  of  Milton 
where  Adam  says  of  the  naming  of  the  animals  : 

'  I  named  them  as  they  passed,  and  understood 
Their  nature '  (Paradise  Lost,  viii.  353). 

t  Frazer,  G&,  pt.  ii.,  Taboo  and  the  Perils  of  the  Soul,  1911, 
pp.  318-320. 

§  0.  Squire,  The  Mythology  of  the  British  Islands,  new  ed., 
1910,  p.  236. 

I  ERE  i.  543. 

•I  Frazer,  GR3,  pt.  H.,  Taboo  and  the  Perils  of  the  Soul,  p.  331. 

**  A.  H.  Sayce,  Lectures  on  the  Origin  and  Growth  of  Religion* 
(HL,  1887),  1891,  p.  302  ;  cf.  ExpT  xxiii.  [1911-12]  8. 

tt  J.  Rhys,  quoted  by  Haddon,  p.  23. 

n  HDB\.  181». 

§§  Ib. ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  x.  [1910]  122. 

III!  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  pp.  146,  147. 

UU  Farnell,  The  Evolution  of  Religion,  p.  188. 


68 


NAME 


NAME 


secret  names  of  the  gods  of  Egypt  were  specially  honoured.* 
Passages  in  the  OT,  too  numerous  to  quote,  indicate  the  great 
place  this  conception  had  in  the  minds  of  the  Heurews.  There 
is  a  glory  due  to  Jahweh's  name ;  men  are  to  sing  forth  the 
glory  of  His  name,  to  exalt  His  name,  to  sing  praises  to  His 
name,  to  bless  His  name,  to  fear  His  glorious  and  fearful  name, 
and  even  to  love  His  name.t 

Our  Lord  carried  forward  to  deeper  meaning  the 
ancient  usage  when  He  prayed,  '  Father,  glorify  thy 
name,'  and  when  He  taught  His  disciples  to  pray 
'  May  thy  name  be  revered.'  Through  a  process  of 
thought  to  be  explained  immediately  the  name  of 
Jesus  came  to  be  similarly  honoured.  Through 
certain  occurrences  at  Ephesus  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  was  magnified,  the  Thessalonians  were 
entreated  to  live  so  that  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  might  be  glorified  in  them  ;  while  the  saints 
are  described  as  those  who  reverence,  fear,  and 
glorify  the  name.J  Here  it  is  necessary  strongly 
to  emphasize  the  fact  that  similarity  of  expression 
does  not  necessarily  imply  identity  of  meaning. 
In  the  realm  of  ideas  a  word  or  expression  may 
have  its  content  essentially  changed.  But  the 
change  is  ever  gradual,  hence  the  exact  meaning  at 
any  one  moment  is  reached  only  when  the  evolution 
which  preceded  and  which  followed  becomes  clear. 
This  is  especially  true  of  the  Apostolic  Age  when 
through  the  welter  of  religions  many  expressions 
were  in  a  constant  state  of  flux.  The  practical 
identity  of  the  name  and  the  personality  implied 
further  that  the  continuance  of  the  personality 
depended  on  the  continuance  of  the  name. 

In  Egypt '  one  could  do  nothing  better  for  any  one  than  by 
inscriptions  and  representations  to  "cause  his  name  to  live," 
and  nothing  worse  than  to  allow  it  to  perish.' §  The  god 
Amon  assures  Kamses  m.  that  '  as  long  as  heaven  endures  thy 
name  shall  endure,  and  shall  grow  eternally."  II  The  Egyptians 
of  all  classes  erased  the  names  and  figures  of  their  enemies 
from  tombs  and  memorials.  U  Amenhotep  iv.  went  even 
further,  and  through  the  whole  country  erased  the  name  of  the 
god  Amen  whose  worship  he  had  forsaken.**  In  Mesopotamia 


This  belief  in  connexion  with  the  worship  of  ancestors  deeply 
influenced  the  mind  of  the  Jew.  Jahvveh  is  represented  as 
saying  of  His  enemies,  '  Let  me  alone,  that  I  may  destroy  them, 
and  blot  out  their  name  from  under  heaven.'  The  Levirate 
marriage  was  enforced  that  the  firstborn  son  of  a  woman  by 
her  deceased  husband's  brother  should  '  succeed  in  the  name  of 
his  brother  who  is  dead,  that  his  name  be  not  blotted  out  of 
Israel.'  The  writer  of  Ecclesiastes  describes  the  sad  case  of  a  man 
'  who  begets  an  hundred  children,  and  lives  many  years,  so  that 
the  days  of  his  years  are  many,  but  his  soul  is  not  filled  with 
good,  and  moreover  he  has  no  burial,'  i.e.  has  no  tomb  with  his 
name  on  it,  because  '  an  untimely  birth  is  better  than  he,  for  it 
comes  in  vanity,  and  departeth  in  darkness,  and  the  name 
thereof  is  covered  with  darkness.'  The  fiercest  hatred  is  that 
of  those  who  say  '  when  will  he  die,  and  his  name  perish,'  while 
the  glory  of  the  Messianic  King  is  that '  his  name  shall  endure 
for  ever,  his  name  shall  have  issue  as  long  as  the  sun.'  J J 

In  the  Apostolic  Age  we  find  this  conception 
linked  with  another  widely  spread  idea  that  in 
heaven  there  is  a  register  of  life,  the  insertion  in 
which  of  a  person's  name  ensures  to  him  the  cer- 
tainty of  a  blessed  immortality,  and  identification 
in  the  other  world,  as  with  us  the  insertion  of  a 
person's  name  in  a  voter's  roll  entitles  the  person 
to  exercise  his  vote,  or  his  enrolment  in  a  society 
opens  to  him  the  privilege  of  that  society.  Our 
Lord  calls  upon  His  disciples  to  rejoice  because 
their  'names  are  enrolled  in  heaven.'  St.  Paul 
describes  his  fellow-workers  as  those  'whose  names 
are  in  the  book  of  life.'  In  the  same  way  the 
omission,  or  non-insertion,  or  erasure  of  the  name 
indicates  the  exclusion  from  all  such  privileges. 

»  ERE  i.  440b  ;  Q.  Ebers,  Joshua,  Eng.  tr.,  2  vols.,  1890  i  79  • 
Sayce,  p.  302. 

t  Ps  292  343  662  6936  962  1004  1353,  Dt  2858.  For  the  honour 
given  to  the  name  of  God,  of  Moses,  and  of  a  king  see  Exp, 
8th  ser.,  vin.  307. 

:  Jn  1227-  28,  Mt  6»,  Lk  112,  Ac  19",  2Th  112  Rev  1118  154 

§  Erman,  p.  162.  «  /&.  p.  283. 

t  Ib.  p.  162  ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  x.  122. 

**  W.  M.  F.  Petrie,  A  History  of  Egypt,  ii.  [18»S]  212. 

TT  Sayce,  p.  304. 

j:  Dt  9"  256  2920,  EC  63-  4,  pg  416  7217. 


The  friends  of  the  Beast  are  those  '  whose  names 
have  not  been  written  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world  in  the  book  of  life '  ;  while  of  the  victors  of 
Sardis  it  is  said  :  'The  conqueror  shall  be  clad  in 
white  raiment ;  I  will  never  erase  his  name  from 
the  book  of  life.'  * 

6.  Name  and  'mana.' — In  the  earlier  culture 
man  is  conscious  of  two  kinds  of  causation.  The 
first  is  mechanical,  effected  by  the  body  itself,  or 
by  it  through  tools  or  weapons.  The  second  may 
be  named  spiritual.  Man  at  this  stage  of  his 
development  is  keenly  conscious  of  the  unusual, 
the  abnormal,  the  awful,  the  uncanny.  Objects 
which  in  any  way  exhibit  such  a  peculiarity  are  to 
him  endowed  with  a  mysterious  power,  technically 
called  mana.\  A  savage  suddenly  comes  on  a 
stone  shaped  like  a  yam.  '  Ah,'  he  exclaims,  '  you 
have  mana.'  He  buries  it  beside  the  yams  he  has 
planted,  and  feels  certain  of  a  bountiful  crop. 
Knowing  that  a  lion  is  strong,  i.e.  has  mana,  he 
eats  its  heart,  and  its  mana  passes  into  him :  for 
there  is  in  primitive  man  a  strong  tendency  to 
imagine  that  the  cause  of  every  phenomenon  is  a 
personal  one.J  In  the  lower  culture,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  personality  was  thought  of  as  something 
not  concentrated,  say,  in  the  will,  but  rather  as 
diffused,  hence  the  mana  of  any  living  being — 
whatever  its  potency  might  be — was  thought  of  as 
residing  not  merely  in  him,  but  also  in  different 
parts  of  him,  and  in  things  separable  from,  yet 
closely  connected  with,  his  person,  as  clothes, 
shadow,  hair,  nail- pairings,  and  spittle.  The 
shadow  of  St.  Peter,  the  towels  or  aprons  used  by 
St.  Paul,  the  spittle  of  our  Lord  were  each  charged 
with  the  mana  of  the  person  himself.  §  But  the 
personality  and  therefore  the  mana  was  specially 
concentrated  in  and  discharged  from  the  name. 
In  the  lower  culture  any  person  divine  or  human 
has  more  or  less  mana,  and  in  consequence  is 
anxious  to  possess,  and  so  be  able  to  use,  that  of 
others.  Hence  arises  the  absorbing  desire  to  know 
names,  for  to  know  a  name  is  to  have  power  over 
the  person,  even  to  the  extent  of  compelling  him, 
by  the  proper  use  of  his  name,  to  use  his  mana. 
'  He  who  has  the  name  can  dispose  of  the  power 
of  its  bearer ' ;  ||  for  barbaric  man  believes  that  his 
name  is  a  vital  part  of  himself,  and  '  to  know  the 
name  is  to  put  its  owner,  whether  he  be  deity, 
ghost,  or  mortal,  in  the  power  of  another.' 1T  This 
knowledge  could  be  employed  in  a  variety  of  ways. 
The  presence  and  power  of  a  spirit  could  be  en- 
sured by  naming  it.  '  Speak  of  the  devil  and  he 
will  appear.' 

The  pontiffs  of  Rome  possessed  among  their  books  the 
Indigitamenta,  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  spirits  who  guarded 
every  action  with  which  a  man  was  concerned.  By  invoking 
any  name  they  could  call  its  power  into  action  against  any 
person  and  consequently  have  him  at  their  mercy.**  Odin 


*  Lk  1020,  Ph  43,  Eev  &  138  178. 

t  R.  H.  Codrington's  definition  is  quoted  with  approval  by 
Frazer,  GS»,  pt.  i.,  The  Magic  Art,  i.  227;  R.  11.  Marett,  'The 
Conception  of  Mana,'  in  Transactions  of  the  Third  Inter- 
national Congress  for  the  History  of  Religions,  i.  48,  and 
practically  all  the  leading  anthropologists.  Svvanis  is  possibly 
the  nearest  Greek  equivalent.  In  the  magical  literature  of  the 
age  of  Paul  e£ou<ri'a  is  not  exactly  'power,'  but  rather  'the 
supernatural  power  which  depends  on  a  supernatural  know- 
ledge' (H.  A.  A.  Kennedy,  Exp,  8th  ser.,  iv.  [1912]  308). 

t  For  the  same  reason  hero  warriors  were  eaten  :  Clodd,  p. 
69  ;  ERE  i.  521,  530,  574  ;  Gilbert  Murray,  Four  Stages  of 
Greek  Religion,  1912,  p.  87 ;  W.  R.  Halliday,  Greek  Divination, 
1913,  p.  17. 

§  E.  S.  Hartland,  Report  of  the  British  Association,  1906, 
1907,  p.  677  ;  Ac  51»  1912,  jn  96,  Mk  7»3  823 ;  ERE  i.  542 ; 
Clodd,  p.  57.  After  death  the  mana  might  continue  to  reside 
in  these  and  in  the  bones.  The  doctrine  of  relics  is  baaed  on 
this  idea.  Newman  says,  '  each  particle  of  each  relic  has  in  it 
at  least  a  dormant,  perhaps  an  energetic,  virtue  of  supernatural 
operation '  (Present  Position  of  Catholics,  1851,  p.  298). 

II  HDB  v.  181 ;  T.  K.  Cheyne,  Traditions  and  Beliefs  of 
Ancient  Israel,  1907,  p.  401  n. 

f  Clodd,  p.  53  f. 

**  F.  Granger,  The  Worship  of  the  Romans,  1895,  pp.  157, 
277  ;  Clodd,  p.  177  ;  W.  Smith,  DGRA*,  1875,  p.  941. 


NAME 


NAME 


69 


his  supremacy  over  nature  by  acquiring  the  '  knowledge  ol 
•unes  or  magical  names  of  all  things  in  earth  and  heaven.'* 

rratf>      in      fho      1?rr\rr»f  i  •>  n     nnH*»r    wnrlH      ViaH      ts\    rmpn     t.n      t.hp 


The  extraordinary  power  of  the  mana  of  a  deity 
explains  the  intense  desire  to  know  his  name. 
Only  then  could  his  mana  be  serviceable,  for  in  all 
the  lower  cultures  to  invocate  is  not  to  supplicate, 
but  to  call  to  one's  aid  the  powerful  mana  of  the 
deity  invocated.§ 

The  Hindu  priests  '  could  command  the  gods  to  do  their  will 
by  invoking  their  hidden  names.'  ||  In  Chaldaea  it  was  believed 
that  the  demons  who  caused  disease  and  death  could  be  expelled 
only  by  magical  spell  through  the  might  of  the  great  gods,  who 
could  be  compelled  to  act  by  using  their  secret  names,  which 
the  priests  alone  knew.lf  In  the  time  of  Hammurabi  the 
personal  names  of  the  deities  '  are  invoked,  apparently  as  con- 
taining, in  like  manner,  a  measure  of  the  personality  of  their 
divine  patrons.'**  Heitmuller  shows  that  in  the  Persian, 
Mandaean,  and  other  religions  the  mere  utterance  of  the  name 
of  a  deity  acted  as  a  kind  of  charm. tt  In  the  under  world  to 
know  the  name  of  a  demon  was  to  be  superior  to  his  power.  '  To 
pronounce  the  name  of  a  deity  [the  secret  names  were  most 
efficacious]  compelled  him  to  attend  to  the  wishes  of  the  priest 
or  exorcist.'  JJ  Even  in  modern  times  the  person  who  knows 
'  the  most  great  name  of  God '  can  by  uttering  it  kill  the  living, 
raise  the  dead,  transport  himself  wherever  he  pleases,  and 
perform  other  miracles. §§  The  Arabs  and  the  Chinese  believe 
that  he  who  knows  the  name  of  one  of  the  jinn  can  make  the 
jinn  obey  him.lili 

A  person  who  knows  the  name  of  another  can 
utilize  this  knowledge  in  three  ways.  He  does 
not  require  such  knowledge  to  aid  or  bless  another, 
for  he  can  do  so  directly  ;  but — 

(1)  When  A  knows  B's  name,  A  can  injure  B. 

This  is  true  of  the  Australians,  for  example.^  The  people  of 
Torres  Straits  when  they  wish  to  injure  anyone  make  a  rude 
effigy  of  the  person,  and  deal  with  it  as  they  would  have  the 
hated  person  dealt  with  ;  but  the  very  first  action  is  to  call  it  by 
the  name  of  the  person  who  is  to  be  injured.***  The  Greeks  and 
Romans  wrote  on  a  tablet  the  name  of  one  whom  they  wished 
to  hurt,  and  then  '  defixed  '  it  with  nails,  believing  that  what 
was  done  to  the  name  would  be  experienced  by  the  person 
bearing'  the  name.  This  was  called  icaTaiecris  or  defixio.  One 
inscription  reads  oco/xa  xaraSui  Kal  avrov  ('  I  nail  his  name,  that 
is,  himself ').ttt 

(2)  When  A  knows  B's  name,  A  can  compel  B 
to  act  in  a  good  way  towards  C. 

It  was  part  of  the  duty  of  Aaron  and  his  sons  to  bless  in  the 
name  of  Jahweh.  Naaman  thought  that  his  cure  would  be 
effected  by  Elisha  calling  on  the  name  of  Jahweh.  Jacob 
invokes  the  name  of  the  God  of  his  ancestors,  his  own  name, 
and  the  name  of  his  progenitors,  to  bless  his  grandchildren.  A 
prescribed  formula  puts  Jahweh's  '  name  upon  the  children  of 
Israel  so  that  he  blesses  them.'  David  blesses  the  people  in  the 
name  of  Jahweh,  and  a  not  unusual  good  wish  came  to  be, 
'  We  bless  you  in  the  name  of  Jahweh.'  J JJ 

(3)  When  A  knows  B's  name  A  can  compel  B  to 
injure  C. 

Hence  among  the  Jews  thoughtlessly  to  invocate  the  name  of 
Jahweh  in  a  curse  was  blasphemy. §§§  When  Goliath  cursed 
David  by  his  gods  he  was  solemnly  invoking  these  deities  to 
destroy  his  antagonist ;  and  when  David  retorted,  '  I  come  to 
thee  in  the  name  of  Jahweh  Sabaoth,'  he  meant  that  he  had 


*  Frazer,  GB*,  pt.  L,  The  Magic  Art,  i.  241 ;  Clodd,  p.  176 f. 
t  HDB  v.  181*.  J  Ib.  v.  280. 

§  Ib.  v.  181. 

II  J.  A.  MacCulloch,  Religion,  its  Origin  and  Forms,  1904, 
p.  70. 

f  76.  p.  100. 

**  ExpT  xxv.  [1913-14]  128. 

tt  W.  Heitmuller,  1m  Namen  Jew,  1903,  pp.  190, 192. 
U  HDB  v.  181 ;  Sayce,  p.  302. 
§§  E.  W.  Lane,  Modern  Egyptians,  1895,  ch.  xii. 
II  ||  Frazer,  G  BS,  pt.  ii.,  Taboo  and  the  Perils  of  the  Soul,  p.  390. 

•  •  Ib.  p.  320. 

***  Haddon,  p.  19  ;  also  Exp,  7th  ser.,  x.  [1910]  122. 

ttt  On  the  defixionum  tabellce  see  F.  B.  Jevons,  in  Transac- 
tions of  the  Third  International  Congress  for  the  History  of 
Religions,  ii.  131  ff.,  '  Graeco-Italian  Magic '  in  R.  R.  Marett,  An- 
thropology and  the  Classics,  1908,  p.  106 ;  Ovid,  Amores,  in.  vii. 
29 ;  Tacitus,  Ann.  ii.  69.  For  similar  conceptions  among  the 
Chuldaeans,  Egyptians,  and  Scots,  see  Clodd,  pp.  65,  66,  86. 

tjt  1  Ch  2313,  2  K  6",  On  4816,  Nu  627,  2  S  620,  Ps  1298. 

!§§  Lv  24". 


invoked  the  aid  of  his  God  against  the  giant.  Elisha  in  cursing 
the  lads  of  Bethel  did  so  '  in  the  name  of  Jahweh.' 

When  St.  Paul  called  down  on  Elymas  the  doom 
of  blindness,  the  words  indicate  that  he  did  it  by 
means  of  a  solemn  invocation  of  the  Divine  name.* 

This  invocating  of  the  name  of  a  deity  marks  a  stage  in  the 
developing  of  one  element  in  religion.  There  is  (a)  the  wish  to 
injure,  taking  a  stronger  form  in  (6)  a  purely  magical  act  as 
nailing,!  to  which  is  added  (c)an  invocation  of  the  name  of  a 
deity  ;  then  gradually  (d)  the  act  becomes  symbolical,  and  the 
invoking  of  the  name  more  important,  till  (e)  the  act  is  omitted 
and  there  remains  the  simple  cursing  in  the  name  of  the  deity.  { 
Or  again  there  is  (a)  the  wish  to  bless,  taking  expression  in  (b)  a 
formal  act  as  the  laying  on  of  hands,  to  which  is  added  (c)  a 
calling  on  the  name  of  the  god  ;  then  gradually  (d)  this  act 
becomes  merely  symbolical  and  the  petitioning  of  the  deity  all- 
important,  till  at  the  end  the  act  is  omitted  and  (e)  what  remains 
is  the  pure  invoking  of  the  deity  by  name  in  a  blessing  or  a 
prayer. 

It  has  been  pointed  out,  e.g.,  by  B.  D.  Eerdmans  that  the 
primitive  Israelites  'assumed  the  existence  of  a  mysterious 
power,  that  dwelt  in  all  things  that  lived,  and  in  all  things  that 
appeared  to  contain  unseen  sources  of  action.  .  .  .  The  name 
of  this  power  was  Elohim  or  El.'  This  Hebrew  conception, 
which  corresponds  to  mana,  can  be  traced  in  such  expressions 
as  '  the  El  of  my  hand.'  §  As  Jahweh  advanced  to  the  supreme 
place  among  the  gods,  all  such  power  became  attributed  to  Him, 
and  His  name,  as  embodying  this  and  His  other  attributes, 
attained  unique  importance.  His  worship  is  described  as '  calling 
on  the  name  of  Jahweh.'  ||  '  To  proclaim  his  name '  is  to  reveal 
the  essence  of  His  character ;  the  Levites  are  those  who 
'  minister  in  his  name,'  and  '  bless  in  his  name,'  while  the  ark 
was  holy  because  there  had  been  called  over  it  the  name  of 
Jahweh. IT  His  11X75, '  messenger '  or '  angel,'**  who  was  to  guide 
the  Israelites  to  Palestine,  was  to  be  treated  with  profound 
reverence, '  for  my  name  is  in  him,'  i.e.,  he  is  the  representative 
of  my  being.tt  It  follows,  as  E.  Kautzsch  remarks,  that  to  know 
it  [the  name  of  Jahweh]  is  of  vital  importance,  for  this  is  the 
condition  of  being  able  to  use  it  in  invocation  ;  and  invocation 
has,  according  to  primitive  notions,  a  real  efficacy,  giving  to 
the  invoking  party  a  kind  of  power  over  the  name  invoked,  so 
that  he  can  compel  its  aid.'  This  we  have  seen  in  the  case  of 
David.  J*  Hence  the  most  solemn  oath  was  taken  in  the  name 
of  Jahweh,  for  the  mana  of  Jahweh  fell  on  the  breaker  of  such 
an  oath. 

An  allusion  to  the  ancient  practice  is  found  in 
the  words  of  St.  Paul :  '  Every  one  who  invokes 
the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved.  But  how  are 
they  to  invoke  one  in  whom  they  do  not  believe, 
and  how  can  they  believe  in  one  of  whom  they 
have  not  heard  ? ' — as  well  as  in  the  custom  of  the 
primitive  Christians  of  invoking  the  name  of 
Jesus.  §§ 

The  close  connexion  between  the  person  and  the 
name  of  a  deity  comes  out  in  primitive  ideas  of 
creation.  '  To  pronounce  a  name  is  to  call  up  and 
conjure  the  being  who  bears  it.  The  name  pos- 
sesses personality.  .  .  .  To  name  a  thing  is  to  create 
it :  that  is  why  creation  is  often  represented  as 
accomplished  by  the  word.'|||| 

The  Egyptians  believed  that  the  god  created  himself  by 
uttering  his  own  name,  and  that  when  he  named  a  thing  it 
immediately  sprang  into  existence.  Hlf  In  the  Babylonian  cos- 
mogony there  is  not  so  much  a  period  of  chaos  as  a  period  when 
things  were  not  named  and  therefore  did  not  exist. 

'  When  in  the  height  heaven  was  not  named, 
And  the  earth  beneath  did  not  bear  a  name, 
When  none  of  the  gods  had  come  forth, 
They  bore  no  name."  *** 

A  reference  of  a  similar  kind  lingers  in  such  Hebrew  myths  as 
'  Elohim  said  let  there  be  light,  and  light  was,'  or  that  which 
tells  that  in  order  to  meet  the  loneliness  of  the  first  man  Jahweh 


•IS  17«,  Ac  IS".  U. 

t  Tacitus,  loc.  tit.  J  Ovid,  loc.  tit. 

§  Exp,  8th  ser.,  vi.  [1913]  385,  386 ;  Gn  3129 ;  J.  Skinner,  ICC, 
'  Genesis,'  1910,  p.  398  ;  Dt  2832,  etc.  ;  HDB  v.  640. 

|j  Gn  128  426  2628. 

11  Ex  3319  345,  Dt  188  21«,  2  8  62. 

**  Ex  2320. 23.  ft  HDB  v.  640»>,  1  S  17«. 

n  1  S  2042.  }§  Ro  1013- 14,  Ac  221  914.  21  22W. 

'I  ||  HDB  v.  181 ;  Tiele,  quoted  by  J.  M.  Robertson,  Pagan 
Christs,  1911.  p.  220. 

IHf  HDB  v.  181 ;  Budge,  quoted  by  Farnell,  The  Evolution  of 
Religion,  p.  188 ;  G.  Maspero,  The  Dawn  of  Civilization,  1897, 
p.  187. 

***  Maspero,  p.  537 ;  G.  Smith,  The  Chaldean  Account  of 
Genesis,  1876,  p.  62  ;  T.  G.  Pinches,  The  OT  in  the  Light  of  the 
Historical  Records  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia1*,  1903,  p.  16 ;  J. 
Skinner,  ICC,  '  Genesis,'  1910,  p.  43. 


70 


NAME 


NAME 


made  the  brute  creation  and  brought  them  to  him  to  see  what 
he  would  name  them.* 

In  the  writings  of  the  Apostolic  Age  this  concep- 
tion has  passed  into  that  of  creation  by  word.  '  The 
world  was  fashioned  by  the  word  of  God '  ;  '  the 
earth  by  the  word  of  God  was  formed  of  water  and 
by  water ' ;  for  '  God  calls  into  being  what  does  not 
exist. 't 

7.  Name  and  tabu. — As  primitive  man  regarded 
his  name  as  a  vital  portion  of  himself  he  took 
extraordinary  care  of  it ;  he  kept  it  secret.  This 
was  necessary,  for  if  it  was  known  and  properly  used 
in  a  correct  formula  by  an  enemy,  the  wish  of  his 
enemy  immediately  took  effect.:}: 

The  Amerinds  believed  in  a  personal  soul  which  was  neither 
the  bodily  life  nor  yet  mental  power,  but  a  kind  of  third  soul, 
or  spiritual  body.  This  had  a  very  intimate  connexion  with  the 
name.  It  was  believed  by  many  of  the  tribes  to  come  into 
existence  with  the  name  ;  hence  the  personal  name  was  sacred 
and  rarely  uttered,  for  it  was  part  of  the  individuality,  and 
through  it  the  soul  could  be  injured.§  Savages  have  strong 
objections  to  uttering  their  own  names.  This  is  true  of  the 
Australians,  the  Tasmanians,  the  Amerinds,  and  the  primitive 
Scots  and  Irish.  In  Abyssinia  the  real,  i.e.  the  baptismal,  name 
is  kept  secret,  and  is  only  used  in  church  services,  such  as 
prayers  for  the  dead.  The  people  of  Torres  Straits,  like  those  of 
the  west  of  Ireland,  refuse  to  tell  their  names  ;  for  their  doing 
so  would  put  them  in  the  power  of  the  person  to  whom  they 
were  told,  who  could  thus  work  his  will  upon  them.  II  A 
person's  name  must  not  be  uttered  by  one  related  to  him  by 
blood  and  especially  by  marriage.  This  prevails  among  the 
South  African  tribes,  those  of  Borneo,  and  North  America. 
Among  the  Ainus  a  woman  must  not  pronounce  her  husband's 
name  ;  to  do  so  would  be  to  bring  harm  on  him.l  An  Abipone 
will  not  commit  the  sin  of  uttering  his  own  name,  for  that  would 
be  literally  'to  give  himself  away,'  though  he  does  not  object 
to  mention  that  of  other  people.**  Cases  are  known  where  a 
man  had  completely  forgotten  his  own  name,  and  was  thus  saved 
from  the  possible  mistake  of  inadvertently  letting  it  become 
known.tt  Among  the  Battaks  ...  a  man,  on  becoming  the 
father  of  a  boy,  N.N.,  is  henceforth  known  only  as  'father  of 
N.N.'  t  *  An  Amazulu  woman  must  not  name  her  husband,  but 
calls  him  '  the  father  of  N.,'  meaning  the  child.§|  So  the  Hindu 
wife  speaks  of  her  husband  as  '  he,'  the  English  wife  of  hers  as 
'  my  man '  or  '  my  master,'  while  the  Scotch  woman  uses  '  oor 
ain.'  The  expressions  '  the  mother  of  Sisera,'  '  Peter's  wife's 
mother, ' '  the  mother  of  Zebedee's  children,"  are  familiar  instances 
of  the  same  practice.  |l  II 

In  the  Apostolic  Age  we  meet  withlthe  same  thing. 
Nothing  so  preserved  a  man  from  evil  as  keeping 
his  name  strictly  sacred.  The  Christian  of  Per- 
gamum  who,  fighting  his  moral  battle  in  the  place 
'  where  Satan  sits  enthroned,'  has  not  renounced 
his  faith  but  adhered  to  God's  name,  is  assured  of 
his  ultimate  triumph,  for  to  him  is  given  '  a  new 
name,  unknown  to  any  except  him  who  receives 
it.'  He  who  is  known  to  men  as  the  '  Logos  of  God,' 
or  the  '  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords,'  is  assured 
of  victory  as  He  rides  forth  on  His  white  horse,  for 
'  he  bears  a  written  name  which  none  knows  but 
himself. '1T1T 

The  fact  that  the  Flamen  Dialis  was  forbidden  not  only  to 
touch  but  even  to  name  certain  animals  and  things  carries  the 
tabu  on  names  forward  into  other  regions.*** 

The  names  of  the  dead  were  kept  secret,  for  if  a 
dead  man  heard  his  name,  he  would  at  once  re- 
turn, ttt 

Among  the  Greeks,  therefore,  it  was  customary  to  pass  graves, 


*  On  13  218-25.     Of.  Ahuna-Vairya  (ERE  i.  238). 

t  He  11»,  2  P  35,  Ro  417  ;  C.  Clemen,  Primitive  Christianity 
and  its  Non-Jewish  Sources,  1912,  p.  82. 

J  Frazer,  GB>,  pt.  ii.,  Taboo  and  the  Perils  of  the  Soul,  p.  318; 
HDB  v.  181. 

J  Haddon,  p.  23 ;  Frazer,  GB3,  pt.  ii.,  Taboo  and  the  Perils 
of  the  Soul,  p.  319 ;  Anthropological  Essays,  ed.  W.  H.  R. 
Rivers,  R.  R.  Marett,  N.  W.  Thomas,  1907,  p.  91. 

II  Exp,  8th  ser.,  v.  [1913]  311 ;  Frazer,  Gfi3,  pt.  ii.,  Taboo  and 
the  Perils  of  the  Soul,  p.  327  ;  Clodd,  pp.  81,  82,  83,  84,  92,  94 ; 
Haddon,  p.  22. 

I  Frazer,  GB3,  pt.  ii.,  Taboo  and  the  Perils  of  the  Soul, 
p.  335  ;  Clodd,  p.  115  ;  EKE  i.  251. 

**  Frazer,  GB3,  pt.  ii. .  Taboo  and  the  Perils  of  the  Soul,  p.  328. 

tt  HDB  v.  181. 

tt  Quoted  by  Robertson,  p.  49  n. 

§§  Clodd,  p.  117.  ||  ||  Jg  5,  Mt  8.  20. 

II  Rev  2"  1912- 18. 18.  **«  Granger,  p.  142  f. 

ttt  Frazer,  GB?,  pt.  ii.,  Taboo  and  the  Perils  of  the  Soul, 
pp.  349,  353. 


especially  those  of  heroes,  in  silence.*  Among  the  Abipones  all 
mention  of  the  dead  was  avoided,  and  the  relatives  of  the  dead 
changed  their  names,  t  This  custom  prevailed  among  the  Amer- 
inds, Australians,  Albanians,  Tasmanians,  Shetlanders,}  etc. 
Our  Lord  in  calling  Lazarus  from  the  dead  expressly  named 
him. §  The  Amerinds  and  others,  by  solemnly  conferring  the 
name  of  a  dead  person  on  a  living  one,  thereby  caused  the  latter 
to  become  an  incarnation  of  the  dead.  II  Certain  ceremonies  of 
naming  and  a  certain  type  of  name  may  have  sprung  from  this 
custom. 

Secrecy  in  regard  to  the  name  was  also  observed 
in  the  case  of  exalted  personages.  Instances  of 
this  in  the  case  of  kings  have  been  collected  from 
many  parts  of  the  world.  IT 

The  British  sovereign  is  rarely  spoken  of  by  his  name,  '  His 
Majesty '  or  '  the  King '  being  generally  employed.  In  the 
British  House  of  Commons  a  member  is  not  addressed  by  his 
name,  but  as  'the  member  for  N.,'  and  the  first  step  in  punishing 
a  member  is  '  to  name  him,'  thus  bringing  the  offender  out  of 
his  impersonal  sacredness. 

The  tabu  on  the  name  was  still  more  important 
in  the  case  of  those  connected  with  divinities  and 
in  that  of  the  divinities  themselves,  as  the  nearer 
to  the  divine,  or  the  more  divine  a  person  was,  the 
greater  the  potency  dwelling  in  his  name. 

A  priest  of  Eleusis  on  taking  office  assumed  a  holy  and  hidden 
name  which  was  written  on  a  tablet  and  cast  into  the  sea,  and 
when  he  died  that  name  became  the  one  by  which  he  was 
known.**  The  real  name  of  Confucius  is  so  sacred  that  it  is  a 
punishable  offence  to  utter  it.tt  The  Oyampis  never  name  a 
waterfall  till  they  have  passed  it,  lest  the  sacred  snake  in  it 
might  on  hearing  the  name  attack  them.JJ  The  Egyptians 
relate  that  the  name  of  the  god  Ra  was  uttered  by  his  parents 
and  then  concealed  in  him  by  them  in  such  a  way  that  it  was 
impossible  for  any  spell  to  bewitch  him.  But  Isis  managed  to 
worm  it  out  of  him  and  thus  became  his  superior  in  power.  §§ 
We  do  not  know  how  the  real  name  of  Ra  or  Amon  was  pro- 
nounced. In  a  Leiden  papyrus  a  magician  says,  '  I  am  he  to 
whom  .  .  .  thou  didst  grant  the  yi/werts  of  thy  mighty  name, 
which  I  shall  keep  secret,  sharing  it  with  no  one.'  II II  Examples 
from  various  parts  of  the  world  have  been  collected  showing 
that  the  true  names  of  the  gods  were  kept  secret. H  Heroes, 
giants,  and  fairies  all  kept  their  names  secret.***  The  Algon- 
quins  venerated  a  woman  who  came  down  from  the  skies,  and 
whose  name  was  too  sacred  to  be  spoken. ttt  Allah  is  but  an 
epithet  in  place  of  the  Most  Great  Name ;  for  the  secret  of 
the  latter  is  committed  to  prophets  and  apostles  alone. tJt  In 
the  vocabulary  of  the  original  Aryan  language,  the  real  names 
of  the  gods  cannot  be  proved.  §§§  This  holds  true  in  all  the 
religions  of  the  Mediterranean  race,  for  the  divine  name  was 
felt  to  be  part  of  the  divine  essence  and  itself  of  supernatural 
potency.  II II II  The  Romans  called  their  chief  goddess  the  Dea 
Dia,  but  this  was  a  mere  adjectival  description  employed  be- 
cause of  the  fear  of  mentioning  the  real  name.lll  The 
Roman  pontiffs  concealed  the  true  names  of  their  gods,  and 
especially  of  the  guardian  deity  of  Rome,  lest  they  should  be 
wrongly  used  by  unauthorized  persons  or  an  enemy.***  '  'It 
was  improper  to  mention  the  personal  name  of  the  SaSouxos 
at  Athens  on  account  of  his  sacred  character.'  tttt  Many  div- 


refers  to  the  enlightened  man  '  who  knows  the  silent  names  of 
the  gods.'  §§§§  Pausanias,  speaking  of  Pallantion,  says  '  There 
is  a  temple  of  ©eoi  still  standing  on  the  top  of  the  ridge  :  they 
are  called  KaOapoi,  and  oaths  on  matters  of  the  greatest  import 
are  taken  before  them.  The  people  do  not  know  their  names, 
or  knowing  them  are  unwilling  to  pronounce  them.'  II  ||  II II  On 


»  Anthropological  Essays,  p.  92.  t  ERE  i.  29. 

t  Frazer,  G&,  pt.  ii.,  Taboo  and  the  Perilt  of  the  Soul,  pp. 
349,  354  ;  Clodd,  pp.  166,  168,  171. 
§  Jn  11«. 
||  Frazer,  G&,  pt.  ii. ,  Taboo  and  the  Perils  of  the  Soul,  p.  365. 

I  Ib.  pp.  374-382 ;  Clodd,  p.  157. 

**  Frazer,  <?B3,  pt.  ii.,  Taboo  and  the  Perilt  of  the  Soul, 
p.  382;  Clodd,  p.  162  ff. 

tt  Clodd,  p.  190. 

U  Frazer,  GB3,  pt.  L,  The  Magic  Art,  ii.  156. 

§§  Maspero,  p.  162;  Erman,  p.  265 ff.;  Frazer,  G&,  pt.  ii., 
Taboo  and  the  Perils  of  the  Soul,  p.  387  ;  HDB  v.  181 ;  Clodd, 
p.  180  ff. 

I! II  Exp,  8th  ser.,  iv.  [1912]  309. 

II  Frazer,  GB3,  pt.  ii.,  Taboo  and  the  Perils  of  the  Soul, 
p.  387. 

***  Clodd,  pp.  27,  49,  50.  ttt  ERE  i.  322«>. 

W  Haddon,  p.  24  ;  ERE  i.  326 ;  Clodd,  p.  189. 

§§§  ERE  ii.  35. 

II II II  Farnell.  The  Evolution  of  Religion,  p.  32. 

III  ERE  ii.  11. 

****  Farnell,  The  Evolution  of  Religion,  p.  185  ;  Clodd,  p.  174 ; 
Frazer,  GB3,  pt.  ii.,  Taboo  and  the  Perils  of  the  Soul,  p.  391. 

tttt  Anthropological  Essays,  p.  91. 

JUS  Farnell,  The  Evolution  of  Religion,  pp.  185, 187,  and  the 
reference  there  to  Agni. 

§§§§  Quoted  by  Farnell,  ib. 

II II II II  Anthropological  Essays,  p.  83. 


tfAME 


XAME 


71 


a  tablet  of  lead  found  at  Hadrumetum  occurs  the  phrase  opict£u 
<r«  TO  ayiov  ovona.  o  ov  \eyerai.  ('  I  adjure  thee  by  the  sacred 
name  which  is  not  uttered  ).  On  a  papyrus  a  demon  is  adjured 
KO.TO.  riav  <f>piKT<av  ovo/ioTwf.*  When  Herodotus  says  that  the 
Pelasgian  deities  were  nameless,  he  means  that  the  names  were 
kept  secret,  for  a  god  is  not  nameless  because  he  is  not  named 
or  addressed  only  by  a  simple  appellation. t  The  writer  of  a 
Babylonian  penitential  psalm  invokes  a  deity  '  whom  he  knew 
not '  because  probably  he  is  thus  deprecating  the  wrath  of  some 
offended  deity  with  whose  name  he  was  unacquainted.J 

Among  the  inhabitants  of  Palestine  the  name  of 
Jahweh  was  invoked  at  the  different  shrines.  §  But 
gradually  the  rites  of  the  cult  were  concentrated 
at  the  Jerusalem  Temple.  There  Jahweh  caused 
His  name  to  dwell.  ||  It  thus  became  the  only 
place  in  which  that  name  could  be  pronounced, 
another  being  used  in  ordinary  places  and  at 
ordinary  times. IT  Tradition  says  it  was  uttered 
even  in  the  Temple  only  once  in  the  year  when 
the  high  priest  entered  the  Holy  of  Holies.**  But 
the  name  did  not,  as  in  some  other  cults,  develop 
into  a  separate  deity.  Among  the  Palestinian 
Jews  the  name  speedily  became  an  tivopa  fi/5p7?ro^.tt 
It  was  not  to  be  blasphemed,  U  nor  profaned  as 
by  using  it  in  swearing  falsely,§§  nor  '  taken  in 
vain, '||  ||  for  Jahweh  would  only  be  further  and  more 
fiercely  enraged  by  any  attempt  to  conjure  with  His 
name. ITU  'Rabbinic  mysticism  was  deeply  concerned 
with  the  history  of  the  hidden  divine  name.'  In  the 
Ethiopic  Enoch  one  of  the  evil  angels  asks  Michael 
'to  show  him  the  hidden  name.'  'The  mystical 
nameof  God  isAnivje-hu,"I&n<i  he," a  combination 
signifying  the  most  intimate  relation  conceivable 
between  God  and  His  people.'  ***  The  opposite  of 
this  respectful  reverence  for  the  name  of  a  deity  is 
blasphemy,  which  may  be  the  claim  in  either  word 
or  deed  to  do  what  can  be  done  only  by  a  god,  or 
done  in  his  name — a  crime  the  Jews  preferred 
against  our  Lord,ttt  or  the  actual  heaping  of 
abuse  on  the  name.  When  the  fourth  angel  of  the 
plagues  poured  out  his  bowl  upon  the  sun,  and 
men  were  scorched  by  its  fierce  heat,  they  '  blas- 
phemed the  name  of  the  God  who  had  control 
over  the  plagues.'  The  Beast  revealed  his  true 
character  in  that  he  uttered  '  blasphemies  against 
God,  to  blaspheme  his  name. 'lit  The  conduct  of 
the  Jews  who  prided  themselves  in  God,  relying  on 
the  Law,  and  teaching  it,  while  violating  it  in 
daily  life,  caused  the  Gentiles  to  '  blaspheme  the 
name  of  God ' ;  similarly  Christian  slaves  who 
failed  in  their  duty  to  their  masters  caused  the 
name  of  God  to  be  blasphemed.  §§§  It  is  noticeable 
that  immediately  after  our  Lord's  death  His 
followers  considered  His  name  as  sacred  as  that 
of  Jahweh.  St.  Paul  looking  back  on  his  pre-con- 
version  attitude  to  Jesus  calls  himself  a  blasphemer, 
a  designation  the  meaning  of  which  becomes  clear 
when  we  learn  that  the  cruelty  of  his  persecution 
of  the  Christians  consisted  in  his  compelling  them 
to  blaspheme,  to  pour  abuse  on  the  name  of  Jesus. 
St.  James  points  out  that  the  powerful  plutocrats 
not  only  abused  the  Christians  to  whom  he  wrote 
but  openly  blasphemed  the  noble  name  they  bore.|||||| 

8.  Exorcism  in  the  name.— A  divinity  exer- 
cised power  over  another  divinity  if  he  possessed 
stronger  mana  than  the  other.  When  men  believed 

*  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  pp.  273  ff.,  288,  and  the  reference 
there  to  Josephus. 

t  Farnell,  The  Evolution  of  Religion,  p.  185 ;  Anthropological 
Essays,  p.  91. 

t  Sayce,  pp.  304,  351,  353.  }  Ex  20M. 

II  Dt  125  262 ;  BOB  iii.  479,  v.  641. 

U  Deissmann,  Bible  Stiidies,  p.  287. 

**  HDB  iv.  604,  v.  280.  tt  Lv  24i«  ;  HDB  v.  280*. 

JJ  Lv  2416.  j§  LV  igai  1912  216  222-  32. 

II  |]  Ex  207  ;  HDB  v.  640>>,  n. ;  Qesenius,  Hebrew  and  Chaldee 
Lexicon,  1859,  p.  807. 

•Tlf  Am  610  ;  HDB  v.  640t>,  n. 

***  Exp,  8th  ser.,  iii.  [1912]  435. 

ttt  Mt  93  26«5,  Lk  521,  Jn  1033. 36.  »»»  Rev  136. 

§§§  Rev  16» ;  cf.  vv.n-  21  131-  6  1"3,  Ro  2",  1  Ti  61. 

Illlll  1  Ti  113,  Ac  26",  Ja  27. 


that  all  disasters  and  diseases  of  the  body  and  mind 
were  caused  by  demons  they  also  believed  that 
these  fell  workers  were  controllable  by  powers  still 
more  mighty.  '  The  devils  also  believe  [in  one 
God],  and  shudder  '  when  they  think  of  Him.* 


Disease-demons  among  the  Malays  could  be  cast  out  by  in- 
voking the  spirit  of  some  powerful  beast,  as  an  elephant  or 
tiger.f 

The  mana  of  a  superior  divinity  lay  in  his  name, 
especially  his  secret  name.£ 

Among  the  Australians  the  name  of  Daramulun  (a  high  god) 
was  so  potent,  that  '  Tundun  '  was  used  in  place  of  it.§  There 
is  peculiar  virtue  in  the  three-fold  repetition  of  the  name  of 
Ukko  in  the  Kalevala.t 

A  person,  by  getting  to  know  the  name  and 
using  it  properly,  practically  identified  himself 
with,  and  for  the  time  being  exercised  control 
over,  the  particular  divinity.  IT 

By  pronouncing  the  Most  Great  Name  a  person  could  be 
transported  from  place  to  place,  could  kill  the  living,  raise  the 
dead,  and  work  other  miracles.**  Ona  tablet  from  Hadrumetum 
a  magician  threatens,  in  order  to  win  over  a  demon  to  obey 
him,  that  he  will  pronounce  the  unutterable  name  of  God,  the 
very  sound  of  which  fills  the  demons  with  shuddering  dread.  tt 
Lilith,  Adam's  first  wife  (says  Jewish  tradition),  refused  to  obey 
him,  pronounced  the  ineffable  Name,  and  then  flew  away. 
Neither  Jahweh  nor  the  three  great  angels  could  therefore 
force  her  to  return.  But  she  was  persuaded  to  swear  by  the 
Living  God  that  she  would  not  injure  infants  who  had  on  them 
something  with  the  names  of  the  angels  written  on  it  ;  hence 
the  infants  had  slips  bearing  their  names  on  them.  This 
custom  is  still  observed  among  some  of  the  Jews  of  London. 
To  obtain  complete  power  over  a  demon  it  is  also  necessary  to 
learn  his  name  ;  hence  the  question  of  Jesus.  t!  In  the  magical 
papyri  mystic  names  are  used  for  expelling  demons  and  com- 
pelling incantations.§§  Among  the  Jews  the  most  powerful  of 
all  names  was  that  of  Jahweh.  From  a  right  use  of  it  amulets 
could  be  obtained,  anathemas  launched,  the  sick  healed,  and 
demons  put  to  flight  ;  ||||  indeed  the  overwhelming  effect  of  the 
Divine  name  upon  the  demons  was  a  very  familiar  idea  in  post- 
biblical  Judaism.  HIT  Josephus  speaks  of  (J>PIKTOV  ovo^a.  rov 
Oeov.***  In  the  Book  of  Enoch  an  evil  angel  asks  Michael  '  to  show 
him  the  hidden  name.'  ttt  The  Jews  became  noted  throughout 
the  Roman  Empire  as  magicians,  mathematici,  etc.tt*  Jewish 
ideas  as  to  the  name  became  connected  with  similar  conceptions 
in  pagan  cults.  '  Strong  arguments  '  have  been  advanced  '  for 
the  Egyptian  origin  of  this  belief."  §}{  We  need  not  therefore  be 
astonished  to  find  that  casting  out  ordinary  disease-demons  by 
the  princely  demon  Beelzebul  was  not  an  uncommon  practice 
among  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  our  Lord.  Illlll  Herod  1JU1I  was 
not  astonished  at  the  miracles  of  Jesus  because  he  imagined 
that  He  was  John  the  Baptist  risen  from  the  dead  and  therefore 
possessed  of  very  powerful  mana.****  Jesus  Himself  was  keenly 
conscious  that  there  was  within  Him  Suva^  which  could  pass 
out  from  Him,  as  well  as  be  exercised  by  Him.tttt 

In  accordance  with  the  opinion  of  His  time,  Jesus  looked  on 
some  diseases  as  caused  by  the  intrusion  of  demons,  though  in 
the  great  majority  of  His  works  of  healing  there  is  no  reference 
to  them.  Some  who  were  so  afflicted  He  cured  by  casting  out 
the  demons.*»»t  It  is  noticeable,  however,  that  He  did  this 
not  by  invoking  any  name,  not  even  the  Tetragrammaton  ; 
He  did  it  'with  a  word.'§§§§  These  deeds  aroused  immense 
curiosity  among  the  populace,  and  it  was  felt  that,  in  some  way, 
the  mana  displayed  in  them  must  be  accounted  for.  ||  I!  II  ||  The 
theory  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  was  that  Jesus  was  able  to  act 
thus  through  His  exercise  of  the  ?na»iaof  Beelzebul.  1*i*!i1[  An- 
other theory  was  that  Jesus,  like  John  the  Baptist,  was  possessed 


•  Ja  2i»  ;  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  p.  288. 

t  Marett,  The  Threshold  of  Religion?,  p.  62,  quoting  Skeat. 

t  Erman,  p.  354  ;  Sayce,  p.  302. 

§  Marett,  The  Threshold  of  Religion*,  p.  167. 

II  Quoted  by  Farnell,  The  Evolution  of  Religion,  p.  184. 

%  Erman,  p.  353. 

•*  Haddon,  p.  24. 

tt  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  p.  273. 

it  Mk  59,  Lk  830;  Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Anc.  East, 
p.  257  ;  Clemen,  p.  236. 

§g  Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Anc.  East,  p.  255 ;  Exp,  8th  ser., 
iii.  435. 

Illl  A.  Hausrath,  History  of  NT  Times,  Z  vols.,  1878-80,  i.  125. 

•JIU  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  p.  255.  ***  JOB.  BJ  v.  x.  3. 

ttt  Exp,  8th  ser.,  iii.  439. 

JJJ  Ac  1913  and  Roman  authorities. 

§§§  Exp,  8th  ser.,  iii.  439.  1 0  D  Mt  1227,  Lk  lli». 

«  •  •  Mk  &*,  or,  according  to  BD  and  the  Old  Lat.  Version, 
•the  people.' 

*»**  Mt  1*1-  2.  tttt  Lk  8«,  Mk  310  5»0,  Lk  6l». 

tttt  Mk  127.39;  Heitmuller,  p.  241 ;  Clemen,  p.  234. 

||§§  Mt  816  ;  F.  C.  Conybeare,  'The  Demonology  of  the  NT,' 
in  Ji^H  viii.  [1895-96J  586. 

li  ||  |;  ||  Mk  520. 42,  Mt  8«  9»  2120,  Jn  520  7«  856,  Lk  436. 

•••'«•  Mt  1224. 26,  Mk  3--2,  Lk  li".  18  (Mt  »34  is  probably  a  later 
insertion). 


72 


NAME 


NAME 


by  a  demon.*  Jesus  Himself,  in  explaining  how  He  effected  the 
cures,  uses  three  expressions.  He  did  them  '  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,'  or  '  by  the  finger  of  God,'  or  '  in  the  name '  of  His  Father.t 
All  these  expressions  indicate  that  Jesus  was  conscious  that  He 
had  power  to  master  and  control  the  demons,  and  that  He  had 
this  given  Him  by  God  ;  that,  far  from  being  dependent  on  any 
demon,  He  had  entered  their  house  to  spoil  it.} 

In  accordance  with  the  ideas  of  the  time,  this  extraordinarily 
powerful  mana  exhibited  by  our  Lord  was  supposed  to  be 
lodged  in  His  name,  and  immediately  magicians  began  actually 
to  effect  cures  by  the  invoking  of  His  name.§  Jesus  refused 
to  interfere  with  those  who  did  so,  though  they  were  not  His 
professed  followers,  II  and  even  intimated  that  some  did  such 
miracles  '  whom  he  knew  not.'  If  The  Twelve  after  being  chosen 
were  ordained  to  be  with  Jesus,  in  order  that  they  might  go 
forth  (a)  to  preach,  (6)  to  have  power  to  heal  diseases,  and  (e) 
eic/SoAAeii'  rd  Sou/xdi'ia.**  When  Jesus  did  send  them  forth  He 
gave  them  power  to  cast  out  all  unclean  spirits.tt  The  Twelve 
were  able  to  cast  out  the  demons,  though  they  sometimes 
failed  in  their  efforts  because  they  had  so  little  faith.Jt  Jesus 
also  sent  out  the  Seventy  to  heal,  giving  them  power  'of 
trampling  down  all  the  power  of  the  enemy,'  and  when  they 
returned  they  reported  that  the  spirits  were  subject  to  them 
in  His  name.§§  Finally,  Jesus  bequeathed  to  those  who  should 
believe  power  to  cast  out  demons  in  His  name.  II II 

After  the  death  of  Jesus  the  apostles  continued 
to  cure  those  annoyed  (or  roused,  oxXou^vovj)  with 
unclean  spirits  and  to  do  other  wonderful  works 
in  His  name.HIF 

As  the  Church  spread  through  the  Roman  Empire 
it  came  more  and  more  into  contact  with  Oriental 
and  Greek  magic,  and  under  this  stimulus  formulae 
of  exorcism  in  His  name  rapidly  became  popular. 
The  origin  of  the  Jewish  belief  in  the  efficacy  of  the 
name  has  been  sought  in  Babylon  ***  and  Egypt.ttt 
but  it  possibly  goes  back  to  older  Semitic  ideas. 
Among  the  pagans  the  disciples  effected  cures 
through  the  Name,  and  a  similar  power  was  exer- 
cised by  other  Christians  over  spirits  which  came  out 
'  shouting  with  a  loud  cry.' ££J:  Heitmiiller  argues  : 
'Not  only  the  name,  the  outspoken,  invoked  name 
of  Jesus,  but  also  the  name  itself,  as  formula,  was, 
according  to  the  representation  of  these  passages, 
the  instrument  of  the  miracles  of  the  apostles.  The 
idea  underlying  the  passages  is  ...  belief  in  the 
magical  potency  of  the  name  of  Jesus.' §§§  Clemen 
is  forced  to  admit  that  a  magical  effect  is  attributed 
to  the  Name  in  Ac  410,  and  practically  in  Ac  36<  16 
47. 10  jgis^  an(j  escape8  from  admitting  the  same 
thing  in  regard  to  Mt  7s2,  Mk  1617,  Lk  10"  1328  only 
by  declaring  them  unhistorical.||||||  He  produces 
not  an  iota  of  evidence  for  the  unhistoricity  of  these 
passages,  and  the  history  of  the  use  of  the  Name 
gives  their  true  meaning.  1HI1T  The  irpeapfrrepoi  in 
the  churches  of  the  Diaspora  are  instructed  by 
St.  James  in  cases  of  illness  to  pray  over  the 
patient, '  anointing  him  with  oil  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord.'  ****  Certain  Jewish  exorcists  in  Ephesus 
took  upon  themselves  to  effect  cures,  using  the 
formula,  'I  adjure  you  by  Jesus  whom  Paul 
preacheth.'tttt  The  standpoint  of  the  post- Apos- 
tolic Church  is  put  thus :  '  Before  we  believed  in 
God  the  habitation  of  our  heart  was  corrupt  and 
weak  ...  for  it  was  full  of  idolatry,  and  was  a 
habitation  of  demons.  .  .  .  Having  received  the  for- 
giveness of  sins  and  placed  our  trust  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  we  became  new  creatures. '  +$++  Hernias 
implies  a  similar  use  of  the  Name  when  he  says, 
'  You  can  be  saved  from  the  great  beast  by  no  other 
than  by  His  great  and  glorious  name.  A  man  can- 
not otherwise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  than 

*  Mt  1118,  Jn  720  848. 52  1Q20. 

t  Mt  1228,  Lk  1120  (cf.  Jn  32,  Ac  222  1Q38),  jn  1Q25. 
JMtl229.  §Lk93S-49. 

II  Mk  939,  Lk  950. 

*  Mt  722  (cf.  Lk  1326  ;  Heitmiiller,  p.  241). 

»*  Mk  314- 15,  Mt  101.  tt  >H  108,  Mk  67,  Lk  81. 

it  Mk  613,  Lk  96,  Mt  1716. 19. 20.  §§  Lk  10H.  19. 

II II  Mk  1617.  tH  Ac  516. 

***  Heitmuller,  p.  185. 

ttt  Ib.  p.  218 ;  Farnell,  The  Evolution  of  Religion,  p.  189. 

III  Ac  87  1618  1911-13.  §§§  p.  236. 
Ullll  Clemen,  pp.  234-236. 

T  F.  C.  Conybeare,  Myth  Magic  and  Morals,  1910,  ch.  xiii. 
Ja  514.  f ftt  Ac  1913. 

The  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  xvi.  7,  8. 


by  the  name  of  His  beloved  son,'  for  '  whosoever 
does  not  receive  His  name  shall  not  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God.'*  Justin  is  still  more  explicit. 
Jesus  was  conceived  '  for  the  sake  of  believing 
men,  and  for  the  destruction  of  the  demons.'  The 
evidence  for  this  is  '  that  numberless  demoniacs 
throughout  the  whole  world,  and  in  your  city  many 
of  our  Christian  men  exorcize  them  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  .  .  .  rendering  helpless  and  driving 
out  of  men  the  possessing  devils. 't  The  power  of 
Jesus'  name,  even  the  demons  do  fear,  and  at  this 
day,  when  they  are  exorcized  in  His  name,  they  are 
overcome.  '  His  Father  has  given  Him  so  great 
power  by  virtue  of  which  the  demons  are  subdued 
by  His  name.'t  'God  made  it  manifest  that 
through  Jesus  .  .  .  the  demons  would  be  destroyed 
and  would  dread  His  name.'§  'And  now  we,  who 
believe  on  our  Lord  Jesus,  .  .  .  when1  we  exorcize 
all  demons  and  evil  spirits,  have  them  subjected 
to  us.' ||  'Every  demon,  when  exorcized  in  the 
name  of  this  very  Son  of  God,  ...  is  overcome 
and  subdued. 'IT  Origen  again  writes  thus  :  'The 
names  Sabaoth,  Adonai,  and  other  names  .  .  . 
when  pronounced  with  that  attendant  turn  of  cir- 
cumstances which  is  appropriate  to  their  nature, 
are  possessed  of  great  power ;  and  other  names 
again,  current  in  the  Egyptian  tongue,  are  effi- 
cacious against  certain  demons.'**  'It  is  not  by 
incantations  that  Christians  seem  to  prevail  [over 
evil  spirits]  but  by  the  name  of  Jesus,  accompanied 
by  the  announcement  of  the  narrative  which  relates 
to  Hini,  for  the  repetition  of  these  has  frequently 
been  the  means  of  driving  demons  out  of  men, 
especially  when  those  who  repeated  them  did  so  in 
a  sound  and  genuinely  believing  spirit.'  ft  '  Chris- 
tians employ  no  spells  or  incantations,  but  the 
simple  name  of  Jesus,  and  certain  other  words  in 
which  they  repose  faith. 'It  The  name  of  Jesus 
'  has  expelled  myriads  of  evil  spirits  from  the 
souls  and  bodies  of  men.'§§  Tertullian  observes 
'  that  though  names  be  empty  and  feigned,  yet 
when  they  are  drawn  down  into  superstition, 
demons  and  every  unclean  spirit  seize  them  for 
themselves.  Ml II  The  name  of  Jesus,  with  other 
biblical  names,  was  used  as  an  amulet  in  the  3rd 
or  4th  century.  HIT  The  Maronites  still  cure  the 
insane  by  exorcizing  the  evil  spirit,  adjuring  him  in 
the  name  of  God,  and  beating  the  patient  on  the 
head.  ***  '  In  Christian  rituals,  from  about  the  year 
300  on,  an  altar,  shrine,  and  any  other  sort  of 
building,  and  also  ".the  natures"  of  oil,  water, 
salt,  candles,  even  of  hassocks,  have  been  conse- 
crated by  repeating  over  them  the  formula  "  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ,"  or  "in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost." '  ttt  '  In  Abyssinia, 
Biblical  sacred  names,  together  with  a  large  number 
of  fanciful  appellations,  .  .  .  were  magically  pro- 
nounced for  the  purpose  of  warding  off  the  power 
of  demons  and  all  kinds  of  diseases. '  JJJ  In  the 
Directorium  Anglicanum  a  form  is  given  for  the 
exorcism  of  water,  salt,  and  flowers  for  decoration, 
in  the  Triune  Name.§§§  The  practice,  if  we  may  so 
term  it,  has  not  yet  ceased.  Baroness  de  Bertouch 
tells  us  that  Ignatius  is  said  on  one  occasion,  over 
a  girl  who  had  died  of  typhoid  fever,  to  have 
pronounced  the  words,  '  In  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  I  say  unto  thee,  Arise,'  and  the  dead  girl 
came  back  to  life;  on  another,  using  the  same 
formula,  to  have  raised  to  life  a  man  who  had  been 

*  Hennas,  Vis.  iv.  ii.  4  ;  Sim.  DC.  xii.  6,  4. 

t  Justin  Martyr,  Apol.  iL  6.  t  Dial.  30. 

$  Ib.  131.  II  Ib.  76. 

f  Ib.  85.  **  c.  Gels.  i.  26. 

tt  Ib.  i.  6.  tt  Ib. 

§5  Ib.  i.  25,  v.  45.  II II  de  Idol.  16. 

1H  Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Ane.  East,  p.  415. 

«**  pEFSt,  1892,  p.  144. 

ttt  Conybeare,  Myth  Magic  and  Morals,  p.  243. 

Ill  ExpTxxi.  [1909-10]  403. 

§§§  Directorium  Anglicanum^,  ed.  F.  G.  Lee,  1866,  p.  327. 


NAME 


NAME 


crushed  by  a  crate  of  stone  'to  a  mass  of  pulp.'* 
And  the  ancient  expression,  if  not  the  old  magic 
meaning,  still  lingers  in  popular  religious  phrases, 
and  in  such  hymns  as  'All  hail  the  power  of 
Jesus'  name.' 

9.  Baptism  in  the  Name.  —  At  a  very  early 
period  man  discovered  that  water  removed  physical 
impurities.  Evil  was  primarily  thought  of  as 
physical,  hence  water  cleansed  from  it.  When 
evil  came  to  be  regarded  as  something  spiritual, 
washing  with  water  developed  into  a  ceremonial 
rite.f  As  such  it  removed  tabus,  purified  from 
evil  and  acted  '  as  a  kind  of  magic  armour  which 
turns  aside  the  attacks  of  a  visible  or  invisible 
foe.'J  Such  ceremonial  or  religious  washing  was 
a  common  practice  among  the  nations  of  antiquity 
and  remains  so  among  the  peoples  of  the  lower 
culture  to-day.  It  was  a  well-known  rite  among 
the  Jews.§  Among  the  Essenes  a  candidate  for 
admission  to  the  Order,  after  one  year's  trial,  entered 
on  a  second  year's  probation  and  was  then  allowed 
to  share  their  bath  of  purification.il  Proselytes 
were  admitted  to  the  fold  of  Judaism  by  baptism, 
which  was  at  once  a  purification  from  heathenism 
and  an  initiation  or  consecration  of  the  convert. 
At  this  baptism  there  was  a  '  solemn  invocation  of 
the  Lord  as  Protector.'!" 

When  John  began  his  ministry  he  also  practised 
baptism,  explaining  that  it  symbolized  such  a  re- 
pentance and  confession  as  resulted  in  a  remission 
of  sins.**  To  the  Pharisees  this  baptism  appeared 
illegitimate  and  impotent,  because  John  was  desti- 
tute of  mana,  as  was  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he 
did  not  perform  any  sign,  and  that  he  admitted  he 
was  not  the  Messiah,  nor  Elijah,  nor  the  Prophet,  tt 
John's  explanation  was  that  he  was  merely  baptiz- 
ing with  water,  but  that  his  successor's  baptism 
would  be  baptism  with  the  Holy  Spirit  and  fire.Ji 

In  strict  conformity  with  this  Jesus  did  not  use 
water-baptism.  So  far  as  we  know.  He  baptized 
none  of  His  disciples,  though  His  disciples  (some 
of  whom  had  been  baptized  by  John)  continued 
John's  practice.  This  was  during  the  early  Judsean 
ministry.  §§  After  that  baptism  is  never  mentioned. 
There  is  no  indication  that  it  was  practised,  and  of 
those  who  are  said  to  have  believed  on,  or  followed, 
Jesus,  there  is  no  hint  that  any  were  baptized, 
though  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted  that  the  followers 
of  Jesus,  like  the  Jews  and  the  Essenes,  continued 
the  ceremonial  washings. 

When  therefore  at  Pentecost  flames  resting  on 
the  heads  of  those  present  and  the  descent  of  the 
Spirit  fulfilled  the  prediction  of  John  and  of  Jesus, 
and  seemed  to  herald  the  catastrophe  predicted  by 
Joel  when  he  only  would  be  saved  '  who  invoked 
the  name  of  the  Lord,'  St.  Peter  instinctively  sum- 
moned his  hearers  to  repentance,  signified  and 
symbolized  by  a  baptism  in  which  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  was  solemnly  invoked.  We  may  well 
conclude  that  subsequent  Jewish  converts  were 
baptized  into  the  name  of  Jesus. ||||  When  Philip 
preached  to  the  Samaritans  '  good  tidings  concern- 
ing the  kingdom  of  God  and  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ '  the  converts  were  '  baptized  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus. 'HIT  When  St.  Paul  was  con- 
verted he  was  baptized  '  invoking  the  name '  of 
Jesus.***  When  the  Holy  Spirit  descended  on  the 
Gentiles  at  Csesarea,  Peter  '  ordered  them  to  be 
baptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.'  ttt  When  the 
disciples  of  John  at  Ephesus  believed,  'they  had 

*  Baroness  de  Bertouch,  Life  of  Father  Ignatius,  1904,  pp. 
87,  117,  373,  493. 

t  ERE  ii.  367.  t  76.  ii.  368. 

§  76.  ii.  408  ;  Mk  72-6,  Lk  1138.  ||  Jos.  BJ  n.  viii.  7. 
t  ERE  ii.  376.  *»  Mt  3«,  Mk  1*,  Lk  33,  Ac  13^. 

tt  Jn  10«,  Mt  2125,  jn  125. 

t:  Jn  12«.  31-33,  Mk  18,  Mt  311,  Lk  315- 16,  Ac  1»  11"  193-4.8. 
55  jn  42.  35-40  ;  Cf.  Lk  729,  Jn  322  42. 
||  ||  Ac  221.  38.  41.  «f  ^  Ac  812-16. 

***  AC  918  2216.  ttt  AC  1047.  «. 


themselves  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.'*  That  baptism  into  the  name  of  Jesus 
was  the  regular  practice  is  clear  from  such  expres- 
sions as  '  baptized  into  Christ  Jesus,'  '  was  it  in 
Paul's  name  that  you  were  baptized?,'  'no  one 
can  say  you  were  baptized  in  my  name,'  '  baptized 
into  Moses,'  'baptized  into  Christ ';t  while  other 
passages  in  the  Epistles  tend  to  confirm  this.:}:  In 
the  case  of  the  eunuch,  Lydia,  the  jailor,  Crispus 
and  the  other  Corinthians,  their  baptism  is  re- 
corded, but  it  is  not  said  that  the  name  of  Jesus 
was  invoked ;  but  a  study  of  the  case  of  the 
eunuch  makes  such  invocation  almost  certain,  and 
in  the  other  cases  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
the  usual  practice  was  followed.§  Of  Apollos  and 
others  it  is  not  said  that  they  were  baptized.il 
The  references  to  a  name  in  connexion  with 
baptism  in  the  Apostolic  Fathers  tend  to  confirm 
this  view.  Hermas  portrays  the  Church  as  a 
'  tower  built  upon  the  waters  .  .  .  founded  on  the 
word  of  the  almighty  and  glorious  name.'  Re- 
ferring to  the  state  of  a  man  before  his  baptism,  it 
is  said,  '  before  a  man  bears  the  name  of  the  son  of 
God  he  is  dead. 'IT  The  Didache  speaks  of  'those 
baptized  into  the  name  of  the  Lord.'  **  The  practice 
of  baptizing  into  the  name  of  Jesus  continued  into 
the  3rd  cent.,  when  Pope  Stephen,  in  opposition 
to  Cyprian  and  the  Apostolic  Canons,  declared  such 
baptism  to  be  invalid. tt 

In  Mt  2819  there  is  recorded  a  command  of  Jesus 
to  baptize  'in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit.'  The  earliest  mention 
we  have  of  this  is  in  the  Didache,  where  a  similar 
direction  is  given. ££  Justin  Martyr  says  that 
baptism  was  administered  in  the  Triune  Name.  §§ 
Irenseus,  who  mentions  baptism  in  the  Triune 
Name,  bases  this  not  on  the  command  in  Matthew 
but  on  the  traditional  faith  handed  down  to  him 
'  "  by  the  elders,  the  disciples  of  the  apostles."  '  |||| 
That  baptism  in  the  Triune  Name  was  universally 
current  about  A.D.  150  is  scarcely  in  accordance 
with  the  evidence.  The  discrepancy  between  the 
command  of  Jesus  and  the  practice  of  the  Apostolic 
Church  has  been  accounted  for  in  various  ways, 
some  of  which  are  worthy  of  consideration.  (1) 
Its  historicity  as  part  of  Matthew's  Gospel  and  its 
authority  as  a  command  of  the  Lord  have  been  main- 
tained, HIT  the  argument  adduced  being  that  the 
words  did  not  constitute  a  formula  to  be  used,  and 
that  baptism  into  the  name  of  Jesus  was  virtually 
the  same  as  baptism  into  the  Triune  Name — an 
explanation  that  does  not  account  for  the  fact  that 
the  words  of  Jesus  were  not  in  one  single  case 
obeyed.  (2)  The  historicity  of  the  words  as  those 
of  Jesus,  questioned,  by  Neander,***  who  declares 
it  undeniable  that  the  account  '  does  not  bear  so 
distinct  a  historical  stamp  as  other  narratives 
of  Christ's  reappearance'  is  denied  by  Strauss, 
Weinel,  Clemen,  Harnack,  Robinson,  Sabatier.ttt 

*  Ac  193-  4.  8.  t  Ro  63,  1  Co  113- 14  1Q2,  Gal  327. 

t  1  Co  6H  1213,  Eph  48,  Col  212,  i  p  321.  jn  none  of  these 
cases  would  the  '  ceremonial  formula  have  been  out  of  place ' 
(Exp,  6th  ser.,  iii.  [1901]  411). 

§  Ac  825-40  1614-15.  ||  AC  18. 

•1  Vis.  iii.  3;  Sim.  ix.  16  (cf.  ix.  13);  the  Athos  MS  reads 
'  name  of  God.' 

**  Ch.  ix. 

tt  Cyprian,  Ep.  Ixxiii.  17-18  ;  F.  C.  Conybeare,  EBr^  ii.  365. 

tt  Ch.  vii. ;  but  see  J.  H.  Bernard,  Exp,  6th  ser.,  v.  [1902]  51. 

§§  Apol.  i.  61. 

II II  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iv.  [1907]  42 ;  A,  Harnack,  History  of  Dogma, 
ii.  [1896]  22. 

n  Resch,  ExpT  vi.  247  ;  J.  T.  Marshall,  t'6.  p.  395  ;  Critical 
Review,  v.  [1895]  42;  F.  H.  Chase,  JThSt  vi.  [1904-05]  481  £f., 
viii.  [1906-07]  161  ff.  ;  W.  C.  Allen,  ICC,  '  Matthew  '3,  1912,  p. 
305  ff.  ;  J.  V.  Bartlet,  ERE  ii.  376  ;  A.  Plummer,  HDB  i.  242  ; 
J.  H.  Bernard,  Exp,  6th  ser.,  v.  [1902]  51. 

***  Life  of  Jesus  Christ,  1880,  pp.  131,  484  n. 

ttt  D.  F.  Strauss,  Life  of  Jesus?,  1892,  p.  745  f.,  says: 
'The  formula  in  Matthew  sounds  so  exactly  as  if  it  had 
been  borrowed  from  the  ecclesiastical  ritual,  that  there  is  no 
slight  probability  in  the  supposition  that  it  was  transferred 
from  thence  into  the  mouth  of  Jesus.'  H.  Weinel,  in  Jesus 


74 


NAME 


NAME 


(3)  The  historicity  of  the  words  as  part  of  the 
First  Gospel,  questioned  by  Sanday,*  who  says 
'  they  belong  to  a  comparatively  late  and  sus- 
pected part  of  the  Gospel,'  is  assailed  by  Cony- 
beare,t  who  holds  that  the  command  to  baptize  in 
the  Triune  Name  was  interpolated  for  dogmatic 
reasons  in  some  copies  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  its 
place  in  the  text  was  not  fully  assured  till  after 
the  Council  of  Niceea,  instancing  the  fact  that 
Eusebius  of  Csesarea  (A.D.  313-339),  when  quoting 
or  referring  to  it,  continually  omits  or  stops  short 
of  the  words  which  refer  to  baptism.  This  practi- 
cally is  the  opinion  of  such  scholars  as  Moflatt 
and  Kirsopp  Lake.J  Of  singular  interest  are  the 
opinions  of  Bruce.  At  first  maintaining  that  this 
and  other  post-Resurrection  sayings  '  bear  internal 
evidence  of  being  last  words  from  their  fitness  to 
the  situation,' §  he  comes  to  favour  an  idea  of 
Keim  that  Mt  2819,  an  authentic  logion  spoken  by 
Jesus  before  His  death,  was  transferred  by  Matthew 
to  what  he  deemed  a  specially  suitable  place — the 
final  leave-taking,  the  trinitarian  formula  simply 
summing  up  '  in  brief  compass  the  teaching  of 
Jesus ' ;  i|  then  he  accepts  the  idea  that  the 
apostles  knew  the  formula  but  '  did  not  consider 
themselves  under  bondage  to  a  form  of  words,  but 
felt  free  to  use  an  equivalent  form,'  IT  and  comes  at 
last  to  think  that  the  words  '  are  not  so  much '  a 
report  of  '  what  the  risen  Jesus  said  ...  as  a 
summary  of  what  the  Apostolic  Church  understood 
to  be  the  will  of  the  exalted  Lord.'  **  But  even  if 
the  passage  be  a  genuine  logion  of  Jesus,  the 
knowledge  of  which  may  have  been  confined  to 
only  a  few,  preserved  only  in  one  Gospel  which  is 
dated  c.  A.D.  80, ft  it  cannot  be  used  as  evidence 
against  what,  so  far  as  one  knows,  was  an  actual 
and  universal  custom.  The  slight  variety  in  the 
words  which  record  the  baptism  in  the  name  of 
Jesus — clearly  of  no  significance  I J — shows  that 
there  was  indeed  no  stereotyped  formula  which 
must  not  be  departed  from,  but  raises  no  doubt  as 
to  the  fact  that  baptism  was  in  the  name  not  of 
three  persons,  but  of  one. 

The  meaning  of  such  baptism  is  clear.  When 
we  remember  the  use  of  the  name  in  the  exorcism  of 
demons,  when  we  remember  that  the  world  into 
which  the  religion  of  Jesus  came  was  '  a  world 
without  natural  science,  steeped  in  belief  in  every 
kind  of  magic  and  enchantment,  and  full  of 
public  and  private  religious  societies,  every  one  of 
which  had  its  mysteries  and  miracles  and  its  blood- 
bond  with  its  peculiar  deity,'  that  '  it  was  from 

or  Christ  (HJ  Suppl.),  1909,  p.  30,  says :  '  It  is  most  assuredly 
post-Pauline.'  Clemen,  p.  214,  says  :  It  '  cannot  be  historical, 
at  all  events  in  its  present  form.  .  .  .  Jesus  cannot,  I  think, 
have  instituted  a  form  of  baptism  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Spirit.'  Harnack,  History  of  Dogma,  i.  [1894] 
79,  says  :  '  Matt,  xxviii.  19  is  not  a  saying  of  the  Lord.'  Robin- 
son, EBi  i.  474,  practically  accepts  the  view  that  '  Matthew 
does  not  here  report  the  ipsissima  verba  of  Jesus,  but  transfers 
to  him  the  familiar  language  of  the  Church  of  the  evangelist's 
own  time  and  locality ' ;  cf.  A.  Sabatier,  The  Religion  of 
Authority  and  the  Religion  of  the  Spirit,  1904,  p.  51  ff. 

*  W.  Sanday  in  HDB  ii.  213t>. 

t  HJ  i.  [1902-03]  102.  See  also  M.  Arnold,  Literature  and 
Dogma?,  1876,  p.  292. 

t  J.  Moffatt,  The  Historical  NT,  1901,  p.  647,  The  Theology 
of  the  Gospels,  1912,  p.  32  ;  K.  Lake,  ERE  ii.  380t>,  says  the 
cumulative  evidence  of  the  textual,  literary,  and  historical 
criticism  'is  thus  distinctly  against  the  view  that  Mt  2819 
represents  the  ipsissima  verba  of  Christ ' ;  see  also  M.  Arnold, 
Literature  and  Dogma?,  p.  292,  and  ExpT  xv.  [1903-04] 
294. 

§  A.  B.  Bruce,  The  Training  of  the  Twelve"*,  1877,  p.  519 

II  The  Kingdom  of  God*  1891,  p.  257  f. 

If  Ib.  p.  260. 

**  Apologetics,  1892,  p.  463. 

tt  In  Mt  2815  •  down  to  the  present  day '  implies  a  considerable 
lapse  of  time. 

tt  Though  B.  F.  Westcott  (Exp,  3rd  ser.,  v.  [1887]  257)  says : 
•  Certainly  I  would  gladly  have  given  the  ten  years  of  my  life 
spent  on  the  Revision  to  bring  only  these  two  phrases  of  the 
New  Testament  ["  into  the  name"  in  Mt  2819  and  "  in  Christ" 
in  Ro  623]  to  the  heart  of  Englishmen.' 


such  a  world  and  such  societies  that  most  of  the 
converts  came  and  brought  with  them  the  thoughts 
and  instincts  of  countless  generations,  who  had 
never  conceived  of  a  religion  without  rites  and 
mysteries,'  *  when  we  remember  the  magical  use 
of  the  Name  in  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  worlds,  the 
words  of  Robinson  state  the  true  position  :  '  The 
Name  of  God  among  the  Jews  was  ...  an  instru- 
ment of  awful  power.  That  such  divine  power 
could  be  brought  into  play  by  the  use  of  the 
Name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  was  clearly  the  belief  of 
the  early  Christians.  .  .  .  Those  who  were  author- 
ized to  use  "the  Name"  were  regarded  as  having 
at  their  disposal  the  supernatural  power  of  the 
Being  whom  they  so  named.'  t  The  exact  effect  of 
baptism  '  into  the  name  '  is  not  easily  determined. 
If  the  words  in  Mt  2819  are  not  a  genuine  logion  of 
Jesus,  the  meaning  which  He  might  have  attached 
to  them  need  not  be  discussed,  and  hence  we  are 
concerned  with  the  view  not  of  Jesus  but  of  His 
followers.  '  No  trace  remains  of  the  baptism  of 
the  initiated  "into  the  name"  of  any  of  the 
mystery-deities,'!  and  so  they  afford  us  no  help. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  baptism  into  the 
Name  merely  '  indicates  to  whom  the  baptized 
person  will  thenceforward  adhere,'  and  therefore 
that  'the  theory  of  a  magical  virtue  in  baptism 
cannot  be  proved ' :  §  such  baptism  '  constitutes  the 
belonging  to  God  or  to  the  Son  of  God.'y  Such  a 
view  does  not  do  justice  to  the  facts  ;  much  nearer 
the  truth  is  the  conception  that  such  baptism 
'  reveals  the  name  as  a  religious  potency  into  which 
as  into  a  spiritual  atmosphere  the  adult  catechumen 
or  the  initiated  infant  is  brought.' IT  This  was 
clearly  St.  Paul's  view.  He  indicates  that  baptism 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  constituted  a  mystical  union 
between  the  baptized  and  Jesus  through  which  the 
baptized  received  (a)  a  share  in  His  death  and 
specially  in  His  resurrection,**  (b)  the  gift  of  the 
Spirit, tt  and  (c)  a  cleansing  from  sin  which  in- 
volved their  consecration  and  justification  ;  £f  and 
'baptism  can  produce  these  effects  because  it  works 
"  in  the  name,"  and  so  links  up  baptism  with  the 
view,  prevalent  at  the  time  in  almost  every  circle, 
that  the  pronunciation  of  the  name  of  any  one 
could,  if  properly  used,  enable  the  user  to  enjoy  the 
benefit  of  the  attributes  attached  to  the  original 
owner  of  the  name.  .  .  .  This  it  accomplishes 
by  the  power  of  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  by  the  sacramental  effect  of  the  water, 
according  to  the  well-known  idea  that  results 
could  be  reached  in  the  unseen  spiritual  world  by 
the  performance  of  analogous  acts  in  the  visible 
material  world. '§§  It  is  this  efficacy  of  the  water 
given  it  by  the  Name  that  enables  us  to  under- 
stand the  meaning  of  the  words  of  Barnabas  :  '  We 
descend  into  the  water  full  of  sins  and  defilement, 
but  come  up  bearing  fruit  in  our  hearts,  having 
the  fear  (of  God)  and  trust  in  Jesus  in  our  spirits.'  |||| 
For  a  similar  reason  Justin  Martyr  connects  the 
life  with  the  name.  HIT 

10.  Prayer  in  the  Name. — As  we  have  seen,  primi- 
tive man  gradually  came  to  realize  that  in  him, 
in  other  beings  and  things,  lay  the  extraordinary, 
the  supernormal — what  Hartland  calls  '  theoplasm,' 
god-stuff;  and  that  this,  whether  in  himself  or 
others,  was  a  power  able  to  be  exercised  by  him 
and  them — mana.  When,  for  example,  such  a 
man  met  an  enemy,  and  willed  to  kill  him,  it  was 
his  mana  that  enabled  him  to  do  so.  His  will, 

*  Glover,  p.  158  f.  ;  ERE  ii.  381. 

t  J.  A.  Robinson,  JThSt  vii.  [1905-06]  196,  197. 

t  H.  A.  A.  Kennedy,  Exp,  8th  ser.,  iv.  539. 

§  Clemen,  pp.  238,  370. 

II  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  p.  147. 

i  Farnell,  The  Evolution  of  Religion,  p.  189  f. 

**  Ro  6»-  *,  Gal  327,  Col  212. 

tt  1  Co  1212. 13.  j j  i  Co  6". 

§§  ERE  ii.  382  ;  Heitmuller,  pp.  320,  329. 

II II  Ch.  xi.  ^  Apol.  i.  «1. 


NAME 


NAME 


75 


moving  'on  a  supernormal  plane,'*  projected  itself 
against  the  foe  ;  his  mana  went  forth  as  an  act  of 
will.  Such  a '  will  to  power '  was  almost  inevitably 
accompanied  by,  and  expressed  itself  in,  two  things : 
(1)  an  act,  as  the  flinging  of  a  spear;  and  (2)  a 
hurling  forth  of  words,  such  words  being  '  the  very 
type  of  a  spiritual  projectile.'!  When  the  enemy 
is  not  present,  and  there  arises  the  wish  to  kill, 
then,  when  there  speeds  forth  the  mana  that 
destroys,  the  more  emotional  side  of  the  man's 
nature  asserts  itself  and  expresses  itself  in  the 
throwing  of  the  spear  and  the  hurling  of  the 
words  in  the  direction  in  which  the  enemy  is  sup- 
posed to  be.  A  man  does  this  when  what  is  to  be 
influenced  is  not,  to  us,  a  person. 

A  British  Columbian  Indian,  wishing  to  stop  the  rain,  holds  a 
stick  in  the  fire,  describes  a  circle  with  it,  then  holds  the  stick 
towards  the  east  and  addresses  the  rain  in  these  words  :  '  Now 
then,  you  must  stop  raining.'  % 

Keflexion  causes  two  changes.  Man  realizes 
that  many  of  such  acts  are  more  or  less  symbolical, 
and  this,  especially  under  priestly  influence,  leads 
to  detailed  and  dramatic  symbolism,  such  as  sacri- 
fice and  ritual.  Again — and  this  is  important  in 
the  present  connexion — he  comes  to  realize  that 
for  some  of  the  harder  tasks  he  must  use  not  only 
the  mana  which  is  his  own,  but  mana  superior  to 
his  own.  He  therefore  turns  to  beings  superior  to 
himself,  to  the  divinities.  There  is  thus  gradually 
developed  a  body  of  doctrine  as  to  the  divinities, 
more  or  less  esoteric,  both  intricate  and  compli- 
cated, which  influenced  and  still  continues  to 
influence  religion.  This  influence  is  seen  in  its 
simplest  form  when  a  human  being  exercises  power 
over  a  divinity. 

The  king  of  the  Matebele,  in  order  to  get  rain,  offers  sacrifices 
and  says,  '  O  great  spirits  of  my  father  and  grandfather,  .  .  . 
make  us  to  be  the  Dest-fed  and  the  strongest  people  in  the 
world  ! '  § 

When  it  becomes  clearly  understood  that  such 
divinities  do  possess  power,  they  are  naturally 
invoked  during  the  performance  of  the  symbolic 
acts,  and  then  we  have  the  spell. 

The  ancient  Peruvians  on  the  eve  of  war  starved  some  sheep, 
killed  them,  saying  as  they  did  so :  'As  the  hearts  of  these 
beasts  are  weakened,  so  let  our  enemies  be  weakened.'  II  Here 
from  the  beasts,  the  symbols,  to  the  enemy,  the  reality,  the 
mana  is  transferred.  But  the  words  '  so  let '  indicate  the  con- 
sciousness that  it  is  the  deities  who  '  are  putting  the  thing 
through.' «[  Westermarck  quotes  with  approval  Kenan's  dictum 


u«  v,«mpel  the  gods  rather  than  to  be  compelled  by  them  '  ;  **  but 
Warde  Fowler  asserts  that  the  prayers  of  the  gild  of  brethren 
at  Iguvium  to  Jupiter  Grabovius  '  retain  some  of  the  outward 
characteristics  of  spell,  but  internally,  i.e.  in  the  spirit  in 
which  they  were  intended,  they  have  the  real  characteristics  of 
prayer.'  tt 

When  a  god  attains  such  a  degree  of  personality 
as  to  have  a  name,  this  enables  the  human  suppliant 
to  influence  him  personally,  by  using  his  name. 

This  is  seen  in  its  simplest  form  when  a  human  being 
exercises  power  over  a  divine  being  by  the  proper  use  of  his 
name.  The  Torres  Straits  islanders  summon  a  local  bogey  or 
a  spirit  by  mentioning  his  name.  J*  A  Malay  prays  at  the  grave 
of  a  murdered  man  :  '  Hearken,  So-and-So,  and  assist  me.  .  .  . 
I  desire  to  ask  for  a  little  magic. '§§  When  the  Angoni  desire 
rain,  they  go  to  the  rain-temple  and  in  connexion  with  certain 
ceremonies  pray  :  '  Master  Cfiauta,  .  .  .  give  your  children  the 
rains.' ||  II 


*  Marett,  The  Threshold  of  Religion*,  p.  51. 

t  Ib.  p.  54. 

t  Frazer,  G&,  pt.  i.,  The  Magic  Art,  \.  253 ;  J.  E.  Carpenter, 
Comparative  Religion,  1913,  p.  148,  'The  Prayer  of  the  Todas." 

§  Frazer,  GJ&,  pt.  i.,  The  Magic  Art,  i.  352 ;  see  also  Carpenter, 
pp.  35,  151. 

II  Marett,  The  Threshold  of  Religion?,  p.  55. 

f  Ib.  p.  30. 

**  W.  Warde  Fowler,  The  Religious  Experience  of  the  Roman 
People.  1911,  pp.  185,  186. 

tt  Ib.  p.  189.  Jt  Haddon,  p.  24. 

§§  Marett,  The  Threshold  of  Religion1*,  p.  62. 

Illl  Frazer,  GB3,  pt.  i.,  The  Magic  Art,  i.  250. 


The  mana  of  a  deity  who  has  attained  to  a  name 
becomes  specially  lodged  in  his  name,  and  can  be 
commandeered  by  the  proper  use  of  it. 

In  Gn  426  jt  jg  sai(j  of  Enoch,  '  He  was  the  first  to  call  by 
(means  of)  the  name  Jahweh.'  This  expression  'denotes  the 
essential  act  in  worship,  the  invocation  (or  rather  evocation) 
of  the  Deity  by  the  solemn  utterance  of  His  name.  It  rests  on 
the  wide-spread  primitive  idea  that  a  real  bond  exists  between 
the  person  and  his  name,  such  that  the  pronunciation  of  the 
latter  exerts  a  mystic  influence  on  the  former.'  *  In  Elijah's 
time  the  question  was  whether  Jahweh  or  Baal  was  the  proper 
name  for  the  Divine  Being,  and  'the  test  proposed  by  Elijah 
is  which  name — Baal  or  Yahwe — will  evoke  a  manifestation  of 
divine  energy.'! 

From  the  conception  of  the  mana  of  the  deities 
specially  lodged  in  their  names  there  was  developed 
the  doctrine  that  the  proper  use  of  the  name  set 
in  motion  and  brought  into  real  operation  all  the 
powers  of  the  deity. 

The  Kei  women  when  their  men  are  fighting  pray  :  '  O  lord 
sun  and  moon  let  the  bullets  rebound  from  our  husbands.'  J 

Thus  the  name  which  had  been  added  to  the 
spell  to  cause  it  to  work  gradually  supersedes  all 
other  methods  of  entreaty  in  the  prayer,  and  be- 
comes that  by  which  the  effective  appeal  is  made 
to  the  deity.  The  liturgies  of  all  the  more  advanced 
peoples  show  that  '  prayer  gains  potency  from  the 
solemn  utterance  of  the  true  divine  name.'  § 

Throughout  the  OT  we  have  many  instances  of  men  calling 
on  the  name  of  Jahweh.  Jesus  dropping  that  name  taught  His 
disciples  to  pray  to  the  Father. 

The  account  of  St.  Paul's  prayers  11  indicates  that 
this  was  his  custom,  and  neither  in  these  cases,  nor  in 
the  account  which  he  himself  gives  of  his  prayers,H 
nor  yet  in  those  actually  recorded,**  is  this  cus- 
tom departed  from.  But  in  the  Fourth  Gospel, 
Jesus,  reminding  His  disciples  that  previously  they 
had  asked  nothing  in  His  name.tt  instructs  them  so 
to  ask  and  they  shall  receive.tt  indicating  that  the 
Father  will  grant  whatever  they  ask  in  His  name,§§ 
and  promising  that  the  day  was  coming  when  He 
would  let  them  know  plainly  about  the  Father, 
and  on  that  day  they  would  ask  in  His  name,||||  for 
He  Himself  was  going  to  the  Father  and  would  do 
whatsoever  they  asked  in  His  name. HIT  It  cannot 
be  inferred  from  these  passages  that  Jesus  taught 
His  disciples  to  pray  not  to  Him,  but  to  the  Father 
in  His  name.***  Whether  these  words  were  actu- 
ally spoken  by  our  Lord  before  His  death,  or 
represent  the  views  of  the  Christians  of  the  2nd 
cent,  matters  little  for  our  immediate  purpose. 
They  indicate  clearly  that  the  addition  of  the 
name  '  is  not  a  mere  devotional  form,  but  a  new 
ground  on  which  the  worshipper  stands,  a  new 
plea  for  the  success  of  his  petitions.'  ttt  Further, 
they  indicate  that  'when  His  disciples  have  en- 
tered into  complete  union  with  Him  they  will 
lose  the  sense  that  He  is  intermediary  between 
them  and  the  Father.  They  will  be  so  identified 
with  Him  that  all  prayer  of  theirs  will  be  the 
prayer  of  Christ  Himself,  ottered  immediately  to 
God.' ttt  We  have  in  the  case  of  Stephen  prayer 
addressed  to  Jesus,§§§  and  there  are  indications  that 
the  invoking  of  His  name  was  common. ||||||  This 
invoking  of  the  Name  would  seem  to  have  been 
associated  not  so  much  with  petitions,  as  we  might 
have  expected,  as  with  thanksgiving.  If  ITU  When 

*  J.  Skinner,  ICC,  '  Genesis,'  p.  127. 

t  Ib.  t  Marett,  The  Threshold  of  Religion?,  p.  67. 

§  Farnell,  The  Evolution  of  Religion,  p.  184. 

II  See,  e.g.,  Eph  1"  218  31*  520,  Col  13. 12  31?  ;  also  Ja  3»,  1  P  1", 
1  Jn  21. 

t  1  Co  I*,  1  Th  12.      *«  Ph  13.  tt  Jn  1624. 

t*  1623. 24.  §§1516.  ||  ||  1626.  mi  1413.  14. 

«*»  H.  P.  Liddon,  The  Divinity  of  our  Lord*,  1878,  note  F ; 
also  G.  A.  Chadwick,  Exp,  3rd  ser.,  vi.  [1887]  191. 

ttt  HDBiv.  44. 

ttt  E.  F.  Scott,  The  Fourth  Gospel,  1906,  p.  316. 

§§§  Ac  7»9.  ||  ||  ||  Ac  2216  221  914,  i  Co  12. 

•Hill  Ac  410,  Eph  520,  Col  317,  Ro  18. 


76 


NAPHTALI 


NATION 


we  think  of  the  use  of  the  Name  in  preaching, 
in  exorcism,  in  the  persecutions  of  the  primitive 
Christians,  we  can  understand  how  fervour  led 
them  to  add  to  their  prayers,  and  to  pray  in  what 
they  had  come  to  think  of  as  the  name  above  every 
name,  the  one  which  was  with  the  Father  the  all- 
prevailing  name.*  In  this  way  we  see  that  'the 
name-formulae,  which  close  most  of  the  prayers  of 
the  Christian  Church,  were  originally  '  words  of 
power  to  speed  the  prayer  home.'t  '  In  the  apoc- 
ryphal acts  of  St  John  we  find  a  long  list  of 
mystical  names  and  titles  attached  to  Christ  giving 
to  the  prayer  much  of  the  tone  of  an  enchant- 
ment.'! Hence  we  see-  that  the  conception  of 
mana  '  yields  the  chief  clue  to  the  original  use  of 
names  of  power  in  connection  with  the  spell,  from 
"  in  the  devil's  name  "  to  "  Im  Namen  Jesu." '  § 
LITERATURE. — This  has  been  indicated  in  the  art. 

P.  A.  GORDON  CLARK. 
NAPHTALI.— See  TRIBES. 

NAPKIN.— See  HANDKERCHIEF,  NAPKIN. 

NARCISSUS  (Nap/K/crcros,  a  common  Latin  name). 
— In  Ro  1611  St.  Paul  salutes  'them  of  the  household 
of  Narcissus,  which  are  in  the  Lord '  (roi)s  £K  ruiv 
TSapKlffffov  TOI)S  oWas  tv  icvplip),  i.e.  the  Christians  in 
hisfamilia  or  establishment  of  freedmen  and  slaves 
(perhaps  known  as  Narcissiani,  for  which  the 
Greek  phrase  would  be  equivalent).  J.  B.  Light- 
foot  (Philippians*,  1878,  p.  175)  thinks  that  the 
Narcissus  referred  to  was  the  powerful  freedman 
of  that  name,  whose  wealth  was  proverbial  (Juv. 
Sat.  xiv.  329),  whose  influence  was  very  great  in 
the  intrigues  of  the  reign  of  Claudius,  and  who  had 
been  put  to  death  by  Agrippina  shortly  after  the 
accession  of  Nero  (Tac.  Ann.  xiii.  1  ;  Dio  Cass. 
Ix.  34),  in  A.D.  54.  It  was  customary  in  such  cases 
for  the  household  to  become  the  property  of  the 
Emperor  while  it  retained  the  name  of  its  old 
master  (cf .  probably  '  the  household  of  Aristobulus ' 
[q.v.],  whose  Christian  members  are  saluted  in  v.10). 
If  Ro  16  be  an  integral  part  of  Romans,  and  there- 
fore directed  to  Rome,  this  may  indeed  be  the 
household  referred  to  ;  for  although  there  may  have 
been  other  establishments  whose  master's  name 
was  Narcissus,  this  must  have  been  the  most 
famous.  If  so,  some  three  years  had  elapsed  since 
it  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  Nero.  For  the  occur- 
rence of  the  name  Narcissus  on  inscriptions  see 
Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  'Romans'4,  1900,  p.  425  f. 
The  Christians  in  the  household  would  naturally 
form  one  of  the  distinct  communities  of  which  the 
Church  at  Rome  was  apparently  made  up  (cf.  v. 10 
and  the  phrases  in  vv.5- 1S).  '  The  master  was  not 
a  Christian,  and  therefore  it  was  not  his  whole 
household,  but  in  each  case  an  indefinite  number 
of  his  servants  who  had  been  converted.  Plainly 
therefore  the  conversion  of  one  of  them  had  at  once 
created  a  centre  for  the  diffusion  of  the  gospel. 
We  have  here  at  any  rate  a  proof,  not  only  that  the 
closer  social  connections  in  general  contributed  to 
the  spread  of  the  truth,  but  that  the  servile  class 
were  especially  susceptible'  (C.  von  Weizsacker, 
Apostolic  Age,  Eng.  tr.,  i.2  [1897]  397).  As  the 
salutation  to  these  Christians  is  preceded  by  a 
greeting  to  '  Herodion  my  kinsman,'  it  is  con- 
jectured that  Herodion  was  a  member  of  the 
household  of  Narcissus  and  the  nucleus  of  the 
community  or  church.  Some  scholars  think  that 
the  mention  of  this  household  is  conclusive  in 
favour  of  the  Roman  destination  of  Ro  16,  but  to 
others,  in  view  of  the  strong  probability  that  the 
chapter  belongs  to  a  letter  to  the  Church  at 
Ephesus,  it  seems  quite  reasonable  to  suppose  that 

*  Ph  29. 10. 

t  Farnel),  The  Evolution  of  Religion,  p.  190. 

J  Ib.  §  Marett,  The  Threshold  of  Religion*,  p.  62. 


there  was  a  '  household  of  Narcissus '  known  to  St. 
Paul  in  that  city.  T.  B.  ALLWORTHY. 

NATION.— In  Mk  7s6,  Gal  I14m-  the  RV  rightly 
changes  '  nation  '  to  '  race '  (ytvei) ;  cf.  Ac  4s8  182-  a*f 
'a  Cyprian  by  race,'  'an  Alexandrian,'  'aPontican.' 
In  the  NT  etfvos  generally  designates  a  non-Jewish 
nation  ;  but  it  is  also  used  of  the  Jewish  nation 
when  spoken  of  officially  (Lk  75  232,  Jn  II48'-  1835, 
Ac  1022  242- 10- 17  264  2819),  and  even  of  the  Christian 
society  (Mt  2143,  Ro  1019).  In  1  P  29  Christians  are 
called  both  '  an  elect  ytvos '  and  '  a  holy  ZOvos.' 

Jesus  spoke  to  the  Jewish  nation  as  a  collective 
personality,  a  community  bearing  a  common  re- 
sponsibility. As  '  they  that  were  his  own '  they 
'  received  him  not '  (Jn  I11),  and  the  national  crime 
of  His  crucifixion  was  the  precursor  of  their  down- 
fall, although  it  did  not  result  in  their  being  '  cast 
off'  (Ro  II1).  His  passionate  love  for  His  own 
nation  was  evidenced  by  the  fatigues,  the  priva- 
tions, the  '  contradictions '  that  He  endured,  by  the 
tears  of  woe  that  gushed  from  His  eyes  (Lk  1941 ; 
cf.  Ro  9s).  He  seldom  referred  to  other  nations 
till  near  the  close  of  His  earthly  course ;  yet  He 
spoke  of  the  Ninevites  as  having  acted  in  their 
corporate  capacity  when  they  repented  (Mt  1241 ; 
cf.  Jon  37).  He  recognized  the  right  of  the  common 
law  of  the  Empire  of  which  He  was  a  subject  (Mt 
2221).  'All  the  nations,'  He  said,  should  finally 
appear  before  Him  as  their  Judge,  and  He  would 
reward  the  works  of  love  done  by  those  whom  He 
set  on  His  right  hand  as  having  been  done  to  Him- 
self (Mt  253lf>).  When  He  appeared  to  His  disciples 
on  the  mountain  in  Galilee,  He  said,  '  All  authority 
hath  been  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  on  earth  : 
Go  ye  therefore,  and  make  disciples  of  all  the 
nations ' ;  and  it  is  significant  that  He  did  not  say 
'  of  all  men '  but '  of  all  the  nations ' — thus  pointing 
out  that  the  object  to  be  aimed  at  was  national 
religion,  the  national  confession  of  His  authority 
(cf.  Martensen,  Ethics,  'General,'  p.  443  f.). 
Further,  if  in  Ac  29"11  the  words  'lovdaiav,  Kp^rej 
Kal  "Apa^Ses  be  omitted  as  being  probably  ancient 
glosses  on  the  text,  we  are  left,  as  Harnack  says 
(Acts,  p.  65 f.),  with  a  list  of  twelve  nations,  whom 
St.  Lulce  may  have  specified  as  '  heralding  the 
great  theme  of  his  book' — how  Jesus  was  brought 
to  all  the  nations  of  the  known  world,  the  new 
Israel  (cf.  Ac  197). 

The  great  missionary  successes  of  the  Apostolic 
Age  prepared  the  way  for  the  reception  of  the 
Christian  faith  on  a  grand  national  scale.  St. 
Paul,  before  his  death,  '  had  planted  more  churches 
than  Plato  had  gained  disciples'  (Bossuet,  Pane- 
gyrique  de  Saint  Paul,  1659) — tirl  TO  r4p/j.a  TTJS  dvffeus 

cfr,  as  Clement  says  (ad  Cor.  i.  5).  Besides  the 
Dispersion  (q.v.),  there  were  other  two  co-operating 
factors  that  assisted  the  progress  of  the  gospel — 
the  political  unity  of  the  Empire,  and  the  influence 
of  the  Stoic  creed.  In  the  ancient  heathen  world, 
national  life  had  been  particular  and  exclusive : 
the  nations  were  isolated  from  and  ignorant  of 
each  other.  But  when  they  all  looked  to  Rome  as 
mistress  and  mother,  they  were  on  their  way  to 
the  belief  in  the  spiritual  unity  of  mankind  pro- 
claimed by  Christianity  (cf.  Flint,  History  of  the 
Philosophy  of  History,  pp.  26,  61).  The  influence 
of  the  Stoic  doctrine  of  '  world-citizenship '  is  well 
attested  by  the  fragment  from  Cicero  (de  Rep. 
iii.  22)  quoted  by  J.  Adam,  Vitality  of  Platonism  : 
'  Hymn  of  Cleanthes,'  p.  146  : 

And  there  will  not  be  one  law  at  Rome  and  another  at 
Athens,  one  law  to-day  and  another  law  to-morrow  ;  but  the 
same  law  everlasting  and  unchangeable  will  bind  all  nations  at 
all  times ;  and  there  will  be  one  common  Master  and  Ruler  of 
all,  even  God,  the  framer,  the  arbitrator,  and  the  proposer  of 
this  law.' 

This  noble  utterance  justifies  the  remark  of  S.  Dill 


NATURAL 


NATURE 


77 


(Roman  Society  from  Nero  to  Marcus  Aurelius, 
London,  1904,  p.  328):  'The  Stoic  school  has  the 
glory  of  anticipating  the  diviner  dream,  yet  far 
from  realised,  of  a  human  brotherhood  under  the 
light  from  the  Cross.'  This  'diviner  dream'  will 
be  realized  when  all  nations,  now  united  by  bonds 
far  surpassing  those  of  blood  -  relationship,  or 
common  speech,  customs,  or  history — the  bonds  of 
a  common  love  and  obedience  to  Christ — shall  form 
together  one  august  Kingdom  of  God  (Rev  111S). 

LITERATURE. — J.  Adam,  The  Vitality  of  Platonism  and  other 
Essays,  Edinburgh,  1911,  pp.  113  n.,  142,  146-147;  R.  Flint, 
History  of  the  Philosophy  of  History,  do.,  1893,  pp.  26,  48,  61, 
63,  449 ;  T.  von  Haering,  The  Ethics  of  the  Christian  Life, 
London,  1909,  p.  403 f.  ;  A.  Harnack,  Acts  of  the  Apostlfs  (NT 
Studies,  Hi.),  Eng.  tr.,  do.,  1909,  pp.  49,  64,  65 f.  ;  H.  " 


Chanty  in  the  Ancient  Church,  Eng.  tr.,  do.,  1883,  pp.  40-42. 

JAMES  DONALD. 

NATURAL.  -1.  In  Ro  I26'-  II21-24  (cf.  Jude10 
'naturally')  'natural'  is  the  rendering  of  <j>vffii<6s. 
In  Ro  1  St.  Paul  denounces  certain  forms  of  sexual 
vice  as  '  against  nature.'  To  indulge  in  them  is  to 
pervert  and  degrade  human  nature.  Its  constitu- 
tion is  violated  when  the  lower  impulses  refuse 
to  be  controlled.  History  confirms  the  Apostle's 
judgment  that  '  natural  '  instincts  and  passions  un- 
bridled by  reason  and  conscience  lead  to  unnatural 
crimes  which  are  dishonouring  alike  to  man  and  to 
God.  To  Renan's  outburst,  '  Nature  cares  nothing 
about  chastity,'  the  true  reply  is,  '  Instead  of  say- 
ing that  Nature  cares  nothing  about  chastity,  let 
us  say  that  human  nature,  our  nature,  cares  about 
it  a  great  deal  '  (Matthew  Arnold,  Discourses  in 
America,  London,  1896,  p.  60).  In  Roll  St.  Paul, 
using  figurative  language,  describes  the  Jews  as 
'  natural  branches  '  in  contrast  with  the  Gentiles, 
who  are  represented  as  artificially  grafted  into  the 
tree  of  God's  people.  The  process  described  is  '  one 
that  in  horticulture  is  never  performed.  The 
cultivated  branch  is  always  engrafted  upon  the 
wild  stock,  and  not  vice  versa.  This  Paul  knew 
quite  well  (see  irapa  <t>6o-iv,  v.24),  and  the  force  of  his 
reproof  to  the  presuming  Gentile  turns  on  the  fact 
that  the  process  was  an  unnatural  one  '  (  J.  Denney, 
EGT,  '  Romans,'  1900,  p.  680). 

2.  In  1  Co  214  1544-  **,  '  natural  '  is  the  rendering 
of  \I/VXIKOS.  It  is  also  used  twice  in  RVm  as  an 
alternative  to  another  translation  of  the  same  word. 
In  2  P  212  '  mere  animals  '  is  in  the  RV  text,  but 
in  Jude  19  '  sensual  '  is  found,  '  animal  '  being  a 
second  marginal  rendering.  In  all  these  passages 
i/a<x'K<5s  '  has  a  disparaging  sense,  being  opposed  to 
•jrvev/j.aTiic6s  (as  ^x7?  is  n°t  to  irpeO/xa),  ana  almost 


synonymous  with  0-dp/cii/os  or  era/waio5s  (1  Co  31'-)-  •  •  • 
This  epithet  describes  to  the  Corinthians  the  un- 
regenerate  nature  at  its  best,  the  man  commended 
in  philosophy,  actuated  by  the  higher  thoughts 
and  aims  of  the  natural  life  —  not  the  sensual  man 
(the  animalisoi  the  Vulg.  )  who  is  ruled  by  bodily 
impulses.  Yet  the  i/'i/x'fds,  /J.TJ  ^tav  irvev/jM  (Jude  19) 
may  be  lower  than  the  o-apKii<6s,  where  the  latter, 
as  in  1  Co  3s  and  Gal  517g  2i,  is  already  touched  but 
not  fully  assimilated  by  the  life-giving  irvevfj.a  ' 
(G.  G.  Findlay,  EGT,  '  1  Cor.,'  1900,  p.  783,  note 
on  1  Co  214).  To  this  helpful  discrimination  may 
be  added  a  brief  quotation  from  T.  C.  Edwards' 
Commentary  on  First  Ep.  to  Corinthians*,  London, 
1885  :  '  the  word  IJ/VXIKOS  was  coined  by  Aristotle 
(Eth.  Nic.  III.  x.  2),  to  distinguish  the  pleasures 
of  the  soul,  such  as  ambition  and  desire  of  know- 
ledge, from  those  of  the  body.'  As  used  by  St. 
Paul,  '  the  if/vxtic6s,  contrasted  with  the  d/c/>cm)y,  is 
the  noblest  of  men.  But  to  the  irveu/wm/cds  he  is 
related  as  the  natural  to  the  supernatural.  .  .  . 
The  indwelling  spirit  is  the  Holy  Spirit  ;  and  he  in 
whom  that  Spirit  dwells  is  at  once  supernatural 
and  holy'  (p.  65  f.,  note  on  1  Co  214f-). 


^I'X'f °*  is  sometimes  rendered  '  psychic,'  and 
sometimes  'soulish'  in  1  Co  1544,  with  the  intention 
of  emphasizing  the  contrast  between  the  '  natural ' 
and  the  '  spiritual '  body.  But  '  though  inadequate, 
"natural  is  the  best  available  rendering  of  this 
adjective  ;  it  indicates  the  moulding  of  man's  body 
by  its  environment,  and  its  adaptation  to  existing 
functions  ;  the  same  body  is  X^KOV  in  respect  of  its 
material  (v.47).'  In  this  context,  however,  '  TJ/VXIKOV 
is  only  relatively  a  term  of  disparagement ;  the 
"  psychic "  body  has  in  it  the  making  of  the 
"  spiritual  "  '  (G.  G.  Findlay,  op.  cit.  p.  937).  The 
body  which,  in  our  present  state,  is  adapted  for  the 
service  of  the  soul,  is  contrasted  by  St.  Paul  witli 
the  body  which,  in  the  future  state,  will  be  adapted 
for  the  higher  service  of  the  spirit.  '  An  organism 
fitted  to  be  the  seat  of  mind,  to  express  emotion,  to 
carry  out  the  behests  of  will  is  already  in  process 
of  being  adapted  for  a  still  nobler  ministry.' 
Hence  in  v.46  the  history  of  man  is  said  to  be  '  a 
progress  from  Adam  to  Christ,  from  soulish  to 
spiritual,  from  the  present  life  to  the  future' 
(T.  C.  Edwards,  op.  cit.  pp.  441,  445). 

3.  (a)  In  two  passages  (Ro  I31,  2  Ti  3s)  the  phrase 
'  without  natural  affection '  is  the  rendering  of 
ao-Topyos.  By  this  word  St.  Paul  describes  those 
who  are  so  regardless  of  the  claims  of  nature  as 
to  be  lacking  in  love  for  their  own  kindred.  He 
assumes  that  love  of  kindred  (o-ropyi?i)  should  natur- 
ally arise  from  such  human  relationships  as  parent 
and  child,  husband  and  wife,  brother  and  sister. 
Here,  as  in  those  passages  in  which  '  natural '  is 
the  rendering  of  <£im;c6s,  the  word  denotes  not  what 
is  in  harmony  with  our  environment,  but  what  is 
in  accord  with  our  own  true  nature  or  constitu- 
tion. 

(6)  In  Ja  I23  '  his  natural  face '  is  the  rendering 
of  the  phrase  irpfouTrov  TTJS  yevfoeus,  lit.  '  the  face  of 
his  birth'  (RVm).  The  meaning  is  the  face  which 
is  '  native '  to  man.  The  contrast  is  between  '  the 
face  which  belongs  to  this  transitory  life,'  of  which 
a  reflexion  may  be  seen  in  a  mirror,  and  '  the 
character  which  is  being  here  moulded  for  eternity,' 
of  which  a  reflexion  may  be  seen  in  the  Word 
(J.  B.  Mayor,  Epistle  of  St.  James3,  London,  1910, 
p.  71,  note  on  I23). 

LITERATURE. — J.  Laidlaw,  Bible  Doctrine  of  Man,  new  ed., 
Edinburgh,  1895;  H.  Wheeler  Robinson,  The  Christian 
Doctrine  of  Man,  do.,  1911.  J.  G.  TASKER. 

NATURE.— 1.  The  revelation  of  God  in  Nature. 

— The  basis  of  St.  Paul's  appeal  to  the  men  of 
Lystra  (Ac  141Sff-)  is  that  'the  living  God'  mani- 
fests Himself  in  creation.  In  Ro  I19ff-  the  Apostle 
elaborates  the  same  argument,  drawing  out  its 
sterner  implications  and  showing  that  the  Gentiles 
were  under  condemnation  because  they  had  re- 
pressed the  knowledge  of  God  imparted  to  them  in 
the  works  of  His  hands.  No  countenance  is  given 
to  either  of  the  two  modern  extremes  of  thought : 
there  is  no  disparagement  of  Nature's  teachings  ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  never  set  forth  as 
sufficient  for  man's  spiritual  needs.  St.  Paul's 
purpose  is  answered  when  he  has  asserted  '  the 
fact  that  the  Gentiles  possessed  lofty  conceptions 
of  God  which  nevertheless  had  not  proved  to  them 
the  way  of  salvation.  This  true  knowledge  had 
been  attained  very  largely  through  a  right  appre- 
hension of  the  natural  world  which  in  all  ages  has 
been  the  "  living  garment  "  men  have  seen  God  by ' 
(R.  D.  Shaw,  The  Pauline  Epistles,  Edinburgh, 
1903,  p.  210).  Naturalism  and  Nature-worship 
which  substitute  Nature  for  God  are  alike  remote 
from  apostolic  thought.  God's  invisible  attributes 
have  been  revealed  in  the  universe  which  proclaims 
His  wisdom  and  His  power.  He  is,  therefore,  to  be 
worshipped  with  adoration  and  thanksgiving.  In 
Ro  819  St.  Paul  poetically  personifies  Nature  and 


78 


NATURE 


NAZARENE 


represents  it  as  sympathizing  with  humanity's 
hopes.  '  He  conceives  of  all  creation  as  involved 
in  the  fortunes  of  humanity.  .  .  .  Creation  is  not 
inert,  utterly  unspiritual,  alien  to  our  life  and  its 
hopes.  .  .  .  With  the  revelation  of  the  sons  of  God 
humanity  would  attain  its  end,  and  nature  too' 
(J.  Denney,  EOT,  'Romans,'  1900,  in  loc.). 

2.  The  light  of  Nature.— The  revelation  of  God 
in  Nature  implies  a  corresponding  responsibility  on 
the  part  of  those  to  whom  it  is  given ;   it  affects 
man's  moral  condition  according  as  he  is  or  is  not 
guided  by  its  light.     In  Ro  214  St.  Paul  grants  that 
Gentiles  may  do  '  by  nature  '   the  things  of  the 
law.     There  is,  therefore,  a  standard  by  which  they 
may  be  judged  although  they  do  not  possess  the 
written   Law    which    is   the  Jews'   glory.      '  For 
whenever  any  of  them  instinctively  put  in  practice 
the  precepts  of  the  law,  their  own  moral  sense 
supplies  them  with  the  law  they  need'  (Sanday- 
Headlam,  ICC,  '  Romans >s,  1902,  p.  54).     To  appre- 
ciate the  force  of  the  Apostle's  argument,  it  is  im- 
portant to  remember  that  although  he  regards  the 
light  of  Nature  as  insufficient,  he  recognizes  that 
the  knowledge  of  God  derived  from  Nature  is  true 
and  good.     '  The  hinge  on  which  everything  turns 
is  the  forsaking  of  the  knowledge.  .  .  .  The  Theism 
of  the  Gentiles  failed  not  because  its  light  was  de- 
lusive, but  because  its  light  was  not  used.'     St. 
Paul  is  not,  therefore,  '  to  be  understood  to  mean 
that  the   Gentile   world  of  which  he  wrote  was 
lying  in  universal  wickedness,  unredeemed  by  even 
a  single  ray  of  human  goodness '  (R.  D.  Shaw,  op. 
cit.  p.  216  f.).     St.  Paul  taught  that  in  the  visible 
creation    men    may    discern    the  workings    of  a 
supreme  Mind  and  Will ;  he  also  taught  that  the 
revelation  of  God  in  His  Son  is  the  climax,  not  the 
contradiction,  of   His  revelation  in  Nature.      He 
knew  that  from  the  depths  of  man's  spiritual  being 
questions  arise  to  which  Nature  can  give  no  clear 
and  unambiguous  answer.     Unless  men  pass  from 
the  light  of  Nature  into  the  presence  of  Him  who 
is  the  Light  of  life,  theirs  will  be  the  disappoint- 
ment of  all  who  seek  in  converse  with  Nature  what 
can   be   attained    only   in   communion   with  God 
through  Christ.     In  the  NT  '  nature  '  is  never  used 
in  what  may  be  called  its  prevailing  meaning  in 
modern  thought ;  the  early  Christians  had  no  con- 
ception of  '  nature'  such  as  is  implied  in  definitions 
which  make  it  '  co-extensive  with  science,  which 
deals  with  sequences  only,  reserving  all  beyond  for 
philosophy,   which  deals  with  causes  also.     Thus 
nature  will  not  be  the  sum  of  things,  except  for 
one  who  maintains  that  phenomena  have  no  true 
causes  at  all'  (H.  M.  Gwatkin,  The  Knowledge  of 
God2,  Edinburgh,  1908,  i.  47). 

3.  Nature  and  grace. — The  Pauline  antithesis 
between  '  natural '  and  '  spiritual '  has  been  dwelt 
upon  above  (see   NATURAL).       Most   frequently, 
however,    man's    natural    condition,    moral    and 
spiritual,  is,  in  the  NT,  contrasted  with  his  experi- 
ence in  a  state  of  grace.     '  St.  Paul  had  an  alto- 
gether persuasive  and  beautiful  word  for  the  super- 
natural, which  he  was  never  weary  of  using,  and 
which  the  Church  should  count  one  of  her  chief  trea- 
sures— the  Grace  of  God '  ( J.  Watson,  The  Doctrines 
of  Grace,  London,  1900,  p.  6).     St.  Paul  described 
Barnabas  and  himself  as  '  of  like  nature  '  with  the 
men  of  Lystra  (Ac  1415  RVm).     He  was  disclaiming 
the    ascription    to    men  of    divine    honours,   and 
acknowledging    that    he  was    not    exempt    from 
human  feelings  and  infirmities   (cf.  Ja  5").     But 
when  St.  Paul  says  to  the  Ephesians  :  '  we  were 
by  nature  children  of  wrath,  even  as  the  rest '  (23), 
he  associates  himself  with  those  who  before  they 
were  quickened   and  became   partakers  of  grace 
were  '  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.'     He  regards  sin 
as  '  a  constitutional  malady.     There  exists  a  bad 
element  in  our  human  nature.'     '  Our  trespasses 


and  sins  are,  after  all,  not  forced  on  us  by  our 
environment.  Those  offences  by  which  we  provoke 
God,  lie  in  our  nature ;  they  are  no  mere  casual 
acts,  they  belong  to  our  bias  and  disposition '  (G. 
G.  Find  lay,  Expositor's  Bible,  '  The  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,'  London,  1892,  p.  104).  In  the  con- 
text of  this  passage  St.  Paul  explains  what  it  is  to 
be  '  saved  by  grace.'  His  teaching  agrees  with  the 
statement  in  2  P  I4  that  die  promises  of  grace  are 
given  in  order  that  men  who  inherit  a  sinful 
nature  may  '  become  partakers  of  a  divine  nature.' 

LITERATITRE.  —  J.  Ward,  Naturalism  and  Agnosticism, 
London,  1899 ;  P.  N.  Waggett,  Is  there  a  Religion  of  Nature  ?, 
do.,  1902;  W.  L.  Walker,  Christian  Theism  and  a  Spiritual 
Monism,  Edinburgh,  1906;  J.  O.  Dykes,  The  Divine  Worker  in 
Creation  and  Providence,  do.,  1909;  C.  F.  D'Arcy,  Christianity 
and  the  Supernatural,  London,  1909 ;  R.  Eucken,  Naturalism 
or  Idealism  i,  Cambridge,  1912.  J.  G.  TASKER. 

NAVIGATION.— See  SHIP. 

NAZARENE.— In  18  passages  of  the  Gospels  and 
Acts  Jesus  is  called  '  the  Nazarene  '  (the  reading 
fluctuating  between  Nafa/)i?i'6s  and  Nafw/>cuos).  The 
use  of  this  designation  agrees  with  the  fact  that 
Nazareth  was  His  home  until  He  entered  on  His 
public  ministry.  The  incident  of  the  census  was 
the  occasion  of  His  birth  taking  place  at  Bethlehem 
according  to  prophetic  intimation.  After  the 
Egyptian  episode,  the  family  returned  to  Nazareth. 
After  the  Temptation,  Jesus  returned  and  re- 
mained there  until  the  violence  of  the  people 
drove  Him  to  Capernaum,  which  henceforth  was 
known  as  '  his  own  city'  (Mt  9').  The  behaviour 
of  the  people  (Lk  4M)  illustrates  what  is  suggested 
respecting  the  repute  of  Nazareth  in  Jn  I48.  In 
Ac  245  '  the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes  '  refers  to  Chris- 
tians as  a  body,  and  is  no  doubt  meant  in  a  dis- 
paraging sense. 

As  indicated  above.the  name  'Jesus  of  Nazareth,' 
in  the  Eng.  version,  is  universally  used  to  translate 
without  distinction  two  Greek  names,  'Ir;<roCy  Nafa- 
pr)v6s  and'Iijo-oCs  Nafwpcuoj.  A  recent  essay  by  E.  A. 
Abbott  makes  it  necessary  to  ask  if  both  terms 
'  Nazarene '  and  '  Nazorsean '  connote  simply  '  be- 
longing to  Nazareth.'  He  holds  and  argues  very 
successfully  that  the  name  Nazoraios  is  significant 
of  more  than  mere  place-origin.  His  thesis  is  that 
Nazarene,  meaning  a  man  of  Nazareth,  and 
Nazorcean,  meaning  the  Neser  or  Rod  of  Jesse 
mentioned  by  Isaiah,  were  probably  interchanged 
by  a  play  on  the  two  words ;  so  that  the  populace, 
acclaiming  Jesus  as  the  Lifegiver  and  Healer, 
altered  '  Jesus  the  Nazarene '  into  '  Jesus  the 
Nazoraean.'  To  state  the  theory  more  exactly,  we 
should  say  that  they  called  Him  Jesus  the  Neser, 
or  the  Na(t)zorajan,  partly  because  there  was  a 
pre-existing  belief  that  the  Messiah  would  be  the 
Neser,  and  partly  because  they  vaguely  felt  what 
Matthew  ventured  definitely  to  express,  that  His 
residence  from  childhood  onward  in  Nazareth  had 
been  ordained  to  fulfil  the  prophecy,  '  He  shall  be 
called  Nazorsean  (i.e.  Neser).' 

This  theory  involves  the  conclusion  that  the  use 
of  '  Nazarene '  by  Mark  and  Luke  was  an  error, 
except  in  special  contexts  which  may  prove  that 
the  place-name,  not  the  Messianic  title,  was  meant. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Neser  (the 
Branch)  of  Is  II1  was  interpreted  of  the  Messiah, 
the  Targum  on  the  passage  making  that  quite 
definite  ;  and  it  is  quite  probable  that  among  the 
many  names  in  popular  use  for  the  Messiah  in  the 
1st  cent.  Neser  had  a  place. 

The  evidence  from  hostile  sources  is  confirmatory. 
Christians  were  contemptuously  called  '  Nazarenes' 
by  the  Jews.  But  the  actual  word  used  was 
Ndsrt.  This  does  not  closely  resemble  Nazareth, 
but  it  does  resemble  N6ser  as  used  in  Ben  Sira  xl. 
15,  referring  to  '  the  branch  of  violence  which  is 


NAZARENE 


NAZARETH 


79 


not  to  be  unpunished.'  That  the  enemies  of  Jesus 
should  call  Him  Ndsri,  '  Branch  of  violence,'  is 
intelligible  if  His  friends  called  Him  Neser,  'the 
true  Branch.' 

The  question,  as  Abbott  admits,  is  a  difficult  one, 
but  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  he  has  made  out 
a  strong  case  for  regarding  the  name  Nazorsean 
as  more  than  a  mere  variant  of  Nazarene  (see 
Edwin  A.  Abbott,  Miscellanea  Evangelica,  II.  L, 
Cambridge,  1913). 

We  find  '  Nazarenes '  used  at  a  later  period  as 
the  name  of  a  Jewish  Christian  sect  having  some 
affinity  with  the  Ebionites  (see  EBIONISM).  The 
greatest  obscurity  envelops  these  Jewish  Christian 
parties.  The  information  coming  down  to  us  is 
meagre,  and  there  is  little  likelihood  of  additions 
being  made  to  it.  The  Jewish  side  of  Christianity, 
which  gave  so  much  trouble  to  St.  Paul,  declined 
rapidly,  especially  after  the  fall  of  the  Jewish 
State,  and  eventually  disappeared.  Our  best 
course  will  be  to  summarize  the  views  of  two 
authorities  of  our  day. 

R.  Seeberg  (Lehrbuch  der  Dogmengeschichte,  i. 
[1895]  50)  endorses  the  ordinary  opinion  that  there 
were  two  sects,  the  Nazarenes  and  the  Ebionites, 
agreeing  with  one  another  in  some  things,  differing 
in  others.  Justin  Martyr  refers  to  the  former 
when  he  speaks  of  some  Jewish  Christians  who 
keep  the  Jewish  Law  strictly  themselves,  but  do 
not  impose  it  on  all  Christians.  Jerome  also  says 
that  they  believe  in  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God,  who 
was  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  suffered  under 
Pontius  Pilate,  and  rose  again.  They  recognized 
St.  Paul  and  his  work,  and  used  a  Hebrew  Gospel. 
Eusebius  distinguishes  them  sharply  from  Ebion- 
ites, but  says  that  they  did  not  accept  the  pre- 
existence  of  the  Logos.  Seeberg  thinks  that 
Eusebius  was  mistaken  in  the  last  statement, 
confusing  the  Nazarenes  with  the  Ebionites,  who 
did  deny  Christ's  Deity.  The  Nazarenes,  Seeberg 
think*,  simply  put  aside  Logos  speculations.  The 
Ebionites,  on  the  other  hand,  required  all  Chris- 
tians to  conform  to  the  Jewish  Law  of  rites  and 
ceremonies,  rejected  St.  Paul  as  an  apostate,  and 
regarded  Christ  as  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary. 
Origen  seems  to  know  a  second  Ebionite  party, 
who,  while  holding  these  Ebionite  tenets,  said  that 
Christ  at  His  baptism  received  the  fullness  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  constituting  Him  a  Prophet  and  Son 
of  God  in  a  high  degree.  They  also  held  millen- 
narian  views.  If  the  Nazarenes  had  so  much  in 
common  with  the  Church,  it  is  strange  that  Jerome 
should  say  that,  '  while  they  claim  to  be  both  Jews 
and  Christians,  they  are  neither.'  Seeberg  says 
that  the  Nazarenes  were  Jewish  Christians,  the 
Ebionites  Christian  Jews. 

F.  Loofs  (Leitfaden  zum  Studium  der  Dogmen- 
geschichte*, 1906,  p.  83)  agrees  in  the  main  with  the 
above  account,  but  thinks  that  too  sharp  a  distinction 
is  drawn  between  the  Nazarenes  and  the  Ebionites. 
He  holds  that  the  recognition  by  the  latter  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  who  fell  on  Christ  at  the  Baptism,  and 
who  is  pre-existent  and  Divine,  comes  near  to  the 
acknowledgment  of  Deity  in  Christ.  But  this 
implies  that  Christ  was  not  Divine  before  and 
became  Divine  through  the  descent  of  the  Spirit. 
Does  the  same  effect  follow  in  us  ?  Both  writers 
agree  that  the  sects  ran  to  seed  in  the  syncretism 
of  the  day  and  in  mythological  speculations.  To 
Irenseus  the  Ebionites  were  heretics.  The  Elke- 
saites  were  an  offshoot  from  the  same  trunk,  and 
appealed  to  the  book  Elkesai  as  a  new  revelation, 
bringing  new  forgiveness  of  sins,  even  the  grossest, 
and  new  remedies  of  disease.  Alcibiades  of  Apamea 
about  A.D.  220  appeared  in  Rome  as  the  apostle  of 
this  gospel,  and  met  with  temporary  success.  The 
Clementine  romances  were  still  later  products  of 
the  same  movement. 


(The  Nazirites  had  no  connexion,  linguistic  or 
other,  with  Nazareth  and  the  Nazarenes.  See 
HDB  and  EBi,  s.v.  '  Nazirite ' ;  also  following 
article.) 

LITERATURE. — Art.  'Ebionism'  in  ERE  and  DAC;  A.  Hil- 
genfeld,  Die  Ketzergeschichte  des  Urchristentums,  Leipzig, 
1884,  pp.  426  f.,  435,  443;  H.  L.  Mansel,  Gnostic  Heresies, 
London,  1875,  p.  125  ;  J.  A.  W.  Neander,  History  of  the  Chris- 
tian Religion  and  Church,  Eng.  tr.,  1831-41,  ii.  18;  E.  B. 
Nicholson,  The  Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews,  London,  1879. 

J.  S.  BANKS. 

NAZARETH.— The  '  city  called  Nazareth '  (Mt 
223),  in  which  Jesus  lived  from  childhood  to  man- 
hood, lay  in  a  beautiful  valley  of  Southern  Galilee, 
due  west  of  the  southern  end  of  the  Lake  of 
Galilee,  and  about  midway  between  that  Lake  and 
the  Mediterranean.  After  the  Gospels,  it  is  expressly 
mentioned  only  in  the  phrase '  l-rjo-ovv  rbv  airb  Na£a- 
p4&,  '  Jesus  of  Nazareth '  (Ac  1038),  but  an  equivalent 
of  this  expression,  'lyo-ovs  6  Nafwpaloj,  also  translated 
'  Jesus  of  Nazareth,'  but  lit.  '  the  Nazaraean,'  or 
'  Nazarene,'  is  found  six  times  in  Acts  ;  while  the 
followers  of  Jesus  are  once  called  '  the  Nazarenes ' 
(ol  Nafwpcuoi,  245).  The  name  'Jesus  of  Nazareth' 
has  various  shades  of  meaning,  according  to  the 
spirit  in  which  it  is  uttered.  On  the  Day  of  Pente- 
cost St.  Peter  uses  it  with  an  amazed  sense  of  the 
identity  of  the  lowly  Nazarene,  who  met  a  felon's 
death,  with  the  glorious  Being  who,  Risen  and 
Exalted,  has  been  made  Lord  and  Christ  (222 ;  cf. 
36  410)  The  accusers  of  Stephen  refer  with  con- 
temptuous anger  to  '  this  Jesus  the  Nazarene '  (614), 
whom  the  heretic  would  fain  set  above  Moses.  St. 
Paul  recalls  the  time  when  his  unenlightened  con- 
science drove  him  to  take  active  measures  against 
'  Jesus  the  Nazarene,'  a  name  which  he  used  at 
that  time  with  fierce  scorn  (269).  But  on  the  road 
to  Damascus  he  learned  its  true  meaning,  when  his 
question  '  Who  art  thou,  Lord  ? '  was  answered, 
'  I  am  Jesus  the  Nazarene '  (228).  The  Galileean 
town,  valley,  and  hills  were  for  ever  graven  on  the 
Saviour's  heart,  and  His  own  use  of  the  familiar 
title  made  it  doubly  sacred.  His  followers  •  could 
never  object  to  be  named  '  the  Nazarenes,'  as  they 
were,  e.g.,  by  Tertullus  (24s),  just  as  they  could  not 
but  glory  in  being  called  'the  Christians'  (II26). 
While  the  former  name  was  of  Jewish  origin,  and 
came  to  be  their  standing  designation  among  the 
unbelieving  Jews,  the  latter  was  a  Gentile  coinage. 
'  The  Nazarene '  and  '  the  Nazarenes  '  correspond 
to  the  terms  which  are  used  in  the  Talmud — "!?ian 
(Sanh.  43«,  1076  ;  Sot.  47a)  and  D-itfjrt  (Tddn.  276) ; 
and  to  the  present  day  the  word  Ndsri  is  habit- 
ually applied  in  Jewish  literature  to  Jesus'  follow- 
ers, whom  a  strict  orthodoxy  can  no  more  name 
'  Christians '  than  it  can  call  their  leader  '  Christ.' 
The  name  '  Nazarenes '  still  designates  the  Chris- 
tians in  al^ Muslim  lands. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  Nazareth,  which  is 
so  dear  to  Christendom,  is  never  named  in  the  OT, 
Josephus,  or  the  Talmud.  Though  it  was  a  city 
(7r6Ais,  Mt  213),  not  a  village  (KW/H.TJ),  it  was  a  place 
without  a  history,  and  Nathanael  of  Cana — who 
may  not  have  been  quite  free  from  the  jealousy  of 
neighbourhood — had  great  difficulty  in  imagining 
that  it  might  produce  the  Messiah  ( Jn  I48).  But 
many  things  have  been  said,  and  uncritically  re- 
peated, about  Nazareth,  which  are  not  well  grounded 
on  fact ;  e.g.,  that  Jesus  lived  for  thirty  years  '  in 
the  deep  obscurity  of  a  provincial  village  .  .  .  not 
only  in  a  despised  province,  but  in  its  most  disre- 
garded valley  '  (F.  W.  Farrar,  The  Life  of  Christ, 
new  ed.,  1894,  p.  41),  and  that  'probably  public 
opinion  looked  upon  the  little  town  as  morally 
degenerate '  (Meyer  on  Jn  I47).  There  is  no  reason 
to  believe  that  the  Nazarenes  were  less  brave,  less 
devoted  to  their  country's  cause,  less  zealous  for  the 
law,  less  inspired  by  Messianic  hopes  than  the  other 
Galilaeans.  And  one  of  the  hills  that  '  girdle  quiet 


80 


NAZIRITE 


NAZIRITE 


Nazareth'  was  a  perfect  watch-tower,  set  in  the 
midst  of  the  Holy  Land  and  the  mighty  Roman 
Empire,  for  the  young  Prophet  who  was  to  give  the 
city  so  great  a  place  in  history.  His  feet  climbed 
its  summit  easily  and — as  His  love  of  hills  would 
indicate — probably  often ;  and  while  His  eyes 
ranged  over  one  of  the  fairest  prospects  on  earth, 
He  had  'ears  to  hear'  the  murmur  of  the  world. 
If  His  youth  was  inwardly,  it  could  scarcely  be  out- 
wardly, peaceful.  He  loved  solitude,  and  the 
words  '  in  secret '  (iv  r$  KpvirT$,  Mt  64-  6)  were  dear 
to  Him  ;  yet  He  was  destined  for  society,  and  His 
early  years  were  passed  in  no  backwater,  but  in 
the  full  current  of  the  events  of  His  time.  He  was 
never  far  from  the  crowds,  often  (such  were  Roman 
oppression  and  Jewish  sedition)  the  madding 
crowds  of  Galilee,  and  '  all  the  rumour  of  the 
Empire  entered  Palestine  close  to  Nazareth '  (G.  A. 
Smith,  HGHL,  1897,  p.  434 ;  cf.  Selah  Merrill, 
Galilee  in  the  Time  of  Christ,  1885,  p.  123  f.).  All 
the  time  that  His  talent  (if  the  word  may  here  be 
used)  was  growing  in  stillness,  His  character  was 
being  formed  in  the  stream  of  the  world.  Nazareth 
was  in  truth  the  best  of  all  places  for  the  education 
of  the  Messiah  (cf.  W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Education 
of  Christ*,  1902). 

Various  etymologies  of  '  Nazareth '  have  been 
proposed.  The  idea  that  it  means  'consecrated,' 
'  devoted  to  God '  (from  -nj,  whence  Nazirite),  or  that 
it  denotes  '  my  Saviour'  ('ifu),  may  be  dismissed  at 
once.  Equally  improbable  is  the  notion  that  it 
embodies  a  Messianic  name,  '  the  Shoot,'  or  '  the 
Sprout'  (n^),  which  is  found  in  Is  II1.  The  most 
likely  suggestion  is  that  it  signifies  '  Watch-tower ' 
(from  rnxj,  Aram.  .T$J,  rviyj,  a  name  which  would 
be  given  first  to  the  hill,  and  then  to  the  town 
built  on  its  flank. 

Acting  on  a  hint  of  Wellhausen's  (Israelitische 
undjudische  Geschichte,  1894,  p.  222,  footnote  3), 
T.  K.  Cheyne  has  tried  to  conjure  '  the  city  of 
Nazareth '  out  of  existence,  leaving  the  sacred 
name  as  a  mere  synonym  of  'Galilee'  (EBi  iii. 
3358  f.),  but  his  reasoning,  as  G.  A.  Barton  remarks 
in  JE,  is  '  in  the  highest  degree  precarious.' 

LITERATURE.— A.  P.  Stanley,  Sinai  and  Palestine^,  1912 ; 
V.  Guerin,  Description  geog.  de  la  Palestine,  pt.  iii. :  '  Galil6e,' 
1880;  F.  Buhl,  GAP,  1896;  W.  Sanday,  Sacred  Sites  of  the 
Gospels,  1903 ;  K.  Baedeker,  Palestine  and  Syria,  1912,  p.  246. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

NAZIRITE — A  Nazirite  (AV  incorrectly '  Nazar- 
ite ')  was  one  dedicated  to  God  and  bound  by  a  vow, 
the  nature  of  which  is  explained  below. 

1.  The  name. — The  primary  significance  of  the 
Hebrew  -iu  nazar  (not  used  in  Qal)  is  '  to  separate.' 
Hence  the  TN  ndzir  is  '  the  separated,  consecrated, 
or  devoted  one.'     The  same  word  in  the  form  neztr 
is  found  in  Syriac,  where  it  is  used,  e.g.,  of  maidens 
consecrated  to  the  service  of  Belthi's  (see  W.   R. 
Smith,  RS*,  p.  483).     In  Gn  4926  naztr  is  applied  to 
Joseph,  '  him  who  was  separate  from  his  brethren.' 
In   La  47   'her  Nazarites'   (AV)  probably  means 
'her  nobles'  (RV).      Usually,  however,  the  name 
ndzir  is  to  be  understood  in  the  technical  sense  of 
one  separated  by  the  taking,  or  imposition,  of  a 
peculiar  vow.     One  of  the  marks  of  the  Nazirite 
was   his  unshorn  locks.     Hence  the  word   naztr 
was  sometimes  used  in  the  general  sense  of  '  un- 
trimmed'  or  «  unshorn.'     In  Lv  255-  n  it  is  used  of 
an  undressed  vine,  and  in  Jer  729  it  refers  probably 
to  unshorn  hair,  without  implying  the  Nazirite 
vow. 

2.  The  YOW.— In  Nu  61'21  we  have  the  law  of  the 
Nazirite.    He  was  bound  ( 1 )  to  abstain  from  the  use 
of  wine,  strong  drink,  and  all  products  of  the  vine 
'  from  the  kernels  even  to  the  husk '  (vv.  *•  4) ;  (2)  to 
'  let  the  locks  of  the  hair  of  his  head  grow '  unshorn 
(v.5) ;    (3)  to  avoid  contact  with   any  dead   body 
(vv.8-  7).    From  the  instructions  given  to  the  mother 


of  Samson  (Jg  134)  some  add,  as  a  fourth  mark  of 
the  Nazirite,  abstinence  from  unclean  food.  But 
this  was  a  precept  for  all  Jews,  and  cannot  be 
regarded  as  in  any  way  a  peculiar  mark  of  the 
Nazirite.  No  doubt  it  may  be  said  to  follow  from 
the  third  point  above,  that  the  Nazirite  would  be 
careful  to  guard  against  all  ceremonial  defilement. 

If  by  mishap  the  Nazirite  were  defiled  by  contact 
with  the  dead,  he  had  to  go  through  a  process  of 
ceremonial  cleansing,  shaving  his  head  and  bring- 
ing a  sin-offering,  a  burnt-offering,  and  a  trespass- 
oft'ering,  and  then  begin  the  original  period  of  his 
Naziriteship  de  novo  (Nu  69"12).  From  the  same 
passage  it  is  clear  that  both  men  and  women  might 
take  the  vow  (v.2). 

3.  Development  of  Naziritism. — It  does  not  lie 
within  the  scope  of  this  article  to  set  forth  com- 
pletely the  probable  rise  and  evolution  of  Nazirit- 
ism, or  to  argue  fully  the  various  problems  involved. 
The  reader  must  consult  HDB  or  JE.  Here  we 
simply  indicate  the  most  likely  way  along  which 
Naziritism  advanced  till  it  became  the  complicated 
phenomenon  it  presents  in  the  period  with  which 
we  deal. 

It  is  quite  clear,  and  may  be  said  to  be  generally 
admitted,  that  the  legislation  of  Nu  6  does  not 
create  Naziritism,  but  regulates  it.  It  is  already 
in  existence,  with  probably  a  long  history  behind 
it.  Premising  that  its  earliest  history  is  quite 
unknown  to  us,  we  may  say  that  it  makes  its  first 
recorded  appearance  with  Samson  ( Jg  13).  He  was 
a  '  Nazirite  unto  God  from  the  womb.'  Now  the 
only  part  of  the  regulations  of  Nu  6  that  we  can 
affirm  with  certainty  to  have  been  observed  by 
Samson  is  that  prohibiting  the  cutting  of  the  hair. 
Quite  certainly  all  the  stress  is  laid  on  that  in  his 
history.  His  mother,  indeed,  is  commanded  to 
abstain  from  wine  till  he  be  born,  but  there  is  no 
evidence  in  the  stories  that  there  was  anything  of 
the  ascetic  about  Samson  himself.  It  is  clear  that 
the  prohibition  against  contact  with  the  dead  could 
not  nave  held  for  him  ( Jg  1419). 

When  we  come  to  the  time  of  Amos,  we  find  that 
abstinence  from  wine  is  most  emphasized.  '  Ye 
gave  the  Nazirites  wine  to  drink '  (212).  It  is  quite 
clear  that  by  this  time  abstinence  from  wine  is 
essential  to  the  Nazirite.  Nu  6  gives  equal 
emphasis  to  both  points,  and  adds  the  requirement 
of  ceremonial  purity  with  reference  to  the  dead. 

Probably,  then,  we  have  three  stages  in  the 
historical  development  of  Naziritism,  but  we  may 
take  it  that  the  mark  of  the  Nazirite  par  excellence 
all  through  was  the  unshorn  locks,  as  the  use  of 
ndzir  in  Lv  255-11  seems  to  prove.  The  root  idea 
of  Naziritism  is  '  separated  unto  God,'  and  in  the 
three  prohibitions  we  have  a  triple  expression  of 
that  separation.  The  first  and  second  came  to  be 
merely  conventional  signs  of  Naziritism,  but  it  is 
not  difficult  to  conjecture  what  significance  they 
had  originally.  During  the  period  of  his  vow  the 
Nazirite  left  his  hair  unshorn  ;  at  the  close  he 
burned  it  at  the  sanctuary  as  an  offering.  The 
custom  of  sacrificing  the  hair  was  widespread 
among  many  nations,  the  view  doubtless  being 
that  part  of  the  body  may  be  sacrificed  as  repre- 
senting the  whole.  The  hair  was  unshorn  during 
the  vow  because,  being  designed  for  sacrifice  to 
God,  it  must  be  kept  inviolate  till  the  set  time. 
Among  the  ancient  Arabians  there  were  several 
groups  bearing  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  Hebrew 
Nazirites,  and  it  was  for  purposes  of  war  or  blood- 
feud  that  they  consecrated  themselves.  Quite 
probably  the  earliest  type  of  Naziritism  was  of 
similar  import.  To  be  a  hero  against  his  people's 
enemies  is  the  end  of  Samson's  consecration. 

In  the  ascetic  abstinence  from  wine  and  the 
abhorrence  of  everything  connected  with  the  vine, 
we  find  probably  the  remnant  of  a  protest  on  the 


XAZIRITE 


NAZIRITE 


81 


part  of  those  who  regarded  themselves  as  true 
Jews  against  the  adoption  by  Israel  of  Canaanitish 
culture.  In  this  the  Rechabites  were  closely  allied 
to  the  Nazirites.  Though  this  protest  had  been 
long  forgotten,  the  ascetic  principle  would  persist 
in  its  own  strength.  The  Nazirite,  being  specially 
consecrated  to  God,  had  a  certain  affinity  with  the 
priests,  who  were  also  specially  consecrated.  Hence 
it  was  natural  that  regulations  against  defilement, 
similar  to  those  which  applied  to  priests,  should  be 
imposed  on  Nazirites  likewise.  (For  full  discussion 
of  all  those  points  the  reader  is  referred  to  UDB 
iii.,  art.  'Nazirite.') 

4.  Naziritism  in  the  1st  cent.  A.D. — By  this  time 
the  law  of  the  Nazirite  had  been  minutely  developed 
and  expanded  into  a  whole  treatise  in  the  Mishna. 
From  the  number  and  variety  of  the  regulations  we 
may  infer  that  the  taking  of  the  vow  was  a  very 
common  occurrence.  Men  and  women,  both  high 
and  low  in  rank,  became  Nazirites.  Berenice 
(Ac  2513)  took  a  vow  (Josephus,  BJ  II.  xv.  1). 
Queen  Helena  of  Adiabene  was  a  Nazirite  for 
many  years  (Ndzir,  iii.  6),  as  was  also  Miriam  of 
Palmyra.  Women  and  slaves  could  take  the  vow, 
but  only  with  the  consent  of  their  husbands  or 
owners  (ib.  iv.  1-5).  Fathers  might  dedicate  minors, 
mothers  were  forbidden  to  do  so  (ib.  iv.  29).  If  one 
saw  a  woman  convicted  of  sin  by  the  process  of 
Nu  511'31,  he  was  admonished  to  become  a  Nazirite, 
on  the  ground  that  the  law  of  the  Nazirite  follows 
immediately  in  Nu  6. 

The  vow  was  taken  for  a  variety  of  reasons,  such 
as  deliverance  from  or  prevention  of  sickness 
(Josephus,  BJ  II.  xv.  1),  the  fulfilment  of  a  wish 
(Ndzir,  i.  7),  or  as  a  penance  (Neddrim,  96).  We 
may  suppose  that  the  same  variety  of  reason  as 
might  induce  a  Catholic  to  undertake  a  pilgrimage 
— penance,  discipline,  thanksgiving,  or  the  acquisi- 
tion of  merit  —  would  lead  the  Jew  to  take  a 
Nazirite  vow. 

The  vow  might  be  for  a  lifetime  or  any  shorter 
period  that  the  devotee  might  choose.  In  practice 
the  shortest  period  was  30  days,  and  this  was  also 
the  period  in  an  indefinite  vow  (Ndztr,  i.  3).  The 
vow  might  be  taken  outside  Palestine,  but,  so  long 
as  the  Temple  stood,  had  to  be  ended  in  Palestine. 
The  followers  of  Hillel  maintained  that  though  a 
vow  might  be  observed  outside  the  Holy  Land, 
the  whole  period  must  be  observed  over  again  in 
Palestine.  The  school  of  Shammai  held  that  it 
was  necessary  to  observe  only  30  days  in  Palestine. 

A  man  became  a  Nazirite  simply  by  declaring 
his  intention  or  wish  to  become  one  (ib.  i.  1),  but 
there  were  many  formula  connected  with  the 
taking  of  the  vow,  some  of  which  are  not  intelli- 
gible. It  was  not  a  valid  vow  to  say  '  Let  my  hand 
be  naztr,'  it  was  valid  to  say  '  Let  my  liver  be 
nazir ' ;  but  what  was  the  meaning  of  saying  either 
we  cannot  tell.  The  three  restrictions  of  Nu  6 
remained  in  force.  If  one  said,  however,  '  Let  me 
be  a  Nazirite  on  the  day  that  Messiah  appears,' 
one  might  drink  wine  on  Sabbaths  and  feast  days, 
since  it  was  held  Messiah  would  not  appear  on  any 
of  them  ('Erubin,  43a).  A  life- long  Nazirite  might 
cut  his  hair  once  a  year,  unless  he  were  a  Samson- 
Nazirite  (Nazir,  i.  4a).  This  permission  followed 
from  the  recognition  of  Absalom  as  a  Nazirite  (2  S 
1426).  The  Nazirite  was  denied  the  use  of  a  comb, 
but  might  dress  his  hair  by  other  means  (Naztr,  i. 
6).  On  the  expiry  of  his  vow  the  Nazirite  had  to 
offer  sacrifices  (Nu  613m)  at  the  Temple  while  it 
stood,  and  '  take  the  hair  of  the  head  of  his  separa- 
tion, and  put  it  on  the  tire  which  is  under  the 
sacrifice  of  peace  offerings.'  The  necessary  expenses 
were  heavy,  and  it  was  considered  a  meritorious 
thing  for  the  wealthy  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
poor  Nazirites.  The  technical  term  for  this  charity 
was  'having  so  many  Nazirites  shorn'  (Ndzir,  ii. 

VOL.    II. — 6 


5,  6).  King  Agrippa,  '  coming  to  Jerusalem  in 
much  greater  prosperity  than  he  had  before,  .  .  . 
ordered  that  many  of  the  Nazirites  should  have 
their  heads  shorn  '  (Josephus,  Ant.  XIX.  vi.  1). 

The  destruction  of  the  Temple  was  no  doubt 
a  fatal  blow  to  Naziritism.  It  gradually  disap- 
peared in  asceticism,  and  there  is  no  trace  of  its 
survival  beyond  the  early  Christian  centuries. 
(For  a  fuller  account  of  Naziritism  in  Rabbinical 
literature  see  JE  ix.  195 ft'.) 

5.  Naziritism  in  the  NT. — Nazirites  are  not 
definitely  mentioned  in  the  NT,  and  there  is  differ- 
ence of  opinion  as  to  the  number  of  indirect 
references. 

(a)  Jesus. — Jesus  had  no  connexion  with  Nazir- 
itism   technically    considered.      Yet    the    names 
Nazareneand  Nazorsean  applied  to  Him  bear  some 
resemblance  to  Nazirite.  Late  ecclesiastical  writers 
like    Eusebius,   Tertullian,   and  Jerome   show    a 
tendency  to  confuse  the  three  terms.     And  if  Nazir 
were  taken,   not    in  its  technical   sense,   but  as 
meaning   '  holy  one '   (it  is  actually  so  rendered 
twice  in  LXX,  Jg  137  1617),  we  can  see  how  Jesus 
might  popularly  be  called  Nazir.     By  a  play  on 
words  the  people  might  say,  '  Jesus — not  Nazarene 
but  Nazir.'    (For  a  full  discussion  of  this  point 
see  E.  A.   Abbott,  '  Nazarene  and  Nazorsean,'  in 
Miscellanea  Evangelica  I.,  Cambridge,  1913.) 

(b)  John  the  Baptist. — Some  hold  that  the  Baptist 
was  a  Nazirite,  but  there  is  not  evidence  sufficient 
to  justify  this.     It  cannot  be  accepted  that  he  'is 
described  as  a  Nazirite  for  life  (Lk  I18) '  (HDB  iii. 
500).     The  only  point  in  which  it  is  predicted  or 
enjoined  that  John  shall  resemble  the  Nazirites  is 
his  abstinence  from  wine,  but  there  is  no  ground 
for  believing  that  all  who  practised  that  self-denial 
were  Nazirites.     This  verse  describes  him  no  more 
as  a  Nazirite  than  as  an  Essene,  which  some,  as 
groundlessly,  have  held  him  to  be. 

(c)  James  the  Just. — With  full  confidence  we 
might  recognize  a  life-long  Nazirite  in  James  '  the 
brother  of  the  Lord,'  if  we  could  trust  the  descrip- 
tion  of  him    quoted  from  the    Commentaries  of 
Hegesippus,  bk.  v.,   in  Eusebius,  HE  II.  xxiii.  : 
'  This  Apostle  was  consecrated  from  his  mother's 
womb.     He  drank  neither  wine  nor  strong  drink, 
nor  ate  animal  food.     A  razor  never  came  upon  his 
head.'     But  the  succeeding  incredible  statement, 
'  he  alone  was  allowed  to  enter  the  Holy  of  Holies,' 
and  the  improbable    account  of  his  martyrdom 
which  follows,   and  contrasts   unfavourably  with 
the  account  given  by  Josephus  (Ant.  XX.  ix.  1), 
cast  doubt  on  the  trustworthiness  of  the  historian, 
who  probably  took  his  information  in  part  from 
the  Ebionitic  Ascents  of  James  (see  HDB  ii.  542). 

(d)  Acl8's. — This  verse  presents  various  difficul- 
ties.    We  may  decide  the  grammatical  difficulty 
by  saying  that,  though  the  construction  is  ambigu- 
ous, it  is  St.  Paul  whose  head  was  shorn  at  Cen- 
chrese,    'for  he  had  a  vow.'    Was  it  a  Nazirite 
vow?    There  is  no  inherent  improbability  in  the 
thought  that  St.  Paul  should  take  a  Nazirite  vow, 
rather  the  reverse.    As  we  have  seen,  the  vow  was 
a  common  thing  among  Jews,  and  we  could  easily 
conjecture  plausible  grounds  for  St.  Paul's  taking 
it,  e.g.   deliverance  from  danger  at  Corinth  (Ac 
181'17)   or  recovery  from  sickness,   the   '  thorn  in 
the  flesh'  to  which  he    was   subject.     But   the 
supreme  difficulty  in   holding    that    this    was   a 
Nazirite  vow  is  that  his  head  was  shorn  at  Cen- 
chreae,  not  at  Jerusalem,  where  alone  a  Nazirite 
vow  could  be  completed.     None    of   the  various 
explanations  that  have  been  oft'ered  seems  to   be 
adequate.     We  have  noted  above  that  the  Nazirite 
was  permitted  to  cut  his  hair  once  a  year,  if  his 
vow  were  for  a  lifetime.     But   this  will   hardly 
suit  St.  Paul's  case.     Again,  he  is  on  his  way  to 
keep  a  feast  in  Jerusalem  (v.21).     Why  he  should 


82 


JSTEAPOLIS 


NEIGHBOUR 


have  his  head  shorn  in  Cenchrese  when  in  a  few 
weeks  he  would  be  in  Jerusalem  is  a  mystery,  if 
his  was  a  Nazirite  vow.  Nor  does  it  meet  the 
case  to  suggest  that  this  shearing  was  to  purify 
himself  on  account  of  his  sojourn  among  the 
heathen.  For,  once  again,  why  should  he  perform 
that  in  a  heathen  land  and  not  wait  till  he  was  in 
Palestine?  Some  say  that  it  was  customary  to 
shear  one's  locks  at  the  beginning  of  a  vow,  and 
that  St.  Paul  is  not  completing  but  beginning  the 
period  of  his  vow  at  Cenchrese.  Those  who  say 
so  quote  no  authorities  for  their  view,  and  for  a 
good  reason.  There  is  not  a  particle  of  evidence 
anywhere  that  shearing  the  hair  was  a  token  that 
a  vow  was  beginning.  '  To  shear  the  head '  was 
a  technical  phrase  meaning  to  complete  a  vow. 
He,nce  we  must  conclude  that  in  all  likelihood  it 
was  a  private,  not  a  Nazirite,  vow  that  St.  Paul 
completed  at  Cenchreae  (see  EOT,  in  loc.  ;  cf. 
A.  C.  McGiffert,  Hist,  of  Christianity  in  the  Apos- 
tolic Age,  Edinburgh,  1897,  p.  274,  n.  4). 

(e)  Ac  2123~2e. — In  this  passage  it  is  quite  clear 
that  it  was  a  Nazirite  vow  that  the  four  men  had 
on  them,  and  we  have  explained  above  what  is 
meant  by  St.  Paul  being  at  charges  for  them,  that 
they  might  shave  their  heads,  viz.  that  he  should 
defray  the  rather  high  cost  of  the  necessary  offer- 
ings. What  is  meant  by  St.  Paul's  purifying 
himself  with  them  (w.24-  *)  ?  The  shortest  period 
allowed  for  the  duration  of  a  Nazirite  vow  was  30 
days  (see  above).  An  explanation  like  the  follow- 
ing is  very  attractive  :  '  The  law  permitted  a  man 
to  share  the  vow  if  he  could  find  companions  who 
had  gone  through  the  prescribed  ceremonies  and 
who  permitted  him  to  join  their  company.  This 
permission  was  commonly  granted  if  the  new-comer 
paid  all  the  fees  required  from  the  whole  company 
.  .  . ,  and  finished  the  vow  along  with  the  others  ' 
(T.  M.  Lindsay,  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  Edinburgh, 
1884,  ii.  113;  cf.  J.  I.  Still,  The  Early  Gentile 
Christian  Church,  Edinburgh,  1913,  p.  125).  Un- 
fortunately, no  authority  is  quoted  in  support  of 
this  view,  nor  have  we  been  able  to  find  any.  (For  a 
better  suggestion,  see  HDB  iii.  500.)  No  view  is 
free  from  difficulty,  but  on  the  whole  the  sugges- 
tion of  F.  J.  A.  Hort  is  most  satisfying,  that  St. 
Paul  himself  may  have  been  about  to  otter  sacrifices 
in  connexion  with  a  vow  made  previously,  not 
necessarily  a  Nazirite  vow  (see  Judaistic  Chris- 
tianity, Cambridge,  1894,  p.  109  f.). 

LITERATURE.—  Artt.  in  HDB,  DCG,  EBi,  JE,  PRE*,  g.v. ; 
S.  R.  Driver,  Cambridge  Bible,  'Joel  and  Amos,' Cambridge, 
1897,  p.  152  f. ;  R.  J.  Knowlingr,  in  EOT,  'Acts,'  London,  1900, 
pp.  392  f. ,  449  f . ;  J.  Grill,  in  JPTh,  1880,  p.  645  ff.  ;  G.  B.  Gray, 
in  JThSt  i.  [1900]  201  ff.  ;  W.  R.  Smith,  R&,  London,  1894, 
pp.  323 ff.,  481  ff.  ;  H.  Ewald,  The  Antiquities  of  Israel,  Eng. 
tr.,  London,  1876,  pp.  84-88, 152, 281.  W.  D.  NlVEN. 

NEAPOLIS  (NVa  n<$\«).— Neapolis,  'the  Naples 
of  Macedonia '  (Conybeare-Howson,  The  Life  and 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  new  ed.,  1877,  i.  339),  was 
the  port  to  which  St.  Paul,  sailing  from  Troas 
in  answer  to  the  call  of  the  man  of  Macedonia, 
directed  his  course,  and  he  reached  it  after  a  quick 
passage — a  straight  run  (evdv5pofj.-fi<ra/j.ev,  Ac  16")  be- 
fore a  southerly  breeze.  Here  he  first  set  foot  on 
European  soil.  Neapolis  originally  belonged  to 
Thrace  (Pliny,  EN  iv.  18),  but  it  was  now  in  the 
province  of  Macedonia  (Strabo,  vii.  fr.  33 ;  Ptolemy, 
iii.  13).  Its  name,  '  New  Town,'  probably  implies 
that  it  was  an  old  town  re-founded  and  supplied 
with  a  fresh  colony.  Strabo  (vii.  fr.  36)  appears  to 
identify  it  with  Baton,  which  had  '  fruitful  plains, 
a  port,  streams,  dockyards,  and  valuable  gold 
mines,  whence  the  proverb  "A  Daton  of  good 
things,"  like  "  Piles  of  Plenty." ' 

The  growing  importance  of  Neapolis  kept  pace 
with  that  of  Philippi,  ten  miles  inland,  which  it 
served  as  a  seaport.  During  the  last  stand  of  the 


Republicans  at  Philippi,  their  galleys  were  moored 
oft'  Neapolis  (Appian,  de  Bell.  Civ.  iv.  106 ;  Dio 
Cass.  xlvii.  35).  The  ancient  city  is  generally 
identified  with  the  small  Turkish  village  of  Kavallo, 
which  stands  on  a  promontory  overlooking  a  bay 
of  the  same  name,  opposite  the  island  of  Thasos. 
Here  many  Latin  inscriptions  have  been  found,  and 
there  are  the  remains  of  a  great  aqueduct. 

LITERATURE!.— See  W.  Smith,  DGRG  ii.  [1868]  411 ;  W.  M. 
Leake,  Travels  in  Northern  Greece,  1836,  iii.  180;  W.  M. 
Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  1895,  p.  205  ff. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

NEIGHBOUR.— In  the  Hebrew  of  the  OT  the 
words  rendered  '  neighbour '  have  less  reference  to 
locality  than  the  English  word.  In  a'njj,  it  is  true, 
the  etymological  root  is  'near,'  but  it  occurs  very 
rarely  ;  in  the  slightly  commoner  way,  with  the 
much  more  usual  in,  the  thought  is  rather  that  of 
one's  'fellows'  or  'friends.'  The  fairly  frequent 
jr^  means  '  inhabitant '  (sc.  of  the  same  or  some 
adjacent  district),  and  is  thus  akin  to  aiip,  but  on 
the  whole,  in  the  words  translated  '  neighbour,' 
the  idea  of  fellowship  is  much  stronger  than  that 
of  proximity,  and  in  a  number  of  passages,  as  a 
rendering  of  SH,  '  fellow  '  or  '  fellows '  should  per- 
haps be  substituted.  At  the  same  time,  '  fellow- 
man  '  would  be  an  exaggeration,  for  it  would  imply 
not  only  humanitarianism,  which  many  of  these 
passages  contain,  but  universalism,  which  is  too 
much  to  postulate.  This  is  especially  clear  in  the 
one  passage  (Lv  1918)  which  is  of  crucial  import- 
ance as  being  the  source  of  the  main  current  of 
NT  teaching  on  the  subject.  There  the  injunction 
'  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  (in)  as  thyself '  is 
parallel  with  '  Thou  shalt  not  bear  any  grudge 
against  the  children  of  thy  people.'  If  this  racial 
limitation  is  kept  in  view,  its  abrogation  in  the 
parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan  (Lk  lO27^)  becomes 
far  more  piquant,  for  it  is  precisely  the  interpreta- 
tion of  Lv  1918  which  is  there  the  point  at  issue. 
True,  121  is  rendered  by  the  Greek  irXtja-lov  ('near'), 
which,  if  etymology  were  everything,  would  once 
more  emphasize  local  limitations ;  but  the  whole 
trend  of  the  passage  clearly  shows  that  w\ri<riov,  in 
the  mouth  of  Jesus,  means  any  human  being 
within  reach  of  one's  help,  while  for  the  lawyer  it 
is  still  a  racial  term.  The  same  verse  from 
Leviticus  is  also  quoted  in  Mt  1919  22s9,  Mk  1231, 
Ro  139,  Gal  514,  Ja  28.  In  the  first  three  of  these, 
the  quotation  being  made  by  Jesus,  '  neighbour '  is 
probably  universalistic  in  accordance  with  Lk 
lO275-.  In  Mt  51*3  it  is  laid  down  that  'enemies' 
may  not  be  hated  in  contrast  with  '  neighbours.' 
Further,  the  attitude  here  enjoined  implies,  like 
Lk  lO27*-  and  the  Golden  Rule  (Mt  712,  Lk  631),  an 
enthusiastic  and  active,  as  well  as  universal, 
benevolence,  as  far  removed  from  neglect  as  from 
hatred. 

In  the  Gospels  occur  also  yelruv  and  irepioticos, 
both  of  which  mean  '  neighbour '  in  the  local  sense. 

ir\ri<riov  is  never  literal,  i.e.  local,  but  always 
ethicized ;  it  varies,  however,  in  the  width  of  its 
application.  In  Ro  152  arid  Eph  425  the  context 
probably  favours  the  interpretation  'fellow- 
Christian,'  in  Ro  139- 10  'fellow-man'  ;  Gal  5U  and 
Ja  28  are  doubtful.  Whether  wider  or  less  wide, 
it  is  always  closely  related  to  the  thought  of  love. 

The  kind  of  conduct  which  a  man  is  said  to  owe 
to  his  neighbour  out  of  love  comprises  mainly  the 
following :  consideration  for  his  scruples,  tender- 
ness for  his  weaknesses,  the  sacrifice  of  one's  own 
pleasure  to  his,  but  with  the  object  of  building  up 
his  character  (Ro  15) ;  abstinence  from  gratifica- 
tion of  lust  or  of  quarrelsomeness  at  his  expense 
(Gal  5) ;  abstinence  from  '  respect  of  persons ' — 
because  of  the  disrespect  inflicted  by  it  on  other 
persons  ( Ja  2) — and  from  censoriousness  (411'12) ; 
the  speaking  and  doing  of  the  simple  truth  (Eph 


NEREUS 


NERO 


83 


41S-  M) ;  and  generally,  the  rendering  to  every  man 
of  his  due  (Ro  13). 

LITERATURE.— J.  R.  Seeley,  Ecce  Bomo",  1873,  chs.  xvii.- 
xxiv.  (cf.  especially  ch.  xviii.  with  Ro  152  and  parallels).  For 
the  reconciliation  of  Christian  love  to  one's  neighbour  with 
righteous  and  reasonable  self-regard,  see  A.  Plummer,  St. 
Matthew,  1909,  pp.  84-89,  ICC,  'St.  Luke'V  1898.  p.  185 f. 

C.  H.  W  ATKINS. 

NEREUS  (N??pei}s,  a  Greek  name,  fairly  common 
among  slaves  and  freedmen,  and  found  in  inscrip- 
tions of  the  Imperial  household). — Nereus  is  the 
third  of  a  group  of  Christians,  his  sister  (probably 
Nereis  or  Nerias  by  name)  being  the  fourth,  who 
with  '  all  the  saints  that  are  with  them '  are  saluted 
by  St.  Paul  in  Ro  1615.  The  first  two  names, 
Philologus  and  Julia  (qq.v.)  may  be  those  of  husband 
and  wife.  If  so,  Nereus  and  his  sister  and  Olympas 
may  have  been  their  family,  which  formed  the 
nucleus  of  a  church  which  met  under  their  leader- 
ship at  their  house  in  Rome  or  Ephesus.  Cf. 
possibly  the  '  household  of  Stephanas  in  Corinth, 
who  were  '  the  firstfruits  of  Achaia'  and  who  'set 
themselves  to  minister  unto  the  saints'  (1  Co  1615). 
The  relationship  is,  however,  purely  conjectural, 
as  nothing  further  is  known  of  any  of  these  persons. 
That  they  formed  with  the  other  unnamed  persons 
a  household  or  district  (^KKXtjcria),  of  which  they  had 
been  the  nucleus  and  therefore  became  the  leaders, 
is  extremely  probable,  or  the  men  may  have  been 
the  heads  of  separate  small  communities.  The 
name  Nereus  was  that  of  a  minor  sea-god,  father  of 
the  Nereids,  and  it  is  significant  that  a  Christian 
should  have  had  no  scruple  in  retaining  it.  (Other 
names  of  heathen  deities  borne  by  Christians 
mentioned  in  Ro  16  are  Hermes  [v.14],  Phcebe, 
[v.1].)  The  name  is  connected  with  legends  of 
the  early  Roman  Church  (see  Sanday-Headlam, 
ICC,  '  Romans5,'  Edinburgh,  1902,  p.  428). 

T.  B.  ALLWORTHY. 

NERO. — The  future  Emperor  Nero  received  at 
birth,  15th  December,  37,  the  names  Lucius  Domi- 
tius  Ahenobarbus.  His  father  was  Gnoeus  Domi- 
tius  Ahenobarbus  (consul,  A.D.  32),  on  the  mother's 
side  grandnephew  of  the  Emperor  Augustus,  and 
his  mother  was  lulia  Agrippina,  daughter  of  Ger- 
manicus  (died  A.D.  59)  and  great-granddaughter  of 
Augustus.  Both  were  persons  of  ungovernable 
temper  and  immoral  character,  and  from  the  first 
their  son  had  little  chance  of  leading  a  noble  life. 
Gnanis  died  in  the  year  40  when  his  son  was  barely 
three  years  old,  and  Agrippina,  possessed  by  limit- 
less ambition,  schemed  soon  after  for  a  second 
marriage,  with  no  less  a  person  than  the  reigning 
Claudius  himself  (Emperor  A.D.  41-54;  see  under 
CLAUDIUS),  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  was  her 
uncle.  Agrippina  became  the  fourth  wife  of 
Claudius  in  A.D.  49,  such  marriages  having  been 
legalized  by  the  Senate  (Tac.  Ann.  xii.  5-6).  She 
procured  the  recall  of  the  philosopher  Lucius 
Annseus  Seneca  and  made  him  instructor  of  her 
son.  At  the  same  time  he  was  betrothed  to 
Claudius'  daughter  Octavia.  In  the  year  50 
Claudius  adopted  Domitius,  who  thus  became 
Tiberius  Claudius  Drusus  Germanicus  Caesar  (ac- 
cording to  another  view,  Lucius  Claudius  Nero). 
Next  year  the  young  man  assumed  the  dress  of 
manhood  and  was  given  the  consulship.  At  the 
same  time  Afranius  Burrus,  his  military  instructor, 
was  made  prefect  of  the  praetorian  guards.  In 
A.D.  53  the  marriage  with  Octavia  took  place. 
Claudius'  own  son  Britannicus  (born  12th  Feb. 
41),  who  had  been  steadily  pushed  further  and 
further  into  the  background,  happened  to  have  to 
leave  Rome  through  illness  in  the  year  54.  This 
gave  Agrippina  her  opportunity,  and  with  thehelpof 
two  professional  poisoners  Claudius  was  put  to  death 
on  13th  October.  Nero  Claudius  Caesar  Augus- 
tus Germanicus,  or,  as  he  is  later  called,  Impera- 


tor  Nero  Claudius  Caesar  Augustus  Germanicus, 
was  saluted  Imperator  by  the  soldiers,  and  their 
acclamation  was  ratified  by  the  Senate.  Among 
his  private  relationships  during  his  reign  may  be 
mentioned  his  passion  for  his  Greek  mistress  Acte, 
his  marriage  in  A.D.  62  with  Poppaea  Sabina,  wife 
of  M.  Saluius  Otho  (one  of  his  successors  in  the 
Empire),  and  the  banishment  and  murder  of  his 
first  wife  Octavia  at  her  instance.  In  A.D.  63  a 
daughter  was  born  to  Nero  and  Poppaea,  but  the 
child  died  shortly  afterwards.  His  marriage  with 
the  male  Pythagoras  took  place  in  A.D.  64,  and 
in  65  the  death  of  Poppaea.  In  55  Nero  had  Britan- 
nicus poisoned  and  in  59  his  mother  was  put  to 
death  by  his  order.  She  had  committed  every  sin 
for  his  advancement,  but  had  become  intolerable. 
Nero  died  by  his  own  hand  or  that  of  a  slave  on 
9th  June,  68,  leaving  no  descendant  behind  him. 
With  him  the  Caesarian  race,  weakened  by  inter- 
marriage, debauchery,  and  madness,  came  to  an  end. 

A  brief  summary  of  the  chief  events  of  Nero's 
reign  may  now  be  given.  It  has  become  customary 
to  repeat  that  his  first  five  years  were  a  model 
period  of  government.  There  was  some  difficulty 
in  holding  this  view,  considering  what  the  histori- 
ans have  to  tell  us.  But  J.  G.  C.  Anderson  and 
F.  Haverfield  have  recently  pointed  out  (see  under 
Literature)  that  this  opinion,  put  into  the  mouth 
of  the  Emperor  Trajan  by  the  late  compiler 
Aurelius  Victor  (Liber  de  Ccesaribus,  ch.  5),  does 
not  refer  to  the  first  five  years,  does  not  perhaps 
refer  to  any  specific  five  years,  but  if  it  does,  refers 
rather  to  the  last  five  years,  and  in  any  case 
touches  only  Nero's  building  operations.  His  reign 
is  best  divided  into  two  periods — the  first  from  54  to 
62,  when  the  State  was  under  the  joint  administra- 
tion of  Seneca  and  Burrus,  and  the  second  from  62 
to  68,  when  it  was  under  the  Emperor's  sole  rule. 
Neither  period  was  undistinguished  for  good,  and 
indeed  the  machinery  of  government  was  so  per- 
fected by  Augustus  that  the  mad  behaviour  of  an 
Emperor  scandalized  only  the  inhabitants  of  Rome, 
and  had  no  effect  on  the  provinces,  in  which  the 
real  life  of  the  Roman  Empire  lay.  The  adminis- 
tration of  Seneca  and  Burrus  led  to  the  strengthen- 
ing of  the  power  of  the  Senate.  It  also  led  to  the 
overthrow  of  Agrippina's  influence,  which  had 
been  most  powerful  at  the  first.  Nero's  policy 
seems  at  first  to  have  been  one  of  laissez  faire. 
He  was  very  young  and  fond  of  pleasure,  and 
gratified  his  tastes  to  the  full.  The  historians  are 
occupied  with  details  of  his  doings,  and  tell  us 
little  about  Italian  or  Roman  affairs. 

In  the  year  58  the  Emperor  proposed  to  establish 
'  free  trade.'  The  object  of  this  proposal  was  to 
relieve  the  people  and  to  get  rid, of  a  method  of 
taxation  attended  with  much  injustice.  The  pro- 
ducers and  capitalists,  on  whom  extra  burdens 
would  thus  have  been  imposed,  were  able  to 
strangle  the  scheme  at  birth.  The  Imperial  purse, 
depleted  through  extravagance,  was  replenished 
by  confiscation.  About  61  or  62  began  the  de- 
preciation of  the  gold  and  silver  coinage,  from 
which  Rome  never  completely  recovered.  Nero 
also  deprived  the  Senate  of  the  right  to  issue  copper 
coinage.  This  was  a  serious  blow,  as  the  exchange 
value  of  the  copper  always  exceeded  the  value  of 
the  metal,  and  the  Senate  could  thus  coin  credit- 
money  to  any  amount.  On  19th  July,  A.D.  64, 
the  great  fire  in  Rome  broke  out ;  it  lasted  for  a 
week,  and  destroyed  an  immense  area  of  property. 
The  occasion  was  used  to  build  broader  streets  and 
finer  buildings.  The  reign  of  Nero  is  conspicuous 
for  the  lives  of  prominent  Stoics,  particularly 
Psetus  Thrasea,  men  of  courage  and  virtxie  among 
the  noblest  the  world  has  ever  seen.  They  stood 
for  the  old  republican  regime.and  were  particularly 
in  evidence  in  the  Senate.  These,  as  well  as  rich 


84 


NERO 


NERVA 


men  in  no  way  connected  with  them,  were  victims 
of  a  policy  of  wholesale  murder  associated  with  the 
last  six  years  or  so  of  Nero's  reign.  It  was  not 
surprising  that,  while  the  generality  of  the  Senate 
were  paralyzed  with  terror,  a  powerful  conspiracy 
should  have  arisen  against  the  maniac  on  the 
throne.  The  leader  chosen  was  C.  Calpurnius 
Piso,  and  the  plot  had  been  brewing  since  62.  In 
65  all  the  arrangements  were  complete,  but  at  the 
eleventh  hour  the  Emperor  was  informed,  and  Piso, 
Seneca  the  philosopher,  Lucan,  the  author  of  the 
rhetorical  epic  De  Bello  Civili  (often,  but  wrongly, 
called  Pharsalia),  and  others,  met  their  death. 
Nero's  own  fall  was  the  result  of  the  revolt  of  C. 
lulius  Vindex,  governor  of  Gallia  Lugudunensis, 
with  whom  Galba,  the  governor  of  Hispania  Tar- 
raconensis, allied  himself.  Vindex  was  defeated  by 
Verginius  Rufus,  governor  of  Southern  Germany, 
but  Galba  became  Emperor. 

External  affairs  during  Nero's  reign  bulk  more 
largely  than  internal.  Two  provinces  were  added 
to  the  Roman  Empire — Pontus  Polemoniacus  in 
Northern  Asia  Minor,  by  the  gift  of  Polemo,  and 
the  Alpes  Cottiae,  on  the  death  of  Cottius  (Suet. 
Nero,  18).  But  it  was  in  the  extreme  east  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  extreme  west  on  the  other, 
that  the  most  important  events  took  place — in 
Armenia  and  in  Britain.  Britain  had  been  made 
a  province  in  43,  but  pacification  was  impossible 
without  hard  and  exhausting  warfare.  Real  pro- 
gress was  made  under  the  governorship  of  Sueton- 
ius Paulinus,  who  in  61  captured  Mona  (Anglesey). 
There  followed  a  great  rising  of  the  Iceni  (under 
Boudicca)  and  the  Trinouantes.  Camalodunum 
(Colchester),  the  Roman  colonia,  was  burnt,  and 
Londinium  and  Verulamium  (St.  Albans)  were 
captured  by  the  insurgents.  A  great  slaughter  of 
the  Romans  and  their  allies  was  followed  by  the 
victory  of  Paulinus  and  the  suicide  of  Boudicca. 

The  Eastern  campaigns  of  Nero's  reign  are  im- 
perishably  connected  with  Gnseus  Domitius  Cor- 
bulo,  one  of  the  greatest  generals  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  There  had  been  for  some  time  a  struggle 
between  the  Romans  and  the  Parthians,  their 
hereditary  enemies,  for  the  possession  of  Armenia. 
Rival  pretenders  to  the  throne  of  that  country 
were  supported,  one  by  Rome,  the  other  by 
Parthia.  When  Nero  came  to  the  throne,  a  Par- 
thian prince,  Tiridates,  was  ruling  over  Armenia. 
Corbulo's  troops  at  first  were  insufficient  and  many 
of  them  were  unfit  for  service.  Much  time  was 
lost  in  training  them  and  in  parleying  with  Tiri- 
dates. Artaxata  was  captured  in  58.  The  sur- 
render of  Tigranocerta  resulted  in  the  defeat  of 
Tiridates  and  the  establishment  of  a  new  king  in 
60,  but  circumstances  led  to  an  arrangement  with 
Parthia  by  which  Tiridates  was  permitted  to  return 
in  the  next  year.  This  arrangement  was  not 
ratified  by  the  home  government,  and  Armenia 
had  to  be  conquered  again.  The  new  governor  of 
Cappadocia,  Lucius  Caesennius  Paetus,  proved  in- 
competent, and  his  army  had  to  capitulate.  Cor- 
bulo  declined  to  interfere.  Psetus  was  recalled, 
and  Corbulo  undertook  the  government  of  Cappa- 
docia. The  result  was  that  Tiridates  had  to  go  to 
Rome  and  receive  his  crown  from  Nero  as  a  sup- 
pliant (A.B.  66).  Corbulo's  success  throughout 
seems  to  have  been  due  in  part  to  his  skilful 
subordinate,  Vettius  Bolanus  (Statius,  Siluce,  V. 
ii.  31-47),  but  it  did  not  prevent  his  suicide  by 
Nero's  command  in  Greece  (A.D.  67).  The  severe 
discipline  and  hardship  of  these  Oriental  campaigns 
provide  a  contrast  to  the  Imperial  excesses  at 
Rome.  The  spread  of  Christianity  to  Western 
Europe  presents  another. 

The  latter  part  of  St.  Paul's  missionary  activity 
coincides  with  Nero's  reign.  It  was  to  Nero's 
tribunal  that  St.  Paul  appealed  (Ac  25U) ;  it  was 


also  among  the  slaves  and  freedmen  of  his  house- 
hold that  he  found  many  of  his  fellow-Christians 
in  Rome  (Ph  422 ;  cf.  Ro  16).  It  was  on  a  capital 
charge  that  St.  Paul  had  been  arraigned,  and  in 
such  cases  a  Roman  citizen  could  appeal  from 
the  court  of  a  procurator  to  the  Emperor  him- 
self. There  are  inconsistencies  in  the  Acts  nar- 
rative (cf.  Mommsen's  article  mentioned  below, 
Ep.  92,  93= p.  443)  of  the  preliminaries,  but  we  need 
ave  no  doubt  that  St.  Paul  did  as  a  matter  of  fact 
appear  before  the  Emperor  in  Rome.  Whether 
acquittal  or  condemnation  was  the  result,  and 
whether  in  the  former  case  St.  Paul  had  to  stand  a 
second  trial,  which  resulted  in  condemnation,  are 
questions  which  lie  outside  the  scope  of  the  present 
article.  Whatever  be  the  truth  in  this  matter, 
there  is  a  consensus  of  opinion  that  Nero  was  the 
first  Emperor  to  persecute  the  Christians.  The 
Church  always  believed  this  (cf.  Ambrosiaster, 
writing  in  Rome  about  375,  in  2  Thess.  27  :  '  mys- 
terium  iniquitatis  a  Nerone  coeptum  est,  qui  zelo 
idolorum  et  apostolosinterfecit,'  etc.),  and,  accord- 
ing to  a  very  early  interpretation  of  the  number  of 
the  Beast  in  the  Apocalypse  (1318),  Neron  ]£esar  is 
there  referred  to  (confirmed  by  a  Western  variant, 
616,  which  means  the  Latin  form  Nero,  as  against  the 
Greek  form  Neron,  666-616  being  =  50,  represented 
in  Greek  by  v  [«.]).  The  narrative  of  Tacitus  (Ann. 
xv.  44)  connects  the  evil  treatment  of  the  Christians 
with  the  great  fire  of  the  year  64.  The  Emperor's 
behaviour  on  that  occasion  was  in  many  ways  to 
be  commended,  but  the  story  that  he  sat  on  the 
roof  of  his  palace  playing  the  harp  during  the  con- 
flagration (add  Augustine,  Sermons,  ccxcvi.  7,  to  the 
authorities  usually  quoted)  makes  the  narrative  of 
the  horrible  death  of  the  Christians,  condemned 
for  incendiarism,  quite  credible.  The  first  Chris- 
tians met  their  death  in  Rome  as  scapegoats,  not 
because  it  was  illegal  to  be  a  Christian.  That  stage 
is  later  ;  how  much  later  is  debated. 

Some  summing  up  of  Nero's  character  may  be 
attempted,  though  it  seems  hardly  fair  to  judge 
a  man  who  was  only  thirty-one  at  his  death,  and 
was  undoubtedly  afflicted  with  madness.  There  is 
perhaps  less  good  that  can  be  said  of  him  than  of 
any  other  Roman  Emperor.  That  he  was  prodigal 
and  licentious  to  an  astounding  degree  cannot  be 
denied.  All  the  savings  of  the  Emperor  Claudius 
were  dispersed  by  his  wastefulness,  as  were  those 
of  Tiberius  by  his  successor  Gaius  (Caligula).  It 
may  also  be  truly  said  that  he  had  no  conception 
of  the  Imperial  dignity.  He  had  much  of  the 
mountebank  about  him,  and  his  musical  and  other 
performances  on  the  public  stage  made  him  ridicu- 
lous. He  was  childish  enough  to  enter  into  poetic 
rivalry  with  his  subject  Lucan.  Though  lazy  by 
contrast  with  his  class  in  governmental  duty,  he 
might  have  attained  some  eminence  in  the  arts, 
and  in  these  only,  under  other  circumstances. 

LITERATURE.— The  chief  ancient  authorities  are  Tacitus,  Ab 
Excessu  Diui  Augusti,  bks.  xiii.-xvi.  ;  Suetonius,  Life  of  Nero. 
The  best  modern  book  is  B.  W.  Henderson,  The  Life  and 
Principate  of  the  Emperor  Nero,  London,  1903  (particularly 
good  on  Corbulo's  campaigns)  ;  J.  B.  Bury,  A  History  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  do.,  1893,  chs.  xvi.,  xvii.,  xviii.  On  the  quin- 
quennium Neronis,  see  the  epoch-making  art.  '  Trajan  on  the 
Quinquennium  Neronis,'  by  J.  G.  C.  Anderson  (with  note  by 
F.  Haverfleld),  in  JRS  i.  [1911]  173-179.  On  the  Neronian 
household,  see  J.  B.  Lightfoot's  excursus  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
PhilippianK\  London,  1878  ;  on  St.  Paul's  legal  position  under 
Nero,  see  Mommsen's  art.  '  Die  Rechtsverhaltnisse  des  Apostels 
Paulus,'  in  ZNTW  ii.  [1901]  81-96= Gesammelte  Schriften,  iii. 
[Berlin,  1907]  431-446;  on  Nero  as  persecutor  of  Christians, 
cf.  C.  F.  Arnold,  Die  Neronische  Christenverfolgung,  Leipzig, 
1888 ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire*, 
London,  1894,  ch.  xi. ;  E.  G.  Hardy,  Studies  in  Roman  History, 
do.,  1906,  ch.  iv.  ;  on  Nero  and  Lucan,  W.  B.  Anderson,  in 
Queen's  Quarterly,  xiv.  [1906-07]  196-214.  A.  SOUTER. 

NERYA.  —  M.  Cocceius  Nerva,  who  on  being 
chosen  Emperor  was  henceforth  known  as  Im- 
perator  Nerva  Caesar  (sometimes  Caesar  Nerva) 


NERVA 


NEW  JERUSALEM 


85 


Augustus,  son  of  M.  Cocceius  Nerva,  a  juriscon- 
sult, and  Sergia  Plautilla,  was  born  at  Narnia 
on  the  Via  Flaminia  in  Southern  Umbr\a  on  8th 
November,  probably  in  A.D.  35.  He  was  elected 
praetor  for  the  year  66.  He  gained  favour  with 
the  Emperor  Nero  by  his  interest  in  poetry  and 
his  help  in  the  detection  of  the  Pisonian  conspiracy. 
After  election  to  various  priesthoods  he  attained 
the  consulship  (with  the  Emperor  Vespasian)  in 
the  year  71  (for  the  second  time  in  90  with  the 
Emperor  Domitian).  Under  the  Emperor  Domitian 
he  was  falsely  charged  by  astrologers  with  being 
in  possession  of  the  Emperor's  horoscope,  and  was 
banished,  it  is  said,  to  Tarentum. 

On  the  murder  of  Domitian  on  18th  September, 
96,  he  was,  at  the  instance  of  Petronius  Secundus, 
prefect  of  the  praetorian  guard,  and  Parthenius, 
the  murderer  of  Domitian,  elected  Emperor,  though 
over  sixty  years  of  age.  He  held  the  consulship 
for  the  third  time  in  97,  for  the  fourth  in  98.  In 
the  autumn  of  97  he  adopted  M.  Ulpius  Traianus. 
He  died  in  his  sixty-third  year  (25th  [or  27th] 
Jan.  98),  having  ruled  for  sixteen  months  and  ten 
days. 

His  reign  was  auspicious,  though  short.  Any- 
one would  have  been  welcome  after  the  reign  of 
terror  under  Domitian,  and  the  Senate  gave  him 
a  hearty  reception.  Some  of  the  informers  of 
Domitian's  reign  were  put  to  death,  but  in  general 
a  policy  of  clemency  was  followed,  and  some  of  the 
leading  partisans  of  Domitian  continued  to  enjoy 
places  of  honour.  Many  who  had  been  unjustly 
banished  under  the  Domitianic  regime  were  re- 
called, amongst  them  the  well-known  rhetorician, 
Dio  Cocceianus  of  Prusa,  best  known  to  us  as  Dio 
Chrysostom.  It  is  highly  probable  also  that  the 
apostle  John  was  automatically  released  from 
confinement  in  Patmos,  as  the  death  of  Domitian 
of  necessity  constituted  his  acta  null  and  void 
(Eus.  HE  in.  xx.  8 ;  cf.  \V.  M.  Ramsay,  The  First 
Christian  Century,  London,  1911,  p.  45).  Nerva 
also  recalled  to  public  service  worthy  men  who 
had  been  driven  into  retirement  by  the  policy  of 
Domitian.  His  task  at  home  was  nevertheless  one 
of  very  great  difficulty,  and  he  was  wisely  guided 
in  adopting  Trajan  (q.v.).  There  was  also  external 
trouble — a  war  with  Germany.  Our  reports  are 
difficult  to  reconcile  and  to  understand,  but  at  any 
rate  botli  Nerva  and  Trajan  received  the  honorary 
title  Germanicus  about  the  end  of  the  year  97. 

Nerva  depended  for  support  upon  the  Senate,  and 
took  an  oath  to  put  no  senator  to  death.  He  had 
to  replenish  the  exchequer,  which  had  been  much 
depleted  by  the  folly  of  Domitian,  and  he  proved 
a  master  of  finance,  not  shrinking  from  great  per- 
sonal sacrifices  in  his  efforts  to  right  the  situation. 
He  appointed  a  commission  of  five  men,  minuendis 
publicis  sumptibus,  and  was  able  to  remit  a  good 
deal  of  taxation.  Most  remarkable  of  all  his 
achievements  from  the  modern  point  of  view  was 
his  alimentary  foundation,  which  there  is  reason 
to  believe  was  the  perpetuation  of  a  scheme  in- 
augurated by  Domitian.  In  most  of  the  Italian 
towns  he  provided  contributions  from  the  privy 
purse  for  the  education  of  the  children  of  freeborn 
parents  of  slender  means.  The  money  for  this 
special  purpose  seems  to  have  been  derived  from 
land.  The  Emperor's  plan  was  followed  not  only 
by  his  successors,  but  also  by  private  persons  like 
the  younger  Pliny.  Nerva  also  had  an  agrarian 
law  passed  to  relieve  agriculture,  and  carried  out 
a  land-purchase  scheme  which  enabled  the  poor 
to  obtain  small-holdings.  Further,  he  established 
colonies  in  various  parts  of  the  Empire,  and  con- 
ferred advantages,  both  material  and  political,  on 
a  number  of  towns,  particularly  in  the  Greek  East 
(e.g.  Beroaa).  Like  all  the  Emperors,  he  had  the 
food  problem  of  Rome  to  cope  with,  and  in  this  he 


was  successful.  Other  wise  and  beneficent  legal 
provisions  are  attributed  to  him. 

Though  careful  of  expenditure,  he  did  not 
neglect  building,  and  the  forum  Neruce  (or  Forum 
Transitorium)  in  Rome  attests  his  activity  in  this 
direction.  Part  of  the  Temple  of  Minerva  in  it 
still  stands  in  situ.  Considerable  improvement 
and  development  of  roads  and  aqueducts  both  in 
Italy  and  in  the  provinces  are  also  associated  with 
this  principate.  Nerva  died  a  natural  death  at 
Rome,  the  result  of  old  age  and  illness.  The 
burial  in  the  Mausoleum  of  Augustus  was  super- 
intended by  Trajan,  and  Nerva  was  deified  by  the 
Senate.  His  reign  began  a  new  era  of  liberty  and 
good  government,  which  lasted  for  about  eighty 
years. 

LITERATURE. — Xiphilinus  (Epitome  of  Dio  Cassitts,  Ixvii.  15- 
Ixviii.  3),  Aurelius  Victor  (Epitome  de  Ccesaribus),  Pliny  the 
Younger  (Letter*  and  Panegyric  of  Trajan),  Philostratus 
(Apollonius  of  Tyana),  Dio  Chrysostom  (Orations),  Frontinus 
(De  Aquis  Urbis  Romce)  are  the  chief  ancient  authorities. 
Of  modern  authorities,  the  Histories  of  the  Roman  Empire 
should  be  consulted,  also  E.  Klebs,  Prosopographia  Imperil 
Romani,  saec.  i.,  ii.,  iii.,  pars  i.  [Berlin,  1897],  no.  974,  p.  429 f., 
and  Stein  in  Pauly-Wissowa,  iv.  133-154.  A.  SOUTER. 

NEW  JERUSALEM.  —  1.  References.  —  (a)  In 

canonical  writings. — In  the  NT  the  name  '  New 
Jerusalem  '  occurs  only  twice,  and  these  references 
are  both  in  the  Apocalypse  of  John,  viz.  Rev  312 : 
'  He  that  overcometh  ...  I  will  write  upon  him 
.  .  .  the  name  of  the  city  of  my  God,  the  new 
Jerusalem,  which  cometh  down  out  of  heaven  from 
my  God ' ;  212 :  '  And  I  saw  the  holy  city,  new 
Jerusalem,  coming  down  out  of  heaven  from  God' 
(cf.  v.10).  But  other  phrases  with  the  same  refer- 
ence occur  elsewhere  in  the  NT,  as  Gal  426  :  '  But 
the  Jerusalem  that  is  above  is  free '  ;  and  He  1222 : 
'  But  ye  are  come  .  .  .  unto  the  city  of  the  living 
God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.'  It  is  a  city  of 
heavenly  origin  and  full  of  fresh  life,  the  metro- 
polis of  the  new  earth  (cf.  Rev  211).  This  hope  of 
a  new  order  of  things  (cf.  Mt  1928,  2  P  313),  with 
Jerusalem  as  the  centre,  is  not  confined  to  the  NT  ; 
it  occurs  also  in  the  OT,  e.g.  in  Is  6517 :  '  For, 
behold,  I  create  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth  :  and 
the  former  things  shall  not  be  remembered,  nor 
come  into  mind,'  and  in  Is  6622  :  '  For  as  the  new 
heavens  and  the  new  earth,  which  I  will  make, 
shall  remain  before  me,  saith  the  Lord,  so  shall 
your  seed  and  your  name  remain.'  But  the  metro- 
polis that  appears  in  Isaiah  is  not  the  New  Jeru- 
salem ;  it  is  the  old  city  as  before,  only  purified 
and  blessed  by  God  in  a  special  manner.  The  basis 
of  the  new  conception  within  the  OT  is  found  in 
such  passages  as  Ezk  402 :  '  In  the  visions  of  God 
brought  he  me  into  the  land  of  Israel,  and  set  me 
down  upon  a  very  high  mountain,  whereon  was 
as  it  were  the  frame  of  a  city  on  the  south,'  with 
the  whole  description  of  the  city  in  the  following 
chapters  (40-48) ;  Is  54nff-  :  '  O  thou  afflicted,  tossed 
with  tempest,  and  not  comforted,  behold,  I  will 
set  thy  stones  in  fair  colours  and  lay  thy  founda- 
tions with  sapphires' ;  60loff- :  '  And  strangers  shall 
build  up  thy  walls,  and  their  kings  shall  minister 
unto  thee :  for  in  my  wrath  I  smote  thee,  but  in 
my  favour  have  I  had  mercy  on  thee' ;  Hag  2"'s: 
'  I  will  fill  this  house  with  glory.  .  .  .  The  latter 
glory  of  this  house  shall  be  greater  than  the  former, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts ' ;  Zee  24'-  (EV) :  'Jerusalem 
shall  be  inhabited  as  villages  without  walls.  .  .  . 
For  I,  saith  the  Lord,  will  be  unto  her  a  wall  of 
fire  round  about,  and  I  will  be  the  glory  in  the 
midst  of  her.' 

(b)  In  non-canonical  writings. — Jewish  writings, 
mainly  apocalyptic,  fill  up  the  gulf  between  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  with  regard  to  the  new 
city  and  the  conception  underlying  it.  The  new 
order  of  things  appears  in  1  En.  xlv.  4,  5  :  'And  I 


86 


NEW  JERUSALEM 


NEW  JERUSALEM 


will  transform  the  heaven  and  make  it  an  eternal 
blessing  and  light :  and  I  will  transform  the  earth 
and  make  it  a  blessing';  Ixxii.  1:  'till  the  new 
creation  is  accomplished  which  dureth  till  eternity ' ; 
xci.  16 :  '  And  the  first  heaven  shall  depart  and 
pass  away,  and  a  new  heaven  shall  appear,  and 
all  the  powers  of  the  heavens  shall  give  sevenfold 
light.'  In  the  Book  of  Jubilees  the  new  creation  is 
mentioned ;  cf.  i.  29 :  '  And  the  angel  of  the  pre- 
sence who  went  before  the  camp  of  Israel  took  the 
tables  of  the  divisions  of  the  years  .  .  .  from  the 
day  of  the  [new]  creation  when  the  heavens  and 
the  earth  shall  be  renewed  and  all  their  creation 
according  to  the  powers  of  the  heaven,  .  .  .  until 
the  sanctuary  of  the  Lord  shall  be  made  in  Jeru- 
salem on  Mount  Zion.'  There  is  the  same  implica- 
tion in  2  En.  (Slavonic,  Enoch)  Ixv.  6  tt'.  :  '  When  all 
creation  visible  and  invisible,  as  the  Lord  created 
it,  shall  end,  then  every  man  goes  to  the  great 
judgement,  and  then  all  time  shall  perish,  .  .  .  they 
(i.e.  the  righteous)  will  live  eternally.  .  .  .  And 
they  shall  have  a  great  indestructible  wall,  and  a 
paradise  bright  and  incorruptible,  for  all  corrupt- 
ible things  shall  pass  away,  and  there  will  be 
eternal  life.'  Again  the  renewal  of  creation  appears 
in  2  Bar.  (Apoc.  Bar.)  xxxii.  6  :  '  For  there  will  be 
a  greater  trial  than  these  two  tribulations  when 
the  Mighty  One  will  renew  His  creation ' ;  and  in 
4  Ezr.  vii.  75:  'Thou  shalt  renew  the  creation.' 
The  hope  of  an  ideal  city,  too,  finds  frequent  men- 
tion in  Jewish  literature,  e.g.  in  Testaments  of  the 
Twelve  Patriarchs  (Dan,  v.  12) :  '  And,  in  the  New 
Jerusalem  shall  the  righteous  rejoice,  and  it  shall 
be  unto  the  glory  of  God  for  ever ' ;  this  is  the 
earliest  occurrence  of  the  expression  '  New  Jeru- 
salem,' but  here  it  simply  implies  the  rebuilding  of 
the  old  city.  The  idea  emerges  fully  for  the  first 
time  in  1  En.  xc.  28,  29,  where  the  pre-existence 
of  the  New  Jerusalem  is  implied  though  not 
specifically  assigned  to  the  new  house  brought  arid 
set  up  by  God  Himself  :  '  They  folded  up  that  old 
house.  .  .  .  And  I  saw  till  the  Lord  of  the  sheep 
brought  a  new  house  greater  and  loftier  than  that 
first,  and  set  it  up  in  the  place  of  the  first  which 
had  been  folded  up:  all  its  pillars  were  new,  and 
its  ornaments  were  new  and  larger  than  those  of 
the  first,  the  old  one  which  He  had  taken  away, 
and  all  the  sheep  were  within  it '  (cf.  liii.  6).  The 
heavenly  Jerusalem  in  4  Ezra  is  described  as  '  the 
city  that  now  is  invisible '  (vii.  26),  '  a  City  builded ' 
(viii.  52,  x.  27),  'the  [heavenly]  pattern  of  her  [the 
earthly  city] '  (x.  49) ;  its  descent  from  heaven  is 
mentioned  in  xiii.  36 :  '  And  Sion  shall  come  and  shall 
be  made  manifest  to  all  men,  prepared  and  builded, 
even  as  thou  didst  see  the  mountain  cut  out  with- 
out hands,'  while  its  preservation  in  heaven  is  re- 
ferred to  in  2  Bar.  iv.  2-7  :  '  This  building  now  built 
in  your  midst  is  not  that  which  is  revealed  with 
Me,  that  which  was  prepared  beforehand  here  from 
the  time  when  I  took  counsel  to  make  Paradise, 
and  showed  it  to  Adam  before  he  sinned,  but  when 
he  transgressed  the  commandment  it  was  removed 
from  him,  as  also  Paradise.  And  after  these 
things  I  showed  it  to  My  servant  Abraham  by 
night  among  the  portions  of  the  victims.  And 
again  also  I  showed  it  to  Moses  on  Mount  Sinai 
when  I  showed  to  him  the  likeness  of  the  taber- 
nacle and  all  its  vessels.  And  now,  behold,  it  is 
preserved  with  Me,  as  also  Paradise.'  The  idea  of 
the  new  city  as  simply  a  purification  of  the  old 
appears  in  1  En.  x.  16-19:  'Destroy  all  wrong 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  .  .  .  And  then  shall  ail 
the  righteous  escape,  and  shall  live  till  they  beget 
thousands  of  children,  and  all  the  days  of  their 
youth  and  their  old  age  shall  they  complete  in 
peace.  And  then  shall  the  whole  earth  be  tilled 
in  righteousness,  and  shall  all  be  planted  with 
trees  and  be  full  of  blessing';  also  in  xxv.  1-6: 


'  This  high  mountain  which  thou  hast  seen,  whose 
summit  is  like  the  throne  of  God,  is  His  throne, 
where  the  Holy  Great  One,  the  Lord  of  Glory,  the 
Eternal  King,  will  sit,  when  He  shall  come  down 
to  visit  the  earth  with  goodness.  And  as  for  this 
fragrant  tree  ...  it  shall  be  transplanted  to  the 
holy  place,  to  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  the  Eternal 
King.  Then  shall  they  rejoice  with  joy  and  be 
glad,  and  into  the  holy  place  shall  they  enter  ;  and 
its  fragrance  shall  be  in  their  bones,  and  they  shall 
live  a  long  life  on  earth,  such  as  thy  fathers  lived'; 
and  again  in  Pss.-Sol.  xvii.  25,  33:  'And  that  he 
may  purge  Jerusalem  from  nations  that  trample 
(her)  down  to  destruction ' ;  '  and  he  shall  purge 
Jerusalem,  making  it  holy  as  of  old.'  Tobit  men- 
tions the  ideal  city  in  1316- 17  :  '  For  Jerusalem  shall 
be  builded  with  sapphires  and  emeralds  and  precious 
stones  ;  thy  walls  and  towers  and  battlements  with 
pure  gold.  And  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  shall  be 
paved  with  beryl  and  carbuncle  and  stones  of 
Ophir.' 

2.  Rise  and  development  of  the  conception. — 
The  Jews  at  first  had  no  thought  of  any  change  in 
the  present  order  of  things  :  '  One  generation  goeth, 
and  another  generation  cometh ;  and  the  earth 
abideth  for  ever'  (Eel4);  'Who  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  earth,  that  it  should  not  be  moved  for 
ever '  (Ps  104s) ;  '  The  world  also  is  stablished,  that 
it  cannot  be  moved'  (931  9610) ;  '  He  hath  also  stab- 
lished them  [the  heavens]  for  ever  and  ever'  (1486). 
The  heavens  and  the  earth  formed  an  established 
order  of  things  that  would  be  eternal  in  duration. 
According  to  the  prophetic  teaching,  the  scene  of 
the  Messianic  Kingdom  was  to  be  the  present  earth, 
and  that  Kingdom  was  to  last  for  ever  ;  cf .  Is  l-5f-  : 
'And  I  will  .  .  .  throughly  purge  away  thy  dross, 
and  will  take  away  all  thy  tin  :  and  I  will  restore 
thy  judges  as  at  the  first,  and  thy  counsellors  as  at 
the  beginning  :  afterward  thou  shalt  be  called  The 
city  of  righteousness,  the  faithful  city';  Zeph  312f- : 
'  But  I  will  leave  in  the  midst  of  thee  an  afflicted 
and  poor  people,  and  they  shall  trust  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord.  The  remnant  of  Israel  shall  not  do 
iniquity,  nor  speak  lies  .  .  .  for  they  shall  feed 
and  lie  down,  and  none  shall  make  them  afraid ' ; 
Jer  23M>  :  '  Behold  ...  I  will  raise  unto  David  a 
righteous  Branch,  and  he  shall  reign  as  king  and 
deal  wisely.  .  .  .  In  his  days  Judah  shall  be  saved, 
and  Israel  shall  dwell  safely  ;  1215 :  '  After  that  I 
have  plucked  them  [the  hostile  nations]  up,  I  will 
return  and  have  compassion  on  them  ;  and  I  will 
bring  them  again,  every  man  to  his  heritage,  and 
every  man  to  his  land ' ;  Ezk  S?26''  :  '  I  will  place 
them  [Israel],  and  multiply  them,  and  will  set  my 
sanctuary  in  the  midst  of  them  for  evermore.  My 
tabernacle  also  shall  be  with  them  ;  and  I  will  he 
their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people.'  Is  22f- 
(  =  Mic  4lf-):  'The  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house 
shall  be  established  in  the  top  of  the  mountains, 
and  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills  ;  and  all  nations 
shall  flow  unto  it  ...  for  out  of  Zion  shall  go 
forth  the  law,  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from 
Jerusalem."  The  advent  of  the  Kingdom  at  first 
was  to  synchronize  with  the  return  from  exile,  but 
with  that  event  the  hopes  of  the  people  were  not 
fulfilled.  Haggai  and  Zechariah  expected,  how- 
ever, that  whenever  the  Temple  was  rebuilt,  the 
Messianic  Kingdom  would  be  ushered  in  (cf.  Hag 
27'9,  Zee  21"8).  With  Joel,  who  introduces  us  into 
the  apocalyptic  atmosphere,  we  find  the  same  con- 
ception, as  in  the  Prophets,  of  the  eternity  of  the 
Messianic  Kingdom  with  Jerusalem  as  its  centre  : 
'  So  shall  ye  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God, 
dwelling  in  Zion  my  holy  mountain  :  then  shall 
Jerusalem  be  holy,  and  there  shall  no  strangers 
pass  through  her  any  more.  .  .  .  But  Judah  shall 
abide  for  ever,  and  Jerusalem  from  generation  to 
generation  '  (317- 18-  w).  But  this  conception  gradu- 


NEW  JERUSALEM 


87 


ally  underwent  a  change  that  can  already  be  traced 
in  two  late  passages  of  the  OT,  viz.  Is  6517  G622, 
where  the  scene  of  the  Messianic  Kingdom  is  no 
longer  this  present  world  but  a  new  heaven  and  a 
new  earth.  Jerusalem  will  be  transformed  as  the 
metropolis  of  the  new  earth,  but  not  yet  created 
anew  as  the  New  Jerusalem  :  '  For,  behold,  I  create 
Jerusalem  a  rejoicing,  and  her  people  a  joy.  And 
I  will  rejoice  in  Jerusalem,  and  joy  in  my  people  : 
and  the  voice  of  weeping  shall  be  no  more  heard  in 
her,  nor  the  voice  of  crying.  There  shall  be  no 
more  thence  an  infant  of  days,  nor  an  old  man  that 
hath  not  filled  his  days :  for  the  child  shall  die 
an  hundred  years  old,  and  the  sinner  being  an 
hundred  years  old  shall  be  accursed.  And  they 
shall  build  houses,  and  inhabit  them  ;  and  they 
shall  plant  vineyards,  and  eat  the  fruit  of  them. 
.  .  .  The  wolf  and  the  lamb  shall  feed  together, 
and  the  lion  shall  eat  straw  like  the  ox  :  and  dust 
shall  be  the  serpent's  meat.  They  shall  not  hurt 
nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain,  saith  the 
Lord '  (6518""28).  The  two  late  passages  above  imply 
a  gradual  transformation  of  the  world — moral  and 
physical — an  idea  which  probably  betrays  Persian 
influence  (cf.  T.  K.  Cheyne,  Origin  of  the  Psalter 
[BL,  1889],  London,  1891,  p.  405).  The  same  idea 
is  perhaps  present  also  in  Is  5116  :  'And  I  have  put 
my  words  in  thy  mouth,  and  have  covered  thee  in 
the  shadow  of  mine  hand,  that  I  may  plant  the 
heavens,  and  lay  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  and 
say  unto  Zion,  Thou  art  my  people,'  but  if  so,  it  is 
a  foreign  element  adopted  in  eclectic  fashion  from 
Zoroastrianism  (cf.  B.  Duhm,  Das  Buck  Jesaia 
[  =  Ko\va,c\i'sHandkommentar  zum  A  T,  in.],  Gottin- 
gen,  1892,  p.  359).  Nowhere  else  in  the  OT  is  the 
Messianic  Kingdom  conceived  of  otherwise  than  as 
eternal  on  this  present  earth.  The  change  is,  how- 
ever, prepared  for  in  certain  post-Exilic  passages, 
e.g.  poetically  in  Is  516  :  '  Lift  up  your  eyes  to  the 
heavens,  and  look  upon  the  earth  beneath  :  for  the 
heavens  shall  vanish  away  like  smoke,  and  the 
earth  shall  wax  old  like  a  garment,  and  they  that 
dwell  therein  shall  die  in  like  manner :  but  my 
salvation  shall  be  for  ever,  and  my  righteousness 
shall  not  be  abolished ' ;  also  in  343*- :  '  Their  slain 
also  shall  be  cast  out,  and  the  mountains  shall  be 
melted  with  their  blood.  And  all  the  host  of 
heaven  shall  be  dissolved,  and  the  heavens  shall  be 
rolled  together  as  a  scroll :  and  all  their  host  shall 
fade  away,  as  the  leaf  fadeth  from  off  the  vine, 
and  as  a  fading  leaf  from  the  fig  tree ' ;  and  finally 
in  Ps  10225'',  which,  however,  may  simply  be  a 
reflexion  of  the  new  conception  from  the  Mac- 
cabsean  age  (cf.  C.  A.  Bnggs,  ICC,  'Psalms,' 
Edinburgh,  1907,  ad  loc.) :  'Of  old  hast  thou  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  earth  ;  and  the  heavens  are 
the  work  of  thy  hands.  They  shall  perish,  but 
thou  shalt  endure  :  yea,  all  of  them  shall  wax  old 
like  a  garment ;  as  a  vesture  shalt  thou  change 
them,  and  they  shall  be  changed.' 

Outside  the  OT  in  the  apocalyptic  literature  we 
have  to  look  for  the  further  progress  of  this  con- 
ception. The  gradual  moral  and  physical  trans- 
formation of  the  world  that  we  have  noticed  as  an 
adopted  feature  in  Isaiah  appears  again,  during 
the  2nd  cent.  B.C.,  in  Jub.  i.  29  (above);  also  in 
iv.  26  :  'and  Mount  Zion  (which)  will  be  sanctified 
in  the  new  creation  for  a  sanctification  of  the 
earth  ;  through  it  will  the  earth  be  sanctified  from 
all  (its)  guilt  and  its  uncleanness  throughout  the 
generations  of  the  world ' ;  '  And  the  days  shall 
begin  to  grow  many  and  increase  amongst  those 
children  of  men  till  their  days  draw  nigh  to  one 
thousand  years,  and  to  a  greater  number  of  years 
than  (before)  was  the  number  of  the  days'  (xxiii. 
27) ;  and  once  more  in  Test.  Levi,  xviii.  9 :  '  In  his 
[the  Messiah's]  priesthood  shall  sin  come  to  an  end, 
and  the  lawless  shall  cease  to  do  evil.'  It  was 


during  the  stern  days  of  the  Maccabees  that  the 
change  began  to  make  itself  felt  with  regard  to 
the  inappropriateness  of  the  present  world  as  the 
scene  of  the  future  Kingdom.  The  first  trace  of  it 
meets  us  in  1  En.  lxxxiii.-xc.,  which  Charles  dates 
before  161  B.C.  (cf.  R.  H.  Charles,  The  Book  of 
Enoch,  Oxford,  1912,  Introd.,  p.  lii).  Here  the 
centre  of  the  Kingdom  is  no  longer  the  earthly 
Jerusalem,  but  the  New  Jerusalem  brought  down 
from  heaven  (cf.  1  En.  xc.  28,  29,  supra).  A  puri- 
fied city  is  not  enough ;  a  new  and  heavenly  city 
must  take  the  place  of  the  old  and  earthly  city 
as  the  metropolis  of  the  world-wide  Messianic 
Kingdom.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  this  portion  of 
the  Book  of  Enoch  is  dated  very  shortly  after  the 
Book  of  Daniel  and  not  long  after  1  Enoch 
vi.-xxxvi.,  in  neither  of  which  does  the  New 
Jerusalem  yet  appear.  The  implication  in  the 
new  idea,  however,  was  not  logically  carried  out 
until  during  the  1st  cent.  B.C.  There  is  mention 
in  1  En.  xci.  16  of  a  new  heaven  but  not  of  a  new 
earth,  but  it  is  in  1  En.  xxxvii.-lxxi.  (94-64  B.C.) 
that  we  have  for  the  first  time  the  conception  of  a 
new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  consistently  set  forth. 
In  1  En.  xlv.  4,  5  the  idea  is  accepted  in  its  entire 
significance  implying  the  immortal  blessedness  of 
man  :  '  And  I  will  cause  Mine  elect  ones  to  dwell 
upon  it :  but  the  sinners  and  evil-doers  shall  not 
set  foot  thereon'  (cf.  Is  6520,  where  rather  illogi- 
cally  the  wicked  still  live  on  the  new  earth).  The 
author  of  the  Parables  (i.e.  1  En.  xxxvii.-lxxi.) 
stands  apart  from  his  contemporaries  in  this  new 
conception  of  the  scene  of  the  Messianic  Kingdom 
and  also  apart  from  the  writers  of  the  1st  cent. 
A.D.,  with  regard  to  the  duration  of  the  King- 
dom ;  for  while  most  other  writers  left  behind 
the  OT  idea  of  an  everlasting  Kingdom  and 
expected  only  a  temporary  one  on  the  present 
earth,  he  holds  to  the  eternal  duration  of  the 
Kingdom,  contributing  the  new  and  fruitful  con- 
ception of  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  as  the 
scene  of  it.  It  is  here,  therefore,  in  the  apocalyptic 
literature  that  we  find  the  immediate  source  of  the 
Christian  hope  of  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth 
Avhich  meets  us  in  the  NT.  During  the  first  seven 
decades  of  the  1st  cent.  A.D.,  i.e.  up  to  the  time 
of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the  prevalent 
thought  was  that  of  a  temporary  Messianic 
Kingdom  with  the  earth  as  its  scene,  described 
sometimes  in  a  very  materialistic  fashion,  as  in  2 
Bar.  xxix.  5  :  '  The  earth  also  shall  yield  its  fruit 
ten  thousandfold  and  on  each  vine  there  shall  be  a 
thousand  branches,  and  each  branch  will  produce 
a  thousand  clusters,  and  each  cluster  will  produce 
a  thousand  grapes,  and  each  grape  will  produce  a 
cor  of  wine.'  The  spiritual  change  too  in  the 
members  of  the  Kingdom  seems  to  be  wrought  in 
a  mechanical  fashion,  for  sin  disappears  suddenly 
rather  by  Divine  fiat  than  by  any  gradual  process, 
in  striking  contrast  to  what  we  saw  in  Jubilees, 
Isaiah,  and  The  Testaments  of  the  Twelve  Patri- 
archs. The  duration  of  the  temporary  Kingdom 
appears  in  4  Ezr.  vii.  28,  29  as  400  years,  but  in 
2  En.  xxxii.,  xxxiii.  as  1,000  years,  to  which  the 
Christian  view  of  the  Millennium  owes  its  origin. 
Even  the  thought  of  a  temporary  Messianic 
Kingdom  is  at  times  given  up,  especially  after  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  for  the  present  earth  is 
wholly  unfit  for  the  advent  of  the  Messiah ;  a 
renewal  of  the  world  is  felt  to  be  necessary — a 
renewal  that  will  be  everlasting  and  incorruptible 
(cf.  4  Ezr.  vii.  75).  It  is  in  these  last  decades  of 
the  1st  cent.  A.D.,  after  the  earthly  Jerusalem  has 
gone,  that  the  thought  of  the  New  Jerusalem  re- 
appears as  the  centre  of  the  renewed  world  to 
which  all  hopes  are  turned,  and  here  we  encounter 
the  writings  of  the  NT,  which  contain  that  sub- 
limest  of  descriptions  of  the  New  Jerusalem  in  the 


NEW  JERUSALEM 


NEW  JERUSALEM 


Christian  Apocalypse.  The  conception  of  the 
Millennium,  or  the  reign  of  Christ  for  a  thousand 
years  on  the  present  earth,  with  Jerusalem  as  the 
metropolis  of  this  temporary  Kingdom,  occurs  only 
in  the  Apocalypse  (cf.  Rev  204~6),  no  place  being 
found  for  it  elsewhere  in  the  NT.  It  is  a  concep- 
tion with  an  exclusively  Jewish  basis,  but  one  that 
opens  the  way  for  the  idea  of  a  new  era  of  blessed- 
ness, not  on  the  present  earth  but  in  a  renewed 
world  ;  at  the  close  of  the  Millennium  the  present 
order  of  things  passes  away — 'And  I  saw  a  great 
white  throne,  and  him  that  sat  upon  it,  from  whose 
face  the  earth  and  the  heaven  fled  away  ;  and 
there  was  found  no  place  for  them'  (Rev  2011) ; 
'  And  I  saw  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  :  for 
the  first  heaven  and  the  first  earth  are  passed  away ' 
(211).  This  is  the  scene  of  the  final  consummation, 
and  the  centre  of  it  is  no  more  the  earthly  Jerusalem 
or  a  purified  Jerusalem,  but  the  New  Jerusalem 
that  comes  down  from  heaven — from  God  Himself 
(v.2).  It  is  the  same  city  that  the  author  of 
Hebrews,  writing  some  time  before  the  author  of 
the  Apocalypse,  has  in  mind  when  he  refers  to 
Abraham,  who  '  looked  for  the  city  which  hath  the 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God'  (He 
II10);  it  is  'the  heavenly  Jerusalem'  (1222),  the 
centre  of  that  Kingdom  '  that  cannot  be  shaken,' 
for  '  yet  once  more  will  I  make  to  tremble  not  the 
earth  only,  but  also  the  heaven.  And  this  word, 
Yet  once  more,  signifieth  the  removing  of  those 
things  that  are  shaken,  as  of  things  that  have 
been  made,  that  those  things  which  are  not  shaken 
may  remain'  (12-6'28).  Even  earlier  in  the  century 
St.  Paul  has  the  same  thought,  not  yet,  however, 
developed,  of  the  new  city,  '  the  Jerusalem  that  is 
above '  (Gal  426),  and  the  same  idea  is  present  when 
he  says,  '  Our  citizenship  is  in  heaven  '  (Ph  3'-°). 

3.  The  description  of  the  New  Jerusalem  (Rev 
219-225). — The  details  of  this  sublime  description 
are  typically  Jewish,  but  the  thought  is  pre-emi- 
nently Christian.  The  earthly  Jerusalem  had 
been  in  ruins  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  Hadrian's 
new  city  was  not  yet  in  existence,  and  the  Chris- 
tian Seer  had  no  thought  of  the  possibility  of 
rebuilding  the  old.  The  new  city  must  come 
down  from  heaven  to  be  a  fitting  abode  for  Christ 
and  the  saints.  The  Seer  represents  himself  as 
being  shown  '  the  holy  city '  from  a  high  mountain 
by  one  of  the  seven  angels  (219- 10).  '  Her  light 
was  like  unto  a  jasper  stone,  clear  as  crystal : 
having  a  wall  great  and  high  ;  having  twelve  gates, 
and  at  the  gates  twelve  angels  ;  and  names  written 
thereon,  which  are  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes 
of  the  children  of  Israel :  on  the  east  were  three 
gates ;  and  on  the  north  three  gates ;  and  on  the 
south  three  gates ;  and  on  the  west  three  gates. 
And  the  wall  of  the  city  had  twelve  foundations, 
and  on  them  twelve  names  of  the  twelve  apostles 
of  the  Lamb'  (vv.11'14).  As  in  Ezekiel's  city,  the 
twelve  gates  of  the  New  Jerusalem  bear  the  names 
of  the  twelve  tribes — three  names  on  each  side  of 
its  foursquare  order  (cf.  Ezk  4830-35).  But  besides 
these,  there  appear  twelve  other  names  on  the 
city  wall ;  between  each  pair  of  gateways  above 
the  surface  of  the  rock  is  a  foundation  stone,  and 
each  stone  bears  the  name  of  an  apostle.  The 
same  connexion  of  the  twelve  tribes  and  the  twelve 
apostles  appears  in  Mt  1928,  where  Jesus  says  of 
His  disciples  :  '  in  the  regeneration  when  the  Son 
of  man  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  his  glory,  ye 
also  shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones  judging  the 
twelve  tribes  of  Israel.'  St.  Paul  has  a  similar 
thought  when  speaking  of  the  Ephesians  :  '  Ye  are 
fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  house- 
hold of  God,  being  built  upon  the  foundation  of 
the  apostles  and  prophets,  Christ  Jesus  himself 
being  the  chief  corner  stone'  (Eph  219-  20).  The 
heavenly  city  is  measured  by  the  angel  with  a 


golden  measuring  rod  (Rev  2115).  'And  the  city 
lieth  foursquare,  and  the  length  thereof  is  as  great 
as  the  breadth  :  and  "he  measured  the  city  with 
the  reed,  twelve  thousand  furlongs :  the  length 
and  the  breadth  and  the  height  thereof  are  equal. 
And  he  measured  the  wall  thereof,  a  hundred  and 
forty  and  four  cubits,  according  to  the  measure 
of  a  man,  that  is,  of  an  angel'  (v.16f>).  Moffatt 
translates :  '  he  measured  fifteen  hundred  miles 
with  his  rod  for  the  City,  for  its  breadth  ,and 
length  and  height  alike ;  he  made  the  measure  of 
the  wall  seventy-two  yards,  by  human,  that  is,  by 
angelic  reckoning'  (The  New  Testament:  A  New 
Translation,  London,  1913).  It  is  a  huge  cube, 
as  high  as  it  is  broad  and  long,  like  the  Holy  of 
Holies  in  Solomon's  Temple  (cf.  1  K  6-°),  only  the 
measurements  are  hyperbolical.  The  wall  is  out 
of  all  proportion  to  the  height  of  the  city,  but 
both  heights,  it  ought  to  be  noted,  are  multiples 
of  twelve,  the  number  of  the  tribes  and  of  the 
apostles. 

Rev  2118'21 :  '  And  the  building  of  the  wall  thereof 
was  jasper  :  and  the  city  was  pure  gold,  like  unto 
pure  glass.  The  foundations  of  the  wall  of  the 
city  were  adorned  with  all  manner  of  precious 
stones.  The  first  foundation  was  jasper ;  the 
second,  sapphire ;  the  third,  chalcedony ;  the 
fourth,  emerald ;  the  fifth,  sardonyx ;  the  sixth, 
sardius ;  the  seventh,  chrysolite ;  the  eighth, 
beryl ;  the  ninth,  topaz  ;  the  tenth,  chrysoprase ; 
the  eleventh,  jacinth ;  the  twelfth,  amethyst. 
And  the  twelve  gates  were  twelve  pearls ;  each 
one  of  the  several  gates  was  of  one  pearl :  and  the 
street  of  the  city  was  pure  gold,  as  it  were 
transparent  glass'  (cf.  also  Is  54llf-  and  To  1316t). 
Similar  lists  occur  in  Ezk  2813  of  the  precious 
stones  with  which  the  king  of  Tyre  was  covered, 
and  in  Ex  2817'20  3910'13  of  the  gems  set  in  the 
breastplate  of  the  high  priest ;  the  latter  are  repro- 
duced in  the  Apocalypse  evidently  from  memory, 
as  the  lists  do  not  completely  coincide.  What  was 
exclusively  for  the  high  priest's  breastplate  is  now 
for  the  whole  city  of  the  New  Jerusalem — the 
foundation  stones  with  the  names  of  the  apostles 
are  brilliant  with  all  manner  of  sparkling  gems, 
and  each  gate  consists  of  a  single  monster  pearl. 

Rev  21-2f< :  '  And  I  saw  no  temple  therein  :  for 
the  Lord  God  the  Almighty,  and  the  Lamb,  are 
the  temple  thereof.  And  the  city  hath  no  need  of 
the  sun,  neither  of  the  moon,  to  shine  upon  it :  for 
the  glory  of  God  did  lighten  it,  and  the  lamp 
thereof  is  the  Lamb.'  The  actual  presence  of  God 
and  the  Christ  in  the  City  forms  the  sanctuary ; 
similarly  in  2  Co  616  St.  Paul  says :  '  we  are  a 
temple  of  the  living  God  ;  even  as  God  said,  I  will 
dwell  in  them,  and  walk  in  them ;  and  I  will  be 
their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people ' ;  only 
what  St.  Paul  says  of  individuals  the  Seer  says  of 
the  ideal  city  as  a  whole.  No  need  in  such  a  place 
for  any  created  light,  since  the  Divine  presence  is 
there  illuminating  all ;  its  sun  is  the  glory  of  the 
Father,  and  its  lamp  the  glorified  Son.  There  is 
here  a  fulfilment  of  the  ideal  in  Is  601M-  :  '  The 
sun  shall  be  no  more  thy  light  by  day  ;  neither  for 
brightness  shall  the  moon  give  light  unto  thee : 
but  the  Lord  shall  be  unto  thee  an  everlasting 
light,  and  thy  God  thy  glory.  ..." 

Rev  2124"27  :  '  And  the  nations  shall  walk  amidst 
the  light  thereof ;  and  the  kings  of  the  earth  do 
bring  their  glory  into  it.  And  the  gates  thereof 
shall  in  no  wise  be  shut  by  day  (for  there  shall  be 
no  night  there) :  and  they  shall  bring  the  glory 
and  the  honour  of  the  nations  into  it :  and  there 
shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  it  anything  unclean,  or 
he  that  maketh  an  abomination  and  a  lie :  but 
only  they  which  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of 
life.'  The  traits  are  all  found  in  Isaiah:  'And 
nations  shall  come  to  thy  light,  and  kings  to  the 


NEW  MOON 


NEW  MOON 


8S 


brightness  of  thy  rising '  (60s) ;  '  Thy  gates  also 
shall  be  open  continually ;  they  shall  not  be  shut 
day  nor  night ;  that  men  may  bring  unto  thee  the 
wealth  of  the  nations,  and  their  kings  led  with 
them '  (v.11) ;  '  henceforth  there  shall  no  more  come 
into  thee  the  uncircumcised  and  the  unclean'  (521). 

The  description  closes  in  Rev  221'6  :  v.H- :  'And 
he  shewed  me  a  river  of  water  of  life,  bright 
as  crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the  throne  of  God 
and  of  the  Lamb,  in  the  midst  of  the  street  thereof. 
And  on  this  side  of  the  river  and  on  that  was  the 
tree  of  life,  bearing  twelve  manner  of  fruits,  yield- 
ing its  fruit  every  month  :  and  the  leaves  of  the 
tree  were  for  the  healing  of  the  nations.'  The  old 
Jerusalem  had  been  in  a  waterless  region,  but 
already  Ezekiel  saw  'waters'  issuing  out  'from 
under  the  threshold  of  the  house  eastward,'  and 
falling  into  the  Kedron  valley,  and  finally  making 
their  way  to  the  Dead  Sea  (cf.  Ezk  471'12) ;  and  in 
Zee  148  there  is  the  expectation  that,  when  the  day 
of  the  Lord  cometh,  'living  waters  shall  go  out 
from  Jerusalem  ;  half  of  them  toward  the  eastern 
sea,  and  half  of  them  toward  the  western  sea :  in 
summer  and  in  winter  shall  it  be.'  In  the  New 
Jerusalem  the  source  of  the  river  is  in  the  throne 
of  God  and  the  Lamb,  and  on  its  banks  is  the  tree 
of  life,  the  generic  singular  here  going  back  to 
Gn  29,  though  the  representation  has  its  origin  in 
Ezk  4712  :  '  And  by  the  river  upon  the  bank  there- 
of, on  this  side  and  on  that  side,  shall  grow  every 
tree  for  meat,  whose  leaf  shall  not  wither,  neither 
shall  the  fruit  thereof  fail :  it  shall  bring  forth 
new  fruit  every  month,  because  the  waters  thereof 
issue  out  of  the  sanctuary :  and  the  fruit  thereof 
shall  be  for  meat,  and  the  leaf  thereof  for  healing.' 
A  fragrant  tree  is  mentioned  in  Enoch,  xxv.  4f., 
which  '  no  mortal  is  permitted  to  touch  till  the 
great  judgement,  when  he  shall  take  vengeance 
on  all  and  bring  (everything)  to  its  consummation 
for  ever.  It  shall  then  be  given  to  the  righteous 
and  holy.  Its  fruit  shall  be  for  food  to  the  elect : 
it  shall  be  transplanted  to  the  holy  place,  to  the 
temple  of  the  Lord,  the  Eternal  King.'  For  the 
Christian  Seer,  the  river  flows  through  the  heavenly 
city  and  the  leaves  of  the  trees  on  its  banks  serve 
to  heal  the  nations. 

Vv.3:8 :  '  And  there  shall  be  no  curse  any  more  : 
and  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be 
therein :  and  his  servants  shall  do  him  service  ; 
and  they  shall  see  his  face  ;  and  his  name  shall 
be  on  their  foreheads.  And  there  shall  be  night 
no  more ;  and  they  need  no  light  of  lamp,  neither 
light  of  sun ;  for  the  Lord  God  shall  give  them 
light:  and  they  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever.' 
The  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  takes  the 
place  of  the  Temple  ;  there  is  nothing  needed  to 
symbolize  the  Divine  Presence  in  the  Heavenly 
City,  for  that  Presence  itself  is  visible.  Nowhere 
else  do  we  find  it  stated  that  there  will  be  no 
temple  in  the  New  City.  It  is  the  climax  of  the 
Christian  hope.  The  faithful  shall  see  His  face 
and  abide  with  the  Christ  for  ever. 

The  whole  description  is  in  some  respects  still  a 
material  one,  like  the  Jewish  descriptions  we  have 
cited,  but  it  soars  above  its  Jewish  basis  and 
presents  us  with  the  ancient  hope  of  the  people 
of  God  glorified  and  transformed  by  the  Christian 
Seer. 

LITERATURE.— R.  H.  Charles,  The  Apocrypha  and  Pseudepi- 
grapha  of  the  OT  in  English,  2  vols.,  Oxford,  1913,  Eschatology, 
Hebrnc,  Jewish,  and  Christian*,  London,  1913 ;  W.  Bousset, 
Die  Offenbarung  Johannif6  (Meyer's  Kommentar  zum  NT,  xvi.), 
Gottingen,  1906 ;  H.  B.  Swete,  The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John*, 
London,  1907;  J.  Moffatt,  EGT,  ' Revelation,'  do.,  1910. 

J.  ROBERTSON  BUCHANAN. 

NEW  MOON.  —  The  term  veofjL-rjvia  or  vov^via 
('  new  moon  ')  as  the  name  of  a  festal  season  occurs 
only  once  in  the  NT — Col  216.  It  is  not  used  as  a 
purely  chronological  term. 


The  Vulg.,  it  may  be  observed,  uses  a  simple  transliteratiot 
(neomenia)  in  the  passage  named,  as  also  in  some  other  places 
(e.g.  Is  I13,  Jth  86),  whilst  elsewhere  it  uses  calendat  as  =  '  new 
moon  '  (e.g.  in  1  S  20).  The  usage  is  not  altogether  consistent, 
but  a  rough  distinction  is  perhaps  intended  between  'new 
moon '  as  denoting  a  festival  and  as  simply  a  note  of  time.  In 
ancient  times  the  beginning  of  the  month  was  proclaimed 
amongst  the  Jews  by  the  high  priest  or  president  of  the  Sanhe- 
drin  when  two  witnesses  had  satisfactorily  testified  to  the  appear- 
ance of  the  new  moon.  The  Romans  had  a  parallel  custom  in 
the  proclamation  of  the  month  by  the  Pontif  ex  Maximus.  Hence 
in  this  respect  calendce,  the  Roman  name  for  the  first  day  of 
the  month  (the  day  of  proclamation),  was  a  good  Lat.  equivalent 
for  the  Hebrew  rosh-hd-hodesh,  or  '  new  moon.'  Note  also 
Tertullian's  use  of  neomenia  when  referring  to  the  new  moon 
as  a  festival  (de  Idol.  14).  '  In  later  usage  vov^via.  signifies 
generally  the  first  day  of  the  month,  even  when,  according  to 
the  calendar  employed,  the  months  did  not  begin  with  the  new 
moon'  (Schurer,  HJP  n.  i.  377). 

The  NT  stands  in  great  contrast  to  the  OT  in 
its  paucity  of  reference  to  the  '  new  moon.'  '  New 
moon '  figures  in  the  OT  as  a  familiar  and  important 
season  in  the  time-scheme  of  Hebrew  life  (see  1  S  20, 
2  K  4s3)  with  some  holiday  relaxations  and  customs 
associated  with  it.  So  was  it  with  other  peoples 
from  earliest  times. 

It  would  be  to  go  beyond  our  limits  to  venture 
on  a  general  treatment  of  the  subject  here.  For 
this  see,  inter  alia,  the  art.  '  New  Moon '  by 
I.  Abrahams  in  HDB.  Still  it  may  be  said  that  a 
reference  to  the  moon  and  its  changes  naturally 
and  inevitably  entered  into  the  first  attempts  of 
primitive  man  to  mark  periods  of  time.  After  the 
immediate  and  primary  distinction  between  day  and 
night,  arising  from  the  regular  appearance  and 
disappearance  of  the  sun,  the  recognition  of  the 
month  as  the  period  covered  by  the  surprising  and 
ever- fascinating  phenomena  of  the  moon's  phases 
marked  an  important  step  in  advance.  And  when 
due  study  of  the  procession  of  the  seasons  and  the 
attendant  solar  phenomena  led  to  the  measuring 
of  a  year,  the  moon-period  lost  none  of  its  import- 
ance. The  ancients,  however,  soon  found  them- 
selves confronted  with  puzzling  problems  in  the 
effort  to  relate  the  months  to  the  years.  The  fixed 
idea  that  every  month  must  begin  with  the  appear- 
ance of  the  new  moon  brought  endless  difficulties 
in  its  train.  It  took  centuries  to  substitute  the 
calendar  month  for  the  lunar  month  and  secure  as 
nearly  as  possible  that  the  year  should  comprise 
twelve  monthly  periods  preserving  the  same  order 
of  succession  and  a  fixed  correspondence  with  the 
seasons. 

We  can  understand,  too,  how  primitive  man  must 
instinctively  have  made  the  reappearance  of  the 
moon  after  obscuration  an  occasion  for  festal  re- 
joicing. Even  now  we  feel  the  charm  of  the  first 
sight  of  the  delicate  pale  crescent  in  the  sky.  And 
how  natural  it  was  that  the  celebration  of  the  new 
moon  should  enter  into  the  religion  of  nature- 
worshipping  men,  to  whom  the  sun  and  moon 
were  veritable  gods  and  the  terms  '  King  of  Day  ' 
and  '  Queen  of  the  Night '  more  than  poetic  ex- 
pressions !  (As  to  the  latter,  we  must  not  forget 
that  the  moon  was  regarded  amongst  some  people 
as  a  masculine  deity,  as  the  German  der  Mond  bears 
witness.  Grimm  [Teutonic  Mythology,  ed.  Stally- 
brass,  London,  1882-88,  ii.  704]  quotes  an  old  Norse 
incantation,  calling  upon  '  New  Moon,  gracious 
Lord '  [cf.  art.  '  Moon '  in  Chambers's  Encyc.  vol. 
vii.  (1891)].)  Traces  of  such  deification  are  suffi- 
ciently present  in  the  OT  :  see  Job  3126f-,  2  K  23s, 
etc.  ;  whilst  the  phrasing  of  Gn  I16  in  the  creation- 
story  surely  echoes  such  conceptions  of  more 
ancient  days. 

The  incorporation  of  the  New  Moon  as  a  festival 
— both  a  holy  day  and  a  holiday — among  Jewish 
feasts  is  best  explained  as  the  effort  of  monotheism 
to  take  up  institutions  already  long  existing,  free 
them  from  objectionable  features,  and  make  them 
subservient  to  a  worthier  faith.  Cf.  the  action 
taken  by  the  Christian  Church  in  relation  to  pagan 


90 


NEW  MOON 


NICOLAITANS 


festivals  (e.g.  Yule — Christmas),  overlaying  them 
with  new  religious  associations. 

When  we  consider  how  conspicuously  the  Sabbath 
figures  in  the  NT,  and  what  traces  we  have  of  such 
great  annual  feasts  as  Passover  and  Pentecost,  it 
is  singular  that,  save  for  a  passing  reference  in 
Col  216  and  Gal  410,  we  have  no  hint  that  a  monthly 
festival  was  still  observed  in  apostolic  times.  We 
might  have  concluded  but  for  these  passages  that 
the  New  Moon,  so  prominent  in  the  OT,  had  fallen 
into  desuetude.  But  in  St.  Paul's  phrasing  in 
these  two  passages  (especially  Col  216)  there  re- 
appears the  three-fold  classification  of  Jewish  feasts 
which  had  become  fixed  in  post-Exilic  times  (see 
Ezk  4517,  '  in  the  feasts  and  in  the  new  moons  and 
in  the  sabbaths ' ;  cf.  Ezr  35).  The  classification 
plainly  rests  on  the  fundamental  time-scheme : 
year,  month,  week  (see  also  the  particularly  in- 
teresting grouping  in  Jth  86 :  '  the  eves  of  the 
sabbaths,  and  the  sabbaths,  and  the  eves  of  the 
new  moons,  and  the  new  moons,  and  the  feasts 
and  joyful  days  of  the  house  of  Israel ').  St.  Paul 
would  not  have  spoken  of  '  new  moon '  and 
'  months '  were  it  not  that,  as  we  know,  the  pro- 
clamation of  new  moon  and  the  attendant  celebra- 
tions were  still  regular  features  of  Jewish  life. 
But  it  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  whilst  the  Christian 
Church  developed  a  system  of  festivals  closely 
parallel  to  that  of  the  Jews  in  some  of  its  out- 
standing features  (Sabbath,  Passover,  Pentecost), 
it  provided  no  counterpart  to  the  festival  of  the 
New  Moon. 

In  the  4th  cent.,  it  is  true,  we  find  St.  Chryso- 
stom  vigorously  denouncing  Christians  for  obser- 
ving the  neomenia  (Horn.  23 :  'in  Kalendas '  or  '  in 
eos  qui  novilunia  observant ' — quoted  by  Joseph 
Bingham,  Antiquities,  XVI.  iv.  17  [Works,  new 
ed.,  vi.  (Oxford,  1855)  226  n.]).  He  complains  of 
their  giving  way  to  intemperance  and  excess  and 
practising  divination  in  the  hope  of  good  luck. 
The  things  he  condemns,  however,  were  pagan, 
not  Jewish.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
St.  Paul  in  deprecating  the  observance  of  seasons 
in  this  way  had  the  thought  of  such  disorderly 
practices  in  his  mind.  So  far  as  divination,  e.g. ,  is 
concerned,  its  connexion  with  the  new  moon  must 
be  of  very  ancient  origin.  Babylon  had  her 
'  monthly  prognosticators  '  (Is  4713).  Some  quaint 
innocuous  superstitions  still  lingering  in  folk-lore 
and  connected  with  the  first  sight  of  the  new  moon, 
notions  of  good  and  bad  luck  attending  thereon, 
no  doubt  have  descended  from  some  such  ancient, 
far-off  source.  But  Judaism  has  no  trace  of  such 
features  in  the  history  of  its  New  Moon  celebra- 
tion. 

The  Apostle  is  thinking  of  nothing  but  the 
observance  of  a  system  of  times  and  seasons  (the 
religious  observance  even)  such  as  the  Jews  had, 
and  its  introduction  into  the  life  of  the  new  com- 
munity. He  is  apprehensive  ('I  am  afraid '  [Gal 
411])  lest  harmful  results  should  follow,  imperilling 
their  Christian  liberty  and  bringing  them  under  a 
'  yoke  of  bondage.'  The  Epistle  to  Diognetus,  iv. 
(early  2nd  cent.  ?)  speaks  disparagingly,  if  not 
contemptuously,  of  Jewish  '  superstitions  relat- 
ing to  the  Sabbaths  .  .  .  and  their  fancies  about 
fasting  and  the  new  moon,'  and  shows  that  St. 
Paul's  warning  was  not  lost  upon  Christians  of  the 
following  generations.  Still  the  Apostle's  own 
doctrine  of  liberty  as  touching  the  observance  or 
non-observance  of  such  seasons  (see  Ho  14)  must 
not  be  overlooked ;  and  in  Col  216,  as  Hort  points  out 
(Judaistic  Christianity,  Cambridge,  1894,  p.  123), 
'  the  ceremonial  distinctions  do  not  appear  to  be 
condemned  in  themselves :  the  Colossians  are 
simply  warned  in  a  strain  hardly  different  from 
that  of  Rom.  xiv.  not  to  allow  anyone  to  "  judge  " 
them  in  such.' 


As  to  the  mode  of  observing  the  day  of  the  new 
moon  in  NT  times,  we  know  that  (as  in  the  case  of 
other  festivals)  substantial  changes  had  taken  place 
as  compared  with  what  the  OT  reveals  concerning 
earlier  days.  There  was  a  time  when,  like  the 
Sabbath,  New  Moon  was  observed  by  cessation  of 
business  (Am  85)  and  labour,  although  no  Penta- 
teuchal  legislation  provides  for  this.  In  the  post- 
Exilic  period  this  disappears  except  in  the  case  of 
women.  A  faint  and  curious  trace  survives  to  this 
day  in  the  fact  that  the  Jewish  house- wife,  whilst 
fre'ely  discharging  such  domestic  duties  as  cooking, 
makes  a  point  of  refraining  from  needlework  and 
employments  related  to  her  personal  convenience 
on  the  day  of  the  new  moon.  Again,  with  the  fall 
of  the  Temple,  the  appointed  sacrificial  rites 
(Nu  28Uff<)  disappeared.  At  the  same  time  the 
silver  trumpets  (Nu  1010,  Ps  81s)  ceased  to  sound. 
The  only  trumpet-blast  that  has  since  been  heard 
in  the  synagogues  of  Jewry  is  that  of  the  shophdr, 
which  is  still  sounded  on  the  great  New  Moon, 
'  the  first  day  of  the  seventh  month,'  i.e.  the  New 
Year's  Day  of  the  civil  year.  It  is  pre-eminently 
a  call  to  repentance. 

No  doubt  St.  Paul  knew  the  sound  of  the  shophdr  well ;  but 
there  does  not  seem  enough  ground  for  suggesting,  as  Edersheim 
does,  that  Eph  514  ('  Awake  ! ')  was  inspired  by  the  thought  of 
that  call,  or  that  in  Eph  58  we  have  an  underlying  reference  to 
the  appearance  of  the  new  moon  (The  Temple:  its  Ministry 
and  Services,  London,  1908,  ch.  xv.  p.  300  f.). 

The  synagogue  prayers  now  used  for  New  Moon 
reflect  in  some  portions,  notwithstanding  changes 
introduced  in  later  periods,  the  usage  of  the  syn- 
agogue whilst  yet  the  Temple  was  standing.  The 
constant  petition  that  God  will  '  establish  a  new 
altar  on  Zion '  so  that  '  the  burnt-offering  of  the 
New  Moon '  may  again  be  offered,  is  arrestive  and 
may  even  seem  pathetic  to  a  Christian  mind.  But 
all  can  feel  the  beauty  of  the  prayer  :  '  Renew  this 
month  unto  us  for  good  and  for  blessing,  for  joy 
and  gladness,  for  salvation  and  consolation,  for 
support  and  peace,  for  pardon  of  sin  and  forgive- 
ness of  iniquity.' 

LITERATURE.—  Besides  the  works  alluded'to  in  the  article,  see 
artt.  'New  Moon'  and  'Time'  in  HDB;  'New  Moon'  and 
'  Month '  in  EBi  ;  '  Festivals  and  Fasts  (Hebrew) '  in  ERE ; 
•New  Moon'  in  JE;  J.  Meinhold,  Sabbat  und  Woche  im  Alien 
Testament,  Gottingen,  1905  ;  E.  Schiirer,  HJP  I.  ii.  [Edin- 
burgh, 1890]  App.  III. ;  K.  Wieseler,  A  Chronological  Synopsis 
of  the  Four  Gospels,  Eng.  tr.,  Cambridge,  1864,  p.  401  flf. 

J.  S.  CLEMENS. 

NICANOR. — The  name  is  Greek,  but  was  prob- 
ably prevalent  in  Syria,  as  we  find  one  of  the 
generals  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  called  by  it 
(2  Mac  89).  It  is  more  than  likely,  therefore,  that 
he  was  a  Hellenist  Jew  of  Syria.  He  is  mentioned 
as  one  of  the  Seven  in  Ac  65,  a  man  of  repute 
among  the  brethren,  but  we  hear  and  know  no 
more  of  him.  W.  A.  SPOONER. 

NICOLAITANS.— The  name  signifies  'followers 
of  Nicolas,'  as  Nicolas  =' conqueror  of  the  people.' 
They  are  mentioned  twice  in  the  NT  (Rev  2*- '«)  as 
a  party  at  Ephesus  and  also  at  Pergamum,  whose 
tenets  were  similar,  it  seems,  in  the  judgment  of 
the  writer,  to  those  of  Balaam  (q.v.)  in' that  they 
enjoined  or  permitted  laxity  in  ceremonial  (the 
eating  of  food  offered  to  idols)  and  in  social  morals. 
There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  Nicolaitans 
would  have  accepted  this  judgment  as  anything 
but  an  illegitimate  inference  from  their  principles. 
In  the  Apostolic  Church,  as  ever  since,  two  schools 
of  thought  were  opposed  to  each  other — that  which 
was  more  Jewish  in  character  and  that  which  was 
more  Greek.  The  former  speaks  in  the  Apocalypse 
of  John  and  the  latter  in  the  Gospel  of  John,  and 
the  apocalyptic  writer  in  condemning  the  other 
party,  the  'Nicolaitans,  states  not  what  they  held 
but  what  he  thought  their  teaching  must  logically 


NICOLAS 


NOAH 


91 


end  in.    The  word  is  probably  a  nickname,  as  are 
Balaam  and  Nicodemus. 

The  party  mentioned  in  the  Apocalypse  left  be- 
hind them  no  historical  trace,  for  there  is  no  good 
reason  for  identifying  with  them  the  sect  men- 
tioned by  Irenaeus,  Hippolytus,  Eusebius,  pseudo- 
Tertullian,  and  Jerome.  The  last  four  of  these 
writers  merely  repeat  Irenseus,  who  in  his  turn 
seems  to  have  been  elaborating  on  his  own  un- 
supported authority  the  references  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse (I.  xxvi.  3) ;  indeed,  in  one  passage  (III.  xi. 
1)  he  asserts  that  the  Nicolaitans  had  disseminated 
their  heresy  long  before  Cerinthus,  and  he  makes 
their  founder  Nicolas,  one  of  the  Seven.  Hippo- 
lytus (vii.  24)  repeats  Irenseus  and  adds  nothing 
of  his  own,  except  that  he  emphasizes  the  Greek 
character  of  Nicolaitan  teaching.  Tertullian  (de 
Prcescr.  33)  speaks  of  there  being  now  'another 
sort  of  Nicolaitans,'  and  he  seems  to  identify  them 
with  the  Cainites.  By  the  4th  cent,  the  legend 
had  grown,  and  pseudo-Tertullian  (adv.  Omnes 
Hcer.  1)  bluntly  assigns  certain  Gnostic  specula- 
tions to  the  Nicolaitans.  The  Apost.  Const,  (vi.  8) 
originated  the  description  of  the  Nicolaitans  as 
being  '  falsely  so  called,'  and  it  is  followed  by 
the  interpolator  of  the  Ignatian  epistles  (Trail.  11 
and  Philad.  6).  Epiphanius  (adv.  Hcer.  25), 
Georgius  Hamartolus  (Chronicon,  Hi.  135),  and 
Jerome  (adv.  Lucif.  24)  carry  on  the  tradition 
without  adding  to  it.  Clement  of  Alexandria,  how- 
ever (Strom,  iii.  4;  cf.  Eus.  HE  iii.  29),  has  an  inde- 
pendent tradition  about  Nicolas  which  vindicates 
his  character.  On  the  whole,  all  that  the  evidence 
justifies  us  in  concluding  is  that  the  Nicolaitans  of 
the  ecclesiastical  writers  were  among  the  Gnostics, 
that  their  paternity  and  distinctive  doctrines  are 
unknown,  and  that  their  identity  with  the  party 
named  in  the  Apocalypse  is  doubtful. 

W.  F.  COBB. 

NICOLAS. — Nicolas,  one  of  the  Seven  appointed 
to  look  after  the  ministration  of  alms  to  the 
Hellenist  widows,  is  described  in  the  Acts  as  a 
proselyte  of  Antioch  (Ac  6s).  He  comes  last  in  the 
list.  This  description  of  him  is  inserted  because 
his  admission  to  office  in  the  Christian  Church 
marks  a  step  taken  towards  the  extension  of  the 
Church  to  the  Gentiles.  As  far  as  we  know,  no 
proselyte,  i.e.  convert  to  Judaism  from  the 
heathen  world,  had  been  given  office  in  the  Church, 
up  to  this  point.  A.  Harnack  (The  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  Eng.  tr.,  1909,  p.  172)  quotes  the  descrip- 
tion of  him  as  a  proselyte  of  Antioch  as  a  proof 
that  this  section  of  the  Acts  was  probably  derived 
from  an  Antiochene  source — surely  a  very  un- 
certain inference.  On  his  supposed  connexion  with 
the  Nicolaitans  of  Rev  26- 1B  see  art.  NICOLAITANS. 

W.  A.  SPOONER. 

NICOPOLIS  (Ni/c<57ro\is,  '  City  of  victory ').— In 
days  of  almost  constant  warfare,  when  many 
triumphs  had  to  be  commemorated,  this  was  a 
favourite  name  for  newly  founded  cities.  T.  Zahn 
enumerates  no  fewer  than  nine  Nicopoleis  (Introd. 
to  NT,  Eng.  tr.,  1909,  ii.  53  f.),  of  which  one  in 
Cappadocia,  a  second  in  Egypt,  and  a  third  in 
Thrace  had  some  importance.  Chrysostom  and 
Theodoret  took  the  last  of  these  to  be  the  place 
referred  to  in  Tit  312.  But  by  far  the  most  famous 
Nicopolis  was  the  city  in  Epirus  which  Augustus 
founded  after  the  battle  of  Actium.  He  intended 
it  to  be  'at  once  a  permanent  memorial  of  the 
great  naval  victory  and  the  centre  of  a  newly 
flourishing  Hellenic  life '  (T.  Mommsen,  Provinces 
of  Horn.  Empire,  new  ed.,  1909,  i.  295).  It  was 
laid  out  where  the  victor's  headquarters  had  been 
stationed  just  before  the  battle,  at  the  narrowest 
part  of  the  promontory  which  separates  the 
Ambracian  Gulf  from  the  Ionian  Sea.  Augustus 
peopled  it,  after  the  fashion  set  by  Alexander's 


successors,  by  uniting  the  inhabitants  of  a  large 
number  of  minor  townships  in  one  great  urban 
domain.  He  made  it  a  free  city  like  Athens  or 
Sparta,  and  instituted  so-called  Actian  Games, 
which  he  put  on  the  same  level  as  the  four  ancient 
Hellenic  festivals.  Nicopolis  became  the  foremost 
city  of  Western  Greece,  and  (at  some  uncertain 
date)  the  capital  of  the  new  province  of  Epirus. 
Tacitus  calls  it  urbem  Achaice  (Ann.  ii.  53,  for  the 
year  A.D.  18),  but  Epictetus,  its  most  famous 
citizen  (born  c.  A.D.  60),  speaks  of  an  tirirpoiros 
'RTreipov  residing  in  Nicopolis  and  governing  the 
land  (Diss.  III.  iv.  1). 

It  was  natural  that  St.  Paul  should  sooner  or 
later  think  of  this  splendid  Grseco-Roman  city 
and  its  neighbourhood  as  a  field  for  evangelistic 
work.  In  an  epistolary  fragment  which  has  been 
preserved,  he  bids  Titus,  who  has  been  labouring 
in  Crete,  give  diligence  to  join  him  at  Nicopolis, 
as  he  has  decided  to  winter  there  (Tit  312).  borne 
MSS  of  the  epistle  (A  and  P)  have  the  subscrip- 
tion, 'It  was  written  from  Nicopolis,'  and  these 
are  followed  by  the  Greek  commentators  (Chrys. 
Theod.  et  al.) ;  but  the  Apostle  would  have  said  J>5e, 
not  ^/ce?,  if  he  had  been  actually  writing  in  the 
city.  It  has  been  generally  assumed  that  St.  Paul, 
after  being  acquitted  by  his  Roman  judges, 
resumed  his  labours  in  the  East,  and  that  his  letter 
summoning  Titus  to  Nicopolis  belongs  to  this 
period.  It  has  further  been  conjectured  that  the 
Apostle  made  his  way,  as  he  intended,  to  Nicopolis, 
and  that  his  second  arrest  took  place  there  (Cony- 
beare-Howson,  St.  Paul,  new  ed.,  1877,  ii.  571  f.). 
But  the  evidence  for  a  release  is  far  from  convin- 
cing, and  the  question  arises  whether  the  Nicopolis 
episode  can  be  fitted  into  his  biography  without 
this  doubtful  '  final  phase.'  In  reference  to  Tit 
312f>,  H.  von  Soden  says:  'This  is  all  intelligible 
in  itself  and  as  a  part  of  the  life  of  St.  Paul,  and 
the  fulness  of  particulars  gives  an  impression  of 
authenticity'  (The  History  of  Early  Christian 
Literature,  Eng.  tr.,  1906,  p.  316).  It  seems 
certain  that  Titus'  work  in  Crete  (Tit  I5)  cannot 
have  begun  till  after  the  writing  of  2  Cor. ,  for  he 
was  occupied  with  the  settlement  of  difficulties  in 
the  Corinthian  Church.  But  St.  Paul  may  have 
visited  the  island  with  his  fellow-worker,  and  left 
him  to  labour  there,  shortly  before  his  final  visit  to 
Corinth.  As  regards  Ac  202,  it  has  been  suggested 
that  the  writer  knew  very  little  about  the  details 
of  St.  Paul's  life  at  the  time  to  which  this  passage 
refers  (A.  C.  McGiffert,  A  History  of  Christianity 
in  the  Apostolic  Age,  1897,  p.  411  n.),  and  a  short 
campaign  in  Crete  may  well  have  been  one  of  his 
activities  during  that  period.  On  this  hypothesis, 
the  letter  to  Titus,  in  its  original,  comparatively 
brief  form,  must  have  been  written  before  St. 
Paul's  stay  of  three  winter  months  in  Corinth  (203). 
Titus  probably  hastened,  as  directed,  to  Nicopolis, 
but  some  new  turn  of  events  prevented  St.  Paul 
from  carrying  out  his  purpose  of  wintering  in  that 
city,  though  he  may  have  paid  it  a  brief  visit. 
Nothing  is  known  about  its  actual  evangelization, 
either  at  that  time  or  later.  After  falling  into 
decay,  the  city  Avas  restored  by  Julian  ;  and  Jus- 
tinian repaired  the  havoc  wrought  by  the  Goths  ; 
but  in  the  Middle  Ages  it  was  supplanted  by 
Prevesa,  three  miles  to  the  south.  Its  ruins  are 
extensive.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

NIGER.— See  SYMEON  (SIMEON)  CALLED  NIGER. 
NIGHT.— See  DAY  AND  NIGHT,  TIME. 

NOAH  (N£e). — A  number  of  didactic  references 
to  Noah  are  found  in  the  Epistles.  (1)  He  appears 
in  the  roll  of  '  the  elders,'  or  men  of  OT  times,  who 
had  witness  borne  to  them  on  account  of  their  faith 


92 


NOBLE 


NUMBERS 


(He  1 12).  '  By  faith  Noah,  being  divinely  instructed 
(xp-nnariffdels)  concerning  things  not  yet  seen,  with 
reverential  care  (ei}Xa/3770et's)  prepared  an  ark  to  save 
his  household '  (v.7).  By  his  faith  (Si  ^s,  which 
cannot  refer  to  '  ark ')  he  virtually  condemned 
(Karticptvev)  the  careless  world,  for  his  belief  in  the 
Divine  warning  threw  other  men's  lack  of  faith  into 
strong  relief,  and  his  godly  life  demonstrated  what 
theirs  ought  to  have  been  and  failed  to  be.  He 
thus  became  '  heir  of  the  righteousness  which  is 
according  to,  or  in  consequence  of,  faith '  (T?}J  Kara 
•jrlcrnv  5iKaio(rijvr]s,  a  phrase  which  is  thoroughly 
Pauline  in  significance  though  not  quite  in  diction). 
Philo  (cited  by  H.  Alford,  The  Greek  Testament*, 
iv.  [1875]  213)  notes  that  Noah  is  '  the  first  in  the 
holy  scriptures  who  is  expressly  called  righteous ' 
(5/Kaios) ;  but,  while  the  patriarch  is  so  designated 
at  the  very  beginning  of  his  history  (Gn  69 ;  cf. 
Wis  104),  the  idea  of  the  writer  of  Hebrews  is 
rather  that  he  became  (tytvero)  righteous  by  giving 
due  heed  to  the  Divine  warning  and  building  the 
ark  in  faith. 

(2)  1  Peter  (320)  allegorizes,  in  the  Alexandrian 
manner,  the  story  of  '  the  days  of  Noah,  in  which 
the  ark  was  being  prepared,  wherein  eight  souls 
were  saved  through  water'  (5ie<rdj6riaa.v  dt'  OSaros). 
Here  '  through '  may  conceivably  be  instrumental, 
suggesting  merely  that  the  water  bore  up  the  ark 
and  so  saved  its  inmates ;  but  this  exegesis  gives 
the  imagination  no  striking  symbol,  or  type,  of 
that  deliverance  by  baptism  (immersion)  to  which 
allusion  is  made  in  the  following  verse.    '  Through ' 
is  therefore  rather  to  be  taken  as  local,  Noah  and 
his  family  being  conceived  as  escaping,  when  the 
flood  has  already  begun,  through  the  water  into 
the  safety  of  the  ark.     Though  this  conception  is 
not  based  upon   the  narrative  in   Genesis,  it  is 
attested  in  the  Rabbinical  literature  (F.  Spitta, 
Christi  Predigt  an  die  Geister,  1890,  p.  51). 

(3)  2  Peter  (25)   says  that  God  spared  not  the 
ancient  world,  but  preserved   Noah  with  seven 
others,   a   preacher    of    righteousness    (StKaioffvvris 
K-fipvKa).     This  designation  suggests  another  addi- 
tion to  the  sacred  narrative,  a  haggdda  to  which 
there  are  many  Rabbinical  allusions,  e.g.  Bereshith 
Rabba,  xxx.  6.     Josephus  (Ant.  I.  iii.  1)  refers  to 
this  tradition  :   '  But  Noah  was  very  uneasy  at 
what  they  [his  contemporaries]  did  ;  and,  being 
displeased  at  their  conduct,  persuaded  them  to 
change  their  disposition  and  their  actions  for  the 
better ' ;  and  Clement  (ad  Cor.  vii.  6,  ix.  4),  '  Noah 
preached  repentance,  and  as  many  as  hearkened 
unto  him  were  saved ' ;  '  Noah,  having  been  found 
faithful,  preached,  by  his  ministry,  regeneration 
unto  the  world.'     Cf.  Theoph.  Antioch.  ad  Auto- 
lycum,  iii.   19,   129  ;  Visio  Pauli,  1.  1,  and  other 
passages  collected  in  Spitta's  Der  zweite  Brief  des 
Petrus  und  der  Brief  des  Judas,  1885,  p.  146.    The 
Christian  Sibyllines  give  a  complete  Sermon  of 
Noah's  (Sib.  Orac.  i.  128  ff.). 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

NOBLE. — Two  Greek  words  are  thus  translated 
in  the  AV.  (1)  e^yei/^y,  '  well-born,'  '  of  noble  birth,' 
and  secondarily,  as  the  natural  outcome  of  that 
privileged  condition,  'of  noble  mind  or  spirit,'  is 
used  in  its  primary  sense  in  1  Co  I26,  'not  many 
noble.'  The  negative  phrase  is  not  to  be  taken  as 
if  it  meant  '  none '  (see  J.  Orr,  Neglected  Factors 
in  the  Study  of  the  Early  Progress  of  Christianity, 
1899,  p.  99  ff.).  In  its  secondary  sense,  it  is  applied 
to  the  Jews  of  Bercea,  who  were  'nobler,'  i.e.  of 
a  better  and  more  generous  spirit,  than  those  of 
Thessalonica  '  in  that  they  received  the  word  with 
all  readiness  of  mind,  examining  the  scriptures 
daily  whether  these  things  were  so '  (Ac  1711).  The 
use  of  the  comparative  does  not  imply  that  the 
Jews  of  Thessalonica  had  any  nobility  of  spirit. 
(2)  KpdriffTos,  'most  mighty,'  or,  as  a  title  of  honour, 


'  most  noble  or  excellent,'  is  used  by  Claudius 
Lysias  in  his  letter  to  Felix  (2326) ;  by  Tertullus 
in  addressing  Felix  (243) ;  and  by  St.  Paul  in 
addressing  Festus  (2625).  The  RV  in  all  three 
instances  translates  it  '  most  excellent.'  It  was  a 
title  usually  given  to  magistrates,  and  was  re- 
garded as  a  high  compliment.  An  appellation  of 
Achilles  was  KpdTiffTos'E\\^vuv  (Soph.  Phil.  3). 

JOHN  REID. 
NOON.— See  TIME. 

NOVICE.— The  word  occurs  in  the  NT  only  in 
1  Ti  36  as  a  translation  of  j»e<5$uTos.  A  bishop  is  to 
be  '  not  a  novice,  lest  being  puffed  up  he  fall  into 
the  condemnation  of  the  devil.'  The  word  literally 
means  '  newly  planted,'  and  describes  one  recently 
converted  to  Christianity.  It  accords  with  the 
Pauline  metaphor  of  '  planted '  (utj^vroi,  Ro  65)  as 
indicating  the  Christian  relation  to  Christ.  The 
earlier  Greek  interpreters  explained  '  neophyte '  or 
'  novice '  as '  newly  baptized'  (CE,  art. '  Neophyte '), 
as  it  was  the  custom  to  baptize  converts  immedi- 
ately after  conversion.  In  later  times,  when  con- 
verts were  subjected  to  a  period  of  instruction  and 
probation,  the  term  was  still  applied  to  them, 
though  the  more  common  designation  was  '  cat- 
echumens.' Still  later,  the  word  was  restricted  to 
those  who  were  on  probation  for  entrance  into  some 
monastic  or  Church  Order.  The  term  of  novitiate 
was  usually  not  less  than  a  year,  and  no  one  could 
be  received  on  probation  under  the  age  of  puberty. 
The  word  was  used  in  connexion  with  the  Eleu- 
sinian  mysteri.es  (JVTClintock-Strong,  Cyclopedia, 
art.  'Neophyte'),  and  among  the  Romans  for  'a 
newly  acquired  slave'  (CE,  art.  '  Novice ' ;  see  also 
Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  Eng.  tr.,  1901,  p.  220  f.). 

JOHN  REID. 

NUMBER  OF  THE  BEAST.— See  APOCALYPSE. 

NUMBERS.  —  Introduction.  —  Even  a  casual 
reader  of  the  Bible  is  struck  with  the  fact  that  in 
many  cases — not  altogether  exclusive  of  those  in 
which  the  desire  to  state  facts  accurately  may  be 
presumed — a  preference  is  given  to  certain  numbers. 
He  will  observe  particularly  the  frequency  of  the 
numbers  3,  7,  10,  and  12,  together  with  their 
multiples  and  even  their  fractions.  In  regard  to  7, 
the  ritual  arrangements  found  in  the  Pentateuch 
would  alone  warrant  the  conclusion  that  this 
number  was  regarded  as  in  some  sense  sacred.  If 
we  read  that '  God  blessed  the  7th  day  and  sancti- 
fied it'  (Gn  2s),  and  find  that  peculiar  religious 
observances  or  customs  with  a  religious  basis 
attach,  not  only  to  the  7th  day,  but  to  the  7th 
month,  the  7th  year,  and  the  7x7th  year,*  we 
seem  warranted  in  saying  that,  among  the  people 
of  the  Bible,  7  represents  a  mystic  cycle  of  work 
and  rest,  within  which  God  both  accomplishes  His 
purpose  in  the  universe  and  co-operates  with 
sanctified  men.  From  the  starting-point  of  such  a 
preliminary  observation,  however,  many  questions 
arise,  of  which  the  principal  are  the  following.  (1) 
How  far  is  the  sanctity  of  particular  numbers 
peculiar  to  the  people  of  the  Bible  ?  Is  its  basis, 
so  far  as  it  may  be  traceable,  to  be  found  in  nature 
or  in  religious  theory,  or  custom  ?  If  the  latter,  is 
the  theory  or  custom  borrowed  from,  or  maintained 
in  common  with,  other  peoples  (Babylonians, 
Egyptians,  Persians)  with  whom  the  Jews  came 
into  contact  ?  (2)  For  what  other  numbers  besides 
those  named  may  a  more  or  less  similar  prominence 
be  claimed?  (3)  How  far  is  the  usage  as  to 
numbers,  which  is  found  in  the  OT  or  kindred 
Jewish  literature,  found  also  in  the  NT?  The 
present  article  must  be  concerned  with  (1)  and  (2) 
only  in  so  far  as  the  answer  to  them  is  involved  in 
the  answer  to  (3).  There  can  hardly  be,  even  in 

*  Lv  2S24  253ff-  8. 


NUMBERS 


NUMBERS 


93 


connexion  with  the  Apocalypse  of  John,  any  idea 
of  the  NT  writers  borrowing  directly  from  Baby- 
lonians, Egyptians,  Persians,  or,  even  in  this  refer- 
ence, from  Greeks  or  Romans.  If  such  foreign 
influences  are  found  in  the  NT,  they  have  come 
through  the  medium  of  the  OT  or  kindred  Jewish 
writings.  The  Apostolic  Age  is  cosmopolitan  in 
spirit,  yet  the  ancestry  which  it  owns  is  strictly 
Jewish.  Among  its  writers  are  masters  of  Greek 
style  like  St.  Luke  and  the  author  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews,  yet  all  the  writers  are  men  whose 
Bible  was  the  OT. 

It  is,  however,  the  cosmopolitanism  of  the  first 
Christian  age  and  not  its  Jewish  origin  that  lends 
interest  to  its  practice  as  regards  the  symbolism  of 
numbers.  The  degree  in  which  this  symbolism 
has  passed  into  the  age  that  begins  with  our  Lord 
and  His  apostles  otters  an  obvious  standard  for 
measuring  its. worth. 

Before  proceeding  to  particulars,  a  general  state- 
ment may  be  offered  of  the  position  of  matters 
which  they  seem  to  indicate :  the  NT  practice 
stands  to  that  of  the  OT  as  the  latter  does  to  its 
basis  in  Babylon,  Egypt,  or  Persia,  except  for  what 
disturbance  of  the  proportion  may  arise  from  the 
fact  that  a  degree  of  affinity,  both  racial  and  re- 
ligious, exists  between  the  people  of  the  OT  and 
that  of  the  NT  such  as  does  not  obtain  between 
the  Jews  and  the  heathen  neighbours  or  masters 
who  most  influenced  them.  The  practice  of  em- 
ploying a  particular  number,  where  it  is,  by  pre- 
sumption, at  least  approximately  correct,  or  of 
choosing  it,  where  the  question  of  accuracy  as  to 
matter  of  fact  does  not  arise,  is  taken  over ;  but, 
except — and  even  here  the  exception  is  partial — in 
a  book  like  the  Apocalypse  of  John,  the  practice  is 
unconscious.  It  may  be  true,  e.g.,  that  when  a 
thoughtful  mystic  of  the  Apostolic  Age  used  the 
number  3,  he  involuntarily  thought  of  the  Divine 
Being  or  Trinity  ;  it  may  be  probable  that  when 
he  used  the  number  4,  he  thought  of  the  4  direc- 
tions and,  therefore,  of  the  world.  But  to  say  that 
3  was  to  the  average  Christian  the  number  for  God, 
or  4  the  number  for  the  world,  or  that  even  one  in 
a  hundred  Christians  thought,  in  connexion  with 
3,  of  Babylonian  or  Egyptian  triad-divinities  *  or 
of  the  alleged  fact  that  every  Babylonian  divinity 
had  its  appropriate  number,  is  to  say  what  cannot 
be  proved  and  is  highly  improbable. 

I.  THE  NUMBERS  EMPLOYED  IN  THE  APOCA- 
LYPSE OF  JOHN. — 1.  Three.— The  natural  import- 
ance of  this  number  is  obvious.  It  is  the  lowest 
number  to  express  several,  or  to  denote  something 
that  has  a  beginning,  middle,  and  end.  It  is  the 
common  number  of  a  small  deputation.  It  is  the 
number  of  the  possible  dimensions  of  space,  of  the 
natural  divisions  of  the  physical  cosmos  (heaven, 
earth,  and  sea),  of  the  day  (morning,  noon,  and 
evening),  of  time  generally  (past,  present,  and 
future),  and  of  the  human  person  (body,  soul,  and 
spirit). 

It  is  a  usual  number  to  express  the  frequency 
that  makes  an  action  effective,  and  is  a  common 
number  of  members  in  a  rhythmical  sentence,  or 
in  a  list  of  adjectives.  Such  uses  are  abundantly 
illustrated  in  the  Bible  as  in  other  literature.  The 
number  is,  moreover,  of  undoubted  frequency  in 
religious  connexions  :  3-fold  invocation  (Jer  2229, 
Is  63),  blessing  (Nu  624ff-) ;  3  great  Feasts  (Ex  2314ff-) ; 
3  days,  months,  or  years  of  waiting  and  preparation 
for  an  important  event  or  action  (Gn  40la,  Ex  22, 
Gal  I18) ;  3  times  of  prayer  or  repetitions  of  the 
same  prayer  (Dn  610-  »,  Mt  2644  ||,  2  Co  128).  This 
prominence  of  3  in  other  parts  of  the  Bible  makes 

*  E.  Kautzsch  denies  the  affinity  in  the  case  of  the  Babylonian 
and  Greek  trinities  on  the  ground  that  these  trinities  arise  from 
a  division  of  territory  among  3  originally  independent  divinities 
xi.  [1908]  598  ff.). 


its  comparative  infrequency  in  the  Apocalypse  the 
more  remarkable.  Even  where  there  is  a  clear 
indication  of  the  Divine  Trinity  (Rev  I4)  or  of  the 
3-fold  time-manifestation  of  the  Creator-God  (I8) 
the  numeral  is  not  named.  The  fraction  of  the 
numeral,  and  3  as  a  fraction  of  12,  are  of  more 
frequent  occurrence  than  the  numeral  itself.* 
Comparing  this  state  of  the  case  with  the  fre- 
quency of  7  and  even  of  12  (see  below)  in  the 
Apocalypse,  we  seem  warranted  in  doubting 
whether  any  kind  of  sacred  significance  necessarily 
attached  to  the  number  3  even  in  the  mind  of  the 
symbolists  of  the  Bible. 

2.  Seven.— Examples :  7  churches,  spirits  (I4-11 
31),  stars  (I16-  20),  candlesticks  (I13),  lamps  (45),  seals 
(51  81),  horns  and  eyes  (56),  trumpets  (82),  angels 
(82),  thunders  (103'-),  heads  (12»  IT3),  angels  with 
plagues  (151),  vials  full  of  the  wrath  of  God  (157), 
kings  (1710).     In  view  of  this  pervasiveness  of  the 
7  one  need  hardly  refer  to  the  7  'spirits  of  God' 
which  invest   Christ  (31)  or  to  the   7   '  heads  of 
blasphemy'  on  the  Beast  that  is  Antichrist  (131) 
in  proof  of  the  fact  that  7  is  pre-eminently  the 
number  of  perfection  or  completeness  whether  on 
the  side  of  good  or  evil.     The  cogency  of  proof  is 
augmented   by  the    significance  undoubtedly  at- 
tached to  the  numeral  next  mentioned. 

3.  Three  and  a  half. — The  actual  numeral  occurs 
only  twice— '3£  days'  (II9-  n).    But  in  1214  we  have 
the  '  time  and  times  and  half  a  time '  as  in  Dn  127,t 
and  in  II2*-  126  135  the  same  period — 3|  years — 
appears  as  42  months,  or  (multiplying  by  30)  1,260 
days.     The  use  of  the  number  both  in  Daniel  (see 
footnote)  and  the  Apocalypse  proves   that  by  a 
convention,  certainly  older,  probably  much  older, 
than  the  Book  of  Daniel,  and  one  in  all  likelihood 
not  peculiar  to  the  Jews,  the  number  indicated  a 
period  of   stress  and  tribulation  that  would   be 
balanced  by  a  period,  of  at  least  equal  duration,  of 
comfort  and  prosperity.    If  7  represents  the  perfect 
work  of  God  in  mercy  and  judgment  in  relation  to 
men  (as  well  as  the  total  work  of  creation)  and,  on 
the  human  side,  the  life  of  godliness  with  its  twin 
ingredients  of  joy  and  sorrow,  the  fraction  3|  fitly 
stands  for  the  factor  of  the  total  that  signifies 
God's  broken  covenant  and  man's  broken  hope  (see 
Ps  9015,  and,  for  its  equivalent  in  the  nobler  apos- 
tolic faith,  Ro  818,  2  Co  412). 

4.  Twelve  and  its  multiples. — However  natural 
it  may  seem  to  think  of  the  12  signs  of  the  Zodiac  £ 
as  the  basis  -of  the  usage  which  gives  prominence 
to  this  number  in  the  Bible,  it  may  fairly  be 
doubted  whether    even   such    symbolists   as   the 
authors  of  Daniel  and  the  Apocalypse  ever  had 
such  a  reference  in  their  minds.    Yet  an  indication 
of  something  of  the  kind  has  been  found  by  Gunkel 
and  others  in  the  24  elders  of  44,  whose  origin 

*  Rev  87-12  918,  where  the  fraction  occurs  eight  times.  Take 
these  passages  along  with  1619  and  2113  where  3  as  a  fraction  of 
12  occurs  five  times,  and  compare  with  66  813  918  1613,  showing 
four  instances  of  the  independent  use  of  the  number. 

t  How  entirely  an  apocalyptic  symbolist  might  be  governed 
by  the  idea  of  3J  or  the  number  appropriate  to  a  period  of  dis- 
ciplinary tribulation  appears  particularly  in  '  Daniel's'  manipu- 
lation of  the  70  years  of  servitude  in  Babylon  prophesied  by 
Jeremiah  (251!)  in  Dn  926ff-.  The  70  years  =  70  weeks  of  years, 
and  the  70  is  divided  into  7+62+1,  in  order  that  the  one  week 
of  years  may  be  halved  so  as  to  give  3J  years  as  the  period  of 
the  tribulation  under  Antiochus. 

J  In  his  very  instructive  article  'Siebenzahl,'  in  PRE&  xviii. 
310  ff.,  Zockler  quotes  the  passage  (BJ  v.  v.  5)  in  which  Josephus 
asserts  that  the  7  lamps  of  the  sacred  candlestick  indicate  the  7 
planets,  and  the  12  loaves  of  shewbread  the  circle  of  the  Zodiac. 
He  argues  conclusively  that  the  use  of  7  by  the  Babylonians 
is  older  than  their  astrology  of  the  planets  and  rests  on  the 
division  of  the  lunar  month  into  4  periods  of  7  corresponding  to 
the  4  phases  of  the  moon.  Josephus'  casual  theories  he  char- 
acterizes as  '  shallow  interpretations,' which  are  to  be  repudiated 
as  '  idle  Phantasitprodukte,  without  historical  foundation.'  Yet 
these  stray  remarks  of  the  Jewish  historian  are  interesting  as 
an  indication  that  the  questions  of  modern  anthropology  in 
relation  to  religion  could  arise  even  in  a  mind  of  the  first 
Christian  century. 


94 


NUMBERS 


NUMBERS 


might  be  a  primitive  astronomical  conception,  pre- 
sumably Babylonian,  according  to  which  the  sun 
was  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  light  each  half  of 
which  contained  12  luminaries.  Apart  from  the 
likelihood  that  any  such  association  would  have 
seemed  to  the  prophet  of  the  Apocalypse  so  much 
sanction  given  to  idolatry,  we  have  surely  a  hint 
of  the  true  origin  of  the  24,  so  far  as  he  is  con- 
cerned, in  153,  where  the  victors  over  the  Beast  and 
his  image  sing  '  the  song  of  Moses  the  servant  of 
God  and  the  song  of  the  Lamb.'  These  victors 
and  redeemed  ones  are  those  who  are  true  to  the 
religion  of  both  the  covenants.  A  symbolist  would 
naturally  reckon  their  representatives  in  the  im- 
mediate presence  of  God  as  12+12,  i.e.,  the  12 
patriarchs  or  heads  of  the  12  tribes  of  Israel,  and  the 
12  apostles  or  heads  of  the  Church.  He  expresses 
the  same  idea  when  he  writes  of  12  gates  with  the 
names  of  the  '  12  tribes  of  the  children  of  Israel,'  and 
of  12  foundations  of  the  wall  in  which  were  '  the 
names  of  the  12  apostles  of  the  Lamb '  (2112- 14). 

Further  examples :  144,000  (or  12,000  for  each 
tribe)  are  sealed  as  the  '  servants  of  our  God'  (74ff- 
141).  The  number  12,  with  multiples  and  frac- 
tions, is  used  exclusively  in  the  delineation  of  the 
Celestial  City :  12  gates,  angels  ;  a  cube  of  12,000 
furlongs ;  12  foundations,  precious  stones,  pearls 
(2112ff-). 

5.  Ten. — A  natural  importance  attaches  to  this 
number.     It  is  the  number  of  fingers  (5  +  5)  on  the 
two  hands — the  natural  means  of  reckoning  between 
two  traders  who  speak  different  languages.  It  closes 
the  series  of  units  and  is  the  dominating  number 
of  the  most  natural  system  of  reckoning.     It  is 
the  number  naturally  chosen  to  designate  a  con- 
siderable number  of  persons  or  a  short  but  not  in- 
considerable period  of  time:  e.g.,  10  days' tribulation 
for  the  faithful  Church  of  Smyrna  (210) ;  10,000  x 
10,000  and  1,000x1,000  are   the  number  of  the 
angels  round  about  the  throne  (511).     Men  without 
the  seal  of  God  are  tormented  by  locusts  for  5 
months  (9s).     The  dragon  has  10  horns,  the  Beast 
rising  out  of  the  sea  has  10  horns  and  10  crowns 
(123   131).      Similarly  the   woman   on   the  scarlet 
Beast  has  '10  horns'  (173-7),  which  are  explained 
to  be  '10  kings'  (1712).     The  devil  is  bound  for 
1,000  years,  while  the  martyrs  of  Jesus  reign  on 
the  earth  (202-4).      On  the  1,000  years  see  art. 
APOCALYPSE,  p.  78,  note.     The  fraction  -fa  occurs 
only  in  II13.     Its  use  in  this  passage  suggests  the 
negative  side  of  the  significance  of  the  tithe-ottering 
— viz.  the  part  representing  the  whole.     The  10th 
part  of  the  city — 7  out  of  70  thousand  inhabitants 
— perish,  but  the  remnant  '  were  affrighted  and 
gave  glory  to  God.'* 

6.  Six.— Apart  from  the  notorious  three  6's  of 
the  Beast  in  1318,  6  occurs  only  once  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse.    In  48  the  4  Beasts,  copied  doubtless  from 
Ezk  I8ff-,  have  6  wings  like  the  seraphim  in  Is  62, 
and  not  4  only  as  in  Ezekiel.     In  connexion  with 
1318,  the  suggestion  has  been  made  (see  art.  APOCA- 
LYPSE) that   to  a  Jewish  symbolist  6,  as  =  7-l, 
might  very  well   have    the  significance  of    that 
which  resembles  the  Divine  perfection  but  fails 
just  when  it  seemed  likely  to  succeed.    The  Beast, 
to  which  the  Dragon  gives  its  throne  (132),  and 
which  therefore  represents  the  rival  of  the  Supreme 
God,  has  7  heads,  like  the  7  spirits  of  God,  which 
belong  to  Jesus  Christ  (31),  but  on  the  heads  are 
'names  of  blasphemy.'    The  Beast  has  the  trap- 
pings of  divinity  ;  only  the  reality  fails. 

7.  The  number  of  the  Beast.— The  passage,  Rev 
1318,  is  a  Scripture  instance  of  what  is  known  in 

*  It  is  curious  that  the  multiple  40,  so  common  in  the  number- 
schematism  of  Scripture  to  denote  a  period  of  disciplinary 
affliction  or  penitential  exercise  (e.g.  Pa  9510,  Ezk  46  2QU-13,  1  S 
1716,  Jon  3-»,  Ex  2418),  does  not  occur  independently  in  the 
Apocalyps_e.  The  nearest  approach  to  a  reference  is  the  '42 
months'  (instead  of  3&  years)  of  II2  and  135. 


later  Rabbinism  as  Gematria,  or  the  mystic  art  of 
attaching  values  to  names  according  to  the  numbers 
represented  by  the  letters  composing  them.  As 
both  in  Hebrew  and  Greek  the  letters  of  the 
alphabet  were  used  to  indicate  numbers,  the  art 
could  be  pursued  both  by  Hellenic  and  Palestinian 
or  Babylonian  Jews.  For  the  various  views  re- 
garding the  name  (Greek  or  Hebrew)  corresponding 
to  666,  see  art.  APOCALYPSE.  For  a  fuller  account 
see  G.  A.  Barton's  art.  'Number'  in  EBi  iii. 
3434  ff. 

The  calculation  which  gives  the  name  'Nero  Csesar,'  "top  pi! 
(Neron  Kesar),  is  as  follows :  J  =  50;  T=200;  1  =  6;  j  =  50;  p  =  100; 
D=60;  n= 200— total,  666.  In  regard  to  the  Hebrew  notation 
it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  letters  N  to  D=the  units  ;  *  to  X 
=the  tens;  p  to  n  =  the  first  four  hundreds,  n  compounded  = 
other  hundreds.  Thus  p"n=500;  i"n=600;  »"n=700;  n"n= 
800;  p"nn=900.  The  thousands  are  expressed  by  the  letters 
for  the  units  with  two  points  placed  above  :  K= 1,000 ;  0=9,000 ; 
'=10,000.» 

8.  Four. — This  number  is  naturally  associated 
with   the  4  directions    of    space.      The  4   living 
creatures  (fya)  '  round  about  the  throne '  in  46  are 
adopted  from  Ezk  I8ff>.     The  principal  difference  is 
that  the  4  faces  (man,  lion,  calf.t  eagle)  are  dis- 
tributed among  the  4  ££a,  instead  of,  as  in  Ezekiel, 
belonging  to  each.     The  reason  seems  to  be  that 
to  the  apocalyptist  the  main   attribute  of  these 
ministers  of  the  Divine  presence  is  not,  as  with 
Ezekiel,   their    ubiquitousness,   but   rather    their 
omniscience.    Their  place  is  round  about  a  station- 
ary throne,  but  they  are  '  full  of  eyes  before  and 
behind.' 

It  may  fairly  be  doubted  whether  the  apocalyp- 
tist attached  any  significance  to  the  number  4  in 
this  reference  or  to  the  variety  of  faces.  Perhaps 
as  in  other  places  (see  art.  APOCALYPSE)  he  bor- 
rowed more  than  he  used.  The  other  instances  of 
4  in  the  Apocalypse  are :  4  angels  standing  at  the 
4  corners  of  the  earth  holding  4  winds  (71 ;  cf.  298), 
'  4  horns  of  the  golden  altar  which  is  before  God ' 
(913),  4  '  angels  bound  on  the  river  Euphrates,'  corre- 
sponding to  4  terms  of  destructive  operation  (hour, 
day,  month,  year)  (914f>),  '  the  city  lieth  rerpdyuvos ' 
(2116).  It  is  perhaps  only  in  the  last  instance  that 
we  are  warranted  in  supposing  that  the  apocalyptist 
attached  any  significance  of  faith  to  the  numeral  4. 
It  seems  to  be  associated  in  his  mind,  if  it  does  not 
actually  express  it,  with  the  inconceivable  mag- 
nitude, yet  perfect  symmetry,  of  the  City  of  the 
Redeemed. 

9.  Eight. — The  significance  of  this  number  in  the 
Apocalypse  does  not  arise  from  its  being  a  multiple 
of  4.    It  occurs  twice  in  the  ordinal  form  (1711 2l'M). 
The  former  passage—'  the  8th '  that  is  '  of  the  7 ' — 
is  interesting.     Adopting  the  view  that  the  person 
intended  is  Domitian,  we  see  that  the  author  or 
the  final  editor  is  governed  by  the  idea  that  7 — the 
number  of  the  '  heads '  of  the  woman  on  the  scarlet 
Beast  (17s)  — '•ought  to  represent  the  number  of 
genuine  Roman  Emperors,^  who  are  allowed  to 
maintain  for  a  time  a  blasphemous  rivalry  to  the 
King  of  kings.    The  8th  is  a  difficulty.    The  apoca- 
lyptist gets  over  the  difficulty  by  thinking  of  him 
as  Nero  Redivivw.      He  is  the  8th,  yet  still  of 
the  appointed  7,   and  he  '  goeth  to  destruction.' 
This  elongation  of  7  so  as  to  absorb  8  is  not  un- 
natural in  a  Jewish  writer.    One  may  compare  the 

*  On  this  and  the  very  similar  system  of  Greek  notation  see 
especially  art.  '  Zahlen '  and  kindred  articles  in  E.  0.  A.  Riehm'a 
Handivarterbueh  den  biblischen  Altertum*,  1884. 

t  Ezk  11"  LXX  gives  no<rxo<s  as  in  Rev  47.  The  translators  use 
^daxos  for  no  fewer  than  four  Hebrew  words  :  13  =  'a  bull,'  "ijj^i 
=  ' cattle,'  •&&= 'an  ox  or  cow*  (the  word  in  Ezk  li<>),  ^3j!  =  f  a 
calf '  (see  Grimm-Thayer,  s.v.). 

t  Galba,  Otho,  and  Vitellius  are  excluded,  and  the  10  horns 
are  not  Emperors  but  kings,  or  kinglets,  who  receive  power  for 
one  hour  along  with  the  Beast  (1712). 


NUMBERS 


NUMBERS 


95 


8th  day  of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  which  had 
come  in  practice  to  be  the  most  important  day, 
and  is  recognized  even  in  the  rubrics  which  make 
it  clear  that  the  legal  Feast  ended  on  the  7th  day 
(Lv  23s4-  **). 

10.  Two  and  one. — Apart  from  association  with 
other  numbers  (as  in  91*  and  IP)  and  from  the  '2 
woes  more '  (912),  2  occurs  only  in  11s-  4- 10,  each  time 
in  connexion  with  the  '2  witnesses,'  the  unnamed 
Moses  and  Elijah  (II6)  of  chapter  11.   The  witnesses 
are,  therefore,   Law  and   Prophecy.     The  author 
seems  to  use  the  numeral  to  convey  the  idea  that, 
though  God's  witnesses  may  be  the  least  possible 
number  (ISu  3530),  their  testimony  will  yet  prevail 
to  secure  the  destruction  of  blasphemers  and  mur- 
derers of  the  servants  of  God. 

The  numeral  1  occurs  in  a  significant  sense  chiefly 
in  the  '  1  hour,'  signifying  a  very  short  time,  which 
occurs  five  times  (1712  188- 10-  "•  19). 

Result. — Our  survey  of  the  Apocalypse  would 
seem  to  show  that,  except  in  the  cases  of  7,  3  J,  and 
12,  no  consciousness  of  their  being  specially  sacred 
underlies  the  usage  of  the  writers  in  regard  to 
numbers.  The  usage  in  reference  to  these  numbers 
is,  however,  sufficient  to  show  that  the  men  of  the 
Apostolic  Age  found  nothing  alien  to  their  new 
faith  in  the  mystic  symbolism  of  numbers  which 
they  inherited  from  their  Jewish  ancestors  and 
especially  from  the  apocalyptic  writers.  From  the 
fact,  however,  that  this  symbolism  appears  with 
definite  intent  only  in  one  book  of  the  NT,  and 
even  there  but  sparingly,  we  may  fairly  infer  that 
no  great  currency  was  given  to  it  in  the  Apostolic 
Church,  and  the  apocalyptic  books,  other  than  the 
Apocalypse  of  John,  which  contain  it,  while  un- 
doubtedly much  read  (see  art.  APOCALYPSE),  were 
not  considered  of  supreme  worth  or  authority.  The 
authoritative  writers  might  take  over  the  symbol- 
ism to  a  certain  extent,  but  they  did  so  almost 
unconsciously.  Those  who  went  further  and  made 
much  of  it  might  be  then,  as  in  subsequent  ages  of 
the  Church  down  to  our  own  day,  interesting  and 
edifying  writers,  but  they  did  not  rank  with  the 
authorities. 

This  state  of  the  case  may  best  be  illustrated  by 
a  survey  of  the  practice,  in  this  reference,  of  the 
other  NT  writers. 

11.  NUMBERS  IN  THE  OTHER  NT  BOOKS.— The 
examples  given  below  are  intended  to  represent 
cases  in  which  the  selection  of  the  particular  number 
or  the  mention  of  the  particular  number,  presum- 
ably in  accordance  with  fact,  may  reasonably  be 
supposed  to  rest  on  ancient  symbolical  usage. 

i.  THE  GOSPELS. — 1.  Seven. — The  genealogies  in 
Mt  llff-,  Lk  S23^  are  a  clear  instance  of  symmetrical 
arrangement  on  the  basis  of  the  number  7.  To  St. 
Matthew  it  seems  important  that  the  genealogy  of 
Jesus  from  Abraham  includes  3  x  14  generations 
(I17).  In  the  part  of  St.  Luke's  genealogy  which 
is  comparable  with  St.  Matthew's  neither  names 
nor  numbers  agree ;  but  the  list  from  Adam  to 
Abraham  gives,  inclusive  of  Abraham,  21  names. 
The  total,  inclusive  of  the  termini  (God  and  Jesus) 
is  77.  The  phrases  '7  other  spirits  worse  than 
himself '  (Mt  12«ff- 1|),  the  '  7  demons '  that  •  came 
out '  of  Mary  Magdalene  (Lk  &**•  ||),  the  '  7  times ' 
and  '  70  x  7  times '  of  Mt  1821fr'  show  that  the  use 
of  7  to  express  a  totality  of  good  or  evil  (even 
though  it  might  be,  as  in  Mt  1821ff>,  immeasurable)  was 
not  confined  to  the  symbolists  of  the  first  Christian 
age.*  There  is  no  likelihood  that  either  our  Lord 
or  the  Evangelists  thought  of  the  planet-divinities 
of  Babylon,  or  of  the  7  Amshaspands  of  good  spirits 
of  Persia,  opposed  to  7  spirits  of  evil,  yet  the 

*  Instances  in  which,  apart  from  mention  of  the  numeral,  a 
preference  for  it  may  be  fairly  considered  implicit  are  the  7 
petitions  in  the  Lord's  Prayer  (Mt  B98'-),  the  7  parables  of  Mt  13, 
the  7+1  woes  of  Mt  23i3ff.." 


number  comes  to  lip  and  pen  involuntarily  through 
a  usage  that  may  have  its  basis  or  confirmation 
there.*  Again,  in  considering  the  accounts  of  the 
two  miraculous  feedings  in  Mark,  chs.  6  and  7  ||,  it 
is  difficult  to  exclude  the  idea  that  the  numbers 
employed,  especially  7,  5  +  2,  and  12, t  may 
have  to  the  writers  a  certain  sacred  and  sacra- 
mental significance.  The  sacramental  association 
— apart  from  the  numbers — is  obvious  in  the  nar- 
rative of  the  Fourth  Evangelist  (Jn  6),  but  is  it 
not  suggested  even  in  the  Synoptic  account  ?  The 
Divine  supply  is  perfect  (5+2  or  7).  What  is  left 
of  it  may  be  as  great  as  or  even  greater  than  what 
is  taken  (7  to  7,  or  12  to  7).  And  where  the  company 
is  largest  most  may  be  left.  See  especially  the 
commentary  on  the  double  incident  in  Mk  714*21  (cf. 
Mt  165'12).  Ac  I23*-  (filling  of  the  vacancy  in  the 
apostolate),  and  1  Co  155,£  where  '  the  12  is  used 
of  the  company  that  was  only  11,  seem  to  imply 
that  to  the  mind  both  of  our  Lord  and  the  apostles 
the  number  12  signified  His  intention  and  ability 
to  recover  completely  what  was  lost  (Lk  1910 ;  cr. 
with  Mt  1524.  See  also  Jn  lO28'-  1712,  Ac  267  ['  our 
12  tribes']). 

2.  Three. — The  chief  instance  of  this  numeral  in 
a  suggestion  of  sense  other  than  strictly  literal  is 
that  of  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  on  the  3rd  day 
(Mk  1034,  etc. || ;  cf.  Ac  1040,  1  Co  154).  There  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  either  the  definite  prophecy  or  the 
definite  fulfilment.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  state  pre- 
cisely the  reason  of  the  choice  of  the  number.  It 
has  been  customary  to  refer,  for  a  proximate  reason, 
to  the  influence  of  Hos  62,§  and,  for  one  more 
remote,  to  the  ancient  idea  that  the  spirit  hovered 
beside  the  body  it  had  inhabited  for  3  days,  depart- 
ing on  the  3rd  day  because  in  the  decaying  flesh  it 
no  longer  recognized  its  own  likeness.  Perhaps 
only  the  former  of  these  associations  is  worth  more 
than  mention.  It  may  fairly  be  argued  that  St. 
Luke,  St.  John,  and  St.  Paul  thought  of  Hos  62 
when  they  referred  to  the  Resurrection  on  the  3rd 
day  as  taking  place  according  to  the  Scriptures  (Lk 
2446,  Ac  1040,  Jn  222,  1  Co  154),  as  this  is  the  only  pas- 
sage discoverable  where  the  collocation  of  '  revival 
from  the  dead'  and  'the  3rd  day'  occurs. ||  It  is 
another  thing,  however,  to  ascribe  such  definiteness 
of  emphasis  upon  the  3rd  day  to  our  Lord.  Even 
if  He  thought  of  the  passage  in  Hosea,  He  may 
have  regarded  the  numbers  2  and  3  simply  as  the 
natural  equivalent  for  a  very  short  time  that  was 
yet  a  real  interval.  If  one  reckons  in  days,  there 
can  hardly  be  a  shorter  interval  than  one  day.  It 
is  not  surprising  that  after  the  event  of  the  Resur- 
rection the  more  definite  emphasis  upon  the  numeral 
3  or  3rd  became  common. 11  Other  instances  in  the 

*  Proof  that  the  sacredness  of  7  was  a  subject  of  speculation 
among  Jews  of  the  1st  cent,  may  be  found  in  Slav.  En.  xxx.  3. 
See  also  Josephus,  A  nt.  HI.  vi.  7,  along  with  the  parallel  passage 
in  BJ  v.  v.  5,  cited  above  under  I.  4,  note. 

t  Other  instances  of  12,  worth  mentioning1,  are  '  the  12  legions 
of  angels'  (Mt  265:i),  and  the  age  of  the  child  Jesus  when  He  was 
found  in  the  Temple  (Lk  24-).  In  regard  to  the  latter,  Josephus 
(Ant.  v.  x.  4)  gives  Samuel  the  same  age  when  the  Lord  called 
him  (1 S  38ff-)>  and  pseudo-Ignatius  (ad  Magn.  3)  makes  Solomon 
12  when  he  delivered  the  famous  judgment  (1  K  3">ff-). 

t  W.  Taylor  Smith  notices  that  '  the  12 '  occurs  twenty -two 
times  in  the  Gospels  (art.  '  Numbers '  in  DCG). 

§  Taken  as  an  expression  of  real  faith,  not  of  delusive  hope 
(see  the  Commentaries).  The  prophet's  faith  for  the  holy 
nation,  the  Servant  of  God,  decided,  it  might  be  supposed,  the 
terms  of  our  Lord's  faith  for  Himself  aa  One  '  torn '  and 
'smitten'  for  their  sins. 

II  See  E.  A.  Abbot's  Message  of  the  Son  of  Man,  London,  1909, 
ch.  ix.  There  is  also  a  reference  in  his  The  Son  of  Man,  Cam- 
bridge, 1910,  p.  200  (Addendum  on  « The  Third  Day '). 

«U  The  strongest  argument,  perhaps,  in  favour  of  distinguish- 
ing,  in  reference  to  the  '  3rd  day,'  between  Jesus  and  His  re- 
porters, is  that  supplied  by  Mt  1240.  This  verse  is  an  obvious 
gloss  on  the  part  of  the  Evangelist,  who  thinks  that  the  '  sign ' 
referred  to  is  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Jesus,  and  naturally 
finds  the  point  of  comparison  between  Him  and  Jonah  in  the 
'  3  days.'  He  is  not  disturbed  by  the  fact  that  in  Jonah's  case 
there  are  '  3  nights '  as  well  (Jon  I17).  The  sign  intended  by  our 
Lord  is  that  explained  in  v.<J. 


96 


NUMBERS 


NYMPHA,  NYMPHA8 


Gospels  in  which  some  kind  of  symbolical  meaning 
may  lurk  in  the  fact  or  mention  of  the  number 
3  are:  '3  measures  of  meal'  (Mt  1333),  'these  3' 
(Lk  1036),  'these  3  years'  (137),  '3  temptations' 
(Mt  4lff-),  3  agonized  prayers  (2637ff-  <*.  « || ;  cf. 

2  Co  128),  3  denials  and  charges  of  Simon  Peter 
(Mt  2669ff-  ||  Jn  2115ff-).     Of  these  perhaps  the  most 
relevant  are  the  3  temptations  of  Jesus  and  the  3 
years  of  patience  with  the  barren  fig-tree.     In  both 
instances  the  number  may  be  suggested  by  3;i  as 
the  common  apocalyptic  number  for  a  period"  of 
trial  or  probation.     In  regard  to  the  153  of  Jn  2111 
Calvin  has  perhaps  said  the  last  word  :  '  Quantum 
ad  piscium  numerum  spectat  non  est  sublime  aliquid 
in  eo  qucerendum  mysterium'  (Com.  adloc.).  'Peter 
never  landed  a  haul  of  fish  without  counting  them  ' 
(M.  Dods,  in  EGT,  London,  1897,  ad  loc.). 

3.  Three  and  a  half  appears  instructively  in  Lk 
42S  (cf.  Ja  5").  The  addition  of  the  \  to  the  3  of 
1  K  181  is  evidently  due  to  apocalyptic  tradition. 

ii.  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES. — Apart  from 
the  instances  already  referred  to,  the  most  relevant 
seem  to  be  :  7  deacons  (63),  7  '  sons  of  one  Sceva  a 
Jew,'  using  the  name  of  Jesus  (19U),  the  3  forties 
in  the  history  of  Moses  and  the  Israelites  (723-  ^  36), 

3  days  without  sight  and  food  (99),  '4  corners  of 
the  earth '(1011). 

iii.  THE  PAULINE  EPISTLES.  —  i.  Oratorical 
rhythm. — It  occurred  to  the  present  writer*  to 
study  the  rhetorical  sentences  of  St.  Paul  with  the 
view  of  discovering  whether  any  sort  of  preference 
was  given  to  particular  numbers  in  lists  of  words, 
phrases,  or  sentences.  The  investigation  seems  to 
show  that  if  a  preference,  instinctive  or  conscious, 
is  given  to  any  number  above  another,  it  is  rather 
to  5,  3,  or  even  6,  than  to  7.  Thus  in  Ro  829f-  there 
are  5  steps  (including  the  terminus  a  quo)  from 
'foreknowledge'  to  'glory,'  in  Ro  1012'15  the 
number  from  '  call '  to  '  sent '  is  5.  St.  Paul  would 
rather  speak  '5  words  with  understanding  than 
10,000  in  a  tongue'  (1  Co  1418).  The  grace  in 
which  the  Corinthians  abound  and  the  things  they 
are  to  put  up  with  are  5  (2  Co  87  II20).  There  are 
5  things  to  be  mortified  (Col  35),  5  things  to  be  put 
off,  and  5  to  be  put  on  (with  love  as  6th)  (Col  38- 12), 
5  good  works  of  a  widow  (1  Ti  510). 

Instances  of  3,  single  or  multiple,  are  'faith, 
hope,  love,  these  3'  (1  Co  131S),  the  9  fruits  of  the 
spirit  in  Gal  522f-.  The  rhetorical  questions  at  615'- 
are  3.  In  the  remarkable  passage  2  Co  64ff-  the 
phrases  beginning  with  4v  are  18,  those  beginning 
with  Sid  are  3,  while  the  adversative  phrases  begin- 
ning with  ws  are  7. 

In  the  passage  in  Romans  already  alluded 
to  (828ff')  the  number  from  'tribulation'  to 
'sword'  (v.35)  is  7,  and  at  2  Co  711  there  are  7 
exhibitions  of  sorrow.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  number  is  absent  where  we  might  most  expect 
it.  Thus  the  weapons  of  the  spiritual  warfare  in 
Eph  613ff-  are  6,  and  the  things  to  be  thought  on  in 
Ph  4s  are  also  6  (cf.  1  Ti  412  611). 

Rhetorical  examples  of  4  are  :  Eph  612  (4  powers 
to  be  resisted),  Ph  319  (4-fold  description  of  the 
enemies  of  the  Cross),  2  Ti  316  (the  profit  of  Scrip- 
ture in  4  particulars),  211-13  (a  faithful  saying  in  4 
conditional  clauses),  222  (4  things  to  follow  after). 

2.  Symbolical  suggestion. — Apart  from  rhetorical 
connexions  it  would  appear  that  the  numbers  3 
and  4  occur  most  frequently,  if  also  in  part  uncon- 
sciously, in  a  sacred  connexion.  In  2  Co  1314  we 
have  the  trinitafian  benediction,  and  in  the 
descriptions  of  God  and  the  company  in  heaven  a 
preference  seems  to  be  given  to  the  number  3  (1  Ti 
I17  521).  Along  with  the  3  graces  (1  Co  1313)  may 
be  placed  the  3  gifts  (2  Ti  I7).  On  the  other  hand, 
in  the  usual  form  of  greeting  there  is  no  reference 

*  Unaware  at  the  time  that  Zockler  had  carried  out  the  same 
idea  in  his  art.  '  Siebenzahl '  in  P.RJ53  xviii.  310  ff. 


to  the  Holy  Spirit,  but  only  to  'God  our  Father' 
and  the  '  Lord  Jesus  Christ '  (Ro  I7  and  all  the 
Epistles  to  Churches  except  Galatians).  In  all 
but  the  three  Pastoral  Epistles  the  ingredients  of 
the  blessing  are  2  (grace  and  peace),  in  the 
Pastorals  they  are  3  (grace,  mercy,  and  peace). 
The  better  text,  however,  in  Tit  I4  omits  £Xeos. 
The  apocalyptic  suggestions  in  the  '  3rd  heaven ' 
of  2  Co  122,  and  in  the  4  dimensions  of  the  im- 
measurable in  Eph  318,  should  be  noticed. 

iv.  THE  EPISTLE  TO  THE  HEBREWS.— The  ora- 
torical style  of  this  book,  where  the  clauses  and 
phrases  are  more  carefully  balanced  than  in  St. 
Paul's  writings,  would  lead  us  to  expect  a  prefer- 
ence for  the  perfect  number  7.  But  here,  as  in 
the  Pauline  Epistles,  other  numbers  (e.g.  5  and  6) 
are  just  as  frequent.  Thus  in  II32  there  are  7 
from  'Gideon'  to  'the  prophets' ;  in  1218,  7  things 
to  which  'ye  have  not  come.'  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  in  7s  we  have  a  5-fold  description  of  the 
King  of  Peace  ;  in  726,  5  adjectives  describe  the 
High  Priest,  Christ ;  in  6lf-  we  have  the  '  founda- 
tions '  of  Christian  faith  in  6  particulars  ;  in  1222, 
there  are  8  or,  reckoning  '  Mount  Zion '  and  the 
'city  of  the  living  God'  separately,  9  things  to 
which  '  ye  have  come.'  This  is  the  more  remark- 
able that  the  author  seems,  pretty  clearly,  to 
associate  a  mystical  significance  with  the  number 
7  (44). 

v.  THE  EPISTLE  OF  JAMES.— In  317  there  are  7 
attributes  of  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above ;  in 
517  we  have,  as  in  Lk  425,  3J  for  the  3  of  1  K  171. 

vi.  THE  SECOND  EPISTLE  OF  PETER.— In  I5flr-,  7 
virtues  are  evolved  from  faith  ;  in  2s,  we  have 
'  Noah  the  8th  person '  (AV).  According  to  Gn  5, 
however,  Noah  is  the  9th  or,  according  to  the 
reckoning  followed  in  Jude14,  the  10th  from 
Adam.  The  supposition  may  be  hazarded  that  7 
generations  had  come  to  be  regarded  as  the  measure 
of  the  world  before  the  Flood.  The  '  8th  person ' 
begins  the  new  world.  In  38,  1  day  is  mentioned 
as  the  shortest  period  and  1,000  years  as  the  longest 
(cf.  Ps  904). 

vii.  THE  FIRST  EPISTLE  OF  JOHN.  —  In  the 
Johannine  style  the  sentence  of  3  clauses  prevails : 
e.g.  I6-  8  et  passim.  For  examples  of  words  and 
short  phrases  cf.  210  318,  and  especially  5s  (the 
'3  that  bear  witness  on  earth'). 

viii.  THE  EPISTLE  OF  JUDE.— In  v.14  we  have 
'the  7th  from  Adam.'  The  number  is  obtained 
by  reckoning  Adam  one  of  the  7  (cf.  Gn  5s'18). 

LITERATURE. — Artt.  in  HDB,  DCG,  and  EBi.  Of  similar  work 
in  German,  E.  C.  A.  Riehm's  art. '  Zahlen '  in  Handworterbuch 
des  biblischen  A  Itertums,  1884,  and  O.  Zockler's  art. '  Siebenzahl, 
heilige,'  in  PJRE3  xviii.  [1906]  310 ff.,  will  be  found  specially 
helpful.  See  the  latter  especially  on  the  bibliography  of  the 
subject.  Of  monographs  may  be  mentioned  H.  Gunkel,  Zum 
relig.-geschichtt.  Verstdndnis  des  NT,  Gottingen,  1903  (e.g.  on 
the  number  4,  p.  43  f.,  and  p.  81) ;  T.  K.  Cheyne,  Bible  Prob- 
lems and  the  New  Material  for  their  Solution,  London,  1904  ; 
but  especially  A.  Jeremias,  Babylonisches  im  NT,  Leipzig, 
1905  (a  sequel  to  Das  A  Tim  Lichte  des  alten  Orients,  do.,  1904). 
Regarding  this  work  Zockler  remarks  that  it  is  a  good  antidote 
to  the  extravagant  Babylonism  of  Gunkel  and  Cheyne.  Note, 
in  Zockler's  bibliography,  especially  the  references  to  the  works 
of  F.  von  Andrian  ('  Die  Siebenzahl  im  Geistesleben  der 
Volker,'  in  Mitte.il.  der  Anthropol.  Gesellschaft  in  Wien,  vol. 
xxxi.  [1901]  pp.  225-274)  and  W.  H.  Roscher  ('  Die  Bedeutung 
der  Siebenzahl  im  Kultus  und  Mythus  der  Griechen,'  in  Philo- 
logus,  1900,  pp.  260-373).  On  the  development  of  number- 
symbolism  in  the  Church  in  connexion  with  its  ethical  teaching 
see  Zockler,  Die  Tugendlehre  des  Christentums  geschichtlich 
darqestellt  mit  besonderer  Riicksicht  aufdie  Zahlensymbolische 
Einkleidung  ihrer  Lehrformen,  Giitersloh,  1904. 

L.  A.  MUIEHEAD. 

NURTURE.— See  CHASTISEMENT. 

NYMPHA,  NYMPHAS.— In  Col  4"  (AV)  we 
read,  '  Salute  the  brethren  which  are  in  Laodicea 
and  Nymphas  and  the  church  in  his  house.'  The 
proper  name  is  found  in  the  accusative  case  TSvpfav, 
and  may  be  masculine  (Nvfuftav)  or  feminine 


OATH 


OATH 


(Xi'/u^ai*).  The  feminine  form  Ni5/*0ai>  is  Doric  for 
y>j/jL<f>-i]v,  and  Lightfoot  (Colossians,  p.  242)  thinks 
it  '  in  the  highest  degree  improbable  '  that  such  a 
Doric  form  should  occur  here  ;  but  similar  forms 
occur  in  Jn  11s  and  Ac  9s8,  while  the  contracted 
masc.  accus.  ~8vn<t>a.v  for  Xv/jupaSa  is  very  rare. 
The  question  is  complicated  by  a  variety  of 
readings  in  the  following  clause.  There  is  strong 
evidence  for  the  reading  '  her'  house  (O.VTTJS),  which  is 
adopted  by  WH,  RVm,  Tr  mg.,  and  Ln  ;  while  T, 
Tr,  L,  and  KV  read  '  their '  house  (airruv).  If  the 
correct  form  be  '  her  house, '  then  the  name  is 
Nytnpha,  and  the  bearer  a  woman  of  Laodicea  in 
whose  house  a  number  of  Christians  met  for 
worship.  If  this  be  the  true  solution,  then  Nympha 
was  a  woman  of  the  same  type  as  Prisca  at 
Koine  (Ro  163),  or  Lydia  at  Philippi  (Ac  1614).  The 
reading  '  his  house'  (otrroC)  is  found  in  several  good 
MSS— DFGKL ;  and  if  this  be  accepted,  the 
name  is  Nymphas,  which  would  probably  be  a 


contracted  form  of  Nymphodorus,  as  Artemas  for 
Artemidorus,  Zenas  for  Zenodorus,  and  Theudas 
for  Theodoras.  The  form  Nymphodorus  is  found 
by  no  means  infrequently,  while  Nymphas  on  the 
other  hand  occurs  seldom.  Other  names  of  which 
Nymphas  might  be  a  contraction  are  suggested  by 
Lightfoot,  viz.  Nymphius,  Nymphicus,  Nymphi- 
dius,  Nymphodotus,  the  first  and  last  being  most 
common.  The  reading  'their  house'  leaves  the 
form  of  the  name  uncertain  and  is  probably  due  to 
a  change  made  by  a  scribe  who  included  '  brethren  ' 
in  the  reference,  while  a  scribe  might  alter  the 
fern.  abrTJs  to  avrou  under  the  assumption  that  a 
woman  could  not  be  referred  to  in  this  way.  The 
more  difficult  reading  (O.VTTJS)  is  probably  the  correct 
one  in  this  case,  and  if  so,  a  woman,  Nympha,  is 
meant  by  the  Apostle. 

LITERATURE. — J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Cologsians'and  Philemon^,  Lon- 
don, 1876,  p.  242  ;  A.  S.  Peake,  in  EGT,  'Colossians,'  do.,  1903, 
p.  647.  Artt.  in  HDB  and  EBi,  s.v.  \V.  F.  BOYD. 


0 


OATH. — An  oath  may  be  defined  as  an  assertion 
that  a  statement  is  true  (Germ,  assertorischer  Eid) 
or  shall  be  true  (promissorischer  Eid),  or  a  promise 
of  loyalty  and  fidelity,  made  binding  by  invocation 
of  the  Deity,  or  of  some  person  or  thing  revered  or 
dreaded.  The  motive  for  telling  the  truth  may  be 
regard  for  what  is  thus  invoked  (e.g.  the  honour  of 
God)  or  the  fear  of  avenging  punishment.  It  is 
generally  held  that  the  latter  thought  is  dominant 
and  determinative,  even  when  only  implicit.  In 
an  adjuration  one  person  states  the  terms  of  the 
oath  and  another  accepts  it,  thus  owning  the 
solemn  sanction  invoked  by  the  first  party  as  the 
ground  and  guardian  of  the  truth  he  vows  to  tell. 
The  other  use  of  the  ambiguous  words  '  oath,' 
'swear,'  viz.  for  meaningless  profanity  of  speech, 
does  not  immediately  concern  us,  in  spite  of  Mk 
1471  (EV)  (see  EBi  Hi.,  art.  'Oath').  An  oath  in 
the  primary  sense  guarantees  truth-telling  under 
necessity,  and,  like  the  '  necessary '  lie  (Notlitge), 
belongs  at  best  to  the  higher,  and  too  frequently 
to  the  lower,  casuistry.  A  NT  example  of  the 
latter,  which  Jesus  vigorously  denounced,  occurs 
in  Mt  2316'22.  On  such  casuistry,  irreverence  is  a 
close  attendant.  To  the  present  writer  it  appears 
that  the  customary  views  on  this  subject  need 
considerable  revision  if  they  are  to  be  harmonized 
with  the  Gospels,  with  justice  to  certain  '  sects ' 
(Quakers,  Mennonites,  etc.),  with  practical  experi- 
ence of  the  law-courts,  and  with  the  possibility 
that  even  of  a  thing  which  is  '  woven  into  the 
common  law '  it  may  be  necessary  to  say,  in 
Milton's  wrords  (Of  Reformation  touching  Church 
Discipline,  1641,  p.  "78)  :  '  Let  it  weave  out 
again.' 

The  chief  NT  passages  concerned  are  Mt  533"37, 
where  Jesus  gives  the  command,  '  Swear  not  at  all,' 
and  the  parallels  in  2316'22  and  Ja  512.  It  is  main- 
tained by  Zahn  and  others,  with  much  probability, 
that  St.  James  has  here  preserved  the  original 
words  of  Jesus  in  a  purer  form  than  St.  Matthew 
(T.  Zahn,  '  Matt.,'  in  Kommentar  zum  NT,  1903 tf., 
p.  244).  The  chief  grounds  for  this  view  are  : — 
(1)  that  certain  ancient  writers  quote  the  first  part 
of  Mt  5s3'37  as  it  now  stands,  but  substitute  Ja  512 
for  St.  Matthew's  ending;  (2)' that  some  of  these 
writers  appear  not  to  have  known  this  Epistle,  and 
therefore  they  and  St.  James  will  have  derived 
these  words  from  a  common  source,  older  and 
VOL.  ii. — 7 


better  than  Mt  5s7 ;  (3)  that  Ja  512  is  free  from  an 
apparent  inconsistency  which  attaches  to  Mt  5s7, 
for  Jesus  has  been  urging  that  His  followers  should 
keep  to  the  simplest  possible  form  of  affirmation, 
and  'yea,  yea'  is  not  strictly  that;  the  second 
'  yea '  seems  almost  a  vain  repetition.  On  the 
other  hand,  Ja  512  may  possibly  be  secondary  ;  for 
instead  of  '  Let  your  "  yea  "  be  (a  reliable  and  un- 
adorned) "yea"  and  your  "  nay,"  "  nay,'"  it  may 
be  rendered  :  '  Let  yours  be  the  "  yea,  yea,"  "  nay, 
nay"  (enjoined  in  Mt.).'  Further,  while  St. 
Matthew's  double  '  yea '  can  scarcely  be  defended 
(but  see  H.  H.  Wendt,  The  Teaching  of  Jesus, 
Eng.  tr.,  1892,  i.  269)  as  securing  clearness — for 
what  illumination  does  the  repetition  convey  ? — 
yet  the  emphasis  added  by  the  second  word  is  by 
no  means  extreme,  and  Jesus  may  therefore  have 
used  it ;  it  falls  short  of  the  '  verily '  which  He  used 
so  often.  However  this  may  be,  the  two  passages 
yield  the  common  and  unmistakable  general  prin- 
ciple of  a  characteristic  Christian  simplicity  and 
moderation  of  speech.  This  is  further  enforced 
by  the  words,  '  Swear  not  at  all '  (JUT?  6\ws).  Any 
exceptions  to  this  strongly  exclusive  phrase  must 
bear  the  burden  of  proof,  and  to  apply  it  strictly 
in  the  meantime  is  the  only  natural  course,  and 
the  precise  reverse  of  'hair-splitting'  (T.  Keim, 
Jesus  of  Nazara,  Eng.  tr.,  iii.  [1877]  314).  This 
strictness  is  made  still  more  binding  by  the  parallel 
in  St.  James:  'nor  by  any  other  oath.'  The  for- 
bidden oaths  specified  in  Mt  5s4'36  are  illustrations 
only — selected,  not  exhaustive.  The  ground  of 
the  prohibition  is  the  link  with  God  which  in  the 
thoughts  of  our  Lord's  hearers  (ch.  5)  and  also  in 
the  teaching  of  the  Pharisees  (ch.  23)  had  been 
snapped ;  this  He  replaces  with  reiterated  em- 
phasis. These  evasive  or  frivolous  oaths  are 
condemned  expressly  because,  in  principle,  the 
name  of  God  is  involved  in  them.  The  main 
appeal  in  both  chapters  is,  as  J.  Kb'stlin  (in  PEE3 
v.  239  f.)  has  already  maintained,  an  appeal  to 
reverence,  though  this  is  indissociably  combined 
with  the  demand  for  veracity.  All  false  swearing 
amounts  indirectly  to  profane  swearing.  For  it 
must  be  irreverent  either  because  God's  presence 
is  invoked  in  order  to  make  a  lie  more  credible,  or 
else  because  men  adopt  a  formula  (as  in  Mt  5  and 
23)  which  seeks  to  exclude  Him  while  the  lie  is 
told.  The  '  evil '  which  is  the  source  of  '  whatso- 


98 


OATH 


OATH 


ever  is  more  than '  a  simple  affirmation  consists  of 
casuistry  and  irreverence  alike. 

That  Jesus  is  not  attacking  untruthfulness  alone 
is  further  shown  by  this,  that  He  offers  His  teach- 
ing as  a  conscious  correction  of  that  which  had 
been  given  to  the  ancients,  viz.  that  vows  or  oaths 
by  God  must  be  kept  (cf.  W.  C.  Allen,  ICC,  '  St. 
Matthew,'3  1912,  p.  53).  If  Jesus  meant  that  the 
oath  by  God  should  be  left  standing  (so  Keim,  op. 
cit.  p.  31  If.)  in  the  interests  of  veracity,  He  only 
confirmed  the  OT.  Moreover,  if  that  were  His 
only  object,  then  instead  of  '  Swear  not  at  all '  (for 
one  cannot  evade  the  reference  to  God),  He  would 
have  needed  to  say,  '  Never  let  any  matter  of 
importance  be  settled  without  an  oath,  and  that 
directly  by  the  name  of  God.' 

Wendt  (op.  cit.  p.  269  f.)  and  others  hold  that 
the  oath  is  '  of  the  evil '  because  it  implies  that 
the  truth  need  not  be  told  on  other  occasions.  But 
that  seems  to  imply  that  the  oath  itself  is  not '  of 
the  evil,'  but  a  highly  commendable  act  of  excep- 
tional virtue.  It  is  true  that  oaths  on  special 
occasions  encourage  a  double  standard  of  truth- 
fulness. This  is,  indeed,  denied  in  a  vigorous 
article  by  \V.  C.  Magee  (CR  xlix.  [1886]  1  ff.), 
in  which  it  is  maintained  that  oaths  are  only  a 
forcible  reminder  of  a  duty  which  applies  equally 
at  other  times ;  but  the  oath  actually  uttered  by 
witnesses  always  concerns  itself  quite  specially 
with  the  particular  case  under  trial.  Yet  this 
limitation  of  the  veracity  due  outside  the  oath 
cannot  be  the  chief  evil  in  the  oath.  That  chief 
evil,  so  far  as  it  is  lying  at  all,  must  be  lying  which 
is  committed  in  and  under  the  oath ;  and  this  is 
not  merely  nor  chiefly  un veracity  ;  by  it  a  despite 
is  done  to  God  which  seems  to  have  been,  in  the 
judgment  of  Jesus,  an  additional  and  greater  sin. 
Now  the  admissions  of  writers  of  all  views  show 
that  a  very  large  proportion  of  those  who  have 
strong  motives  for  untruth  will  not  be  deterred  by 
any  oath  that  can  be  devised  (cf.  Magee,  op.  cit. 
p.  3).  In  any  case,  their  testimony  will  be  false, 
and  thus  a  certain  irreverence  will  be  implied  in  it, 
but  only  remotely  ;  the  requirement  of  an  oath 
will  simply  make  it  far  more  pointed  and  direct ; 
for  it  is  known  beforehand  that  a  large  number,  if 
they  take  an  oath  at  all,  will  commit  perjury; 
moreover,  few  of  these  perjuries  will  be  investi- 
gated, and  the  number  punished  will  be  negligible. 
At  the  other  end  of  the  scale  are  those  who  would 
tell  the  truth  under  any  circumstances — the  earnest 
Christians  whom  the  oath  only  forces  into  a  certain 
lowering  of  tone,  and  the  high-minded  unbelievers 
who,  when  the  case  is  over,  will  have  been  truthful 
in  everything  except  in  the  oath  by  which  their 
truthfulness  is  '  ensured.'  And  with  both  of  these 
undesirable  results  the  name  of  God  will  be  con- 
cerned in  a  way  which  is  at  least  indelicate. 

The  ideal  of  Jesus  is  clear.  A  man  is  to  be  so 
truthful  that  his  possible  untruthfulness  need  not 
be  reckoned  with,  and  therefore  he  will  take  no 
oath,  nor  be  asked  to  take  one.  But  if  men  will 
not  always  trust  him,  owing  to  the  general  lack  of 
trustworthiness,  is  he  or  is  he  not  to  submit  to  this 
indignity  (cf.  Clem.  Alex.  Stromata,  vii.  8,  and 
Kant's  epithet  '  State  blackmail '  or  '  civil  extor- 
tion' [biirgerliches  Erpressunysmittel]  in  Die  Reli- 
gion innerhalb  der  Grenzen  der  blossen  Vernunft, 
1793,  p.  226;  Eng.  tr.,  1838),  in  which  he  will 
feel  that  God  is  implicated  ?  It  may  be  said  that 
this  surrounding  '  evil '  of  the  world  would  make 
only  the  demanding  of  the  oath  to  be  wrong,  not  the 
taking  of  it.  But  any  submission  to  or  compromise 
with  the  'evil'  can  be  regarded  as  an  unworthy 
surrender,  and  as  itself  evil.  Another  vital  point 
is  the  shrinking  attitude  towards  God  which  is 
taken  in  the  oath  by  the  explicit  or  implicit  invo- 
cation of  His  powers  of  punishment.  The  question 


arises  whether  that  is  a  Christian  or  a  sub-Christian 
conception  of  Him  ;  whether  the  Christian  does  not 
tell  the  truth,  in  the  ordinary  course,  from  far 
higher  motives  ;  and  whether,  by  suddenly  accept- 
ing an  official  injunction  to  '  believe  and  shudder ' 
before  Him  whom  he  is  usually  permitted  to  love, 
he  does  not  do  an  injustice  to  God  and  to  himself. 
Magee  admits  that  the  oath  has  lost  its  power  in- 
creasingly with  the  decline  of  superstitious  dread 
(op.  cit.  p.  13 f.),  and  Kostlin  admits  that  the 
non-swearing  sects  have  been  influenced  largely  by 
a  reverence  and  delicacy  which  lie  upon  the  un- 
spoiled Christian  spirit  like  bloom. 

In  face  of  all  this,  can  the  oath  be  re-instated  by 
the  actual  practice  of  Jesus  or  of  St.  Paul  ?  In  the 
case  of  the  latter,  '  the  disciple  is  not  above  his 
master '  (see  Barclay,  quoted  by  A.  Tholuck, 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  Eng.  tr.,  1860,  p.  261) ;  and 
apart  from  that,  the  actual  examples  of  assevera- 
tion in  his  Epistles  are  not  very  convincing  (see 
H.  Weinel,  St.  Paul,  Eng.  tr.,  1906,  p.  358,  and 
C.  H.  Watkins,  St.  Paul's  Fight  for  Galatia,  1914, 
pp.  108,  159 f.).  This  is  especially  evident  at 
1  Co  I14-16,  which,  in  view  of  the  'I  thank  God,' 
reveals  a  strange  lack  of  clarity  ;  and,  where  the 
witness  is  himself  uncertain,  strong  expressions  of 
affirmation  and  invocation  can  but  add  to  the 
difficulties. 

As  to  Jesus,  it  is  curious  that  Mt  2663'611  should 
be  thought  so  conclusive.  There  are  two  important 
variations  in  the  Synoptic  accounts,  thus  : 

Mt  2663ff.  Mk  1461t  Lk  226T& 

I   adjure   thee   by        Art     thou     the       Art      thou      the 
the  living  God,  that    Christ,  the  Son  of    Christ?    Tell  us. 
thou  tell  us  whether    the  Blessed  ? 
thou  be  the  Christ. 

Thou  hast  said.  I  am.  If  I  tell  you,  ye 

will  not  believe. 

For  the  adjuration,  we  have  the  authority  of 
St.  Matthew  alone  ;  and  an  adjuration  would  not 
in  any  case  be  an  ordinary  oath.  If  one  who  is 
'  adjured'  does  not,  by  one  explicit  word,  say  that 
he  makes  the  adjuration  his  own,  it  remains  the 
utterance  of  the  other  party  only,  and  no  one  can 
prove  that  he  answers,  or  answers  truly,  because 
of  it  (see  HDB,  art.  '  Adjure ').  The  Jewish  use  of 
'Amen'  in  acceptance  of  an  adjuration  is  often 
appealed  to  as  if  it  occurred  here  (see  Tholuck,  op. 
cit.  p.  254),  but  Jesus  said  no  such  word.  He 
makes  reference  only  to  the  question  asked  Him, 
not  to  the  adjuration  in  itself.  And  is  that  reply 
explicit?  According  to  St.  Mark,  He  answers, 
'  I  am  (the  Messiah) ' ;  but  probably  St.  Mark  is 
secondary  here,  for  Messianic  utterances  are 
usually  the  more  confident  the  later  they  are.* 
Moreover,  '  I  am '  can  be  understood  as  St.  Mark's 
interpretation  of  'Thou  hast  said,'  but  not  vice 
versa.  J.  Weiss  has  argued  with  much  force  that 
Jesus  could  not,  to  any  purpose,  answer  either  'yes' 
or  'no'  (Schriften  des  A7r-,  i.  [1906]  393  f.,  516  f.;  cf. 
W.  C.  Allen  on  Mt  2663  [op.  cit.  p.  283  f.]  and  Swete 
on  Mk  14fi2  [St.  Mark3,  1902]).  In  St.  Luke  this 
evasiveness,  or  indefiniteness,  is  patent,  but  in  St. 
Matthew  also  the  emphatic  pronoun  ('Thou  hast 
said ' — not  I ;  cf.  Lk  2270)  suggests  that  a  definite 
answer  was  refused.  That  the  high  priest  treated 
the  answer  (or  perhaps  the  following  prophecy)  as 
a  plain  self-condemnation  proves  nothing  except 
that  he  wished  to  do  so  (cf.  Swete  on  Mk  1461  and  art. 
CONSPIRACY).  The  tone  of  Jesus'  reply  is  at  any 
rate  lofty,  and  not  in  the  least  submissive.  Essen- 
tially the  same  reply  is  given  by  Jesus  to  Pilate 
(who  has  no  interest  in  making  it  more  definite 

*  St.  Mark's  confidence  and  emphasis  show  how  far  he  is  from 
the  thought  of  an  unwilling-  confession  extorted  solely  by  an 
adjuration.  He  mentions  no  adjuration,  and  on  his  showing 
the  question  might  have  been  answered  earlier  if  it  had  been 
asked. 


OATH 


OBEDIENCE 


99 


than  it  is),  and  it  is  not  regarded  as  closing  the 
case  (Mk  152,  Mt  2711,  Lk  233). 

On  this  evidence  it  cannot  be  held,  with  any  con- 
fidence, that  Jesus  accepted  the  adjuration,  and 
His  example  does  not,  therefore,  justify  oaths  in 
law,  as  distinguished  from  private  conversation. 
In  Mt  5  He  is  not  dealing  directly  with  law-courts, 
but  we  do  not  know  that  He  would  have  exempted 
them  from  His  prohibition,  if  questioned. 

The  expression  el  SoOritrerat  yrjutlov  (literally  '  if  a 
sign  shall  be  given ')  in  Mk  812,  if  an  abbreviated 
oath -formula,  goes  far  to  decide  the  practice  of 
Jesus.  In  opposition,  however,  to  Piscator's  Straf- 
mich-Gott-Bibel  (Herborn,  1606),  and  to  various 
commentaries,  it  must  be  questioned  whether  the 
invocation  of  God's  punishment,  undoubtedly 
absent  from  His  words,  was  present  to  His  mind. 
Nothing  could  be  more  foreign  to  His  usual  atti- 
tude to  the  Father.  Much  more  prominence  has 
been  assigned  to  His  habitual  expression  '  Verily ' 
(  =  'Amen'),  which  He  used  in  an  unprecedented 
way  (G.  Dalman,  The  Words  of  Jesus,  Eng.  tr., 
1902,  pp.  226-229).  It  lends  some  support  to  the 
double  and  thus  emphatic  'yea'  and  'nay'  in 
Mt  537,  though  the  view  can  scarcely  be  accepted 
(see,  e.g.,  E.  Klostermann,  and  cf.  H.  J.  Holtzmann, 
in  loc.)  that  this  doubling  constituted  not  only  an 
emphasis  but  an  oath,  for  then  the  whole  context 
makes  v.87  impossible,  and  Ja  512  must  be  substi- 
tuted. Dalman  speaks  as  if  Jesus,  feeling  the 
need  of  asseveration,  and  embarrassed  by  the  recol- 
lection that  He  had  said  '  Swear  not  at  all,'  fixed 
upon  '  Amen '  as  an  evasive  but  virtual  oath  (cf. 
Achelis  on  early  '  Christian '  oaths  [Christentum, 
1912,  Excursus  62]).  But  it  is  only  fair  to  suppose 
that  Jesus  regarded  '  verily '  as  differing  from  the 
oath  in  principle  ;  for  by  it  a  man  neither  cringes 
before  God's  punishments,  nor  presumptuously 
offers  to  suffer  them  on  certain  conditions  of  his 
own. 

Regarding  He  6lst  T20*-  and  Rev  10"-,  from 
which  the  conclusion  is  often  drawn  that  Jesus 
cannot  have  forbidden  all  oaths,  since  oath-taking 
is  here  ascribed  to  God  and  His  angels,  and  com- 
mended when  practised  by  men,  it  may  be  said  : 
(1)  that  not  all  the  genuine  teachings  of  Jesus  were 
everywhere  known,  understood,  and  practised  in 
the  churches  of  the  1st  cent.  ;  (2)  that  the  Divine 
example,  especially  in  the  handling  of  something 
dangerous,  is  not  always  enjoined  upon  man.  The 
lex  talionis  is  forbidden  to  men  that  it  may  be  left 
entirely  to  God  (Mt  5**'^,  Ro  1219,  2  Ti  414). 
There  are  also  the  objections  that  the  ascription  of 
oath-taking  to  God  may  be  simply  anthropomorphic 
— which  is  the  very  opposite  of  following  a  Divine 
example;  and  that  His  swearing  'by  Himself  is 
irreconcilable  with  the  ordinary  definition  of  an 
oath  (see  above),  for  it  avowedly  does  not  include 
an  appeal  to  a  higher  power  (He  613),  still  less  the 
invocation  of  a  penalty. 

Exegetically,  the  best  conclusion  is  perhaps 
Augustine's  :  that  to  swear  falsely  is  perdition, 
to  swear  truly  is  perilous,  and  that  the  only  safe 
course  is  to  leave  the  oath  alone.  Practical  ex- 
perience tends  in  the  same  direction.  Defender 
after  defender  admits  that  perjury  is  committed 
constantly,  increasingly,  and  with  impunity.  This 
has  the  most  deadening  effect  on  morality  and 
religion  alike,  and  there  is  a  very  general  desire  to 
limit  oaths  to  a  few  matters  on  which  truthfulness 
is  specially  vital,  or  to  abolish  preparatory  oaths 
altogether  and  accept  sworn  testimony  only  to 
evidence  already  given.  The  latter  suggestion, 
however,  would  have  positively  bad  effects  unless 
witnesses  were  solemnly  reminded  beforehand  that 
they  would  have  to  take  an  oath  afterwards; 
otherwise,  if  they  had  once  uttered  falsehood,  they 
would  almost  certainly  not  go  back  on  it.  On  the 


Continent  there  is  a  strong  movement  within  the 
legal  profession  to  substitute  declarations  for  oaths 
(cf.F.  Paulsen,  SystemderEthik''-*,  1906,  ii.  208-209); 
in  certain  Swiss  cantons,  where  the  experiment  has 
been  tried,  false  evidence  has  not  increased.  In 
any  case,  the  best  deterrent  would  be  more  frequent 
prosecutions  and  severer  sentences  for  untrue 
witness.  It  would  probably  be  best  to  lay  upon 
the  magistrate  the  duty  of  impressing  on  witnesses 
the  seriousness  of  their  position,  but  to  leave  him 
free  to  do  this  when  and  how  he  thought  best.  A 
set  form  becomes  almost  inevitably  a  formality. 
Finally,  it  is  necessary  to  realize  that  much  of  the 
argumentation  on  this  whole  subject  is  double- 
edged.  If,  for  instance,  as  the  advocates  of  the 
oath  say,  the  word  '  verily '  is  practically  the 
equivalent  of  an  oath,  could  they  not  be  satisfied 
with  this  equivalent  ?  They  could  then,  perhaps, 
settle  the  controversy  by  accepting  as  adequate 
some  such  words  as  these  :  '  Recognizing  the 
solemn  duty  of  truthfulness,  I  verily  promise  that 
the  evidence  which  I  shall  give  in  this  case  shall  be 
the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the 
truth.' 

LITERATURE.— Besides  the  works  mentioned  in  the  art.,  see 
artt.  'Oath'  in  HDB  (G.  Ferries),  'Oaths'  in  DCG  (G. 
Wauchope  Stewart),  and  '  Eid(Ethisch)'  in  A'GG  (O.  Scheel), 
with  the  recent  literature  there  quoted.  Reference  may  also 
be  made  to  the  Commentaries  on  Matthew,  by  B.  Weiss10  (in 
Meyer's  Kommentar,  1910),  T.  Zahn-*  (Kommentar  zum  NT, 
1910),  E.  Klostermann  and  H.  Gressmann  (in  Lietzmann's 
UandbuchzumNT,  1909),  H.  J.  Holtzma.nn^(Handkommentar 
zum  NT,  1901),  W.  C.  Allen'  (ICC,  1912),  A.  B.  Bruce  (EGT, 
1897),  A.  Plummer  (1909) ;  on  Mark,  by  B.  WeissS  (in  Meyer, 
1892),  G.  Wohlenbergi-  2  (in  Zahn,  1910),  E.  Klostermann 
and  H.  Gressmann  (in  Lietzmann,  1907),  H.  J.  Holtzmann- 
(Handkom.,  1901),  E.  P.  Gould  (ICC,  1896),  A.  B.  Bruce  (EGT, 
1897),  H.  B.  Swete  (1902);  on  Hebrews,  by  B.  WeissS  (in 
Meyer,  1897),  E.  Riggenbach  (in  Zahn,  1913),  H.  Windisch 
(in  Lietzmann,  1913),  M.  Dods  (EGT,  1910) ;  on  James,  bv  W. 
Beyschlag  (in  Meyer,  1897),  W.  O.  E.  Oesterley  (EGT,  1910), 
R.  J.  Knowling  (1904),  J.  B.  Mayo:  (31810).  See  also  the 
text-books  on  Ethics  by  I.  A.  Dorn/;r  (Eng.  tr.,  1887),  C.  E. 
Luthardt  (Eng.  tr.,  1889),  H.  Martensen  (Eng.  tr.,  1881-85), 
G.  C.  A.  v.  Harless  (Eng.  tr.6,  1868),  R.  Rothe  (21867-71),  F. 
H.  R.  Frank  (1884-87),  K.  Kostlin  (1887),  L.  Lemme  (1905). 
Nearly  all  the  German  work  is  marked  by  a  strong  emphasis  on 
loyal  citizenship  ;  see  especially  Lemme  and  Frank. 

C.  H.  WATKINS. 

OBEDIENCE.— The  principal  word  which  calls 
for  notice  under  this  head  in  the  apostolic  writings 
is  the  noun  inraKo-ri,  with  the  corresponding  verb, 
vTraKovu,  and  adjective,  VWTTIKOOS.  vwaKorj  is  unknown 
in  classical  Greek.  It  occurs  once  in  the  LXX — 
2  S  22s6 ;  in  the  NT  it  is  common.  Its  general 
meaning  is  '  obedience '  (Ro  616 ;  cf.  the  verb  in 
Eph  61-  6,  Col  320-  22,  1  P  36,  and  Ro  612- 16) ;  but  it 
has  also  the  special  sense  of  submission  to  the 
Divine  will,  and  is  thus  found  of  the  obedience  of 
Christ  (Ro  519,  He  58 ;  cf.  Ph  28,  innfcoos).  In  regard 
to  Christians  it  comes  to  have  the  still  more 
special  sense  of  subjection  to  the  saving  will  of 
God,  as  revealed  in  Christ,  and  is  thus  brought 
into  close  connexion  with  the  idea  of  faith  (cf.  1 
P  I22,  vira.KO*i  TT/S  d\??0efas ;  Ro  1s  1626,  {nraKOT] 
Triffrews  ;  2  Co  105,  C«ra/co7j  TOV  Xpitrroi;.  Cf.,  in  the 
same  sense,  the  usage  of  viraxotiw  in  Ac  67,  2  Th  1s 
314).  Finally  we  find  viraKori  standing  alone,  as  a 
mode  of  manifestation  of  Christian  faith  (Ro  1518 
1619,  2  Co  715  106,  Philem  21,  1  P  I2- 14 ;  cf.  the  verb, 
Ph  212,  2  Co  716,  and  the  adjective,  2  Co  29). 

The  other  words  signifying  '  obedience '  in  the  NT 
are  the  noun  inroray-^,  properly  'subjection,'  and 
the  verb  vTrorda-ffeffBai.  These  are  sometimes  used 
as  synonyms  for  viraKori,  etc.  (cf.,  for  the  noun,  2 
Co  91S,  Gal  2s,  1  Ti  211  34;  and  for  the  verb,  Ro  10s, 
Ja  47,  1  P  213  5s,  He  12»). 

In  the  sub-apostolic  writings  both  series  of  words 
are  found  in  much  the  same  senses  as  in  the 
NT.  The  particular  circumstances  of  1  Clem.,  an 
Epistle  written  to  deal  with  a  state  of  disorder  in 
Corinth  occasioned  by  the  insurrection  of  some 
of  the  younger  men  of  the  Church  against  the 


100 


OCCUPATION 


elders,  bring  it  about  that  the  virtue  of  obedience 
and  subjection  is  particularly  commended  in  this 
Epistle  (cf.  ix.  3,  x.  2,  7,  xix.  1,  Ixiii.  1,  etc.).  The 
keynote  of  the  whole  Epistle  is  struck  in  xiv.  1, 
when  it  is  said  :  '  It  is  just  and  right,  brethren, 
that  we  should  rather  become  obedient  unto  God 
than  follow  those  who  in  vainglory  and  sedition 
have  become  the  leaders  of  a  detestable  emulation ' 
(cf.  also  Ign.  Eph.  ii.  2,  where  subjection  [viro- 
ray-rf]  to  Christ  is  the  same  thing  as  subjection  to 
the  bishop  and  the  presbytery). 

In  conclusion,  reference  may  be  made  to  a  pas- 
sage in  which  Thomas  Aquinas  endeavours  to 
define  the  special  virtue  of  obedience  (Summa 
Theologies,  II.  ii.  qusest.  104,  art.  2). 

'  To  all  good  works,  which  have  a  special  ground  of  praise- 
worthiness,  a  special  virtue  is  assigned.  For  this  is  what 
properly  belongs  to  a  virtue,  that  it  renders  a  good  work.  But 
to  obey  one's  superior  is  a  debt  we  owe  in  accordance  with  the 
Divine  order  immanent  in  things ;  and  as  a  consequence  is 
good.  .  .  .  The  act  we  are  considering  has,  however,  a  special 
ground  of  praiseworthiness  on  account  of  its  special  object. 
For  while  inferiors  have  many  duties  towards  their  superiors, 
amongst  the  rest  there  is  one  duty  in  particular,  that  they  are 
required  to  obey  their  commandments.  Wherefore  obedience 
is  a  special  virtue,  and  its  special  object  is  the  commandment, 
whether  implicit  or  explicit.  For  the  will  of  the  superior  how- 
ever made  known  is  in  a  way  an  implicit  command  :  and  obedi- 
ence appears  so  much  the  more  ready,  in  proportion  as  it 
anticipates  an  explicit  command  by  obeying,  when  the  will  of 
the  superior  is  perceived.' 

It  is  this  obedience  not  merely  to  the  express 
commands  of  God,  but  to  whatever  is  understood 
to  be  His  will,  which  constitutes  true  Christian 
obedience,  which  is  an  obedience  from  the  heart 
(Ro  617),  an  obedience  even  of  the  thoughts  (2  Co 
10s). 

LITERATURE. — H.  Cremer,  Bibl.-Theol.  Lexicon  of  NT  Greeks, 
1880 ;  H.  E.  Manning,  Sermons,  1844,  pp.  117,  129,  287  ;  R. 
Whately,  The  Use  and  Abuse  of  Party  Feeling  in  Matters  of 
Religion,  1859,  pp.  167,  196 ;  J.  H.  Newman,  Parochial  and 
Plain  Sermons,  1868,  i.  228,  viii.  201 ;  F.  W.  Robertson, 
Sermons,  2nd  ser.,  1875,  p.  94 ;  J.  Martineau,  Hours  of 
Thought,  1879,  ii.  79 ;  P.  Brooks,  The  Light  of  the  World,  1891, 
p.  340;  W.  R.  Inge,  All  Saints'  Sermons,  1907,  p.  172;  B.  P. 
Browne,  The  Essence  of  Religion,  1911,  p.  209;  A.  B.  D. 
Alexander,  Christianity  and  Ethics,  1914,  p.  164. 

ROBERT  S.  FRANKS. 
OCCUPATION.— See  LABOUR,  WORK. 

ODES  OF  SOLOMON.  — It  was  in  1909  that 
Rendel  Harris,  whose  researches  in  the  domain  of 
Christian  antiquities  have  been  so  fruitful,  en- 
riched the  learned  world  by  the  discovery  of  a 
collection  of  forty-two  old  Syriac  hymns  known  as 
'  The  Odes  of  Solomon.'  Since  their  publication 
many  useful  essays  by  eminent  scholars  have  beeji 
written  to  elucidate  the  difficult  questions  attach- 
ing to  a  composition  which  reflects  the  state  of 
mind  of  communities  belonging  to  so  early  a  period 
as  the  first  centuries  of  the  Christian  era.  The 
result  of  these  discussions  has  unfortunately  not 
been  such  as  to  lead  to  unanimity  of  judgment. 
We  shall  try  to  analyze  the  principal  theories,  and 
examine  which  of  them  seems  to  be  most  in  accord- 
ance with  the  original  text  and  with  the  general 
course  of  ecclesiastical  history. 

1.  Manuscripts  and  principal  editions  of  the 
Odes. — The  MS*  from  which  Rendel  Harris  pub- 
lished his  first  and  second  editions  is  not  very 
ancient.  It  cannot  be  older  than  the  15th  cent.  ; 
but  apart  from  occasional  passages  which  point  to 
a  corruption  of  some  words  by  careless  copyists,  it 
exhibits  generally  a  text  which  can  be  relied  upon 
for  critical  purposes.  It  is  written  in  Syro-Occi- 
dental  letters,  and  its  editor  tells  us  that  it  came 
from  the  valley  of  the  Tigris,  in  Northern  Meso- 
potamia. It  is  truncated  at  the  beginning  and  at 
the  end.  Odes  i.  and  ii.  and  some  lines  of  Ode  iii. 
are  missing ;  these  stood,  with  the  title  of  the 

*  This  MS  has  been  recently  acquired  by  the  Governors  of  the 
John  Rylands  Library  of  Manchester,  and  is  at  present  found 
there  as  Cod.  Syriac,  9. 


book,  on  the  three  leaves  which  are  lost  at  the 
beginning. 

In  1911  Harris  published  a  second  edition,  revised 
and  enlarged,  of  the  text,  with  a  facsimile  of  Odes 
xxvi.  13-14,  xxvii.  1-4.  In  the  same  year  H. 
Grimme  edited  the  Syriac  text  at  Heidelberg,  and 
translated  it  into  Hebrew,  with  the  intention  of 
showing  that  the  Syriac  version  was  dependent  on 
a  Hebrew  original.  In  1914  Kittel  published,  at 
the  close  of  a  discussion  of  the  Odes,  a  glossary  of 
the  words  used  in  the  text.* 

At  the  moment  of  writing  we  are  informed  that 
a  third  edition  is  being  published  at  Oxford  for  the 
Rylands  Library,  with  a  complete  reproduction  in 
facsimile  of  all  the  pages  of  the  MS.  We  expect 
that  this  publication  will  answer  a  legitimate 
desideratum  felt  everywhere  for  a  critical  editio 
princeps,  which,  so  far  as  the  text  and  its  literal 
translation  are  concerned,  will  be  a  safe  guide  to 
all  students  of  Christian  antiquities  and  a  solid 
basis  for  subsequent  researches. 

Besides  the  Syriac  text,  five  Odes  are  preserved 
in  Coptic  in  a  fantastic  book  entitled  Pistis  Sophia. 
These  are  Odes  i.,  v.,  vi.,  xxii.,  and  xxv.,  which  are 
not  only  quoted  and  given  a  Gnostic  interpretation 
in  that  book,  but  cited  as  Solomon's  and  com- 
mented on  in  extenso  as  if  they  were  canonical 
portions  of  the  Bible.  The  sentence  which  intro- 
duces them  is  vpoe^revtre  per  Salomonem,  the 
subject  being  vis  luminis. 

In  April,  1912,  F.  C.  Burkitt  published  in  the 
JThSt  some  variants,  from  a  MS  of  the  Nitrian 
collection  in  the  British  Museum,  previously  de- 
scribed by  the  skilled  hand  of  W.  Wright  (Cod. 
Mus.  Brit.  Add.  14,  538).  This  new  MS,  dating 
probably  from  the  10th  to  the  13th  cent.,  is  very 
important,  but  it  frequently  exhibits  a  truncated 
text,  as  many  words  are  quite  illegible,  and  it 
begins  only  at  Ode  xvii.  7.  Being  more  ancient 
than  Cod.  H,  it  occasionally  exhibits  readings 
which,  for  critical  reasons,  have  commended  them- 
selves to  scholars. 

As  to  the  modern  versions  made  upon  these 
texts,  besides  the  works  that  we  have  mentioned 
concomitantly  with  the  editions  of  the  original, 
the  following  publications  appear  to  be  the  most 
important.  (l)'Ein  jiidisch-christlich  Psalmbuch 
aus  dem  ersten  Jahrhundert,'  in  TU,  new  ser.,  v.  4 
[1910].  The  translation  is  by  J.  Flemming,  and 
the  critical  study  by  A.  Harnack.  (2)  G.  Diet- 
trich,  '  Eine  jiidisch-christliche  Liedersammlung 
aus  dem  apostolischen  Zeitalter,'  in  Die  Reforma- 
tion, ix.  [1910].  (3)  Les  odes  de  Salomon  :  separate 
edition  of  articles  printed  in  RB  vii.  [1910]  483  ft'., 
viii.  [1911]  5ff.,  161  ff.  The  translation  is  due  to 
J.  Labourt,  and  the  critical  study  to  P.  Batiffol. 
(4)  F.  Schulthess,  '  Textkritische  Bemerkungen  zu 
den  syrischen  Oden  Salomos,'  in  ZNTW  xi.  [1910]. 
This  study  contains  some  valuable  remarks,  its 
author  being  a  good  Semitic  scholar.  (5)  A.  Ungnad 
and  W.  Stark,  '  Die  Oden  Salomos,'  in  Kleine  Tcxte 
fur  theol.  und  phiL  Vorlesungen  und  Ubungen, 
Ixiv.  [1910].  (6)  J.  H.  Bernard,  'The  Odes  of 
Solomon,'  in  TS  viii.  3  [1912]. 

In  addition,  hundreds  of  useful  articles  are  to  be 
found  in  theological  magazines  of  Germany,  Great 
Britain,  and  France  ;  and  all  of  them  testify  to  the 
importance  of  these  beautiful  Odes  for  Christian 
dogma.  No  book,  not  even  the  Teaching  of  the 
Apostles,  has  excited  so  keen  an  interest  among 
Christian  students ;  and  its  discovery  is  to  be 
placed,  from  a  theological  point  of  view,  among 
the  events  of  which  the  20th  cent,  may  justly  be 
proud.  So  far  as  the  text  is  concerned,  few  amend- 
ments worth  noticing  have  been  suggested,  and 
the  very  few  linguistic  difficulties  that  the  original 
offers  will  remain  for  a  long  time  insoluble,  owing 
*  G.  Kittel,  Die  Oden  Salomos,  Leipzig,  1914. 


ODES  OF  SOLOMON 


ODES  OF  SOLOMON 


101 


to  the  scarcity  of  MSS  and  the  lack  of  exact 
Patristic  quotations. 

2.  Character  of  the  Odes.  —  Three  principal 
theories  as  to  the  nature  of  the  Odes  have  been 
launched  by  scholars  since  their  publication,  (a) 
The  first  theory,  put  forward  by  Harnack,  and 
fully  endorsed  by  Grimme,  considers  them  a  Jewish 
composition,  interpolated  towards  the  end  of  the 
1st  cent,  by  a  Christian  hand.  (b)  The  second 
theory  regards  them  as  entirely  Christian  hymns, 
and  Bernard,  a  well-known  holder  of  this  view, 
goes  so  far  as  to  believe  them  to  be  hymns  recited 
by  new  proselytes,  for  baptismal  purposes. 

'The  conclusion  which  seems  to  the  present  writer  to  emerge 
most  clearly  from  an  examination  of  the  Odes  is,  .  .  .  that 
they  are  baptismal  hymns  intended  for  use  in  public  worship, 
either  for  catechumens  or  for  those  who  have  recently  been 
baptized.  ...  A  few  parallelisms  here  and  there  might  be  set 
down  to  chance,  but  when  we  find  that  this  scheme  of  inter- 
pretation, applied  to  every  Ode,  provides  a  consistent  explana- 
tion of  their  phraseology  in  every  case,  and  in  some  cases 
illuminates  obscure  phrases  for  which  no  other  explanation  has 
been  suggested,  we  are  entitled  to  claim  for  it  serious  considera- 
tion '  (op.  cit.  p.  42).  '  The  Odes  do  not  differ  in  this  respect 
from  Ephraim's  baptismal  hymns'  (ib.  p.  vi). 

(c)  The  third  theory,  upheld  by  Harris,  who  put 
it  forward  at  the  very  beginning,  considers  the 
Odes  (or  most  of  them)  to  be  the  work  of  a  Jewish- 
Christian,  but  rejects  entirely  the  idea  of  an 
Ebionite  source. 

Before  we  try  to  form  a  judgment  as  to  which 
of  these  three  principal  theories  is  likely  to  receive 
most  support,  it  is  useful  to  know  how  the  Odist 
introduces  his  subject,  what  person  he  uses  in 
speaking,  and  what  kind  of  man  he  believes  him- 
self to  be. 

In  Ode  xx.  the  author  speaks  as  a  priest  of  the 
Most  High :  '  I  am  a  priest  of  the  Lord,  and  to 
Him  I  do  priestly  service :  and  to  Him  I  offer  the 
sacrifice  of  His  thought.'  In  the  following  Ode 
the  writer  believes  himself  to  be  a  bondman  that 
God  has  released  by  His  grace  :  '  My  arms  I  lifted 
up  on  high,  even  to  the  grace  of  the  Lord  :  because 
He  had  cast  off  my  bonds  from  me.'  In  Ode  xlii. 
we  read  the  following  lines  :  '  I  stretched  out  my 
hands  and  approached  my  Lord  :  for  the  stretching 
of  my  hands  is  His  sign  :  my  expansion  is  the  out- 
spread wood  which  was  set  up  on  the  way  of  the 
Kighteous  One.  And  I  became  of  no  account  to 
those  who  know  me,  for  I  shall  not  reveal  myself 
to  those  who  did  not  take  hold  of  me  ;  and  I  shall 
be  with  those  who  love  me.  All  my  persecutors 
are  dead  ;  and  they  have  sought  me  who  announced 
me,*  because  I  live,  and  I  rose  and  am  with  them  ; 
and  I  will  speak  by  their  mouths.  .  .  .  And  I  was 
not  rejected,  though  I  was  reckoned  to  be  so.  ... 
Death  cast  me  up,  and  many  along  with  me.  I 
was  gall  and  bitterness  to  him.'  Few  will  read 
these  passages  without  immediately  thinking  of 
Christ  as  the  speaker. 

In  many  other  passages  the  Christ  is  spoken  of 
in  the  third  person.  Ode  xxiv. :  '  The  Dove  fluttered 
over  the  Christ,  because  He  was  her  head ;  and  she 
sang  over  Him,  and  her  voice  was  heard.' 

In  some  passages  the  tone  of  the  Odist  is  homi- 
letic  and  didactic,  referring,  as  in  some  prophetical 
books,  neither  directly  nor  indirectly  to  Christ. 
Ode  xxiii.  :  '  Joy  is  or  the  saints !  and  who  shall 
put  it  on,  but  they  alone  ?  Grace  is  of  the  elect ! 
and  who  shall  receive  it,  except  those  who  trust  in 
it  from  the  beginning  ?  Love  is  of  the  elect !  and 
who  shall  put  it  on,  except  those  who  have  possessed 
it  from  the  beginning  ?  Walk  ye  in  the  knowledge 
of  the  Most  High,  and  you  shall  know  the  grace 
of  the  Lord  without  grudging.'  This  change  of 
tone  may  have  been  one  of  the  reasons  which  gave 
birth  to  the  theory  of  interpolation  referred  to 
above.  But,  as  Syriac  hymnology  constantly  ex- 
hibits this  characteristic  of  an  interchange  of 
*  Or  '  set  their  hope  on  me.' 


speakers,  no  serious  conclusion  can  be  drawn  from 
it  in  favour  either  of  diversity  of  authorship  or  of 
the  theory  of  interpolation.  On  the  contrary,  the 
main  idea  which  may  be  gathered  from  a  group  of 
three  or  four  Odes  remains  the  same  throughout, 
and  the  author  lays  stress  continually  on  the  same 
theme.  The  features  which  principally  strike  a 
reader  of  the  Odes,  besides  some  general  counsels 
of  piety,  may  be  summarized  as  follows. 

(1)  Love. — iii.  2-4:  '  And  my  members  are  with 
him.     And  on  them  do  I  hang,  and  He  loves  me : 
for  I  should  not  have  known  how  to  love  the  Lord, 
if  He  had  not  loved  me.     For  who  is  able  to  distin- 
guish love,  except  the  one  that  is  loved?.'    vi.  2: 
'  So  speaks  in  my  members  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord, 
and  I  speak  by  His  love.'    See,  further,  viii.  2,  14, 
23 ;  xi.  2  ;  xii.  11 ;  xvi.  4 ;  xviii.  1 ;  xxiiL  3 ;  x.  7. 

(2)  Knowledge. — vi.  5 :  '  The  Lord  has  multiplied 
the  knowledge  of  Himself,  and  is  zealous  that  these 
things  should  be  known,  which  by  His  grace  have 
been  given  to  us.'    vii.  24 :   '  For  ignorance  hath 
been  destroyed,  because  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord 
hath  arrived.'    See,  further,  vii.  4 ;  viii.  13 ;  xi.  4 ; 
xii.  3  ;  xv.  5  ;  xxiii.  4. 

(3)  Faith. — viii.  11:   'Keep  my  secret,  ye  who 
are  kept  by  it.'    iv.   5:   'Thou  hast  given  thy 
heart,  0  Lord,  to  thy  believers :  never  wilt  thou 
fail,  nor  be  without  fruits  :  for  one  hour  of  thy 
Faith  is  more  precious  than  all  days  and  years.' 
See,  further,  xvi.  5 ;  xxviii.  4  ;  xxix.  6  ;  xxxix.  11 ; 
xii.  1 ;  xlii.  12. 

(4)  Truth.—  viii.  9:   'Hear  the  word  of  truth, 
and  receive  the  knowledge  of  the,  Most  High.' 
xxxviii.  1-7  :  '  I  went  up  to  the  light  of  truth  as  if 
into  a  chariot :  and  the  Truth  took  me  and  led  me. 
.  .  .  And  it  went  with  me  and  made  me  rest,  and 
suffered  me  not  to  wander,  because  it  was  the 
Truth.  .  .  .  And  I  did  not  make  an  error  in  any- 
thing because  I  obeyed  the  Truth  ;  for  Error  flees 
away  from  it,  and  meets  it  not :   but  the  Truth 
proceeds  in  the  right  path.'    See,  further,  ix.  8  ;  xi. 
3,  4 ;  xii.  1,  11,  12 ;  xvii.  5,  7  ;  xxv.  10 ;  xxxii.  2 ; 
xxxiii.  8. 

(5)  Rest. — iii.  6 :  '  And  where  His  rest  is,  there 
also  am  I.'    xi.  10  :  '  And  the  Lord  renewed  me  in 
His  raiment,  and  possessed  me  by  His  light,  and 
from  above  He  gave  me  rest  in  incorruption.'   See, 
further,  xx.  8  ;  xxvi.  13  ;  xxviii.  4  ;  xxx.  2 ;  xxxvi. 
1 ;  xxxvii.  4  ;  xxxviii.  4. 

(6)  Grace. — v.  2-3 :  '  O  most  High,  thon  wilt  not 
forsake  me,  for  thou  art  my  hope :  freely  I  have 
received  thy  grace,  I  shall  live  thereby.'    iv.  7 : 
'  For  who  is  there  that  shall  put  on  thy  grace,  and 
be  hurt  ? '    See,  further,  vii.  12,  25  ;  ix.  5  ;  xi.  1 ; 
xv.  8  ;  xx.  7 ;  xxi.  1 ;  xxiii.  2  ;  xxv.  4 ;  xxxiii.  1  ; 
xxxiv.  6. 

Many  allusions  are  made  to  crowns  or  garlands 
(see  i.  1 ;  v.  10 ;  ix.  8  ;  xvii.  1 ;  xx.  7) ;  several 
passages  are  found  also  in  which  the  Christian  is 
compared  to  a  harp  on  which  the  Spirit  seeks  to 
play  (see  vi.  1 ;  xiv.  8  ;  xxvi.  3).  The  idea  of  God 
being  a  helper  of  man  is  also  expressed  in  many 
verses  (see  vii.  3  ;  viii.  7  ;  xxi.  1  ;  xxv.  2).  For 
the  transfiguration  of  the  face  of  the  believer,  see 
xvii. ;  xxi. ;  xl. ;  xii.  For  the  offering  to  God  of  the 
fruit  of  the  lips  (He  1315)  see  viii. ;  xii. ;  xiv. ;  xvi. 
For  the  figure  of  milk  from  the  breasts  of  God,  see 
viii. ;  xiv. ;  xix. ;  xxxv. ;  iv.  For  the  joy  felt  by  good 
people,  see  xxxii. ;  vii. ;  xxxiii.  On  the  rescue  from 
bonds  effected  by  Christ,  see  below.  For  the  peace 
in  which  true  believers  shall  live,  see  viii. ;  ix. ; 
xxxv.  2  ;  x.  .2.  On  the  good  fruits  to  be  offered  to 
the  Lord,  see  xiv. ;  xi. ;  viii.  3 ;  xxxviii.  18.  On  the 
light  of  the  Lord,  see  vii. ;  viii. ;  xii.  3 ;  xxv.  7  ;  xl. 
6  ;  x.  7.  For  the  putting  on  of  Christ,  see  vii. ;  xii. ; 
xi.  10 ;  xxxiii.  10.  On  the  hope  of  the  believer,  see 
xxix. ;  v.  2,  etc. 

These  are  the  ordinary  themes  that  the  Odist 


102 


ODES  OF  SOLOMON 


ODES  OF  SOLOMON 


emphasizes  chiefly,  and  it  is  difficult  to  find  an 
Ode  in  which  the  above  scheme  is  not  explicitly 
developed.  They  constitute  a  kind  of  spiritual 
mysticism,  of  which  the  Johannine  writings  and 
some  Pauline  doctrines  convey  a  vague  but  true 
idea.  We  cannot  find  in  them  any  clear  implica- 
tion of  sacramentalism,  or  any  special  interest  in 
legal  observances,  either  Judaic  or  Christian  ;  but, 
as  the  reader  has  already  surmised,  all  the  forty-two 
Odes  are  closely  joined  together  in  a  series  whose 
keynote  is  the  Johannine  theology  and  experience. 

The  ideal  of  holiness,  of  which  the  Odist  is  the 
champion,  is  so  marked  in  all  the  Odes  that  it 
appears  very  difficult  not  to  ascribe  the  whole  col- 
lection to  a  single  man.  It  seems,  therefore,  that 
the  theory  of  interpolation  launched  by  Harnack 
has  little  to  commend  it.  On  the  contrary,  a  study 
of  the  Syriac  text  makes  it  highly  probable  that 
all  the  verses  which  have  been  bracketed  as  Chris- 
tian interpolations  of  a  Jewish  composition  are  in 
spirit,  thought,  and  vocabulary  so  intimately  re- 
lated to  the  genuine  passages  that  nothing  short  of 
identity  of  authorship  can  satisfactorily  account 
for  them  (cf.  R.  H.  Connolly  in  JThSt  xiii.  [1912] 
298  ff.). 

Harnack's  hypothesis  postulates  many  things 
that  even  a  priori  are  not  to  be  easily  admitted. 
We  have  seen  that  the  thread  of  the  narrative  is 
unmistakably  one  throughout  the  book  ;  to  suppose 
that  a  second  writer  changed  some  verses  that 
savoured  of  Judaism  and  gave  them  a  Christian 
tone,  or  to  believe  that  he  interpolated  existing 
passages  with  sentences  altogether  opposed  in  spirit 
to  those  he  wished  to  modify,  would  imply  that 
this  second  writer  was  a  consummate  artist.  He 
had  to  conform  his  thoughts  and  his  phraseology, 
and  sometimes  to  assimilate  even  his  personality, 
to  that  of  the  Jewish  Odist ;  both  writers  must 
have  been  deeply  influenced  by  the  same  Johannine 
atmosphere  ;  and  the  Christian  interpolator  must 
have  lived  in  a  milieu  not  far  removed  from  that  of 
the  original  Jewish  writer.  All  these  are  supposi- 
tions for  which  stronger  evidence  is  demanded. 

The  passages  which  Harnack  considers  as  Chris- 
tian interpolations  are  the  following :  iii.  9  ;  vii. 
4-8,  14,  15,  18 ;  viii.  23-26  ;  ix.  2  ;  x.  4-6,  8  ;  xvii. 
10-14, 15  ;  xix. ;  xxiii.  16,  19  ;  xxiv.  1 ;  xxvii. ;  xxix. 
6-7,  8  ;  xxxi.  3-11 ;  xxxvi.  3  ;  xxxix.  10  ;  xli.  1-7, 
11-17 ;  xlii.  1-3,  17-25.  We  shall  examine  the 
last  passage  (xlii.  17-25),  which,  according  to  Har- 
nack, exhibits  the  most  distinct  traces  of  interpola- 
tion : 

'  Sheol  saw  me  and  was  made  miserable  :  Death  cast  me  up 
and  many  along  with  me  ;  I  was  gall  and  bitterness  to  him,  and 
I  went  down  with  him  to  the  utmost  of  his  depths  :  and  the  feet 
and  the  head  he  let  go,  for  they  were  not  able  to  endure  my 
face  :  and  I  made  a  congregation  of  living  men  amongst  his 
dead  men,  and  I  spake  with  them  by  living  lips  :  in  order  that 
my  word  might  not  be  void  :  and  those  who  had  died  ran  towards 
me  :  and  the3r  cried  and  said,  Son  of  God,  have  pity  on  us  and 
do  with  us  according  to  thy  kindness,  and  bring  us  out  from 
the  bonds  of  darkness  :  and  open  to  us  the  door  by  which  we 
shall  come  out  to  thee.  For  we  see  that  our  death  has  not 
touched  thee.  Let  us  also  be  redeemed  with  thee :  for  thou  art 
our  Redeemer.' 

Before  we  compare  this  passage  with  other  verses 
of  the  Odes  which  exhibit  the  same  idea,  it  is  use- 
ful to  notice  that  the  Descensus  ad  inferos  which  is 
so  clearly  represented  in  these  verses  is  one  of  the 
commonest  themes  of  the  Syrian  writers  when 
speaking  of  the  death  of  Christ.  The  breviaries 
of  the  two  branches  of  the  Syrian  Church  are  full 
of  such  ideas,  and  the  Syrian  Fathers  deal  with 
them  in  more  than  one  homily.  Two  citations 
will  suffice  for  our  purpose :  '  He  bought  us  and 
saved  us  by  His  precious  blood,  and  He  went  down 
to  Sheol,  and  loosed  the  bonds  of  death '  (Missale 
j'uxta  Bitum  Ecclesice  Syrorum  Orientalium,  Mosul, 
1901,  p.  76) ;  '  O  Living  One  who  went  down  to  the 
dwelling  of  the  dead,  and  who  proclaimed  good 


hope  to  the  souls  which  were  bound  in  Sheol  .  .  . 
and  who  by  His  death  rent  asunder  the  tombs  and 
quickened  the  dead '  (Breviarium  Chaldaicum,  Paris, 
1887,  vol.  ii.  p.  370).  Then  follows  on  the  same  page 
a  long  hymn  in  which  all  the  good  men  of  the  OT 
are  summoned  to  rise  and  look  at  their  Saviour. 
See,  further,  the  following  passages  of  Syrian 
authors  which  would  be  too  long  to  quote  here  : 
Acts  of  Judas  Thomas,  ed.  W.  Wright,  London, 
1871,  pp.  155,  288 ;  S.  Ephrcemi  Syri  Hymni  et 
Sermones,  ed.  T.  J.  Lamy,  Malines,  1882-1902,  vol. 
i.  p.  145,  etc.  For  Aphrahat,  see  Patrologia  Syriaca, 
ed.  R.  Graffin,  Paris,  1894,'  vol.  i.  col.  524,  etc. 

Many  other  verses  of  the  Odes  contain  indubit- 
able allusions  to  the  idea  of  Christ  loosing  bonds 
and  descending  into  Hades,  and,  if  we  try  to  detach 
these  from  their  context,  the  whole  structure  of 
the  passage  breaks  down.  For  instance,  Ode  xvii.  : 
'  And  from  thence  He  gave  me  the  way  of  His  foot- 
steps and  I  opened  the  doors  that  were  closed,  and 
brake  in  pieces  the  bars  of  iron  ;  but  my  iron 
melted  and  dissolved  before  me  ;  nothing  appeared 
closed  to  me  :  because  I  was  the  door  of  everything. 
And  I  went  over  all  my  bondmen  to  loose  them  ; 
that  I  might  not  leave  any  man  bound  or  binding : 
.  .  .  and  they  were  gathered  to  me  and  were  saved  ; 
because  they  were  to  me  as  my  own  members  and 
I  was  their  Head.'  Ode  xxii.  :  '  He  who  scattered 
my  enemies  and  my  adversaries  :  He  who  gave  me 
authority  over  bonds  that  I  might  loose  them  .  .  . 
and  thy  hand  has  levelled  the  way  for  those  who 
believe  in  thee  :  and  thou  didst  choose  them  from 
the  graves  and  didst  separate  them  from  the  dead. 
Thou  didst  take  dead  bones  and  didst  cover  them 
with  bodies  ;  they  were  motionless,  and  thou  didst 
give  (them)  energy  for  life.'  See,  further,  Odes  xv. , 
xxv.,  xxi.,  x. 

The  numerous  verses  of  the  Odes  which  contain 
allusions  to  the  remaining  eighteen  topics  mentioned 
above  exhibit  the  whole  collection  as  so  coherent  in 
its  unity  that  any  critic  who  should  seriously  try 
to  break  it  up  into  different  pieces  would  find  him- 
self face  to  face  with  strong  and  sometimes  un- 
answerable objections. 

On  the  other  hand,  Bernard's  theory,  while  re- 
cognizing the  perfect  unity  of  the  Odes  and  their 
Christian  character,  assigns  to  them  too  narrow  a 
scope  in  restricting  them  to  exclusively  baptismal 
purposes.  The  nineteen  features  already  mentioned, 
which,  generally  speaking,  form  the  essence  of  the 
Odes,  are  cast  into  a  baptismal  mould,  by  means 
of  some  coincidences  of  speech  found  in  the  style 
of  Christian  Fathers  or  in  the  phraseology  of  bap- 
tismal rituals.  An  example  will  show  the  nature 
of  this  process.  In  the  first  verses  of  the  first  Syriac 
Ode  (iii.)  we  find  the  following  passage:  'I  love 
the  Beloved,  and  my  soul  loves  Him.'  To  prove 
that  this  verse  alludes  to  baptism,  a  sentence  is 
cited  from  the  book  entitled  Exposition  of  Baptism 
by  the  Syrian  writer  Moses  Bar  Kef  a  (9th  cent.): 
'  The  betrothals  of  Rebecca,  Rachel,  and  Zipporah 
were  beside  water.  So  also  are  the  betrothals  of 
the  Holy  Church  beside  the  waters  of  Baptism.' 
Several  other  alleged  coincidences  are  much  nearer 
the  point.  For  instance,  as  parallels  to  the  follow- 
ing sentence  of  the  same  Ode,  '  for  he  that  is  joined 
to  Him  that  is  immortal,  will  also  himself  become 
immortal,'  a  quotation  from  Clement  and  another 
from  Ephrem  are  cited  which  run  thus :  '  Being 
baptized,  we  are  illuminated ;  illuminated,  we  be- 
come sons  ;  being  made  sons,  we  are  made  perfect ; 
being  made  perfect,  we  are  made  immortal '  (Paid. 
i.  6) ;  '  Go  down  to  the  fountain  of  Christ,  and 
receive  life  in  your  members,  as  armour  against 
death'  (Epiphany  Hymns,  vii.  17).  For  many 
other  verses  there  are  even  stronger  Patristic  quota- 
tions, but  in  the  opinion  of  the  present  writer  none 
of  them  can  be  regarded  as  decisive.  On  theo- 


ODES  OF  SOLOMON 


ODES  OF  SOLOMON 


103 


retical  grounds  this  hypothesis  has  to  face  the 
following  objections. 

(1)  It  is  scientifically  inexplicable  that  a  book 
written  for  baptismal  purposes  should  not  so  much 
as  name  baptism,  or  even  allude  with  any  clear- 
ness to  immersion,  aspersion,  or  affusion,  essential 
ceremonies  of   this  sacrament.     Bernard  answers 
this  objection   by   falling   back   on   the  so-called 
disciplina  arcani.      But  such   an   argument  is  a 
dernier  ressort.     Why  should  we  extend  the  '  secret 
discipline '  to  the  simple  practice  of  washing  with 
water  represented  in  Israelite  circles  by  various 
ablutions  with  which  the  commonest  pagan  was 
familiar  ?    How  then  could  Tertullian  have  written 
his   treatise    de  Baptismo  ?    The    lield   that  this 
theory  gives  to  the  disciplina  arcani  is  probably 
too  extensive  to  be  taken  seriously  into  considera- 
tion. 

'There  is  no  trace  of  this  "  reserve"  or  disciplina,  arcani  in 
the  writers  of  the  New  Testament,  who  never  shun  to  declare 
unto  us  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  We  do  not  find  it  either  in 
the  subapostolic  Fathers ;  and  Justin  has  no  hesitation  in  fully 
describing  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in  writing  to  the 
heathen  emperor.  Yet  he  tells  us  that  Baptism  was  already 
called  <£u>Ticr|ii6«  (illumination) — the  technical  term  for  initiation 
in  the  mysteries.  Clement  speaks  of  Christianity  as  a  mystery, 
and  uses  freely  the  language  of  the  mysteries  in  the  invitation 
to  the  heathen  which  is  the  peroration  of  his  Protrepticus'  (H. 
M.  Gwatkin,  Early  Church  History,  2  vols.,  London,  1909,  i. 
272  f.). 

(2)  We  are  also  unable  to  subscribe  to  the  possi- 
bility of  a  constant  relation  between  the  Odes  and 
the  Baptismal  Hymns  of  St.  Ephrem.     The  hymns 
of  this  Father,  written   exclusively  for  baptism, 
contain  always  in  their  tone  allusions  which  un- 
mistakably refer    to    this  sacrament,  while    the 
Odes  are  devoid  of  anything  that  would  turn  the 
thought  of  a  reader  in  this  direction. 

There  are  two  verses  whicli  might  seem  to  point 
to  baptismal  practices.  Ode  xxiv.  1 :  '  The  Dove 
fluttered  over  the  Christ,  because  He  was  her  head  ; 
and  she  sang  over  Him,  and  her  voice  was  heard.' 
Ode  vi.  17  :  '  And  in  water  they  lived  an  eternal 
life.'  But  it  is  obvious  that  the  first  quotation 
refers  to  the  baptism  of  Christ  in  the  same  manner 
as  other  Odes  refer  to  the  mysteries  of  the  Incar- 
nation or  of  redemption  ;  and  we  are  not  entitled 
to  infer  from  it  that  either  this  Ode  or  the  whole 
collection  has  any  special  interest  in  the  ritual  of 
baptism.  As  to  the  second  quotation,  it  is  possible 
that  it  alludes  to  the  grace  of  God,  and  by  exten- 
sion, to  Christian  doctrine,  the  word  '  water  '  being 
frequently  used  in  Syriac  literature  to  express  this 
idea.  St.  Ephrem,  speaking  of  Judas,  says  :  '  He 
drank  living  water'  (Breviarium  Chaldaicum,  ii. 
380).  At  all  events,  even  if  the  word  '  water '  be 
taken  in  its  material  sense,  it  affords  no  support  for 
the  notion  that  the  forty-two  Odes  as  a  whole  were 
written  for  baptismal  purposes. 

With  regard  to  the  third  theory,  the  only  passage 
that  might  suggest  the  work  of  a  Jewish,  or,  more 
probably,  a  Jewish-Christian  writer,  is  the  follow- 
ing (Ode  iv.) :  '  No  man,  O  my  God,  changeth  thy 
holy  place  ;  and  it  is  not  [possible]  that  he  should 
change  it  and  put  it  in  another  place  :  because  he 
hath  no  power  over  it :  for  thy  sanctuary  Thou 
hast  designed  before  Thou  didst  make  places  :  that 
which  is  the  elder  shall  not  be  altered  by  those  that 
are  younger  than  itself.'  These  sentences  seem  to 
allude  to  the  Temple  of  Solomon,  the  principal  place 
of  worship  for  Judaism.  No  other  verse  points 
with  any  clearness  to  a  Judaizing  writer  ;  but  the 
above  statement  is  precise,  and  we  cannot  wholly 
ignore  it.  On  the  other  hand,  allusions  to  Chris- 
tian mysteries  and  Christian  doctrine  in  general 
are,  as  we  shall  see,  numerous  and  undoubted,  and 
compel  us  not  to  exclude  from  our  mind  a  Chris- 
tian author.  Our  Odes  are  separate  hymns,  ex- 
tolling sometimes  special  articles  of  faith,  but  ex- 
hibiting always  a  high  ideal  of  mysticism.  By 


their  outward  form  they  are  not  linked  closely 
together,  and  we  could  invert  the  order  in  the  MS 
without  doing  the  slightest  injury  to  the  sense.  In 
this  respect  they  resemble  their  prototype,  the 
canonical  Psalms  of  the  prophet  king,  and  there  is 
no  internal  evidence  to  prevent  us  from  holding  that 
they  are  simply  an  attempt  to  imitate,  in  Christian 
circles,  the  Davidic  Psalms. 

3.  The  original  language  of  the  Odes. —  The 
question  of  the  original  language  of  the  Odes  is 
very  important,  because  it  may  furnish  a  good 
starting-point  for  the  solution  of  many  problems 
dealing  with  the  country,  the  age,  and  the  aim  of 
the  whole  collection.  Critics  here  again  have 
adopted  three  different  views.  The  majority  (but 
we  ought  to  say  at  once  that  some  of  them  are  not 
good  Semitic  scholars)  hold  to  a  Greek  original. 
A  second  opinion,  represented  by  Grimnie,  favours 
Hebrew,  this  theory  being  essential  to  the  estab- 
lishing of  a  Jewish  authorship.  The  present  writer 
has  ventured  to  suggest  that  Aramaic  may  have 
been  the  language  in  which  they  were  originally 
written.  * 

Before  we  discuss  this  tangled  question,  a  pre- 
liminary remark  will  not  be  out  of  place.  After 
the  invasion  of  Palestine,  Syria,  and  neighbouring 
countries  by  the  Hellenic  troops,  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Alexander,  the  Greek  language  acquired  a 
firm  footing  in  these  countries,  and  from  the  time 
of  the  Seleucids  onwards  it  began  to  supersede,  in 
great  centres,  the  Canaanitish  and  Aramaic  dia- 
lects which  were  doomed  to  disappear.  Thousands 
of  Greek  words  were  introduced  into  Aramaic, 
which  had  come  to  be  the  vernacular  of  all  the 
Semitic  tribes,  inclusive  of  the  remnants  of  the 
once  prosperous  people  of  Jahweh.  The  ordinary 
population  spoke  Aramaic,  and  the  sacred  national 
documents  were  written  also  in  Aramaic,  but  the 
official  decrees  and  the  general  regulations  of  the 
State  were  worded,  at  least  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Christian  era,  in  Greek.  This  fact  is  not  surpris- 
ing ;  Hellenic  culture  had,  with  the  glorious  arms 
of  the  Macedonian  hegemony,  conquered  the  old 
civilized  world,  and  in  Rome  itself  it  was  considered 
an  honour  to  speak  the  language  of  Homer.  The 
Aramaeans  were  far  more  influenced  by  this  current 
than  any  other  Semitic  people,  and  distinct  traces 
of  Hellenism  are  frequent  in  books  originally 
written  in  Aramaic,  or  directly  translated  from  the 
Hebrew.  The  OT  Peshitta  is  an  irrefragable  testi- 
mony to  this  assertion,  and  the  literary  composi- 
tions of  Aphrahat  and  Ephrem,  in  which  Greek 
words  and  Greek  'expressions  are  counted  by  hun- 
dreds, would  not  tend  to  weaken  it.  The  instance 
of  these  two  writers,  who  could  not  even  under- 
stand Greek,  may  easily  be  extended  to  scores  of 
poems  and  historical  lucubrations,  of  which  Edessa 
and  the  neighbouring  countries  are  justly  proud. 
But  in  this  matter  there  is  a  difference  between  the 
style  of  a  writer  who  knew  Greek  and  that  of  one 
who  did  not.  How  deep,  for  instance,  is  the  gap 
between  the  stylistic  method  adopted  by  Ephrem  in 
his  hymns,  ana  that  used  by  Narsai  in  his  homilies. 
As  concerns  the  style  of  the  Odes,  we  may  assume 
that  it  is  not  moulded  on  that  of  Ephrem,  but  it 
would  be  precarious  to  assert  that  it  is  completely 
foreign  to  that  of  Narsai,  or  of  Bardesanes.  The 
only  conclusion  that  we  can  safely  draw  from  the 
arguments  of  some  critics  for  a  Greek  original  of 
the  Odes,  is  that  their  problematic  author  was  a 
man  of  good  Hellenic  culture  ;  and,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  in  Syria  and  in  Palestine,  from  the  1st  to  the 
8th  cent.,  the  writers  were  few  who  were  without 
any  Hellenic  culture. 

We  may  open  our  discussion  with  an  examina- 
tion of  Grimme's  theory  of  a  Hebrew  original.  In 

•  'Quelques  mots  sur  les  odes  de  Salomon,'  in  ZSTW  xiv. 
[1914] 234  ff. 


104 


ODES  OF  SOLOMOX 


ODES  OF  SOLOMOX 


spite  of  the  excellence  of  his  Hebrew  translation  of 
the  Syriac  text,  we  are  unable  to  discern  any  strong 
philological  foundations  for  his  view.  His  argu- 
ment is  two-fold.  He  tries,  first  of  all,  to  find  in 
the  Odes  an  acrostic  arrangement  of  their  recon- 
structed text,  which  should  suggest  a  dependence 
of  the  Syriac  upon  the  supposed  Hebrew. 

Here  is  the  order  of  this  complicated  acrostic  system  :  Ode  i. 
begins  with  X ;  Ode  ii.  and  the  beginning  of  Ode  iii.  are  miss- 
ing. Odes  iv.  and  v.  have  again  K  ;  Odes  vi.  and  vii.  have  a  3  ; 
Odes  viii.,  ix.  J  ;  Odesx.,  xi.,  xii.,  xiii.,  xiv.  a  n  ;  Odes  xv.,  xvL, 
xvii.  a  3 ;  Ode  xviii.  a  n  ;  Odes  xix.,  xx.,  xxi.  a  3 ;  Odes  xxii., 
xxiii.  a  D ;  Odes  xxiv.,  xxv.,  xxvi.  a  J ;  Ode  xxvii.  a  B ;  Ode 
xxviii.  a  3 ;  Ode  xxix.  a  to;  Odea  xxx.,  xxxi.,  xxxii.,  zxxiii.  a 
B> ;  Ode  xxxiv.  an  K ;  Ode  xxxv.  a  ~\ ;  Ode  xxxvi.  a  : ;  Ode 
xxxvii.  a  S ;  Ode  xxxviii.  a  y ;  Ode  xxxix.  a  J  ;  Ode  xL  a  3  ;  Ode 
xli.  a  ' ;  Ode  xlii.  a  a. 

The  reader  will  readily  observe  that,  despite  the 
good  will  of  the  editor,  this  alphabetical  arrange- 
ment is  very  defective,  and  we  cannot  rely  upon  it 
for  critical  purposes.  If  in  the  future  other  scnolars 
should  undertake,  with  better  success,  a  Hebrew 
translation  which  would  exhibit  this  acrostic  sys- 
tem in  a  more  constant  manner,  then  the  same 
method  might  be  applied  to  the  Aramaic  language 
generally.  Moreover,  this  acrostic  arrangement  is 
much  in  use  in  Syriac  literature  ;  several  hymns  of 
Ephrem,  all  the  poems  called  soghiathos,  and  in- 
numerable other  literary  compositions,  exhibit  such 
an  acrostic  system  (cf.  Brev.  Chald.  vols.  i.,  ii., 
iii.  pp.  35, 185, 195  f.  ;  A.  Mingana,  Narsai  Homilice 
et  Carmina,  Mosul,  1905,  vol.  ii.  ad  Jin.) ;  the 
idea  might  have  been  suggested  to  Aramaean 
writers  from  some  poems  of  the  OT  which  exhibit 
this  strophic  arrangement,  but  the  work  of  these 
Aramagans  is  independent  of  a  Hebrew  text,  and 
does  not  involve  a  Hebrew  original. 

Grimme's  second  argument  is  more  scientific. 
He  brings  forward  a  number  of  morphological  and 
syntactical  features  which,  according  to  him,  point 
to  an  original  Hebrew  text.  It  would  take  too  long 
to  examine  in  detail  every  word  that  he  quotes  to 
corroborate  his  opinion,  but  we  may  be  allowed 
to  say  that  none  of  the  35  instances  that  he  gives 
carries  conviction.  He  emphasizes,  and  very  justly, 
the  fact  of  the  double  meanings  of  some  Hebrew 
words,  in  order  to  deduce  from  them  the  explana- 
tion of  some  grammatical  and  lexicological  diffi- 
culties of  the  Syriac  text,  but  we  shall  wait  until 
more  convincing  proofs  are  given  to  Syriac  scholars. 
But,  although  Grimme's  theory  is  certainly  not  in 
all  points  invulnerable,  it  has  opened  the  way  for 
further  investigation  in  the  domain  of  the  general 
Semitic  stock. 

Those  in  favour  of  a  Syriac  original  support  their 
view  by  the  following  proofs. 

(1)  There  is  a  constant  relation  between  the  style 
of  the  Odes  and    Syriac   hymnology  in  general. 
Syrian  and  Arab  writers  are  fond  of  repeating  the 
same  word  several  times  in  one  sentence,  to  make 
it  and  the  principal  idea  expressed  by  it  more  em- 
phatic.    Confining  ourselves  to  Syriac  literature, 
we  may  see,  for  instance,  how  the  word  meaning 
'  star '  is  repeated  seven  times  by  Ephrem  in  two 
lines  of  a  hymn  which  is  preserved  in  Brev.  Chald. 
(vol.  i.  p.  338) ;  the  word  meaning  '  man '  and  the 
verb  meaning  '  to  eat '  are  repeated  four  and  three 
times  respectively  in  one  line  of  a  homily  of  Narsai 
(the  present  writer's  edition,  vol.  i.  p.  21).     When 
we  examine  the  Odes,  we  find  that  this  character- 
istic note  occurs  more  than  once  in  the  text.     Ode 
xxxviii.  repeats  the  word  meaning  '  to  corrupt '  five 
times  in  one  short  verse ;  the  verb  meaning  '  to 
impede '  is  repeated  three  times  in  another  verse  of 
Ode  vi.,  etc. 

(2)  There  is  a  constant  use  by  the  writer  of  the 
mimmed  infinitive,  or  of  the  noun  of  action  derived 


from  the  verb  immediately  following  this  verb,  to 
give  energy  to  the  sentence,  e.g.,  '  the  error  erred  ' 
(Ode  xxxi.),  '  the  truth  flowed  as  a  flow  of  water' 
(Ode  xii.).  There  are  in  all  2-1  verses  in  which  this 
linguistic  phenomenon  is  represented,  and  if  some 
of  them  may  be  explained  by  the  too  pronounced 
freedom  of  the  translator,  as  is  sometimes  the  case 
in  books  translated  from  the  Greek,  it  is  highly 
uncritical  to  suppose  that  all  of  them  are  a  play  of 
words  invented  by  the  translator. 

(3)  There  are  some  words  which  seem  to  point 
in  an  indubitable  manner  to  an  Aramseo-Syriac 
original.  Ode  xix.  contains  the  following  remark- 
able passage :  '  She  did  not  require  a  midwife, 
because  Himself  facilitated  her  pains."  The  word 
1  midwife '  (in  Syriac,  '  the  living,'  the  '  giver  of 
life')  is  derived  from  the  verb  which  comes  just 
after  it :  'He  facilitated  her  pains '  (in  Syriac, '  He 
gave  life').  This  curious  derivation  would  have 
been  impossible  in  any  other  language  than  Ara- 
maic. This  sentence,  in  the  absence  of  any  ade- 
quate objection,  is  decisive. 

The  supporters  of  a  Greek  original  point  to 
certain  incidences  of  speech  of  which  the  following 
are  the  most  striking. 

(1)  There  are  some  Syriac  words  which,  in  their 
present  context,   do  not  explain  or  amplify  the 
idea  that  the  Odist  had  in  mind.     Three  principal 
instances  are  given  in  proof  of  this  assertion.     In 
Ode  vii.  the  expression  '  by  His  simplicity '  would 
be  used  to  translate  the  phrase  iv  TTJ  a.ir\brr]Ti 
oirroO.     In  Ode  xxxiv.  the  sentence  'No  way  is 
hard  where  there  is  a  simple  heart,  nor  is  there 
any  wound  in  right  thoughts '  would  contain  the 
Greek  words  a-n-Xovs    for    '  simple '    and    ^cTrXijfts 
for  '  wound ' ;  the  expression   '  in  the  midst '  in 
Ode  xxx.,  'and  until  it  (the  spring  of  water)  was 
given  in  the  midst,  (they  did  not  recognize  it),' 
would  be  also  a  translation  of  a  Greek  e/s  rb  i^vov 
riBtvai,  because  such  an  expression,  it  is  said,  is  not 
Semitic. 

(2)  Great  stress  is  laid  on  the  use  of  the  privative 
alpha.     It  is  suggested  that  almost  all  the  words 
beginning  in  Syriac  with  the  negative  particle  are 
a  translation  from  the  Greek.     The  Syriac  expres- 
sion meaning   'without  grudging,'   'abundantly,' 
which  is  employed  several  times  in  the  Odes  (cf. 
Ode  xi.),  would  be  the  Greek  d<j>d6vw,  the  word 
'  indescribable '  in  the  sentence  '  the  swiftness  of 
the  Word  is  indescribable '  would  be  a  translation 
of  dveKdffiyriros.     We  must  remark,  however,  that 
the  first  expression  is  found  twice  in  the  Book 
of  the  Laws  of  Countries  of  Bardesanes,  which  is 
surely  a  genuine  Syriac  composition. 

We  do  not  wish  to  dwell  on  some  other  Hellenic 
features  discovered  in  the  book  of  the  Odes,  such 
as  the  concept  of  '  taking  refuge,'  which  is  the  real 
meaning  in  the  first  verse  of  Ode  xxv.,  while  the 
Syriac  verb  suggests  only  the  idea  of  '  fleeing ' ; 
likewise  the  argument  taken  from  the  employment 
of  the  possessive  particle,  which  is  used  eight  times 
only  in  all  the  Odes,  does  not  seem  to  be  convin- 
cing. Cf.  on  this  question  the  article  of  Connolly 
in  JThSt  xiv.  [1913]  530,  and  that  of  D.  Willey,  ib. 
p.  293  ff. ;  and  cf .  it  with  our  study  referred  to 
above. 

Finally,  on  account  of  the  remarkable  variants 
which  sometimes  differentiate  the  Syriac  and  the 
Coptic  versions  from  one  another,  the  supporters 
of  a  Greek  original  need  also  to  resort  to  the 
hypothesis  of  two  different  Greek  texts,  one  under- 
lying the  Coptic  version  preserved  in  Pistis  Sophia, 
and  another  underlying  the  Syriac  version  of  our 
MSS.  This  is  a  fact  worthy  of  study ;  and,  so  far 
as  we  are  aware,  no  sufficient  explanation  of  it  has 
been  given.  On  the  other  hand,  as  Harris  has 
rightly  pointed  out,  a  sacred  book  entitled  i'aX/toi 
/cat  'flSai  SoXo/uDiTos  is  mentioned  by  pseudo- 


ODES  OF  SOLOMON 


ODES  OF  SOLOMON 


105 


Athanasius,  and  in  the  Stichometry  of  Nicephorus 
(9th  cent. ).  On  the  hypothesis  that  this  title  refers 
to  our  Syriac  Odes,  it  is  almost  certain  that  a 
Greek  version  was  in  circulation  several  centuries 
before  the  time  of  these  ecclesiastical  writers. 

4.  Their  relation  to  the  Bible.  —  Though  the 
main  ideas  that  the  Odist  expresses  are  drawn 
from  figures  used  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
no  direct  quotation  from   a  sacred  book  can  be 
clearly  pointed  out ;  it  would  almost  seem  that  the 
author  had  made  up  his  mind  not  to  use  quotations. 
A   list  of  the    principal  semi-quotations,    or,   as 
Wellhausen  calls  them,  '  Biblisms,'  will  be  found 
below. 

The  title  itself,  '  Odes  of  Solomon,'  brings  the 
whole  collection,  at  least  in  the  mind  of  the  copy- 
ists and  of  some  ecclesiastical  writers,  such  as 
Lactantius,  into  relation  with  the  Bible.  The 
last-named  writer  seems  to  have  believed  the  Odes 
to  be  as  canonical  and  authoritative  for  Christian 
doctrine  as  the  Davidic  Psalter.  No  sufficient  ex- 
planation has  yet  been  given  of  their  attribution 
to  Solomon,  in  preference  to  all  other  sacred 
writers.  The  question  is  not  in  itself  very  im- 
portant ;  but,  if  it  were  cleared  up,  the  problem 
might  prove  not  to  be  devoid  of  interest  with 
regard  to  many  obscure  points  arising  from  this 
precious  discovery. 

Critics  have  generally  fallen  back,  in  this 
matter,  on  .  the  statement  of  1  K  4s2,  in  which  we 
are  informed  that  Solomon  wrote  1005  odes. 
Solomon  was  known  to  have  written  odes,  and 
our  actual  Odes,  by  a  natural  course  of  events, 
readily  assumed  his  name.  This  assumed  Solo- 
monic authorship  would  account,  as  F.  C.  Burkitt 
(JThSt  xiii.)  has  pointed  out,  for  the  obstinate 
silence  that  the  anonymous  writer  maintains  with 
regard  to  some  elementary  Christian  practices  and 
his  avoidance  of  any  clear  prophetical  or  evangeli- 
cal quotations. 

All  this  is  pure  speculation  ;  the  important  point 
is  that  no  proper  biblical  name  and  no  direct 
biblical  quotations  are  to  be  noticed  in  the  Odes, 
though  their  nucleus  mainly  consists  of  biblical 
elements.  On  this  subject  the  most  striking  semi- 
quotations  are  the  following : 

Ode  v.  8 :  '  For  they  have  devised  a  counsel,  and  it  did  not 
succeed '  (cf.  Ps  21"). 

Ode  xxvi.  11 :  '  Who  is  able  to  interpret  the  wonders  of  the 
Lord?'  (cf.  Ps  1062). 

Ode  xxix.  10 :  '  Like  the  stubble  which  the  wind  carries  away ' 
(cf.  Ps  I**). 

Ode  xxix.  1 :  '  The  Lord  is  my  hope :  in  Him  I  shall  not  be 
confounded '  (cf.  Pa  711). 

Ode  xiv.  1 :  '  As  the  eyes  of  a  son  to  his  father,  so  are  my 
eyes,  O  Lord,  at  all  times  towards  thee'  (cf.  Ps  1232). 

Ode  xvii.  8  :  '  I  opened  the  doors  that  were  closed,  and  brake 
in  pieces  the  bars  of  iron '  (cf.  Is  452,  Ps  107!6). 

Ode  xxii.  9:  'Thou  didst  take  dead  bones  and  didst  cover 
them  with  bodies  ;  they  were  motionless,  and  thou  didst  give 
them  (energy)  for  life'  (cf.  Ezk  371-u). 

Ode  xxii.  12:  '  That  the  foundation  for  everything  might  be 
thy  Rock  :  and  on  it  thou  didst  build  thy  Kingdom '  (cf.  Me  1618). 

Ode  xxix.  8 :  '  That  I  might  subdue  the  imaginations  of  the 
peoples ;  and  the  power  of  the  men  of  might  to  bring  them 
fow'(cf.  Lkl5i.52). 

Ode  iii.  3 :  '  I  should  not  have  known  how  to  love  the  Lord, 
if  He  had  not  loved  me '  (cf.  1  Jn  4i»). 

Ode  xvi.  20 :  '  The  worlds  were  made  by  His  word '  (cf.  Jn  13). 

See,  further,  Ode  xli.  16,  and  cf.  1  P  1K> ;  Ode  xii.  5,  and 
cf .  He  412  ;  Ode  xxiii.  17,  and  cf.  He  1« ;  Ode  iv.  12,  and  cf.  Ro 
112» ;  ode  xxxi.  4,  5,  and  cf.  Jn  17«-" ;  Ode  xxi.  1,  and  cf.  Lk 
169-73 ;  Ode  vi.  7,  and  cf.  Ezk  471 ;  Ode  xxviii.  11,  and  cf.  Ps  2216 ; 
Ode  xlii.  10,  and  Mt  1129,  etc. 

5.  Probable  date  of  their  composition.— It  is 

very  difficult  to  fix  a  precise  date  for  the  composi- 
tion of  the  Odes.  The  absence  from  them  of 
definite  historical  data  gives  critics  some  130  years 
within  which  to  exercise  their  historical  and  geo- 
graphical skill.  The  Odes  are  merely  devotional 
hymns,  and  safe  criteria  found  in  hymns  of  this 
kind  for  the  fixing  and  delimitation  of  a  definite 
period  of  time  are  naturally  scanty,  and  those  that 


are  available  do  not  generally  justify  a  categorical 
conclusion.  If  we  exclude  Harnack  s  theory  of  in- 
terpolation, and  assume  that  the  Odes  are  either 
wholly  Christian  or  else  Judseo-Christian,  they 
would  fall  within  the  period  A.  p.  80-210.  The 
point  of  divergence  amongst  critics  is  how  near 
to  the  earlier  or  to  the  later  date  they  seem  likely 
to  belong. 

Lactantius  (Div.  Inst.  iv.  12)  has  the  following 
clear  quotation  from  Ode  xix.  :  '  Salomon  [in  ode 
undevicesima]  ita  dicit :  Infirmatus  est  uterus 
virginis  et  accepit  fetum  et  gravata  est,  et  facta 
est  in  multa  miseratione  mater  virgo.'  This  im- 
portant quotation,  noted  by  Harris,  shows  that 
before  310  (see  H.  J.  Lawlor,  '  Notes  on  Lactan- 
tius,' in  Hermathena,  xxix.  [1903]  459)  not  only  was 
the  existence  of  the  Odes  known  to  Lactantius, 
but  at  his  time,  at  least  in  the  district  of  Nico- 
media,  they  even  had  the  same  order  as  that  ex- 
hibited by  our  MSS.  The  citation  does  not  appear 
to  be  due  to  hearsay,  but  to  be  drawn  from  a  book 
before  the  writer.  From  it  we  cannot  positively 
prove  that  a  Latin  version  of  the  Odes  was  current 
in  Western  Churches,  but  we  are  not  at  liberty  to 
assume  the  contrary. 

Between  250  and  295  larger  quotations  from  the 
Odes  are  found  in  the  Gnostic  book  called  Pistis 
Sophia,  which  contains  five  complete  Odes  of  the 
collection,  as  we  have  stated  above.  It  is,  on  the 
whole,  difficult  to  ascertain  the  inter-connexion 
between  the  Coptic  and  the  Syriac  texts ;  but  the 
present  writer  thinks  that,  apart  from  a  short 
verse  that  seems  to  be  lost  in  Syriac,  there  is  a 
certain  literary  ascendancy  which  establishes  the 
superiority  of  this  last  version  over  the  Coptic. 
The  words  which  have  disappeared  from  the  Syriac 
text  come  in  the  middle  of  v.8  of  Ode  v.  :  'And 
they  are  overcome,  although  they  are  powerful.' 
The  lack  of  some  words  due  to  the  carelessness  of 
copyists  cannot  a  priori  point  to  the  dependence  of 
one  composition  upon  another.  On  the  contrary, 
the  Coptic  is  generally  inferior  to  the  Syriac,  and 
seems  to  be  a  translation  of  it ;  e.g.  Ode  vi.  9  says  : 
'  And  the  restrainments  of  men  could  not  restrain 
it,  nor  the  arts  of  those  who  restrain  water.'  The 
repetition  of  the  verb  is,  as  we  have  seen,  in 
accordance  with  the  usage  of  Syriac  and  Arabic 
poetry ;  the  Coptic  substituted  '  loca  sedificata ' 
for  the  word  '  restrainmeuts.'  This  curious  variant 
could  not  have  occurred  if  the  Coptic  translator 
was  not  translating  from  a  language  in  which 
these  words  resemble  each  other  in  writing ;  and 
this  language  is  Syriac. 

The  existence  of  these  five  Odes  in  the  Gnostic 
book  involves  their  priority  to  it  by  several  years  ; 
and  consequently  it  becomes  almost  certain  that 
they  cannot  be  ascribed  to  a  period  later  than  the 
first  quarter  of  the  3rd  century.  We  may,  there- 
fore, assume  as  highly  probable  that  the  extreme 
limits  of  our  whole  collection  are,  as  stated  above, 
A.D.  80-210.  Of  these  130  years,  it  is  historically 
impossible,  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge, 
to  fix  upon  a  definite  date,  and  no  probable  hypo- 
thesis has  so  far  been  put  forward.  We  shall  set 
forth  briefly  the  reasons  which  suggest  a  date 
nearer  to  80,  and  those  which  appear  to  postulate 
one  not  far  from  the  end  of  the  2nd  or  the  begin- 
ning of  the  3rd  century. 

We  have  already  quoted  the  sentence  of  Ode  iv. 
which  declares  that  the  sanctuary  of  God  can- 
not be  changed.  If  this  sentence  is  to  be  taken 
literally,  it  may  perhaps  suggest  by  its  vividness 
that  the  author  wrote  at  a  time  not  far  removed 
from  the  destruction  of  the  Temple. 

We  have  elsewhere  (in  our  study  referred  to 
above)  pointed  to  two  incidents  which  would 
perhaps  require  a  date  earlier  than  the  end  of  the 
2nd  century.  There  are,  we  have  said,  nine  semi- 


106 


ODES  OF  SOLOMON 


OFFENCE 


quotations  from  the  canonical  Psalter,  whose  word- 
ing differs  from  that  used  in  the  Odes.  The  author, 
or,  in  the  case  of  a  Greek  original,  the  translator, 
ought  reasonably  to  have  employed  the  same  words 
as  those  found  in  a  previous  sacred  book  known, 
read,  and  generally  learnt  by  heart  by  every 
Eastern  Christian.  If  this  argument  may  claim  a 
certain  plausibility,  it  can  also  be  used  in  favour 
of  an  Aramaic  original  of  the  Odes.  We  cannot, 
indeed,  discover  any  good  reason  why  this  Syrian 
writer  or  translator  did  not  employ  the  words  used 
in  the  OT  Pesliitta,  if  he  knew  them,  and  we 
cannot  reasonably  suppose  that  he  did  not  know 
them  if  he  was  writing  long  after  the  end  of  the 
2nd  century. 

We  have  also  noticed  that  the  Johannine  con- 
cept of  the  '  word '  is  rendered  five  times  by  the 
term  petghdma,  which  means  'word'  in  concreto, 
instead  of  melltha,  which  is  used  in  all  the  Syriac 
versions  of  the  NT,  and  which  means  '  word '  in 
abstracto.  A  good  acquaintance  on  the  part  of  the 
Odist  with  Johannine  Syriac  writings  would  have 
prevented  his  using  frequently  such  an  inadequate 
word. 

Mrs.  M.  D.  Gibson  has  called  our  attention 
(Athenceum,  April,  1914,  p.  530)  to  the  fact  that 
several  Church  historians,  notably  Theodore  of 
Mopsuestia,  report  that  in  the  Apostolic  Age  there 
were  people  who  wrote  '  Odes  '  and  '  Psalms '  like 
the  '  blessed  David.' 

Some  supporters  of  the  hypothesis  of  the  later 
date  (i.e.  A.D.  210)  would  attribute  the  whole  col- 
lection of  the  Odes  to  the  famous  Bardesanes  of 
Edessa  (154-222),  who  played  so  important  a  r61e 
in  the  history  of  the  Church.  The  grounds  of  this 
hypothesis  may  be  summarized  as  follows.  On 
the  one  hand,  it  is  historically  established  that 
Bardesanes  wrote  150  psalms  in  imitation  of  those 
contained  in  the  canonical  Psalter ;  on  the  other 
hand,  the  presence  of  these  odes  in  the  Pistis 
Sophia  would  suggest  that  their  author  was,  at 
least  in  the  mind  of  the  Gnostic  writer  of  this  last 
book,  imbued  with  Gnostic  ideas,  otherwise  he 
would  not  have  had  sufficient  reason  to  quote 
them ;  and,  since  Bardesanes  is  represented  by 
some  Fathers  of  the  Church  as  inclining  towards 
Gnosticism,  he  might  very  easily  have  been  their 
first  writer.  The  existence  of  a  Greek  savour  in 
the  style  of  the  Odes  would  easily  be  explained  by 
the  good  Hellenic  culture  that  this  Mesopotamian 
writer  had  received. 

There  are  some  linguistic  features  which  tend  to 
corroborate  Bardesanes'  authorship.  The  expres- 
sion which  means  '  without  grudging,'  very  seldom 
used  by  other  Aramaean  writers  but  found  twice 
in  the  Book  of  the  Laws  of  Countries,  would  lend 
a  certain  amount  of  plausibility  to  this  hypothesis  ; 
and  the  frequent  occurrence  in  the  Odes  of  the 
Semitic  phenomenon  of  a  noun  of  action  or  a 
mimmed  infinitive  placed  immediately  before  or 
after  its  respective  verb,  is  also  a  favourite 
stylistic  method  of  the  semi-Gnostic  Christian 
writer,  whose  orthodoxy  is  very  doubtful. 

Finally,  if,  as  Bernard  remarks  (op.  cit.  p.  42), 
the  allusions  which  abound  in  the  Odes  are  always 
to  beliefs  and  practices  current  in  the  East,  and  if 
they  have  little  affinity  with  Western  doctrine  or 
Western  ceremonial,  their  attribution  to  an 
Eastern  writer  would  indeed  account  for  many 
difficulties  otherwise  insoluble.  So  the  present 
writer  has  tried  elsewhere  (op.  cit.  supra)  to  show 
that  the  puzzling  Ode  xxiii.,  which  deals  with  a 
mysterious  letter  descending  from  heaven,  contains 
in  its  phraseology  a  clear  reference  to  the  mystery 
of  the  Incarnation,  which,  according  to  the  ecclesi- 
astical books  of  the  Syrian  Church,  was  accom- 
plished by  means  of  a  letter  confided  to  the 
archangel  Gabriel. 


6.  Their  Christian  doctrine  and  orthodoxy. — 

The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  clearly  expressed  in 
the  Odes.  Ode  xix.  2 :  '  The  Son  is  the  cup,  and 
He  who  was  milked  is  the  Father :  and  the  Holy 
Spirit  milked  Him  '  (see  also  Ode  xxiii.  20). 

The  belief  in  God  the  Father  as  Creator  is  also 
emphasized.  Ode  iv.  14  :  '  Thou,  0  God,  hast  made 
all  things '  ;  vii.  28  :  '  He  hath  given  a  mouth  to 
His  creation ' ;  ix.  4  :  'Be  enriched  in  God  the 
Father.' 

The  Odist's  doctrine  of  the  Son  is  as  follows, 
xli.  14,  29  :  '  The  Son  of  the  Most  High  appeared 
in  the  perfection  of  His  Father ;  and  light  dawned 
from  the  Word  that  was  beforetime  in  Him  ;  the 
Christ  is  truly  one  ;  and  He  was  known  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world.'  He  is  'the  Lord 
Messiah'  (xvii.  14),  'our  Lord  Christ'  (xxxix.  10), 
'the  Lords  Christ'  (xxix.  6).  'We  live  in  the 
Lord '  (xli.  3).  He  was  born  of  a  virgin  (xix.  6). 
'  He  became  like  me,  in  order  that  I  might  receive 
Him  '  (vii.  5).  The  Crucifixion  is  perhaps  alluded 
to  in  xlii.  3  :  '  The  outspread  wood  which  was  set 
up  on  the  way  of  the  Righteous  One '  (see  also 
xxvii.  3).  The  gall  and  vinegar  of  the  Passion  are 
mentioned  in  xlii.  17  :  'I  was  gall  and  bitterness 
to  him.'  The  purpose  of  the  humiliation  of  the 
Son  was '  that  I  might  redeem  my  people '  (xxxi.  11). 

The  Holy  Spirit  frequently  underlies  the 
thoughts  of  the  writer  (xi.  2)  :  '  for  the  Most  High 
circumcised  me  by  His  Holy  Spirit  and  revealed 
my  reins  towards  Him '  (see  also  xiv.  8,  xxviii.  2, 
xxxvi.  1). 

The  believer  has  immortality  in  his  soul  (iii. 
10) :  '  for  he  that  is  joined  to  Him  that  is  immortal, 
will  also  himself  become  immortal'  (see  also  ix.  3). 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  many  Christian 
topics  about  which  the  Odist  maintains  a  deep  and 
astonishing  silence.  There  is  no  mention  of  sin, 
repentance,  forgiveness,  or  the  resurrection  of  the 
body.  Sacramentalism  is  generally  absent ;  it  is 
only  by  forcing  the  context  that  one  verse  may  be 
referred  to  the  Eucharist ;  but  the  notion  of  priest- 
hood and  sacrifices  is  expressed  in  some  verses 
already  quoted. 

Strictly  speaking,  Gnosticism  has  no  strong 
support  in  the  Odes.  Ode  xii.,  singled  out  as 
containing  some  Gnostic  technicalities,  savours 
probably  but  little  of  such  aberrations.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  are  sentences  which  seem  to 
betray  slight  tendencies  towards  Docetism.  Ode 
xxviii.  14 f.  :  'And  I  did  not  perish,  for  I  was 
not  their  brother  nor  was  my  birth  like  theirs,  and 
they  sought  for  my  death  and  did  not  find  it'; 
vii.  6  :  '  He  was  reckoned  like  myself  in  order  that 
I  might  put  Him  on  ' ;  xix.  8  :  '  She  brought  forth, 
as  it  were  a  man,  by  the  will  [of  God].' 

LITERATURE. — This  is  indicated  in  the  course  of  the  article. 

A.  MlNGANA. 

OFFENCE.— The  English  word  'offence'  is  de- 
rived from  the  Lat.  offendere,  'to  strike  against' 
or  'to  injure'  (O.Fr.  off  ens,  Fr.  offense],  and  is 
employed  to  translate  various  Heb.  and  Gr.  nouns, 
in  the  sense  of  an  injury,  a  trespass  or  a  fall,  or  as 
an  occasion  of  unbelief,  doubt,  or  apostasy.  The 
chief  Heb.  words  in  the  OT  are  the  verb  D^N,  which 
has  the  meaning  of  '  to  trespass '  or  '  to  be  guilty,' 
and  the  noun  Viago,  in  the  well-known  passages 
Is  814  and  5714,  translated  as  'a  stone  of  stumbling,' 
'  a  stumbling-block.'  The  other  terms  are  gener- 
ally synonyms  of  error  and  sin. 

The  most  important  NT  words  are  irapdwrufna 
and  ffKa.v5a.Kov.  The  former  is  used  with  respect  to 
a  moral  fall,  '  a  falling  beside,'  and  thus  completes 
the  conception  of  sin  (duaprta,  '  missing  the  mark ') 
by  that  of  falling  short  or  falling  aside.  The  one 
is  a  loss  of  aim,  the  other  the  perversion  of  aim  or 
culpable  error.  As  transgression,  it  is  found  in 
Ro  4-5  515  »is-  16-  "• 18-  20,  where  '  offence  '  in  the  AV  is 


OFFERING 


OIL 


107 


rendered  '  trespass '  in  the  RV.  ir/>6<rAr<wxa  is  found 
only  in  Ho  1420,  signifying  'something  to  strike 
against ' :  a  man  runs,  as  it  were,  against  an 
obstacle,  and  does  wrong  when  he  eats  contrary  to 
the  dictates  of  his  conscience.  In  2  Co  63  irpoffKoirri 
is  that  which  causes  stumbling,  and  the  Christians 
are  enjoined  to  place  no  stumbling-block  in  the 
way  of  others.  As  an  adjective,  d.irp6<TKOTros  is  used 
in  Ac  2416  with  respect  to  the  conscience,  also  in 
1  Co  1032  and  in  Pn  I10  as  giving  no  occasion  of 
stumbling. 

The  word  <TKdv8a\ov  (verb,  <ri<a.vda\lfa)  is  fre- 
quently brought  into  use  especially  in  Matthew. 
It  signifies  a  bait  or  stick  in  a  trap  and  generally 
anything  which  causes  a  person  to  be  entrapped  or 
to  fall.  It  is  a  modified  form  of  the  classic  OKO.V- 
Sd\-riQpov.  Sometimes  it  is  used  in  reference  to 
persons,  who  may  become  stumbling-blocks  to 
others.  When  Christ  called  St.  Peter  a  stumbling- 
block,  He  evidently  recognized  in  His  disciple's 
remonstrance  the  agency  of  the  arch-enemy  (2ara- 
vas)  who  was  tempting  Him  to  do  what  was  con- 
trary to  the  will  of  God  (Mt  1623).  Isaiah's  descrip- 
tion of  'the  stone  of  stumbling'  and  'the  rock  of 
offence'  (Is  814)  is  applied  by  St.  Paul  to  Christ 
(Ho  9s3)  because  the  lowliness  of  His  origin  and  of 
His  earthly  surroundings  as  well  as  the  deeply 
spiritual  character  of  His  ministry  offended  the 
religious  leaders  of  His  day  (Mt  1357).  The  rejec- 
tion of  His  claims  by  the  Pharisees  was  attended 
by  some  irritation  and  the  spirit  of  opposition 
(1512)  :  thus  they  were  offended  or  caused  to 
stumble.  This  was  later  accentuated  by  the 
'  scandal  of  the  Cross,'  which,  when  not  accepted 
in  faith  as  the  symbol  of  the  Divine  redemption, 
became  a  stumbling  -  block.  Its  disgrace  and 
ignominy  made  it  difficult  for  the  Jews  to  accept 
Christ  as  their  Messiah,  and  it  also  roused  their 
animosity  to  the  preachers  of  the  gospel  (Gal  511). 
They  expected  a  Messiah  who  should  restore  their 
political  freedom  and  re-establish  the  kingdom  in 
material  success  and  splendour,  and  our  Lord's 
ministry  being  essentially  spiritual  made  Him  to 
be  a  stumbling-block  to  them.  The  fault  was  in 
their  lack  of  faith  and  spiritual  insight ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  Christ's  followers  are  to  be  on 
their  guard  against  giving  occasion  to  others  to 
stumble  through  their  own  selfishness  or  folly. 
Thus  the  term  <rKdi>8a\ov  is  employed  in  reference 
to  actions  or  habits  which  might  prove  to  be  a 
stumbling-block  to  those  who  are  weak  or  inexperi- 
enced. To  cause  Christ's  little  ones  to  stumble 
or  to  fall  is  severely  condemned  (Mt  186).  The 
casuistry  concerning  meats  offered  to  idols  should 
involve  the  consideration  of  the  hyper-sensitive 
consciences  of  the  weaker  brethren,  who  are  not  to 
be  offended  or  made  to  stumble  by  those  who  are 
less  scrupulous  (Ho  14.  151'8).  In  all  such  cases  the 
exhilarating  and  newly-found  consciousness  of 
liberty  is  to  be  controlled  by  love. 

Clement  of  Rome  uses  the  word  irapcnrruffis  in 
combination  with  danger,  in  the  sense  of  a  fault 
incurred  through  disobedience  to  the  counsels  of 
the  Fathers  (Cor.  59).  Ignatius,  whilst  not  em- 
ploying the  word  '  offence,'  warns  the  believers 
against  the  snares  of  the  devil  and  against  giving 
occasion  to  the  heathen  to  triumph,  and  thus 
bringing  discredit  upon  the  whole  body  of  believers 
through  the  folly  of  the  few  (Ep.  ad  Trail.  8). 
If  love  be  the  ruling  principle  of  Christian  morals, 
there  is  no  ffKAvdaXof,  for  love  removes  rather  than 
creates  difficulties. 

LITERATURE.— Artt.  '  Offence '  in  HDB  and  in  DCG ;  Sanday- 
Headlam,  ICC, '  Romans,' o  1902,  p.  390;  F.  J.  A.  Hort,  The  First 
Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  I.  l-II.  17,  1898,  p.  121 ;  F.  W.  Robert- 
son, Sermons,  new  ed.,  1876,  3rd  ser.,  xvi. ;  J.  Moffatt,  'Jesus 
upon  "Stumbling-blocks,"'  in  ExpT xxvi.  [1914-15]  407 ff. 

J.  G.  JAMES. 
OFFERING.— See  SACRIFICE. 


OFFICER. — In  the  only  passages  in  which  this 
word  occurs  in  the  apostolic  writings  (Ac  5M>  x), 
it  stands  for  the  Gr.  i/Tnjp^njs,  and  denotes  an 
official  of  the  Sanhedrin  sent  to  bring  the  apostles 
before  the  Court.  These  officials  appear  to  have 
been  under  the  command  of  the  captain  of  the 
Temple  (v.26).  G.  WAUCHOPE  STEWART. 

OIL  (fKaiov,  from  Aa/a,  '  olive-tree '). — As  the 
Greek  name  implies,  the  common  oil  of  Scripture 
is  olive  oil.  It  is  obtained  from  the  ripe  olive 
berries  by  crushing  and  pressure,  aided  sometimes 
by  the  use  of  hot  water,  and  is  used  for  food,  light, 
soap-making,  and  for  anointing  the  hair  and  the 
skin.  In  Rev  66  '  the  oil  and  the  wine '  refer  to 
the  growing  crops  of  olives  and  grapes.  In  1813 
oil  appears  in  the  list  of  the  merchandise  of  the 
apocalyptic  Babylon. 

The  remaining  references  to  oil  in  the  apostolic 
writings  illustrate  two  special  purposes  for  which 
it  was  employed. 

1.  Ceremonial. — The  olive  oil  used  in  the  conse- 
cration of  priests  and  kings  by  anointing  was  com- 
pounded with  various  perfumed  ingredients  (Ex 
3023'28).     In  this  use  of  oil  we  have  the  basis  of  a 
number  of  figurative  passages. 

(a)  In   He  I9  (  =  Ps  457)   'the  oil  of  gladness' 
suggests  the  honour  that  has  been  besto\ved  on  the 
Exalted  Christ.     Elsewhere  there  is  more  distinct 
reference  to  His  royal  position  as  the  Messiah  or 
Anointed  One,  and  to  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  means 
of  His  consecration  to  this  office  (Ac  1038 ;  cf.  427). 

(b)  The  Holy  Spirit  given  to  Christians  is  repre- 
sented as  an   anointing  oil.     The  context  shows 
that  this  is  the  meaning  of  2  Co  I21.     The  same  is 
true  of  the  '  anointing '  of  1  Jn  220  ( AV '  unction  ')>27. 

2.  Medicinal. — With  this  must  be  connected  in 
some   sense  the  much-discussed   passage  (Ja   514) 
where  the  elders  of  the  Church  are  directed  to  pray 
over  the  sick  brother,  '  anointing  him  with  oil  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord.'    The  general  use  of  oil  in 
ancient  times  as  a  remedy  for  disease  and  injury  is 
illustrated  in  Is  I6,  Lk  1034.     The  treatment  applied 
to  Herod  the  Great  during  his  last  illness  (Jos. 
Ant.  xvn.  vi.  5,  BJ  I.  xxxiii.  5)  is  a  well-known 
case  in  point.     That  the  practice  was  associated 
from  early  times  with  a  belief  in  magic  is  shown 
by    S.    Daiches  (Babylonian    Oil    Magic    in    the 
Talmud  and  in  the  later  Jewish  Literature,  1913). 
The  exact  bearing  of  such   facts  on  Ja  514  must 
remain  obscure,  but  it  is   interesting  to  observe 
that  the  procedure  here  enjoined  was  anticipated 
by  the  Twelve  (Mk  613),  though  without  any  ex- 
press injunction  from  Jesus.     One  thing  is  clear, 
viz.   that  in   James    the  healing  of    the    sick  is 
ascribed  directly  to  '  the  prayer  of  faith '  (v.15)  and 
not  to  the  anointing.     The  latter  must  be  regarded 
as  quite  subsidiary,  originating  probably  in  com- 
pliance with  custom,  yet  dissociated  from  super- 
stition, since  it  is  done  'in  the  name  of  the  Lord,' 
and  serving  perhaps  as  a  kind  of  sacramental  help 
to   faith.     '  It  is  easier  to   believe   when   visible 
means  are  used  than  when  nothing  is  visible,  and 
it  is  still  easier  to  believe  when  the  visible  means 
appear  to  be  likely  to  contribute  to  the  desired 
effect'  (Plummer,  St.  James  and  St.  Jtide,  p.  327). 

There  are  few  traces  of  observance  of  such  a  rite 
in  the  early  Church,  though  the  Emperor  Septimius 
Severus  believed  himself  to  have  been  cured  by  oil 
administered  by  a  Christian  (Tertullian,  ad  Scap. 
4).  But  from  the  6th  cent,  onwards  the  practice 
was  regularly  established,  and  had  different  de- 
velopments in  the  East  and  in  the  West.  In  the 
latter  it  was  finally  transformed  into  the  sacrament 
of  Extreme  Unction,  of  which  it  need  only  be  said 
that  it  is  administered  when  recovery  is  supposed 
to  be  hopeless,  whereas  in  James  the  anointing  ia 
expected  to  be  followed  by  a  cure.  After  the 


108 


OINTMENT 


OLD  TESTAMENT 


Reformation  we  find  that  the  First  Prayer  Book  of 
Edward  vi.  (1549)  provides  for  the  NT  ceremony, 
'if  the  sicke  person  desyre  to  be  annoynted.'  In 
the  Prayer  Book  of  1552  this  provision  disappears. 
There  has  been  a  revival  of  the  practice  in  certain 
Anglican  circles  in  recent  times  (see  F.  W.  Puller, 
The  Anointing  of  the  Sick  in  Scripture  and  Tradi- 
tion, 1904). 

LITERATURE. — On  the  medicinal  use  see  the  Commentaries  on 
James  of  A.  Plummer  (Expositor's  Bible,  1891),  R.  J.  Knowling 
(Westminster  Comrn.,  1904),  and  J.  B.  Mayor  ("1910). 

JAMES  PATRICK. 

OINTMENT  (fj.6pov).  —  Perfumes  for  the  toilet 
were  extensively  used  in  ancient  as  well  as  in 
modern  times.  The  modern  methods  of  extraction 
and  preparation,  however,  were  unknown,  and  the 
principal  form  of  these  luxuries  was  that  of  per- 
fumed oils  and  pomades.  The  basis  of  the  former 
was  olive  oil  or  some  similar  vegetable  oil  (e.g.  oil 
of  nuts  or  almonds),  to  which  were  added  the  frag- 
rant volatile  oils  obtained  from  various  flowers 
and  plants.  Of  the  scented  ingredients  the  finest 
and  most  expensive  came  from  the  East,  and  the 
oleum  nardinum,  made  from  the  flowers  of  Indian 
or  Arabian  nard-grass,  was  especially  prized  among 
the  Romans.  Unguents  of  this  type  were  liquid 
or  semi-liquid,  rather  than  of  the  consistency 
suggested  by  the  modern  use  of  the  word  'ointment,' 
and  were  kept  in  bottles  of  precious  metal  or  stone. 
The  alabastron  was  of  the  latter  material,  and  was 
a  small  cylindrical  vessel  narrowing  at  the  neck  in 
order  that  the  contents  might  drip  out  gradually. 
The  pomades,  on  the  other  hand,  had  fine  fat  for 
their  basis.  These  various  ointments  were  used 
for  anointing  the  body,  especially  after  bathing, 
for  dressing  the  hair  and  beard,  for  perfuming  the 
dress,  and  even  for  scenting  the  water  of  the  bath. 
In  the  public  baths  at  Rome  there  were  special 
apartments  (unctoria)  where  the  unguents  were 
applied.  Pliny  (HN  xiii.  Iff.)  comments  on  the 
prevalence  of  this  form  of  luxury  in  the  society  of 
his  time.  Cicero  (in  Cat.  ii.  3)  says  that  the 
effeminate  companions  of  Catiline  '  shine  with 
ointments '  ('  nitent  unguentis '). 

In  Rev  1813  'ointment'  (so  RV ;  AV  'oint- 
ments') appears  in  the  list  of  the  luxurious  mer- 
chandise of  '  Babylon '  (i.e.  Rome),  and  the  fore- 
going particulars  illustrate  the  aptness  of  the 
reference. 

The  'eyesalve'  of  318,  though  used  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  verb  £yxP'ei"  ('anoint')  does  not 
belong  to  the  class  of  ordinary  unguents.  The  Gr. 
word  is  Ko\\ovptov  or  KoXXvpiov  (dim.  from  KoXXvpa). 
The  collyra  was  a  sort  of  elongated  bun,  and  the 
collyrium  was  a  medicated  preparation  of  similar 
shape,  used  for  rubbing  on  tender  eyelids  or  other 
affected  parts  (Celsus,  V.  xxviii.  12 ;  Horace,  Sat. 
I.  v.  30 ;  Pliny,  HN  xxxv.  53). 

LITERATURE.— W.  A.  Becker,  Gallup,  1888,  p.  378  ;  E.  Guhl- 
W.  Koner,  Das  Leben  der  GriecJien  und  Romer®,  1873,  Eng 
tr.,  1889,  pp.  150,  398,  492,  508.  JAMES  PATEICK. 

OLD  TESTAMENT.— 1.  The  Old  Testament  in 
the  primitive  Church. — By  the  opening  of  the 
Christian  era  the  limits  of  the  OT  Canon  had  been 
practically  fixed,  and  a  high  doctrine  of  its  inspira- 
tion developed  within  the  Jewish  Church.  The  real 
Author  of  the  books  embraced  within  the  Canon 
was  God  Himself  ;  and,  charged  as  they  were  with 
His  Spirit,  they  were  holy  as  He  was,  and  '  defiled 
the  hands '  of  those  who  touched  them.  The  OT 
Scriptures  were  thus  the  final  norm  of  faith  and 
conduct,  and  an  appeal  to  their  authority  was 
decisive  (see  art.  SCRIPTURE).  The  early  genera- 
tion of  Christians  inherited  this  tradition.  As 
children  of  the  household  of  Israel,  they  grew  up  in 
the  atmosphere  of  the  OT  revelation ;  and,  even 
when  they  passed  to  the  fuller  life  in  Christ,  they 


carried  with  them  their  reverence  for  the  ancient 
Scriptures.  No  need  for  a  distinctively  Christian 
literature  was  yet  felt.  The  books  of  the  OT  were 
the  '  oracles  of  God,'  which  enshrined  the  Divine 
rule  of  life,  not  for  the  Fathers  only,  but  for  those 
also  who  had  been  called  and  redeemed  in  Christ. 
Being  read  mainly  in  the  Greek  or  Aramaic  versions, 
and  interpreted,  with  the  freedom  characteristic  of 
the  age,  as  a  collection  of  independent '  prophecies ' 
OT  predictions  of  things  to  come,  they  were  easily 
made  to  cover  thegreat  facts  associated  with  Christ  s 
teaching,  personality,  and  work.  In  this  light  they 
were  regarded  also  as  a  sufficient  guide  to  Christian 
conduct. 

The  clearest  reflexion  of  this  simple  attitude 
towards  the  OT  is  found  in  the  apostolic  preaching 
in  Acts.  The  theme  of  all  the  utterances  found 
there  is  the  salvation  won  through  Christ's  death 
and  resurrection.  But  the  burden  of  proof  rests 
on  the  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  as  represented 
by  the  LXX.  Christ  Himself  is  the  Prophet  whose 
coming  was  heralded  by  Moses  (322  737),  and  His 
death  is  the  '  fulfilling '  of  '  the  things  which  God 
foreshowed  by  the  mouth  of  all  the  prophets '  (318). 
To  Him  the  mysterious  prophecy  of  the  Suffering 
Servant  of  Is  53  is  directly  applied  (832*-)-  His 
resurrection,  likewise,  is  that  which  was  '  fore- 
seen '  by  David  in  his  protest  against  God's  '  Holy 
One'  seeing  corruption  (225ff<),  and  points  forward 
to  the  final  restoration  of  all  things  '  whereof  God 
spake  by  the  mouth  of  his  holy  prophets  which  have 
been  since  the  world  began '  (321).  The  outpouring 
of  the  Spirit  at  Pentecost  is  equally  the  fulfilment 
of  Joel's  glorious  vision  of  the  latter  days  (216ff>), 
while  the  persecution  that  followed  the  first 
triumphs  of  the  gospel  marks  the  rage  of  kings  and 
nations  against  the  Lord  and  His  Anointed,  as  fore- 
told '  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  by  the  mouth  of  our  father 
David  thy  servant'  (425f-).  Even  the  tragedy  of 
Judas'  end  is  the  immediate  working  out  of  the 
curse  denounced  in  Ps  G925  against  the  enemies  of 
the  righteous  (I20). 

2.  The  Old  Testament  and  the  conflict  for  spirit- 
ual freedom. — So  long  as  the  preaching  of  the  gos- 
pel was  confined  to  Jews,  the  new  wine  was  easily 
kept  within  the  old  bottles.  But  a  conflict  was 
inevitable  when  the  wine  began  to  ferment,  and  the 
freedom  of  the  faith  to  assert  itself  against  Jewish 
limitations.  This  conflict  is  already  foreshadowed 
in  St.  Stephen's  preaching;  but  it  became  acute 
only  with  the  conversion  and  world-wide  ministry 
of  St.  Paul. 

The  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  was  a  Pharisee  '  of 
the  straitest  sect,'  brought  up  at  the  feet  of 
Gamaliel,  and  thus  imbued  not  merely  with  a  deep 
reverence  and  love  for  the  Scriptures,  but  also  with 
the  Rabbinic  method  of  expounding  them,  in  entire 
independence  of  their  historical  setting  and  signifi- 
cance, as  a  store-house  of  separate  'oracles,'  the 
manifold  sense  of  which  (literal,  allegorical,  rational, 
and  mystical)  was  to  be  deduced  by  the  interpreter's 
own  insight,  logical  acumen,  or  fancy,  according  to 
the  rules  laid  down  by  representative  Rabbis.  His 
love  for  the  '  sacred  writings '  St.  Paul  naturally 
brought  with  him  into  the  service  of  Christ.  His 
sermons  and  Epistles  are  steeped  in  the  language 
of  the  OT,  and  proof -texts  are  abundantly  used  to 
point  the  edge  of  an  argument,  or  to  emphasize  his 
counsels  for  Christian  life  (see  art.  QUOTATIONS). 
Like  his  Jewish  teachers,  the  Apostle  continued  to 
read  the  Scriptures  as  a  body  of  independent  'words,' 
each  charged  with  a  life  and  force  of  its  own.  He 
is  usually  indifferent  to  the  exact  exegesis  of  his 
texts,  following  the  LXX  even  when  its  rendering 
is  faulty,  though  occasionally  he  does  appear  to  cite 
from  the  original  Hebrew.  In  other  directions  he 
claims  a  wide  freedom  in  his  reproduction  and 
application  of  texts.  Nor  has  he  shaken  himself 


OLD  TESTAMENT 


OLD  TESTAMENT 


109 


quite  clear  of  Rabbinic  subtleties.  Thus  the  narrow- 
ing of  Abraham's  'seed'  to  Christ  (Gal  3ie)  is  a 
thoroughly  characteristic  example  of  the  verbal 
exegesis  of  the  Rabbis.  The  allegory  of  Sarah  and 
Hagar,  the  freewoman  and  the  handmaid  (Gal  421ff-), 
and  the  extracting  of  a  hidden  personal  principle 
from  the  humane  law  of  the  unmuzzled  ox  (1  Co  9s"1, 
1  Ti  518),  illustrate  the  '  manifold  sense '  read  into 
the  letter  of  Scripture  ;  while  the  bold  way  in  which 
he  transfers  to  Gentile  Christians  the  promises  made 
to  Israel  (Ro  98ff>),  and  tindsin  the  Deuteronomist's 
great  thought  of  the  nearness  of  the  Law  sugges- 
tions of  Christ's  descent  to  earth  and  His  rising 
from  the  dead  (Ro  106ff>),  or  in  the  '  strange  tongues ' 
of  Is  28llff'  a  forecast  of  Christian  'tongues' 
(1  Co  1421),  betrays  the  unrestrained  liberty  of  in- 
terpretation exercised  by  the  Jewish  exegete.  It 
is  remarkable,  however,  that  the  Apostle  is  so 
little  influenced  by  Rabbinic  methods.  Apart  from 
these  few  survivals  from  a  dead  past,  which  touch 
only  the  periphery  of  his  thought,  there  is  nothing 
in  his  Epistles  that  reminds  us  of  the  arbitrary  and 
highly  extravagant  exegetical  results  of  his  Jewish 
contemporaries.  So  deeply  has  he  entered  into  the 
spirit  of  his  Master  that  his  whole  treatment  of 
the  OT  is  marked  by  a  sanity  and  sobriety  of  mind, 
enriched  with  a  breadth,  sympathy,  and  penetrating 
insight  surpassed  only  by  Christ. 

In  his  preaching  to  the  Jews  St.  Paul  follows  the 
practice  of  the  earlier  apostles,  though  with  a  new 
fullness  and  range.  '  He  reasoned  with  them  from 
the  scriptures,  opening  and  alleging,  that  it  behoved 
the  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  again  from  the 
dead'  (Ac  172(- ;  cf.  2S28ff-).  Thus  in  his  speech  at 
Antioch  he  sets  forth  Jesus  as  the  Saviour  of  David's 
seed  brought  unto  Israel '  according  to  the  promise,' 
whose  condemnation  and  death  at  the  hands  of  the 
people  and  rulers  of  Jerusalem  were  the  fulfilment 
of  the  words  of  the  prophets  '  which  are  read  every 
sabbath,'  and  His  resurrection  the  bringing  to  pass 
of  '  the  holy  and  sure  blessings  of  David,'  as  pro- 
mised in  Psalms  2  and  8  (Ac  IS'-3*-)-  In  his  Epistles, 
too,  he  cites  OT  texts  as  direct  predictions  of  the 
gospel.  The  new  faith  of  which  he  was  called  to 
be  an  Apostle  is  '  the  gospel  of  God,  which  he 
promised  afore  by  his  prophets  in  the  holy  scrip- 
tures '  (Ro  !"• ;  cf.  321).  Christ  both  died  and 
rose  again  '  according  to  the  scriptures'  (1  Co  153f-), 
while  proof-texts  are  adduced  for  the  promise  of  the 
Spirit  (Gal  314),  the  destruction  of  human  wisdom 
through  the  foolishness  of  preaching  (1  Co  I19),  the 
universal  range  of  the  preaching  of  salvation 
(Ro  1018),  the  vital  principle  of  righteousness  by 
faith  (I17  321,  Gal  311),  the  fatal  unbelief  of  the 
Jews  (Ro  1016ff-)  and  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles 
(92Sff.  10i9t  159ff.)(  the  final  salvation  of  Israel  (II26'-), 
Christ's  victory  over  all  His  enemies  (1  Co  1524ff>), 
and  the  swallowing  up  of  death  and  sin  in  the 
immortality  won  through  Him  (v.54*-). 

So  far,  then,  the  OT  is  treated  as  a  Jewish  book, 
pointing  to  the  fulfilment  of  the  'promise'  in 
Christ.  But  the  extension  of  the  gospel  to  the 
Gentiles,  which  was  an  essential  part  of  this 
promise  (cf.  above),  of  necessity  involved  a  change 
in  the  Apostle's  attitude  to  the  Scriptures.  As  a 
Jewish  book,  the  OT  made  no  direct  appeal  to 
other  nations.  They  had  their  own  modes  of 
thought  and  expression,  and  the  most  cultivated 
of  them  possessed  a  literature  of  surpassing  beauty 
and  power.  On  occasion  the  Apostle  might  ap- 
proach their  conscience  by  this  path  {cf.  especi- 
ally his  speech  to  the  Athenians) ;  but  his  mind 
was  so  saturated  with  OT  ideas,  and  the  book 
itself  was  so  manifestly  the  Word  of  God  which 
made  men  '  wise  unto  salvation '  (2  Ti  315),  that 
he  could  not  withhold  it  from  any  nation. 
Irrespective,  then,  of  the  Jewish  origin  and 
cast  of  the  whole,  he  deliberately  transformed 


it  into  a  Christian  book,  in  which  Christ  was 
openly  identified  with  the  God  of  the  Jews  (cf. 
Ro  10:3f-  II26'-,  Eph  48  514,  etc.),  and  the  history 
of  Israel  was  read  typically  (TVTTIKWS,  '  by  way  of 
pattern'  or  'figure'),  as  a  series  of  illustrative 
moral  examples,  'written  for  our  admonition, 
upon  whom  the  ends  of  the  ages  are  come' 
(1  Co  1011).  Thus  the  promise  to  Abraham  is 
extended  to  all  who  walk  in  the  steps  of  his  faith, 
whether  in  circumcision  or  in  uncircumcision 
(Ro  412),  while  '  it  was  not  written  for  his  sake 
alone,  that  it  (his  faith)  was  reckoned  unto  him 
(for  righteousness),  but  for  our  sake  also,  unto 
whom  it  shall  be  reckoned,  who  believe  on  him 
that  raised  Jesus  our  Lord  from  the  dead,  who 
was  delivered  up  for  our  trespasses,  and  was 
raised  for  our  justification'  (Ro  4'J3ff-).  The  true 
Israel  unto  whom  the  Word  was  given  is  no  more 
Abraham's  seed  according  to  the  flesh,  but  '  the 
children  of  the  promise,'  whether  Jew  or  Gentile 
(Ro  96fr-,  Gal  S28).  Thus  'whatsoever  things 
were  written  aforetime  were  written  for  our 
learning,  that  through  patience  and  through 
comfort  of  the  scriptures  we  might  have  hope' 
(Ro  154). 

This  transformation  of  the  OT  into  a  distinc- 
tively Christian  book  was  the  more  easily  effected 
as  the  conflict  for  freedom  turned  decisively 
around  the  Law.  For  orthodox  Judaism  the  Law 
was  the  heart  of  the  Scriptures,  the  very  '  holy  of 
holies.'  Like  the  other  apostles,  St.  Paul  was  a 
child  of  the  Law,  who  excelled  them  all  in  his  zeal 
for  its  honour.  Even  as  a  Christian  he  remained 
under  its  influence,  and  was  ready  in  the  interests 
of  the  gospel,  if  need  were,  to  circumcise  and  to 
carry  through  the  statutory  vows  for  himself  and 
his  converts  (cf.  his  procedure  in  Ac  163  1818  2123ffi). 
But  to  impose  the  Law  on  Gentile  Christians  as  a 
necessary  condition  of  their  salvation  would  in- 
evitably reduce  Christianity  to  a  mere  Jewish 
sect.  The  Apostle  knew,  moreover,  from  personal 
experience,  as  well  as  from  observation  of  life,  that 
there  was  no  saving  power  in  the  Law.  As  coming 
from  the  holy  God,  the  Law  was  holy,  and  its 
commandment  'righteous  and  good.'  But  so 
weak  and  sinful  was  human  flesh  that  the  very 
constraint  of  the  Law  not  only  awoke  the  con- 
sciousness of  sin,  but  roused  an  inward  opposition, 
and  thus  actually  provoked  sin.  Hence  the 
paradox  of  moral  life,  that  the  '  law  of  sin '  in 
man's  members  '  worked  death  through  that  which 
is  itself  good — that  through  the  commandment 
sin  might  become  exceedingly  sinful.'  And  the 
only  real  virtue  of  the  Law  was  to  drive  men  in 
despair  to  Christ  (Ro  77ff-). 

On  this  profound  psychological  analysis  the 
Apostle  based  his  new  reading  of  OT  history. 
For  him  the  Law  was  no  longer  the  heart  and 
spirit  of  the  older  revelation,  but  a  mere  paren- 
thesis or  side-issue.  Sin  was  a  great  fact  which 
directly  entered  the  world  (el<rrj\dev)  in  Adam. 
To  circumvent  its  fatal  effects,  grace  likewise 
entered  (Ro  512ff>).  The  Law  came  in  sideways 
(vapeLffTjXdev),  and  therefore  in  a  subordinate  and 
non-essential  capacity  (Ro  520).  Its  purpose  was 
not  to  save  men,  but  to  hold  them  in  ward  or 
prison  until  the  true  faith  should  be  revealed 
(Gal  S23).  At  best,  it  was  but  the  slave-boy 
(irai&aywy6s),  who  kept  them  under  a  certain 
moral  restraint  until  Christ  came  (eh  JLpi<rr6v, 
i.e.  'up  to  the  time  of  Christ'),  when  they  might 
be  '  justified  by  faith '  (Gal  3M).  Thus  the  gospel 
had  its  spiritual  affinities,  not  with  the  Law,  but 
with  that  faith  of  Abraham  which  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  promise  (Gal  315ff>).  In  a  real 
sense,  indeed,  the  gospel  was  already  inherent  in 
the  covenant  between  God  and  Abraham,  con- 
firmed 430  years  before  the  giving  of  the  Law,  and 


110 


OLD  TESTAMENT 


OLD  TESTAMENT 


remaining  valid  in  spite  of  its  interposition.  If 
it  be  rightly  read,  therefore,  the  OT  is  a  revela- 
tion of  the  same  grace  as  is  made  manifest  in 
Christ.  Only  the  Jews  have  obscured  its  true 
character  by  the  fatal  emphasis  they  have  placed 
on  the  Law.  The  veil  with  which  Moses  covered 
his  face  when  he  spoke  to  the  people  is  a  symbol 
of  that  still  darker  veil  lying  heavily  upon  the 
heart  of  Israel  'at  the  reading  of  the  old  covenant,' 
which  will  never  be  removed  until  they  turn  to 
Christ.  In  Him  the  veil  has  been  'done  away.' 
And  all  who  have  found  liberty  through  Him, 
'  with  unveiled  face  beholding  as  in  a  mirror 
[RVm]  the  glory  of  the  Lord,'  are  able  to  trace 
that  glory  shining  through  the  ancient  Scriptures, 
and  are  likewise  '  transformed  into  the  same 
image  from  glory  to  glory'  (2  Co  312ff-). 

3.  The  Old  Testament  as  the  foreshadowing 
of  the  gospel. — In  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  the 
problem  is  attacked  from  a  different  point  of  view. 
The  underlying  assumptions  are,  no  doubt,  the 
same.  The  OT  is  treated  throughout  as  the  very 
Word  of  God,  and  quotations  are  introduced  with 
the  formula,  '  he  saith  '  (X^yei),  used  of  God  Himself 
(He  I5ff-  5M-),  or  the  Holy  Spirit  (37ff-  1015ff-),  or  God 
speaking  through  the  Spirit  (43ff-  88ff-),  or  even 
the  Messiah  (21-*-  105ff-),  irrespective  of  their  human 
authorship.  But  the  widest  freedom  of  interpreta- 
tion is  claimed.  The  author  cites  invariably  from 
the  LXX,  being  evidently  ignorant  of  the  original 
Hebrew.  He  is  quite  unfettered,  too,  by  the 
historical  application  of  texts.  Thus  not  merely 
are  Messianic  Psalms  like  Ps  2  and  Ps  110  re- 
ferred directly  to  Christ  (He  l»-is'-),  but  the  highly 
dubious  crn^N,  '  O  God,'  of  Ps  45(46)6  and  the  '  son 
of  man '  in  Ps  84  are  both  identified  with  Him 
(He  I8f>  26ff-),  while  even  Isaiah's  description  of 
himself  and  his  children  as  '  signs  and  portents  in 
Israel '  (Is  818)  is  cited  as  a  proof  of  Jesus'  oneness 
with  His  people  and  His  participation  in  the 
same  flesh  and  blood  as  theirs,  '  that  through 
death  he  might  bring  to  nought  him  that  had 
the  power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil  ;  and  might 
deliver  all  them  who  through  fear  of  death  were 
all  their  lifetime  subject  to  bondage'  (He  213ff-). 
But,  as  a  Jew  of  the  school  of  Alexandria,  he  is 
much  more  influenced  by  the  allegorical  spirit 
than  St.  Paul.  To  him,  indeed,  the  OT  is  a 
system  of  signs  and  symbols,  foreshadowings 
and  anticipations  of  something  better,  which  is 
to  be  found  only  in  Christ  and  the  '  new  covenant ' 
of  grace. 

The  opening  paragraph  lays  down  the  famous 
contrast  between  the  multiform  and  fragmentary 
character  of  the  older  revelation  and  the  fullness 
of  the  light  that  came  through  Christ.  '  God, 
having  of  old  time  spoken  unto  the  fathers 
through  the  prophets  in  many  parts  and  in  many 
modes,  hath  at  the  end  of  these  days  spoken  unto 
us  in  a  Son,  whom  he  hath  appointed  heir  of  all 
things^  through  whom  also  he  made  the  worlds, 
who  being  the  effulgence  (dira6ya.(r/j.a.)  of  his  glory, 
and  the  very  impress  of  his  essence  (x^paicrrip  -Hjs 
inro<rTdffeus  avrov),  and  upholding  all  things  by  the 
word  of  his  power,  when  he  had  made  purification 
of  sins,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty 
on  high'  (llff-)-  The  history  of  revelation  is  here 
set  forth  under  the  categories  of  Platonic  idealism. 
As  this  world  is  but  a  dim  and  flickering  shadow 
of  the  eternal  realities,  thrown  upon  the  screen 
of  the  passing  present,  the  OT  is  a  broken  and 
changing  expression  of  God's  mind,  given  through 
many  different  media,  and  sharing  the  imperfec- 
tion bound  up  in  all  of  them,  while  the  revelation 
in  Christ  is  the  full  'shining  forth'  of  the  Divine 
glory  through  the  perfect  image  or  embodiment 
of  the  eternal  Majesty.  The  real  value  of  the 
OT  Scriptures,  therefore,  is  to  point  forward  to  the 


Light,  and  then  to  pass  away  as  the  shadow  before 
the  sunshine. 

The  author  applies  the  same  categories  to  the 
Law,  by  which,  however,  he  means  not  the  moral 
command  that  pressed  so  hard  on  the  conscience 
of  St.  Paul,  but  the  system  of  Levitical  ordinances, 
as  carried  through  in  the  service  of  the  Temple. 
This  also  was  a  'copy  and  shadow  (virbSeLyfua.  ical 
a-Kid)  of  the  heavenly  things,'  an  earthly  adumbra- 
tion of  the  worship  carried  through  in  the  eternal 
temple  above  (85).  As  such,  every  part  of  the 
ritual  had  its  significance  (cf.  esp.  91"-)-  But  the 
Law  itself  was  quite  powerless  to  save.  '  It  is 
impossible  that  the  blood  of  bulls  and  goats  should 
take  away  sins '  (104).  It  was  equally  impossible 
that  high  priests  subject  to  the  infirmities  and 
mortality  of  human  nature  should  by  their  daily 
and  yearly  sacrifices,  offered  continually  and  with- 
out change,  '  make  perfect  them  that  draw  near ' 
(•7230.  g9ff.  iolf-)-  In  these  sacrifices  remembrance 
was  made  of  sins,  and  the  worshipper's  thoughts 
were  thereby  directed  towards  the  perfect  Sacri- 
fice yet  to  be  offered  (103).  The  '  very  image '  (OVTT? 
r,  elK&v),  the  clear,  full  expression  of  the  '  good 
things '  of  which  the  Law  was  but  a  dim,  un- 
certain '  shadow,'  was  found  only  in  Christ,  by 
the  offering  of  whose  body  sin  was  expiated  once 
for  all,  and  a  '  new  and  living  way '  opened 
through  the  veil,  '  that  is  to  say,  his  flesh,  into 
the  holy  place  where  God  is  (105ff-).  The  Aaronic 
priesthood  was  thus  as  imperfect  a  channel  of  the 
mediation  of  grace  as  the  prophets  had  been  of 
the  revelation  of  God's  mind.  Both  were  but 
foreshadowings  of  the  'new  covenant'  (S7ff-), 
'a  parable  for  the  time  now  present'  (99).  The 
truest  OT  type  of  Christ  was  Melchizedek, 
coming,  as  He  did,  from  the  heavenly  sphere, 
'  without  father,  without  mother,  without  gene- 
alogy, having  neither  beginning  of  days  nor  end 
of  life,'  to  bear  immediate  witness  to  the  Divine 
(7lff-). 

4.  Practical  use  of  the  Old  Testament.— Chris- 
tian interest  in  the  OT  is  by  no  means  exhausted 
by  such  discussions  as  to  its  relation  to  the  gospel. 
The  main  test  of  its  '  inspiration '  is  rather  the 
practical  one  of  helpfulness  '  for  teaching,  for 
judgment,  for  correction,  for  discipline  in  right- 
eousness, that  the  man  of  God  may  be  complete, 
furnished  completely  unto  every  good  work  '  (2  Ti 
316f<).  Thus  St.  Paul  not  merely  checks  his  own 
fiery  outburst  against  the  high  priest  by  calling  to 
mind  the  injunction  not  to  speak  evil  of  a  ruler 
(Ac  235),  but  cites  the  Decalogue  and  other  moral 
precepts  of  the  OT  as  still  binding  upon  his  readers 
(cf.  Ro  1219'-,  1  Co  99,  2  Co  617f-  9",  Eph  62,  1  Ti  518, 
2  Ti  219),  and  with  equal  freedom  adduces  OT 
heroes  as  examples  or  warnings  (e.g.  Adam  in 
Ro  51-'- ;  Eve  in  2  Co  II3,  1  Ti  214 ;  Abraham  in 
Ro  4lff-,  Gal  36ff-  ;  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel 
in  1  Co  10lff<).  The  fate  of  the  rebellious  Israel- 
ites is  likewise  held  forth  as  a  warning  to  Christian 
believers  in  He  312ff-  ;  but  the  noblest  instance  of 
this  practical  use  of  the  OT  in  the  Epistle  is  found 
in  the  great  roll-call  of  faith  (ch.  11).  In  the 
remaining  books  the  speculative  interest  has 
almost  vanished,  and  the  OT  is  cited  mainly  for 
its  ethical  value.  Of  the  six  quotations  in  James, 
five  are  unmistakably  ethical ;  and  even  the  text 
from  Gn  15",  which  St.  Paul  made  the  basis  of  his 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  is  adduced  as  a 
proof  of  justification  by  works  (as  the  necessary 
fruit  of  faith).  In  the  same  way  the  Apostle 
refers  to  Rahab,  Job,  and  Elijah  as  notable  ex- 
amples of  works,  patience,  and  prayer  respectively 
(225  511-  17t).  Even  in  1  Peter,  where  the  primitive 
conception  of  the  OT  as  a  body  of  predictions  ful- 
filled in  Christ  finds  clear  expression  (lluf-  2sff-),  the 
actual  use  of  the  Scriptures  is  predominantly  prac- 


OLIVE 


OLYMPAS 


111 


tical  (cf.  I18  3«- loff-  55).  The  few  suggestions  of  tlie 
OT  traceable  in  2  Peter  (e.g.  25ff-  1M-  --)  and  1  John 
(312)  are  of  the  same  character ;  while  the  numer- 
ous reminiscences  in  Revelation,  if  not  distinc- 
tively ethical,  are  yet  concrete  and  imaginative, 
the  clothing  of  the  writer's  own  dreams  in  the 
majestic  symbolism  of  the  OT  poets  and  prophets 
(see  art.  QUOTATIONS). 

LITERATI-RE.— A.  Tholuck,  Das  A  T  im  .VT*,  Gotha,  1868 ;  L. 
Diestel,  Gesck.  cits  A  T  in  der  christl.  Kirc/te,  Jena,  lst>8,  p.  li  ff . ; 
B.  Jowett,  St.  Paul's  Epp.  to  T/iess.,  Gal.  and  Ran.,  voL  i.  : 
'.Essays  and  Dissertations,"  London,  1804 ;  C.  Clemen,  Der 
Gebrauch  des  AT  in  den  neutext.  Schriften,  Giitersloh,  1895; 
G.  H.  Gilbert,  Interpretation  of  the  jJible,  New  York,  1908  ; 
A.  Harnack,  Dcymenyeschichte3,  Freiburg,  1S98,  i.  41  ff.  ;  H. 
St.  J.  Thackeray,  The  Relation  of  St.  Paul  to  Contemporary 
Jewish  Thmifiht,  London,  1900  ;  the  New  Testament  Theologies 
of  B.  Weiss'  (En?,  tr.,  Edinburgh,  18S2-S3),  W.  Beyschlag 
(Eng.  tr.,  do.,  1895),  H.  J.  Holtzmann  (^Tubingen,  1911),  etc.  ; 
Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  '  Romans, '&  Edinburgh,  1902  ;  B.  F. 
Westcott,  Hebrews,  London,  1889,  p.  469  fit. ;  A.  B.  Bruce, 
The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  Edinburgh,  1899. 

A.  R.  GORDON. 

OLIVE  (Acu'a,  aypifruuos,  /caXXiAaios).— -The  only 
passages  in  which  the  olive  is  referred  to  in  the 
NT  are  Ro  II17- »,  Ja  312,  Rev  II4.  (For  Ro  11"-  M 
see  art.  GRAFTING.)  For  the  proverb  in  Ja  313 — 
'  Can  the  h'g-tree,  my  brethren,  bear  olive  berries  ? ' 
— cf.  Seneca,  Ep.  87,  '  non  nascitur  ex  malo  bonum 
non  magis  quam  ficus  ex  olea';  see  also  Epict. 
Diss.  ii.  20  and  Plut.  Mor.  p.  472.  A  like  simile 
is  found  in  Mt  716  1233.  The  reference  to  the  two 
olive-trees  in  Rev  1 14  is  after  Zee  42'-.  In  the  latter 
passage  the  \vxyla.  is  Israel,  and  the  two  olive- 
trees  which  feed  it  are  probably  the  monarchy  and 
the  priesthood  as  represented  by  Zerubbabel  and 
Joshua.  The  writer  of  Rev  II4  has  adapted  the 
imagery  of  Zee  42f-.  In  Rev  112-20  jie  nas  ii]cene(j 
the  seven  churches  to  seven  golden  \vx»la.i.  These 
\vx"icu  are  kept  burning  by  the  oil  of  the  Spirit 
with  which  the  true  members  of  the  Church  are 
imbued  (cf.  Mt  254,  Ro  II17).  These  stand  before 
the  God  of  the  earth  (Rev  II4).  In  Ja  514  reference 
is  made  to  the  early  Christian  custom  of  anointing 
the  sick  with  oil  (Z\aioi>). 

Of  recent  years  olive-trees  have  been  largely 
destroyed,  chiefly  with  a  view  to  avoiding  taxation, 
but  also  in  part  for  the  supply  of  fire-wood.  The 
extent  to  which  the  olive  was  cultivated  in  Pales- 
tine in  ancient  times  may  be  gauged  by  the  large 
number  of  olive-presses  that  are  to  be  seen  all  over 
the  country.  Many  of  these  presses  were  cut  in 
the  rock  before  houses  were  built  upon  it.  They 
are  often  found  in  immediate  association  with 
Troglodyte  caves,  while  a  press  was  actually  found 
inside  one  cave.  In  the  earliest  times  the  presses 
were  of  a  simple  character  and  generally  consisted 
of  a  single  circular  or  rectangular  vat  with  one 
or  two  cup-holes  in  the  floor.  These  appear  both 
on  the  hill-sides  and  also  on  the  rock-surface.  The 
olive-presses  of  a  later  time  show  greater  elabora- 
tion, and  in  Roman  times  or  after,  the  receiving- 
vats  were  sometimes  lined  with  Mosaic  tesserse. 
The  fruit  was  apparently  crushed  on  the  surface  of 
the  press  with  stones,  rollers,  or  pestles,  the  juice 
being  subsequently  expressed  by  boards  placed  over 
the  fruit  and  weighed  down  with  weights.  The 
juice  thus  extracted  was  collected  in  a  receiving- 
vat  of  greater  depth  than  the  press  itself.  The 
receiving-vat  was  sometimes  sunk  in  the  press, 
while  sometimes  it  lay  outside,  and  communicated 
with  it  by  a  channel.  The  pressing-surface  is 
nearly  always  square  or  rectangular,  and  never 
more  than  from  1  to  li  ft.  deep  ;  the  receiving- 
vat  is  generally  square  but  occasionally  circular. 
There  were  often  several  receiving-vats  to  a  single 
press.  In  the  larger  presses,  the  fruit  was  not 
crushed  by  the  aid  of  movable  hand-stones,  but  by 
a  large,  massive  stone  wheel  rotated  round  a  central 
staple  by  an  ox  or  horse.  One  of  these  wheels  that 


lias  been  recovered  has  a  diameter  of  4  ft.  8  in. 
The  rock  in  the  press-surface  was  usually  left 
bare,  but  the  receiving-vat  was  often  cemented. 

But  olive-presses  of  an  entirely  different  char- 
acter were  also  in  use  in  all  the  Semitic  periods. 
They  consisted  of  movable  slabs  or  boulders  of 
stone.  They  are  generally  circular  in  shape  and 
have  a  diameter  of  from  4  ft.  9  in.  to  6  ft.  6  in.  The 
rim  within  which  the  fruit  was  crushed  is  raised, 
the  juice  being  collected  in  a  cup  hollowed  out 
within  the  rim.  Apart  from  the  natural  use  of  the 
olive  as  a  fruit,  it  supplies  the  place  of  butter  and 
is  used  for  cooking.  The  oil  is  used  for  lamps  as 
well  as  for  anointing  the  body,  while  the  soap  of 
the  country  is  made  exclusively  from  it.  The  wood 
is  used  for  cabinet-work.  See  also  art.  GRAFTING. 

LITERATURE.  —  J.  B.  Mayor,  The  Epistle  of  St.  James3,  1913, 
pp.  125,  17uff.  ;  Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  'Romans.'S  1902,  p. 
326  ff.  ;  H.  B.  Swete,  The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John^,  1907,  p. 
135;  W.  M.  Thomson,  The  Land  and  the  Book,  3  vols.,  ed. 
1881-86,  passim  ;  ed.  1910,  pp.  31-36  ;  J.  C.  Geikie,  The  Holy 
Land  and  the  Bible,  1903,  pp.  50-52,  74  ;  H.  B.  Tristram,  The 
Natural  History  of  the  BibleW,  1911,  pp.  373,  377  ;  SDB,  p.  667  ; 
EBi  iii.  3495-3496';  HUB  iii.  616;  and  especially  R.  A.  S. 
Macalister,  The  Excavation  ofGezer,  1912,  ii.  48-67. 

P.  S.  P.  HANDCOCK. 

OLIVET  (6  Acutiv,  Ac  I12  ;  found  only  here  and  in 
Jos.  Ant.  VII.  ix.  2,  Sid  TOV  tXaiuvos  6pous  ;  TO  fXaiau> 
in  Mk  II1  is  confined  to  B  ;  Lat.  olivetum).  —  Olivet, 
called  in  the  Gospels  '  the  Mount  of  Olives,'  is  the 
range  of  hills  facing  Jerusalem  on  the  E.,  beyond 
the  ravine  of  the  Kidron  valley.  It  has  three 
summits,  which  are  now  commonly  known  as 
'Scopus'  (a  misnomer,  however,  the  real  Scopus 
being  further  west),  which  is  about  a  mile  N.E. 
of  the  Temple  site,  '  the  Ascension,'  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  E.  of  the  same,  and  '  the  Mount  of 
Offence,'  three-quarters  of  one  mile  S.E.  of  Ophel. 
The  Risen  Lord  led  His  disciples  not  '  as  far  as  to 
Bethany  '  (AV),  but  '  until  they  were  over  against 
Bethany'  (RV),  £ws  Trpds  (better  supported  than  eis) 
Rtjdai'ia.v,  and  there,  a  Sabbath  day's  journey  —  about 
six  furlongs  —  from  the  Holy  City,  His  ascension 
is  recorded  to  have  taken  place.  Bethany  itself 
was  fifteen  furlongs  —  more  than  twice  a  Sabbath 
day's  journey  —  from  Jerusalem  (Jn  II18),  and  it  is 
nnlikely  that  He  wished  the  solemn  parting  to  take 
place  in  the  village.  Not  far  from  the  scene  of 
His  agony  and  betrayal,  'he  was  taken  up  '  (Ac  Is). 
It  was  not  from  Bethany,  therefore,  but  '  from  the 
mount  called  Olivet,'  that  the  disciples  returned  to 
Jerusalem  (v.12).  From  early  times  the  traditional 
spot  from  which  the  Lord  ascended  has  been  the 
central  summit  of  the  range,  on  which  now  stands 
the  Church  of  the  Ascension,  built  on  the  ruins  of 
a  crusading  church  of  the  12th  cent.,  which  itself 
took  the  place  of  a  basilica  of  the  time  of  Con- 
stantine.  More  important  than  the  identification 
of  sites  and  scenes  is  the  fact  that 

'  .  .  .  faith  has  still  its  Olivet, 
And  love  its  Galilee  ' 

(Whittier,  Our  Master,  1.  61  f.). 

LITERATURE.—  See  Josephus,  Ant.  xx.  viii.  6,  BJ  v.  ii.  3;  E. 
Robinson,  Biblical  Researches  in  Palestine1*,  1856,  vol.  i.  pp. 
274  f.,  604  f.  ;  A.  P.  Stanley,  Sinai  and  Palestine,  new  ed.,  1877, 
pp.  185-195  ;  PEFSt.  lt>89,  pp.  174-184  ;  W.  M.  Thomson, 
The  Land  and  the  Book,  new  ed.,  1910,  pp.  709-711  ;  artt.  in 
HDB  and  EBi.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 


OLYMPAS  ('OXu/uTray,  a  Greek  name,  contracted 
from  Olympiodorus).  —  Olympas  is  the  fifth  of  a 
group  of  five  persons,  'and  all  the  saints  that  are 
with  them,  'saluted  by  St.  Paul  in  Ro  lb'15,  probably 
as  forming  an  (KK\rjo-ia.  or  household  or  district 
church  in  Rome  or  Ephesus.  If  the  first  two 
persons  in  the  group,  Philologus  and  Julia  (qq.v.), 
were  husband  and  wife,  it  is  possible  that  '  Nereus 
and  his  sister  and  Olympas1  were  their  family. 
But  there  is  nothing  further  known  of  any  one  of 
them.  T.  B.  ALLWORTHY. 


112 


OMEGA 


ONLY-BEGOTTEN 


OMEGA.— See  ALPHA  AND  OMEGA. 

ONESIMUS  COSMOS)-  —  Onesimus  was  a  Col- 
ossian  (Col  49),  the  slave  of  Philemon  (Philem  16). 
The  name,  signifying  '  useful,'  '  profitable,'  '  help- 
ful,' was  frequently  and  appropriately  borne  by 
slaves  (see  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Colossians  and  Phile- 
mon3, 1879,  p.  310,  who  quotes  numerous  examples, 
chiefly  from  Muratori's  Collection  of  Inscriptions). 
C.  v.  Weizsacker  (Apostolic  Age,  Eng.  tr.,  1894- 
1895,  ii.  245)  regards  the  Epistle  to  Philemon  as  alle- 
gorical owing  to  the  play  on  the  name  Onesimus 
in  v.11;  but  on  similar  grounds  much  well-auth- 
enticated history  might  be  rejected.  Onesi- 
mus, for  a  time,  belied  his  name  ;  he  absconded 
from  his  master's  house,  after  either  robbing  him 
or  otherwise  doing  him  'injury.'  In  order,  prob- 
ably, to  avoid  detection  and  at  the  same  time  to 
seek  his  fortune,  Onesimus  came  to  Rome.  (For  the 
argument  against  Csesarea  as  his  place  of  refuge, 
see  PHILEMON,  EPISTLE  TO.)  There  he  came  into 
relation  with  the  apostle  Paul,  the  spiritual  father 
of  Philemon.  At  this  time  St.  Paul  had  not  yet 
visited  Colossse  (Col  21) ;  but  Onesimus  may  have 
seen  and  heard  the  Apostle  at  Ephesus  during 
the  latter's  three  years'  abode  in  that  city,  which 
was  only  100  miles  distant  from  Colossoe.  In 
any  case,  he  must  have  heard  much  of  St.  Paul  in 
Philemon's  house ;  and  he  may  thus  have  been 
drawn  to  the  Apostle's  Roman  lodging  by  the 
desire  to  obtain  help  in  need  or  to  listen  to  teach- 
ing from  one  who  had  taken  a  special  interest  in 
slaves  (1  Co  721- 22,  Eph  67-9,  Ac  1618).  Epaphras 
of  Colossse,  the  Apostle's  fellow-worker  in  Rome 
(Col  412),  may  have  been  the  medium  of  introduc- 
tion. Under  St.  Paul's  instruction  and  influence 
Onesimus  became  a  Christian  (Philem 10,  '  whom  I 
have  begotten  in  my  bonds').  There  must  have 
been  something  very  lovable  about  the  fugitive 
slave,  notwithstanding  his  blemished  record  ;  for 
the  Apostle  not  only  testifies  to  his  faithfulness 
and  helpfulness,  but  calls  him  a  '  beloved  brother ' 
(Col  49),  his  other  self  (Philem  17),  '  my  very  heart* 
(lit.  '  my  own  bowels,'  r&  £/j.a  ffirXayxva,  Philem 12). 
As  a  Christian,  Onesimus  would  realize  more 
keenly  his  misdemeanour  in  absconding  and  per- 
haps stealing  from  Philemon  ;  hence  he  appears  to 
have  readily  acquiesced  in  St.  Paul's  determina- 
tion not  to  retain  him,  however  '  profitable,'  but 
to  restore  him  to  his  lawful  master.  Onesimus, 
accordingly,  returns  to  Colossae  along  with  St. 
Paul's  colleague  in  the  ministry,  Tychicus  (Col 
48-  9),  who,  as  a  native  of  the  province  of  Asia, 
would  probably  be  known  to  Philemon,  and 
would  be  an  appropriate  personal  intercessor  for 
Onesimus  with  Philemon  on  the  Apostle's  behalf. 
To  render  certain,  however,  the  friendly  recep- 
tion of  Onesimus,  St.  Paul  sends  with  the  slave  a 
letter  to  Philemon  commending  him  as  one  to  be 
received  and  permanently  possessed  (al&viov  aTrtxys) 
'no  longer  as  a  slave,  but  above  a  slave,  a  brother 
beloved.' 

We  have  no  reliable  account  of  Onesimus'  sub- 
sequent history ;  but  we  may  accept  as  in  itself 
highly  credible  the  tradition  (Apost.  Canons,  82) 
that  Philemon  not  only  forgave  but  emancipated 
his  slave.  More  doubtful  and  also  discordant  are 
the  records  which  represent  Onesimus  as  attaining 
to  the  position  of  '  bishop '  or  presiding  presbyter, 
in  Bercea,  according  to  the  Apost.  Const,  (vii. 
46) ;  in  Ephesus,  according  to  another  tradition 
which  identifies  him  with  Onesimus,  '  bishop '  of 
Ephesus  in  the  time  of  Ignatius  (Ign.  Eph.  1  ;  AS, 
under  16th  Feb. ).  A  tradition  (also  embodied  in  the 
AS)  represents  him  as  journeying  to  Spain ;  and 
the  apocryphal  Acts  of  the  Spanish  Xanthippe  and 
Polyxena  are  written  in  his  name  (see  TS  ii.  3 
[1893]).  Nicephorus  (9th  cent.)  transmits  (HE  iii. 


11)  a  tradition  that  he  was  martyred  at  Rome; 
while  another  authority  (Galesinius)  describes 
that  martyrdom  as  taking  place  at  Puteoli  (AS, 
loc.  cit.).  The  commonness  of  the  name  deprives 
these  accounts  of  any  historical  reliability.  F. 
W.  Farrar,  in  Darkness  and  Dawn,  ed.  1892,  p. 
79  ff.,  and  the  author  of  Philochristos  (E.  A. 
Abbott)  in  his  Onesimus,  1882,  give  interesting 
fictitious  accounts  of  what  might  have  been  the 
life- story  of  this  slave. 
LITERATURE. — See  under  PHILEMON,  EPISTLE  TO. 

HENRY  COWAN. 

ONESIPHORUS  ('(Wcri^opos,  ' profit-bringer '). — 
This  is  the  name  of  a  Christian  convert  belonging 
to  Ephesus  who  had  visited  Rome  during  the 
apostle  Paul's  imprisonment  and  had  sought  out 
the  prisoner  and  ministered  to  his  wants  :  '  He 
oft  refreshed  me,  and  was  not  ashamed  of  my 
chain'  (2  Ti  I16).  He  had  also  performed  out- 
standing services  for  the  Church  at  Ephesus,  to 
which  the  Apostle  refers,  mentioning  that  Timothy, 
to  whom  he  writes,  knew  better  (ptXriov)  about 
them  than  he  did  himself  (v.18).  The  word  used 
here  and  translated  '  ministered  '  (Gr.  SiaKoviu)  has 
been  supposed  to  indicate  that  Onesiphorus  acted 
as  a  deacon  of  the  Church  in  Ephesus,  but  this  is 
by  no  means  certain.  When  in  Rome  during  his 
second  imprisonment  the  Apostle  sends  greetings 
to  the  household  of  Onesiphorus  (419) ;  and  in  I16 
he  expresses  the  desire  that  the  Lord  may  give 
mercy  to  the  '  house  of  Onesiphorus.'  St.  Paul 
mentions  that  Onesiphorus  had  treated  him  very 
kindly  when  in  Rome,  and  contrasts  his  action 
with  that  of  other  members  of  the  Church  of  Asia, 
who  had  turned  away  from  him  and  refused  to 
help  him  in  his  need,  particularly  referring  to 
Phygellus  and  Hermogenes. 

Several  questions  arise  here.  Why  does  St. 
Paul  speak  of  the  household  of  Onesiphorus? 
Why  does  he  not  send  greetings  to  Onesiphorus 
himself,  as  he  does,e.cr.,  in 419  to  Prisca  and  Aquila  ? 
Was  Onesiphorus  dead  when  the  Epistle  was 
written  ?  Most  students  conclude  that  Onesiphorus 
had  already  died.  If  this  view  be  correct,  an  in- 
teresting point  arises  with  regard  to  the  prayer  in 
I18 — '  the  Lord  grant  unto  him  that  he  may  find 
mercy  of  the  Lord  in  that  day.'  Is  this  a  prayer 
for  one  who  was  already  dead  ?  Several  who 
advocate  the  practice  of  prayer  for  the  departed 
have  quoted  this  passage  in  support  of  their  posi- 
tion (e.g.,  Archibald  Campbell,  The  Intermediate 
or  Middle  State  of  Departed  Souls,  London,  1713, 
p.  72 ;  E.  H.  Plumptre,  The  Spirits  in  Prison,  do., 
1884,  pp.  128,  266  ;  H.  M.  Luckock,  After  Death3, 
do.,  1881,  p.  77,  The  Intermediate  State2,  do.,  1896, 
p.  21 1 ).  N.  J.  D.  White,  in  EGT,'l  and  2  Timothy 
and  Titus,'  London,  1910,  p.  159,  refers  to  2  Mao 
1244  in  support  of  the  contention  that  an  orthodox 
Jew  of  the  time  of  Christ  could  have  prayed  for 
the  dead.  It  seems,  however,  to  be  an  undue 
pressing  of  the  text  to  regard  the  sentence  in  I18 
as  more  than  a  pious  wish  on  the  part  of  the  Apostle 
for.  one  of  whom  he  had  very  kindly  memories 
(cf.  G.  S.  Barrett,  The  Intermediate  State,  London, 
1896,  p.  113).  In  any  case,  we  have  no  foundation 
whatever  for  the  Roman  Catholic  system  of  prayers 
for  the  deliverance  of  souls  from  the  pains  of 
purgatory. 

See,  further,  artt.  in  HDB  and  EBL 

W.  F.  BOYD. 

ONLY-BEGOTTEN  (/towyeinjj,  TO;).— 1.  Use  of 
the  phrase. — It  occurs  in  a  literal  sense  four  times 
in  the  NT  :  in  Lk  712  (the  widow's  son  at  Nain), 
S42  (Jairus'  daughter),  938  (the  child  in  the  scene 
after  the  Transfiguration),  He  II17  (Isaac) ;  not  at 
all  in  the  other  Synoptists.  As  referring  to  our 
Lord,  it  is  Johannine  only  ;  and  outside  the  Fourth 
Gospel  it  is  found  once  only — in  1  Jn  4".  It  is 


ONLY-BEGOTTEN 


ORACLE 


113 


used  of  Christ  absolutely,  '  the  Only-begotten,'  in 
Jn  I14;  and  with  'Son  of  God'  or  'his  Son'  in 
Jn  318-18,  1  Jn  49.  The  reading  in  Jn  I18  is  dis- 
puted ;  the  best-attested  reading  is  novoyeviis  0e6j 
(without  the  article),  '  God  only  begotten '  (tf  *BC*L 
Pesh.  Boh.  Mth.,  etc.) ;  but  AX  with  Old  Lat., 
Vulg.,  Syr-cu,  Arm.,  secondary  uncials  and  almost 
all  cursives,  have  6  povoyevris  vlbs,  '  the  only 
begotten  Son.'  The  Diatessaron  seems  to  have  got 
out  of  the  difficulty  by  reading  '  the  Only-begotten ' 
simply ;  Syr-sin  is  wanting  here,  but  Burkitt 
(Evang.  da-Meph.,  1904,  ii.  307  f.)  thinks  that  it 
had  /jLovoyevris  0eds,  and  that  the  unrevised  Syr-cu 
had  '  the  Only-begotten '  as  the  Diatessaron.  This 
is  to  some  extent  confirmed  by  the  Ignatian  inter- 
polator (Philipp.  2  [late  4th  cent.]),  who  also  reads 
'  the  Only-begotten '  (Lightfoot,  Apostolic  Fathers  : 
1  Ignatius ' 2,  iii.  [1889]  190  ;  see  also  i.  254).  The 
Fathers  are  divided ;  the  old  Roman  Creed  (as 
given  by  Swete,  Apostles'  Creed,  p.  16)  has  '  unicum 
nlium,'  which  evidently  presupposes  the  second 
reading  (the  derived  'Apostles'  Creed  '  has  'filium 
eius  unicum  dominum  nostrum ' ;  see  below). 

Another  Greek  rendering  of  Tn;  is  dyainjTos,  and 
this  is  found  in  the  LXX  of  Gn  222,  whence  the 
same  word  has  found  its  way  into  2  P  I17  and  into 
Mt  IIs,  Mk  97  {'  my  beloved  Son')  ;  in  ||Lk  930  the 
best  MSS  have  £K\e\cy/j.tvos,  'chosen.'  Bat  the 
LXX  has  fj-ovorycvris  in  Jg  II34  (Jephthah's  daughter) 
and  To  31B  (Sarah,  daughter  of  Raguel),  and 
Aquila  seems  to  have  used  it  in  Gn  222  (Hort,  Two 
Dissertations,  p.  49).  The  Latin  renderings  are 
unicus  and  umgenitus ;  the  former  seems  to  be  the 
older  of  the  two  (DCG  ii.  281). 

2.  Meaning  as  applied  to  our  Lord. — It  appears 
to  the  present  writer  to  be  clear  that  in  Jn.  povayev-fis 
refers  to  the  pre-existent  Sonship  of  our  Lord : 
'God  hath  sent  his  only  begotten  Son  into  the 
world'  (1  Jn  49).  Our  Lord  is  Son  in  a  unique 
sense ;  we  by  adoption,  He  by  nature  (see  ADOP- 
TION). '  The  Divine  essence  was  so  peculiarly 
communicated  to  the  Word  that  there  never  was 
any  other  person  naturally  begotten  of  the  Father, 
and  in  that  respect  Christ  is  the  only  begotten  Son 
of  God '  (Pearson  ;  cf.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  Cat.  x.  4 : 
'  He  is  called  Son,  not  as  advanced  by  adoption, 
but  as  naturally  begotten ').  The  emphasis  on  the 
first  part  of  the  word  is  the  same  as  that  on  tavrov 
and  ISiov  in  Ko  83<  *2  ('  God  sending  his  own  Son 
.  .  .  spared  not  his  own  Son ') ;  in  these  phrases 
St.  Paul  has  an  equivalent  to  fj-ovoyevfy. 

The  above  is  the  universal  interpretation  of  the 
title  by  the  Fathers  from  at  least  the  time  of 
Nicaea  onwards,  though  other  views  were  held  in 
certain  heretical  circles.  But  was  it  the  earliest 
interpretation?  It  is  certainly  the  fact  that 
povoyevris  was  not  much  used  by  the  writers  of  the 
first  three  quarters  of  the  2nd  cent.,  as  far  as  we 
can  judge  by  their  very  scanty  remains  ;  but  Justin 
uses  it  occasionally  (e.g.  Dial.  105 :  '  He  was  the 
only-begotten  of  the  Father  of  all  things,  being 
begotten  in  a  peculiar  manner  Word  and  Power  by 
Him,  and  having  afterwards  become  man  through 
the  Virgin'),  and  it  is  found  in  the  Martyrdom  of 
Polycarp  (§  20).  The  Valentinians  in  the  2nd  cent, 
used  it  for  their  aeon  Nous ;  they  certainly  treated 
the  Only-begotten  of  Jn.  as  a  pre-existent  Being, 
but  they  took  the  particle  '  as'  (us)  in  Jn  I14  as  ex- 
cluding the  complete  identification  with  Jesus  (see 
Swete,  op.  cit.  p.  26).  The  title  took  its  place 
(probably  c.  A.D.  150)  in  the  old  Roman  Creed — in 
the  Greek  form  of  the  Creed  as  povoyevris,  in  the 
Latin  form  as  unicus — perhaps  as  a  protest  against 
the  misuse  of  it  by  tne  Valentinians.  In  some 
Western  forms  of  the  Creed,  however,  it  is  absent. 
F.  Kattenbusch  (Das  apost.  Symbol,  1894-1900,  and 
DCG  ii.  281)  holds  that  'unicum'  was  originally 
meant  to  go  with  '  Dominum,'  but  in  view  of  the 
VOL.  n. — 8 


Johannine  use  this  seems  improbable.  Later  in  the 
2nd  cent,  ftovoyevfy  is  constantly  used  by  Irenaeus. 

Harnack  asserts  (Das  apostol.  Glaubensbekennt- 
niss,  ed.  1892)  that  in  the  Roman  Creed  the  title 
refers  only  to  the  Incarnate  Life,  not  to  the  Pre- 
existent  Sonship.  This  is  certainly  not  the  case 
with  Justin  (see  above) ;  and  Aristides  affirms  the 
pre-existence  of  the  Son  of  God  ('  He  is  named  the 
Son  of  God  most  High ;  and  it  is  said  that  God 
came  down  from  heaven,  and  .  .  .  clad  Himself  with 
flesh,  and  in  a  daughter  of  man  there  dwelt  the 
Son  of  God,'  Apol.  §  2,  ed.  Harris  [TS  i.  1  (1891) 
36]).  The  earlier  Fathers  taught  that  before  the 
Incarnation  our  Lord  was  Son  of  God  (e.g.  Ignatius, 
Magn.  6,  7  ;  Smyrn.  1),  and  did  not,  like  some 
contemporary  heretics,  limit  the  Sonship  to  the 
human  life.  But  they  did  not  at  first  adopt  the 
technical  word '  generation  '  for  the  communication 
of  the  Divine  essence  to  the  Son.  Here  we  have 
an  excellent  example  of  the  change  in  the  use  of 
technical  theological  words,  of  which  hypostasis 
furnishes  another  and  a  later  example.  Ignatius 
says  (Eph.  7)  that  our  Lord  was  'generate  and 
ingenerate '  (ye vvrfrbs  KO.I  aytwiyros) — generate,  that 
is,  in  His  humanity,  and  ingenerate  in  His 
Divinity  ;  '  generation '  as  used  by  Ignatius  has  an 
earthly  sense,  whereas  by  the  time  of  Justin  and 
Tatian  it  had  acquired  a  heavenly  one  (cf.  Swete, 
p.  28).  What  Ignatius  means  is  that  our  Lord's 
humanity  is  created,  His  Divinity  is  uncreated ; 
and,  as  Lightfoot  shows  (excursus  in  Apostolic 
Fathers:  'Ignatius'2,  ii.  [1889]  90  ff.),  he  sub- 
stantially  held  the  same  views  as  the  Nicene 
Fathers  as  to  the  Person  of  Christ.  In  the  later 
writers  Christ  is  said  to  be  Aytvyros  in  His  God- 
head— there  never  was  a  time  before  He  came  into 
existence ;  but  He  was  not  dyivvTiros.  In  His 
Godhead  he  was  yfwr)T6s,  '  begotten ' ;  the  Father 
alone  was  d-y^wijTos,  '  unbegotten.'  But  this  dis- 
tinction was  unknown  to  Ignatius.  It  is  also  an 
example  of  the  fluid  state  of  theological  termin- 
ology that  some  2nd  cent,  writers  speak  of  the 
pre-existent  Christ  as  Spirit  (pseudo-Clement, 
2  Cor.  §  9 :  '  Christ  .  .  .  being  first  Spirit,  then 
became  flesh';  cf.  Hermas,  Sim.  v.  6,  ix.  1,  and 
Lightfoot's  note  in  Apostolic  Fathers :  '  Clement,' 
ii.  [1890]  230) ;  and  that  even  in  the  3rd  cent. 
Hippolytus  speaks  of  the  Incarnation  being 
necessary  for  the  perfect  Sonship  of  our  Lord, 
although,  when  unincarnate,  being  perfect  Word, 
he  was  Only-begotten  (c.  Noet.  15). 

Other  interpretations  of  '  Only-begotten '  make 
it  equivalent  to  '  begotten  by  one  alone,'  as 
Eunomius  asserted  (Basil,  c.  Eunom.  ii.  20 :  nbvos 
vapa  p.6vov  .  .  .  yewr/dels),  or  to  dyainrjT&s,  '  beloved,' 
as  is  affirmed  by  the  Racovian  Catechism  (Socinian). 

The  word  povoyevfis  is  found  in  the  Nicene  and 
'  Constantinopolitan '  Creeds,  in  the  early  Creed 
of  Jerusalem  (gathered  out  of  Cyril's  Catechetical 
Lectures),  in  the  Creed  of  Marcellus  (Epiphanius, 
Hcer.  Ixxii.  3),  in  Apost.  Const,  vii.  41,  and  appar- 
ently in  all  Greek  forms  of  the  Apostles'  Creed. 

See  also  art.  FIRST-BORN,  FIRST-BEGOTTEN. 

LITERATUKK. — B.  F.  Westcott,  The  Gospel  ace.  to  St.  John, 
1908,  The  Epistles  of  St.  John,  1883 ;  J.  Pearson,  On  the  Creed, 
new  ed.,  1899,  art.  ii.,  esp.  notes  52,  53 ;  H.  B.  Swete,  The 
Apostles'  Creed?,  1899 ;  F.  J.  A.  Hort,  Two  Dissertations, 
1876 ;  F.  Kattenbusch,  art. '  Only-begotten '  In  DCG  ii.  (takes  a 
different  view  from  that  of  this  article) ;  W.  Sanday,  art.  '  Sou 
of  God'  in  HDB  iv.  A.  J.  MACLEAN. 

ORACLE. — In  the  literature  of  the  Apostolic 
Church  the  word '  oracle '  has  lost  its  technical  pagan 
meaning,  \6ytov  occurs  four  times  in  the  NT 
(Ac  7s8,  Ro  33,  He  518,  1  P  411).  In  the  first  three 
of  these  passages  it  means  the  Canonical  Scriptures 
of  the  OT.  That  is  probably  also  its  meaning  in 
1  Peter :  '  If  any  man  speaketh,  speaking  as  it 
were  oracles  of  God,'  i.e.  treating  his  words  as 


114 


OKATION 


ORDINATION 


seriously  as  if  they  were  inspired  Scripture. 
Clement  of  Rome  uses  the  word  three  times  (ad 
Cor.  xix.,  liii.,  Ixii.),  always  in  the  sense  of 
authoritative  Scripture,  i.e.  the  OT.  Eusebius 
(HE  III.  xxxix.  16)  quotes  Papias  as  saying  that 
'  Matthew  composed  the  oracles  (sc.  of  the  Lord) 
in  Hebrew,  and  each  one  interpreted  them  as  he 
could.'  E.  C.  Selwyn  holds  that  these  were  the 
Messianic  prophecies  of  the  OT  which  Matthew 
collected  (The  Oracles  in  the  New  Testament, 
London,  1912,  p.  396  ff. ).  The  adjective  \6yios  (RV 
'  learned ')  is  applied  to  Apollos  (Ac  IS24). 

R.  H.  MALDEN. 

ORATION.— The  word  occurs  in  the  NT  only  in 
connexion  with  Herod  Agrippa,  who,  at  Csesarea, 
'made  an  oration'  (drjuiryoptu)  from  the  throne  (or 
judgment-seat  [RVm])  to  the  embassy  from  Tyre 
and  Sidon  (Ac  1221).  It  refers  to  set  speeches  made 
in  public  assemblies,  but  sometimes  it  is  employed 
in  a  derogatory  sense  for  speeches  of  the  demagogic 
order.  There  is  a  curious  use  of  the  word  in  the 
LXX,  Pr  3031  (24s6)—  £ao-i\eus  Sin^opiav  tv  tOvet.  It 
was  not  an  unusual  thing  for  kings  and  princes  to 
make  orations  in  public  assembly. 

JOHN  REID. 

ORATOR.— See  TERTULLUS. 

ORDINANCE.— The  word  'ordinance'  is  used  in 
the  RV  to  translate  four  different  Greek  substan- 
tives:  (1)  diKaiufj.a  (Ro  I32  228  84,  He  91- lu) ;  (2) 
5ia.Ta.rh  (Ac  T53,  Ro  132) ;  (3)  S6yfj.a  (Eph  215,  Col  214) ; 
(4)  nrlffis  (1  P  213).  The  Latin  Vulgate  in  these 
passages  renders  56yfj.a  by  decretum,  KTlau  by  crea- 
tura,  5iKaiwfj.a  by  iustificatio  or  iustitia,  diarayri  by 
dispositio  and  ordinatio.  Sutaiufjuj.  is  also  used  to 
signify  a  righteous  act  (Ro  516- 18,  Rev  154  198), 
56yfjia  is  translated  'decree'  in  Ac  164  177  and 
'commandment'  in  He  ll53.  The  only  Evangelist 
who  uses  either  word  is  St.  Luke  (I6  21).  The  verb 
doytMTifcffde  ('submit  yourselves  to  ordinances' 
[RV],  decernitis  [Vulg.])  is  found  in  Col  2*°. 
Clement  uses  SiKaiufj.a  three  times  (ad  Cor.  ii., 
xxxv.,  Iviii.).  In  the  first  and  third  of  these  pas- 
sages it  is  coupled  with  Trpdo-rcvy/m ;  in  the  second 
he  is  quoting  the  Greek  (LXX)  version  of  Ps  5018. 
He  has  three  other  words  which  might  be  trans- 
lated 'ordinance':  (1)  v6fj.ifjia  (ad  Cor.  i.);  (2) 
5idrct£is  (ib.  xxxiii.) ;  (3)  8e5oyfjLa.Ti<rtJ.tva.  (ib.  xx.  ;  cf. 
Col  220).  The  verb  3i^ra£e,  '  he  ordained,'  occurs 
once  (ib.  xx.).  'The  86y/M  of  the  Gospel'  as  a 
practical  rule  of  conduct  occurs  in  the  Didache,  xi. 
Ignatius  speaks  of  being  '  established  in  the  ddyfiara 
of  the  Lord'  (Magn.  xiii.)  and  has  the  verb  Siarda-- 
(TOUCH,  'I  ordain,'  three  times  (Eph.  iii.,  Trail,  in., 
Rom.  iv.).  The  substantive  derived  from  it  (5td- 
Tay/j.a)  occurs  in  Trail,  vii. 

The  conception  of  an  ordinance  seems  to  be 
primarily  something  which  is  recognized  as  obtain- 
ing in  practice.  The  authority  upon  which  it  rests 
may  be  Divine,  as  when  it  is  applied  by  Clement  to 
the  laws  of  nature,  which  earth,  sea,  sky,  and  all 
living  creatures  must  obey  ;  or  it  may  be  primarily 
human,  albeit  ultimately  Divine,  as  in  1  P  213. 
The  usage  is  not  absolutely  uniform,  but  as  a  rule 
the  Divine  sanction  of  an  ordinance  seems  to  be 
less  direct  than  the  immediate  command  of  God 
Himself.  Thus  the  Law  is  spoken  of  as  being 
the  ordinance  of  angels  (Ac  7s3).  An  ordinance  is 
generally  a  human  deduction  from  a  Divinely- 
revealed  premise  rather  than  the  actual  premise 
itself.  \V  hen  Ignatius  says  '  I  ordain,'  it  is  with 
reference  to  his  personal  authority,  which  is  not 
irrefragable  (cf.  the  distinction  drawn  by  St.  Paul 
in  1  Co  T25).  R.  H.  MALDEN. 

ORDINATION.— 1.  Scope  of  the  inquiry — It  is 

proposed  to  examine  the  somewhat  scanty  evidence 
of  the  1st  cent,  as  to  the  manner  in  which  Christian 


ministers  were  admitted  to  office.  In  the  investiga- 
tion the  following  passages,  which  have,  or  may  be 
thought  to  have,  a  bearing  on  the  subject,  will  be 
specially  considered  :  Ac  I24  (appointment  of  Mat- 
thias) 6"  (appointment  of  the  Seven)  13s  (mission  of 
Barnabas  and  Saul)  1423  (appointment  of  presbyters) ; 
1  Ti  414,  2  Ti  I6  (Timothy's  ordination) ;  1  Ti  5^(1), 
Tit  I5  (ordinations  by  Timothy  and  Titus).  But, 
before  examining  these  passages,  we  may  make  two 
preliminary  remarks,  (a)  There  is  no  technical 
word  used  in  the  NT  to  express  admission  to 
ministerial  office,  for  though  x"/501"0"""  is  found 
(Ac  1423),  there  is  no  indication  that  it  is  there 
used  in  a  technical  sense  (see  below,  3).  This  is 
the  case  also  in  the  Didache  (§15,  c.  A.D.  130?), 
where  we  read  :  '  Appoint  (\fipoTov-fiffa.re)  therefore 
for  yourselves  bishops  and  deacons."  At  a  later 
date  this  word  and  -^eipoQerelv  and  others  (for  which 
see  ERE,  art.  '  Ordination ')  acquired  a  technical 
sense  ;  but  this  is  not  the  case  in  the  NT.  (b)  As 
we  have  for  this  subject  to  depend  largely  on  the 
narrative  in  Acts,  it  will  be  well  to  bear  in  mind 
a  characteristic  of  St.  Luke.  With  the  wealth  of 
material  at  his  disposal,  it  was  impossible  for  him 
to  repeat  the  same  or  similar  details  over  and  over 
again  ;  he  therefore  omits  a  detailed  description  in 
cases  where  a  like  account  has  already  been  given. 
We  notice  this  both  in  the  Third  Gospel  and  in  Acts. 
St.  Luke  gives  the  salient  facts,  especially  of  the 
events  that  happened  at  critical  periods  of  the  his- 
tory ;  but,  having  once  given  them,  he  does  not 
repeat  the  details  next  time  he  has  to  narrate  a 
similar  event.  This  will  be  borne  in  mind  when 
we  are  considering  narratives  about  admission  to 
the  ministry.  We  shall  not  expect  that  on  each 
occasion  the  whole  procedure  will  be  described  ; 
but  from  the  analogy  of  one  such  ordination,  e.g. 
that  of  the  Seven  in  Ac  6,  we  shall  conclude,  unless 
anything  is  said  to  the  contrary,  that  the  same  pro- 
cedure was  followed  on  other  occasions. 

2.  Choice  of  ordinands. — The  normal  method  of 
choosing  men  for  the  Christian  ministry  in  the  Apos- 
tolic Age,  as  certainly  in  those  which  succeeded  it, 
was  election  by  those  to  whom  the  ordained  was  to 
minister.  This  was  undoubtedly  the  case  with  the 
Seven  in  Ac  6.  Whatever  their  exact  office  was — 
and  it  is  not  likely,  in  view  of  the  solemn  procedure 
adopted,  to  have  been  only  an  office  of  serving 
tables,  a  supposition  which  seems  also  to  be  con- 
trary to  the  evidence  of  evangelistic  activity  by 
Stephen,  Philip,  and  the  rest — the  people  ('the 
whole  multitude ')  elected  (t£f\t!-a.vTo,  '  chose  for 
themselves,'  Qs)  the  Seven  and  presented  them  to 
the  apostles  (v.8),  who  after  election  '  appointed ' 
them  (v.3,  KaraffT'/iffo/j.fv)  and  prayed  and  laid  their 
hands  on  them  (v.6).  The  difference  between  the 
'  appointing  '  and  the  '  electing '  would  seem  to  be 
that  while  the  people  had  a  free  choice,  the  apostles 
reserved  the  right  of  veto  if  they  thought  the  choice 
in  a  particular  case  unsuitable.  And  the  same  veto 
apparently  rested  with '  apostolic  men'  like  Timothy 
and  Titus.  Thus  Titus  appoints  (Tit  1s,  /caraarT^Tjj, 
the  same  word  as  in  Ac  66)  presbyters  in  every  city. 
This  must  involve  at  least  the  same  power  of  veto 
as  in  Ac  6. 

We  do  not  read  of  election  in  some  cases ;  notably 
it  is  not  mentioned  when  the  presbyters  are  ap- 
pointed in  Ac  1423,  and  some  have  taken  the 
pronoun  in  the  phrase  'appointed  for  them'  as 
indicating  that  Paul  and  Barnabas  acted  without 
consulting  the  people.  Yet,  as  has  been  said  above 
(1),  we  ought  probably  to  presume  election  to  have 
taken  place  unless  there  is  evidence  to  the  contrary. 
The  details  are  given  in  ch.  6  ;  they  are  not  re- 
peated in  ch.  14.  It  is  also  probable  that  election 
existed  at  Ephesus  and  in  Crete,  though  we  nowhere 
read  of  it  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles.  This  method 
(not  without  a  certain  veto  attached)  continued  for 


ORDINATION 


ORDIXATION 


115 


many  centuries,  and  to  a  large  extent,  with  geo- 
graphical and  local  variations,  exists  to  this  day 
(see  art.  '  Laity,'  ERE  vii.  768  f.). 

An  exception  to  this  method  of  choosing  men  for 
the  ministry  would  be  when  the  Divine  will  was 
directly  intimated.  The  Twelve  were  chosen  by 
our  Lord  Himself  (note  especially  Jn  1516),  without 
ecclesiastical  intervention.  So  also  was  St.  Paul 
(Gal  I1  ;  see  below,  8).  In  the  appointment  of 
Matthias  to  the  apostolate,  the  people  did  indeed 
choose  two  (Joseph  Barsabbas,  surnamed  Justus, 
and  Matthias)  from  among  the  personal  witnesses 
of  our  Lord's  life  and  resurrection,  but  took  the  lot 
which  (after  prayer  had  been  offered)  was  cast  be- 
tween these  two  as  an  indication  of  the  purpose 
of  God  (Ac  I15'26).  The  prayer  is  noteworthy  both 
as  being  the  first  recorded  act  of  public  worship  of 
the  disciples  after  the  Ascension,  and  as  containing 
words  which  are  characteristic  of  later  ordinations : 
'  thou  which  knowest  the  hearts  of  all  men '  (*ap5to- 
yvucrra  TTOLVTUV,  v.24 ;  cf.  15s),  though  it  is  uncertain 
whether  the  prayer  in  Acts  is  addressed  to  the 
Father  or  to  the  Son.  In  the  later  ordinations  it 
is  addressed  to  the  Father.  In  the  case  of  St. 
Matthias  there  was  apparently  no  further  '  ordina- 
tion '  to  the  apostolate.  The  Divine  choice  is  an- 
nounced by  the  lot,  and  so  he  '  was  numbered  with 
the  eleven  apostles'  (v.26). 

Other  cases  of  Divine  intervention  are  mentioned, 
and  in  such  cases  it  would  seem  that  there  was  no 
election.  Whatever  was  the  significance  of  the  cere- 
mony in  Ac  131'3  (see  below,  8),  the  choice  of  Bar- 
nabas and  Saul  was  made  by  the  Holy  Ghost — no 
doubt  through  the  utterance  of  a  Christian  prophet. 
And  Timothy,  as  St.  Paid  tells  us  (1  Ti  414),  was 
ordained  through  (did)  prophecy.  This  is  taken 
by  Lid  don  ( Com.  in  loc. )  as  indicating  an  apostolic 
utterance  or  prayer — i.e.  the  ordination  praj'er. 
But  this  interpretation  does  not  suit  I18  :  'the  pro- 
phecies which  went  before  on  thee '  (or  better,  as 
R\rm,  '  which  led  the  way  to  thee ') ;  and  a  much 
more  likely  view  is  that  the  '  prophecy '  is  the 
indication  of  the  Divine  purpose  by  a  Christian 
prophet,  showing  that  Timothy  was  a  suitable 
person.  Here  a  regular  ordination  did  follow.  It 
is  possible,  though  perhaps  not  probable,  that  the 
words  in  Ac  2028  (see  below,  6)  mean  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  had  by  a  prophet  pointed  out  the  presbyters 
at  Ephesus  as  being  worthy  of  ordination. 

3.  The  outward  sign  of  ordination. — We  are  not 
told  that  our  Lord  gave  directions  to  the  apostles 
as  to  the  method  by  which  they  were  to  appoint 
officials  for  the  Church.  Indeed,  it  is  not  a  little 
remarkable  that  what  Western  theologians  of  a 
later  day  called  the  '  matter '  and  '  form '  of  ordina- 
tion could  neither  of  them  have  been  taken  from 
the  incidents  recorded  in  the  gospel  narratives 
which  have  come  down  to  us.  For  in  Jn  202-f-  (we 
need  not  stop  to  inquire  whether  these  words  were 
addressed  to  the  Ten  or  to  a  larger  number  of  dis- 
ciples) our  Lord  is  said  to  have  '  breathed '  on  those 
present,  whereas  the  apostles  and  those  who  came 
after  them  used,  without  any  known  exception,  lay- 
ing on  of  hands  as  an  outward  sign,  and  to  have 
pronounced  a  declaratory  and  imperative  formula, 
whereas  the  disciples  always  (till  the  Middle  Ages) 
used  by  way  of  '  form '  a  prayer  only. 

The  use  of  an  outward  sign  for  the  admission  of 
men  to  the  ministry  follows  many  analogies.  Our 
Lord  had  made  use  of  outward  signs  in  instituting 
the  two  great  sacraments  of  the  gospel,  baptism 
and  the  Eucharist.  In  the  OT  an  outward  sign 
was  used  in  setting  apart  for  office,  and  it  was  to 
be  expected  that  a  similar  custom  should  be  found 
in  the  Christian  Church.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
only  outward  sign  found  for  many  centuries  in  the 
case  of  Christian  ordination  is  imposition  of  hands. 
This  symbol  was  used  in  the  OT  in  acts  of  blessing, 


of  appointment  to  office,  and  of  dedication  to  God. 
Moses  laid  his  hands  on  Joshua  when  he  set  him 
apart  as  his  successor  (Nu  2723,  Dt  349).  Jacob 
blessed  his  grandchildren  by  laying  his  hands  on 
their  heads  (Gn  48U- 17).  Imposition  of  hands  was 
used  in  dedicating  sacrifices  (Lv  I4),  and  in  setting 
apart  Levites  (Nu  8'°).  Similarly  our  Lord  blessed 
by  laying  on  of  hands  (Mk  1013- 16  and  ||  Mt.  Lk.), 
and  used  the  same  symbolic  act  in  healing  (Mk  5'-* 
— which  shows  that  it  was  a  well-known  practice, 
as  Jesus  is  asked  to  lay  on  hands,  Lk  440  1313  etc.). 
The  disciples  also  used  laying  on  of  hands  in  heat- 
ing ('  Mk '  1618  ;  Ac  912- 17,  referring  probably  to  the 
restoration  of  Saul's  sight :  see  below,  8 ;  Ac  288). 
We  see,  then,  that  the  symbol  had  more  than  one 
signification.  The  apostles  used  it  when  praying 
for  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  for  the  baptized 
(Ac  817  Id6),  and  also  when  setting  men  apart  for 
the  ministry.  The  '  laying  on  of  hands '  in  He  62 
perhaps  refers  to  all  the  occasions  when  the  symbol 
was  used  ;  or  else  to  '  confirmation '  only,  as  F.  H. 
Chase  maintains  ( Confirmation  in  the  Apostolic  Age, 
London,  1909,  p.  45). 

Laying  on  of  hands  is  explicitly  mentioned  in 
Ac  66  (the  Seven)  133  (mission  of  Barnabas  and 
Saul ;  see  8),  1  Ti  414  and  2  Ti  I6  (ordination  of 
Timothy),  and  in  1  Ti  5s2,  if  that  refers  to  ordina- 
tion (see  below).  No  other  outward  sign  is  men- 
tioned in  the  first  three  centuries.  None  at  all 
is  mentioned  in  the  appointment  of  presbyters  in 
Ac  1423.  Here  the  verb  -^eiporoveiv  is  used,  which 
in  later  days  often  meant  '  to  ordain.'  But  it  does 
not  necessarily  imply  laying  on  of  hands  ;  it  may 
mean  election,  properly  through  a  show  of  hands, 
or  at  any  rate  by  an  assembly,  as  in  2  Co  819 ;  or 
it  may  even  mean  an  appointment  by  God  (Ac  1041) 
or  by  man  (1423).  Thus  we  cannot  affirm  from  the 
last-named  passage  that  Paul  and  Barnabas  laid 
on  hands*  when  they  appointed  presbyters  in 
every  church  t  which  they  visited  on  their  first 
missionary  journey.  Yet  it  is  exceedingly  un- 
likely that  they  used  any  other  outward  sign,  or 
that  they  refrained  from  using  any  outward  sign. 
Here  the  characteristic  of  St.  Luke  already  men- 
tioned should  be  borne  in  mind.  Laying  on  of 
hands  was  the  sign  universally  used  in  the  early 
Church  for  ordination ;  a  supposed  exception  in 
the  case  of  the  ordination  of  a  bishop  in  the 
Apostolic  Constitutions  (c.  A.D.  375)  is  conclusively 
shown  by  the  newly-discovered  Church  Orders  to 
be  only  apparent. 

In  the  4th  cent,  another  outward  sign  was  introduced,  ap- 
parently in  cases  where  it  was  not  at  first  deemed  suitable  to 
use  imposition  of  hands — namely,  at  the  admission  of  men  (and 
women)  to  minor  orders.  In  this  case  the  '  porrectio  instrument- 
orum'  was  substituted;  a  reader,  for  example,  was  given  a 
book.  In  the  Middle  Ages,  in  the  West,  this  kind  of  outward 
sign  almost  overshadowed  the  imposition  of  hands,  especially 
in  the  case  of  the  chalice  and  paten  given  to  one  ordained  to 
the  presby  terate.  See  on  this  subject  ERE,  art.  '  Ordination.' 

Laying  on  of  hands  is  mentioned  in  1  Ti  S22. 
Timothy  is  to  '  lay  hands  hastily  on  no  man.' 
But  does  this  refer  to  ordination  ?  If  so,  it  gives 
us  confirmation  of  the  fact,  which  in  any  case  we 
can  scarcely  doubt,  that  the  local  ministry  were 
ordained  with  imposition  of  hands.  It  is  taken  in 
this  sense  by  Chrysostom  and  the  Greek  com- 
mentators, and  in  modern  times  by  Alford,  Liddon, 
and  (apparently  with  a  slight  hesitation)  by  H.  B. 
Swete  (HDB  iii.  85).  Ou  the  other  hand,  this 
passage  is  interpreted  by  several  moderns  (Hort, 

*  The  word  ^eipoflecria  ('  laying  on  of  hands ')  is  not  found  in 
the  NT  (as  it  is  so  often  found  later  on),  but  (iriee<rii  xflP^v- 
In  some  works,  e.g.  the  Apost.  Const.,  xetporopia  is  used  ordin- 
arily for  '  ordination,'  but  \fLpoSea-ia  when  '  laying  on  of  hands' 
is  emphasized  ;  the  latter  is  used  in  Apost.  Congt.  for  other 
impositions  of  hands  (A.  J.  Maclean,  Ancient  Church  Orders, 
Cambridge,  1910,  p.  154  f.). 

t  This  word  might  have  been  translated  '  in  church ' :  cf.  Ac 
2*6, '  at  home ' ;  but  Tit  I8  is  conclusive  for  the  other  translation. 


116 


OKDINATION 


OKDLNATION 


Hammond,  Ellicott,  Chase,  etc.),  as  referring  to 
the  reception  of  penitents  with  laying  on  of  hands. 
This  interpretation  suits  the  context  perhaps  better 
than  the  other ;  both  before  and  after  this  verse 
St.  Paul  is  speaking  of  sinners,  and  the  words, 
'  Neither  be  partaker  of  other  men's  sins,  keep 
thyself  pure,'  are  held  to  be  less  suitable  to  ordina- 
tion. The  custom  of  receiving  penitents  or  persons 
who  had  been  in  schism  or  heresy,  with  laying  on 
of  hands,  is  attested  in  the  3rd  cent,  by  Cyprian 
(Ep.  Ixxiv.  [Ixxiii.],  'ad  Pompeium,'  1,  de  Laps. 
16),  in  the  4th  cent,  by  the  Council  of  Nicaea  (can. 
8),  Eusebius  (HE  vii.  2,  an  'ancient  custom'),  the 
Apost.  Const,  (ii.  41),  and  at  the  end  of  the  5th 
cent,  by  the  '  Galilean  Statutes '  (Statuta  Ecclesice 
Antiqua),  formerly  in  error  ascribed  to  the  '  Fourth 
Council  of  Carthage '  (§  80 ;  see  C.  J.  Hefele,  A 
History  of  the  Councils  of  the  Church,  Eng.  tr., 
Edinburgh,  1896,  ii.  411).  But  this  custom  is  not 
referred  to  elsewhere  in  the  NT,  and  one  has  a 
suspicion  that  the  interpretation  in  question  ante- 
dates it  considerably.  On  the  whole,  the  question 
must  be  left  open. 

The  laying  on  of  hands  is  no  magical  sign, 
effecting  a  change  independently  of  all  spiritual 
considerations.  But  the  same  thing  is  true  of  the 
water  in  baptism  and  the  bread  and  wine  in 
the  Eucharist.  The  utility  of  an  outward  and 
visible  sign  is  undoubtedly  very  great,  but  it  is 
only  a  minor  part  of  an  ordinance,  and  does  not 
enable  those  who  receive  it  to  neglect  the  spiritual 
disposition  which  is  necessary.  The  outward  sign 
is  the  help  to  faith.  The  vitally  important  factor 
in  the  ordinance  is  the  Holy  Spirit  who  works  in 
it.  See  Swete,  The  Holy  Spirit  in  the  NT,  p.  384. 

4.  The  ordination  prayer. — All  the  passages  in 
Acts  mentioned  above  (I24  6"  13s  1423)  tell  us  of 
prayer  being  used,  but,  except  in  the  case  of  the 
choosing  of  Matthias  (where  the  words  are  no 
guide  to  us  for  the  general  case),  we  have  no 
indication  as  to  the  nature  of  the  prayer.  The 
prayer  preceded  the  laying  on  of  hands  (66).  The 
earliest  ordination  prayer  that  we  can  even  pro- 
visionally arrive  at  dates  from  perhaps  the  begin- 
ning of  the  3rd  century.  By  a  careful  comparison 
of  the  ordination  prayers  in  the  parallel  Church 
Orders  of  the  4th  cent.,  which  are  derived  from  a 
common  original  that  is  perhaps  of  the  time  of 
Hippolytus,  we  can  conjecturally  determine  the 
ordination  prayer  of  the  lost  original.  But  even 
this  gives  us  only  one  out  of  what  was  doubtless  a 
very  large  number  of  such  prayers  in  use  through- 
out the  Church  ;  and,  further,  those  used  at  ordin- 
ations, like  those  used  at  the  Eucharist,  were 
probably  at  the  first  in  a  very  fluid  condition,  if 
not  extemporaneous.  The  great  characteristic  of 
all  ordinations  for  many  centuries  after  the  Ascen- 
sion was  their  extreme  simplicity,  no  matter  to 
what  office  a  person  was  ordained ;  a  prayer  and 
laying  on  of  hands  were  practically  all,  except 
that  the  kiss  of  peace,  and,  m  the  case  of  a  bishop, 
enthronization,  were  added.  But  it  is  very  note- 
worthy that  while  our  Lord  in  Jn  2022f>  said,  '  Re- 
ceive ye  the  Holy  Ghost,'  and  '  \Vhose  soever  sins 
ye  forgive,  they  are  forgiven  unto  them,'  etc.,  the 
Christian  ordinations  invariably  took  the  form  of 
a  prayer.  The  introduction  in  the  West,  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  of  the  declaratory  form,  in  addition 
to  (not  instead  of)  the  ordination  prayer,  was  very 
probably  due  to  a  desire  to  follow  our  Lord's 
example  exactly.  But  the  earlier  Christians  would 
seem  to  have  regarded  such  a  procedure  as  irrever- 
ent. Their  Master  had  used  a  declaratory  form, 
had  by  His  Divine  power  declared  that  their  com- 
mission was  given  to  them.  They  themselves 
believed  that  their  own  proper  course  was  to  pray 
that  God  would  give  the  commission  to  the 
ordinands  by  their  instrumentality.  The  same 


feeling  conies  out  in  the  fact  that  in  the  early  ages 
the  eucharistic  consecration  by  the  Church  was 
always  conceived  as  effected  by  a  prayer,  and  not 
by  a  declaratory  form  of  words.  See  ERE,  artt. 
'  Invocation  (Liturgical) '  and  '  Ordination.' 

5.  Fasting. — In  Ac  132f<  we  read  that  fasting 
preceded  the  solemn  mission  of  Barnabas  and  Saul. 
In  1423  '  fastings,'  as  well  as  prayer,  accompany 
the  appointment  of  presbyters  '  in  every  church ' 
by  Paul  and  Barnabas.      The  plural   '  fastings ' 
seems  to  mean  that  these  apostles  at  each  town 
held  a  solemn  service  of  ordination  with  fasting ; 
they  did  not  ordain  a  large  number  for  the  whole 
district  at  one  convenient  centre. 

Fasting  was  frequently  in  early  ages  associated 
with  solemn  prayer  (Ps  3513,  Dn  93,  Mk  929  [some 
MSS],  Lk  237) ;  and  so  with  baptism  and  the 
Eucharist.  The  pre-baptismal  fast  is  mentioned 
in  the  Didache  (1  i. ),  by  Justin  Martyr  (Apol.  i.  61), 
Tertullian  (de  Bapt.  20),  Cyril  of  Jerusalem  (Cat. 
iii.  7,  xviii.  17),  in  the  Church  Orders  (see  ERE  v. 
768a),  and  elsewhere.  The  fast  before  Communion 
is  mentioned  in  Tertullian  (ad  Uxor.  ii.  5)  and  in 
the  Church  Orders  (ERE  v.  768b).  In  the  Testa- 
ment of  our  Lord  (i.  22)  and  the  Arabic  Didascalia 
(23,  38)  there  is  a  fast  for  bishops  after  their 
ordination.  But  we  do  not  find  in  early  post- 
apostolic  literature  much  emphasis  laid  on  fasting 
in  connexion  with  ordination. 

6.  God  working  through  His  ministers  in  or- 
daining.— It  was  not    only    when    there  was    a 
special    Divine    intervention,   as    in  the  case  of 
Matthias,  Paul,  and  (probably)  Timothy,  that  the 
first    disciples  believed   that    God  was    the  real 
ordainer.     He  always  worked  through  His  human 
instruments.     Even  in  the  case  of  Matthias  the 
special  intervention  extended  only  to  God's  selec- 
tion (so  they  regarded  the  lot)  of  one  out  of  two 
men ;  the  choice  of  the  two   was  made  by   the 
people.     Yet  no  one  would  doubt  that  Matthias 
was  really  appointed  an  apostle  by  God.     And 
this,  as  seems  most  probable,  is  the  meaning  of 
Ac  2028.     St.  Paul  tells  the  presbyters  of  Ephesus 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  has  made  them  'bishops.' 
Yet  he  doubtless    had    ordained    them    himself, 
though  probably  (as  in  6s)  the  people  had  elected 
them.     It  is  perhaps  due  to  this  significant  passage 
about  the  Ephesian    presbyters  that,   as    Swete 
remarks  (The  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Ancient  Church, 
London,  1912,  p.  290 1.),  all  the  forms  of  ordination 
in  the  Church  Orders  recognize  the  Holy  Spirit  as 
the  source  of  ministerial  power,  though  the  in- 
vocation of  the  Third  Person  in  the  Eucharist  was 
not  quite  so  universal. 

7.  The  charisma  in  ordination. — St.  Paul  says 
to  Timothy,  '  Neglect  not  the  charisma  that  is  in 
thee,  which  was  given  thee  through  prophecy  with 
the  laying  on   of  the  hands  of  the  presbytery ' 
(1  Ti  414) ;  and  'kindle  (stir  into  flame,  RVm)  the 
charisma  of  God  which  is  in  thee  through  the 
laying  on  of  my  hands '   (2  Ti  I6 :  on  these  two 
verses  see  further  below,  9).     That  this '  charisma ' 
(gift)  is  not  the  office  to  which  Timothy  was  ap- 
pointed— whatever    that    was — but    the    inward 
grace  which  enabled  him  to  discharge  it,  is  seen 
from  the  words  tv  <rol  which  occur  in  both  passages 
(so  Alford,  Ellicott,  Liddon,  Comm.  in  loc.  ;  Swete, 
The   Holy  Spirit  in  the  NT,  p.  246 ;  see  also  R. 
Hooker,  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  bk.  v.   ch.  Ixxvii. ). 
The  nature  of  the  charisma  is  referred  to  in2Ti  I7, 
which  immediately   follows  the  second   passage ; 
it  is  a  spirit  of  power  and   love   and  discipline 
(<ru(f>povi<rfj.ov,  i.e.,  possibly,  'self -control, 'or  better, 
'  the    capacity    of    exercising    discipline    without 
abandoning  love '  [so  Swete]).     That  the  '  charis- 
mata' or  gifts  of  the  Spirit  are  not  all  of  them 
what  we  call  'extraordinary,'  but  include  those 
faculties  which  enable  the    regular  ministry  to 


ORDINATION 


DEDICATION 


117 


carry  out  their  work,  may  be  seen  also  from  St. 
Paul's  description  of  the  gifts  in  1  Co  12.  The 
gifts  are  indeed  various,  but  they  include  '  apostles,' 
'teachers,'  'helps,'  'governments,'  as  well  as 
'powers,'  'gifts  of  healing,'  'kinds  of  tongues' 
(v.28 ;  cf.  the  preceding  verses).  The  same  thing 
is  seen  from  Ko  126"8. 

The  belief  that  in  ordination  a  charisma  of  the 
Spirit  is  given  does  not  (it  need  hardly  be  said) 
mean  that  those  who  thus  receive  it  have  not 
before  received  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Seven,  for 
example,  were  to  be  full  of  [Holy]  Spirit  and 
wisdom  before  they  were  elected  by  the  people  and 
appointed  and  ordained  by  the  apostles  (Ac  63). 
Stephen  was  already  '  a  man  full  of  faith  and  Holy 
Spirit'  (v.8).  But  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit  are  many 
and  various ;  and  the  charisma  which  Timothy 
was  not  to  neglect  but  to  kindle  was  that  special 
gift  which  would  enable  him  to  be  a  good  Christian 
minister. 

8.  The  mission  of  Barnabas  and  Saul  from 
Antioch. — In  considering  the  present  subject  we 
must  necessarily  touch  on  the  meaning  of  the 
ceremony  in  Ac  131'3,  when  these  two  great  mission- 
aries were  sent  out  on  their  first  evangelistic 
journey.  Was  it  an  ordination,  or  a  '  dismission 
service '  ?  Was  it  the  appointment  of  Barnabas 
and  Saul  to  the  apostolate  ?  We  read  that  certain 
'prophets  and  teachers 'were  at  Antioch — Barnabas, 
Symeon,  Lucius,  Manaen,  Saul.  '  As  they  minis- 
tered (XeiTovpyouvTwv)  to  the  Lord,  and  fasted,  the 
Holy  Ghost  said,  Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul 
for  the  work  whereunto  I  have  called  them.  Then, 
when  they  had  fasted  and  prayed  and  laid  their 
hands  on  them,  they  sent  them  away.'  The 
'  sending  forth '  is  expressly  said  to  be  the  act  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  (v.4).  This  was  after  the  return 
of  Barnabas  and  Saul  from  Jerusalem,  whither 
they  had  gone  to  take  the  alms  of  the  Church  at 
Antioch  (II30  1225).  St.  Luke's  pronouns  are  some- 
what ambiguous.  But  his  phrase  in  133  must 
mean  that  Symeon,  Lucius,  and  Manaen  (and 
possibly  other  prophets  and  teachers,  if  any  un- 
named ones  were  present)  *  prayed  and  laid  hands 
on  Barnabas  and  Saul,  and  sent  them  away.  It 
was  clearly  an  important  occasion.  It  was  a 
solemn  service  or  liturgy  before  God,  during  which 
the  Holy  Spirit  indicated  His  Divine  purpose — 
doubtless  by  the  mouth  of  one  of  the  prophets 
present.  They  then  fasted  and — apparently  on  a 
second  occasion — prayed,  laid  on  hands,  and  sent  the 
two  missionaries  away.  It  is  the  view  of  some  that 
this  was  an  '  ordination '  of  Barnabas  and  Saul  to 
the  apostleship  (so,  e.g. ,  Rackham,  Com.  in  loc. ).  It 
is  said  that  hereafter,  but  not  before,  they  are  de- 
scribed as  'apostles'  (1414),  and  that  though  St. 
Paul  was  made  an  apostle  by  our  Lord  directly, 
yet  that  Divine  appointment  did  not  make  it  un- 
necessary for  the  Church  at  large  by  a  formal  act 
to  recognize  it.  But  (however  that  may  be)  the 
view  that  these  two  men  were  on  this  occasion 
made  apostles  appears  to  the  present  writer  to  be 
more  than  doubtful.  In  the  first  place,  nothing 
whatever  is  said  in  the  passage  in  question  about 
the  apostleship,  or  indeed  about  an  appointment 
to  any  office  whatever.  Secondly,  in  Gal  I1  St. 
Paul  explicitly  claims  that  he  is  an  '  apostle 
not  from  (dir6)  men,  neither  through  (5id)  man,  but 
through  Jesus  Christ  and  God  the  Father.'  His 
apostleship  is  of  Divine,  not  of  human,  origin  ; 
the  same  is  true  of  the  apostleship  of  the  Twelve 
also.  Further,  his  apostleship  is  not  through 
man — no  man  is  the  instrument  by  which  this 
Divinely  appointed  apostleship  came  to  him. 

*  The  rives  of  the  TR  is  hadly  attested,  and  can  hardly 
be  original.  D*  and  Vulg.  have  '  among  whom  [were]  Barnabas,' 
etc.,  suggesting  that  there  were  others.  But  probably  the  list 
given  is  exclusive. 


Indeed,  the  whole  argument  of  the  first  two 
chapters  of  this  Epistle  is  based  on  the  supposition 
that  St.  Paul  did  not  derive  authority  through  the 
Twelve — and  a  fortiori  not  through  any  Christian 
'prophets  and  teachers.'  And  in  the  third  place 
the  suggestion  about  Church  recognition,  if  it  be 
pressed  to  mean  (as  it  is  pressed  by  Rackham)  that 
Symeon,  Lucius,  and  Manaen  conferred  the 
apostleship  on  Barnabas  and  Saul,  means  that 
those  who  were  not  themselves  apostles  could 
make  others  apostles.  Rackham  says  that  as  the 
Divine  will  was  indicated,  this  was  possible,  just 
as  Ananias,  a  'layman, 'laid  hands  on  Saul  (Ac917). 
The  latter  statement  involves  more  than  one  un- 
proved assumption  ;  but  at  any  rate  this  argument 
about  Ananias  runs  counter  to  the  proposition 
that  '  the  Church  should  by  a  formal  act  recognize 
the  Divine  operation.'  'The  Church'  does  not 
mean  any  individual  layman  in  the  Church.  More 
cautiously  Gore  remarks  (The  Church  and  the 
Ministry*,  London,  1902,  p.  236 n.): 

'  It  was  essential  to  St.  Paul's  apostolate  that  he  should  not 
have  received  his  spiritual  gifts  through  other  apostles.  Again 
the  prophets  and  teachers  at  Antioch  lay  hands  on  Barnabas 
and  Saul.  But  here  also  we  have  a  special  divine  authoriza- 
tion ;  and  it  is  to  set  apart  two  already  of  their  own  "  order  "  to 
a  special  work.' 

For  the  reasons  stated  it  seems  impossible  to 
view  the  incident  at  Antioch  as  a  conferring  of  the 
apostleship  on  Barnabas  and  Saul.  But  it  was  a 
solemn  assignment  to  them,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  of  an  extended  work  among  the 
Gentiles,  and  all  the  accompaniments  befitted  this 
new  departure.  When  Barnabas  received  the 
apostleship  there  is  no  record.  But  as  he  was 
constantly  in  touch  with  the  Twelve,  and  was,  so 
to  speak,  the  connecting  link  between  them  and 
St.  Paul,  and  as  there  is  no  claim  that  he  received 
the  apostleship  direct  from  our  Lord,  it  is  probable 
that  he  received  it  from  the  Twelve  on  some 
occasion  which  is  not  recorded. 

9.  The  action  of  the  presbyters  in  Timothy's 
ordination. — We  have  hitherto  refrained  from 
asking  to  what  office  Timothy  was  ordained. 
And  it  is  perhaps  unnecessary  for  our  present  pur- 
pose to  do  so.  But,  at  any  rate,  Timothy  was 
one  of  those  'apostolic  men'  who  shared  in  the 
itinerant  ministry  of  the  apostles,  though  they 
were  not  themselves  apostles ;  he  was  not  one  of 
the  local  ministry,  though  for  a  time  he  was  re- 
sident at  Ephesus.  There  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  he  passed  from  one  office  to  another,  as  the 
ordained  of  later  ages  have  done  ;  and  we  may  in 
all  probability  take  his  ordination  referred  to  in 
the  Pastoral  Epistles  as  being  his  only  ordination, 
and  as  his  ordination  to  the  office  which  he  held 
when  St.  Paul  addressed  his  two  letters  to  him. 

Now  in  1  Ti  414  the  charisma  (see  above,  7)  is 
said  to  have  been  given  to  Timothy  through  (Sid) 
prophecy  (see  above,  1),  with  (perd)  the  laying  on 
of  the  hands  of  the  presbytery  (irpea-fiuTeplov). 
And  in  2  Ti  I6  the  '  charisma  of  God '  is  said  to  be 
in  Timothy  '  through  (Sid)  the  laying  on  of  [St. 
Paul's]  hands. '  It  seems  hardly  possible  to  inter- 
pret these  words  otherwise  than  of  Timothy's 
ordination.*  And  it  is  difficult  to  interpret  the 
presbytery  otherwise  than  as  the  body  of  presbyters 
referred  to  in  1  Ti  517,  etc.  The  usual  interpreta- 
tion seems  to  be  the  right  one,  that  in  the  above 
passages  we  have  the  prototype  of  an  arrangement 
which  was  once  probably  universal,  or  certainly 
widespread,  in  both  East  and  West,  and  which 
still  survives  in  the  West.  We  may  think  of  St. 

*  Chase  (Confirmation  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  p.  35)  takes 
2  Ti  I6  (not  1  Ti  414)  as  referring  to  Timothy's  confirmation, 
though  he  stands  almost  alone  in  doing  so.  He  interprets  1  Ti 
414  as  is  done  by  the  present  writer,  and  understands  it  to 
mean  that  St.  Paul  and  the  presbyters  together  laid  hands  on 
Timothy  at  his  ordination. 


118 


DEDICATION 


PALACE 


Paul  laying  his  hands  on  Timothy,  with  the  active 
concurrence  of  the  local  presbyters,  who  lay  on 
hands  together  with  the  Apostle.  But  the  differ- 
ence of  preposition  is  significant ;  in  the  case  of 
St.  Paul  Sid,  in  the  case  of  the  presbyters  /j.erd,  is 
used.  The  latter  word  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  act  was  one  of  St.  Paul's  in  which  the 
presbyters  by  their  deed  concurred.  There  is, 
indeed,  a  slight  difficulty  in  this  interpretation. 
The  arrangement,  formerly  in  the  East  and  still 
in  the  West,  to  which  reference  has  been  made,  is 
that  at  the  ordination  of  a  presbyter  the  presbyters 
lay  hands  on  his  head  together  with  the  ordaining 
bishop,  though  the  latter  alone  says  the  words. 
But  this  custom  is  not  mentioned  till  the  4th  cen- 
tury. We  find  it  in  the  Egyptian  and  Ethiopia 
Church  Orders,  the  Testament  of  Our  Lord,  and 
the  Verona  Latin  Fragments  of  the  Didascalia, 
etc.;  also  c.  A.D.  500  in  the  'Gallican  Statutes' 
(above,  3);  see  ERE,  art.  'Ministry,'  8.  The 
custom  may  probably  be  traced  to  the  lost  original 
of  the  parallel  Church  Orders — that  is,  to  the  3rd 
century.  Of  the  intervening  period  between  the 
Pastoral  Epistles  and  that  date  we  know  nothing 
in  respect  to  this  matter.  It  is  therefore  possible 
that  the  arrangement  in  question  was  not  con- 
tinuously in  use,  but  was  adopted  in  the  3rd  cent, 
because  of  the  interpretation  then  given  to  the 
passage  in  1  Timothy.  And  it  was  confined  to 
the  ordination  of  a  presbyter,  for  when  a  bishop 
was  ordained  the  other  bishops  laid  on  hands,  but 
no  presbyters,  unless  possibly — this  is  very  un- 
certain— In  the  Canons  of  Hippolytus ;  while  in 
the  NT  there  is  no  indication  that  the  local  pres- 
byters laid  on  hands  with  Paul  and  Barnabas 
when  they  '  appointed '  presbyters  for  each  church  : 
indeed,  probably  there  were  no  presbyters  present 
other  than  the  newly-ordained.  Nevertheless, 
though  the  arrangement  may  possibly  not  have 
been  continued  in  the  sub- Apostolic  Age,  and 
though  the  latter  procedure  was  not  altogether 
on  all-fours  with  the  apostolic  arrangement,  seeing 
that  the  whole  local  organization  of  the  ministry 
had  developed  by  the  3rd  cent.,  it  appears  highly 
probable  that  St.  Paul's  meaning  is  that  both  he 
and  the  local  presbyters  laid  hands  on  Timothy 
when  the  latter  was  ordained.  Where  this  took 
place  St.  Paul  does  not  say.  It  could  hardly  have 
been  at  Lystra,  where  Timothy  was  converted. 
A  novice  in  the  faith,  such  as  he  was  when  St. 
Paul  took  him  into  his  company,  would  not  have 
been  ordained  to  the  ministry  (cf.  1  Ti  36).  Alford 
(Com.  on  1  Ti  4U)  suggests  Ephesus,  where  Timothy 
was  to  exercise  his  ministry  for  a  considerable 
time.  And  this  would  be  in  accordance  with  the 
idea  that  St.  Paul  refers  to  the  concurrence  of  the 
presbytery  because  the  Ephesian  presbyters  were 
likely  to  read  his  Epistle.  But  the  point  is  of  no 
great  importance. 

For  the  manner  in   which  ordinations  to   the 
ministry  have  been  conducted  in  subsequent  ages, 


reference  may  be  made  to  the  present  writer's 
article  '  Ordination  '  in  ERE. 

LITERATURE.— H.  B.  Swetc,  The  Holy  Spirit  in  the  NT, 
London,  1909,  art.  '  Laying  on  of  Hands '  in  H  DB ;  F.  J.  A. 
Hort,  The  Christian  Ecclesia,  London,  1897  (posthumous); 
the  various  Commentaries  on  Acts  and  the  Pastoral  Epistles, 
especially  R.  B.  Rackham,  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles*,  Lon- 
don, 1904  ;  C.  J.  Ellicott,  The  Pastoral  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  do., 
1856 ;  H.  Alford,  The  Greek  Testament,  do.,  1874 ;  H.  P. 
Liddon,  St.  Paul's  First  Epistle  to  Timothy,  do.,  1897. 

A.  J.  MACLEAN. 
ORGANIZATION.— See  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT. 

ORIGINAL  SIN.— See  SlN. 

OTHO. — Otho  is  the  name  most  often  given  to 
Marcus  Saluius  Otho,  who,  on  becoming  Emperor, 
wasstyled  Imperator  Marcus  Otho  Caesar  Augustus. 
He  was  the  younger  son  of  Lucius  Saluius  Otho  and 
Albia  Terentia,  and  was  born  on  28th  April,  A.D.  32. 
From  his  earliest  youth  he  was  distinguished  for 
effeminacy  and  profligacy,  and  became  a  boon- 
companion  of  the  Emperor  Nero.  He  married 
Poppaea  Sabina,  already  the  wife  of  Rufrius  Cris- 
pinus,  and  mistress  of  Nero,  in  order,  it  is  said, 
that  Nero  might  find  her  easier  of  access.  Under 
suspicion  of  continuing  marital  relations  with  her, 
Otho,  who  had  already  held  the  qusestorship,  was 
given  a  legate's  post  in  Lusitania,  where  he  re- 
mained from  59  to  68.  The  historians  are  unani- 
mous that  he  was  an  excellent  governor.  When 
Galba  in  68  revolted  against  Nero,  Otho  joined 
him  and  attended  him  to  Rome,  hoping,  vainly  as 
it  transpired,  that  Galba  would  adopt  him.  En- 
couraged by  an  astrologer,  who  held  out  to  him 
hopes  of  Empire,  he  plotted  against  Galba  and 
brought  about  his  murder  (see  under  GALBA). 
Both  the  army  and  the  Senate  hailed  Otho  as 
Emperor  on  15th  January,  69.  In  spite  of  the  treat- 
ment Nero  had  meted  out  to  him,  he  liked  to  be 
called  Nero,  and  it  may  be  that  he  was  the  more 
welcome  to  the  populace  by  contrast  with  the 
severity  of  his  predecessor  Galba.  He  was  elected 
one  of  the  consuls  for  69.  But  his  reign  was  short. 
A  new  claimant  to  the  Empire  arose  in  the  person 
of  Vitellius  (q.v. ).  Otho  marched  from  Rome  to 
meet  him,  and  was  defeated  at  Betriacum  between 
Mantua  and  Cremona  (near  modern  Calvatone). 
He  thereupon  committed  suicide  at  Brixellum 
(modern  Brescello,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Po) 
after  having  ruled  three  months  (17th  April,  69). 

LITERATURE.  —  Ancient  authorities  are  Suetonius  (Otho), 
Plutarch  (Otho  [ed.  London,  1890]),  Tacitus  (Histories,  ii.), 
Dio  Cassius  (Ixiv.),  etc.  Modern  works  are  Prosoporjraphia 
Imperil  Rum-ani,  saec.  i.,  ii.,  iii.,  pars  iii.,  ed.  P.  de  Rohden 
and  H.  Dessau,  Berlin,  1898,  no.  109,  p.  168  f.  ;  and  the  Histories 
of  the  Roman  Empire  by  Duruy,  Bury,  Schiller,  etc. ;  A.  von 
Domaszewski,  Gesch.  der  rom.  Kaizer,  Leipzig,  1909,  ii.  86-96; 
E.  G.  Hardy,  Studies  in  Roman  History,  London,  1906,  pp. 
295-334  ;  there  is  also  a  valuable  comparison  of  the  leading 
ancient  authorities  in  the  same  work,  2nd  ser.,  do.,  1909,  pp. 
158-202.  A.  SOUTER. 

OVERSEER.— See  BISHOP. 


PAGAN.— See  HEATHEN. 

PALACE  (irpaiTibpiov,  from  Lat.  prcetorium}. — 
St.  Paul  assured  the  Philippians  (I13)  that  the  fact 
of  his  imprisonment  had  become  known,  and  its 
cause  understood,  'in  all  the  palace'  (AV),  or 
'throughout  the  whole  praetorian  guard'  (RV). 
The  interpretation  of  the  phrase  iv  8\q>  T<$  irpat- 


rtapttf  has  long  been  a  vexed  question,  and  no  con- 
sensus of  opinion  has  yet  been  reached. 

The  term  '  praetorium '  had  an  interesting  history.  In  th« 
early  Roman  republic,  when  the  praetor  (prce-itor,  'leader") 
was  the  general  in  the  field,  the  praetorium  was  his  part  of  th« 
camp— the  headquarters — with  the  secondary  meaning  of  a 
council  of  war,  because  this  was  held  in  his  tent.  One  of  the 
gates  of  the  camp  was  called  the  porta  prcetoria,  and  the 
general's  bodyguard  the  cohors  prcetoria  or  cohortes  prcetorice. 


PALACE 


PALM 


119 


In  later  times  of  peace,  the  praters  were  the  highest  Roman 
magistrates,  who,  after  administering  justice  for  a  year  in  the 
capital,  were  sent  as  proprietors  to  govern  the  provinces ;  and 
the  praetorium  was  the  official  provincial  residence,  which 
might  chance  to  be  the  palace  of  a  former  king  (as  in  ML  2V27, 
Mk  1516,  Jn  1828-  33  199 ;  cf .  Cic.  Verr.  n.  v.  12  [30]).  Under  the 
Empire  the  cohortes  prcetorice  were  the  Imperial  bodyguard. 
As  constituted  by  Augustus,  they  were  nine  in  number,  each 
with  1000  men,  and  one  or  more  of  them  always  attended  the 
emperor,  whether  in  Rome  or  elsewhere.  Tiberius  made  an 
important  and  permanent  change  '  by  gathering  into  one  camp 
all  the  praetorian  cohorts  then  dispersed  over  the  city  ;  that, 
thus  united,  they  might  receive  his  orders  simultaneously,  and 
by  continually  beholding  their  own  numbers  and  strength,  and 
by  familiar  intercourse,  conceive  a  confidence  in  themselves, 
and  strike  terror  into  others  '  (Tac.  Ann.  iv.  2).  The  barracks 
formed  a  rectangle  of  39  acres,  and  some  parts  of  the  ramparts, 
embedded  in  the  later  walls  of  Aurelian,  can  still  be  seen  near 
the  Porta  Pia.  The  praetorians  were  recruited  voluntarily,  in 
Italy  or  in  Italianized  districts.  They  had  better  pay  and 
shorter  service  than  the  regular  army.  On  retiring  each  soldier 
received  a  bounty  amounting  to  about  £200.  In  the  2nd  cent, 
the  praetorian  cohorts  became  ten  in  number,  and  in  the  time  of 
Septimius  Severus  they  consisted  practically  of  barbarian  sol- 
diers, who  were  constantly  in  conflict  with  the  people  of  Rome. 
The  Praetorian  Guard  was  suppressed  by  Constantine  in  312. 

On  the  supposition  that  the  prsetorium  to  which 
St.  Paul  alluded  is  a  place,  two  interpretations 
have  been  offered.  (1)  The  AV  had  the  authority 
of  the  Greek  commentators  —  e.g.  Chrysostom, 
Theodore  of  Mopsuestia,  and  Theodoret — for  as- 
suming that  he  had  in  view  the  Imperial  residence 
on  the  Palatine.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  the 
term  could  not  properly  bear  such  a  meaning.  The 
Koman  citizens  would  have  keenly  resented  the  use 
of  a  nomenclature  suggestive  of  a  military  despot- 
ism, and  the  early  Caesars,  too  wise  to  wound  their 
susceptibilities,  were  careful  to  maintain  the  ap- 
pearance of  republican  liberty  even  after  the  reality 
was  gone.  If  the  Emperor  was  absent  from  Rome, 
he  was  indeed  technically  in  imperio ;  and  in  the 
post-Augustan  Age  any  spacious  country  villa 
could  be  called  a  prsetorium ;  but  no  classical 
writer  ever  applies  the  word  to  the  palace  in  the 
city.  The  utmost  that  can  be  said  in  favour  of 
the  exegesis  in  question  is  that  St.  Paul,  as  a  pro- 
vincial writing  to  provincials,  may  have  been  guilty 
of  a  '  terminological  inexactitude.'  But  one  of  St. 
Paul's  merits  is  his  singular  accuracy  in  the  use 
of  technical  terms,  and  the  colonia  of  Philippi  to 
which  he  was  writing  was  itself  a  miniature  Rome, 
where  fine  shades  of  Imperial  language  were  sure 
to  be  appreciated  and  mistakes  at  once  detected. 
(2)  The  prsetorium  is  often  taken  to  denote  '  the 
prsetorian  barracks  at  the  Porta  Viminalis  on  the 
east  side  of  the  city,  in  which  Paul  lay  a  prisoner 
at  Rome'  (Lipsius,  Hand-Coin,  zum  NT,  in  loc.). 
But  this  use  of  the  word  would  be  equally  incorrect ; 
for  while  the  barracks  were  called  castra  prcetoria 
(Pliny,  HN  iii.  9;  Suet.  Tib.  37)  and  castra  prce- 
torianorum  (Tac.  Hist.  i.  31),  they  were  never 
designated  prcetorium. 

On  the  theory  that  the  term  is  not  local  but 
personal,  two  meanings  are  again  possible.  (1) 
The  word  may  collectively  denote  the  Imperial 
Guards.  J.  B.  Lightfoot  (Philippians™,  1894,  pp. 
99-104)  argues  strongly  for  this  interpretation, 
which  has  been  adopted  in  the  RV.  There  is 
abundant  evidence  (e.g.  Livy,  xxvi.  15,  xxx.  5 ; 
Tac.  Hist.  i.  20,  iv.  46;  Suet.  Nero,  9;  Pliny, 
HN  xxv.  6 ;  Jos.  Ant.  XIX.  iii.  1 ;  together  with 
a  number  of  inscriptions)  that  the  word  bore  this 
meaning,  which  harmonizes  with  the  Ka.1  TOIJ  XoiTrots 
vaaiv  that  follows  in  Ph  I18,  whereas  'the  others' 
is  extremely  awkward  if  it  is  conjoined  with  the 
name  of  a  locality.  If  St.  Paul,  while  abiding 
•'  two  whole  years  in  his  own  hired  dwelling'  (Ac 
2830),  was  under  praetorian  custody,  he  would  be 
ible,  owing  to  the  frequent  change  of  guards,  to 
,rouse  an  interest  in  his  message  throughout  this 
imous  body  of  soldiers. 

(2)  W.  M.  Ramsay,  following  Mommsen,  holds 
at  the  prsetorium   '  is  the   whole    body  of  per- 


sons connected  with  the  sitting  in  judgment, 
the  supreme  Imperial  Court,  .  .  .  representing  the 
Emperor  in  his  capacity  as  the  fountain  of  justice, 
together  with  the  assessors  and  high  officers  of  the 
court  '  (St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  1895,  p.  357).  There 
does  not,  however,  appear  to  be  any  first  or  second 
century  evidence  for  this  use  of  the  term.  It  is 
more  probable  that,  on  reaching  Rome,  St.  Paul 
was  handed  over  to  the  prcefectus  prcetorii  (called 
by  St.  Luke  the  orpaToireSdpx'?*).  who  gave  him  for 
two  years  a  large  measure  of  liberty  (always,  of 
course,  under  the  surveillance  of  a  praetorian),  and 
ultimately  tried  him,  either  in  the  castra  prcetoria 
at  the  Porta  Viminalis,  or  more  probably  (see  Ph 
422)  in  the  guard-room  of  the  Imperial  palace. 
Certainly  from  the  3rd  cent,  onward,  and  appar- 
ently much  earlier,  the  prcefecti  prcetorio  (usually 
two,  sometimes  three,  rarely  one)  exercised  juris- 
diction for  the  Emperor.  In  a  letter  to  Pliny  (Ep. 
Plin.  65)  Trajan  decides  regarding  a  prisoner  who 
had  appealed  from  the  governor's  sentence  :  '  vinc- 
tus  mitti  ad  prsefectos  praetorii  mei  debet.'  It 
seems  probable  that  St.  Paul  was  handed  over  to 
the  same  tribunal.  Before  writing  Philippians  he 
had  been  tried  once,  and  made  a  favourable  im- 

Ereseion  upon  the  minds  of  his  judges.  Ever  since 
is  arrival  in  Rome  it  had  been  recognized  that  he 
was  no  ordinary  criminal  and  no  political  agitator. 
He  was  seen  to  be  a  prisoner  for  his  faith  in  Christ 
(Ph  Vs),  and  his  bearing  as  well  as  his  words  com- 
mended him,  and  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  his 
message,  to  the  prcefectus  prcetorio  (or  -ii),  to  the 
whole  prcetorium  (Imperial  Lifeguards),  and  to 
'all  the  others'  with  whom  he  was  brought  into 
contact.  And  some  (especially  ol  tic  TTJS  Kalffapos 
were  not  only  impressed  but  converted. 


LITERATURE.—  T.  Zahn,  Introd.  to  the  NT,  1909,  vol.  i.  pp.  541  f.  , 
551  ff.  ;  M.  R.  Vincent,  ICC,  '  Philippians  and  Philemon,'  1897, 
p.  16  f.  ;  H.  A.  A.  Kennedy,  in  EOT,  '  Philippians,'  1903,  p.  423  f. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PALM  (<j>olvi£).—  The  only  passages  in  the  NT 
containing  references  to  the  palm  are  Jn  1213  and 
Rev  7".  It  flourishes  in  hot  dry  climates  and  is 
known  to  have  been  cultivated  in  Egypt  and 
Babylonia  at  an  early  date.  In  the  deserts  of 
Arabia  it  is  essential  to  existence,  hence  the 
Arabic  saying  that  the  palm  has  as  many  uses  as 
there  are  days  in  a  year.  The  palm  referred  to  in 
the  OT  and  NT  is  the  Phoenix  dactylifera,  L.  ; 
in  Palestine  it  still  flourishes  in  the  maritime  plain 
but  seldom  ripens  in  the  hill-country.  Its  cultiva- 
tion in  Palestine  has  been  neglected  for  a  long 
time  past,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  in 
ancient  times  it  was  much  more  common  than  it  is 
to-day. 

The  trunk  of  the  palm  does  not  increase  in 
thickness  from  year  to  year  like  other  trees  but 
only  rises  higher,  putting  forth  new  leaves  each 
year.  The  lower  circle  of  leaves,  sometimes  as 
much  as  seven  years  old,  gradually  withers  away, 
and  as  the  stumps  of  the  old  leaves  wear  off  the 
trunk  becomes  more  slender  as  it  increases  in 
height.  The  leaves,  which  are  pinnate  and  are 
often  12  ft.  long,  form  a  kind  of  dome  at  the 
summit  of  the  tall  bare  stem.  The  male  and 
female  blossoms  are  on  different  trees,  and  it  is 
consequently  necessary  to  impregnate  the  female 
blossoms  if  the  seed  is  not  to  be  barren.  This  is 
effected  either  by  tying  a  bunch  of  male  blossom 
on  to  the  female  trees  or  else  by  shaking  out  the 
pollen  over  the  female  flowers.  The  flowers  grou 
on  a  single  or  branched  tuft,  covered  by  a  spathe  or 
sheath,  some  of  which  contain  many  thousands  of 
flowers.  The  core  of  the  trunk  is  soft  and  pithy, 
and  palm  wood  is  therefore  of  little  use  as  timber, 
though  it  is  of  value  for  rafters  and  gate-posts. 

The  fruit  is  a  staple  article  of  food  among  the 
modern  Bedouins.  It  is  gathered  by  a  man  who 


120 


PALSY 


PAPHOS 


climbs  the  trunk,  severs  the  clusters  of  dates, 
places  them  in  a  basket,  and  lowers  them  to  the 
ground.  The  date  is  utilized  in  many  ways.  A 
kind  of  brandy  is  made  from  its  juice,  and  also 
dibs,  a  syrup  resembling  honey,  which  forms  a 
useful  substitute  for  sugar.  Baskets,  mats,  and 
all  sorts  of  utensils  are  manufactured  from  its 
leaves  ;  the  crown  of  barren  trees  is  boiled  as  a 
vegetable ;  camels  are  fed  on  the  pounded  stones, 
horses  on  the  fruit-stalks ;  and  the  fibres  of  the 
leaf-stalk  and  fruit-stalk  are  used  for  ropes. 

Branches  of  palms  were  regarded  as  appropriate 
emblems  of  triumph  and  jubilation,  and  they  were 
carried  at  the  feast  of  Tabernacles,  while  they 
were  also  used  in  constructing  the  booths  on  the 
house-tops  on  the  occasion  of  this  festival  (Lv 
2342).  In  Rev  79  the  triumphal  entry  into  Jeru- 
salem (Jn  1213)  may  be  in  view. 

LITERATURE. — H.  B.  Tristram,  Natural  History  oftheBibleW, 
1911,  p.  378  f.  ;  J.  C.  Geikie,  The  Holy  Land  and  the  Bible,  ed. 
1887,  i.  207  f.,  ed.  1903,  p.  76 ;  W.  M.  Thomson,  The  Land  and 
the  Book,  3  vols.,  ed.  1881-1886,  passim,  ed.  1910,  p.  30;  H.  B. 
Swete,  Apocalypse  of  St.  John*,  1907,  p.  100;  P.  S.  P.  Hand- 
cock,  Mesopotamian  Archaeology,  1912,  p.  12  f.  ;  B.DB  iii. 
656 1. ;  SDB,  p.  675  ;  EBi  iii.  3551  f. 

P.  S.  P.  HANDCOCK. 

PALSY. — The  more  common  word  is  '  paralysis.' 
Only  two  instances  are  reported  in  the  Acts — 87 
(many)  and  933  (./Eneas).  The  condition  referred 
to  is  marked  by  loss  of  muscular  control,  caused 
by  cerebral  or  spinal  lesion,  or  by  local  disease  or 
disorder  of  nerves  and  muscles.  Whether  the 
paralytics  who  were  healed  by  Philip  in  Samaria 
were  brought  to  him  on  beds,  were  visited  by  him, 
or  were  able  to  come  to  him  with  others  who  were 
suffering  from  bodily  disturbance,  we  are  not  told. 
^Eueas  was  for  eight  years  bed-ridden,  and  thus 
appears  to  have  been  in  a  desperate  plight.  In 
the  absence  of  competent  and  explicit  medical 
testimony,  it  would  be  idle  to  conjecture  whether 
any  of  these  cases  was  organic  rather  than  func- 
tional, or  how  large  a  part  suggestion  played  in 
their  cure.  The  healings  by  Philip  brought  to  an 
end  the  practice  of  sorcery  by  Simon  and  led  to 
his  conversion ;  the  healing  of  tineas  showed 
anew  the  power  which  resided  in  '  the  name  of 
Jesus'  (cf.  36  410).  The  recovery  of  all  these 
paralytics  followed  the  customary  order  of  NT 
cases :  no  sooner  was  the  word  spoken  than  the 
cures  took  place.  C.  A.  BECKWITH. 

PAMPHYLIA  (nafj,<t>v\ia).—  Pamphylia  was  the 
ancient  name  of  a  flat  and  low-lying  country  in 
the  south  of  Asia  Minor,  80  miles  long  from  E.  to 
W.,  and  20  miles  broad  in  its  widest  part,  skirted 
by  the  Bay  of  Adalia,  and  enclosed  by  a  rough 
semicircle  of  lofty  and  precipitous  mountains  of 
the  Taurus  range.  As  no  pass  corresponding  to 
the  Cilician  Gates  afforded  freedom  of  access  to 
the  interior,  Pamphylia  was  always  isolated.  Its 
chief  maritime  cities — Attalia,  Perga  and  Side — had 
to  deal  only  with  a  limited  traffic,  and  never  rose 
to  any  great  importance.  Its  climate,  too,  greatly 
interfered  with  its  progress.  The  hot,  moist, 
enervating  plain,  rarely  swept  by  bracing  northern 
winds,  was  unsuitable  for  a  race  of  hardy  colonists, 
and  though  many  Greeks  and  some  Jews  (1  Mac 
1523,  Ac  210)  settled  in  its  towns,  the  native 
Anatolian  elements  were  too  strong  for  an  exotic 
Hellenism,  so  that  Pamphylia  as  a  whole  remained 
one  of  the  least  civilized  parts  of  Asia  Minor.  It 
was  therefore  late  in  attaining  the  dignity  of 
Roman  provincial  government.  Dio  Cassius 
(Ix.  17)  indicates  that  Claudius  instituted  the 
province  of  Lycia-Pamphylia  in  A.D.  43,  but 
Mommsen  has  proved  by  means  of  a  recently  dis- 
covered inscription  '  that  Pamphylia  was  a  distinct 
procuratorial  province  for  some  time  later,  then 
was  connected  with  Galatia  for  a  short  time,  and 


at  last  was  united  to  Lycia  by  Vespasian '  (W.  M. 
Ramsay,  Pauline  and  other  Studies,  1906,  p.  265). 
Paul  and  Barnabas  crossed  Pamphylia  in  both 
the  outward  and  the  homeward  part  of  their 
first  missionary  tour.  Landing  at  the  river- 
harbour  of  Perga,  they  merely  'passed  through 
from '  the  city  (Ac  1314),  hastening  northward  over 
the  Taurus  to  Antioch  in  Pisidia.  Combining  St. 
Luke's  narrative  with  Gal  413,  Ramsay  infers  that, 
while  the  original  intention  of  the  apostles  was  to 
carry  on  a  prolonged  mission  in  Pamphylia,  which 
seemed,  after  Cilicia,  to  have  the  next  claim  to  the 
gospel,  a  sudden  illness — probably  malarial  fever — 
prostrated  St.  Paul  and  compelled  them  to  change 
their  plan  and  seek  the  cooler  and  more  invigor- 
ating uplands  of  central  Asia  Minor  (St.  Paul 
the  Traveller,  p.  93,  The  Church  in  the  Roman 
Empire,  1893,  p.  61  ff.).  A.  C.  McGiffert  agrees 
that  malarial  fever  was  probably  the  '  infirmity  of 
the  flesh '  which  led  St.  Paul  to  preach  to  the 
Galatians,  but  regards  it  as  more  likely  that  the 
illness,  though  contracted  in  the  Pamphylian  plain, 
did  not  show  itself  until  St.  Paul  was  labouring  in 
Antioch  (Apostolic  Age,  1897,  p.  177).  About  two 
years  later  the  return  journey  was  made  by  Perga 
and  Attalia  (Ac  1425),  and  on  this  occasion  the 
gospel  was  preached  in  the  former  city,  but  ap- 
parently little  impression  was  made.  Christianity, 
which  always  had  the  best  chance  of  success  where 
Hellenism  and  Judaism  had  already  prepared  the 
soil,  was  late  in  taking  root  in  backward  and  un- 
civilized Pamphylia.  The  provinces  named  in  1  P 
I1  as  having  Christian  converts  within  their 
borders  sum  up  the  whole  of  Asia  Minor  north  of 
the  Taurus,  but  Pamphylia  and  Lycia  are  con- 
spicuous by  their  absence.  Had  these  lands  con- 
tained any  considerable  body  of  '  the  elect,'  the 
fact  that  they  were  regarded  as  'without  (i.e.  to 
the  south  of)  the  Taurus '  would  not  have  prevented 
them  from  being  enumerated  with  the  other 
provinces. 

LITERATURE. — W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller, 
London,  1895,  p.  89  f . ;  K.  Lanckoronski,  Stadte  Pamphyliens 
und  Pisidiens,  vol.  i.  :  '  Paniphylien,'  Vienna,  1890. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 
PAPER.— See  WRITING. 

PAPHOS  (II<£0os,  the  modern  Baffb). — Paphos 
was  a  seaport  near  the  western  extremity  of 
Cyprus,  the  last  place  visited  by  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas in  their  missionary  progress  through  the 
island  (6ie\d6vres  S\rjv  T^V  vrjcrov,  Ac  136).  There 
they  were  near  one  of  the  most  famous  shrines  of 
paganism,  the  home  of  Aphrodite,  the  foam-born 
'  Paphian  Queen,'  Old  Paphos  being  the  centre  of 
her  worship  for  the  whole  earth.  The  city  in 
which  the  apostles  stayed,  however,  was  New 
Paphos,  the  seat  of  the  proconsul  (avdviraros},  the 
administrative  centre  of  the  island  since  its  annexa- 
tion by  the  Romans  in  58  B.  C.  Originally  no  more 
than  the  port  of  Old  Paphos,  it  possessed  a  good 
harbour,  from  which  the  apostles  sailed  for  Pam- 
phylia (Ac  1313).  Like  the  more  ancient  and  famous 
city,  it  was  devoted  to  the  cult  of  Aphrodite,  to 
whom  it  had  erected  '  fine  buildings'  (Strabo,  XIV. 
vi.  3).  It  was  about  10  miles  N.E.  of  Old  Paphos 
(Ha\aia  IH^os.or  Ha\alira<f>os,  the  modern  Kuklia), 
which  stood  on  an  eminence  over  a  mile  from 
the  sea — the  'celsa  Paphos'  of  Vergil  (JEn.  x.  51). 
'Along  the  road'  between  the  two  cities,  says 
Strabo  (loc.  cit.),  'the  annual  processions  are  con- 
ducted, when  a  great  concourse  both  of  men  and 
women  resort  thither,'  not  only  from  New  Paphos, 
but '  from  other  cities.'  In  describing  a  pilgrimage 
which  Titus  made  to  this  shrine  on  his  way  to  the 
siege  of  Jerusalem,  Tacitus  expresses  surprise  at 
'  the  form  under  which  the  image  is  adored,  a  form 
found  in  no  other  place '  (Hist.  ii.  2).  \Vhat  Titus 


PAKACLETE 


PAKACLETE 


121 


saw  was  not  the  graceful,  smiling  Aphrodite  of 
Greece,  but  the  rude  cultus-image  of  Phoenicia. 

Cyprus  was  the  meeting-place  of  two  ancient  faiths  and 
civilizations — Hellenic  and  Syrian — each  of  which  deeply  in- 
fluenced the  other.  Herodotus  was  not  ill-informed  when  he 
heard  'on  inquiry'  that  the  temple  at  Paphos  was  built  in 
imitation  of  a  Syrian  temple  in  Ascalon  (i.  105).  Excavations 
have  proved  that  the  Paphian  shrine  had  the  character  of  a 
Phoenician  temple,  with  large  open  courts  and  several  small 
chambers,  and  the  same  type  of  building  is  represented  on 
many  coins.  Fragments  of  marble  cones  and  of  an  altar  have 
also  been  found,  and  the  idea  that  the  conical  stone  was 
anointed  in  the  Semitic  fashion  is  confirmed  by  an  inscription 
which  mentions  a  festival  of  the  temple  called  f\au>xpttmov. 

Had  St.  Paul  remained  longer  at  Paphos,  he 
would  inevitably  have  come  into  conflict  with  this 
worship — which  Athanasius  branded  as  the  deifica- 
tion of  lust  (TTJV  ^Tridv/juav  GeoTTOL-^ffavres  irpoaKvvovffiv 
[Contra  Gentes,  9]) — as  he  did  later  with  that  of 
Artemis  at  Ephesus.  How  long  the  Paphian  cult 
maintained  itself  against  Christianity  can  only  be 
conjectured.  St.  Paul's  dispute  with  Elymas  (q.v.) 
was  purely  personal. 

LITERATURE.— D.  G.  Hograrth,  Devia  Cypria,  1889;  D.  G. 
Hogarth  and  M.  R.  James,  in  JHS  ix.  [1888]  158  f. ;  art. 
'  Aphrodite '  in  Roscher's  Lexicon.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PARACLETE.— 1.  The  term.— One  result  of  the 
authoritative  place  held  by  the  Law  among  the 
Jews  was  that  figures  of  speech  borrowed  from  the 
sphere  of  judicial  procedure  came  to  play  an  im- 
portant part  in  religious  life.  This  cycle  of  figura- 
tive speech  included  the  term  'paraclete.'  In 
Greek  usage  a  paraclete  was  one  who  accompanied 
an  accused  person  to  the  judge's  tribunal,  and  sup- 
ported him  by  testifying  and  interceding  on  his 
behalf.  The  frequent  use  of  the  term  '  paraclete ' 
in  the  religious  phraseology  of  the  Jews  is  confirmed 
by  the  fact  that  when  the  term,  as  a  Greek  loan- 
word, at  length  found  a  place  in  the  Hebrew 
writings  of  the  Synagogue,  it  was  employed  not 
in  a  literal  but  in  a  figurative  sense,  as,  e.g.,  for 
the  sacrifice  by  which  the  Divine  forgiveness  was 
secured  for  Israel. 

2.  Jesus  Himself  as  the  Paraclete  (of  Christians 
who  fall  into  sin). — The  idea  that  man  requires 
a  paraclete  was  associated  first  of  all  with  the 
thought  of  the  Divine  decree  by  which  the  status 
and  destiny  of  human  beings  are  fixed,  and  it  is  in 
this  reference  that  St.  John,  in  his  First  Epistle  (21), 
applies  the  term  to  Jesus  Christ.     As  the  vocation 
to  a  divine  life  puts  an  end  to  walking  in  darkness, 
believers  separate  themselves  from  sin  by  sincere 
and  penitent  confession.     Still,  this  does  not  do 
away  with  the  possibility  of  their  choosing  falsely 
and  again  doing  evil ;  hence  there  arises  the  need 
of  a  fresh  judicial  act  on  God's  part  to  decide  what 
portion  such  a  sinner  retains  in  Him.     Even  when 
the    Christian    sins,    however,    Christ    maintains 
fellowship  with  him,  and  brings  him  within  the 
scope  of  the  Divine  grace.     In  that  passage,  accord- 
ingly, Christ  is  called  a  Paraclete  because  He  ob- 
tains Divine  pardon  for  those  who  have  trespassed. 
His  ability  to  shield  the  sinning  one  is  based  upon 
the  fact  of  His  own  righteousness,  for  only  the 
righteous,  whose  mind  is  at  one  with  the  will  of 
God,  can  ask  God  to  forgive  others.     This  power, 
moreover,  rests  also  upon  the  fact  that  Jesus  has 
by  His  Cross  purchased  the  world's  forgiveness 
from  God. 

3.  The  Holy  Spirit  as  the  Paraclete  (of  the 
apostles  in  their  work). — In  the  last  discourse  of 
Jesus,  as  found  in  the  Fourth  Gospel,  the  name 
'  Paraclete '  is  given  to  the  power  that  secures  for 
the  disciples  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (Jn 
14i6.2G  15i'6  167).     Abstractly,  it  is  not  impossible 
that  the  Spirit  Himself  is  here  called  the  Paraclete 
because   He   too   keeps   the  disciples  within   the 
Divine  grace  through  which  they  are   forgiven  ; 
here,  in  point  of  fact,  the  term  applies  to  Jesus 


no  less  than  to  the  Spirit,  for  the  latter  is  called 
'  another  Paraclete ' ;  and  thus  the  intercessory 
function  of  the  Spirit  on  behalf  of  the  disciples  is 
conjoined  with  that  exercised  by  Jesus  until  His 
departure.  The  leading  thought  underlying  the 
passages  in  question,  however,  is  in  conflict  with 
this  interpretation,  as  Jesus  is  there  speaking  of 
how  His  disciples  shall  be  enabled  to  complete 
their  task  and,  as  His  messengers,  to  gather  His 
community  together.  His  words  serve  here  to 
define  the  authority  of  the  apostolic  office,  and 
therefore  also  of  the  Church.  The  relation  of  the 
disciples  to  God  is  regulated  and  assured  by  their 
union  with  Jesus,  and  no  account  is  taken  of  the 
possibility  that  they  may  rupture  that  relation  by 
fresh  transgression.  The  parting  utterances  of 
Jesus  speak  of  His  fellowship  with  His  disciples  as 
indestructible ;  as  perfected,  not  impeded  by  His 
death.  He  remains  in  them,  and  they  remain  in 
Him,  and  they  are  thus  encompassed  by  the  Divine 
love.  This  relationship,  however,  lays  upon  them 
their  special  task — that  of  living  and  witnessing 
for  Him,  of  pleading  His  claims,  and  of  calling 
upon  men  to  have  faith  in  Him.  As  branches  in 
the  true  Vine  they  have  now  the  power,  as  they 
have  also  the  duty,  of  bringing  forth  fruit.  This 
brings  them,  however,  to  take  part  in  a  dire 
struggle,  and  the  last  discourse  of  Jesus  affirms  in 
words  of  deep  impressiveness  that  He  has  made 
every  provision  for  their  warfare  with  the  world 
and  their  victory  over  it.  Even  now,  indeed,  their 
standing  is  being  contested — not,  certainly,  their 
standing  before  God,  sinners  though  they  are,  for 
that  matter  is  settled  by  their  fellowship  with 
Jesus,  but  the  sanction  of  that  profession  of  faith 
in  Him  by  virtue  of  which  they  glorify  Him  as  the 
Christ. 

Now  the  question  whether,  and  how,  the  apostles 
are  able  to  fulfil  their  mission,  and  how  they  may 
convince  the  world  that  their  message  is  true,  is 
solved  for  them  by  the  fact  that  the  Spirit  is  with 
them.  The  Spirit  is  their  Paraclete  because  He 
is  the  evidence  of  their  standing,  the  efficacy  of 
their  words,  the  source  of  their  authority,  and  the 
guarantee  of  their  success.  The  reason  why  they 
now  require  another  Advocate — a  new  Paraclete, 
distinct  from  Jesus  Himself — is  that  while  hitherto 
Jesus,  by  His  word  and  His  works,  vindicated  the 
rights  of  their  faith,  and  by  His  presence  protected 
them  against  all  assailants,  He  can  no  longer, 
now  that  He  has  passed  into  the  unseen,  be  their 
Advocate  in  His  own  Person.  They  require  an 
evidential  force  which  will  still  be  recognizable,  a 
power  that  will  constantly  be  with  them,  and 
become  manifest  to  all  to  whom  they  proclaim  the 
word.  The  historical  ground  of  their  authority — 
the  fact,  namely,  that  they  had  companied  with 
Jesus — is  not  thereby  invalidated  (15*),  but  it  is 
not  in  itself  sufficient.  Their  utterances  regard- 
ing Jesus  are  free  from  every  limitation.  Thus 
they  describe  Him  as  the  Eternal  Son,  through 
whom  the  whole  work  of  God  is  effected ;  as  the 
ever-present  One,  who  is  in  perfect  unity  with  His 
people ;  as  the  One  who  now  worketh,  bestowing 
tight  and  life  upon  the  world.  To  the  historical 
foundation  of  the  apostolate  and  the  Church, 
therefore,  there  must  necessarily  be  added  the 
pneumatic  foundation ;  and  the  deep  significance 
that  attaches  to  the  term  '  Paraclete '  lies  in  the 
distinct  expression  which  it  gives  to  the  fact  that 
the  historical  sanction  of  the  apostles  and  the 
community  finds  its  requisite  supplement  and  con- 
firmation in  their  inward  experience  and  the 
spiritual  possessions  they  now  enjoy. 

4.  The  Deity  of  the  Spirit.— One  result  of  this 
process  of  thought  was  the  fresh  emphasis  laid 
upon  the  idea  that  the  Spirit  shares  fully  in  the 
nature  of  God.  It  is  true  that  even  in  the  earliest 


122 


PAEACLETE 


PARADISE 


stages  of  Christianity,  as  elsewhere,  the  Spirit  was 
spoken  of  as  possessing  the  quality  of  Deity  ;  in 
knowledge,  in  will,  in  work,  He  has  part  in  the 
creative  glory  of  the  Divine  power.  But  the  fact 
that  the  Spirit  now  came  to  be  conceived  as  the 
Paraclete  of  the  disciples  provided  a  peculiarly 
cogent  reason  why  He  should  be  thought  of,  not  as 
a  mere  property  of  man's  inner  life,  or  as  a  force 
that  enters  into  man,  but  as  fully  possessed  of  the 
Divine  power  which,  coming  from  above,  encom- 
passes man,  and  so  animates  all  things  from 
within.  For  the  prerogative  of  Jesus  and  His  dis- 
ciples was  made  manifest  only  when  it  was  proved 
to  be  Divine.  The  disciples  cannot  demonstrate 
the  Divine  status  of  Jesus  by  appealing  to  what 
they  are  in  themselves.  Such  demonstration  could 
be  given  only  if  it  were  made  manifest  that  the  cause 
of  Jesus  was  the  cause  of  God.  The  Spirit  is  the 
Advocate  of  Christians  simply  because  in  His  work 
it  becomes  clear  to  all  that  He  comes  from  above 
and  is  no  merely  human  possession.  Nevertheless 
He  could  not  be  the  Advocate  of  the  disciples  un- 
less His  presence  and  action  were  unmistakably 
related  to  Jesus ;  and  this  relation  is  made  mani- 
fest by  the  fact  that  the  Spirit  is  possessed  by  the 
disciples  only,  and  not  by  the  world  (1417  167),  and 
that  He  speaks  as  the  witness  of  Jesus,  and  creates 
faith  in  His  mission  (1526  1614).  He  causes  the 
word  of  Jesus  to  become  effective  in  the  disciples, 
so  that  it  becomes  the  basis  of  the  teaching  wnich 
reveals  to  them  the  will  of  God  in  their  present 
situation  (1426).  Hence  the  granting  of  the  Spirit 
causes  no  separation  between  the  disciples  and 
Jesus,  nor  does  it  cut  the  Church  apart  from  its 
historical  roots ;  on  the  contrary,  that  which  had 
been  perfectly  wrought  by  Jesus  is  brought  to  its 
full  realization  by  being  renewed  in  the  inner  life 
of  the  disciples,  in  their  knowledge  and  in  their 
work.  In  this  connexion,  too,  we  note  the  emer- 

§ence  of  trinitarian  formulae,  as,  e.g.,  'the  Holy 
pirit,  whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name' 
(14-6).  Since  Christ  and  the  Spirit  both  carry  out 
the  one  purpose  of  God,  and  combine  their  opera- 
tions in  a  perfect  unity,  the  work  accomplished  by 
Jesus  remains  permanently  effective,  and  is  in 
reality  completed,  not  superseded,  by  the  work  of 
His  disciples. 

5.  The  truth  as  the  medium  of  the  Spirit's  mani- 
festation.— A  thesis  that  at  this  point  acquired 
immense  importance  was  that  which  defines  the 
conditions  and  phenomena  in  which  the  Spirit 
manifests  Himself,  and  the  means  by  which  His 
self-revelation  is  secured.  The  thesis  is  simply 
that  He  becomes  manifest  by  the  truth — by  the 
truth  alone,  though  with  triumphant  power.  It 
is  the  truth  alone  which  can  demonstrate  the 
Divine  right  of  Jesus,  of  His  disciples,  and  of  His 
Church.  Special  operations  of  the  Spirit  are  in 
themselves  insufficient  to  supply  this  confirmation, 
although  reference  is  made  likewise  to  the  Spirit 
as  the  source  of  prophecy  (1613).  The  latter  state- 
ment involves  the  endowing  of  the  apostles  with 
the  teaching  office,  so  that  in  the  amplitude  of 
their  knowledge  and  the  clearness  of  their  intuition 
they  find  the  weapons  with  which  they  overcome 
the  world  ;  for  in  the  Johannine  writings  the  truth 
is  set  in  opposition  to  both  falsehood  and  error, 
and  with  constant  thanksgiving  John  declares 
that  Jesus  lias  redeemed  His  disciples  from  lies 
and  made  them  truthful,  and  that  He  has  freed 
them  from  the  dominion  of  error  and  brought  them 
to  the  certainty  that  comprehends  God.  Similarly, 
they  have  received  moral  succour,  for  in  John 
falsehood  and  hatred,  darkness  and  sin,  are  closely 
allied,  and  the  one  dies  away  with  the  other. 
That  nevertheless  John  speaks  of  the  truth  alone 
as  the  distinguishing  feature  of  Jesus  and  His  dis- 
ciples is  intimately  connected  with  the  fact  that 


the  Evangelist's  whole  characterization  of  Jesus 
is  directed  to  the  one  end  of  establishing  faith. 
Only  in  the  truth  can  a  genuine  faith  have  its 
birth. 

6.  The  source  of  this  thesis.  —  In  view  of  the 
momentous  results  that  flowed  from  the  doctrine 
of  the  Paraclete  —  a  doctrine  that  supplied  the 
norms  and  motives  of  the  whole  subsequent  de- 
velopment of  the  Church  —  the  question  regarding 
the  origin  of  this  thesis  becomes  peculiarly  im- 
portant. 

(a)  Its   connexion   with   Jesus.  —  The    powerful 
links  which  connect  the  statements  regarding  the 
Spirit  with  Jesus  Himself  are  clearly  recognizable. 
Jesus  had  earnestly  considered  the  gravity  of  the 
struggle  in  which  the  disciples  would   have    to 
engage  after  His  death  (Mt  1016'23),  and  had  given 
them  the  assurance  that  in  that  struggle  the  Spirit 
would  guide  them.     In  Mt  1020,  etc.,  the  peculiar 
situation  arising  out  of  persecution  unto  death  is 
met  by  a  reference,  not  indeed  to  the  name,  but 
doubtless  to  the  thought,  of  the  Paraclete.     Simi- 
larly, that  confidence  in  the  truth  which  makes 
absolute  devotion  to  it  the  distinctive  characteristic 
of  the  Christian  community  has  its  source  in  Jesus  ; 
it  is  an  outcome  of  the  warfare  which  Jesus  waged 
against    all    untruthfulness  ;    and  the  like  holds 
good  also  of  that  purely  religious  conception  of 
the  apostolic  vocation  which  proscribes  all  self- 
interested  ends  and  lays  upon  the  apostles  the 
obligation  of  making  the  power  of  God  manifest 
to  the  world. 

(b)  Its  relation  to  the  Johannine  theology.  —  At 
the  same  time  the  statements  regarding  the  Para- 
clete are  connected  at  all  points  with  the  peculiar 
content  of  the  Johannine  theology  :  with  its  ab- 
solute rejection  of  the  world,  as  being  the  realm 
of  darkness,   its  bringing  the  gospel   under  the 
single  aim  of  evoking  faith  in  Jesus,  its  subordina- 
tion of  all  external  results  to  the  spiritual  process 
of  generating  the  knowledge  of  God,  its  synthesis 
of  historical  recollection  with  the  mystic  vision 
that  looks  within  and  there  becomes  assured  of 
communion  with  God.     What  had  come  down  from 
Jesus  Himself,  and  what  had  emerged  in  the  his- 
torical development  in  which  the  writer  had  shared, 
are  inextricably  combined  in  these  statements  ; 
nor  is  it  possible  for  us  to  dissociate  them  any 
more  than  John  himself  would  do. 

LITERATURE.  —  Besides  the  Commentaries  (esp.  Meyer  on  Jn 
1416  and  Diisterdieck  on  1  Jn  2i),  J.   Buxtorf,  Lex.  Chald. 


Talmvd.  et  Rabbin.,  ed.  B.  Fischer,  Leipzig,  1866-74,  s.v. 
Grimm-Thayer,  Gr.-Eng.  Lexicon  of  the  JV312,  Edinburgh 
1890,  8.v.  ;  H.  Cremer,  Sibl.-Theol.  Lexicon  of  NT  Greek*,  do. 


1880,  s.v.  ;  G.  C.  Knapp,  Scripta  Varii  A  rgumenti,  2  vols. 
Halle,  1805  ;  J.  Pearson,  An  Exposition  of  the  Creed,  new  ed. 
London,  1872,  p.  499  ff.  ;  J.  C.  Hare,  The  Mission  of  the  Com'. 
forterS,  do.,  1876;  R.  C.  Trench,  On  the  Authorized  Version  of 
the  NT*,  do.,  1859;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  On  a  Fresh  Revision  of 
the.  English  NT,  do.,  1891,  p.  55  ff.;  E.  Hatch,  Essays  in 
Biblical  Greek,  Oxford,  1889,  p.  82  ;  J.  Robson,  The  Eoly  Spirit 
the  Paraclete,  Edinburgh  and  London,  1894,  p.  3ff.,  ExpT 
v.  [1893-94]  320  ff.;  G.  G.  Findlay,  ExpT  xii.  [1900-01]  445; 
M.  Jastrow,  Dictionary  of  the  Targumim,  etc.,  2  vols.,  London 
and  New  York,  1903,  s.v.  D'fynB  ;  J.  Worthington-Atkin,  The 
Paraklete,  London,  1906;  T.  D.  Bernard,  The  Central  Teach- 
ing of  Jesus  Christ,  do.,  1892,  p.  157  ff.  ;  H.  B.  Swete,  The 
Holy  Spirit  in  the  New  Testament,  London,  1909,  The  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  Ancient  Church,  do.,  1912. 

A.  SCHLATTER. 

PARADISE.—  1.  Etymology.—  The  word  is  most 
probably  of  Persian  origin,  and  passed  into  Greek 
through  Xenophon,  and  into  Hebrew  during  the 
period  of  Persian  influence.  The  LXX  translators 
adopted  the  word  as  the  translation  of  the  Hebrew 
name  for  the  Garden  of  Eden.  Hence  the  term 
Paradise  '  is  associated  with  the  various  lines  of 
development  connected  with  the  conception  of  the 
primal  Golden  Age  and  the  Garden  of  Delights. 
For  a  fuller  discussion  of  the  etymology  see  the 
art.  '  Paradise  '  in  HDB,  and  EBi,  also  Oxf.  Heb. 
Lex.  s.v.  DTg. 


PARADISE 


PAROUSIA 


123 


2.  History  of  the  conception. — A  full  discussion 
of  the  growth  of  the  conception  does  not  fall  within 
the  scope  of  this  article.  For  this  the  reader  is 
referred  to  the  artt.  mentioned  above,  and  to  the 
list  of  literature  there  appended.  It  is  necessary 
here  to  notice  the  main  lines  of  development,  in 
order  to  understand  the  place  which  the  conception 
of  Paradise  has  in  the  Apostolic  Age. 

(a)  Primitive    conceptions.  —  Paradise,     or    the 
Garden  of  Eden,  belongs  to  one  important  group 
of  motifs  which  comparative  religion  shows  to  be 
present  in  nearly  all  primitive  religions,  the  group 
of  ideas  associated  with  a  Golden  Age,  a  time  of 
supernatural  fertility  and  prosperity,  lost  in  the 
past  and  to  be  restored  in  the  future.     This  with 
other  groups  of    fundamental    motifs  existed  in 
primitive    Hebrew   religion,   possibly  in    a    form 
derived  from  Babylonian  religion,  but  was  taken 
up  and  used   by  the   prophets  as  the  form  into 
which  their  visions  of  the  coming  Kingdom  of  God 
were  cast. 

(b)  Later  spiritualization. — In  the  development 
of  later  Judaism,  the  conceptions  of  Paradise  and 
the  Tree  of  Life  became  spiritualized,  and  they 
were  used  as  symbols  of  spiritual  felicity  and  moral 
excellence,  especially  in  Alexandrian  Judaism. 

(c)  Mystic    realism. — In    Palestinian    Judaism, 
Rabbinical  theology  developed  these  symbols  along 
the  line  of  a  naive  realism.     The  term  '  paradise, 
apart  from   a  few  passages    in   which  it    means 
'  garden '  or  '  park,'  as  in  late  Hebrew,  always  has 
the  technical  sense  of  mystic  theology  or  specula- 
tion, including  trance  and  other  ecstatic  experi- 
ences.    On  the  other  hand,  the  Hebrew  phrase 
'  Garden  of  Eden '  is  kept  to  describe  the  earthly 
or  the  heavenly  place  of  bliss  commonly  denoted 
by  the  name  '  Paradise.'    The  Rabbis  developed 
a  transcendental  doctrine  of  Paradise,  holding  that 
it  was  one  of  the  seven  things  (sometimes  six), 
created  before  the  world  (Ber.  Rabba,  20).     There 
was  also  some  doubt  as  to  whether  the  earthly 
and  the  heavenly  Paradise  were  to  be  identified  or 
not. 

(d)  Special   apocalyptic    development.  —  In    the 
Jewish  apocalyptic  literature  Paradise,  by  a  com- 
bination of  elements  from  (a)  and  (c),  came  to  be 
conceived  of  as  one  of  the  abodes  of  the  righteous 
after  death.     It  was  in  the  third  heaven  (see  art. 
HEAVEN),  where  God's  throne  was  situated.     The 
references  are  not  always  consistent,  as  there  was 
no  clear-cut  consistent  scheme  of  the  future  life  in 
Jewish  eschatology.     The  principal  references  for 
our  period  occur  in  the  Apocalypse  of  Moses,  more 
correctly  known  as  the  Books  of  Adam  and  Eve, 
in  4  Ezra  and  2  Baruch  ;  there  is  also  one  reference 
in  the  Testaments  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs  ('  Levi,' 
xviii.  10). 

The  most  important  passages  in  the  Books  of 
Adam  and  Eve  and  the  parallel  Apocalypse  of 
Moses  are :  Ad.  et  Ev.  xxv.  3 :  '  the  Paradise  of 
righteousness,'  where  God  is  seen  sitting  encom- 
passed by  angels ;  xxviii.  4  :  '  the  paradise  of 
' '  vision  "  and  of  God's  command ' ;  xlii.  5  :  '  Christ, 
descending  on  earth  shall  lead  thy  father  Adam  to 
Paradise  to  the  tree  of  mercy'  (this  passage  is  an 
interpolation  from  the  Christian  apocryphal  Gospel 
of  Nicodemus) ;  Apoc.  Mos.  xxxvii.  5 :  '  Lift  him 
up  into  Paradise  unto  the  third  Heaven,  and  leave 
him  there  until  that  fearful  day  of  my  reckoning,' 
etc.  ;  here  Paradise  in  the  third  heaven  is  con- 
trasted with  Paradise  on  earth  where  Adam's  body 
is  lying  (xxxviii.  5  ;  so  also  xl.  2).  While  there  is 
apparently  some  confusion  of  thought,  the  central 
idea  is  that,  in  the  Resurrection,  Adam  will  be 
restored  to  Paradise,  and  that  meanwhile  his  spirit 
(apparently)  is  in  the  heavenly  Paradise,  in  the 
third  heaven.  Hence  the  conception  of  Paradise 
as  an  intermediate  abode  appears  here. 


There  are  several  important  passages  in  4  Ezra, 
especially  iii.  6,  Paradise  created  before  the  world  ; 
iv.  8,  Paradise  in  heaven  ;  vii.  36,  the  Paradise  of 
delight  manifested  in  the  last  day  over  against 
Gehenna  (so  also  vii.  123).  In  viii.  52,  '  for  you  is 
opened  Paradise,  planted  the  Tree  of  life,  the 
future  Age  prepared,'  the  conception  of  Paradise 
is  parallel  with  that  of  Rev  27  222.  The  reader 
may  be  referred  to  G.  H.  Box,  The  Ezra  Apoca- 
lypse, London,  1912,  p.  195  f. 

There  are  several  important  passages  in  2  Enoch  : 
viii.  and  ix.,  where  Paradise  is  described  as  in  the 
third  heaven,  the  place  where  God  rests,  with  all 
kinds  of  sensuous  delights,  and  reserved  for  the 
eternal  abode  of  the  righteous  ;  Ixv.  8,  10,  at  the 
completion  of  the  Age,  the  righteous  are  collected 
and  Paradise  becomes  their  eternal  dwelling-place ; 
cf.  also  xlii.  3  and  2  Bar.  li.  11,  lix.  8. 

(e)  NT. — Thus  we  find  the  background  of  the 
conceptions  which  appear  in  the  three  passages  in 
which  the  word  occurs  in  the  NT — 

(1)  In  Lk  2313,  as  in  the  Books  of  Adam  and  Eve, 
Paradise  is  conceived  of  as  a  place  of  intermediate 
abode,  though  whether  in  heaven  or  in  Sheol  is 
not  clear. 

(2)  In  2  Co  124  we  have  a  combination  of  the 
Rabbinical  conception    of    Paradise    as  denoting 
mystic  contemplation  and  the  trance-state,  with 
the  conception  of  Paradise  as  in  the  third  heaven 
and  the  abode  of  God. 

(3)  In  Rev  27  as  in  4  Ezra  Paradise  is  presented 
as  a  reward  in  the  future  age  for  the  righteous. 

The  probable  reason  for  the  scanty  reference  to 
Paradise  in  the  NT  has  been  pointed  out  in  the 
art.  HEAVEN.  The  movement  of  thought  was 
clearly  away  from  the  sensuous  and  material  side 
of  Jewish  eschatological  expectation,  even  though 
in  the  later  development  of  thought  in  the  Church 
there  was  a  return  to  this  element,  and  a  corre- 
sponding loss  of  the  vitality  and  freshness  character- 
istic of  Pauline  and  Johannine  eschatology.  This 
return,  however,  lies  beyond  our  period,  and  begins 
to  be  seen  in  the  references  of  Iremeus  and 
Tertullian. 

LITERATURE.— See  under  art.  HKAVMT.       S.  H.  HOOKE. 

PARCHMENT.— See  WRITING. 
PARDON.— See  FORGIVENESS. 
PARENTS.— See  FAMILY. 

PARMENAS. — Parmenas  bore  a  Greek  name, 
a  shortened  form  of  Parmenides.  He  is  one  of 
the  '  Hellenist '  Seven  ordained  to  minister  to  the 
Hellenist  widows  (Ac  6B).  W.  A.  SPOONER. 

PAROUSIA.  —  1.  General  considerations.  —  In 

earlier  literature  on  this  subject  the  relation  be- 
tween the  conceptions  of  the  Parousia  in  Jewish 
apocalyptic  and  those  in  the  NT  is  treated  as  an 
open  question.  Further  study  and  research  have 
made  this  attitude  impossible.  It  is  certain  that 
the  whole  of  the  eschatological  and  apocalyptic 
background  of  primitive  Christianity  is  due  to  its 
Jewish  source.  The  question  for  modern  scholar- 
ship has  assumed  a  different  form.  It  is  necessary 
to  attempt  a  systematic  reconstruction,  if  this  be 
possible,  of  the  eschatological  scheme  underlying 
primitive  Christianity  in  general,  and  each  of  the 
apostolic  writers  in  particular.  It  is  also  necessary 
to  discover,  if  possible,  the  direction  in  which  those 
elements  peculiar  to  Christianity  have  modified 
the  original  lines  of  the  Jewish  apocalyptic. 
Thirdly,  it  is  necessary  to  form  some  estimate 
of  the  place  of  the  escnatology,  and  especially  of 
its  central  conception,  the  Parousia  of  Christ,  in 
the  essential  nature  of  Christianity.  In  his  Paul 


124 


PAKOUSIA 


TAROUSIA 


and  his  Interpreters  (p.  240  f.)  Schweitzer  has  the 
following  pertinent  remarks  : 

•Not  until  Pauline  eschatology  gives  an  answer  to  all  the 
"  idle  "  questions  of  this  kind  which  can  be  asked  %vill  it  be  really 
understood  and  explained.  And  it  must  be  somehow  possible, 
by  the  discovery  of  its  inner  logic,  to  reconstruct  it  from  the 
scattered  statements  in  the  documents.  We  have  no  right  to 
assume  that  for  Paul  there  existed  in  his  expectation  manifest 
obscurities,  much  less  that  he  had  overlooked  contradictions 
in  if 

The  attitude  here  indicated  towards  Pauline 
eschatology  is  necessary  towards  the  whole  of 
primitive  apostolic  eschatology.  At  the  same  time, 
it  must  be  recognized  that  the  various  apocalypses 
of  the  1st  cent,  before  and  after  the  birth  of 
Christ  do  not  by  any  means  present  a  coherent 
scheme  of  eschatology,  and  it  is  possible  that  the 
same  vagueness  and  inconsistency  in  detail  will  be 
found  to  characterize  the  early  Christian  apocalyp- 
tic, including  the  Pauline. 

For  supplementary  discussion  of  various  points 
connected  with  the  subject  of  the  Parousia  the 
reader  is  referred  to  the  articles  in  this  Dictionary 
on  IMMORTALITY,  RESURRECTION,  HEAVEN,  etc. 
For  fuller  discussion  of  the  stage  of  eschatological 
belief  represented  by  the  Synoptic  Gospels  see  the 
relevant  articles  in  the  DCG. 

2.  The  Parousia  in  the  literature  of  the  Apos- 
tolic Age. — i.  THE  ACTS.  —  In  Acts  we  come 
closest  perhaps  to  the  practical  working  of  the 
eschatological  beliefs  in  the  early  Church,  and  find 
the  most  direct  expression  of  them  in  the  early 
apostolic  preaching.  Whatever  may  be  the  opinion 
as  to  the  literary  tradition  at  work  in  the  speeches 
of  Acts,  and  the  accuracy  with  which  the  words  of 
the  various  speakers  have  been  reported,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  they  are  a  faithful  representation 
of  the  kind  of  preaching  that  marked  the  early 
stages  of  the  growth  of  the  Church.  These  speeches 
are  almost  wholly  eschatological. 

In  the  first  two  addresses  attributed  to  St.  Peter, 
the  Parousia  is  regarded  as  imminent,  and  baptism 
is  the  only  way  of  escape  for  those  who  desire  to 
flee  from  the  coming  woes  and  participate  in  the 
'  times  of  refreshing.'  The  rapid  growth  of  the 
Church  is  represented  as  the  filling  up  of  the 
number  of  those  destined  to  be  saved  (247).  Salva- 
tion is  not  merely  from  sin  and  its  consequences, 
though  that  is  never  out  of  sight,  but  from  coming 
wrath  and  for  the  enjoyment  of  future  blessings. 
In  Acts  salvation  has  always  an  eschatological 
colouring. 

In  the  Pauline  speeches  it  appears  in  the  same 
way.  In  the  speech  at  Athens  the  final  appeal  is  em- 
phasized by  the  announcement  of  an  appointed  day 
in  which  God  will  judge  the  world  by  Christ,  and 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  assigned  as  the  pledge 
of  the  truth  of  this  announcement.  In  the  Miletus 
address  the  apostasy  before  the  end  is  referred  to. 
In  the  address  before  Agrippa  the  hope  of  the 
Resurrection  is  represented  as  the  hope  of  the 
Jewish  nation.  Moreover,  the  practical  effect  of 
this  immediate  expectation  of  the  Parousia  upon 
the  life  of  the  Church  is  clearly  seen  in  its  abandon- 
ment of  property  and  in  its  communistic  organiza- 
tion. It  was  the  particular  form  of  their  Messianic 
expectation  that  marked  out  the  Christians  among 
their  own  countrymen  as  a  sect  (cu/e<r«,  2414). 
But  it  is  not  easy  to  find  any  trace  of  the  special 
line  of  development  which  we  shall  follow  out  in 
St.  Paul's  correspondence.  In  St.  Luke's  repre- 
sentation of  St.  Paul's  eschatology  we  see  only  the 
orthodox  Pharisee,  believing  in  the  resurrection  of 
just  and  unjust.  The  nature  of  the  Book  of  Acts, 
and  its  object,  make  it  unfair  to  expect  more  than 
a  reflexion  of  the  external  current  of  feeling  and 
action  in  the  early  years  of  the  Church.  This  the 
book  gives  us  with  fidelity,  and  we  cannot  expect 
an  insight  into  the  deeper  streams  of  thought  that 


manifest  themselves  in  St.  Paul's  correspondence, 
and  in  the  later  developments  of  the  Johannine 
literature. 

ii.  ST.  PAUL. — The  general  tendency  of  modern 
scholarship  is  to  find  a  development  in  the  eschato- 
logy of  St.  Paul  from  the  '  cruder '  eschatology  of 
the  earlier  Epistles,  e.g.  1  and  2  Thessalonians, 
through  the  central  group  of  Epistles,  Romans  and 
Corinthians,  to  the  Epistles  of  the  Captivity  such 
as  Philippians,*  and  possibly  Ephesians,  which,  if 
not  by  St.  Paul,  is  generally  recognized  as  Pauline. 

R.  H.  Charles  finds  a  stage  of  development  be- 
tween 1  and  2  Corinthians,  but  for  convenience 
we  may  take  the  three  main  groups  and  examine 
their  view  of  the  Parousia  separately. 

(a)  1  and  2  Thessalonians.  —  In  both  these 
Epistles  the  Parousia  occupies  a  foremost  place. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  here  the  Pauline 
authorship  of  2  Thess.  For  the  best  and  most 
recent  statement  of  the  whole  position  the  reader 
is  referred  to  Kirsopp  Lake's  The  Earlier  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul.  It  is  also  a  tenable  position  that 
2  Thess.  is  the  earlier  of  the  two.  But  the  two 
are  in  any  case  so  close  together  in  time  that  they 
may  be  taken  together  as  they  stand  to  represent 
St.  Paul's  views  on  the  Parousia  about  A.D.  51 
(see  art.  THESSALONIANS,  EPISTLES  TO  THE). 

The  passages  in  1  and  2  Thess.  are  important  as 
much  for  what  they  imply  as  for  what  they  explicitly 
state.  They  show  how  largely  the  eschatological 
element  bulked  in  the  primitive  apostolic  preaching. 
The  most  important  passage  in  1  Thess.  is  413-5U. 
The  following  are  the  principal  points  arising  from 
it. 

It  implies  that  St.  Paul  had  taught  his  converts 
the  near  approach  of  the  Parousia  of  Christ  and 
the  consequent  blessing,  apparently  on  earth,  of 
the  living  believers.  But  it  also  implies  that  he 
had  not  told  them  what  place  the  believers  who 
died  in  the  interval  of  expectation  would  have. 
The  implication  is  that  the  Thessalonians  supposed 
the  dead  would  lose  their  part  in  the  Messianic 
Kingdom,  and  were  sorrowing  accordingly. 

It  also  seems  that  St.  Paul  does  not  supply  his 
solution  to  the  question  ready-made  from  Jewish 
apocalyptic  material,  but  bases  it  on  two  grounds : 
(1)  his  own  deduction  from  the  death  and  resur- 
rection of  Jesus  (v.14),  and  (2)  a  word  of  the  Lord 
(v.ls).  Of  course,  this  may  be  disputed,  but  to  the 
present  writer  the  passage  is  important  evidence 
for  the  working  of  St.  Paul's  mind  on  the  questions 
of  the  eschatological  scheme,  and  for  the  method 
which  he  applied  to  their  solution. 

Hence  St.  Paul  infers  from  the  death  and  resur- 
rection of  Jesus,  probably  by  way  of  his  own 
fundamental  view  of  the  vital  union  between 
Christ  and  the  believer,  that  as  death  is  not  a  bar 
to  Christ's  entering  on  His  Messianic  Kingdom, 
neither  will  it  prevent  believers  who  die  from 
sharing  that  Kingdom.  The  Resurrection  is  the 
key  to  both  difficulties.  God  raised  Christ  and 
will  raise  believers  in  Christ  for  the  Kingdom. 
That  is  the  fundamental  position  and  the  principle 
upon  which  it  is  based.  Then  the  details  are 
apparently  supplied  from  the  primitive  oral  tradi- 
tion of  our  Lord's  teaching  as  known  to  St.  Paul, 
although  not  preserved  in  the  Synoptists  (tv  \6yip 
Kvplov).  (For  the  interpretation  of  tv  \6ytf>  icvpiov  as 
referring  to  the  oral  tradition  rather  than  to  a 
special  revelation  cf.  1  Co  710  914  II23  153.)  Accord- 
ingly, the  order  of  events  as  presented  in  this 
passage  is:  (1)  the  resurrection  of  Christ  takes 
place;  (2)  during  the  present  generation  ('we 
which  are  alive  and  remain ')  Christ  will  descend 

•It  may  be  remarked  that  Kirsopp  Lake  now  argues  for 
an  earlier  date  for  Philippians,  during  the  Apostle's  stay  at 
Ephesus.  This  will  bring  it  into  the  Romans  and  Corinthians 
group  (Exp,  8th  ser.,  vii.  [1914]  481  ff.). 


PAROUSIA 


PAROUSIA 


125 


into  the  air  with  a  word  of  command,  the  arch- 
angel's voice,  and  the  trumpet  of  God  ;  (3)  thereupon 
the  dead  in  Christ  rise  first ;  (4)  after  a  very  brief 
interval  of  time,  the  living  will  be  '  caught  up,' 
with  the  raised  dead,  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air  ; 
(5)  both  living  and  dead  will  then  be  '  for  ever  with 
the  Lord.'  The  Apostle  does  not  say  where,  on 
earth  or  in  heaven,  nor  does  he  speak  here  of  any 
change  In  the  living  who  are  caught  up.  (6)  He 
goes  on  to  distinguish  this  event  from  the  '  day  of 
the  Lord '  (52).  He  implies  that  they  know  accur- 
ately the  details  about  the  '  times  and  seasons,' 
including  the  coming  of  the  day  of  the  Lord, 
whereas  he  had  previously  implied  that  they  were 
not  acquainted  with  the  event  described  in  418*18, 
'  I  would  not  have  you  ignorant.'  The  '  day  of  the 
Lord '  comes  as  a  thief  in  the  night ;  it  brings 
judgment  upon  the  sinners,  those  who  are  'of  the 
night.'  Believers  will  not  be  overtaken  by  it. 
God  has  not  appointed  them  to  wrath  but  to  obtain 
salvation  '  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  died 
for  us,  that  whether  we  wake  or  sleep  we  should 
live  together  with  him.' 

This  passage  seems  to  distinguish  the  Parousia 
proper,  the  coming  of  Christ  for  the  saints,  from 
the  '  day  of  the  Lord '  with  its  judgments.  It  is 
not  easy  to  reconcile  2  Thess.  with  1  Thess.  except 
on  the  hypothesis  that  2  Thess.  is  prior  to  1  Thess., 
and  that,  in  endeavouring  to  meet  difficulties  raised 
in  reply  to  2  Thess.,  the  Apostle  had  worked  out 
the  form  of  Parousia  doctrine  which  appears  in 
1  Thess.  Otherwise,  if  the  usual  order  be  retained, 
the  opening  verses  of  2  Thess.  suggest  that  St. 
Paul  had  not  realized  the  incompatibility  of  the 
new  outline  given  in  1  Th  413"18  with  the  older 
traditional  view  represented  by  2  Th  1. 

In  this  passage  St.  Paul  represents  the  believers 
who  are  suffering  persecution  as  about  to  be  de- 
livered from  it  by  the  revelation  of  Christ  with 
flaming  fire  from  heaven.  Christ's  appearance 
brings  cessation  of  persecution  (dvea-iv)  for  the 
persecuted  saints,  and  tribulation  for  the  p^rse- 
cutors — the  traditional  view  of  current  Jewish 
apocalyptic  (cf.Ass.  Mas.  x.  10, 2 Bar.  li.  1-6,  Ixxxii. 
1-2).  There  is  no  mention  of  any  resurrection  of  the 
dead  or  catching  up  of  dead  and  living  into  the  air, 
and  it  is  rather  a  straining  of  the  text  to  read  all  this 
into  the  one  word  &.ve<fiv.  The  only  natural  alterna- 
tives are  either  that  St.  Paul  has  drawn  his 
account  of  the  Parousia  here  from  the  older 
traditional  view,  unconscious  of  the  inconsistency 
with  his  new  view  in  1  Th  41*-18,  or  that  the 
apocalyptic  parts  of  2  Thess.  are  not  Pauline  but 
interpolated,  a  view  which  has  not  been  without 
support. 

The  2nd  chapter  of  2  Thess.  gives  further  im- 
portant details  as  to  the  order  of  events,  and  also 
implies  that  all  the  details  were  already  known  to 
the  readers  and  should  have  preserved  them  from 
the  panic  into  which  they  had  been  thrown, 
apparently  by  a  forged  letter  or  false  prediction  (22). 
The  cause  of  the  panic  was  that  they  had  been 
persuaded  to  interpret  their  persecutions  as  a  sign 
that  the  '  day  of  the  Lord '  was  already  present 
(evicrTTjKfi>,  22).  St.  Paul  points  out  that  before  the 
'  day  of  the  Lord '  and  before  the  Parousia  two 
events  had  to  occur,  as  they  knew  already.  '  The 
apostasy,'  not  '  a  falling  away,'  but  the  well-known 
apostasy  of  current  apocalyptic  which  we  find  in 
Daniel  and  in  the  apocalyptic  portions  of  the 
Synoptics,  had  to  take  place.  It  was  already 
working  secretly,  but  had  not  yet  reached  its 
climax.  Then,  the  '  man  of  lawlessness,'  the  Anti- 
christ of  the  apocalyptic,  was  to  be  revealed,  who 
would  bring  to  a  climax  the  rebellion  against  God 
and  Christ,  and  bring  about  the  Divine  intervention 
of  the  Parousia  which  would  destroy  him  and  his 
followers. 


The  curious  cryptic  passage  (2s"7)  concerning  the 
presence  of  a  restraining  force  has  given  much 
trouble  to  commentators,  but  does  not  touch  our 
question  of  the  Parousia.  It  is  evidently  perfectly 
intelligible  to  the  readers  (KO.I  vw  TO  Ktn^ov  oldare), 
and  seems  to  belong  to  the  period  when  it  was 
necessary  to  use  cryptic  references  to  Home  and 
Imperial  things  (cf.  Exp,  7th  ser.,  x.  [1910]  374  f.). 
For  a  fuller  discussion  see  Bousset,  Der  Antichrist, 
p.  77  ff. 

A  comparison  of  the  two  Epistles  shows  the 
following  order  of  events  : 


1  Thess. 
(a)  Resurrection  of  Christ. 

(6)  Interval  of  waiting,  some 
believers  fall  asleep. 

(c)  Descent  of  Christ  into  the 

air,  with  shout,  trump, 
etc. 

(d)  Resurrection  of  dead. 

(«)  Rapture  of  living  who  re- 
main and  dead  who  have 
been  raised. 

(/)A11  are  for  ever  with  the 
Lord. 

(g)  Coming  of  the  '  day  of  the 
Lord '  and  judgment  for 


2  Thess. 

(a)  No  mention  of  Resurrection 

as  basis  of  teaching. 
(6)  Saints  persecuted. 

(c)  Apostasy  sets  in. 


(d)  The  cryptic  restraining  in- 
fluence is  removed. 

(«)The  Antichrist  is  revealed 
and  manifests  his  power 
by  miracles. 

(/)The  Parousia  takes  place 
accompanied  by  angels 
and  flaming  fire. 

(g)  It  causes  deliverance  to  the 
saints,  destruction  to 
Antichrist,  and  judgment 
to  the  followers  of  Anti- 
christ. 

The  point  of  view  is  so  different  that  it  certainly 
makes  it  extremely  difficult  to  maintain,  at  the 
same  time,  the  Pauline  authorship  of  both  passages 
and  the  theory  of  a  rigidly  consistent  Pauline 
scheme  of  eschatology. 

(b)  The  second  group  of  Epistles,  Romans  and 
Corinthians,  offers  a  number  of  important  passages, 
but  very  few  with  such  details  of  the  order  of  the 
apocalyptic  scheme  as  Thessalonians. 

(1)  In  Rom.  the  whole  outlook  upon  the 
Christian  position  is  coloured  by  the  thought  of 
the  future,  the  Parousia  and  its  attendant  results. 
But  the  Parousia  itself  is  hardly  mentioned 
directly.  The  picture  of  the  future  presented  in 
Rom.  is  as  follows  :  the  general  statement  of  a 
coming  time  of  wrath  and  judgment  when  God 
will  judge  the  secrets  of  men  through  Jesus  Christ, 
according  to  St.  Paul's  gospel  (2W- 16) ;  those  who 
are  justified  look  forward  to  the  glory  of  God ; 
they  will  be  saved  from  wrath  through  Christ 
(51-10;  cf.  1  Th  I10),  they  will  reign  in  life  (517) ; 
the  justified  have  been  predestined  for  this  purpose 
and  will  finally  be  conformed  to  the  image  of 
Christ  (S28-  *°) ;  their  bodies  will  be  quickened 
through  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  already 
dwelling  in  them  (8H) ;  when  they  are  manifested 
the  whole  creation  also  will  be  delivered  from  the 
bondage  of  corruption  (819'21) ;  when  the  fullness  of 
the  Gentiles  is  come  in  (i.e.  the  full  number  of 
those  predestined  from  the  Gentiles  for  salvation), 
the  elect  of  Israel,  all  Israel,  will  be  saved  (II25-  **) ; 
1  salvation  is  nearer  than  when  we  believed'  (1311); 
all  must  stand  before  the  tribunal  of  God  (1410) ; 
Satan  will  shortly  be  bruised  under  the  saints' 
feet(1620). 

It  is  evidently  difficult  to  draw  clear  conclusions 
from  these  passages.  They  suggest  rather  a  fluid 
than  a  rigid  eschatology.  They  present  the  appear- 
ance of  the  gradual,  half-conscious  modification  of 
the  older  lines  of  eschatology  by  the  working  of 
the  new  principle  of  the  consequences  of  the 
Resurrection,  an  element  which  is  of  course  wholly 
foreign  to  the  Jewish  schemes  of  apocalyptic,  and 
peculiar  to  the  Christian  scheme.  The  universalism 
of  S23-26  11s3  is  in  apparent  contrast  with  the  older 
eschatological  conception  of  a  fixed  number  to  be 
saved  as  reflected  in  S29  II5  (cf.  Lk  1423,  Ac  347). 
The  chief  point  as  to  the  Parousia  is  the  concen 


126 


PAROUSIA 


PAROUSIA 


tration  of  interest  upon  the  working  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  '  life,'  which  embraces  both  moral  character 
and  physical  change,  the  two  forming  one  correlated 
process  of  transformation,  consummated  at  the 
Parousia. 

(2)  In  Cor.  we  have  a  number  of  important  and 
explicit  passages  requiring  careful  examination. 
The  most  important  passage  in  1  Corinthians  is 
the  15th  chapter.  But  there  are  a  few  shorter 
passages  that  must  be  noted  in  passing — 1  Co  I7"8  : 
the  Corinthians  are  awaiting  the  revelation  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  will  establish  them  blame- 
less in  His  day,  'the  day  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ '  ;  313'18 :  '  the  day '  will  try  every  man's 
work  with  fire.  There  will  be  rewards  for  those 
whose  work  abides,  and  those  whose  work  is  con- 
sumed will  themselves  be  saved,  but  as  through 
fire ;  45 :  when  the  Lord  comes,  in  contrast  with 
man's  day  (dvdpwTrivtjs  rj/j-tpas)  the  secrets  will  be 
revealed,  and  praise  will  be  from  God ;  55 :  the 
incestuous  man  is  delivered  to  Satan  for  the 
destruction  of  the  flesh,  that  his  spirit  may  be 
saved  in  '  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  62-  s :  a  time 
is  coming  when  the  saints  will  judge  the  world, 
and  even  the  angels  ;  T29 :  '  the  time  is  short ' 
(6  Kcupbs  ffvvfffTa\/j.fi>os  tffri),  probably  meaning  that 
the  interval  of  waiting  for  the  Parousia  has  been 
shortened  ;  cf.  Mt  2422,  but  the  phrase  is  obscure  ; 
1125.26.  tne  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is 
directly  connected  with  the  Parousia,  as  it  is  in 
the  Synoptic  account  of  the  Institution. 

These  passages  all  point  to  the  same  background 
of  expectation,  but  offer  very  little  basis  for  the 
reconstruction  of  a  definite  Pauline  scheme  of 
eschatology.  In  ch.  15,  however,  we  have  more 
detail,  and  once  more  the  whole  conception 
is  dominated  by  the  Resurrection.  The  first 
passage  is  1520'28.  The  order  is — first,  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ,  who  is  the  dirapx'n,  the  firstfruits 
of  the  working  of  the  new  principle  of  life,  in  con- 
trast with  the  results  of  the  principle  of  death 
introduced  by  Adam  (cf.  Ro  512'14).  Then  those 
who  are  Christ's  rise  at  His  Parousia  if  they  are 
dead,  or  are  changed  if  they  remain  alive  (cf.  v.51). 
This  leads  up  to  the  consummation  (rb  rAos)  when 
Christ  hands  over  the  Kingdom  to  God  the  Father. 
The  duration  of  the  three  stages  is  left  undefined. 
The  interval  between  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
and  that  of  believers  is  indirectly  limited  to  one 
generation  ('  we  shall  not  all  sleep'),  but  the  dura- 
tion of  the  interval  between  this  event,  evidently 
the  Parousia  of  1  Th  413"20,  and  the  complete 
subjugation  of  every  enemy,  including  death  itself, 
is  left  quite  undetermined.  This  interval  may  be 
filled  in  by  the  events  implied  in  previous  passages, 
the  coming  of  the  day  of  the  Lord,  testing  of  every 
man's  work,  assigning  of  rewards,  judgment  of  the 
world  and  of  angels;  destruction  of  Antichrist. 
But  so  far  the  distinction  between  the  Parousia 

? roper  and  the  day  of  the  Lord,  suggested  in 
Thess.,  seems  to  be  maintained.  The  description 
of  the  Parousia  is  more  fully  developed  in  vv.60'56, 
with  a  fairly  clear  indication  of  the  logical  con- 
nexion between  the  account  of  the  event  and  St. 
Paul's  view  of  Christ's  post-Resurrection  state. 
Christ's  present  state  is  spirit,  incorruptible,  not 
flesh  and  blood.  Flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit 
the  Kingdom  of  God.  Hence  the  point  left  unde- 
fined in  1  Thess.  must  be  worked  out  here— the 
question  of  the  form  of  existence  of  the  living  and 
the  dead  at  the  Parousia.  The  authority  for  the 
transference  of  06  in  v.61  to  the  second  clause  is 
strong,  but  not  so"  strong  as  that  for  the  generally 
received  text ;  and  it  is  more  than  probable  that 
the  change  was  due  to  the  difficulty  that  arose  out 
of  the  non-fulfilment  of  the  expectation.  But  the 
sense  of  the  passage,  and  the  supporting  parallel 
in  1  Th  4,  require  the  reading  '  we  shall  nob  all 


sleep.'  The  solution  of  the  problem  is  that  all  are 
changed,  both  dead  and  living.  '  The  dead  shall 
be  raised  incorruptible,  and  we  (the  living)  shall 
be  changed.'  The  change  is  instantaneous  (£v 
fob/jap)  and  takes  place  at  the  last  trump.  But  no 
mention  is  made  here  of  a  rapture  into  the  air,  as 
in  1  Th  4.  Hence  it  would  seem  that  St.  Paul's 
interest  was  turning  to  the  manner  of  the  Parousia, 
to  the  application  of  the  principle  displayed  in 
Christ's  resurrection,  as  he  had  apprehended  it. 
It  is  a  spiritualization,  arising  not  from  the  diffi- 
culty of  squaring  eschatological  predictions  with 
their  non-fulfilment,  but  from  the  inner  logic  of  a 
view  of  the  Resurrection  which  compelled  St.  Paul 
to  cast  his  eschatological  conceptions  into  that 
mould. 

In  the  Second  Epistle  Charles  sees  an  advance  on 
the  First.  The  interval  is  very  short,  but  it  is 
possible  that  between  the  two  letters  the  Apostle 
had  grasped  more  clearly  the  consequences  of  his 
own  reasoning  in  ch.  15  of  the  First  Epistle.  The 
probable  order  and  date  of  the  three  Epistles  is  : 

1  Cor.,  spring  of  A.D.  56  ;  2  Cor.,  autumn  of  the 
same  year  ;  and  Rom.,  early  in  A.D.  57.     Of  course 
the  point  cannot  be  debated  here.     The  reader 
must  refer  to    the    abundant    literature    on  the 
subject,  especially  Lake,  The  Earlier  Epistles  of 
St.    Paul ;     Sanday  -  Headlam,    Commentary    on 
Romans;  and  Robertson-Plummer  onl  Corinthians. 
But  the  main  point  is  that  the  three  Epistles  are 
all  very  close  together  in  time,  making  the  view  of 
development  somewhat  difficult,  though  it  is  not 
impossible.      In  Charles's  view    the   Apostle    in 

2  Cor.  arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  believer,  his  assumption  of  the  glorified 
spiritual   state,    takes    place    immediately    after 
death,  and  not  at  the  Parousia.     There  are  diffi- 
culties in  this  view  which  will  be  noticed  as  we 
examine  the    passages    in    2    Corinthians.      The 
crucial  passage  is  in  the  5th  chapter,  which  forms 
the  conclusion   and   climax   of  a  long  argument 
starting  in  ch.  3  and  developing  the  conception  of 
life,  '  the  ministration  of  the  Spirit.'     In  413'14  the 
Apostle  argues  that  God  who  raised  Christ  must 
on  the  same  principle  raise  believers  and  '  present ' 
them  together  on  some  unspecified  occasion,  appar- 
ently the  Parousia.     Meanwhile  the  spiritual  pro- 
cess is  at  work,  the  inner  man  is  being  created 
anew  day  by  day  (416).     Hence  '  the  taking  down ' 
(KaT&\v<ris,  51)  of  the  earthly  tent-dwelling,  the  outer 
man  of    416,   need  not  occasion   alarm    or  grief, 
because  the  believer  is  aware  that  he  possesses  an 
eternal   abode  with  God  in  the  heavens,  i.e.  the 
glorified  mode  of  existence  already  described  in 
1  Co  15,  and  implied  in  2  Co  416'18.     Charles  inter- 
prets this  verse,  51,  to  mean  that  upon  death  the 
believer  immediately  possesses  this  glorious  dwell- 
ing.     But    the    contrast    between    '  unclothed,' 
eKdv<raffOai,  and  'clothed  upon,'  dwevStiffaaOai,  is  a 
serious  difficulty.     The  passage  as-it  stands  seems 
to  imply  a  contrast  between  two  states  in  the 
future,  one  of  which  is  desired,  and  the  other  dis- 
tasteful.    The  Apostle  is  not  longing  for  death, 
since  death  involves  the  'unclothed'  state,  being 
'  found '  naked  at  the  Parousia,  but  he  longs  rather 
to  be  clothed   upon,    to  be  changed    while  still 
living,  that  what  is  mortal  in  him  may  be,  not  put 
off,  but  swallowed  up  by  the  life  which  is  already 
at    work.     This   view,   of    course,   preserves    the 
importance  of  the  Parousia  as  an  object  of  hope. 
If  the  attainment  of  the  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory  follows  immediately  upon  death, 
then  death  rather  than  the  Parousia  is  to  be  de- 
sired as  the  consummation  of  the  Kingdom.     The 
consummation   takes  on    an  individualistic  form 
instead  of  the  corporate  hope  of  the  Parousia.     The 
principal  difficulty  in  the  way  of  accepting  Charles's 
interpretation  is  the  phrase  '  not  be  found  naked,' 


PAROUSIA 


PAEOUSIA 


127 


which  seems  to  imply  the  possibility  of  such  a 
circumstance,  and  would  seem  to  refer  to  the 
unclothed  condition  of  the  spirit  in  the  interval 
between  death  and  the  Parousia.  This  unclothed 
condition  would  not  ultimately  prove  a  bar  to 
entrance  upon  the  blessings  of  the  Kingdom,  since 
the  triumph  of  life  was  assured  by  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ,  but  it  was  not  a  desirable  condition 
in  itself,  although  to  be  at  home  with  the  Lord 
was  a  counterbalancing  consideration.  Hence  the 
•jrdvTore  :  whatever  state  may  be  the  immediate  lot 
of  the  believer,  there  is  ground  for  full  confidence. 
If  Charles's  view  be  accepted,  the  form  of  hope  con- 
nected with  the  Parousia  will  be  the  hope  of  a 
manifestation  of  a  state  already  attained  in  the 
case  of  believers  who  die,  and  of  a  transformation 
for  those  who  survive.  The  Apostle,  however, 
continues  to  the  end  to  lay  stress  upon  the  latter 
aspect  of  the  Parousia,  as  will  be  seen,  and  to  the 
present  writer  it  appears  difficult  to  accept  the  view 
that  in  2  Cor.  St.  Paul  advances  to  the  view  that 
believers  enter  the  glorious  state  immediately 
upon  death. 

(c)  The  third  group  of  Pauline  Epistles,  Ephe- 
sians,  Philippians  (but  for  Philippians  see  note 
above),  and  Colossians,  certainly  represents  the 
last  stage  in  the  development  of  the  Pauline 
eschatology.  We  perceive  at  once  the  predomin- 
ance of  the  larger  thought  of  consummation  ex- 
pressed in  the  word  dpaKe^aXa/oxm,  the  recapitula- 
tion of  all  things  in  Christ.  But  it  is  necessary  to 
examine  the  place  assigned  to  the  Parousia  in  this 
great  and  comprehensive  conception  of  a  progressive 
summing-up  of  all  things  in  Christ.  It  might  seem 
that  the  progressive  conception  of  the  Kingdom  im- 
plied in  Eph  I10  excludes  a  catastrophic  concep- 
tion of  its  coming  such  as  the  Parousia  implies. 
But  there  are  passages  which  cannot  be  overlooked 
in  this  connexion — Eph  I13-14 :  the  Spirit  is  the 
earnest  of  the  inheritance  until  the  redemption 
of  the  possession,  where  the  redemption  seems 
to  imply  the  Parousia,  although  it  is  possible  to 
interpret  the  sentence  as  the  entrance  of  believers 
upon  the  inheritance  of  glory  by  death  or  any  other 
means  ;  430  :  '  the  day  of  redemption '  also  suggests 
the  Parousia  in  the  most  natural  interpretation 
of  the  words  ;  S27  :  '  that  he  might  present  it  to 
himself '  (cf.  2  Co  414)  suggests  the  Parousia. 

In  Col  I28  the  same  sense  of  '  present '  appears. 
33'4  describes  the  Parousia  as  the  time  of  manifesta- 
tion both  for  Christ  and  for  believers. 

In  Phil. ,  probably  the  latest  of  the  three  Epistles, 
we  have  the  phrase  '  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ'  (I6), 
'the  day  of  Christ'  (I10  218) ;  but  the  principal 
passage  is  in  320- 21,  where  the  Apostle  says  that  the 
citizenship  of  the  saints  is  in  heaven,  whence  they 
are  awaiting  as  Saviour  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
will  transform  their  bodies  of  humiliation  into  the 
likeness  of  His  own  body  of  glory.  This  passage 
seems  fairly  explicit  evidence  that  the  Parousia 
still  remained  in  the  mind  of  the  Apostle  as  the 
central  hope,  not  merely  as  a  moment  of  manifesta- 
tion of  glory  already  attained,  but  as  a  crisis  of 
sudden  transformation,  the  '  catastrophic '  climax 
of  a  process  already  long  at  work.  He  can  also 
still  speak  of  believers  as  written  in  '  the  book  of 
life '  (43). 

Thus,  in  spite  of  the  obvious  development  of 
thought  in  this  group,  the  Parousia  still  remains 
to  the  Apostle  what  it  had  become  in  1  Th  4  and 
1  Co  15,  the  central  point  of  hope.  The  principal 
difficulty,  however,  as  to  whether  the  dead  receive 
their  '  body  of  glory '  after  death  or  at  the  Parousia 
must  be  left  undecided.  The  present  writer  inclines 
to  the  latter  view,  but  the  weighty  authority  of 
Charles  in  favour  of  the  former  shows  that  it  has 
strong  grounds  of  support. 

The  general  conclusion  to  which  an  examination 


of  St.  Paul's  teaching  on  the  Parousia  brings  us 
may  be  given  as  follows. 

The  Pauline  view  of  the  Parousia  is  taken  over 
from  current  Jewish-Palestinian  apocalyptic,  but 
is  progressively  modified  by  his  view  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ. 

The  process  of  modification  leaves  traces  of 
unreconciled  positions.  The  demand  for  a  logical 
and  self-consistent  scheme  of  eschatology  fails. 
The  direction  in  which  the  view  of  the  Parousia 
undergoes  development  appears  in  the  increasing 
importance  attached  to  the  working  out  of  the 
'  law  of  life,'  first  in  Christ  and  then  in  believers, 
resulting  finally  in  a  complete  moral  and  physical 
transformation  expressed  by  the  word  '  glory.' 
Along  with  this  stress  on  the  transformation  we 
find  a  gradual  disappearance  of  the  outlines  of  the 
traditional  scheme  of  apocalyptic.  The  Parousia 
remains  central  all  through  the  Pauline  correspond- 
ence, but  it  becomes  increasingly  the  consummation 
of  the  victory  of  life,  rather  than  an  act  among  a 
series  in  the  passage  of  the  great  eschatological 
drama.  With  this  change  in  the  view  of  the 
Parousia  comes  a  change  in  the  conception  of  the 
drama  ;  it  becomes  the  working  out  of  a  great  moral 
purpose  of  world-wide  extent,  embracing  heavenly, 
earthly,  and  infernal  existence,  and  summing  up 
all  life  and  all  activities  in  Christ.  But  it  would 
not  be  true  to  say  that  the  catastrophic  element,  the 
idea  of  a  final  act  of  Divine  intervention,  is  entirely 
eliminated  in  the  closing  Epistles. 

Space  forbids  a  fuller  discussion  of  many  import- 
ant points  in  the  summing  up  of  Pauline  doctrine, 
and  we  must  pass  to  the  Catholic  Epistles,  which 
do  not  add  much  to  the  development  of  the  subject, 
and  then  to  the  most  important  of  all — the  Fourth 
Gospel. 

iii.  CATHOLIC  EPISTLKS  AND  PASTORALS.— The 
Catholic  Epistles,  with  the  possible  exception  of 
Hebrews,  do  not  show  development.  They  rather 
exhibit  the  tendency  which  appears  more  markedly 
at  the  beginning  of  the  2nd  cent,  to  lay  stress  on 
the  Jewish  and  material  side  of  the  Parousia,  and 
to  emphasize  its  literal  fulfilment  as  the  expectation 
grew  fainter  in  the  Church. 

(a)  Hebrews  presents  a  double  tendency  at  work. 
There  is  the  evident  insistence  on  the  nearness  of 
the  Parousia  as  a  stimulus  to  those  who  were  losing 
heart  (cf.  Q28  1037).    But  on  the  other  hand  there 
is  the  view,  characteristic  of  Alexandrian  Judaism 
and  of  St.  Paul's  later  eschatology  according  to 
Charles,  that  the  spirits  of  the  righteous  are  already 
perfected,  if  we  may  so  interpret  1223,  the  same 
expression  being  used  of  the  present  state  of  Christ 
(cf.   59  I28).     Hence  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
seems  to  offer  the  same  perplexing  appearance  of 
the  existence  of  contradictory  positions  side  by  side, 
the  fact  being  probably,  as  with  St.  Paul,  that  the 
catastrophic  view  of  the  Parousia  was  not  felt  to 
conflict  with  the  view  that  the  believers  entered 
upon  their  glorious  and  perfected  state  immediately 
after  death.    The  Parousia  was  still  needed  as  a 
theodicy,  a  manifestation  of  the  triumph  of  the 
Kingdom. 

(b)  James  has  the  phrase  '  the  coming  of  the 
Lord '  twice — 57- 8 — as  the  hope  of  those  who  sutler 
oppression.     The  coming  of  the  Lord  is  the  time  of 
judgment  and  vindication.     The  point  of  view  is 
that  of  2  Th  1,  but  there  is  no  indication  of  the 
special  place  of  the  Parousia  in  the  eschatological 
scheme.     It  is  regarded  as  near. 

(c)  1  Peter  has  the  Parousia  far  more  prominent. 
The  general  outline  is  the  same  as  that  of  2  Thess. 
Those  to  whom  the  Epistle  is  addressed  are  suffer- 
ing severe  persecution,  but '  the  revelation  of  Jesus 
Christ ' — the  writer's  phrase  for  the  Parousia — is 
at  hand,  expected  in  the  lifetime  of  the  writer  (51*4). 
It  will  bring  salvation,  glory,  and  reward  to  the 


128 


PAEOUSIA 


PAROUSIA 


righteous,  and  judgment  to  the  sinner  (418).  The 
general  judgment  seems  to  be  associated  with 
the  Parousia.  It  is  the  end  of  all  things  (47).  The 
Parousia  and  the  day  of  the  Lord  are  identified, 
and  there  is  no  such  separation  suggested  as  that 
in  1  Th  4.  The  sufferings  of  believers  are  a  sign 
that  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  setting  in  ;  it  is  the  last 
time ;  judgment  must  begin  at  the  house  of  God. 
The  principal  interest  in  the  Parousia  is  wholly 
different  from  that  of  St.  Paul,  and  there  is  no  sign 
of  any  independent  development,  or  of  the  influ- 
ence of  St.  Paul's  thinking,  as  far  as  eschatology 
is  concerned.  The  Parousia  is  the  crisis  of  the  com- 
ing of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

(d)  2  Peter  and  Jude. — The  author  of  2  Peter 
connects  the  Transfiguration  and  the  words  ad- 
dressed to  Christ  at  that  time  with  the  Parousia. 
Prophecy  relating  to  the  Parousia  there  received 
its  confirmation  (I19).    The  Parousia  is  identified 
with  the  '  day  of  God.'    At  the  Parousia  all  things 
will  be  destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  righteous  will 
receive  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth  (313) ;  it  will 
come  as  a  thief  (v.JO) ;  the  apparent  delay  is  due  to 
the  longsutfering  of  God.  The  author  of  Jude  quotes 
the  description  of  the  Parousia  from  1  En.  i.  9, 
and  agrees  with  2  Peter  in  his  description  of  the 
apostasy  of  the  'last  days.' 

(e)  The  Pastoral  Epistles  may  be  touched  on 
here,  as  they  cannot  well  be  included  in  a  discus- 
sion of  the  Pauline  correspondence  without  assum- 
ing an  authenticity  whicn  criticism  does  not  con- 
cede. 

In  1  Tim.  there  is  very  little  eschatological 
reference.  The  'last  times'  are  come  (41),  and 
there  is  a  vague  general  mention  of  the  appearing 
of  Christ  (614- 15),  as  the  time  of  judgment  and  re- 
ward. In  2  Tim. — the  Epistle  whose  authenticity 
is,  in  part,  most  generally  admitted — the  eschato- 
logical colouring  is  much  more  evident.  In  I18 
'  that  day '  is  the  day  of  the  Lord  and  of  judgment ; 
212  speaks  of  the  future  reign  of  saints  with  Christ, 
of  His  denial  of  those  who  deny  Him  (cf.  Mt  1033, 
Lk  Q26).  In  313  the  apostasy  of  the  last  days  is 
spoken  of ;  in  41  Christ,  identified  with  God,  is 
about  to  judge  living  and  dead,  at  (if  /card  be  read) 
His  appearing  and  Kingdom  (but  /card  is  doubtful, 
and  possibly  rty  iirifp&veiav  is  the  object  of  5iafj.ap- 
•rupo/Mi).  In  48  the  writer  speaks  of  '  that  day '  as 
the  day  of  the  appearing  of  Christ,  when  he  and 
all  those  who  have  loved  Christ's  appearing  will 
receive  the  crown  of  righteousness.  It  is  tempting 
to  take  the  crown  of  righteousness  as  the  consum- 
mation of  that  process  of  which  St.  Paul  speaks  in 
Ro  5 — the  complete  transformation  of  the  righteous 
into  the  likeness  of  Christ.  But  it  is  difficult  to 
maintain  that  the  Epistle,  which  if  Pauline  must 
be  the  last  of  St.  Paul's  letters,  shows  much  trace 
of  the  eschatology  which  is  characteristic  of  the 
last  group  of  Epistles  described  above. 

In  Tit.  there  is  the  same  vagueness  of  reference 
as  in  1  Tim.  The  passages  are  1s  21S- 14  37.  It  is 
a  characteristic  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles  that  in 
speaking  of  the  Parousia  they  use  the  term  4iri<f>dv- 
eta,  and  identify  Christ  with  God,  as  the  Saviour 
whose  appearance  is  awaited. 

iv.  THE  JOHANNINE  LITERATURE.— (a)  The 
Apocalypse. — For  a  detailed  account  of  the  apoca- 
lyptic scheme  presented  in  this  book  the  reader 
must  refer  to  Commentaries  on  the  Apocalypse. 
Here  we  can  only  point  out  the  place  of  the 
Parousia  in  the  general  plan,  and  discuss  the 
nature  of  the  writer's  conception.  In  this  book 
the  Parousia  takes  place  at  the  close  of  a  series 
of  judgments,  the  'woes  of  the  Messianic  Age.' 
The  apostasy  has  fully  developed  itself,  the  '  earth- 
dwellers  '  have  been  deceived  by  the  False  Prophet, 
Antichrist,  into  rendering  obedience  to  the  mystic 
dragon,  the  Beast  with  the  seven  heads.  The 


appointed  number  of  martyrs  has  been  slain. 
Then  the  Lamb  rides  fortli  out  of  heaven  followed 
by  the  armies  of  the  saints,  to  make  war  on  the 
Beast  and  his  armies.  The  defeat  of  the  Beast  and 
False  Prophet,  and  the  destruction  of  their  followers 
by  the  sword  that  goes  out  of  Christ's  mouth,  take 
place.  This  is  the  Parousia  as  the  writer  of  the 
Apocalypse  conceives  of  it.  It  is  immediately 
followed  by  the  binding  of  Satan  in  the  abyss,  and 
the  resurrection  of  those  who  were  slain  during  the 
tribulation  of  the  apostasy  period.  Then  comes 
the  millennial  reign,  closed  by  the  attack  of  Gog 
and  Magog,  their  defeat,  the  passing  away  of  the 
heavens  and  earth,  the  final  judgment  of  the  dead, 
and  the  coming  in  of  the  new  heavens  and  earth. 
The  book  closes  with  the  Church's  prayer  that  the 
long-delayed  Advent  may  take  place.  The  nature 
of  the  imagery  makes  it  difficult  to  define  pre- 
cisely the  writer's  attitude  to  various  questions 
connected  with  the  Parousia. 
Several  important  points  remain  doubtful : 

(a)  It  is  not  clear  who  are  the  different  classes 
of  'saved'  persons,  and  what  part  they  have  in 
the  Parousia  and  the  subsequent  Kingdom.    "We 
have  the  '  elders,'  seen  in  heaven  from  the  first  (44), 
the  souls  of  the  martyrs  under  the  altar  in  heaven 
(69),  the  mystic  number  of  sealed  persons  from  the 
twelve  tribes  (74 141),  a  great  multitude  from  every 
nation  and  tribe  (79>  14),  the  company  of  those  who 
had  gained  the  victory  over  the  Beast  (152),  the 
bride  of  the  Lamb  (197>8),  the  armies  in  heaven 
(1914),  the  risen  martyrs  (204),  the  holy  city,  identi- 
fied with  the    bride  of    the  Lamb  (219- 10),   and 
finally  the  nations  of  the  saved  who  walk  in  the 
light  of  the  city  (2124 ;  but  probably  TUV  ffu^o^vwv 
should  be  omitted).     It  is  impossible  to  say  how 
far  these  represent  the  same  class  under  different 
aspects,  and  how  far  they  represent  really  different 
classes  of  persons  who  play  a  part  in  the  great 
final  drama.     If  the  writer  conceives  of  those  who 
are  in  heaven  as  having  been  brought  there  by  a 
previous  'rapture'  and  change,  such  as  is  described 
in  1  Th  413-20,  he  is  silent  about  it.    The  Parousia 
for  him  occurs  in  ch.  19.     The  most  obvious  con- 
clusion is  that  those  in  heaven  are  the  believers 
who  have  died.    Yet  the  only  persons  represented 
as  raised  at  the  Parousia  are  the  martyrs  (204). 

03)  The  nature  of  the  change  at  the  close  of  the 
Millennium  is  not  clear.  It  is  plain  that  the 
writer  does  not  agree  with  the  author  of  2  Peter  in 
identifying  the  '  day  of  God,'  the  destruction  of 
heaven  and  earth  by  fire,  with  the  Parousia. 
There  is  also  no  explanation  of  the  transference  of 
the  saved  from  the  old  earth  to  the  new. 

(7)  The  writer's  view  of  the  Church,  and  the 
Church's  part  in  the  Parousia,  are  also  not  clear. 
Apparently  he  identifies  the  Church  with  the 
Bride  and  the  Holy  City.  The  marriage  of  the 
Lamb  seems  to  coincide  with  the  victory  over 
the  Beast,  i.e.  the  Parousia.  But  whether  the  dead 
and  living  believers  are  raised  and  changed  in 
order  to  appear  at  the  Parousia,  and  whether  they 
are  the  armies  in  heaven,  are  not  clear. 

In  general,  we  can  only  say  that  the  writer  does 
not  show  any  signs  of  the  influence  of  the  creative 
work  of  St.  Paul  or  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  in  his 
treatment  of  the  questions  raised  above.  His 
greatness  lies  in  another  direction  from  that  of 
the  independent  thinking  of  St.  Paul.  He  makes 
full  use  of  all  the  existing  apocalyptic  imagery 
and  machinery  to  depict  the  final  triumph  of  God 
and  Christ  over  all  the  forces  of  evil  at  work  in 
his  day  that  seemed  so  invincible. 

(b)  The  Fourth  Gospel. — The  outward  change  in 
passing  from  the  Apocalypse  to  the  Fourtih  Gospel 
is  immense,  although  one  note  is  fundamental  and 
common  to  the  eschatology  of  both — '  I  have  over- 
come the  world.'    In  the  Fourth  Gospel  we  are 


PAROUSIA 


PAKOUSIA 


129 


back  in  the  atmosphere  of  creative  thought,  the 
re-interpretation  of  the  old  data  in  the  light  of  the 
fuller  meaning  of  the  life,  death,  and  resurrection 
of  Christ.  The  important  passages  fall  into  two 
groups. 

(a)  Chs.  5-6. — In  these  chapters  we  have  a  group 
of  important  eschatological  sayings.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  the  original  order  of  the  chapters  is  6-5, 
and  the  sequence  of  eschatological  thought  is  im- 
proved if  the  chapters  are  taken  in  this  order.  In 
ch.  6  the  discourse  arises  out  of  the  miracle  of 
the  loaves.  The  manner  of  participation  in  eternal 
life  is  developed.  It  is  necessary  to  eat  the  flesh 
and  drink  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  Man  in  order  to 
have  life.  Those  who  eat  of  this  bread  will  live 
for  ever ;  Christ  will  raise  them  up  '  at  the  last 
day.'  The  last  phrase  is  repeated  four  times 
(vv.  M-  *>•  **•  64).*  Although  the  possession  of  eternal 
life  by  faith  (648)  is  unaffected  by  death,  yet  the 
'  last  day '  "seems  to  be  regarded  as  the  consum- 
mation, the  display  of  the  victory  of  life,  occupy- 
ing the  place  that  the  Parousia  does  in  St.  Paul's 
later  thought. 

In  ch.  5  a  discussion  arising  out  of  the  healing 
of  the  impotent  man  leads  to  a  statement  of  the 
relation  between  the  Son  and  the  Father,  and  of 
the  activities  committed  by  the  Father  to  the  Son. 
The  Son  does  all  that  the  Father  does  (519) — raises 
and  quickens  the  dead,  gives  life  to  those  who 
believe,  and  executes  all  judgment  in  His  character 
of  Son  of  Man.  In  connexion  with  the  last  state- 
ment we  have  the  important  passage  5s8"29,  which 
Charles  considers  an  interpolation,  and  alien  to  the 
eschatology  of  the  Gospel.  It  arises,  however, 
naturally  from  the  statement  about  the  judgment 
executed  by  the  Son,  although  it  is  logically  un- 
connected with  the  view  of  resurrection  in  ch.  6, 
as  the  result  of  possessing  eternal  life.  Both  St. 
Paul  and  the  author  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  practi- 
cally regard  resurrection  as  the  working  out  of  the 
principle  of  life  in  Christ.  Hence  St.  Paul,  if  he 
held  the  doctrine  of  a  general  resurrection  from 
his  traditional  Pharisaic  eschatology,  does  not 
speak  of  it  in  his  Epistles, f  and  its  mention  here, 
if  the  passage  be  retained,  can  be  regarded  only  as 
the  reflexion  of  the  current  belief  in  a  general 
resurrection. 

But  the  references  to  the  future — '  the  last  day,' 
'  the  hour  is  coming' — are  vague  and  not  distinctly 
connected  with  a  Parousia.  For  a  fuller  discus- 
sion of  their  bearing  see  art.  RESURRECTION. 

(/3)  The  Supper  discourses  (chs.  13-17) — corre- 
sponding to  the  eschatological  discourses  of  the 
Synoptists — contain  the  central  statements  of  the 
Gospel  concerning  the  Parousia.  In  14-'3  we  have 
the  promise  of  the  return  :  '  if  I  go  and  prepare  a 
place  for  you,  I  will  come  again  and  receive  you 
unto  myself,  that  where  I  am  there  ye  may  be  also'  ; 
1418,  '  I  will  not  leave  you  orphans:  I  come  to  you.' 
In  1616  the  disciples  are  told  that  after  a  little 
while  they  will  see  Him,  and  are  represented  as 
puzzled  by  the  'little  while.'  He  explains  that 
the  present  is  the  time  of  sorrow,  but  that  He  will 
see  them  again,  and  no  man  shall  take  their  joy 
from  them  (1622).  In  IT24  He  prays  that  those 
whom  the  Father  has  given  Him  may  be  with 
Him  where  He  is.  In  2122  the  possibility  is  implied 
that  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved  may  abide  on 
earth  until  He  comes,  although  this  is  explained 
as  purely  hypothetical  by  the  writer  of  the  Gospel. 

It  is  difficult,  in  view  of  these  passages,  to  accept 
unreservedly  E.  F.  Scott's  view  that  the  author  of 
the  Gospel  is  abandoning  entirely  the  view  of  a 

*  Wendt's  excision  of  the  words  '  in  the  last  day '  in  each  of 
these  passages  is  wholly  unjustifiable. 

t  The  author  of  Acts,  in  his  report  of  St.  Paul's  speech  before 
Felix,  attributes  to  hirn  a  belief  in  the  resurrection  of  just  and 
unjust  (Ac  241*). 

VOL.  II. — 9 


future  Parousia,  and  that  he  has  identified  the 
Parousia  entirely  with  our  Lord's  assumption  of  a 
spiritual  state  after  His  resurrection.  The  coming 
of  the  Spirit  is  always  distinguished  from  the  Par- 
ousia, and  spoken  of  as  the  consequence  of  Christ's 
departure  and  absence.  Hence  Scott  has  to  argue 
that  the  account  of  the  coming  of  the  Spirit  is  not 
logically  connected  with  the  writer's  view  of  a 
present  Parousia  of  Christ  in  His  spiritual  condi- 
tion. It  appears  rather  that  the  eschatology  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel  does  not  fit  the  mould  into  which 
Scott  seeks  to  press  it.  The  fact  is  that  while 
the  Parousia  is  retained  as  part  of  the  belief  of 
the  Church,  and  is  even  felt  by  the  author  of  the 
Gospel  to  have  a  definite  place  in  our  Lord's  atti- 
tude towards  the  future  and  to  be  necessary  as  the 
consummation  of  the  Church's  hope,  yet,  like  St. 
Paul,  his  interest  is  not  in  the  purely  eschatological 
aspect  of  the  subject  but  in  the  working  out  of  the 
consequences  of  life.  Indeed,  St.  Paul  is  more 
occupied  with  the  Parousia  as  the  supreme  display 
of  the  working  out  of  this  risen  life  in  the  bodies 
and  spirits  of  believers.  But  St.  John  has  hardly 
the  same  sense  of  the  vital  relation  of  the  Parousia 
to  the  life,  since  his  conception  of  eternal  life  in 
the  believer  is  timeless.  The  difference  in  his 
attitude  towards  the  Resurrection  corresponds  to 
his  attitude  towards  the  Parousia.  The  Resurrec- 
tion is  the  central  point  of  St.  Paul's  working  out 
of  his  new  lines.  For  St.  John  the  central  thing 
is  that  the  Eternal  Life,  the  Father's  Logos,  the 
Word  of  Life,  has  touched  and  entered  into  human 
life,  and  thus  made  it  capable  of  a  Divine  trans- 
formation which  takes  place  now.  The  believer 
cannot  come  into  judgment,  and  has  already 
passed  from  death  to  life.  God  dwells  in  him  and 
lie  in  God.  Hence  while  the  Parousia  may  be 
retained  as  a  future  hope  and  stimulus  to  holiness 
of  life,  yet  it  is  not  in  any  way  such  a  crisis  of 
attainment  as  it  appears  to  be  in  St.  Paul's  thought. 
St.  Paul  desires  to  attain  to  the  resurrection  from 
among  the  dead.  For  St.  John  death  is  past  al- 
ready, and  the  believer  in  Christ  will  never  die. 
Hence  Charles  seems  to  sum  up  the  Johannine  view 
of  the  Parousia  more  truly  than  Scott,  when  he 
distinguishes  between  the  view  of  the  Parousia  as 
a  future  event  and  the  conception  of  it  as  a  spiritual 
experience.  It  is  the  fuller  expression  of  the  latter 
that  constitutes  the  great  advance  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel. 

(c)  The  Epistles. — The  Epistles  present  the  same 
two-fold  view.  On  the  one  hand,  the  Antichrist 
belief  is  explained  as  the  working  of  opposition  to 
the  Christian  revelation  of  the  Father  in  the  Son  ; 
the  Son  of  God  has  come,  and  believers  already 
dwell  in  God  and  have  no  fear  of  a  day  of  judgment. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  is  the  expectation  of 
Christ's  appearing,  the  desire  not  to  be  ashamed 
before  Him  at  His  coming,  the  expectation  of  being 
like  Christ  when  He  is  manifested,  and  of  seeing 
Him  as  He  is. 

The  Johannine  view  of  the  Parousia  does  not 
seem  to  be  occupied  with  the  problem  that  occu- 
pied St.  Paul  as  to  the  place  of  the  body  in  the 
scheme  of  redemption.  Apparently  the  author  of 
the  Fourth  Gospel  has  either  transcended  the  con- 
ception of  the  material  expression  of  life  altogether 
or  has  not  felt  the  pressure  of  the  problem.  Prob- 
ably the  truth  is  that  he  is  so  much  occupied 
with  the  moral  expression  of  the  life,  the  life 
of  the  spirit,  that  the  mode  of  expression  of  per- 
sonal identity  did  not  greatly  trouble  him.  The 
post-Resurrection  appearances  of  Christ  cannot 
safely  be  taken  as  an  indication  of  the  writer's 
view  of  the  resurrection  state  of  the  believer. 
When  he  speaks  at  all  of  such  a  state  it  is  always 
in  spiritual  terms ;  even  the  word  '  glory '  has  a 
more  exclusively  spiritual  and  moral  sense  than 


130 


PAEOUSIA 


PAROUSIA 


with  St.  Paul.  The  consummation  desired  by 
Christ  is  that  believers  may  be  '  with  him,'  may  be 
one  as  the  Father  and  the  Son  are.  He  has  given 
them  already  the  glory  which  the  Father  gave 
Him  ;  when  He  appears  they  shall  be  like  Him. 
Hence  what  is  characteristic  in  St.  John  is  the 
liberation  of  the  thought  of  the  Parousia  from 
conceptions  of  time  and  space,  while  lie  still  retains, 
like  St.  Paul,  something  of  the  older  point  of  view. 
Space  forbids  a  discussion  of  Schweitzer's  ingenious 
but  unconvincing  theory  of  a  sacramental  quasi- 
material  eschatology,  where  matter  through  the 
incarnation  and  glorifying  of  Christ  becomes  the 
vehicle  of  the  Spirit's  operation,  and  so,  working 
by  the  sacraments  in  the  believer,  transforms  the 
purely  material  elements  of  his  body  into  what  is 
eternal.  But  this  view  suggests  that  an  exhaustive 
inquiry  into  both  the  Pauline  and  the  Johannine 
attitude  towards  the  relation  between  matter  and 
spirit  is  greatly  needed  in  the  interests  of  eschat- 
ology. 

v.  THE  APOSTOLIC  FATHERS. — The  place  of  the 
Parousia  in  the  Apostolic  Fathers  must  be  dealt 
Avith  briefly. 

The  Parousia  is  connected  by  1  Clement  with  a 
future  resurrection  of  the  just  (xxiv.  1,  xxvi.  1); 
gifts  of  immortality  and  righteousness  accompany 
it  (xxxv.  4) ;  the  righteous  who  have  fallen  asleep 
from  all  generations  Avill  be  manifested  at  the 
visitation  (^Trtcr/coTn/)  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ ;  the 
combination  of  Is  2620  and  Ezk  3712,  possibly  from 
a  catena,  is  interesting  in  this  connexion  as  illus- 
trating the  methods  of  proof  from  the  OT  (1.  3,  4). 

2  Clement  has  a  very  explicit  doctrine  of  bodily 
resurrection  and  judgment  at  the  Parousia  (ix. 
1-5).  The  day  of  the  appearing  of  God  is  not 
known  (xii.  1);  the  day  of  judgment  is  at  hand; 
it  is  conceived  of,  as  in  2  Peter,  as  the  destruction 
of  heaven  (possibly  '  some '  of  the  heavens,  if  rives 
be  accepted)  and  earth  by  fire  (xvi.  3).  The  day 
of  Christ's  appearing  is  the  day  of  judgment  ac- 
cording to  men's  works  (xvii.  4,  5). 

Ignatius  is  too  absorbed  by  his  own  desire  to 
attain  to  God  to  be  much  occupied  with  the 
Parousia.  For  him  resurrection  and  the  perfect 
state  follow  immediately  after  death  (see  art. 
IMMORTALITY).  But  he  recognizes '  the  last  times ' 
as  present,  and  warns  his  readers  of  coming  judg- 
ment (Eph.  xi.  1).  He  speaks  repeatedly  of  '  Jesus 
Christ  our  hope.'  The  resurrection  is  both  of  flesh 
and  spirit  (Smyrn.  xii.  2) ;  ad  Polyc.  vii.  1  is  not 
clear,  but  may  imply  a  future  resurrection  at  the 
Parousia,  when  every  man's  work  will  be  manifest. 

Polycarp  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Philippians  sets 
forth  what  probably  represents  the  general  ortho- 
dox view  :  Christ  is  coming  as  Judge  of  living  and 
dead  (ii.  1);  God  will  raise  up  believers  at  the 
Parousia  (ii.  2,  v.  2) ;  the  saints  Avill  judge  the 
world  (xi.  2). 

The  Didache  in  its  last  chapter  gives  a  brief 
resume  of  primitive  Christian  eschatology  :  first 
the  apostasy,  then  Antichrist,  then  the  tribulation 
and  final  woes,  then  the  three-fold  sign  of  the  end  : 
the  sign  spread  out  in  heaven  (a  reference  to  Mt 
2430),  the  sign  of  the  trumpet,  and  the  sign  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  righteous ;  finally  there  is  the 
Parousia.  Of  subsequent  eschatological  develop- 
ments there  is  no  mention.  It  is  to  be  noted  that 
the  author  does  not  support  his  doctrine  of  the 
pre-millennial  resurrection  of  the  righteous  by  any 
reference  to  1  Thess.  or  Rev.,  but  by  an  OT  refer- 
ence—Zee 145.  Note  also  the  mystic  allusion  166, 
'  saved  by  the  Curse  itself.' 

_  Barnabas  refers  to  the  approaching  tribulation 
(iv.  3  [r6  rt\et.oi>  <rKavSa\ov]  and  xvi.  5  [a  direct 
quotation  from  En.  Ixxxix.  56]).  In  v.  7  he  refers 
to  the  coming  of  Christ  to  raise  the  dead  and  judge 
the  risen,  so  also  xxi.  1-3. 


Hence  in  general,  with  the  possible  exception 
of  Ignatius,  the  attitude  of  the  Apostolic  Fathers 
towards  the  Parousia  represents  arrested  develop- 
ment, the  tendency  to  stereotype  the  phrases  of 
the  Gospels  and  Epistles  into  set  statements. 
There  is  the  general  acceptance  of  an  outline  of 
final  events  in  which  the  Parousia  forms  the  crisis, 
and  is  identified  with  the  day  of  resurrection  and 
general  judgment.  There  is  a  wavering  on  the 
question  of  whether  all  are  raised  or  only  the 
righteous,  but  the  doctrine  of  a  bodily  resurrection 
is  generally  accepted  without  question,  even  by 
Ignatius.  Ignatius  approaches  more  to  the  Johan- 
nine type  of  eschatology,  but  the  nature  of  his 
Epistles  makes  it  impossible  to  draw  large  general- 
izations from  them. 

3.  Conclusion.— The  general  survey  of  the  period 
gives  us  the  impression  of  two  tendencies  at  work 
— the  progressive  and  the  reactionary.  Starting 
from  the  acceptance  of  a  Jewish  conception  of  the 
Parousia,  we  find  the  primitive  Church  modifying 
it  by  fitting  into  the  Jewish  apocalyptic  mould  the 
historical  conceptions  of  the  death  and  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  the  Messiah.  While  the  general  con- 
sciousness of  the  Church,  after  the  first  intensity 
of  expectation  of  hope  had  died  down,  tended 
to  stereotype  the  eschatology  in  set  phrases  as  a 
vague  future  of  blessing  and  judgment  centring 
round  Christ,  the  master  minds  first  of  St.  Paul 
and  then  of  St.  John  (if  we  may  for  convenience 
so  speak  of  the  author  of  the  Fourth  Gospel) 
seized  on  the  implications  of  the  historical  facts 
of  the  life,  death,  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  and 
worked  them  out  in  all  their  bearings  on  Christian 
life  and  thought.  But  this  working  out,  espe- 
cially in  St.  Paul's  case,  was  not  a  merely  intel- 
lectual effort  of  systematization,  but  arose  partly 
from  the  practical  needs  of  his  missionary  Avork 
and  partly  from  his  own  inward  experience  of  the 
life  in  Christ.  Hence  his  thinking  bears  the  marks 
of  fragmentariness  and  incoherence.  Wonderful 
and  far-reaching  intuitions  exist  side  by  side  with 
remains  of  the  older  framework  of  eschatology, 
Avhich  only  gradually  breaks  down  and  never 
entirely  disappears.  In  investigating  the  eschato- 
logy of  the  period,  or  any  part  of  it,  AVC  labour 
under  certain  limitations  Avhich  must  not  be  for- 
gotten,  even  in  the  demand,  as  quoted  above  from 
SchAveitzer,  for  a  coherent  system  of  eschatology. 

These  limitations  are :  (1)  the  fragmentary 
nature  of  our  sources  :  we  have  to  imply  and  infer 
from  scattered  hints  and  phrases,  and  there  is 
always  a  danger  of  implying  too  much,  and 
attempting  an  artificial  construction,  assuming 
a  common  eschatology  which  may  never  have 
existed  ;  (2)  the  conditions  under  Avhich  the  primi- 
tive eschatology  Avas  gradually  modified,  the 
motive  impulse  being  more  the  practical  needs  of 
the  groAving  communities  than  the  desire  to  systema- 
tize :  hence  the  conditions  were  not  such  as  to  pro- 
duce a  coherentscheme,  even  if  Ave  assume  a  coherent 
scheme  to  start  Avith,  which  is  wholly  improbable  ; 
(3)  the  disintegrating  effect  upon  any  scheme  of 
eschatology  of  the  change  of  perspective  as  the 
immediate  hope  Avas  not  fulfilled ;  (4)  the  obvious 
fact  that  the  Avork  of  the  greatest  and  most  original 
minds  of  the  Apostolic  Age  in  this  direction  did 
not  produce  an  effect  on  the  thought  of  the  Church 
in  any  way  proportionate  to  its  value.  These  con- 
siderations may  serve  to  keep  us  from  expecting  a 
coherent  eschatological  system  in  which  the  place 
of  the  Parousia  is  ahvays  fixed  and  its  precise 
nature  ahvays  defined.  The  hope  of  the  Parousia 
to  the  early  Church  Avas  like  the  dawn  in  the  east, 
taking  on  strange  colours  and  varying  forms,  but 
bearing  Avitness  to  the  great  fundamental  fact  that 
the  day  had  come  at  last,  the  day-star  had  risen  in 
the  heart  of  the  believer. 


PAKTHIANS 


PASSOVER 


131 


LITERATURE. — Artt. '  Parousia,' '  Resurrection,' '  Eschatology,' 
in  DCG,  HDB,  and  other  Dictionaries  and  Encyclopaedias  ;  R. 
H.  Charles,  Eschatology  :  Hebrew,  Jewish,  and  Christian^, 
London,  1913 ;  W.  O.  E.  Oesterley,  The  Doctrine  of  the  Last 
Things,  do.,  1908,  Evolution  of  the  Messianic  Idea,  do.,  1908  ; 
S.  D.  F.  Salmond,  The  Christian  Doctrine  of  Immortality*, 
Edinburgh,  1901 ;  E.  F.  Scott,  The  Kingdom  and  the  Messiah, 
do.,  1911,  The  Fourth  Gospel,  do.,  1906;  Evelyn  Underbill, 
The  Mystio  Way,  London,  1913;  P.  Gardner,  The  Religious 
Experience  of  St.  Paul,  do.,  1911 ;  A.  Sabatier,  The  Apostle 
Paul,  En?,  tr.,  do.,  1891 ;  A.  Schweitzer,  Paul  and  his  Inter- 
preters, Eng.  tr.,  do.,  1912  ;  J.  A.  Beet,  The  Last  Things,  new 
ed.,  do.,  1905 ;  P.  Volz,  Judische  Eschatologie,  Tubingen,  1903  ; 
M.  J.  Lagrangfe,  Le  Messianisme  chez  les  Juifs,  Paris,  1909  ; 
W.  Bousset,  Der  Antichrist,  Gottingen,  1895;  G.  Dalman, 
Words  of  Jesus,  Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1902  ;  W.  M.  Ramsay, 
Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches,  London,  1904,  The  Church  in  the 
Roman  Empire,  do.,  1893 ;  A.  Harnack,  History  of  Dogma, 
Eng.  tr. ,  do.,  1894-99,  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity , 
Eng.  tr.,  do.,  1908;  Kirsopp  Lake,  The  Earlier  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul, do. ,1911 ;  H.  J.  Holtzmann,  Neutest.  Theologie,  Tubingen, 
1911 ;  G.  B.  Stevens,  JNT  Theology,  Edinburgh,  1899.  Com- 
mentaries: Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  'Romans'8,  Edinburgh, 
1902  ;  Robertson-Plummer,  ICC,  '  1  Corinthians,'  do.,  1911 ; 
J.  Armitage-Robinson,  Ephesians,  London,  1903 ;  T.  K. 
Abbott,  ICC,  'Ephesians  and  Colossians,'  Edinburgh,  1897; 
G.  Millig-an,  Thessalonians,  London,  1908 ;  B.  F.  Westcott, 
Gospel  of  St.  John,  do.,  1908,  and  Epistles  of  St.  John,  do.,  1883  ; 
F.  J.  A'.  Hort,  1  Peter  I.  l-II.  17,  do.,  1S98 ;  H.  B.  Swete, 
The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John'*,  do.,  1907  ;  R.  H.  Charles,  Studies 
in  the  Apocalypse,  Edinburgh,  1913.  g.  H.  HOOKE. 

PARTHIANS.— Parthians  are  mentioned  in  Ac29 
among  the  sojourners  in  Jerusalem  on  the  Day  of 
Pentecost.  They  were  probably  Jews  who  had 
become  naturalized  in  Parthia,  '  Jews  of  the  Dis- 
persion,' with  possibly  a  few  Parthian  proselytes. 
Their  ruler  at  this  time  was  Arsaces  XIX.  (Arta- 
banus  III.),  and  their  kingdom  extended  from 
Mesopotamia  eastwards  to  the  borders  of  India. 
The  Parthians  at  first  inhabited  the  mountainous 
country  south  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  between  Media 
and  Bactriana.  Strabo  (xi.  9.  2),  Arrian  (frag.  1), 
and  Justin  (xli.  1-4)  agree  in  describing  them 
as  Scythians  brought  into  this  region  by  Sesostris. 
However  this  may  be,  they  came  under  Persian 
rule  in  the  time  of  Darius  Hystaspis,  and  remained 
loyal  to  the  Persian  kings  till  Alexander  the  Great 
overthrew  Darius  Codomannus  (333  B.C.)  and  con- 
quered all  his  territory.  Thereafter  the  Parthians 
acknowledged  the  suzerainty  of  the  Seleucidse  till 
256  B.C.,  when  they  revolted  under  Arsaces  I.,  who 
became  founder  of  a  dynasty  which  lasted  till  c. 
A.D.  226. 

Rome  found  the  Parthians  a  difficult  people  to 
subdue,  and  the  conflicts  between  the  two  nations 
were  many  and  long-continued.  Sometimes  Rome 
prevailed  ;  sometimes  Parthia  held  its  own.  The 
Parthian  soldiers  were  skilled  horsemen  and 
archers.  They  could  move  quickly  on  military 
campaigns,  and  shoot  arrows  with  great  precision 
while  riding  at  full  speed.  Hence  they  were  able 
to  harass  even  the  highly  disciplined  armies  of 
Rome.  The  Parthians  were  not  a  literary  people, 
and  fell  below  the  Persians,  and  very  much  below 
the  Greeks,  both  in  civilization  and  in  art. 

A.  W.  COOKE. 

PASSION,  PASSIONS.— The  word  'passion'  is 
used  in  the  NT,  both  in  the  singular  and  in  the 
plural,  in  senses  which  are  now  current  only  in 
biblical  English. 

1.  '  Passion '  in  the  singular  is  used  of  the  suffer- 
ing or  death  of  our  Lord  in  Ac  I3,  representing  rb 
•jraOelv,  which  here  denotes  the  Crucifixion  ('after 
his  passion'),  and  is  exactly  parallel  with  He  29, 
where  irddrj^a  TOV  6a.v6.rov  is  rendered  '  the  suffering 
of  death.'  On  the  other  hand,  iraQr/para  in  He  210 
means  Christ's  sufferings  in  a  more  general  sense, 
as  in  2  Co  Is,  Ph  310,  1  P  413  51.  In  his  speech 
before  Agrippa  St.  Paul  says  that  Christ  was 
'subject  to  suffering'  (ira.6r)T6s,  Ac  2621) — that  is  to 
say,  in  His  humanity.  That  in  His  Godhead  He 
was  impassible  but  in  His  humanity  passible  was 
insisted  on  by  Ignatius  against  Docetic  error  (Eph. 
vii. :  irpQiTov  iraBrirbs  ical  r6re  dira0T?is,  so  Polyc.  iii. ),  and 


by  other  Fathers  ;  cf.  Apost.  Const,  n.  xxiv.  3, 
VIII.  xii.  33  (ed.  Funk).  We  may  compare  the 
nickname  ' Patripassians '  for  the  Sabellians,  the 
logical  outcome  of  whose  doctrine  was  that  the 
Father  suffered.  In  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  God 
is  said  to  be  '  without  passions,'  or,  in  the  (equally 
authoritative)  Latin,  impassibilis  (Art.  i.). 

2.  In  another  sense,  '  passion '  in  the  NT  is  a 
neutral  word  unless  qualified  by  the  context ;  in 
Gal  S24  '  passions '  (iradri/juiTa,  AV  '  affections ')  is 
qualified  by  'lusts,'  and  so  the  singular  irddos  in 
1  Th  45  (RV  '  passion  of  lust,'  AV  '  lust  of  con- 
cupiscence ')  ;  in  Ro  75  '  passions '  (ira.O-fip.a.To.)  is 
qualified  by  '  of  sins,'  and  the  phrase  means  '  sinful 
passions '  (AV  '  motions  of  sins ').  Properly,  then, 
'  passion '  is  any  feeling,  not  necessarily  strong 
feeling,  just  as  tiriOv/jiia,  '  lust,'  is  originally  a 
neutral  word.  The  adjective  ofj.oioira.6^,  '  of  like 
passions,'  is  entirely  neutral ;  it  is  used  in  Ac  1415 
of  Paul  and  Barnabas,  and  in  Ja  517  of  Elijah  ;  in 
4  Mac  1211  of  men  ;  and  rather  curiously  in  Wis  73 
of  the  earth  (AV  'which  is  of  like  nature'  [with 
men],  RV  'kindred,'  RVm  'of  like  qualities') ;  the 
meaning  seems  to  be  that  the  earth  is  mother  of 
all  (cf.  Sir  401).  A.  J.  MACLEAN. 

PASSpYER.  — In  the  NT  we  meet  with  two 
alternative  names  for  the  great  Jewish  festal  season 
of  the  Passover — rb  vdo-xo-  and  ra  &£v/jia.  These  are 
the  LXX  equivalents  for  the  corresponding  Heb. 
terms  in  the  OT,  ird<rxa-  being  a  rough  translitera- 
tion of  Heb.  pesah  (probably  through  the  Aramaic 
form  pasha ),  and  ria  afvpa  a  translation  of  Heb. 
hammazzbth  ('the  unleavened  bread,'  Ex  1217),  a 
brief  form  of  reference  to  hag  hammazztith  ('the 
feast  of  the  unleavened  bread,'  Ex2315).  We  have 
also  one  instance  of  the  full  phrase  i)  eoprri  r&v 
d£6/j.(av  in  Lk  221.  Similarly  rb  irda-xa.  is  an 
abbreviation  for  i)  ^O/JTTJ  TOV  irda-xa-  (Lk  241)  ;  and 
this  is  parallel  with  the  OT  use  of  happesah  (e.g. 
Jos  510)  for  the  full  hag  happesah  (e.g.  Ex  34'-15). 
In  both  cases  the  name  of  an  essential  feature  of 
the  feast  (the  lamb,  the  cakes)  is  used  to  denote 
the  feast  itself.  The  analogy  of  the  use  of  the 
mazzdth  ('  cakes  ')  as  a  short  name  for  the  festival 
suggests  that  pesah  was  originally  the  special 
name  for  the  lamb  and  that  it  is  not  the  name  of 
the  feast  transferred  to  the  lamb.  '  Killing  '  and 
'eating'  rb  ird<rxa  are  just  as  often  spoken  of  as 
'  keeping '  rb  irdcrxa- 

It  would  be  impossible  for  readers  of  the  LXX, 
who  were  familiar  only  with  Greek,  to  realize  such 
word-play  between  '  passover '  and  '  pass  over '  as 
is  found  in  Ex  12 — word-play  which  is  obvious 
alike  in  EVV  and  in  Heb.  ;  e.g.  Ex  1227 :  zebhah- 
pesah  .  .  .  Asher  pasah,  '  passover-sacrifice  (to  the 
Lord)  who  passed  over.'  The  LXX,  which  uses 
vdffxa-  invariably  for  pesah,  reads  in  the  same 
passage,  '  A  sacrifice  to  the  Lord  is  this  pasch  (rb 
irdffxa-),  for  He  screened  (iffK^iraye)  the  houses  of 
the  people  of  Israel.' 

The  Vulg.  handling  of  the  term  is  very  curious. 
At  its  first  appearance  in  Ex  12U  it  is  a  sort  of 
transliteration  yielding  the  odd  form  Phase  followed 
by  an  explanatory  parenthesis,  '  (id  est,  transitus) 
Domini.'  So  throughout  the  OT,  except  in  Ezra 
and  Ezekiel,  Phase  as  an  indeclinable  substantive 
continues  to  be  used,  but  some  caprice  is  shown  in 
using  sometimes  Phase  and  sometimes  phase.  In 
Ezr  619>  M  and  Ezk  4521  the  form  Pascha  appears  : 
and  in  the  NT  this  term  is  invariably  used.  It 
appears  to  be  generally  intended  to  mark  the  dis- 
tinction between  the  name  as  applied  to  the  feast 
and  as  applied  to  the  lamb  by  using  Pascha  in  the 
former  case  ( '  f  acere,  celebrare  Pascha ')  and  pascha 
in  the  latter  ( '  immolare,  comedere,  manducare 
pascha').  Uncertainty,  too,  is  shown  as  to  the 
declension  of  the  word,  it  being  treated  both  as 


132 


PASSOVER 


PASSOVER 


feminine  and  as  neuter  (e.g.  Lk  241,  '  in  die  solemn! 
Paschae  ' ;  228,  '  parate  ndbis  pascha ').  Similarly 
we  have  in  Mk  141  '  Erat  autem  Pascha  et  Azyma,' 
and  in  Lk  221  '  appropinquabat  autem  dies  festus 
Azymorum,  qui  dicitur  Pascha.'  In  Ac  123  2Q6  is 
found  'dies  Azymorum.' 

Whether  we  have  not  here  traces  of  two  ancient 
Spring  festivals,  one  pastoral  (pesah)  and  one  agri- 
cultural (mazzGth),  now  merged  into  one  and1 
invested  with  a  new  significance  as  a  historical 
commemoration  which  almost  wholly  obliterates 
the  primitive  origins,  is  a  question  that  lies  beyond 
the  scope  of  this  article.  This  much,  however, 
may  be  said.  The  real  origin  of  the  term  pesah 
(and  so  irdffxo-)  is,  to  say  the  least,  obscure.  The 
explanation  given  in  Ex  12  quite  possibly  indicates 
the  well-known  tendency  to  supply  a  derivation  for 
a  term  from  itself,  especially  when  it  is  to  be 
adapted  to  new  uses.  For  7rd<rxa,  we  know,  a  con- 
nexion with  Trdo-xw  ('suffer'),  was  found  as  early  as 
Irenseus  (2nd  cent.  A.D.),  who  says:  'A  Moyse 
ostenditur  Filius  Dei,  cuius  et  diem  passionis  non 
ignoravit,  sed  figuratim  pronunciavit,  eum  pascha 
nominans'  (Hasr.  iv.  10).  Tertullian  and  Chry- 
sostom  repeated  the  error  of  connecting  7r<i<rxa 
with  our  Lord's  Passion.  There  must  have  been 
very  many,  familiar  only  with  Greek,  to  whom  the 
term  itself  was  meaningless. 

1.  The  feast. — The  Passover  was  a  hag,  i.e.  a 
pilgrim  feast  characterized  by  joyousness ;  it  was 
necessarily  observed  at  the  central  sanctuary  at 
Jerusalem.     Josephus  mentions  more   than   once 
the  large  numbers  that  came  up  to  the  feast,  and 
speaks  of  it  as  a  particularly  turbulent  time  when 
sedition  was  liable  to  break  out  on  the  slightest 
provocation  (see  Ant.  XVII.  ix.  3,  XX.  v.  3).     He 
calculates  that  there  were  2,700,200  capable  of  cele- 
brating the  Passover  at  the  time  of  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  (BJ  VI.  ix.  3  ;  see  also  [for  A.D.  65] 
BJ  II.  xiv.  3).     Whatever  exaggeration  there  may 
be  in  these  numbers,  it  is  clear  that  the  concourse 
of    people    at  the  feast  must  have  been    great. 
According  to  the  same  authority,  more  than  once 
in   the  unquiet  years   which  preceded  the  fall  of 
Jerusalem  the  Passover  was  made  the  occasion  of 
massacre  and  bloodshed  in  which  many  perished. 

With  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  and  the  destruction 
of  the  Temple,  the  Passover  necessarily  ceased  to 
be  a  hag.  It  became  simply  a  domestic  festival, 
though  of  peculiar  preciousness.  Their  downfall 
as  a  nation,  their  being  scattered  abroad  through- 
out the  world,  could  not  blot  out  for  the  Jews  the 
memory  of  their  redemption  from  Egyptian  bond- 
age, which  the  festival  commemorated,  whilst  it 
also  kept  alive  hopes  for  the  days  to  come.  The 
scene  of  the  celebration  was  the  home,  and  those 
who  kept  the  feast  were  the  family  circle  or  house- 
hold. But  we  are  largely  in  the  dark  as  to  how  the 
Jews  observed  the  feast,  say  in  A.D.  71,  when  it 
was  no  longer  possible  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  and 
how  exactly  the  celebration  of  the  Passover  (as 
well  as  other  matters)  was  adjusted  to  the  new 
order  of  things.  All  we  know  is  that  out  of  a 
period  of  uncertainty  and  dimness  the  Passover 
feast  emerges  as  one  of  the  most  distinctive  features 
of  Judaism,  one  that  has  been  made  the  subject  of 
a  special  tractate  of  the  Mishna  (Pesahim),  and 
one  that  has  continued  to  this  day  as  a  specially 
valued  festival. 

2.  The  Passover  as  a  note  of  time.— Twice  in 
the  Acts  (123  206)  we  have  '  the  days  of  unleavened 
bread '  referred  to  as  a  note  of  time.     No  absolute 
certainty  is  attainable  with  reference  to  NT  chrono- 
logy ;    everything,  therefore,  that  can  shed  light 
on  it  is  to  be  welcomed.     In  123  we  have  the  fact 
explicitly  mentioned  that  it  was  the  Passover  time 
when  the  occurrences  there  recorded  took  place  ; 
but  unfortunately  that  does  not  give  us  informa- 


tion as  to  the  year.  The  uncertainties,  however, 
are  narrowed  down  to  the  limits  of  a  very  few 
years,  and  careful  calculation  has  shown  that  Herod 
Agrippa  I.  most  probably  died  in  A.D.  44.  St. 
Peter  mysteriously  disappears  from  view,  leaving 
us  henceforth  dependent  on  uncertain  tradition 
for  all  further  knowledge  of  his  career.  The  un- 
fortunate translation  of  PSTCL  rb  ir6.<rxa.  in  AV  as 
'  after  Easter '  is  an  obvious  anachronism,  unless, 
indeed,  '  Easter '  was  in  the  16th  cent,  used  indis- 
criminately for  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  Pasch. 
Ac  20ef-  also  probably  indicates  the  Passover  of 
A.D.  56  or  57  as  marking  the  close  of  the  missionary 
activity  of  St.  Paul,  who  was  arrested  soon  after 
(see  art.  '  Chronology  of  the  NT '  in  HDB  i.  416, 
420). 

Nothing  could  show  better  than  these  scanty 
notes  of  time  how  deep-rooted  the  custom  was,  how 
the  feast  was  observed  as  regularly  as  the  year 
came  round.  Men  spoke  naturally  of  '  the  days  of 
the  unleavened  bread '  as  a  significant  point  in  the 
calendar,  just  as  we  speak  of  '  after  Christmas'  or 
'at  Christmas.'  Ordinary  dates  dwindle  into 
insignificance  beside  these  fixed,  outstanding 
seasons.  Similarly  we  find  the  other  primary 
Jewish  festivals  (Tabernacles  and  Pentecost)  used 
in  the  same  way — Jn  72  (Tabernacles),  Ac  21  2016, 
1  Co  168  (Pentecost). 

3.  How  Passover  was  kept  in  apostolic  times. — 
Even  among  the  Jews  the  Paschal  observance  had 
undergone  considerable  changes  in  the  course  of 
time.  Whilst  a  due  reference  was  preserved  to 
the  all-important  fact  of  the  deliverance  from 
Egypt,  the  emergence  of  the  Jews  as  more  or  less 
a  people,  yet  time  and  historical  catastrophes  had 
left  their  mark.  What  mention,  e.g.,  is  there  in 
the,  Pentateuchal  legislation  of  the  four  cups  of 
wine  ?  When  were  they  introduced  ?  We  cannot 
tell ;  yet  they  were  a  settled  feature  of  the  feast 
in  our  Lord's  day.  The  cup  which  He  took  in  the 
institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  no  new  thing. 
It  is  generally  admitted  that  this  was  the  third 
cup  or  cup  of  blessing  Avhich  is  still  drunk  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  meal  ('after  supper,'  Lk  2220, 
1  Co  II25).  The  greatest  difference,  however,  was 
made  by  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  in  A.D.  70. 
Up  to  that  time  the  paschal  lambs  had  been  slain 
in  their  thousands  year  by  year.  Then  it  all 
ceased.  A  roasted  shank-bone  of  a  lamb  is  all 
that  remains  of  the  most  notable  element  of  the 
feast  as  originally  ordained.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  unleavened  cakes  and  the  bitter  herbs  (now 
taking  the  form  of  horse-radish)  go  back  to  primi- 
tive times. 

But  '  the  present  Passover  liturgy  contains  com- 
paratively very  few  relics  from  New  Testament 
times '  (A.  Edersheim,  The  Temple :  its  Ministry 
and  Services  as  they  were  at  the  Time  of  Jesus 
Christ,  London,  n.d.,  p.  231).  Perhaps  it  is  more 
correct  to  say  that  the  present  Passover  liturgy 
contains  large  expansions  of  and  additions  to 
the  ritual  observed  in  the  1st  cent.  A.D.  What 
that  form  was  exactly  it  is  impossible  to  tell.  It 
was  pre-eminently  a  time  of  revolution  :  the  break- 
up and  passing  away  of  the  old  order  to  give  place 
to  a  new.  The  transformation  of  Passover  from  a 
hag  to  a  purely  domestic  festival  was  not  so  sudden 
as  might  at  first  appear.  Even  before  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  the  domestic  festivities  were  of 
growing  importance,  although  that  stupendous 
event  made  an  end  of  the  whole  sacrificial  system 
and  yearly  festal  gatherings.  We  may  be  sure, 
however,  that  the  kernel  of  the  commemoration 
was  jealously  maintained,  that  the  essential  frame- 
work of  the  ritual  to-day  was  there  from  the  first. 
That  ritual  briefly  is  as  follows.  The  search  for 
leaven  on  the  eve  of  Passover  with  quaint  formulae 
ushers  in  the  feast.  The  festival  commences  with 


PASSOVEK 


PASSOVEK 


133 


a  sanctification ;  then  comes  the  first  cup  of 
wine  ;  the  aphikomen  (half  a  mazzah,  which  is  re- 
served to  be  eaten  at  the  close)  is  set  aside  ;  the 
question  is  asked,  '  Why  is  this  night  distinguished 
from  all  other  nights  ? '  to  which  a  long  response  is 
given  ;  this  is  followed  by  the  first  part  of  Hallel 
(Pss  113,  114),  the  second  cup  of  wine,  washing 
of  the  hands ;  the  unleavened  bread  (mazzdth)  is 
eaten  with  bitter  herbs  (horse-radish)  ;  next  comes 
Hillel's  ceremony  (eating  a  piece  of  horse-radish 
placed  between  two  pieces  of  unleavened  bread) ; 
the  aphikomen  is  eaten,  grace  after  meals  is  said 
with  considerable  additions ;  then  there  is  the  third 
cup  of  wine  and  the  opening  of  the  door  ;  Hallel  is 
resumed  (Pss  115-118) ;  Ps  136  is  recited  with  large 
expansions,  followed  by  the  fourth  cup  of  wine  and 
prayer  for  the  Divine  acceptance  of  the  service  ; 
Adir  hu',  an  impassioned  song  praying  for  the 
rebuilding  of  the  Temple,  brings  all  to  a  close. 

Such  a  curious  feature  as  the  opening  of  the  door 
is  of  uncertain  date,  but,  though  most  likely  later 
than  the  1st  cent.  A.D.,  is  yet  of  considerable  age. 
The  expansions  are  mostly  seen  in  the  Haggadic 
matter — the  long  narrative  sections  which  are  so 
conspicuous  a  feature  of  the  observance.  The  com- 
positions, '  How  many  are  the  benefits  which  God 
has  conferred  upon  us  ? '  '  And  it  came  to  pass  at 
midnight,'  '  Ye  shall  say,  "  It  is  the  sacrifice  of 
Passover," ' '  To  Him  praise  has  ever  been  and  ever 
will  be  due,'  and  others,  must  be  dated  long  after 
apostolic  times.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Hallel 
and  other  portions  of  the  Psalms  are  most  probably 
amongst  the  oldest  features. 

One  feature  of  .the  celebration  on  the  second 
night  of  the  Passover  carries  us  back  uninter- 
ruptedly to  the  primitive  times  when  the  Jews 
were  settled  in  Canaan  and  were  an  agricultural 
people.  It  is  the  counting  of  the  omer,  and  it 
most  particularly  reminds  us  that  here  we  have 
originally  a  celebration  of  the  recurring  seasons  of 
the  year  and  the  yearly  ingathering  of  the  earth's 
fruits.  The  first-fruits  of  barley  harvest  were 
ottered  on  the  second  day  of  Passover,  and  from 
then  seven  weeks  were  counted  by  primitive 
methods  of  calculation ;  this  brought  them  to 
Pentecost  and  the  beginning  of  wheat  harvest. 
4  Though  one  ephah,  or  ten  omers,  of  barley  was 
cut  down,  only  one  omer  of  flour,  or  about  5'1 
pints  of  our  measure,  was  offered  in  the  Temple  on 
the  second  Paschal'  (Edersheim,  op.  cit.  p.  259). 
Ages  have  passed,  the  Jews  are  scattered  through- 
out the  world,  there  is  no  longer  flour  to  be  offered, 
there  is  no  omer  ;  still  at  the  evening  service  in  the 
synagogue  and  on  the  second  night  of  the  festival 
in  the  home,  as  regularly  as  the  Passover  comes 
round,  the  words  are  said  :  '  Blessed  art  Thou,  O 
Lord  our  God,  King  of  the  universe,  who  hast 
sanctified  us  with  Thy  precepts  and  commanded  us 
concerning  the  counting  of  the  Omer.  This  is  the 
first  day  of  the  Omer.  May  it  be  Thy  will,  O  Lord 
our  God  and  the  God  of  our  fathers,  to  rebuild  thy 
Temple  speedily,  in  our  days,  and  to  make  Thy 
law  our  portion.'  And  at  evening  service  in  the 
synagogue  daily  the  counting  goes  on  until  the 
night  before  Pentecost  (see  art.  PENTECOST). 

Whenever  the  custom  may  have  originated,  it  is 
curious  to  think  that  still  in  every  Jewish  home, 
just  after  the  third  cup,  or  cup  of  blessing,  has 
been  drunk,  the  door  is  opened  to  admit  the 
prophet  Elijah,  for  whom  a  spare  cup  of  wine  is 
always  set,  as  the  forerunner  of  the  Messiah. 
'  May  the  All-merciful  send  us  Elijah  the  prophet 
.  .  .  who  shall  give  us  good  tidings,  salvation,  and 
consolation.'  We  think  of  the  question:  'Why 
then  say  the  scribes  that  Elijah  must  first  come  ? ' 
(Mt  1710),  and  of  the  answer :  '  Elijah  is  come 
already.'  That  which  differentiates  between  Jew 
and  Christian  is  mainly  the  recognition  of  Jesus  as 


the  Christ.  How  can  we  fail  to  feel  the  pathos  in 
the  impassioned  prajrers  with  which  the  Paschal 
service  closes  ?  '  O  mighty  God,  rebuild  Thy  house 
speedily,  speedily  even  in  our  days,  rebuila  it.  O 
God,  rebuild  Thy  Temple  speedily ! '  and  in  the 
aspiration  repeated  more  than  once,  but  especially 
before  the  fourth  cup  :  '  Next  year  in  Jerusalem  ! ' 
We  wonder  how  far  these  words  really  express  the 
yearning  of  the  Jewish  heart.  Words  and  formulae 
often  live  on  and  survive  the  original  desire,  very 
intense  and  sincere,  which  prompted  them. 

The  question  arises,  as  in  the  matter  of  keeping 
Sabbath  on  the  seventh  day,  whether  the  early 
Christians  continued  to  observe  these  festivals 
just  the  same  as  the  Jews.  They  did  not  at  once 
break  away  from  the  practices  in  which  they  had 
been  brought  up  (see,  e.g.,  Ac  31).  '  The  Christian 
Churches  in  Judaea  existed  as  Jewish  sects'  (C. 
von  Weizsacker,  The  Apostolic  Age,  i.2  [London, 
1897]  175),  and  it  is  with  Jewish  Christians  that 
we  are  first  of  all  concerned.  In  all  probability 
they  went  on  for  years  observing  the  festivals 
with  their  old  Jewish  significance  as  they  also 
complied  with  other  traditional  usages.  J. 
Bingham,  indeed,  on  very  slender  grounds  holds 
that  the  '  first  Christians  of  Jerusalem  .  .  .  did 
not  keep  Easter  with  the  Jews  on  what  day  of  the 
week  soever  it  fell,  but  on  the  Sunday  following  in 
honour  of  our  Saviour's  resurrection  (Ant.  XX.  v. 
4  [in  Works,  Oxford,  1855,  vol.  vii.]).  Apart  even 
from  the  loose  wording  here,  when  we  come  to 
look  into  matters  we  see  that  he  has  little,  if  any, 
authority  for  the  belief.  The  '  first  day  of  the 
week,'  the  Lord's  Day,  was  the  regular,  weekly 
commemoration  of  our  Lord's  resurrection.  It  is 
more  than  doubtful  if  there  was  an  annual  com- 
memoration ('Easter ')  in  apostolic  times. 

But  the  old  runs  into  the  new.  Even  though 
still  marking  events  by  '  the  days  of  unleavened 
bread '  (Ac  123),  they  might  well  invest  the  season 
with  a  new  significance  as  time  went  on,  and 
associate  it  with  a  new  commemoration.  '  When 
the  apostles  came  to  write  of  the  bondage  of  sin 
and  the  new  liberty  and  life  in  Christ,  their  teach- 
ing would  be  all  the  more  easily  understood  and 
more  lovingly  accepted,  because  to  many  of  their 
readers  it  recalled  the  Passover  table  of  the  family 
and  the  sound  of  silent  voices'  (G.  M.  Mackie, 
'  The  Jewish  Passover  in  the  Christian  Church,' 
ExpT  xiii.  [1901-02]  392). 

St.  Paul,  however,  who  divined  most  accurately 
the  true  genius  of  Christianity  as  a  religion  with 
universal  aims,  evidently  disapproved  of  the  con- 
tinuance of  Judaism  as  a  system  crippling  the 
spiritual  energies  of  the  Church,  the  new  liberty  in 
Christ.  He  explicitly  deprecated  the  observance 
of  Jewish  feasts  (Gal  48"")  on  the  part  of  purely 
Gentile  converts.  Col  216  is  equally  decided. 
Though  he  was,  as  he  himself  proudly  claimed,  '  a 
Hebrew  of  Hebrews,'  it  is  more  than  questionable 
if  he  kept  the  Passover  after  his  conversion  and 
after  he  had  grasped  the  meaning  of  Christianity 
for  the  Gentile  world.  And  when  he  makes  an 
allusion  to  the  feast  in  writing  to  the  Corinthians 
(1  Co  56"8),  it  shows  only  that  the  feast^jer  se  has 
no  longer  any  interest  for  him.  It  may,  indeed, 
show  incidentally  that  it  was  somewhere  about 
the  time  of  its  celebration  that  he  was  writing  his 
Epistle ;  but  his  allusions  are  purely  symbolic. 
He  gives  to  the  Paschal  lamb  and  to  the  unleavened 
bread  a  meaning  of  which  his  forefathers  never 
dreamed.  To  St.  Paul  more  than  to  any  other  is 
it  due  that  Christianity  broke  away  from  the 
swaddling-clothes  of  Judaism  and  became  a  faith 
with  a  far  more  glorious  redemption  than  the 
Exodus  to  commemorate. 

As  L.  Duchesne  remarks,  '  There  was  no  reason 
why  Christians  should  observe  the  feasts  and  fasts 


134 


PASSOVER 


PASSOVER 


of  the  Jewish  calendar.  They  were  allowed  to 
drop  out  of  use.  Nevertheless,  each  year  one  oi 
these  holy  days,  the  Paschal  Feast  or  the  Feast  oi 
the  Azymes,  recalled  the  memory  of  the  Passior 
of  the  Saviour.  The  memories  which  Israel  had 
connected,  and  still  connected,  with  this  anniver- 
sary might  no  longer  be  of  interest ;  but  it  was 
impossible  to  forget  that  Our  Lord  had  died  . 
on  one  of  those  days.  The  Pasch  was  therefore 
retained,  though  the  ritual  details  of  the  Jewish 
observance  were  omitted'  (Early  History  of  the 
Christian  Church,  Eng.  tr.  of  4th  ed.,  i.  [London, 
1 909]  207  f.). 

4.  'Christ  our  Passover.'  —  We  have  already 
referred  in  passing  to  1  Co  56'8,  but  both  here 
and  in  1520'  'a  there  are  allusions  to  Passover 
('the  firstfruits,'  cbrapx7?)  which  call  for  a  rather 
more  extended  notice.  For  they  show  us  better 
than  anything  else  how  the  transition  from  the 
Jewish  to  the  Christian  Pasch  was  made,  how  the 
new  interest  and  commemoration  swallowed  up  and 
superseded  the  old.  Once  again  Passover  was  in 
all  probability  being  celebrated  in  the  Jewish 
community.  But  St.  Paul,  perhaps  for  the  very 
first  time,  was  quick  to  see  an  illustration  of 
Christ  and  His  redeeming  work  in  the  sacrifice  of 
the  lamb,  and  in  the  complete  removal  of  leaven 
which  preceded  the  feast  (Ex  1215)  an  illustration 
of  the  moral  purification  which  Christianity  calls 
for.  He  sees,  again,  in  the  first-fruits  offered  at 
the  Passover  an  illustration  of  what  Christ  is  in 
His  resurrection  to  the  harvest  field  of  the  dead. 

(a)  TO  Trcurxa  T)fJ-&v  :    'our  Paschal  lamb,'  i.e.  of 
Christians  as  distinct  from  Jews.     It  is  altogether 
unnecessary  to  see   in   the  lamb  of  the  original 
institution  an  actual  prototype  of  our  Lord.     To 
see  in    the    Paschal   lamb   '  the  prefiguration   of 
Jesus   Christ  whose  death   is  the  sacrifice  which 
averts  the  wrath  of  God  from  His  community  '  (C. 
von  Orelli,  art.  'Passover'  in  Schatt'-Herzog,  viii. 
370)  is  to  go  beyond  what  is  warranted.     The  refer- 
ence is  too  casual  for  so  much  to  be  built  upon  it. 
The  Apostle  never  again   speaks  of   Christ  as  a 
lamb.     The  lamb  of  the  Passover,  moreover,  was 
partaken  of  in  a  festal   meal,  and  St.  Paul   was 
probably    thinking    specially    of    this.      For    he 
immediately  follows  with  '  Therefore  let  us  keep 
festival'  (eoprd.fafj.ev) ;  not  with  a  reference  to  any 
feast  in  particular,  but  to  the  new  life  of  joyousness 
Christians  are  to  live,  in  which   '  sincerity  and 
truth  '  are  essential  (so  Chrysostom,  Horn,  in  1  Cor. 
xv.  3.  8).    Again  we  have  Christ  compared  to  a 'lamb 
without  blemish  and  without  spot'  (1  P  I19),  absolute 
purity,  however,  being  a  general  requirement  in 
any  sacrifice   offered   to  God  (Dt  171).     Allegory 
soon  became  busy  with   these  representations  of 
the  Lord.     He  was  '  the  Lamb  of   God '   (Jn  I28) 
rather  in  antithesis  to  the  whole  sacrificial  system 
of  the  Jews.     The  majestic  apocalyptic  figure  of 
the  Lamb  which  is  all-prominent  in   Rev.  is  the 
outgrowth  of  this  conception,  and   is  mainly  re- 
sponsible for  the  Agnus  Dei  of  Christian  art. 

(b)  airapx-n,   LXX  for  Heb.   re'shith    (Lv    2310), 
'firstfruits.'      It    is    almost    impossible   that  St. 
Paul   should    use    this    particular  term    without 
having  in  mind  a  reference  to  the  offering  of  first- 
fruits  at  Passover,  especially  when  we  take  it  in 
connexion  with  58.     R.  F.  Wey  mouth  (The  NT  in 
Modern  Speech?,  London,  1909,  p.  469)  translates 
(no  doubt  advisedly)  1  Co  1520,  '  being  the  first  to 
do  so  of  those  who  are  asleep';  and  again  v.23, 
'  Christ  having  been  the  first  to  rise ' :   but  this 
entirely  obscures  the  beautiful  figure  of  the  harvest 
field.     As  used  by  St.  Paul,  the  gathering  of  first- 
fruits  and  the  presenting  of  them  to  God  is  a  pledge 
that  the  whole  harvest  shall  be  reaped. 

5.  Passover  and  the  Eucharist — Is  there  any 
connexion  between  the  Passover  of  the  Jews  and 


the  Lord's  Supper  of  the  Christian  Church  ?  Our 
limitations  forbid  any  treatment  in  detail  of  what 
is  still  a  very  vexed  question.  It  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  the  materials  are  scanty  and  not  free 
from  obscurity.  The  difference,  e.g.,  between  the 
Synoptists  and  the  Fourth  Gospel  as  to  the  actual 
time  when  the  Lord  held  His  Last  Supper,  whether 
the  meal  was  an  '  anticipated  Passover '  or  Pass- 
over itself,  is  well  known.  Referring  to  the 
repeated  attempts  to  harmonize  them,  Duchesne 
sensibly  remarks :  '  It  is  wiser  to  acknowledge 
that,  on  this  point,  we  are  not  in  a  position  to 
reconcile  the  evangelists'  (op.  cit.  p.  209,  n.  4). 
And  why  trouble,  when  even  the  fact  that  the 
Lord  instituted  some  memorial  observance  for  His 
disciples  is  itself  open  to  question  ?  Wilder 
extremists  see  in  the  Supper,  not  a  simple 
memorial  instituted  naturally  by  Jesus  and  sug- 
gested by  the  circumstances  of  the  time,  but  the 
influence  of  mystery-religions  and  strange  cults 
with  their  eating  and  drinking  of  a  god. 

One  thing  is  pretty  certain.  There  was  a  meal 
in  some  form  or  another  associated  with  Christi- 
anity from  the  very  beginning.  In  Ac  2*2  the 
/cXdffts  rov  &prov,  '  the  breaking  of  the  bread,'  sug- 
gests a  distinctive  custom  of  the  first  disciples. 
Still  more  in  207  is  it  apparent  that  this  custom 
was  observed  'on  the  first  day  of  the  week,'  and  it 
becomes  a  more  definitely  religious  ordinance. 
More  than  all  we  have  fortunately  St.  Paul's  treat- 
ment of  a  crying  scandal  in  the  Church  at  Corinth 
which  incidentally  gives  us  some  light  on  the  prac- 
tice of  the  times  (1  Co  1016f-  H17ff-).  From  the  first, 
apparently,  the  commemoration  (Eucharist)  was 
observed  in  connexion  with  a  common  meal  to 
symbolize  and  to  foster  fraternity  (Agape).  The 
Apostle's  action  here  was  to  set  a  hedge  round  the 
commemoration  and  rescue  it  from  the  disgraceful 
abuses  which  attended  the  common  meal.  It  dis- 
tinctly contributed  to  the  ultimate  separation  of 
the  Eucharist  as  a  purely  religious  and  symbolic 
feast,  although  at  the  time  of  the  Didache  (c.  A.D. 
100)  the  Agape  appears  still  to  have  been  associ- 
ated with  it  (§  10),  at  any  rate  in  certain  localities. 
But  St.  Paul's  mention  of  the  '  cup  of  blessing ' 
(1  Co  1016),  coupled  with  the  fact  that  he  had 
already  seen  in  the  Paschal  lamb  an  illustration 
of  Christ,  makes  it  clear  that  he  at  any  rate  viewed 
this  ordinance  as  the  Christian  counterpart  of  the 
Jewish  Passover.  Edersheim  (LT*,  London,  1887, 
ii.  511)  is  very  decided  as  to  this  relation,  and  even 
;oes  so  far  as  to  venture  the  opinion  that  the 
>roken  bread  was  none  other  than  the  aphikomen  or 
unleavened  cake  eaten  at  the  close  of  the  meal. 
A.  C.  McGiffert  (A  History  of  Christianity  in  the 
Apostolic  Age,  Edinburgh,  1897,  p.  70)  seems  hardly 
consistent  in  saying  there  is  no  indication  in  our 
sources  that  the  Lord's  Supper  was  viewed  as  thus 
related  to  the  Jewish  Passover,  as  he  remarks,  '  It 
can  hardly  be  doubted,  in  other  words,  that  it  was 
believed,  at  any  rate  at  an  early  day,  if  not  from 
the  beginning,  in  the  church  of  Jerusalem,  that 
Jesus  had  commanded  them  to  do  as  they  actu- 
ally were  doing.'  If  Jesus  gave  the  command 
He  gave  it  at  the  Paschal  meal,  or  at  least  in  close 
association  with  it.  '  Whether  in  the  words  and 
acts  of  Jesus  there  is  an  implied  reference  to  the 
Passover  or  not,  the  association  of  the  Eucharist 
with  the  Passover  was  a  natural  one,  though  we 
may  have  to  admit  that  the  Paschal  features  in 
;he  language  of  St.  Paul  represent  the  later  re- 
lexion  of  a  period  when  the  idea  of  Christ  as  the 
true  Passover  (1  Co  57,  Jn  19s6)  had  influenced  the 
conception  of  the  institution '  (art.  '  Eucharist '  in 
ERE  v.  543a).  We  may  notice  that  really  St. 
Paul's  language  is  separated  from  the  Crucifixion 
only  by  a  score  of  years  or  so,  no  great  interval 
after  all.  It  is  the  more  natural  to  think,  con- 


PASSOVER 


PATARA 


135 


sidering  the  relation  of  Christianity  to  Judaism, 
that  we  have  here  a  close  point  of  connexion 
between  the  old  and  the  new. 

6.  Passover  and  Easter. — The  true  celebration 
of  Easter,  the  festival  of  our  Lord's  resurrection, 
was,  as  we  have  seen  above,  a  thing  of  weekly 
occurrence.  '  The  first  day  of  the  week  '  became 
established  even  in  the  Apostolic  Church  as  the 
special  clay  of  joyful  commemoration  on  the  part 
of  Christians.  In  that  they  were  most  sharply  in 
contrast  with  the  Jews.  But  whatever  obscurity 
may  hang  round  the  original  connexion  between 
the  Paschal  feast  and  the  Eucharist,  there  can  be 
no  question  that  when  Easter  came  to  be  observed, 
as  it  was  observed  at  the  same  season  of  the  year, 
— in  spring — it  was  regarded  as  the  counterpart  of 
the  Jewish  Passover.  Speaking  of  the  movable 
feasts,  Duchesne  says  :  '  Dans  ces  fStes,  comme  en 
tant  d'autres  choses,  PEglise  est,  a  un  certain 
degre,  heritiere  de  la  Synagogue.  L'annee  ecclesi- 
astique  n'est  autre  chose  que  la  combinaison  de 
deux  calendriers,  1'un  juif  et  1'autre  chretien.  Au 
calendrier  juif  correspondent  les  fetes  mobiles,  au 
calendrier  chretien  les  fetes  fixes '  (Origines  du  culte 
chretien*,  Paris,  1909,  p.  225).  After  observing 
that  this  symmetry  must  not  be  pressed  too  far,  he 
remarks :  '  Les  chretiens  ne  conserverent  point 
toutes  les  fetes  juives  ;  et  quant  a  celles  qu'ils 
retinrent,  ils  y  attacherent  du  bonne  heure  une 
signification  appropriee  a  leurs  croyances.  .  .  .  On 
ne  conserva  que  celles  de  Piques  et  de  la  Pente- 
cdte'  (ib.). 

This  correspondence  is  made  abundantly  clear 
by  the  fact  that  the  name  for  the  festival  of  the 
resurrection  of  our  Lord  is  in  most  countries 
simply  the  name  '  Pascha '  reproduced  in  various 
forms.  Thus  L&t.festapaschalia,  which  has  passed 
into  Fr.  as  Plaques  (a  plur.  form),  Ital.  Pasqua, 
etc.  (see  OED,  s.v.  'Pasch').  The  name  '  Easter' 
is,  quite  differently,  from  A.S.  plur.  eAstron,  a 
relic  of  heathenism  with  dim  suggestions  of  the 
worship  of  nature  powers  awakening  in  spring. 
But  even  where  '  Easter '  became  the  settled  name, 
some  form  of  Pascha  such  as  '  Pasch  '  existed  side 
by  side  with  it. 

It  was  only  to  be  expected  that  with  the  weekly 
celebration  there  should  gradually  grow  up  a 
special  yearly  commemoration  of  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ.  That  is  so  tremendous  and  vital 
a  fact  that  as  each  Paschal  season  came  round  the 
tendency  would  be  more  and  more  to  give  import- 
ance to  the  annual  celebration  at  the  very  season 
when  our  Lord  died  and  rose  again.  But  this  was 
after  the  Apostolic  Age. 

So  there  is  no  need  to  enter  with  any  minuteness 
upon  a  controversy  which,  springing  up  in  the  2nd 
cent.,  continued  for  long  to  agitate  the  Christian 
Church  and  was  the  occasion  of  great  and  wide- 
spread bitterness  of  feeling.  Pity  that  such  things 
should  be  !  But  it  was  a  controversy  that  grew  up 
out  of  this  very  relation  of  the  Christian  to  the 
Jewish  feast ;  and  it  had  reference  to  the  time 
when  the  festival  should  be  kept.  A  large  section 
of  the  Church,  believing  that  on  the  14th  Nisan, 
the  day  of  the  Paschal  sacrifice,  Jesus  also  died, 
were  firm  in  their  resolve  to  keep  their  Pasch  on 
the  same  day  as  did  the  Jews.  (The  term  Pascha, 
it  may  be  said,  originally  included  a  reference  to 
the  death  as  well  as  the  resurrection  of  Christ. 
A  distinction  was  made  between  rb  7rd<rxa  aravp- 
(liffi.fj.ov,  the  Pascha  crucifixionis,  and  rb  irdo-xa  dva- 
ara.ffifj.ov,  the  Pascha  resurrectionis.)  On  the  other 
hand,  seeing  that  the  14th  Nisan  could  fall  on  any 
day  of  the  week,  and  therefore  the  celebration  of 
Easter  also,  the  Roman  Church,  and  those  who 
were  influenced  by  it,  kept  the  festival  on  Sunday 
as  a  fixed  day,  arriving  at  the  date  by  more  or  less 
intricate  calculation.  It  was  not,  however,  by  any 


means  the  same  Sunday  that  Christians  observed 
even  where  this  principle  obtained.  The  former, 
mainly  Asians,  were  called  Quartodecimans  or 
'Fourteenthers.'  At  first  they  agreed  to  differ. 
'  Polycarp  [c.  A.D.  150],  during  his  stay  in  Rome, 
tried  to  convince  Pope  Anicetus  that  the  quarto- 
deciman  use  was  the  only  one  permissible.  He  did 
not  succeed.  Neither  could  Anicetus  succeed  in  per- 
suading the  old  master  to  adopt  the  Roman  method. 
They  parted,  nevertheless,  on  the  best  of  terms' 
(Duchesne,  Early  Hist,  of  the  Christian  Church,  i. 
210).  A  very  different  state  of  things  followed 
when  a  later  pope,  Victor,  interfered  to  secure  one 
uniform  way.  It  is  a  sorry  story  of  schism  and 
strife.  But  where  now  are  the  Tessarescaedecatita>, 
Audiani,  Sabbatiani,  Protopaschitse  and  other 
curious  sects,  who  '  would  not  hold  any  communion 
with  .  .  .  any  that  did  not  keep  the  Pasch  at  the 
same  time  that  the  Jews  did  '?  (Bingham,  op.  cit. 
xx.  v.  3). 

The  two  festivals  still  exist  side  by  side.  It  is 
U  ue  that,  quite  apart  from  the  Jewish  feast,  Chris- 
tians would  still  have  celebrated  the  resurrection 
of  the  Lord.  L  at/,  I?  that  as  it  may,  the  historical 
connexion  of  Cl.i  istianity  and  Judaism  is  indubit- 
ably signified  as  year  by  year  at  the  same  time 
the  Christian  keeps  Easter  and  the  Jew  Passover 
— though  with  what  radical  difference  of  meaning  ! 

LITERATURE.  —  In  addition  to  works  and  articles  quoted 
throughout,  see  artt.  'Passover'  in  HDB  (W.  J.  Moulton),  in 
EBi(l.  Benzinger),  in  «/£(£.  G.  Hirsch)  ;  art.  '  Pasch  or  Pass- 
over '  in  CE  (C.  Aherne) ;  in  ERE,  artt.  '  Festivals  and  Fasts 
(Christian) '(J.  G.  Carleton),  'Festivals  and  Fasts  (Hebrew)' 
(F.  H.  Woods);  A.  Hilgenfeld,  Der  Paschastreit  der  alien 
Kirche  nach.  seiner  Bedeutung  fur  die  Kirchengenchichte,  Halle, 
1860 ;  Eighteen  Treatises  from,  the  Mischna  (including  Pesahiin), 
tr.  D.  A.  de  Sola  and  M.  J.  Raphall,  London,  1843 ;  F. 
Delitzsch,  '  Der  Passahritus  zur  Zeit  des  zweiten  Tempels,' 
Zeitschr.fur  die  ges.  hither.  Theologie  und  Kirche,  xvi.  [1855] 
257  fl. ;  P.  Gardner,  The  Origin  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  London, 
1893;  A.  A.  Green,  The  Revised  Bagada,  do.,  1897;  H.  C. 
Trumbull,  The  Blood  Covenant,  do.,  1887. 

J.  S.  CLEMENS. 

PASTOR. — Eph  411  is  the  only  passage  in  the 
NT  in  which  'pastor'  occurs,  although  its  Greek 
equivalent,  voi^v,  is  frequent ;  everywhere  else 
VOL/J.^V  is  rendered  'shepherd.'  This  exceptional 
translation  is  justified,  because  here  only  is  TTOI^V 
used  of  some  kind  of  Christian  minister.  It  is  used 
of  Christ  as  'the  great  shepherd  of  the  sheep  '  (He 
1320  from  LXX  of  Is  6311),  as  'the  Shepherd  and 
Bishop  of  your  souls'  (1  P  225),  and  as  '  the  chief 
Shepherd'  (1  P  54) — expressions  suggested  by  Him- 
self ( Jn  1011-  ").  But  the  metaphor  is  obvious,  and 
is  frequent  from  Homer  onwards.  The  cognate 
verb  iroi/j-aiveiv  is  used  of  tending  Christian  flocks  ;  in 
Christ's  charge  to  St.  Peter  (Jn  2116),  in  St.  Peter's 
charge  to  his  '  fellow-elders '  (1  P  52),  and  in  St. 
Paul's  charge  at  Miletus  to  the  elders  of  the 
Church  at  Ephesus  (Ac  2028).  In  Eph  4U,  while 
1  apostles '  and  '  prophets '  and  '  evangelists '  have 
each  a  separate  article,  '  pastors  and  teachers '  are 
coupled  by  a  common  article,  and  probably  form 
only  one  group,  distinguished  by  being  attached 
to  particular  congregations,  whereas  '  apostles,' 
'prophets,'  and  'evangelists'  were  itinerant 
preachers  and  missionaries.  But  'pastors'  and 
'teachers'  are  not  convertible  terms;  almost  all 
'  pastors '  would  be '  teachers,'  but  not  all '  teachers ' 
were  '  pastors.' 

LITERATURE.— See  Commentaries  on  Eph  4H,  esp.  J.  A. 
Robinson  (1903)  and  B.  F.  Westcott  (1906);  A.  Harnack, 
The  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity",  Eng.  tr.,  1908,  i. 

336-346.  A.  PLUMMER. 

PASTORAL  EPISTLES.  — See  TIMOTHY  AND 
TITUS,  EPISTLES  TO. 

PATARA  (Udrapa,  neut.  pi.).  —  Patara  was  a 
maritime  city  in  the  S.\V.  of  Lycia,  about  6  miles 


136 


PATIENCE 


PATIENCE 


S.E.  of  the  mouth  of  the  Xanthus.  For  classical 
writers  it  had  a  romantic  interest  as  a  home  of 
Apollo  (Herodotus,  i.  182),  whose  temple  and  oracle 
there  Avere  only  less  famous  than  those  at  Delphi : 
'  Patarsean  Apollo  who  haunts  the  thickets  of 
Lycia'  (Hor.  Od.  III.  iv.  64).  Its  more  practical 
importance  was  two-fold  ;  it  served  as  a  seaport 
for  the  fertile  Xanthus  valley,  including  the 
splendid  city  of  that  name ;  and  it  lay  on  the 
highway  of  ships  trading  between  the  JEgean  and 
the  Levant  or  Egypt.  St.  Paul  did  an  ordinary 
thing  when  he  changed  ships  at  Patara  (Ac  212). 
The  coaster  in  which  he  had  sailed  from  Troas  had 
either  reached  her  destination  or  else  was  about  to 
continue  her  course  along  the  south  coast,  whereas 
larger  vessels  bound  from  Lycia  for  Syria  struck 
right  across  the  high  sea,  passing  Cyprus  on  the 
left  (v.3).  Ships  coming  in  the  opposite  direction 
usually  found  the  straight  course  too  difficult  on 
account  of  the  prevailing  westerly  wind,  and  had 
to  keep  closer  to  shore,  passing  Cyprus  on  the  left, 
and  making  not  for  Patara  but  for  Myra,  about 
30  miles  to  eastward  (27s).  Patara  derived  an 
ample  revenue  from  the  vast  traffic  between  the 
^Egean  coast  and  Alexandria.  Ptolemy  Phila- 
delphus  enlarged  and  improved  the  city,  calling  it 
'  the  Lycian  Arsinoe '  in  honour  of  his  wife,  '  but 
the  old  name  prevailed'  (Strabo,  XIV.  iii.  6). 
Patara  was  the  reputed  birthplace  of  St.  Nicholas. 
The  harbour  is  now  '  an  inland  marsh  generating 
poisonous  malaria '  (T.  A.  B.  Spratt  and  E.  Forbes, 
Travels  in  Lycia,  Milyas,  and  the  Cibyratis,  2  vols., 
1847,  i.  32).  There  are  extensive  and  well-preserved 
ruins,  including  a  triumphal  arch  with  the  in- 
scription, 'Patara,  the  metropolis  of  the  Lycian 
nation.' 

LITERATURE. — F.  Beaufort,  Karamania,  1817  ;  C.  Fellows, 
Account  of  Discoveries  in  Lycia,  1841 ;  O.  Benndorf  and 
G.  Niemann,  Reisen  in  siidwestlichen  Kleinasien,  vol.  i.  : 
'  Reisen  in  Lykien  und  Karien,'  1884  ;  Murray's  Handbook  of 
Asia  Minor,  1895.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PATIENCE.— The  virtue  of  patience  occupied 
a  great  place  in  the  apostolic  writings.  We  have 
two  Greek  words  to  consider,  which  are  thus  trans- 
lated :  (1)  vironov-f)  (vb.  virofj.4v<a),  (2)  fMKpo9u/j.ia  (vb. 
fj.aKpo0vfj.eu). 

1.  irn-0/j.ovfi  is  the  more  important  word.  It  is 
found  only  in  later  Greek,  and  answers  to  the 
classical  Kap-repia,  Kaprtpyins,  with  the  meaning  of 
holding  out,  enduring.  The  word,  however,  princi- 
pally belongs  to  biblical  and  Patristic  Greek,  into 
which  it  was  introduced  by  the  LXX,  where  it 
translates  various  Hebrew  words  signifying  '  hope,' 
a  virtue  very  closely  connected  with  endurance,  as 
being  its  basis  or  ground.  Cremer  says  (Bibl.-Theol. 
Lex.  of  NT  Greek3,  Eng.  tr.,  1880,  p.  420)  of  vvonov-t)  •. 
'  It  denotes  the  peculiar  psychological  clearness 
and  defmiteness  which  hope  attains  in  the  economy 
of  grace,  by  virtue,  on  the  one  hand,  of  its  distinc- 
tive character  excluding  all  wavering,  doubt,  and 
uncertainty  ;  and,  on  the  other,  in  conformity  with 
its  self-assertion  amid  the  contradictions  of  this 
present  world.' 

The  connexion  of  patience  (inronov^)  with  hope  is 
brought  out  in  such  passages  as  Ro  S25,  2  P  312, 
Col  I11- 12.  Its  connexion  with  the  contradictions 
of  life  appears  in  Ro  53-  4,  Ja  1s-  4 :  cf.  also  2  Th  I4 
He  1036  121,  Rev  22-  3- 19,  2  P  I6. 

The  Book  of  Revelation  in  particular  emphasizes 
the  need  of  endurance,  written  as  it  is  in  view  of 
the  persecution  of  the  Church  by  the  Roman  State 
(cf.,  further,  Rev  P  1310  1412).  Particular  expres- 
sions which  call  for  note  are  2  Th  35,  viro^ovri 
Xpto-rov,  'the  patience  which  waits  for  Christ,'  i.e. 
for  the  Messianic  salvation  ;  Rev  310,  6  \6yos  rrjs 
virofj.ov7js  /J.QV,  'the  word  which  treats  of  patient 
waiting  for  me,'  i.e.  the  word  of  prophecy. 


Interesting  also  is  Ro  155,  where  God  is  called  '  the 
God  of  patience"  (6  6fbs  rfjs  vTro/j,ovrjs),  i.e.  the  God 
who  inspires  patience  through  the  prophetic  words 
of  Scripture  (cf.  v.4) ;  see,  further,  for  inrofj.oi'ri, 
2  Co  I6  1212,  1  Ti  6",  Tit  22. 

The  similarity  of  atmosphere  between  the  NT 
and  the  Apostolic  Fathers  makes  it  natural  that 
we  should  find  similar  reference  to  patience 
(viro/jLovri)  in  them.  1  Clem.  v.  5-7  is  particularly 
interesting,  where,  after  St.  Peter  and  the  other 
apostles,  St.  Paul  is  set  forth  as  an  example  of 
patience :  '  By  reason  of  jealousy  and  strife  Paul 
by  his  example  pointed  out  the  prize  of  patience. 
After  that  he  had  been  seven  times  in  bonds,  had 
been  driven  into  exile,  had  been  stoned,  had 
preached  in  the  East  and  in  the  West,  he  won  the 
noble  renown  which  was  the  reward  of  his  faith, 
having  taught  righteousness  unto  the  whole  world 
and  having  reached  the  farthest  bounds  of  the 
West ;  and  when  he  had  borne  his  testimony 
before  the  rulers,  so  he  departed  from  the  world 
and  went  into  the  holy  place,  having  been  found 
a  notable  pattern  of  patience.'  Cf.  also  1  Clem. 
Ixii.  2,  Ixiv.  ;  Hermas,  Mand.  viii.  9 ;  Ep.  Barn. 
xxi.  5 ;  finally  Polyc.  Philippians,  viii.  1.  2, 
'Christ  Jesus  .  .  .  patiently  endured  (vvtueivev) 
all  things  for  our  sakes,  that  we  may  live  in  Him. 
Wherefore  let  us  become  imitators  of  His  patience 
(VTTO/J.OVTJS) ' ;  xi.  1,  'I  exhort  you  all  therefore  to 
obey  the  word  of  righteousness  and  to  practise  all 
patience,  which  you  saw  before  your  eyes  not  only 
in  the  blessed  Ignatius  and  Zosimus  and  Rufus, 
but  also  in  others  of  you  and  in  Paul  himself  and 
the  rest  of  the  Apostles.' 

2.  na.KpoQviJ.ia  also  is  a  word  rare  in  profane 
Greek.  It  appears  in  the  apostolic  writings  as  a 
synonym  of  VTTO/J.OV/I  (Col  1",  He  612  1036,  Ja  510, 
2  Ti  310).  On  the  other  hand,  it  has  the  special 
meaning  of  longsuffering  (q.v. )  and  stands  opposed 
to  6o-ff),  6v/j.6s,  and  is  synonymous  with  irpaorris 
(cf.  Gal  5s3,  Eph  42,  Col  312,  2  Ti  42).  In  these 
passages  the  word  is  used  of  the  patience  of  men 
one  towards  another.  But  it  is  also  used  of  the 
patience  or  longsuffering  of  God,  who  delays  the 
punishment  of  sinners  in  order  to  give  them  time 
to  repent  (cf.  Ro  2*,  1  P  320,  2  P  315).  In  Ro  O22  the 
idea  of  giving  time  for  repentance  is  absent,  and 
the  word  refers  simply  to  God's  delaying  punish- 
ment. 

In  the  sub-apostolic  writings  fj.aKpoQvfj.la  stands 
side  by  side  with  viro/j.ovfi  as  in  the  NT  ;  cf.  1  Clem. 
Ixiv.  A  noteworthy  passage  dealing  with  this 
virtue  is  Hermas,  Mand.  v.  1,  which  is  all  in 
praise  of  patience  (fj.aKpo6vp.la') :  '  In  patience  the 
Lord  dwells,  but  in  hot  wrath  the  devil '  (v.8). 

In  conclusion,  reference  maybe  made  to  the  fine 
development,  on  the  basis  of  the  apostolic  teaching, 
of  the  idea  of  Christian  patience  (virop-ovf)),  which 
A.  Ritschl  has  given  in  The  Christian  Doctrine  of 
Justification  and  Reconciliation,  Eng.  tr.  of  vol. 
iii.,  1900,  p.  627  f. 

Patience  is  that  feeling  which  views  the  evils  of 
life  in  the  light  of  Divine  providence.  It  is  quite 
different  from  the  Stoic  idea  of  apathy,  which  aims 
at  the  suppression  of  the  pain  due  to  the  evil  from 
which  we  suffer.  'Patience  in  suffering  implies 
that  the  pain  continues'  (p.  627). 

This  is  true  not  only  of  ordinary  patience,  but 
of  the  Christian  form  of  this  virtue.  '  The  eleva- 
tion of  the  general  human  exercise  of  patience  into 
its  special  Christian  form  depends  on  the  fact  that 
man's  feeling  of  self  and  of  personal  worth,  by 
being  combined  with  the  thought  of  the  supra- 
mundane  God  Who  is  our  Father,  and  guarantees 
to  us  salvation  through  dominion  over  the  world 
and  participation  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  is  raised 
above  all  natural  and  particular  motives,  even 
when  they  are  the  occasion  of  troubles.  This  still 


PATHOS 


PATROBAS 


137 


admits  of  evils  being  felt  with  pain  even  by  the 
Christian '  (p.  628).  Ritschl  refers  in  a  note  to 
Calvin,  Inst.  iii.  8.  8 :  '  Neither  is  there  required 
from  us  a  cheerfulness,  such  as  may  take  away  all 
sense  of  bitterness  and  grief ;  there  would  be  no 
patience  of  the  saints  in  the  cross,  except  also  they 
were  tormented  with  grief  and  pressed  with  trouble.' 
The  NT,  indeed,  speaks  of  rejoicing  in  suffering, 
of  glorying  in  afflictions  and  persecutions  for 
Christ's  sake.  But  we  can  quote  against  the  idea 
that  this  joy  is  to  exterminate  the  sense  of  pain 
not  only  the  explicit  confession  in  He  1211,  but  also 
the  example  of  Jesus  and  St.  Paul.  The  actual 
position  of  things  is,  in  fact,  as  follows  : 

'  The  consciousness  of  reconciliation  with  God 
places  the  assurance  of  personal  worth  firm  above 
all  the  special  motives  which  arise  from  the  world  ; 
and  therefore  the  pain  which  springs  from  their 
oppressive  action  can  be  subordinated  to  the  joy 
which,  in  our  feeling  of  self,  denotes  the  incompar- 
able worth  of  Divine  sonship.  But  in  the  case  in 
question,  joy  would  not  last ;  rather,  it  would  veer 
round  into  indifference,  unless  underneath  the  joy 
the  pain  still  continued.  Moreover,  the  truth  of 
the  Fatherly  care  of  God  for  His  children  suggests 
to  us  not  only  the  inference  that  no  evils  arising 
from  the  world  can  overbalance  the  blessing  01 
fellowship  with  God,  but  also  this  further  applica- 
tion, that  these  evils,  as  tests  of  our  fidelity  to 
God,  are  elevated  into  relative  blessings.  And 
this  comes  about  just  through  the  exercise  of 
patience  as  the  peculiar  and  proper  manifestation 
of  Christian  freedom '  (p.  629). 

LITERATURE.  —  H.  Bushnell,  The  New  Life,  1860 ;  M. 
Creighton,  The  Mind  of  St.  Peter,  1904,  p.  22 ;  H.  Black, 
Christ's  Service  of  Love,  1907,  p.  130  ;  H.  M.  Gwatkin,  The  Eye 
for  Spiritual  Things,  1907,  p.  61 ;  H.  E.  Manning:,  Sermons 
on  Ecclesiastical  Subjects,  i.  [1870]  173;  J.  H.  Jowett,  The 
Transfigured  Church,  1910,  p.  149  ;  W.  H.  Hutton,  A  Disciple's 
Religion,  1911,  p.  12 ;  W.  B.  Ullathorne,  Christian  Patience, 
1886  ;  G.  Hanson,  A  Chain  of  Graces,  1906,  p.  57. 

ROBERT  S.  FRANKS. 

PATMOS  (ndT/toj).—  Patrnos,  one  of  the  group  of 
islands  named  the  Sporades,  lies  in  that  part  of 
the  ^Egean  Sea  which  the  Greeks  called  the 
Icarian,  and  is  visible  on  the  right  as  one  sails 
from  Samos  to  Cos.  It  is  a  volcanic  island,  bare 
and  rocky,  10  miles  long  from  N.  to  S.,  and  6 
miles  wide  at  the  northern  end.  Its  hills  command 
a  magnificent  view  of  the  surrounding  sea  and 
islands.  At  its  centre,  where  it  narrows  to  an 
isthmus,  between  the  bay  of  Scala  on  the  E.  and 
that  of  Merika  on  the  W.,  are  found  the  remains 
of  an  ancient  Hellenic  town,  which  prove  that 
the  island  was  once  populous  ;  and  the  name  of 
'  Palmosa,'  which  it  bore  in  the  Middle  Ages,  points 
to  another  time  of  prosperity ;  but  Turkish  rule 
has  had  its  usual  blighting  effect.  To-day  'the 
isle '  has  4,000  Greek  inhabitants,  who  are  mostly 
sponge-fishers.  The  modern  town  stands  on  a  hill- 
top, 800  ft.  above  sea-level,  in  the  southern  half  of 
the  island.  It  clusters  about  the  Monastery  of  St. 
John — founded  by  St.  Christodulus  in  A.D.  1088, 
on  the  site  of  an  old  temple — which  has  lost  most 
of  the  treasures  of  its  once  valuable  library,  in- 
cluding the  9th  cent,  edition  of  Plato,  now  in  the 
Bodleian.  Monastic  piety  shows  the  place  where 
the  Revelation  was  written  by  St.  John,  and  half- 
way down  the  hill  is  a  grotto  (ri>  <rirri\aioi>  rrjs 
' A.iroica\ij\l<e<i)s)  the  rocks  of  which  are  said  to  have 
been  cleft  by  the  Divine  voice. 

More  important  are  the  internal  indications  that 
the  book  was  written  amid  the  sights  and  sounds 
of  the  infinite  sea.  It  has  the  word  6d\aff<ra  25 
times,  and  it  is  full  of  the  clashing  of  waves.  No 
fitter  scene  could  be  found  for  the  composition  of 
the  Apocalypse  than  the  traditional  one,  and,  if 
there  were  any  reason  to  question  the  story  of  the 
author's  banishment  to  the  island,  one  would  have 


to  say,  'si  non  e  vero,  e  ben  trovato.'  Nowhere  is 
'  the  voice  of  many  waters '  more  musical  than  in 
Patmos ;  nowhere  does  the  rising  and  setting  sun 
make  a  more  splendid  '  sea  of  glass  mingled  with 
fire ' ;  yet  nowhere  is  the  longing  more  natural 
that  the  separating  sea— the  oceanus  dissociabilis 
of  Horace  (Od.  I.  iii.  22) — should  be  no  more. 

Small  and  inhospitable  islands  were  often  used 
as  places  of  banishment  (relegatio)  in  the  1st  cent. 
(Pliny,  HN  IV.  xii.  23  ;  Tac.  Ann.  iii.  68,  iv.  30, 
xv.  71).  According  to  Eusebius  (HE  iii.  18), 
Jerome  (de  Vir.  Illustr.  9),  and  others,  St.  John 
was  exiled  to  Patmos  under  Domitian  in  A.D.  95, 
and  released  about  18  months  afterwards  under 
Nerva.  W.  M.  Ramsay  thinks  that,  as  St.  John 
was  not  a  first-class  prisoner,  he  must  have  been 
condemned  not  only  to  banishment  but  to  hard 
labour  for  life  (The  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches 
of  Asia,  1904,  p.  82  ff.).  At  any  rate,  St.  John  was 
in  Patmos  'for  (Sid)  the  word  of  God'  (Rev  I9). 
The  meaning  of  the  phrase  is  much  disputed,  some 
holding  that  it  expresses  the  human  cause,  others 
the  over-ruling  Divine  purpose,  of  his  exile.  He 
was  banished  either  because  of  his  loyalty  to  truth 
already  revealed,  or  for  the  reception  of  truth 
about  to  be  revealed.  The  former  interpretation 
probably  gives  the  writer's  real  meaning,  but  the 
latter  (preferred  by  B.  Weiss  and  others)  contains 
a  thought  well  worth  expressing.  While  the 
authorities  of  Ephesus,  moved  perhaps  by  some 
mysterious  impulse  to  spare  the  saint's  life,  trans- 
ported him  to  the  lonely  island  in  order  that  the 
city  might  be  freed  from  his  too  insistent  word  and 
testimony,  he  was  providentially  taken  into  a  re- 
treat where  he  was  beside  '  the  deep  sea  and  the 
mighty  things.'  The  story  of  his  exile  is  outlined 
in  two  phrases :  '  I  was  in  the  isle  ...  I  was  in 
the  Spirit'  (Rev  I9-  10).  The  realism  was  trans- 
figured, and  in  that  ^Egean  where  .•Eschylus 
heard  irovriuv  Kv/j.dTuv  dvripi6fj.ov  yt\a<rfj.a  (Prom. 
89 f.),  St.  John  listened  to  'the  voice  of  a  great 
multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of  many  waters' 
(Rev  19"). 

LITERATURE. — L.  Ross,  Reisen  avf  den  griechischen  Inneln 
des  agdischen  Meeres,  Halle,  1840-1845  ;  V.  Gu^rin,  Description 
de  I'lle  de  Patmos  et  de  Vile  de  Samns,  Paris,  1856 ;  H.  F. 
Tozer,  Islands  of  the  ^Egean,  London,  1890,  pp.  178-195. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PATRIARCH  (varpidpx^,  from  irarpid,  '  clan,' 
and  dpxn,  'rule'). — A  patriarch  is  the  father  or 
head  of  a  irarpid  or  clan.  As  applied  to  Bible 
characters,  the  term  usually  denotes  either  the 
forefathers  of  the  human  race  or  the  progenitors 
of  Israel — Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob  and  his  twelve 
sons.  In  the  LXX  of  1  Ch  2431  2T22,  2  Ch  198  2612 
iraTpidpxa.1  renders  various  Hebrew  terms,  which 
appear  in  our  EV  as  'principal  fathers,'  'heads  of 
fathers'  houses,'  and  'captains.'  In  4  Mac  719  re- 
ference is  made  to  'our  patriarchs  Abraham,  Isaac 
and  Jacob'  (cf.  4  Mac  1625).  In  the  NT  the  term 
is  applied  to  Abraham  (He  74),  to  the  sons  of  Jacob 
(Ac  78f-),  and  also  to  David,  in  a  text  (229)  where 
it  has  greater  dignity  than  the  ordinary  '  king ' 
would  have  had.  It  was  of  David  that  St.  Peter, 
speaking  fj.era  irappyala.*,  '  had  to  say  something  not 
altogether  favourable,  in  order  that  thereby  the 
glory  of  Christ  might  be  the  more  enhanced. 
There  is  therefore  in  this  passage  a  irpoOepawda,  or 
previous  mitigation  of  what  he  is  about  to  say ' 
(Bengel,  in  loco).  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PATROBAS  (narp6^aj,  a  Greek  name,  contracted 
from  Patrobius). — Patrobas  is  the  fourth  of  a  group 
of  five  names  (all  Greek)  of  persons  'and  the 
brethren  with  them '  saluted  by  St.  Paul  in  Ro 
1614.  Nothing  is  known  of  any  member  of  this 
group.  It  is  suggested  that  together  they  formed 
an  tKK\-r)ffia  or  household  church,  the  locality  of 


138 


PATTERN 


PAUL 


which  we  shall  suppose  to  have  been  Rome  or 
Ephesus,  according  to  onr  view  of  the  destination 
of  these  salutations.  This  is  more  probable  than 
that  they  were  slaves  belonging  to  some  great 
establishment,  or  members  of  a  civic  gild.  Cf.  the 
salutation  to  another  group  of  five  persons  '  and 
all  the  saints  that  are  with  them '  in  the  verse 
following.  In  each  case  the  names  mentioned 
probably  represent  '  the  first  nucleus,  the  leading 
individuals,'  of  the  congregation  (see  C.  von 
Weizsacker,  Apostolic  Age,  Eng.  tr.,  i.  [1894] 
398f.),  and  perhaps  the  first  mentioned  (Asyncritus, 
v.14,  Philologus,  v.15)  was  the  recognized  leader. 
All,  however,  may  have  been  heads  of  separate 
Christian  households.  For  the  occurrence  of  the 
name  Patrobas  on  inscriptions  of  the  Imperial 
household  see  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Philippians4,  1878, 
p.  176.  T.  B.  ALLWORTHY. 

PATTERN.— In  the  EV  of  the  NT  'pattern' 
occurs  seven  times,  representing  four  different 
words  in  the  original — TVTTOS,  biroTuiruo-ts,  vir6deiy/j.a, 
and  avTiTVTrov. 

1.  Tviro's  (from  Tuirreiv,  '  to  strike')  denotes  prim- 
arily a  mark  or  impression  left  by  a  blow  (cf.  Jn 
2025  '  the  print  [TUTTOI>]  of  the  nails ').     In  classical 
Greek  it  is  used  of  the  impress  of  a  seal  or  the 
stamp  struck  by  a  die,  and  so  comes  to  mean  the 
figure  or  copy  of  something  else.     But  as  the  im- 
pression on  the  wax  reproduces  the  engraving  on 
the  seal,  and  the  coin  or  medal  the  device  on  the 
die,  the  word  comes  to  be  transferred,  by  a  familiar 
process  in  the  history  of  language,  from  the  effect 
to  the  cause,  and  so  is  used  not  only  of  the  copy 
but  of  the  example  or  pattern  from  which  the  copy 
is  made.     In  Ro  617  the  RVm  offers  '  pattern '  as 
an  alternative  for  '  form '  of  doctrine  or  teaching. 
In  Tit  27  the  AV  has  '  pattern  (RV  '  ensample ') 
of  good  works.'     In   He  8s  the  AV  and   the  RV 
both  employ  '  pattern '  to  render  the  TVVOS  shown 
to  Moses  in  the  Mount. 

2.  vwoTvirw<ris  (frornvwoTvirovv,  'to  sketch  out, 'Lat. 
adumbrare)  is  strictly  a  '  sketch  '  or  '  outline  '  (at 
'TTTOTinrufffis  is  the  name  given  by  Sextus  Empiricus 
to  his  outlines  of  the  Pyrrhonic  philosophy).     In 
1  Ti  116('  a  pattern  [RV  '  ensample ']  to  them  which 
should  hereafter  believe ')  St.  Paul  may  have  used 
the  word  in  its  original  meaning  to  suggest  that 
his  experiences  as  a  saved  sinner  were  an  '  adumbra- 
tion' of  those  of  subsequent  believers.     Bub  the 
secondary   meaning   'pattern'   is   more   probable, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  word  is  evidently  used 
in  this  sense  in  2  Ti  I13,  '  hold  fast  the  form  (RV 
'  pattern  ')  of  sound  words.' 

3.  virdSeiy/j-a  (from  virodeiic v uvat, ' to  show,'  with  the 
suggestion  of  placing  what  is  shown  under  the  very 
eyes)  is  properly  a  thing  exhibited  as  an  example 
or  pattern.     In  this  sense  the  word  is  used  several 
times  in  the  NT  (e.g.  Jn  1316,  '  I  have  given  you 
an   example ' ;    Ja  510,  '  an    example  of  suffering 
affliction').     The  AV  takes  it   in    this   sense   in 
He  Q23  and  renders  '  patterns.'    But  vir68eiyfj.a.t  like 
Tviros,  may  denote  a  copy  as  well  as  a  pattern  ;  and 
in  rendering  '  copies'  here  the  RV  clearly  conveys 
the  correct  idea,  since  the  things  referred   to  are 
'  the  tabernacle  and  all  the  vessels  of  the  ministry ' 
(v.21),    which  were  only  copies  of  'the  heavenly 
things  themselves.'     Cf.  85,  where  the  RV  rightly 
changes  '  the  example  (vTro8dyp.a.Ti)  and  shadow  of 
heavenly  things '  into  '  a  copy  and  shadow  of  the 
heavenly  things.' 

4.  AvTirvira  (He  9M)  is  probably  to  be  taken  as  an 
adjective  rather  than  a  substantive   (avTiTviros  = 
'answering   to   the  type,'   'corresponding  to  the 
pattern,'  no  doubt  with  reference  to  the  TUWOS  of 
85 ;  see  above).     The  RV,  '  like  in  pattern  to  the 
true,'  is  therefore  to  be  preferred  to  the  AV,  '  the 
figures  of  the  true.'  J.  C.  LAMBERT. 


PAUL. — 1.  Sources. — The  documents  of  the  life 
of  St.  Paul  are  the  Book  of  Acts,  of  which  his 
biography  occupies  nearly  two-thirds,  and  his  own 
Epistles.  To  these,  however,  the  student  has  to 
add  all  he  can  of  the  history  of  the  Jews  and  their 
sacred  books,  as  well  as  of  the  state  of  the  world 
in  the  time  of  St.  Paul.  New  sources  of  informa- 
tion are  constantly  being  opened  up,  as,  e.g.,  by 
travel  and  exploration  in  the  countries  and  cities 
in  which  St.  Paul  laboured,  or  by  fresh  knowledge 
of  Roman  law,  either  iu  general  or  in  special 
application  to  the  Jews. 

i.  THE  BOOK  OF  ACTS. — A  first  glance  into  the 
Book  of  Acts  reveals  that  it  is  a  continuation  of  a 
previous  treatise,  which  is  without  difficulty  identi- 
fied as  the  Gospel  according  to  St.  Luke.  From 
several  passages  in  the  book  where  the  author 
writes  in  the  first  person  plural  (1610"17  205-16  21 J-18 
271-2815  —  frequently  referred  to  as  the  'we' 
passages),  it  is  manifest  that  he  must,  at  certain 
stages,  have  been  a  companion  of  St.  Paul  on  his 
missionary  journeys  ;  and  a  comparison  of  these 
with  the  references  to  St.  Luke  as  a  companion 
in  the  Epistles  points  to  the  conclusion  that  he 
was  the  man.  This  is  also  the  testimony  of  tradi- 
^ion,  and  it  is  generally,  though  not  universally, 
accepted. 

(a)  Purpose. — The  Tubingen  School  conceived 
Acts  to  be  a  work  written  for  a  purpose — that 
of  reconciling  the  rivalry  between  the  Petrine  and 
the  Pauline  elements  in  the  primitive  Church,  and 
criticism  has  discovered  in  it,  as  in  nearly  every 
other  biblical  book,  various  separable  documents, 
which  were  reduced  by  various  editors  and  revisers 
to  the  form  we  now  possess.  But  of  late  the 
current  has  been  flowing  strongly  in  an  opposite 
direction.  \V.  M.  Ramsay,  who  began  himself 
with  the  Tubingen  views,  found  that  the  book 
answered  better  to  the  realities  he  was  bringing  to 
light  with  the  spade  in  Asia  Minor  when  it  was 
assumed  to  be  the  work  of  one  author,  who  was 
doing  his  best  to  tell  the  truth  ;  and  he  has  vindi- 
cated the  claim  of  St.  Luke  to  be  one  of  the  great 
historians  of  the  world,  possessed  of  the  true 
historical  insight,  grasp,  and  accuracy ;  and  Har- 
nack,  starting  from  prejudices  equally  pronounced, 
has  arrived  at  practically  the  same  conclusions. 
The  latter,  indeed,  in  summing  up  his  investiga- 
tions into  the  writings  of  St.  Luke  (Die  Apostel- 
geschichte  [  =  Beitmge  zur  Einleitung  in  das  NT, 
iii.],  1908,  p.  224 f.),  charges  conservative  scholars, 
who  have  reached  the  same  conclusions  before 
him,  with  causing  the  truth  to  be  suspected 
through  their  prejudices ;  and  there  is  no  doubt 
that  interest  attaches  to  the  fact  that  he  has 
reached  the  goal  from  so  distant  a  starting-point. 
There  are  not  wanting,  indeed,  scholars  to  support 
less  conservative  opinions.  Even  English-writing 
ones  are  found  in  J.  Moffatt  (LNT,  1911)  and  B. 
W.  Bacon  (The  Story  of  St.  Paul,  1905),  though 
the  former  at  least  has  humour  enough  to  laugh 
at  certain  critical  views  not  very  unlike  his  own. 
C.  Clemen,  the  author  of  the  latest  important 
German  book  on  the  subject  (Paulus.  Sein  Leben 
und  Wirken,  1904),  has  no  humour  at  all,  but 
ploughs  his  way  stolidly  through  the  Book  of  Acts, 
accepting  as  fact  whatever  is  natural  and  rejecting 
whatever  is  supernatural.  Anyone  may  realize 
for  himself  what  such  a  procedure  will  make  of 
the  book  by  reading  on  this  principle  the  account 
of  what  happened  on  St.  Paul's  first  visit  to 
Philippi,  though,  one  would  suppose,  St.  Luke 
must  have  had  his  eyes  and  ears  specially  on  the 
alert  there,  as  it  was  the  first  time  he  had  seen 
his  new  master  at  Avork. 

It  is  not  so  much  a  religious  or  a  theological  aa 
a  literary  instinct  that  makes  the  present  writer 
distrust  the  critical  method  of  handling  this  book. 


PAUL 


PAUL 


139 


He  does  not  believe  that  books  worth  preserving 
were  ever  made  in  this  way.  Nor  does  he  believe 
that  they  were  so  easily  altered.  There  is  a  rever- 
ence which  a  completed  book  inspires ;  and  the 
idea  that  there  was  no  conscience  about  this  in 
ancient  times  or  in  the  land  of  Judaea  is  one  with 
nothing  to  justify  it ;  on  the  contrary,  as  regards 
the  Jews,  cf.  Josephus,  c.  Apion.  i.  8.  Besides,  the 
Acts  must  very  soon  have  begun  to  be  read  in  the 
assemblies  of  the  Christians,  and  this  would  be  a 
protection.  It  may,  indeed,  be  said  that  this  book 
is  an  unfortunate  one  about  which  to  make  such  a 
stand,  seeing  that  it  has  undoubtedly  experienced 
considerable  alteration  in  the  Bezan  text.  But 
the  explanation  of  this  phenomenon  may  be  the 
simple  one  that  the  author  had  made  two  copies  of 
his  own  book,  and  permitted  himself  a  natural 
liberty  in  writing  the  second  of  them. 

(b)  Plan. — The  plan  of  Acts  is  indicated  in  I8 : 
'  But  ye  shall  receive  power,  when  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  come  upon  you  :  and  ye  shall  be  my  witnesses 
both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judaea  and  Samaria, 
and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth ' ;  and 
the  book  divides  itself  as  follows  : — 1'-66,  in  Jeru- 
salem ;  68-930,  in  Palestine  (including  Samaria) ;  932- 
1223,  from  Judaea  to  Antioch  ;  ^^-IG4,  in  Asia 
Minor  ;  166-1919,  in  Europe  ;  ld^-2830,  from  Achaia 
to  Rome.  The  author  is  fond  of  summarizing  a 
period,  before  setting  out  on  anew  stage,  and  such 
resting-places  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  above 
divisions,  viz.  in  67  931  1224  165  1920  2S31.  St.  Paul 
first  makes  his  appearance  in  7s8,  but  it  is  not  till 
131  that  he  becomes  the  hero  of  the  book,  the 
story  thenceforward  being  merely  an  account  of 
his  missionary  travels  and  other  fortunes.  The 
author  narrates  with  extraordinary  conciseness,  a 
striking  instance  being  where  the  name  '  Saul '  is 
exchanged  for  '  Paul '  without  a  word  of  explana- 
tion (1313)  ;  and,  when  the  traveller  duplicates  a 
journey,  the  second  notice  is  of  the  briefest  possible 
description.  Yet  the  style  is  marked  by  ease  and 
freedom,  scene  following  scene  with  the  variety  and 
lifelikeness  of  painting.  Indeed,  there  is  a  tradi- 
tion that  the  author  was  a  painter  as  well  as  a 
physician,  this  being  at  least  a  tribute  to  the 
picturesqueness  of  his  narrative.  The  speeches 
attributed  to  St.  Paul  are  often  said  to  be  free  com- 
positions of  St.  Luke  ;  because  ancient  historians, 
especially  Thucydides,  took  this  liberty.  But 
why  should  St.  Luke  have  done  so,  when  he  had 
the  speaker  himself  to  consult,  not  to  mention  his 
own  recollection  or  the  conversations  of  those 
about  St.  Paul,  which  must  often  have  turned  on  the 
great  sermons  of  their  hero  ?  Ramsay  is  of  opinion 
that  the  first  verse  of  the  book  implies  that  the 
writer  intended  to  pen  a  third  volume,  similar  in 
bulk  to  the  Gospel  and  the  Acts ;  and  this  would 
account  for  the  narrative  breaking  oft'  where  it 
does,  with  a  brief  notice  of  the  two  years  of 
imprisonment  which  followed  the  arrival  at  Rome. 
This  would,  however,  be  still  more  naturally  ac- 
counted for  if  the  book  was  written  about  the  date 
to  which  it  brings  the  history  down ;  and  the 
present  writer  knows  nothing  which  renders  this 
impossible.  The  chief  objection  to  this  early  date 
for  Acts  is  that  it  must  have  been  written  before 
the  Gospel  of  St.  Luke,  which,  it  is  assumed,  was 
not  written  till  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
The  reasons,  however,  for  assuming  this  date  for 
the  Gospel  are  less  cogent  than  those  for  believing 
the  Acts  to  have  been  penned  before  the  trial  at 
Rome  ;  so  that  the  alternative  is  between  allowing 
a  highly  argiimentative  dating  of  the  Gospel  to  fix 
a  late  date  for  the  Acts  and  making  a  clearly  indi- 
cated date  of  the  Acts  determine  for  the  Gospel  an 
earlier  date  than  it  has  been  usual  to  assign  to  it. 
Cf.  A.  Harnack,  The  Date  of  the  Acts  and  of  the 
Synoptic  Gospels^ng.  tr.,  1911,  Luke  the  Physician, 


Eng.  tr.,  1911,  and  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  Eng. 
tr.,  1909. 

Moti'att's  explanation  of  the  sudden  breaking  off 
of  the  narrative  in  the  Acts  is  that  the  purpose  of 
the  book  was  to  relate  the  progress  of  Christianity 
from  Jerusalem  to  Rome  ;  J.  Weiss,  in  Das  Urchris- 
tenthum,  1914,  makes  the  suggestion  that  Acts 
was  written  for  Roman  Christians,  who  did  not 
require  to  be  informed  of  what  had  become  of  the 
hero  ;  and  Clemen  actually  brings  in  as  an  expla- 
nation Horace's  rule,  in  Ars  Poetica,  185  f.,  about 
not  slaughtering  the  characters  of  a  tragedy  in  the 
sight  of  the  audience,  forgetting  that,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  this  book,  an  immortal  scene  is  con- 
structed out  of  the  martyrdom  of  St.  Stephen.  If, 
as  many  now  assume,  St.  Paul's  trial  ended  in  con- 
demnation and  execution,  it  is  easy  to  understand 
with  what  effect  St.  Luke  could  have  used  this  as 
the  winding-up  of  his  story;  and  it  is  incredible 
that,  knowing  so  pathetic  and  significant  an  event 
to  have  immediately  followed  the  point  to  which 
he  had  brought  his  narrative  down,  he  could  have 
omitted  to  mention  it.  (On  a  supposed  dependence 
on  Josephus,  throwing  the  composition  of  Acts 
late,  see  the  remarks  of  J.  Vernon  Bartlet  in 
Century  Bible,  'Acts,'  1901,  pp.  19,  181,  251,  340; 
also  R.  J.  Knowling,  EOT,  'Acts,'  1900,  p.  30 f. 

The  narrative,  from  the  point  of  St.  Paul's  arrest 
onwards,  abandons  its  conciseness  and  gives  an 
extraordinary  amount  of  space  to  the  incidents  of 
his  appearance  before  different  tribunals.  Bacon 
notes  this  in  a  tone  of  disapproval ;  but  he  falls  too 
easily  a  victim  to  the  temptation  besetting  critics 
who  ascribe  the  form  of  biblical  books  to  more 
or  less  incompetent  editors,  of  attributing  diffi- 
culties to  these  lay-figures,  instead  of  exerting 
himself  to  find  out  the  true  explanation. 
Ramsay  ascribes  this  amplitude  to  a  deliberate 
plan,  kept  in  view  all  through  the  book,  by  which 
St.  Paul,  the  representative  of  Christianity,  is 
made  to  appear  a  personage  of  consideration  to 
Roman  officials,  who  are  nearly  always  favourable 
to  him,  not  infrequently  defending  him  not  only 
from  the  violence  of  the  mob  but  from  officials  who 
are  not  Roman  ;  and  from  this  he  infers  that  the 
book  was  written  at  a  date  when  persecution  had 
been  going  on  for  a  considerable  time.  It  would 
be,  however,  a  simpler  explanation  if  the  composi- 
tion of  the  book  had  had  in  some  way  to  do  with 
St.  Paul's  trial ;  for,  in  that  case,  it  would  have 
been  important  to  dwell  on  the  events  since  the 
date  when  he  fell  into  the  custody  of  Roman 
officials  ;  J.  Weiss  (op.  cit.  p.  106  f. )  leaves  room  for 
this  possibility,  assuming  that  the  principal  source 
stopped  here,  though  insisting  on  later  editorial 
operations. 

(c)  Chronology. — The  chronology  is  an  extremely 
difficult  question,  because  the  fixed  points  that 
seem  to  be  obtained  by  the  sacred  history  touching 
on  profane  history  (Aretas,  2  Co  11s2 ;  Herod,  Ac 
122o-23  .  Claudius,  ll27'30  1238  ;  Felix  and  Festus,  2427) 
fail,  when  closely  scrutinized,  to  remain  fixed. 
The  nearest  to  an  absolutely  certain  date  seems  at 
present  to  be  the  consulship  of  Gallio  (Ac  1812), 
which  is  fixed  by  an  inscription  found  at  Delphi, 
of  which  A.  Deissmann  has  given  a  detailed  ac- 
count in  St.  Paul,  1912,  App.  I.,  p.  244ft'.  From 
this  it  would  seem  that  St.  Paul  must  have  been 
at  Corinth,  during  his  second  missionary  journey, 
in  A.D.  50 ;  and  from  this  point  the  chronology 
can  be  traced  both  backwards  and  forwards.  St. 
Paul  cannot  have  been  born  very  long  after  Jesus  ; 
and  it  is  wonderful  to  think  of  any  race  having  the 
fecundity  to  produce,  Avithin  a  few  years  or  perhaps 
months,  three  such  figures  as  John  the  Baptist, 
Jesus,  and  St.  Paul.  It  is  generally  supposed 
that  Jesus  was  three-and-thirty  years  of  age  at  the 
time  of  His  death  ;  and  we  cannot  be  far  wrong  in 


HO 


PAUL 


PAUL 


thinking  of  St.  Paul  as  about  five-and-thirty  at  the 
time  of  his  conversion.  Few  perhaps  realize  that 
between  his  conversion  and  the  commencement  of 
his  missionary  journeys  there  was  an  interval  of 
not  less  than  fourteen  or  fifteen  years.  To  the 
three  great  missionary  journeys  may  be  assigned 
some  ten  years ;  whence  it  follows  that,  when  he 
reached  Rome,  he  must  have  been  about  sixty. 
In  the  last  Epistle  which  proceeded  from  his  pen 
he  called  himself  'Paul  the  aged' ;  and,  although 
this  is  a  phrase  elastic  enough  to  have  different 
meanings  in  the  mouths  of  different  men,  the  proba- 
bility is  that  he  was  not  far  from  the  threescore 
years  and  ten  at  which  the  Psalmist  placed  the 
term  of  human  life. 

The  dates  of  three  recent  chronologists  (Light- 
foot,  Ramsay,  Harnack,  quoted  in  A.  E.  Garvie, 
Life  and  Teaching  of  Paul,  1910,  p.  181)  do  not  vary 
much — for  the  conversion,  34,  33,  30  ;  for  the  first 
missionary  journey,  48,  47,  45  ;  for  the  second  mis- 
sionary journey,  51,  50,  47  ;  for  the  third  missionary 
journey,  54,  53,  50 ;  for  the  arrival  at  Rome,  61, 
60,  57. 

ii.  THE  EPISTLES. — Whereas  an  ordinary  letter 
among  us  begins  with  a  title  of  courtesy,  addressed 
to  the  receiver,  and  ends  with  the  signature  of  the 
writer,  preceded  by  some  phrase  of  courtesy  or 
affection,  while  place  and  date  stand  either  above 
or  beneath  the  whole,  an  ancient  letter  commenced 
with  the  name  of  the  sender,  followed  by  the  name 
of  the  recipient,  together  with  a  word  of  greeting, 
and  it  ended  with  the  date  and  the  place  of  writing. 
St.  Paul  developed  the  greeting  into  an  elaborate 
form  of  his  own,  in  which  he  described  both  him- 
self and  his  correspondents  in  their  relations  to 
God  and  Christ,  and  wished  them,  instead  of  the 
goodwill  of  an  ordinary  letter,  the  primary  bless- 
ings of  the  gospel.  Sometimes  he  went  on  to  ex- 
press his  thankfulness  to  God  for  their  steadfast- 
ness in  the  faith  and  their  progress  in  grace,  and 
to  pray  for  their  further  development.  In  one  or 
two  cases  all  this  was  not  completed  within  fewer 
than  a  score  of  verses.  If,  at  the  end,  he  added 
date  and  place,  these  have  been  lost,  with  the  ex- 
ception perhaps  of  fragments  ;  and  the  loss  is  to  us 
a  serious  one,  as  it  implies  much  research  to  fill 
up  the  blanks,  and  the  results  are  more  or  less 
conjectural.  As  a  rule  the  writer  dictated  to  an 
amanuensis,  who  might  be  named  in  the  super- 
scription, as  well  as  other  comrades  present  when 
the  Epistle  was  sent  away.  In  one  case  (Ro  1622) 
the  amanuensis  sent  a  greeting  on  his  own  account. 
The  greetings  at  the  close  form  a  striking  feature 
of  the  Apostle's  epistolary  style,  betraying  as  they 
do  the  width  of  his  sympathies  and  the  warmth  of 
his  heart.  Sometimes  he  would  take  the  pen  from 
the  amanuensis  at  the  close  and  add  a  few  weighty 
words  in  autograph,  to  which,  we  need  not  doubt, 
extraordinary  interest  would  be  attached  by  the 
first  readers.  From  the  close  of  Galatians  we 
gather  that  his  own  penmanship  was  large  and 
sprawling :  read,  in  611,  '  See  with  how  large 
letters  I  have  written  unto  you  with  mine  own 
hand.' 

It  is  frequently  repeated  that  the  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul  were  just  ordinary  letters,  Deissmann  going 
furthest  of  late  in  this  direction.  But  this  is  not 
the  case.  Ordinary  letters  are  addressed  to  in- 
dividuals, and  much  of  their  charm  consists  in  the 
intimacies  which  they  disclose.  But  the  majority 
of  St.  Paul's  Epistles  were  composed  for  churches. 
Inevitably,  therefore,  they  had  edification  in  view  ; 
and  some  of  them  are  little  different  from  sermons. 
Indeed,  some  of  them  obviously  reproduce  the 
essence  of  his  preaching,  while  the  rhythmic  and 
periodic  flow  of  the  more  eloquent  passages  may  be 
ascribed  with  confidence  to  the  frequent  repetitions 
of  the  wandering  evangelist.  As  at  all  periods  of 


his  life  their  author  was  not  only  the  propagandist 
of  a  definite  faith  but  an  opponent  of  contrary 
doctrines,  a  doctrinal  or  dogmatic  character  could 
not  help  appearing  in  what  he  wrote.  The  one 
bearing  most  resemblance  to  an  ordinary  letter  is 
the  brief  Epistle  to  Philemon ;  but  Philemon  was 
not  a  very  intimate  friend,  and  this  letter,  though 
confidential,  keeps  a  certain  distance,  as  of  one 
addressing  a  social  superior.  With  Timothy  and 
Titus  St.  Paul  was  on  terms  of  much  closer  in- 
timacy ;  but,  in  writing  to  them  as  youthful 
pastors,  he  could  not  help  thinking  of  the  churches 
over  which  they  presided,  and  much  of  what  he 
wrote  was  obviously  intended  for  the  general  bene- 
fit. Still  it  remains  true  that  St.  Paul's  Epistles 
are  neither  sermons  nor  theological  treatises,  but 
are  written  with  the  freedom  and  realism  of  actual 
correspondence.  They  afford  occasion  for  display- 
ing the  height  and  the  variety  of  their  author's 
personality ;  for  in  them  he  is  always  himself — 
affectionate,  irascible,  passionate,  radiant,  and  op- 
timistic as  long  as  his  converts  are  faithful  and 
his  churches  expanding,  but  ready  to  perish  with 
vexation  and  foreboding  should  they  be  the  reverse. 
His  style  adapts  itself  without  constraint  to  the 
mood  lie  is  in  and  the  situation  to  which  he  is 
addressing  himself.  It  can  be  abrupt,  headlong, 
abounding  with  interrogations  and  anacolutha,  or 
it  can  follow  closely  the  windings  of  an  intricate 
argument  and  break  out  into  a  rapture  of  doxology 
at  the  close.  It  is  always  copious,  filling  the 
channel  from  bank  to  bank,  yet  only  at  rare 
intervals  strikingly  sublime  or  beautiful.  Evi- 
dently the  author  is  not  straining  after  effect  or 
aiming  at  excellency  ;  yet  here  and  there,  through 
the  sheer  quality  of  the  matter,  his  speech  becomes 
a  cascade,  breaking  in  foam  over  the  rocks,  or  it 
widens  into  a  lake  where  plants  of  every  hue  dip 
into  the  water  and  birds  of  every  note  sing  among 
the  branches. 

Much  attention  has  of  late  been  devoted  to  the 
language  of  St.  Paul.  It  had  long  been  known 
that  it  differed  materially  from  the  Greek  of  the 
classical  age,  and  that  it  had  been  modified  largely 
by  the  ideas  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  and  the 
language  of  the  LXX.  But  through  the  unearth- 
ing of  the  remains  of  the  literature  and  correspond- 
ence of  the  time,  in  the  rubbish-heaps  of  ancient 
cities  or  in  the  recesses  of  Egyptian  tombs,  it  has 
been  demonstrated  that  there  prevailed  over  all 
the  Greek-speaking  world  a  development  of  Greek 
speech,  common  to  all  peoples  and  therefore  now 
known  as  Koine,  and  that  to  this  the  language  of 
the  NT  in  general,  and  of  St.  Paul  in  particular, 
is  so  closely  related  that  a  knowledge  of  the  one  is 
the  key  to  the  other  ;  and  St.  Paul  takes  his  place 
as  a  master  of  this  language.  '  He  thinks  in  Greek, 
and  it  is  the  vernacular  of  a  brilliant  and  well- 
educated  man  in  touch  with  the  Greek  culture  of 
his  time,  though  remaining  thoroughly  Jewish  in 
his  mental  fibre'  (A.  T.  Robertson,  A  Grammar  of 
NT  Greek  in  the  Light  of  Historical  Research,  1914, 
p.  2).  See,  in  addition,  Weiss,  op.  cit.  ch.  13  ;  also 
T.  Nageli,  Der  Wortschatz  des  Apostels  Paulus, 
1905. 

(a)  Galatians. — The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians, 
both  in  subject  and  treatment,  bears  so  strong  a 
resemblance  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  that  it 
used  to  be  assumed  that  the  composition  of  both 
must  be  assigned  to  about  the  same  time  ;  and,  as 
the  latter  indubitably  belongs  to  the  residence  in 
Corinth  at  the  close  of  the  third  missionary  journey, 
it  was  taken  for  granted  that  Galatians  must  be 
placed  there  too.  But,  if  its  recipients  were  the 
churches  of  Antioch-in-Pisidia,  Iconium,  Lystra, 
and  Derbe,  evangelized  during  the  first  missionary 
journey,  and  if  the  visit  to  Jerusalem  mentioned 
in  Gal  2  be  identified  with  a  visit  to  Jerusalem 


PAUL 


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141 


preceding  the  Council  held  there — these  two  being 
the  conclusions  of  what  is  called  the  South  Galatian 
theory  (see  below) — it  seems  a  natural  inference 
that  the  Epistle  was  written  before  the  commence- 
ment of  the  second  missionary  journey  and  before 
the  Council  of  Jerusalem.  This  inference  was  not, 
indeed,  drawn  by  Ramsay  himself,  when  he  was 
developing  the  South  Galatian  theory;  he  still 
held  to  the  old  view  that  Galatians  must  be  placed 
side  by  side  with  Romans.  But  it  was  perceived 
to  be  inevitable  by  others  who  had  accepted  the 
South  Galatian  theory  (J.  V.  Bartlet,  The  Apos- 
tolic Age,  1900,  p.  84  f.,  and  Garvie,  Studies  of  Paul 
and  his  Gospel,  p.  23) ;  and  Ramsay,  in  his  latest 
publications,  has  come  round  to  it  (e.g.  The  Teach- 
ing of  Paid,  1913,  p.  372  ff.},  holding  Galatians  to 
be  the  earliest  of  all  the  Epistles.  The  brevity  of 
the  introduction  and  the  absence  therein  of  the 
courtesies  which  abound  in  the  later  Epistles  used 
to  be  attributed  to  the  excitement  in  which  the 
Epistle  was  written ;  but,  if  this  was  the  earliest 
of  the  Epistles,  it  may  be  that  the  complimentary 
style  of  address  had  not  yet  been  developed. 
Certainly  the  author  was  writing  in  haste  and  in 
indignation ;  and  there  is  more  of  what  may  be 
called  the  natural  man,  as  well  as  of  the  Rabbi,  in 
this  than  in  any  other  of  his  writings.  This  was 
the  commencement  of  the  most  heated  and  painful 
of  all  his  controversies,  and  he  enters  the  fray 
without  the  gloves.  The  Judaists  had  captured 
his  churches,  denied  his  apostolic  authority,  and 
overturned  his  gospel ;  and  it  is  with  the  passion 
of  a  mother  bereaved  of  her  young  that  he  throws 
himself  at  the  feet  of  his  converts,  entreating  them 
not  to  render  his  labour  vain  or  allow  themselves 
to  be  robbed  of  salvation  ;  while  he  turns  on  the 
enemy  to  defy  and  to  blast.  The  theme  is  the 
contrast  between  law  and  gospel.  In  the  strongest 
language  he  can  find,  he  repeats,  in  every  variety 
of  expression,  that  the  former  is  abortive  and 
abolished,  but  that  the  latter  is  the  glorious  re- 
velation which  is  the  end  of  all  the  ways  of  God 
with  men.  It  is  not  difficult  'to  find  in  !6-221 
3i_4ii  4i2_gio  three  successive  arguments  upon  (a) 
the  divine  origin  of  Paul's  gospel,  (b)  the  com- 
plete right  of  Gentile  Christians  to  the  messianic 
inheritance,  and  (c)  the  vital  connection  between 
the  Christian  Spirit  and  the  moral  life '  (Moffatt, 
LNT,  p.  88,  quoting  Holsten,  etc.). 

(b)  1  and  2  Thessalonians. — At  the  time  when 
Galatians  was,  on  account  of  similarity  in  temper 
and  ideas,  kept  beside  Romans,  1  and  2  Thess.  used 
to  be  treated  as  the  first-fruits  of  the  Apostle's 
epistolary  activity  ;  and  these  two  Epistles  seemed 
to  fit  this  position  very  well,  being  marked  by  extra- 
ordinary freshness  and  simplicity.  They  were 
written  soon  after  the  missionary  left  Thessa- 
lonica  after  his  first  visit.  Their  style  is  more 
like  that  of  a  lover  to  the  object  of  his  affection, 
from  whom  he  has  been  unavoidably  separated 
but  to  whom  he  longs  to  return.  Indeed,  he  com- 
pares his  own  affection  for  his  converts  to  that  of 
a  mother  for  her  children  ;  he  declares  that  the 
newly  made  Christians  are  his  glory  and  joy  ;  and 
he  tells  them  that  he  lives  if  they  stand  fast  in  the 
faith.  He  recalls  his  first  meeting  with  them  and 
their  subsequent  intercourse  together ;  again  and 
again  has  he  tried  to  return  to  see  them,  and  he 
still  cherishes  the  same  ardent  desire.  There  are 
not  a  few  indications  of  the  amplitude  of  the  gospel 
preached  by  him  amongst  them — as,  for  instance, 
in  the  very  first  lines  of  the  Epistle,  a  reference 
to  the  trinity  of  Christian  graces,  faith,  love,  and 
hope.  But  he  does  not  enlarge  on  doctrinal 
matters.  Taking  it  for  granted  that  the  substance 
of  his  recent  preaching  amongst  them  must  still  be 
well  remembered,  he  contents  himself  with  the 
plainest  exhortations  to  a  life  in  harmony  with  the 


gospel  of  Christ — as,  for  instance,  to  abstain  from 
the  peculiarly  pagan  sin  of  fornication  and  to  love 
one  another.  Special  stress  is  laid  on  the  duty  of 
those  who  called  themselves  by  the  name  of  Christ 
to  perform  their  ordinary  daily  work  in  such  a  way 
as  to  commend  the  gospel  to  those  that  are  with- 
out ;  and  this  duty  was  not  to  be  set  aside  by  the 
fact  that  the  time  was  short,  and  that  Christ  would 
soon  return  to  judgment.  He  drew  a  vivid  picture 
of  the  Second  Advent,  as  he  conceived  it ;  but  this 
appears  to  have  acted  on  the  minds  of  his  corre- 
spondents in  a  way  different  from  his  intention. 
And  this  became  the  occasion  for  the  Second  Epistle, 
which  succeeded  the  First  after  a  brief  interval  and 
is  occupied  with  the  same  themes,  except  that  it 
gives  a  forecast  of  the  history  of  the  world,  in- 
tended to  calm  the  minds  of  those  who  had  allowed 
themselves  to  become  so  excited  about  the  Lord's 
coming  that  they  were  neglecting  their  business 
and  bringing  scandal  thereby  on  the  new  religion. 
This  passage  is  among  the  most  difficult  in  the 
whole  compass  of  St.  Paul's  writings,  and  has 
tested  the  competency  of  exegetes ;  but  the  drift 
of  it  is  plain :  the  return  of  the  Lord  was  not  to 
take  place  as  soon  as  had  been  expected ;  and, 
therefore,  Christians,  while  always  ready  to  meet 
Him,  whensoever  He  might  appear,  must  be  pre- 
pared also  for  the  other  alternative — to  perform 
the  duties  of  their  earthly  callings  with  fidelity, 
if  the  coming  Was  postponed.  The  Christians  at 
Thessalonica  were  exposed  to  severe  persecution, 
and  the  accounts  in  the  Acts  of  St.  Paul's  own 
experience  in  that  city  and  at  Bercea  make  it  easy 
to  surmise  from  what  quarter  this  came.  Not  only, 
therefore,  does  their  spiritual  father  make  use  of 
every  consideration  fitted  to  comfort  them,  but  he 
breaks  out  against  the  race  to  which  he  himself 
belonged  in  a  style  which  reminds  us  of  the  manner 
in  which  even  the  loving  St.  John  in  his  Gospel 
speaks  of  '  the  Jews.' 

(c)  1  and  2  Corinthians. — 1  Cor.  was  written  from 
Ephesus  during  the  author's  prolonged  sojourn  in 
that  city  in  the  third  missionary  journey.  It 
would,  however,  appear  that  it  was  not  the  first 
letter  sent  by  the  Apostle  to  the  same  church. 
He  had  sent  one  which  has  not  come  down  to  us 
(see  1  Co  59) ;  and  this  raises  the  question  whether 
he  may  not  have  written  other  Epistles  which  have 
shared  the  same  fate.  The  sacredness  now  attach- 
ing to  his  writings  might  a  priori  be  thought  to 
render  it  impossible  that  anything  as  precious  as  a 
letter  written  by  him  to  a  church  should  perish ; 
but  it  may  be  no  more  astonishing  that  writings 
of  his  should  have  been  lost  than  that  words  of 
Jesus  should  have  been  carried  irrecoverably  down 
the  wind.  After  receiving  the  Epistle  now  lost, 
the  Corinthians  had  written  to  the  founder  of  their 
church,  describing  their  own  condition  and  asking 
his  opinion  and  advice  about  a  number  of  problems 
and  difficulties  that  had  arisen  among  them.  And 
this  was  not  the  only  case  in  which  a  Pauline 
Epistle  was  evoked  by  a  communication  from  those 
to  whom  it  was  addressed.  Besides,  St.  Paul  had 
heard  of  the  condition  of  the  Corinthians  from 
'them  of  the  household  of  Chloe'  (1  Co  I11),  and  he 
was  far  from  being  satisfied  that  all  was  well  with 
his  spiritual  children.  There  is  a  tone  of  strain 
and  anxiety  in  the  Epistle  from  first  to  last ;  at 
the  same  time,  the  impression  is  conveyed  that  the 
author  feels  himself  to  be  dealing  with  a  church 
holding  a  great  place  in  the  world  and  destined 
for  a  great  future.  The  intimate  nature  of  the 
questions  propounded  in  the  letter  received  from 
the  Corinthians  leads  him  to  enter  into  minute 
details ;  accordingly,  this  Epistle  exhibits  by  far 
the  fullest  picture  in  existence  of  the  interior  of  an 
apostolic  church.  We  learn  the  different  ranks 
and  conditions  of  which  the  membership  is  com- 


142 


PAUL 


PAUL 


posed  ;  we  see  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit  in  full  opera- 
tion ;  we  are  made  aware  of  the  flaws  and  incon- 
sistencies which,  had  we  not  been  informed  on  such 
good  authority,  could  hardly  be  believed  to  have 
disfigured  the  period  of  the  Church's  first  love  ;  the 
rival  parties  and  their  wrangles,  the  backsliders 
and  the  sowers  of  tares  among  the  wheat,  all  pass 
before  our  eyes.  Yet  it  is  this  church  and  its 
affairs  that  draw  forth  from  the  Apostle  the  pane- 
gyric on  love  in  ch.  13,  the  praise  of  unity  in  ch.  14, 
and  the  demonstration  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
body  in  ch.  15.  Such  was  the  letter-writer's  power 
of  illustrating  great  principles  in  small  duties. 
Several  passages  (e.g.  612- 13  81'4  1033  1512- 35)  become 
more  intelligible  if  it  be  assumed  that  St.  Paul  is 
quoting  the  sentiments  of  the  Corinthians,  before 
replying  to  their  queries. 

Between  1  and  2  Cor.,  it  is  thought  by  some 
scholars,  St.  Paul  paid  a  visit  to  Corinth  not  men- 
tioned in  Acts,  and,  returning  to  Ephesus  after  a 
stormy  interview,  wrote  a  tempestuous  letter,  part 
of  which  is  preserved  in  2  Co  IC^-IS10.  The  bearer 
of  this  missive  was  Titus,  who,  on  his  way  back  to 
Ephesus,  was  met  by  St.  Paul  in  Macedonia,  and 
was  able  to  give  so  cheering  an  account  of  the 
effect  produced  at  Corinth  that  at  once  he  was  sent 
back  with  another  letter,  conceived  in  a  totally 
different  tone,  which  has  come  down  to  us  under 
the  title  of  2  Corinthians.  This  new  Epistle  has 
all  the  appearance  of  having  been  written  in  a 
recoil  from  painful  excitement  and  in  the  exulta- 
tion caused  by  the  receipt  of  good  news.  In  it  the 
author  lays  bare  his  innermost  feelings  more  fully 
than  in  any  other  production  of  his  pen.  If  anyone 
wishes  to  know  the  real  St.  Paul,  this  is  the  oppor- 
tunity. It  has  been  called  the  Ich-epistel,  also 
St.  Paul's  Apologia  pro  Vita  Sua.  A  portion  of  it 
(212-610)  has  been  taken  by  A.  T.  Robertson  as  a 
text  for  a  treatise  entitled  The  Glory  of  the 
Ministry:  Paul's  Exultation  in  Preaching,  n.d.  ; 
and  certainly  it  can  hardly  be  fully  understood 
except  by  those  who  have  devoted  their  life  to  the 
salvation  of  others,  and  have  felt  what  St.  Paul 
calls  the  pangs  of  labour  in  bringing  souls  to  the 
birth  through'  the  gospel.  The  mood  throughout 
is  one  of  triumph,  but  at  the  beginning  of  ch.  10 
there  is  a  sudden  change  to  a  tone  of  intense  sharp- 
ness and  even  bitterness.  By  some  this  is  accounted 
for  by  the  supposition  mentioned  above  ;  but  others 
are  satisfied  with  supposing  an  alteration  in  the 
mood  of  the  writer,  accompanied  perhaps  by  some 
delay  between  the  composition  of  the  earlier  and 
the  latter  halves  of  the  Epistle.  Happily,  though, 
the  tone  is  changed,  the  autobiographical  revela- 
tions still  continue,  and  St.  Paul  completes  the 
portrait  of  himself. 

(d)  Romans. — The  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is,  in 
not  a  few  respects,  the  greatest  of  all  the  produc- 
tions of  St.  Paul's  pen.  It  lacks,  indeed,  the 
personal  and  affectionate  note  so  characteristic  of 
his  writings ;  for  it  is  the  only  Epistle  of  his  sent 
to  a  church  not  founded  or  as  yet  visited  by  him- 
self. To  this  fact,  however,  is  due  in  some  degree 
its  greatness ;  because,  while  in  writing  to  churches 
already  visited  he  could  take  it  for  granted  that 
his  correspondents  knew  his  gospel  so  well  that  he 
did  not  require  to  repeat  it,  he  was  compelled,  when 
writing  to  those  who  had  never  seen  his  face  in  the 
flesh,  to  state  his  gospel  at  full  length.  Of  this 
opportunity  advantage  is  taken  to  the  full  in  the 
present  case ;  and  there  is  no  question  that  in 
Rom.  we  have  the  essence  of  what  he  preached  in 
every  city  which  he  evangelized.  As  at  Miletus 
he  declared  to  the  elders  from  Ephesus  that  for 
three  years  he  had  preached  in  the  capital  of  Asia 
'  repentance  toward  God  and  faith  toward  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ'  (Ac  2021),  so  in  Romans  the  need 
which  all  men,  whether  Gentiles  or  Jews,  have  of 


repentance  is  first  fully  unfolded,  and  this  is  fol- 
lowed by  an  equally  ample  and  convincing  ex- 
hibition "of  the  happy  effects  due  to  faith  in  the 
Saviour.  Here  we  have  illustrations  from  Hebrew 
history,  and  especially  from  the  Father  of  the 
Faithful,  such  as  would  be  welcome  in  every  syna- 
gogue, as  well  as  a  philosophy  of  the  history  of 
mankind  such  as  would  be  more  likely  to  captivate 
Gentile  hearers.  Although,  as  has  been  mentioned, 
the  personal  note  is  absent,  yet,  after  his  demon- 
stration is  complete,  at  the  close  of  ch.  8,  he  turns 
to  discuss  the  tragic  fact  that  the  Jewish  race  had 
missed  its  destiny  and  allowed  the  gospel  intended 
for  them  to  pass  over  to  the  Gentiles.  How  was 
this  to  be  reconciled  with  the  election  of  God,  in 
which  St.  Paul  was  a  firm  believer  ?  The  answer 
occupies  no  less  than  three  chapters,  and  it  permits 
us  to  see  into  the  very  heart  of  the  writer,  who, 
though  with  the  indignation  of  a  Christian  he 
could  speak  as  he  had  done  in  Thess.  of  the  chosen 
people,  yet  was  a  Jew  to  the  marrow  of  his  bones, 
and  was  ready,  he  declares,  to  be  himself  '  accursed 
from  Christ,'  if  by  so  being  he  could  save  his 
brethren  according  to  the  flesh.  The  same  noble 
unselfishness  pervades  the  discussion  of  '  meats '  in 
the  chapters  that  follow,  though  his  ethical  genius 
would  be  considered  by  many  to  rise  to  its  cul- 
minating point  in  ch.  12.  In  the  book  as  it  now 
stands  there  is,  at  the  close,  an  unusually  long  list 
of  greetings  to  friends ;  and  the  question  arises 
how  he  could  have  known  so  many  in  a  city  which 
he  had  never  visited.  It  may  be  replied  that  Rome 
was,  in  that  age,  such  a  centre  that  visitors  might 
be  present  in  it  from  many  of  the  cities  and  towns 
visited  by  him  in  other  lands.  But  this  will  hardly 
suffice,  and  a  different  explanation  seems  to  be  at 
least  possible.  An  Epistle  like  this,  so  impersonal 
and  didactic,  was  well  fitted  to  be  sent  to  various 
churches,  and  several  copies  might  be  executed 
and  dispatched  to  different  communities.  The 
greetings,  then,  which  now  stand  in  Rom.  may 
have  been  intended  for  one  of  these.  It  may  have 
been  Ephesus,  and  a  close  scrutiny  of  the  names  is 
said  to  point  to  Ephesus  rather  than  to  Rome. 

(e)  Epistles  of  the  Imprisonment. — The  Epistles 
written  up  to  this  point  belong  to  the  years  during 
which  the  Apostle  was  engaged  in  his  missionary 
travels.  There  follow  four  to  which  has  been  given 
the  common  title  of  the  Epistles  of  the  Imprison- 
ment, because  they  were  written  during  the  years, 
subsequent  to  his  arrest  at  Jerusalem,  when  he  was 
in  the  custody  of  the  Roman  authorities.  In  those 
years  he  was  moved  from  prison  to  prison,  but  at 
two  places — Ca3sarea  and  Rome — he  experienced 
periods  of  imprisonment,  lasting  in  each  case  about 
two  years.  Some  of  these  letters  may  have  been 
composed  at  the  one  place,  some  at  the  other  ;  but 
the  usual  opinion  has  been  that  they  were  all 
written  at  Rome. 

In  one  of  his  prisons  St.  Paul  was  visited  by 
Epaphras,  a  minister  from  Colossse,  a  town  in  the 
Lycus  Valley  not  far  from  Ephesus,  who  had  come 
to  consult  him  about  the  condition  of  the  church 
over  which  he  presided  and  to  solicit  from  him  a 
letter  to  the  members,  in  order  that  these  might 
be  persuaded  by  the  authority  of  an  apostle  to 
abandon  errors  into  which  they  were  falling  and 
return  to  the  simplicity  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus.  The  new  heresy  was  not  that  already  so 
thoroughly  confuted  by'St.  Paul  in  Gal.  and  Rom., 
but  a  kind  of  speculation  such  as  he  had  already 
encountered  in  some  degree  among  the  Corinthians, 
and  which  was  destined  to  spread  through  the 
churches  till  it  came  to  be  known  in  history,  after 
the  Apostolic  Age,  under  the  sinister  name  of 
Gnosticism.  It  had  its  principal  hold  in  the 
Gentile,  as  the  earlier  heresy  had  had  in  the 
Jewish,  section  of  the  Church.  As  yet,  indeed,  it 


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143 


was  only  incipient ;  but  Epaphras  was  afraid  of  it, 
.and  he  had  little  difficulty  in  communicating  his 
fears  to  the  Apostle  ;  so  that  he  secured  and 
carried  back  to  his  flock  what  is  now  known  as 
the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians. 

The  anxieties  awakened  in  the  mind  of  the 
prisoner  by  what  he  had  heard  from  Colossse  may 
easily  have  extended  to  other  churches  in  the 
same  quarter,  and  impelled  him  to  write  in  the 
same  strain  to  them  also.  Indeed,  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Colossians  itself  reference  is  made  (416)  to 
a  letter  he  had  written  to  the  Laodiceans,  the 
significant  request  being  added  that  the  Colossian 
Epistle  be  read  also  at  Laodicea,  and  the  Lao- 
dicean one  at  Colossae.  This  may  have  suggested 
the  idea  of  a  circular  letter  to  all  the  churches  in 
that  portion  of  Asia  Minor ;  and  the  opinion  has 
been  held  by  not  a  few  that  what  is  now  known  as 
the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  was  originally  a  docu- 
ment of  this  description.  This  would  account  for 
the  absence  from  it  of  the  usual  greetings  at  the 
end,  which  might  have  been  expected  to  be  more 
than  usually  profuse  when  he  was  writing  to  a 
church  in  the  founding  of  which  he  had  spent 
three  years  of  his  life.  It  might  account  also  for 
an  abstract  and  impersonal  tone  which  undoubtedly 
clings  to  this  Epistle.  It  is  written  at  a  great 
height  above  the  common  earth,  and  it  may  easily 
embody  the  ruminations  of  one  who  had  long  been 
in  the  solitude  of  a  prison.  It  comes  down,  indeed, 
before  it  ends,  to  practical  things,  giving  a  more 
complete  sketch  of  what  may  be  called  the  ethics 
of  Christianity  than  any  other  of  the  Epistles ; 
but  even  in  this  portion  of  it  there  is  something  of 
the  same  abstract  and  distant  tone,  the  author 
being  less  concerned  with  the  duties  themselves 
than  with  the  motives  out  of  which  the  discharge 
of  these  is  to  spring.  To  him  the  whole  cosmical 
history  of  Christ  is  a  source  of  motives,  which  he 
is  constantly  seeking  to  evoke  in  those  whose 
spiritual  welfare  is  his  care.  There  is  not  much  to 
commend  the  procedure  of  Moflatt  (LNT,  p.  375) 
when  be  accepts  Colossians  as  from  St.  Paul  but 
rejects  Ephesians ;  Bacon,  though  also  prone  to 
negative  criticism,  is  here  led  by  a  truer  instinct, 
feeling  the  spiritual  power  of  the  text  with  which 
he  is  dealing  (op.  cit.  p.  298ft'.).  It  is  obvious  that 
both  the  thought  and  the  phraseology  of  Colossians 
and  Ephesians  are  largely  alike  ;  but  every  writer 
of  letters  is  aware  that  he  sometimes  puts  the 
same  facts,  thoughts,  and  even  words  into  letters 
written  about  the  same  time  ;  and  this  was  speci- 
ally liable  to  happen  when  one  of  the  letters  had 
the  general  character  belonging  to  Ephesians. 
The  estimate  of  this  Epistle  by  S.  T.  Coleridge  as 
'one  of  the  divinest  compositipns  of  man'  (Table, 
Talk,  25th  May  1830)  has  commended  itself  to 
multitudes  not  unworthy  to  hold  an  opinion  on 
such  matters ;  and  this  raises  the  question,  by 
whom  the  Epistle  could  have  been  written,  if  it  be 
not  to  St.  Paul  we  owe  it.  Coleridge  considered 
the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  to  be  the  overflowing 
of  St.  Paul's  mind  upon  the  subjects  already 
treated  in  Ephesians ;  but  the  present  writer  in- 
clines to  conceive  the  relation  between  them  as 
thy  reverse.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  do  more 
than  guess. 

In  Colossians  there  is  a  reference  to  one 
Onesimus  (49),  who  is  described  as  a  faithful  and 
beloved  brother  and  a  member  of  the  Colossian 
Church  ;  and  the  same  is  the  name  of  an  escaped 
slave  who  is  the  subject  of  the  Epistle  to  Philemon. 
It  would  appear  that  he  had  defrauded  his  master 
and  run  away  to  the  capital  of  the  world,  where, 
through  some  providence  to  us  unknown,  he  was 
thrown  into  the  company  of  St.  Paul,  through 
whom  he  was  converted.  St.  Paul  would  willingly 
have  retained  him,  since  he  appeared  to  be  a 


handy  man  such  as  the  prisoner  was  at  the  time  in 
need  of  ;  but  he  considered  it  his  duty  to  send  him 
back  to  his  owner  ;  and  the  Epistle  to  Philemon  is 
the  letter  of  introduction  and  excuse  sent  with 
him.  In  spite  of  its  brevity,  it  is  a  perfect  gem 
of  tact  and  courtesy ;  and  it  is  fitted  to  awaken 
many  reflexions  on  the  relations  of  employers  and 
employed. 

The  last  Epistle  of  this  group  is  that  to  the 
Philippians ;  and,  if  in  Colossians  and  Ephesians 
there  be  a  lack  of  the  personal  element,  this  is 
amply  made  up  for  in  this  new  Epistle,  which 
assures  us  that  imprisonment  had  in  no  way  soured 
or  damped  the  spirit  of  the  writer,  who  was  still 
as  emotional  and  as  optimistic  as  he  had  always 
been.  In  tone  it  bears  a  close  resemblance  to 
1  Thess.,  and  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  it  was 
directed  to  the  same  quarter  of  the  world,  Philippi 
and  Thessalonica  being  neighbouring  cities. 
Though  penned  in  a  prison,  it  has  joy  for  its  key- 
note ;  and,  though  addressed  to  a  persecuted  church, 
it  expects  its  recipients  to  be  glorying  in  the  Cross. 
It  is  of  special  value  as  a  document  of  St.  Paul's 
prison-life.  We  can  see  with  the  mind's  eye  the 
Roman  soldier  to  whom  he  is  chained,  with  the 
various  articles  of  the  panoply  mentioned  in  the 
last  chapter  of  Ephesians.  As  his  guard  would 
be  changed  every  few  hours,  numbers  of  soldiers 
would  be  brought  in  contact  with  him  ;  and  among 
these  there  had  broken  out  a  work  of  grace,  which 
had  become  a  theme  amongst  the  praetorian  guards 
and  had  spread  from  them  to  the  household  of  the 
Emperor,  from  the  members  of  which  the  author 
is  able  to  send  greetings  to  his  correspondents. 
(Cf.  separate  notes  on  '  praetorium '  and  '  Caesar's 
household'  in  Lightfoot,  Philippians*,  1878,  pp. 
99  tt'.,  171  ff.)  Besides,  his  trial,  certain  stages  of 
which  were  already  past,  was  turning  out  favour- 
ably, and  he  was  able  to  believe  that  he  would 
soon  be  at  large  again,  when  he  would  use  his 
freedom  to  revisit  his  beloved  Macedonians.  Be- 
cause the  Epistle  seems  about  to  end  at  the  close 
of  ch.  2,  Bacon  fancies  there  may  be  two  letters 
united  into  one  (op.  cit.  p.  368). 

(/)  Pastoral  Epistles. — There  remains  another 
group,  known  by  the  name  of  the  Pastoral  Epistles 
and  consisting  of  1  and  2  Timothy  and  Titus.  They 
owe  this  title  to  the  fact  that  they  are  addressed 
to  youthful  pastors  by  the  aged  pastor  St.  Paul, 
who,  out  of  his  own  rich  and  prolonged  experience, 
instructs  them  how  it  is  necessary  to  comport 
themselves  in  the  house  of  God.  From  their 
internal  structure  and  contents  it  can  be  easily 
seen  that  all  the  members  of  this  group  are  of  one 
piece  and  originated  at  the  same  time  ;  but  it  is  so 
difficult  to  find  a  place  for  them  in  the  portion  of 
St.  Paul's  life  covered  by  Acts  that  they  have  been 
assigned  to  a  portion  of  it  subsequent  to  this,  when, 
it  is  supposed,  being  released  from  prison,  he 
resumed  his  apostolic  wanderings,  till  he  was  re- 
arrested.  In  2  Tim.  he  is  seen  in  prison  at  Rome, 
not,  as  when  he  wrote  Philippians,  expecting 
release,  but  looking  forward  to  immediate  martyr- 
dom. But  in  1  Tim.  and  Tit.  he  is  at  large  and  in 
motion,  having,  when  he  wrote  the  one,  just  left 
Timothy  in  Ephesus,  and,  when  he  wrote  the  other, 
left  Titus  in  Crete,  an  island  which  he  visited  on 
his  way  to  Rome  but  could  not  have  evangelized 
whilst  he  was  a  prisoner.  About  no  other  portion 
of  St.  Paul's  writings,  however,  has  there  been  so 
much  doubt  as  to  whether  he  was  really  the  author. 
In  certain  quarters  it  is  at  present  taken  for 
granted  that  these  Epistles  did  not  come  from  his 
pen.  Thus,  the  latest  book  published  in  Germany 
on  the  subject  (H.  H.  Mayer,  Ueber  die  Pastoral- 
briefe,  1913)  assumes  this  without  discussion.  But 
on  such  a  subject  votes  require  to  be  weighed  as 
well  as  counted ;  and  the  completest  and  ablest 


144 


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PAUL 


discussion,  by  Zahn,  the  Nestor  of  NT  criticism, 
takes  the  opposite  view  (Introduction  to  the  NT, 
3  vols.,  1909,  ii.  1-133),  which  is  the  prevalent  one 
in  England  and  America,  though  some  recent 
scholars,  like  Moflatt  (LNT,  p.  395 if.),  Bacon  (op, 
cit.,  p.  375),  and  Garvie  (Studies  of  Paul  and  his 
Gospel,  p.  30  n.),  have  gone  over  to  the  other  side. 
It  cannot  be  denied  that  anyone  passing  from  Col. 
and  Eph.  into  these  Epistles  would  feel  himself 
in  a  different  intellectual  atmosphere,  though  he 
would  feel  this  much  less  if  he  made  the  transition 
from  1  and  2  Cor.,  the  subjects  handled  in  which 
are  more  akin  to  those  taken  up  here.  The 
question  is,  whether  the  change  can  be  sufficiently 
accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  author  is  writ- 
ing to  individuals  instead  of  churches,  his  corre- 
spondents being  disciples  intimately  acquainted 
with  his  doctrine,  so  that  he  does  not  require  to 
repeat  what  they  already  know.  Much  is  made  by 
opponents  of  the  Pauline  authorship  of  the  number 
of  words  in  these  Epistles  used  by  St.  Paul  only 
once,  the  number  of  these  being  stated  by  Moffatt 
at  180.  This  sounds  fatal ;  but  on  reflexion  the 
discerning  reader  will  perceive  that  such  a  figure 
has  no  value  unless  we  know  what  is  the  writer's 
habit  in  this  respect.  Whatever  may  be  the 
reason  for  it,  St.  Paul  employs  more  of  these  &ira£ 
\ey6fjLeva,  as  they  are  called,  the  longer  he  writes, 
the  proportion  to  the  chapter  being,  roughly  speak- 
ing, 5  in  Thess.,  7  in  Rom.,  8  in  Eph.  and  Col., 
10  in  Phil.,  and  13  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles;  so 
that  actually  a  convincing  argument  against  the 
Pauline  authorship  could  have  been  fashioned  out 
of  the  number  had  it  been  small.  There  are  frequent 
coincidences  of  thought  such  as  would  not  easily 
have  occurred  to  an  imitator;  note,  e.g.,  the  lists 
of  sins  in  1  Ti  I9- 10  and  2  Ti  31'5,  and  cf.  Ro  I24,  1  Co 
69> 10,  Gal  519- 20  ;  and  there  are  passages  which  may 
be  said  to  contain  the  very  essence  of  Paulinism, 
such  as  1  Ti  24'6,  2  Ti  I9- 10,  Tit  212'14  34'7.  Against 
the  Pauline  authorship  it  is  contended  that  ecclesi- 
astical development  is  more  advanced  than  in  the 
Epistles  which  are  certainly  St.  Paul's.  But,  with 
the  exception  of  what  is  said  about  female  officials 
— and  what  is  said  about  them  is  the  reverse  of 
distinct — the  office-bearers  are  the  same  as  are 
found  in  Acts  and  Phil.,  and  it  is  highly  significant 
of  an  early. date  that  not  the  slightest  hint  is 
given  of  any  distinction  between  bishops  and 
elders,  Tit  1s'7  clearly  proving  these  to  be  identical ; 
whereas  in  the  Ignatian  Epistles,  at  no  great  dis- 
tance in  time,  the  distinction  has  become  very 
marked,  if  indeed  the  passages  are  genuine,  as 
they  are  held  to  be  by  both  Lightfoot  (The  Apos- 
tolic Fathers,  pt.  ii.,  '  Ignatius,'  i.2  [1889])  and  Zahn 
(Ignatius  vonAntiochien,  1873).  The  principal  con- 
sideration is,  however,  the  moral  one.  Let  any- 
one read  the  references  to  St.  Paul  himself  in  these 
Epistles  (1  Ti  I11'20  27  314- 1S,  2  Ti  I3'18  29- 10  310-  " 
46-2i;  Tit  ii-e  3i2-i6))  an(j  say  whether  anyone  but 
St.  Paul  could  have  written  these  words  without 
knowing  himself  to  be  guilty  of  misrepresentation 
and  falsehood.  It  is  obvious  that  the  author  is  a 

good  man,  and  that  he  writes  for  a  holy  purpose, 
ould  such  a  person  be  guilty  of  such  deceit  ?  It 
is  said  that  the  ideas  of  literary  property  which 
we  now  recognize  did  not  then  prevail.  But  what 
proof  of  this  is  there  ?  The  nearest  approach  that 
Moffatt  can  think  of  to  this  pseudonymous  author- 
ship is  the  composition  of  the  romance  entitled 
Paul  and  Theda;  but  the  author  of  that  foolish 
and  lying  production  was  deposed  for  his  pains. 
Gnostics,  it  is  true,  composed  abundance  of  pseud- 
onymous literature,  and  weak  adherents  of  ortho- 
doxy sometimes  imitated  them  ;  but  in  the  Pastoral 
Epistles  we  have  to  do  with  a  personage  and  an 
enterprise  of  a  totally  different  character.  As 
Ramsay  has  remarked,  there  are  not  a  few  traits 


of  St.  Paul's  genius  which  we  should  miss  were  it 
not  for  these  unique  writings. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  has  sometimes  been 
attributed  to  St.  Paul.  But  there  is  no  superscrip- 
tion making  this  claim,  and  the  language  and 
ideas  are  so  different  from  St.  Paul's  that  scholar- 
ship has  long  since,  with  practical  unanimity, 
decided  against  the  Pauline  authorship. 

2.  Life. — (a)  Early  influences. — St.  Paul  was  a 
Jew  ;  he  was  born  at  Tarsus,  in  Cilicia ;  and  he 
inherited  the  Roman  citizenship.  In  these  three 
clauses  is  indicated  his  connexion  with  the  three 
great  influences  of  the  ancient  world — the  religion 
of  Palestine,  the  language  and  culture  of  Greece, 
and  the  government  of  Rome. 

In  his  case  the  first  of  these  was  the  oldest  and 
the  deepest  influence.  We  hear  little  or  nothing 
of  his  parents ;  a  sister's  son  intervened  at  one 
point  with  good  effect  in  his  earthly  fortunes  ;  but 
all  the  indications  suggest  that  he  was  reared  in  a 
religious  home.  He  speaks  of  himself  as  '  circum- 
cised the  eighth  day,  of  the  stock  of  Israel,  of 
the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  a  Hebrew  of  Hebrews ;  as 
touching  the  law,  a  Pharisee '  (Ph  3s) ;  and  these 
terms  betoken  an  intensely  Jewish  atmosphere. 
Still,  he  was  born  not  in  the  land  of  the  Jews,  but 
in  the  territory  of  the  heathen.  Cilicia  was  not 
very  far  from  Palestine  ;  but  any  heathen  country 
was  'far  off'  in  a  sense  other  than  local.  This 
distance  St.  Paul  was  sure  to  feel ;  yet  he  could 
boast  of  his  birthplace  as  being  'no  mean  city' 
(Ac  2139).  It  was  beautifully  situated  at  the 
foot  of  the  Cilician  hills  and  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Catarrhactes  ;  it  was  a  place  of  cosmopolitan  trade  ; 
and  it  was  a  university  city — the  very  place  in 
which  the  man  should  be  born  whose  destiny  it 
was  to  be  to  break  down  '  the  middle  wall  of  par- 
tition' (Eph  214)  and  become  the  Apostle  of  the 
Gentiles.  A  freer  air  blew  round  his  head  from 
the  first  than  if  he  had  been  born  at  Jerusalem. 
There  were  several  ways  in  which  the  Roman 
citizenship  could  be  acquired,  and  it  is  not  known 
through  which  of  these  it  came  into  St.  Paul's 
family ;  but  he  was  '  freeborn '  (Ac  22s8).  Even 
to  a  Jewish  boy  of  sensitive  nature  this  would 
impart  a  certain  self-consciousness ;  but  it  was  to 
become  of  enormous  consequence  in  his  subsequent 
career,  probably  even  saving  his  life. 

In  youth  St.  Paul  learned  the  trade  of  tent-' 
making,  this  being,  it  would  appear,  the  character- 
istic industry  of  Cilicia,  where  a  coarse  haircloth 
was  manufactured  on  a  large  scale,  to  be  used  for 
tentf  and  other  purposes.  This  circumstance 
might  be  supposed  to  indicate  that  he  belonged  to 
the  lower  class  of  the  population.  But  it  is  said 
that  among  the  Jews  it  was  the  custom  at  that 
time  for  even  the  sons  of  the  wealthy  to  acquire 
skill  in  some  manual  art,  as  a  resource  against  the 
possible  caprices  of  fortune  ;  and,  in  the  sequel, 
the  possession  of  this  handicraft  proved  of  eminent 
service  to  St.  Paul,  enabling  him  to  earn  his  bread 
by  the  labour  of  his  hands,  when  it  was  not  ex- 
pedient to  accept  support  from  those  to  whom 
he  preached  the  gospel.  Ramsay  (St.  Paul  the 
Traveller  and  the  Roman  Citizen,  p.  31  Iff.)  has 
accumulated  evidence  to  prove  that  St.  Paul's 
relatives  were  persons  of  substance  and  social 
standing,  and  he  considers  himself  able  to  show 
that,  in  later  life,  he  came  into  possession  of  an 
inheritance,  by  which  he  was  enabled  to  defray 
the  heavy  expenses  of  his  trials  before  the  Roman 
courts.  Evidence  more  convincing  of  social  stand- 
ing is  supplied  by  the  fact  that  St.  Paul  was  a 
member  of  the  Sanhedrin,  if  this  can  be  inferred 
with  certainty  from  the  statement  in  Ac  2610  that, 
when  the  followers  of  Jesus  were  put  to  death,  he 
gave  his  '  vote '  against  them.  It  is  frequently 
stated  that  members  of  the  Sanhedrin  had  to  be 


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145 


married  men,  and  from  this  the  inference  has  been 
drawn  that  he  was  married  in  youth.  If  so,  his 
wife  must  have  died  early,  as  there  is  no  hint  of 
a  wife  in  the  records  of  his  life,  the  fancy  that  he 
married  Lydia  and  addressed  her  in  the  Epistle  to 
the  Philippians  as  '  true  yokefellow '  being  ridicu- 
lous, though  it  goes  back  as  far  as  Eusebius  (HE 
iii.  30)  and  has  been  revived  in  recent  times  by  E. 
Kenan  (Saint  Paul,  1869,  p.  115). 

So  comparatively  near  to  Jerusalem  was  Tarsus 
that,  as  a  boy,  St.  Paul  may  have  been  taken  by 
his  parents  to  one  of  the  annual  feasts,  as  Jesus 
was  at  the  age  of  twelve  ;  and  from  the  experience 
of  the  boy  from  Nazareth  we  may  infer  what  were 
the  feelings  of  this  other  Jewish  boy  at  the  first 
sight  of  the  Holy  City.  It  cannot  have  been  very 
long  afterwards  that  he  was  sent  thither,  to  reside 
in  the  place,  learning  to  be  a  Rabbi.  Along  with 
other  aspirants  to  the  same  office  he  sat  '  at  the 
feet  of  Gamaliel'  (Ac  22s),  whose  intervention  in 
the  Book  of  Acts  on  the  side  of  clemency  and 
common  sense  is  probably  intended  to  be  looked 
upon  as  a  characteristic  act.  But,  whatever  else 
the  disciple  may  have  learned  from  this  master  in 
Israel,  he  did  not  copy  this  trait  of  his  character  ; 
for  the  first  thing  we  hear  of  him  after  the  termina- 
tion of  his  education  is  his  persecution  of  the 
Christians. 

There  seems  little  doubt  that  Jesus  and  St.  Paul 
were  treading  the  soil  of  Palestine  at  the  same 
time  ;  and  it  is  an  old  question  whether  they  ever 
crossed  each  other's  path.  Though  Weiss  (Paulus 
und  Jesus,  1910)  and  Ramsay  (The  Teaching  of 
Paul,  p.  21  ff.)  have  recently  attempted  to  make  it 
probable  that  they  did,  there  is  little  to  be  said  for 
this  view  of  the  case.  It  is  argued,  indeed,  that 
on  the  way  to  Damascus  St.  Paul  could  not  have 
recognized.  Jesus,  if  he  had  not  been  already 
familiar  with  His  appearance.  But  he  did  not 
recognize  Him  by  sight :  he  had  to  ask,  '  Who  art 
thou,  Lord  ?,'  and  it  was  only  through  the  hearing 
of  the  ear  that  he  ascertained  who  was  speaking. 
It  is  true  that,  in  one  place,  St.  Paul  demands, 
'  Have  I  not  seen  Jesus  our  Lord?'  (1  Co  91),  but 
the  sight  referred  to  was  that  on  the  way  to 
Damascus. 

(b)  Persecution.  —  The  whole  situation  creates 
the  impression  that  St.  Paul's  first  collision  was 
not  with  Christ  in  the  flesh,  but  with  Christianity 
in  the  hands  of  its  first  representatives  and  apostles, 
and  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand  the  violence 
with  which  he  opposed  it.  As  a  man  of  logic,  he 
considered  the  case  against  Christianity  complete. 
Jesus  had  died  the  cursed  death  of  the  Cross.  This 
the  Messiah  could  not  have  done.  It  was  the 
destiny  of  the  Messiah  to  live  and  to  reign.  A 
Messiah  who  dies  and  is  buried  must  have  been  a 
pretender ;  and  an  exposed  pretender  is  no  very 
respectable  figure.  As  a  Pharisee  and  a  patriot, 
Saul  cherished  Messianic  hopes ;  indeed,  these 
formed  the  most  sacred  part  of  his  religion ;  but 
they  had  been  turned  to  shame  by  One  who  died 
upon  a  tree.  No  doubt  it  was  this  resentment  at 
the  despite  done  to  that  which  to  him  was  so 
sacred  that  led  to  his  taking  up  the  rdle  of  grand 
inquisitor ;  and  he  fulfilled  in  his  own  person  the 
prediction,  made  by  Jesus  to  His  disciples,  that  a 
day  was  coming  when  whosoever  killed  them  would 
think  he  was  doing  God  service  (Jn  16s).  His  zeal 
was  winning  for  him  golden  opinions  in  the  minds 
of  the  authorities  of  the  nation,  and  he  was  con- 
fident that  it  was,  at  the  same  time,  accumulating 
merit  in  the  hands  of  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob. 

It  may  be  presumed  that,  in  the  course  of  the 

persecution,  he  became  well  acquainted  with  the 

state  of  mind  of  those  whom  lie  was  subjecting  to 

every  kind  of  examination.     Did  it  ever  occur  to 

VOL.  n. — 10 


him  to  think  what  would  be  the  result  if  he  ever 
came  to  have  as  clear  proof  as  they  believed  they 
had  that  He  for  whose  sake  they  were  suffering 
was  not  dead  but  alive  ?  St.  Stephen  was  a  singu- 
larly clear  and  forcible  reasoner,  who  went  far  on 
the  very  pathway  of  revolution  which  St.  Paul  was 
afterwards  to  travel  himself.  Did  Saul  perceive 
the  cogency  of  the  logic,  if  it  were  not  for  one  great 
assumption  ?  But  to  him  this  assumption  was  not 
only  an  impossibility  but  a  blasphemy  ;  and  so  he 
emerges  for  the  first  time  into  history  as  the  keeper 
of  the  clothes  of  the  men  who  stoned  Stephen. 

(c)  Conversion. — For  a  time,  which  was  not  very 
brief,  the  persecutor  raged  like  a  wolf  in  the  fold 
of  the  followers  of  the  Nazarene ;  and  it  was 
because  there  were  no  more  victims  left,  as  he 
supposed,  in  Jerusalem  and  Judaea  that  he  begged 
for  instructions  from  the  authorities  to  go  in  quest 
of  fresh  victims  as  far  as  Damascus.  Of  what  took 
place  on  the  way  thither  the  author  of  the  Acts 
has  given  a  most  graphic  account,  and,  as  St.  Paul 
turned  out  subsequently  to  be  one  of  those  religious 
persons  who  are  not  indisposed  to  narrate  their 
most  intimate  experiences,  there  are  in  Acts  no 
fewer  than  three  accounts  of  the  conversion,  the 
other  two  being  from  the  mouth  of  the  subject 
himself  (91'19  221'21  261'23).  These  accounts  are  not 
painfully  alike.  On  the  contrary,  they  might 
almost  be  said  to  be  so  constructed  as  to  give 
the  caviller  a  chance.  Indeed,  the  event  itself  is 
exposed  to  obvious  objections,  for  the  persecutor 
was  posting  forward  in  the  heat  of  midday,  when 
he  ought  to  have  been  taking  a  siesta,  and  what 
he  saw  might  all  have  been  the  effect  on  an  over- 
strained brain  of  the  unnatural  experiences  through 
which  he  had  been  passing.  Full  advantage  has, 
of  course,  been  taken  of  these  circumstances  ;  but 
both  St.  Luke  and  St.  Paul  go  forward  with  the 
utmost  freedom,  and  there  can  be  no  question 
what  they  believed  the  event  to  be.  St.  Paul 
classes  the  vision  vouchsafed  to  himself  with  the 
appearances  of  the  Risen  Saviour  to  the  disciples 
after  His  resurrection,  and  those  who  regard  the 
latter  experiences  as  only  subjective  infer  that  his 
was  only  subjective  also.  But  it  is  certain  that  he 
himself  reasoned  the  opposite  way  :  he  believed  the 
appearances  to  the  Twelve  and  to  the  other  dis- 
ciples to  be  not  visionary  but  actual,  and  he  was 
convinced,  at  the  time  and  ever  afterwards,  that 
he  had  himself  seen  the  living  Lord.  This  was  the 
datum  on  which  his  entire  subsequent  life  was 
based. 

Accordingly,  he  appeared  immediately  after  his 
conversion  in  the  synagogue  at  Damascus,  bearing 
the  testimony  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  that  Jesus 
is  the  Messiah  (Ac  920).  Happily  for  us,  however, 
he  was  not  content  with  this  simple  statement, 
but,  under  the  overpowering  impression  of  what 
had  happened  to  him,  went  away  to  Arabia,  in 
order  to  think  out  all  that  it  implied,  and  he  did 
not  consider  the  theme  exhausted  till  he  had 
pondered  on  it  for  three  years  (Gal  1").  Where 
was  this  retreat  ?  No  exact  information  is  supplied, 
but  the  probability  is  that  he  betook  himself  to 
the  scenes  of  the  earlier  revelations  made  to  his 
forefathers.  As  Elijah  the  prophet,  in  a  period 
of  mental  crisis,  wandered  southwards  to  Mount 
Sinai,  feeling  it  congenial  to  be  where  the  thunders 
and  lightnings  had  girdled  the  mountain  and,  in 
the  centre,  Moses  had  stood  before  the  Lord,  so 
St.  Paul  courted  the  same  associations,  and,  aided 
by  the  memories  of  Moses  and  Elias,  attempted  to 
understand  Him  in  whom  Law  and  prophecy  were 
fulfilled.  This  incident  is  passed  over  in  Acts; 
but  it  is  probable  that  in  9**  we  are  informed  how 
his  testimony  recommenced  at  Damascus  with 
such  power  that  the  Jews  took  counsel  to  kill  him, 
and  he  had  to  flee  from  the  city. 


146 


PAUL 


PAUL 


Naturally,  Jerusalem  was. the  place  to  which  he 
now  directed  his  steps.  But  his  long  absence,  after 
his  conversion,  had  one  serious  result :  it  barred 
the  way  for  his  cordial  reception  by  the  Christians, 
who  could  not  believe  that  he  was  really  one  of 
themselves,  but  supposed  his  pretended  conversion 
to  be  a  ruse  of  the  persecutor.  Then  it  was  that 
Barnabas  showed  himself  a  friend  in  need,  by 
introducing  him  to  the  company  of  the  disciples 
and  persuading  them  to  accept  him  as  a  brother. 
He  seemed  on  the  point  of  linking  his  forces  with 
those  of  the  original  witnesses  for  the  resurrection 
of  Christ ;  but  so  much  opposition  did  his  opening 
testimony  arouse  among  the  Jews  that  he  had,  for 
safety,  to  be  sent  away  to  his  native  Tarsus. 

(d)  Evangelistic  activity. — Here,  fora  long  time, 
he  was  almost  entirely  lost  to  sight ;  but  there  can 
be  little  doubt  that,  during  these  years,  he  evan- 
gelized his  native  province  of  Cilicia  ;  and  it  is  an 
interesting  question  whether  the  church  in  this 

frovince  founded  by  him  was  Jewish  or  Gentile, 
t  has  been  almost  universally  taken  for  granted 
that  it  was  Jewish,  even  St.  Paul  not  being  able  to 
anticipate  the  development  of  Providence.  But 
both  he  himself  and  St.  Luke  render  it  indubitable 
that  he  was  already  acquainted  with  the  purpose 
of  God  to  make  him  the  missionary  of  the  Gentiles ; 
and  it  is  generally  recognized  that  in  Arabia  he 
had  thought  out  the  substance  of  his  subsequent 
teaching.  There  is  one  word  in  the  narrative  of 
the  Acts  which  seems  sufficient  to  prove  that  he 
was  already,  both  in  theory  and  in  practice,  the 
evangelist  of  Gentiles  as  well  as  of  Jews :  this  is 
the  mention  of  Cilicia  (1541)  among  the  churches  to 
which,  after  the  Council  of  Jerusalem,  the  apostles' 
message  was  sent,  to  relieve  them  from  the  obliga- 
tion of  being  circumcised.  If  this  was  required  in 
Cilicia,  and  if  it  gave  satisfaction  there,  as  it  did 
elsewhere,  then  the  church  founded  during  the 
unrecorded  years  of  St.  Paul's  sojourn  in  his  native 
province  must  have  contained  Gentiles. 

Meantime  the  great  truth,  already  learnt  by 
St.  Paul,  was  being  revealed  to  others.  Its  official 
revelation  to  the  Church  was  made  through  St. 
Peter,  in  the  affair  of  Cornelius  ;  and  it  is  easy 
to  perceive  how  appropriate  it  was  that  St.  Peter, 
and  not  St.  Paul,  should  have  been  the  organ  of 
revelation  in  this  case.  Other  incidents  involving 
the  principle  took  place  here  and  there,  but  it  was 
at  Antioch  that  the  conversion  of  Gentiles  on  a 
large  scale  first  occurred  (in  Ac  II20  'Greeks,' 
meaning  heathens,  is  correctly  substituted  in  the 
RV  for  '  Grecians '  in  the  AV,  who  are  Greek- 
speaking  Jews).  From  the  headquarters  in  Jeru- 
salem Barnabas  was  sent  down  to  Antioch,  to  take 
cognizance  of  this  new  development ;  and  he  not 
only  approved  of  it  but,  in  co-operation  with 
others,  extended  the  movement  with  such  success 
that  the  work  increased  beyond  their  powers. 
Then  it  was  that  the  happy  inspiration  occurred  to 
him  that  St.  Paul  was  the  man  required  for  the 
emergency.  Away,  therefore,  he  went  to  Tarsus 
in  search  of  him— not  a  long  journey — and,  when 
he  had  found  him  and  brought  him  to  Antioch,  the 
work  at  once  responded  to  the  energy  of  the  new- 
comer to  such  a  degree  that  'the  disciples  were 
called  Christians  first  in  Antioch'  (v.26).  Thus 
for  the  second  time  did  Barnabas  intervene,  with 
the  happiest  effect,  in  the  course  of  St.  Paul's 
fortunes,  and  all  that  the  great  Apostle  subse- 
quently contributed  to  the  spread  of  Christianity 
may,  in  a  sense,  be  attributed  to  this  'good  man. 

(e)  First  missionary  journey.  —  In  Ac   132  the 
inception  of    St.    Paul's    missionary  journeys   is 
ascribed  to  a  communication  from  the  Holy  Spirit, 
made  through  certain  men  of  prophetic  gifts  in  the 
Church  at  Antioch  ;  but  it  is  not  inconsistent  with 
this  to  believe  that  it  was  also  due  to  the  genius 


of  St.  Paul,  or  that  it  sprang  out  of  the  work 
which  Barnabas  and  he  had  been  doing  in  that 
city ;  and,  if  the  course  of  the  first  missionary 
journey  be  glanced  at  on  the  map,  it  will  be 
seen  that  it  passed,  nearly  in  a  circle,  round  the 
region  of  which  he  had  already  taken  possession  as 
the  evangelist  of  Cilicia.  Its  primary  direction, 
towards  Cyprus,  was  doubtless  due  to  his  com- 
panion, Barnabas,  who  was  a  native  of  this  island. 
At  the  outset  this  gracious  figure  was  the  head  of 
the  enterprise,  the  combination  being  indicated  by 
the  phrase,  'Barnabas  and  Saul.'  But,  when  they 
quit  the  island,  the  phrase  is  '  Paul  and  Barnabas,' 
this  change  indicating  that  the  inferior  had  become 
the  superior.  The  change  of  name,  which  took 
place  at  the  same  point,  must  have  been  con- 
nected somehow  with  this  alteration  in  the  leader- 
ship ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  it  was  not 
also  connected  in  some  way  with  the  name  of  the 
governor,  Sergius  Paulus,  with  whom  they  had 
been  brought  into  remarkable  contact  on  the 
island. 

There  is  no  reason  to  think  that  Barnabas,  the 
generous,  in  any  way  resented  his  own  displace- 
ment, but  the  same  magnanimity  may  not  have 
been  vouchsafed  to  his  nephew,  John  Mark  ;  and 
this  may  have  been  one  of  the  reasons  why  the 
latter,  who  had  been  '  useful  .  .  .  for  ministering ' 
(2  Ti  4U),  broke  away  when  they  reached  the 
mainland,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem.  Another 
of  his  reasons  may  have  been  fear  of  the  perils 
attending  a  journey  into  the  interior  ;  for  it  was 
a  wild  and  inhospitable  region  through  which  the 
travellers  had  to  pass  in  order  to  reach  the  next 
halting-place,  Antioch-in-Pisidia.'  Ramsay  (St.  Paul 
the  Traveller,  p.  94  ff. )  is  of  opinion  that  St.  Paul 
was  driven  into  the  interior,  which  was  highland, 
by  a  severe  attack  of  malaria  fever  experienced  on 
the  coast ;  but,  if  the  course  of  this  journey  was 
intended  to  go  in  a  circle  round  Cilicia,  the  upper 
regions  must  have  been  included  in  the  original 
design.  Besides,  in  the  interior  there  were  Roman 
roads  and  cities  of  importance,  such  as  always 
exercised  an  attraction  on  the  mind  of  St.  Paul. 

On  this  virgin  journey  we  observe  the  character- 
istics of  all  St.  Paul's  missionary  tours — e.g.,  at 
Paphos  the  conflict  with  magic,  in  the  person  of 
Simon  Magus,  as  well  as  the  favourable  relations 
with  the  Roman  governor ;  at  Antioch-in-Pisidia, 
the  commencement  of  the  work  in  the  synagogue 
of  the  Jews  with  an  address  exactly  suited  to 
Jewish  predilections,  but  the  subsequent  turning 
to  the  Gentiles,  when  it  had  been  made  manifest 
that  the  Jews  had  not  known  the  day  of  their 
visitation  ;  at  Lystra,  a  thoroughly  pagan  spectacle, 
when  the  cure  of  an  impotent  man  caused  the  two 
evangelists  to  be  taken  for  a  couple  of  Greek  deities, 
and  to  be  offered  divine  honours — though  the  temper 
of  the  fickle  populace  quickly  changed  when  the 
missionaries  did  not  fall  in  with  their  fancies,  so 
that  St.  Paul  was  stoned  and  left  for  dead. 

From  Derbe,  the  last  point  in  their  itinerary,  it 
would  have  been  easy,  by  descending  through  the 
Cilician  Gates,  to  reach  Tarsus  and  thence  sail 
to  Antioch,  from  which  they  had  set  out ;  but  the 
pastor's  passion  for  his  converts  had  been  aroused 
by  the  successful  labours  in  the  various  cities, 
and,  in  spite  of  all  they  had  suffered  and  the 
danger  of  facing  again  the  excited  mobs,  the  evan- 
gelists went  back  the  way  they  had  come,  in  order 
to  encourage  those  who  had  embraced  the  new 
faith  ;  and  it  is  specially  worthy  of  note  that,  as 
they  went,  they  '  appointed  for  them  elders  in 
every  church '  (Ac  1423).  To  scholars  who  have 
had  no  personal  acquaintance  with  the  practical 
working  of  Christianity  this  may  seem  an  un- 
important trait  or  even  a  throwing  back  into  a  too 
early  period  of  an  arrangement  which  prevailed  at 


PAUL 


PAUL 


147 


a  later  time  ;  but  those  who  have  had  experience 
in  such  matters  will  see  it  in  a  different  light.  St. 
Paul  was  not  only  a  preacher  and  a  thinker,  but 
an  organizer.  It  is  true  of  him,  as  it  is  of  Jesus 
Himself,  that  his  efforts  would  soon  have  been 
swallowed  up  by  the  sands  of  the  desert  had  there 
not  been  provided  for  them,  through  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Church,  channels  for  conveying  their 
results  to  subsequent  ages.  Though  it  is  not 
stated  in  every  case,  it  is  to  be  understood  that  he 
thus  organized  the  Christian  community  in  every 
place  which  he  visited  and  in  which  he  found  any 
footing.  From  the  interior  the  evangelists  de- 
scended to  the  coast,  whence  they  speedily  made 
their  way  to  Antioch  ;  and  the  news  they  brought 
back  of  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  filled  with 
great  joy  those  who  had  sent  them  forth. 

This  sentiment  was  not,  however,  universal. 
The  influx  of  so  many  Gentiles  into  the  Church 
threatened  to  swamp  the  Jews ;  and  many  of 
these,  at  this  juncture,  began  to  demand  that  all 
Gentile  converts  should  be  circumcised  and  com- 
pelled to  live  as  Jews ;  and  they  cherished  any- 
thing but  kindly  feelings  towards  the  man  through 
wrhose  labours  their  own  exclusive  position  in  the 
Church  was  imperilled.  They  made  light  of  his 
authority  and  proceeded  by  degrees  to  deny  it 
altogether.  At  Antioch  they  were  able  to  estab- 
lish such  a  reign  of  terror  on  behalf  of  Jewish 
strictness  that  St.  Peter,  who  had  been  the  first  to 
admit  Gentiles  to  the  Church,  happening  to  visit 
the  city,  refrained  from  sitting  at  food  with 
Gentiles ;  and  even  the  companion  of  the  recent 
missionary  journey,  Barnabas,  was  carried  away 
by  these  fanatics.  At  length  they  went  so  far  as 
to  send  agents  to  visit  the  churches  which  St.  Paul 
had  just  founded,  in  order  to  undermine  his 
authority  and  to  represent  his  gospel  as  being  not 
!  genuine  Christianity  but  a  novelty  of  his  own 
invention.  It  is  easy  to  understand  how  such 
opposition  would  act  on  the  Apostle's  fiery  tem- 
perament. He  publicly  challenged  St.  Peter  and 
Barnabas,  and  exposed  their  inconsistency  ;  and  he 
dispatched  to  his  converts  the  letter  of  indignant 
reproof  which  we  know  as  the  Epistle  to  the 
Galatians. 

At  length  it  was  decided  to  refer  the  whole 
question  to  the  authorities  at  Jerusalem,  where, 
accordingly,  a  Council  was  held — the  first  of  the 
kind  in  the  history  of  Christianity.  Here  both 
St.  Peter  and  St.  James,  to  whom  the  Judaizers 
had  appealed,  decided  the  question  of  principle, 
through  their  speeches  and  votes,  in  favour  of  the 
full  and  free  admission  of  the  Gentiles ;  and  St. 
Paul,  on  the  other  hand,  for  the  sake  of  peace, 
consented  to  certain  restrictions  on  the  walk  and 
conversation  of  the  Gentile  converts.  So  at  least 
is  the  issue  represented  in  Acts.  But  there  are 
those  in  our  day  who  deny  that  it  can  have  been 
so ;  by  consenting  to  any  compromise,  St.  Paul 
would,  in  their  opinion,  have  betrayed  the  Christian 
liberty  of  which  he  was  the  champion ;  and,  in 
short,  the  representation  is  a  fiction  invented  for  a 
purpose.  This,  however,  is  too  cheap  a  way  of 
dealing  with  the  problems  of  history.  St.  Paul 
was  the  champion  but  not  the  fanatic  of  liberty, 
and  this  was  not  the  only  time  when  he  listened  to 
suggestions  of  compromise  from  the  same  quarter. 
As  long  as  he  secured  the  freedom  implied  in  the 
non-circumcising  of  his  Gentile  converts,  he  was 
not  the  man  to  offend  against  the  prejudices  of 
those  whose  experience  had  not  been  exactly  the 
same  as  his  own.  The  prohibition  of  fornication 
occasions  no  difficulty,  except  that  it  is  wonderful 
to  see  it  associated  with  things  which  to  us  seem 
so  trivial.  '  Blood '  and  '  things  strangled  '  awoke 
in  a  Jew  a  horror  naturalis,  and  Gentiles  had  to 
be  reminded  that  by  the  use  of  such  things  they 


were  excluding  Jews  from  the  very  communion  to 
which  they  were  seeking  admission  themselves ; 
and  it  was  never  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul  that 
born  Jews  should  live  as  did  the  Gentiles. 
'  Meats '  involved  two  questions — the  frequenting 
of  sacrificial  feasts  in  idol  temples  (1  Co  810),  and 
the  purchase  in  the  shambles,  for  domestic  use,  of 
meat  which  was  cheap  because  it  had  been  offered 
in  sacrifice  (1  Co  1028) ;  and  it  was  possible  utterly 
to  condemn  the  one  whilst  making  the  other  an 
open  question.  These  remarks  may  help  to  clear 
up  the  difficulties  found  in  the  decision  of  the 
Council  (Ac  15-°-29).  There  may,  however,  be  a 
simpler  solution.  If,  in  accordance  with  certain 
textual  authorities,  '  things  strangled  '  be  deleted 
from  the  decree,  and  if  '  meats  offered  to  idols,' 
'  blood '  and  '  fornication '  be  understood  as  idolatry, 
violence,  and  sensuality — the  sins  to  which  con- 
verts from  paganism  were  peculiarly  exposed  (cf. 
Rev  2216) — then  there  was  no  compromise,  and  the 
biggest  stone  of  stumbling  in  the  criticism  of  Acts 
is  removed.  (So  Harnack,  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
1909,  pp.  248-263.) 

St.  Paul  may  have  seen  that  the  compromise — 
if  there  was  compromise— could  be  only  temporary, 
and  this  may  account  for  the  silence  about  it  in 
his  writings.  But  the  decree,  when  delivered  to 
the  Gentile  communities,  created  great  joy,  and 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it  was  satis- 
factory to  St.  Paul  also.  Yet  the  insinuations  and 
machinations  of  his  enemies  were  not  brought  to  an 
end.  On  the  contrary,  these  continued  for  years, 
making  St.  Paul's  life  a  burden  to  him.  This, 
indeed,  was  the  greatest  controversy  of  his  life, 
from  which  comes  much  of  the  fire  still  smouldering 
beneath  the  surface  in  such  Epistles  as  Galatians, 
1  and  2  Corinthians,  and  Romans. 

(/)  Second  missionary  journey. — The  immediate 
impulse  to  the  second  missionary  journey  is  repre- 
sented as  having  come  from  St.  Paul,  who  said  to 
his  companion,  Barnabas,  '  Let  us  return  now  and 
visit  the  brethren  in  every  city  wherein  we  pro- 
claimed the  word  of  the  Lord,  and  see  how  they 
fare '  (Ac  lo36).  But  he  lost  his  comrade  through  a 
dispute  about  Mark,  who,  as  has  been  mentioned, 
had  deserted  the  mission  on  the  preceding  journey  ; 
and  one  wishes  one  could  be  certain  that  at  this 
juncture  St.  Paul  was  sufficiently  conscious  of  how 
much  he  owed  to  this  friend.  In  his  place  he  ob- 
tained Silas,  who  had  come  to  Antioch  as  one  of  the 
bearers  of  the  decree  of  the  Council  at  Jerusalem  ; 
and,  before  going  far,  he  found  at  Lystra,  in  the 
youthful  Timothy,  one  to  take  the  place  of  Mark. 

They  are  said  to  have  gone  first  through  Syria 
and  Cilicia,  confirming  the  churches  ;  and  it  is  to 
be  observed  that  these  churches  were  the  fruit  not  of 
the  first  missionary  journey,  but  of  earlier  labour. 
It  was  at  Derbe  that  they  first  came  upon  the 
fruits  of  the  foregoing  journey,  and  it  is  probable 
that  they  followed  them  up  further  by  visiting 
Lystra,  Iconium,  and  Antioch-in-Pisidia.  Then, 
it  used  to  be  supposed,  they  struck  away  to  the 
north-east  and  evangelized  Galatia.  But  it  was 
against  this  supposition  that  St.  Luke  gives  no 
account  of  this  new  conquest,  though  it  is  his 
habit  to  give  ample  information  whenever  new 
ground  is  opened  up,  whilst  observing  great  brevity 
in  mentioning  visits  to  parts  that  had  been  visited 
already.  Accordingly,  Ramsay  has  championed 
the  view  that  by  the  phrase  '  the  region  of  Phrygia 
and  Galatia'  is  meant  no  more  than  the  scenes  of 
the  first  missionary  journey,  this  contention,  which 
is  most  fully  explained  by  Ramsay,  artt.  '  Galatia,' 
'  Galatia,  Region  of,'  'Galatians,'  in  BDB  ii.,  being 
what  is  known  as  the  South  Galatian  theory. 
The  basis  of  this  theory  is  that  '  Galatia,'  while 
designating  the  country  occupied  by  the  Galatians, 
was  also  the  name  of  a  political  province,  which 


148 


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was  of  varying  extent  at  different  times,  and  at 
the  time  or  St.  Paul's  visit  included  Phrygia,  or 
at  least  the  part  of  it  in  which  the  towns  in 
question  lay.  This  theory  has  been  widely  ac- 
cepted by  English-speaking  scholars,  but  has  en- 
countered strong  opposition  in  Germany. 

The  course  of  the  missionaries'  movements  was 
under  some  constraint,  the  nature  of  which  is  not 
clearly  indicated,  but  which  prevented  them,  ap- 
parently against  their  will,  from  evangelizing  the 
province  of  Asia,  in  the  west  of  Asia  Minor,  as  well 
as  Mysia  and  Bithynia,  in  the  north-west  of  the 
peninsula,  and  brought  them  down  to  the  coast 
at  Troas,  the  ancient  Troy,  near  the  southern 
entrance  to  the  Hellespont.  It  may  have  been 
illness  which  was  thus  forcing  St.  Paul  forward 
against  his  will,  for  at  Troas  he  is  seen  in  the 
company  of  a  physician,  St.  Luke,  who,  if  he 
rendered  medical  assistance  to  the  Apostle,  was 
rewarded  by  the  gift  of  the  gospel,  of  which  he 
ultimately  became  a  servant.  The  reason,  how- 
ever, for  the  haste  and  the  direction  of  this  journey 
hinted  at  in  the  narrative  itself  is  that  it  was  in 
order  to  see  and  to  obey  the  vision  of  the  night 
which,  at  Troas,  called  him  to  proceed  to  Macedonia, 
thereby  determining  the  direction  taken  by  the 
gospel  to  be  westwards  to  Athens  and  Rome,  the 
centres  of  the  ancient  civilization.  It  is  difficult, 
however,  to  get  rid  of  the  impression  that  at  this 
point,  so  critical  not  only  for  his  own  fortunes  but 
tor  the  future  of  Christianity  and  the  history  of  the 
world,  there  were,  besides  the  providential  causes 
hinted  at,  reasons  in  St.  Paul's  own  mind  and 
genius  similar  to  the  passionate  desire,  to  which 
he  gave  expression  at  a  later  stage,  to  preach  the 
gospel  '  also  ...  in  Rome  '  (Ro  I16).  He  was  the 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  and  this  was  a  call  to  the 
great  seats  of  Gentile  influence. 

Landed  in  Macedonia,  he  proceeded  from  city  to 
city  along  the  Roman  highway — Philippi,  Thessa- 
lonica,  Bercea — in  each  of  which  there  took  place 
some  peculiar  development  of  Providence,  the 
adhesion  of  '  honourable  women '  to  the  new 
religion  being  a  conspicuous  feature  of  Mace- 
donian Christianity.  But  it  is  as  we  approach 
Athens,  '  the  eye  of  Greece,'  that  the  excitement 
of  the  reader  is  aroused  ;  and  St.  Luke  rises  to  the 
occasion,  too,  dipping  his  brush  liberally  in  the 
colours  of  classical  association.  Indeed,  the  scenes 
are  so  lifelike  and  dramatic  that  he  has  been 
accused  of  exaggeration,  E.  Norden,  in  a  work 
entitled  Agnostos  Theos,  1913,  accusing  him  of 
putting  into  the  mouth  of  St.  Paul  a  speech  which 
was  delivered  later  at  Athens  by  another  religious 
figure  of  the  age,  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  and  which 
exhibits  the  qualities  of  the  artificial  prose  prac- 
tised in  the  circles  to  which  Apollonius  belonged. 
But  Harnack  has  come  to  the  vindication  of 
St.  Luke,  demonstrating  in  his  pamphlet  '  1st  die 
Rede  des  Paulus  in  Athen  ein  urspriinglicher 
BestandteilderApostelgeschichte?'in  TU,  3rdser., 
ix.  1  [1913],  by  a  close  examination  of  the  facts, 
that  it  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  Apollonius 
ever  delivered  at  Athens  any  such  speech,  and 
showing  that  the  speech  attributed  to  St.  Paul 
enters  into  the  very  structure  of  the  Book  of  Acts 
as  a  whole,  while  the  rhetorical  form  is  due  to  the 
lofty  style  of  the  thoughts  demanding  expression. 

While,  however,  the  visit  to  Athens  enchained 
the  interest  of  St.  Luke,  and  enchains  ours  still, 
it  was  far  from  giving  unqualified  satisfaction  to 
St.  Paul  himself.  His  apostolate  was  never  so 
nearly  a  failure  as  in  this  city  of  wisdom  and 
renown  ;  and,  when  he  quitted  it  and  went  on  to 
the  next  stage,  Corinth,  he  was,  we  know  from  his 
own  words,  in  a  state  of  '  weakness  and  fear  and 
much  trembling'  (1  Co  2s).  In  Corinth,  however, 
he  was  encouraged  by  one  of  those  dreams  or 


visions  in  which  the  Lord  visited  him  at  critical 
moments ;  and  he  was  further  restored  to  himself 
by  finding,  at  this  stage,  in  Aquila  and  Priscilla, 
tent-makers  like  himself,  with  whom  he  lodged 
and  laboured,  the  nearest  approach  to  an  earthly 
home  it  was  ever  his  fortune  to  enjoy.  He  re- 
mained longer  in  Corinth  than  he  had  done  in  any 
other  city  up  to  this  point,  and  founded  a  large 
church,  which,  though  it  tried  him  not  a  little, 
laid  a  strong  hold  upon  his  heart. 

This  journey  had  been  the  most  remarkable 
adventure  ever  attempted  by  any  missionary  ;  it 
had  been  powerfully  under  Divine  direction  ;  it  had 
abounded  with  thrilling  incidents  ;  it  had  carried 
Christianity  from  the  continent  of  its  birth  to  the 
continent  in  which  at  that  time  resided  the  power 
of  the  world ;  and  it  was  rich  in  beginnings  full 
of  possibility  and  promise.  It  was  as  one  who 
returns  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him, 
that  he  appeared  again  in  Syria  and  Palestine  at 
the  headquarters  of  the  mission. 

(g)  Third  missionary  journey. — The  narrative  in 
Acts  hardly  takes  time  enough,  however,  to  report 
the  termination  of  this  journey  before  it  starts  him 
out  on  the  third  missionary  journey,  on  which  he 
repeated  his  previous  visits  to  the  churches  lying 
between  Antioch-in-Syriaand  Antioch-in-Pisidia  at 
the  one  extremity  and  to  those  lying  between  Troas 
and  Corinth  at  the  other.  But  the  great  object  of 
this  third  journey  was  to  evangelize  the  province 
of  Asia,  which  he  had  had  to  pass  by  on  the 
preceding  journey,  and  especially  to  capture  for 
the  gospel  the  city  of  Ephesus,  one  of  the  great 
centres  of  population,  as  well  as  of  worship,  art, 
and  commerce,  in  the  ancient  world.  Here  he 
made  the  longest  stay  with  which  any  city  evan- 
gelized by  him  was  favoured — a  space  of  three 
years.  During  this  interval  he  may  have  visited 
some  of  the  cities  in  the  neighbourhood,  which 
were  afterwards  under  the  pastoral  charge  of  the 
apostle  John,  who  addresses  letters  to  them  in 
Rev  2.  3.  Some  think  that  he  paid  a  visit  to 
Corinth,  not  mentioned  in  Acts,  and  room  has 
been  sought  here  for  a  visit  to  the  island  of  Crete, 
mentioned  in  the  Epistle  to  Titus.  In  such 
suggestions  there  is  no  impossibility,  for  in  the 
account  given  by  himself  (2  Co  11)  of  his  journey- 
ings,  labours,  and  sufferings,  mention  is  made  of 
not  a  few  remarkable  adventures  of  which  there  is 
no  account  in  Acts,  and  it  is  certain  that  his  life 
was  far  fuller  of  vicissitude  than  even  the  compre- 
hensive narrative  of  the  Acts  suggests.  On  the 
whole,  however,  Ephesus  was  large  enough  to 
account  for  all  his  time,  especially  when,  as  he 
says  (1  Co  169),  'a  great  door  and  effectual'  was 
opened  to  him  there.  There  were,  however,  as  he 
adds,  many  adversaries,  and  the  narrative  of  the 
Acts  exhibits  him  in  conflict  with  several  of 
these.  His  travail  culminated  in  a  conflict  with 
the  worship  of  the  great  goddess  Diana,  whose 
annual  festival  brought  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
pilgrims  from  far  and  near  to  her  temple,  enriching 
the  inhabitants  with  the  money  they  squandered. 
So  adversely  affected  had  the  attendance  become 
through  the  spread  of  the  gospel  that  the  silver- 
smiths, who  vended  shrines  of  the  goddess  to  the 
visitors,  felt  their  vested  interests  to  be  in  peril. 
A  riot  was  the  result,  St.  Luke's  account  of  which 
is,  for  vividness  and  humour,  the  best  record  of 
such  an  incident  in  literature.  But  the  determina- 
tion of  the  disturbers  of  the  peace  was  invincible, 
and  St.  Paul  had  to  flee,  not,  however,  without 
leaving  a  church  which  flourished  for  centuries  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  make  Ephesus  one  of  the 
foremost  names  in  early  Christianity. 

On  the  third  missionary  journey  St.  Paul  did 
not  really  advance  farther  to  the  west  —  the 
direction  of  progress — than  in  the  second,  and  his 


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149 


ambition  for  the  extension  of  Christianity  was  far 
from  satisfied,  as  may  be  ascertained  from  what  he 
says  at  the  close  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
written  while  he  was  at  Corinth,  about  his  desire 
to  see  Rome.  But  the  days  of  his  free  and  unim- 
peded activity  were  nearing  an  end.  As  he  was 
about  to  sail  for  headquarters,  perhaps  in  a 
pilgrim-ship  carrying  many  Jews  to  an  approach- 
ing feast  at  Jerusalem,  he  became  aware  of  a  plot 
to  take  his  life  during  the  voyage.  So  he  had  to 
resort  to  a  land-journey  instead,  being  accompanied 
by  a  number  of  deputies  from  his  various  churches, 
who  were  the  bearers  of  a  collection  he  had  for 
some  time  been  amassing  for  the  poor  at  Jerusalem. 
But  in  the  various  places  at  which  he  touched  the 
prophets  in  the  churches  began  to  for  bode  some 
calamity  about  to  befall  him  at  Jerusalem.  This 
imparted  to  the  speeches  he  delivered  on  the  way, 
especially  the  one  to  the  elders  of  Ephesus,  who 
came  down  to  the  port  at  Miletus  to  greet  him  as 
he  passed,  a  peculiar  pathos.  Yet  he  did  not  feel 
himself  debarred  from  going  forward  by  these 
providential  intimations.  He  appears,  in  fact,  to 
have  made  up  his  mind  that  his  hour  had  come ; 
and  he  was  ready  to  die  at  Jerusalem. 

(h)  Imprisonment.  —  At  the  feast  there  were 
multitudes  of  his  fellow-countrymen  who  had 
come  into  collision  with  him  in  the  cities  of  the 
Dispersion,  where  they  dwelt,  but  had  been  pre- 
vented by  the  Roman  authority  under  which  they 
lived  from  proceeding  to  extremes.  When  these 
became  aware  of  his  presence  in  the  Holy  City, 
they  felt  that  they  could  now  indulge  the  feelings 
of  revenge  which  they  had  had  to  restrain  else- 
where. An  opportunity  was  afforded  through 
St.  Paul  yielding  to  the  advice  of  St.  James  and 
the  other  apostles,  who  advised  him  to  perform 
in  the  Temple  a  rite  which  would  prove  that  he 
still  lived  as  a  Jew.  In  the  sacred  edifice  he  was 
laid  hold  upon  and  would  have  been  torn  in  pieces 
had  he  not  been  rescued  by  the  Roman  guard  in 
the  castle  of  Antonia,  which  overlooked  the 
Temple  area.  For  days  the  Jews  made  the  wildest 
efforts  to  get  him  into  their  clutches,  not  scrupling 
to  enter  into  a  plot  for  his  assassination.  But  the 
Roman  authorities  kept  firm  hold  of  their  prisoner, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  he  was  in  safety  within 
the  fortress  of  Ctesarea.  His  safety,  indeed,  was 
only  that  of  a  prison  ;  nor  was  he  perfectly  safe, 
because  the  governor,  Felix,  was  a  man  who  might 
have  yielded  to  a  bribe  to  deliver  him  up.  Indeed, 
when,  after  two  years,  a  new  governor,  Festus, 
came  to  take  the  place  of  Felix,  the  prisoner  was 
so  afraid  of  some  such  treachery  befalling  him  that, 
making  use  of  his  right  as  a  Roman  citizen,  he 
appealed  unto  Caesar.  It  was  the  law  that,  when 
a  prisoner  had  done  so,  he  must  be  sent  to  Rome 
at  once ;  and  so,  in  a  manner  very  different  from 
any  of  which  he  had  dreamed  in  his  evangelistic 
projects,  he  found  himself  on  the  way  to  the 
Eternal  City.  His  biographer,  St.  Luke,  was  in 
the  company,  which  consisted  of  no  fewer  than 
276  souls ;  and  the  narrative  of  the  voyage  which 
he  has  put  together  from  the  experiences  of  the 
weeks  they  were  on  their  way  is  said  to  be  the 
most  remarkable  record  of  travel  which  has  come 
down  from  ancient  times.  Many  perils  were 
encountered ;  and,  before  all  was  done,  St.  Paul 
had  become  virtually  both  captain  of  the  ship  and 
general  of  the  troops,  all  on  board  owing  their 
lives  to  him.  After  being  shipwrecked  on  the 
island  of  Malta,  they  obtained  another  ship,  which 
carried  them  to  Puteoli,  on  the  south-west  coast  of 
Italy,  and  from  this  place  they  marched  along  the 
famous  Appian  Way  to  their  destination.  News 
of  his  approach  having  reached  the  Church  at 
Rome,  some  of  the  brethren  came  out  to  meet  him 
on  the  way,  at  which  '  he  thanked  God,  and  took 


courage'  (Ac  2815).  In  the  AV  it  is  stated  that 
on  their  arrival  at  Rome,  '  the  centurion  delivered 
the  prisoners  to  the  captain  of  the  guard '  (v.18) ; 
but  in  the  RV  the  statement  has  been  transferred 
to  the  margin,  and  now  reads,  'The  centurion 
delivered  the  prisoners  to  the  captain  of  the 
prsetorian  guard ' ;  and  it  so  happens  that  the 
officer  who  held  this  position  at  the  time  is  known 
from  profane  history  to  have  been  one  Burrus  by 
name,  a  person  of  justice  and  humanity.  But 
scholarship  inclines  at  present  to  the  opinion  that 
the  officer  into  whose  charge  he  passed  was  the 
princeps  peregrinorum,  the  head  of  the  Roman 
frumentarii,  who  acted  as  agents  between  the 
Emperor  and  the  armies  in  the  provinces. 

The  trial  ought  to  have  come  on  at  once.  But 
the  delays  of  the  law  are  proverbial,  and  they 
were  not  likely  to  be  less  prolonged  than  usual 
when  the  reigning  Emperor  was  a  man  who  would 
postpone  any  call  of  duty  for  a  call  of  pleasure. 
Imprisonment  was,  however,  for  Roman  citizens 
confinement  of  a  very  mild  description ;  and  St. 
Paul  was  permitted  to  live  in  his  own  'hired 
dwelling'  (v.80),  guarded  only  by  a  soldier,  to  whom 
he  was  chained.  Here  he  was  allowed  to  receive 
visitors  ;  and  he  made  ample  use  of  the  privilege. 
The  local  Jewish  community  came  to  interview 
him  ;  so,  no  doubt,  did  the  members  of  the  Chris- 
tian community.  Visitors  and  delegates  from  his 
churches,  far  and  near,  came  to  relieve  his  bodily 
wants  or  to  consult  him  on  the  state  of  their  own 
affairs ;  young  men,  who  had  laboured  with  him 
elsewhere,  flocked  round  him  and  carried  his 
messages  wherever  he  desired.  In  short,  though 
humble  to  the  bodily  eye,  his  prison-room  became 
a  pharos,  shedding  the  beams  of  the  gospel  and 
the  light  of  this  missionary's  genius  towards  all 
quarters  of  the  known  world. 

(i)' Last  years. — From  what  has  been  said  above 
about  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  it  will  have  been 
gathered  that  the  present  writer  accepts  the  evi- 
dence for  a  second  imprisonment  and  for  an  interval 
between  the  first  and  the  second  imprisonments,  dur- 
ing which  St.  Paul  resumed  his  missionary  wander- 
ings. For  this  the  evidence  is  strong.  Eusebius 
writes :  '  After  he  had  made  his  defence,  it  is  said, 
the  Apostle  was  sent  again  upon  the  ministry  of 
preaching,  and,  upon  coming  to  the  same  city  a 
second  time,  he  suffered  martyrdom '  (HE  ii.  22) ; 
and,  much  earlier,  Clement  said  of  him  that 
'  having  taught  the  whole  world  righteousness,  and 
for  that  end  travelled  even  to  the  utmost  bounds 
of  the  West,  he  at  last  suffered  martyrdom,  by 
the  command  of  the  governors,  and  departed  out 
of  the  world,  and  went  unto  his  holy  place,  being 
become  a  most  eminent  pattern  of  patience  unto 
all  ages'  (ad  Cor.  i.  5.  7).  As  this  was  written  at 
Rome,  it  is  hardly  likely  that  by  '  the  utmost 
bounds  of  the  West '  Rome  itself  can  be  intended. 
What  further  is  meant  is  to  be  learnt  from  St.  Paul's 
own  words  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans  (1522"28) : 
'  I  was  hindered  these  many  times  from  coming  to 
you  :  but  now,  having  no  more  any  place  in  these 
regions,  and  having  these  many  years  a  longing  to 
come  unto  you,  whensoever  I  go  unto  Spain  (for  I 
hope  to  see  you  in  my  journey,  and  to  be  brought 
on  my  way  thitherward  by  you,  if  first  in  some 
measure  I  shall  have  been  satisfied  with  your 
company) — but  now,  I  say,  I  go  unto  Jerusalem, 
ministering  unto  the  saints.  .  .  .  When  therefore 
I  have  accomplished  this,  and  have  sealed  to  them 
this  fruit,  I  will  go  on  by  you  unto  Spain.'  There 
is  a  persistent  tradition,  though  it  is  late,  that  he 
visited  Spain.  But  the  strongest  evidence  is  in 
the  Pastoral  Epistles  themselves,  in  which  we  see 
him  evangelizing  Crete,  which  he  cannot  have 
done  when  he  touched  at  that  island  on  his  way  to 
Rome  as  a  prisoner,  though  he  may  have  been  so 


150 


PAUL 


PAUL 


interested  in  it  at  that  time  as  to  desire  to  return, 
if  ever  he  should  have  the  opportunity.  We  find 
him,  also,  back  at  Ephesus,  though  he  had  said  to 
the  Ephesian  elders  that  they  should  see  his  face 
no  more,  this  being  his  conviction  at  the  time.  It 
is  often  said  that  St.  Luke  would  not  have  ad- 
mitted this  statement  into  Ac  20  had  he  known 
that  the  anticipation  was  to  be  belied  by  the  good- 
ness of  Providence ;  but  if  he  wrote  his  book  at 
the  time  the  present  writer  supposes,  he  did  not 
know  himself  that  St.  Paul  was  to  be  released. 
From  Ephesus  it  would  be  easy  to  get  to  Spain, 
if  St.  Paul  actually  went  there,  there  being  con- 
stant communication  by  sea  between  Ephesus  and 
Marseilles. 

Under  what  circumstances  he  was  arrested  the 
second  time  we  have  no  information  ;  but,  when 
Nero  was  persecuting  the  Christians,  the  most 
conspicuous  Christian  in  the  world  wras  not  likely 
to  escape.  It  is  very  interesting  to  approach 
Rome,  as  St.  Paul  did  the  first  time,  along  the 
Appian  Way,  and  see  not  only  the  features  of 
nature  on  which  his  eyes  must  have  rested,  but 
even  some  of  the  works  of  man,  such  as  the  tombs 
of  the  Roman  nobility  on  the  sides  of  the  road  and 
the  remains  of  the  aqueducts,  which  supplied  the 
city  with  water,  still  standing  in  the  fields.  After 
passing  through  the  city-gate,  it  is  uncertain 
whether  he  turned  to  the  left  towards  the  Palatine 
Hill  or  towards  a  camp  lying  in  the  neighbour- 
hood where  now  stands  the  British  Consulate. 
Two  sites  are  exhibited  as  his  'hired  house,' one 
of  them  being  on  the  borders  of  the  Jewish 
Quarter.  The  second  imprisonment  would  be  one 
without  mercy,  and  no  more  suitable  place  for  it 
could  have  been  found  than  the  Mamertine  Prison, 
just  outside  the  bounds  of  the  Forum,  at  the 
Capitol  end,  in  which,  tradition  strongly  asserts, 
both  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  were  confined  before 
martyrdom.  It  is  an  unholy  place,  a  symbol  of 
Roman  ferocity  and  cruelty,  with  numbers  of  cells 
and  a  hole  to  let  down  prisoners  into  a  dungeon, 
out  of  which  they  did  not  pass  till  their  corpses 
were  thrust  into  a  sewer  passing  by.  But  it  was 
not  thus  that  St.  Paul  ended  his  life.  It  is  said 
that  he  was  beheaded  a  mile  or  two  out  of  the 
city,  beside  the  Via  Ostiensis,  and  a  monastery, 
enclosed  in  a  wood  of  fragrant  balsam  trees,  now 
marks  the  spot.  A  Christian  lady,  taking  posses- 
sion of  the  precious  dust,  buried  it  on  her  own 
property  near  by  ;  and  over  the  remains  has  been 
erected  one  of  the  noblest  architectural  structures 
in  the  world,  the  Church  of  St.-Paul's-outside-the- 
Walls. 

3.  Beliefs.— B.  Weiss,  in  Biblical  Theology  of  the 
NT,  divides  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul  into  four 
sections  :  (1)  his  gospel  before  his  great  controversies 
began,  this  being  found  in  1  and  2  Thessalonians  ; 

(2)  his  gospel  during  the  principal  controversy  of 
his  life,   this  being  embodied  in   the   four  great 
Epistles,  Galatians,  Romans,  1  and  2  Corinthians ; 

(3)  his  gospel  during  his  later  conflict  with   in- 
cipient Gnosticism,  as  found  in  what  are  called 
the  Epistles  of  the  Imprisonment,  viz.  Colossians, 
Ephesians,   Philemon,   and    Philippians ;    (4)    his 
gospel  in  the  period  following  his  first  imprison- 
ment, this  being  found  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles. 
It  has  sometimes  been  hinted  that,  while  Weiss 
has  collected    the    materials  with   diligence  and 
grouped   them   with    neatness    round    these  four 
centres,  he  has,  in  so  doing,  crushed  the  life  out 
of  them.     But  this  is  an  ungenerous  judgment. 
Weiss's  exegesis  is  so  searching  and  his  exposition 
so  comprehensive,  adapting  itself  unconstrainedly 
to  the  varying  phases  of  the  experience  and  the 
fortunes  of  the  Apostle,  that  it  may  still  perhaps 
be  pronounced  the  most  instructive  study  of  the 
whole  subject,  in  spite  of  the  recent  multiplica- 


tion of  books  on  NT  Theology  (Feine,  Schlatter, 
Weinel).  The  attraction  of  Weiss's  partition  lies 
in  the  process  of  development  which  it  exhibits  in 
St.  Paul's  ideas.  Garvie,  in  Studies  of  Paul  and 
his  Gospel,  goes  to  the  opposite  extreme,  denying 
altogether  that  there  was  a  development  in  St. 
Paul's  mind.  He  is  of  opinion  that  the  Apostle 
had  only  one  gospel,  and  that  it  was  revealed  to 
him  suddenly  and  catastrophically.  He  does  not 
deny  that  the  events  of  his  life  may  have  deter- 
mined the  order  in  which  different  portions  of  his 
doctrine  came  to  full  expression,  but  the  whole  of 
his  gospel  was  implicit  in  his  conversion.  In  this 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  truth ;  yet  to  sacrifice  the 
idea  of  development  is  to  lose  an  element  of 
interest,  which  not  only  falls  in  with  the  intel- 
lectual habits  of  the  present  day  but  is  inherent  in 
the  subject.  St.  Paul  was  a  living  and  growing 
thinker  all  his  days ;  and,  on  the  face  of  the  docu- 
ments, there  is  a  marked  contrast  in  the  point  of 
view  and  in  the  topics  absorbing  his  attention  at 
different  stages  of  his  career.  If  Galatians  was 
the  first  of  all  the  Epistles,  as  scholarship  at 
present  inclines  to  suppose,  the  four-fold  division 
of  Weiss  falls  to  the  ground  ;  and,  at  the  opposite 
end  of  Weiss's  scheme,  the  investigations  of  W. 
Liitgert  (Die  Irrlehrer  der  Pastoralbriefe,  1909) 
tend  to  identify  the  false  teachers  of  the  Pastoral 
Epistles  with  those  of  Colossians  and  Ephesians  so 
closely  that  the  teaching  in  which  they  are  con- 
futed must  be  conceived  as  a  unit.  But,  at  all 
events,  a  two-fold  division,  into  the  gospel  of  his 
earlier  and  that  of  his  later  writings,  is  generally 
acknowledged — the  earlier  comprising  Galatians, 
1  and  2  Thessalonians,  1  and  2  Corinthians, 
Romans,  and  the  later  Colossians  and  Ephesians, 
Philemon,  Philippians,  1  and  2  Timothy,  and  Titus. 
Though  the  later  Epistles  number  seven  and  the 
earlier  only  six,  the  former  are  nearly  twice  as 
bulky  as  the  latter.  Of  these  two  divisions  of 
St.  Paul's  thinking  many  designations  have  been 
attempted,  of  which  that  of  Wernle,  viz.  Apolo- 
getic and  Gnosis,  has  attracted  a  good  deal  of 
attention.  The  most  obvious  and  perhaps  most 
useful  designation  would  be  from  the  contro- 
versialists he  was  opposing  at  the  different  periods, 
or  perhaps  from  his  own  leading  doctrine  in  each 
period.  We  shall,  however,  content  ourselves 
with  speaking  of  the  earlier  and  the  later 
Paulinism. 

(a)  Earlier  Paulinism. — Among  the  influences 
from  the  pre-Christian  stage  of  St.  Paul's  life 
which  bore  upon  the  shaping  of  his  theology  by 
far  the  most  important  was  his  experience  as  a 
Jew,  and  to  this  it  woiild,  in  the  present  writer's 
opinion,  be  hardly  possible  to  ascribe  too  much.  He 
was  profoundly  conscious  of  belonging  to  that  race 
to  which  pertained  '  the  adoption,  and  the  glory, 
and  the  covenants,  and  the  giving  of  the  law,  and 
the  service  of  God,  and  the  promises'  (Ro  94),  and 
to  which  were  entrusted  the  oracles  of  God.  With 
these  oracles  he  was  so  familiar  that,  as  he  spoke 
or  wrote,  quotations  from  every  part  of  them 
flowed  unbidden  to  his  tongue  or  pen.  He  often 
goes  on  arguing  at  great  length  in  the  very  words 
of  the  OT.  All  his  thinking  is  steeped  in  the 
spirit  of  the  prophets,  and  all  his  own  experiences 
appear  to  him  the  continuation  and  fulfilment  of 
those  of  the  fathers  of  his  race. 

He  studied  the  OT  not  only  with  the  devoutness 
of  a  Jew  but  with  the  learning  of  a  Rabbi ;  and, 
unless  we  are  to  suppose  that  inspiration  obliter- 
ated altogether  his  own  personality,  it  must  be 
recognized  that  he  made  use  of  Rabbinical  modes 
of  thinking  and  arguing  when  he  came  to  expound 
Christian  ideas.  Of  this  consideration  use  has 
been  made,  in  recent  times,  to  relieve  Christianity 
of  responsibility  for  certain  of  the  Pauline  notions, 


PAUL 


PAUL 


151 


these  being  set  down  to  his  pre-Christian  habits 
of  thought  and,  consequently,  deducted  from  the 
revelation  through  St.  Paul  attributed  to  the 
Spirit  of  God.  This  is  a  convenient  way  of  getting 
rid  of  a  number  of  difficulties  which  have  long 
puzzled  orthodox  interpreters,  especially  in  the 
Apostle's  use  of  quotations  from  the  OT.  But  the 
idea  requires  delicate  handling.  There  are  those 
who  would  apply  it  even  to  the  teaching  of  our  Lord 
Himself ;  and,  when  it  is  applied  to  St.  Paul  to 
the  extent  of  treating  as  a  fragment  of  negligible 
Rabbinism  such  a  saying  of  his  as  '  Him  who 
knew  no  sin  he  made  to  be  sin  on  our  behalf ;  that 
we  might  become  the  righteousness  of  God  in 
him '  (2  Co  521),  the  proceeding  is  on  a  level  with 
that  of  a  Roman  Catholic  who  places  so  much 
confidence  in  the  modern  theory  of  the  develop- 
ment of  doctrine  that  he  is  able  to  regard  a  practice 
of  his  Church,  which  is  the  very  reverse  of  that 
found  in  the  NT,  as  a  legitimate  outcome  from 
apostolic  teaching. 

Whether  St.  Paul's  language  and  ideas  were 
due,  in  any  considerable  degree,  to  the  classical 
culture  which  he  may  have  picked  up  in  his  youth 
at  Tarsus  or  in  his  subsequent  wanderings  through 
the  world,  is  a  question  about  which  scholars  have 
differed  widely  ;  but  recent  opinion  tends  rather 
towards  an  affirmative  reply.  In  his  imagery  a 
prominent  place  is  held  by  references  to  the  stadium 
and  the  training  of  athletes.  Does  this  imply  that 
he  frequented  the  games,  and  expected  his  converts 
to  do  so  ?  or  may  these  references  be  due  to  some 
stolen  pleasures  of  his  boyhood  ?  It  is  certain  that 
his  most  recurrent  conception  of  heathenism  was 
as  a  concrete  embodiment  of  sin ;  and  when,  as 
he  frequently  does,  he  breaks  out  into  lengthy 
enumerations  of  sins,  this  is  to  be  traced  to  the 
pressure  on  his  spirit  of  the  pagan  atmosphere 
by  which  he  felt  himself  oppressed  wherever  he 
moved. 

The  bearing  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus  on  the  teach- 
ing of  St.  Paul  is  one  of  the  most  important  ques- 
tions of  modern  theology.  Can  Christ's  doctrine 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the  Synoptists  and  of 
eternal  life  in  St.  John  be  identified  with  St. 
Paul's  doctrines  of  the  righteousness  of  God  and 
union  with  Christ?  It  is  quite  certain  that  St. 
Paul  must  have  claimed  this,  had  the  question  been 
submitted  to  him  in  this  form.  But  the  form  in 
which  he  was  challenged  was  rather  that  of  the 
conformity  of  his  doctrine  with  the  views  of  the 
original  apostles,  it  being  assumed  that  these  could 
prove  the  identity  of  their  own  teaching  with  that 
of  their  Master.  Feine  (NT  Theologie,  1910,  p. 
200  ff. )  has  dwelt  with  emphasis  on  the  influence 
exerted  on  St.  Paul  by  the  testimony  of  the 
Church,  as  it  existed  before  he  came  on  the  scene. 
Especially  on  the  two  cardinal  points  of  the  Deity 
of  Christ  and  His  atoning  death  does  this  scholar 
hold  St.  Paul's  convictions  to  have  been  identical 
with  those  held  unanimously  by  believers  in  general 
before  him.  But,  however  true  and  however  im- 

Eortant  it  may  be  that  the  beliefs  of  the  primitive 
hurch  on  these  two  great  truths  coincided  with 
those  of  St.  Paul,  yet  the  manner  in  which  he 
arrived  at  these  convictions  was  too  original  and 
personal  to  allow  us  to  speak  of  them  as  derived 
from  any  mundane  source. 

The  supreme  influence  was  undoubtedly  the  con- 
version itself ;  and  not  a  few  of  the  best  inter- 
preters of  St.  Paul's  thinking  have  treated  his  entire 
system  as  a  deduction  from  this  single  event.  The 
opportunity  for  leisure  and  reflexion,  during  the 
three  years  in  Arabia,  to  think  out  the  implications 
of  this  experience,  must,  however,  be  taken  into 
account  in  estimating  the  result ;  and  then  the  pro- 
vocation of  the  controversy  with  the  Judaizers  came 
in,  to  give  point  and  sharpness  to  all  his  ideas. 


However  revolutionary  the  conversion  of  anyone 
may  be,  it  has  always  antecedents ;  and  the  basal 
element  in  St.  Paul's  religious  experience  was  the 
awakened  conscience  he  inherited  from  his  Jewish 
ancestry.  He  grew  up  with  the  conviction  so  in- 
grained in  his  mind  as  to  be  a  portion  of  his  very 
being  that  the  only  real  blessedness  which  a  human 
being  can  enjoy,  in  time  or  eternity,  lies  in  the  ap- 
proval of  God,  pronouncing  him  righteous.  This 
belief  is  wrought  into  the  minds  of  children  in  pious 
homes,  and  the  absence  of  it  in  many  of  those  who 
occupy  the  pews  at  the  present  day  is  that  which 
makes  preaching  difficult ;  because  the  offer  of  the 
gospel  to  those  who  have  never  hungered  after 
righteousness  is  like  offering  water  to  those  who 
are  not  athirst.  In  heathen  lands  missionaries  have 
to  create  a  conscience,  they  tell  us,  before  they  ap- 
peal to  it ;  and  it  is  this  which  makes  their  work 
so  laborious.  But  from  his  fathers  St.  Paul  had 
inherited  this  invaluable  sensibility ;  and  so  it 
comes  to  pass  that  he  sometimes  speaks  of  his  Chris- 
tian life  as  continuous  with  his  Jewish  experience, 
though  at  other  times  he  speaks  of  the  two  as 
separated  by  a  great  gulf. 

The  way  of  satisfying  this  passion  for  the  Divine 
favour  taught  to  him  by  his  ancestors  and  teachers 
was  the  fulfilment  of  the  Law,  to  which  he  devoted 
himself  with  the  concentration  of  a  nature  which 
did  nothing  by  halves.  It  was  probably  his  failure 
to  satisfy  himself  with  these  efforts  that  drove  him 
to  the  persecution  of  the  Christians  ;  because  he  was 
in  need  of  some  extra  service,  to  make  up  for  the 
lack  by  which  his  performances  were  beset.  From 
the  time  when  the  Tenth  Commandment  taught  him 
the  spiritual  and  interior  nature  of  the  Law  (Ro  77), 
he  never  could  appease  his  conscience,  and  there 
went  on  in  his  breast  continually  a  struggle 
between  the  law  in  the  Book  and  the  law  in  the 
members,  described  in  Ro  7.  This  was  the  goad 
against  which  he  was  kicking  in  his  unconverted 
state,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  pain  may 
have  been  aggravated  by  observing  the  heroism 
and  spiritual  exaltation  of  the  martyrs,  whom  he 
could  not  but  suspect  to  be  better  men  than  him- 
self. 

In  the  early  chapters  of  Rom.  St.  Paul  gives  uni- 
versality to  these  experiences  of  his  own,  conclud- 
ing that  Gentile  and  Jew  are  under  sin,  and  proving 
that  all  alike  have  come  short  of  the  glory  of  God. 
It  might  have  been  thought  that,  according  to  his 
own  principles,  the  Gentiles  could  not  be  guilty  of 
sin,  because  they  had  no  Law.  But  they  had  a  law, 
written  not  on  stones  but  on  the  tables  of  the  heart ; 
for  in  every  human  being,  as  he  comes  into  the 
world,  there  is  a  conscience,  informing  him  of  the 
existence  of  God  and  of  the  elementary  demands  of 
the  Divine  will,  so  that  he  is  without  excuse  if  he 
sins  against  this  natural  light.  In  this  sense  the 
Gentiles  had  without  exception  been  sinners,  and 
even  great  sinners,  descending  from  one  degree  of 
wickedness  to  another ;  because,  when  they  forsook 
God,  He  gave  them  over  to  themselves  ever  more 
and  more,  punishing  sin  with  sin.  From  such 
depths  of  heathen  corruption  the  Jews  might  expect 
to  have  been  saved  by  the  restraining  force  of  their 
Law  ;  but  he  charges  his  fellow-countrymen  with 
practising  the  very  same  sins  as  were  committed  by 
the  Gentiles,  and  that  to  such  a  degree  that  by  the 
scandal  of  their  wickedness  the  name  of  Jahweh 
had  been  made  a  by-word  among  the  heathen.  The 
greater  the  light  the  more  aggravated  is  the  sin  ; 
and  so  the  Law,  which  in  itself  is  holy  and  just  and 
good,  had  become  an  instrument  not  of  justification 
but  of  condemnation.  Not  infrequently  has  St. 
Paul  been  accused  of  exaggeration  in  thus  mak- 
ing all  men  out  to  be  sinners,  with  no  difference 
among  them  ;  but  he  has  the  saints  as  well  as  the 
sinners  on  his  side  in  making  the  accusation  uni- 


152 


PAUL 


PAUL 


versal.  _  It  cannot,  however,  be  denied  that  St.  Paul 
is  entering  into  a  region  of  speculation  where  it 
may  not  be  so  easy  in  our  time  to  follow  him,  when 
lie  traces  this  universal  liability  to  sin  and  punish- 
ment to  the  fall  of  Adam  and  the  imputation  of  the 
guilt  of  Adam's  first  sin  to  his  posterity.  It  is, 
indeed,  debatable  whether  the  latter  is  really  one 
of  his  beliefs,  or  whether  his  idea  was  not  rather 
that  all  human  beings,  having  fallen  into  sin  on 
account  of  their  connexion  with  the  first  man,  are 
held  guilty  not  of  Adam's  sin  but  of  their  own.  In 
either  case  we  recognize  the  energy  with  which  a 
logical  mind  pursues  back  to  their  ultimate  source 
the  facts  of  which  it  is  conscious  in  its  own  experi- 
ence or  which  it  has  observed  in  the  conduct  of 
others.  St.  Paul's  theology  sprang  directly  out  of 
experience,  and  the  religious  experiences  of  his 
boyhood  and  youth  culminated  in  an  overpowering 
sense  of  guilt  and  sinfulness. 

Corresponding  with  this  anterior  exercise  of  con- 
science there  was,  at  the  heart  of  the  conversion 
itself,  an  element  of  terror,  which  is  apt  to  be  over- 
looked. When  St.  Paul  heard  himself  accused  of 
persecution  by  the  Interlocutor  addressing  him  from 
above,  and  was  told,  in  answer  to  his  question,  that 
He  whom  he  was  persecuting  was  Jesus,  and  when 
thereupon  there  flashed  into  his  soul  an  overwhelm- 
ing sense  of  guilt,  because  the  transactions  of  the 
foregoing  months  of  his  life  were  suddenly  revealed 
as  odious  crimes,  he  anticipated  that  the  next  step 
must  be  the  pouring  out  on  his  devoted  head  of  the 
Divine  wrath  in  some  indescribable  form.  But, 
when,  instead  of  being  so  treated,  he  found  himself 
caught  up,  as  it  were,  in  the  Divine  arms  and 
pressed  to  the  Divine  heart,  he  knew  in  an  instant 
that  God  was  a  Being  totally  different  from  his  con- 
ceptions of  Him  hitherto,  and  that  all  for  which  he 
had  been  in  vain  striving  with  so  much  labour  and 
sorrow  was  given  to  him  in  a  moment  without 
money  and  without  price.  This  is  what  he  calls 
the  grace  of  God,  and  he  is  never  tired  of  celebrat- 
ing it. 

The  grace  of  God  came  to  him  in  the  vision  of 
Christ ;  and  God  and  Christ  are  always  associated 
in  his  writings  as  the  joint  source  of  salvation,  as 
when  in  1  Th  I1  he  says  :  'Paul,  and  Silvanus,  and 
Timothy,  unto  the  church  of  the  Thessalonians  in 
God  the  Father  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  Grace 
to  you  and  peace.'  The  vision  of  Christ  did  for  St. 
Paul  what  had  been  done  for  the  older  apostles  by 
the  Resurrection  and  the  Ascension  :  it  convinced 
him  that,  in  the  controversy  with  the  rulers  and  the 
teachers  of  the  nation  in  which  Jesus  had  been  en- 
gaged, He  had  from  first  to  last  been  in  the  right 
and  they  in  the  wrong ;  that,  therefore,  all  His 
claims  were  justified  ;  that,  though  He  had  missed 
the  throne  of  the  Jews,  He  had  thereby  been  ex- 
alted to  the  throne  of  the  universe  ;  and  that  now 
He  belonged  to  a  supernal  world  of  light,  the  rays 
of  which,  seen  by  himself,  had  smitten  him  to  the 
ground  and  blinded  him  for  days.  Formerly  the 
death  of  Jesus  on  the  Cross  had  been  to  St.  Paul 
conclusive  evidence  that  He  had  been  an  impostor, 
whose  pretensions  were  put  to  shame  ;  but  now  it 
was  manifest  to  him  that  the  Cross  must  enclose 
a  Divine  mystery,  compatible  with  all  the  life  of 
Christ  both  before  and  after  ;  and  this  mystery  was 
explained  by  the  belief  that  He  had  died  not  for 
any  sins  of  His  own,  but  for  the  sin  of  the  world, 
and  that  His  sacrifice  of  Himself  had  been  ac- 
cepted as  a  propitiation  for  the  guilt  of  mankind. 
This  was  certainly  a  bold  speculation  ;  but  it  was 
in  harmony  with  all  that  he  knew  about  Jesus,  as 
it  was  in  harmony  with  the  conceptions  of  sin  and 
sacrifice  of  which  the  OT  is  full.  St.  Paul  had 
always  been  a  man  of  conscience  ;  he  believed  in  a 
God  of  righteousness  as  well  as  of  love  ;  and  the 
wonder  and  glory  of  the  gospel  for  him  consisted 


in  this,  that  God  could  be  at  once  a  just  God  and  a 
Saviour. 

This  is  the  '  righteousness  of  God  '  which,  in  the 
verse  (I17)  which  forms  the  keynote  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  llomans,  '  is  revealed  by  faith  unto  faith  :  as 
it  is  written,  But  the  righteous  shall  live  by  faith.' 
So  grand  and  perfect  is  the  work  achieved  by  the 
grace  of  God  and  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  that,  on  the 
part  of  man,  there  is  room  for  nothing  more  than 
faith  ;  and  faith  is  no  more  than  receptivity  :  it  is 
man  ceasing  from  his  own  works,  in  order  that  God 
may  work  in  and  for  him.  Anything  additional  to 
this  attempted  on  man's  part  is  a  return  to  the 
error,  from  which  St.  Paul  had  been  so  marvellously 
redeemed,  of  seeking  salvation  through  works. 
Such  a  simple  means  or  salvation  is,  however,  purely 
human,  there  being  nothing  in  it  for  which  any 
human  being  is  not  competent.  It  has  nothing  to 
do  with  such  distinctions  as  Jew  and  Gentile,  male 
and  female,  bond  and  free.  It  is  universal ;  and 
the  mere  knowledge  of  it,  when  it  came  to  his 
understanding,  contained  within  itself  the  call  to 
be  the  missionary  of  the  Gentiles  ;  for  he  could  not 
know  a  gospel  so  glorifying  to  God  and  so  charged 
with  blessing  for  mankind  without  feeling  an  irre- 
sistible impulse  to  make  it  known  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth. 

The  above  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  his  apolo- 
getic or  missionary  testimony  ;  though  it  must  be 
confessed  that  in  any  such  condensed  statement 
injury  is  done  to  St.  Paul's  thought,  the  natural 
tendency  of  which  is  to  break  out  on  every  hand 
into  additions  and  excursuses  ;  so  that  the  student 
is  like  a  traveller  in  a  mountainous  country  who, 
while  keeping  to  the  central  road,  so  as  to  take  in  the 
outline  of  the  whole,  is  continually  being  tempted  by 
sunny  valleys  stretching  away  into  the  distance, 
and  perceives  that  what  he  took  for  the  mountain- 
tops  have  mountains  behind  them  still. 

It  has  recently  been  contended  by  A.  Schweitzer 
(Geschichte  der  paulinischen  Forschuny,  1911)  and 
H.  Windisch  ('  Die  neuesten  Bearbeitungen  der 
NT  Theologie  und  die  zwei  Leitmotive  des 
Urchristenthums,'  in  ZWT  xix.  [1912])  that  all 
the  Pauline  message  must  be  framed  in  eschato- 
logy,  and  that,  indeed,  this  is  the  most  essential 
feature  of  the  whole.  When  the  same  rule  is 
applied  to  Jesus,  as  it  has  often  been  of  late,  it 
goes  perilously  near  to  converting  Him  into  the 
apocalyptic  dreamer  that  the  Jews  believed  Him 
to  be,  and  to  justifying  them  for  taking  His  life. 
The  eschatology  of  the  Gospels  was,  in  reality,  the 
body  of  humiliation  which  His  position  in  history 
caused  to  cling  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus.  But  this 
was  a  body  destined  to  vanish  away  ;  and  in  St. 
Paul  we  see  it  in  the  very  process  of  disappearing. 
While  the  eschatolpgical  point  of  view  clings  to 
certain  of  his  least  important  utterances,  such  as 
those  on  the  relation  of  the  sexes,  it  has  little  to 
do  with  his  thought  in  general,  which  would  have 
been  very  nearly  what  it  is  if  his  eschatology  had 
been  quite  different. 

A  similar  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  to  the 
sacraments  a  preponderant  place  in  his  thinking 
and  to  connect  these  with  similar  rites  practised  in 
pagan  days  by  those  who  subsequently  came  over 
to  Christianity.  But  such  a  notion  has  still  less 
to  justify  it.  'St.  Paul  said  (1  Co  I17) :  '  Christ  sent 
me  not  to  baptize,  but  to  preach  the  gospel ' ;  and, 
had  occasion  arisen,  he  would  have  added,  with 
the  same  downrightness :  'Jesus  sent  me  not  to 
administer  the  other  sacrament,  but  to  preach  the 
gospel.'  He  was  not  a  dispenser  of  sacraments,  but 
a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  His  own  conversion  was 
complete,  and  the  gospel  involved  in  it  had  been 
revealed  to  his  understanding,  before  he  was  him- 
self baptized.  He  was,  indeed,  baptized  there- 
upon ;  but  the  rite  was  only  a  means  of  emphasizing 


PAUL 


PAUL 


153 


that  which  had  already  taken  place.  He  did  not 
believe  in  sacraments  as  effecting  anything  apart 
from  faith  in  the  mind  of  the  recipient.  His 
careful  account  of  the  Lord's  Supper  proves  how 
highly  he  honoured  that  sacrament  and  how  firmly 
he  believed  in  its  efficacy.  But  to  him  there  was 
nothing  magical  in  the  administration.  No  kind 
of  virtue  was  communicated  through  it  which  is 
incommunicable  through  other  means.  It  was  only 
the  seal  or  signature  affixed  to  the  testimony  of  the 
preached  Word.  Not  the  faintest  glimpse  of  the 
genius  of  the  man  has  been  vouchsafed  to  any  who 
can  believe  him  an  apostle  of  salvation  through 
forms  and  ceremonies  ;  and  little  credit  is  done  to 
his  thinking  capacity  by  those  who  believe  him  cap- 
able of  preaching  sometimes  a  salvation  of  this 
sort  and  at  other  times  a  salvation  through  grace 
and  faith. 

(b)  Later  Paulinism.  —  The  title  proposed  by 
Wernle  for  the  later  Paulinism  is  Gnosis  ;  but  the 
present  writer  would  prefer  Wisdom  ;  because,  in 
English  at  least,  Gnosis  has  a  derogatory  sound. 
To  account  for  the  rise  of  this  phase  in  St.  Paul's 
thinking  there  cannot  be  cited  any  crisis  equal 
in  distinction  to  the  conversion  in  the  earlier  part 
of  his  life.  In  fact,  the  peculiarity  of  his  later 
experience  to  which  his  later  teaching  is  traceable 
is  rather  the  absence  of  crisis.  The  crisis  was  long 
past,  with  its  exciting  experiences  and  startling 
effects  ;  and  there  had  supervened  the  monotony  of 
middle  life.  What  was  there  now  to  make  up  for 
the  glow  and  energy  of  the  earlier  period  ?  Perhaps, 
indeed,  this  hardly  required  to  be  asked  in  regard 
to  St.  Paul  himself,  whose  enthusiasm  never 
cooled  ;  but  it  was  certainly  a  critical  question  for 
the  generality  of  his  converts.  Of  these  St.  Paul 
had  probably  at  one  time  thought  as  being  all  like 
himself — not  less  prompt  in  decision  or  less  endur- 
ing in  conviction.  They  had,  as  well  as  he,  gone 
through  a  crisis  of  conversion  ;  and  he  expected  this 
to  supply  them  with  motives  potent  enough  to 
last  the  rest  of  their  lives.  But  in  ordinary  souls 
first  love  is  apt  to  cool,  and  human  nature  to  recur 
to  its  normal  proclivities  ;  and,  in  course  of  time, 
he  became  well  aware  that  in  none  of  his  churches 
were  there  wanting  gross  abuses  or  glaring  sins. 
What  was  there  in  Christianity  to  provide  for  a 
chronic  necessity  such  as  this  ?  This  is  the  Christian 
problem  of  middle  life. 

In  the  first  period  there  had  been  vouchsafed  to 
him,  immediately  after  his  conversion,  the  resi- 
dence in  Arabia,  during  which,  it  is  believed,  he 
worked  out  in  his  own  mind  the  fundamental 
principles  of  his  gospel.  And  something  of  the 
same  kind  may  be  recognized,  also,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  later  stage  of  his  life  ;  because 
he  spent,  in  imprisonment  at  Caesarea,  a  period 
hardly  less  prolonged  than  that  passed  in  Arabia. 
This  enforced  leisure  was  a  providential  opportunity 
for  revising  his  beliefs  and  combining  with  them 
any  new  experiences  afforded  by  the  external 
course  of  his  history.  Nor  was  this  spur  to  medi- 
tation lacking ;  because,  from  more  quarters  than 
one,  he  heard  of  the  rise  among  his  converts  of 
what  is  now  known  as  incipient  Gnosticism ;  and 
this  furnished  him  with  food  for  thought. 

As  interpreted  by  Lightfoot,  in  his  well-known 
dissertation  on  the  Colossian  Heresy  (Colossians and 
-Philemon,  new  ed.,  1879,  p.  73  ff.),  this  incipient 
Gnosticism  had  for  its  root-idea  an  aversion  to 
matter,  which  it  looked  upon  as  a  principle  opposed 
to  God  and  as  the  cause  of  sin  in  human  beings.  It 
was,  therefore,  to  be  avoided  and  overcome ;  but, 
in  the  endeavour  to  do  so,  different  Gnostics  chose 
different  paths.  On  the  one  hand,  some  practised 
asceticism  in  regard  to  food,  marriage,  and  other 
bodily  enjoyments,  thinking  that  the  best  way  to 
overcome  matter  was  to  have  as  little  to  do  with 


it  as  possible.  Others,  on  the  contrary,  adopted  a 
bolder  course.  Sensual  desires,  it  seemed  to  them, 
were  natural  and  inevitable,  and  the  only  way  to 
overcome  them  was  by  glutting  them  with  that 
for  which  they  craved.  Desire  would  be  extin- 
guished by  exhaustion  ;  and  then  they  would  be 
able  to  cease  thinking  about  the  objects  with 
which  fancy  had  been  obsessed. 

These  opposite  tendencies  occupy  a  prominent 
place  in  St.  Paul's  later  writings ;  and  it  is  easy  to 
imagine  with  how  much  pain  and  annoyance  it  was 
that  he  became  aware  of  their  prevalence  among 
his  churches.  He  may,  however,  have  been  con- 
scious that  both  parties  were  able  to  appeal  to 
doctrines  of  his  own,  which  occupy  a  prominent 
place  in  his  earlier  writings.  In  discussing  the 
question  of  meats  offered  in  sacrifice  to  idols,  he 
had  counselled  the  strong  to  adopt  the  magnanimous 
attitude  of  abstinence  for  the  sake  of  the  weak, 
though  not  conceding  that  the  scruples  of  the 
weak  had  any  justification.  The  weak,  however, 
have  a  strength  of  their  own,  and  they  sometimes 
turn  concessions  thus  made  to  them  into  tyrannical 
rules  binding  upon  all.  At  all  events,  the  exhorta- 
tions to  defer  to  the  weak  do  not  recur  in  the  later 
Epistles ;  but  asceticism  is  strongly  repudiated, 
and  the  principle  enforced  that  '  every  creature 
of  God  is  good,  and  nothing  is  to  be  rejected,  if  it 
be  received  with  thanksgiving :  for  it  is  sanctified 
through  the  word  of  God  and  prayer'  (1  Ti  44-  6). 

There  is  good  reason  for  believing  that  St.  Paul 
became  sensible  in  later  life  that  even  his  own 
doctrine  of  the  righteousness  of  God  was  capable 
of  being  construed  in  a  sense  totally  different  from 
that  intended  by  him,  and  with  pernicious  results. 
In  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  he  had  attacked  the 
Law  with  ferocity,  and  he  had  drawn  no  distinc- 
tion between  ceremonial  and  moral  law.  But 
experience  was  to  teach  him  that  freedom  from 
law  can  be  adopted  as  a  watchword  by  unsteady 
spirits,  who  convert  it  into  licence.  In  Germany, 
a  generation  after  the  death  of  Luther,  justifica- 
tion by  faith  alone  had  been  converted  into  such 
an  idol  that  in  many  quarters  there  was  no  longer 
any  dread  of  certain  forms  of  moral  corruption ; 
and  the  wiser  of  Luther's  followers  had  to  recog- 
nize that  there  is  a  use  of  the  Law  even  for  the 
regenerate,  to  instruct  them  as  to  what  the  will 
of  God  is,  when  once  they  have,  through  grace, 
been  made  willing  to  do  it.  St.  Paul  had  never 
been  unaware  of  this  ;  but  he  states  it  with  more 
clearness  and  urgency  in  his  later  Epistles,  where 
the  standard  set  up  for  all  who  call  themselves  by 
the  name  of  Christ  is  that  they  be  '  furnished  com- 
pletely unto  every  good  work  (2  Ti  317). 

If  the  Lutheran  Church  had  to  learn  by  experi- 
ence that  its  favourite  doctrine  could  be  turned 
into  lasciviousness,  the  Reformed  or  Calvinistic 
Church  had  no  less  to  learn,  in  the  century  after 
the  Reformation,  that  its  favourite  doctrine  was 
capable  of  misuse.  Now,  election  is  one  of  St. 
Paul's  doctrines  also ;  and  he  sometimes  gives  to 
it  very  strong  expression  indeed,  as,  e.g.,  in  the 
paragraph  about  Jacob  and  Esau  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  Nor  does  he 
abandon  it  in  his  later  writings ;  but  he  states  it 
more  cautiously,  laying  emphasis  on  the  choice  of 
God  on  the  part  of  man  which  is  necessary  to 
salvation  as  well  as  the  choice  of  man  on  the  part 
of  God.  In  the  Pastoral  Epistles  there  is  a  uni- 
versalism  of  the  Divine  love  and  of  the  death  of 
Christ  (1  Ti  24'6  410,  2  Ti  I9,  Tit  22) ;  but  it  is  care- 
fully balanced  by  the  ethical  requirementsaddressed 
to  those  who  hear  the  gospel. 

It  may  be  that  the  prominent  place  given  in  the 
later  Pauline  letters  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Church 
is  traceable  to  the  same  considerations  and 
anxieties.  This  new  development  is  in  two  direc- 


154 


PAUL 


PAUL 


tions  :  on  the  one  hand,  there  is  a  very  exalted 
conception  of  the  Church,  culminating  in  the 
image,  in  Ephesians,  of  the  bride  of  Christ,  who  is 
to  be  presented  to  the  Bridegroom  without  spot  or 
wrinkle  or  any  such  thing  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
there  is  the  organization  of  offices,  elaborated  in 
the  Pastoral  Epistles.  Why  was  St.  Paul  so 
anxious  that  such  a  lofty  view  of  its  own  constitu- 
tion should  possess  the  mind  of  the  Church  ?  And 
why  did  he  provide  that  it  should  be  so  thoroughly 
organized  ?  Is  not  the  explanation  to  be  sought 
in  his  growing  sense  of  the  perils  to  which  his  con- 
verts were  exposed  through  contact  with  surround- 
ing paganism,  and  especially  the  orgies  connected 
with  the  idol-festivals  ?  Refuge  from  these  tempta- 
tions of  a  corrupt  society  could  be  found  only  in  a 
pure  society ;  and  he  desired  the  Church  to  be  a 
place  so  attractive  that  those  who  had  left  the  world 
for  it  might  feel  that  they  had  made  a  good 
exchange. 

There  was  another  aspect  of  incipient  Gnosticism 
which  gave  a  direction  to  the  Apostle's  thinking 
of  which  note  must  be  taken.  In  its  dread  of 
matter  it  instinctively  separated  the  Deity  from 
it  as  much  as  possible.  Hence  fully  developed 
Gnosticism  attributed  the  creation  of  the  material 
universe  to  an  inferior  deity,  whom  it  termed  the 
Demiurge ;  and  even  incipient  Gnosticism  inter- 
posed between  the  Deity  and  matter  a  multitude  of 
fantastic  creations  of  the  fancy,  sometimes  con- 
ceived of  as  abstractions  but  at  other  times  im- 
personated as  angels  of  different  ranks.  This 
causes  St.  Paul,  in  his  later  writings,  to  speak  of 
Jesus  Christ  as  both  the  author  and  the  end  of  the 
universe — '  Of  him,  and  through  him,  and  unto 
him,  are  all  things'  (Ro  II36) — and  it  is  probably 
this  also  which  leads  him  to  celebrate  the  Son  of 
God  as  the  Lord  of  angels  and  of  all  the  denizens 
of  the  spiritual  world.  Out  of  such  references 
to  supernatural  beings  there  was  constructed  by 
Dionysius  Areopagiticus  an  elaborate  system  of 
angelology,  which  was  adopted  by  the  theologians 
of  the  Middle  Ages  and  deeply  affected  the  cos- 
mical  conceptions  of  both  Dante  and  Milton.  But 
it  is  open  to  question  whether  St.  Paul  intended 
these  references  to  be  taken  so  seriously.  All  he 
intended  may  have  been  to  say  that,  whatever 
principalities  and  powers  there  may  exist  any- 
where, they  are  all  under  the  dominion  of  the  Son 
of  God.  It  is,  however,  in  one  of  the  least  polem- 
ical of  his  writings  that  we  come  upon  the  ripest 
expression  of  such  meditations  on  the  transcendence 
of  Christ,  viz.  Ph  26ff-,  where  we  read  of  one  'who, 
being  in  the  form  of  God,  counted  it  not  a  prize  to 
be  on  an  equality  with  God,  but  emptied  himself, 
taking  the  form  of  a  servant,  being  made  in  the 
likeness  of  men  ;  and,  being  found  in  fashion  as  a 
man,  he  humbled  himself,  becoming  obedient  even 
unto  death,  yea,  the  death  of  the  cross.  Where- 
fore also  God  highly  exalted  him,  and  gave  unto 
him  the  name  which  is  above  every  name  ;  that  in 
the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  of  things 
in  heaven  and  things  on  earth  and  things  under 
the  earth,  and  that  every  tongue  should  confess 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God 
the  Father' — a  passage  which,  though  it  presents 
to  scholarship  not  a  few  difficulties,  has  done,  and 
ever  will  do,  much  to  steady  the  faith  of  the  Church, 
in  the  glory  of  her  Lord. 

Not  only,  however,  is  Christ  thus  transcendent 
in  the  universe  :  He  is  also  immanent  in  believers 
and  in  the  Church.  This  is  the  teaching  of  all 
the  Epistles  from  first  to  last,  but  it  is  most 
prominent  in  the  later  ones ;  and  this  emphasis 
and  reiteration  fall  in  with  the  thought  which  has 
been  shown  to  be  characteristic  of  the  later  Epistles. 
Even  in  the  earliest  Epistles,  in  which  freedom 
from  the  law  is  vindicated  as  the  negative  pole 


of  Christian  experience,  possession  by  the  Spirit 
appears  as  the  positive  pole,  and  in  Galatians  all 
the  features  of  Christian  experience  are  described 
as  '  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit '  (522).  That  the  Spirit 
is  the  Third  Person  of  the  Godhead  is  proved  by 
the  Apostolic  Benediction,  which  forms  the  closing 
verse  of  2  Corinthians.  Now  it  seems  to  be  a  rule 
of  Scripture,  that  whatever  is  done  by  one  Person 
of  the  Godhead  may  be  spoken  of  as  done  by  the 
others;  and,  accordingly,  not  only  is  the  Spirit 
said  to  dwell  in  believers,  but  the  Father  is  also 
said  to  be  in  them,  and  they  are  said  to  be  in  the 
Father.  It  is,  however,  about  the  Son  of  God 
that  such  statements  are  most  frequently  made ; 
and  the  phrase  '  in  Christ '  or  '  Christ  in  you '  is  the 
most  common  expression  for  this  Divine  indwell- 


is  significant  of  the  warmth  generated  by  this  idea 
in  the  mind  of  St.  Paul  that  he  has  invented  a 
whole  series  of  metaphors  to  set  it  forth,  the 
union  between  Christ  and  believers  being  com- 
pared to  that  between  a  temple  and  the  stones  of 
which  it  is  composed,  to  that  between  trunk  and 
branches  in  a  tree,  to  that  of  head  and  members  in 
the  human  body,  and  to  that  of  husband  and  wife. 
The  whole  of  Deissmann's  St.  Paul  is  illuminated 
by  the  thorough  exposition  of  this  idea  and  by  the 
proof  of  how  it  ruled  the  Apostle's  consciousness 
in  every  direction. 

Union  with  Christ  is  usually  represented  as 
connecting  us  with  the  living  Christ  in  the  same 
way  as  faith  does  with  the  Christ  who  died  ;  the 
one  is  related  to  sanctification  in  the  same  way  as 
the  other  is  to  justification  ;  and  with  this  agrees 
the  saying  of  St.  Paul  himself  (Ro  510) :  '  If,  while 
we  were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God  through 
the  death  of  his  Son,  much  more,  being  reconciled, 
shall  we  be  saved  by  his  life.'  But  the  conception 
for  which  '  in  Christ '  is  the  symbol  is  much  more 
comprehensive  than  this  would  suggest.  The 
connexion  with  Christ  was  formed  in  a  past 
eternity  in  the  mind  of  God,  and  it  will  continue 
to  all  eternity ;  because  '  neither  death,  nor  life, 
nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  things  present, 
nor  things  to  come,  nor  powers,  nor  height,  nor 
depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord'  (Ro  8m).  It  is  not  only 
vital,  bringing  into  the  soul  the  virtue  resident  in 
Him  who  is  now  seated  at  the  right  hand  of  power, 
but  legal  also,  making  our  debt  His  and  His  merit 
ours.  In  short,  Christ  to  St.  Paul's  mind  fills  the 
entire  universe,  from  horizon  to  horizon ;  and 
faith  saves  because  it  is  the  receptivity  of  the 
soul  which  appropriates  all  the  virtue  of  every 
kind  derivable  from  this  transcendent  Being. 

4.  Personality. — St.  Paul  was,  in  the  fullest 
sense  of  the  word,  a  personality.  There  is  about 
him  the  same  modernness  as  about  St.  Augustine 
in  his  Confessions.  While  many  figures  of  the  past 
are  unintelligible  and  incomprehensible,  he  is  as 
human  as  if  he  had  walked  in  upon  us  out  of  the 
street.  This  may  be  partly  due  to  the  details  of 
his  life  being  so  well  known  and  his  words  read  so 
frequently  in  our  hearing  ;  but  it  is  traceable  still 
more  directly  to  the  largeness  of  his  humanity  and 
the  realism  of  his  thinking.  There  are,  no  doubt, 
however,  things  about  him,  due  to  his  circum- 
stances and  training,  which  affect  us  less  favour- 
ably ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  expansion  of 
our  own  experience  may  train  us  gradually  to  a 
completer  comprehension  of  him.  Scholars  like 
Ramsay  and  Deissmann  have  written  with  enthu- 
siasm of  the  new  power  of  appreciation  derived 
from  witnessing  with  their  own  eyes  the  scenes  of 
his  labours  ;  and  anyone  privileged  to  live  through 


PAUL 


PAUL 


155 


a  revival  of  religion  would  ever  afterwards  have  a 
new  comprehension  of  every  page  in  the  Book  of 
Acts,  while  the  experience  or  an  evangelist  or  a 
pastor,  in  h  angering  and  thirsting  for  the  sal- 
vation of  those  under  his  charge,  or  in  watching 
over  the  development  of  young  converts,  with  a 
sensitive  consciousness  of  the  perils  to  which  these 
are  exposed,  would  supply  the  best  of  all  qualifica- 
tions for  feeling  the  innermost  throb  of  the 
Epistles. 

(a)  The  man. — Without  question  Nature  had  ex- 
pended on  the  making  of  St.  Paul  a  fine  bit  of 
the  material  with  which  she  works  in  her  secret 
laboratory,  and  had  cast  his  personality  in  one  of 
her  largest  moulds.  He  was  specially  strong  in 
intellectual  endowment.  This  can  be  appreciated 
by  reading  any  exposition  of  his  thinking  such  as 
is  supplied  in  works  on  NT  theology,  for  there 
the  topics  are  not  only  numerous  but  full  of  weight 
and  substance  ;  and,  besides,  they  are  so  closely 
articulated  as  to  form  an  orderly  and  connected 
system  of  ideas.  The  question  whether  St.  Paul 
was  the  author  of  a  dogmatic  system  has,  indeed, 
been  disputed,  some  holding  that  it  is  in  the 
sphere  of  religion  rather  than  dogma  that  he  lives 
and  moves  ;  but,  at  all  events,  he  was  one  of  those 
who  need  to  know  the  why  and  the  wherefore  of 
whatever  they  are  experiencing  or  doing,  and 
whose  views  and  convictions  all  piece  themselves 
together  into  a  connected  view  of  the  world.  He 
has  been  one  of  the  most  influential  teachers  of 
mankind,  multitudes  in  every  century  adopting 
from  him  their  way  of  conceiving  all  the  greatest 
objects  of  human  concern. 

While,  however,  it  is  this  side  of  his  greatness 
which  first  attracts  the  eye,  closer  intimacy  reveals 
him  as  not  less  distinctively  a  man  of  heart.  He 
could  love,  and  he  had  the  power  of  compelling 
love.  So  numerous  were  his  companions  and 
fellow-labourers,  that  the  study  of  these  is  a 
subject  which  has  more  than  once  been  treated  by 
itself  (J.  S.  Howson,  The  Companions  of  St.  Paul, 
1871  ;  E.  B.  Kedlich,  St.  Paul  and  his  Companions, 
1913).  It  is  astonishing  how  often  he  is  seen  in 
tears ;  and  it  is  certain  that  the  Ephesians  at 
Miletus  were  not  the  only  converts  of  his  who,  at 
parting,  fell  on  his  neck  and  kissed  him,  sorrowing 
because  they  were  to  see  his  face  no  more.  By  no 
author  has  this  side  of  his  character  been  so  perfectly 
seized  as  by  Adolphe  Monod,  whose  little  book, 
entitled  St.  Paul  (1851),  far  outweighs  in  value 
many  ponderous  tomes.  Yet  this  writer  does  not 
fail  to  point  out  that  the  feminine  traits  in  St.  Paul 
acquired  their  significance  from  the  strength  of 
the  masculine  ones.  When  a  woman  weeps,  it 
occasions  no  surprise  ;  but  there  is  something  pro- 
foundly moving  in  the  tears  of  a  strong  man. 

Still,  St.  Paul  had  not  all  the  gifts.  His  bodily 
presence  was  weak  and  his  speech  contemptible. 
Whether  his  'thorn  in  the  flesh'  was  connected 
with  this  natural  defect,  it  is  impossible  to  say ; 
but  the  way  in  which  it  is  introduced,  as  if  it  were 
something  sent  to  keep  him  humble,  after  he  had 
received  extraordinary  visions  and  revelations, 
would  rather  suggest  that  it  was  additional  to  his 
congenital  weakness  ;  and  that  it  was  sufficiently 
painful  and  annoying  is  obvious  without  the  ex- 
aggeration of  Farrar,  who  characteristically  speaks 
of  it  as  his  '  stake '  in  the  flesh  (The  Life  and  Work 
of  St.  Paul,  2  vols.,  1879,  i.  214).  It  has  been 
supposed  to  have  been  epilepsy,  because  the  sufferer 
says  that  the  Galatians  did  not  '  spit '  (414  o65t 
4£eTTTijffaTf)  at  him,  and  in  the  ancient  world  it  was 
common  to  spit  at  the  sight  or  mention  of  epilepsy, 
as  among  ourselves  some  people  '  touch  wood  '  in 
certain  circumstances  by  way  of  deprecation. 
Similarly,  the  theory  that  it  was  a  disease  of  the 
syes  can  be  supported  by  his  statement  that  the 


Galatians  would  have  plucked  out  their  own  eyes 
and  given  them  to  him  (v.15).  Ramsay's  notion, 
that  it  was  malarial  fever,  has  the  recommenda- 
tion that  he  himself  suffered  from  this  in  the  same 
region  of  the  world,  and  is  of  opinion  that  the 
symptoms  correspond  (St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  p. 
94).  What  it  really  was  will  probably  never  be 
ascertained.  It  is  enough  to  know  that  the 
astonishing  work  done  by  this  man  was  accom- 
plished not  in  the  robustness  of  a  healthy  body  or 
in  the  self-consciousness  of  one  able  at  all  times 
to  have  absolute  confidence  in  himself,  but  amid 
weariness  and  painfulness,  shyness  and  self -distrust. 
To  a  sensitive  mind  any  bodily  weakness  or  de- 
formity must  be  a  kind  of  torture,  especially  in 
the  presence  of  strangers ;  and  St.  Paul  loved  the 
gospel  so  entirely  that  he  would  have  liked  to  give 
it  the  advantage  of  all  the  graces  of  voice  and 
bodily  presence  which  he  lacked.  Yet,  in  more 
ways  than  one,  his  very  defects  turned  out  to  the 
furtherance  of  the  gospel  ;  and  with  genial  intui- 
tion Adolphe  Monod,  himself  somewhat  of  an 
invalid,  has  divined  how  this  could  happen.  A 
weak  servant  of  Christ  sometimes  appeals  to  the 
sympathies  of  an  audience  more  by  his  weakness 
than  anyone  could  by  strength ;  the  women, 
especially,  in  a  congregation  wUl  do  far  more  for 
an  invalid  pastor  than  for  one  in  health  ;  and  so  it 
comes  to  pass  that  such  a  one  can  say,  '  When  I 
am  weak,  then  am  I  strong '  (2  Co  1210). 

The  idea,  not  infrequently  encountered  in  recent 
works  on  St.  Paul,  that  his  liability  to  see  visions 
and  dream  dreams  was  connected  with  his  bodily 
weakness  or  some  psychical  derangement,  seems 
a  strange  perversion  of  the  facts.  His  own  estimate 
of  it  at  least  was  very  different.  To  him  it  ap- 

E eared  a  mark  of  superiority  so  distinguished  that 
e  had  to  beware  of  being  puffed  up  through 
possessing  it ;  and  there  can  be  no  question  that 
it  rendered  to  him  extraordinary  assistance  and 
encouragement  at  critical  moments  of  his  experi- 
ence. It  was  akin  to  the  official  endowment  of 
the  OT  prophets,  and,  if  it  is  to  be  traced  to  any 
natural  peculiarity,  this  must  be  sought  in  the 
psychology  of  prophecy. 

(b)  The  Hebrew  and  the  Hellenist.— To  St.  Paul, 
the  Jew,  very  ample  justice  has  been  done,  as  the 
OT,  from  every  portion  of  which  he  drew  ideas  and 
impulses,  has  always  been  known  to  his  interpreters. 
But  the  same  justice  has  not  been  done  to  the  Gentile 
in  him.  He  may  almost  without  impropriety  be 
called  a  Gentile  ;  to  the  Greeks,  he  says  himself, 
he  became  a  Greek  ;  and  it  is  possible  that  he  may 
have  done  so  more  than  he  was  himself  aware. 

This  at  least  is  being  asserted  by  scholarship  at 
the  present  time ;  and  the  very  latest  speculations 
on  Paulinism  are  in  this  direction.  By  the  school 
which  takes  its  name  from  the  History  of  Religion, 
and  whose  leading  aim  it  is  to  trace  out  every 
kind  of  connexion  that  can  be  discovered  between 
Christianity  and  other  contemporary  religions,  it 
is  contended  that,  in  the  world  of  St.  Paul's  time 
and  in  the  countries  where  his  missionary  labours 
were  carried  on,  there  was  taking  place  an  extra- 
ordinary religious  ferment,  the  West  acting  on 
the  East,  and  the  East  still  more  powerfully  on 
the  West.  The  atmosphere  was  full  of  notions 
and  aspirations,  these  being  connected  not  with 
the  hereditary  classical  religion,  with  which 
scholarship  has  long  been  familiar,  but  with 
imported  and  illegitimate  cults,  with.which  scholar- 
ship is  only  now  becoming  acquainted.  As  a 
person  of  religious  sensitiveness  and  as  a  Semite, 
St.  Paul  could  not  escape  ;  and  not  a  few  ideas  of 
the  later  Paulinism  are  derived  from  this  source. 
Indeed,  if  the  form  in  which  Christianity  first 
presented  itself  to  his  mind  was  due  to  Judaism, 
the  last  was  due  to  Hellenism. 


156 


PAUL 


There  may  be  more  in  these  suggestions  than 
conservative  scholars  are  yet  disposed  to  allow. 
The  scene  of  St.  Paul's  activity  was  the  synagogue  ; 
and  in  the  synagogues,  wherever  he  went,  he  en- 
countered two  elements — a  Jewish  and  a  Gentile. 
To  us  the  former  is  easily  intelligible  :  we  are 
aware  both  of  the  difficulty  felt  by  Jews  in  accept- 
ing the  Christian  message  and  of  the  arguments  by 
which  they  could  be  led  to  believe  that  Jesus  was 
the  Christ.  But  it  was  among  the  Gentiles  that 
the  missionary  obtained  his  most  numerous  suc- 
cesses, and  not  infrequently  he  turned  away  from 
the  Jews  altogether  and  devoted  himself  exclu- 
sively to  the  Gentiles.  It  has  not  been  sufficiently 
considered  how  there  happened  to  be  so  many  of 
such  proselytes  or  how  they  were  so  open  to  the 
influences  brought  by  St.  Paul.  Some  of  them 
had  accepted  the  Jewish  religion  in  its  entirety, 
but  probably  the  majority  had  only  contracted  a 
habit  of  attendance  at  the  synagogue.  Even  this, 
however,  betokens  that  they  were  persons  in  whom 
the  religious  instinct  was  strong,  and  the  religious 
cravings  of  many  may  have  sought  satisfaction 
elsewhere  before  coming  to  the  synagogue.  If  the 
story  could  be  fully  told,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  to 
many  of  them  some  other  religion  had  rendered 
the  same  service  as  the  Law  did  to  Jews,  being  a 
'  schoolmaster '  to  bring  them  to  Christ. 

Now,  what  is  alleged  is  that  in  these  Oriental 
cults  there  were  elements  bearing  a  striking  re- 
semblance to  certain  features  of  Paulinism.  The 
worshippers  sought  escape  from  the  world  through 
absorption  in  the  deity  in  a  manner  bearing  some 
likeness  to  union  with  Christ  in  the  Pauline 
theology  ;  and  mystical  rites  were  practised  having 
a  certain  analogy  with  the  Christian  sacraments. 

All  this  may  amount  to  no  more  than  the  fact 
that  in  all  religions,  the  Christian  included,  there 
are  certain  common  aspirations  as  well  as  certain 
forms  of  ritual.  There  is  no  clear  statement  any- 
where in  St.  Paul's  writings  implying  that  he 
looked  upon  heathens  as  having  been  led  to  Christ 
through  their  own  religions  in  the  same  way  as 
Jews  had  been  led  to  Him  through  theirs.  His 
tone  is,  on  the  contrary,  one  of  disparagement  and 
condemnation,  and  he  speaks  of  their  previous 
religious  condition  as  something  from  which  they 
needed  to  be  delivered.  The  nearest  approach  to 
a  more  sympathetic  view  of  heathenism  is  in  the 
speech  on  Mars'  Hill,  in  which  there  is  an  indica- 
tion of  an  education  of  the  human  race,  as  well  as 
of  the  Jews,  for  Christianity.  It  is  contended, 
indeed,  that,  in  the  Epistles  of  the  Imprisonment, 
he  has  paid  to  the  cults  in  question  the  compliment 
of  adopting  their  phraseology  on  a  large  scale 
('fullness,' 'mystery,'  'perfect,'  'gnosis,'  'revela- 
tion,' 'new  man,'  'God-saviour,' etc.)  without  re- 
ferring to  them  by  name.  But  Kennedy,  in  St. 
Paul  and  the  Mystery-Religions,  has  proved  (especi- 
ally in  chs.  iv.  and  v. )  that  both  the  words  and  ideas 
to  which  a  heathen  origin  is  attributed  go  back  to 
the  OT  and  the  LXX ;  and,  when  they  can  be 
.  found  there,  it  is  useless  to  go  further  afield.  The 
evidence  that  the  notions  attributed  to  the  wor- 
shippers of  Mithra,  Osiris,  and  Dionysus  were 
actually  held  by  them  is  frequently  very  slender  ; 
and  there  is  great  need  for  the  publication  of  a 
corpus  of  the  texts  relied  on  as  a  whole,  in  order 
that  it  may  be  seen  how  far  we  are  dealing  with 
serious  facts.  Too  often  the  writers  of  this  school 
create,  though  unintentionally,  the  impression, 
not  that  these  cults  were  providential  preparations 
for  Christ,  but  that  Christianity  is  no  better  than 
one  of  them,  as  fantastic  and  as  futile. 

It  is  certain,  at  all  events,  that  both  the  sacra- 
ments were  practised  in  the  Church  before  St. 
Paul  became  a  Christian ;  and  both  can  vindicate 
their  institution  by  the  Founder  of  Christianity 


Himself,  who,  besides,  imitated  them  from  parallel 
rites  in  the  older  dispensation  ;  and  St.  Paul's 
doctrine  of  union  with  Christ  can  claim  the  same 
authoritative  derivation.  The  mysticism  of  St. 
Paul  is  almost  identical  with  that  of  St.  John ; 
and  in  St.  John  it  is  put  into  the  mouth  of  Jesus 
Himself.  Everyone  remembers  the  parable  of  the 
Vine  and  the  Branches.  Because  St.  John  wrote 
later  than  St.  Paul,  the  Johannine  theology  is 
usually  treated  as  a  development  from  the  Pauline. 
But  the  dependence  was  the  opposite  way.  What- 
ever may  have  been  the  origin  of  the  Gospel  of 
St.  John,  the  tradition  contained  in  it  is  much 
older  than  the  composition  of  the  book  ;  and,  if  it 
has  in  any  considerable  degree  preserved  the  deeds 
and  the  words  of  our  Lord,  the  knowledge  of  these 
must  have  been  in  possession  of  the  Church  at  the 
period  when  St.  Paul  was  first  ascertaining  the 
contents  of  the  Evangel.  He  may  have  obtained 
the  report  from  the  lips  of  St.  John  himself,  with 
whom  he  was  at  that  time  in  contact ;  but  what 
St.  John  knew  was  the  common  property  of  the 
Church  long  before  it  was  committed  to  writing. 
This  is  the  true  origin  of  the  most  distinctive  part 
of  St.  Paul's  theology,  which  never  in  him  reaches 
the  same  elevation  as  in  the  writings  of  St.  John. 
Though,  for  instance,  as  has  been  mentioned  above, 
St.  Paul  invented  a  whole  series  of  images  to  set 
forth  the  intimacy  and  vitality  of  the  connexion 
with  Christ,  he  never  rose  to  the  height  of  sublim- 
ity reached  by  Jesus,  when,  in  the  intercessory 
prayer  of  Jn  17,  He  compared  the  union  between 
Himself  and  His  disciples  to  that  of  Father  and 
Son  in  the  Holy  Trinity. 

The  weakness  of  the  school  which  is  attempting 
at  present  to  interpret  Christianity  as  if  it  had 
consisted  originally  of  scraps  picked  up  here,  there, 
and  everywhere,  is  that  it  conceives  Christianity 
as  an  amalgam  of  ideas  and  fancies,  fortuitously 
collected  and  ingeniously  pieced  together,  instead 
of  perceiving  it  to  be  a  series  of  experiences  derived 
from  a  single  centre  and  capable  of  repetition 
throughout  all  the  generations  of  mankind.  This 
centre  was  Christ.  Whatever  fullness  of  person- 
ality there  may  have  been  in  St.  Paul  in  hia 
natural  state,  he  became  completely  himself  only 
when  Christ  took  possession  of  his  being.  '  If  any 
man  is  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature :  the  old 
things  are  passed  away ;  behold,  they  are  become 
new  (2  Co  517).  From  the  moment  of  his  conver- 
sion it  was  his  continual  aspiration  to  be  able  to 
say :  '  I  live ;  and  yet  no  longer  I,  but  Christ  liveth 
in  me  :  and  that  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh 
I  live  in  faith,  the  faith  which  is  in  the  Son  of 
God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  up  for  me ' 
(Gal  220).  Christ  had  for  him  a  supreme  objective 
value,  because  He  had  redeemed  him  from  the 
curse  and  bondage  of  sin.  At  the  moment  when 
Christ  first  revealed  Himself  to  him,  his  ethical 
life  had  come  to  an  impasse,  and  he  was  convicted 
on  the  spot  of  being  in  absolute  antagonism  to 
God.  But  Christ  reconciled  him ;  and,  although 
he  was  never  afterwards  without  the  consciousness 
of  being  a  sinful  man,  lost  if  left  to  himself,  he 
knew  that  his  ransom  had  been  paid  on  the  Cross. 
But  Christ  had  for  him  an  equally  important  sub- 
jective value.  He  was  in  him  '  the  hope  of  glory.' 
He  was  the  atmosphere  which  he  breathed  ;  He 
was  to  him  what  the  sunshine  is  to  the  bird.  The 
world  might  be  unkind  and  fortune  fickle,  but  in 
Christ  he  had  an  unfailing  source  of  exhilaration 
and  a  resource  in  all  emergencies.  This  rela- 
tionship to  Christ  determined  his  relationship  to 
God,  as  well  as  to  his  fellow-Christians  and  his 
fellow-men.  These  experiences  have  been  repro- 
duced in  countless  instances  from  century  to  cent- 
ury ;  and,  the  deeper  anyone's  experience  of  them 
is,  the  more  facile  and  joyous  will  be  the  apprecia- 


PAUL 


PAUL 


157 


tion  of  the  thinker  in  whose  mind  they  first  took 
their  full  and  natural  shape.  Should  they  ever 
cease  to  be  known  as  the  actual  experiences  of 
men,  the  question  about  their  origin  will  hardly 
be  worth  discussing. 

There  has  of  late  been  much  writing  on  the 
relation  between  St.  Paul  and  Jesus.  Was  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  faithfully  and  fruitfully  continued 
in  the  teaching  of  the  Apostle?  or  did  St.  Paul 
distort  the  original  gospel,  replacing  it  with  a 
system  of  his  own  ?  It  has  even  been  contended 
that  St.  Paul  was  the  true  founder  of  Christianity  ; 
only  this  was  something  quite  different  from  that 
intended  by  Jesus.  Now,  if  Jesus  and  St.  Paul 
were  simply  Jews  of  genius,  whose  specialty  lay 
in  religion,  speculations  of  this  kind  would  not  be 
out  of  place.  Indeed,  the  wonder  would  be  that 
St.  Paul,  with  his  assertive  and  towering  person- 
ality, did  not  consciously  enter  into  competition 
with  his  rival.  But  nothing  can  be  more  certain 
than  that  to  St.  Paul  himself  the  question  whether 
he  or  Jesus  was  the  originator  of  the  new  religion 
would  have  appeared  both  blasphemous  and  ludi- 
crous. His  favourite  designation  for  himself  was 
the  '  slave '  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  was  only  a  '  vessel,' 
to  carry  the  name  of  Christ  from  nation  to  nation  ; 
and  the  vessel  was  an  '  earthen '  one,  in  order  that 
the  excellency  of  the  power  might  be  Another's 
and  not  his  own.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  there 
was  a  vast  difference  between  Jesus'  mode  of  both 
conceiving  and  stating  the  truth  and  St.  Paul's ; 
but  the  latter's  modes  of  expression  can  generally 
be  translated  back,  without  difficulty,  into  those 
of  Jesus,  and  the  two  views  of  the  world  do  not 
exhibit  serious  discrepancies,  when  it  is  taken  into 
account  that  the  one  speaker  is  conscious  of  being 
the  Saviour  and  the  other  of  having  been  saved. 

(c)  The  apostle. — The  sense  of  having  received 
from  on  high  a  vocation  or  mission  was  strong  in 
the  leading  men  of  the  race  to  which  St.  Paul  be- 
longed. Thus,  Jeremiah  records  his  own  call  in 
these  words,  spoken  to  him  by  Jahweh  :  '  Before  I 
formed  thee  in  the  belly  I  knew  thee,  and  before 
thou  earnest  forth  out  of  the  womb  I  sanctified 
thee  ;  I  have  appointed  thee  a  prophet  unto  the 
nations '  ( Jer  1°).  Anyone  thus  addressed  naturally 
felt  all  his  powers  consecrated  to  a  task,  and  this 
so  steeled  his  whole  nature  that  Jahweh  could 
add,  as  we  read  in  the  same  chapter :  '  I  have 
made  thee  this  day  a  defenced  city,  and  an  iron 
pillar,  and  brasen  walls,  against  the  whole  land, 
.  .  .  against  the  princes  thereof,  against  the  priests 
thereof,  and  against  the  people  of  the  land.  And 
they  shall  fight  against  thee  ;  but  they  shall  not 
prevail  against  thee  :  for  I  am  with  thee,  saith  the 
Lord,  to  deliver  thee' (v.18f>).  In  Jesus  this  sense 
was  particularly  strong :  He  knew  Himself  to  be  the 
Messiah  ;  hence  the  name  '  Son  of  man,'  by  which 
He  called  Himself,  as  well  as  the  other  Messianic 
titles  He  accepted  from  others.  In  St.  Paul  there 
was  the  same  sense  of  being  chosen  by  God  ;  and 
from  this  was  derived  not  a  little  of  his  strength. 
He  even  reverts  to  that  old  conception  of  Jeremiah, 
intimating  that  God  had  separated  him  from  his 
mother's  womb,  to  be  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  of 
His  Son  (Gal  I15).  To  himself  it  seemed  that  he 
had  been  born  at  a  juncture  in  the  world's  history 
at  which  there  was  a  special  work  to  be  done  for 
God  and  man,  and  that  he  had  been  endowed  with 
the  gifts  required  for  the  purpose  ;  consequently, 
all  his  faculties  and  opportunities  must  be  devoted 
to  this  object.  This  made  him  feel  himself  to 
be  a  debtor  to  all  unacquainted  with  the  gospel 
(Ro  I14).  His  peculiar  responsibility  was,  however, 
to  the  Gentiles,  to  whose  evangelization  he  had 
been  specially  appointed.  To  this  consciousness  he 
gives  very  frequent  expression  (e.g.  Ac  915  1347  157 
2221,  Ro  II13  1516,  Eph  38,  1  Ti  27,  2  Ti  I11).  Even 


with  the  older  apostles  he  appears  to  have  made 
an  arrangement  by  which  it  was  agreed  that  he 
should  go  to  the  uncircumcision,  while  they  went  to 
the  circumcision  (Gal  27'9) ;  and  this  acknowledg- 
ment by  the  Church  doubtless  deepened  his  sense 
of  obligation,  though  it  was  only  the  recognition 
of  an  anterior  conviction  of  his  own  and  of  a  call 
from  a  higher  quarter,  in  the  same  way  as  ordina- 
tion by  an  ecclesiastical  authority  to  a  particular 
charge  may  rekindle  the  sense  of  duty,  though 
the  call  to  lay  the  whole  life  on  the  altar  has 
come  from  a  higher  source. 

In  this  consciousness  of  a  mission  to  his  age, 
and  of  a  special  mission  to  the  Gentile  world,  we 
must  recognize  one  of  the  driving  forces  of  St. 
Paul's  life.  He  frequently  speaks  of  the  task  as 
a  stewardship :  '  and  it  is  required  in  stewards, 
that  a  man  be  found  faithful '  (1  Co  42).  This  was 
what  kept  alive  in  him  the  spirit  of  missionary 
enterprise,  it  being  his  constant  ambition  to  pene- 
trate into  new  provinces  and  not  to  build  on 
another  man's  foundation  (Ro  1520)  ;  this  was  what 
made  him  able  to  face  novel  audiences,  to  stand 
before  courts  or  kings,  and  to  encounter  raging 
mobs;  this  was  what  made  all  afflictions  'light,' 
though  among  these  were  perils  of  rivers,  perils  of 
robbers,  perils  in  the  city,  perils  in  the  wilderness, 
perils  in  the  sea,  besides  labour  and  travail,  hunger 
and  thirst,  cold  and  nakedness  (2  Co  II26-  ") ;  this 
was  what  made  him  equal  to  the  most  difficult 
achievement  of  all  in  a  man  of  his  temperament — 
to  rejoice  that  the  gospel  was  preached  by  his 
enemies,  for  strife  and  contention,  to  those  who 
might  not  otherwise  have  heard  it  at  all  (Ph  I18). 

This  loyalty  to  his  calling  evoked,  however, 
tenderer  things  from  the  deep  recesses  of  his 
nature.  There  is  a  passage  in  the  beginning  of 
2  Cor.  where  he  blesses  '  the  Father  of  all 
mercies  and  God  of  all  comforts '  for  the  comfort 
he  has  himself  received,  because  this  will  enable 
him  to  comfort  those  who  are  in  any  sorrow  ;  and 
he  goes  on  to  express  his  willingness  to  endure  any 
afflictions  as  long  as  these  give  him  a  deeper  sym- 
pathy with  the  suffering  children  of  men.  All 
experiences  were  to  him  subordinate  to  the  over- 
mastering purpose  of  his  life,  and  he  could  welcome 
anything  whatever  out  of  which  new  efficiency 
could  be  extracted.  In  short,  he  loved  his  work, 
doing  it  not  only  from  a  sense  of  duty,  but  because 
he  loved  his  Saviour  and  loved  his  fellow-men  ; 
and  so  he  could  speak  of  himself  not  only  as  a 
'  steward"  but  as  a  'nurse'  and  a  '  father'  (1  Th 
27,  1  Co  41B). 

(d)  The  Christian. — All  this  must  have  had  an 
influence  on  character.  Every  power  was  exercised 
to  the  full,  and  his  own  development  went  on 
amidst  manifold  relations  with  his  fellow-creatures. 
Holiness  has  been  sought  behind  the  walls  of  the 
cloister  through  macerations  and  prayer ;  but  it 
comes  unsought  to  those  who  go  out  of  themselves, 
to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost  children  of  Adam. 
This  is  a  secret  which  has  been  recaptured  in  our 
own  time,  when  many  of  the  holiest  men  and 
women  are  those  who  are  going  about  continually 
doing  good,  finding  the  romance  of  existence  in 
the  reclamation  and  the  welfare  of  others.  Though 
such  efforts  involve  sacrifice  and  self-denial,  there 
is  a  rich  reward  in  the  gratitude  of  those  benefited  ; 
and  selfishness,  the  worst  of  all  evils,  is  eradicated 
from  the  soul. 

Such  universal  benevolence  is,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, not  infrequently  accompanied  by  shallow- 
ness,  the  spirit  of  Martha  being  so  much  indulged 
that  there  is  no  time  for  cultivating  the  attitude 
of  Mary.  From  this  danger,  however,  St.  Paul 
was  secured  by  his  intense  preoccupation  with  the 
truth  of  the  gospel,  of  which  he  was  not  only  the 
custodian  and  propagandist,  but  the  apologist, 


158 


PAUL 


PAUL 


defending  it  against  all  comers.  One  part  of  his 
vocation,  to  which  he  gives  frequent  expression, 
was  to  be  a  revealer  of  truth  which  had  been 
hidden  in  the  Divine  mind  from  eternity,  and  not 
made  known  to  even  the  greatest  prophets  of  the 
OT,  because  it  was  reserved  for  the  epoch  of 
the  Son  of  God.  This  is  what  St.  Paul  calls  the 
'  mystery ' — the  word  being  used  not  in  the  sense 
of  something  hidden  or  obscured,  but  something 
once  hidden  but  now  revealed — and,  as  he  contem- 
plates it  in  its  novelty  and  greatness,  he  bursts  out 
into  the  exclamation,  '  0  the  depth  of  the  riches 
both  of  the  wisdom  and  the  knowledge  of  God  ! 
how  unsearchable  are  his  judgements,  and  his 
ways  past  tracing  out !'  (Ro  II33).  Thus  with  the 
restless  activity  of  the  evangelist  he  combined  the 
habits  of  the  seer  and  sage. 

The  sage's  labour  has  its  dangers  too,  the  thinker 
being  apt  to  be  lost  in  the  clouds  of  his  own  specu- 
lation. But  from  this  peril  St.  Paul  was  saved  by 
his  intense  desire  to  see  moral  results  in  those  for 
whom  he  was  labouring.  Nearly  every  Epistle 
of  his  is  composed  half  of  theological  and  half  of 
ethical  matter.  And  the  one  is  closely  connected 
with  the  other.  However  mystical  he  becomes, 
when  showing  how  the  Christian  has  died  with 
Christ,  risen  with  Him,  and  sat  down  with  Him 
in  the  heavenly  places,  each  of  these  has  its  moral 
equivalent  in  the  daily  life  of  the  Christian,  and 
the  smallest  of  duties  is  enforced  by  the  sublimest 
of  principles.  This  union  of  ideal  and  actual  is 
the  heart  of  St.  Paul's  thinking — '  If  we  live  by 
the  Spirit,  by  the  Spirit  let  us  also  walk '  (Gal  S25). 

We  know  too  well  that  it  is  possible  for  a  re- 
ligious teacher  to  give  utterance  to  the  noblest  of 
sentiments  and  yet  not  rise  in  practice  above  the 
levels  of  selfishness  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  read  the 
innumerable  passages  in  which  St.  Paul  entreats 
and  encourages  his  converts  to  follow  after  holiness 
without  believing  that  he  was  for  ever  following 
after  it  himself ;  and,  although  he  did  not  claim 
to  have  already  attained  or  to  be  already  perfect, 
he  could,  when  occasion  required,  challenge  his 
converts  to  bear  witness  to  his  walk  and  conversa- 
tion in  their  midst — '  Ye  are  witnesses,  and  God 
also,  how  holily  and  righteously  and  unblameably 
we  behaved  ourselves  toward  you'  (1  Th  210) — 
and  he  could  call  upon  them  to  be  imitators  of 
him,  as  he  also  was  of  Christ  (1  Co  II1).  As 
the  years  increased,  and  the  effects  of  abuse  and 
imprisonment  began  to  tell  on  his  bodily  frame, 
his  heart  began  to  solicit  the  peace  and  perfection 
of  a  better  world — '  Our  citizenship  is  in  heaven, 
from  whence  also  we  wait  for  a  Saviour,  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ'  (Pb  320) — or  at  least  to  be  divided 
between  such  yearnings  and  the  attraction  of  his 
work — '  1  am  in  a  strait  betwixt  the  two,  having 
the  desire  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ ;  for  it 
is  very  far  better  :  yet  to  abide  in  the  flesh  is  more 
needful  for  your  sake'  (I23).  At  last,  in  a  pass- 
age of  his  final  Epistle,  which  even  the  most  nega- 
tive of  critics  have  been  fain  to  vindicate  in  some 
way  for  him,  we  see  the  spirit  poised  in  the  very 
attitude  of  flight :  '  I  am  already  being  offered, 
and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  come.  I  have 
fought  the  good  fight,  I  have  finished  the  course, 
I  have  kept  the  faith  :  henceforth  there  is  laid  up 
for  me  the  crown  of  righteousness,  which  the 
Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  to  me  at  that 
day :  and  not  only  to  me,  but  also  to  all  them 
that  have  loved  his  appearing '  (2  Ti  46"8). 

LITKRATURE. — In  English  theology  no  department  has  been 
cultivated  more  creditably  than  the  Life  of  St»  Paul.  The  great 
work  of  Conybeare-Howson,  which  appeared  in  1853,  was 
epoch-making,  and  is  still  far  from  superseded.  T.  Lewin's, 
which  appeared  about  the  same  time,  is  built  on  similar  lines 
and  is  rich  in  illustrations  from  antiquities.  F.  W.  Farrar's 
(1879)  embodied  the  results  of  these  predecessors  with  a  fuller 
exposition  of  the  thinking.  From  the  pen  of  W.  M.  Ramsay 
has  come  a  whole  library  of  works  on  St.  Paul — The  Historical 


Geography  of  Asia  Minor,  1890,  The  Church  in  the  Roman 
Empire,  1893,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller  and  the  Roman  Citizen, 
1895,  Historical  Commentary  on  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Gala- 
tians,  1899,  Pauline  and  other  Studies  in  Early  Christian 
History,  1906,  The  Cities  of  St.  Paul,  1907,  Luke  the  Physician, 
1908,  The  Teaching  of  Paul  in  Terms  of  the  Present  Day,  1913, 
The  Bearing  of  Recent  Discovery  on  the  Trustworthiness  of  the 
NT,  1915,  by  which  a  deep  impression  has  been  made,  in  favour 
of  positive  views,  not  only  in  the  English-speaking  countries  but 
on  the  continent  of  Europe.  Of  smaller  books  may  be  men- 
tioned J.  Iverach's  in  the  Men  of  the  Bible  series,  and  A.  E. 
Garvie's  in  the  Century  Bible  Handbooks  (1910) ;  several  valu- 
able American  works  may  also  be  named,  such  as  those  by  G.  H. 
Gilbert  (1899),  O.  Cone  (1898),  A.  T.  Robertson  (1909),  and 

B.  W.  Bacon  (1905).    Of  the  German  works  a  history  has  been 
written  by  A.  Schweitzer  (Geschichte  der  paulin.  Forschung 
von  der  Reformation  bis  auf  die  Gegenwart,  1911 ;  books  in 
English  are  omitted,  because  the  author  does  not  know  the 
language) ;  but  it  cannot  be  claimed  that  these  are  of  the  same 
calibre  as  those  in  English,  except  on  the  side  of  criticism.    F. 

C.  Baur's  great  work,  Paulus  der  A  pastel,  1845,  raised  pro- 
found critical  questions,  which  have  been  agitating  the  scholar- 
ship of  Germany  ever  since,  but  it  was  no  gift  to  the  German 
people,  bringing  a  great  religious  character  home  to  their  in- 
telligence and  affection,  as  Conybeare  and  Howson'g  Life  was 
to  the  English-speaking  world.    That  of  A.  Hausrath  (1865) 
exhibited  fine  qualities  of  style.    The  two  volumes  of  C.  Clemen 
(Paulus.    Sein  Leben  und  Wirken,  1904)  have  been  sufficiently 
characterized   above.    Smaller   books   of  note  have  recently 
appeared  by  H.  Weinel  (Eng.  tr.,  1906),  W.  Wrede  (Eng.  tr., 
1906),  E.  Vischer  (1910),  but  that  of  A,  Deissmann  (Eng.  tr., 
1912)  stands  out  by  itself  on  account  of  the  breath  of  the  open 
air  felt  everywhere  in  its  pages  and  the  author's  enthusiasm 
for  the  subject.    The  Germans  themselves  seem  to  find  most 
satisfaction  in  the  life  of  St.  Paul  contained  in  The  Apostolic 
Age  of  C.  v.  Weizsacker  (Eng.  tr.,  1894-95)  (see  the  remarks 
in  P.  Wernle's  Einfiihrung  in  das  theologiache  Studium,  1908), 
who  was  a  fine  spirit  but  too  subject  to  the  critical  tendencies 
of  the  time  in  which  he  lived.     Of  the  works  in  French,  that  of 
Adolphe  Monod  has  already  been  characterized ;  that  of  E. 
Renan  (Eng.  tr.,  1869)  has  qualities  of  its  own  which  cannot 
be  neglected  ;  and  that  of  C.  Fouard  (Eng.  tr.,  1894)  is  highly 
spoken  of. 

A  few  more  notes  may  be  added  under  each  of  the  divisions 
of  the  whole  subject  adopted  above. 

(1)  SOURCES. — Here  commentaries  on  the  Acts  and  on  the 
Epistles,  severally  or  collectively,  might  be  mentioned,  but 
these  will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  Dictionary.    A  few  works, 
however,  on  special  points  may  be  mentioned  : — F.  H.  Chase, 
The  Credibility  of  the  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  1902 ;  G. 
Honnicke,  Die  Chronologie  des  Lebens  des  Apostels  Paulus, 
1903 ;  D.  Round,  The  Date  of  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Gala- 
tians,  1906  ;  J.  D.  James,  The  Genuineness  and  Authorship  of 
the  Pastoral  Epistles,  1906  (on  the  same  subject  as  an  Essay  by 
G.  G.  Findlay  in  Appendix  to  A.  Sabatier's  The  Apostle  Paul, 
Eng.  tr.,  1891);  Dykes  Shaw,  The  Pauline  Epistles,  1903.    It 
will  be  found  useful  to  read  over  both  Acts  and  Epistles  in  un- 
conventional translations — The  Twentieth  Century  New  Testa- 
ment (21904),  J.  Moffatt,  The  New  Testament :  A  New  Trans- 
lation (31914),  and  especially  R.  F.  Weymouth,   The  New 
Testament  in  Modem  Speech,  1903  (31912). 

(2)  LIFE. — On  the  world  into  which  St.  Paul  was  born  the 
works  on  NT  Times  are  important,  such  as  those  of  A.  Haus- 
rath (Eng.   tr.,  1895),  E.  Schiirer  (HJP,  1885-90),  and  O. 
Holtzmann  (Eng.  tr.,  1904),  as  well  as  the  handbooks  by  R. 
Waddy  Moss  (1903),  L.  A.  Mnirhead  (21905),  and  W.  Fair- 
weather  (1895).    See  also  The  Background  of  the  Gospels,  1908, 
of  the   last   mentioned.    On   St.  Paul's   conversion :    G.    L. 
Lyttelton,  Observations  on  the  Conversion,  etc.  of  Paul,  1768, 
new  ed.,  1879  ;  E.  Moske,  Die  Bekehrung  des  heiligen  Paulus, 
1907.    On  St.  Paul  in  Athens  :  works  by  W.  Lindsay  Alex- 
ander (1865),  C.  Shakespeare  (1878),  E.  Curtius,  '  Paulus  in 
Athen,'  in  SBA  W,  1893.    See  also  J.  Smith,  Voyage  and  Ship- 
wreck of  St.  Paul*,  1880  ;  R.  Steinmetz,  Die  zweite  romische 
Gefangenschaft  des  Apostels  Paulus,  1897. 

(3)  BELIBFS.— O.  Pfleiderer's  Paulinism  (Eng.  tr.,  1877)  long 
did  good  service,  but  it  may  be  said  now  to  have  been  super- 
seded by  such  works  as  A.  B.  Bruce,  St.  Paul's  Conception  of 
Christianity,  1894;  G.   B.   Stevens,  The  Pauline  Theology, 
1892 ;  G.  H.  Gilbert,  The  First  Interpreters  of  Jesus,  1901 ; 
and  W.  P.  DuBose,  The  Gospel  according  to  St.  Paul,  1907. 
It  has,  howev-«,  been  hinted  above  that  the  best  expositions  of 
Paulinism  au,  <«  be  found  in  the  works  on  NT  Theology,  which 
are  numerous  and  excellent,  such  as  those  of  B.  Weiss  (Eng. 
tr.,  1882-83),  W.  Beyschlag:  (Eng.  tr.,  1895),  H.  J.  Holtzmann 
(21911),  P.  Feine  (21911),  A.  Schlatter  (1909-10),  H.  Weinel 
(21913),  E.  W.  E.  Reuss(Eng.  tr.,  1872-74),  J.  Bo  von  (21902 -05), 
G.  B.  Stevens  (1899),  to  which  add  A.  Titius,  Die  neutest. 
Lehre  von  der  Seligkeit,  1895-1900.   There  are  many  monographs 
on  special  points  such  as  the  following  :— On  St.  Paul's  views  of 
Sin,  works  by  E.  Menegoz  (1882)  and  P.  Wernle  (1897);  on 
his  Psychology,  works  by  W.  P.  Dickson  (St.  Paul's  Use  of  the 
Terms  Flesh  and  Spirit,  1883)  and  T.  Simon  (1897);  on  his 
Christology,  works  by  M.  Bruckner  (1903),  H.  Schmidt  (1 867), 

D.  Somerville  (St.  Paul's  Conception  of  Christ,  1897) ;  on  his 
Ethics,  works  by  H.  L.  Ernesti  (1875),  A.  Juncker  (1904),  A.  B. 

D.  Alexander  (1910) ;  on  his  Pastoral  Teaching,  works  by  W. 

E.  Chad  wick  (1907)  (who  has  also  a  volume  on  his  Social 
Teaching,  1906)  and  G.  Pahncke  (1906);  on  his  Eschatology, 
works  by  R.  Kabisch  (1893),  E.  Teichmann  (1896),  H.  A.  A. 
Kennedy  (1904).    W.  M.   Macgregor's  Christian  Freedom, 


PAULUS 


PEACE 


159 


1914,  is  a  treatise  on  the  theology  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians. 
On  the  Style  of  St.  Paul  see,  besides  the  works  referred  to  in 
the  text,  J .  S.  Howson,  The  Metaphors  of  St.  Paul,  new  ed., 
1883  ;  R.  R.  Resker,  St.  Paul's  Illustrations,  1908  ;  J.  Weiss, 
Beitriige  zur  paulinischen  Rhetorik,  1897. 

(4)  PERSONALITY. — There  is  a  good  chapter  on  the  personality 
of  St.  Paul  in  A.  E.  Garvie's  Studies  of  Paul  and  his  Gospel, 
1911.  The  question  of  the  relation  of  St.  Paul  to  contemporary 
religions  and  religious  movements  was  brought  into  prominence 
by  E.  Hatch,  The  Organization  of  the  Early  Christian 
Churches  (BL),  1881  (Germ.  tr.  A.  Harnack,  1883),  and  later  by 
F.  Cumont,  Les  Religions  orientates  dans  le  paganisme  romain, 
1906,  but  especially  by  R.  Reitzenstein,  Die  hellenistischen 
Mysterienreligionen,  1910.  A  very  sympathetic  statement  of 
the  results  will  be  found  in  B.  W.  'Bacon,  The  Story  of  St. 
Paul,  1905,  and  a  criticism,  not  sympathetic  but  searching,  in 
H.  A.  A.  Kennedy,  St.  Paul  and  the  Mystery-Religions,  1913. 
See  also  S.  J.  Case,  The  Evolution  of  Early  Christianity,  1914. 
On  the  question  formulated  by  W.  H.  Johnston,  art.  •  Was 
Paul  the  Founder  of  Christianity?'  in  Princeton  Theological 
Review,  v.  [1907]  398  ff.,  see  A.  Meyer,  Wer  hat  das  Christen- 
turn  begriindet,  Jesus  oder  Paulus  t,  1907 ;  P.  Feine,  Jesus 
Christus  und  Paulus.  1902 ;  M.  Gog-uel,  L'Ap6tre  Paul  et 
Jesus  Christ,  1904  ;  J.  Kaftan,  Jesus  und  Paulus,  1906 ;  A. 
Julicher,  Paulus  und  Jesus,  1907  ;  W.  Walther,  Pauli  Chris- 
tentum  Jesu  Evangelium,  1908 ;  J.  Weiss,  Paulus  und  Jesus, 
1909.  On  the  relation  of  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul  to  that  of 
Jesus  there  is  an  important  work  by  A.  Resch,  '  Der  Paulin- 
ismus  und  die  Logia  Jesu '  in  TU,  new  ser.  xii.  [1904] ;  see  also 
R.  J.  Drummond,  The  Relation  of  the  Apostolic  Teaching  to 
the  Teaching  of  Christ,  1901.  JAMES  STALKER. 

PAULUS.— See  SERGIUS  PAULUS. 

PEACE.— The  etymology  of  the  Greek  word 
dpT)v-i)  is  variously  given  as  from  efpetv  (=Lat. 
serere),  '  to  fasten  together,'  or  from  etpeiv  (cf.  Lat. 
sermo),  '  to  speak.'  Besides  the  noun  the  following 
forms  of  the  root  occur  in  the  writings  of  the 
Apostolic  Age :  clprivffaiv,  '  to  keep  the  peace ' 
(never  transitive,  '  to  reconcile ')  (Mk  950,  Ro  1218, 
2  Co  13n,  1  Th  513) ;  eipr)t>oiroi6s,  'peacemaker' 
(Mt  59),  on  which  see  below ;  flprjvoTroieTv,  '  to 
make  peace '  (Col  I20),  dpyviKos,  '  peaceable '  (Ja  317) ; 
for  the  meaning  in  He  12"  see  below. 

The  noun  elp-^vr;  occurs  in  all  the  NT  writings 
except  John,  but  the  preponderant  and  most  char- 
acteristic use  is  in  the  Pauline  Epistles.  It  derives 
its  peculiar  significance  from  the  OT  oiV  and 
cognate  forms.  In  extra-biblical  Greek  elprivi)  is 
strictly  limited  to  its  ordinary  political  and 
military  significance,  meaning  simply  the  cessation 
or  absence  of  war.  It  does  not  even  cover  the 
idea  of  '  treaty,'  '  truce,'  for  which  o-irovdal  is  used. 
The  LXX  puts  etprivrj  for  six  other  words  besides 
Di1??  (cf.  B$V  in  1  Ch  440).  It  is  of  prime  import- 
ance to  notice  that  in  Hebrew  and  the  cognate  lan- 
guages oiV  is  not  a  word  formed  for  or  originally 
associated  with  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  The 
root  c^tf  covers  a  wide  range  of  ideas,  many  of 
which  have  nothing  to  do  with  war  and  peace. 
The  use  of  the  word  with  a  political  or  military 
reference  is  a  later  development.  From  this  it 
must  be  explained  that  '  peace '  in  the  OT  has 
frequently  a  positive  content,  and  that  it  is  applied 
in  many  connexions  to  which  it  could  scarcely 
have  been  transferred  from  its  military  use.  Thus 
the  idea  of  '  health '  is  not  a  metaphor  transferring 
the  notion  of  political  soundness  to  the  bodily 
organism.  Nor  is  the  meaning  of  '  prosperity ' 
the  product  of  the  experience  that  political  peace 
is  indispensable  to  economic  welfare.  The  root 
D^V  denotes  originally  '  wholeness,'  '  integrity.' 
This  is  applied  to  inorganic  things,  e.g.  unhewn 
stones  (Dt  276),  also  metaphorically  to  such  things 
as  labour  (1  K  751)>  wages  (Ru  212),  and  spiritually 
to  disposition  (Is  383)  and  sin  (Gn  ]516).  Further, 
it  is  used  of  artificially  produced  objects  in  the 
sense  of  being  unbroken,  uninjured  (Dt2515,  Pr  II1). 
In  relation  to  organic  processes  it  stands  for  health 
(Gn  296),  and  this,  in  part  at  least,  gives  rise  to 
the  employment  of  the  word  in  the  formula  of 
salutation,  although  the  wider  sense  of  security  of 
one's  actions  and  interests  in  general  enters  like- 
wise into  this  usage  (Gn  41 16).  The  Piel  species  of 


the  verb  has  two  main  significations — the  religious 
one  of  performing  a  ritual  obligation  (Dt  2322),  and 
the  forensic  one  of  recompensing,  sensu  malo  of 
punishment  (Jer2514)  or  of  trade-exchange  (Ps  3721). 
In  both  respects  the  transaction  is  viewed  as  an 
integrating  process,  the  payment  rounding  off, 
rendering  complete  the  votive  state  or  the  compen- 
satory relationship.  In  dependence  on  the  ritual 
usage  the  name  D'O^  for  one  class  of  sacrifice  will 
probably  have  to  be  explained,  for  these  offerings 
were  either  votive  offerings  or  sacrifices  for  thanks- 
giving in  general.  The  Hiphil  and  Hophal  forms 
of  the  verb  are  largely  denominatives  from  the 
noun  in  its  specialized  meaning  '  peace,'  but  they 
also  signify  '  to  give  execution  to  a  plan  or  purpose  ' 
— again  the  idea  of  integration  (Dt  2012,  Job  S23 
2314,  Is  44s8- »).  The  political  notion  of  peace 
itself  goes  back  to  the  same  idea,  inasmuch  as  two 
parties  become  a  unit  in  their  relations  towards 
outsiders  or  in  mutual  intercourse.  Peace  is  not 
always  the  sequel  of  war ;  it  may  be  in  the  form  of 
alliance,  the  preventative  of  war  (1  S  714}. 

From  the  foregoing  it  appears  that  there  was  a 
wide,  only  partly  political  or  military,  basis  in  the 
secular  usage  for  the  positive  religious  application 
of  the  word.  The  peace  which  God  gives  or  main- 
tains for  His  people  is  'integrity,'  'soundness,' 
'prosperity'  in  the  widest  sense  (Is  457,  Jer  297). 
Even  when  '  peace '  occurs  in  antithesis  to  war  the 
associations  are  not  purely  negative.  The  posi- 
tive blessings  consequent  upon  the  cessation  of 
war  are  included  (Jer  410,  Zee  810ff-).  Peace  as  a 
religious  bonum  applies  to  the  sphere  of  nature  as 
well  as  of  politics,  and  the  former  as  well  as  the 
latter  plays  an  important  part  in  eschatological 
prophecy  (Hos  220ff-,  Is  21'4  [=Mic  41'6]  9s-6,  Mic 
5s.  io-iii(  Zee  99- 10).  The  idea  of  peace  in  relation  to 
God  Himself,  in  distinction  from  peace  in  other 
relations,  given  or  guaranteed  by  God,  seems  to 
occur  in  the  OT  only  in  Ps  858  (but  cf.  Is  4S22  5721). 

In  the  NT  etp^vrj  has  a  two-fold  religious  applica- 
tion. On  the  one  hand  the  military-political  usage 
is  transferred  to  the  religious  sphere.  This  is 
done  in  two  directions :  firstly,  with  reference  to 
God  ;  and  secondly,  as  between  believers  mutually. 
Peace  is  the  antithesis  to  the  warfare  that  exists 
between  God  and  the  sinner.  As  this  warfare 
('enmity')  is  an  objective  state  and  not  a  mere 
figure  for  hostile  disposition  towards  God  on  man's 
part,  so  the  peace  is  an  objectively  established  and 
maintained  footing,  on  which  God  and  the  believer 
associate  together.  St.  Paul  has  with  doctrinal 
precision  correlated  the  ideas  of  '  enmity '  (Ro  510 
II28,  Col  I21),  'reconciliation'  (Ro  510- "  II18,  2  Co 
5i8.i9.20}  col  I21),  and  'peace'  (Ro  51  86  1417). 
Although  the  subjective,  emotional  experience  of 
an  inner  state  of  peace  is  inseparable  from  this 
eip-f)vn  Tpos  6e6v,  yet  the  word  itself  does  not  in 
these  contexts  express  it,  but  stands  simply  for 
the  state  of  justification.  This  remains  true,  even 
if  the  correct  reading  in  Ro  51  is  the  subjunctive 
elp-t\vi\v  ?XWM«»'»  '  let  us  have  peace,'  for  this  cannot, 
any  more  than  the  KaraX^dyrrre  T$  Oef  of  2  Co  519, 
relate  to  the  cultivation  of  a  peaceful  disposition 
towards  God ;  it  must  refer  in  both  cases  to  the 
subjective  appropriation  through  faith  of  the 
objective  peace  which  God  establishes  in  Christ. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  any  Pauline  passage  has 
elp-livij  in  the  purely  subjective  sense  either  of  dis- 
position or  or  experience  (cf.  Ro  151S  with  1417). 
In  Ph  47,  Col  315  peace  is  represented  as  guarding 
the  hearts  and  thoughts  and  ruling  in  the  hearts. 
This  must  be  understood  of  objective  peace  personi- 
fied, and  the  result  ascribed  to  this  influence  exer- 
cised by  peace  covers  far  more  than  a  feeling 
of  tranquillity.  As  applied  to  the  fellowship  be- 
tween believers  mutually,  peace  is  a  social  concep- 
tion, including  the  elements  of  harmony  and 


160 


PEACE 


PENTECOST 


organic  co-operation  (Ro  1419,  1  Co  715  1433,  Gal  5M, 
Eph  4s  ['  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace'],  He  1214,  Ja  318,  1  P  3",  2  P  314).  In 
regard  to  Eph  214'22  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion 
among  exegetes  as  to  whether  the  reference  of  the 
peace  embodied  in  Christ  is  to  Jewish  and  Gentile 
believers  mutually  considered,  or  fundamentally  to 
God,  so  as  to  include  only  as  a  corollary  peace 
between  the  two  component  parts  of  the  body  of 
the  Church.  E.  Haupt  (Die  Gefangenschaftsbriefe1, 
in  Meyer's  Kommentar  iiber  das  NT,  1897,  pp. 
78-99)  has  advocated  the  former  view,  but  the 
other  interpretation  seems  more  in  keeping  with 
the  trend  of  the  passage  and  the  expressions  used. 
By  being  reconciled  to  God,  each  for  their  own 
part,  Gentiles  and  Jews  have  now  become  recon- 
ciled together.  In  vv.14- 18  peace  denotes  the 
fellowship  between  Jews  and  Gentiles,  but  in  v.17 
(Is  5719)  the  peace  proclaimed  by  the  gospel  is 
the  peace  with  God,  and  the  same  idea  is  implied 
in  v.". 

The  other  branch  of  the  NT  idea  of  religious 
peace  ramifies  from  the  main  OT  stem.  It  denotes 
the  spiritualized,  Christian  form  of  '  prosperity,' 
'security,'  'soundness,'  'salvation,'  associated 
with  the  word  from  its  very  earliest  use.  No 
doubt  this  was  coloured,  to  the  mind  of  St.  Paul 
at  least,  by  the  consciousness  of  the  peace  of 
reconciliation  existing  with  God,  but  its  content  is 
too  rich  and  too  positive  to  be  exhausted  by  it. 
In  this  sense  we  find  the  word  in  the  salutations 
at  the  beginning  or  close  of  the  Epistles,  usually 
associated  with  x&pi*  (Ro  I7,  1  Co  1s,  2  Co  I2  13", 
Gal  1s  616,  Eph  I2  623  ['  peace  and  love  with  faith '], 
Ph  P,  Col  P,  1  Th  I1,  2  Th  I2  318,  1  Ti  P,  2  Ti  P, 
Tit  I4,  Philem3,  1  P  P  514,  2  P  P,  2  Jns,  3  Jn  14, 
Rev  I4).  This  goes  back  in  the  last  analysis  to 
the  use  of  the  word  in  ordinary  social  salutation, 
which  in  the  OT  already  refers  not  exclusively  to 
friendly  intercourse,  but  also  to  positive  well-being, 
including  health  and  general  security.  In  a  pro- 
found spiritualization  of  this  conception  the  formula 
had  already  been  addressed  by  Christ  to  the  dis- 
ciples after  the  Resurrection  (Lk  2438,  Jn  2019- 21- 26 ; 
cf.  also  Mt  1013,  Lk  2Z9  750  848  105- 6,  Ac  1533  1636, 
1  Co  16").  The  rich,  positive  content  becomes 
apparent  in  such  passages  as  the  following :  Lk  I79 
(opposite  '  darkness '  and  '  shadow  of  death  ')  214 
( =  the  complete  Messianic  salvation,  because  '  peace 
on  earth '  is  parallel  to  '  glory  in  the  highest,' 
which  has  Messianic  significance,  and  because  the 
men  who  receive  the  peace  are  characterized  as 
objects  of  the  Divine  c&SoKia ;  cf.  also  1942),  Jn  1427 
1633,  Ac  931  1036  (  =  the  object  of  the  gospel-pro- 
clamation), Ro  210  (associated  with  5<5£a  and  rip-fi 
as  the  eschatological  reward  for  working  good) 
14"  1513- » 1620  (the  result  of  the  conquest  of  Satan), 
Gal  616  ('mercy  and  peace'),  Eph  217  (content  of 
the  gospel-message)  615  ('the  gospel  of  peace'), 
Ph  47,  Col  318,  1  Th  53  (the  opposite  of  eschatologi- 
cal peril  =  d(T(f>a\eia),  He  72 (Christ,  like  Melchizedek, 
King  of  Peace)  1211  (the  fruit  of  righteousness 
consisting  in  peace  ;  cf.  Is  3217  and  Ja  318).  The 
general  soteriological  reference  is  also  favoured  by 
the  fact  that  God  is  called  'the  God  of  peace' 
(Ro  1533  1620, 1  Co  1433,  2  Co  13",  Ph  49,  He  1320), 
as  conversely  the  peace  is  also  called  '  the  peace  of 
God '  (Ph  47).  In  the  light  of  this  wider,  positive 
conception  it  becomes  probable  that  the  elpyvoiroiol 
of  Mt  59  are  not  merely  promoters  of  peace  in  the 
sense  of  reconcilers  between  man  and  man,  but 
those  who  actively  procure  and  produce  peace 
(  =  salvation)  for  others. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  prophetic  picture 
of  political  peace  among  the  nations  is  not  repro- 
duced in  the  NT.  No  doubt  this  is  largely  due  to 
the  elevation  of  its  eschatology  to  a  higher,  tran- 
scendental plane.  Pre-Christian  Judaism,  while 


making  considerable  use  of  the  idea  of  peace, 
remains  at  bottom  particularistic,  whilst  Christi- 
anity is  thoroughly  universalistic,  although  the 
programme  of  political  peace  is  not  explicitly 
enunciated  in  its  writings. 

The  NT  conception  of  peace  offers  no  real  point 
of  contact  with  the  Stoic  dirddeia.  and  the  Epicurean 
drapaZta  (cf.  1  Co  715,  Ph  47,  Col  31- 15).  It  is  not 
psychologically  conceived  as  in  these  systems,  but 
soteriologically.  The  peace  of  the  NT  is  not  in- 
dependence of  outside  conditions  in  the  citadel  of 
man's  subjectivity,  but  the  fruit  of  an  objective 
real  salvation  with  God. 

LITERATURE. — Cremer-Kbgel,  Bibl.-theol.  WSrterbuch  der 
neutest.  GrazitaW,  1912 ff.,  pp.  414-418  ;  W.  Caspar!, '  Vorstel- 
lung  und  Wort  "Friede"  im  AT'  in  Beitrdge  zur  Fordenmg 
christlieher  Theologie,  xiv.  4  [1910] ;  A.  Titius,  Die  neutest.  Lehre 
von  der  Seligkeit,  pt.  ii.  :  'Der  Paulinismus,'  1900,  pp.  90,  91 ; 


Montefiore,  Truth  in  Religion,  1906,  p.  147;  W.  M.  Mac- 
gregor,  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  God,  1907,  pp.  77,  165  ;  H.  W. 
Clark,  Meanings  and  Methods  of  the  Spiritual  Life?,  1906, 

p-  82.  GEERHAKDUS  Vos. 


PEARL  (fjiapyaptTiris,  Lat.  margarita  or  -urn).  — 
In  ancient  as  in  modern  times  women  adorned 
themselves  with  pearls  (1  Ti  29)  ;  the  '  woman 
arrayed  in  scarlet  and  purple  '  was  decked  with 
them  (Rev  174  1816)  ;  and  they  are  included  in  the 
merchandise  of  the  apocalyptic  Babylon  —  Imperial 
Rome  (1812).  The  pearl  itself  is  a  lusus  natures. 

'  The  cause  of  pearl-formation  is  in  most  cases,  perhaps  in  all, 
the  dead  body  of  a  minute  parasite  within  the  tissues  of  a 
mollusc,  around  which  nacreous  deposit  is  secreted  ...  so  that, 
as  a  French  writer  has  said,  the  ornament  associated  in  all  ages 
with  beauty  and  riches  is  nothing  but  the  brilliant  sarcophagus 
of  a  worm  '  (££r"  xxi.  26,  27). 

The  ancient  world  obtained  its  pearls  chiefly 
from  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Persian  Gulf.  For  fine 
specimens  fabulous  prices  were  paid.  The  single 
pearl  which  Cleopatra  is  said  to  have  dissolved 
and  swallowed  was  valued  at  £80,000.  The  twelve 
gates  of  the  New  Jerusalem  are  figured  as  twelve 
pearls,  each  gate  one  pearl  (Rev  2P1). 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PEN.—  See  WRITING. 

PENNY.  —  '  Penny  '  (djivdptov)  is  mentioned  twice 
in  Rev  66.  The  RV  gives  marginal  reference  to 
Mt  1828,  where  a  note  states  that  the  coin  (which 
was  of  silver)  was  worth  about  8£d.  The  American 
Revisers'  note  renders  dijvdpiov  by  '  shilling,'  which 
more  nearly  represents  the  actual  value.  During 
the  reign  of  Nero  the  denarius  suffered  depreciation, 
and  its  value  was  as  above  stated.  In  the  time  of 
Christ  it  was  worth  9'6  pence,  or  roughly  9£d.  (see 
DCG,  art.  '  Money  ').  For  its  purchasing  power, 
with  special  reference  to  Rev  68,  see  HDB,  art. 
'  Money,'  §  11.  The  denarius,  or  the  denarius- 
drachm,  probably  underlies  the  '  pieces  of  silver  ' 
mentioned  in  Ac  1919  (see  EBi,  art.  '  Stater,' 
with  reference  to  Vulg.j.  At  the  higher  value 
the  total  price  of  the  books  burned  is  about 
£2000.  W.  CRUICKSHANK. 

PENTECOST.  —  So  far  as  canonical  Scripture  is 
concerned,  it  is  only  in  the  NT  that  we  meet  with 
this  name,  and  that  in  three  places  —  Ac  21  2018,  1  Co 
168.  We  also  find  it  in  To  21  :  '  in  the  feast  of 
Pentecost,  which  is  the  holy  feast  of  the  seven 
weeks  '  ;  and  in  2  Mac  1231'-  :  '  the  feast  of  weeks 
being  close  at  hand.  But  after  the  feast  called 
Pentecost  .  .  .'  In  the  last  two  instances  the 
explanatory  language  reminds  us  that  the  term  was 
comparatively  new  and  came  into  use  among  the 
Greek-speaking  Jews.  Among  Christian  writers, 
Tertullian  (c.  A.D.  200)  apparently  is  the  first  to 
use  it  as  the  name  of  a  Christian  festival  (de  Idol. 


PENTECOST 


PENTECOST 


161 


14).     He  simply  took  it  over  from  the  Greek  as 
already  used  in  the  LXX  and  NT. 

1.  The  name  '  Pentecost '  (17  irevTyKoffT-t)'). — It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  add  sc.  eoprri  or  Tj/J-tpa,  as  the 
word  had  already  hardened  into  a  proper  name.    It 
was  so  used  by  St.  Paul  in  1  Co  168  (ews  rrjs  TrevT-rj- 
KOffrfi's).     It  is  therefore  an  unnecessary  refinement 
to  translate  it  in  the  NT,  with  R.  F.  Weymouth, 
'  the  Harvest  Festival '  (The  NT  in  Modern  Speech?, 
London,  1909,  ad  loc.),  or,  still  more  cumbrously, 
with  The  20th  Century  NT2,  London,   1904,  '  the 
Festival  at  the  close  of  the  Harvest."    Pentecost 
was  the  feast  of  the  fiftieth  day.     It  is  a  colour- 
less name,  and,  unlike  '  Passover  or  Unleavened 
Bread'   and    'Tabernacles   or  Booths,'  it  reveals 
nothing  as  to  the  nature  of  the  festival  itself.    This 
is   the  case  also  with  the  Hebrew  name,    '  feast 
of  weeks  (hag  shabu'6th),'  generally  given  to  this 
festival  (Ex  3422,  Dt  161U).     It  is  true,  the  feast 
is  also  termed   '  the  feast  of  harvest '   (Ex   2316), 
and,   further,   Ex  3422  adds   '  of  the  firstfruits  of 
wheat  harvest ' ;   whilst,  again,  Nu  2826  calls  it 
'  the   day  of  firstfruits.'     At  a  very  much   later 
date  the  Jews  gave  to  this  festival  the  name  of  hag 
hdazereth  or  'azarta    (Aram.),  a   term   which  in 
earlier  times  was  applied  to  the  concluding  festivi- 
ties of  Passover  and  Tabernacles  (Lv  23s6,  Nu  29s5, 
etc. ;  in  EVV  '  a  solemn  assembly  ').     Apparently 
it  applied  to  Pentecost  as  the  feast  which  marked 
the  conclusion  of  the  harvest.     The  Gr.  d<rapdd  (a 
transliteration)  betrayed  Josephus  into  the  error 
of  supposing  that  this  term  itself  meant  Pentecost 
(Ant.  III.  x.  6).     But  the  far  more  common  name 
was  the  Feast  of  Weeks,  and  later  still,  the  Feast 
of  Pentecost.     Under  the  latter  name  it  still  de- 
notes both  the  Jewish  and  the  Christian  festival. 

2.  Origin. — The  name  'Pentecost'  takes  its  origin 
from  the  very  ancient  custom  of  carefully  counting 
the  days  from  the  second  day  of  the  Feast  of 
Mazzoth  according  to  the  specific  injunction  of 
Lv  23IM-,  where  the  fifty  days  also  are  expressly 
mentioned.    Although  there  has  been  much  dispute 
as  to  the  exact  meaning  of  '  the  morrow  after  the 
sabbath,'  it  is  generally  agreed  to  treat  the  16th 

N  Nisan  as  the  day  when  the  wave-sheaf  of  early 
barley  was  offered  and  as  the  day  when  they  began 
to  'count  the  omer.'  So  Jos.  Ant.  III.  x.  5:  'on 
the  second  day  of  unleavened  bread,  which  is  the 
sixteenth  day  of  the  month.'  The  term  'omer'  = 
(a)  sheaf,  and  (b)  a  measure  of  about  5^  pints  (dry), 
though  the  identity  of  the  term  in  the  two  senses 
is  uncertain.  This,  in  turn,  has  given  rise  to  the 
question  whether  '  counting  the  omer '  refers  to 
the  sheaf  or  the  measure.  In  the  time  of  the 
Second  Temple,  it  would  seem  that  the  meal  rather 
than  the  com-sheaf  was  the  offering.  Josephus 
(Ant.  III.  x.  5)  is  explicit  on  this  point.  Yet  Lv  23 
seems  equally  clear  in  intending  a  sheaf. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  in  the  Dispersion  of  Israel 
both  the  sheaf  and  the  measure  have  long  since 
ceased  to  have  any  significance  ;  but  the  counting 
of  the  omer  goes  on  still  from  Passover  to  Pente- 
cost to  the  very  eve  of  the  feast  ('This  is  the 
forty-ninth  day,  making  seven  weeks  of  the  Omer),' 
and  secures  the  regular  observance  of  the  feast. 
Every  evening  at  prayers  in  the  synagogue  the 
counting  duly  takes  place,  with  the  addition  of  the 
formula :  '  Blessed  art  Thou,  O  Lord,  King  of  the 
universe,  who  hast  sanctified  us  by  Thy  command- 
ments, and  hast  given  us  command  concerning  the 
counting  of  the  Omer.'  The  brief  ceremony  closes 
xwith  Ps  67  and  a  prayer  that  '  the  temple  may  be 
speedily  rebuilt  in  our  days,'  and,  with  still  the 
backward  look,  '  there  we  will  serve  Thee  with  awe, 
as  in  the  days  of  old,  and  as  in  ancient  years.' 

Thus  is  retained  a  relic  of  a  long-past  day.  When 
the  Jews  were  a  people  settled  in  their  own  land, 
an  agricultural  people,  it  was  a  comparatively 

VOL.   II.  —  II 


simple  matter  to  keep  the  festival  as  the  procession 
of  the  seasons  went  on  year  by  year.  The  Feast  of 
Mazzdth  marked  the  opening  of  harvest  with  the 
early  barley  crop  ;  the  Feast  of  Weeks  marked  its 
close  with  the  ingathering  of  the  wheat ;  the  Feast 
of  Booths  crowned  the  cycle  with  the  gathering  of 
the  vintage  and  the  '  fruits  of  the  land  (Lv  2339)  in 
general.  The  climatic  conditions  of  Palestine  made 
those  seasons  timely  and  appropriate.  The  count- 
ing of  the  omer  was  a  quaint  expedient  for  enabling 
the  farmers  to  appear  at  the  central  sanctuary  at 
the  appointed  time  for  the  Feast  of  Weeks.  The 
primitive  proclamation  of  new  moon,  which  the 
authorities  announced  by  messengers,  who  went 
through  the  land  as  soon  as  the  faint  sickle  was 
seen  in  the  sky,  could  not  be  relied  upon  in  this 
instance.  Those  who  dwelt  in  the  borders  of  the 
little  land  would  be  belated.  But  all  could  count 
from  '  the  morrow  after  the  sabbath '  from  the 
second  day  of  Mazz6th,  when  the  ceremony  of 
waving  the  omer  (of  barley)  took  place.  And  all 
could  arrange  to  appear  on  the  appointed  day  at 
the  end  of  seven  weeks.  But  all  this  has  long  since 
become  antiquated.  The  counting  of  the  omer  is 
entirely  useless.  Still  the  feast  is  celebrated  in  the 
synagogue  for  one  day  or  two,  but  all  that  links  it 
to  the  festival  of  the  Pentateuch  is  the  counting  of 
the  omer  (though  no  omer  has  been  '  waved  '),  and 
such  dim  recollections  of  a  harvest  festival  in 
Palestine  as  can  be  secured  by  dressing  the  syna- 
gogue with  flowers. 

Because  the  tokens  of  the  actual  observance  of 
this  feast  are  few  and  far  between,  some  have 
argued  a  late  origin  for  it.  But  the  argumentum 
e  silentio  is  always  risky.  What  is  settled  and 
customary  may  go  on  for  generations  without 
remark.  The  Law  at  any  rate  was  very  explicit : 
'  Three  times  in  a  year  shall  all  thy  males  appear 
before  the  Lord  thy  God  in  the  place  which  he 
shall  choose ;  in  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread, 
and  in  the  feast  of  weeks,  and  in  the  feast  of 
tabernacles' (Dt  1616).  As  an  intermediary  festi- 
val, however,  and  one  lasting  originally  only  for  one 
day,  there  was  an  inevitable  tendency  to  make  the 
Feast  of  Weeks  less  conspicuous  than  the  other 
two.  Passover  marked  the  beginning  of  harvest ; 
Tabernacles  celebrated  the  very  crown  and  con- 
summation of  the  year,  when  all  the  fruits  of  the 
earth  had  at  length  been  gathered  in  ;  but  Pente- 
cost was  a  brief  pause  of  joy  and  thankfulness  for 
the  close  of  harvest  proper  and  the  gathered  store 
of  '  bread  that  strengtheneth  man's  heart.' 

This  is  seen  especially  in  the  dearth  of  com- 
memorative matter  associated  with  Pentecost.  In 
connexion  with  Passover,  e.g.,  in  the  course  of 
time  there  gathered  a  considerable  number  of  his- 
torical  associations,  not  only  with  the  Exodus,  but 
with  all  sorts  of  other  great  happenings  in  Jewish 
history,  with  or  without  foundation.  Afterwards, 
however,  and  at  a  late  date,  Pentecost  was  supplied 
with  one  notable  historical  association,  and  it 
became  the  festival  at  which  the  giving  of  the 
Law_  on  Sinai  "was  commemorated.  The  special 
lessons  of  the  synagogue  for  Pentecost  are  all 
designed  to  glorify  the  Law.  Once  the  connexion 
was  made,  Talmudic  authorities  had,  by  the  use  of 
ingenious  methods  of  calculation,  no  difficulty  in 
proving  that  this  indeed  was  the  very  time  when 
this  august  event  took  place  (Ex  19,  20).^  This 
association  persists  after  Pentecost  becomes  a 
Christian  festival,  and  provokes  the  contrast  which 
Keble  makes  the  basis  of  his  hymn  for  Whit- 
sunday in  the  Christian  Year  (London,  1904,  p.  120). 
But  see  also  long  before  this  Jerome  (Ep.  IxxviiL, 
'  ad  Fabiolam '  [PL  xxii.]). 

In  the  few  instances  wherein  we  have  historical 
reference  to  the  Feast  of  Pentecost  there  is  one 
noticeable  thing :  stress  is  laid  on  its  being  a  time 


162 


PENTECOST 


PENTECOST 


when  crowds  were  gathered  together  at  Jerusalem. 
Apparently  in  the  1st  cent.  A.D.  the  festival  was 
well  kept  as  a  hag  in  accord  with  the  ancient  legis- 
lation. Josephus  refers  to  it  more  than  once  (BJ 
II.  iii.  1,  VI.  v.  3 ;  Ant.  III.  x.  6,  XIII.  viii.  4,  XIV. 
xiii.  4).  In  those  days  of  growing  distress  and  on- 
coming doom,  indeed,  he  says  that  the  adversaries 
of  the  Jews  deliberately  chose  such  times  when 
crowds  were  gathered  at  Jerusalem  to  work  them 
some  mischief.  '  The  enemy  waited  for  the  com- 
ing of  the  multitude  out  of  the  country  to  Pente- 
cost, a  feast  of  ours  so  called  :  and  when  the  day 
was  come,  many  ten  thousands  of  the  people  were 
gathered  together,'  etc.  (Ant.  XIV.  xiii.  4). 

3.  The  reference  in  Ac  2. — Time  notes  are  few 
and  far  between  in  Acts,  so  that  all  the  more 
precious  is  this  clear  note  of  the  day  when  so 
momentous  and  auspicious  an  event  took  place. 
At  any  rate,  there  is  complete  agreement  with  the 
repeated  testimony  of  Josephus  as  to  the  crowds 
of  people  who  were  at  Jerusalem  for  the  festival. 
With  naive  hyperbole  the  author  records  the  fact 
that  there  were  at  Jerusalem  '  devout  men  from 
every  nation  under  heaven '  (v.6).  Not  that  all 
these  were  necessarily  visitors  who  had  come  up 
expressly  for  the  feast.  It  reflects  for  one  thing 
the  cosmopolitan  character  of  the  resident  popula- 
tion of  the  city.  Not  a  few  devout  Jews  who  were 
of  the  Diaspora  found  their  way  at  last  to  Jerusalem 
to  spend  the  remainder  of  their  days  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Temple  with  all  its  privileges,  and  at  length 
be  buried  in  the  land  of  their  fathers.  Perhaps 
also  some  were  not  without  wistful  hopes  that  the 
Messiah  would  appear.  At  all  events,  (taroiKoiWej 
(v.8)  suggests  a  more  permanent  residence  than  a 
mere  sojourn.  It  is  equally  clear,  however  (v.9,  ol 
KaroiKovvres  TTJV  ~M.effoiroTa/j.iav,  and  v. 10,  ol  firt8'r]/j.owTes 
'PufMiot)  that  there  was  also  a  crowd  of  genuine 
visitors  who  had  come  to  keep  the  festival. 

The  author  even  ventures  upon  an  enumeration 
of  the  several  provinces  and  regions  whence  they 
had  come  (w.9'11).  It  does  not  seem  clear  that  he 
had  any  principle  to  go  on  in  this  enumeration, 
save  that  roughly  he  begins  in  what  must  have 
been  to  him  the  Far  East  ('  Parthians  and  Medes ') 
and  ends  with  the  West  ('  sojourners  from  Rome  '), 
and  then  adds,  a  little  inconsequently,  'Cretans 
and  Arabians.'  It  seems  a  little  odd  that  'Judaea' 
should  be  named  between  '  Mesopotamia '  and 
'  Cappadocia,'  and  gives  rise  to  a  question  as  to 
whether  there  has  not  been  some  misplacement  or 
error  in  the  name  itself.  If  '  Jews  and  proselytes ' 
(v.10)  is  'a  summarizing  touch'  and  the  two  types 
are  mentioned  as  being  '  found  in  all  the  regions 
just  enumerated '  ( J.  V.  Bartlet,  The  Century  Bible, 
'Acts,'  Edinburgh,  1901,  ad  loc.),  it  would  be 
superfluous  to  mention  that  there  were  Jews  in 
'Judaea.'  J.  A.  Bengel  (Gnomon  Novi  Test.,  ad 
loc.)  says  that  (for  Judeea) '  Armeniam  legit  Augus- 
tinus  :  eaque  inter  Mesopotamiam  Cappadociamque 
jacet,'  and  rather  inconclusively  adds  :  '  sed  vetus- 
tam  sane  Arrneniorum  linguam  sub  alia  quadam 
gente  hie  nominata  innui  existimare  licet.'  It 
does  not  appear  what  authority  Augustine  had  for 
this,  but  it  witnesses  to  early  uncertainty. 

It  does  not  follow  that  St.  Luke  is  to  be  under- 
stood as  giving  a  careful  specification  of  the  regions 
represented,  and  it  is  of  little  moment  whether  we 
consider  the  list  as  '  an  enumeration,  not  of  lan- 
guages but  of  provinces'  (Speaker's  Commentary, 
'  St.  John  and  the  Acts,'  London,  1880,  p.  363),  or 
with  Bartlet  (loc.  cit.)  say  with  equal  assurance, 
'  the  list  is  one  of  languages  rather  than  geo- 
graphical areas.'  For  a  comparison  with  Talmudic 
parallels  see  E.  von  Dobsclilitz,  '  Zu  der  Volkerliste 
Ac  29'11,'  in  ZWT  x.  [1902]  407-410. 

Much  has  been  said  at  one  time  and  another  as 
to  the  particular  day  of  the  week  on  which  the 


Feast  of  Pentecost  sensu  eminenti  fell.  Did  it 
really  so  happen  that  that  day  was  '  the  first  day 
of  the  week  ?  This  depends  on  what  day  the 
16th  Nisan  fell  that  year  :  and  it  is  mixed  up  with 
the  obscurity  attending  the  day  of  our  Lord's 
death  (see  art.  PASSOVER).  It  is  after  all  a  matter 
of  inconsiderable  importance.  But  we  have  the 
strong  tradition  that  Jesus  rose  again  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week  :  and  more  than  that,  AVC  have  the 
undeniable  fact  that  Sunday  became  the  Christian 
weekly  holy  day  on  that  very  ground.  That  of 
itself  makes  Pentecost  to  fall  on  Sunday  seven 
weeks  later.  We  know  as  a  matter  of  fact  that 
the  Christian  Church  in  the  course  of  time  estab- 
lished this  commemoration  on  the  Lord's  Day  as 
most  fitting,  whatever  the  actual  day  may  have 
been,  and  we  need  not  ask  for  more.  In  older 
Judaism  Pentecost  fell,  like  Passover,  on  all  the 
days  of  the  week  as  the  case  might  be.  A  later 
usage  has  so  far  modified  this  as  to  avoid  the 
observance  of  Pentecost  on  the  third,  fifth,  or 
seventh  days. 

4.  Nature  of  the  event.— Much  more  important 
is  the  question  as  to  what  Avas  the  nature  of  the 
event  which  makes  this  day  for  ever  memorable 
to  the  Christian.     We  must  carefully  discriminate 
between   the   wonder-element    of    the   story,   the 
strange   and  symbolic  accompaniments,   and   the 
extraordinary  change  which  most  certainly  marked 
the  behaviour  of  the  apostles  as  well  as  that  of  the 
first  believers  in  general.     It  is,  indeed,  not  impos- 
sible that  so  memorable  an  event  should  have  been 
signalized  actually  by  such  phenomena  as  '  a  sound 
as  of  the  rushing  of  a  mighty  wind  '  and  '  tongues 
parting  asunder,  like  as  of  fire,'  and  that  all  should 
have  begun  '  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the 
Spirit  gave  them  utterance'  (Ac  22'4).     At  the 
same  time,  it  is  impossible  not  to  see  a  close  parallel 
to  the  circumstances  which  had  heralded  the  giv- 
ing of  the  Law  from  Sinai,  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
was  commemorated  at  Pentecost.     In  the  course 
of  time  Jewish  midrash  and  legend  had  consider- 
ably heightened  these  conditions  (Ex   1916ff- ;  cf. 
He  1218ff>)  and  had  added  such  particulars  as  that 
at  Sinai  all  nations  had  heard  God's  voice  in  their 
own  language  and  that  that  voice  could  be  heard 
as  well  by  those  farthest  away  as  by  those  nearest 
the  mount  (see  Midrash  on  Ps  6811,  and  Philo,  de 
Decalogo).    The  resemblance  is  close  and  could  not 
well  have  been  accidental.     But  whatever  may  be 
said  as  to  the  manner  of  the  narrative,  however 
much  the  writer  may  have  drawn  upon  legendary 
matter  in  the  setting  of  his  story,  the  main  thing 
is  to  remember  that  the  underlying  and  undeniable 
experience  is  that  which  is  of  supreme  importance. 
As  C.  von  Weizsacker  says  (Apostolic  Age,  Eng. 
tr.  i.2  [London,  1897]  50  f.),  the  gift  of  prophecy 
'finds  expression,   though  in  a  peculiar  form,  in 
the  narrative  of  the  Pentecost  miracle,  which  he 
has  placed  in  the  forefront  of  his  history.     The 
import  of  this  event  is  revealed  in  the  speech  of 
Peter  (ii.  14  ff.).     It  was  the  fulfilment  of  Joel's 
prophecy  of  the  universal  outpouring  of  the  Spirit 
of  God.  .  .  .  Now  this  is  certainly  the  historical 
part  of  the  narrative.     The  members  of  the  Church 
felt  the  presence  of  the  new  spirit  so  strongly, 

.  .  .  that  they  were  confident  of  the  fulfilment  of 
Joel's  words  in  their  own  time.'  (On  this  and  the 
whole  subject  of  the  glossolalia  see  art.  TONGUES, 
GIFT  OF.  ) 

5.  Pentecostal  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.— 
Altogether  too  narrow  and  parochial  a  view  hag 
often  been  taken  as  to  the  Pentecostal  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.     A  literalism  which  proceeds 
on  the  assumption  that  we  have  exhaustive  infor- 
mation  as  to  these  events,  and  that  all  thinga 
actually  occurred  as  they  are  described,  has  found 
itself  again  and  again  in  sore  straits  when  it  haa 


PENTECOST 


PENTECOST 


163 


come  to  explaining  precisely  what  happened. 
Thus,  on  the  strength  of  an  editorial  note  in  the 
Fourth  Gospel  ( Jn  73a) — ofarw  yap  fy  irvevna. — coupled 
with  some  of  our  Lord's  utterances  reported  in  the 
same  Gospel  (e.g.  167),  it  has  yielded  but  a  grudg- 
ing acknowledgment  of  the  Spirit's  presence  and 
power  in  the  world  prior  to  this  event.  But  we 
should  gladly  see  in  every  gracious  movement  of 
thought  and  every  outflowering  of  beauty,  virtue, 
and  goodness  whensoever  and  wheresoever  dis- 
played, whether  before  the  Incarnation  or  subse- 
quent thereto,  the  working  and  manifestation  of 
the  same  Spirit  of  love  and  light  and  power.  That 
is  quite  compatible  with  giving  full  weight  to 
Pentecost  as  ushering  in  a  special  manifestation  of 
God's  Spirit  and  an  era  which  was  to  be  peculiarly 
characterized  by  the  activities  and  energies  of  that 
Spirit  in  revealing  and  deepening  what  is  Christ's 
(£K  rov  ^/toO  \ri/jL\f/fTai  KT\.,  Jn  1614). 

Among  the  Fathers,  when  they  proceeded  to 
explain  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a  new 
thing  and  in  special  connexion  with  Pentecost, 
there  was  a  strong  disposition  to  lay  stress  on  the 
miraculous  gifts  and  give  them  the  chief  place, 
an  exegesis  which  later  found  too  wide  «  vogue. 
'Visibilia  ilia  dona,  quae  initio  nascentis  ecclesiae 
excellenter  viguerunt' — so  runs  even  Beza's  note. 
Moreover,  they  too  often  limited  the  Spirit's  dower 
to  the  apostles  and  their  successors,  a  line  of 
interpretation  which  at  once  went  in  flat  opposi- 
tion to  the  plain  sense  of  Scripture  and  helped  the 
development  of  a  sacerdotal  and  sacramental  view 
of  'Orders.'  We  meet  with  similar  limitations 
still :  '  The  Holy  Ghost  came  upon  the  Apostles 
on  the  Day  of  Pentecost '  (T.  B.  Strong,  A  Manual 
of  Theology2,  London,  1903,  p.  325).  But  the 
whole  assembly  of  believers,  if  anything  is  clear, 
shared  in  the  enduement  of  power  which  Pentecost 
witnessed,  as  they  waited  'all  together  in  one 
place.'  (For  ample  quotations  in  support,  see  J. 
C.  Hare,  Mission  of  the  Comforter*,  London,  1877, 
Note  H.) 

Too  much,  indeed,  may  be  made  of  such  expres- 
sions as  '  coming,'  or  '  descent,'  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  as  characterizing  this  day.  It  helps  the 
perilous  parcelling  out  of  time  and  distinction  of 
'dispensations' — the  dispensations  of  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit — which  has  found 
favour  with  many.  This  has  little  to  commend  it, 
is  artificial,  and  can  only  be  taken  as  generally 
signifying  the  progressive  development  of  religion 
among  men.  Nor  was  Pentecost  '  the  birthday  of 
the  Christian  Church,'  as  it  is  often  called.  '  Birth- 
day' is  an  awkward  term  to  use  in  such  a  con- 
nexion, and  can  be  accepted  only  as  a  rough  mode 
of  indicating  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  com- 
munity. But  there  was  a  church  of  a  sort  already 
existing  (see  Ac  1).  The  movement,  in  truth, 
did  not  lend  itself  easily  to  dates,  and  refused  to 
be  subjected  to  the  precision  and  exactitude  which 
mark  the  inauguration  of  merely  human  societies 
and  institutions.  This  holy  gift  was  bestowed  on 
a  church  already  in  existence.  'Pentecost  was  a 
day  of  power,  a  day  on  which  the  Spirit  of  God 
manifested  himself  through  the  disciples  as  a 
power  for  the  con  version  of  others '  (A.  C.  McGitfert, 
A  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age, 
Edinburgh,  1897,  p.  50). 

6.  Significance  of  Pentecost  to  the  primitive 
Church. — The  after  course  of  events  makes  it  clear 
that  Pentecost  was  a  turning-point  of  great  sig- 
nificance in  the  career  of  the  little  community. 
The  chief  sign  was  power  to  give  clear  and  bold 
testimony  to  the  truth  about  Jesus  Christ — a  rich 
gift  of  prophetic  grace.  '  As  they  waited  and 
prayed,  and  pondered  the  sayings  of  the  Master, 
and  searched  the  OT  Scriptures,  the  Truth  flashed 
upon  them — the  Truth  that  was  the  Spirit's  teach- 


ing therein,  blending  with  the  words  and  memory 
of  the  Master.  Suddenly  the  darkness  of  their 
souls  was  illumined  by  the  inshining  of  this  light 
from  heaven,  their  hearts  were  filled  with  joy, 
and  in  the  new  exultant  confidence  that  came  to 
them,  they  were  "clothed  with  power  from  on 
high  "  '  (W.  L.  Walker,  The  Spirit  and  the  Incar- 
nation, Edinburgh,  1899,  p.  67).  Looking  back 
from  his  then  standpoint,  the  historian  could  not 
adequately  account  for  the  actually  existing  and 
widespread  Church,  save  through  some  Divine 
enthusiasm  kindled  in  men's  hearts  by  God  in- 
dwelling and  working  in  them  with  power  and 
love.  What  could  symbolize  that  '  Breath  of  God ' 
more  fittingly  than  the  wind  ?  What  could  more 
appropriately  suggest  the  penetrative  purifying 
power  and  grace  than  tongues  '  like  as  of  fire ' 
(oxre2  a-up6s)?  The  miracle  of  Pentecost  was  that 
the  little  community  should  be  transformed  by 
the  enduement  of  energy,  illumination,  and  power, 
which  is  simply  spoken  of  in  the  words  :  '  And 
they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit.'  That 
was  a  work  of  grace  which  was  repeatedly  experi- 
enced in  the  Apostolic  Church  (Ac  431),  and  has 
been  witnessed  since  again  and  again.  It  is  the 
mysterious  outburst  of  a  Power  which  never  wholly 
leaves  the  world,  however  lifeless  it  may  at  times 
appear.  As  A.  B.  Bruce  remarks,  the  Christian 
'  believes  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  His  incessant 
struggle  for  the  birth  of  a  better  world.  He  sees 
in  the  great  crises  of  history  His  action  as  a 
mighty  wind  ;  in  quiet  times  he  traces  His  blessed 
presence  and  influence  as  a  still,  noiseless,  yet 
vital  air,  the  breath  of  human  souls '  (Apologetics, 
Edinburgh,  1892,  p.  69). 

7.  Pentecost  as  a  Christian  festival. — There  is 
no  sign  whatever  in  the  NT  that  the  Church 
observed  this  season  as  a  festival,  or,  as  in  the 
case  of  Passover,  superimposed  Christian  associa- 
tions on  an  ancient  Hebrew  feast.  Epiphanius 
(4th  cent.)  interprets  Ac  2016  as  showing  that  St. 
Paul  observed  the  feast,  and  either  deliberately  or 
loosely  read  into  the  text  the  verb  iroi^ffr;  ("Effirfvdev, 
faus  troi^ffy  TT\V  HevryKOffrty  els  'Iepov<ra\ri/j.,  quoted 
in  J.  Bingham,  Antiquities,  XX.  vi.  6).  (Truly 
it  is  a  substantially  different  thing  to  hasten  to 
Jerusalem  to  keep  Pentecost  from  hurrying  to  be 
at  Jerusalem  at  Pentecost.)  St.  Paul  had  little 
enough  to  do  with  keeping  festivals.  Pentecost 
here  appears  as  a  mere  note  of  time.  Bengel's 
note  ad  loc.  is  to  the  point :  '  in  festo,  magni  con- 
ventus  :  magna  lucrifaciendi  occasio.' 

The  2nd  cent,  passes  (a  period  fraught  with  all 
sorts  of  problems  for  the  Church  historians),  and 
in  Tertullian  we  find  Pentecost  definitely  referred 
to  as  a  Christian  feast,  familiar  and  established 
(de  Idol.  14)  :  '  Non  Dominicum  diem,  non  Pente- 
costen,  etiam  si  nossent,  nobiscum  communicassent; 
timerent  enim  ne  Christiani  viderentur.'  A  few 
sentences  later  he  speaks  again  of  Pentecost  not 
as  one  day  but  as  a  period — '  excerpe  singulas 
solennitates  nationum,  et  in  ordinem  exsere  Pente- 
costen  implere  non  poterunt '  (cf.  also  de  Corona, 
3).  And  from  the  time  when  the  scheme  of  dis- 
tinctive Christian  festivals  came  to  be  developed 
it  would  appear  that  the  whole  fifty  days  elapsing 
between  Easter  and  Pentecost  were  called  by  the 
latter  name  (Lat.  Quinquagesima)  and  were  re- 
garded as  a  time  of  joy  and  happy  commemoration 
(see  R.  Hooker,  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  iv.  xiii.  7 — 
'  which  fifty  days  were  called  Pentecost,  though 
most  commonly  the  last  day  of  them  which  is 
Whitsunday  be  so  called'). 

So  anciently  among  the  Jews  the  '  days  of  the 
Omer,'  as  the  period  between  Passover  and  Weeks 
was  called,  being  a  time  of  harvest  operations, 
was  a  time  of  joy.  It  is  food  for  thought,  indeed, 
that  the  principal  feasts  of  the  Christian  Church 


164 


PEOPLE 


PEOPLE 


should  be  moulded  on  a  system  so  parallel  with 
that  of  the  Jews.  How  strange,  if  indeed  we  have 
here  a  primitive  reference  to  nature  and  the  great 
yearly  crises  of  springtime  and  harvest,  in  such 
climatic  conditions  as  those  of  Palestine,  that 
these  should  gather  new  associations  sacred  for 
the  Jew,  and  again  in  turn  gather  very  different 
associations  rendering  them  sacred  in  Christian 
eyes  ! 

Ultimately  Pentecost  was  limited  to  the  fiftieth 
day  from  Easter  Day,  though,  still  later,  festivities 
tended  to  prolong  themselves  over  the  week  follow- 
ing ;  hence  '  Whitsuntide,' suggesting  an  extended 
festivity  rather  than  one  day.  As  connected 
especially  with  that  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
which  marked  the  beginnings  of  the  Church's 
history,  the  festival  was  pre-eminently  from  the 
first  a  favourite  time  for  baptisms  (Tertullian,  de 
Bapt.  19). 

As  in  Passover,  the  Christian  Church  for  the 
most  part  took  over  the  name  of  the  festival  from 
the  Jews.  It  was  Pentecost  for  both.  But  just 
as  Easter  replaced  Pascha  in  English  and  kindred 
languages,  so  Whitsunday  replaced  Pentecost  in 
England  through  Norse  influence.  Before  the 
Norman  Conquest  the  season  was  always  known 
in  England  as  '  Pentecoste.'  The  meaning  of  Whit- 
sunday has  been  the  subject  of  much  controversy, 
but  has  been  generally  explained  by  a  reference 
to  the  white  garments  of  the  newly-baptized.  W. 
W.  Skeat  gives  it  decidedly  as  White  Sunday,  with 
this  explanation  (see  An  Etymological  Dictionary 
of  the  English,  Language,  Oxford,  1910,  s.v.). 

LITERATURE. — Besides  the  works  quoted  in  the  course  of  the 
article  there  may  be  mentioned  G.  T.  Purves,  art.  '  Pentecost ' 
in  HDB ;  I.  Benzinger,  art.  '  Pentecost '  in  EBi  ;  art. '  Festivals 
and  Fasts  [Christian],  [Hebrew],  [Jewish],'  in  ERE;  O. 
Zockler,  art.  '  Pfingsten '  in  PREP ;  J.  L.  Magnus,  art. 
'  Pentecost'  in  JE  ;  A.  Edersheim,  The  Temple  :  its  Ministry 
and  Services  as  they  were  at  the  Time  of  Jesus  Christ,  London, 
n.d. ;  E.  von  Dobschiitz,  Ostern  und  Pfingsten,  Leipzig,  1903 ; 
M.  Friedlander,  The  Jewish  Religion,  London,  1891. 

J.  S.  CLEMENS. 

PEOPLE  (Xa6j  and  6  \a6s).—\a6s  (without  art.) 
designates  '  Israel'  in  Jude5  (cf.  Sir  467,  Wis  1813), 
'  Gentile  believers '  in  St.  James's  speech  at  the 
Council  (Ac  1514) ;  the  fact  that  St.  Luke  himself 
does  not  use  Xa6s  of  Christians  is  justly  regarded  as 
a  proof  of  the  early  date  of  Acts  (Harnack,  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1909,  p.  51). 
Xaot  'Iffpari\  in  the  prayer  of  the  Church  (Ac  4?)  is 
an  interesting  addition  to  those  '  gathered  together 
against  the  Lord  and  against  his  Christ'  (Ps  22). 
In  Ro  9s5- 26  St.  Paul  applies  the  promises  of  Israel's 
restoration  in  Hos  I10  223  to  the  calling  of  the  Gen- 
tiles ('  God,  in  reversing  His  sentence  on  Israel,  em- 
braces in  the  arms  of  His  mercy  all  who  were  not 
His  people,  and  says  of  them  all,  that  they  should 
be  My  people  and  beloved'  [E.  B.  Pusey,  Minor 
Prophets,  London,  1886,  p.  22];  cf.  Ro  H^M.  32^ 
In  1  P  210  Hosea's  prophecy  is  applied  to  the  Gentile 
Christians  of  Asia  Minor :  they,  before  receiving 
the  gospel,  belonged  to  the  most  diverse  races, 
and  were  not  a  people  at  all ;  now  they  are  become 
'  a  people  of  God,'  even  a  Xads  ei's  irepnrol-ncriv  (v.9 ; 
cf.  Is  4321,  Mai  317  LXX).  In  Tit  214,  Christians 
are  called  a  Xads  irepioi/trtoy — the  LXX  rendering  of 
iTfcp  cy  in  Ex  195,  Dt  76  (see  S.  R.  Driver's  notes, 
Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools,  '  Exod.',  Cambridge, 
1911,  p.  171,  ICC,  'Deut.'2,  Edinburgh,  1896, 
p.  100).  The  occurrence  of  Xa6s  (without  art.)  in 
Lk  I17,  Ac  1810  also  deserves  attention.  6  Xa6s  is 
the  usual  designation  for  the  Jewish  people  in  the 
religious  or  political  sense  (Mt  24  4>23,  Jn  II50  1814 
Ac  S23  21^  26^7-  23,  He  7",  2  P  21).  In  Mt  1»  (rbv 
\abv  a&Tov=rov'Io-pa-r]\  in  Ps  1298  LXX)  the  apolo- 
getic purpose  of  this  Gospel  reveals  itself  as  in 
I1— 'Jesus  the  Messiah,  who  fulfils  the  promises  to 
the  house  of  David  and  the  seed  of  Abraham.'  6 


Xadj  O.VTOV  also  designates  Israel  in  Lk  I68  716, 
Ro  II1  1510,  St.  Paul  having  in  mind  in  Ro  II1  a 
phrase  that  appears  in  1  S  1222,  Ps  9314  944  LXX. 
Israel's  title,  6  Xads  rou  6eov,  is  extended  in  He  49 
II25  to  the  NT  Church  :  'it  was  a  point  with  the 
Author  to  identify  Christian  Hebrews  with  "the 
people  of  God " '  (A.  B.  Davidson,  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  Edinburgh,  n.d.,  p.  95).* 

In  the  foregoing  survey  we  see  the  designation 
passing  over  from  the  OT  to  the  NT  Church.  The 
process  was  gradual.  The  idea  would  not  occur  to 
the  members  of  the  Christian  community  at  Jeru- 
salem, who  continued  to  attend  the  Temple  and 
the  synagogues,  that  their  kinsmen  according  to 
the  flesh  had  lost  their  right  to  be  called  the  Xads 
0eoO.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  willing  to  admit 
that  the  people  and  their  rulers  had  acted  Kara 
ayvoiav  in  putting  Jesus  to  death,  and  they  looked 
for  their  repentance  and  conversion,  which  should 
bring  in  the  promised  Kaipol  ava\j/ti%€tas  and  XP^V01 
airoKaTaffrdo-fus  iravruv  at  the  speedy  return  of  their 
Lord  (Ac  317'26).  But  as  time  went  on,  and  Jewish 
hardness  and  unbelief  remained  unchanged,  they 
must  have  recalled  such  sayings  of  Jesus  as  those 
about  the  vineyard  of  the  wicked  husbandmen  being 
given  to  others,  and  the  supper  that  should  not  be 
tasted  by  the  first-bidden  guests  (Mk  129,  Lk  1424). 
It  is  remarkable  that  while  Jesus  Himself  occasion- 
ally referred  to  the  Jews  as  6  Xaos  O&TOS,  He  never 
once  spoke  of  them  as  the  Xads  6eov  (cf.  DCG  ii. 
334).  Jn  839  reports  His  having  denied  that  His 
opponents  were  true  '  children  of  Abraham,'  which 
reminds  us  of  St.  Paul's  demonstration  in  Ro  3-4, 
Gal  3-4  that  they  who  have  the  right  to  call 
Abraham  their  father  are  those  only  who  believe 
God's  promise  of  salvation  as  he  did  (cf.  Ro  97). 
Another  correspondence  between  this  Gospel  and 
St.  Paul  appears  in  our  Lord's  greeting  Nathanael 
as  a\t]9£s  'LrpaijXeirTys  (Jn  I47),  and  the  Apostle's 
distinguishing  an  Israel  Kara  ffdpica  (1  Co  1018)  from 
an  Israel  rov  Oeov  (Gal  616 ;  which  may  refer  to  the 
Jewish  believers  of  St.  Paul's  circle,  but  more 
probably  designates  all  Christians).  In  discrimin- 
ating between  circumcision  as  an  external  rite  and 
the  circumcision  of  the  heart  (Ro  221* ;  cf.  Ph  33) 
St.  Paul  follows  the  OT  (e.g.  Dt  1018,  Jer  g26).  It 
is  true  that  in  Ro  II17*-  the  Jews  still  remain  the 
Xa6s,  and  the  Gentiles  are  'ingrafted'  into  the 
people  to  whom  the  promises  belong,  as  the  wild 
olive  branch  into  the  good  olive  tree — a  comparison 
which  Harnack  thinks  '  must  have  been  very  un- 
pleasing  to  Gentile  Christians'  (Date  of  Acts,  p.  48, 
note  2).  But  in  1  Co  1213  (cf.  Gal  S28,  Ro  1012) 
Jews  and  Gentiles  are  '  one  body,'  having  received 
the  same  Spirit ;  and  this  fundamental  idea  is 
fully  developed  in  St.  Paul's  later  Epistles  (Col  311, 
Eph  214  36f-,  Ph  33'-)-t  St.  Peter,  without  explicitly 
designating  his  readers  6  Xa6s,  applies  to  them  all 
Israel's  characteristics  (IP  2s- 9),  and  says  that  it  has 
now  devolved  upon  them  to  rise  to  the  high  ideal 
set  forth  in  the  Law  (l1Bf>);  with  this  we  may 
compare  St.  Paul's  warning  to  the  Jewish  and  other 
Christians  of  Corinth  (1  Co  10lf-)  not  to  dally  with 
idolatry,  lest  they  should  '  perish  in  the  way '  as 
their  fathers  did  before  reaching  the  promised  land, 
notwithstanding  their  having  had  means  of  grace 
which  corresponded  with  the  two  sacraments  insti- 
tuted by  Christ. 

Although  we  Gentile  Christians  are  fully  war- 
ranted in  believing  that  the  title  of  '  the  people  of 
God '  is  included  in  the  '  all  things '  that  are  '  ours ' 
(1  Co  3al),  yet  we  are  forbidden  by  St.  Paul's  words 
in  Ro  II1- 2  '  to  limit  God's  "  people  whom  he  fore- 

*  In  Acts  Srjjuos  denotes  '  the  people  of  a  heathen  city  and 
more  particularly  when  gathered  together  in  the  popular 
assembly  (e.g.  at  Caesarea,  Ac  1222  ;  at  Thessalonica,  Ac  175  ;  at 
Ephesus,  Ac  19»o.  33)'  (j.  B.  Lightfoot,  On  a  Fresh  Revision  of 
the  English  ST,  London,  1871,  p.  80). 

t  Cf.  P.  Gardner,  The  Ephesian  Gospel,  London,  1915,  p.  36. 


PERDITION 


PERFECT,  PERFECTION          165 


knew"  to  a  spiritual  Israel,  foreknown  and  pre- 
destined to  be  saved  through  their  reception  of  the 
gospel'  (E.  H.  Gifford,  Speaker's  Commentary, 
'Romans,'  London,  1881,  p.  191).  We  believe  that 
God  accepts  the  'jjn  '  Here  am  I '  of  those  who  are 
called  to  rule  over  Jewish  congregations  (see  '  New 
Chief  Rabbi's  Message,'  Scotsman,  Feb.  21,  1913). 

LITERATURE. — Much  valuable  information  may  be  found  in 
the  works  of  Zahn  and  Harnack,  both  of  whom  have  given 
special  attention  to  the  subject  of  this  article.  See  T.  Zahn, 
Introduction  to  the.  NT,  Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1909,  i.  81,  note  9, 
ii.  142  f.,  253  f.,  545;  A.  Harnack,  Expansion  of  Christianity, 
Eng.  tr.,  do.,  1904-05,  i.  60,  67,  note  1,  80,  note  2,  300,  315, 
343  f.,  The  Date  of  the  Acts  and  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels,  Eng.  tr., 
London  and  N.Y.,  1911,  pp.  42,  45,  48,  56,  58,  63,  112.  Of  great 
interest  is  the  statement  of  Harnack  (Expansion,  p.  344  flf.) 
that  the  designation  of  Christians  as  'the  third  race'  was 
'  perfectly  common  on  the  lips  of  the  heathen  in  Carthage  about 
the  year  A.D.  200.'  He  quotes  Tertullian  (ad  Nat.  i.  8.),  who 
says,  '  Plane,  tertium  genus  dicimur.'  The  Greeks,  Romans, 
and  all  other  nations  were  '  the  first  race,'  the  Jews  '  the 
second,'  the  Christians  (with  their  spiritual  God,  their  lack  of 
images  and  sacrifices,  and  their  contempt  for  the  heathen 
deities)  '  the  third'  (cf.  p.  352).  JAMES  DONALD. 

PERDITION.  — The  word  dTrtiXeia  is  rendered 
both  'destruction'  and  'perdition'  in  the  NT  (AV 
and  RV).  It  is  not  always  easy  to  say  with 
positiveness  which  translation  is  preferable.  Jesus 
came  '  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost'  (TO 
d7roXwX6s,  Lk  1910),  those  who  were  still  alive,  not 
destroyed.  Judas  is  called  6  wiis  TT}?  dirwXetej  ( Jn 
1712),  '  son  of  perdition,'  and  the  same  phrase  is 
used  of  6  &V&PWTTOS  TTJS  a.vofj.la.s,  'the  man  of  sin,'  in 
2  Th  23,  which  is  variously  interpreted  of  the  Roman 
Emperor,  the  Roman  Empire,  or  a  false  Messiah  (cf. 
Rev  13).  The  notion  here  is  not  the  ruin  wrought 
by  '  the  son  of  perdition '  so  much  as  that  coming 
to  him.  In  Ph  318  the  RV  translates  8>v  rb  rt\os 
dTrwXeta, '  whose  end  is  perdition,'  not '  destruction ' 
as  the  AV,  because  rAoj  is  a  future  and  final 
punishment.  And  yet  in  2  P  37  the  RV  has  dis- 
placed 'perdition'  of  the  AV  by  'destruction.' 
So  the  RV  has  'destruction'  in  the  other  pas- 
sages in  2  Pet.  (216is  316).  In  1  Ti  69  efc  6\eePov 
/ecu  dTTwXeiav  the  RV  distinguishes  between  the  two 
and  gives  '  destruction  and  perdition,'  but  no  con- 
sistent principle  of  distinction  exists  in  the  trans- 
lation of  dTrwXeia  in  the  NT.  The  advocates  of 
annihilation  and  conditional  immortality  appeal  to 
the  etymology  of  the  word  dir6\\v/j.i.  The  advo- 
cates of  probation  after  death  likewise  argue  that 
there  is  nothing  in  dTrtiXem  to  mean  interminable 
punishment.  The  contrast,  however,  is  sharply 
drawn  in  Ph  I28  and  He  1039  between  those  who  are 
saved  and  those  who  fall  into  perdition ;  cf.  also 
Rev  178-  u,  where  it  describes  the  state  of  eternal 
misery,  the  lot  of  those  excluded  from  the  King- 
dom of  God.  The  word  is  common  in  the  LXX 
and  appears  in  Aristotle,  Nic.  Eth.  IV.  i.  5,  Poly- 
bius,  VI.  lix.  5,  etc.  Even  when  translated  'de- 
struction '  in  the  RV  the  word  may  still  have  the 
notion  of  eternal  misery  and  not  mere  annihilation 
(see  DESTRUCTION).  But  it  must  be  admitted  that 
the  term  dirciXeia  does  not  decide  the  question 
whether  'perdition'  is  interminable  or  limited 
(see  FIRE,  vol.  i.  p.  409 f.).  We  may  well  leave 
the  problem  of  a  second  probation  to  God,  after 
remarking  that  it  has  very  slender  support  in 
the  NT  outside  of  the  possible  interpretation  of 
1  P  319f-.  The  Christian  preacher  is  on  safe 
ground  when  he  warns  the  sinner  not  to  risk  the 
vague  chance  of  that  alternative.  The  problem  of 
eternal  life  or  death  is  settled  by  the  issues  of  this 
life.  See,  further,  DESTRUCTION,  EsCHATOLOGY, 
and  FIRE.  A.  T.  ROBERTSON. 

PERFECT,  PERFECTION.  — In  the  apostolic 
writings  '  perfect '  is  the  EV  rendering  of  three 
different  Greek  words,  namely,  d/cpi^s,  dpnos,  and 
(the  only  exception  is  Rev  32  [AV],  where 


the  RV  rightly  renders  irXi?p6w :  '  I  have  found  no 
works  of  thine  fulfilled  before  my  God'). 

1.  1  Th  52  is  the  only  passage  in  which  the  RV 
retains   'perfectly'   as  the  rendering  of  dKp«/3ws. 
When  St.  Paul  says  '  ye  know  perfectly '  he  uses 
an  oxymoron,  for  he  is  insisting  on  the  accuracy  of 
the  information  given  to  the  Thessalonian  Church 
as  regards  the  uncertainty  of  the  day  and  the  hour 
of  Christ's  coming.     The  true  meaning  of  d^cpi^s 
and  cognate  words  is  well  brought  out  in  the  RV 
by  such  translations  as  '  accurate,'  '  careful,'  and 
'exact'  (cf.  Mt  2™;  Lk  1s,  Ac  1828'-  223  2318- »  2422 
265,  Eph  515). 

2.  In  2  Ti  3"  the  RV  substitutes  '  complete '  for 
the  AV  '  perfect '  as  the  rendering  of  dprtos.     The 
repetition  of  the  same  word   brings  out  the  con- 
nexion between  ctprtoy  and  Qt)pnffp.£vos :  '  that  the 
man  of  God  may  be  complete,  furnished  completely 
unto  every  good  work.      In  early  Christian  writ- 
ings fiprtos  is   found  opposed    to   '  lame '   and   to 
'mutilated';  it  is  explained  by  Calvin  'in  quo 
nihil  est  mutilum.'    When  perfection,  in  this  sense, 
is  predicated  of  the  natural  man,  it  is  implied  that 
no  essential  element  of  human  nature  is  lacking. 
Similarly,  St.  Paul's  ideal  of  the  man  of  God  in- 
cludes his  possession  of  every  gift  of  grace  necessary 
for  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the  Christian 
calling.     '  If  we  ask  ourselves  under  what  special 
aspects  completeness  is  contemplated  in  dpnos,  it 
would  be  safe  to  answer  that  it  is  not  as  the  pres- 
ence only  of  all  the  parts  which  are  necessary  for 
that  completeness,  but  involves  further  the  adapta- 
tion and  aptitude  of  these  parts  for  the  ends  which 
they    were    designed    to   serve'    (R.   C.   Trench, 
Synonyms  of  the  NT11,  London,  1890,  p.  78).     From 
the  same  root  (fipnos)  is  derived,  with  a  strengthen- 
ing prefix,  the  causative  verb  Karapri^eiv,  which  in 
the  RV  is  rendered  (a)  '  restore '  in  Gal  61,  1  P  510 
RVm  ;  (6)  'make  perfect'  in  1  Th  3l°,  He  1321;  (c) 
'  perfect '  in  1  Co  I10,  2  Co  13",  1  P  510.     The  cog- 
nate nouns  are  translated  '  perfecting'  in  2  Co  139, 
Eph  412. 

(a)  When  there  has  been  deterioration  or  fracture, 
wear  or  tear,  the  idea  of  '  perfecting '  includes  that 
of  repairing.     Hence  in  Mt  421  Karaprl^etv  is  used 
of  mending  nets,  and  in  Gal  61  it  has  the  ethical 
significance  of  restoration  to  the  right  way.     It 
denotes  '  re-adjustment,'  and  'indicates  the  correc- 
tion of  an  offender  with  a  view  to  his  restoration' 
(F.  Rendall,  in  EOT,  'Galatians,'  London,  1903, 
p.  188 f.).     The  word  has  probably  the  same  sig- 
nificance in  1  Co  I10.     St.  Paul  deplores  the  exist- 
ence of  splits  or  schisms  in  the  Church  at  Corinth  ; 
he  therefore  desires  that  its  members  may  be  '  well 
and  surely  adjusted '  (coagmentati,  Bengel) ;  cf.  G. 
G.  Findlay  (in  EGT,  '  1  Corinthians,'  London,  1900, 
p.  763),  who  quotes,  with  approval,  Alford's  note  : 
'  the  exact  word  for  the  healing  or  repairing  of  the 
breaches  caused  by  the  <rx^M«""«.'    According  to 
this  interpretation,  the  Apostle  is  anxious  for  the 
restoration  of  the  Church   to  complete  harmony. 
T.  C.  Edwards  (1  Corinthians?,  London,  1885,  p. 
17)  blends  this  meaning  with  that  of  the  perfecting 
of  individual  Christians :  '  Their  dissensions  were 
beginning  to  tell    injuriously  on  their  spiritual 
condition.     There  were  not  only  ffxi<r/j.a.Ta  in  the 
Church,    but    personal    va-rep^fMra.     "Let    them, 
therefore,  be  fully  equipped  in  grace,  that  so  they 
may  be  reconciled  to  one  another."'    But  even  if 
the  two  meanings  are  not  mutually  exclusive,  the 
primary  appeal  is  for  reconciliation,  in  order  that 
the  personal  perfecting  in  grace  of  the  members  of 
the  Church  may  not  be  hindered. 

( b)  and  (c).    The  idea  of  '  completeness,'  under- 
stood as  implying  the  complete  equipment  of  the 
individual  believer  and  the  harmonious  co-opera- 
tion of  the  members  of  the  community,  is  domi- 
nant in  the  passages  enumerated  above.     For  the 


166          PEEFECT,  PERFECTION 


PEEGA 


Thessalonians'  'faith  to  God-ward'  (1  Th  I8)  St. 
Paul  gives  thanks,  yet  he  is  solicitous  for  the 
perfecting  of  that  which  is  lacking  in  their  faith 
(3'°).  In  the  same  spirit  the  writer  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  prays  (1321) :  'Now  the  God  of 
peace  .  .  .  make  you  perfect  in  every  good  thing 
to  do  his  will.'  Westcott's  note  (Hebrews,  London, 
1889,  p.  449}  on  this  verse  applies  to  all  the  NT 
passages  in  which  this  aspect  of  perfection  is 
described :  '  The  word  .  .  .  includes  the  thoughts 
of  the  harmonious  combination  of  different  powers 
and  of  the  supply  of  that  which  is  defective.' 

3.  In  the  NT  '  perfect '  is  most  frequently  the 
rendering  of  TAeios.  Much  misunderstanding 
would  be  prevented  if  due  weight  were  always 
given  to  the  root-meaning  of  this  Greek  adjective. 
It  is  derived  from  the  substantive  rAos,  which 
'  does  not,  as  is  commonly  supposed,  primarily 
denote  the  end,  termination,  with  reference  to 
time,  but  the  goal  reached,  the  completion  or  con- 
clusion at  which  anything  arrives,  either  a,?  issue 
or  ending,  and  thus  including  the  termination  of 
what  went  before  ;  or  as  result,  acme,  consumma- 
tion. .  .  .  "  It  never"  (according  to  Passow)  "de- 
notes merely  an  end  as  to  time,  a  termination  in 
and  for  itself;  for  this,  reXeim)  is  always  used"' 
(H.  Cremer,  Bibl.-Theol.  Lex.  of  NT  Greek,  Edin- 
burgh, 1880,  p.  541). 

In  three  important  passages  the  RV  renders 
7-fXaos  '  full-grown,'  twice  in  the  text  (Eph  413, 
He  5U),  and  once  in  the  margin  (1  Co  26).  Mature 
Christians  are  contrasted  with  babes  in  Christ,  as 
in  1  Co  1420,  where,  however,  re\eioi  is  translated 
'  men ' :  '  howbeit  in  malice  be  ye  babes,  but  in 
mind  be  men.'  The  significance  of  this  antithesis 
is  clearly  stated  by  Westcott  in  his  note  on  He  514  : 
'  A  man  is  said  to  be  r A«os  who  has  reached  the 
full  maturity  of  his  powers,  the  full  possession  of 
his  rights,  his  7-Aos,  his  "end."  This  maturity, 
completeness,  perfection,  may  be  regarded  gener- 
ally or  in  some  .particular  aspect.  As  compared 
with  the  child,  the  full-grown  man  is  reXetos 
physically,  intellectually,  socially  (cf.  1  Co  13lof-, 
Gal  43) ;  as  compared  with  the  fresh  uninstructed 
convert,  the  disciplined  and  experienced  Christian 
is  T€\eios  (1  Co  2s  14-°,  Eph  413,  Ph  315,  Col  I28  412, 
Ja  1*).' 

The  maturity  of  the  Christian  character  is  evi- 
denced by  the  complete  and  harmonious  develop- 
ment of  moral  virtues  and  spiritual  graces ;  each 
must  have  its  full  fruition.  The  faith  of  Abraham 
attained  its  end  in  his  actions,  which  were  at  once 
the  proof  of  its  energy  and  the  means  of  its  perfect- 
ing (Ja  222).  In  order  that  faith  may  abide  the 
test,  the  Christian  has  need  of  patience ;  so  long  as 
he  fails  in  endurance  he  lacks  what  is  essential  to 
his  perfecting  (Ja  I3f<).  Moreover,  as  often  as  he 
stumbles  in  word  he  makes  it  manifest  that  he  has 
not  yet  reached  the  goal ;  self-control  is  a  sign  of 
maturity  and  of  the  putting  away  of  childish 
things  (Ja  32).  In  He  61  {cf.  514)  the  forward 
movement  towards  perfection  is  conceived  as  ad- 
vance in  the  knowledge  of  Christ. 

Much  more  than  the  maturity  of  a  single  grace 
is  implied  in  St.  John's  teaching  concerning  the 
perfecting  of  love.  Perfect  love  is  the  best  defini- 
tion of  Christian  perfection  ;  and  how  love  is  per- 
fected is  plainly  taught  in  the  First  Epistle  of 
St.  John  (2s  412-  "• I8).  '  In  the  phraseology  of  this 
Epistle,  "perfected"  love  signifies,  not  love  in  a 
superlative  degree,  but  love  that  is  consummated 
in  action.  Bearing  fruit  in  actual  obedience, 
Love  has  been  perfected :  it  has  fulfilled  its 
mission,  has  reached  its  goal.  .  .  .  The  conception 
common  to  "  keeping  His  word"  and  "  loving  one 
another"  is  the  embodiment  of  Love  in  actual 
conduct.  .  .  .  The  idea  is  that,  not  of  qualitative, 
but  of  effective  perfection ;  and  rere\eLurai  might 


be  translated  more  unambiguously  by  "fulfilled" 
or  "  accomplished  "  than  by  "  perfected."  That  is 
TerfKei.wiJ.tvov  which  has  reached  its  r^Xos,  has 
achieved  its  end,  has  run  its  full  course.  And  the 
end  of  God's  Love  to  us  is  attained  in  our  loving 
one  another'  (R.  Law,  The  Tests  of  Life,  Edin- 
burgh, 1909,  pp.  212  f.,  286  f.). 

In  Ph  315  St.  Paul  includes  himself  among  the 
rAetoi :  '  Let  us  therefore,  as  many  as  be  perfect, 
be  thus  minded ' ;  but  in  v.12  he  says  :  'not  that  I 
have  already  obtained,  or  am  already  made  perfect ' 
(rereXeiw/zcu).  It  is  improbable  that  reXaoi  is  a 
reminiscence  of  the  technical  term  used  in  the 
mysteries  to  denote  the  initiated  (cf.  H.  A.  A. 
Kennedy  in  EGT,  '  Philippians,'  London,  1903, 
p.  457).  The  difference  between  the  two  words, 
notwithstanding  their  derivation  from  the  same 
root,  must  be  taken  into  account.  '  In  v.12  the 
Apostle  is  speaking  of  absolute  perfection,  such 
as  would  relieve  him  of  the  necessity  of  further 
striving.  In  v.16  he  is  speaking  of  relative  perfec- 
tion' (M.  R.  Vincent,  ICC,  'Philippians  and  Phi- 
lemon,' Edinburgh,  1897,  p.  112).  Here,  as  else- 
where, the  apostolic  teaching  in  regard  to  Christian 
perfection  unfolds  the  implications  of  our  Lord's 
great  saying :  '  Ye  therefore  shall  be  perfect,  as  your 
heavenly  Father  is  perfect'  (Mt  S48).  The  context 
shows  that  the  perfection  which  Christ  exhorts  His 
disciples  to  strive  after  is  not  the  absolute  perfec- 
tion of  God,  but  the  perfected  sonship  which 
manifests  itself  in  love  for  enemies  and  prayer  for 
persecutors,  and  generally  in  such  actions  as  are 
becoming  in  those  who  are  sons  of  the  Father  in 
heaven,  who  '  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil 
and  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  the 
unjust'fMtS48). 

The  high  tone  of  the  apostolic  teaching  is 
sustained  by  Clement  of  Rome,  who  says  (Ep.  ad 
Cor.  49 f.):  'In  love  were  all  the  elect  of  God 
made  perfect.  .  .  .  How  great  and  marvellous  a 
thing  is  love,  and  there  is  no  declaring  its  perfec- 
tion. .  .  .  They  that  by  God's  grace  were  perfected 
in  love  dwell  in  the  abode  of  the  pious.' 

LITERATURE.— In  addition  to  the  works  referred  to  in  the  art. 
see  W.  B.  Pope,  A  Compendium  of  Christian  Theology^,  iii. 
[London,  1880]  56  ff. ;  O.  A.  Curtis,  The  Christian  Faith,  do., 
1905,  p.  373  ff. ;  W.  A.  Brown,  Christian  Theology  in  Outline, 
Edinburgh,  1907,  p.  411  ff. ;  L.  Lemme,  '  Vollkoramenheit '  in 
PRE*  xx.  [Leipzig,  1908)  733 ff.;  J.  A.  Beet,  'Christian  Per- 
fection,' in  Exp,  5th  ser.,  v.  [1897]  30  ff.,  134  ff.,  211  ff. 

J.  G.  TASKER. 

PERGA  (Utpyri).—  Perga  was  an  ancient  import- 
ant city  of  Pamphylia,  on  the  plateau  between  the 
rivers  Catarrhactes  and  Cestrus.  Reckoned  by 
Ptolemy  among  the  inland  cities  of  the  country 
(na/z<£vXtas  fj-fffdyeiot  [V.  v.  7]),  it  had  a  river-harbour 
5  miles  eastward  on  the  navigable  Cestrus,  about 
8  miles  from  the  sea  (Strabo,  XIV.  iv.  2).  It 
differed  essentially  from  its  rival  Attalia,  12 
miles  to  the  S.W.,  in  being  a  centre  not  of  Hel- 
lenic culture,  but  of  native  Anatolian  feeling.  It 
was  celebrated  for  the  worship  of  the  Queen  of 
Perga,  who  came  to  be  identified  with  the  Greek 
Artemis,  but  who  was  really,  like  the  Artemis  of 
the  Ephesians,  a  nature-goddess.  On  coins  she  is 
figured  sometimes  as  a  fair  Diana  of  the  chase, 
sometimes  as  a  rude  cultus-image.  Her  temple, 
the  Artemisium,  stood  on  the  Acropolis,  overlook- 
ing the  city  and  expressing  its  faith.  Perga  was 
occupied  by  Alexander  on  his  march  eastward. 
A  much-frequented  northward  route  led  over 
the  Taurus  into  Phrygia  and  the  Menander 
Valley. 

Paul  and  Barnabas  were  twice  at  Perga  in  their 
first  missionary  tour.  In  their  outward  journey 
they  landed  at  the  river-harbour  and  went  up 
to  the  city  (Ac  1313).  Ramsay  thinks  that  they 
intended  to  begin  a  missionary  campaign  there, 
but  altered  their  plans  on  account  of  a  serious 


PERGAMUS,  PERGAMUM 


PERGAMUS,  PERGAMUM        167 


illness — perhaps  malarial  fever — which  compelled 
St.  Paul  to  leave  the  enervating  atmosphere  of 
Pamphylia  and  seek  health  in  the  Phrygian  up- 
lands (St.  Paul,  p.  89ft'.).  Conybeare  and  Howson 
suggest  that,  in  any  case,  '  if  St.  Paul  was  at 
Perga  in  May,  he  would  find  the  inhabitants 
deserting  its  hot  and  silent  streets,'  moving  to 
their  summer  quarters  '  in  the  direction  of  his  own 
intended  journey.  He  would  be  under  no  tempta- 
tion to  stay'  (St.  Paul,  i.  199ft).  Before  the 
apostles  left  Perga,  a  painful  incident  occurred. 
'  John  departed  from  them  and  returned  to  Jeru- 
salem'  (1313),  either  because  he  was  displeased  (as 
Ramsay  surmises)  at  the  sudden  change  in  the 
plan  of  campaign,  or  simply  because  the  snows  of 
Taurus  sent  a  chill  to  his  heart  and  made  him  long 
for  his  Judaean  home.  At  any  rate  '  he  withdrew 
from  them  from  Pamphylia,'  without  good  cause, 
St.  Paul  then  and  afterwards  maintained,  '  and 
went  not  with  them  to  the  work'  (1538  ;  see  MARK 
[JOHN]).  On  the  return  journey  Paul  and  Barnabas 
attempted  some  missionary  work  in  Perga  (1425), 
but  apparently  it  was  brief  and  without  marked 
results.  Long  the  '  metropolis'  of  Western  Pam- 
phylia, Perga  was  overshadowed  in  the  Byzantine 
period  by  Attalia.  Under  the  name  of  Murtana  it 
has  extensive  ruins,  but  the  site  of  the  ancient 
temple  has  not  yet  been  discovered. 

LITERATURE. — Conybeare- Howson,  The  Life  and  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul,  new  ed.,  1877,  i.  193  ff. ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul 
the  Traveller  and  the  Roman  Citizen,  1895,  p.  89 ff.,  Hist. 
Geography  oj  Asia  Minor,  1890,  p.  415  f.  ;  C.  Lanckoronski, 
Villex  de  la  Pamphylie  et  de  la  Pisidie,  i.  [1890] ;  Murray's 
Handbook  to  Asia  Minor,  1S95.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PERGAMUS,  PERGAMUM  (i,  IW/ryeyios  or  rb 
Htpya/jLov  ;  Rev  I11  and  212  leave  the  gender  un- 
certain ;  Dio  Cassius,  Pausanias,  and  Ptolemy 
have  the  fern,  form,  most  authors  and  inscriptions 
the  neut.  ;  the  AV  chose  the  former,  the  RV  the 
latter). — Pergamus  was  for  over  a  century  (241- 
133  B.C.)  a  royal  city,  and  for  two  more  centuries 
the  official  capital  01  a  great  and  wealthy  Roman 
province.  Built  on  a  huge  conical  hill,  which 
dominated  the  broad  and  fertile  valley  of  the  river 
Caicus  and  afforded  an  extensive  view  of  the 
^Egean  Sea  (15  miles  distant),  it  was  an  ideal  citadel 
in  days  of  ancient  Mysian  warfare.  Its  historical 
importance  began  when  the  adventurer  Philetserus, 
the  agent  of  Lysimachus,  made  it  the  capital  of  an 
independent  State  (283  B.C.),  which  was  raised  into 
a  kingdom  by  Attalus  I.,  the  conqueror  of  the 
Asiatic  Gauls  (241-197).  For  assisting  the  Romans 
in  their  struggle  with  Antiochus  the  Great,  Attalus' 
son  Eumenes  II.  was  rewarded  with  the  magnifi- 
cent gift  of  all  the  Seleucid  dominions  north  of  the 
Taurus.  The  Attalids  made  their  capital  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  of  Greek  cities,  adorning  the 
Acropolis  with  stately  public  buildings,  which 
they  filled  with  treasures  of  art.  The  library  con- 
tained 200,000  volumes,  and  '  parchment'  is  derived 
from  Pergamus.  When  Attalus  III.  (138-133  B.C.) 
bequeathed  his  realm  to  the  Romans,  the  greater 
part  of  it  was  formed  into  the  province  of  Asia,  of 
which  Pergamus  was  the  capital.  The  city  could 
never  be  a  centre  of  international  commerce  like 
Ephesus  or  Smyrna,  for  it  was  traversed  only  by 
inland  byways  of  traffic,  but  its  brilliant  history 
gave  it  an  indisputable  claim  to  the  primacy  among 
Asian  cities,  and  it  was  not  till  the  time  of  Hadrian 
(A.D.  117-138)  that  Ephesus  became  officially  what 
it  had  long  been  in  reality — the  administrative 
centre  of  the  province. 

It  was  probably  towards  the  end  of  the  reign  of 
Domitian  (A.D.  81-96)  that  Pergamus  was  described 
as  the  place  '  where  Satan's  throne  is,'  '  where 
Satan  dwelleth '  (Rev  213).  The  words  express  a 
prophetic  horror  of  some  malignant  enemy  of 
Christ  and  His  Church.  Who  is  thus  regarded 


as  sitting  in  visible  might  and  majesty  on  Satan's 
throne,  by  merit  raised  to  that  bad  eminence  ? 
Christianity  in  Pergamus  was  confronted  by  three 
distinct  types  of  pagan  religion  —  the  popular 
Asiatic,  the  cultured  Greek,  and  the  official  Roman. 
The  first  was  the  worship  of  Dionysus  and  Asclep- 
ius,  which  may  be  traced  back  to  the  primitive 
Anatolian  cult  of  the  bull  and  the  serpent. 
Asclepius  '  the  Saviour '  had  a  great  vogue  at  Per- 
gamus under  the  Empire ;  his  priests  were  sup- 
posed to  be  in  possession  of  precious  medical 
secrets,  and  his  temple  and  curative  establishment 
were  thronged  with  invalids  who  came  from  far 
and  near  with  expectations  of  miraculous  healing. 
His  symbol,  the  serpent,  which  may  be  seen 
beautifully  engraved  on  many  Pergamenian  coins, 
was  naturally  a  repulsive  object  to  Jews  and 
Christians,  who  associated  it  with  the  legend  of 
Eden,  and  some  interpreters  have  imagined  that 
his  temple  outside  the  city  was  viewed  by  St.  John 
as  Satan's  throne.  But  the  sight  of  a  multitude 
of  sick  folk — reproducing  Bethesda  and  anticipat- 
ing Lourdes — was  more  likely  to  excite  feelings  of 
pity  than  of  wrath.  Tfie  second  type  was  the 
Hellenic  worship  of  Zeus  and  Athene,  assiduously 
fostered  by  all  the  Pergamenian  kings,  who  wished 
to  have  their  kingdom  regarded  as  the  bulwark  of 
civilization  against  the  hordes  of  barbarians.  On 
a  broad  ledge  of  the  city-hill,  800  ft.  above  the 
plain,  in  front  of  the  temple  of  Athene,  stood  the 
great  altar  of  Zeus,  40  ft.  high,  on  a  base  adorned 
with  reliefs  of  the  gods  in  conflict  with  the  giants  ; 
and  some  have  supposed  that  as  the  Christians 
gazed  at  the  smoke  of  sacrifice  ascending  from  this 
altar,  they  exclaimed  in  horror,  'This  is  Satan's 
seat.'  But  the  worship  of  the  Olympic  gods  had, 
for  all  intelligent  minds,  long  been  a  bankrupt 
concern,  on  which  the  prophet  would  not  waste 
his  invective.  At  any  rate,  neither  of  these  types 
of  paganism  would  arouse  his  s&va  indignatio 
like  the  third.  This  was  the  worship  of  Rome 
and  the  Emperor,  of  which  Pergamus,  as  the 
capital  of  the  province,  was  the  recognized  centre. 
As  early  as  29  B.C.  (Tac.  Ann.  iv.  37),  Pergamus 

Eossessed  a  temple  dedicated  to  Divus  Augustus 
y  the  Provincial  Synod  known  as  the  Commune 
of  Asia  (Koivi>»  'A<rlas).  The  city  thus  became  the 
first  Neokoros  or  Temple- Warden  of  the  Emperor 
in  the  province.  It  was  not  till  A.D.  26  (Ann.  iv. 
56)  that  Smyrna  also  gained  the  coveted  honour  of 
the  Neokorate.  In  the  reign  of  Trajan  Pergamus 
became  '  twice  Neokoros,'  and  Caracalla  (A.D. 
198-217)  made  her  '  thrice  Neokoros,'  which  meant 
that  she  had  now  three  temples  consecrated  to  the 
worship  of  the  Emperor,  each  with  its  numerous 
priesthood  and  pompous  ritual.  Now  this  cultus, 
which  was  the  proud  distinction  of  the  city,  became, 
by  a  refinement  of  ingenuity  which  might  well  be 
characterized  as  Satanic,  an  insidious  temptation 
and  a  cruel  dilemma  to  the  Church.  Emperor- 
worship,  so  hateful  to  every  monotheist,  was  in  the 
time  of  Domitian  made  a  test  of  loyalty  to  the 
State.  The  refusal  to  utter  the  formula  Ktipios 
K<u<rap,  or  to  offer  a  pinch  of  incense  to  the 
Emperor's  image,  rendered  the  most  peaceful  and 
law-abiding  citizen  liable  to  be  regarded  as  a 
traitor  or  rebel  worthy  of  death.  But  to  the 
Christian,  the  apotheosis  and  worship  of  Caesar 
meant  disloyalty  to  Christ  and  forfeiture  of  His 
eternal  Kingdom.  The  issue  was  too  clear  to  be 
evaded,  and  the  Christians  of  Pergamus  came 
through  the  ordeal  in  triumph.  Antipas,  Christ's 
faithful  'witness'  (Rev  218)  —  already  the  word 
/.tdprvs  begins  to  have  the  deeper  tragic  meaning- 
is  probably  named  not  as  the  only  victim  (as  A.  C. 
McGittart  suggests  [Apostolic  Age,  1897,  p.  635]), 
but  rather  as  the  first  of  many  brave  confessors, 
both  in  the  city  and  in  other  parts  of  the  province, 


168 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION" 


who  proved  the  strength  and  genuineness  of  their 
faith  by  preferring  death  to  dishonour. 

There  were,  however,  so-called  Christians  in 
Pergaraus,  as  in  Ephesus,  who  thought  that  a 
reasonable  compromise  might  be  effected.  Their 
line  of  argument,  though  nowhere  clearly  stated, 
is  not  difficult  to  imagine.  Nobody  needed  to 
take  the  idea  of  a  divine  Emperor  too  seriously. 
'  For  myself,'  said  Tiberius,  when  it  was  proposed 
to  erect  a  temple  to  him  and  his  mother,  '  I  sol- 
emnly assure  you  that  I  am  a  mortal  man,  and 
that  I  am  confined  to  the  functions  of  human 
nature,  and  I  would  have  posterity  remember 
it '  (Tac.  Ann.  iv.  38).  May  not  loyal  citizens, 
then,  feel  themselves  absolved — even  in  the  reign 
of  Domitian,  who  takes  his  deity  very  seriously — 
from  too  great  literalism  in  the  interpretation  of 
Caesar-worship?  It  is  a  political  far  more  than 
a  religious  affair,  being  indeed  a  mere  glorification 
of  Imperialism.  One  may  offer  the  grain  of  incense, 
or  utter  the  prescribed  '  Caesar  is  Lord,'  with  a 
degree  of  mental  reserve ;  and  if  the  Church,  avoid- 
ing a  stiff  nonconformity,  will  liberalize  herself  so 
far  as  to  demonstrate  her  loyalty,  she  will  advance 
under  the  protection,  instead  of  oeing  thwarted  by 
the  hostility,  of  the  powers  that  be,  which  are 
ordained  of  God. 

But  to  the  prophet  of  the  Revelation — a  passionate 
hater  (2?)  as  well  as  lover — this  doctrine  is  detest- 
able, and  against  its  time-serving  exponents  he 
declares  open  war  (v.16).  He  calls  them  Nicolaitans, 
i.e.  Balaamites  (VIKO-\O.OS  being  the  rough  Greek 
equivalent  to  the  Heb.  cyy^i),  for  their  compromise 
is  a  new  and  more  subtly  dangerous  form  of  the 
notorious  teaching  and  practice  of  Balaam.  If  the 
Church  conies  to  terms  with  idolatry,  if  she  yields 
to  demands  of  a  blasphemous  Csesarism,  she  will 
be  unfaithful  to  her  Lord,  dishonoured  and  defiled. 
In  the  Imperial  temple  of  Pergamus  no  Christian 
must  ever  bow  down  and  worship.  Conformity  is 
here  deadly  sin.  The  Imperial  power,  as  wielded 
by  Domitian  and  inextricably  bound  up  with  his 
worship,  is  so  far  from  being  'ordained  by  God' 
(a  phrase  used  by  St.  Paul  a  generation  before 
[Ho  131]),  that  it  is  without  hesitation  denounced 
as  Satanic,  and  thereafter  branded,  all  through  the 
Revelation,  as  the  power  of  the  Beast.  The  Church 
of  Pergamus  must  learn  to  say  with  her  Lord, 
'  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan  ! '  Let  her  realize  that 
the  weapons  of  His  warfare  are  other  and  mightier 
than  those  of  Caesar.  With  the  sword  (po/j.<j>ala)  of 
His  mouth  He  comes  to  make  war  not  only  against 
persecuting  foes  without  but  against  treacherous 
friends  within  His  Church  (v.16).  Pergamus  must, 
at  all  costs,  hold  fast  His  name,  and  not  deny  His 
faith.  Only  thus  can  she  keep  her  soul  alive. 

The  site  of  the  ancient  city  has  been  thoroughly 
excavated,  and  the  sculptures  found,  especially  the 
reliefs  in  the  frieze  of  the  Gigantomachia  (now 
in  the  Berlin  Museum),  are  among  the  treasures 
of  Hellenistic  art.  The  other  remains — palaces, 
temples,  theatres,  thermae,  etc. — all  tell  of  a  van- 
ished gloria  mundi.  The  modern  Bergama  has 
little  interest. 

LITERATURE. — Strabo,  xm.  iv.  1-3;  M.  Frankel,  Die  In- 
Kchriften  von  Pergamon  (Alterthiimer  von  Pergamon,  viii.), 
1890 ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches  of 
Asia,  1904  ;  Murray's  Handbook  to  Asia  Minor,  1895. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PERSECUTION.— 1.  Introduction. — '  For  so  per- 
secuted they  the  prophets  which  were  before  you ' 
(Mt  512).  'If  they  persecuted  me,  they  will  also 
persecute  you '  ( Jn  15-°).  Jesus  Christ  traced  the  red 
trail  of  the  martyr's  blood  throughout  the  history 
of  Israel,  which  He  sums  up  in  the  words — 'from  the 
blood  of  Abel  unto  the  blood  of  Zachariah '  (Gn  48, 
2  Ch  2420-  21,  Lk  II51).  He  Himself  was  in  the  suc- 
cession of  martyrs,  for  the  trail  is  deeply  marked  in 


connexion  with  His  life.  But  the  trail  does  not 
cease  at  the  tragedy  of  the  Cross.  It  is  obvious 
that  our  Lord  often  warned  His  disciples  in  regard 
to  the  attitude  of  Jerusalem  and  Rome  to  those 
who  would  remain  faithful  to  Him  and  His  teaching. 
He  could  see  the  blood-stained  track  in  connexion 
with  the  history  of  the  Church.  We  must  consider 
our  subject  in  the  light  of  this  three-fold  reference, 
so  that  we  may  see  to  what  degree,  and  in  what 
sense,  the  term*  '  persecution '  is  applicable  to  the 
attitude  of  the  nation  through  its  rulers  (1)  to  her 
religious  teachers,  (2)  to  Christ,  and  (3)  to  His  fol- 
lowers. When  we  deal  with  Jesus  Christ  and  His 
followers  we  shall  find  Jerusalem  allying  herself 
with  Rome  in  her  effort  to  crush  the  New  Teacher 
and  His  teaching,  and  finally  Rome  taking  matters 
into  her  own  hands,  and  devoting  her  whole  energy 
to  the  extermination  of  what  one  of  her  historians 
described  as  a  pestilent  superstition.* 

If  we  define  'persecution'  provisionally  as  the 
infliction  of  suffering,  whether  it  be  temporary 
discomfort  or  death,  upon  individuals  for  holding 
or  advocating  religious  views,  and  adopting  or 
propagating  religious  practices,  which  are  obnoxious 
to  the  community,  or  to  those  in  authority,  we 
shall  have  a  definition  sufficiently  broad  and  com- 
prehensive to  cover  the  cases  in  connexion  with 
which  the  term  has  been  used.  It  may  not  be 
necessary  for  the  persecuted  persons  to  be  active 
in  the  propagation  of  their  tenets,  although  the 
strong  conviction,  which  has  generally  inspired 
men  to  endure  persecution  rather  than  abandon 
their  views,  produces  the  missionary  spirit.  Those 
who  inflict  punishment  on  religious  offenders  may 
not  admit  the  charge  of  persecution,  as,  according 
to  them,  the  whole  life  of  the  individual  is  subject 
to  the  control  of  the  State,  and  any  and  every 
activity  comes  under  the  law  of  the  land.  In  the 
strict  sense  of  the  term,  the  infliction  of  suffering 
on  account  of  religious  opinions  is  persecution,  if 
the  adoption  of  such  views  on  the  part  of  individuals 
is  not  incompatible  with  loyalty  to  the  throne  or 
the  secular  power,  and  with  the  due  discharge  of 
their  duties  as  citizens  of  the  realm.  From  the 
point  of  view  of  the  State,  such  punishment  de- 
serves to  be  described  as  persecution  if  the  secular 
authorities  admit  the  contention  that  there  is  a 
sphere  within  which  the  secular  authority  has  no 
jurisdiction,  and  if  nevertheless  it  punish  those 
who  use  their  freedom  within  this  sphere.  But 
the  advocates  of  punishment  in  the  case  of  religious 
recusancy  deny  the  existence  of  such  a  sphere  in 
the  life  of  the  individual,  and  therefore  they  do 
not  plead  guilty  to  the  charge  of  persecution.  In 
short,  the  whole  problem  is  concerned  with  the 
assertion  on  the  part  of  the  individual,  and  the 
denial  on  the  part  of  the  State,  that  there  is  a 
sphere  within  which  the  subject  is  free,  and  must 
be  permitted  to  follow  the  promptings  of  his 
conscience.  When  we  consider,  in  its  historical 
aspects,  the  relationship  between  the  individual 
and  the  State,  and  when  we  trace  the  struggle  on 
the  part  of  the  former  to  secure  that  measure  of 
freedom  which  individuality  presupposes,  it  be- 
comes clear  that  there  is  a  region  which  the 
individual  claims  as  his  own  peculiar  territory. 
For  the  annexation  of  this  territory,  and  afterwards 
for  the  defence  of  it,  Hebrew  prophet  and  Christian 
martyr  have  laid  down  their  lives,  and  the  struggle 
has  been  continued  throughout  the  centuries  in 
many  lands.  It  is  being  increasingly  recognized 
that  the  individual  has  demonstrated  the  justice 
of  his  claim  to  the  sole  possession  of  this  territory. 
Within  this  limited  sphere  he  is  free.  To  change 
the  figure,  whilst  the  individual  admits  the  right 
of  the  State  to  enter  the  Outer  Court  and  even  the 
Holy  Place,  there  is  a  Holy  of  Holies  which  is 
*  Tacitus,  Ann.  xv.  44. 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION 


1G9 


reserved  for  himself.  There  he  deals  not  with  the 
State,  or  with  his  fellow-citizens,  but  with  God. 
As  we  follow  the  struggle  for  religious  freedom, 
whether  the  struggle  be  with  the  secular  authority 
or  with  a  Church  which  has  taken  the  place  of  the 
State,  and  exercises  its  functions,  it  is  plain  that 
the  conflict  is  waged  around  this  territory — the 
freedom  of  the  religious  man.  Whether  they  are 
Hebrew  prophets  or  Christian  martyrs — Albigenses, 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  or  Huguenots— the  struggle  is  at 
bottom  of  the  same  nature,  and  for  the  same 
ideal.  It  will  not  be  denied  that  various  motives 
have  been  operative,  both  in  the  case  of  those  who 
persecute,  and  of  those  who  submit  to  persecution  ; 
for  it  is  seldom  that  human  motives  are  unmixed. 
Nevertheless  the  passion  for  religious  freedom  has 
been  a  genuine  and  powerful  factor  in  all  the 
truculent  conflicts  between  the  State  or  the  Church 
on  the  one  hand,  and  individuals  or  communities 
on  the  other  who  have  refused  to  conform.  It 
may  be  said  that  no  other  motive  would  have 
been  potent  enough  to  create  that '  sheer  obstinacy ' 
of  which  Marcus  Aurelius  had  occasion  to  complain 
in  the  case  of  the  Christians  of  his  time.  But 
kings  have  been  loath  to  acknowledge  the  right 
of  subjects  to  decide  for  themselves  how  they  are 
to  worship,  or  what  they  are  to  believe.  States 
have  persecuted  because  they  have  refused  to 
recognize  the  existence  of  a  sphere  in  which  men 
are  free,  and  men  have  endured  persecution  because 
they  have  grasped,  more  or  less  clearly,  the  truth 
that  freedom  belongs  to  the  very  essence  of  the 
religious  attitude,  and  determines  its  moral  worth. 
They  have  endured  great  affliction,  and  taken  joy- 
fully the  spoiling  of  their  possessions,  seeing  they 
had  themselves  for  a  better  possession.  This  better 
spiritual  possession  was  conditioned  by  their  retain- 
ing their  religious  freedom  (He  1032-  M). 

2.  Persecution  in  the  OT. — In  Mt  512  Jesus  Christ 
warns  His  disciples  of  the  troublous  times  which 
await  them  at  the  hands  of  the  representatives  of 
Judaism,  and  reminds  them  that  their  experience 
will  be  a  repetition  of  the  bitter  experience  of  the 
nation's  religious  teachers  whom  God  had  raised 
up  from  time  to  time,  and  whose  writings  indicate 
their  growing  insight  into  the  nature  of  God  and 
religion.  To  Jerusalem  our  Lord  gave  the  hard 
but  not  unjust  name  of  'prophet-killer' (Mt  23s5, 
Lk  1334).  Stephen  re-echoed  his  Master's  interpre- 
tation of  the  nation's  attitude  when  he  aslked 
'  which  of  the  prophets  did  not  your  fathers 
persecute?'  (Ac  752).  Jesus  charged  His  con- 
temporaries with  raising  sepulchres  to  the  prophets 
whom  their  ancestors  had  put  to  death  (Lk  II47). 
He  did  not  mean  that  they  erected  expiatory 
monuments  to  the  nation's  martyrs.  The  sepul- 
chres they  built  indicated  their  approval  of  the 
misdeeds  of  their  forefathers.  In  the  parable  of 
the  Vineyard  He  gave  a  similar  account  of  the 
nation's  attitude  to  her  God-sent  teachers  (Mk  123ff<). 

But  it  is  obvious  that  the  prophets  were  not 
simply  men  who  suffered  for  their  religious  opinions. 
They  were  aggressive  religious  and  social  reformers. 
In  their  teaching  they  came  into  collision  with  the 
existing  order  of  things  in  social  life  and  religious 
custom.  In  the  period  which  succeeded  the  settle- 
ment of  the  Israelites  in  Canaan  the  people  adopted 
the  gods  and  the  religious  observances  of  the 
original  inhabitants  of  the  land.  The  prophets 
of  this  early  age  advocated  the  sole  worship  of 
Jahweh.  Moses  impressed  upon  Israel  the  two-fold 
truth — Jahweh  is  Israel's  God,  and  Israel  is  Jahweh's 
people.  The  burden  of  early  prophecy  was  '  Israel 
for  Jahweh '  and  '  Jahweh  lor  Israel.  They  were 
patriots  rather  than  religious  teachers.  Patriotism 
and  religion  were  identical.  They  opposed  the 
popular  tendency  to  worship  the  gods,  and  imitate 
the  religion,  of  Canaan,  as  it  indicated  disloyalty  to 


Jahweh.  They  were  not  fully  aware  of  any  pro- 
found difference  between  Jahweh  and  other  gods, 
except  that  Jahweh  was  the  God  of  Israel,  and,  as 
such,  interested  in  the  welfare  of  Israel  and  entitled 
to  their  undivided  homage. 

When  we  come  to  Elijah,  we  find  ourselves  on 
the  confines  of  a  new  age.  Henceforth  the  prophets 
denounced  the  existing  order  of  things — religious 
and  social.  They  ethicized  theology  and  religion, 
and  in  their  capacity  as  religious  teachers  they 
became  inevitably  social  reformers,  for  the  whole 
basis  and  structure  of  society  were  religious.  The 
message  they  delivered  became  increasingly  un- 
palatable, especially  to  those  who  were  responsible 
for  the  existing  State.  The  true  prophets  parted 
company  with  the  false  prophets  because  they 
would  not  'fall  in'  and  preach  what  was  popular. 
In  the  time  of  Elijah  the  antagonism  between  the 
prophet  and  the  throne — or  between  religious  con- 
viction and  the  secular  authority — issues  in  open 
conflict.  Elijah  is  more  than  a  passive  resister ; 
he  carries  the  conflict  into  the  enemy's  territory, 
and  fights  the  throne  with  its  own  weapons.  We 
have  seen  that  Elijah,  like  his  predecessors,  advo- 
cated the  sole  worship  of  Jahweh.  Ahab  had 
married  the  daughter  of  the  king  of  Tyre,  and 
proceeded  to  strengthen  the  alliance  between 
Israel  and  Tyre  by  introducing  the  worship  of 
Mel  karth ,  the  presiding  deity  of  Tyre.  The  example 
of  the  throne  was  a  potent  influence  in  the  life  of 
Israel.  It  was  easy  to  persuade  the  people  that 
the  alliance  with  Tyre  was  not  complete  unless 
the  Tyrian  Baal  shared  with  Jahweh  the  homage 
of  Israel.  The  people  were  halting  between  two 
opinions.  They  were  not  conscious  of  any  in- 
consistency or  duplicity.  If  gods  could  help,  the 
more  gods  they  worshipped  the  better.  There  was 
safety  in  numbers.  Elijah  stemmed  the  tide  and 
a  strong  party  refused  to  follow  the  example  of  the 
throne.  The  conflict  between  Elijah  and  Ahab 
was  not  simply  whether  one  god  or  another  should 
be  worshipped — Jahweh  of  Israel  or  Mel  karth  of 
Tyre.  It  was  a  clashing  of  two  incompatible 
theologies.  It  is  probable  that  Ahab  would  have 
recommended  the  worship  of  both  deities.  The 
tendency  of  the  age  was  in  the  direction  of  religious 
syncretism.  But  from  Elijah's  standpoint  it  was  a 
matter  of  impossibility  to  practise  this  religious 
dualism.  We  can  trace  in  Elijah's  attitude  the 
germ  of  that  exclusiveness  which  is  inevitable 
when  the  terms  '  right '  and  '  wrong '  or  '  true '  and 
'  false '  are  introduced  into  religion.  The  line  of 
cleavage  is  sharply  drawn  in  the  story  of  the  pro- 

fhet's  life.  Right  is  exclusive  ;  truth  is  intolerant, 
t  was  absolutely  necessary  that  the  stand  should 
be  made  and  the  protest  raised.  To  Elijah  '  Baal 
and  Yahweh  represented,  so  to  speak,  a  contrast 
of  principles,  of  profound  and  ultimate  practical 
convictions ;  both  could  not  be  right,  nor  could 
they  exist  side  by  side.  For  him  there  existed  no 
plurality  of  Divine  Powers,  operating  with  equal 
authority  in  different  spheres,  but  everywhere  One 
Holy  ana  Mighty  Being,  who  revealed  Himself,  not 
in  the  life  of  nature,  but  in  those  laws  by  which 
alone  human  society  is  held  together,  in  the 
ethical  demands  of  the  spirit'  (J.  Wellhausen, 
Isr.  undjud.  Gesch.*,  Berlin,  1897,  p.  74,  quoted  in 
Century  Bible,  '  1  and  2  Kings,'  Edinburgh,  n.d.,  p. 
222).  We  must  not  be  surprised  or  disappointed  that 
Elijah  believed  in  the  use  of  force.  Centuries  must 
pass  before  the  idea  is  fully  understood  that  religion 
is  voluntary,  and  that  coercion  is  alien  to  its  very 
nature.  Elijah  delighted  in  violent  measures.  He 
was  at  home  in  an  environment  of  earthquake, 
storm,  and  fire.  He  met  the  king  on  his  own 
ground,  and  prosecuted  the  struggle  with  his  own 
weapons.  Moral  suasion  would  have  made  no 
appeal  to  the  mind  of  the  age,  and  it  was  only 


170 


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PERSECUTION 


poetic  justice  that  the  prophet  was  able  to  turn 
the  tables  on  his  adversaries.  It  is  not  always 
easy  to  decide  whether  Elijah  or  Ahab  is  the 
persecutor,  for  both  believed  in  violence  as  the 
only  means  to  the  end  which  they  had  in  view. 
But  we  find  in  the  story  of  the  life  and  work  of 
Elijah  a  religious  conviction  that  is  daring  enough 
to  stand  up  to  the  secular  authority  and  defy  its 
directions.  Ahab's  policy  may  seem  to  suggest 
breadth  of  mind,  whilst  Elijah's  attitude  betokens 
theological  narrowness  ;  but  in  this  case  the  narrow 
way  was  the  way  of  life,  whilst  the  broad  way  was 
also  the  way  of  death. 

But  Elijah  came  into  still  closer  grips  with  Ahab. 
He  denounced  the  throne  on  moral  grounds.  He 
spoke  in  the  name  of  Jaliweh,  and  therefore  in  the 
name  of  righteousness.  The  prophet's  predecessors 
identified  the  cult  of  Jahweh  with  patriotism. 
Elijah  identified  the  worship  of  Jahweh  with  social 
morality.  This  was  the  new  note  which  prophecy 
struck,  and  it  occurs  as  a  refrain  in  the  teaching 
of  all  his  successors.  Elijah  had  the  courage  to 
denounce  Ahab  for  his  treatment  of  Naboth,  and 
the  prophet  did  so,  not  as  a  statesman  or  economist, 
but  as  a  theologian.  The  religion  of  Jahweh  issues 
in  social  righteousness.  Ahab  might  worship  Baal 
and  steal  his  subject's  private  property.  As  a 
worshipper  of  Jahweh  he  could  only  'do  justly.' 
Jahweh's  will  was  everlasting  right.  The  problem 
raised  by  the  king's  seizure  of  Naboth's  estate 
was  not  social  or  economical,  but  religious,  for  it 
fell  within  the  scope  of  the  religion  of  Jahweh. 
Ahab's  conduct  was  not  larceny,  but  sacrilege.  It 
was  not  the  violation  of  a  social  law  as  such  that 
roused  the  anger  of  the  prophet,  but  his  defiance 
of  the  will  of  God.  For  Jahweh  requires  of  His 
worshippers  that  they  do  justly  (Mic  68).  When 
the  prophet  condemned  the  king's  effort  to  legiti- 
mize the  worship  of  the  Tyrian  Baal,  or  his  unsocial 
conduct,  he  spoke  in  the  name  of  God,  and  in  the 
interest  of  religion.  He  was  prepared  to  employ 
force  himself,  as  he  was  ready  to  endure  persecu- 
tion rather  than  cease  from  condemning  what  he 
believed  to  be  wrong  or  false,  i.e.  contrary  to  the 
Divine  will,  or  from  advocating  what  he  believed 
to  be  right  and  true.  We  shall  search  in  vain  for 
a  parallel  fact  in  the  whole  Semitic  world.  In 
other  lands  the  prophets  were  obliging  courtiers 
and  fell  in  with  the  royal  wishes.  We  should 
traverse  the  Semitic  world  in  vain  for  an  attitude 
like  that  of  Micaiah-ben-Imlah — '  what  the  T-ord 
saith  unto  me,  that  will  I  speak'  (1  K  2214) — wnen 
the  king  had  given  peremptory  orders  that  he 
should  fall  in  with  his  fellow-prophets.  The 
latter  received  their  reward  in  royal  bounties, 
but  Micaiah's  message  secured  for  him  the  bread- 
and-water  diet  of  the  jail  (22s7). 

Elijah  was  the  Wycliffe  of  Hebrew  prophetism  ; 
the  principles  which  emerge  in  connexion  with  the 
story  of  his  life  were  clearly  grasped  by  Amos  and 
his  successors,  and  fearlessly  applied  to  the  criti- 
cism of  the  religious  and  social  situation  of  Israel 
and  Judah.  The  prophets'  loved  their  nation  and 
their  country.  There  never  were  truer  patriots 
than  Hosea  and  Jeremiah.  But  they  were  not 
patriots  of  the  common  type.  They  would  not 
preach  smooth  things.  That  was  the  privilege  of 
the  court-prophets  whose  message  was  inspired 
from  the  throne.  The  false  prophet  was  concerned 
with  the  question  'What  does  the  king  want?' 
The  true  prophet  was  concerned  with  the  question 
'  What  does  Jahweh  your  God  require  ? '  The  latter 
was  sure  of  his  ground  and  of  the  Divine  approval 
as  the  former  was  of  his  reward  and  of  the  royal 
favour.  The  prophets  thus  came  into  collision  w'ith 
current  theology,  for  they  declared  that  Jaliweh  was 
not  simply  the  God  of  Israel,  but  the  God  of  right- 
eousness, and  they  came  up  against  popular  religion, 


for  they  identified  religion  with  the  practice  of 
social  justice.  Their  patriotism  was  sincere  and 
unmistakable,  but  they  placed  social  righteousness 
above  the  mere  continuity  or  safety  of  the  realm 
or  the  mere  practice  of  ceremonial  religion.  Their 
theology  played  havoc  with  the  current  belief  that 
Jahweh  was  simply  the  God  of  Israel,  as  well  as 
with  the  prevalent  view  that  religion  was  ritual. 
If  Jahweh  was  a  moral  governor,  and  if,  further, 
the  national  life  was  totally  at  variance  with  the 
requirements  of  ethical  religion,  the  expected  '  day 
of  Jahweh'  would  be  darkness  and  not  light — 
disaster,  not  deliverance  (Am  518).  The  power  that 
worked  for  righteousness  in  national  and  inter- 
national affairs  would  wreck  any  society  which 
ignored  or  violated  the  fundamental  principle 
of  moral  government,  for  the  will  of  Jahweh 
must  prevail.  Their  theology  made  the  prophets 
preachers  of  judgment  and  destruction.  The  doom 
which  they  announced  might  be  staved  off  by 
national  repentance  and  reform,  but  Jeremiah, 
who  had  witnessed  a  religious  reformation  carried 
out  by  the  throne,  was  forced  to  the  conclusion 
that  repentance  of  the  true  kind  was  beyond  the 
reach  of  Judah.  The  nation's  illness  was  incurable 
(Jer  3012"15).  It  was  inevitable  that  the  prophet 
should  come  into  collision  with  the  State.  The  pro- 
phet would  not  be  cajoled,  threatened,  or  silenced; 
his  consciousness  of  the  urgency  of  his  message  was 
such  that  silence,  or  even  any  modification  of  the 
truth  as  he  perceived  it,  would  be  moral  treachery. 
The  prophet  is  necessarily  insistent,  uncompromis- 
ing, intolerant,  exclusive.  To  him  the  line  of 
demarcation  between  the  true  and  false — the  right 
and  wrong — is  clear,  and  it  must  be  recognized 
and  enforced.  The  retort  of  the  nation's  official 
leaders  to  this  fearless  exposition  of  the  demands 
of  true  religion  was  persecution. 

3.  Persecution  of  the  Jews  by  the  Seleucid 
kings. — It  is  universally  admitted  that  the  Exile 
introduced  a  new  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  Jew. 
But  it  is  easy  to  exaggerate  the  nature  of  the  cleav- 
age. There  are  no  absolute  beginnings  in  the 
history  of  nations.  The  student  has  no  difficulty 
in  discovering  ample  evidence  of  continuity  in 
social  organization  and  religious  praxis.  Never- 
theless the  post-Exilic  period  was  a  new  age  in  the 
history  of  the  nation.  The  religious  leaders  of  the 
new  age  believed  that  the  Exile  was  the  judgment 
announced  by  their  pre-Exilic  predecessors.  The 
nation  had  completed  her  period  of  servitude  and 
made  ample  compensation  for  all  her  sins.  Her 
iniquity  was  pardoned  (Is  402).  According  to  the 
teaching  of  the  prophets  the  Israel  of  God  would 
be  a  nation  which  organized  its  whole  life — social 
and  religious — in  accordance  with  the  Divine  will. 
Such  a  people  would  constitute  a  kingdom  of  God. 
It  was  the  belief  of  the  post-Exilic  community  that 
its  national  life  was  organized  on  the  lines  laid 
down  in  the  Book  of  the  Law.  Judah  had  become 
once  more  the  people  of  Jahweh  ;  in  possession  of 
a  Bible  which  embodied  the  will  of  God,  and  con- 
trolled her  whole  life,  she  stood  over  against  the 
Gentile  world,  with  its  idols  and  superstitions. 
God  was  known  and  worshipped  only  in  Judah. 
Pure  religion  was  the  sole  possession  of  the  Jew. 

The  rest  of  the  world  was  without  God  and  with- 
out religion,  for  the  gods  of  the  nations  were  idols, 
and  their  religions  were  superstitions.  The  post- 
Exilic  Jew  was  conscious  of  his  superiority  among 
the  nations  of  the  Semitic  world,  and  his  tendency 
was  to  stand  aloof  in  contemptuous  isolation.  In 
post-Exilic  literature  we  can  trace  the  universalism 
of  Deutero-Isaiah  and  the  particularism  of  Ezekiel 
and  Ezra.  The  Jew  owed  no  less  to  the  universal- 
ism  of  the  former  than  to  the  particularism  of  the 
latter  his  sense  of  superiority  to  the  rest  of  the 
world.  In  both  Judah  occupied  a  central  and 


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171 


unique  position.  According  to  Deutero-Isaiah  it 
was  the  mission  of  Israel  to  convert  the  nations  of 
the  world  and  make  the  religion  of  Judah  the 
religion  of  the  nations.  According  to  Ezekiel  the 
Jew  would  come  to  his  inheritance  through  the 
annihilation  of  the  heathen.  The  one  believed  in 
the  incorporation,  and  the  other  in  the  destruction, 
of  the  nations.  The  Jew  found  a  solid  foundation 
for  his  religious  exclusivism  in  Deutero-Isaiah  as 
well  as  in  Ezekiel.  To  the  former  Jahsveh  alone 
was  God,  and  Israel  was  His  servant  and  His 
missionary  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  No  God  but 
Jahweh  —  no  religion  but  the  religion  of  Judah  : 
a  people  that  held  that  view  dwelt  alone  in  the 
ancient  world  with  its  easy-going  polytheism  and 
its  indolent  syncretism. 

The  result  was  that  every  conqueror  found  in 
Judah  an  attitude  which  he  discovered  nowhere 
else  throughout  the  Semitic  world,  and  he  could 
no  more  understand  the  significance  of  it  than 
the  Roman  Emperor  at  a  later  date  could  under- 
stand the  attitude  of  the  Christian  believer.  Other 
nations  were  prepared  to  fall  in  with  the  wishes 
of  the  conqueror.  They  were  willing  conformists, 
but  Judah  was  an  implacable  nonconformist. 
'You  are  the  only  people,'  said  Agrippa,  in  his 
effort  to  dissuade  the  Jews  from  rebelling  against 
Rome,  '  who  think  it  a  disgrace  to  be  servants  of 
those  to  whom  all  the  world  hath  submitted.' 
Judah  would  not  submit,  and  the  reasons  for  her 
recusancy  were  not  so  much  political  as  religious. 
Judah's  nationalism  was  rooted  in  her  religion. 
The  cause  of  Judah  was  the  cause  of  Jahweh. 
The  Kingdom  of  God  was  identified  with  the  king- 
dom of  Judah.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
nation's  religious  teachers  in  the  past  arraigned 
Israel  on  the  ground  of  her  eagerness  to  imitate 
neighbouring  nations  by  adopting  their  gods  and 
religious  customs.  It  was  during  the  exile  in 
Babylon  that  the  Jew  thoroughly  mastered  the 
prophetic  doctrine  of  the  uniqueness  of  Jahweh 
and  of  His  religion.  Conscious  of  the  nature  of  the 
possession  which  he  had  in  his  religion,  he  culti- 
vated national  self-confidence  and  self-reliance, 
which  ultimately  degenerated  into  national  pride 
and  exclusiveness.  In  exile  the  Jew  learnt  how 
to  resist  the  pressure  of  a  hostile  environment, 
and  the  lesson  stood  him  in  good  stead  throughout 
the  post-Exilic  period,  for  the  position  of  Judah  in 
the  Semitic  world  was  precisely  the  position  of  the 
exiles  in  Babylon.  The  Book  of  Daniel,  which 
purports  to  describe  the  situation  of  the  Jew  in 
exile,  could  not  be  otherwise  than  a  powerful 
appeal  to  Judah  in  the  2nd  cent.  B.C.  to  imitate 
the  heroes  of  the  Exile  and  remain  loyal  to  her 
ancestral  faith  and  religion.  But  a  nation  like 
this  was  a  disturbing  element  and  a  standing 
menace  to  the  unity  of  the  Empire  to  which  it 
belonged.  Most  nations  are  conquered  Avhen  their 
army  is  defeated,  their  territory  annexed,  and 
their  independence  taken  from  them.  Nation 
after  nation  in  the  Semitic  world  succumbed  to 
the  domination  of  the  Macedonian  conqueror. 
But  neither  Assyria  nor  Babylon,  nor  Persia, 
nor  Macedon  nor  Rome  conquered  Judah,  for  a 
nation  is  conquered  only  when  her  soul  is  subju- 
gated. Judah  retained  her  unconquerable  soul. 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the  most  powerful  repre- 
sentative of  the  Seleucid  dynasty,  made  an  effort 
to  complete  the  subjugation  of  Judah  by  con- 
quering her  soul,  but  in  his  campaign  he  came 
across  a  stronghold  in  the  nation's  conscience — 
or  her  religious  self-consciousness — which  defied 
all  his  assaults.  The  invader  possessed  no  arms 
to  carry  the  campaign  to  a  successful  issue. 
Antiochus  was  an  extremely  able  rnler.  It  was 
his  programme  to  unify  his  Empire  by  universal- 
izing Hellenism.  Greek  civilization  was  to  be  the 


tie  that  would  bind  together  the  different  parts 
of  his  heterogeneous  Empire.  It  was  a  magnificent 
scheme,  well  conceived  and  vigorously  carried  out, 
and  the  Emperor  met  with  little  or  no  opposition 
until  he  reached  Judah.  He  did  not  persecute 
on  religious  grounds.  The  Emperor  had  no  deep- 
rooted  objection  to  the  religion  of  Judah — except 
its  exclusiveness.  He  approached  the  problem  as 
a  ruler,  and  his  policy  was  the  unification  of  his 
Empire  by  exterminating  national  religions.  But 
Judah's  resistance  was  religious  and  not  political. 
Mattathias  of  Modin  raised  the  standard  of  revolt, 
and  the  rising,  in  its  initial  stages,  was  inspired 
by  loyalty  to  the  ancestral  religion.  It  ultimately 
resolved  itself  into  an  attempt  to  secure  the  political 
independence  of  Judah,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
full  religious  liberty  is  a  precarious  possession 
without  political  independence.  But  it  was  the 
desecration  of  the  Temple,  and  the  attempt  to 
force  loyal  Jews  to  sacrifice  to  heathen  deities 
that  roused  the  ire  of  the  nation,  and  moved  the 
MaccabaBan  family  to  defend  the  national  religion. 
Tt  is  extremely  probable  that  many  Psalms  date 
from  this  period,  and  the  fierce  nature  of  the 
struggle  carried  on  by  the  Maccabees  in  defence  of 
their  '  nation,  religion,  and  laws '  is  reflected  in 
those  passionate  hymns  which  still  throb  with  the 
intense  feeling  which  the  conflict  roused  in  the 
breasts  of  the  Jfasidim,  or  '  loyalists,'  who  sup- 
ported Judas  Maccabseus  in  his  campaign. 

In  regard  to  persecution  on  the  part  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  Lecky  writes :  '  If  men  believe 
with  an  intense  and  realising  faith  that  their  own 
view  of  a  disputed  question  is  true  beyond  all 
possibility  of  mistake  .  .  .  these  men  will,  sooner 
or  later,  persecute  to  the  full  extent  of  their 
power.'  *  This  '  intense  faith,'  which  accounts  for 
the  will  to  persecute  on  the  part  of  the  Church, 
also  explains  the  willingness  on  the  part  of  reli- 
gious persons  to  be  persecuted  rather  than  abandon 
their  faith.  Antiochus  Epiphanes  Avas  not  actu- 
ated by  any  such  intense  faith  in  Greek  culture. 
He  was  concerned  solely  with  his  dream  of  a  homo- 
geneous Empire,  but  Judaism  was  inspired  by  this 
'intense  faith,'  with  the  result  that  the  Jew, 
as  afterwards  the  Christian  believer,  constituted 
a  problem  to  the  rulers  of  the  ancient  world. 
Seleucid  rulers  found  in  Judaism,  as  Roman  pro- 
curators and  proconsuls  found  in  Christianity,  an 
obstinacy  which  baffled  all  their  efforts  to  secure 
universal  uniformity.  It  was  not  an  inheritance 
in  the  case  of  the  Christian  Church  from  the  Jewish 
synagogue,  but  the  outcome  of  the  '  intense  faith  ' 
which  inspired  Jew  and  Christian  to  endure  torture, 
not  accepting  deliverance  (He  II35). 

4.  Persecution  of  Jesus  by  the  Jews. — Irenaeus 
called  Jesus  Christ  the  '  Master  of  Martyrdom.' 
The  martyrs  followed  in  His  footsteps.  In  each 
martyr  Origen  saw  the  Lord  Himself  condemned. 
The  true  imitatio  Christi  was  martyrdom.  John 
calls  Jesus  Christ  'the  faithful  witness'  (Rev 
1B),  and  Paul  adds  that  He  'witnessed  the 
good  confession '  (I  Ti  613).  Our  Lord  warned 
His  disciples  that  the  persecution  which  He 
endured  would  also  be  their  lot  (Jn  1518).  It 
becomes,  therefore,  necessary  to  examine  the  op- 
position which  culminated  in  the  tragedy  of  the 
Cross,  and  the  reasons  which  actuated  Jerusalem 
and  Rome  in  their  combined  resolve  to  compass 
His  death.  According  to  the  Gospels,  Jesus  Christ 
was  conscious  of  a  growing  premonition  as  to  the 
issue  of  the  conflict  between  Himself  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  on  the 
other,  the  representatives  of  the  democracy  and 
the  aristocracy  of  Judrea.  The  Pharisees  were  the 
nationalist  party,  and  carried  on  the  traditions  of 
the  JJasidim,  or  '  loyalists,'  who  supported  Judas 
*  Lecky,  Rationalism  in  Europe,  vol.  ii.  p.  1. 


172 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION 


Maccabaeus  in  his  struggle  for  religious  liberty  in 
the  2nd  cent. ,  whilst  the  Sadducees  were  the  priestly 
caste,  and  were  willing  to  put  up  with  Roman 
domination  as  long  as  they  were  left  in  undis- 
turbed   possession   of    priestly   prerogatives,   and 
especially  of  the  revenues  of  the  Temple.     Jesus 
Christ  could  not  miss  their  growing  hostility  to 
Him  and  His  teaching,  and  the  ominous  closing 
of  the  ranks  on  the  part  of  these  prominent  parties 
which  otherwise  had  very  little  in  common.     The 
Pharisees  were   profoundly  religious.      Their  re- 
ligion consisted  in  rigid  observance  of  the  '  Law,' 
and  of  the  'traditions  of  the  fathers.'     To  the 
religious  zeal  of  the  Puritan  they  added  intense 
patriotism.    But  their  religion  was  soulless  formal- 
ism.     They  were  not   lacking  in  religious  self- 
confidence.      The  Pharisaic  Paul  contended  that 
in  the  light  of  the  Pharisaic  ideal  he  was  blameless 
(Ph  3).     They  made  a  fetish  of  the  Law.     It  had 
come  from  God,  and  contained  a  complete  and 
final  system  of  religious  praxis.     They  were  rigor- 
ously and  exclusively  Jewish  in  their  outlook. 
There  was  nothing  good  outside  Judaism.     They 
were  immovably  opposed  to  anything  and  every- 
thing foreign.      Among  them  the  Messianic  hope 
nourished.    From  their  midst  emanated  the  apoca- 
lyptic literature  of  the  nation,  with  its  dream  of 
a  glorious  triumph  for  Judah.     The  dream  of  a 
world-wide  kingdom  troubled  the  long  sleep  of 
Jewish  oppression,  and  occasionally  the  sleep  was 
disturbed  by  a  violent  effort  to  realize  the  national 
ambition  and  shake  off  the  yoke  which  weighed 
like  an  incubus  upon  the  nation's  soul.     But  the 
Pharisees  did  not  fall  in  with  the  policy  of  the 
'  zealots '   or    '  Cananseans '   or   the    followers    of 
Judas  of  Galilee  (Ac  537).    They  shared  the  zealots' 
hatred  of  everything  alien  or  non-Jewish,  but  they 
recognized  the  futility  of  rebellion.     They  were 
too  well  aware  of  the  irresistible  might  of  Rome. 
It  was  their  mission   to   keep   the  national   life 
Jewish,  and  religion  '  pure  and  undefiled,'  and  God 
would  appear  on  their  behalf  in  the  fullness  of 
time  and  bring  in  the  '  Messianic  age.'    It  is  evi- 
dent that  the   Pharisees  were  keenly  interested 
in  Jesus  Christ  and  in  the  claim  which  was  being 
made  that  He  was  the  Messiah.     They  would  wel- 
come any  reliable  evidence  that  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  was  at  hand,  and  that  the  hope  of  the 
nation   was   nearing   fulfilment.      The   Pharisees 
generally  mingled  with  the  crowd  which  followed 
Jesus,  and  they  were  not  always  present  as  cap- 
tious critics.     Their  astonishment  that  Jesus  ate 
with   'publicans   and   sinners'  proves  that  they 
expected  different  conduct  from  one  who  was  going 
to  realize  the  Messianic  ideal,  and  bring  in  the 
Messianic  age  (Mk  218).     They  were  on  the  same 
quest  when  they  asked  for  a  sign — some  unmistak- 
able evidence  that  He  was  the  Divinely-appointed 
Saviour  of  the  nation.    Nicodemus  was  a  Pharisee, 
and  displays  the  Pharisee's  interest  in  Jesus  Christ 
and  His  claim  to  be  the  Messiah  (Jn  3).     But  it 
was  soon  obvious  to  the  Pharisees  that  Jesus  could 
not  be  the  Messiah  whom  they  expected.     He  dis- 
played no  respect  for  the  Pharisaic  ideal,  in  either 
its  political  or  its  religious  aspects.     He  contra- 
dicted the  Messianic  expectation  as  it  was  held 
among  the  Pharisees — viz.  a  great  national  hero 
who  could  and  would  bring  in  the  Messianic  age 
as  it  was  understood  by  them.     He  also  opposed 
Pharisaism  as  a  religious  system.     He  undermined 
their  whole  philosophy  of  religion.    He  was  especi- 
ally severe  on  their  emphasis  on  trivial  rules,  and 
their  neglect  of  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law 
(Mt  2323).     It  was  evident  to  the  Pharisees  that, 
if  this  teaching  prevailed,  the  national  hope  was 
doomed,  for  the  teaching  of  Jesus  implied  that 
the  outstanding  institutions  of  Judaism  were  not 
essential.     They  could  all  be  scrapped  as  obsolete 


and  useless.  Towards  the  end  of  His  life  Jesus 
Christ  makes  no  effort  to  conceal  His  contempt 
for  Pharisaism.  He  condemns  the  Pharisee  on 
religious,  not  on  political,  grounds.  It  was  as 
obvious  to  the  Pharisee  as  to  Jesus  that  their 
respective  teaching  was  mutually  antagonistic. 
There  was  no  hope  for  Pharisaic  religion  if  the 
teaching  of  Jesus  prevailed.  Paul  discovered  in 
his  own  way  at  a  later  stage  that  Pharisaism 
and  Christianity  were  incompatible. 

It  was  only  towards  the  end  of  His  life  that  the 
Sadducees  became  prominent  in  controversy  with 
Jesus.  They  possessed  neither  the  piety  nor  the 
patriotism  of  the  Pharisees.  They  were  interested 
in  the  continuance  of  the  Temple  and  its  worship, 
as  the  Pharisees  were  concerned  with  the  continu- 
ance of  the  Synagogue  and  its  service.  They  were 
interested  in  religion  only  in  so  far  as  it  involved 
the  continued  existence  of  the  Temple  where  they 
found  their  living.  They  were  immovably  con- 
servative, for  they  were  anxious  that  the  existing 
order  of  things  should  remain  undisturbed.  They 
were  supreme  in  the  Sanhedrin,  and  they  were 
favourable  to  Rome  as  long  as  they  were  secure 
in  the  enjoyment  of  the  Temple  revenue.  As 
friends  of  Rome,  they  were  naturally  afraid  of 
the  growing  popularity  of  Jesus.  They  knew  the 
Jewish  temperament,  and  they  knew  the  disposi- 
tion of  Rome.  They  were  anxious  that  the-  re- 
ligious and  political  situation  should  remain  undis- 
turbed, that  they  might  continue  to  enjoy  the 
privileges  which  Roman  rule  extended  to  them. 
After  the  raising  of  Lazarus  and  the  impression 
which  it  made  upon  the  people,  the  high  priests 
and  Pharisees  were  thrown  into  consternation,  for 
they  feared  that  the  disturbance  would  attract  the 
notice  of  the  Roman  representative,  who  would 
take  away  their  place  and  their  nation  (Jn  II48). 
Jesus'  clearing  of  the  Temple  roused  the  anger  of  the 
Sadducees,  for  it  interfered  with  vested  interests. 
It  was  this  act  that  moved  them  to  compass  His 
death  (Mk  II18-18).  The  only  restraint  was  their 
fear  of  the  people. 

The  charge  of  blasphemy  was  often  on  the  lips  of 
His  Pharisaic  adversaries,  and  from  the  Jewish 
point  of  view  the  indictment  was  perfectly  intelli- 
gible. To  the  Pharisees,  who  rejected  the  Messi- 
anic claims  of  Jesus,  His  utterances  and  His  deeds 
were  often  blasphemous  (Mk  27,  Jn  51B- 18),  just  as 
to  His  disciples  who  acknowledged  Him  to  be  the 
Messiah  the  attitude  of  the  Jews  was  equally 
blasphemous  (Mk  1529,  Ac  1365  18"  19s7).  Any  dis- 
paraging speech  in  reference  to  Jahweh  was 
blasphemy,  or  any  act  which  was  disparaging  to 
His  dignity,  e.g.  Sennacherib's  sneer  that  Jahweh 
was  no  better  than  the  numerous  gods  of  the 
nations  which  the  Assyrian  army  had  conquered 
(2  K  1916).  The  worship  of  Jahweh  with  the  rites 
of  the  Baalim  was  blasphemy,  for  it  degraded 
Jahweh  to  the  level  of  Baal  (Ezk  2027).  Any 
irreverent  allusion  to  any  institution  connected 
with  Jahweh  came  under  the  same  condemnation, 
g.  Jesus'  alleged  reference  to  the  Temple  (Mk 
1458,  Ac  613).  His  violation  of  the  sacredness  of 
the  Sabbath  was  of  the  same  nature  (Nu  1532,  Jn 
IQS:J.  SB)  When  Jesus  arrogated  to  Himself  the 
right  to  forgive  sins,  He  encroached  upon  the  pre- 
rogatives of  Deity,  and  He  was  guilty  of  blasphemy 
(Mk  27,  Mt  9s).  John  adds  that  His  assumption  of 
Divinity  was  provocative  of  violent  opposition. 
The  high  priest,  at  the  trial  of  Jesus,  put  to  Him 
the  question,  '  Art  thou  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 
Blessed,'  or  '  the  Son  of  God?'  (Mk  1461,  Mt  26s3). 
It  was  a  definite  challenge  whether  He  was  the 
Messiah  or  not.  The  answer  was  equally  clear  and 
mphatic,  and  the  charge  of  blasphemy  was  at  once 
raised.  The  alternatives  were  clear — Jesus  was 
;he  Messiah,  or  else  He  was  a  blasphemer,  and  as 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION 


173 


such  worthy  of  death  (Lv  2416).  This  was  the 
technical  charge  against  Jesus,  but  it  is  obvious 
that  His  whole  teaching  was  antagonistic  to  and 
subversive  of  the  religious  formalism  and  narrow 
nationalism  of  the  Pharisee  no  less  than  the  scepti- 
cism and  worldliness  of  the  Sadducee.  But  the 
Sanhedrin  could  not  inflict  capital  punishment 
without  the  confirmation  of  the  Roman  governor. 
It  was  therefore  necessary  to  put  in  an  indict- 
ment of  a  different  character  in  order  to  make  sure 
of  the  verdict.  The  prosecutors  held  that  accord- 
ing to  Jewish  law  (Lv  2416)  Jesus  was  guilty  of 
death,  for  He  made  Himself  'Son  of  God'  (Jn  197). 
It  would  not  be  difficult  to  make  out  that  His 
claims  to  be  the  'Messiah'  or  '  King  of  the  Jews' 
constituted  not  only  blasphemy  but  high  treason, 
and  the  Roman  Emperor  was  exceedingly  sensitive 
on  the  question  of  laesa  majestas  or  high  treason. 
The  main  object  of  the  prosecution  was  to  bring 
home  the  charge  of  high  treason  as  the  only  indict- 
ment that  would  move  Pilate  to  confirm  the  verdict 
of  the  Sanhedrin.  Luke  sums  up  the  three  points 
in  the  indictment.  (1)  Perverting  the  nation. 
This  was  a  charge  of  seditious  agitation.  His 
adversaries  knew  what  they  were  about  when  they 
suggested  that  He  was  trying  to  work  up  a  revolt 
in  Palestine.  (2)  Forbidding  the  payment  of 
tribute  to  Caesar.  Jesus  Christ  had  recently 
discriminated  between  duty  to  God  and  obliga- 
tions to  Caesar,  and  His  words  suggested  the 
existence  of  a  sphere  to  which  the  authority  of 
Caesar  did  not  extend.  (3)  Making  Himself  to  be 
Messiah,  king.  The  Jewish  leaders  raised  the  cry 
of  blasphemy  over  the  claim.  It  was  the  political 
aspect  of  the  claim  which  they  emphasized  before 
Pilate.  The  insinuation  of  the  mob,  that  Pilate 
would  not  uphold  the  authority  of  Caesar  if  he 
released  Jesus,  stung  the  Roman  governor  to  the 
quick  and  materially  helped  to  get  his  confirma- 
tion of  the  findings  of  the  Sanhedrin.  It  is  obvious 
that,  as  far  as  Pilate  was  concerned,  everything 
depended  upon  the  significance  of  the  Messianic 
claim  made  by  Jesus,  and  accepted  by  His  accusers 
for  their  own  purpose,  at  His  trial.  In  their 
desperate  efforts  to  secure  an  adverse  verdict  the 
Jews  were  prepared  to  trample  underfoot  the 
national  expectation  of  a  Messiah — '  We  have  no 
king  but  Caesar.'  They  knew  what  charge  would 
carry  weight  before  the  proconsul.  It  is  obvious 
that  Pilate  was  moved  by  the  charge.  The  Jewish 
world  at  the  time  was  full  of  unrest,  and  insurrec- 
tions were  not  uncommon.  The  Jews  repeated  the 
charge,  in  their  opposition  to  Paul  at  Thessalonica. 
They  knew  that  would  get  a  hearing  from  the 
representative  of  Caesar  (Ac  177).  It  is  obvious 
that  the  Jews  were  actuated  in  their  opposition 
to  Jesus  Christ  by  motives  which  were  partly 
nationalistic  and  partly  religious,  whilst  Pilate,  the 
Imperial  representative,  was  concerned  mainly  with 
the  political  aspects  of  the  situation. 

5.  Persecution  of  the  Christians  by  the  Jews. — 
We  have  already  referred  to  the  fact  that  Jesus 
Christ  prepared  His  disciples  for  persecution.  He 
seemed  to  have  a  clear  premonition  as  to  the  issue 
of  His  own  life.  He  was  equally  certain  that 
fidelity  to  His  teaching  would  evoke  the  deep 
and  implacable  hostility  of  Judaism  and  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  Their  contention  that  the  Cruci- 
fied Jesus  was  the  Messiah  and  a  Saviour  for 
all  nations  would  offend  Jewish  nationalism,  and 
the  ethical  ideal  of  the  gospel  would  evoke  the 
scorn  and  the  hatred  of  the  Graeco-Roman  world. 
Jerusalem  and  Rome  would  work  together  in 
opposition  to  His  disciples,  as  they  had  done  in 
opposition  to  Him,  and  for  the  same  reasons. 
The  unexpected  manner  in  which  references  to 
persecution  as  the  inevitable  lot  of  His  faithful 
followers  occur  in  His  speeches  proves  that  it  was 


ever  on  His  mind.  He  met  every  situation  that 
arose  in  the  history  of  the  early  Cnurch.  Fidelity 
to  Him  and  His  teaching  would  be  supremely 
difficult,  but  it  would  not  miss  its  reward.  He 
pronounced  a  beatitude  on  those  who  would  suffer 
persecution  for  righteousness'  sake — i.e.  upon  those 
who  would  bring  upon  their  own  heads  the  hostility 
of  the  world  on  account  of  their  adherence  to  His 
teaching.  Their  endurance  of  persecution  for  this 
reason  entitled  them  to  membership  in  the  King- 
dom of  God.  Through  their  endurance  of  the 
hostility  of  the  world  without  flinching  or  denying 
their  faith,  they  would  win  their  souls,  and  thereby 
prove  their  claim  to  be  citizens  of  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  (Lk  2119).  The  vivid  and  constant  sense 
of  their  belonging  to  another  kingdom — real  and 
abiding — would  alone  enable  them  to  endure  the 
hatred  of  the  world  ;  no  other  motive  would  be 
sufficiently  strong.  Persecution  was  the  crucible 
which  tested  the  faith  of  the  disciple — its  genuine- 
ness and  its  strength.  Persecution  would  be  the 
form  in  which  the  antagonism  of  the  world — Jew- 
ish and  pagan — would  manifest  itself.  It  would 
be  a  tribute  to  the  reality  of  their  faith.  The 
believers  would  be  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves. 
But  theirs  was  a  life  which  wolves  could  not  harm. 
1  Let  not  the  lambs  fear  the  wolves  when  they  are 
dead '  are  words  which  are  ascribed  to  Christ  in  an 
ancient  homily  (J.  B.  Lightfoot,  The  Apostolic 
Fathers,  pt.  i.,  London,  1890,  vol.  ii.  p.  219). 
Sanhedrins  and  synagogues — the  political  and  re- 
ligious institutions — of  Judah  would  be  arrayed 
against  the  disciples.  They  would  be  dragged  before 
kings  like  Herod  Agrippa  (Ac  26)  or  Emperors  like 
Nero  (2  Ti  46)  and  Roman  governors  like  Felix 
and  Festus  (Ac  2424  256).  Peter  reminds  his  readers 
that  they  must  be  careful  that  persecution  is  due 
to  their  Christian  faith  and  Christian  conduct 
(1  P  416).  Among  the  rewards  of  fidelity  to  Jesus 
Christ  are  'houses  .  .  .  with  persecutions'  (Mk 
1030).  We  are  not  surprised  when  we  read  of  the 
persecutions  that  many  lapsed  from  the  faith — the 
good  seed  was  choked  (Mt  1321).  But  the  true 
believer  will  face  all  the  trials  and  sufferings  of 
life  (Ro  8,  1  Co  412,  2  Co  4"  12"»). 

Jesus'  forecast  of  the  future  was  fulfilled  to  the 
letter,  and  His  disciples  had  not  long  to  wait.  The 
representatives  of  Rome  did  not  appear  on  the  scene 
for  some  time ;  the  opposition  came  from  the 
Jews.  The  earliest  Christians  were  Jews,  and  the 
earliest  form  of  apostolic  Christianity  was  essenti- 
ally Jewish.  Its  early  exponents  were  only  dimly 
aware  of  the  full  content  of  the  claim  which  they 
made  when  they  contended  that  Jesus  was  the 
Christ.  It  required  many  minds  to  bring  out  the 
full  meaning  of  the  teaching  of  the  Master.  The 
author  of  'Acts'  rendered  a  service  in  this  con- 
nexion which  comes  next  only  to  the  Gospels  and 
Paul's  Epistles.  It  is  clear  that  the  burden  of  the 
apostolic  preaching  was  the  fulfilment  of  the 
Messianic  hope  in  Jesus.  Jesus  is  the  Christ. 
The  disciples  never  abandoned  their  belief  that 
Jesus  was  the  Messiah  —  viz.  the  Messiah  of 
Jewish  belief.  '  We  hoped  that  it  was  he  which 
should  redeem  Israel '  are  the  pathetic  words 
in  which  two  disciples  express  their  poignant  dis- 
appointment (Lk  24V!1).  '  Dost  thou  at  this  time 
restore  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?'  is  the  question  put 
to  Jesus  Christ  after  His  resurrection  (Ac  I6).  The 
Crucifixion  laid  their  Jewish  hope  in  ruins.  The 
Resurrection,  however,  brought  about  a  renewal  of 
their  faith,  but  it  had  changed  its  content.  The 
apostolic  gospel  was  simply  the  claim  that  Jesus, 
who  had  been  crucified  and  buried,  but  who  had 
risen  and  ascended  to  heaven,  was  the  Messiah.  It  is 
noteworthy  that  the  Sadducees,  and  not  the  Phari- 
sees, began  the  opposition  to  Peter  and  his  fellow- 
disciples.  It  was  the  claim  that  'Jesus  was  the 


174 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION 


Messiah '  that  evoked  their  antagonism.  As  the 
movement  seemed  to  spread  at  an  alarming  rate, 
the  Sadducees  feared  a  popular  rising.  They  were 
satisfied  with  things  as  they  were,  and  they  were 
exceedingly  anxious  not  to  give  any  offence  to 
Rome.  They  opposed  the  apostolic  preaching,  as 
they  had  opposed  the  claim  of  Jesus  to  be  the 
Messiah,  for  they  knew  how  similar  movements 
had  ended.  The  Pharisees  took  no  part,  at  first, 
in  the  opposition  to  the  new  movement.  This 
seeming  indifference  is  quite  intelligible.  We 
have  already  pointed  out  that  the  Pharisees  were 
greatly  interested  in  Jesus  and  in  the  claim 
which  was  made  by  His  followers  that  He  was  the 
Messiah.  They  were  equally  interested  in  the 
apostolic  contention  that  the  Resurrection  demon- 
strated the  truth  of  His  Messiahship.  The  '  rising 
from  the  dead '  had  put  the  whole  matter  in  a  new 
light.  The  disciples  themselves  had  temporarily 
relinquished  their  view  that  Jesus  was  the  expected 
deliverer,  but  the  Resurrection  enabled  them  to 
recover  their  faith  in  a  transfigured  form.  We  are 
not  surprised  that  many  Pharisees  were  among  the 
early  disciples  (Ac  154).-  Gamaliel,  a  prominent 
Pharisee,  counselled  caution  in  dealing  with  the 
new  movement.  He  suggested  that  they  should 
wait  developments  and  accept  the  verdict  of  Provi- 
dence. It  was  a  Pharisaic  belief  that  history 
judged  all  movements.  Gamaliel  was  willing  to 
keep  an  open  mind,  and  in  this  attitude  he  repre- 
sented the  more  enlightened  Pharisaism  of  the  day. 
When  they  considered  the  question  in  the  light  of 
the  Resurrection,  there  seemed  nothing  in  the 
doctrine  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah  which  was 
inconsistent  with  the  Messianic  hope  as  it  pre- 
vailed among  the  Pharisees.  But  they  had  not 
long  to  wait  before  they  saw  the  significance  of  the 
new  movement,  and  their  interest  was  converted 
into  determined  and  relentless  opposition  when 
they  understood  its  true  inwardness.  The  his- 
torian of  Acts  puts  into  the  mouth  of  Stephen  one 
of  the  most  epoch-making  utterances  in  the  New 
Testament.  Stephen  was  a  Hellenistic  Jew,  and 
his  early  training  had  fitted  him  to  grasp  the  uni- 
versality of  the  gospel.  Christianity  was  the  true 
completion  of  the  religion  of  Israel,  and,  therefore, 
the  supersession  of  Judaism.  It  was  the  fulfilment 
of  the  hope  of  Israel.  The  religious  teachers  of 
the  nation  had  tried  to  bring  out  the  true  nature 
of  religion,  but  the  nation,  in  the  person  of  its 
official  leaders,  had  offered  continued  resistance  to 
the  Holy  Ghost,  with  the  result  that  the  religion 
of  the  prophets  had  degenerated  into  Judaism. 
In  the  light  of  Stephen's  conception  of  the  gospel, 
Jewish  institutions  were  temporary  ;  they  had  no 
abiding  significance.  They  were  not  essential  to 
the  spiritual  and  universal  gospel  of  Christianity. 
This  speech  contradicted  Pharisaism  at  every  point. 
Stephen  was  charged  with  speaking  '  words  against 
this  holy  place,  and  the  law  (613).  He  spoke  '  blas- 
phemous words  against  Moses  and  against  God' 
(v.11).  These  accusations  were  inevitable  from  the 
Pharisaic  point  of  view,  for  to  the  orthodox  Pharisee 
the  Law  was  a  complete  and  final  system.  The 
charge  of  blasphemy  had  been  brought  against 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  repetition  of  the  indictment 
in  the  case  of  Stephen  shows  that  the  disciple  had 
understood  the  mind  of  the  Master.  Henceforth 
the  opposition  of  Judaism  to  the  Christian  Church 
is  uncompromising  and  unbroken,  and  the  martyr- 
dom of  Stephen  was  followed  by  the  death  of 
other  prominent  members  of  the  Church.  But  the 
scattering  of  the  Church  meant  the  spreading  of 
the  gospel.  There  seems  little  doubt  that  refugees 
played  no  small  part  in  the  earliest  missionary 
activities  of  the  Church.  It  is  hardly  possible  to 
exaggerate  the  opposition  which  Judaism  was  able 
to  offer  to  the  young  churches  which  came  into 


existence  in  different  towns  and  villages  in  Asia 
Minor  and  in  Europe,  for  throughout  the  Roman 
Empire  there  were  large  Jewish  settlements.  In 
connexion  with  the  repeated  outbreaks  of  persecu- 
tion in  various  centres,  the  unbelieving  Jew  was 
the  dark  figure  that  stood  in  the  background. 
There  is  truth  in  Tertullian's  statement  *  that 
Jewish  synagogues  were  the  chief  sources  of  per- 
secution. The  historian  of  Acts  saw  in  Judaism 
the  real  opponent  of  Christianity.  To  him  there 
was  no  other  rival  religion,  for  the  heathen  world 
was  irreligious.  Its  numerous  religions  were  not 
worthy  of  the  name.  To  the  strict  Pharisee  it 
was  also  equally  clear  that  the  real  opponent  of 
Judaism  was  Christianity.  Judaism  could  hold  its 
own  against  heathen  religions,  but  Christianity  was 
a  powerful  rival,  for  it  deprived  Judaism  of  every- 
thing except  its  nationalism.  The  Jew  repeated, 
in  the  case  of  the  Christian  missionary,  the  charge 
which  had  been  brought  against  Jesus.  He  knew 
that  it  carried  weight  with  the  representative  of 
Rome.  In  Thessalonica  they  urged  '  certain  vile 
fellows  of  the  rabble '  to  lead  the  opposition.  The 
charge  of  high  treason  was  insinuated  in  the  words 
'  These  all  act  contrary  to  the  decrees  of  Caesar,  say- 
ing that  there  is  another  king,  one  Jesus '  (Ac  177). 
It  was  this  charge  that  finally  decided  Pilate  to 
speak  the  fateful  word  and  hand  over  Jesus  to 
His  persecutors.  Generally  throughout  the  Acts, 
Rome,  in  the  person  of  its  proconsuls,  is  repre- 
sented as  taking  on  the  whole  a  favourable  view 
of  Christianity.  The  brunt  of  the  opposition  came 
from  the  representatives  of  Judaism.  But  much 
depended  on  the  temperament  and  character  of  the 
Roman  governor  as  well  as  on  the  manner  in  which 
the  prosecutors  conducted  the  charge.  The  Jews 
in  Corinth  were  not  quite  so  alive  to  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  situation  as  their  compatriots  at 
Thessalonica.  The  Corinthian  Jews  indicted  Paul 
for  urging  men  to  worship  contrary  to  the  Law. 
Gallic  replied  that  he  was  not  concerned  about 
their  religious  controversies.  He  would  interfere 
only  in  case  of  crime  or  political  misdemeanour 
(Ac  1814- 15).  It  is  possible  that  the  historian  lays 
stress  on  the  favourable  attitude  of  Rome  to  the 
early  Christians  in  order  to  impress  on  his  Roman 
readers  that  there  was  no  real  incompatibility 
between  the  Christian  religion  and  the  interests  of 
the  Empire.  The  Christian  Church  felt  the  force  of 
Jewish  persecution  in  a  peculiarly  violent  manner  in 
the  first  half  of  the  2nd  cent,  when  they  refused  to 
join  in  the  revolt  of  Bar  Cochba — th'e  '  Son  of  the 
Star '  (Nu  2417),  who  headed  a  Messianic  movement. 
The  Christians  refused  to  admit  his  claim,  and  were 
exposed  to  the  vengeance  of  both  Rome  and  the 
would-be  Messiah.  To  the  Romans  they  were  Jews, 
whilst  to  the  insurrectionists  they  were  renegades. 
The  Church  of  Pentecost  consisted  entirely 
of  Jews  who  accepted  the  apostolic  doctrine  that 
Jesus  — Crucified  and  Risen  —  was  the  Messiah. 
Apart  from  that  confession,  they  remained  Jews 
and  retained  their  Judaism  in  its  entirety ;  and 
we  must  not  read  too  much  into  that  elementary 
creed.  Even  Peter  and  John,  not  to  mention  their 
converts,  had  not  fully  understood  the  teaching  of 
Jesus.  But  it  is  an  astonishing  fact  that  within 
half  a  century  the  leading  minds  of  the  Church  had 
set  forth  the  content  of  the  Christian  religion,  in 
Gospel  and  Epistle.  When  the  Jew  perceived  the 
universal  character  of  the  gospel,  he  became  its  re- 
lentless opponent.  He  was  too  much  of  a  nationalist 
to  accept  a  gospel  th.at  placed  all  nations  on  an 
equality,  whilst  his  reverence  for  the  Law  would  not 
permit  him  to  believe  that  it  could  be  superseded. 
His  nationalism  and  conservatism  made  him  a 
bitter  persecutor  of  '  the  Way.'  There  were  two 
alternatives  for  the  Jew — conversion  or  persecution. 
*  Scorp.  10. 


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175 


He  had  a  profound  reverence  for  the  Torah.  It 
was  complete  and  final.  The  orthodox  Jew  believed 
that  the  world  would  be  saved  by  being  Judaized, 
as  the  Christian  preacher  believed  it  would  be  saved 
by  being  evangelized.  Judaism  was  not  one  religion 
among  many — it  was  the  religion.  The  Jew 
claimed  for  Judaism  what  the  Christian  apologist 
claimed  for  Christianity — finality  and  absoluteness. 
The  Jew  had  to  embrace  Christianity  or  oppose  it 
by  every  means  at  his  disposal.  Both  Judaism 
and  Christianity  were  exclusive  religions.  The 
Jew  who  refused  to  be  converted  must  have  pos- 
sessed that  '  intense  faith '  in  which  Lecky  has 
discovered  the  origin  of  persecution.  The  Christian 
religion  also  produced  a  faith  which  counted  it  all 
joy  to  suffer  for  righteousness'  sake.  It  was  this 
exclusiveness  and  sense  of  superiority  which  made 
Judah  the  best  hated  nation  in  the  ancient  world  ; 
but  for  the  same  reason  the  Christian  Church  won 
the  bitter  hatred  of  the  Graco-Roman  world  with  its 
indolent  syncretism  and  low  ethical  ideals.  It  has 
been  maintained  that  persecution  in  the  strict  sense 
of  tlie  term  originated  within  Judaism,  and  in  this 
doctrine  of  exclusiveness,  inasmuch  as  the  Jew 
persecuted  Christians  solely  for  their  religious 
views — i.e.  for  heresy,  and  for  no  other  reason.  But 
there  was  a  close  intermingling  of  religious  and 
political  motives,  and  in  Judah  especially  national- 
ism and  religion  were  closely  associated. 

6.  The  attitude  of  Rome  "to  Christianity.— The 
representatives  of  Rome  paid  little  or  no  attention 
to  the  '  new  and  magical  superstition '  which  had 
sprung  up  in  Judah.  To  them  Christianity  was 
simply  a  Jewish  movement.  But  they  were  alive  to 
the  possibilities  of  the  movement  and  were  always 
on  the  look-out  for  political  developments  in  con- 
nexion with  any  religious  agitation.  Rome  was 
familiar  with  '  Messianic'  risings  in  Palestine,  and 
the  Jew  never  missed  an  opportunity  of  laying  be- 
fore the  Emperor  a  charge  of  disloyalty  against 
Christians.  It  was  the  only  way  to  overcome  the 
apparent  apathy  of  Rome.  Throughout  Acts,  Rome 
is  represented,  in  the  person  of  her  proconsuls,  as 
indifferent  to  the  quarrels  between  Christian  mis- 
sionaries and  their  Jewish  adversaries  (Ac  1814- 18 
2519).  The  attitude  of  Pilate  to  Jesus  was  typical 
of  the  attitude  of  Roman  governors  to  His  followers. 
They  were  interested  in  religious  doctrines  in  the 
light  of  their  influence  on  individuals  as  subjects  of 
the  Empire.  They  were  often  guilty  of  gross  indif- 
ference. The  Jews  relied  on  the  apathy  of  Roman 
governors  and  frequently  took  matters  into  their 
own  hands.  It  is  admitted  that  the  Empire  pos- 
sessed a  magnificent  system  of  law.  But  it  is  easy 
to  indulge  in  exaggerated  language  in  regard  to  the 
administration  of  law,  especially  in  remote  parts  of 
the  Empire.  Roman  governors  frequently  turned 
their  blind  eye  to  the  sufferings  inflicted  on  Chris- 
tians by  their  Jewish  or  pagan  persecutors. 

It  is  obvious  that  for  some  time  Rome  looked 
upon  the  followers  of  Christ  as  a  Jewish  sect.  In 
so  far  as  the  representative  of  Rome  had  condemned 
Jesus  on  political  grounds,  it  would  follow  that  His 
disciples  would  experience  similar  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  Imperial  governors.  It  is  interesting  in 
this  connexion  to  consider  the  account  which  the 
Roman  historian  gives  of  the  movement.  Accord- 
ing to  Tacitus,  the  founder  of  the  sect,  Chrestus  by 
name,  had  been  condemned  by  Pontius  Pilate  in 
the  reign  of  Tiberius.  His  followers  were  vulgarly 
called  '  Christians.'  They  were  universally  hated 
on  account  of  the  abominable  deeds  of  which  they 
were  guilty,  and  their  hatred  of  the  human  race. 
The  execution  of  their  leader  gave  a  temporary 
check  to  the  pestilent  superstition.  But  it  broke 
out  afresh,  and  extended  to  Rome,  where  every- 
thing that  is  vile  and  scandalous  accumulated.* 
*  Tacitus,  Ann.  xv.  44. 


The  historian  gives  the  ordinary  Roman  view. 
Christians  were  simply  Christ's  faction.  The  atti- 
tude of  Pilate  to  the  Founder  of  the  sect  should 
also  be  the  attitude  of  Rome  to  His  followers — an 
attitude  of  contempt  mixed  with  hatred.  In  view 
of  this  fact  the  question  arises  how  it  came  about 
that  Rome  ultimately  became  such  an  implacable 
enemy  of  the  '  pestilent  superstition,'  which  at  first 
seemed  to  be  beneath  contempt. 

In  religion  Rome  practised  ample  tolerance. 
This  does  n,ot  mean  that  Roman  Emperors  favoured 
religious  liberty  or  freedom  of  conscience.  Cen- 
turies must  elapse  before  governments  will  be 
found  to  admit  the  rights  of  individuals  in  religion, 
or  even  of  States  which  form  parts  of  a  larger 
Empire,  although  Jesus  Christ  did  suggest  a  sphere 
within  which  Caesar  could  exercise  no  jurisdiction. 
But  Roman  Emperors  would  not  admit  that  view, 
for  the  power  of  the  State,  in  the  person  of  the 
ruler,  was  absolute,  and  it  covered  all  the  activities 
of  life.  Nevertheless  it  was  the  policy  of  Rome  to 
allow  conquered  States  to  retain  their  gods  and 
their  religious  customs,  in  so  far  as  the  free  exer- 
cise of  their  ancestral  religion  or  their  worship  of 
their  national  deities  did  not  interfere  with  loyalty 
to  the  Empire,  and  especially  with  their  willingness 
to  pay  homage  to  the  Emperor  by  sacrificing  in  his 
name.  Rome's  interest  in  religion  was  entirely 
political.  It  was  the  continuance  and  stability  of 
the  Empire  that  concerned  Rome  and  her  rulers. 
Religions  were  tolerated  and  encouraged  in  so  far 
as  they  promoted  tranquillity  and  good  order. 
'  The  various  modes  of  worship  which  prevailed  in 
the  Roman  world  were  all  considered  by  the  people 
as  equally  true  ;  by  the  philosopher  as  equally 
false  ;  and  by  the  magistrate  as  equally  useful.'  * 
The  toleration  of  local  or  national  religions  was 
part  of  Rome's  method  of  governing  her  extensive 
dominions.  '  The  Jews,'  wrote  Celsus,  '  are  not  to 
be  blamed,  because  each  man  ought  to  live  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  his  country  ;  but  the  Christians 
have  forsaken  their  national  rites  for  the  doctrine 
of  Christ.' t 

Rome  permitted  the  worship  of  national  gods 
and  the  continuance  of  national  cults.  But  there  was 
no  religious  liberty  in  this  apparent  tolerance.  The 
gods  worshipped  and  the  cults  practised  in  different 
parts  of  the  Empire  had  to  receive  the  Imperial  sanc- 
tion. Cicero  t  remarks  that  the  worship  of  gods 
which  had  not  been  recognized  by  law  was  a  punish- 
able offence.  No  religion  had  any  standing  until  it 
received  the  Imperial  imprimatur.  No  gods  could 
be  worshipped  unless  they  were  'publice  adsciti.' 
The  State's  approval  was  necessary.  Christianity 
was  not  a  national  faith,  and  for  a  time  it  did  not 
secure  the  Imperial  sanction.  In  the  former  sense 
it  was  a  unique  phenomenon  within  the  Empire. 
It  seems  that  for  a  time  Christianity  enjoyed  the 
privileges  which  had  been  extended  to  Judaism  as 
a  national  religion.  Judaism  had  been  treated 
with  exceptional  favour,  for  the  Jew  was  exempted 
from  the  worship  of  the  Emperor.  It  was  a  conces- 
sion to  Jewish  monotheism.  But  the  open  rupture 
between  Judaism  and  Christianity  which  was 
manifest  to  the  world  by  the  middle  of  the  century, 
and  the  persistent  persecution  of  Christians  by 
Jews,  compelled  Rome  to  inquire  into  the  meaning 
of  the  new  movement.  The  Empire  tolerated  old 
and  national  religions,  but  Christianity  was  a  thing 
of  yesterday,  and  belonged  to  no  nation,  but  em- 
braced all  peoples.  As  such  Christianity  stood  out- 
side the  law  of  the  Empire.  It  created  divisions  in 
every  nation,  and  town,  and  family.  Judaism  was 
the  religion  of  the  Jews,  but  Christianity  gathered 
or  created  its  own  clientele.  John  saw  '  a  great 

*  E.  Gibbon,  The  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
ed.  J.  B.  Bury,  7  vols.,  London,  1901-1906,  i.<  28. 

t  Origen,  c.  Celvum,  v.  25.  •  De  Legibus,  ii.  8. 


176 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION 


multitude,  which  no  man  could  number,  out  of  every 
nation,  and  of  all  tribes  and  peoples  and  tongues ' 
(Rev  79).  That  was  the  condemnation  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion  in  the  opinion  of  Imperial  Rome.  The 
first  edict  of  toleration  (A.D.  311)  cast  in  the  face  of 
the  Christian  religion  that  it  had  '  collected  a  vari- 
ous society  from  the  different  provinces  of  the  Em- 
pire.' Christianity,  because  of  its  non -national  or 
international  character,  was  divisive  and  anarchical, 
although,  when  rightly  understood,  the  gospel  sup- 
plied the  universal  religion  and  formed  the  bond 
of  union  which  made  of  all  nations  a  world- wide 
brotherhood. 

What  Judaism  was  in  the  pre-Christian  world, 
Christianity  was  in  the  Roman  Empire — an  ex- 
clusive religion.  From  the  very  start  Christianity 
was  proclaimed  as  the  religion  of  fulfilment.  It 
was  final  and  absolute — 'and  in  none  other  is  there 
salvation  ;  for  neither  is  there  any  other  name 
under  heaven  that  is  given  among  men,  wherein 
we  must  be  saved '  (Ac  412).  Peter  stated  in  the 
name  of  Christianity  what  every  orthodox  Jew 
would  have  claimed  for  Judaism.  Christianity 
was  essentially  exclusive  and  intolerant.  The 
apostles  proclaimed  one  God — the  Father  of  their 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  They  preached  one  Saviour — 
the  Crucified  Christ.  There  was  only  one  religion 
— and  that  was  Christianity.  When  Jesus  stated 
that  He  was  'the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life' 
( Jn  146),  it  became  impossible  for  His  disciples  to  be 
tolerant  of  any  other  religion,  for  tolerance  would 
be  treachery.  We  have  already  traced  the  germ 
of  this  antagonism  between  the  true  and  the  false 
in  the  teaching  of  Elijah,  who  maintained  that 
Jahweh  and  Baal  were  mutually  exclusive,  and  it 
developed  into  the  religion  of  post-Exilic  Judah. 
Paul  had  stated  the  Christian  attitude — '  Though 
there  be  that  are  called  gods,  ...  to  us  there  is 
one  God,  the  Father,  of  whom  are  all  things,  and  we 
unto  him ;  and  one  Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  through 
whom  are  all  things,  and  Ave  through  him '  (1  Co  85L). 
The  Christian  who  worshipped  the  '  God  and  Father 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ '  could  not  fall  in  with  the 
prevalent  syncretism  which  implied  that  every  god 
was  as  good  as  another,  and  every  religion  a  matter 
of  nationality.  The  Empire  had  experienced  the 
same  exclusiveness  in  the  case  of  Judah,  and  had, 
in  the  interest  of  tranquillity,  made  allowance  for 
it  by  extending  to  the  Jew  privileges  which  were 
denied  to  every  other  dependent  people.  But 
Judaism  could  advance  the  plea  that  it  was  a 
national  religion.  Roman  Emperors  had  found  it 
necessary  to  legislate  against  aggressive  missionary 
activity  whether  on  the  part  of  Jews  or  Christians. 
The  Pharisees  compassed  sea  and  land  to  make  one 
proselyte,  whilst  the  Christian  Church  from  the 
beginning  displayed  unparalleled  missionary  zeal, 
and  for  a  considerable  period  there  was  no  abate- 
ment in  its  enthusiasm.  Marcus  Aurelius  published 
an  edict  against  those  who  caused  tumults  by 
introducing  new  worships,  whilst  a  succeeding 
Emperor  prohibited  Christians  and  Jews  from 
making  converts. 

When  we  bear  in  mind  the  missionary  zeal  of 
the  early  Church,  and  the  tremendous  religious 
conviction  which  it  presupposes,  it  seems  an  extra- 
ordinary thing  that  the  charge  of  atheism  was 
brought  against  the  Christians.  But  it  is  quite 
intelligible  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  prevalent 
polytheism.  The  Christians  refused  to  worship 
any  of  the  gods  of  the  Graeco-Roman  world. 
Whereas  the  literature  of  the  age  suggests  that 
religion  was  a  diminishing  force  in  the  life  of  the 
Empire,  it  is  universally  admitted  that  the  gods 
were  very  real  beings  to  the  masses.  Even  among 
the  upper  classes  there  was  more  affectation  than 
conviction  in  the  scepticism  which  they  aired. 
Despite  the  contemptuous  references  to  the  super- 


stitions which  prevailed  in  different  parts  of  the 
Empire,  the  genuine  Roman  was  steeped  in 
superstition.  Paul  might  justly  have  said  of  the 
Empire  what  he  said  of  Athens — '  I  perceive  that 
ye  are  somewhat  religious'  (Ac  1722).  The  whole 
Roman  world  was  '  unusually  addicted  to  the  wor- 
ship of  divinities.'  *  It  was  inevitable  that  heathen 
worshippers  should  call  Christians  '  atheists,'  for 
they  refused  to  recognize  their  gods,  and  their 
refusal  implied  disbelief  in  their  existence,  or  at 
any  rate  in  their  power.  Not  only  did  Christians 
refuse  to  take  part,  on  the  occasion  of  great  public 
festivals,  in  the  cult  of  the  gods,  but  their  religion 
seemed  to  lack  all  the  visible  symbols  of  religion. 
The  spiritual  religion  of  the  Christian  was  no  re- 
ligion to  the  masses  in  Roman  towns.  How  could 
religion  without  temples,  altars,  sacrifices,  possess 
any  value?  It  also  happened  that  imprudent  en- 
thusiasts showed  little  respect  for  the  altars  and 
the  temples  of  the  gods.  Their  conduct  was  sacri- 
lege, and  sacrilege  and  atheism  were  synonymous 
terms.  Polytheism  prevailed  throughout  the 
Empire,  and  in  such  a  world  the  uncompromising 
monotheism  of  Christians  was  atheism,  for  it  denied 
the  existence  of  the  numerous  gods  which  were 
worshipped  in  different  parts  of  the  Empire.  Paul 
had  already  said  that  'the  things  which  the 
Gentiles  sacrifice  they  sacrifice  to  devils  and  not  to 
God'  (1  Co  1020).  The  representative  of  paganism 
in  the  Apology  of  Minucius  Felix  states  in  regard 
to  Christians  :  '  They  despise  the  temples  as  dead 
houses  ;  they  scorn  the  gods ;  they  mock  sacred 
things.' f  Their  Christianity  required  that  atti- 
tude, but  it  gave  point  to  the  charge  of  atheism, 
for  the  masses  believed  in  gods,  but  not  in  God. 

But  the  patriotic  Roman  accused  Christians  of 
atheism  for  another  reason,  and  here  atheism 
implied  treason  to  the  Empire,  or  Use-majest6. 
Rome  tolerated  the  worship  of  various  gods,  but 
this  tolerance  was  simply  political  expediency. 
The  result  was  a  vast  heterogeneous  Empire  con- 
sisting of  various  races,  with  various  religions  held 
together  as  much  by  the  universal  dread  of  the 
Roman  army  as  by  the  widespread  respect  for 
Roman  justice.  Another  bond  of  union,  religious 
in  character,  was  necessary  to  secure  the  unity  of 
the  Empire.  The  'genius  of  the  Roman  people' 
was  an  object  of  worship  as  far  back  as  the  3rd 
cent,  in  the  history  of  Rome.  It  combined  religion 
and  patriotism.  When  the  Roman  Empire  was 
established,  and  the  powers  of  the  State  were 
centred  in  the  Emperor,  the  cult  of  '  the  genius  of 
the  Roman  people '  became  the  worship  of  Csesar. 
Caesar- worship  became  the  Imperial  religion  ;  '  "it 
was  the  spiritual  symbol  of  the  political  union," 'J 
and  as  such  it  formed  a  test  of  loyalty.  Antiochus 
Epiphanes  ruled  over  a  similar,  but  smaller  Empire. 
He  endeavoured  to  solve  the  problem  by  stamping 
out  national  customs  and  universalizing  Greek 
culture.  Rome  allowed  national  cults  to  remain, 
but  demanded  on  the  part  of  each  conquered  people 
the  cult  of  the  Emperor.  The  eastern  part  of  the 
Empire  welcomed  this  Imperial  religion  ;  towns 
vied  with  each  other  in  erecting  temples  to  Caesar, 
and  in  holding  religious  festivals  in  honour  of  the 
Imperial  divinity.  But  the  Jew  was  exempted  ; 
the  proposal  of  Caligula  to  place  his  statue  in  the 
Temple  roused  fierce  opposition,  and  the  Emperor 
was  forced  to  abandon  his  plan.  It  was  in  con- 
nexion with  these  religious  celebrations  that  out- 
breaks of  popular  persecution  occurred.  It  may 
be  assumed  that  the  authorities  looked  on  with 
acquiescence,  for  the  martyrs  had  refused  to  join 
in  the  worship  of  the  Beast  (Rev  21S  138- ls).  Rome 
required  an  act  of  idolatry  as  evidence  of  loyalty 

*  Century  Bible,  'Acts,'  Edinburgh,  1901,  p.  30L 

t  Octavius,  8. 

j  Workman,  Persecution  in  the  Early  Church,  p.  89. 


PERSECUTION 


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177 


to  the  Empire.  To  that  Imperial  rule  Christians 
would  not  conform.  '  For  the  Christian  there  was 
but  one  Lord  and  Master,  to  whom  he  owned  su- 
preme allegiance ;  this  he  was  prepared  to  prove 
by  the  renunciation  of  all  things,  even  life  itself. 
For  the  Christian  the  unity  of  the  race  was  sym- 
bolized not  by  a  Tiberius  or  a  Marcus  Aurelius, 
but  by  the  incarnation  of  Jesus  Christ.'  *  To  the 
Roman  representative  it  seemed  a  simple  matter, 
but  to  the  Christian  acquiescence  would  have  been 
equivalent  to  the  renunciation  of  his  faith.  The 
watchword  of  the  Zealots,  'no  king  but  Jehovah,' 
was  equivalent  to  'no  alien  ruler  in  Judah.'  It 
was  a  direct  challenge — and  it  was  intended  to  be 
such — to  Roman  domination.  Our  Lord  had  stated 
in  the  presence  of  Pilate  that  His  Kingship  and 
His  Kingdom  were  not  'of  this  world.'  Yet  the 
ideals  and  therefore  the  interests  of  the  two 
kingdoms — the  kingdom  of  Caesar  and  the  Kingdom 
of  Christ — often  clashed,  with  the  result  that  it 
was  impossible  to  be  a  loyal  subject  of  Caesar  and 
a  faithful  follower  of  Christ,  and  Rome  had  in- 
geniously devised  a  way  of  compelling  Christians 
to  submit  to  their  Emperor  or  to  deny  their  Lord. 
To  them  '  Christ  was  Lord,'  and  they  would  not 
allow  any  mortal  man  to  claim  the  'Lordship'  which 
their  faith  attributed  to  Christ. 

Gatherings  of  Christians  for  prayer  and  wor- 
ship were  looked  upon  as  secret  societies,  and 
popular  imagination  ran  riot  in  surmising  what 
transpired.  It  is  possible  that  Paul's  counsel, 
'greet  one  another  with  an  holy  kiss,' had  been 
too  literally  and  too  lavishly  interpreted.  In  any 
case  the  practice  of  the  '  kiss  of  peace '  suggested 
diverse  abominations  to  the  vivid  and  impure  mind 
of  the  masses.  The  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  and  the  holding  of  love-feasts  were  capable 
of  various  interpretations.  The  coarse  mind  of 
the  age  looked  upon  them  as  'Thyestean  feasts 
and  Oedipodean  incest.'  But  whilst  popular 
imagination  busied  itself  with  the  practices  carried 
on  at  these  gatherings  of  Christians,  it  was  their 
secrecy  that  roused  the  suspicion  of  the  authorities. 
Mutual  benefit  societies  or  clubs  abounded  in 
different  parts  of  the  Empire.  But  they  were 
subject  to  rigid  supervision,  and  they  were  per- 
mitted in  accordance  with  laws  which  were  rigidly 
enforced.  They  might  easily  degenerate  into 
secret  societies  of  a  dangerous  character.  Caecilius, 
who  speaks  in  the  name  of  paganism  in  the  Apology 
of  Minucius  Felix,  describes  Christians  as  '  a  people 
who  skulk  and  shun  the  light  of  day.'t  It  was  a 
common  charge  against  them  that  they  separated 
themselves  and  broke  away  from  the  rest  of  man- 
kind. £  The  Imperial  authorities  were  suspicious 
of  such  clandestine  gatherings,  for  they  might  be 
held  with  the  sole  object  of  fomenting  political 
disaffection. 

Whilst  Christianity  gradually  roused  the  sus- 
picion of  the  Emperors  and  their  representatives, 
it  evoked  the  contempt  and  the  hatred  of  the 
people  at  large.  The  educated  classes  looked  with 
contempt  upon  what  Tacitus  described  as  a  '  pesti- 
lent superstition,'  and  this  was  the  attitude  of 
Rome  even  to  many  national  cults  which,  for 
political  reasons,  it  allowed  conquered  nations  to 
continue,  but  especially  to  the  Christian  religion. 
The  upper  classes,  with  all  their  scepticism,  would 
hold  in  respect  the  traditional  religion  of  Rome, 
for  everything  that  was  characteristically  Roman 
appealed  to  their  patriotism,  but  there  were  many 
things  connected  with  the  Christian  religion  for 
which  the  typical  Roman  would  entertain  no  feel- 
ing except  contempt.  The  Christian  ideal  would 
not  make  any  appeal  to  the  Roman  temperament. 

*  Workman,  Persecution  in  the  Early  Church,  p.  100. 
t  Oetavius,  8. 

J  Tert.  Apol.  31,  42 ;  Ep.  ad  Diogn.  5-7. 
VOL.  II. — 12 


The  stoical  ideal  was  more  to  the  taste  of  the 
typical  Roman.  The  symbol  of  Christianity  is 
the  Cross,  which  stands  for  self-sacrifice  and  self- 
renunciation.  That  would  make  little  impression 
in  Rome,  where  self-assertion  and  self-aggrandize- 
ment were  the  dominant  virtues.  The  Roman  was 
a  born  ruler.  He  was  the  superman  of  the  ancient 
world.  The  gospel  of  the  Cross  would  not  be 
likely  to  make  a  deep  impression  on  the  average 
Roman.  His  contempt  for  it  would  be  greatly 
increased  when  the  constitution  of  the  churches 
was  observed.  For  some  time  they  consisted 
entirely  of  the  lower  classes.  '  Not  many  mighty, 
not  many  noble,'  were  enrolled  among  the  followers 
of  the  Nazarene  (1  Co  I26'28).  It  was  not  simply 
rhetorical  exaggeration  on  the  part  of  Celsus  (c. 
A.D.  178)  when  he  wrote:  'If  a  man  be  educated 
let  him  keep  clear  of  us  Christians ;  we  want  no 
men  of  wisdom,  no  men  of  sense ;  we  account  all 
such  as  evil.  No ;  but  if  there  be  one  who  is  in- 
experienced, or  stupid,  or  untaught,  let  him  come 
with  good  heart ' ;  '  they  are  weavers,  shoemakers, 
fullers,  illiterate  clowns.'  *  '  Men  collected  from  the 
lowest  dregs  of  the  people ;  ignorant,  credulous 
women,'  is  the  description  given  in  the  Apology  of 
Minucius  Felix  by  the  spokesman  of  paganism.! 
The  upper  classes  would  despise  a  superstition 
which  seemed  to  attract  only  their  slaves. 

Many  so-called  persecutions,  as  we  shall  see, 
were  popular  outbreaks,  and  reveal  the  deep  hatred 
which  the  populace  felt  towards  Christians  ;  and 
the  reasons  for  this  unpopularity  are  not  far  to 
seek.  We  can  see  from  Acts  that  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel  interfered  with  'vested  interests'  and 
provoked  violent  opposition.  The  fortune-tellers 
in  Philippi  (Ac  1619)  and  the  silversmiths  in 
Ephesus  (1924)  had  no  difficulty  in  creating  a  riot, 
but  they  were  careful  to  conceal  their  true  motive. 
In  Philippi  the  ringleaders  appealed  to  the  patriot- 
ism of  the  city,  whilst  in  Ephesus  they  took  advan- 
tage of  the  superstitious  propensities  of  the  masses. 

We  have  already  suggested  that  Christianity 
involved  a  new  principle  of  division.  To  the 
Roman  who  believed  in  a  united  Empire,  Christi- 
anity was  a  divisive  force,  and  as  such  fraught 
with  danger  to  the  Empire.  In  the  case  of 
families  this  was  peculiarly  distressful.  Jesus 
Christ  had  already  warned  His  disciples  that  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel  would  produce  family 
quarrels.  Christianity  would  set  a  man  at  vari- 
ance with  his  father,  and  the  daughter  with 
her  mother  (Mt  10M).  It  was  in  this  connexion 
that  our  Lord  used  the  words,  '  I  came  not  to  send 
peace,  but  a  sword.'  His  forecast  was  literally 
fulfilled,  and  this  introduction  of  strife  into  family 
life  was  undoubtedly  a  fruitful  cause  of  many 
violent  outbreaks ;  and  the  representatives  of 
Roman  law  and  order  were  not  always  disposed 
to  quell  such  disorder,  as  they  shared  in  this 
widespread  contempt  and  hatred. 

But  what  roused  the  hatred  of  all  classes  more 
than  anything  else  was  the  seemingly  super- 
cilious aloofness  of  Christians  from  the  life  of 
society.  Jesus  Christ  had  said  before  Pilate  that 
the  Kingdom  He  represented  was  spiritual,  and 
therefore  not  a  rival  kingdom  to  the  Empire  which 
the  proconsul  represented  (Jn  1836).  Paul  and 
Peter  maintained  that  it  was  possible  to  be  citizens 
of  the  Roman  Empire  and  members  of  the  King- 
dom of  Heaven.  Nevertheless  the  two  kingdoms 
sometimes  clashed,  and  their  ideals  came  into 
violent  conflict.  The  consistent  Christian  found 
that  it  was  not  possible  to  be  a  citizen  of  the 
Kingdom  of  which  Jesus  was  the  Founder,  and 

*  Origen,  c.  Celsum,  ill.  44,  66. 

t  J.  H,  Newman,  Grammar  of  Assent,  London,  1870,  p.  462, 
quoted  by  W.  E.  Addis,  Christianity  and  the  Roman  Empire, 

p.  57. 


178 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION 


participate  in  all  the  activities  and  frivolities 
which  were  enjoined  by  the  representatives  of  the 
Empire  of  Csesar.  Not  many  years  had  elapsed 
when  the  followers  of  Jesus  perceived  the  full 
force  of  His  words — '  because  ye  are  not  of  the 
world,  therefore  the  world  hateth  you '  (Jn  1519). 
The  Christian  witnessed  every  day  many  things 
which  were  opposed  to  the  gospel  which  he  had 
embraced.  He  was  in  duty  bound  to  stand  aloof. 
He  was  exhorted  to  live  at  peace  with  all  men — 
'as  much  as  in  you  lieth'  (Ro  1218).  The  words 
involved  a  significant  reminder.  The  modification 
arose,  not  from  the  weakness  of  human  nature, 
but  from  the  uncompromising  nature  of  the 
gospel.  There  were  limits  beyond  which  com- 
pliance with  the  requirements  of  the  Empire  im- 
plied disloyalty  to  the  Christian  ideal.  The 
Christian  believer  was  permitted — and  urged — to 
submit  to  all  the  laws  of  the  Empire  provided  such 
submission  did  not  involve  any  violation  of  the 
principles  of  the  Kingdom.  When  the  ideals  and 
interests  of  the  two  Empires  clashed,  to  doubt  on 
the  part  of  the  Christian  would  be  disloyalty,  and 
to  falter  would  be  sin.  The  Edict  of  Toleration 
extended  freedom  of  belief  and  worship,  provided 
respect  for  the  established  laws  of  the  Empire  was 
preserved.  The  gospel  permitted  to  the  Christian 
community  the  right  to  discharge  their  duties 
freely  as  subjects  of  Rome  provided  due  respect  to 
the  principles  and  ideals  of  the  Kingdom  was 
preserved.  The  Christian  believer  was  primarily 
a  citizen  of  the  Kingdom,  and  only  secondarily  a 
subject  of  the  Empire.  His  first  concern  was  to 
seek  the  Kingdom  of  God.  When  the  Empire 
transcended  these  limits  which  his  gospel  defined 
for  the  Christian,  there  was  no  alternative  for  him 
but  that  attitude  which  Marcus  Aurelius  described 
as  'sheer  obstinacy.'  The  Empire  of  Caesar  did 
not  understand  religious  conviction,  or  else  it 
would  not  recognize  its  right  to  exist.  But  con- 
science has  reasons  of  which  political  expediency 
knows  nothing.  During  this  dark  and  tragic 
period  the  Christian  Church  defended  '  the  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  had  made  men  free.'  Christi- 
anity had  brought  within  men's  reach  another 
Kingdom  than  that  of  Rome.  The  Christian 
believer  could  see  the  '  new  Jerusalem  coming  down 
from  above' — near  enough  to  earth  for  him  to 
enrol  himself  as  a  member  of  it.  It  was  a  Kingdom 
of  superb  ideals,  and  it  was  a  Kingdom  that  would 
not  perish.  Nineveh  and  Babylon  had  been  buried 
in  the  dust  of  the  desert.  Jerusalem  was  in  ruins. 
The  same  fate  would  overtake  Rome.  But  the 
Christian  'looked  for  the  city  which  hath  the 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God'  (He 
II10).  Inspired  by  this  hope  the  Christian  stood 
aloof  from  the  life  of  the  town  in  which  he  lived. 
He  abstained  from  many  of  the  ordinary  duties  of 
citizenship.  He  was  hated  for  his  '  hatred  of  the 
human  race,'  in  other  words,  for  his  rejection  of 
the  aims  and  ideals  of  Rome  as  embodied  in 
society  and  religion. 

It  was  only  in  the  slow  course  of  time  that 
the  intrinsic  incompatibility  of  the  principles  of 
Christianity  and  of  the  ideals  of  the  Empire  became 
obvious,  (a)  Christian  theology  came  into  collision 
with  the  confused  polytheism  of  the  Empire ;  (b) 
Christianity  as  a  personal  religion  conflicted  with 
the  collective  or  national  religions  of  the  Empire. 
(c)  The  lofty  ethical  ideal  of  Christianity,  on  its 
two  sides  of  holiness  and  love,  was  antagonistic  to 
paganism,  on  its  two  sides  of  worldliness  and 
selfishness.  The  conflict  between  the  two  ideals 
grew  in  intensity  as  the  truth  of  Christianity  was 
unfolded  in  credal  statement  and  moral  character, 
for  the  ideals  of  the  Empire  were  visible  in  the 
customs  and  practices  of  society.  Christianity 
could  not  be  itself  without  giving  offence  to  the 


Empire.  In  view  of  this  intrinsic  incompatibility, 
it  was  inevitable  that  the  Empire  should  attempt 
to  put  down  Christianity,  or  that  Christianity 
should  replace  the  ideals  of  the  Empire  by  its 
own  ;  but  such  a  substitution  of  ideals  is  im- 
possible on  a  national  scale,  for  Christianity  works 
upon  society  through  the  individual.  There  was 
a  third  alternative.  The  Empire  and  Christianity 
might  come  to  an  understanding  by  effecting  a 
compromise  of  ideals.  It  is  obvious  that  the 
Christianity  which  was  adopted  by  the  Empire 
was  not  the  pure  religion  and  undefined  of  the 
Gospels  and  Epistles.  The  Roman  Empire  did  not 
adopt  a  policy  of  persecution  from  the  commence- 
ment. The  attitude  of  Rome  towards  Christianity 
was  foreshadowed  in  the  attitude  of  Gallic  to  the 
arraignment  of  the  Christian  evangelists  by  their 
Jewish  adversaries.  Rome  cared  for  none  of  these 
things.  Christianity  was  simply  a  religious  con- 
troversy within  Judaism,  and  for  a  considerable 
period  no  danger  to  the  Empire  was  suspected.  It 
was  not  of  sufficient  importance  for  historians 
like  Tacitus  (Ann.  xv.  44)  and  Suetonius  (Claudius, 
25)  to  pay  any  serious  attention  to  it.  They  dis- 
missed it  in  a  few  contemptuous  words  as  a  '  pes- 
tilent' or  'magical'  superstition.  The  desperate 
efforts  which  the  Jews  made  to  involve  Christians 
in  a  charge  of  high  treason  prove  that  Rome  would 
consider  only  the  political  possibilities  of  the  new 
religion.  But  it  soon  became  clear  that  Christi- 
anity was  distinct  from  Judaism  and  even  antagon- 
istic to  it.  The  violent  opposition  which  the  Jews 
offered  to  the  new  movement  wras  sufficient  evi- 
dence that  Christianity  was  not  an  offshoot  of 
Judaism.  It  was  also  equally  evident  that  Christi- 
anity inherited  many  of  the  outstanding  character- 
istics of  Judaism,  especially  its  exclusiveness  and 
intolerance — in  other  words,  its  claim  to  be  the 
religion.  Rome  had  recognized  this  peculiar 
feature  of  Judaism,  and  had  made  allowance  for 
it,  in  the  interest  of  peace  and  order,  and  also  on 
the  ground  of  its  being  an  old  national  religion. 
Rome  paid  great  deference  to  ancestral  faiths  ;  in 
one  sense  the  Imperial  religion — apart  from  the 
worship  of  the  Emperor — was  a  congeries  of 
national  cults. 

Even  when  Christianity  was  seen  to  be  an  inde- 
pendent movement,  Gentile  as  much  as  Jewish,  it 
was  for  a  time  beneath  Imperial  notice.  Persecu- 
tions of  a  kind  there  were  from  the  time  of  Nero 
(A.D.  54-68),  but  they  were  not  decreed  by  the 
Imperial  authorities.  They  were  isolated  occur- 
rences, and  generally  the  outcome  of  popular 
indignation  aroused  by  local  causes  ;  and  as  Roman 
officials  generally  shared  the  popular  hatred  of 
Christians,  they  were  not  too  careful  to  quell 
outbreaks  of  violence  on  the  part  of  enraged  mobs 
in  various  towns.  The  words  of  Suetonius — 
'  Judoeos  impulsore  Chresto  assidue  tumultuantes 
Roma  expulit '  [viz.  Claudius] — do  not  refer  to  the 
expulsion  of  Christians  from  Rome  on  account  of 
their  Christianity.  The  historian  makes  a  blunder- 
ing reference  to  unseemly  controversies  among  the 
Jews  of  the  city  with  regard  to  the  claim  made 
by  Christians  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah.  They 
were  banished  not  because  they  had  embraced 
the  gospel,  but  as  disturbers  of  the  peace. 

7.  Persecution  of  Christians  by  the  Roman 
Empire. — The  persecution  of  Christians  in  the 
time  of  Nero  (A.D.  54-68)  is  a  noteworthy  example 
of  the  cruel  treatment  meted  out  to  them  in 
different  parts  of  the  Empire,  with  this  difference, 
that  the  outbreak  in  Rome  was  due  to  the  in- 
stigation of  the  Emperor,  whereas  similar  violences 
elsewhere  were  possible  through  the  connivance 
of  the  Imperial  officials.  The  general  hatred  of 
Christians  accounts  for  the  readiness  with  which 
the  populace  accepted  Nero's  diabolical  insinuation 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION 


179 


that  the  Christians  were  the  originators  of  the 
disastrous  h're  which  demolished  portions  of  the 
city.  We  have  already  referred  to  the  superstitious 
fears  of  the  masses.  Calamities  were  evidence  of 
the  wrath  of  the  gods,  and  it  was  a  common  belief 
that  the  atheism  of  the  Christians  was  one  of  the 
chief  causes  of  misfortunes.  Tertullian  has  summed 
up  the  popular  attitude  in  the  well-known  words, 
'  They  think  the  Christians  to  blame  for  every 
public  calamity,  for  every  loss  that  afflicts  the 
people.  If  the  Tiber  rises  to  the  walls,  if  the  Nile 
does  not  rise  over  the  fields,  if  the  sky  gives  no 
rain,  if  the  earth  quakes,  if  there  is  famine  or 
plague,  immediately  the  shout  is  raised,  "To  the 
lions  with  the  Christians  ! " '  *  The  words  were 
written  at  a  much  later  period,  but  they  were  true  of 
the  popular  feelingf  rom  the  beginning.  When  it  was 
necessary  to  assuage  the  anger  of  the  gods,  victims 
were  selected  whose  death  gave  as  much  satisfac- 
tion to  the  persons  who  ottered  them  as  to  the 
deities.  It  is  evident  that  Nero  when  he  realized 
the  state  of  things  turned  popular  attention  from 
himself  by  fixing  it  on  the  Christian  community. 
It  was  an  astute  move,  for  it  was  currently 
rumoured  that  Christians  looked  forward  to  the 
dissolution  of  the  present  order  of  things.  Peter 
gave  expression  to  the  current  belief  when  he 
wrote  :  '  The  heavens  shall  pass  away  with  a  great 
noise,  and  the  elements  shall  be  dissolved  with 
fervent  heat,  and  the  earth  and  the  works  that  are 
therein  will  be  burned  up '  (2  P  310).  Such  instances 
of  mob  law  are  a  lurid  reflexion  on  the  administration 
of  justice,  even  in  the  heart  of  the  Empire.  But  it 
may  be  urged  that  Nero  is  too  exceptional  a  case 
to  use  for  purposes  of  generalization.  It  is  this 
outbreak  of  ferocity  at  the  instigation  of  the 
Emperor  that  accounts  for  the  marked  difference 
of  tone  between  some  of  the  Epistles,  e.g.  Ro  131, 
2  Th  2s,  1  P  2U,  and  the  Apocalypse,  where  Rome  is 
'  the  woman  drunken  with  the  blood  of  the  saints  and 
with  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus '  (Rev  176). 

By  the  time  of  Domitian  (81-96)  it  was  becoming 
evident  that  the  Christian  religion  was  fraught 
with  danger  to  the  unity  and  solidarity  of  the 
Empire.  We  have  already  remarked  on  the  inevit- 
able tendency  of  the  gospel  to  produce  dissension 
even  within  the  small  circle  of  the  family.  Chris- 
tianity seemed  to  make  for  disruption,  not  for 
unity.  Rome  believed  in  national  religions.  This 
was  one  of  the  pillars  on  which  the  Empire  rested. 
It  was  clear  that  Christianity  undermined  one  of 
the  main  pillars  of  the  Imperial  fabric.  It  was  an  act 
of  disloyalty  for  a  citizen  of  the  Empire  to  embrace 
a  religion  that  ran  counter  to  every  other  religion. 
Domitian  took  steps  to  prevent  the  spread  of  this 
disruptive  religion  by  an  edict  which  forbade  aggres- 
sive missionary  activity  among  Roman  citizens. 

During  the  2nd  cent,  the  Empire  was  governed 
by  a  succession  of  rulers  as  famous  for  their  broad 
statesmanship  as  for  their  lofty  character  —  e.g., 
Trajan  (A.D.  98-117),  Hadrian  (A.D.  117-138), 
Antoninus  Pius  (A.D.  138-161)  and  Marcus  Aurelius 
(A.D.  161-180).  They  assumed  their  Imperial  duties 
with  a  due  sense  of  the  responsibility  of  their 
position.  They  shared  the  view  that  the  Christian 
religion  was  inimical  to  the  interests  of  the  Empire. 
They  were  agreed  that  its  adherents  must  be 
coerced  into  acceptance  of  the  official  religion — 
especially  the  cult  of  the  Emperor.  They  were 
truly  Roman  in  their  assumption  that  the  safety 
of  the  Empire  was  the  supreme  consideration.  The 
individual  must  sink  his  personal  interests  or  idio- 
syncrasies and  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  the 
State ;  that  was  the  highest  virtue.  '  Civis  Romanus 
sum'  was  less  an  assertion  of  rights  than  a  re- 
cognition of  duties.  The  individual  possessed  no 
rights  except  such  as  the  State  granted.  '  Con- 
•  Apol.  40. 


science'  had  no  existence,  and  'conscientious 
objection'  had  no  meaning  in  the  Roman  Empire. 

By  the  end  of  the  century  the  Imperial  authori- 
ties came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  time  had 
arrived  when  the  policy  of  the  Empire  in  reference 
to  Christianity  must  be  defined.  The  new  religion 
was  gathering  strength,  and  it  was  sufficiently 
powerful  to  merit  the  serious  attention  of  the 
throne.  In  connexion  with  the  reign  of  Trajan 
(A.D.  98-117)  reference  must  be  made  to  the  signifi- 
cant correspondence  between  the  Emperor  and  one 
of  his  provincial  governors,  viz.  Pliny  the  Younger, 
who  was  proprietor  of  the  province  of  Bithynia 
Pontus(A.D.  110).  In  his  communication  to  Trajan, 
Pliny  refers  to  the  numerical  strength  of  Christians 
in  his  province.  The  heathen  temples  were  deserted. 
It  does  not  follow  that  this  was  the  situation  in 
other  parts  of  the  Empire.  He  acquitted  Christians 
who  were  prepared  to  renounce  Christ  and  sacrifice 
to  the  gods  of  the  Empire.  He  condemned  others, 
not  on  the  ground  of  their  Christianity,  but  of  their 
refusal  to  recant  and  fall  in  with  the  official  religion 
of  the  Empire,  i.e.  on  the  ground  of  their  obstinacy. 
Such  an  attitude  was  impossible  in  a  subject  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  It  violated  the  fundamental  idea 
of  citizenship.  Pliny  commends  Christians  for  their 
morality.  They  were  under  a  pledge  to  abstain 
from  every  crime.  Trajan  in  his  reply  approves  of 
the  propraetor's  action,  but  lays  down  two  conditions, 
viz.  that  Christians  must  not  be  sought  out,  and 
that  anonymous  accusations  must  be  prohibited. 
Whereas  Christians  were  entitled  to  a  fair  trial, 
yet  in  the  light  of  this  correspondence  they  were 
outlaws,  for  the  condition  of  retaining  their  civic 
rights  as  subjects  of  the  Empire,  or  even  of  their 
personal  safety,  was  the  denial  of  their  religion. 
Their  lif  edepended  on  their  ceasing  to  be  Christians. 
Trajan  made  it  plain  that  it  was  possible  to 
take  action  against  the  adherents  of  Christianity 
without  any  special  legislation,  inasmuch  as  there 
were  aspects  of  Christianity  which  contravened  the 
existing  laws.  Popular  outbreaks  were  still  fre- 
quent, and  their  frequency  arose  from  the  fact  that 
the  authorities  were  not  likely  to  interfere.  Never- 
theless Hadrian  issued  an  edict  in  which  he  de- 
manded for  Christians  the  right  of  a  fair  and 
judicial  investigation. 

Antoninus  Pius  (138-161)  and  Marcus  Aurelius 
(161-180)  were  men  of  outstanding  virtues ;  they 
admired  and  embodied  the  old  Roman  spirit,  and 
they  endeavoured  to  bring  the  Empire  back  to  the 
old  paths  ;  but  they  attempted  the  impossible,  and 
Christianity  was  the  most  formidable  obstacle  to 
the  carrying  out  of  their  policy  of  a  united  Empire. 
Christianity  was  anarchical  in  its  emphasis  on  the 
individual.  It  encouraged  individualism  ;  Marcus 
Aurelius  looked  upon  it  as  '  sheer  obstinacy.'  The 
Empire  was  a  vast  machine,  and  any  tendency  to 
freedom  of  action  or  independence  threw  the  whole 
machine  out  of  gear.  Roman  subjects  were  simply 
parts  of  one  stupendous  whole,  and  the  efficient 
working  of  the  whole  would  be  secured  through  the 
complete  subordination  of  the  individual  parts.  In 
their  official  capacity  these  Emperors  would  look 
with  complete  disfavour  upon  a  religion  which  set  the 
individual  even  above  the  State.  Apart  from  this, 
the  gospel  would  make  no  great  impression  on  the 
typical  Roman  temperament;  it  lacked  the  strength 
and  robustness  of  Stoicism.  Its  adherents  dis- 
played excessive  zeal  and  enthusiasm,  and  nothing 
was  more  obnoxious  to  the  Roman  who  had  learnt 
complete  self-mastery. 

In  the  3rd  cent,  the  situation  changed,  and 
Christianity  advanced  by  leaps  and  bounds.  The 
stigma  of  being  the  religion  of  the  lower  classes 
had  been  removed,  for  it  was  no  longer  true  that 
'not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble  are  called.' 
Christianity  had  very  largely  captured  the  intelli- 


180 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION 


gence  and  the  wealth  of  the  Empire.  The  attitude 
of  the  Emperors  had  changed.  Many  of  them — 
e.g.  Elagabalus  (A.D.  218-222),  Alexander  Severus 
(A.D.  222-235),  and  Philip  the  Arabian  (A.p.  244- 
249) — were  foreigners  who  had  worked  their  way 
to  the  head  of  the  army,  and  therefrom  to  the  Im- 
perial purple.  They  were  able  soldiers,  but  they 
were  not  statesmen,  and  they  were  not  interested 
in  the  retention  of  Roman  customs  and  institutions. 
Elagabalus  and  Alexander  Severus  were  of  Syrian 
origin  on  their  mother's  side,  and  they  were  natur- 
ally disposed  to  favour  Oriental  gods  and  customs. 
The  syncretism  of  the  age  found  a  vivid  illustra- 
tion in  the  strange  assortment  of  gods  which  Alex- 
ander Severus  brought  together  in  the  Imperial 
palace — viz.  images  of  Jesus  Christ,  Abraham, 
and  Orpheus.  During  this  period  Christianity 
made  rapid  and  astonishing  progress.  It  was  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  a  religio  licita.  The 
statesmanship  of  Antoninus  Pius  and  Marcus 
Aurelius  made  them  into  stern  opponents  of  the 
Christian  religion,  whilst  the  laxity  of  their  suc- 
cessors was  equivalent  to  tolerance — but  it  was  the 
tolerance  of  indifference. 

Decius  (249-251)  introduced  a  new  period  as 
regards  the  relationship  between  the  Church  and 
the  Empire.  The  Emperor  was  face  to  face  with  a 
formidable  foe.  The  Empire  was  threatened  on 
its  northern  and  western  frontiers  by  Franks  and 
'Goths.  It  was  a  matter  of  pressing  urgency  to 
consolidate  the  Empire  in  view  of  this  formidable 
danger.  The  view  prevailed  that  the  nation  could 
not  offer  a  united  front  to  an  external  foe  unless  it 
was  of  one  way  of  thinking  on  all  subjects.  Rome 
had  not  yet  discovered  that  religious  freedom  does 
not  issue  in  political  dissension.  Decius  was  an 
able  ruler,  and  he  saw  that  the  old  doctrine  of  the 
absoluteness  of  the  State  must  be  restored.  Re- 
cusancy must  be  for  ever  suppressed.  Decius 
inaugurated  the  first  general  persecution  of  Chris- 
tianity on  the  part  of  the  Empire.  This  was  a 
deliberate  effort  to  stamp  out  Christianity,  and 
the  repressive  measures  were  those  which  have 
been  generally  adopted  by  governments  in  all  lands 
when  they  have  attempted  to  suppress  religious 
liberty  and  establish  a  state  of  ecclesiastical  uni- 
formity. We  are  not  surprised  to  read  that  many 
failed  to  stand  the  test,  inasmuch  as  the  personnel 
of  the  Church  had  considerably  changed  during  the 
first  half  of  the  century.  Many  had  embraced  the 
gospel  who  were  complete  strangers  to  the  meaning 
and  demand  of  Christian  faith.  But  it  is  a  marvel- 
lous fact  that  there  were  in  various  parts  of  the 
Empire  men  and  women  in  large  numbers  who 
triumphantly  stood  the  test  and  endured  '  torture, 
not  accepting  deliverance.'  Valerian  (253-260) 
continued  the  repressive  measures  of  Decius — but 
with  added  violence.  Attendance  at  meetings  for 
Christian  worship  became  a  capital  offence.  The 
meeting-places  of  Christians  were  confiscated,  and 
all  subjects  of  the  Empire  were  required  to  conform 
to  the  Imperial  demands.  But  Christianity  had 
become  an  integral  part  of  the  life  of  the  Empire, 
and  the  successors  of  Valerian  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  they  had  undertaken  an  impossible 
task.  The  Church  enjoyed  peace  for  a  considerable 
period,  and  during  this  period  it  fortified  its  posi- 
tion to  such  an  extent  that  the  organizers  of  the 
next  general  persecution  undertook  a  still  more 
hopeless  task. 

For  nineteen  years  after  his  accession  Diocletian 
(284-305)  carried  on  the  policy  of  his  immediate 
predecessors.  He  was  one  of  the  most  statesmanlike 
Emperors  that  ever  occupied  the  Imperial  throne. 
He  was  in  a  sense  the  successor  of  the  Emperors 
of  the  2nd  cent.,  and  attempted  to  cany  out 
their  policy  of  consolidating  the  Empire.  In  the 
government  of  the  Empire  he  secured  the  services 


of  a  colleague,  and  in  addition  he  appointed  two 
assistant  Emperors.  In  the  West  Maximin  ruled 
as  Augustus,  and  had  Constantius  Chlorus  as  his 
Caesar,  whilst  Diocletian  associated  with  himself 
Galerius  as  his  Caesar.  Galerius  was  an  extremely 
able  soldier,  and  it  was  his  influence  that  weighed 
with  Diocletian  in  his  decision  to  resume  the  policy 
of  Decius.  In  the  West  there  was  peace,  for 
Constantius  was  favourably  disposed  towards  the 
Christian  religion.  It  was  the  festival  of  the 
Roman  god  Terminus  in  Nicomedia,  the  new 
capital  of  the  Empire,  that  marked  the  commence- 
ment of  the  persecution  under  Diocletian.  On  an 
occasion  like  this  men  would  vie  with  each  other  in 
words  and  deeds  expressive  of  their  patriotism,  and 
the  absence  of  the  Christian  section  of  the  popula- 
tion would  be  marked.  Whilst  the  people  were 
assembled  together  to  celebrate  the  cult  of  the 
Emperor,  the  Christians  would  be  gathered  together 
in  their  own  church.  We  are  not  surprised  that 
the  destruction  of  this  church  was  the  beginning 
of  hostilities. 

Four  edicts  were  published,  and  each  one  pos- 
sessed its  distinctive  features.  The  first  edict 
required  the  instant  demolition  of  all  churches  and 
the  burning  of  all  Bibles.  Christians  who  refused 
to  conform  were  deprived  of  all  civil  rights,  and 
they  were  placed  beyond  the  pale  of  the  laws  of 
the  Empire.  The  second  edict  was  especially 
directed  against  the  officials  of  the  Church,  whilst 
the  third  offered  release  to  the  imprisoned  clergy 
who  were  prepared  to  recant,  and  further  torture 
in  case  of  refusal.  The  fourth  edict  held  out  to  all 
Christians,  laymen  and  clergy,  the  choice  between 
death  and  sacrifice.  Although  persecution  was  not 
continuous  and  not  universal  throughout  the  Em- 
pire, Galerius  continued  his  policy  ;  but  on  the  eve 
of  his  death  he  attached  his  name,  along  with 
those  of  Constantine  (the  son  of  Constantius)  and 
Licinius,  to  the  first  Edict  of  Toleration,  pub- 
lished in  Nicomedia  in  A.D.  311.  The  edict,  in 
Gibbon's  translation,  is  as  follows  :  '  We  were  par- 
ticularly desirous  of  reclaiming,  into  the  way  of 
reason  and  nature,  the  deluded  Christians,  who  had 
renounced  the  religion  and  ceremonies  instituted 
by  their  fathers,  and,  presumptuously  despising 
the  practice  of  antiquity,  had  invented  extravagant 
laws  and  opinions,  according  to  the  dictates  of  their 
fancy,  and  had  collected  a  various  society  from  the 
different  provinces  of  our  empire.  The  edicts  which 
we  have  published  to  enforce  the  worship  of  the 
gods,  having  exposed  many  of  the  Christians  to 
danger  and  distress,  many  having  suffered  death, 
and  many  more,  who  still  persist  in  their  impious 
folly,  being  left  destitute  of  any  public  exercise  of 
religion,  we  are  disposed  to  extend  to  those  un- 
happy men  the  effects  of  our  wonted  clemency. 
We  permit  them,  therefore,  freely  to  profess  their 
private  opinions,  and  to  assemble  in  their  con- 
venticles without  fear  or  molestation,  provided 
always  that  they  preserve  a  due  respect  to  the 
established  laws  and  government.'* 

It  is  evident  that  the  organizers  of  this  attempt 
to  stamp  out  Christianity  expected  a  different  issue 
to  their  campaign  of  persecution.  They  were  not 
aware  of  the  strength  of  conviction  which  the 
faith  of  the  Christians  had  developed.  The  edict 
hints  at  the  Roman  belief  in  ancestral  religions. 
The  Imperial  objection  to  Christianity  is  given  in 
the  words  '  a  various  society  from  the  different 
provinces,'  whilst  the  closing  sentence  about 
'  respect  to  the  established  laws  '  is  a  reminder  of 
the  view  which  States  have  only  reluctantly 
abandoned — viz.  that  religious  freedom  is  fraught 
with  danger  to  the  State.  In  313  Constantine 
became  sole  Emperor  of  the  West  and  issued 
the  Edict  of  Milan — the  Magna  Carta  of  re- 
*  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  ii.»  132  f. 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION 


181 


ligious  liberty.  All  subjects  of  the  Empire  were 
granted  complete  freedom  of  worship.  But  this 
universal  toleration  was  not  of  long  duration. 
The  traditional  doctrine  in  regard  to  the  presup- 
positions of  a  united  Empire  reasserted  itself,  and 
Constantius  adopted  Christianity  as  the  Imperial 
religion  and  at  the  same  time  reduced  paganism  to 
a  religio  illicita.  The  adoption  of  Christianity 
as  tbe  religion  of  the  Empire  was  a  great  triumph 
for  the  gospel,  but  there  are  victories  which  are  as 
disastrous  as  defeats.  The  Church  had  to  pay  a 
heavy  price  for  promotion.  The  Emperor  demanded 
and  obtained  from  the  Christian  Church  the  homage 
and  submission  which  his  predecessors  enjoyed  in 
the  case  of  paganism.  The  friendship  of  Rome 
was  fraught  with  greater  danger  than  its  enmity. 
The  Church  lost  its  freedom  and  its  power.  The 
subsequent  persecution  of  paganism  was  not  due 
to  the  intolerance  of  the  Church.  One  of  the  out- 
standing motives  which  actuated  the  Empire  in  its 
attempt  to  stamp  out  Christianity  led  to  its  efforts 
to  suppress  paganism.  Imperial  unity  demanded 
ecclesiastical  uniformity.  During  the  reign  of 
Theodosius  the  Great,  paganism  was  finally 
abolished  by  a  series  of  enactments  similar  to 
those  adopted  by  previous  Emperors  in  their  efforts 
to  suppress  Christianity.  But  the  abolition  of 
paganism  by  Theodosius  was  as  unreal  as  the 
establishment  of  Christianity  by  Constantius. 
Religious  reforms  which  emanate  from  the  throne 
are  futile  ;  they  are  genuine  only  as  they  originate 
in  the  heart  of  a  people.  The  spirit  of  paganism 
lived  on  when  the  forms  and  institutions  of  the 
Christian  religion  had  been  universally  adopted. 
Yet  all  ancient  governments — and  some  modern — 
have  acted  on  the  assumption  that  ecclesiastical 
uniformity  alone  produces  and  guarantees  national 
unity.  In  the  most  progressive  European  countries 
it  is  accepted  that  political  unity  is  compatible 
with  full  religious  freedom. 

We  have  emphasized  the  fact  that  Rome  perse- 
cuted for  political  reasons.  It  was  the  safety  and 
stability  of  the  Empire  that  weighed  with  her 
Emperors.  But  it  is  necessary  to  guard  against  a 
common  misconception.  The  Empire  was  not  an 
irreligious  organization  that  opposed  the  spread  of 
religion.  It  possessed  its  official  religion ;  and  it 
was  necessary  for  those  in  authority,  in  spite  of 
the  prevalent  scepticism,  more  affected  than  real, 
to  provide  for  the  belief  which  prevailed,  that  the 
gods  existed  and  that  they  possessed  unlimited 
power  for  good  and  evil.  It  was  the  Imperial  view, 
strengthened  by  the  innate  conservatism  of  human 
nature  in  religous  matters,  that  the  existing 
religious  situation  was  better  adapted  and  even 
essential  to  the  social  and  political  needs  of  the 
Empire.  Rome  did  not  classifjr  religions  as  true  or 
false,  but  as  conducive  or  inimical  to  the  interests 
of  the  Empire. 

8.  Persecution  of  heretics  by  the  Roman  Church. 
— For  several  centuries  after  the  adoption  of 
Christianity  as  the  Imperial  religion  the  '  Holy 
Roman  Empire'  was  united  in  its  religious  life. 
Western  Europe  was  governed  by  a  '  theocracy '  ; 
the  Church  was  supreme.  Uniformity  of  thought 
and  worship  prevailed  throughout  the  civilized 
world.  But  it  was  the  uniformity  of  death  ;  there 
was  as  little  living  intellectuality  as  there  was 
vital  religion.  'Catholicism  was  then,'  writes 
Lecky , '  perfectly  in  accordance  with  the  intellectual 
wants  of  Europe.  It  was  not  a  tyranny,  for  the 
intellectual  latitude  it  permitted  was  fully  com- 
mensurate with  the  wants  of  the  people.  .  .  .  As 
long  as  a  church  is  so  powerful  as  to  form  the 
intellectual  condition  of  the  age,  to  supply  the 
standing-point  from  which  every  question  is  viewed, 
its  authority  will  never  be  disputed.'  *  Lecky 
*  Lecky,  Rationalism  in  Europe,  vol.  ii.  p.  31. 


thinks  only  of  the  intellectual  situation  in  Europe. 
But  the  same  explanation  applies  to  the  religious 
State;  Catholicism  was  in  accordance  with  the  religi- 
ous needs  of  the  period.  The  Renaissance  was  the 
intellectual  awakening  of  Europe,  and  the  Reforma- 
tion was  the  awakening-of  the  conscience  of  Europe, 
and  the  former  was  due  to  the  discovery  of  the 
literature  of  Greece  and  Rome  as  the  latter  resulted 
from  a  study  of  the  Gospels  and  Epistles.  For 
centuries  Western  Europe  had  embraced  the  intel- 
lectual system,  and,  of  course,  the  religious  customs 
which  the  Church  permitted.  Rome  dictated  to 
the  understanding  no  less  than  to  the  conscience 
of  the  West.  Towards  the  end  of  the  llth  cent, 
there  were  signs  of  awakening  dissatisfaction 
with  both  the  religion  and  the  creed  of  the  Church. 
But  the  way  of  the  innovator  was  hard.  By  the 
end  of  the  century  the  Church  had  attained  the 
zenith  of  its  influence,  and  before  the  middle  of 
the  13th  cent.  Rome  had  manufactured  her 
machine  for  the  repression  of  heresy  in  the  form 
of  the  Inquisition  (A.D.  1233),  and  the  period  of 
persecution  had  been  already  inaugurated  by 
Innocent  III.  in  the  persecution  of  the  Albigenses 
in  the  south  of  France  (1220).  All  rulers  were 
required  to  take  an  oath  that  they  would  ex- 
terminate from  their  dominions  all  those  who  were 
branded  as  heretics  by  the  Church,  and  the  uni- 
versal dread  of  the  papal  Interdict  reduced  to  abject 
submission  the  princes  and  sovereigns  of  Western 
Europe,  e.g.  King  John  of  England.  Statutes 
against  heresy  formed  integral  parts  of  the  legal 
system  of  all  Western  States,  e.g.  '  De  lueretico 
comburendo'  in  England  (1400-1676).  We  have 
observed  that  the  persecution  of  Christianity  by 
the  Roman  Empire  was  mainly  motived  by  political 
considerations.  In  ancient  Empires  the  central 
authority  was  absolute,  and  there  was  no  sphere  or 
activity  which  lay  outside  or  beyond  the  law  of 
the  realm.  It  was  suspected  that  the  enjoyment 
of  religious  freedom  would  bring  about  a  desire  for 
civil  liberty  and  thus  the  solidarity  of  the  Empire 
would  be  disturbed,  and  its  unity  imperilled. 
The  leaven  of  liberty  once  introduced  into  the  life 
of  a  people  would  gradually  spread  and  ultimately 
affect  the  whole  mass.  Rome  persecuted  the 
Church  because  religious  uniformity  was  essential 
to  the  unity  of  the  Empire,  and  paganism  was 
favourable,  whilst  Christianity  was  inimical  to  its 
stability  and  safety.  When  Christianity  became 
a  religio  licita  measures  were  adopted  to  keep  in 
check,  through  Imperial  supervision,  its  individual- 
istic and  anarchical  tendencies.  After  the  estab- 
lishment of  Christianity  Rome  crushed  paganism 
as  it  had  attempted  to  suppress  Christianity,  in 
order  to  safeguard  the  unity  of  the  Empire,  and 
according  to  the  political  creed  of  the  age  there 
was  no  reliable  unity  without  uniformity.  Rome's 
policy  was  the  suppression  of  political  insubordina- 
tion. The  Church,  on  the  other  hand,  persecuted 
on  religious  grounds.  Her  policy  was  the  repression 
of  heresy.  The  Church  had  formulated  her  theo- 
logical creed  and  had  elaborated  her  religious  cult, 
and  neither  theology  nor  cult  was  subject  to  re- 
vision or  innovation.  Lecky  thus  accounts  for 
the  adoption  of  persecution  by  the  Church  :  '  If 
men  believe  with  an  intense  and  realising  faith 
that  their  own  view  of  a  disputed  question  is 
true  beyond  all  possibility  of  mistake,  if  they 
further  believe  that  those  who  adopt  other  views 
will  be  doomed  by  the  Almighty  to  an  eternity  of 
misery  which,  with  the  same  moral  disposition  but 
with  a  different  belief,  they  would  have  escaped, 
these  men  will,  sooner  or  later,  persecute  to  the  full 
extent  of  their  poiver.' *  Persecutions  on  purely 
religious  grounds  originate  in  the  doctrine  of  ex- 
clusive salvation,  but  it  is  not  true  that  the  Church 
*  Lecky,  Rationalism  in  Europe,  vol.  ii.  p.  1. 


182 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION 


of  Rome  persecuted  solely  on  religious  grounds — 
whether  in  the  interest  of  the  heretic,  or  to  stamp 
out  heresy.  The  doctrine  embodied  in  the  words 
'  extra  ecclesiam  nulla  salus '  does  not  fully 
account  for  the  attitude  of  Rome.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  the  '  Holy  Roman  Empire ' 
inherited  the  traditions  of  its  pagan  predecessor. 
It  also  inherited  the  Imperial  passion  for  universal 
dominion.  But  the  Imperialism  of  the  Church  was 
partly,  if  not  chiefly,  religious.  In  the  background 
of  the  papal  mind  was  the  belief  in  the  universality 
of  the  gospel.  It  was  a  superb  scheme — one  great 
Empire,  uniform  in  belief  and  worship — and  for 
a  time  the  idea  was  practically  realized.  The 
Roman  Church  repressed  heresy  no  less  in  the 
interest  of  Imperial  solidarity  than  in  the  interest 
of  truth.  Persecutions  on  purely  religious  grounds, 
i.e.  for  heresy,  are  found  in  connexion  with  religious 
denominations  which  possess  rigidly  defined  con- 
fessions of  belief  and  which  are  independent  of  the 
secular  authority. 

9.  Persecution  in  Protestant  countries. — The 
doctrine  that  the  State  was  supreme,  as  well 
in  religious  as  in  secular  affairs,  was  universally 
accepted  in  Western  Europe  at  the  time  of  the 
Reformation,  with  the  result  that  repressive 
measures  with  a  view  to  securing  religious  uni- 
formity were  general.  The  supremacy  of  the 
State  was  the  only  adequate  safeguard  against 
papal  interference,  and  in  most  lands  the  Reforma- 
tion was  exploited  by  princes  or  kings  as  a  means 
to  an  end.  It  was  currently  accepted  that  the 
prince  or  sovereign  possessed  the  right  to  determine 
the  religion — creed  and  cult — of  the  State  or  province 
over  which  he  ruled.  The  principle  adopted  by 
the  various  Germanic  States  was  tersely  expressed 
in  the  words  'cujus  regio,  ejus  religio.'  Each 
State,  in  the  person  of  the  central  authority, 
determined  its  own  religion,  but  there  was  no 
religious  freedom  for  the  individual.  His  alterna- 
tives were  submission  or  emigration.  This  doctrine 
of  the  absoluteness  of  the  State  was  an  inheritance 
from  the  past,  and  it  was  inevitable  under  the 
circumstances  which  then  obtained  in  Western 
Europe  that  it  should  be  emphasized.  From 
about  A.D.  1200  until  the  middle  of  the  16th  cent, 
the  Pope  exercised  complete  dominion  among  the 
nations  of  Western  Europe.  But  the  rise  of  distinct 
nationalities,  with  different  interests  and  ideals, 
produced  a  desire  for  national  liberty.  National 
sentiment  became  a  powerful  force  in  the  life  of 
nations.  The  longing  for  political  liberty  on  the 
part  of  nations  was  no  less  genuine  than  the 
desire  on  the  part  of  individuals  to  enjoy  intel- 
lectual and  religious  freedom,  and  civil  rulers  took 
advantage  of  this  powerful  sentiment  to  secure 
their  own  freedom  from  papal  interference.  The 
history  of  the  Reformation  in  England  is  a  case  in 
point.  In  its  initiation  it  was  neither  more  nor 
less  than  the  rejection  by  the  monarch  of  the 
supremacy  of  the  Pope  or  of  his  right  of  interfer- 
ence in  English — and,  in  fact,  in  the  king's — affairs. 
Henry  vill.  appointed  himself  as  sole  and  supreme 
head  of  the  Church  of  England.  The  terrors  of 
the  Interdict  were  things  of  the  past.  But  whereas 
the  nation  was  free  from  papal  supremacy,  the 
individual  had  no  freedom  in  his  religious  beliefs 
or  exercises.  When  Dissent  appeared,  as  it  in- 
evitably did  in  all  lands  where  the  right  of  private 
judgment  and  liberty  of  conscience  had  been 
affirmed,  the  secular  authority  met  such  dissidence 
Avith  persecution. 

It  may  be  pointed  out  in  passing  that  there  are 
three  ways  in  which  the  problem  of  the  relationship 
between  the  Church  and  the  State  may  be  solved. 
(a)  The  State  may  dominate  the  Church,  or  (b)  the 
Church  may  govern  the  State,  or  (c)  their  respective 
spheres  and  functions  may  be  delimited  and  mapped 


out,  and  the  two  estates  may  be  separate  and 
independent  of  each  other.  Under  the  second  and 
third  regime  we  find  persecutions  for  purely  re- 
ligious reasons. 

The  State  may  be  supreme,  and  determine  the 
conduct  of  the  citizens  in  religious  no  less  than  in 
civil  matters.  There  is  no  liberty  of  belief  or 
worship.  The  religious  life  of  the  individual,  as 
far  as  external  acts  are  concerned,  must  follow  the 
lines  laid  down  by  the  central  authority.  He 
must  fall  in  with  the  official  religion,  and  his 
submission  applies  to  creed  as  well  as  to  cult. 
The  State  exercises  the  right  to  formulate  its 
theology  and  to  draw  up  its  mode  of  worship,  and 
to  impose  them  on  all  subjects  of  the  realm.  If 
there  are  different  religious  bodies  within  the  State, 
as  in  many  Western  countries  after  the  Reforma- 
tion, the  State  may  recognize  or  establish  one  form 
of  religion,  with  the  result  that  we  have  not  a  State 
religion  but  a  State  Church,  whilst  other  religious 
bodies  are  subject  to  various  political  disabilities 
until  religious  equality  is  secured.  The  State  may 
grant  complete  religious  freedom  to  all  denomina- 
tions, and  religious  communities  may  formulate 
their  own  creed  and  elaborate  their  own  mode  of 
worship  in  complete  independence  of  the  secular 
authority.  This  is  separatism,  and  obtains,  for 
instance,  in  the  United  States,  and  is  being  gener- 
ally accepted,  as  the  solution  of  the  problem,  in 
Great  Britain. 

The  history  of  religion  in  Great  Britain  especi- 
ally illustrates  the  gradual  abandonment  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  absoluteness  of  the  State  and  of  its 
right  to  decide  the  religion  of  its  subjects,  and  of 
the  gradual  adoption  of  the  doctrine  of  separatism. 

After  Henry  VIII.  established  himself  as  head  of 
the  Church  there  followed  a  prolonged  and  fierce 
struggle  between  Anglicanism  and  Roman  Catholi- 
cism for  supremacy.  During  the  reign  of  Edward 
VI.  Protestantismwas  the  State  religion  and  Roman- 
ism was  suppressed,  whilst  during  Mary's  reign 
Roman  Catholicism  enjoyed  a  short  spell  of  power 
and  the  fires  of  Smithfield  were  lit.  Under 
Elizabeth,  Protestantism  once  more  regained  the 
upper  hand  and  Roman  Catholicism  was  proscribed. 
But  throughout  the  protracted  conflict  between 
Protestantism  and  Roman  Catholicism  religious 
and  political  motives  were  strangely  intermixed. 
The  ultimate  triumph  of  Protestantism  was  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  it  was  identical  with  patriotism, 
whilst  Catholicism  was  associated  with  a  conti- 
nental Power's  attempt  to  conquer  England.  Dur- 
ing the  Stuart  period  the  conflict  became  a  '  three- 
cornered  fight  — for  Protestantism  was  divided 
into  two  hostile  camps,  viz.  Episcopalianism  and 
Presbyterianism  ;  but  when  the  struggle  was  at  its 
height,  Roman  Catholicism  was  out  of  it. 

Protestantism  in  its  struggle  with  Roman 
Catholicism  allied  itself  with  the  patriotic  senti- 
ment of  the  nation.  Episcopalianism  in  its  conflict 
with  Presbyterianism  advocated  the  absoluteness 
of  the  throne,  and  its  right  to  control  the  life  of  its 
subjects,  civil  and  religious,  whilst  Presbyterianism, 
which  had  embraced  the  Genevan  ideal  of  a  theo- 
cratic State  (see  below),  allied  itself  with  a  demo- 
cratic movement  in  favour  of  parliamentary  or 
constitutional  government.  It  was  not  a  struggle 
for  religious  freedom  or  for  liberty  of  conscience, 
for  there  was  nothing  to  choose  in  the  matter  of 
tolerance  between  Presbyterianism  and  Episco- 
palianism, and  both  parties  would  willingly,  and 
perhaps  conscientiously,  have  resorted  to  the  use  of 
force,  in  the  form  of  legislation,  to  secure  the  pre- 
valence of  their  own  creed  and  mode  of  worship. 
It  was  Cromwell  alone  who  prevented  the  estab- 
lishment of  Presbyterianism  as  the  State  Church. 

The  restoration  of  the  monarchy  carried  with  it 
the  restitution  of  Episcopalianism,  and  there  ensued 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION 


183 


a  series  of  laws,  perhaps  without  a  parallel  in  any 
land  in  point  of  severity,  with  a  view  to  the  extir- 
pation of  religious  dissidence ;  but  towards  the 
close  of  the  century  the  Act  of  Toleration  granted 
freedom  of  worship  to  the  different  Dissenting 
bodies,  although  many  of  the  civil  disabilities 
which  were  imposed  upon  Dissent  by  the  repressive 
legislation  of  Charles  II.  remained  and  still  remain. 
It  was  during  this  period — the  second  half  of  the 
17th  cent. — that  many  able  advocates  of  toleration 
mapped  out  the  respective  spheres  and  functions 
of  the  State  and  the  Church,  as,  e.g.,  Milton  and 
Locke.  From  the  close  of  the  Stuart  period  the 
trend  of  opinion  lias  been  towards  separatism, 
the  germ  of  which  is  seen  in  Locke's  doctrine  that 
the  function  of  the  State  is  to  protect  the  material 
interests  of  the  citizens,  whilst  the  Church  is  charged 
with  the  cure  of  souls.  This  doctrine  struck  the 
death-knell  of  persecution  by  the  State  on  politico- 
religious  grounds. 

It  is  worthy  of  mention  that  the  old  idea  of  the 
absoluteness  of  the  State,  and  therefore  of  the  right 
of  coercion  in  religious  matters,  advocated  by 
pagan  Rome,  and  by  Episcopalianism  during  the 
reign  of  Charles  II.,  has  been  maintained  by  many 
rationalist  writers,  e.g.  Hobbes.  Plato  had  found 
room  for  religion  in  his  ideal  State,  and  contended 
that  all  citizens  should  believe  in  the  State  gods  on 
pain  of  imprisonment  and  death.  Hobbes  in  his 
Leviathan  developed  the  doctrine  of  the  absolute 
power  of  the  sovereign  in  all  departments,  civil  and 
religious.  Whether  religion  was  true  or  false  was  a 
matter  of  no  great  concern  ;  the  main  considera- 
tion was  its  utility  for  purposes  of  government. 

We  have  observed  above  that  the  Church  may 
be  supreme  and  the  State  be  controlled  and  governed 
by  the  Church.  This  is  the  theocratic  ideal  of 
government,  and  it  resulted  quite  logically  from 
the  Reformers'  emphasis  on  the  supremacy  of  con- 
science or  the  absoluteness  of  religion.  Separa- 
tism was  not  the  first  choice  of  the  Reformers ; 
that  was  only  the  second  best. 

From  the  12th  cent,  the  Pope  was  the  dominant 
figure  in  European  politics.  In  the  Interdict  he 
possessed  a  weapon  which  brought  princes  and 
kings  to  the  dust  before  his  Holiness.  He  pos- 
sessed the  keys  of  heaven  and  hell.  He  opened 
and  shut  to  whomsoever  he  would.  But  it  was 
among  the  Reformers  —  an  important  section  of 
them — that  the  idea  of  a  theocratic  State  pre- 
vailed. Their  central  creed  was  not  the  freedom, 
but  the  supremacy,  of  conscience.  Savonarola 
attempted  to  establish  a  theocracy  in  Florence — 
a  State  built  on  the  teaching  of  the  Bible.  His 
ideal  was  a  Christocratic  kingdom,  but  according 
to  his  teaching  such  a  kingdom  presupposed  a 
redeemed  democracy. 

Calvin's  ideal  was  a  theocratic  State.  He  tried 
in  Geneva  the  experiment  which  cost  Savonarola 
his  life  in  Florence.  It  is  impossible  to  over-estimate 
the  service  he  rendered  to  the  Reformation.  He 
was  the  theologian  as  well  as  the  statesman  of 
Protestantism,  for  he  gave  systematic  expression 
to  its  theology  and  he  organized  its  ecclesiastical 
polity.  In  both  cases,  he  maintained,  he  was 
building  on  the  Word  of  God.  His  theology  was 
based  on  biblical  exposition,  as  his  form  of  Church 
government  was  founded  on  apostolic  practice.  But 
the  greatest  service,  perhaps,  which  Calvin  rendered 
to  Protestantism  was  the  new  moral  direction  which 
he  gave  to  religion.  '  The  Protestant  movement 
was  saved  from  being  sunk  in  the  quicksands 
of  doctrinal  dispute  chiefly  by  the  new  moral 
direction  given  to  it  at  Geneva.  The  religious 
instinct  of  Calvin  discerned  the  crying  need  of 
human  nature  for  social  discipline.  .  .  .  The  Chris- 
tianity of  the  Middle  Ages  had  preached  the  base 
and  demoralising  surrender  of  the  individual — the 


surrender  of  his  understanding  to  the  Church,  of 
his  conscience  to  the  priest,  of  his  will  to  the 
prince.  .  .  .  The  policy  of  Calvin  was  a  vigorous 
effort  to  supply  what  the  revolutionary  movement 
wanted — a  positive  education  of  the  individual  soul. 
The  power  thus  generated  was  too  expansive  to 
be  confined  to  Geneva.  It  went  forth  into  all  coun- 
tries. From  every  part  of  Protestant  Europe  eager 
hearts  flocked  hither  to  catch  something  of  the  in- 
spiration. .  .  .  Calvinism  saved  Europe.  *  Among 
the  eager  spirits  who  flocked  to  Geneva  and  came 
under  the  spell  of  Calvin's  teaching  were  men  from 
our  own  land,  and  they  returned  with  their  souls 
aglow  with  the  inspiration  of  this  new  moral  direc- 
tion which  Calvin  gave  to  religion.  The  Puritans 
were  disciples  of  Calvin  in  their  theology,  in  their 
Church  polity,  and  in  their  insistence  on  vital 
religion  ;  and  in  this  moral  and  social  interpreta- 
tion of  Christianity  lies,  perhaps,  their  greatest 
service  to  their  country. 

As  in  the  case  of  Savonarola,  Calvin  was  much 
more  concerned  with  the  right  of  the  religious  ele- 
ment to  dominate  the  secular  or  political  than  with 
the  right  of  conscience  to  be  free  from  the  sway  of 
the  secular  authority.  The  leading  spirits  of  the 
Reformation  started  with  something  more  stable 
and  positive  than  the  right  of  private  judgment  or 
even  liberty  of  conscience.  The  Reformation  was 
a  revolt  from  the  religion  of  the  15th  cent,  in 
favour  of  the  religion  of  the  Gospels  and  Epistles. 
It  was  a  repudiation  of  the  authority  of  Lateran 
Councils  and  the  affirmation  of  the  authority  of  the 
Bible.  It  was  a  shifting  of  the  seat  of  authority. 
There  was  no  inconsistency  between  Calvin's  Pro- 
testantism and  his  intolerance  of  views  which  did 
not  coincide  with  his  own.  He  had  constructed 
his  system  of  theology  and  his  conception  of  the 
nature  and  function  of  the  Church  by  means  of 
careful  biblical  exegesis.  He  believed  he  had 
understood  the  mind  of  the  Master.  It  was  to 
him  a  matter  of  supreme  urgency  that  the  will  of 
God  as  declared  in  His  Word  should  prevail. 

A  grave  wrong  is  committed  when  it  is  thrown 
in  the  face  of  Calvin  and  other  Reformers  that  they 
preached  the  right  of  private  judgment  and  liberty 
of  conscience,  while  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  were 
guilty  of  brutal  intolerance.  The  Reformation 
was  not  due  to  the  prevalence  of  the  right  of 
private  judgment  or  of  liberty  of  conscience.  The 
Reformers  would  not  have  gathered  together  a 
single  church  if  they  had  had  nothing  more  stable 
and  reliable  than  private  judgment  to  oppose  to 
the  authority  of  Rome  in  the  person  of  the  Pope. 
They  appealed  from  Synods  to  the  Scriptures,  and 
their  belief  in  the  Scriptures  was  absolute.  To  the 
Reformers  the  authority  of  conscience  was  the 
authority  of  the  Word  of  God.  Many  of  them 
would  have  listened  with  disdain  to  the  contention 
that  conscience  was  free  ;  to  them  conscience  was 
master.  Their  creed  was  not  so  much  the  liberty, 
as  the  supremacy,  of  conscience.  To  them  the 
language  of  conscience  was  not  simply,  '  I  will  not 
submit,'  but  rather,  'I  must  enforce.'  We  have 
observed  above  that  the  religious  conviction  that 
makes  the  martyr  tends  also  to  make  the  perse- 
cutor, unless  along  with  this  conviction  there  is  a 
clear  recognition  of  the  fact  that  coercion  is  opposed 
to  the  very  nature  of  religion.  'Intense  and  real- 
ising faith'  finds  it  extremely  difficult  to  be  toler- 
ant. The  leading  spirits  of  the  Reformation 
possessed  the  prophets'  conviction  of  the  truth  of 
their  message.  The  prophetic  attitude  presupposes 
something  more  than  the  assent  of  the  understand- 
ing to  a  proposition  or  dogma.  It  implies  that 
some  truth  has  seized  the  soul  of  the  prophet. 
The  conviction  is  more  moral  than  intellectual ;  it 

*  Mark  Pattison,  quoted  by  J.  Heron,  in  A  Short  History  qf 
Puritanism,  Edinburgh,  1908,  p.  6  f. 


184 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION 


has  more  to  do  with  conscience  than  with  reason. 
The  prophet's  creed  is  not  a  proposition  which  the 
theoretical  understanding  accepts,  but  a  truth  which 
lias  captured  the  practical  understanding.  The 
Reformers  were  akin  to  the  prophets  in  their  over- 
powering conviction  of  the  truth  of  their  message, 
but  instead  of  the  prophets'  '  Thus  saith  the  Lord,' 
the  Reformers  said  'Thus  saith  the  Scripture.' 
What  the  Reformers  meant  by  a  matter  of  con- 
science was  precisely  this — what  was  taught  in 
God's  Word.  Conscience  is  proverbially  intolerant. 
'  Had  it,'  wrote  Joseph  Butler,  '  strength,  as  it  has 
right ;  had  it  posver,  as  it  has  manifest  authority, 
it  would  absolutely  govern  the  world. '  *  Calvin  was 
anxious  to  invest  conscience,  i.e.  the  Word  of  God, 
with  strength  equal  to  its  right,  power  equal  to  its 
authority,  so  that  it  might  govern.  The  Reformers 
were  intolerant  in  the  name  of  conscience  ;  they 
were  intractable  in  the  name  of  God's  Word.  It 
may  be  impossible  to  justify  the  martyrdom  of 
Servetus,  but  we  must  not  look  upon  it  as  if  it 
were  a  solitary  occurrence  in  those  troublous  days. 

Reformers  who  had  come  under  the  influence  of 
Calvin  accepted  his  ideal  of  a  theocratic  State  or 
a  kingdom  of  saints.  The  Pilgrim  Fathers  did 
not  cross  the  Atlantic  in  order  to  enjoy  the  right 
of  private  judgment  or  religious  liberty.  They 
wanted  freedom  to  believe  what  they  deemed  to  be 
true,  and  to  worship  God  in  the  way  which  they 
deemed  right.  They  wanted  freedom  to  make  the 
Bible  their  sole  guide  and  law  book.  They  were 
not  prepared  to  grant  liberty  of  worship  and  liberty 
of  thought  in  their  own  province.  Their  aim  was 
the  establishment  of  a  State  where  their  own 
Christianity  would  be  the  State  religion.  They 
did  not  believe  in  the  separation  of  the  Church  from 
the  State  ;  they  were  anxious  to  found  a  community 
in  which  their  Puritanism  would  be  supreme.  The 
Bible  was  to  be  the  nation's  law  book,  and  to  its 
teaching  every  member  of  the  community  must 
subscribe.  The  Pilgrim  Fathers  believed  too 
much  in  their  own  view  of  Christianity  to  tolerate 
any  other  and  conflicting  views.  Nothing  is  more 
flagrantly  unjust  than  the  indictment  that  the 
men  of  the  Mayflower  preached  tolerance  when 
they  left  the  shores  of  Great  Britain,  and  practised 
intolerance  when  they  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock. 
Tolerance  did  not  come  from  Geneva,  or  from  those 
who  had  come  under  the  influence  of  Geneva,  but 
from  the  Socinians  of  Italy  and  the  Anabaptists  of 
Holland.  The  founder  of  the  first  State  where 
toleration  was  practised  was  Roger  Williams,  who 
emigrated  to  America  in  1631  and  welcomed  to 
Providence  all  who  were  prepared  to  extend  to  all 
the  religious  liberty  which  they  claimed  for  them- 
selves. 

Presbyterianism  in  England  and  Scotland  was 
equally  intolerant.  The  leaders  of  Presbyterian- 
ism  were  disciples  of  Calvin,  and  they  had  his  pro- 
found belief  in  the  authority  of  the  Word  of  God. 
They  carefully  formulated  their  creed ;  they 
elaborated  their  conception  of  the  nature  of  the 
Church  ;  they  had  very  clear  and  definite  notions 
in  regard  to  the  place  and  function  of  religion  in 
the  national  life.  They  accepted  the  Calvinistic 
doctrine  of  a  theocratic  State.  They  wanted 
something  more  than  a  Church  that  was  independ- 
ent of  the  State.  Their  ideal  was  a  Church  which 
dominated  the  State,  and  they  were  prepared  to  use 
every  possible  means — Army  and  Parliament — to 
secure  the  establishment  of  their  conception  of 
Christianity.  The  Presbyterianism  of  the  17th 
cent,  possessed  that  'intense  and  realising  faith,' 
issuing  in  coercion  and  persecution,  as  a  legitimate, 
because  alone  effectual,  means  of  establishing  the 
true  and  exterminating  the  false. 

*  Upon    Human    Nature,   serm.   ii.,   in    Works,   ed.   J.   H. 
Bernard,  London,  1900,  vol.  i.  p.  48. 


10.  Conclusion. — We  have  indicated  the  gradual 
abandonment  of  coercion  on  the  part  of  the  State 
because  the  view  became  general  that  (1)  religious 
liberty,  enjoyed  to  the  fullest  extent,  does  not  lead 
to  disloyalty  to  the  State,  and  that  (2)  coercion  is 
incompatible  with  religious  faith.  The  gradual 
disappearance  of  intolerance  from  among  religious 
bodies  has  been  due  to  the  prevalence  of  the  view 
that  absolute  certainty  is  difficult  of  attainment, 
and  that  no  system  or  creed  embodies  the  whole 
truth  of  Christianity.  There  have  been  cases  of 
persecution  for  heresy  within  comparatively  recent 
times,  but  the  present  trend  is  strongly  and  de- 
cisively towards  tolerance. 

It  was  in  the  17th  cent,  that  the  cause  of  toler- 
ance was  advocated  in  many  lands  and  by  many 
extremely  able  writers,  but  reference  may  be 
made  to  Milton,  the  master  mind  of  England  in 
this  period,  who  to  a  greater  degree  than  other 
thinkers  of  his  age  impressed  the  thought  of 
England  and  helped  by  his  writings  to  reconcile 
intense  religious  conviction  .with  tolerance  and  to 
create  that  tolerant  spirit  which  prevails  in  the 
modern  world.  Truth,  according  to  Milton,  is 
many-sided.  It  is  widely  diffused  among  men. 
Every  system  contains  a  small  part  of  it,  mixed 
with  error,  but  no  system  has  it  in  its  entirety. 
No  religious  body  has  a  monopoly  of  the  truth.  It 
is  interesting  to  compare  this  exposition  of  re- 
ligious liberty  with  the  defence  of  tolerance 
advanced  by  Themistius,  the  famous  orator  of  the 
time  of  the  Emperor  Valens  :  '  Toleration  is  a 
divine  law  which  can  never  be  violated,  as  God 
Himself  has  clearly  demonstrated  His  desire  for  a 
diversity  of  religions.  .  .  .  God  delights  in  the 
variety  of  the  homage  which  is  rendered  to  Him ; 
He  likes  the  Syrians  to  use  certain  rites,  the  Greeks 
others,  and  the  Egyptians  others  again.  .  .  .'* 
It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  tolerance  of  the  20th 
cent,  has  more  affinity  with  that  of  Themistius 
than  with  that  of  Milton.  The  modern  attitude 
suggests  that  every  religion  is  as  good  as  any 
other.  The  tolerance  of  the  modern  world  springs 
from  its  feeble,  anaemic  faith,  as  the  intolerance 
of  the  Reformers  sprang  from  their  'intense  and 
realising '  faith.  The  words  of  Fox  are  not  without 
a  considerable  element  of  truth  :  '  The  only  founda- 
tion for  toleration  is  a  degree  of  scepticism,  and 
without  it  there  can  be  none.'t  But  there  is 
another  '  foundation  for  toleration,'  and  to  that 
Milton  has  directed  attention  in  his  Areopac/itica. 

'  Liberty  of  conscience  entire,  or  in  the  whole,  is 
where  a  man,  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own 
conscience,  may  have  the  free  exercise  of  his  religion, 
without  impediment  to  his  preferment  or  employ- 
ment in  the  State. '  £  Persecution  is  the  denial  of 
this  '  free  exercise  of  religion,'  and  in  its  widest 
sense  it  includes  any  and  every  impediment  to  the 
subject's  preferment  or  employment  in  the  State. 
Persecution  is  generally  denned  as  the  infliction  of 
pain  or  death  upon  others  unjustly  for  adhering 
to  a  religious  creed  or  mode  of  worship  either  by 
way  of  penalty  or  in  order  to  force  them  to 
renounce  their  principles.  The  insertion  of  the 
word  '  unjustly  '  presupposes  a  sphere  of  activity 
in  connexion  with  the  life  of  the  individual  over 
which  the  State  has  no  right  to  exercise  any  juris- 
diction. The  existence  of  such  a  sphere  was 
hinted  at  in  our  Lord's  words,  '  Render  unto  Caesar 
the  things  which  are  Caesar's,  and  to  God  the 
things  that  are  God's.'  There  is  within  man  an 
inviolable  adytum  which  the  secular  authority  may 
not  enter.  Micaiah-ben-Imlah  was  clearly  aware 
of  such  a  sphere  when  he  preferred  obedience  to 

*  Rufflni,  Religious  Liberty,  p.  29  f. 

t  Quoted  in  Lecky,  Rationalism  in  Europe,  vol.  ii.  p.  11  n. 
{  J.  Harrington,  A  System  of  Politics,  ch.  vi.,  quoted  in  Rutfini, 
p.  175  f. 


PERSECUTION 


PERSECUTION 


185 


the  will  of  Jahweh  to  acquiescence  in  the  caprice 
of  the  king.  The  author  of  the  Book  of  Daniel 
appealed  to  his  contemporaries,  and  to  all  genera- 
tions, to  take  their  stand  on  this  holy  ground. 
The  apostles  dealt  with  the  same  fact  when  they 
Baid  that  circumstances  might  arise  when  it  was 
their  duty  '  to  obey  God  rather  than  men.'  In 
such  cases  conscience  could  not  hesitate  without 
being  guilty  of  moral  treachery.  Persecution  is 
the  denial  of  this  free  exercise  of  religion  ;  but  we 
have  already  seen  that  ancient  States  did  not 
recognize  the  existence  of  a  sphere  in  the  life  of 
the  individual  in  which  the  State  had  no  jurisdic- 
tion. In  the  ancient  world  conscience  had  no 
'rights.'  The  whole  life  of  the  individual  was 
subject  to  the  control  of  the  State.  Under  these 
circumstances  persecution  in  the  case  of  religious 
recalcitrance  was  simply  another  name  for  the 
punishment  of  political  offenders.  Refusal  to 
worship  the  gods  or  to  observe  the  official  religion 
was  a  crime  of  the  deepest  dye,  as  the  provocation 
of  the  gods  imperilled  the  safety  of  the  State. 
The  Jewish  Law  was  severe  on  blasphemy,  for 
the  wrath  of  Jahweh  would  mean  disaster  to  the 
nation.  It  was  a  political  crime  of  a  very  grave 
character.  Tacitus  might  scornfully  write,*  'deo- 
rum  injuriae  dis  curae' — it  was  the  business  of  the 
gods  to  avenge  any  insults  they  might  receive. 
But  if  the  anger  of  the  gods  issued  in  national 
calamities,  as  the  masses  believed,  it  was  the 
State's  urgent  business  that  there  should  be  no 
religious  shirkers  or  slackers  within  the  Empire, 
to  provoke  the  gods  to  anger,  and  thus  bring 
down  misfortune  on  the  nation.  Persecution  or 
the  application  of  force  to  ensure  submission  in 
religious  matters  was  inevitable  when  the  State 
claimed  the  right  to  control  the  whole  life  of  its 
subjects,  secular  and  religious.  'Persecution'  is 
applicable  to  this  attitude  of  the  State  if  the  indi- 
viduals who  claim  religious  freedom  admit  in  every 
other  respect  their  responsibility  to  the  State  and 
acknowledge  their  obligation  to  submit  to  all  the 
laws  of  the  realm.  But  ancient  States  were  reluc- 
tant to  admit  that  this  '  free  exercise  of  religion ' 
was  compatible  with  loyalty  to  the  State,  and  there 
was  no  general  recognition  of  the  voluntary  nature 
of  religion.  It  is  the  increasing  recognition  of  the 
fact  that  the  religious  attitude  must  be  deliberate, 
spontaneous,  uncoerced,  that  has  accounted  for  the 
corresponding  growth  of  the  spirit  of  tolerance 
which  prevails  in  the  modern  world.  Until  com- 
paratively recent  times  it  was  currently  accepted 
that  coercion  was  a  legitimate  and  effectual  means 
of  securing  religious  acquiescence.  Coercion  may 
bring  about  external  submission,  but  it  cannot 
result  in  living  acceptance  of  the  truth  which  is 
being  pressed.  In  the  words  of  the  author  of  the 
earliest  English  book  which  defends  liberty  of  con- 
science, '  as  king  and  bishop  cannot  command  the 
wind,  so  they  cannot  command  faith. 't 

We  see  the  germ  of  the  doctrine  in  some  of  the 
Fathers,  many  of  whom  denounced  coercion  in 
matters  of  faith  and  pointed  out  that  force  is 
inimical  to  conviction,  which  is  the  very  life  of 
religion.  Tertullian  writes :  '  However,  it  is  a 
fundamental  human  right,  a  privilege  of  nature, 
that  every  man  should  worship  according  to  his 
own  convictions  :  one  man's  religion  neither  harms 
nor  helps  another  man.  It  is  assuredly  no  part  of 
religion  to  compel  religion — to  which  free-will  and 
not  force  should  lead  us — the  sacrificial  victims  even 
being  required  of  a  willing  mind.  You  will  render 
no  real  service  to  your  gods  by  compelling  us  to  sacri- 
fice. For  they  can  have  no  desire  of  offerings  from 
the  unwilling,  unless  they  are  animated  by  a  spirit  of 

*  Ann.  i.  73. 

t  L.  Busher,  Religious  Peace,  London,  1614,  quoted  in  Buffini, 
p.  158. 


contention,  which  is  a  thing  altogether  undivine.'  * 
Lactantius  followed  in  a  similar  strain  :  '  But  it 
is  religion  alone  in  which  freedom  has  placed  its 
dwelling.  For  it  is  a  matter  which  is  voluntary 
above  all  others,  nor  can  necessity  be  imposed 
upon  any,  so  as  to  worship  that  which  he  does  not 
wish  to  worship.  Someone  may  perhaps  pretend, 
he  cannot  wish  it.'  t  Many  of  the  leading  Fathers, 
such  as  Hilary  of  Poictiers  and  Chrysostom,  empha- 
sized the  same  truth.  But  Augustine  overshadowed 
all  his  predecessors,  and  he  gave  his  view  in  favour 
of  the  persecution  of  paganism  and  heresy.  He 
developed  his  theory  of  persecution  from  the 
words  '  Compelle  intrare.'  J  He  has  been  charged 
with  flagrant  inconsistency  because  whilst  pagan- 
ism was  the  Imperial  religion  he  advocated 
toleration,  whereas,  after  the  establishment  of 
the  Christian  religion,  he  urged  coercion.  It 
may  be  urged,  on  the  other  hand,  that  Augustine's 
experience  during  the  Donatist  controversy  led  him 
to  change  his  mind  in  regard  to  the  persecution 
of  heresy.  But  apart  from  that  possibility,  the 
charge  of  inconsistency  is  not  so  obvious  as  is 
sometimes  supposed.  To  Augustine  Christianity 
was  the  religion.  Paganism,  in  every  form  of  it, 
was  false.  He  advocated  the  extirpation  of 
paganism  and  heresy  for  the  same  reason  as  he 
had  advocated  toleration  for  Christianity.  He 
was  superficially  inconsistent,  but  there  was  deep 
inner  consistency  in  his  attitude.  To  him  Christi- 
anity and  paganism  stood  to  each  other  as  the 
true  and  false  or  right  and  wrong  or  good  and  evil, 
and  evil  must  be  opposed  in  every  possible  way, 
and  good  must  be  promoted  by  all  possible  means. 
Whether  he  advocated  tolerance  or  coercion,  his 
main  contention  was  that  the  good  should  prevail, 
and  that  the  evil  should  be  repressed ;  inner  con- 
sistency made  it  imperative  that  he  should 
advocate  toleration  in  favour  of  Christianity 
when  paganism  was  in  power,  and  coercion  against 
paganism  when  Christianity  had  secured  a 
footing.  It  is  evident  that  Augustine  bad  solid 
grounds  for  thinking  that  coercion  in  the  early 
stages  of  the  religious  life  was  effectual.  The 
preaching  of  the  gospel  has  not  always  appealed 
to  the  highest  ethical  motives.  The  terrors  of 
hell  have  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  making 
of  saints.  If  Martineau's  view  is  correct  that  '  the 
administration  of  any  uneasiness  to  body  or  mind, 
in  consequence  of  a  man's  belief,  or  with  a  view  to 
change  it,'  is  persecution,  the  preaching  even  of 
the  20th  cent,  is  very  largely  'persecution.' 
There  can  be  no  successful  preaching  which  does 
not  produce  uneasiness  of  mind,  for  the  experiences 
of  the  penitent  soul  must  issue  in  great  uneasiness 
of  mind.  Various  motives  are  at  work  in  the 
initial  stages  of  the  religious  life.  Augustine  had 
evidence  of  the  advantages  of  compulsion,  and  it 
was  the  universal  belief  of  mediaeval  Christendom, 
and  certainly  of  mediaeval  States,  that  coercion 
was  compatible  with  the  nature  of  Christianity. 
The  few  voices  which  had  been  raised  on  behalf 
of  the  spontaneity  of  religious  faith  were  for- 
gotten for  many  weary  centuries  until  in  writings 
of  the  advocates  of  religious  liberty  in  the  17th 
and  18th  centuries  the  truth  was  once  more  set 
forth  with  greater  clearness  and  force.  It  was  the 
prevalent  view  of  monarchs  no  less  than  of  ecclesi- 
astical leaders  that  refusal  to  comply  with  the  de- 
mands of  the  throne  or  the  curia  was  '  obstinacy.' 
There  are  not  wanting  persons  in  the  20th  cent,  to 
whom  passive  resistance  is  only  a  form  of  '  pig- 
head  edness.'  Whilst  the  struggle  for  religious 
freedom  was  being  waged  on  the  Continent  and  in 
Great  Britain,  many  exceedingly  able  writers  pub- 
lished books  and  pamphlets  on  the  spontaneous 

*  Ad  Scapulam,  2.  t  Div.  Inst.  64. 

J  De  Correctione  Donistarum,  6.  24. 


186 


PERSEVERANCE 


PERSEVERANCE 


nature  of  religious  faith.  Persecution,  wrote 
Milton,*  is  wholly  unnecessary,  '  for  who  knows 
not  that  Truth  is  strong  next  to  the  Almighty,' 
and  even  mischievous  and  harmful,  for  each  in- 
dividual must  'discover'  the  truth  for  himself,  or 
else  be  for  ever  a  stranger  to  it. 

LITERATURE. — In  addition  to  the  general  works  on  Ecclesiasti- 
cal History  the  following  works  may  be  mentioned  :  Lactantius, 
de  Moftibus  Persecutorum  (A. p.  314) ;  A.  J.  Mason,  The 
Persecution  of  Diocletian,  Cambridge,  1876  ;  B.  Aube",  Histoire 
des  persecutions  de  I'Eglise  jusqu'ci  la  Jin  des  Antonins,  Paris, 
1875 ;  F.  Pollock,  '  The  Theory  of  Persecution,'  in  Essays  in 
Jurisprudence  and  Ethics,  London,  1882 ;  P.  Allard,  Histoire 
des  persecutions  pendant  les  deux  premiers  siecles^,  Paris,  1892, 
Histoire  des  persecutions  pendant  la  premiere  moitif  du  llle 
siecle2,  do.,  1894,  Les  dernteres  persecutions  du  111*  stecle*,  do., 
1898  ;  W.  E.  H.  Lecky,  History  of  the  Rise  and  Influence  of  the 
Spirit  of  Rationalism  in  Europe,  2  vols.,  London,  1865  ;  E.  G. 
Hardy,  Christianity  and  the  Roman  Government,  do.,  1894  ;  W. 
M.  Ramsay,  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  do.,  1894  ;  W. 
E.  Addis,  Christianity  and  the  Roman  Empire,  do.,  1893;  J. 
A.  F.  Gregg,  The  Decian  Persecution,  Edinburgh,  1897 ;  P. 
J.  Healy,  The  Valerian  Persecution,  London,  1905;  H.  B. 
Workman,  Persecution  in  the  Early  Church,  do.,  1906 ;  J. 
Herkless,  The  Early  Christian  Martyrs  and  their  Persecutions, 
do.,  n.d.  ;  F.  Ruffini,  Religious  Liberty,  tr.  J.  P.  'Heyes,  do., 
1912 ;  J.  B.  Bury,  History  of  Freedom  of  Thought,  do.,  1913. 

T.  LEWIS. 

PERSEVERANCE.— The  apostolic  doctrine  of 
perseverance  is  (a)  conceived  in  a  purely  practical 
experiential  sense,  and  (b)  comprises  three  parts : 
a  religious  persuasion,  a  moral  endeavour,  and  the 
entire  dependence  of  the  latter  on  the  former. 

The  former  consideration  distinguishes  it  at 
once  from  subsequent  theological  formulae  whether 
of  mediaeval  or  reformed  Christendom ;  the  latter 
exhibits  its  characteristic  contents.  There  was 
little  special  interest  directed  to  the  subject,  and 
no  controversy,  till  the  time  of  St.  Augustine, 
who,  impelled  by  his  predestinarian  idea,  explicitly 
affirmed  a  '  donum  perseverantiae  '  to  the  justified, 
a  supernatural  gift  of  grace  to  the  elect  by  which 
they  are  kept  indefectible,  t  The  gift  was  solely 
of  the  Divine  mercy,  unconditional ;  it  followed  as 
a  necessary  sequence  from  personal  election.  All 
who  are  predestinated  receive  the  Divine  grace, 
are  born  again  of  the  Spirit,  shall  certainly  per- 
severe to  the  end,  and  can  never  fall  away  either 
totally  or  finally  from  the  state  of  grace.  Their 
possession  of  the  gift  is  further  the  source  of 
assurance  of  final  salvation.  The  '  final  persever- 
ance of  the  saints '  is  gratuitous,  irresistible,  in- 
amissible,  and  certain. 

The  Augustinian  positions  continued  throughout 
the  Middle  Ages  to  agitate,  in  the  way  of  action 
and  reaction,  the  thought  of  theologians.  The 
Council  of  Orange  £  dealt  with  current  perplexity, 
but  in  a  superficial  manner.  The  constructive 
genius  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  systematized  the 
general  idea  of  St.  Augustine  in  consistency  with 
numerous  points  of  doctrine  that  had  emerged 
between  St.  Augustine's  day  and  his.§  Of  the 
Reforming  divines  both  Luther  and  Calvin  held 
to  its  strict  statement :  Calvin,  like  St.  Augustine, 
treats  of  it  particularly.il  The  Council  of  Trent, 
ostensibly  opposing  the  Reformed  heresies,  de- 
parted widely  from  genuine  Augustinianism. 
While  condemning  Pelagianism  in  asserting  that 
the  justified  cannot  persevere  without  a  special 
help  of  God,  but  with  it  can,  it  yet  makes  the 
power  of  perseverance  to  reside  in  the  human  will 
co-operative  with  Divine  grace.  The  Divine  gift, 
while  wholly  of  God's  grace,  is  neither  irresistible 
nor  indefectible  :  it  may  be  lost  not  only  partially 
and  temporarily  but  totally  and  finally.  Lost 
grace  may  be  restored.  Of  final  perseverance 

*  Areopagitica,  ed.  Oxford,  1894,  p.  52. 

t  Cf.  big  de  Dono  perseverantice.  and  de  Correptione  et  gratia. 

J  Second  Council,  A.D.  529.  It  affirmed  merely  the  general 
necessity  of  grace  to  good  works.  Cf.  C.  J.  Hefele,  Councils  of 
the  Church,  Eng.  tr.  iv.  [Edinburgh,  1895]  152-167. 

§  Cf.  Summa  Theolog.,  H.  i.  109-114  (ed.  Migne,  Paris,  1896). 

!1  Cf.  Institutes,  ch.  iii.  §§  11-14. 


there  never  can  be  full  assurance.  The  one  cer- 
tainty open  to  the  saint  is  the  obligation  to  the 
steadfast  use  of  the  whole  ensemble  of  spiritual 
means  whereby  the  human  will  is  enabled  to  per- 
severe unto  the  end  and  so  be  preserved  in  the 
state  of  grace.  Of  such  means  the  chief  are  the 
impetrative  power  of  prayer  and  the  sacraments. 
The  '  final  perseverance  of  the  saints,'  while  of 
Divine  gratuity,  is  not  irresistible  nor  inamissible, 
nor  certain.* 

Within  Protestantism  strict  Calvinism  suffered 
various  mitigations  at  the  hands  of  Calvinists 
themselves  ;t  and  direct  attack  from  the  Armin- 
ians  (later,  Wesleyans),  who  opposed  the  doctrine 
on  its  unconditional  side,t  arguing  that  those  who 
were  once  regenerated  may  by  grieving  the  Spirit 
of  God  fall  away  and  perish  everlastingly.  The 
Synod  of  Dort  condemned  Arminianism  and  re- 
affirmed 'high'  Calvinism. § 

The  controversy  has  in  modern  theology  lost  its 
force.  Its  vitality  is  seen  to  depend  on  a  facile 
confusion  of  the  two  factors  entering  into  the 
experience  it  seeks  to  explain  :  viz.  the  religious 
and  the  moral.  It  is  part  of  the  religious  con- 
sciousness to  ascribe  sovereignty  to  God  and  to 
trace  the  causation  of  everything  to  the  eternal 
purpose.  This  is  a  definite  experience  which  can 
be  seen  in  every  prophet.  He  knows  that  there  is 
nothing  haphazard  in  his  life  ;  that  everything  in 
it  is  caused  not  casual ;  that  the  cause  came  as  a 
call  to  which  his  soul  responds  ;  that  this,  true  in 
the  smaller  things  of  life,  is  equally  true  of  the  great 
things  of  the  soul,  in  which,  as  it  seems,  the  spirit 
of  man  is  more  a  passive  recipient  than  an  active 
agent,  for  all  the  higher  reserves  of  the  religious 
life  are  mystical.  This  religious  conviction  is  dis- 
tinctive of  all  the  supreme  spiritual  personalities. 
In  their  view  there  is  no  hint  of  a  dual  causality 
of  the  soul's  life  of  grace.  The  religious  conscious- 
ness is  constituted  by  the  sense  of  dependence 
upon  God.  The  moral  life  is  as  truly  constituted 
by  the  invincible  exercise  of  independent  force  of 
character,  and  the  more  dependent  the  spiritual 
sense  the  more  intense  the  moral  independence. 
For  grace  and  faith  are  '  lively ' — vital :  they  have 
moral  energy  impelling  to  action,  not  repose.  Thus 
in  the  actual  experience  of  the  Christian  life  a 
firm  belief  in  the  doctrine  of  perseverance  excludes 
all  carnal  security  and  laxity :  it  is  ever  accom- 
panied by  a  deep  sense  of  the  possibility  of  failure 
and  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  using  the  utmost 
effort  in  order  to  win  final  success.  There  is  no 
perseverance  without  conscious  determined  per- 
severing. These  two  constituent  features  are  not 
to  be  separated,  since  they  have  neither  independ- 
ent origin  nor  independent  exercise. ||  It  is  not 
that  the  one  is  of  God's  gift,  the  other  of  man's 
effort  and  initiative.  It  is  that  the  Divine  grace 
besetting  man's  heart,  when  turned  to  Him,  en- 
girds and  subdues  every  interior  faculty  and 
quality  (Ph  321),  implanting  in  each  the  dynamic  of 
Divine  affection  unto  constant,  increasing  ethical 
issue,  '  working  mightily  unto  every  good  word  and 
work.'  The  Christian  faith  and  ethics  co-exist  in 
inseparable  unity.  The  steady  tendency  of  re- 
ligion is  towards  holiness ;  the  grace  of  God  in 
Christ  is  wholly  regulated  by  the  inner  purpose 

•  Cf.  Council  of  Trent,  sess.  vi.  ch.  xiii.  can.  16,  22  (cf.  P. 
Schaff,  The  Creeds  of  Christendom,  New  York,  1877,  ii.  103, 
113 f.,  115);  CE,  artt.  'Grace,'  'Perseverance' ;  J.  H.  Newman, 
'  Perseverance  in  Grace '  (Discourses  to  Mixed  Congregations'* ', 
London,  1891,  p.  124). 

t  In  the  forms  of  '  Sublapsarianism '  and '  Subterlapsarianism ' 
(Amyraldism). 

J  Cf.  Remonstrants'  Confession,  A.D.  1610  (Schaff,  iii.  545  ff.); 
Wesley's  Xoteson  the  NT,  and  certain  Sermons, 

§  Cf.  the  Canons  of  Dort,  adopted  at  the  136th  session,  A.D. 
1618-19  (Acta  Synodi  Nationalm  Dordrechti  habit ce  ann.  1618 
et  1619,  Dort,  1620;  Schaff,  iii.  550  ff.). 

I  Cf.  art.  GRACB. 


PERSEVERANCE 


PERSEVERANCE 


187 


to  make  good  men.  It  is  not  just,  therefore,  to 
minds  of  the  predestinarian  type  to  charge  them 
with  '  austerity  of  logic '  *  or  '  false  supernatural- 
ism,'  t  as  if  their  doctrine  were  a  simple  immediate 
deduction  from  an  absolute  idea  having  no  living 
reference  to  inner  emotion.  The  great  predestina- 
tionists  were  '  the  most  Christian  men  of  their 
generation ' ;  t  their  theology  was  the  expression 
of  its  dominant  conception  in  interpreting  the 
relation  of  man  to  God.  They  are  not  ignorant  of 
the  sphere  of  man's  effort :  they  insist  upon  it  with 
impressive  ' austerity. '§  But  to  them  it  is  a 
sphere,  concentric  with,  but  smaller  than,  that  of 
reliance  upon  God,  in  which  true  religion  consists, 
and  in  which  it  does  truly  consist  as  an  energy, 
spiritual,  eternal,  persistent,  inspiring  indefinite 
advance  in  righteousness,  and  delivering  the  grow- 
ing soul  from  all  trembling  uncertainties  as  to 
resources  and  equipment,  prospects,  final  goal. 
This  is  the  absolute  datum  (not  idea)  set  forth  in 
the  predestinarian  definitions  of  election  and  per- 
severance :  it  is  a  datum  of  soul  perception  and 
persuasion  induced  by  the  soul's  experience  of  the 
Power  that  holds  it  and  guides  and  guards  it,  the 
only  adequate  equivalent  of  the  profound  apostolic 
intuition  :  '  in  God  we  live,  and  move,  and  have 
our  being'  (Ac  17i8).|| 

1.  The  religious  persuasion. — The  religious  per- 
suasion has  deep  roots ;  the  only  attainments  of 
which  it  is  the  inspiration  are  so  high  that  nothing 
short  of  the  recesses  of  richest  truth  suffice  for  the 
soil  of  their  growth — the  heavenliest  forces  known 
to  the  apostles.  These  are  :  ( 1 )  the  will  of  God,  (2) 
the  pattern  of  Christ,  (3)  the  life  of  the  Spirit,  (4) 
the  fellowship  of  faith,  (5)  the  heavenly  inheritance. 

( 1 )  The  will  of  God  is  the  strongest,  as  it  is  the 
most  comprehensive,  support  of  the  assurance  of 
salvation  :  there  can  be  none  more  secure  or  ample. 
The  will  of  God  holds  the  primacy  in  '  all  creation ' 
(Ilo  ll3*5,  etc.).  In  the  natural  world  it  is  central ; 
all  the  forces  of  nature  are  but  manifestations  or 
outgoings  of  the  force  of  will,  and  of  one  will — 
that  of  the  Creator.  His  will  is  also  central  in  the 
realm  of  spiritual  life,  wherever  that  is  true  and 
progressive  ;  the  higher  life  of  humanity  is  simply 
the  will  of  God  realizing  itself  according  to  its  own 
purpose,  not  only  in  spite  of  the  resistance  of  the 
countless  hostile  wills  of  men,  but  by  means  of 
that  resistance,  as  the  will  of  a  perfect  righteous- 
ness. Because  of  its  primacy,  there  is  no  reason- 
able relation  to  it  but  that  of  obedience  :  there  is 
no  hope  of  successful  life  except  in  conformity  to 
it,  since  it  must  in  the  end  be  done,  God  having  of 
necessity  by  His  own  being  to  work  always  to- 
wards His  own  end.  There  is  no  other  purpose  of 
God  for  men  (Eph  I4-11)  but  that  which  is  embraced 
within  His  all-wise,  all-righteous  designs  (Ro  12L  a, 
Gal  I4,  Eph  210,  Col  I9- 10,  He  1010,  1  P  218,  1  Ti  2^). 
Moreover,  a  resolute  renunciation  of  man's  will  in 
self-surrender  to  God's  has  for  result  the  new 
nature  like  His,  increase  in  strength,  triumph  in 
effort  after  holiness.  It  is  the  mightiest  forge  of 
personality  (Ro  51"8  82- 1S,  Gal  S22-26,  Eph  S16"19 
59. 10.  n)  etc.),  thereby  evidencing  that  it  is  of  God 
(Ph  213,  2  Ti  219)  and  His  will  (1  Ti  2*.  He  24, 
etc.).  We  are  thus  assured  that  His  will  is  our 
sanctification  (1  Th  4s),  a  fact  of  indubitable 

*  Macaulay's  phrase ;  cf.  Hist,  of  England,  ed.  London,  1889, 
oh.  i.  p.  40. 

t  Cf.  CE.  art.  'Justification.' 

t  E.  Kenan's  description  of  Calvin,  Studies  of  Religious 
History,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1893,  p.  340. 

§  True  to  their  feeling  is  the  familiar  saying  of  St.  Ignatius  : 
4  Pray  as  if  all  depended  on  God's  doing  ;  act  as  if  all  depended 
on  your  doing '  ;  cf .  Wordsworth : 

'  Tis  the  most  difficult  of  tasks  to  keep 
Heights  which  the  soul  is  competent  to  gain  ' 

(Excursion,  iv.  138  f.). 

II  Cf.  Morley's  striking  reflexions  in  Oliver  Cromwell,  London, 
1904,  ch.  iii.p.  47  ff. 


certitude  warranted  by  the  Divine  promises,  which 
are  of  life  (2  Ti  I1,  1  Jn  225)  to  all  men  (Ac  2s9, 
2  P  I4  313)  from  a  faithful  God  (He  617,  1  Th  524, 
1  Co  I9,  2  Th  33,  He  1023,  1  P  419,  Tit  I2)  and  ful- 
filled in  Christ  (Ac  1382-  w,  2  Co  I20,  Ro  158,  Rev  5s), 
who  as  the  Word  liveth  in  the  saved  (Ro  I16, 

1  Th  213,  Ja  I18,  1  P  I23)  ;  by  the  Divine  power, 
appearing  in  Christ  (Ac  312- 16,  Ro  1626,  1  Co  2s  39, 

2  Co  47),  producing  in  believers  in  Him  the  selfsame 
richness  of  character  as  is  in  Him  (Eph  I19'28  3*>y 
Col   I11- »,   2  Co  517'21   9s,  2  P   I3)  ;  and   by   the 
Divine  love  (Ro  S28-  **•  89),  which  is  invincible.    God's 
promises  are  the  expression  of  spiritual  laws,  the 
controlling  forces  of  His  power.     Herein  rests  their 
reliable  character.    Their  content  furnishes  every- 
thing requisite  for  the  fullness  of  the  sanctified 
life.     He  who  has  founded  and  begun  all  has  also 
provided  all  for  its  complete  advance  to  perfection 
and  accomplishment.     In  His  arrangements  there 
can  be  no  possible  room  for  defect  or  caprice  :  there 
need  be  no  dubiety  in  the  expectation  that  what  is 
needed  for  the  ripening  of  the  redeemed  character 
is  present.     As  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  present  in 
the  Son,  communion  with  whom  is  the  indispens- 
able condition,  as  He  is  the  sole  ground,  of  grow- 
ing personality.     Accepting  that  condition,  saints 
need  have  no  fear  ;  they  are  kept  by  the  power  of 
God   through  that  same  goodness  that  made  the 
beginning.      The    Spirit  who    redeems  will   also 
sanctify  (1    Co  I8,    2  Co   I20-21  55,  Ph   I6  321  41, 
1  Th  312- 1S  S23,  2  Th   11L  ia  217,  2  Ti  I12,  1   P  510, 
1  Jn  220). 

(2)  TJte  pattern  of  Christ  is  a  second  principle  of 
perseverance.  The  resources  and  exemplar  of  the 
new  life  are  in  Him.  He  is  the  Prince  of  Saints  * 
and  their  Sanctifier  (Eph  S26).  He  is  made  of  God 
unto  them  sanctification  (1  Co  I30).  His  glory  is 
their  standard,  contemplation  of  which  is  the  in- 
fluence of  transformation  and  renewal  (2  Co  318). 
The  graces  of  His  character,  mental  and  emotional, 
are  reproduced  in  them  by  His  might  (Col  I9"11), 
and  confirmed  in  them  by  communion  with  Him 
(26t  313-  16-  17).  His  fidelity  they  imitate  (He 
32-  «•  "• 14).  His  love  constrains  them  (2  Co  514), 
bringing  them  to  all  the  fullness  of  God  (Eph  319). 
In  His  might  they  fight  the  devil  (611M8)  and  stand. 
In  His  patience  they  run  the  race  set  before  them 
(He  12UI).  As  their  Forerunner  He  has  attained 
the  hope  of  the  heavenly  inheritance  and  entered 
within  the  veil  (619-  ^J.  By  the  Divine  power  and 
symmetry  of  His  godly  life  they  partake  of  the 
Divine  nature  itself  (2  P  I2-4)  in  all  moral  and 
spiritual  excellence  (vv.5"8).  All  this  is  accom- 
plished by  faith  in  Him. 

The  important  features  here  are,  firstly,  the 
perfection  of  Christ's  Person,  His  completeness  of 
character,  its  self-consistency.  It  is  a  living  whole, 
in  which  the  facts  form,  as  it  were,  a  co-operative 
brotherhood,  interpervasive  each  of  the  others, 
each  lending  energy  and  colour  to  the  whole,  and 
combining  in  the  highest  cultivation  of  the  moral 
and  spiritual  senses.  As  character  it  was  made 
possible  by  His  perfect  love  of  the  Father  and  con- 
sequent perfect  union  with  Him.  The  second 
feature  is  the  steadfastness  of  His  striving,  the 
devotion  of  Himself  to  the  will  of  God  to  the  utter- 
most, the  absolute  dependence  of  His  heart  on  the 
Divine  intimations  of  duty — a  devotion  and  depend- 
ence that  rendered  Him  always  acceptable  to  the 
Father.  It  was  a  constancy  never  for  a  moment 
shadowed  by  even  a  thought  of  disaffection,  faint- 
ing, or  failure.  It  was  a  standing  that  was  also  a 
withstanding,  a  race  that  was  also  a  continuous 
unceasing  progress.  Thirdly,  we  have  the  justifica- 
tion of  His  confidence.  Having  committed  Him- 
self to  the  Father,  He  was  by  the  Father  raised 
again,  and  exalted  to  His  right  hand  in  power  and 
*  '  Principiuru  sanctorum '  (ancient  Catholic  collect). 


188 


PERSEVERANCE 


PERSEVERANCE 


glory.  Having  given  Himself  to  obedience,  He 
was  purified  ;  to  suffering,  He  was  perfected.  He 
had  entered  into  the  inheritance  of  life  eternal. 
The  prize  was  Avon,  the  goal  was  reached.  The 
saint,  persistent  after  the  same  manner,  will 
achieve  the  same  success.  As  Christ  rested  on 
God,  the  Christian  rests  on  Christ,  reposing  on 
His  Person,  trusting  in  His  companionship,  relying 
on  His  Spirit,  and  so  attains  the  end  of  his  faith. 

(3)  The  life  of  the  Spirit  is  a  third  immediate 
evidence  of  perseverance  ;  for  the  life  of  persever- 
ance is  just  the  Spirit  in  the  soul,  the  life  of  God, 
and.that  brings  with  it  its  own  self- witness.     It  is  a 
life  of  freedom  from  sin  (Ro  81'17,  2  Co  317),  strength 
(Ro  826),  sanctification  (Ro  1516,  1  P  I2),  new  walk 
(Gal  516),  spiritual  gifts  (1  Co  128'11),  spiritual  dis- 
cernment (1  Jn  220),  spiritual  blessings  inconceiv- 
able  to  the  natural  understanding  (1   Co  210"14), 
faith  and  the  moral  virtues  (1  Co  123,  Gal  S22'26, 
1  P  1.  2),  and  the  love  of  God  (Ro  55),  as  well  as 
that   repentance  which  must  daily  testify  to  its 
existence    in    the    Christian    life    (Ac    5S1- 3'2)    as 
necessary,   not  simply   as    being  preparatory    to 
regeneration   but  as  belonging  to   daily  renewal. 
By  the  Spirit  saints  are  sealed  as  God's  (Ro  816, 
Eph  I13).     He  further  is  the  earnest  of  the  ultimate 
inheritance  (Eph  I14)  in  the  hope  of  which  He  keeps 
the  saved  life  in  actual  obedience  and  growth  in 
grace.     By  the   Spirit  believers  know  for  certain 
(oiSaiJLfv,  1  Jn  3-4)  that  God  abideth  in  them.     The 
life  of  the  Spirit  is  thus  one  under  the  compulsion 
of  (a)  a    lofty  ideal,   (b)  ever-growing    spiritual 
apprehension,  (c)  moral  discrimination,  (d)  deepen- 
ing gravity  and  fecundity  of  emotional  force,  (e) 
larger  and  more  spontaneous  obedience.     But  what 
are  these,  if  not  the  essential  unmistakable  notes 
of  the  holy  soul  ? 

(4)  The  fellowship  of  faith  is  a  fourth  conviction 
of  perseverance.     '  By   this  shall  all  men  know,' 
said  Christ,  '  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  that  ye  love 
one  another  '  (Jn  13s5).     That  vindication  of  their 
standing  in  grace  is  never  absent  from  the  apostolic 
assurance.      '  Love   the  brotherhood,'   enjoins  St. 
Peter  (1  P  217).     '  Beloved,  let  us  love  one  another,' 
urges  St.  John   (1  Jn  47).     'Brethren,  speak  not 
evil  one  of  another,'  pleads  St.  James   (Ja  411)  ; 
'  Have  not  the  faith  with  respect  of  persons '  (21) ; 
'  Make  perfect  your  faith  in  works  to  the  brethren ' 
(214- 22).     '  Let    us   consider   one    another  to  pro- 
voke unto  love  and  good  works ;   not  forsaking 
the    assembling    of    ourselves   together,'    teaches 
Hebrews   (He  1024- M ;   cf.   131).     St.    Paul   asserts 
that  sin   against  brethren   is  sin  against   Christ 
(1  Co    812;    cf.    Ro  1210),   that  disregard   of  one 
another  is  division  of  the  Body   and   the  Spirit 
(1  Co  127- 12-  2S),  that  the  household  of  God  must  in 
unity  keep  itself  fitly  framed  together  (Eph  219-  M  ; 
cf.  Ac  24-).     Saintly  experience  is  not  all  in  one 
mould,    but  all   differences,  however  great,   may 
serve  to  manifest  the  power  and  the  plenitude  of 
the  sanctifying  Spirit  of  grace,  the  innumerable 
varieties  corroborating  one  another,  and  in  their 
cumulative  effect  enhancing  the  impression  made 
by  each.     '  The  glorious  company  of  the  Apostles, 
the  goodly  fellowship  of  the  prophets,  the  noble 
army  of  the   martyrs,  the   milder   bands  of  the 
mystics'  perfect  each  other  (cf.  He  II40),  as  each 
proves  '  his  conversation  to  be  in  heaven '  (Ph  320),* 
and   the  fellowship  of  believers  to   be  truly  '  the 
fellowship    with  the  Father  and  with  his  Son, 
Jesus  Christ '(1  Jn  I3). 

(5)  The  heavenly    inheritance  provides  a  fifth 
support.     It  occupies  a  remarkable  space  on  the 
apostolic  horizon.    It  gives  definite  body  to  thought, 
purpose,  and  desire  as  the  great  hope  (Ro  52,  Eph 
!«>.  i»  44}  Col  P-  »,  1  Th  413  58,  2  Th  218"17,  Tit  I2 

*Cf.   Edwin  Hatch's  well-known  hymn,  'All  Saints,'  in  his 
Towards  Fields  of  Light :  Sacred  Poems,  London,  1890. 


213-  14,  He  618- 19  719,  1  P  I3-  "• 13  315,  1  Jn  32-  3)  in  which 
the  disciple  rejoices,  since  it  is  life  eternal  (Ro  G23, 
Eph  I3-  14,  2  Ti  48,  Tit  37,  He  65),  the  long-striven-, 
for  and  appropriate  culmination  and  consumma- 
tion of  this  present  life,  according  to  God's  will 
(1  Co  Q25,  2  Ti  48,  Ja  I12,  1  P  54,  Rev  210  3",  'crown 
of  life'),  life  eternal  which  stands  de  facto  realized 
in  Christ,  'which  is  our  hope'  (1  Ti  I1),  who  is 
crowned  with  glory  and  honour  (He  29- 10),  with 
many  crowns  (Rev  1912).  Through  the  ascension 
of  Christ  Christian  hope  has  a  limitless  reach.*  It 
reaches  outwardly  into  eternity,  inwardly  into  the 
sanctuary  on  high.  It  looks  to  a  hidden  Kingdom 
of  Glory — '  a  salvation  yet  to  be  revealed ' — into 
which  it  casts  its  anchor,  keeping  the  soul  firm 
and  tranquil.  It  contemplates  Him  who  wears  its 
crown  and  sees  in  Him  its  own  surety.  His  being 
there  and  thus  renders  the  hope  of  entrance  a 
certainty.  It  is  a  living  hope  (1  P  I3),  yielding 
vital  stimulus  to  the  whole  nature  it  inhabits — 
sentiment,  thought,  will.  Tke  purpose  of  God, 
the  character  of  Christ,  the  soul's  growth  in  good- 
ness, the  varieties  of  saintly  experience,  the  hope 
of  heaven — these  are  the  dynamics  of  the  redeemed 
and  regenerated  life,  the  pledges  of  holy  attain- 
ment. Can  we  wonder  if  those  who  most  felt 
their  attraction  and  learned  their  strength  claimed 
to  possess  in  them  a  five-fold  cord  that  could  not 
be  broken,  a  basis  of  spiritual  existence  irremov- 
able and  unshakable,  whose  sufficiency  was  wholly 
of  God  and  filled  life  itself  with  an  unquenchable 
joy  (cf.  Ro  52,  Ph  44,  1  Th  516,  1  P  I8,  He  36,  Rev 
1212)  or  that  any  attempt  to  claim  for  man  ability  or 
sufficiency  should  not  appear  other  than  religious 
illiteracy  ? 

2.  The  moral  endeavour. — The  principles  of  per- 
severance, in  virtue  of  their  very  nature  as  active 
impulse  in  union  with  fixed  conviction,  are  preg- 
nant with  moral  life.  They  are  the  reservoirs  of 
the  highest  moral  life  and  inspiration  ;  they  reveal 
to  the  persevering  soul  its  exalted  moral  ideal  and 
the  rigorous  method  of  realizing  it ;  the  acceptance 
of  which  is  the  probation  of  faith  in  steadfastness ; 
its  rejection,  apostasy. 

(1)  The  moral  ideal  regulating  the  virtue  of  per- 
severance is  not  vague ;  it  is  definite.  The  life  of 
perseverance  is  a  specific  culture  of  the  positive 
contents  of  the  will  of  God,  and  that  throughout 
their  whole  extent.  To  this  the  saints  are  '  called ' ; 
it  is  the  '  heavenly  calling '  of  which  they  are  par- 
takers (1  Co  I9,  1  Th  47,  Gal  513,  2  P  I3,  2  Th  214, 
He  31).  Their  K\TJ<TIS  is_  into  a  Kingdom  of  the 
Divine  design,  of  positive' order,  ruled  in  righteous- 
ness by  and  according  to  His  will,  a  sovereignty  in 
fact  as  well  as  in  idea,  not  a  domain  but  a  dominion, 
through  its  citizens  growing  in  righteousness  (Ro 
517  810,  Eph  59  614,  1  Ti  6n,  1  Jn  229,  1  P  I18,  Rev 
198).  Its  content  is  Christ,  and  the  righteousness 
is  His  actual  life  (1  Co  I30,  2  Co  521,  Ph  39).  Its 
end  is  '  to  be  found  in  him '  (Ph  39)  and  '  by  him 
to  be  presented  blameless,  unreproached,  without 
spot'  in  the  end  (1  Co  I8,  2  P  314,  Col  I28).  There 
is  then  a  Divine  order  of  life  in  which  the  Divine 
aim  is  fulfilled,  its  cardinal  power  being  God's 
holiness.  That  holiness,  manifested  in  Christ's 
Person,  presents  man's  nature  in  Him  as  it  is  in 
that  order.  Consequently,  all  moral  effort  of 
believers  must  be  directed  towards  realizing  His 
mind,  imitating  His  example.  His  relation  to 
God  expresses  the  whole  fullness  of  the  human 
spirit's  energy  of  which  it  is  competent.  Out  of 
His  strength  of  belief  in  God's  holy  sovereignty 
was  born  His  dauntless  perseverance.  His  path 
His  saints  pursue.  They  contemplate  the  holiness 
of  God  in  Him,  and  '  perfect  themselves  in  holiness 
in  the  fear  of  God'  (2  Co  71) ;  they  'obey  the 

*  One  indispensable  test  of  Christian  perfection  which  some 
modern  theories,  e.g.  Wesley's,  ignore. 


PERSEVERANCE 


PERSEVERANCE 


189 


truth  '(IP  I22),  they  '  abide  in  the  light '  (Un  I6-  7) 
and  in  the  love  (416). 

These  terms  of  themselves  point  to  further 
features  of  the  ideal  law  :  it  is  not  only  righteous  ; 
it  is  personal,  spiritual,  progressive.  Its  excellency 
is  that  it  is  righteousness  primarily  and  wholly : 
its  highest  excellency,  that  that  righteousness  is 
spirit  not  form,  quality  not  a  quantum,  and  of 
illimitable  outlook — illimitable  as  God  Himself. 
Its  realization  partakes  of  the  process  of  a  deepen- 
ing friendship  ;  the  Divine  Spirit  donates  itself  to 
the  responsive  spirit  of  man,  quickening  its  grow- 
ing exercise  of  faculty,  gradually  and  throughout 
the  whole  circumference  of  the  spirit's  possible 
activity.  The  stronger  personality  does  not  over- 
ride but  inspires.  As  it  succeeds  increasingly  in 
transferring  its  own  powers  to  man's,  man  is  con- 
scious of  both  revelation  and  regeneration,  fresh 
knowledge  and  new  character.  Is  it  a  process  of 
conscious  effort,  a  careful  fulfilment  of  already 
known  arrangements? — Scarcely.  An  acquaint- 
ance is  not  the  product  of  certain  rules,  but  the 
unconscious  result  of  much  association.  The 
Divine  life  in  man's  heart  is  largely  an  unconscious 
growth.*  The  main  factor  is  association  with  God 
in  self-surrender.  At  least  His  best  gifts  so  come, 
by  'waiting  upon  Him.'  The  deliberate  seeking 
of  great  experiences  for  their  own  sake  is  unwise, 
and  likely  to  be  unavailing.  It  follows  further  that 
religious  duty  is  a  given  task,  a  '  burden  '  laid  on 
the  heart, t  which  is  straitened  J  till  it  be  accom- 
plished. It  does  not  come  by  subjective  calcula- 
tions but  is  put  upon  man  as  the  objective  task  of 
doing  God's  will  in  that  lot  and  at  that  moment, 
even  as  the  thinker  devoted  to  the  spirit  of  truth 
learns  truths,  or  the  artist  in  love  with  beauty 
paints  pictures. 

A  second  consequence  is  that  the  ideal  life  is  to 
be  found  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  realm.  God  is 
a  Spirit,  and  they  that  seek  His  life  in  persever- 
ance must  seek  Him  in  the  spirit.  There  is  a  con- 
stant tendency  to  '  seek  Him '  by  '  searching  the 
Almighty  unto  perfection '  in  the  grandiose  con- 
structions of  the  speculative  intellect.  It  is  im- 
perative to  have  all  speculative  intimidations! 
removed  from  the  path  of  perseverance ;  like 
Bunyan's  lions,  they  only  frighten  the  pilgrim. 

A  third  consequence  is  that  the  ideal  life  works 
itself  in  the  orderly,  not  in  the  abnormal.  The 
will  of  God  is  essentially  law.  The  life  of  God  is 
not  above  law,  whether  in  Himself  or  in  His  mani- 
festation. His  life  in  the  soul  of  man  is  not  incon- 
sistent with  Himself.  When  He  works  in  us,  He 
works  according  to  law ;  for  which  reason  His 
working  calls  for  all  our  effort.  It  is  His  own 
order  of  life  that  He  transfers  to  man  ;  this  can 
be  done  only  through  the  laws  of  man's  nature  of 
which  He  is  Himself  the  author.  Spiritual  bless- 
ing is  therefore  not  conferred  in  any  scenic  fashion 
but  by  power  moving  along  the  lines  of  normal 
life,  and  manifesting  itself  in  its  products.  This 
is  the  best  of  all  exaggerated  psychological  and 
mystical  states :  they  have  no  value  apart  from 
their  moral  content  and  moral  effect,  they  are 
subject  to  the  law  of  righteousness. 

A  fourth  consequence  is  that  the  ideal  life  is 
a  principle  for  all  living,  not  apart  from  living 
interests.]!  Religion  that  is  true  is  not  a  techni- 
cality ;  it  is  the  Divine  presence  and  agency  in  life 
as  a  whole.  It  is  not  a  speciality  ;  it  is  the  loyal, 
loving  effort  to  make  the  will  of  God  triumphant 
in  all  fields  of  human  interest  and  activity — the 

»  Cf.  Gal  lie,  Ph  sis. 

t  The  prophetic  terra.  t  Lk  12*0. 

§  Apostolic  thought  is  not  speculative  ;  in  this  it  is  true  to  its 
Hebraic  ancestry. 

II  The  apostles  connect  their  exhortations  to  practical  duties 
with  their  previously  detailed  principles  (cf.  Rom.,  1  Cor.,  Eph., 
Col.,  1  Peter). 


soul,  the  family,  society,  art,  letters.  The  differ- 
ence between  the  elect  and  non-elect  lies  not  in 
their  sphere  of  work  :  they  differ  in  their  spirit. 
The  worldling  loses  himself  in  the  life  of  sense- 
things  ;  the  believer  relates  his  life  to  God's  order 
of  life  and  glorifies  it  by  filling  it  with  heroic 
devotion.  To  sum  up,  the  life  of  perseverance  is 
the  life  of  conscience :  a  life  of  communion  with 
God  through  the  conscience  and  its  steady  enlight- 
enment by  His  law.  All  exaltations  of  inner  feel- 
ing, raptures,  anomalous  experiences  must  pale 
before  the  orderly  interaction  of  religious  thought, 
feeling,  moral  will  which  this  education  of  con- 
science entails.  Man's  predestinarian  days  are 
days  of  conscience,*  and  aim  ;not  at  'religious 
experiences'  but  at  righteousness. t  They  lay  un- 
challengeable insistence  on  the  truth  that  the 
changed  life,  the  clean  heart,  the  strengthened 
will,  the  deeper  moral  insight,  the  spirit  of  upright- 
ness, are  alone  acceptable  to  God,  the  noblest 
fruits  of  faith,  the  prime  factors  of  holiness.  This 
ideal  is  laid  upon  men  by  God,  not  to  impose  a 
harder  law,  but  from  His  consuming  passion  to 
bring  them  to  the  fullest  life. 

(2)  Corresponding  to  the  exalted  character  of  the 
ideal  itself  is  the  method  of  its  fulfilment.  Its  rigour 
is  uncompromising.  Its  exhortation  is  incessant. 
The  earnestness  with  which  it  is  urged  and  the  im- 
portance attached  to  it  by  each  apostle  are  con- 
spicuous in  every  Epistle.  Remarkable  are  the 
energy  of  the  metaphors  and  the  extent  and 
solemnity  of  the  terms  employed  to  characterize 
it.  It  is  fundamentally  the  holding  fast  of  a 
position.  Its  most  notable  description  is  given  in 
Eph  610"18,  an  analysis  of  which  will  disclose  all  the 
parts  that  here  follow,  gathered  from  the  other  NT 
writings.  Saints  are  saints — they  occupy  the  posi- 
tion ;  they  are  in  the  state  of  grace ;  their  whole 
attention,  devotion,  labour,  is  to  keep  it,  and  to 
stand  (Ro  144,  1  Co  1613,  2  Co  I*4,  Eph  613,  Ph  I27  41, 

1  Th  38,  1  P  512).     St.  John's  word  is  'abide  in' 
(Un  224  3«  412-16,  2  Jn2)  ;   in  Hebrews  there  are 
various  words  (21 36- 12-  "4146n  102-  ™-  M) ;  St.  James' 
word  is  '  unstable,'  '  wavering '  (I6-  7-  8) ;  in  Revela- 
tion it  is  '  hold  fast'(228  3U;  cf.  He  414  1023). 

This  holding  fast  involves  a  two-fold  strenuous- 
ness  :  (a)  in  fighting  evil ;  (b)  in  reaching  out  to  the 
goal  (the  good  fight  of  the  faith,  the  racing  in  the 
arena,  1  Ti  612,  He  121 :  cf.  1  Co  G26,  2  Ti  47,  2  Co  75 
614,  Eph  613,  1  Co  926,  Ph  218,  1  P  58,  etc.).  The 
effort  is  an  appeal  to  every  power  of  the  soul  :  to 
sobriety  (1  Th  5s,  Tit  22-  4-  B,  1  P  I13  47  58,  1  Ti  29- 15), 
to  watchfulness  (Col  4a,  1  Co  1618,  1  Th  56,  1  P  47  58, 

2  Ti  45,  Rev  32 1615,  2  Co  65,  Eph  618),  to  diligence  (He 
1215,  2  P  I5- 10, 1  Co  1558,  Gal  69,  Ph  314, 2  Th  313,  He  612, 
2  P  314),  and  to  progress  (He  61,  etc.);  above  all  to 
patience  and  steadfastness  (1  Th  1s  514,  2  Th  I4, 
1  Ti  6",  2  Ti  310,  Tit  22,  He  1036,  2  P  I6,  Rev  I9  22- 19, 
1  Co  1558,  He  314  619,  1  P  59,  Col  2s,  2  P  3").     It  is 
a  steadfastness  in  faith,  truth,  hope,  love,  in  the 
gospel,  in  all  duty,  but  particularly  under  trial  (Ro 
54  1212,  Ja  I3-4  57-  «•  10,  1  P  I1'8  220,  Rev  1310  14J2).    Of 
so  much  patience  and  steadfastness  there  is  need, 
because  the  life  and  the  truth  in  the  disciple  will 
be,  as  in  Christ,  hated  of  the  world,  with  a  hatred 
enhanced  both  by  the  circumstances  of  life  itself  and 
by  the  potency  of  '  the  flesh  '  in  themselves.    Their 
loyalty  to  truth  will  be  confronted  by  persecution  ; 
their  loyalty  to  faith   will  be  confronted  by  the 
powers  of  the  world  ;  their  loyalty  to  righteousness 
will  be  confronted  by  the  malice  of  the  devil.     In 

*  St.  Paul  is  the  author  of  '  the  Christian  conscience ' ;  his 
doctrine,  equivalent  to  '  the  7rveO/ua  in  man,'  is  his  largest  con- 
tribution to  Christian  thought.  St..  Auprustine  and  Luther 
made  notable  additions.  National  life  and  laws  have  been  en- 
riched most  under  statesmen  influenced  by  minds  like  Calvin, 
Enox,  the  Pilgrim  Fathers. 

t  Jonathan  Edwards,  Religious  Affections  (Works,  New  York, 
1869,  iii.  Iff.). 


190 


PERSEVERANCE 


PERSIS 


meeting  these,  patience,  firmness,  persistency, 
exertion  of  mind,  of  heart,  of  will  are  absolute 
requisites.  Let  them  maintain  themselves  in  them  ; 
as  appointed  of  God  for  the  '  trial  of  faith.' 

Here  two  points  should  be  specially  noted — first, 
the  large  sense  in  which  all  these  terms  are  used ; 
secondly,  the  inwardness  of  trial.  What  is  so- 
briety ? — It  applies  to  the  whole  nature — every  part 
of  which  is  to  be  awake  ;  it  really  means  awake- 
ness.*  What  is  watchfulness? — Again  it  applies 
to  the  whole  nature ;  it  is  perceptiveness.  What 
is  patience? — It  is  that  great-spiritedness  which 
combines  eagerness  in  striving  with  endurance  in 
suffering.  And  suffering,  what  is  it  ? — It  at  once 
reveals,  confirms,  develops  faith.  The  spirit  of 
the  true  Christian  agonistes  is  slack  in  no  element 
of  its  manifold  nature  ;  it  hesitates  at  no  sacrifice, 
is  ready  for  all  self-denial ;  it  eagerly  stretches  and 
strains  itself  in  self-discipline,  above  all  in  keeping 
itself  disentangled,  to  follow  after  the  prize  of  its 
high  calling  in  Christ,  which  the  persevering  saint 
knows  is  within  his  grasp  (2  Ti  48),  for  God  can 
keep  him  to  it  (Ko  144).t  Slackness  in  wrestling, 
on  the  other  hand,  involves  a  loosening  of  all  the 
parts  of  the  nature  which  by  the  grace  of  persever- 
ance have  been  girded  up,  and,  according  as  it  is  in- 
dulged, leads  by  a  variety  of  stages  of  lapsing  to  final 
apostasy,  the  total  abandonment  of  the  position.  £ 

3.  The  maintenance  of  perseverance  by  God. — 
(1)  The  life  of  perseverance  construed  as  above 
implies  the  sole  maintenance  of  its  actual  activity 
by  God  Himself.  It  is  a  life  whose  beginning, 
medium,  and  consummation  proceed  from  Him,  as 
its  ground,  motive,  and  goal.  It  is  the  life  for  man 
that  alone  provides  the  proper  meaning  to  the 
lower  worlds  of  nature  and  history — the  life  for 
which  these  are  propaedeutic  and  preparatory.  It 
is  the  life  for  humanity  which  alone  is  adequate 
to  its  natural  capacities,  satisfactory  to  its  native 
aspirations,  and  provocative  of  its  noblest  heroisms. 
The  modern  mind  may  have  moved  away  from  the 
theological  formulation  of  this  persuasion  :  but  not 
from  the  persuasion  itself.  It  is  learning  eagerly  the 
truth  of  the  Divine  Immanence  in  human  nature 
as  the  key  to  the  interpretation  of  God's  relation 
to  man.  How  does  that  idea  aid  us  intellectually 
in  understanding  the  grace  of  perseverance  ? — It  un- 
questionably contains  suggestions  of  real  cogency 
in  its  conceptions  of  God  and  man  that  render  the 
relation  between  them  more  vital  than  ever  and 
acceptable  to  modern  thought.  God  is  self- 
impartation  ;  §  man  is  receptivity.  Man  therefore 
cannot  be  himself  except  in  entire  dependence  on 
God.  The  dependence,  too,  is  irresistible  and 
inalienable :  even  the  evil  in  man's  rejection  of  it 
is  dependent. 

(2)  The  religious  persuasion  of  '  being  in  persever- 
ance' is  the  firm  assurance  that  we  'have  tasted  of 
the  heavenly  gift  and  the  powers  of  the  world  to 
come'  (He64-s).  The  assurance  of  eternity  in  us 
and  for  all  future  life  is  not  an  easy  assurance  when 
we  seek  to  present  the  intellectual  grounds  of  it. 
It  is  comparatively  simple  when  we  turn  to  the 
instincts  of  immortality  which  spring  from  the 
conquest  of  evil  in  us.  Nothing  can  rob  a  man  of 
his  sense  of  individuality,  which  comes  upon  him 
as  he  passes  from  a  moral  victory  and  his  conscience 
grows.  Now  that  growth  is  steadfastly  maintained 
in  the  probation  of  faith.  Every  moral  conquest 
brings  fresh  impulses  of  moral  vigour  and  hope. 
Every  moral  conquest  brings  fresh  revolt  against 

*  See  an  admirable  sermon  of  F.  W.  Farrar  in  Sermons  and 
Addresses  in  America,  London,  1892,  p.  15. 

t  Cf.  Calvin's  saying,  '  The  Christian  may  know  thirst  but  not 
drought.' 

J  Apostasy  =  airo+enr<«r«. 

§  Jonathan  Edwards'  profound  idea  of  the  Divine  nature : 
Dissertation  on  the  End  for  which  God  created  the  World  ( Works, 
4  vols.,  New  York,  1869,  vol.  ii.  p.  193  ff.). 


the  old  forces.  Every  moral  conquest  brings 
fresh  certainty  of  ultimate  success.  Such  results 
point  infallibly  to  the  besetting  power  being 
righteous.  It  is  an  inescapable  environment : 
even  in  the  instance  when  not  receptivity  on 
man's  part,  but  hostility,  is  offered,  there  follows 
hurt  and  loss.  It  is  the  same  power  which,  obeyed, 
blesses ;  disobeyed,  blasts. 

(3)  Let  the  idea  be  abandoned  that  the  Divine 
indwelling  is  something  sensuously  presentable  or 
emotionally  definable,  and  it  follows  that  the 
assurance  of  God's  operation  in  us  is  just  the  inner 
sense  of  reality  that  comes  to  us  in  moral  living. 
Nature  and  grace  are  not  so  antithetic  as  to  be 
incapable  of  mutual  penetration  :  the  step  is  easy 
to  discover  the  need  of  grace  to  the  best  nature — 
that  at  least  is  the  predestinarian's  plea.  Holy 
love  or  righteousness,  he  argues,  is  the  root  of  all 
life.  For  it  all  Nature  is  foreordained,  prepared. 
For  human  life  it  is  the  one  true  formative  force. 
In  communion  with  God  the  springs  of  true  life  are 
unsealed.  But  holy  love  is  of  a  higher  nature  than 
emotion  :  it  denotes  that  quality  in  the  nature  of 
God  that  impels  Him  irresistibly  to  give  Himself 
to  His  creatures.  Hence  in  every  spiritual  fact 
attending  on  communion  with  Him,  there  is  a 
momentum  to  moral  duty.  Thus  here  we  stand. 
God,  besetting  all,  moves  all.  His  movement 
invites  response  from  every  single  will ;  He  waits 
on  the  start  of  our  effort.  That  is  not  to  take  away 
from  Him  the  initiative  in  salvation.  Our  effort 
is  the  beginning  of  His  gift,  the  first  stirring  of 
'  the  grace  that  is  in  us  from  Him,  and  which 
can  be  ours  in  no  other  way.  And  so,  after  the 
start,  throughout  the  whole  of  our  moral  growth, 
every  new  stirring  in  us  is  of  our  effort  and  of 
His  gift  and  increase  (Ph  212).  WTe  are  never  from 
first  to  last  simple  quietistic  receivers  of  some- 
thing infused.  So  indissolubly  has  God  made  us 
for  Himself  that  we  are  the  bearers  (Oeo<j>6poi), 
because  incorporators,  of  a  growing  life  which  God 
quickens,  as  light  awakes  Nature  and  love  the 
heart.  Can  such  a  condition  be  conceived  of  as 
intermittent  ? 

LITERATURE. — Besides  the  works  referred  to  in  the  body  of 
the  article,  the  reader  should  consult  theological  text-books  in 
connexion  with  Grace.  There  are  articles  in  Schaff-Herzog 
(C.  A.  Beckwith),  CE  (J.  F.  Sollier),  HDB  (G.  Ferries).  On 
modern  views  consult  R.  Eucken,  Christianity  and  the  New 
Idealism,  Eng.  tr.,  London  and  New  York,  1909  ;  J.  R.  Illing- 
worth,  Christian  Character,  London,  1904. 

A.  S.  MARTIN. 

PERSIS  (Ilepcris,  a  Greek  name). — Persis  is  a 
woman  saluted  by  St.  Paul  in  Ro  1612.  She  is 
described  as  '  the  beloved  '  (rrjv  dyairriT'/iv),  by  which 
may  be  meant  a  personal  convert  and  disciple  of 
the  Apostle  (see  C.  von  Weizsacker,  Apostolic  Age, 
Eng.  tr.,  i.2  [1897]  394)  or  one  closely  associated 
with  him  in  his  work.  If  so,  it  may  be  with  inten- 
tional delicacy  that  St.  Paul  has  so  described  her 
and  not  as  '  my  beloved,'  the  term  which  he 
applies  to  three  men  whom  he  salutes  (Epsenetus 
[v.6],  Ampliatus  [v.8],  Stachys  [v.9]).  On  the  other 
hand,  '  the  beloved '  may  indicate  not  personal 
relationship  to  the  Apostle  but  the  affection  in 
which  Persis  was  held  by  the  whole  Church  to 
which  she  belonged  and  in  which  she  '  laboured 
much  in  the  Lord'  (T/rtj  iroXXci  iKOirlaffev  ev  Kvpltf). 
This  further  description  completes  our  information 
with  regard  to  Persis.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the 
verb  Koiritiv,  which  suggests  painstaking  effort,  is 
used  in  Ro  16  only  of  women — of  Mary  (v.6),  of 
Tryphsena  and  Tryphosa  (v.12),  and  that  the  descrip- 
tion of  Persis  includes  the  terms  used  of  these, 
viz.  TToXXci,  fKoiriacrev  (Mary),  /coirtoxraj  iv  Kvpl<p 
(Tryphsena  and  Tryphosa).  Elsewhere  KOTTLOLV 
is  employed  to  describe  the  Apostle's  missionary 
labours  (1  Co  1510,  Gal  411,  Ph  218,  Col  12<J),  as  well 
as  the  manual  toil  involved  (1  Co  412,  Eph  4s8) ; 


PERSON  OF  CHRIST 


PETER 


191 


also  the  work  of  the  leaders  of  the  Church  at  Thes- 
salonica  (1  Th  5ia),  of  Christians  like  those  who 
formed  'the  household  of  Stephanas'  (1  Co  1618), 
and  of  certain  elders  in  1  Ti  5"  '  who  labour  in  the 
word  and  in  teaching.'  It  is  therefore  impossible 
to  regard  the  work  of  Persis  and  of  the  other  women 
as  limited  to  practical  benevolence,  such  as  the 
showing  of  hospitality.  The  aorist,  in  contrast  to 
the  present  used  in  the  same  verse  of  the  labours 
of  Tryphaena  and  Tryphosa,  may  point  to  some 
definite  occasion  of  special  importance  in  the  past ; 
or  we  may  suppose  that  Persis  was  an  aged  woman 
whose  active  work  was  over.  The  sphere  in  which 
we  shall  picture  her  activities  will  be  determined 
by  our  acceptance  of  the  Roman  or  Ephesian 
destination  of  these  salutations.  The  name  Persis 
does  not  appear  in  inscriptions  of  the  Imperial 
household.  T.  B.  ALLWORTHY. 

PERSON   OF   CHRIST.— See  CHRIST,  CHRIST- 

OLOGY. 

PETER.— 1.  Names. — Peter  is  known  by  four 
different  names  in  the  NT.  By  far  the  most 
common  designation  is  simply  'Peter'  (20  times  in 
Mt.,  18  times  in  Mk.,  15  times  in  Lk.,  16  times  in 
Jn.,  52  times  in  Ac.,  twice  in  Gal.  [27'-],  and  once  in 
1  Peter  [I1]).  '  Simon,'  standing  alone,  occurs  less 
frequently  (twice  in  Mt.,  5  times  in  Mk.,  10  times 
in  Lk.,  once  in  Jn.),  and  'Symeon'  but  once  (Ac 
1514).*  With  two  exceptions  (Gal  27f>),  '  Cephas '  is 
the  term  uniformly  employed  by  St.  Paul  (1  Co  I12 
S22  9s  15s,  Gal  I18  29-  »• 14) ;  and  John  once  speaks  of 
'Cephas  (which  is  by  interpretation,  Peter)'  (I42). 
'Simon'  and  'Peter'  sometimes  stand  in  conjunc- 
tion with  one  another  (3  times  in  Mt.,  once  in  Mk., 
twice  in  Lk.,  18  times  in  Jn.,  4  times  in  Acts,  and 
once  in  2  Pet.  (I1),  where  'Symeon'  rather  than 
'  Simon '  is,  however,  the  better  attested  reading 
[XAKLP  et  a/.]).  Of  the  various  names,  '  Symeon ' 
('Simeon')  and  'Cephas'  are  Semitic  in  origin,  while 
'Simon'  and  'Peter'  are  Greek.  'Symeon'  (2v;ueu>j') 
appears  frequently  in  the  LXX  as  the  rendering  of 
the  Heb.  jij/'pi?  (Shime6n  =  Simeon) ;  but,  since  it  is 
applied  to  Peter  at  most  only  twice  in  the  NT  (Ac 
1514,  2  P  I1),  it  can  hardly  have  been  his  real  name. 
In  these  two  instances  the  usage,  if  not  accidental, 
may  have  been  designed  to  add  solemnity  and  force 
to  the  narrative,  and  was  made  all  the  easier  be- 
cause the  Greek  'Simon'  (2ifj.wt>),  the  name  by 
which  Peter  probably  had  been  known  from  child- 
hood, was  so  like  the  Hebrew  in  sound.  But 
among  the  Jews  in  Hellenistic  times  the  Hebrew 
name  had  been  largely  supplanted  by  the  Greek, 
and  the  latter  was  even  written  in  Semitic  char- 
acters (jia'p).  Some  examples  of  Jews  with  the 
Greek  name  are  Simon  the  Maccabsean,  although 
his  great-grandfather  was  called  'Symeon'  (1  Mac 
23) ;  Simon  the  son  of  Onias  (Sir  501) ;  a  certain 
Benjamite  (2  Mac  34) ;  and  Simon  Chosameus  (1  Es 
932).  In  Josephus'  writings  Jewish  persons  are  very 
frequently  called  'Simon,'  less  often  'Symeon.' 
Both  names  seem  to  have  been  employed,  and 
usually  with  discrimination,  by  Jews  in  the  Hellen- 
istic period  ;  but  '  Simon '  was  the  more  common, 
and  this  in  all  probability  was  the  Apostle's  original 
name.  In  the  Apostolic  Age,  however,  he  was 
known  chiefly  by  his  surname,  '  Peter.'  That  this 
usage  had  been  established  already  within  the 
primitive  Aramaic-speaking  community  is  amply 

*  Peter  is  not  to  be  confused  with  other  '  Simons'  mentioned 
in  the  NT,  e.g.  the  'Cananaean'  (Mt  1(H,  Mk  3i»),  who  is  also 
called  '  the  Zealot '  (Lk  6«,  Ac  113),  the  brother  of  Jesus  (Mt 
13-5»,  Mk  63),  the  Pharisee  (Lk  7«.*3f.),  the  man  of  Gyrene  (Mt 
2732,  Mk  1521,  Lk  23'^),  the  father  of  Judas  (Jn  671  12*  13'i  "*), 
the  '  Great'  (Ac  8»- 13- 18-  24),  the  '  tanner '  (Ac  9«  106- 17. 32) ;  Or 
with  other  'Symeons,'  e.;j.  of  Jerusalem  (Lk  225-84),  one  of 
Jesus'  ancestors  (Lk  330),  'Niger'  (Ac  131),  the  patriarch 
(Rev  77X 


attested  by  St.  Paul's  frequent  'Cephas' 
a   Grsecized   transliteration  of    the  Aramaic 
(Kepha),  which  when   translated  into  Greek  be- 
comes 'Peter'  (Il^rpos,  'stone'). 

There  is  some  uncertainty  as  to  the  exact  cir- 
cumstances under  which  the  Apostle  first  received 
this  appellation.  According  to  Mk  316,  Lk  614, 
early  in  his  Galilsean  ministry  Jesus  set  apart  the 
Twelve  to  be  His  helpers  and  gave  Simon  the  sur- 
name Peter  (na.1  tTrtOrjicev  6Voyua  rip  2i/xwvi  Tltrpov) 
In  referring  to  the  same  incident,  Matthew  (102) 
speaks  of  '  the  so-called  Peter '  (6  \ey6/j.e vos  n^rpoj), 
but  seemingly  intends  to  make  the  Apostle's  famous 
confession  at  Csesarea  Philippi  the  occasion  for  the 
Messiah  to  bestow  upon  him  the  name  ' Peter'  and 
to  designate  him  formal  head  of  the  Church  (Mt 
jgi7-i»)  jn  tne  Gospel  of  John,  when  Simon  was 
first  brought  to  Jesus,  the  latter  exclaimed,  '  Thou 
art  to  be  called  Cephas"  (<7i>  KX^TJCTT?  Kr?0as  [I42]), 
probably  meaning  from  this  time  forth,  since  John 
does  not  recur  to  this  subject  and  henceforth  always 
(except  in  21)  uses  '  Peter'  either  alone  (16  times) 
or  in  conjunction  with  '  Simon'  (18  times).  Finally, 
there  are  intimations,  though  these  are  very  vague, 
that  the  special  recognition  of  Simon's  supremacy 
may  at  one  time  have  rested  upon  his  early  belief 
in  Jesus'  resurrection.  He  was  generally  thought 
to  have  been  the  first  disciple  to  see — if  not  to 
believe  in  (Jn  208)— the  Risen  Lord  (1  Co  155,  Mk 
167,  Lk  24s4),  and,  as  St.  Paul  had  attained  apostle- 
ship  through  a  similar  vision,  so  Peter  had  been 
'energized  for  his  work  as  an  apostle  (Gal  2s). 
There  is  here  no  statement  that  Simon  received  his 
surname  on  this  occasion — indeed,  he  is  already 
known  as  'Peter'  (or  'Cephas')  in  this  connexion 
— but  it  is  possible  that  his  initial  vision,  which 
made  him  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  community, 
established,  if  not  for  the  first  time,  at  least  more 
completely,  the  custom  of  referring  to  him  as 
'  Peter.'  The  infrequency  of  the  word  as  a  proper 
name  at  that  time,  and  the  fact  that  '  Simon ' 
would  readily  have  served  all  ordinary  needs  either 
in  Jewish  or  in  Christian  circles,  make  it  still  more 
evident  that  the  designation  '  Cephas '  (Peter)  was 
called  forth  by  special  circumstances,  uncertain 
though  some  of  the  details  may  be  at  present. 
The  usage  undoubtedly  originated  early,  probably 
in  the  lifetime  of  Jesus ;  and  the  significance  of 
the  appellation  was  at  the  outset,  or  soon  became, 
intimately  associated  with  Peter's  prominent  posi- 
tion within  the  company  of  early  disciples. 

2.  Peter  in  the  NT  writings.— The  earliest  litera- 
ture preserved  from  apostolic  times,  the  letters  of 
St.  Paul,  contains  explicit  and  important  informa- 
tion about  Peter.  These  documents  do  not,  to  be 
sure,  purport  to  give  any  detailed  account  of  his 
career,  and  the  data  which  they  do  preserve  are 
usually  incidental  to  other  interests,  but  this  very 
fact  makes  the  information  all  the  more  significant. 
St.  Paul's  statements  clearly  represent  items  of 
general  knowledge  current  at  that  early  date  re- 
garding '  Cephas.  While  St.  Paul's  references  are 
relatively  few  in  number,  they  contain  implications 
of  much  importance.  Peter  is  seen  to  have  been 
the  first  to  obtain  a  vision  of  the  Risen  Lord  (1  Co 
155) ;  and  thus  from  the  outset  he  occupied  a  posi- 
tion of  primacy  in  the  community  and  was  also 
first  among  the  apostles,  while  St.  Paul  reckons 
himself  last  (1  Co  159).  St.  Paul  vigorously  re- 
sented the  insinuation  of  his  enemies,  to  the  effect 
that  Peter's  chronological  priority  carried  with  it 
a  superior  authority,  particularly  for  Gentile  Chris- 
tians ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  St.  Paul  did  not 
think  his  apostleship  or  mission  at  all  different  in 
kind  or  superior  in  authority  as  compared  with 
that  of  Peter.  The  seducers  in  Galatia  were  not 
really  preaching  Peter's  gospel — they  were  per- 
verting it  (Gal  I7) ;  it  was  as  truly  founded  upon 


192 


PETER 


PETER 


faith  in  Jesus  the  Messiah  as  was  St.  Paul's  (Gal 
216) ;  and  both  apostles  had  been  equipped  in  the 
same  authoritative  way  for  the  performance  of 
their  respective  apostolic  duties  (Gal  28).  Peter 
had  been  commissioned  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the 
Jews,  and  this  work  must  have  seemed  to  St.  Paul 
quite  as  important  as — perhaps  in  some  respects 
more  important  than — his  own  specific  task  of 
Gentile  evangelization.  He  never  doubted  that 
God's  primary  concern  was  for  the  welfare  of  the 
Jews,  and  that  He  had  even  designed  them  to  be 
the  ultimate  heirs  of  the  Kingdom,  notwithstand- 
ing their  temporary  rejection  of  the  gospel  (Ro  11). 
In  the  meantime,  the  Gentiles  were  reaping  the 
profits  to  be  derived  from  the  Jews'  rejection,  St. 
Paul  being  especially  commissioned  to  carry  on 
this  temporary  enterprise  of  evangelizing  the 
Gentiles,  but  the  original  and  fundamental  task 
was  still  Peter's. 

The  importance  of  this  phase  of  St.  Paul's  think- 
ing— an  item  sometimes  obscured  by  a  too  one-sided 
emphasis  upon  the  legalistic  controversy — is  further 
attested  by  the  high  estimate  he  continues  to  place 
upon  Judaism,  and  the  value  he  attaches  to  Chris- 
tianity's Jewish  connexions.  The  Jew  has  had  the 
advantage  in  every  way  (Ro  31  9lff-),  and  St.  Paul's 
ancestry  entitles  him  to  a  full  share  in  that  ad- 
vantage (Ro  II1,  2  Co  II22,  Ph  35).  True,  his 
ancestral  heritage  must  now  be  brought  to  its 
proper  consummation  in  the  new  faith,  toward 
which  all  the  Divine  purposes  down  through  the 
ages  had  been  tending.  From  St.  Paul's  point  of 
view  it  was  altogether  essential,  however,  that 
Christianity  should  have  had  this  Jewish  origin  ; 
and  so  it  was  especially  fitting,  he  thought,  that 
those  olive  branches  which  had  been  temporarily 
severed  from  the  Jewish  trunk — as  was  the  case 
with  all  Jews  who  rejected  Christianity — should 
one  day  be  restored  to  their  rightful  place  along 
with  the  few  wild  olive  branches  that  had  in  the 
meantime  been  grafted  upon  the  native  stock  (Ro 
llllff-).  It  fell  to  Peter's  lot  to  engage  in  the  work 
of  preserving,  or  restoring,  the  original  branches, 
a  work  with  which  St.  Paul  was  in  full  sympathy 
and  to  which  he  would  gladly  have  given  himself 
at  all  costs  had  circumstances  permitted  (Ro  93). 
Hence  it  is  not  strange  that  he  should  cite  the 
Jewish  churches  as  models  (1  Th  214),  that  he  should 
refer  with  manifest  satisfaction  to  their  approval 
of  his  initial  missionary  activities  (Gal  I24),  that  he 
should  reckon  his  own  evangelizing  activity  as 
formally  beginning  at  Jerusalem  (Ro  1519),  that  he 
should  take  occasion  to  pay  Peter  a  two  weeks' 
visit  in  Jerusalem  (Gal  I18),  or  that  he  should  in  all 
sincerity  seek  the  approval  of  the  Jerusalem  Church 
upon  his  Gentile  work  (Gal  2lff-).  Furthermore, 
his  high  estimate  of  the  Jewish  community's  sig- 
nificance found  very  tangible  expression  in  the 
collection,  which  was  no  mere  perfunctory  keeping 
of  a  past  agreement,  but  an  expression  of  genuine 
appreciation  of  the  Jewish  Christians'  willingness 
to  share  their  special  prerogatives  with  the  Gentiles 
who  fulfilled  the  condition  of  faith  (Gal  210,  Ro 
1526'28).  These  facts  must  be  borne  in  mind  when 
attempting  to  evaluate  St.  Paul's  testimony  to  the 
significance  of  Peter's  position  in  the  early  history 
of  Christianity.  It  is  quite  erroneous  to  conclude, 
as  some  interpreters  have  done,  that  St.  Paul's 
controversy  with  the  legalists  really  meant  any 
conscious  effort  on  his  part  to  oppose  or  to  supplant 
Peter,  whose  unique  position  in  the  early  com- 
munity and  whose  leadership  in  the  work  of  evan- 
gelizing the  Jews  are  clearly  attested  and  highly 
esteemed  by  St.  Paul. 

Unfortunately,  St.  Paul  did  not  have  occasion  to 
mention  Peter  as  often  as  we  could  wish ;  conse- 
quently, the  latter's  career  cannot  be  restored  with 
any  degree  of  fullness  from  the  Pauline  letters. 


Whether  he  was  among  the  apostles  in  Jerusalem, 
whom  St.  Paul,  had  he  so  chosen,  might  have 
visited  immediately  after  his  conversion  (Gal  I17), 
is  not  clear ;  but  three  years  later  he  was  there 
and  entertained  St.  Paul  for  two  weeks  (Gal  I18). 
He  was  also  in  Jerusalem  fourteen  years  later, 
when  the  legalistic  controversy  was  going  on  (Gal 
21'10).  Soon  afterwards,  perhaps  accompanying  St. 
Paul  and  Barnabas  on  their  return,  he  came  to 
Antioch  in  Syria,  where  his  reactionary  attitude 
upon  the  question  of  table-fellowship  with  Gentiles 
evoked  St.  Paul's  vigorous  censure.  An  incidental 
reference  to  Peter  as  a  travelling  missionary  ac- 
companied by  his  wife  and  deriving  support  from 
those  to  whom  he  ministered  (1  Co  9s),  and  mention 
of  a  Cephas-party  in  Corinth  (1  Co  I12  322),  complete 
the  list  of  Pauline  data.  These  scanty  particulars 
do  not  permit  of  any  very  extended  interpretation, 
yet  they  do  make  it  clear  that  Peter  was  prominent 
in  the  counsels  of  the  mother  Church,  that  he  con- 
tinued to  prosecute  his  work  as  an  evangelist,  and 
that  his  fame  had  reached  even  to  Asia  Minor  and 
Greece  early  in  the  fifties. 

Of  the  remaining  Christian  literature  produced 
in  apostolic  times,  the  Gospels  and  Acts  are  the 
most  important  for  our  present  purpose.  In  the 
first  part  of  Acts,  Peter  is  the  leader  of  the 
apostolic  company,  and  in  the  Gospels  he  occupies 
a  position  of  prominence,  commensurate  with  the 
dominant  part  he  subsequently  played  in  the  life 
of  the  early  Christian  community.  Remembering 
the  ample  attestation  of  Peter's  prominence  given 
by -his  contemporary  St.  Paul,  it  is  not  at  all  sur- 
prising that  the  evangelists,  in  selecting  gospel 
tradition  and  giving  it  written  form,  should  men- 
tion Peter  frequently  and  assign  him  a  position 
second  only  to  that  of  Jesus.  His  name  does  not 
appear  in  any  of  the  non-Marcan  sections  common 
to  Matthew  and  Luke  (i.e.  in  the  Logia  [Q]),  but 
in  Mark  he  is  a  conspicuous  figure  from  first  to 
last.  He,  with  his  brother  Andrew,  is  the  first  to 
answer  Jesus'  call  to  discipleship  (I18) ;  they  en- 
tertain Him  at  their  home  in  Capernaum,  where 
He  heals  Simon's  mother-in-law  (I29f-);  and  the 
company  of  the  disciples  is  now  known  as  '  Simon 
and  those  with  him  (1s8).  He  heads  the  list  of 
the  Twelve  (318),  he  is  named  first  among  the 
favoured  few  to  witness  the  raising  -  of  Jairus' 
daughter  (5s7),  he  is  granted  similar  favours  at  the 
time  of  the  Transfiguration  (92),  and  in  Gethsemane 
on  the  night  of  the  betrayal  (1433),  and  it  is  to  him 
in  particular  that  the  women  are  instructed  to 
announce  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  (167).  On 
several  occasions  he  is  chief  spokesman  for  the 
disciples,  and  is  mentioned  first  among  those 
receiving  private  instructions  or  explanations  (S29 
95  1028  II21  133).  Notices  which  reflect  somewhat 
unfavourably  upon  him  are  also  preserved.  Al- 
though he  is  the  first  of  the  Twelve  to  affirm  belief 
in  Jesus'  Messiahship,  his  failure  to  understand 
the  true  Messianic  programme  calls  forth  a  sharp 
rebuke  from  Jesus  (832£-) ;  he  is  found  asleep  when 
left  on  duty  in  Gethsemane  (1487) ;  and  during  the 
course  of  Jesus'  trial  Peter  persistently  denies  his 
Master  (1429-84-72). 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  alterations  and 
supplements,  Matthew  and  Luke  take  over  most 
of  the  Marcan  statements  regarding  Peter. 
Matthew  omits  the  paragraph  in  which  'Simon 
and  those  with  him '  seek  Jesus  to  tell  Him  that 
the  people  of  Capernaum  desire  His  return  to  the 
city  (Mk  I36),  nothing  is  said  of  Peter's  accompany- 
ing Jesus  when  the  latter  raised  the  daughter  of 
Jairus  (Mk  537),  and  Peter's  name  is  expunged 
from  the  instructions  given  to  the  women  oy  the 
angel  at  the  tomb  of  Jesus  (Mk  167).  These  omis- 
sions are  relatively  insignificant  when  compared 
with  the  main  body  of  Marcan  material  which 


PETER 


PETKR 


193 


Matthew  has  preserved.  The  additional  data  of 
Matthew  are  more  important,  especially  the  para- 
graph supplementing  Mark's  account  of  Peter's 
confession  (Mt  1617'19).  In  comparison  with  this 
incident,  the  other  chief  Petrine  additions  of 
Matthew  —  Peter's  walking  on  the  water 
(1428*-),  and  the  story1  of  the  coin  found  in  the 
fish's  mouth  (1724"27)  —  are  of  only  secondary 
interest.  Into  Mark's  narrative  of  Peter's  confes- 
sion, otherwise  copied  rather  closely,  Matthew 
interjects  three  verses,  ascribing  Peter's  excep- 
tional perceptive  powers  to  revelation,  designat- 
ing him  the  corner-stone  of  the  Church,  and  com- 
mitting to  his  keeping  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom. 
These  statements  are  manifestly  Matthsean  inser- 
tions, for  they  do  not  stand  in  Mark,  which 
Matthew  is  copying  in  both  the  preceding  and  the 
following  contexts,  nor  do  they  appear  in  Luke, 
where  the  Marcan  narrative  at  this  point  is  also 
followed.  But  from  what  source  the  First  Evan- 
gelist derived  his  information,  and  whether  the 
•words  were  actually  spoken  by  Jesus,  are  much- 
debated  problems.  The  balance  of  critical  opinion 
at  present  inclines  to  the  view  that  this  tradition 
arose  subsequently  to  the  death  of  Jesus  and  at  a 
time  when  the  first  vivid  expectations  of  an  im- 
minent catastrophic  end  of  the  present  world  were 
being  displaced  by  a  growing  interest  in  ecclesi- 
asticism.  However  this  may  be,  it  is  perfectly 
clear  from  Matthew's  language  that  Peter  had  lost 
none  of  the  prestige  which  was  his  in  St.  Paul's 
day,  while  his  exact  position  with  reference  to  all 
other  Christians  and  to  the  Chr^stjqn  organization 
itself  has  been  more  specifically  defined."  " 

Luke  furnishes  scarcely  any  additional  data  to 
shed  light  upon  the  apostolic  estimate  of  Peter. 
The  Marcan  account  of  the  disciples'  call  is  omitted 
in  favour  of  another  tradition  somewhat  richer  in 
descriptive  details  (Lk  51"11 ;  cf.  Mk  I16-20) ;  and  in 
the  account  of  Peter's  denial  Luke  seems  to  be 
following  a  slightly  different  source,  yet  the  varia- 
tions are  formal  rather  than  essential  so  far  as  the 
portrayal  of  Peter  is  concerned  (Lk  2231"62 ;  cf.  Mk 
1426-72)  jn  copying  Mark's  account  of  the  Csesarea- 
Philippi  incident,  Luke  omits  the  closing  verses 
which  tell  of  Jesus'  upbraiding  Peter  for  his  pre- 
sumption in  attempting  to  regulate  the  Messiah's 
conduct  (Mk  832ff-).  Similarly,  in  Luke's  version  of 
the  Gethsemane  incident  Peter  is  not  singled  out 
for  rebuke  as  in  Mark  (Lk  22^  ;  cf.  Mk  1437). 
Nor  does  Luke  report  the  special  message  of  the 
angel  to  Peter,  telling  him  that  he  will  see  the 
Risen  Lord  in  Galilee  (Lk  247  ;  cf.  Mk  167),  because 
Luke  records  only  Judsean  appearances  ;  but  he 
does  note  that  the  first  appearance  was  made  to 
Peter  (Lk  2434). 

It  is  in  the  early  chapters  of  Acts  that  Peter's 
portrait  is  drawn  most  distinctly.  He  heads  the 
list  of  the  Eleven,  and  takes  the  initiative  in  the 
election  of  a  successor  to  Judas  (I13- 1S).  He  is  also 
the  chief  speaker  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost  (214ff-), 
the  immediate  agent  in  healing  the  lame  beggar 
at  the  Temple  gate  (31*10),  and  the  principal 
defender  of  the  new  faith  during  the  subsequent 
period  of  persecution  (e.g.  3l-ff-  48ff-  5'*"*-).  His 
miraculous  activity  is  especially  noticeable. 
Ananias  and  Sapphira  fall  dead  at  his  word  (5:*'10), 
and  he  stands  out  so  prominently  among  the 
apostolic  wonder-workers  that  apparently  his  very 
shadow  possesses  therapeutic  power  (51-"16).  He  is 
next  seen  in  Samaria,  where  he  represents  the 
Jerusalem  Church  in  supervising  and  bringing  to 
completion  the  evangelistic  work  of  Philip  (814'25). 
Then  we  are  told  of  missionary  enterprises  con- 
ducted by  Peter  himself  '  throughout  all  parts ' 
(9s2),  and  particularly  of  his  wonderful  miracles 
performed  at  Joppa  (933-11).  Here  he  experienced 
his  remarkable  vision,  in  which  God  showed  him 
VOL.  n. — 13 


that  he  '  should  not  call  any  man  common  or  un- 
clean,' with  the  result  that  he  went  freely  to  the 
house  of  the  Gentile  Cornelius,  preaching  that 
God  is  no  respecter  of  persons.  Accordingly,  Peter 
baptized  Cornelius  and  his  friends,  thus  establish- 
ing the  first  company  of  Gentile  Christians  (10). 
On  returning  to  Jerusalem,  Peter  is  criticized  for 
having  eaten  with  the  uncircumcised,  but  he  pre- 
sents so  adequate  a  defence  of  his  conduct  that  the 
Jerusalem  Church  ultimately  glorifies  God  for  the 
establishment  of  Gentile  missions  through  his 
work  (II1'18).  Later  we  learn  of  his  arrest  and  im- 
prisonment by  Herod  Agrippal.,  and  his  miracu- 
lous release,  after  which  '  he  departed  and  went 
to  another  place'  (121'19).  He  is  in  Jerusalem 
again  at  the  time  of  the  Council,  where  he  affirms, 
and  James  reiterates,  that  '  a  good  while  ago  God 
made  choice  among  you,  that  by  my  mouth  the 
Gentiles  should  hear  the  word  of  the  gospel,  and 
believe'  (157- 14).  At  this  point  Peter  disappears 
completely  from  the  history  of  the  Apostolic  Age 
as  recorded  in  Acts. 

In  the  Fourth  Gospel,  likewise,  Peter  is  a  con- 
spicuous figure,  though  he  does  not  always  occupy 
so  unquestionably  pre-eminent  a  position  as  in  the 
Synoptists  and  early  chapters  of  Acts.  In  the 
assembling  of  the  first  group  of  believers  his 
brother  Andrew  takes  precedence  over  him 
(I40'44),  and  is  also  spokesman  for  the  disciples  on 
the  occasion  of  the  miraculous  feeding  (68).  But 
Andrew  is  each  time  identified  as  the  '  brother  of 
Simon  Peter,'  thus  implying  that  the  latter  was 
really  the  better  known.  He  is  also  foremost  in 
John's  account  of  the  disciples'  confession  of  belief 
in  Jesus  (G68) ;  and,  as  in  the  Synoptists,  it  is 
Peter  who  objects  on  a  certain  occasion  to  Jesus' 
procedure — this  time  the  act  of  foot-washing 
(136'9).  Peter's  denial  is  also  recorded  by  John 
(IS36'-  1817'27),  and  his  impetuosity  is  displayed  in 
cutting  off  the  ear  of  the  high  priest's  servant 
(18lof-).  But  Peter's  prominence  is  rivalled  by  that 
of  the  unnamed  disciple  '  whom  Jesus  loved.  He, 
together  with  Andrew,  was  the  first  to  follow  Jesus 
(I35'-);  he  had  the  position  of  honour  at  the  Last 
Supper  (IS24);  he  was  acquainted  with  the  high 
priest,  and  so  procured  Peter's  admission  to  the 
court  (1813)  ;  and  he  seems  to  have  anticipated 
Peter  in  believing  that  Jesus  had  risen  from  the 
dead  (202'8).  In  the  so-called  appendix  to  John 
(21)  Simon  Peter  is  the  chief  actor,  but  the  beloved 
disciple  standing  in  the  background  is  certainly  a 
formidable  rival  for  the  honour  of  first  place. 

Except  in  the  salutations  of  the  two  Epistles 
commonly  ascribed  to  Peter,  there  is  no  further 
mention  of  his  name  in  the  NT.  For  one  who 
evidently  occupied  so  prominent  a  place  in  the  life 
and  thinking  of  the  Apostolic  Age,  the  amount  of 
information  about  him  preserved  in  the  literature 
of  the  period  is  relatively  meagre.  St.  Paul's  state- 
ments are  exceedingly  fragmentary  ;  the  Gospels  do 
not,  of  course,  pretend  to  give  information  about 
apostolic  history,  yet  indirectly  they  furnish  some 
indications  of  how  Peter  was  regarded  at  the  time 
the  documents  were  being  produced  ;  and  Acts, 
while  tolerably  full  in  its  description  of  Peter's 
earlier  activities,  consigns  him  to  absolute  oblivion 
after  the  Jerusalem  Council.  It  is  not  at  all  prob- 
able that  so  important  an  individual  would  thus 
suddenly  drop  completely  out  of  sight  in  the  actual 
history  of  the  Christian  movement,  nor  can  we 
assume  that  the  information  supplied  by  our  extant 
NT  sources  is  at  all  exhaustive — to  say  nothing  of 
the  difficulty  of  harmonizing  what  sometimes  ap- 
pear to  be  striking  discrepancies. 

3.  Peter's  earlier  activities. — A  resum6  of  such 
facts  as  are  apparently  beyond  dispute  yields  a  very 
definite  picture  of  Peter's  earlier  activities,  not- 
withstanding some  uncertainty  in  details.  He  was 


194 


PETER 


PETER 


a  Galilsean  fisherman  living  in  Capernaum  when 
Jesus  began  His  public  ministry.  Soon  after  com- 
ing into  contact  with  Jesus  he  abandoned  his  busi- 
ness as  a  fisherman  in  order  to  accompany  the  new 
Teacher  on  His  preaching  tours.  How  Jesus,  who 
had  left  His  carpenter's  bench,  and  Peter  and 
others,  who  had  similarly  forsaken  their  ordinary 
daily  pursuits  to  engage  in  this  new  enterprise,  now 
supported  themselves  and  their  families  is  not  clear 
from  our  present  sources  of  information  ;  but  this 
uncertainty  can  hardly  reflect  any  serious  doubt 
upon  the  fact  of  their  procedure.  Peter  was  one 
of  the  most  prominent  members  in  the  company  of 
disciples,  and  so  strongly  did  Jesus  and  His  work 
appeal  to  him  that  he  saw  in  the  new  movement 
foreshadowings  of  the  long-looked-for  Messianic 
Kingdom,  and  ultimately  he  identified  Jesus  with 
the  Messiah.  But  Peter's  conception  of  the  Mes- 
siah's programme  underwent  some  radical  re- 
adjustments in  the  course  of  time.  At  first  his  view 
seems  to  have  been  largely  of  the  political  national- 
istic type — the  earthly  Jesus  would  some  day  don 
Messianic  robes  and  set  up  the  new  Kingdom.  In 
this  schema  there  was  no  place  for  Jesus'  death, 
hence  that  event  proved  a  stunning  blow  to  Peter's 
faith.  According  to  one  tradition,  regarded  by 
many  scholars  as  the  more  reliable,  he  returned 
disappointed  to  Galilee,  where  he  probably  intended 
to  resume  his  work  of  fishing.  Doubtless  he  had 
still  kept  his  home  in  Capernaum,  and  thither  he 
would  naturally  go  after  his  great  disillusionment. 
Then  came  the  experience  which  constituted  the 
real  turning-point  in  his  life :  he  saw  his  Master 
alive  again  —  no  longer  an  .earthly  but  now  a 
heavenly  Being.  This  vision  gave  him  a  solution 
of  his  difficulties,  since  it  enabled  him  to  resume 
his  belief  in  Jesus'  Messiahship  and  look  forward  to 
the  establishment  of  the  new  Kingdom.  It  necessi- 
tated, however,  considerable  readjustment  in  his 
thinking,  for  the  Messiah  in  whom  he  now  believed 
was  not  an  earthly  figure  who  would  demonstrate 
the  validity  of  His  claims  by  leading  a  revolt 
against  the  Romans ;  He  was  a  heavenly  apoca- 
lyptic Being  who  would  come  on  the  clouds  in 
glory  when  the  day  arrived  for  the  final  establish- 
ment of  God's  rule  upon  earth. 

This  new  way  of  thinking  gave  Peter  a  new  con- 
ception of  his  mission.  Now  he,  and  the  other 
disciples,  must  make  haste  in  gathering  members 
for  the  new  Kingdom.  Actuated  by  the  genuinely 
.altruistic  motive  of  mediating  this  new  knowledge 
to  their  Jewish  kinsmen,  and  desiring  to  fulfil  as 
quickly  as  possible  the  conditions  preliminary  to 
the  Kingdom's  coming,  they  began  a  vigorous 
preaching  activity  to  propagate  the  new  faith. 
Whatever  doubts  may  be  entertained  regarding  the 
verbal  accuracy  of  the  speeches  of  Peter  recorded 
in  Acts,  the  accuracy  of  the  main  content  is  hardly 
to  be  disputed,  so  far  at  least  as  the  interpretation 
of  Jesus'  Messiahship  is  concerned.  Here  we  have 
a  primitive  stage  of  thinking,  when  the  expectation 
of  the  Coming  is  vivid,  and  when  Christians  have 
not  yet  come  to  see — as  they  did  in  later  times — 
that  Jesus  had  made  an  adequate  display  of  His 
Messiahship  while  He  was  still  upon  earth.  In 
these  early  discourses  of  Peter  attention  is  fixed 
upon  the  future  :  the  real  manifestation  of  the 
Messiah  is  an  affair  of  the  future,  and  fhe  Jews  are 
exhorted  to  repent  so  that  God  may  send  Jesus  to 
discharge  His  full  Messianic  functions  (Ac  319f-)« 
While  upon  earth  He  had  been  a  '  Servant ' — a 
highly  honoured  messenger  of  God — who  conducted 
a  propaganda  of  preparatory  prophetic  preaching 
(Ac  313<  22'26) ;  He  had  been  a  '  man  approved  of  God 
by  mighty  works  and  wonders  and  signs,  which  God 
did  by  him '  (Ac  222),  the  great  and  ultimate  sign 
of  Divine  approval  being  the  elevation  of  Jesus  to 
a  position  of  heavenly  Messianic  dignity  and  lord- 


ship through  the  Resurrection  (236).  Since  the 
Messiah's  coming  awaited  the  restoration  of  all 
things  (321),  Peter  threw  himself  energetically  into 
the  task  of  preaching  the  restorative  message. 
Henceforth  this  constituted,  both  for  him  and  for 
his  companions,  their  great  mission,  and  in  this 
propaganda  Peter  was  undoubtedly  the  leader. 
The  general  situation  described  in  Acts  is  corro- 
borated by  St.  Paul  when  he  affirms  that  Peter  had 
been  especially  equipped  for  carrying  on  the  work  of 
Jewish  missions  (Gal  28). 

Peter's  equipment  consisted  not  merely  in  some 
new  command  received  from  the  Risen  Lord,  or  in 
a  new  stock  of  Messianic  beliefs  ;  he  now  possessed 
a  new  power,  an  endowment  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  as 
the  first  believers  called  it.  This  phase  of  the  new 
community's  life,  as  described  in  the  Pentecostal 
experience  of  Ac  2,  has  doubtless  been  somewhat 
formalized ;  but  that  the  early  disciples,  in  the 
glow  of  their  new  faith  in  the  Risen  Lord,  did 
experience  an  elation  of  feeling  which  sometimes 
expressed  itself  in  ecstasy  and  the  performance  of 
miracles,  seems  beyond  question.*  In  Jewish  think- 
ing the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  had  already  come 
to  be  very  closely  associated  with  the  Messiah  and 
His  Kingdom.  Isaiah  had  pictured  the  ideal  ruler 
as  one  Avho  would  be  richly  endowed  by  the  Spirit 
(II2  411  61lff-),  and  Joel  (228ff-)  predicted,  among  the 
displays  to  precede  the  advent  of  the  Messianic 
Age,  an  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  upon  all  flesh, 
equipping  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Israel  with 
power  to  prophesy  and  inspiring  dreams  and  visions 
in  the  old  and  young.  Later  Jewish  Messianic 
literature  retained  and  heightened  this  emphasis 
upon  the  functions  of  the  Spirit.  Enoch  repre- 
sented the  Messiah  as  a  spiritually  endowed  being 
(491'4  622),  and  according  to  the  Testament  qfJudah 
this  pneumatic  Messiah  would  similarly  equip  his 
subjects  (Judah,  24 ;  cf.  Levi,  18).  It  was  per- 
fectly natural  that  the  disciples,  who  had  now 
come  to  believe  in  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  elevated 
upon  His  throne  in  heaven,  should  become  con- 
scious of  the  new  power  which  was  theirs  by  right 
of  membership  in  the  new  Kingdom  about  to 
be  more  fully  revealed.  Their  inherited  Jewish 
thinking,  together  with  their  visions  of  the  Risen 
Jesus,  supplied  a  very  fitting  background  for  the 
Pentecostal  phenomenon.  In  view  of  Peter's  pre- 
eminence in  the  early  community,  we  may  safely 
assume  that  he  was  one  of  the  first  to  attain  this 
type  of  experience. 

This  unique  spiritual  endowment  normally  ex- 
pressed itself  in  miraculous  activities.  On  this 
subject  it  may  be  well  to  supplement  the  generous 
testimony  of  Acts  with  the  somewhat  less  extra- 
vagant, but  quite  specific,  corroborative  evidence 
from  St.  Paul.  Christianity  as  a  historical  pheno- 
menon is  defined  by  him  largely  in  terms  of  spirit- 
ual endowment,  with  its  resultant  activities.  While 
all  Christians  share  the  one  Spirit  in  common,  its 
power  is  manifested  variously  in  different  persons, 
and  among  these  manifestations  '  miracles '  and 
'  gifts  of  healings '  occupy  a  prominent  place 
(1  Co  1228).  In  controverting  his  opponents  St. 
Paul  appeals  especially  to  miracles  as  the  unique 
differentia  of  the  new  religion  and  the  final  evidence 
of  his  own  right  to  be  reckoned  among  the  genuine 
apostles.  In  denouncing  the  Judaizers'  gospel  of 
the  flesh  St.  Paul  (Gal  35)  asks  the  Galatians  a 
test  question  designed  to  prove  beyond  doubt  the 
genuineness  of  his  gospel  of  the  Spirit :  '  He  there- 
fore that  supplieth  to  you  the  Spirit,  and  worketh 
miracles  among  you,  doeth  he  it  by  the  works  of 
the  law,  or  by  the  hearing  of  faith  ?'  Nor  was  this 
miraculous  power  peculiar  to  the  Christianity  of 
St.  Paul,  for  he  replies  to  his  opponents  in  Corinth  : 

*  See  S.  J.  Case,  Evolution  of  Early  Christianity,  Chicago, 
1914,  p.  127  S. 


PETER 


PETER 


195 


'  In  nothing  was  I  behind  the  very  chiefest  apostles, 
though  I  am  nothing.  Truly  the  signs  of  an 
apostle  were  wrought  among  you  in  all  patience,  by 
signs  and  wonders  and  mighty  works'  (2  Co  1211'-). 
Thus  the  power  to  work  'miracles'  (dwdfaeis)  was 
an  inherent  characteristic  of  the  new  religion,  and 
the  exercise  of  this  function  belonged  particu- 
larly to  its  leaders,  among  whom  Peter  had  pre- 
eminence. 

Miracles  were  performed  in  the  name  of  Jesus, 
who  had  been  exalted  to  a  position  of  peculiar 
authority  in  the  angelic  realm.  All  sickness, 
especially  demon  possession,  and  death  itself  were 
believed  to  be  the  result  of  Satanic  activity  within 
the  present  evil  age  ;.  but  now  that  Jesus  had  been 
elevated  to  a  position  of  heavenly  Lordship,  His 
spiritually  endowed  followers  were  equipped  with  a 
new  authority.  When  they  spoke  in  Jesus'  name 
they  could  heal  the  sick,  cast  out  demons,  and  even 
raise  the  dead.  This  unique  efficacy  of  the '  Name ' 
(q.v.),  as  a  characteristic  of  the  new  religion,  is 
clearly  evident  in  St.  Paul.  Christians  are  those 
who  call  upon  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
(1  Co  I2)  ;  sinning  members  of  the  community  are 
delivered  over  to  Satan  in  the  name,  and  so  through 
the  authority,  of  our  Lord  Jesus  (53t);  and  God 
has  exalted  Jesus  to  a  position  of  authority  so 
supreme  that  every  knee  is  to  bend  '  in  the  name  of 
Jesus'  (Ph  2fl'-).  Peter  not  only  shared  this  belief 
in  the  exaltation  of  Jesus,  but  was  commonly 
credited  with  having  been  the  first  to  receive 
convincing  proof  of  this  fact ;  and  there  can  be  no 
reasonable  doubt  that  he  performed  miracles  in  the 
name  of  Jesus.  The  words  put  into  Peter's  mouth 
by  Acts,  to  the  effect  that  the  lame  man  had  been 
cured  through  the  efficacy  of  Jesus'  powerful  name 
(Ac  318),  are  wholly  consonant  with  the  primitive 
situation  when  Peter  was  prominent  in  the  activi- 
ties of  the  new  spiritual  community. 

This  procedure  soon  caused  him  and  his  associ- 
ates serious  trouble.  Belief  in  dynamic  person- 
alities, the  use  of  whose  name  enabled  one  to  effect 
wonders,  was  already  a  familiar  phenomenon  to  the 
Jews,*  and  was  viewed  with  some  suspicion  by  the 
authorities.  Since  Jews  who  adopted  magical 
practices  of  any  sort  were  strongly  tempted  to 
employ  names  of  heathen  deities  in  their  formulfe 
of  exorcism  and  the  like,  it  had  been  decreed  in 
the  Law  that  '  whosoever  doeth  these  things  is  an 
abomination  to  Jahweh ' :  Israel's  God  is  alone 
worthy  of  recognition  (Dt  189ff-  ;  cf.  Ex  203-  7,  Lv 
1926-31'206,  Is2«,  Jer  27M-,  Ezk  2026,  Mai  35,  Philo, 
de  Spec.  leg.  i.).  When  Christians,  believing 
in  Jesus'  Lordship,  proceeded  to  use  His  powerful 
name,  the  Jewish  authorities  naturally  suspected 
them  of  violating  the  Deuteronomic  Law,  and 
questioned  them  to  learn  by  what  authority,  by 
what  '  name,'  they  performed  their  wonders  (Ac 
312. 16  47-io)_  Peter  replied  that  the  Christians  were 
not  breaking  the  Law,  but  were  bringing  it  to  ful- 
filment, because  Jesus  was  that  Prophet  to  whom 
Moses  had  referred  in  the  Deuteronomic  context 
as  the  One  to  whom  Israel  should  listen.  His  ele- 
vation to  heaven  was  said  to  justify  this  affirmation, 
hence  it  was  quite  proper  to  work  miracles  in  His 
•name'  (Ac  322ff- ;  cf.  Dt  181Sff-).  But  the  Jews 
were  unwilling  to  accept  Peter's  interpretation  of 
Moses,  and  consequently  they  tried  to  restrain  the 
Christians'  dynamic  activities. 

Doubtless  also  the  content  of  Peter's  preaching 
aroused  opposition  at  a  relatively  early  date.  This 
would  be  particularly  true  of  his  insistence  upon 
Jesus'  elevation  to  a  position  of  Lordship  in  the 
angelic  sphere.  Acts  intimates  that  the  Christians' 
preaching  about  the  Resurrection  caused  offence  to 
the  Sadducees  (42),  but  the  reverence  with  which 

•  See  W.  Heitmuller,  Im  If  amen  Jetu,  Gottingen,  1903, 
p.  132  ff. 


early  believers  regarded  the  Risen  Jesus  might 
easily  seem  to  many  Jews  to  endanger  the  suprem- 
acy of  Jahweh.  Apparently  this  was  one  of  the 
most  important  items  inciting  St.  Paul's  persecu- 
tion, judging  from  those  phases  of  the  new  religion 
which  he  sets  in  the  foreground  after  his  conversion. 
That  which  he  most  vigorously  antagonized  as  a 
persecutor  was  very  probably  the  thing  which  he 
later  set  forth  as  the  characteristic  feature  of  his 
new  faith.  This  was  confession  of  Jesus'  Lordship, 
based  upon  belief  in  His  resurrection.  This  was 
the  distinctive  mark  of  the  new  movement,  the 
fundamental  condition  for  the  attainment  of 
salvation  (Ro  I4 109,  1  Co  155ff-,  Gal  I1- 1M-).  St.  Paul 
adopted  so  thoroughly  this  phase  of  his  predecessors' 
thinking  that  he  even  taught  his  Gentile  converts 
the  characteristic  prayer  of  the  Aramaic-speaking 
Christians,  Marana  tha  ('  Our  Lord,  come  !'  [1  Co 
1622]).  This  prayer  was  especially  appropriate  on 
the  lips  of  Peter  and  his  companions  in  those  early 
days  of  persecution  when  Jesus  was  expected  to 
appear  suddenly  as  Messiah  and  vindicate  the  faith 
of  His  loyal  disciples. 

4.  Peter's  later  activities,  as  reported  in  the 
NT. — Such  in  general  are  some  of  the  more  evident 
items  in  Peter  s  career  during  the  earlier  years  of 
apostolic  history.  Of  his  later  activities  we  are 
less  Avell  informed,  and  the  information  which  has 
been  preserved  is  sometimes  difficult  to  interpret. 
To  begin  with,  what  were  the  relative  positions  of 
Peter  and  James  in  the  Jerusalem  Church  ?  While 
Peter  is  manifestly  the  most  prominent  person  in 
the  early  chapters  of  Acts,  the  name  of  John  is 
sometimes  mentioned  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
new  cause  (e.g.  I13  3lff>  41S  814),  but  James  is  never 
once  singled  out  for  notice.  Not  until  Peter  goes 
to  '  another  place  '  does  Acts  hint  that  James  takes 
precedence  in  the  Jerusalem  community  (1217),  and 
henceforth  he  appears  to  be  the  generally  acknow- 
ledged leader  (1513ff-  211S).  Yet  his  presence  among 
the  believers  at  a  much  earlier  date  is  attested  by 
St.  Paul,  who  remarks  that  James — in  all  proba- 
bility meaning  the  Lord's  brother — was  the  one  to 
witness  Jesus'  fourth  appearance  (1  Co  157).  He 
was  also  a  member  of  the  new  brotherhood  when 
St.  Paul,  three  years  after  his  conversion,  paid  a 
visit  to  Peter  in  Jerusalem  (Gal  I18).  At  the  time 
of  the  Jerusalem  Council  he  was  not  only  the  head 
of  the  Church  (Gal  2s),  but  was  so  influential  that 
his  objections  caused  both  Peter  and  Barnabas  to 
withdraw  from  their  former  liberal  position  (Gal 
2H-13)  Thus  from  St.  Paul's  statements  it  becomes 
clear  that  Peter  and  James  were  both  present  in 
the  early  company  of  believers,  that  the  former 
was  the  leader  in  the  earliest  period  of  the  history, 
and  that  James  by  the  middle  of  the  century  had 
become  the  actual  head  of  the  mother  church. 

But  neither  St.  Paul  nor  Acts  gives  the  particulars 
of  the  process  which  issued  in  this  result.  For  an 
answer  to  this  problem  we  must  rely  upon  inference, 
supplemented  by  later  tradition.  Eusebius  (HE 
II.  i.  3)  states,  on  the  authority  of  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  that  Peter,  James(the  brother  of  John), 
and  John,  not  coveting  honour  for  themselves,  chose 
James  to  be  bishop  of  Jerusalem  soon  after  Jesus' 
ascension ;  but  so  formal  an  appointment  at  this 
early  date  is  hardly  probable.  It  is  far  more  likely 
that  a  gradual  development  of  circumstances  pro- 
duced the  later  situation  in  which  James  supplanted 
Peter.  Peter's  work  as  an  evangelist  and  the  op- 
position which  his  public  preaching  aroused  among 
the  Jews  probably  resulted  in  his  leaving  the  city 
for  longer  and  longer  periods,  so  that  the  task  of 
local  leadership  devolved  increasingly  upon  James. 
The  Jewish  opposition  which  broke  out  afresh  under 
Herod  Agrippa  I.,  and  from  which  Peter  barely 
escaped  with  his  life,  was  the  occasion  of  his 
going  to  '  another  place '  after  he  had  sent  James 


196 


PETEK 


PETER 


a  message  regarding  the  situation  (Ac  1217).  It 
lias  been  conjectured  with  some  degree  of  plausi- 
bility that  James  became  actual  head  of  the 
Jerusalem  Church  about  this  time.  Clement  of 
Alexandria  (Strom.  VI.  v.  43)  reports  a  tradition  to 
the  effect  that  Jesus  had  instructed  the  apostles  to 
preach  to  Israel  for  twelve  years  before  going  forth 
to  the  world — which  may  signify  that  the  original 
apostles'  departure  from  Jerusalem,  thus  leaving 
James  in  charge,  was  virtually  coincident  with 
Herod's  persecution.  But  aside  from  the  question 
of  the  historicity  of  Clement's  tradition,  James 
probably  supplanted  Peter  in  Jerusalem  about 
this  time.  This  seems  to  be  the  most  satisfactory 
explanation  of  the  NT  data.  James's  blood  rela- 
tionship to  Jesus  would  give  him  a  unique  position 
among  Christians,  and  his  vision  of  the  Risen  Lord 
would  add  to  his  prestige,  while  his  conservative 
attitude  toward  Judaism  would  be  a  valuable  asset 
to  the  community  in  those  days  of  persecution 
(cf.  Eusebius,  HE  II.  xxiii.  1  ff.).  The  impetuous 
Peter  sought  other  fields  of  activity.  Yet  we  must 
not  assume  that  there  was  any  rivalry  between 
these  two  individuals,  notwithstanding  the  contrasts 
in  their  personalities.  Between  the  extremes  of 
Pauline  liberalism  and  Jacobean  conservatism 
Peter  (and  Barnabas)  sometimes  vacillated,  but  on 
the  whole  they  seem  to  have  inclined  toward  the 
position  of  James. 

A  second  problem  left  unsolved  by  our  NT  in- 
formation is  the  question  of  Peter's  real  attitude 
toward  the  Gentile  missionary  enterprise.  Accord- 
ing to  Ac  10  f.,  he  had  been  instructed  by  God  in 
a  vision  not  to  call  any  man  common  or  unclean, 
and  as  a  result  he  went  to  the  house  of  Cornelius, 
where  he  ate  with  Gentiles  and  established  a  Gen- 
tile church.  On  returning  to  Jerusalem  he  was 
arraigned  for  his  conduct,  but  presented  so  strong 
a  defence  that  the  mother  Church  glorified  God  for 
the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  accomplished  through 
Peter's  action.  St.  Paul,  on  the  other  hand,  in 
writing  to  the  Galatians,  represents  that  this  prob- 
lem had  been  fought  out — manifestly  for  the  first 
time,  as  St.  Paul  describes  it — over  the  missionary 
activities  of  himself  and  Barnabas.  Even  then  it 
was  merely  the  question  of  admission,  and  not 
the  question  of  table-fellowship,  that  had  been  dis- 
cussed at  Jerusalem.  Not  until  later,  when  Peter 
came  to  Antioch,  did  the  latter  question  become 
acute,  and  then  Peter  took  the  conservative  posi- 
tion in  line  with  the  wishes  of  the  Jerusalem  Church 
(Gal  2llff>).  If  St.  Paul's  representation  is  correct, 
it  becomes  difficult  to  believe,  as  the  narrative  of 
Acts  would  seem  to  demand,  that  Peter  and  the 
Church  at  Jerusalem  had  taken  exactly  the  opposite 
stand  a  few  years  earlier. 

Different  attempts  have  been  made  to  obviate  the 
difficulty.  Appeal  is  sometimes  made  to  the  pro- 
verbial fickleness  of  Peter,  but  in  order  to  meet  the 
situation  we  should  have  to  predicate  a  similar 
characteristic  for  the  leaders  in  Jerusalem.  Or, 
again,  it  is  urged  that  Cornelius  was  already  a 
'  God-fearer/  that  he  prayed  to  Jahweh,  gave 
alms,  and  wrought '  righteousness'  in  good  Jewish 
fashion  (Ac  1030-35),  and  so  his  case  was  quite  differ- 
ent from  that  of  ordinary  Gentiles.  Yet  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  specific  thing  for  which 
Peter  was  called  to  account  was  '  eating  with  the 
uncircumcised'  (Ac  IIs).  He  affirmed  that  the 
Spirit  had  instructed  him  to  make  no  distinction  in 
respect  to  table-companionship  between  circumcised 
and  uncircumcised  believers,  and  this  was  the 
very  point  in  debate  at  Antioch.  We  are  quite 
ignorant  of  any  extenuating  circumstances  which 
made  the  Antiochian  situation  different  in  principle 
from  that  of  Csesarea,  and  so  the  difficulty  of 
squaring  the  narrative  of  Acts  with  the  representa- 
tion of  St.  Paul  remains  unsolved. 


Still  another  method  proposed  for  relieving  the 
difficulty  is  to  appeal  to  the  alleged  apologetic 
purpose  of  the  author  of  Acts,  who,  it  is  said, 
desired  to  bridge  the  chasm  separating  Peter  from 
St.  Paul,  and  tried  to  accomplish  this  result  by 
'  Paulinizing '  Peter  in  the  early  part  of  the  book 
and  by  '  Petrinizing '  St.  Paul  in  the  latter  part. 
Thus  Peter  is  credited  with  inaugurating  the 
Gentile  mission,  and  the  Jerusalem  Church  is  made 
to  put  the  stamp  of  its  approval  upon  his  under- 
taking. In  Acts'  account  of  St.  Paul,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  Antiochian  incident  is  absolutely  ignored. 
St.  Paul  voluntarily  circumcises  Timothy  (Ac  161), 
he  also  accepts  and  imposes  upon  his  churches  the 
decrees  issued  from  Jerusalem  (Ac  164),  and  in  still 
other  respects  his  loyalty  to  Judaism  is  made  evi- 
dent (e.g.  Ac  2117ff-).  Thus  'Theophilus'  has  been 
assured— and  this  is  assumed  to  be  the  author's 
chief  aim — that  the  new  religion  is  firmly  established 
through  a  line  of  unbroken  descent  from  antiquity, 
Gentiles  having  been  designed  from  the  first  to  be 
its  legitimate  heirs.  Gentile  Christianity  is  not 
an  offshoot  from  the  main  movement — the  ingraft- 
ing of  a  wild  olive  branch,  as  St.  Paul  says — but 
an  integral  part  of  the  whole,  having  full  ecclesi- 
astical supervision  and  approval  from  the  first.  In 
favour  of  this  interpretation  it  is  possible  to  cite 
the  manifest  interest  of  Acts  in  the  formal  organiza- 
tion of  the  early  community  and  in  Jerusalem  as 
the  official  centre  from  which  the  new  religion 
expands.  The  appearances  of  Jesus,  both  in  Luke 
and  Acts,  are  located  in  or  near  Jerusalem ;  the 
disciples  are  instructed  to  wait  in  Jerusalem  until 
Pentecost,  when  the  adherents  of  thenew  movement 
are  to  be  formally  equipped  with  the  Spirit ;  in  the 
meantime,  the  waiting  company  fills  the  vacancy 
in  the  apostolate,  so  that  the  new  church  may  be 
properly  and  fully  officered  from  the  start ;  and 
throughout  the  entire  history  of  the  early  period 
the  matter  of  official  apostolic  supervision  is  con- 
stantly in  evidence.  It  certainly  was  not  the  in- 
tention of  the  writer  of  Acts  to  dwell  upon  differ- 
ences of  opinion"  among  early  Christians  ;  and, 
further,  it  was  quite  natural  that  he  should  so 
select  or  interpret  his  source  materials  as  to  indicate 
that  the  certainty  and  stability  attaching  to  his 
thought  of  this  movement  in  his  own  day  were  but 
a  continuation  of  an  earlier  state  of  affairs.  Con- 
sequently it  is  not  improbable  that  there  was  a 
disposition  on  his  part  to  believe  that  the  proper 
officers  of  the  church  had  formally  approved  the 
Gentile  mission  from  its  very  inception,  and  this 
feeling  quite  probably  influenced  his  account  of  the 
Cornelius  incident.  But  this  fact  does  not  warrant 
us  in  concluding  that  Peter  did  not  come  into  con- 
tact with  Gentiles  at  an  early  date,  although  he  is 
not  likely  to  have  settled  formally  the  ultimate 
problem  of  the  whole  dispute  before  it  was  pushed 
into  the  foreground  by  the  work  of  the  Judaizers 
in  Pauline  territory. 

The  foregoing  discussion  suggests  another  of  the 
main  difficulties  in  the  present  study,  viz.  the 
exact  nature  of  the  relationship  between  Peter  and 
St.  Paul.  The  so-called  Tubingen  School  has  placed 
great  stress  upon  the  supposed  cleft  between  these 
two  apostles,  the  former  representing  Jewish  and 
the  latter  Gentile  Christianity.*  But  this  way  of 
interpreting  early  Christian  history  is  open  to  some 
serious  objections.  We  have  already  noted  the 
vital  and  important  place  which  St.  Paul's  Jewish 
heritage  continued  to  hold  in  his  thinking  as  a 
Christian,  even  to  the  end  of  his  career.  It  is  a 
natural,  but  none  the  less  serious,  mistake  to  assume 

•  See  F.  C.  Baur,  '  Die  Christuspartei  in  der  corinthischen 
Geraeinde.'in  Tubinger  Zeitschrift  fur  Theologie,  1831,  iv.  61- 
206,  and  Pontius,  der  Apostel  Jesu  Christtf,  Stuttprart,  1866. 
Among  the  better  known  followers  of  Baur  are  A.  Hilgenfeld, 
C.  Holsten,  O.  Pfleiderer,  P.  W.  Schnriedel. 


PETEE 


PETER 


197 


that  the  legalistic  controversy  which  bulks  so  largely 
in  St.  Paul's  letters  to  Galatia  and  Rome  furnishes 
the  proper  perspective  in  which  to  set  the  whole  of 
the  Apostle  s  activity  and  thinking.  In  fact,  all  his 
extant  writings  are  designed  chiefly  to  meet  some 
occasional  or  exceptional  problem  rather  than  to 
set  forth  comprehensively  the  character  and  content 
of  his  religion.  Common  possessions  and  generally 
accepted  items  are  mentioned  only  incidentally,  if 
at  all,  while  debated  points  are  treated  at  length. 
It  is  no  doubt  true  that  St.  Paul  strongly  insisted 
upon  the  Gentiles'  freedom  from  the  ceremonial 
Law,  but  still  he  had  much  in  common  with  his 
Jewish  predecessors,  particularly  with  Peter.  Nor 
is  it  correct  to  think  that  St.  Paul  was  alone  re- 
sponsible for  the  whole  propagation  of  the  gospel 
in  Gentile  lands.  The  missionary  activities  of 
'  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  and  the  brethren  of  the 
Lord,  and  Cephas,'  as  well  as  of  Barnabas,  are 
mentioned  in  1  Co  9s ;  yet  it  may  be  that  only  their 
fame,  and  not  their  actual  work,  extended  to 
Corinth.  But  it  is  plain  from  Romans  that  an 
important  church  had  been  established  in  the 
capital  of  the  Empire  without  the  aid  of  St.  Paul 
(cf.  Ro  I8"15).  Even  in  the  East  he  and  his  immedi- 
ate companions  were  not  the  only  workers  in  the 
field,  and  with  some  of  these  his  relations  were 
altogether  friendly  (e.g.  Ac  182-  **•  191).  It  is  quite 
inconceivable  that  Peter,  Barnabas,  Mark,  and 
others  less  well  known,  ceased  proclaiming  the 
new  faith  in  different  parts  of  the  Mediterranean 
world  at  the  moment  their  names  disappear  from 
the  pages  of  Acts.  Nor  is  it  likely  that  they  con- 
fined their  efforts  exclusively  to  Jewish  territory. 
But  even  if  they  did  work  only  with  Jewish  audi- 
ences in  the  Diaspora,  they  would  inevitably  be 
brought  into  contact  with  Gentiles  attending  the 
services  of  the  synagogue  as  interested  outsiders. 
There  were  certainly  Gentile  Christians  in  the 
Church  at  Rome  before  St.  Paul  visited  the  city 
(e.g.  Ro  l5'-18  II13);  and  probably  these  were  un- 
circumcised  Gentiles,  else  the  Judaizers  would  have 
had  no  occasion  to  raise  the  agitation  which  St. 
Paul's  letter  is  evidently  designed  to  counteract. 
We  must  conclude  that  the  Antiochian  incident  is 
not  a  safe  criterion  by  which  to  judge  the  entire 
history  of  the  relationship  between  Peter  and  St. 
Paul,  and  their  respective  conceptions  of  the 
character  of  the  new  movement  as  a  whole. 

Still  we  must  ask  what  relation  Peter  bore  to 
the  various  disturbers  who  from  time  to  time  caused 
St.  Paul  so  much  trouble.  The  Judaizers  of  Galatia 
were  not,  even  on  St.  Paul's  own  showing,  repre- 
sentatives of  Peter,  although  they  may  have  used 
his  less  radical  but  still  evident  conservatism  for 
the  purposes  of  their  self-authentication.  It  would 
have  been  more  nearly  correct  for  them  to  have 
laid  claim  to  the  authority  of  James,  as  perhaps 
they  did,  but  St.  Paul  does  not  even  identify  their 
position  with  that  of  James.  They  maintained 
the  absolute  necessity  of  circumcision  for  all  Gen- 
tiles, while  both  Peter  and  James  yielded  to  St. 
Paul's  demands  for  the  Gentiles'  freedom.  Appar- 
ently this  was  the  principle  upon  which  Barnabas 
had  also  been  working  before  the  Judaizers  caused 
trouble,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
Peter  had  observed  any  different  practice,  in  so  far 
as  his  missionary  activities  had  brought  him  into 
contact  with  Gentiles.  It  was  the  work  of  the 
reactionary  Judaizers  that  made  the  problem  acute, 
but  in  the  nascent  period  of  the  missionary  enter- 
prise the  liberal  attitude  probably  prevailed,  not 
by  design,  but  because  it  was  a  natural  feature  in 
the  spontaneous  growth  of  the  new  movement. 
Even  while  the  new  gospel  was  being  preached  to 
Jews  the  fundamental  condition  of  membership 
in  the  new  society  was  acknowledgment  of  Jesus' 
Lordship  ;  consequently,  when  Gentiles  heard  this 


preaching  —  at  first  probably  in  connexion  with 
the  Jewish  synagogue — and  responded  by  confessing 
their  belief  in  the  Messiahship  of  the  Risen  Jesus, 
they  were  straightway  reckoned  among  the  chosen 
company  to  receive  the  Lord  at  His  coming.  This 
was  the  prevalent  situation  until  the  Judaizers 
appeared  upon  the  scene.  They  represented  the 
ultra-conservative  position  of  certain  Jewish  con- 
verts, but  whethej:  or  not  their  propaganda  eman- 
ated in  the  first  instance  from  Jerusalem  is  not 
perfectly  clear.  In  Pauline  territory  they  seem  to 
have  claimed  the  authority  of  Jerusalem,  but  St. 
Paul  put  their  claim  to  the  test  by  a  personal  visit 
to  the  mother  Church,  the  result  of  which  demon- 
strated that  the  Judaizers  were  not  backed  either 
by  James  or  by  Peter.  On  the  secondary  question 
of  free  intercourse  between  Jewish  and  Gentile  be- 
lievers in  the  same  community,  particularly  at 
table,  James  and  Peter — the  latter  at  least  tem- 
porarily— and  even  Barnabas  were  less  ready  to 
follow  St.  Paul  to  the  logical  conclusion  of  their 
common  position  ;  but  their  action  in  this  respect 
does  not  at  all  mean  their  desertion  to  the  ranks  of 
the  Judaizers. 

So  far  as  the  Judaizing  movement  is  concerned, 
the  situation  reflected  in  Romans  is  in  the  main 
similar  to  that  in  Galatians  ;  but  in  the  Corinthian 
correspondence  the  opposition  to  St.  Paul  seems  to 
have  developed  new  features.  This  is  not  the 
place  to  discuss  at  length  the  perplexing  problem 
of  the  Corinthian  parties ;  we  are  here  concerned 
only  with  the  question  of  Peter's  relation  to  these 
factions.  The  presence  of  a  group  of  persons  in 
the  Corinthian  Church  who  said  they  were  '  of 
Peter,'  side  by  side  with  groups  which  affirmed 
allegiance  to  Apollos  and  St.  Paul  respectively, 
might  imply  that  Peter,  like  St.  Paul  and  Apollos, 
had  preached  in  Corinth.  This  inference — prob- 
ably it  was  only  an  inference — was  drawn  by 
Dionysius  of  Corinth  (c.  A.D.  170),  whqr  spoke  of 
this  church  as  '  the  planting  of  Peter  and  Paul ' 
(Eusebius,  HE  n.  xxv.  8).  Some  modern  scholars 
regard  this  conclusion  as  historically  correct  (e.g. 
K.  Lake,  The  Earlier  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  London, 
1911,  p.  112ff.),  but  most  interpreters  are  of  the 
opinion  that  St.  Paul's  language  does  not  justify 
it.  He  says  so  little  about  the  Cephas-party, 
mentioning  it  only  once,  or  possibly  twice  (1  Co  I12 
S22),  and  then  without  adequate  description,  that 
there  is  no  means  of  knowing  positively  whether 
these  sectaries  were  personally  acquainted  with 
Peter  or  whether  they  knew  him  only  by  reputa- 
tion. That  the  Corinthians  were  aware  of  his 
prominence  in  the  history  of  Christianity  is  clear 
from  St.  Paul's  other  references  to  him  (1  Co  9* 
15B),  and,  as  this  knowledge  need  not  necessarily 
have  been  derived  from  personal  contact,  a  com- 

Eany  of  Christians  in  Corinth  may  have  professed 
>yalty  to  Peter  simply  on  the  strength  of  his 
reputation.  It  would  not  follow  that  these  persons 
were  Judaizers  of  the  Galatian  type,  but  only  that 
they  took  a  conservative  position  on  the  question 
of  table-fellowship  between  Je.wish  and  Gentile 
converts.  Perhaps  St.  Paul  has  reference  to  some 
such  condition  of  affairs  when  he  intimates  that 
the  validity  of  his  apostleship  has  been  called  in 
question  by  the  'weak'  brethren,  who  have  been 
offended  by  the  liberty  of  the  '  strong,'  the  latter 
doubtless  citing  St.  Paul  as  their  example.  It  is 
true  that  the  question  under  discussion  in  the 
context  concerns  the  eating  of  meat  offered  to  idols, 
and  so  is  not  a  repetition  of  the  Antiochian  problem, 
but  the  conservative  party  in  Corinth  may  have  ap- 
pealed to  Peter's  caution  at  Antioch  in  justification 
of  their  own  conservatism  in  the  present  situation. 
And  egged  on  by  the  opposition  of  the  '  Paulinists,' 
they  may  readily  have  sought  to  disparage  St. 
Paul  by  remarking  upon  the  doubtfulness  of  hia 


198 


PETER 


PETER 


apostolic  credentials  and  his  failure  to  follow  the 
apostolic  custom  of  asking  support  from  the 
churches.  If  this  was  the  position  of  those  who 
said  '  I  am  of  Cephas,'  it  is  interesting  to  note  how 
kindly  they  are  dealt  with  by  St.  Paul.  He  does 
not  retract  from  his  position  of  absolute  liberty 
in  principle,  but  he  does  strongly  counsel  restraint 
of  personal  liberty  as  a  concession  to  the  '  weak,' 
and  he  fully  justifies  the  conduct  of  Cephas  and 
others  in  drawing  support  from  the  churches, 
although  he  resents  the  insinuation  that  he  and 
Barnabas  are  any  less  authoritative  because  they 
choose  to  forego  their  rights  in  this  respect.  In 
view  of  this  lenient  attitude  of  St.  Paul,  we  cannot 
identify  the  Cephas-party  with  the  Judaizers  ;  nor 
is  there  any  intimation  that  the  Galatian  problems 
— circumcision,  justification  by  faith,  and  the  like 
— had  been  in  dispute  at  Corinth.  On  the  whole, 
there  is  nothing  in  the  situation  to  indicate  that 
the  relation  between  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  even 
if  there  was  a  vigorous  Cephas-party  in  Corinth, 
was  essentially  less  cordial  than  that  between 
Apollos  and  St.  Paul  (1  Co  3*-9  1612).  Moreover, 
in  comparing  this  with  the  Antiochian  incident,  it 
may  be  noted  as  further  evidence  of  the  softening 
effect  which  time  had  upon  an  earlier  controversy, 
that  Barnabas  was  now  ranged  distinctly  on  St. 
Paul's  side  (1  Co  9s).  This  fact  does  not  wholly 
lose  its  point  even  if,  as  is  sometimes  imagined 
(e.g.  W.  Bousset,  J.  Weiss),  though  without  ap- 
parent justification,  St.  Paul  is  referring  specifically 
to  the  first  missionary  tour  when  he  and  Barnabas 
worked  together  in  Asia  Minor. 

The  Christ-party  offers  still  greater  difficulties, 
so  far  as  the  question  of  Peter's  relation  to  St. 
Paul  is  concerned.  Whether  St.  Paul  intended 
'  I  am  of  Christ '  to  designate  a  separate  faction 
has  been  several  times  questioned,*  though  this 
certainly  is  the  natural  meaning  of  the  language. 
But  nowhere  in  the  First  Epistle  is  this  party 
defined  with  sufficient  clearness  to  disclose  its 
actual  character.  On  the  other  hand,  in  2  Co  10  ff., 
St.  Paul  criticizes  very  sharply  and  at  some  length 
opponents  who,  on  the  strength  of  2  Co  107,  are 
often  identified  with  the  Christ-party  of  1  Co  I12. 
If  this  identification  is  rejected,  as  has  often  been 
the  case  (e.g.,  most  recently,  Allan  Menzies,  The 
Second  Epistle  of  the  Apostle  Paul  to  the  Cor- 
inthians, London,  1912),  then  the  Christ-party  is 
too  obscure  to  have  any  bearing  upon  our  present 
discussion.  But  we  should  still  have  to  consider 
Peter's  relation  to  the  opposition  mentioned  in 
2  Cor.,  of  which  St.  Paul  speaks  at  some  length. 
The  leaders  of  this  faction  affirmed  that  St.  Paul 
walked  '  according  to  the  flesh,'  while  they  were 
'  Christ's ' ;  they  were  giving  themselves  exclusively 
to  the  service  of  Christ,  while  St.  Paul  was  sup- 
porting himself  by  secular  labour.  Being  thus 
professionally  devoted  to  Christ,  they  were  apostles 
par  excellence,  though  St.  Paul  styled  them  self- 
made  apostles,  to  be  compared  to  Satan  masquerad- 
ing as  an  angel  of  light ;  and  they  claimed  to  have 
the  proper  qualifications  for  their  office,  since  they 
were  Hebrews,  Israelites,  of  the  seed  of  Abraham, 
as  was  Christ  Himself.  In  comparison  with  these 
sleek  '  professionalists,'  St.  Paul  admitted  that  he 
might  be  '  rude  of  speech '  and  that  he  did  work 
independently  for  his  living ;  but  in  knowledge, 
efficiency,  and  power  he  would  not  admit  any 
inferiority.  He  too  was  a  Jew,  he  had  also  shown 
heroic  devotion,  proving  himself  a  unique  minister 
of  Christ ;  and  although  his  bodily  presence  was 
inferior,  he  was  superior  in  respect  of  visions  and 
revelations — in  fact,  God  had  allowed  him  to  be 
afflicted  with  this  bodily  infirmity  in  order  that 

*  E.g.  J.  Weiss,  Der  erste  Korintherbrief,  Gottingen,  1910, 
p.  15  f.  ;  K.  Lake,  op.  cit.  p.  127  f.  ;  not  to  mention  earlier 
authorities. 


his  superiority  in  other  respects  might  not  cause 
him  to  be  'exalted  over-much.'  But  in  the  ulti- 
mate and  crucial  test  of  the  new  religion's  power — 
ability  to  perform  signs  and  wonders  and  miracles 
— he  had  fully  displayed  the  qualifications  of  the 
true  apostle.  Whether  he  means  to  imply  that 
all  these  credentials  of  his  are  set  over  against 
similar  claims  put  forward  by  his  opponents,  or 
whether  he  is  emphasizing  his  own  superior  qualifi- 
cations ( '  are  they  ministers  of  Christ  ?  .  .  .  I 
more  ! '),  he  does  not  definitely  state ;  but  quite 
apart  from  this  uncertainty,  the  characteristics  of 
his  opponents  are  clearly  portrayed.  .  Their  criti- 
cism of  St.  Paul  for  failure  to  take  support  from 
the  Corinthian  Church  would  seem  at  first  sight  to 
identify  them  with  those  sectaries  mentioned  in 
1  Co  94ff>,  and  so  they  would  be  a  continuation  of 
the  Cephas-party.  This  view  has  been  generally 
adopted  by  Tubingen  scholars,  who  also  identify 
these  factionists  with  the  Christ-party  and  make 
them  all  a  continuation  of  the  ultra  -  Jewish 
'  Petrine '  movement  which  is  assumed  to  be 
everywhere  opposed  to  St.  Paul.  But  such  a 
conclusion  seems  wholly  untenable.  Even  identi- 
fication with  the  Cephas-party  is  very  questionable. 
Those  features  of  1  Co  9,  which  there  suggested  a 
connexion  with  Peter,  viz.  reference  to  the  '  weak ' 
and  St.  Paul's  conciliatory  attitude,  are  entirely 
lacking  in  2  Co  10  ff.  Furthermore,  St.  Paul's 
wholesale  criticism  of  these  later  opponents  is 
quite  different  both  in  spirit  and  content  from  that 
which  he  metes  out  to  Peter  on  any  previous 
occasion,  not  excepting  even  the  aggravating 
situation  at  Antioch.  If  the  troublers  of  2  Cor. 
are  a  continuation  of  the  Cephas-party,  they  have 
departed  so  far  from  the  position  of  Peter  that 
the  bond  of  attachment  between  him  and  them 
consists  in  little  more  than  a  name.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  are  the  lineal  descendants  of  the 
Judaizers,  who  have  already  caused  St.  Paul  so 
much  trouble  in  Galatia,  it  becomes  still  more 
improbable  that  Peter  is  to  be  connected  in  any 
essential  way  with  their  propaganda.  Several  of 
their  characteristics  favour  identification  with  the 
Judaizers.*  They  were  Jews,  they  claimed  full 
apostolic  authentication,  and  they  were  '  Christ's ' ; 
but  the  astonishing  thing  is  that  the  question  of 
circumcision  is  not  mentioned,  and  there  is  no 
hint  of  any  discussion  about  faith  versus  works  of 
the  Law — questions  which  were  central  in  St.  Paul's 
controversy  with  the  Judaizers.  It  is  commonly 
said  that  for  policy's  sake  the  disturbers  had  sup- 
pressed these  features  of  their  propaganda  in  the 
strongly  Gentile  atmosphere  of  Corinth ;  but 
whether  that  neglect  would  not  have  left  them 
without  any  real  mission  is  a  serious  question. 
If  still  another  explanation,  to  the  effect  that 
we  have  here  to  do  with  a  Jewish  theosophical 
or  antinomian  tendency,!  is  accepted,  Peter  must 
be  still  further  removed  from  any  connexion  with 
this  faction. 

Although  we  have  found  the  NT  record  of 
Peter's  later  activities  very  meagre  and  obscure  at 
many  points,  we  are  not  to  imagine  that  he  played 
no  important  r61e  in  the  history  of  Christianity 
during  this  period.  His  greatest  significance  prob- 
ably lay  in  his  missionary  labours,  carried  on  not 
only  in  Palestine  but  also  among  the  Jews  of  the 
Dispersion,  although  in  regions  quite  unknown  to 
us  at  present.  In  this  work  he  must  have  had 
some  contact  with  Gentiles,  particularly  with 
those  known  as  'God-fearers.'  Later  tradition 

*  This  view,  which  has  had  various  adherents,  has  perhaps 
been  argued  most  fully  by  W.  Beyschlag-  in  SK  xxxviii.  2  [1865] 
217-276  and  xliv.  4  [1871]  635-676.  Cf.  the  more  recent  state- 
ment by  B.  W.  Bacon  in  Exp,  8th  ser.,  viii.  [1914]  399-415. 

t  Most  recently  advocated  by  W.  Liitgert,  '  Freiheitspredigt 
und  Schwarmgeister  in  Korinth,'  in  Beitrage  zur  Forderung 
christl.  Theol.  xii.  [Gutersloh,  1908] ;  K.  Lake,  op.  cit.  p.  222  ff. 


PETER 


PETER 


199 


made  Mark  and  Glaukias  his  interpreters,  but  we 
are  not  sure  that  he  did  not  know,  or  ultimately 
learn,  sufficient  Greek  for  conversation  with 
Gentiles  when  occasion  required.  His  sympathies 
doubtless  were  on  the  side  of  a  Jewish  interpreta- 
tion of  Christianity's  mission,!but  he  certainly  was 
not  a  vigorous  '  Judaizer,'  and  there  was  no  such 
wide  breach  between  him  and  St.  Paul  as  has 
sometimes  been  imagined.  While  the  Judaizers, 
or  other  opponents  of  St.  Paul,  may  often  have 
claimed  the  authority  of  the  Jerusalem  leaders, 
this  claim  was  sometimes  quite  factitious  and 
largely  a  misrepresentation  of  Peter's  real  position. 

5.  Peter  in  tradition  outside  the  NT. — It  is  not 
surprising  that  a  person  of  Peter's  prominence, 
whose  career  had  been  so  incompletely  described 
in  the  NT,  should  have  been  made  the  subject  of 
a  vast  amount  of  later  tradition.  This  material 
has  often  been  collected  and  interpreted,  but, 
since  much  of  it  has  little  or  no  historical  value, 
only  the  more  important  items  will  be  treated  in 
the  present  connexion.  These  sources,  roughly 
classified,  are  (1)  data  from  the  Church  Fathers  or 
from  catalogues  of  bishops  and  martyrs,  (2)  stories 
bearing  the  general  title  of  apocryphal  Acts,  and 
(3)  the  so-called  'Clementine'  literature  —  the 
Homilies,  the  Recognitions,  and  the  Epitome  (an 
abridgment  of  the  Homilies).  The  materials  in 
the  first  division  are  so  varied,  fragmentary,  and 
widely  scattered,  that  they  cannot  easily  be  sub- 
jected to  specific  description ;  but  the  Acts  and 
the  Clementines  are  distinct  bodies  of  literature 
whose  chief  characteristics  may  be  briefly  noted.* 

The  Acts  fall  into  two  groups,  commonly  distin- 
guished as  '  Gnostic '  t  and  '  Catholic.'  Neither  of 
these  groups  as  they  now  stand  constitutes  a  per- 
fect unit,  yet  each  has  its  own  distinctive  traits. 
The  Gnostic  Acts  is  unique  in  removing  St.  Paul 
from  Rome  before  Peter  arrives.  St.  Paul  is 
directed  in  a  vision  to  leave  the  city  and  go  to 
Spain.  Thereupon  Simon  Magus  appears  at  Rome, 
calling  himself  '  the  great  power  of  God,'  and  win- 
ning to  himself  many  Christians  through  his 
magical  practices.  At  this  point  Peter,  having 
completed  his  assigned  task  of  working  for  twelve 
years  among  Jews  only,  is  Divinely  instructed 
to  visit  Rome.  On  his  arrival  he  immediately 
attacks  Simon  and  wins  back  the  Christians  who 
had  been  seduced.  Peter  and  Simon  vie  with  each 
other  in  the  performance  of  miracles,  but  Peter 
is  the  more  successful,  and  Simon,  in  attempting 
to  fly  to  heaven,  is  brought  down  by  Peter's 
prayer  and  dies  from  the  effects  of  the  fall.  Nero 
and  his  friend  Albinus  become  offended  with  Peter, 
who  is  informed  of  their  evil  designs  and  prepares 
to  leave  the  city ;  but  outside  the  gate  he  meets 
Jesus,  who,  when  asked  whither  He  is  going 
('Domine,  quo  vadis?'),  replies  that  He  is  on  His 
way  to  Rome  to  be  crucified.  At  this  Peter  returns 
and  gladly  submits  to  crucifixion,  requesting  that 
he  be  nailed  to  the  cross  head  downwards.  Mar- 
cellus,  formerly  a  disciple  of  St.  Paul  and  then  of 
Simon,  having  been  won  back  to  Christianity  by 
Peter,  takes  care  of  the  Apostle's  body  ;  but  Peter 
appears  to  him  in  a  vision  and  says,  '  Let  the  dead 
be  buried  by  their  own  dead ' — an  intimation  that 
Marcellus  is  to  await  the  return  of  St.  Paul  to 
Rome.  The  Catholic  Acts  has  a  similar  content, 


*  For  a  more  exhaustive  discussion  of  this  whole  mass  of 


767-779;  P.  W.   Schmiedel,  art.   'Simon  Peter'  in  EBi  iv. 


UCS7 — NAI  . 

t  That  they  are  really  Gnostic  is  maintained  by  Lipsius  (pp. 
it.  p.  258  ff.)  and  T.  Zahn  (Geschichte  des  neutest.  Kanons,  ii. 


[Leipzig,  1890]  832  ff.) ;  while  A.  Harnack  (Chronologic  der  alt* 
christlichen  LMeratur,  Leipzig,  1897.  i.  549  ff.),  C.  Erbes  (in 
ZKG  xxii.  [1901]  163  ff.),  and  C.  Schmidt  (in  riTxxiv.  1  [1903]) 
believe  them  to  be  actually  Catholic. 


yet  with  some  remarkable  differences.  St.  Paul 
arrives  at  Rome  while  Peter  is  still  there,  and  is 
besought  by  the  Christians  to  resist  Peter,  who  is 
teaching  believers  to  do  away  with  the  Law  of 
Moses.  The  two  apostles  greet  one  another  with 
joy,  and  the  disputes  between  Jewish  and  Gentile 
Christians  are  settled  by  St.  Paul,  both  apostles 
working  together  in  harmony.  Then  the  two — 
though  Peter  is  the  chief  spokesman — encounter 
Simon  Magus,  who,  as  in  the  Gnostic  Acts,  dies 
from  a  fall  while  attempting  to  fly  to  heaven. 
Nero  imprisons  them  for  the  harm  they  have  done 
his  friend  Simon,  and  finally  Peter  is  crucified, 
while  St.  Paul  is  beheaded  on  the  same  day  (29th 
June). 

The  Clementines  *  contain'  two  different  versions 
of  the  same  original  romance,  the  chief  point  of 
which  is  the  persistent  conflict  between  Peter  and 
Simon  Magus.  The  scene  of  the  conflict  is  Syria, 
and  it  is  not  certain  that  the  original  form  of  the 
legend  made  any  reference  whatsoever  to  Rome. 
But  in  their  present  form  both  versions  vaguely 
intimate  that  the  final  scene  of  the  conflict  is  Rome. 
The  Homilies  are  distinctly  anti-Pauline,  Simon 
being  in  fact  merely  a  mask  for  St.  Paul,  who  is 
thus  brought  into  complete  subjection  to  Peter. 
In  the  Recognitions,  on  the  other  hand,  the  con- 
flict is  not  so  sharp,  criticism  being  directed  more 
particularly  against  the  pre-Christian  activities  of 
St.  Paul.  See  art.  SIMON  MAGUS. 

These  legendary  materials  have  not  been  sum- 
marized because  of  their  intrinsic  historical  value, 
for  in  this  particular  they  are  now  admitted  by 
scholars  to  be  in  the  main  quite  unreliable.  Their 
importance  consists  in  the  use  which  has  been 
made  of  their  tendency  as  a  key  to  the  reconstruc- 
tion of  the  history  of  the  Apostolic  Age,  and 
particularly  to  the  solution  of  the  much-debated 
problem  of  Peter's  Roman  residence,  which  is  the 
next  question  to  claim  our  attention. 

According  to  traditional  Roman  Catholic  opinion, 
when  Jesus  commissioned  Peter  to  be  the  corner- 
stone of  the  Church  and  the  guardian  of  the  keys 
(Mt  1617'19),  He  virtually  designated  him  bishop  of 
Rome,  the  first  Pope.t  Several  Protestant  scholars 
also,  while  not  estimating  so  highly  Peter's  ecclesi- 
astical significance,  are  of  the  opinion  that  he 
finally  visited  Rome  and  suffered  martyrdom  there 
under  Nero.  This  opinion  is  thought  to  be  sup- 
ported by  a  number  of  early  witnesses.  The 
earliest  notice  is  in  Clement  of  Rome,  who  admon- 
ishes the  Corinthians  to  follow  the  examples  of 
the  good  apostles :  '  There  was  Peter,  who  by 
reason  of  unrighteous  jealousy  endured  not  one 
nor  two  but  many  labours,  and  thus  having  borne 
his  testimony  went  to  his  appointed  place  of  glory ' 
(Ep.  ad  Cor.  i.  5).  In  the  next  chapter  St.  Paul's 
martyrdom  is  also  mentioned  along  with  'a  vast 
multitude  of  the  elect,  who  through  many  indig- 
nities and  tortures,  being  the  victims  of  jealousy, 
set  a  brave  example  among  us.'  Clement  is  com- 
monly supposed  to  have  written  his  epistle  about 
the  year  95,  and  one  may  easily  infer  that  he  was 
thinking  of  Peter  and  St.  Paul  as  having  suffered 
martyrdom  at  Rome  during  Nero's  persecution. 
Ignatius,  early  in  the  2nd  cent.,  says  the  Romans 
had  been  enjoined  by  Peter  and  St.  Paul  (Rom.  4), 
which  would  seem  to  presuppose  Peter's  presence 
in  Rome  at  one  time,  since  nothing  is  known  of 
any  epistle  addressed  to  the  Romans  by  Peter. 

*  See  F.  J.  A.  Hort,  Notes  Introductory  to  the  Study  of  the 
Clementine  Recognitions,  London,  1901. 

t  For  a  typical  statement  see  Janvier,  Histoire  de  Saint 
Pierre  prince  des  ap6tres  et  premier  pape.  Tours,  1902.  J. 
Schnitzer,  Hat  Jesus  das  Papsttum  gegtiftet  ?8,  Augsburg,  1910, 
is  more  critical.  Of.  also  P.  Styger,  '  Neue  Untersuchungen 
iiber  die  altchristlichen  Petrusdarstellungen,"  in  Romische 
Quart alschrift  fur  christliche  Altertumskunde  undfiir  Kirchen- 
geschichte,  xxvii.  [1913]  17-74. 


200 


PETER 


PETER 


Dionysius  of  Corinth  (c.  A.D.  170)  also  states  that 
Peter  worked  in  Italy,  doubtless  meaning  Rome 
(Eusebius,  HE  II.  xxv.  8).  Toward  the  close  of 
the  2nd  cent.  Irenseus  (ill.  i.  1,  iii.  1),  and  at  the 
end  of  the  cent.  Clement  of  Alexandria  (Eusebius, 
HE  VI.  xiv.  6)  and  Tertullian  (e.g.  de  Bapt.  4  ;  de 
Prcescript.  adv.  hcer.  32),  all  bear  witness  to  a  so- 
journ of  Peter  in  Home.  In  the  course  of  time 
tradition  fixes  more  specifically  the  date  of  his 
arrival,  the  details  of  his  work,  and  the  circum- 
stances of  his  death.  He  was  said  to  have  laboured 
there  for  twenty-five  years  (Jerome,  de  Vir.  ill.  1), 
having  first  completed  his  twelve  required  years  of 
residence  among  the  Jews.  If  we  assume  that 
Jesus  died  in  the  year  30,  this  reckoning  would 
bring  Peter  to  Rome  in  the  year  42  and  place  his 
martyrdom  in  67  ;  yet  Nero's  persecution,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  occurred  in  64.  But  this  fact  was 
easily  overlooked,  since  the  ideal  numbers  ( 12  and 
25)  had  to  be  preserved.  After  sifting  the  his- 
torical kernel  from  these  legends,  several  modern 
interpreters  conclude  that  Peter  perished  at  Rome 
during  the  Neronian  persecution  in  the  summer  of 
64,  but  that  his  stay  there  had  been  of  compara- 
tively short  duration.* 

Another  school  of  interpretation  rejects  alto- 
gether any  notion  of  Peter's  presence  in  Rome, 
making  all  the  affirmative  tradition  merely  a  pro- 
duct of  the  early  polemic  against  St.  Paul  as 
exhibited,  in  its  later  forms,  in  the  '  Clementine ' 
writings  and  the  apocryphal  Acts.  The  first  stage 
in  this  evolution  is  seen  in  the  Homilies,  which 
portrays  the  sharp  antagonism  between  Simon 
Magus  and  Peter  in  Syria.  Simon  impersonates 
St.  Paul,  and  so  becomes  the  arch-heretic  of  early 
tradition ;  and,  since  St.  Paul's  Roman  residence 
was  too  well  attested  to  be  ignored,  his  antagonists 
were  compelled  to  take  Peter  to  Rome  in  order  to 
refute  Simon  (i.e.  St.  Paul)  in  the  centre  of  the 
Christian  world.  Similarly  in  the  'Gnostic'  A cts 
St.  Paul  vanishes  and  Simon  takes  his  place  in 
Rome  in  the  encounter  with  Peter.  But  in  the 
'  Catholic '  Acts,  representing  a  later  stage  of 
historical  development,  there  is  a  disposition  to 
synthesize  the  factions,  and  so  St.  Paul  is  kept  in 
Rome  to  join  Peter  in  resisting  Simon.  While 
this  entire  Simonian  literature,  in  its  present  form, 
belongs  to  the  3rd  or  subsequent  centuries,  the 
main  tradition  is  thought  to  have  been  current  at 
a  much  earlier  date,  signs  of  it  already  appearing 
in  Ac  818ff-.  On  this  hypothesis  the  Patristic  testi- 
mony to  Peter's  Roman  residence  is  easily  set 
aside.  Since  the  statements  of  Clement  of  Rome 
and  Ignatius  are  not  explicit,  they  are  given 
another  interpretation.  Thus  Dionysius  of  Corinth 
becomes  the  earliest  witness,  and  he  is  said  to  be 
under  the  influence  of  the  Simonian  legend,  or 
even  to  be  deliberately  aiming  at  giving  it  currency. 
This  interpretation,  needless  to  say,  is  the  result 
of  a  rigid  application  of  Tubingen  principles  to 
this  period  of  apostolic  history ;  t  but  the  funda- 
mental premise  of  the  argument — namely,  the 
supposition  of  a  wide  breach  between  Peter  and 
St.  Paul  in  the  earlier  period — we  have  already 
found  to  be  quite  untenable.  It  is  true  that  ade- 
quately attested  information  about  Peter's  Roman 
connexions  is  still  exceedingly  scanty,  but  the 
Simonian  hypothesis  surely  does  not  furnish  the 
key  to  the  problem. 

There  remain  to  be  mentioned  a  few  Patristic 
notices  regarding  Peter's  activities  in  other  regions. 

*  For  detailed  defence  of  this  general  position  see  J.  B. 
Lightfoot,  The  Apostolic  Fathers,  pt.  i.  [London,  1890]  vol.  i. 
pp.  201-345  and  vol.  ii.  pp.  481-502 ;  A.  Harnack,  op.  cit.  pp. 
240  ff.,  703  ff.  ;  F.  H.  Chase,  op.  cit.  ;  C.  Schmidt,  op.  cit. 

t  The  view  has  been  supported  vigorously  by  Schmiedel  in 
bis  above-mentioned  article  in  the  EBi,  where  he  follows  in  the 
main  Lipsius,  op.  cit.  See  also  C.  Erbes,  '  Die  Todestage  der 
Apostel  Paulus  und  Petrus,'  in  TU  xix.  1  [Leipzig,  1899]. 


The  salutation  of  1  Pet.  prompted  Origen  to  remark 
that  Peter  '  seems '  to  have  preached  to  the  Jews 
of  the  Dispersion  in  Pontus,  Galatia,  Bithynia, 
Cappadocia,  and  Asia  (Eusebius,  HE  ill.  i.  2). 
This  opinion  became  quite  common,  but  probably 
1  Pet.  was  its  only  ultimate  source.  Peter's  name 
was  also  connected  closely  with  Antioch,  where, 
according  to  the  Chronicle  of  Eusebius  (Lipsius,  op. 
cit.  p.  25  ff. ),  he  founded  the  church  in  the  second 
year  of  Claudius  (i.e.  42) — certainly  an  impossible 
tradition.  The  mention  of  '  Babylon '  in  1  P  513 
also  suggested  that  general  territory  as  a  field  of 
the  Apostle's  labours — a  view  which  Lipsius  and 
Schmiedel,  for  example,  are  inclined  to  adopt  in 
preference  to  the  tradition  of  his  Roman  residence. 
It  is  improbable  that  any  of  these  legends  has  in- 
dependent historical  value,  though  undoubtedly 
Peter's  missionary  travels  extended  much  more 
widely  than  the  NT  data  might,  at  first  sight, 
seem  to  imply. 

To  note,  finally,  traditions  regarding  Peter's 
literary  activity,  apart  from  the  two  canonical 
works  to  be  considered  in  another  connexion,  there 
are  extant  fragments  of  a  Gospel  of  Peter,  an  Apoca- 
lypse of  Peter,  a  Preaching  of  Peter,  and  an  Epistle 
of  Peter  to  James  prefixed  to  the  Clementine  Homi- 
lies. Jerome  (de  Vir.  ill.  i.  1)  refers  to  a  work  of 
Peter's  called  Judicium,  but  nothing  is  known  of 
its  contents.  It  may  be'  noted  also  that  tradition 
connected  Peter's  name  indirectly  with  the  Gospel 
of  Mark  (Eusebius,  HE  III.  xxxix.  15).  Of  the 
Gospel  of  Peter  we  know  only  a  few  paragraphs 
near  the  end,  which  speak  of  the  trial  of  Jesus, 
the  mockery,  the  Crucifixion,  and  the  Resurrection. 
The  final  words  are :  '  And  I,  Simon  Peter,  and 
Andrew  my  brother,  took  our  nets  and  departed 
to  the  sea,  and  Levi  the  son  of  Alphseus  was  with 
us,  whom  the  Lord  .  .  .'  *  Serapion,  bishop  of 
Antioch  (c.  190),  at  first  permitted  this  Gospel  to 
circulate  at  Rhossus,  but  later  condemned  it  as 
heretical  because  it  was  alleged  to  be  of  Docetic 
origin  (Eusebius,  HE  VI.  xii.  2-6).  The  document 
probably  came  into  existence  about,  or  not  long 
after,  the  year  150.  The  extant  remains  of  the 
Apocalypse  of  Peter  are  in  quantity  about  equal 
to  those  of  the  Gospel,  less  than  a  half -dozen  ordin- 
ary pages.  Jesus  is  represented  as  granting  the 
apostles,  in  response  to  their  request,  a  vision  of 
their  righteous  brethren  who  have  passed  over  to 
the  future  world.  The  abode  of  the  blessed  is 
disclosed,  and  also  the  place  of  torment,  where  the 
wicked  are  suffering  punishments  corresponding  to 
their  respective  types  of  sinful  conduct  while  upon 
earth.  Clement  of  Alexandria,  who  has  preserved 
a  number  of  fragments  from  this  work,  sometimes 
cites  it  as  Scripture  (Eclog.  prophet.  41),  as  does  the 
unknown  author  of  the  Muratorian  Canon.  It 
probably  arose  in  the  2nd  century.  The  remains 
of  the  Preaching  are  more  brief  and  scattered,  but 
apparently  it  was  known  and  used  more  widely  in 
antiquity  than  either  of  the  other  works.  Clement 
of  Alexandria  is  our  best  witness  to  the  content  of 
the  document  (cf.  Strom.  I.  xxix.  182,  VI.  v.  39-41, 
43,  vi.  48,  xv.  128).  The  treatise,  which  he  possessed 
entire,  purported  to  be  the  work  of  Peter,  and 
emphasized  monotheism  in  contrast  with  inferior 
ideas  of  Greeks  and  Jews.  Apparently  it  was  de- 
signed for  use  in  the  missionary  propaganda.  Its 
early  and  wide  currency  has  led  scholars  to  place 
its  composition  in  the  first  half  of  the  2nd  cent, 
(cf.  Harnack,  op.  cit.  p.  472 ff.). 

LITERATURE. — Treatises  on  the  Apostolic  Age  and  on  early 
Christian  literature  usually  deal  in  a  general  way  with  our  sub- 

*  The  fragment  has  often  been  edited  since  its  discovery  at 
Akhmim  in  1886.  It  may  be  found  in  convenient  form,  together 
with  other  Petrine  fragments,  in  H.  Lietzmann's  Kleine  Texts 
fur  theologische  Vorlesungen  und  Vbungen, '  Apocrypha,'  L,  ed. 
E.  Klostermann,  Bonn,  1903. 


PETER,  EPISTLES  OF 


PETEE,  EPISTLES  OF 


201 


ject.  Discussions  devoted  exclusively  to  Peter  are  mainly  artt. 
in  the  various  Dictionaries,  the  more  important  beinfr  F.  H. 
Chase, '  Peter(Simon),'  in  HDB  iii.  756-779  ;  P.  W.  Schmiedel, 
1  Simon  Peter,'  in  EBi  iv.  4459-4627  ;  F.  Sieffert,  '  Petrus  der 
Apostel,'  in  PRE3  xv.  186-203  ;  K.  Lake,  '  Peter,  |St,'  in  EBrn 
xxi.  285-288.  Important  treatments  of  special  topics  have  been 
cited  in  the  course  of  the  discussion.  To  these  should  be  added 
the  valuable  critical  work  of  C.  Guignebert,  La  Primautt  de 
Pierre  et  la  venue  de  Pierre  A  Rome,  Paris,  1909,  which  has 
an  exhaustive  bibliography.  S.  J.  CASE. 

PETER,  EPISTLES  OF.— The  NT  contains  two 
writings  bearing  the  name  of  Peter.  Since  the 
problems  connected  with  these  Epistles  depend  for 
their  solution  mainly  upon  the  internal  indicia  of 
the  documents  themselves,  a  resume  of  their  con- 
tent is  first  in  order.  It  will  also  be  convenient  to 
treat  the  two  letters  separately. 

A.  FIRST  PETER.— i.  Content.— The  content  of 
this  Epistle  may  be  outlined  as  follows : 

(a)  Salutation  (!"•). — The  apostle  Peter  greets 
Christians  of  Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia, 
and  Bithynia.     These  believers  are  reminded  of 
the  fact  that  they  are  merely  temporary  residents 
on  earth,  their  real  citizenship  being  in  heaven. 
God  the  Father,  knowing  in  advance  their  ultimate 
destiny,  has  given  them  a  spiritual  sanctification 
to  the  end  that  they  may  be  obedient  children  and 
may  receive  the  saving  benefits  accruing  to  those 
who  have  been  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

(b)  Praise  to  God  for  the  surety  of  ultimate 
salvation  (I3'12). — Since    Christ    has    been   raised 
from  the  dead  those  who  are  united  to  Him  by 
faith  are  sure  of  obtaining  the  Divine  salvation  to 
be  revealed  in  the  near  future  when  the  present 
world-order  shall  be  brought  to  an  end.     On  the 
basis  of  this  certainty  believers  rejoice  exceedingly, 
notwithstanding  temporary  afflictions,  which  only 
serve  to  prove  the  genuineness  of  their  faith.   Their 
salvation  has  been  prophesied  by  the  ancients,  it 
was  preached  by  the  spiritually  equipped  evan- 
gelists, and  even  angels  desired  to  peer  into  these 
matters. 

(c)  The  type  of  personal  life  befitting  individuals 
who  are  to  inherit  so  great  salvation  (l^-S12). — (1) 
In  view  of  believers'  blessed  condition  as  heirs  of 
the  heavenly  inheritance  about  to  be  disclosed, 
they  should  t>e  pure  in  their  personal  life.     Since 
God  who  has  chosen  them  is  holy,  as  is  also  Christ 
who  redeemed  them,  they  too  should  live  right- 
eously.    They  have  been  re-born  to  a  new  and 
incorruptible  condition  of  being,  and,  like  new- 
born infants,  their  nourishment  is  to  be  derived 
from  the  sphere  of  the  new  life  into  which  they 
have   come.     They  are    a   new  race,   a  peculiar 
people,  set  apart  to  live  the  heavenly  life  while 
yet  on  earth  (113-210). 

(2)  But  as  such  they  must  also  live  fittingly  in 
relation  to  their  heathen  environment.  They  are 
to  shun  all  wickedness,  and  thereby  give  the  lie  to 
the  popular  charge  that  they  are  evil-doers.  They 
are,  however,  to  avoid  giving  any  offence  to  the 
authorities.  If  they  are  servants  in  a  heathen 
household,  they  are  to  discharge  their  duties  faith- 
fully, bearing  buffetings  and  revilings  with  Christ- 
like  fortitude.  When  believers  find  themselves 
married  to  unbelievers,  they  must  exemplify  the 
Christian  virtues  also  in  this  relationship.  In 
short,  they  should  be  living  witnesses  to  the  ideal 
type  of  conduct  in  all  their  relations  with  out- 
siders (2n-312). 

(d)  Encouragement    to    bear  persecution    with 
fortitude,  in  view  of  the  Christians'  certainty  of 
ultimate  salvation  (313-5U). — (1)  If  zeal  for  right- 
eousness brings  them  suffering,  they  are  but  following 
in  the  footsteps  of  Christ.     Through  His  suffering 
they  have  been  made  heirs  of  a  sure  salvation ; 
consequently  they  should  continue  loyally  to  con- 
fess His  Lordship.     When  their  opponents  revile 


and  persecute  them  for  their  peculiar  faith,  they 
may  reassure  themselves  by  recalling  (i.  )  Christ's 
saving  mission,  which  extended  even  to  the  spirits 
in  Hades;  (ii.)  the  ordinance  of  baptism,  which 
formally  ensured  their  spiritual  union  with  the 
Risen  Jesus;  and  (iii.)  the  heavenly  exaltation  of 
Christ,  whereby  all  authority  has  been  committed 
to  Him  (318'23). 

(2)  Hence  Christians  have  a  ready  answer  to 
give  their  heathen  critics  who  charge  them  with 
unsocial  conduct.  They  are  no  longer  men  of  the 
flesh,  for,  having  been  united  in  baptism  with  the 
heavenly  spiritual  Christ,  they  now  enjoy  a  new 
state  of  existence  ;  they  are  citizens  of  heaven 


(3)  As  their  stay  upon  earth,  along  with  all 
earthly  things,  draws  to  a  close,  their  chief  en- 
deavour is  to  cultivate  the  true  fruits  of  the  Spirit 
in  daily  living  —  sobriety,   prayerfulness,   mutual 
love,  hospitality,  ministrations,  and  constant  glori- 
fication of  God  (47'11). 

(4)  Christians  ought  not  to  be  shocked  by  the 
outbreak  of  severe  persecution.     In  the  first  place, 
they  should  rejoice  at  the  opportunity  of  becoming 
actual  imitators  of  Christ.     And,  secondly,  since 
they  do  not  suffer  justly,  being  guilty  of  no  sins 
for  which  God  should   bring  this  affliction  upon 
them,  their  trials  are  a  sign  of  the  approaching 
end  when  they  are  to  receive  the  salvation  now 
being  guarded  for  them  in  heaven.     If  the  initial 
stages  of  the  Final  Judgment  bring  such  afflictions 
upon  the  innocent,  how  infinitely  more  terrible 
will  the  ultimate  fate  of  the  wicked  be  !    There- 
fore believers  should  not   be  ashamed   to  suffer 
innocently  as  Christians,  since  this  is  in  accordance 
with  the  will  of  God,  who  always  has  in  mind  the 
ultimate  salvation  of  their  souls  (412'19). 

(5)  Under  these  circumstances  both  the  leaders 
of  the  community  and  the  members  of  the  con- 
gregation should  order  their  lives  according  to  the 
strictest  ideals  of  perfection,   knowing  that  they 
will  ultimately  receive  their  respective  rewards. 
Their  temporary  affliction  will,  througli  the  favour 
of  God,  issue  in  the  perfect  salvation  about  to  be 
revealed  from  heaven  (51'11). 

(e)  Conclusion  (512'14).  —  The  readers  are  informed 
of  Silvanus'  connexion  with  the  letter,  they  are 
exhorted  to  remain  steadfast,  greetings  are  con- 
veyed to  them,  and  they  receive  the  apostolic 
benediction. 

2.  Purpose.  —  The  main  purpose  of  the  Epistle  is 
to  comfort  and  encourage  certain  communities 
embarrassed  by  heathen  opposition  —  an  opposition 
which  had  broken  out  into  a  conflagration  of 
persecution.  The  writer  seeks  to  strengthen  the 
Christians'  faith  by  turning  their  attention  to  the 
near  future,  when  God  will  bring  all  their  troubles 
to  an  end  by  sending  Jesus  Christ  to  conduct  the 
Final  Judgment  and  perfect  the  salvation  of  be- 
lievers (I6-  7-  "•  1S-  »  212  4s-  13-  "'•  51-  «•  "•  10).  Chris- 
tians are  strongly  exhorted  to  refrain  from  doing 
anything  for  which  they  might  be  justly  punished. 
Possibly  some  among  them  were  disposed  to  take 
too  literally  the  doctrine  of  soul-freedom  and  so  to 
forget  that  the  earthly  order  under  which  they 
were  now  living  was  really  an  appointment  of 
God  (213'n  418).  St.  Paul  had  to  give  the  Romans 
a  similar  warning  (Ro  131'7;  cf.  Tit  31*8  ;  Clement 
of  Rome,  ad  Cor.  61).  Not  improbably  the  Chris- 
tians' sense  of  superiority  to  the  world  tended 
to  engender  an  unconventional  type  of  conduct 
which  sometimes  antagonized  the  authorities  and 
readily  suggested  to  outsiders  that  these  seem- 
ingly recalcitrant  people  were  accustomed  within 
their  own  private  assemblies  to  cast  off  all 
moral  restraints.  The  readers  of  this  Epistle  are 
especially  exhorted  to  make  their  manner  of  life 
such  that  they  can  by  no  possible  means  be  justly 


202 


PETEK,  EPISTLES  OF 


PETER,  EPISTLES  OF 


reckoned  among  evil-doers.  In  all  their  political, 
social,  and  personal  relationships  they  are  to  exer- 
cise the  utmost  caution  not  to  give  offence.  But 
they  are  not  to  compromise  their  ideals  by  resort- 
ing to  the  heathen  mode  of  living,  nor  are  they  to 
hesitate  in  confessing  Christ's  Lordship  (315).  They 
should  always  be  prepared  to  give  reasons  for  their 
unshaken  faith  in  Christ  and  the  coming  deliver- 
ance, and  their  type  of  life  should  be  so  noble  as 
to  put  to  shame  their  accusers.  Then,  in  all  the 
attacks  which  are  made  upon  them  they  will  suffer 
unjustly,  and  such  suffering  will  bring  them  a  rich 
reward.  Having  seen  to  it  that  they  themselves 
do  not  merit  punishment,  the  trials  through  which 
they  are  passing  must  be  merely  premonitory 
signs  of  the  approaching  end  when  all  sinners  are 
to  be  condemned,  while  the  righteous  are  to  in- 
herit eternal  peace.  Thus  the  author  endeavours 
to  cheer  and  strengthen  his  readers,  and  this  is 
manifestly  the  chief  aim  of  his  letter. 

3.  Historical  situation. — What,  more  exactly, 
were  the  conditions  under  which  the  readers  were 
living?  They  are  addressed  as  '  sojourners  of  the 
Dispersion '  (ira.pe-m8-f)/j.ois  diacnropas).  This  expres- 
sion has  sometimes  been  taken  to  mean  that  they 
were  converts  from  the  Jewish  Diaspora.*  But 
more  probably  the  language  is  figurative,  used  of 
Christians  in  general,  who  are  temporarily  exiled 
from  their  heavenly  home  and  scattered  abroad 
upon  the  earth, t  just  as  the  Jews  were  exiled  from 
their  holy  city  and  dispersed  in  strange  lands.  In 
this  sense  these  Christians  may  have  been  converts 
from  both  Judaism  and  paganism,  but  certain 
incidental  references  in  the  Epistle  suggest  that 
they  belonged  mainly  to  the  latter  class.  Before 
conversion  they  had  been  in  a  state  of  'ignorance ' 
(I14;  cf.  Eph  4IS)  and  had  followed  their  passions 
as  their  Gentile  contemporaries  continued  to  do 
(I14  42ff-);  in  time  past  they  were  in  'darkness,' 
they  were  'no  people,'  and  they  had  not  obtained 
mercy,  but  now  their  situation  is  completely  re- 
versed (2W>) ;  at  the  outset  they  had  been  furthest 
from  God,  and  now  they  are  nearest  to  Him — all 
of  which  seems  to  point  to  Gentile  antecedents. 
They  are  dwelling  in  different  parts  of  Asia  Minor 
— Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  andBithynia. 
Probably  the  geographical  designations  are  used 
in  the  official  sense  of  the  territorial  rearrange- 
ment into  provinces  under  the  Romans.  The 
bearer  of  the  Epistle  is  thought  of  as  starting  his 
journey  from  the  eastern  portion  of  the  province 
of  Bithynia- Pontus,  and  swinging  in  a  circle  back 
to  the  western  end  of  it.  But  the  readers  will 
have  lived  in  much  the  same  territory,  whether 
the  geographical  terms  are  taken  in  the  technical 
or  in  the  popular  sense.  The  letter  is  so  uniform 
in  its  emphasis  upon  suffering,  and  it  makes  so 
much  of  the  hope  that  Christ  will  soon  appear  to 
remedy  the  present  evil,  that  the  writer  evidently 
thought  Christians  generally  throughout  this  terri- 
tory were  actually  enduring,  or  were  soon  to  ex- 
perience, very  severe  persecution.  For  some  of 
them  at  least  it  was  already  a  stunning  reality 
(412),  but  they  are  exhorted  not  to  shrink  from  this 
affliction.  They  should,  however,  make  sure  that 
they  are  not  guilty  of  any  of  the  evil  deeds  which 
their  enemies  allege  against  them  (212-  15  316f- 
44.  i4-ifi)  They  are  admonished  to  refrain  from 
needlessly  provoking  the  authorities,  recognizing 
in  the  latter  Divinely  appointed  guardians  of  the 
civil  order  (213'17),  and  they  are  to  suffer  willingly 

*  So  E.  Kiihl,  Die  Briefe  Petri  und  Judce,  p.  21  ff.  The  same 
opinion  has  been  affirmed  more  recently  by  C.  F.  G.  Heinrici, 
Der  litterarische  Charakter  der  neutestamentlichen  Schriften, 
Leipzig,  1908,  p.  75  f. 

t  Cf.  1  P  in  2",  He  1113  13W,  Eph  219 ;  also  the  salutations  of 
Clement  of  Rome,  ad  Cor.,  Polycarp,  ad  Phil.,  and  Martyrdom 
of  Polycarp.  This  is  the  view  held  by  the  majority  of  modern 
scholars,  e.g.  R.  Knopf,  Die  Briefe  Petri  und  Juda,  p.  3ff. 


for  righteousness'  sake  ;  that  is,  they  are  to  stand 
loyal  to  their  confession  of  Christ  and  to  affirm 
unhesitatingly  their  hope  of  salvation,  and  thus 
they  may  congratulate  themselves  on  suffering  for 
the  name  of  Christ,  although  formally  they  are 
being  punished  for  crimes  with  which  their  oppon- 
ents are — falsely,  the  author  hopes— charging  them. 
(313-17  414-16)  Moreover,  their  situation  is  not 
unique,  but  is  characteristic  of  the  brotherhood 
throughout  the  world  (59). 

4.  Date. — There  is  much  difference  of  opinion  as 
to  the  date  of  composition  (see  J.  Moffatt,  LNT, 
pp.  338-342).  A  most  important  question  in  this 
connexion  is,  When  were  the  Christians  of  northern 
Asia  Minor  suffering  this  type  of  affliction?  Of 
the  various  answers  which  have  been  given  in  the 
past,  only  three  demand  detailed  consideration.* 
According  to  one  hypothesis,  these  events  took 
place  in  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of  Nero  (54-68), 
a  second  view  locates  them  under  Domitian  (81-96), 
while  still  another  refers  them  to  the  time  of  Trajan 
(98-117).  Notwithstanding  numerous  discussions 
of  the  subject,  there  is  still  much  uncertainty 
regarding  the  exact  extent  and  character  of  the 
persecutions  which  are  commonly  supposed  to  have 
occurred  under  these  three  Emperors. t  Our  first 
explicit  information  outside  the  NT  about  the 
persecution  of  Christians  in  Asia  Minor  is  found 
in  the  extant  correspondence  which  Pliny  the 
Younger  and  Trajan  carried  on  about  the  year 
112  (Ep.  xcvi.  f. ).  When  Pliny  became  governor  of 
Bithynia  he  soon  found  himself  in  conflict  with 
the  Christians,  of  whom  he  put  a  number  to  death, 
or,  if  Roman  citizens,  held  them  for  transportation 
to  Rome.  Pliny  had  not  started  out  with  any 
well-defined  anti-Christian  policy,  and  so  he  was 
much  perplexed  by  the  situation  which  early 
developed.  When  he  found  that  the  Christians 
were  not  guilty  of  the  crimes  usually  charged 
against  them,  he  was  in  doubt  as  to  whether  it  was 
proper  to  punish  them  merely  for  their  loyalty  to 
the  name  of  Christ,  and  he  did  not  know  what  dis- 
position ought  to  be  made  of  those  who  were 
willing  to  recant.  Further,  he  wanted  to  know  to 
what  extent  Christians  were  to  be  deliberately 
sought  out  for  punishment.  To  Pliny's  inquiries 
the  Emperor  replied  that  (1)  flagrant  cases  were  to 
be  punished,  but  (2)  no  active  search  for  Christians 
was  to  be  made,  nor  (3)  were  anonymous  accusa- 
tions to  be  entertained,  and  (4)  all  who  recanted, 
proving  their  sincerity  by  denying  the  name  of 
Christian  and  observing  the  rites  of  the  State 
religion,  were  to  be  pardoned  regardless  of  any 
former  suspicions  against  them.  This,  so  far  as 
our  extant  information  is  concerned,  is  the  first 
time  in  history  when  the  mere  confession  of  the 
name  '  Christian '  itself  constituted  a  punishable 
offence  in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  but  henceforth 
persecution  for  the  '  Name '  was  the  ordinary  form 
of  procedure.  J  In  earlier  times  the  name  '  Chris- 

*  B.  Weiss  in  various  writings,  and  more  recently  in  Der  erste 
Petrusbrief  und  die  neuere  Kritik,  has  advocated  a  date  early 
in  the  fifties,  and  he  is  followed  by  Kiihl,  op  eit.  pp.  49-60.  But 
this  opinion  has  not  found  any  general  acceptance.  A  similar 
neglect  has  attended  the  hypothesis  of  a  post-Trajanic  date,  as 
advocated,  for  example,  by  G.  Volkmar,  '  Ueberdie  katholischen 
Briefe  und  Henoch,'  in  ZWTh  iv.  [1861]  427-136,  v.  [1862]  46-75  ; 
and  by  E.  Zeller,  '  Zur  Petrusfrage,'  t'6.  xix.  [1876]  35-56. 

t  The  extensive  literature  has  recently  been  summarized  by 
L.  H.  Canfield,  The  Early  Persecutions  of  the  Christians,  New 
York,  1913.  The  more  important  recent  works  of  a  general 
character  are  W.  SI.  Kamsay,  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire 
before  A.D.  170,  London,  1893  ;  E.  G.  Hardy,  Studies  in  Roman 
History,  1st  ser.,  do.,  1906  ;  H.  B.  Workman,  Persecution  in  the 
Early  Church,  do.,  1906;  P.  Allard,  Histoire  des  persecutions 
pendant  lea  deux  premiers  sieclex^,  Paris,  1903  ;  A.  Linsenmayer, 
Die  Bekcimpfung  des  Christenturns  durch  den  romischen  Staat 
bis  zum  Tode  des  Kaisers  Julian,  Munich,  1905.  For  treatises 
on  special  topics  see  Canfield,  op.  cit.  pp.  211-215. 

J  So  Canfield,  op.  cit.  p.  96  ff.  Other  authorities  believe  this 
to  have  been  the  situation  even  in  Nero's  day,  e.g.  Moffatt, 
op.  ctt.  p.  324  f. 


PETEK,  EPISTLES  OF 


PETER,  EPISTLES  OF 


203 


tian '  might  have  aroused  suspicion,  but  apparently 
suspected  persons  had  to  be  convicted  of  some  par- 
ticular crime — or  at  least  the  crime  was  assumed 
by  the  authorities  to  be  capable  of  proof— before 
punishment  was  inflicted.  This,  indeed,  seems  to 
have  been  the  principle  upon  which  Pliny  himself 
had  acted  at  first,  for  he  was  at  a  loss  to  know 
what  to  do  when  he  found  that  the  Christians 
were  innocent  of  the  usual  charges  brought  against 
them,  and  that  they  had  even  obeyed  the  edict 
forbidding  private  assemblies.  In  the  case  of 
those  who  refused  to  recant,  he  justified  his  own 
severity  on  the  ground  of  their  criminal  obstinacy, 
but  Trajan's  rescript  removed  all  necessity  for  any 
such  special  justification.  Henceforth,  if  one 
persistently  confessed  Christianity,  that  in  itself 
was  sufficient  basis  for  legal  action.  Christianity 
was  now,  in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  a  religio  illicita. 

Is  this  the  situation  of  the  Christians  to  whom 
1  Peter  is  addressed?  Scholars  who  answer  this 
question  in  the  affirmative  do  so  mainly  because  of 
the  reference  in  1  P  414'16  to  suffering  for  the  Name.* 
But  were  the  readers  as  yet  technically  suffering 
for  the  Name  1  Apparently  not,  in  the  formal  sense. 
Their  opponents  are  certainly  bringing  specific 
charges  against  them  (212- 15- 19?-  39- 16f-  44),  reviling 
their  manner  of  life  in  order  to  persuade  the 
authorities  to  act.  Believers  are  not  being 
arraigned  because  it  is  a  crime  per  se  to  be  a 
Christian,  nor  are  they  condemned  on  this  charge  ; 
it  is  only  from  the  point  of  view  of  their  own  clear 
conscience  that  they  can  glory  in  being  reproached 
for  the  name  of  Christ.  The  stress  which  the 
writer  places  on  false  accusations,  and  his  earnest 
admonitions  to  avoid  all  criminal  conduct,  show 
that  the  letter  was  written  to  persons  who  were 
being  charged — though  falsely,  the  author  hoped — 
with  specific  crimes.  Moreover,  by  a  correct  and 
cautious  mode  of  conduct  they  may  hope  to  gain 
the  favour  of  the  governor  who  is  thought  capable 
of  giving  praise  to  them  that  do  well  (214),  while 
even  their  accusers  may  be  silenced  and  put  to 
shame  by  the  Christians'  good  manner  of  life  in 
Christ  (21S  316).f  This  encouragement  would  have 
been  quite  pointless  if  the  mere  acknowledgment 
of  the  '  Name'  already  constituted  a  capital  offence 
in  the  eyes  of  the  law.  The  Christians  might  con- 
sole themselves  with  the  thought  that  they  were 
in  reality  being  reproached  simply  for  the  name 
of  Christ,  but  apparently  their  enemies  were  still 
obliged  to  make  specific  criminal  charges  against 
believers  in  order  to  effect  legal  action. 

1  Peter  can  hardly  have  been  designed  to  meet 
the  new  condition  of  affairs  following  the  rescript 
of  Trajan,  if,  as  seems  probable,  the  mere  con- 
fession of  Christianity  was  henceforth  the  only 
point  needing  to  be  established  in  law  ('si  defer- 
antur  et  arguantur  [i.e.  if  they  are  proven  to  be 
Christians],  puniendi  sunt').  But  a  date  shortly 
before  Trajan's  rescript,  during  Pliny's  preliminary 
activity,  would  suit  admirably  certain  details  in 
the  situation.  Under  the  immediately  preceding 
governors  little  attention  had  been  paid  to  the 
internal  affairs  of  the  province,  which  was  in  a 
wretched  state  generally.  Pliny  was  a  more 
efficient  executive,  and  his  efforts  to  establish 
better  conditions  must  almost  immediately  have 

*  For  statements  of  this  opinion,  in  more  recent  times,  see  S. 
Davidson,  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  NT*,  \.  522  ff.  ; 
J.  M.  S.  Baljon,  Commentaar  op  de  katholische  brieven  ;  P. 
Schmidt,  '  Zwei  Fragen  zum  ersten  Petrusbrief,'  in  ZWTh  xlix. 
[1907]  28-52.  A.  Julicher,  Einleitung  in  das  AT8,  p.  182,  would 
make  the  date  about  A.D.  100,  because  Polycarp,  Papias,  and 
the  author  of  James  are  thought  to  have  known  and  used 
1  Peter. 

t  Perhaps  the  author  even  contemplated  the  possibility  of 
some  counter  legal  action  against  the  false  accusers  when  they 
failed  to  make  good  their  charges.  According  to  Suetonius 
(4 HI/,  xxxii.),  Augustus  had  enacted  a  law  by  which  malicious 
informers  made  themselves  liable  for  the  very  punishment  which 
they  sought  to  bring  upon  their  innocent  victim. 


brought  the  Christians  to  his  attention.  They 
were  held  largely  responsible  for  the  general  de- 
cline, because  they  had  interfered  with  traditional 
religion  and  with  that  part  of  civic  life  which  de- 
pended upon  religion  for  prosperity.  Even  in  the 
villages  and  country  districts  the  temples  had  been 
forsaken  and  the  trade  in  fodder  for  the  victims 
had  been  almost  ruined.  So  Pliny,  in  order  to 
restore  the  commercial  prosperity  of  the  province, 
took  action  against  the  Christians.  He  put  to 
death  a  few  who  had  refused  to  recant  and  induced 
others  to  resume  their  former  manner  of  life.  This 
action  encouraged  the  enemies  of  the  new  religion 
to  bring  still  others  to  his  attention,  and  even 
anonymous  charges  were  entertained.  This  pro- 
cedure must  have  seemed  to  the  Christians  like  the 
sudden  outburst  of  a  devastating  conflagration, 
a  veritable  activity  of  their  adversary  the  devil 
(4la  58).  But  still  there  was  a  hopeful  side  to  the 
situation.  The  governor  had  shown  a  disposition 
to  investigate  the  charges,  and  if  Christians  would 
only  take  care  always  to  be  found  innocent  they 
might  hope  for  favours  from  the  courts  and  at  the 
same  time  put  their  accusers  to  confusion.  Ac- 
cording to  Pliny's  testimony,  this  was  the  course 
which  the  Christians  of  his  province  were  actually 
pursuing.  In  obedience  to  his  edict  they  had 
ceased  holding  meetings,  and  the  criminal  charges 
preferred  against  them  proved  on  investigation  to 
be  wholly  false. 

Thus  we  might  easily  suppose,  on  the  basis  of 
conditions  described  by  Pliny,  that  1  Peter  had 
shortly  before  been  received  by  the  Christian  com- 
munity and  had  borne  good  fruit.  Furthermore, 
the  problems  which  it  treats  have  several  points  of 
correspondence  with  the  situation  presupposed  in 
Pliny's  letter  to  the  Emperor.  He  had  called  upon 
believers  to  revile  Christ  and  worship  Caesar,  and 
they  are  especially  admonished  in  1  Peter  to 
sanctify  in  their  hearts  Christ  as  Lord  (315ff<),  to 
remain  loyal  to  His  name  (414ff-),  and  to  refuse  to 
return  to  their  former  mode  of  living  (42ff>).  The 
last  item  was  the  thing  which  Pliny  was  especially 
desirous  of  bringing  about,  and  he  says  that  his 
efforts  in  this  direction  had  been  measurably  success- 
ful. This  fact  may  have  furnished  one  of  the  in- 
centives for  the  writing  of  1  Peter,  exhorting 
believers  to  maintain  a  firm  defence  of  their  faith 
in  Christ,  yet  a  defence  to  be  made  with  meekness 
and  fear,  while  they  thus  retain  a  good  conscience 
and  hope  for  the  best  (31M-).  Many  items  in  the 
letter  are  admirably  suited  to  the  early  days  of 
Pliny's  governorship,  previous  to  his  appeal  to 
Trajan  and  the  issuance  of  the  Emperor's  rescript. 

On  the  other  hand,  several  interpreters  prefer  a 
Domitianic  date,  believing  that  it  furnishes  a  more 
appropriate  setting  for  the  conditions  described  in 
1  Peter.  The  situation  under  Trajan  is  thought  to 
exhibit  a  too  advanced  type  of  persecution.*  Even 
in  comparison  with  Revelation,  which  is  supposed 
to  have  been  written  in  the  last  years  of  Domitmn's 
reign,  1  Peter  is  believed  to  reflect  a  slightly  earlier 
situation.  The  persecution  seems  to  have  broken 
out  only  recently  (412),  and  resentment  toward  the 
authorities  has  not  yet  had  time  to  develop  (213'17) ; 
while  in  Revelation  the  persecutors  are  hated 
bitterly  and  Christians  have  been  enduring  afflic- 

*  Detailed  arguments  against  a  Trajanic  date  are  given  by 
J.  M.  Usteri,  Wissenschaftticher  und  praktischer  Commentar 
uber  den  ersten  Petrusbrief,  pp.  243-248 ;  but  he  is  equally 
opposed  to  a  Domitianic  date  (p.  248  ff.).  The  latter  view,  how- 
ever, is  held  by  a  number  of  scholars — e.g.,  in  more  recent  times, 
H.  von  Soden  in  H.  J.  Holtzmann's  Hand-Kommentar  zum  ST*, 
iii.  117  (making  Silvanus  the  real  author);  A.  C.  McGiffert,  A 
History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age%,  p.  596  f.  (ascribing 
the  letter  to  Barnabas) ;  R.  Knopf,  op.  cit.  p.  24  f.  The  same 
date  is  assumed  for  the  original  form  of  the  letter  as  re-con- 
structed by  A.  Harnack,  Die  Chronologic  der  altchristlichen 
Litteratur,  \.  451-465,  and  by  W.  Soltau,  '  Die  Einheitlichkeit 
des  ersten  Petrusbriefes,'  in  SK  Ixxviii.  [1905]  302-315,  Lxxix. 
[1906] 456-460. 


204 


PETER,  EPISTLES  OF 


PETER,  EPISTLES  OF 


tions  for  some  time  (2TS  610  1824).  It  is  also  said 
that  in  1  Peter  Christians  are  not  being  called  upon 
to  pay  homage  to  the  Emperor's  image  (but  see 
1  P  314),  while  this  demand  has  become  very  offen- 
sive by  the  time  Revelation  was  written  (181S  204). 
Therefore  1  Peter  is  placed  in  the  earlier  part  of 
Domitian's  reign  (e.g.  von  Soden,  c.  90  ;  McGiffert, 
before  90  ;  Knopf,  81-90  ;  Harnack,  83-93). 

This  line  of  argument  assumes  that  conditions 
north  of  the  Taurus  were  practically  identical  with 
those  of  eastern  Asia  Minor,  and  that  Revelation 
is  a  reliable  witness  to  the  Domitianic  persecution. 
The  former  assumption  might  easily  be  disputed, 
and  perhaps  the  latter  is  open  to  some  question. 
Certainly  the  popular  belief  that  Domitian  in- 
stituted a  vigorous  persecution  in  the  East  is  not 
substantiated  by  the  earliest  authorities.  *  Perhaps 
the  Christians'  troubles  described  in  Revelation 
may  have  been  brought  on  by  certain  local  author- 
ities acting  on  their  own  initiative  and  being  zealous 
for  the  cult  of  the  Emperor  which  had  been  pro- 
minent in  Asia  since  the  time  of  Augustus,  its 
chief  seat  being  at  Pergamum  (Dio  Cassius,  li.  20  ; 
Tacitus,  Annals,  iv.  37  ;  cf.  Rev  213).  But  there  is 
manifestly  little  similarity  between  the  situation 
reflected  in  1  Peter  and  that  of  the  Christians  in 
Revelation,  nor  is  it  certain  that  the  two  situations 
stand  to  one  another  in  the  relation  of  antecedent 
to  consequent. 

Those  who  adopt  a  Neronian  date — a  view  which 
has  been  widely  accepted  t  —  have  even  greater 
difficulties  in  obtaining  substantial  evidence  for  a 
persecution  of  the  desired  type  in  northern  Asia 
Minor  in  the  sixties.  There  is,  however,  very  ex- 
plicit evidence  for  a  severe  persecution  in  Rome 
during  Nero's  reign.  Tacitus  (Annals,  xv.  44), 
writing  about  A.D.  115,  says  that  Nero,  in  order 
to  free  himself  from  the  charge  of  incendiarism, 
alleged  that  the  Christians  were  responsible  for  the 
great  fire  of  the  year  64.  While  Tacitus  does  not 
think  they  were  guilty, he  does  regard  them  as  male- 
factors deserving  the  severest  of  the  punishments 
which  they  received  at  Nero's  hands.  Likewise 
Suetonius  (Nero,  16),  writing  about  five  years  later, 
says  that  Nero  severely  punished  the  new  and  mis- 
chievous superstition,  though  he  does  not  make  the 
great  fire  the  occasion  for  this  action.  Clement  of 
Rome  (ad  Cor.  5-7),  about  the  year  95,  speaks  less 
explicitly,  but  in  the  light  of  the  statements  of 
Tacitus  and  Suetonius  it  seems  altogether  probable 
that  Clement  has  in  mind  the  Neronian  persecution. 
Whether  Tacitus  is  right  in  connecting  the  fire 
with  Nero's  action  against  the  Christians  is  some- 
times disputed,^  but  the  evidence  for  a  Neronian 
persecution  some  time  after  the  conflagration  of  the 
year  64  is  overwhelming.  The  ground  of  the  per- 
secution was  crimes  of  one  sort  or  another  commonly 
charged  against  these  people  who  were  '  hated  for 
their  enormities '  (so  Tacitus).  Clement  says  that 
'  envy '  was  the  cause  of  the  trouble,  and  his  lan- 
guage doubtless  reflects  the  same  popular  animosity 
of  which  Tacitus  speaks.  The  new  religionists 
probably  were  hated  '  as  Christians,'  and  from  their 
point  of  view  they  might  regard  themselves  as 
suffering  for  the  name  of  Christ,  but  legally  they 
were  being  punished  for  crimes  of  which  they  were 
accused  by  their  enemies. 

This  situation  might  be  said  to  correspond  fairly 
well  with  that  of  1  Peter,  but  we  have  no  certain 
knowledge  that  the  Neronian  persecution  reached 
to  the  East,  and  particularly  to  the  peoples  ad- 
dressed in  1  P  I1.  Advocates  of  the  Neronian  date 
quite  plausibly  remark  that  members  of  the  new 

*  See  Canfield,  op.  tit.  pp.  70-85, 161-175. 

t  Lately  defended  by  Moffatt,  op.  cit.  p.  323  ff.,  who  also  lists 
the  names  of  its  chief  adherents. 

t  See  especially  A.  Profumo,  Lefonti  ed  i  tempi  dell'  incendio 
Neroniano,  Rome,  1905. 


cult,  because  of  their  hostility  to  contemporary 
customs,  would  everywhere  become  objects  of 
hatred,  a  hatred  which  might  break  out  in  fiery 
persecution  at  any  time  when  the  magistrate* 
could  be  induced  to  act.  Some  such  hypothetical 
situation  may  have  existed  in  northern  Asia  Minor 
during  the  reign  of  Nero,  but  this  is  only  a  possi- 
bility and  not  a  certainty. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  persecutions,  the 
advantage  would  seem  to  be  with  a  date  shortly 
before  the  rescript  of  Trajan  and  during  the  early 
days  of  Pliny's  governorship.  But  if  the  letter  was 
written  at  this  time,  or  even  under  Domitian,  it 
must  have  been  pseudonymous  (or  anonymous). 
Peter  cannot  possibly  have  been  alive  in  the  second 
decade  of  the  2nd  cent.,  nor  is  he  likely  to  have 
lived  until  the  time  of  Domitian.*  Pseudonymity 
of  itself  is  not  inconceivable.  The  use  of  some 
ancient  worthy's  name  to  lend  authority  to  a 
message,  especially  in  crises,  was  a  literary  pheno- 
menon familiar  to  that  age.t  But  for  many  inter- 
preters other  considerations  weigh  heavily  in  favour 
of  Petrine,  or  near-Petrine,  authorship,  and  this 
conviction  necessitates  the  choice  of  a  Neronian 
date.  Thus  the  question  of  date  shades  into  that 
of  authenticity. 

5.  Authenticity. — Outside  the  NT  the  earliest 
specific  testimony  to  Petrine  authorship  is  by 
Irenseus  (IV.  ix.  2,  xvi.  5 ;  V.  vii.  2),  and,  from  this 
time  on,  similar  statements  are  common  (e.g.  Tertul- 
lian,  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Origen,  Cyprian, 
Eusebius).  |  But  the  book  was  not  mentioned  in 
the  Muratorian  Canon,  and  it  seems  to  have  been 
less  well  known  at  Rome  than  in  the  East  and  in 
Africa.  Echoes  of  its  language  have  been  sus- 
pected in  certain  passages  of  Clement  of  Rome, 
but  the  resemblances  are  not  sufficiently  strong 
and  distinctive  to  establish  literary  interdepend- 
ence, t  The  same  thing  is  true  in  the  case  of 
Hernias  §  and  Ignatius.  ||  But  Polycarp  and  Papias 
seem  beyond  doubt  to  have  been  acquainted  with 
the  letter,  although  we  have  no  information  from 
them  on  the  question  of  authorship.  Of  Papias, 
Eusebius  (HE  III.  xxxix.  16)  says  :  'he  used  testi- 
monies from  the  First  Epistle  of  John  and  likewise 
from  that  of  Peter';  and  in  Polycarp's  letter  to 
the  Philippians  there  are  several  passages  so  closely 
akin  to  the  language  of  1  Peter  that  Polycarp's 
acquaintance  with  the  document  is  commonly 
thought  to  be  beyond  question.lf  This  opinion 
was  expressed  as  early  as  the  time  of  Eusebius 
(HE  IV.  xiv.  9).  It  is  remarkable  that  Polycarp 
never  mentions  the  name  of  Peter,  and  on  the 
strength  of  this  fact  Harnack  (op.  cit.  p.  457  ff. ) 
believes  that  the  document  was  anonymous  in 
Polycarp's  day  and  that  the  opening  and  closing 
verses  (llf>  512'14)  were  added  later,  probably  by 
the  author  of  2  Peter,  in  the  interests  of  canoniza- 
tion. This  view  is  adopted,  in  a  somewhat  modi- 
fied form,  by  McGiffert  (op.  cit.  p.  598 ff.),  who 
makes  Barnabas  the  original  author.  Thus  the 
external  evidence  leaves  the  question  of  authorship 
in  some  doubt,  although  it  establishes  the  fact  that 

*  Ramsay,  op.  eit.  p.  2796°.,  thinks  Peter  was  still  alive  in 
the  year  80,  so  that  the  letter  may  have  been  written  under 
Vespasian.  But  there  is  little,  if  any,  positive  evidence  for  a 
persecution  of  Christians  at  this  time,  and  there  are  very  strong 
reasons  for  believing  that  Peter's  death  occurred  in  the  sixties. 

t  See  the  pertinent  note  of  3.  B.  Mayor,  The  Epistle  of  St. 
Jude  and  the  Second  Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  p.  cxxv. 

t  Cf.  Clement,  ad  Cor.  xxx.  1  with  1  P  55  ;  xxxviii.  1  with  28 
410  55;  xlix.  5  with  48;  Ivii.  1  with  21  5»;  lix.  2  with  29;  Ixi.  1 
with  213»- 

§  Cf.  Hernias,  Vis.  in.  xi.  3  with  1  P  57 ;  Vis.  iv.  iii.  4  with 
17 ;  Mand.  ii.  1  with  22  ;  Sim.  ix.  xxi.  3  with  416 ;  Sim.  ix. 
xxviii.  5  f.  with  4i3f- 16 ;  Sim.  ix.  xxix.  1  with  22. 

II  Cf.  Ignatius,  ad  Magn.  xiii.  2  with  1  P  5» ;  ad  Polye.  iv.  3 
with  26. 

t  E.g.  Polycarp,  ad  Phil.  i.  3  =  1  P  !»• J2 ;  ii.  1  =  113-  21 ;  v.  3= 
2H;  viii.  i  =  220f.  22.  24  414.16;  x.  2  =  212.  Cf.  also  ii.  2,  vii.  2, 
x.  1  with  45  47  217  respectively. 


PETEE,  EPISTLES  OF 


PETER,  EPISTLES  OF 


205 


the  letter  was  known  in  the  East  as  early  as  the 
second  decade  of  the  2nd  cent.,  when  Polycarp 
wrote  to  the  Philippians  (c.  115).  But  even  this 
conclusion  would  admit  the  possibility  of  a  Neronic, 
or  a  Domitianic,  or  a  Trajanic  date.  Jiilicher,  it 
is  true,  would  date  the  letter  about  the  year  100 
in  order  to  allow  time  for  Polycarp  to  become 
familiar  with  the  document ;  but  so  early  a  date 
is  not  necessary,  since  Polycarp  was  in  a  position 
to  become  acquainted  with  the  letter  almost 
immediately  after  it  was  dispatched.  Moreover, 
the  habit  of  diligently  exchanging  letters  during 
these  trying  days  is  brought  out  clearly  in  Poly- 
carp's  own  epistle  (iii.  1,  xiii.  1  f. ;  also  Ignatius, 
ad  Polyc.  viii.  1). 

Further  data  on  the  problem  of  authenticity 
have  to  be  drawn  from  internal  indications. 
Petrine  authorship  is  explicitly  affirmed  in  the 
salutation,  and  this,  apparently,  is  corroborated 
by  2  P  31.  Yet  several  traits  in  the  letter  have 
often  been  thought  to  count  seriously  against  its 
authenticity.  Much  stress  has  been  placed  upon 
its  alleged  '  Paulinism.'  Possible  parallels  to  the 
earlier  Pauline  letters  have  been  pointed  out  (e.g. 
1  P  58=1  Th  56 ;  1  P  !«•  216  38  =  Gal  S23  47  513  42'* ; 
1  P  2lff-  =  l  Co  32-16'-),  but  the  closest  affinities  in 
both  language  and  thought  are  with  Romans  ;  and, 
with  few  exceptions  (e.g.  B.  Weiss,  Kiihl),  scholars 
generally  admit  the  priority  of  Romans.  A  com- 
parison, e.g.,  of  1  P  213'17  with  Ro  131'7  shows  close 
similarity  not  only  in  language  and  subject-matter 
but  also  in  the  very  arrangement  of  the  ideas.  In 
various  other  places  there  is  a  striking  parallelism 
between  the  two  documents.*  The  points  of 
agreement  between  1  Peter  and  Ephesians  are  so 
close  that  even  identity  of  authorship  has  sometimes 
been  assumed. t  This  is  an  extreme  conclusion, 
yet  literary  interdependence  can  hardly  be  doubted, 
and  priority  is  generally  allowed  to  rest  with 
Ephesians.  This  distinctly  Pauline,  or  deutero- 
Pauline,  character  of  1  Peter  is  thought  by  many 
interpreters  to  make  Petrine  authorship  impossible. 
Still  other  data  are  also  brought  forward  in  favour 
of  this  scepticism.  The  close  affinities  of  1  Peter 
with  certain  late  NT  writings,  such  as  the  Pastorals 
and  James,  is  said  to  show  that  it  belongs  to  the 
same  period  as,  even  if  it  is  not  dependent  upon, 
those  books,  t  Nor  would  Peter,  it  is  said,  write 
to  Christians  belonging  to  Paul's  territory  without 
so  much  as  mentioning  the  latter's  name ;  and  a 
writer  who  had  been  a  personal  companion  of 
Jesus  would  surely  have  made  more  frequent 
reference  to  that  relationship.  Even  stronger  is 
the  objection  that  Peter,  originally  a  Jewish  Gali- 
laean  lisherman,  cannot,  for  purely  linguistic 
reasons,  have  been  the  author  of  a  letter  the  Greek 
of  which  is  not  only  thoroughly  idiomatic  but 
shows  a  richness  of  vocabulary  and  an  appreciation 
of  style  thought  to  be  quite  beyond  his  ability. 

Although  this  is  a  formidable  array  of  objections, 
the  force  of  which  has  led  several  well-known 
scholars  to  doubt  the  authenticity  of  the  letter, 
others  prefer  an  explanation  of  the  difficulty  which 
will  admit  the  possibility  of  some  form  of  Petrine 
authorship.  Among  more  recent  writers,  the 
arguments  in  favour  of  full  authenticity  have  been 

*  E.g.  1  P  l"  =  Ro  122;  i  p  2«i=Ro  932T- ;  1  P  4l=Ro  (P; 
1  P  4iOf-  =  Ro  12Sf- ;  1  P  39=Ro  12". 

t  So  W.  Seufert,  '  Das  Verwandtschaftsverhaltniss  des  ersten 
Petrusbriefs  und  Epheserbriefs,'  in  ZWTh  xxiv.  [1881]  178-197, 
332-380.  The  following  parallels  may  be  noted  :  1  P  l3-8=Eph 
13-14 ;  i  p  ii2  =  Eph  35-  W  ;  i  p  114-18  42f.  =  Eph  4"  58 ;  1  P  2«= 
Eph  218-22  ;  i  p  218=  Eph  65  ;  1  P  31-7 =Eph  522-33 ;  i  p  S21f.= 
Eph  120-22 ;  i  p  58f.  =  Eph  611-13. 

t  Cf.  1  P  13-6  with  Tit  34-7,  1  P  li2  with  1  Ti  316,  1  P  21- »  with 
Tit  33  2",  i  p  11.  6f.  123-22  55f.  with  Ja  11-  2f.  18-22  46. 10.  For 
lists  of  parallelisms  between  1  Peter  and  other  NT  writings  see 
J.  Monnier,  La  premiere  epltre  de  I'ap6tre  Pierre,  Paris,  1900, 
pp.  259-274  ;  C.  Bigg,  ICC,  '  St.  Peter  and  St.  Jude,'  New  York, 
1901,  pp.  15-24 ;  F.  H.  Chase,  '  Peter,  First  Epistle,'  HDB  iii. 
788  ;  R.  Knopf,  op.  cit.  pp.  7-10. 


stated  most  elaborately  by  F.  H.  Chase  (op.  cit.  p. 
785  ft'. ).  He  would  account  for  the  '  Paulinism '  of 
the  letter  by  supposing  that  Peter  had  been  sum- 
moned to  Rome  by  Paul  '  with  the  supreme  object 
of  showing  to  the  Christians  at  Rome  and  to  the 
brotherhood  in  the  world  the  unity  of  the  Body 
and  of  the  Spirit.'  The  time  spent  by  Peter  in 
missionary  work  outside  Palestine  is  believed  to 
have  been  sufficient  to  give  him  the  necessary 
linguistic  equipment  for  writing  in  Greek ;  and 
failure  to  mention  Paul,  or  absence  of  other  per- 
sonal data,  is  to  be  explained  by  the  fact  that 
Silvanus,  who  carried  the  letter  himself,  supplied 
such  information. 

Other  scholars  would  defend  only  a  secondary 
form  of  Petrine  authorship.  Peter  wrote  '  through 
Silvanus '  [5tA  ZtXouai>oO] ;  that  is,  the  Apostle  was 
responsible  for  the  general  content  of  the  letter, 
but  the  diction  and  even  to  some  extent  the  thought 
were  due  to  Silvanus.  Since  the  latter,  who  is 
identified  with  the  Silas  of  Acts  (1522.27.32.40 
16i9.  25. 29  174.  10.  i4f.  jgs^  ha(j  been  a  persOnal  com- 
panion  of  Paul  (e.g.  1  Th  I1,  2  Th  I1,  2  Co  I19),  it 
was  quite  natural  that  1  Peter  should  show  a 
Pauline  colouring  and  should  be  written  in  a  more 
excellent  style  than  Peter  himself  could  command. 
This  supposition  also  allows  room  for  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  stylistic  resemblances  between  this 
Epistle  and  the  early  chapters  of  Acts  as  well  as 
certain  portions  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels.*  They 
all  contain,  so  it  is  said,  a  more  or  less  strong 
Petrine  cast,  due  ultimately  to  the  influence  of  the 
Apostle.  On  this  hypothesis  1  Peter  will  have 
been  written  from  Rome  in  the  time  of  Nero.f 
Failure  to  mention  Paul  may  be  taken  to  imply 
that  he  was  already  dead.  Others  would  not 
attach  any  special  significance  to  this  silence,  and 
would  assume  that  the  letter  was  sent  from  Rome 
before  the  death  of  either  of  the  two  leading 
apostles. 

A  few  mino  problems  remain  to  be  considered 
briefly. 

6.  Place  of  writing. — The  only  hint  which  the 
author  gives  as  to  the  place  of  writing  is  contained 
in  513,  'the  co-elect  [fern,  sing.]  in  Babylon  salutes 
you.'  The  '  co-elect'  (^  crwe/cXeK-n?)  probably  refers 
to  the  church  with  which  he  is  associated  at  the 
time,  although  it  has  been  supposed  that  he  might 
be  referring  to  some  individual,  and  more  particu- 
larly to  his  wife  (cf.  1  Co  9s).  This  is  the  view  of 
several  older  commentators  and,  more  recently,  of 
Bigg.  As  for  the  location  of  this  church,  there 
are  three  possibilities,  viz.  (1)  Babylon  on  the 
Euphrates,  (2)  Babylon  in  Egypt,  or  (3)  Rome. 
The  first  of  these  possibilities  has  several  advocates, 
both  among  the  defenders  of  the  letter's  authen- 
ticity (e.g.  B.  Weiss,  Kiihl)  and  among  those  who 
make  it  post-apostolic  (e.g.  R.  A.  Lipsius,  H.  J. 
Holtzmann,  P.  W.  Schmiedel).  The  former  opinion 
is  based  upon  the  assumption  that  1  Peter  is  too 
early  to  allow  time  for  the  Apostle  to  have  reached 
Rome,  and  the  latter  view  presupposes  that  the 
(fictitious)  tradition  about  his  Roman  residence 
had  not  yet  grown  up  when  the  letter  was  written 
—or,  at  least,  that  this  tradition  was  not  approved 
by  the  author.  Both  positions  are  open  to  serious 
doubt,  as  is  also  the  supposition  that  the  author 
was  residing  in  the  Egyptian  Babylon.  This  town, 
located  on  the  site  of  the  present  Cairo,  is  men- 
tioned by  Strabo  (xvn.  i.  30),  and  apparently  it 
was  at  that  time  mainly  a  military  station  and  is 
not  likely  to  have  been  the  home  of  a  Christian 
community  in  the  1st  century.  Furthermore, 
ecclesiastical  tradition  does  not  connect  Peter's 

*  See  E.  Scharfe,  Die  petrinische  Stromung  dor  neutettament- 
lichen  Literatur. 

t  Some  of  the  better  known  names  attaching  to  this  view  are 
J.  M.  Usteri,  T.  Zahn,  J.  Monnier,  B.  W.  Bacon,  J.  Moffatt. 


206 


PETER,  EPISTLES  OF 


PETEK,  EPISTLES  OF 


name  with  Egypt  in  any  such  way  as  we  should 
expect  if  he  had  actually  worked  there  or  if  tradi- 
tion regarding  his  alleged  activities  in  that  territory 
had  been  sufficiently  general  to  make  the  reference 
to  '  Babylon '  intelligible  in  a  pseudonymous  epistle. 
Hence  the  probabilities  favour  the  view  that 
Babylon  is  used  metaphorically  for  Rome,  as  is 
the  case  in  Revelation  (148  1619  175  182- 10- 21 ;  cf. 
Sib.  Orac.  v.  143,  158  ;  Eusebius,  HE  n.  xv.  2). 
Mark,  who  is  included  in  the  greeting,  was  also 
closely  associated  with  Rome  in  early  tradition 
(Col  410,  Phileni M,  2  Ti  411 ;  cf.  Irenseus,  III.  i.  1; 
Eusebius,  HE  II.  xv.  If.,  VI.  xiv.  6f.). 

Does  the  assumption  that  Rome  was  the  place 
of  composition  meet  the  implied  conditions  regard- 
ing the  delivery  of  the  letter  ?  The  phrase  '  through 
Silvanus '  probably  means  that  he  was  the  bearer, 
yet  he  may  also  have  been  the  amanuensis.  Simi- 
lar expressions  in  the  writings  of  this  period 
commonly  refer,  however,  more  particularly  to  the 
bearer.*  Apparently  he  is  supposed  to  take  a  route 
bringing  him  first  to  Pontus,  whence  he  swings  in 
a  circle  through  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  and  Asia, 
completing  his  journey  in  Bithynia.  To  accom- 
plish this  he  would  follow  one  of  the  main  lines 
of  travel  by  water  from  Italy  to  the  Black  Sea, 
landing  perhaps  at  Amastris  or  Sinope,  and  after 
completing  his  mission  he  may  have  returned  to 
Herakleia,  where  he  would  take  ship  again  for 
Italy  (see  F.  J.  A.  Hort,  The  First  Epistle  of  St. 
Peter  I.  1-IL  17,  London,  1898,  pp.  157-184). 

7.  Literary  structure  and  integrity. — Is  this 
document  a  'homily,'  an  'epistle,'  or  a  'letter' 
in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term  ?  That  is,  was  it 
originally  simply  a  hortatory  discourse  intended 
for  general  edification,  or  was  it  such  a  discourse 
thrown  into  epistolary  form  mainly  for  literary 
effect ;  or  was  it  a  specific  message  from  a  writer 
whose  heart  went  out  in  sympathy  to  particular 
persons  in  the  hour  of  their  great  affliction  ?  t  The 
first  of  these  views  is  held  by  Harnack,  who,  as 
previously  observed,  thinks  the  epistolary  intro- 
duction and  conclusion  are  later  additions.  The 
second  view,  which  is  essentially  the  same  so  far 
as  literary  considerations  are  concerned,  is  more 
generally  adopted.  In  its  favour  one  may  note 
that  the  document  is  addressed  to  a  wide  circle  of 
readers  with  whom  the  writer  does  not  appear  to 
be  in  immediate  personal  contact,  items  of  personal 
intimacy  are  conspicuously  lacking,  and  the  moral 
and  religious  exhortations  of  the  document  are 
capable  of  very  general  application.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  is  much  to  suggest  that  the  writer  has 
a  very  strong  personal  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his 
readers.  He  knows  the  specific  trials  and  tempta- 
tions which  beset  them,  and  he  is  strongly  moved 
with  compassion  for  them  in  their  affliction.  In 
this  respect  we  have  a  real '  letter,'  notwithstanding 
the  wide  circle  of  readers  addressed — if  one  allows 
that  a  circular  letter  can  be  a  real  '  letter,'  as 
would  seem  unquestionably  true  of  Galatians,  for 
example.  The  writer  of  1  Peter,  whether  the 
Apostle  or  not,  had  much  the  same  personal  interest 
in  the  problem  which  the  persecution  had  raised 
among  his  readers  as  Paul  had  in  the  problems 
which  the  legalistic  controversy  had  aroused  in  the 
churches  of  Galatia. 

As  for  literary  analyses  of  the  letter,  there  have 
been  a  few  proposals  which  are  more  thorough- 

•  E.g.  Ignatius,  ad  Rom.  x.  1,  ad  Phil.  xi.  2,  ad  Smyrn.  xii. 
1,  ad  Polyc.  viii.  1  (Sia  TU>V  imo  o-ov  TTC fniro ju.eVui') ;  Polycarp,  ad 
Phil.  14  ('per').  See  also  6ia  similarly  used  in  a  papyrus 
letter  of  the  year  A.D.  41  in  G.  Milligan,  Selections  from,  the 
Greek  Papyri,  Cambridge,  1910,  p.  39. 

t  On  these  formal  distinctions  as  applied  to  NT  writings,  see 
A.  Deissmann,  Bibelstudien,  Marburg,  1S95,  pp.  189-251  (Eng. 
tr.,  Bible  Studies,  Edinburgh,  1901,  pp.  1-59),  Licht  vorn  Osten, 
Tubingen,  1908,  p.  157 ff.  (Eng.  tr.,  Light  fromthe  Ancient  East, 
New  York,  1910,  p.  217  ff.) ;  Heinrici,  op.  'cit.  p.  56 ff.  ;  J.  Moffatt, 
op.  cit.  pp.  47-50. 


going  than  Harnack's.  D.  Vb'lter  (Der  erste  Pet- 
rusbrief,  seine  Entstehung  und  Stellung  in  der 
Geschichte  des  Urchristentums,  Strassburg,  1906) 
works  out  in  detail  an  original  document,  written 
by  Peter  or  one  of  his  pupils,  which  is  wholly  free 
from  Pauline  colouring — so  free,  in  fact,  that  the 
mention  of  the  name  '  Jesus  Christ '  was  studiously 
avoided.  This  original  document,  composed  some 
time  before  the  persecution  of  Domitian,  was  freely 
interpolated  by  a  Paulinist  in  the  time  of  Trajan. 
Still  another  hypothesis  is  advanced  by  W.  Soltau, 
'  Die  Einheitlichkeit  des  ersten  Petrusbriefes,'  in 
SK  Ixxviii.  [1905]  302-315,  Ixxix.  [1906]  456-460. 
By  excising  a  series  of  supposed  interpolations  he 
recovers  the  original  document  which  contained 
p-22*  26-n  213-318  41'4- 7'19  56-".  This  was  a  hortatory 
homily  written  during  the  reign  of  Domitian.  More 
recently  a  third  theory  has  been  proposed  by  R. 
Perdelwitz,  Die  Mysterienreligion  und  das  Problem 
des  ersten  Petrusbriefes :  Ein  literarischer  und  re- 
ligionsgeschichtlicher  Versuch,  Giessen,  1911.  He 
distinguishes  two  originally  independent  and  self- 
consistent  parts,  (1)  13-4U  and  (2)  llf-  412-514.  The 
former  was  a  discourse  to  candidates  on  the  occasion 
of  their  baptism,  and  the  latter  was  a  letter  written 
later  by  the  same  person  and  probably  addressed 
to  the  same  community.  It  aimed  at  encouraging 
and  admonishing  the  readers.  The  two  documents, 
after  lying  for  some  time  in  the  archives  of  the 
community,  were  either  intentionally  or  acciden- 
tally copied  together  and  henceforth  circulated  as 
one  letter. 

None  of  these  several  partition  hypotheses  has 
proved  at  all  convincing. 

8.  Text  and  interpretation. — For  a  full  discus- 
sion of  textual  and  interpretative  questions  re- 
course must  be  had  to  the  standard  commentaries 
cited  below.  The  text  presents  comparatively  few 
difficulties,  and  only  one  or  two  points  of  interpre- 
tation, which  have  been  the  subject  of  more  recent 
or  more  especial  discussion,  interest  us  at  present. 

Perhaps  the  most  difficult  passage  in  the  letter  is 
318'20,  relating  to  the  preaching  to  '  the  spirits  in 
prison.'  Four  main  questions  have  to  be  answered, 
viz.  (1)  Who  did  the  preaching  ?  (2)  To  whom  was 
it  addressed  ?  (3)  When  was  this  mission  performed  ? 
(4)  What  was  its  purpose?  Each  of  these  queries 
has  been  answered  in  different  ways,  and  the  answers 
have  been  blended  variously  in  the  final  interpreta- 
tion of  the  passage.*  As  for  the  first  question,  the 
usual  text  makes  Jesus  Himself  the  preacher  to 
these  imprisoned  spirits.  But  this  reading  is  re- 
jected by  a  fc  v  interpreters,  who  think  the  present 
Greek  is  corrupt.  The  clause  which  reads :  '  In 
which  he  [Jesus]  went  and  preached  also  to  the 
spirits  in  prison,'  has  been  treated  as  a  marginal  gloss 
which  originally  referred  to  Enoch,  reading  'Efw^ 
for  'Ep  y  /cat.  Others  would  make  this  substitu- 
tion in  the  text  itself,  or  else  add  the  word  '  Enoch ' 
to  the  present  text,  on  the  assumption  that  the 
four  letters  ENflX  might  easily  have  dropped  out 
after  the  similar  ENftKAI.  In 'that  case  we  should 
read :  '  In  which  [spirit]  Enoch  also  went  and 

*  For  modern  discussion  of  this  much-debated  topic  see  P. 
Spitta,  Christi  Predigt  an  die  Geister,  Gottingen,  1890,  who 
cites  earlier  literature ;  0.  Bruston,  La  Descente  aux  enfers, 
Paris,  1890;  W.  Kelly,  Preaching  to  the  Spirits  in  Prison, 
London,  1900;  0.  Clemen,  Niedergefahren  zu  den  Toten, 
Giessen,  1900,  Religionsgeschichtliche  Erklanmg  des  JUT, 
do.  1909,  p.  153 ff.  (Eng.  tr.,  Primitive  Christianity  and  its 
Nan-Jewish  Sources,  Edinburgh,  1912,  p.  198 ff.);  J.  Turmel, 
La  Descente  du  Christ  aux  enfers,  Paris,  1905 ;  W.  Bousset, 
Hauptprobleme  der  Gnosis,  Gottingen,  1907,  p.  255  ff.  ;  H.  J. 
Holtzmann,  '  Hollenfahrt  im  NT,'  in  ARW  xi.  [1908]  285  ff.;  F. 
Loots,  'Christ's  Descent  into  Hell,'  in  Transactions  of  the  Third 
International  Congress  for  the  History  of  Religions,  Oxford, 
1909,  ii.  290-301;  J.  C.  Granbery,  '  Christological  Peculiarities 
in  the  First  Epistle  of  Peter,'  in  AJTh  xiv.  [1910]  69 ff.;  K. 
Gschwind,  Die  Niederfahrt  Christi  in  die  Unterwe.lt  [  =  Neutesta- 
mentliche  Abhandlungen,  vol.  ii.  bks.  iii.-v.],  Miinster  i.  W., 
1911 ;  D.  Plooy,  '  De  descensus  in  1  Petrus  319  en  4*>,'  in  Theolog- 
isch  Tijdschrtft,  xlvii.  [1913]  145-162 ;  art.  DESCENT  INTO  HADES. 


PETER,  EPISTLES  OF 


PETER,  EPISTLES  OF 


207 


preached  to  the  spirits  in  prison.*  But  it  is  very 
doubtful  whether  there  are  really  substantial 
grounds  for  questioning  the  integrity  of  the  text. 
Probably  we  ought  to  concede  that,  in  the  author's 
opinion,  Jesus  was  the  preacher. 

To  whom,  then,  was  the  message  addressed  ?  It 
may  have  been  directed  (1)  either  toward  Noah's 
contemporaries  generally,  who  are  now  dead  (cf. 
1  P  46),  or  (2)  toward  those  '  giants '  of  Noah's 
time  whose  wickedness  brought  down  Divine  wrath 
in  the  Flood  (cf.  Gn  6lff-,  2  P  24).  The  latter  view 
is  to  be  preferred,  since  it  is  in  line  with  the  beliefs 
of  that  age  regarding  the  angelic  powers  which  were 
being  held  in  temporary  bondage  in  the  lower 
world.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  Christ's  mission 
extends  not  only  to  ordinary  men  but  even  to  the 
notorious  sinners  of  antiquity,  the  readers  are  ex- 
horted to  be  confident  in  the  power  and  surety  of 
the  new  salvation  which  has  been  mediated  through 
Him. 

When  did  Christ  preach  to  these  '  spirits '  ?  Some 
have  said  that  it  was  while  these  giants  were  still 
upon  earth,  the  pre-existent  Christ  being  present 
in  Noah  and  using  him  as  a  means  of  expression. 
This  was  Augustine's  suggestion  (Ep.  164,  '  ad 
Euodium,'  15 if.),  and  he  has  had  many  followers, 
who  have  held  this  opinion  much  more  confidently 
than  Augustine  did.  It  is  a  very  unnatural  inter- 
pretation, and  has  in  recent  years  given  way-  to 
the  idea  that  Jesus,  in  the  interim  between  His 
death  and  resurrection,  visited  the  nether  regions, 
where  He  preached  to  the  giant  spirits  there 
imprisoned. 

What,  finally,  was  the  content  of  His  message? 
It  may  have  been  either  a  proclamation  of  judg- 
ment or  an  offer  of  salvation.  The  context  strongly 
supports  the  latter  supposition,  which  is  probably 
the  correct  one ;  although  the  former  has  been 
defended,  particularly  by  interpreters  who  desired 
to  emphasize  the  hopeless  condition  of  all  who  die 
in  sin. 

According  to  1  Peter,  the  fallen  angels  are  not 
the  only  persons  in  the  netherworld  to  be  included 
within  the  range  of  the  new  salvation.  A  similar 
opportunity  of  hearing  the  gospel  has  been  extended 
to  human  beings  who  have  passed  on  to  the  lower 
regions  (1  P  4M>).  All  humanity  falls  into  two 
classes,  the  living  and  the  dead.  Both  groups  are 
to  be  brought  into  judgment,  but  not  without 
first  having  had  an  opportunity  to  hear  the  gospel. 
The  author  would  strengthen  the  confidence  of 
those  who  are  suffering  the  agonies  of  present  per- 
secution and  would  give  them  new  courage  by 
reminding  them  that  the  Christian  salvation  is  so 
comprehensive  and  powerful  that  it  can  bring 
deliverance  to  the  condemned  angels  and  to  all 
mortals  even  in  the  under  world,  if  the  dead  will 
exercise  faith  as  the  living  Christians  have  done. 
The  pertinence  and  force  of  this  appeal  become 
more  evident  when  we  note  current  belief  about  the 
nature  of  a  full  salvation.  In  the  Book  of  Enoch 
there  are  indications  that  the  expected  Messianic 
salvation  will  be  efficacious  even  for  the  fallen 
angels  (50s-25  591'6),  while  Justin  Martyr  (Dial. 
Ixxii.  4)  and  Irenaeus  (III.  xx.  4,  IV.  xxii.  1)  affirm 
that  the  Jewish  Scriptures  (Isaiah  or  Jeremiah) 
had  originally  contained  a  promise  of  salvation  for 
the  dead.  These  Fathers  are  probably  assigning 
to  Isaiah  or  Jeremiah  words  which  really  belonged 
to  some  other  Jewish  writing.  (For  similar 
ideas  in  Bercshith  Babba,  see  F.  Weber,  Jiidische 

*  The  suggestion  that  the  whole  clause  originally  stood  on 
the  margin  is  made  by  J.  Cramer,  Exegetica  et  Critica  II ;  Het 
ijliiwinatisch  Karakter  van  I.  Ptr  3:19-21  enU:  6[  =  A'ieuwe 
bijdragen  op  het  gebied  van  godgeleerdheid  en  wijsberjeerte, 
vii.],  Utrecht,  1891.  For  the  notion  that  the  word  '  Enoch '  has 
dropped  out  of  the  text,  see  J.  Hendel  Harris  and  others,  in 
Exp.  6th  ser.,  iv.  [1901]  194-199,  346-349,  v.  [1902]  317-320,  vi. 
[1903]  70-72,  31&-320,  377  ff. 


Theologie,  Leipzig,  1897,  pp.  342  f.,  368.)  But  for 
the  readers  of  1  Peter  there  was  still  another 
realm  of  religious  imagery,  even  more  immediately 
accessible  than  the  Jewish,  which  could  be  used 
in  interpreting  the  supreme  significance  of  the 
Christian  salvation.  In  the  Hellenistic  religious 
syncretism  with  which  the  peoples  of  Asia  Minor 
had  long  been  familiar,  the  notion  of  redemption 
had  been  pictured  in  terms  of  the  activity  of  a 
Divine  or  semi-Divine  deliverer  mediating  blessings 
not  only  to  people  of  the  earth  but  even  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  under  world ;  and  it  was  very 
fortunate  for  the  progress  of  Christianity  in 
Hellenistic  circles  that  the  Christian  preachers  and 
teachers  were  able  to  affirm  the  adequacy  and 
supremacy  of  Jesus  Christ  in  these  respects.*  A 
number  of  other  items  in  1  Peter,  such  as  the 
efficacy  of  blood-sprinkling  (!'-'),  the  new  birth  (v.3), 
and  the  saving  significance  of  baptism  (321),  will 
doubtless  have  been  interpreted  through  associa- 
tion with  current  religious  imagery. t 

B.  SECOND  PETER. — As  compared  with  1  Peter, 
the  problems  of  2  Peter  are  less  perplexing  and 
will  be  treated  much  more  briefly. 

1.  Content. — The  Epistle  may  be  outlined  aa 
follows : 

(a)  Salutation  (!"•). — The  author,  styling  himself 
'Symeon  Peter,  slave  and  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,' 
addresses  fellow-Christians  in  general. 

(b)  The  surety  of  the  Christian  salvation  (1s'21). — 
Certainty  is  guaranteed  (1)  by  the  present  experi- 
ence of  believers  who  share  in  the  Divine  nature 
(I3f<),   and   who  should    therefore   be  diligent  in 
cultivating  the  Christian  virtues  (vv.5-11).     Further 
assurance  is  given  (2)  through  the  personal  testi- 
mony of  the  apostle  Peter  (vv.12-18)  and  (3)  through 
ancient  prophecy,  which  is  a  true  expression  of 
God's  own  will  (vv.19"21). 

(c)  Condemnation  and  refutation  of  false  teachers 
(21-310). — (1)   The  errorists  are  successors  of.  the 
false  prophets  of  former  times,  and  a  sure  judg- 
ment, like  that  which  befell  the  sinners  of  old, 
awaits  them  (21'9).     (2)  Their  depravity  is  displayed 
(i.)  in  a  disposition  to  throw  oft' all  Divine  restraints 
(vv.10'12),  and  (ii.)  in  the  licentious  life  which  they 
themselves  live,  and  persuade  others  to  live,  in  the 
name  of  liberty  (vv.13'18).    Asa  result  (iii.)  they  have 
become    slaves  of    licentiousness  and    are  worse 
than  before  they  associated  themselves  with   the 
Christian  community  (vv.19'22).     (3)  Consequently, 
impending  j udgment  threatens  them,  notwithstand- 
ing their  scepticism  regarding  the  Parousia.    They 
should  remember  that  (i.)  a  catastrophic  end  has 
been  predicted  by  apostles  and  prophets  (31"4),  and 
that  (ii.)  the  order  of  nature  is  first  a  destruction  of 
the  world  by  water  and  then  a  destruction  by  fire 
(vv.6'7).     Furthermore,  (iii.)  the  delay  is  easily  ex- 
plicable, since  God  reckons  time  in  larger  units 
than  do  men,  and  by  temporarily  holding  oft'  the 
Judgment  He  is  giving  men  opportunity  to  repent 
(v.8f-) ;  but  (iv.)  of  the  certainty  of  impending  judg- 
ment there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  (v.10). 

(d)  Duty  of  Christians  in  the  present  situation 
(3n-18a).— (1)  They  will  live  a  pure  life,  thus  making 
ready  for  the  new  life  of  "righteousness  in  which 
they  are  to  participate  after  the  earth  has  been 
purified  (311'14).     (2)  They  will  not  misinterpret  the 
delay,  nor  will  they  pervert  the  Christian  doctrine 

*  See  W.  Bousset,  op.  cit.  p.  238  ff. ;  A.  Dieterich,  Nekyia, 
Leipzig,  1893,  p.  128  ff. ;  M.  Bruckner,  Der  stf.rbende  und  auf- 
erstehende  Gottheiland  in  den  orientalischen  Religionen  und  ihr 
Verhdltnis  zum  Chrigtentum,  Tubingen,  1908 ;  S.  J.  Case, 
Evolution  of  Early  Christianity,  Chicago,  1914,  pp.  219-238, 
283  ff.  For  evidence  that  NT  writers  other  than  the  author  of 
1  Peter  took  advantage  of  these  notions  about  the  under  world, 
see  Mt  2752f-,  Ro  10«f-  14»,  1  Co  1529,  Eph  4&f-,  Ph  2N>,  Col  2*5, 
He  1223,  Rev  \™  W  &>-l\. 

t  See  A.  Dieterich,  Eine  Mithrasliturgiel,  Leipzig,  1910, 
pp.  92-179;  R.  Keitzenstein,  Poimandres,  do.,  1904,  pp.  226  ff  , 
368  ff. ;  S.  J.  Case,  op.  cit.  p.  350,  n.  1. 


208 


PETER,  EPISTLES  OF 


PETER,  EPISTLES  OF 


of  liberty,  particularly  as  stated  by  St.  Paul  (31Mt). 
(3)  They  will  steadfastly  resist  the  false  teachers 
and  will    derive    their    spiritual  instruction   and 
nourishment  from  the  Lord  only  (317>  18a). 
(e)  Benediction  (3I8b). 

2.  Historical  situation. — The  chief  purpose  of 
the  Epistle  undoubtedly  is  to  combat  false  teachers 
who,  in  the  opinion  of  the  author,  are  making  the 
Christian  teaching  of  liberty  identical  with  licence 
and  are  ridiculing  the  notion  of  an  impending 
punitive  catastrophe  as    preached   by  an   earlier 
generation  of  Christians.     Thus  the  main  purpose 
of  the  writing  is  clear,  but  more  exact  information 
about  the  actual  historical   situation  in  which  it 
arose  is  hard  to  obtain.     Although  the  writer  calls 
himself  '  Symeon  Peter,'  the  document  is  notably 
devoid    of    specific    temporal    and    local   indicia. 
There  is  no  clear  statement  as  to  its  destination, 
and,  unlike  most  of  the  other  NT  letters,  the  con- 
clusion does  not  contain  any  personal  items  which 
might  help   to  identify  the   circumstances  more 
exactly.     In  fact,  the  writing  is  epistolary  only  in 
a  very  liberal  sense  of  the  term,  for  in  reality  it  is  a 
homily  addressed  to  Christians  at  large  (I1).     And 
the  errors  which  the  author  would  correct  seem 
not  to  have  been  confined  to  one  particular  con- 
gregation, but  to  have  been  somewhat  widespread. 

In  order  to  ascertain  more  accurately  the  his- 
torical situation,  we  must  examine  more  closely 
the  character  of  the  heresy.  The  false  teachers 
are  distinguished  by  two  distinct,  though  not  un- 
related, traits :  they  are  antinomians  and  anti- 
eschatologists.  They  are  not  open  antagonists  of 
the  Christian  movement,  but  are  actually  within 
the  community,  where  they  propagate  their  per- 
nicious doctrines  among  their  unwary  brethren 
(2i-3.  isf.  m^  They  lay  stress  upon  freedom,  claim- 
ing St.  Paul  as  their  authority  (316),  and  apply 
their  doctrine  so  literally  in  daily  conduct  that 
their-  character  is  severely  impugned  by  the  writer, 
who  accuses  them  of  gross  immorality.  Their  sin 
is  classed  with  that  of  the  fallen  angels  mentioned 
in  Gn  6,  and  their  fate  is  to  be  like  that  which 
overtook  the  wicked  people  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 
They  are  bestial  debauchees,  given  over  to  adultery 
and  insatiable  wickedness,  and  they  persist  in 
drawing  others  down  to  their  own  base  level. 
Furthermore,  they  have  cast  oft'  that  restraint 
which  belief  in  an  impending  judgment  would 
naturally  impose,  and  they  even  scott'  at  the  teach- 
ing of  the  early  Christian  worthies  who  made  so 
much  of  this  belief  (v.3f>).  Thus,  in  addition  to 
being  grossly  immoral,  they  are  disrespectful  to- 
ward authorities  (2U  10),  and  are  greedy  for  worldly 
things  in  a  way  ill  becoming  those  whose  gaze 
should  be  fixed  chiefly  upon  the  future,  and  especi- 
ally upon  that  moment  when  the  present  world- 
order  is  to  pass  away  (23<  13'15  311'13). 

Is  it  possible  to  locate  with  any  degree  of  proba- 
bility a  period  and  a  territory  answering  to  this 
historical  situation  ? 

3.  Date  and  provenance. — 2  Peter  is  not  the 
only  NT  book    to  concern  itself  with  heretical 
teachers.     It  is  true,  the  Judaizers  who  troubled 
St.  Paul  have  essentially  nothing  in  common  with 
the  disturbers  of  2  Peter,  and  the  latter  have  only 
a  faint  likeness  to  the  heretics  of  Colossse  (Col  24"8, 
Eph  56ff-),  or  to  the  antinomians  of  Ph  318'-.     In 
the  Pastoral  Epistles  there  are  clqser  analogies  to 
2  Peter  (e.g.  2  Ti  3lff-,  Tit  I10f- 16),  as  also  perhaps 
in   the  Johannine   Epistles  (e.g.  1  Jn  218-  ^  26  41, 
2  Jn7,  3  Jn9ff-}.     But  it  is  in  Revelation  (e.g.  22-  6- 
9.  i3t.  is.  is  34.  s)(  and  particularly  in  Jude,  that  the 
closest  parallels  are  to  be  found.     In  fact,  Jude  is 
taken  over  almost  bodily  into  2  Peter — that  is, 
assuming  that  Jude  is  the  earlier  document.*    Yet 

*  This  opinion  is  fairly  well  established  ;  see,  e.g.,  F.  H.  Chase, 
art.  'Jude,  Epistle  of,'  in  HDB  ii.  802 f  ;  J.  B.  Mayor,  op.  cit. 


this  fact  does  not  positively  fix  the  date  of  com- 

Sjsition,  since  the  date  of  Jude  is  not  certain, 
ut  it  is  commonly  placed  comparatively  late  in 
the  list  of  NT  letters. 

Further  evidence  for  the  date  of  2  Peter  is 
furnished  by  a  number  of  incidental  notices  in  the 
Epistle  itself.  In  315f-  we  learn  that  the  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul  had  already  been  assembled  into  a 
collection  which  has  canonical  authority  like  '  other 
scriptures ' — probably  meaning  the  OT.  The  first 
generation  of  Christians  had  died  (34),  and  even 
Jn  2118*-  seems  to  be  known  to  the  author  (I14). 
Acquaintance  with  the  tradition  of  Papias,  to  the 
effect  that  Peter  was  ultimately  responsible  for 
the  record  of  Jesus'  career  contained  in  Mark,  has 
been  suspected  in  2  P  I15,  while  I17'-  may  reflect 
familiarity  with  Mark's  account  of  the  Trans- 
figuration, and  220  may  be  coloured  by  the  language 
of  Mt  1245  or  Lk  II26.  Literary  affinities  with 
Josephus  and  with  Philo  have  also  been  discovered, 
but  there  are  especially  strong  resemblances  be- 
tween 2  Peter  and  the  Apocalypse  of  Peter  (see  for 
particulars  J.  B.  Mayor,  op.  cit.  pp.  cxxv-cxxxiv). 
On  the  other  hand,  there  are  very  few  references 
to  2  Peter  in  the  writings  of  the  early  Fathers. 
The  earliest  certain  allusion  to  the  Epistle  is  by 
Origen  (ap.  Eusebius,  HE  VI.  xxv.  8),  but  possibly 
it  was  known  to  Clement  of  Alexandria  (Eusebius, 
HE  VI.  xiv.  1).  In  earlier  times  there  is  no  certain 
trace  of  its  existence  and  it  was  very  late  in 
obtaining  a  place  in  the  canon.  It  is  not  men- 
tioned in  the  Muratorian  fragment,  nor  is  it  in- 
cluded in  the  Peshitta  or  in  the  Old  Latin  (see  J. 
B.  Mayor,  op.  cit.  p.  cxviff.).  Eusebius  (HE  ill. 
xxv.  3)  doubted  its  canonicity,  although  he  attested 
the  esteem  with  which  it  wasregarded  by  Christians. 
From  the  foregoing  considerations  we  may  draw 
some  inferences  regarding  the  time  and  place  of 
writing.  It  may  not  be  possible  to  identify  with 
certainty  the  false  teachers,  but  they  clearly  re- 
present a  more  advanced  type  of  antinomianism 
than  that  of  the  Pastorals  or  of  the  Johannine 
Epistles.  This  fact  points  to  a  2nd  cent,  date  and 
possibly  to  Asiatic  territory  as  the  home  of  the 
heresy.  The  latter  supposition  agrees  with  the 
statement  of  2  P  31  (cf.  I16),  which  probably  is  a 
reference  to  1  P  llff- ;  nor  is  it  out  of  harmony  with 
2  P  315,  for  St.  Paul  had  addressed  letters  to  various 
communities  in  Asia  Minor.  (But  see  J.  B.  Mayor, 
op.  cit.  p.  cxxxvii,  who  thinks  that  the  destination 
was  Rome.)  Reference  to  a  Pauline  canon  already 
perverted  in  the  process  of  interpretation  is  not 
probable  before  the  2nd  cent. ;  and  the  late 
date  at  which  2  Peter  appears  in  ecclesiastical 
tradition  also  marks  it  as  one  of  the  very  last  NT 
books  to  be  written.  These  data  would  seem  to 
bring  the  time  of  its  composition  down  not  only 
to  the  2nd  cent,  but  even  past  the  first  quarter 
of  that  century.  Yet  the  Epistle  was  known  to 
Origen,  and  perhaps  to  Clement  of  Alexandria,  so 
it  must  have  been  in  circulation  some  time  before 
their  day.  The  most  probable  supposition  is  that 
it  formed  a  part  of  that  body  of  literature  which 
grew  up  around  the  name  of  Peter  (Gospel,  Preach- 
ing, Apocalypse)  about  the  middle  of  the  2nd 
century.  This  hypothesis  is  confirmed  by  the 
strong  resemblances  between  2  Peter  and  the 
Apocalypse  of  Peter,  which  have  led  some  inter- 
preters to  suggest  identity  of  authorship  (W. 
Sanday,  Inspiration  \_BL,  1893],  London,  1893,  p. 
347  f.  ;  cf.  also  Kiihl,  op.  cit.  p.  376).  While  this 
may  not  be  probable,  the  two  works  undoubtedly 
belong  to  the  same  general  period  and  territory. 

pp.  i-xxv.  This  is  the  prevailing  view  at  present,  yet  the 
priority  of  2  Peter  has  found  recent  defenders  in  F.  Spitta,  Der 
zweite  Brief  des  Petrus  und  der  Brief  des  Judas ;  T.  Zahn, 
Einleitung  in  das  NT,  ii.  43ff.  (Eng.  tr.,  Introduction  to  the 
XT,  ii.  194  ff.);  C.  Bigg,  op.  cit.  p.  216ff. 


PETER,  EPISTLES  OF 


PETER,  EPISTLES  OF 


209 


Since  Egypt  has  been  regarded  as  the  home  of  the 
Apocalypse,  that  too  has  been  made  the  place  of 
2  Peter's  origin  (so  A.  Harnack,  op.  cit.  p.  469 ; 
Jiilicher,  op.  cit.  p.  206  [Palestine  or  Egypt] ;  F. 
H.  Chase,  '  Peter,  Second  Epistle,'  HDB  iii.  816  f.). 
But  the  possibility  of  a  Palestinian  or  an  Asiatic 
(Asia  Minor)  origin  must  be  admitted,  and  the 
type  of  heresy  refuted — which  the  author  pre- 
sumably knew  at  first-hand — would  seem  to  count 
strongly  in  favour  of  the  latter  territory. 

4.  Authenticity. — The  foregoing  considerations 
would  appear  to  render  the  authenticity  of  2  Peter 
quite  indefensible.  But  since  Petrine  authorship 
is  still  advocated  by  a  few  scholars,  we  shall  now 
state  their  position,  selecting,  as  representative, 
Spitta,  op.  cit.  ;  Zahn,  op.  cit.  ii.  42-110  (Eng.  tr., 
ii.  194-293) ;  and  Bigg,  op.  cit.  pp.  199-247.  Spitta 
defends  the  priority  of  2  Peter  over  Jude,  finding 
in  the  latter  (e.g.  vv.4'-12- 17f-)  clear  evidences  of 
direct  dependence  upon  the  former.*  In  fact,  Jude 
was  written  in  order  to  fulfil  the  wish  of  Peter  ex- 
pressed in  2  P  I15.  A  detailed  comparison  of  the 
thought  and  vocabulary  of  the  two  Epistles  leads 
Spitta  (pp.  405-470)  to  affirm  the  secondary  char- 
acter of  Jude.  2  Peter  was  actually  written  by 
the  Apostle  toward  the  close  of  his  life ;  it  was 
addressed  to  some  Jewish  Christian  community 
unknown  to  us,  and  the  same  community  had 
previously  received  letters  from  both  Peter  and 
Paul  (31- 1IS).  These  letters  have  now  been  lost. 
The  difficulty  of  believing  that  1  and  2  Peter  can 
have  come  from  the  same  pen  is  met  by  ascribing 
to  Silvanus  au  important  r61e  in  the  composition 
of  the  former.  The  tardiness  with  which  2  Peter 
gained  a  place  in  ecclesiastical  tradition  is  ex- 
plained by  supposing  that  its  Jewish  connexions 
militated  against  its  admission  to  an  epistolary 
canon  in  which  Pauline  writings  predominated 
(p.  535  ff.). 

Zahn  holds  very  similar  views,  but  is  more 
specific  on  certain  points  of  detail.  He  agrees 
with  Spitta  in  making  2  Peter  earlier  than  Jude, 
and  regards  the  former  as  the  work  of  Peter,  who 
wrote  from  Antioch  to  Jewish  Christians  in  or 
near  Palestine,  shortly  before  his  departure  for 
Rome  in  the  year  63.  Although  the  Apostle  was 
addressing  Jewish  communities,  he  aimed  at  anti- 
cipating the  activity  of  heretical  teachers  whose 
work  he  had  already  noted  in  Gentile  communities 
such  as  Corinth.  Since  the  language  of  1  Peter  is 
due  to  Silvanus,  the  stylistic  distinctiveness  of  2 
Peter  is  thought,  as  by  Spitta,  to  be  truly  Petrine  ; 
and  reasons  similar  to  those  of  Spitta  are  given  to 
account  for  the  obscurity  surrounding  2  Peter  in 
the  1st  and  2nd  centuries. 

Bigg  follows  the  same  general  lines,  but  is  more 
ready  to  believe  that  both  letters  are  the  literary 
work  of  the  Apostle  himself,  the  differences  being 
due  merely  to  different  amanuenses.  Even  though 
2  Peter  is  placed  earlier  than  Jude,  Bigg  finds  in 
2  P  31  a  distinct  reference  to  1  Peter  rather  than 
to  some  hypothetical  lost  letter  ;  and  he  thinks  2 
Peter  was  addressed  to  some  Gentile  community 
in  Asia  Minor  to  which  the  disturbances  originally 
arising  in  Corinth  had  spread. 

Other  writers  save  a  portion  of  the  Epistle  to 
Peter  by  removing  later  interpolations.  Kiihl, 
op.  cit.  pp.  346-363,  will  serve  as  an  illustration,  t 
He  would  restore  the  original  by  removing  21-31, 
which  lie  thinks  was  taken  from  Jude  and  inserted 
in  2  Peter  probably  by  the  author  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse of  Peter.  The  primary  document  antedates 
Jude ;  it  is  the  work  of  the  apostle  Peter  about 

*  This  is  the  view  generally  held  by  those  who  think  2  Peter 
authentic. 

t  For  advocacy  of  a  displacement  hypothesis,  as  a  means  of 
relieving  certain  incongruities  in  the  letter,  see  P.  Ladeuze, 
*  Transposition  accidentelle  dans  la  II»  Petri,'  in  RB,  new  ser. 
ii.  [19051  543-552. 

VOL.  II. — 14 


the  year  65,  and  it  is  addressed  to  some  Gentile 
Christian  community.  Stylistic  difficulties  are 
solved  by  resorting  when  necessary  to  the  redac- 
tional  activity  of  the  interpolator. 

5.  Text  and  interpretation. — 2  Peter  furnishes 
many  textual  perplexities,  and  the  meaning  of  the 
author's  language  is  not  always  clear.  But  since 
these  problems  have  been  treated  fully  in  good 
recent  commentaries  (e.g.  J.  B.  Mayor,  K.  Knopf, 
et  al.),  they  do  not  call  for  detailed  discussion  in 
the  present  connexion. 

LITERATURE. — The  standard  NT  Introductions  discuss  the 
principal  problems  connected  with  1  «vnd  2  Peter.  Among  the 
more  recent  and  important  are  A.  Hilgenfeld,  Hist.-krit. 
Einleitung  in  das  NT,  Leipzig,  1875,  pp.  618-641 ;  S.  David- 
son, Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  NT*,  2  vols.,  London, 
1882,  i.  501-532,  ii.  438-473 ;  B.  Weiss,  Lehrbueh  der  Einleitung 
in  das  NT*,  Berlin,  1897,  pp.  407-433  (Eng.  tr.,  2  vols.,  London, 
1887-88,  ii.  128-174);  G.  Salmon,  A  Historical  Introductvm 
to  the  Books  of  the  NT*,  London,  1892,  pp.  433-447,  481-508 ;  H. 
J.  Holtzmann,  Lehrbueh  der  historisch-krit.  Einleitung  in  das 
AT-i,  Freiburg  i.  B.,  1892,  pp.  309-327 ;  W.  H.  Bennett  and 
W.  F.  Adeney,  Biblical  Introduction,  New  York,  1899,  pp.  440- 
450 ;  B.  W.  Bacon,  Introduction  to  the  NT,  do.,  1900,  pp.  150- 
158,  170-173 ;  T.  Zahn,  Einleitung  in  das  NT*,  Leipzig,  1900, 
ii.  1-111  (Eng.  tr.,  New  York,  1909,  ii.  134-293) ;  A.  Jiilicher, 
Einleitung  in  das  NT*,  Tubingen,  1906,  pp.  175-185,  200-208 
(Eng.  tr.,  New  York,  1904,  pp.  204-215,  232-241) ;  A.  S.  Peake, 
A  Critical  Introduction  to  the  NT,  London,  1909,  pp.  90-100 ; 
J.  Moffatt,  LNT,  Edinburgh,  1911,  pp.  318-344,  358-372. 

Among  general  works  one  might  also  mention  treatises  on 
the  Apostolic  Age :  J.  V.  Bartlet,  The  Apostolic  Age,  Edin- 
burgh, 1900;  G.  V.  Lechler,  Das  apostol.  und  nachapostol. 
Zeitalter,  Karlsruhe,  1885  (Eng.  tr.,  2  vols.,  Edinburgh,  1886); 
A.  C.  McGiffert,  A  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic 
Age%,  New  York,  1899 ;  O.  Pfleiderer,  Das  Urchri»tentum, 
seine  Schriften  und  Lehrerfl,  2  vols.,  Berlin,  1902  (Eng.  tr., 
Primitive  Christianity,  4  vols.,  London,  1906-11);  G.  T. 
Purves,  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  London,  1900 ;  J. 
H.  Ropes,  The  Apostolic  Age  in  the  Light  of  Modern  Criticism, 
do.,  1906;  C.  von  Weizsacker,  The  Apostolic  Age*,  Ens. 
tr.,  2  vols.,  do.,  1897-99 ;  and  works  on  NT  Theology :  W. 
Beyschlag-,  Neutestamentliche  Theologie  (Eng.  tr.,  2  vols., 
Edinburgh,  1895);  J.  Bovon,  Theologie  duNT*,  2  vols.,  Paris, 
1902-05  ;  P.  Feine,  Theologie  des  NT,  Leipzig,  1910 ;  E.  P. 
Gould,  The  Biblical  Theology  of  the  NT,  New  York,  1900 ;  H. 
J.  Holtzmann,  Lehrbueh  der  neutestamentlichen  Theologie'*, 
2  vols.,  Tubingen,  1911 ;  E.  Reuss,  History  of  Christian  Theo- 
logy in  the  Apostolic  Age,  2  vols.,  London,  1872-74 ;  G.  B. 
Stevens,  The  Theology  of  the  NT,  Edinburgh,  1899 ;  H.  Weinel, 
Biblische  Theologie  des  NT,  Tubingen,  1911 ;  B.  Weiss,  Lehr- 
buch  der  bibl.  Theologie  des  NTS,  Berlin,  1880  (Eng.  tr.,  2  vola., 
Edinburgh,  1882-83). 

Special  discussion  of  the  Petrine  literature  will  be  found  in 
P.  J .  Gloagr,  Introduction  to  the  Catholic  Epistles,  Edinburgh, 
1887,  pp.  109-255 ;  E.  Scharfe,  Die  petrinische  Stromung  der 
neutestamentlichen  Litteratur,  Berlin,  1893 ;  F.  H.  Chase, 
artt.  'Peter,  First  Epistle'  and  'Peter,  Second  Epistle,'  in 
HDB  iii.  779-818 ;  O.  Cone,  art.  '  Peter,  the  Epistles  of,'  in 
EBi  iii.  3677-3685  ;  F.  Sieffert,  '  Petrus  der  Apostel,'  in  PRE* 
xv.  203-212 ;  A.  Harnack,  Die  Chronologie  der  altchristlichen 
Litteratur,  2  vols.,  Leipzig,  1897,  i.  450-475;  K.  Henkel,  Der 
zweite  Brief  des  Aposteljiirsten  Petrus  gepruft  auf  seine  Echt- 
heit,  Freiburg  i.  B.,  1904  ;  B.  Weiss,  Dererste  Petrusbrief  und 
die  neuere  Kritik,  Grosslichterfelde,  1906;  H.  Grosch,  Die 
Echtheit  des  zweiten  Brief es  PetrP,  Berlin,  1911. 

The  chief  modern  commentaries,  many  of  which  contain  full 
bibliographies,  are  C.  F.  Keil,  Commentar  uber  die  Briefe  des 
Petrus  und  Judas,  Leipzig,  1883 ;  F.  Spitta,  Der  zweite  Brief 
des  Petrus  und  der  Brief  des  Judas,  Halle,  1885  ;  J.  M.  Usteri, 
Wissenschaftlicher  undpraktischer  Commentar  uber  den  ersten 
Petrusbrief,  Zurich,  1887  ;  R.  Johnstone,  The  First  Epistle  of 
Peter,  Edinburgh,  1888  ;  H.  von  Soden, '  Briefe  des  Petrus,'  in 
H.  J.  Holtzmann's  Hand-Kommentar  zum  NT?,  Freiburg  i. 
B.,  1892,  iii.  109-158,  192-211 ;  A.  H.  de  Hartogr,  Korte  aante- 
keningen  op  de  brieven  van  den  apostel  Petrus,  Amsterdam, 
1894 ;  J.  T.  Beck,  Erkldrung  der  Briefe  Petri,  Gutersloh, 
1896 ;  E.  Kfihl,  Die  Briefe  Petri  und  Judce,  Gottingen,  1897 ; 
F.  J.  A.  Hort,  The  First  Epistle  of  St.  Peter  I.  l-II.  17,  London, 
1898 ;  J.  Monnier,  La  Premiere  epUre  de  Fapdtre  Pierre, 
Paris,  1900 ;  C.  Bigrgr,  A  Critical  and  Exegetical  Commentary 
on  the  Epistles  of  Peter  and  Jude,  New  York,  1901 ;  O.  Cone, 
International  Handbooks  to  the  NT,  New  York,  1901,  iii.  297- 
842 ;  J.  M.  S.  Balion,  Commentaar  op  de  katholische  brieven, 
Utrecht,  1904 ;  J.  p.  Mayor,  The  Epistle  of  St.  Jude  and  the 
Second  Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  London,  1907;  H.  Gunkel,  on  1 
Peter,  in  J.  Weiss,  Die  Schriften  det  NT*,  Oottingen,  1908,  ii. 
529-571 ;  G.  Hollmann,  on  2  Peter,  ib.  ii.  682-596 ;  J.  H.  A. 
Hart,  EGT,  'The  First  Epistle  General  of  Peter,'  London, 
1910,  pp.  1-80 ;  R.  D.  Strachan,  EGT,  '  The  Second  Epistle 
General  of  Peter,1  do.,  1910,  pp.  88-148 ;  H.  Windisch,  '  Die 
katholischen  Briefe  erklart,'  in  H.  Lietzmann's  Handbuch 
zum  NT,  Tubingen,  1911,  iv.  2 ;  R.  Knopf,  Die  Briefe  Petri 
und  Jvdd,  Gottingen,  1912  ;  G.  Wohlenberg-,  Der  erste  und 
zweite  Petrusbrief  und  der  Judasbrief,  Leipzig,  1915. 

S.  J.  CASE. 


210 


PHARAOH 


PHARISEES 


PHARAOH,  PHARAOH'S  DAUGHTER  —  The 

term  '  Pharaoh  '  was  an  honorary  title  of  the  kings 
of  Egypt.  In  biblical  history  several  Pharaohs 
are  met  with,  especially  in  connexion  with  Abraham, 
Joseph,  and  Moses.  In  the  NT  there  are  some 
interesting  references.  Thus  in  his  speech  (Ac  7) 
St.  Stephen  proves  God's  care  for  Joseph  and  Moses 
by  the  confidence  Pharaoh  placed  in  the  former, 
and  the  protection  given  to  the  latter  by  the 
daughter  of  the  reigning  king.  The  writer  of 
Hebrews  (II24)  finds  in  the  story  of  Moses  who 
'  refused  to  become  the  son  of  Pharaoh's  daughter  ' 
an  outstanding  instance  of  faith  refusing  this 
world's  glory  for  the  better  part.  St.  Paul  in  his 
great  argument  for  election  in  Romans  (ch.  9)  gives 
the  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus  as  an  illustration  of 
God's  absoluteness  in  dealing  with  men.  '  Just  as 
the  career  of  Moses  exhibits  the  Divine  mercy,  so 
the  career  of  Pharaoh  exhibits  the  Divine  severity, 
and  in  both  cases  the  absolute  sovereignty  of  God 
is  vindicated  '  (Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  '  Romans'8, 
Edinburgh,  1902,  on  9").  J.  W.  DUNCAN. 


PHARISEES.—  The   Pharisees  (n^n?, 
were  a  religious  sect  among  the  Jews,  probably 
originating  in  Maccabaean  times. 

1.  The  name.  —  Pertishim  has  generally  been  in- 
terpreted to  mean  '  separatists.'     In  a  recent  work, 
however,   Oesterley  suggests  another  view.     He 
points  out  that   the  Pharisees  were   the  popular 
party  ;  that  one  of  their  precepts  was,  '  Separate 
not  thyself  from  the  congregation,'  and  that  they 
reproached  the  Sadducees  as  the  separatists.    He 
finds  it    more    probable    that    the    name  means 
'expounders.'    In   support    he    quotes  Josephus, 
who  says  of  the  Pharisees  that   '  they  are  those 
who  seem  to  explain  the  laws  with  accuracy  '  (BJ 
II.  viii.  14),  and  asserts  that  in  Rabbinical  litera- 
ture the  root  p-r-sh  is  constantly  found  used  in  the 
sense  of  'explain,'  'expound,    or   'interpret,'  in 
reference  to  Scripture  which  is  explained  in  the 
interests  of  the  Oral  Law  (Oesterley,  Books  of  the 
Apocrypha,  p.   131  f.).     The  view  is  certainly  in- 
teresting and  worth  consideration.     But  it  seems 
to  the  present  writer  that  all  the  arguments  by 
which  it  is  supported  admit  of  an   easy  answer, 
and  that  the  balance  of  probability  inclines  to- 
wards the  familiar  view  that  '  Pharisee  '  means 
'separatist.' 

2.  General  position  of  Pharisees  in  the  1st  cent. 
A.D.  —  In   this  article  we  confine  ourselves  to  the 
period  from  the  times  of  Christ  to  the  close  of  the 
1st  century.     For  the  previous  history  of  Pharis- 
aism and   the  development  and  character  of  its 
tenets  and  practices,  the  reader  must  consult  HDB 
and  DCG.     At  the  opening  of  our  period  we  find 
the  Pharisees  noted  for  piety,  learning,  and  strict 
observance  of  the  Law.     They  were  held  in  high 
esteem  among  the  people  (Jos.  Ant.  XIII.  x.  5,  6, 
XVII.  ii.  4).     Almost  up  to  this  point,  indeed,  they 
might  be  regarded  as  a  people's  party,  the  cham- 
pions of  popular  rights  against   the  aristocratic 
Sadducees.     They  were   the    party   of    progress. 
Against  the  Sadducees  they  represented  a  living 
faith,   and  their  theology  was  simply  orthodox 
Jewish  doctrine.     They  preached  a  religion  for  the 
people  and  conducted   a   missionary   propaganda 
(Mt  2318).     At  this  time  they  had  little  direct 
political  power,  though  they  held  some  seats  in 
the  Sanhedrin  (Ac  5s4  236).     But  such  was  their 
influence  with  the  people  that  the  ruling  Sadducees 
were  largely  amenable  to  their  advice  (Jos.  Ant. 
xvin.  i.  4).     Passionately  devoted  to  the  Law  as 
they  were,  they  interpreted  and  applied  it  in  a 
more  tolerant,  generous  sense  than  the  Sadducees 
(Ant.   XIII.   x.   6,  XX.   ix.   1).     No   doubt  it  was 
among  the  Pharisees  that  the  best  type  of  Jewish 
character  and  piety  was  found.     But  in  the  Gospels 


it  is  clear  that  the  Pharisees,  the  popular  party, 
were  drawing  themselves  apart  into  a  new  aris- 
tocracy, and  that  the  party  of  progress  had  become 
rigidly  conservative.  Every  one  of  their  own  in- 
terpretations of  the  Law  was  stereotyped.  Their 
traditions  were  regarded  with  greater  veneration 
than  the  original  Law.  In  the  accumulated  mass 
of  precepts  all  sense  of  proportion  was  lost.  All 
true  spirituality  was  in  danger  of  suffocation  under 
the  complex  of  ritual  and  ceremonial. 

3.  Pharisees  and  foreign  domination. — Pharisa- 
ism attained  its  fullest  development  while  there 
was  a  mere  semblance  of  national  independence, 
and  nearly 'all  civil   power  had  passed   from  the 
Jews.     No  doubt  this  circumstance  was  of  consider- 
able importance  in  enabling  pious  Jews  to  distin- 
guish between  a  Church  and  a  nation  (see  Bousset, 
Religion  des  Judentums,  p.  62 f.).     How  the  Phari- 
sees regarded  the  rule  of  Herod  and  the  Romans  it 
is  difficult  to  judge.     On  their  attitude  to  Herod 
two  different  views  will  be  found  in  HDB  iii.  827 
and  Bousset  (op.  cit.  p.  62  f. )  respectively.      The 
statement  in  the  former  that  they  abhorred  Herod 
is  too  dogmatic  (see  Jos.  Ant.  XV.  i.  1).     Probably 
we  should  say  that,  while  they  were  not  enamoured 
of  the  rule  of  Herod,  they  submitted  to   it  as  a 
necessary   evil.     As   to  their  attitude   to   Rome, 
matters  are  even  less  clear.     We  know  that  they 
discussed  whether  tribute  should  be  paid  (Mt  2217ff-). 
Further,  the  party  of  the  Zealots  who  agitated  for 
the  overthrow  of  Roman  power  were  an  off-shoot 
from  the  Pharisees.     Though  Josephus  is  desirous 
of  representing  them  as  a  distinct  party,  he  is  com- 
pelled to  admit  this  (Ant.  XVIII.  i.  1,  6  ;  BJ  II.  viii. 
1 ).     We  may  take  it  that  certain  of  the  Pharisees 
favoured  political  action,  others   deprecated    it. 
The  former  were  the  Zealots,  who  were  responsible 
for  stirring  up  the  great  revolt  which  ended  in  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  involved  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  last  shreds  of  Jewish  national 
independence. 

4.  Effects   of  the  Fall  of   Jerusalem.  —  This 
catastrophe,  so  calamitous  in  itself,  came  to  the 
Pharisees,  as  to  Jewish  Christians,  really  as  an 
emancipation.     If  the  Church  was  henceforth  free 
from  serious  Jewish  persecution,  and  the  distrac- 
tion of  Judaizing  propaganda,  the  Pharisees  were 
free  of  their  conflict  with  the  Sadducees,  who  dis- 
appeared with  Temple  and  priesthood.     The  Jews 
ceased  to  be  politically  a  nation,  but  in  reality 
they  had  ceased  to  be  that  long  before.     Judaism 
as  a  Church,  a  religious  system,  was  not  seriously 
affected  by  the  loss  of  the  Temple.     For  long  the 
priests  as  a  class  had  been  declining  in  favour.     For 
long  the  real  centre  of  religious  life  had  been  not  the 
Temple  but  the  Synagogue.     Many  influences  had 
conspired  to  produce   this  result,  but  we  cannot 
discuss  them  here  (see  Bousset,  op.  cit.  p.  97  ff.). 
It  was  the  great  service  of  Pharisaism  to  Judaism 
that  it  had  so  developed  Jewish  piety  that  the  loss 
of  the  Temple  was  more  of  a  relief  than  a  disaster. 
The  Pharisees  set  themselves  more  diligently  than 
ever   to   the   development  of  the  Law.     In  two 
particulars  the  fall  of  the  city  seemed  to  harden 
Pharisaic  tendencies. 

(a)  Their  attitude  to  the  common  people. — We 
noted  how  even  in  the  time  of  Christ  the  Pharisee 
looked  down  upon  the  'am  haarets.  Piety  to  the 
Pharisee  was  associated  with  culture.  The  people 
who  knew  not  the  Law  were  accursed  (Jn  749). 
This  tendency  towards  an  exclusiveness  of  culture 
increased,  and  the  breach  widened  between  the 
Pharisee  and  the  'am  haarets.  The  dealings  of 
the  Pharisee  with  the  'am  haarets  were  as  strictly 
limited  and  carefully  regulated  as  his  dealings 
with  the  Gentiles.  Bousset  (op.  cit.  p.  167)  quotes 
a  dictum  of  a  certain  Rabbi  Eleazar,  which  forbids 
all  transactions  with  the  'am  haarets,  makes  the 


PHARISEES 


PHILADELPHIA 


211 


murder  of  an  'am  haarets  under  certain  circum- 
stances permissible,  and  declares  that  the  hatred 
of  the  'am  haarets  is  greater  than  that  of  the 
Gentiles  against  Israel. 

(b)  Their  attitude  to  the  Gentiles. — As  we  have 
noted  above,  at  one  time  a  missionary  propaganda 
was  carried  on  among  Gentiles.  Manifestly  this 
was  in  opposition  to  the  Pharisaic  tendency  to- 
wards exclusiveness,  and  it  was  the  latter  that 
conquered.  The  increasing  restiveness  under  the 
Roman  domination  which  culminated  in  the  great 
war  was  a  decisive  factor  in  this  struggle  of  prin- 
ciples. Probably  a  short  time  before  the  fall  of 
the  city  eighteen  points  of  difference  between  the 
schools  of  Hillel  and  Shammai,  all  dealing  with 
relations  with  Gentiles,  were  decided  in  favour  of 
the  Shammaists,  the  more  rigid  school.  One  of 
the  decisions  forbade  the  learning  of  Greek  (Mishna, 
Shabb.  xiii.  6  ;  see  H.  Graetz,  Geschichte  der  Juden, 
Berlin,  1856,  Eng.  tr.,  ii.  [London,  1891]  131  ff.). 
We  may  take  it  that  this  ended  all  missionary 
enterprise,  and  that  after  the  fall  of  the  city  the 
exclusive  tendency  reigned  supreme. 

5.  Pharisaism  and  Christianity. — In  saying  what 
was  the  attitude  of  Pharisees  to  Christianity,  we 
are  in  danger  of  arguing  from  isolated  and  there- 
fore perhaps  exceptional  cases.  In  the  Gospels  we 
find  that  while  Jesus  carries  on  a  sharp  polemic 
against  the  class,  He  has  friendly  relations  with 
individuals  (e.g.  Simon  the  Pharisee),  and  that, 
on  the  other  hand,  certain  of  the  Pharisees  (e.g. 
Nicodemus  and  Joseph  of  Arimathea)  were  friendly 
towards  Him.  Arguing  from  the  known  tendency 
of  the  Pharisees  to  be  moderate  in  judgment,  and 
from  the  definite  illustrations  of  it  which  we  have  ( Ac 
534ff.  239))  We  may  hold  that  as  far  as  the  persecutions 
in  Jerusalem  are  concerned,  the  main  responsibility 
at  least  does  not  lie  on  the  Pharisees.  On  the  other 
hand,  in  the  case  of  Stephen  we  know  that  Saul 
the  Pharisee  'was  consenting  unto  his  death '  (81). 
Saul  also  on  his  own  confession  was  specially  strong 
in  urging  persecution  (26s'11 ;  cf.  83).  And  outside 
Palestine  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  Pharisee 
scribes  were  instigators  of  popular  tumults  against 
Christians. 

When  we  remember  that  the  Pharisees  with  all 
their  faults  were  the  leaders  of  Jewish  piety, 
and  the  orthodox  theologians,  it  is  clear  that  it  is 
difficult  to  overestimate  the  part  they  played  in 
preparing  the  way  for  Christianity.  St.  Paul  was 
a  Pharisee  of  the  Pharisees,  and  what  would 
Christianity  have  been  but  for  him  ?  It  was  the 
Pharisees  who  settled  the  OT  canon,  and  the  Chris- 
tian Church  accepted  it.  Pharisees  developed  the 
Messianic  hope,  distinguished  the  Church  from  the 
State,  taught  a  religion  that  was  independent  of 
priests  and  Temple,  developed  doctrines  of  im- 
mortality, resurrection,  and  judgment  to  come,  that 
with  only  little  modification  passed  into  Chris- 
tian theology.  The  best  of  the  Pharisees  under- 
stood the  inwardness  of  the  Law  as  Jesus  taught  it, 
and  some  of  His  most  characteristic  sayings  are  to 
be  found  in  almost  identical  form  in  the  sayings  of 
the  Rabbis.  The  missionary  propaganda  did  in- 
calculable service  in  preparing  for  that  of  the 
Church.  The  Pharisaism  of  the  best  period,  when 
it  was  a  progressive,  democratic,  missionary  move- 
ment, became  the  inheritance  of  Christianity. 

Pharisaism,  or  something  very  like  it  in  its  de- 
generate form,  was  imported  into  the  Church  by 
Jewish  Christians  (see  EBIONISM).  St.  Paul  is 
meritorious  not  more  as  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles 
than  by  the  fact  that  he,  a  former  Pharisee,  saw 
so  clearly  the  danger  of  this  incipient  neo-Pharisa- 
ism  with  its  exclusiveness  and  '  desire  to  be  under 
the  law,'  and  combated  it  so  successfully.  While 
the  statement  in  the  JE  (ix.  665)  that  in  the 
Gospels  the  word  '  Pharisee '  has  been  substituted 


for  an  original  '  Sadducee '  in  the  denunciations  of 
Jesus  is  to  be  mentioned  only  as  a  curiosity,  ac- 
cording to  the  evidence  we  possess,  it  has  to  be 
said  that  the  Church  paid  back  with  interest  the 
persecutions  and  calumnies  she  suffered  from  the 
Jews.  How  soon  this  anti-Judaism  began,  and  to 
what  extent  if  any  it  is  present  in  the  NT  writings, 
are  problems  that  require  investigation. 

LITERATURE.— The  only  authorities  are  the  Gospels,  Acts,  and 
Jpsephus  (passages  referred  to  above).  From  a  mass  of  Rab- 
binical writings,  a  few  details  may  be  gathered  which  add  little 
to  our  knowledge.  Works  on  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  are 
numerous.  We  need  refer  the  reader  only  to  E.  Schiirer 
HJP  ii.  ii.  [Edinburgh,  1885]  1  f.  ;  W.  O.  E.  Oesterley,  The 
Books  of  the  Apocrypha,  their  Origin,  Teaching,  and  Contents, 
London,  1914  ;  W.  Bousset,  Die  Religion  des  Judentwns  im 
neutest.  Zeitalter,  Berlin,  1903 ;  also  to  articles  in  HDB.  DCG 
EBi,  JE,  EBrn.  W.  D  NlVEN. 

PHENICE.— See  PHCENICIA,  PHCENIX. 

PHILADELPHIA  ($iXaSA<£«a,  T  WH  -la).— 
Philadelphia  was  called  after  its  founder,  King 
Attalus  II.  Philadelphus  of  Pergamos  (159-188 
B.C.),  whose  surname  marked  his  affection  for  his 
brother  and  predecessor,  Eumenes  ii.  Philadel- 
phia occupied  a  strong  and  commanding  position 
in  the  valley  of  the  Cogamus,  an  affluent  of  the 
Hermus,  at  the  N.E.  base  of  Mt.  Tmolus  (Boz 
Dagh),  where  Lydia,  Phrygia,  and  Mysia  met. 
Northward  and  eastward  from  the  city  stretched 
a  great  volcanic  plateau,  the  Katakekaumene  or 
'  Burnt  Region ' — called  also  the  Decapolis — whose 
famous  vintages  were  one  of  Philadelphia's  chief 
sources  of  revenue.  The  important  trade-route 
from  Smyrna  (83  miles  west)  branched  at  Phil- 
adelphia, one  branch  going  N.E.  through  Phrvgia 
and  the  other  S.E  to  the  cities  of  the  Lycus  Valley. 
The  city  was  founded  for  the  spread  of  the  Greek 
language  and  culture  in  Lydia  and  Phrygia,  but  it 
made  little  impression  upon  the  old  deep-rooted 
Anatolian  nature-religion. 

Christianity  became  strong  where  Hellenism  had 
been  weak.  The  Church  of  Philadelphia,  founded 
probably  at  the  time  of  St.  Paul's  residence  in 
Ephesus  (Ac  1910),  had  firmly  established  itself  by 
the  time  of  Domitian,  and  is  praised  by  St.  John 
almost  as  warmly  as  that  of  Smyrna  (Rev  37'18). 
Before  her  is  set  '  a  door  opened,  which  none  can 
shut'  (v.8),  a  metaphor  usually  interpreted  as  im- 
plying a  special  opportunity  for  successful  evan- 
gelistic work,  such  as  Philadelphia  certainly  had 
as  the  centre  of  a  large  and  populous  district. 
Ramsay  accordingly  calls  her  '  the  Missionary 
City' (The  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches,  p.  391). 
But  the  whole  character  of  the  letter,  the  ideas  of 
which  are  closely  articulated  with  each  other, 
points  to  a  different  exegesis.  The  Jews  of  Phil- 
adelphia, enraged  apparently  at  the  conversion, 
which  they  regarded  as  the  perversion,  of 
some  of  their  number,  displayed  a  more  than 
ordinary  malignity  in  their  efforts  to  crush  the 
infant  Church,  making  free  use  of  their  most 
formidable  weapon,  the  herem  or  sentence  of  ex- 
communication, by  which  they  thought  to  shut 
not  only  the  door  of  the  synagogue  but  the  gate 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  against  the  apostates. 
The  prophet's  answer,  given  in  Christ's  name, 
meets  them  on  this  ground.  Alike  as  a  rebuke  to 
the  persecutors  and  a  sursum  corda  to  the  perse- 
cuted his  message  is  perfect.  He  denies  to  the 
Jews  of  Philadelphia  every  sacred  title  and 
privilege  which  had  ever  belonged  to  their  race. 
They  have  disinherited  themselves.  Hating  instead 
of  loving,  they  are  a  synagogue  not  of  God,  but  of 
Satan.  Having  forfeited  their  great  and  good 
name,  they  merely  lie  when  they  call  themselves 
Jews.  The  spiritual  succession,  and  with  it  the 
historical  title,  consecrated  and  endeared  by  count- 


212 


PHILEMON 


PHILEMON,  EPISTLE  TO 


less  memories,  have  passed  from  them  to  the 
Christian  Church,  the  true  Israel  of  God.  And 
their  boast  of  opening  and  shutting  the  door  of 
God's  house,  of  admitting  and  excluding  whom 
they  please,  of  blessing  some  and  cursing  others, 
is  foolish  and  futile.  They  have  indeed  the  key  of 
their  splendid  earthly  synagogue,  but  Another  has 
the  key  of  David  (Is  22--),  the  symbol  of  regal 
authority,  and  He,  as  supreme  in  the  spiritual 
realm,  has  set  before  the  Church  of  Philadelphia 
an  open  door  which  no  man  can  shut.  Great 
minds  run  parallel,  and  the  words  of  the  prophet 
of  Ephesus  are  in  spirit  identical  with  those  uttered 
long  afterwards  by  the  prophet  of  Florence.  '  I 
separate  thee,'  said  the  bishop  of  Vasona  to  Savon- 
arola, 'from  the  Church  militant  and  triumphant.' 
'  Militant,'  was  the  reply,  '  not  triumphant,  for 
this  is  not  in  thy  power.'  The  power  belongs  to 
Him  who  '  having  overcome  the  sharpness  of  death, 
has  opened  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  all  believers.' 

Philadelphia  had  so  many  festivals  and  temples 
that  it  was  often  called  '  Little  Athens.'  The 
hope  of  a  memorial — a  name,  a  statue,  or  a  pillar — 
in  one  of  its  great  temples  often  proved  a  powerful 
incentive  to  good  citizenship.  But  the  volcanic 
region  of  Philadelphia  was  frequently  visited  by 
seismic  shocks,  in  which  the  most  massive  build- 
ings and  all  their  memorials  perished.  In  A.D. 
17,  e.g.,  'twelve  populous  cities  of  Asia  fell  in 
ruins  from  an  earthquake  which  happened  by 
night,  and  therefore  the  more  sudden  and  destruc- 
tive was  the  calamity.  ...  It  is  related  that  moun- 
tains sank  down,  that  level  places  were  seen  to  be 
elevated  into  hills,  and  that  fires  flashed  forth 
during  the  catastrophe'  (Tacitus,  Ann.  it  47). 
Philadelphia  was  one  of  the  twelve  shattered 
cities.  But  she  is  promised,  in  Christ's  name,  the 
things  that  cannot  be  shaken.  Every  victor  in 
the  spiritual  conflict  will  be  as  a  pillar,  nob  in  a 
crumbling  earthly  shrine,  but  in  the  enduring 
temple  of  God,  and  have  graven  on  the  tablets  of 
his  own  memory — monumentumcereperennius—the 
mystic  names  of  God  and  His  new  Jerusalem. 

Christian  Philadelphia  made  a  long  and  brave 
stand  against  the  Turks,  but  was  conquered  by 
Bayezid  in  A.D.  1390.  It  has  now  a  population  of 
17,000  Muslims  and  5,000  Christians.  About  two 
dozen  ancient  churches,  lying  in  ruins,  tell  their 
own  tale. 

LFTERATURB. — R.  Chandler,  Travels  in  Asia  Minor  and 
Greece*,  1817 ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Letters  to  the  Seven 
Churches  of  Asia,  1904;  Murray's  Handbook  to  Asia  Minor, 

1895.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PHILEMON  ($(\i$jucin»). — Philemon  was  a  citizen 
of  Colossae  (cf.  Col  49  with  Philem  u)  and  a  convert 
of  St.  Paul  (Philem 19).  His  conversion  took  place 
not  at  Colossse  (Col  21),  but  presumably  during  the 
Apostle's  three  years'  abode  at  Ephesus,  between 
which  town  and  the  cities  of  the  Lycus  (of  which 
Colossae  was  one)  the  relations  were  intimate  (see 
Lightfoot,  Colossians?,  1879,  p.  31).  There  is  no 
reliable  evidence  of  Philemon  s  holding  any  office 
in  the  Church  either  at  Colossae  or  elsewhere, 
although  the  Apost.  Const,  (vii.  46)  represent  him 
as  '  bishop '  of  Colossse,  and  pseudo-Dorotheus  (6th 
cent. )  as  bishop  of  Gaza  :  but  manifestly  he  was 
an  influential  member  of  the  Colossian  Chris- 
tian community.  St.  Paul  calls  him  a  fellow- 
labourer  (o-vvepyos),  who  had  an  Ecclesia,  or  gather- 
ing of  Christians,  in  his  home  (Philem J- 2).  He  must 
have  been  a  well-to-do  citizen,  possessing  a  house 
large  enough  for  this  purpose,  along  with  means 
*ntficient  to  enable  him  liberally  to  '  distribute  to 
Dae  necessity  of  saints.'  The  Apostle  testifies  that 
'  the  hearts  of  the  saints  were  refreshed '  by  Phile- 
mon's loving  fellowship  and  helpful  bounty  (vv.6- 7). 
St.  Paul's  past  experience  of  Philemon's  '  love  and 


faith,'  generosity  to  fellow-believers,  and  loyalty  to 
himself,  gave  the  Apostle  '  confidence '  in  inter- 
ceding with  his  friend  on  behalf  of  that  friend's 
runaway  but  now  converted  slave,  Onesimus,  and 
in  beseeching  Philemon  not  only  to  forgive  the 
slave's  misdemeanours,  but  to  receive  him  as  now 
a  brother  in  Christ.  According  to  a  probably  well- 
founded  tradition,  the  Apostle's  confidence  was  not 
misplaced  (see  ONESIMUS).  The  Greek  Mensea 
(under  Nov.  22)  represent  Philemon  as  having 
suffered  martyrdom  during  Nero's  reign  (see  Tille- 
rnont,  i.  290,  574,  quoted  by  Lightfoot,  Colossians*, 
p.  306). . 

Philemon,  like  Onesimus,  is  quite  a  common 
Greek  name  and  is  specially  notable  in  the  Phrygian 
legend  of  Philemon  and  Baucis  (Ovid,  Metam.  vii. 
626),  the  two  peasants  who  hospitably  entertained 
gods  unawares,  and  whose  story  may  have  sug- 
gested to  the  Lystrans  in  adjacent  Lycaonia  their 
procedure  as  related  in  Ac  13. 

LITERATURE. — See  under  following  article. 

HENRY  COWAN. 
PHILEMON,  EPISTLE  TO.— 1.  Authenticity.— 

The  Pauline  authorship  of  this  Epistle  is  beyond 
reasonable  doubt.  The  repeated  use  by  Ignatius, 
c.  A.D.  109  (Eph.  2,  Magn.  12,  Polyc.  6),  of  the 
words  6va.lfj.rii>  aov,  '  let  me  have  joy  of  thee,'  used  in 
Philem 30,  may  be  a  coincidence,  the  phrase  being 
fairly  common  ;  but  before  the  middle  of  the  2nd 
cent.,  Marcion,  who  rejected  a  large  portion  of  the 
NT,  including  several  Pauline  Epistles,  retained 
this  letter,  without  mutilation,  ascribing  it  to  St. 
Paul  (Tertullian,  c.  Marc.  v.  21).  It  is  also  in- 
cluded in  the  Muratorian  Canon  (c.  A.D.  170)  among 
St.  Paul's  Epistles.  Early  in  the  3rd  cent.,  Origen 
repeatedly  quotes  the  letter  as  Pauline  (Com.  in 
Matt.  Tract.  33,  34) ;  and  Eusebius  (HE  iii.  25) 
includes  all  St.  Paul's  Epistles  among  'acknow- 
ledged Scriptures.'  In  the  4th  cent,  it  was  rejected 
by  some  as  either  not  Pauline  or,  if  Pauline,  unin- 
spired ;  but  for  no  other  reason,  apparently,  than 
its  supposed  non-edifying  character  (see  Jerome 
and  Chrysostom,  Comm.  in  Philem.).  In  modern 
times  Baur  (Paul,  Eng.  tr.2,  1873-75,  ii.  80)  has 
stood  almost  alone  among  eminent  critics  in 
rejecting  (with  hesitation,  however)  the  Pauline 
authorship,  owing  chiefly  to  his  more  emphatic 
rejection  of  Colossians,  with  the  authenticity  of 
which  that  of  Philemon  stands  or  falls  (see  COLOS- 
SIANS, EP.  TO  THE).  For  the  view  that  the  letter 
is  allegorical  (grounded  on  the  name  Onesimus  and 
on  the  play  thereon  in  v.11)  there  is  no  semblance 
of  ancient  authority ;  and  historical  reality  is 
stamped  on  every  sentence  of  the  Epistle  (see 
ONESIMUS). 

2.  Place  and  date  of  composition. — As  St.  Paul 
was  in  captivity  at  the  time  (Philem 9),  the  letter 
must  have  been  sent  either  from  Rome  or  from 
Caesarea  ;  and  although  the  subscription  '  written 
from  Rome  to  Philemon '  cannot  be  traced  further 
back  than  the  5th  cent,  (it  is  ascribed  then  to 
Bishop  Euthalius),  it  appears  to  be  correct.  Some 
critics,  indeed  (including  Meyer,  Weiss,  Holtz- 
mann,  etc.),  prefer  Caesarea,  chiefly  because  (1)  a 
runaway  slave  would  choose  a  near  city  as  refuge  ; 

(2)  St.  Paul  hoped  soon  to  visit  Colossae  (v.22),  and 

(3)  he  had  more  reason  to  expect  early  release  from 
Caesarean  than  from  Roman  imprisonment.     But 
(1)  Rome  would  be  preferable  for  Onesimus,  with 
a  view  to  avoiding  detection :   and  v.18  suggests, 
without  actually  indicating,  that  the  slave,  like 
many  runaways"  had  purloined  enough  to  defray 
expenses ;  (2)  at  Caesarea,  the  Apostle  must  have 
always  looked  forward  to  Rome  (Ac  23n  2511)  and 
therefore  would  not  be  contemplating  an  early 
visit  to  Phrygia ;  (3)  Ph  2s4  (certainly  written  from 
Rome)  shows  that  St.  Paul  had  then  some  hope  of 
release. 


PHILEMOX,  EPISTLE  TO 


213 


The  place  of  composition  so  far  fixes  the  date ; 
for  St.  Paul's  'two  years'  of  Roman  confine- 
ment (Ac  283U)  are  usually  ascribed  to  the  period 
between  A.D.  59  and  63  (see  COLOSSIANS,  EP.  TO 
THE,  with  which  the  letter  to  Philemon  was 
simultaneously  dispatched,  the  salutations  being 
similar). 

3.  Occasion  and  object.  —  See  ONESIMUS  and 
PHILEMON. 

£.  Contents.  —  After  salutations  to  Philemon, 
Apphia,  and  Archippus  (qq.v. )  in  which  Timothy 
(who  had  been  with  St.  Paul  at  Ephesus,  Ac  1922) 
is  appropriately  associated  with  the  Apostle,  the 
letter  begins  with  a  cordial  recognition  of  Phile- 
mon's faith  and  love  towards  Christ  and  towards 
brethren  whose  hearts  he  had  refreshed  by  Chris- 
tian fellowship  and  generous  charity.  He  then 
indicates  that  sometliing  which  he  might  have 
boldly  enjoined  he  prefers  to  plead  for  as  a  favour  ; 
'  old  man  *  as  he  now  is,'  and  '  a  prisoner  of  Jesus 
Christ,'  he  is  to  be  indulged.  He  solicits  a  friendly 
reception  for  Philemon's  slave  Onesimus,  in  spite 
of  past  delinquency  through  which  he  had  belied 
his  name,  and  become  'unprofitable.'  Onesimus 
was  St.  Paul's  spiritual  son,  and  had  become  most 
helpful  to  the  Apostle  in  ministry,  and  much 
beloved.  St.  Paul  calls  him  his  'very  heart.'  He 
would  have  liked  to  retain  him  at  Rome  as  the 
representative  of  Philemon,  knowing  the  latter's 
anxiety  to  serve  him  (Paul).  But  the  Apostle  will 
do  nothing  without  his  friend's  consent,  so  that  Phile- 
mon's favour  to  himself  might  be  quite  voluntary 
and  not  constrained.  '  Perhaps,  however,'  con- 
tinues the  Apostle  (who  assumes  with  delicate  tact 
the  deep  regard  which  Philemon  would  now  have 
for  his  penitent  and  converted  slave),  '  perhaps  he 
was  parted  from  thee  for  a  season  '  (note  how  the 
idea  of  an  over-ruling  Providence  is  adroitly  intro- 
duced) 'in  order  that  thou  mightest  receive  him 
back  for  altogether,  not  now  as  a  slave,  but  as  a 
beloved  brother  in  the  Lord.'  There  is  a  possible 
barrier,  however,  which  St.  Paul  seeks  to  remove. 
Onesimus  had  in  some  way  wronged  Philemon, 
apart  from  desertion.  '  Let  me  discharge  his  debt,' 
writes  St.  Paul  euphemistically  ;  '  put  it  to  my 
account :  here  is  my  signature — I,  Paul,  will  repay.' 
'  For,'  he  adds,  recalling  Philemon's  conversion  by 
himself,  '  I  will  not  plead  that  thou  pwest  to  me 
thy  very  self.'  '  Yea,  brother,'  he  continues,  adduc- 
ing what  would  be  the  strongest  motive  in  Phile- 
mon's eyes,  viz.  his  love  of  St.  Paul,  '  let  me  have 
joy  of  thee ;  refresh  my  heart  in  the  Lord.' 
Finally,  as  if  apologizing,  with  winning  courtesy 
and  confidence,  for  the  injustice  he  has  been 
doing  to  Philemon  through  superabundant  inter- 
cession, '  I  well  know,'  he  declares,  '  that  thou  wilt 
perform  even  beyond  what  I  ask.'  After  an  expres- 
sion of  hope  that,  through  the  prayers  of  Philemon 
and  others,  he  may  soon  be  set  free,  and  so  be 
able  to  visit  his  Colossian  brethren,  he  sends  salu- 
tations from  mutual  friends  (including  Luke  and 
Demas,  the  faithful  and  the  faithless  at  a  later 
time,  2  Ti  410*  "),  and  concludes  with  the  Apostolic 
Benediction  :  '  The  Grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
be  with  your  spirit.' 

5.  Testimony  to  the  Epistle. — Against  depreci- 
ators,  in  the  4th  cent.,  of  the  Epistle  as  trifling 
and  unedifying,  Jerome,  the  most  learned,  and 
Chrysostom,  the  most  eloquent,  of  the  Fathers, 
vindicate,  as  we  have  seen,  its  apostolic  worthiness 
and  religious  helpfulness.  In  the  Reformation 
epoch,  Luther  (in  his  German  Bible)  eulogizes  it 
as  showing  a  'right  noble  and  lovely  example  of 

*  7rpeor/3uTT)s.  Lightfoot  (Colossians  and  Philemon3,  p.  338) 
translates  'ambassador,'  and  gives  some  philological  authority 
for  this  translation  ;  but  the  usual  meaning  of  the  word, '  old 
man,'  suits  the  appeal  better.  St.  Paul  might  very  well  have 
been  about  sixty  at  this  time,  and  prematurely  aged  through 
prolonged  hardship. 


Christian  love ' ;  and  Calvin  (Com.  in  loc.)  discerned 
in  it  a  '  life-like  portrayal  of  the  gentleness '  of  the 
apostolic  spirit.  Among  modern  writers,  Sabatier 
(The  Apostle  Paul,  Eng.  tr.,  1891,  p.  226)  describes 
it  as  '  full  of  grace  and  wit,  of  earnest,  trustful 
affection,'  gleaming  '  among  the  rich  treasures  of 
the  NT  as  a  pearl  of  exquisite  fineness.'  'No- 
where,' writes  Ewald  (Com.  in  loc.),  '  shall  we  find 
the  sensibility  and  warmth  of  delicate  friendship 
more  beautifully  blended  with  the  higher  feeling 
of  a  superior  intellect,  of  a  teacher  and  an  Apostle.' 
Lightfoot  compares  it  with  the  younger  Pliny's 
similar  letter  (Ep.  ix.  21)  to  a  friend  on  behalf  of 
an  offending  but  penitent  freedman,  and  awards 
the  palm  to  the  Apostle's  Epistle,  which  'stands 
unrivalled  as  an  expression  of  simple  dignity,  of 
refined  courtesy,  of  large  sympathy,  and  of  warm 
personal  affection'  (op.  cit.  p.  319).  'A  veritable 
little  masterpiece  of  the  art  of  letter-writing,' 
exclaims  Renan  (U  Antichrist,  1873,  p.  86).  '  Those 
sweet  utterances  of  an  author  deeply  imbued  with 
the  Christian  spirit,'  writes  Baur,  even  while  re- 
jecting the  authenticity  of  the  Epistle  (Paul,  ii. 
83).  Hackett  (in  Lange's  Com.  on  Holy  Scriptures, 
'  Philemon,'  p.  7)  notes  the  Apostle's  delicacy  and 
skill  in  'harmonizing  contrarieties.'  'He  must 
conciliate  a  man  who  supposed  that  he  had  good 
reason  to  be  offended.  He  must  commend  the 
offender,  and  yet  neither  deny  nor  aggravate  the 
imputed  fault.  He  must  assert  the  new  ideas  of 
Christian  equality  in  the  face  of  a  system  which 
hardly  recognized  the  humanity  of  the  enslaved. 
.  .  .  His  success  must  be  a  triumph  of  love,  and 
nothing  be  demanded  for  the  sake  of  the  justice 
which  could  have  claimed  everything.  He  limits 
his  request  to  a  forgiveness  of  the  "alleged  wrong, 
and  a  restoration  to  favor  and  the  enjoyment  of 
future  sympathy  and  affection,  and  yet  would  so 
guard  his  words  as  to  leave  scope  for  all  the 
generosity  which  benevolence  might  prompt '  (in- 
cluding emancipation). 

6.  Incidental  instruction. — (1)  Christianity  and 
slavery. — We  have  in  this  letter  an  illustration  of 
the  two-fold  relation  of  primitive  Christianity  to 
slavery.  On  the  one  hand,  slaves  are  instructed 
to  recognize  the  obligation  of  faithful  and  obedient 
service,  along  with  careful  avoidance  of  any  teach- 
ing which  might  seem  to  identify  the  Church  witli 
the  social  revolution,  rapine,  and  murder  by  which 
slave-insurrections  were  then  characterized.  On 
the  other  hand,  there  is  fearless  proclamation  of 
the  grand  truth  of  universal  Christian  brotherhood, 
through  which  eventually  slavery  was  to  be  ex- 
pelled from  Christendom  ;  along  with  emphatic 
encouragement  of  Christian  masters,  like  Philemon, 
to  treat  their  slaves  with  humane  consideration, 
and  their  Christian  slaves  as  brethren  in  the  Lord. 
The  outcome  of  this  policy  was  the  immediate 
betterment  of  the  condition  of  slaves,  their  more 
frequent  liberation,  and  their  ultimate  emancipa- 
tion by  all  Christian  nations.  Christianity,  more- 
over, has  delivered  from  moral  as  well  as  from 
material  bondage ;  from  the  bondage  of  spiritual 
ignorance  and  from  subjection  to  sinful  tastes 
and  habits.  '  Stand  fast  in  the  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  hath  made  us  free'  (Gal  5'). 

(2)  This  Epistle  illustrates  the  refining  influence 
of  Christianity.     St.  Paul,  while  honest  from  the 
outset  even  amid  anti-Christian  prejudice,  had  yet 
a  rough  element  in   his  original  nature.     He  not 
only  persecuted    but   'outraged'   (t\v(j.aii>eTo)    the 
Church,  dragging  (atipuv)   even  women  to  prison, 
and  breathing  out  slaughter  (Ac  83  91).     Christian 
faith  not  only  reformed  but  refined  him,  made  him 
(as    this    Epistle    emphatically  indicates)   a   true 
gentleman,  through  the  development  in  him  of  a 
fine  spirit  of  Christian  courtesy  and  consideration. 

(3)  The  Epistle,  while   manifestly  describing  a 


214 


PHILETUS 


PHILIP  THE  EVANGELIST 


real  incident,  is  none  the  less  incidentally,  what 
Weizsacker  regards  it  as  essentially,  an  allegory. 
'  We  are  all  by  nature  Onesirai,'  as  Luther  said  ; 
we  have  revolted  from  the  service  of  our  rightful 
Master  and  Lord  ;  we  have  sought  again  and  again 
to  be  fugitives  from  His  presence,  and  to  live  in 
a  'far  country,'  'without  God  in  the  world.'  In 
Christ,  whom  the  Apostle  here  represents,  we  have 
at  once  a  Friend  in  need,  a  Redeemer  from  sin  and 
misery  more  effective  than  St.  Paul,  an  Intercessor 
at  the  throne  of  grace,  more  sympathetic  and  more 
persevering  even  than  him  who  mediated  with 
Philemon  for  the  runaway  Onesimus. 

LITERATURE. — Commentaries  (among  others)  of  Jerome, 
Chrysostom,  and  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia;  of  Calvin, 
Bengel,  and  Rollock ;  of  H.  Ewald  (1857),  H.  Alford  (Gr. 
Test.*  iii.  [1871]),  H.  A.  W.  Meyer  (Eng.  tr.,  1880),  C.  J. 
Ellicott  (31865),  J.  B.  Lightfoot  (»1879),  H.  B.  Hackett  (in 
Lange's  Com.  an  Holy  Scriptures,  'Philemon,'  Eng.  tr.,  1869), 
A.  H.  Drysdale,  Philem.,  1906,  H.  von  Soden  (in  Holtzmann's 
Handkom.  zum  NT,  1893),  M.  R.  Vincent  (ICC,  1897),  A. 
Maclaren  (Expositor's  Bible,  18S7) ;  F.  W.  Farrar,  The  Messages 
of  the  Books,  1884 ;  A.  L.  Williams,  Col.  and  Philem.,  1907 ;  A. 
Schumann,  Philem.,  1908.  For  Christianity  and  slavery,  see 
W.  A.  Becker,  Gallus,  tr.  F.  Metcalfe,  21849,  and  W.  E.  H. 
Lecky,  History  of  European  Morals8, 1888,  chs.  ii.  and  iv. 

HENRY  COWAN. 
PHILETUS.— See  HYMEN^US. 

PHILIP    THE    EVANGELIST. —  'Philip    the 

Evangelist,'  or  '  Philip  one  of  the  Seven,'  or  '  Philip 
the  Deacon  ' — these  are  the  three  names  by  which 
Philip  is  called,  each  of  them  intended  to  distinguish 
him  from  Philip  the  Apostle,  with  whom  in  both 
ancient  and  modern  times  he  has  often  been  con- 
founded. As  in  Stephen's  case,  so  in  Philip's — we 
have  no  previous  mention  of  him  till  he  was  elected 
to  be  one  of  the  Seven  (Ac  65).  In  the  list  of  the 
Seven  he  comes  second,  next  to  Stephen.  The 
same  emphatic  praise  is  not  accorded  to  him  by 
the  author  of  the  Acts  as  to  Stephen,  and  probably 
while  Stephen  lived  Philip  was  overshadowed  by 
his  more  striking  personality.  It  seems,  however, 
probable  that  the  account  we  have  of  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  Seven,  of  the  trial  of  Stephen  (though 
not  his  speech,  which  was  more  probably  derived 
from  the  reminiscences  of  St.  Paul),  and  of  Philip's 
own  subsequent  doings,  was  derived  from  Philip 
himself,  who  may  well  have  communicated  it  to 
St.  Luke  during  one  of  his  two  visits  to  Csesarea 
(218-w  271).  As  with  respect  to  Stephen  so  with 
respect  to  Philip  we  should  infer  that  he  was  a 
Hellenist,  and  therefore  a  suitable  agent  for  ex- 
tending the  gospel  to  those  who  were  not  strictly 
Jews ;  but  the  inference  is  not  certain  in  either 
case.  Philip  belonged  to  a  band  who  were  scattered 
from  Jerusalem  in  consequence  of  the  persecution 
which  followed  on  the  death  of  Stephen  (84). 
He  began  his  preaching  among  the  Samaritans 
apparently  in  the  principal  city  of  the  district,  in 
Sebaste  or  Samaria  itself.  Here  he  encountered 
a  famous  magician  resident  in  the  city,  named 
Simon.  This  Simon  subsequently  became  the 
founder  of  one  of  those  religio-philosophical  sects, 
resulting  partly  from  the  break-up  of  the  old 
religions,  partly  from  the  contact  of  the  older 
religious  faiths  or  philosophies  with  Judaism,  which 
are  known  by  the  general  name  of  Gnosticism. 
The  object  of  all  these  systems  was  to  suggest 
some  intelligible  scheme  through  which  the  God  of 
philosophy  might  be  brought  into  relations  with 
the  God  of  the  OT  and  the  God  who  was  active 
in  creation.  This  they  generally  effected  by 
imagining  some  arbitrary  hierarchy  of  emanations, 
among  which,  and  by  the  help  of  which,  a  place 
might  be  found  for  the  God  of  the  OT,  the  Giver 
of  the  Mosaic  Law,  and  for  the  Creator  of  the 
universe,  and  generally  also  for  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  In  his  system  he  assigned  to  himself  and 
the  prophetess  Helena,  whom  he  associated  with 


himself,  a  high  position  ;  he  described  himself  as 
the  power  of  or  emanation  from  God  which  is  called 
'  Great.'  But  at  the  moment  he  seems  to  have 
been  completely  over-awed  by  the  spiritual  energy 
of  Philip,  received  baptism  at  his  hands,  and  joined 
the  band  of  his  disciples  and  associates. 

The  conversions  of  Simon  and  his  fellow-Samari- 
tans represented  a  great  step  in  advance  in  the 
widening  of  the  Christian  Church.  True,  our 
Lord  had  made  converts  among  the  Samaritans 
partly  through  the  testimony  of  the  Samaritan 
Avoman,  partly  by  His  own  teaching  and  influence 
(Jn  439"12),  but  it  is  not  clear  that  they  were 
actually  admitted  to  baptism,  and  they  were 
directly  excluded  from  those  to  whom  during  the 
continuance  of  His  ministry  the  disciples  were  to 
address  themselves  (Mt  10*).  Though  partially 
akin  to  the  Jews  in  blood  and  in  religious  faith, 
the  Jews  would  have  no  dealings  with  them  ( Jn  49) 
and  used  the  name  '  Samaritan '  as  a  term  of  the 
deepest  reproach  (S48),  so  that  to  proclaim  that  they 
too  were  to  be  included  within  the  Kingdom  of 
God  was  an  innovation  of  the  most  startling  kind. 
How  startling  the  innovation  was  we  may  gather 
from  the  fact  that  St.  Peter  and  St.  John  were 
dispatched  by  the  Church  of  Jerusalem  to  inquire 
into  the  matter,  and  it  was  only  when,  in  answer 
to  the  apostles'  prayers  and  the  laying  on  of  their 
hands,  the  Holy  Ghost  had  descended  on  them, 
that  Philip's  action  was  regarded  as  fully  ratified 
(Ac817-25). 

The  next  step  was  taken  under  the  direct 
prompting  of  the  Spirit.  Philip  was  moved  by  the 
Spirit  to  take  the  southern  route  to  Jerusalem, 
which  led  to  Gaza,  then,  in  consequence  of  its 
overthrow  by  the  Maccabees,  'deserted'  (cf.  G.  A. 
Smith,  HGHL,  1897,  p.  186 if.).  In  this  neighbour- 
hood he  fell  in  with  an  Ethiopian  eunuch  of  Queen 
Candace,  whom  he  converted  by  explaining  to  him 
part  of  Is  53,  and  received  at  once  to  baptism 
(perhaps  also  to  confirmation).  From  Gaza,  Philip 
was  snatched  away  by  the  Spirit  and  carried  off  to 
Ashdod,  from  which  he  passed  through  the  various 
coast  towns  and  villages  till  he  reached  Csesarea, 
where  he  settled  down,  and  is  found  still  living 
some  twenty  years  later. 

It  is  on  the  occasion  of  St.  Paul's  last  visit  to 
Jerusalem  that  Philip  is  brought  before  us  once 
more  in  the  Acts.  At  his  house,  St.  Paul,  and 
apparently  St.  Luke  also,  stayed  on  their  way  from 
Ptolemais  to  the  capital  (Ac  218).  Philip  had  now 
'  four  daughters,  virgins,  which  did  prophesy,'  and 
they,  along  with  Agabus,  the  prophet  who  came 
down  from  Jerusalem,  attempted  to  divert  St.  Paul 
from  continuing  his  journey  thitherward,  but  un- 
availingly  (vv.10'14).  St.  Luke  collected,  probably 
partly  during  this  visit,  and  partly  at  a  later  date, 
the  details  of  Philip's  earlier  life  contained  in  the 
passage  in  Acts  already  considered.  At  this  point 
Philip  disappears  from  the  Acts.  What  little 
more  we  know  about  him  is  derived  from  ecclesi- 
astical tradition  ;  but  this  tradition  is  rendered 
uncertain  from  a  tendency  there  is  among  ecclesi- 
astical writers  to  identify  Philip  the  Apostle  with 
Philip  the  Evangelist.  This  was  due  to  their 
having  the  same  name,  to  both  having  daughters, 
and  to  both  having  settled  in  later  years  in  Asia 
Minor,  possibly  both  at  Hierapolis.  Yet  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  author  of  the  Acts  distin- 
guishes the  two,  and  the  tradition  does  not  really 
confound  them,  but  distinguishes  the  three 
daughters  of  Philip  the  Apostle  (one  of  whom 
was  married  and  settled  at  Ephesus)  from  the 
four  daughters  of  Philip  the  Evangelist,  who  were 
all  virgins  (see  Polycrates,  quoted  in  Eusebius,  HE 
iii.  31).  And  then  tradition  makes  Philip  the 
Evangelist  settle  not  at  Hierapolis  but  at  Tralles 
(AS,  June  6). 


PHILIPPI 


PHILIPPI 


215 


LITERATURE.— W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  1895  ; 
R.  B.  Rackham,  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  1901 ;  J.  B.  Lightfoot, 
Colossiang  and  Philemon^,  1879;  A.  Harnack,  The  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  Eng.  tr.,  1909.  W.  A.  SPOONER. 

PHILIPPI  (QlXtinroi).—  Philippi  was  a  city  in  the 
E.  of  Macedonia,  re-founded  in  the  middle  of  the 
4th  cent.  B.C.  by  Philip  of  Macedon,  who  made  it 
one  of  his  frontier  strongholds.  Built  on  an  out- 
lying spur  of  the  Pangsean  range  ('  Pangaea  nivosis 
cana  jugis'  [Lucan,  Pkar.  i.  680]),  and  separated 
by  that  range  from  its  seaport  Neapolis,  it  looked 
westward  and  northward  over  a  vast  green  plain 
watered  by  many  springs,  from  which  it  derived 
its  original  name  of  Crenides  (Strabo,  vii.  p.  331). 
In  168  B.C.  Macedonia  was  subdued  by  the  Romans, 
who  broke  up  her  national  unity  by  dividing  the 
country  into  four  districts,  the  inhabitants  of 
which  were  forbidden  to  marry  or  hold  property 
outside  their  respective  boundaries  (Livy,  xlv.  29). 
Philippi  was  included  in  the  first  region,  of  which 
Amphipolis  was  the  capital.  In  42  B.C.  the  Roman 
Republic  made  its  last  stand  on  the  plains  of 
Philippi,  and  to  commemorate  the  victory  of 
Imperialism  the  city  was  re-founded  by  Octavian 
under  the  name  of  Colonia  Julia  Augusta  Victrix 
Philippensium.  Receiving  the  Jus  Italicum,  it 
became  a  miniature  Rome,  enjoying  equal  privi- 
leges with  the  mother-city.  After  the  battle  of 
Actium  it  provided  a  home  for  the  defeated 
veterans  of  Mark  Antony.  Even  the  Greek 
natives  (incolce),  who  still  probably  outnumbered 
the  coloni,  caught  the  now  prevailing  spirit  and 
gloried  in  being  Roman  (Ac  1621).  Latin  was  the 
official  language  of  the  colonia,  whose  magistrates, 
chosen  by  a  senate  of  the  citizens,  were  attended 
by  lictors  ('sergeants,'  16M)  bearing  fasces.  The 
Via  Egnatia,  the  second  part  of  the  great  overland 
route  between  Rome  and  Asia,  passed  through  the 
city. 

Christianity  first  came  to  Philippi  in  the  autumn 
of  A.D.  50  (so  Turner;  Harnack,  48;  Ramsay,  51 
[see  HDB  i.  424]).  In  response  to  the  appeal  of 
'  the  man  of  Macedonia,'  whom  Ramsay  wishes 
to  identify  with  St.  Luke,  St.  Paul  crossed  the 
^Egean  to  Neapolis,  took  the  Egnatian  Way  over 
Mt.  Symbolum,  and  reached  the  colonia.  The 
change  from  '  they '  to  '  we '  in  the  narrative  after 
the  departure  from  Troas  (Ac  1610)  indicates  that 
the  historian  accompanied  the  Apostle  on  this 
journey  into  Europe. 

Philippi  is  described  as  '  a  city  of  Macedonia, 
the  first  of  the  district,  a  Roman  colony '  (1612  RV). 
The  words  irp&r-r)  TTJS  juep/5os  form  an  exegetical 
crux.  (1)  Conybeare  and  Howson  hold  that  they 
'  must  certainly  mean  the  first  city  in  its  geographi- 
cal relation  to  St.  Paul's  journey'  (The  Life  and 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  i.  341),  i.e.  the  first  he  came 
to  in  the  district ;  but  this  seems  a  feeble  observa- 
tion for  a  first-rate  historian  to  make,  and  more- 
over one  not  strictly  accurate,  as  Neapolis,  which 
had  just  been  left  behind,  belonged  to  the  same 
jj.tpis  as  Philippi.  (2)  F.  Blass  (Philology  of  the 
Gospels,  1898,  p.  68)  and  others  emend  the  text 
(though  it  is  found  in  NAC)  into  irp&njs  fj.epi8os,  so 
that  Philippi  would  be  described  as  'a  city  of  the 
first  region  of  Macedonia ' ;  but  it  is  unlikely  that 
St.  Luke  wished  to  refer  to  the  old  and  now  almost 
forgotten  division  of  the  country  into  tetrarchies. 
(3)  Van  Manen  (EBi  iii.  3702)  thinks  that 
Philippi  was  a  '  first '  city  in  the  same  sense  in 
which  Ephesus,  Pergamus,  and  Smyrna  bore  that 
distinction — a  '  first-class  '  city  ;  but  it  does  not 
appear  that  this  phraseology  was  used  outside  the 
Commune  of  Asia.  (4)  WH's  ingenious  proposal 
(Appendix,  p.  97)  to  read  Ilifpldos  for  pepldos — '  a 
city  of  Pierian  Macedonia' — has  not  commended 
itself.  (5)  It  is  best  to  take  the  phrase  as  an 
obiter  dictum  of  St.  Luke,  who  unofficially  con- 


firms the  great  Roman  colony's  estimate  of  itself  as 
the  most  important  city  of  the  district.  '  Of  old 
Amphipolis  had  been  the  chief  city  of  the  division, 
to  whicn  both  belonged.  Afterwards  Philippi  quite 
outstripped  its  rival ;  but  it  was  at  that  time  in 
such  a  position  that  Amphipolis  was  ranked  first 
by  general  consent,  Philippi  first  by  its  own  con- 
sent' (Ramsay,  St.  Paul,  p.  206  f.). 

Had  there  been  a  synagogue  in  Philippi,  St. 
Paul  would,  according  to  his  invariable  practice, 
have  visited  it  without  delay.  But  a  military 
colony  did  not  offer  the  same  attractions  as  a  com- 
mercial city  to  the  Jews  of  the  Diaspora,  and 
apparently  the  sojourners  in  Philippi  were  few. 
There  was,  however,  a  irpoffevxrf,  or  place  of  prayer, 
outside  the  gate  by  the  side  of  the  river — the 
Ganges  or  Gangites,  a  tributary  of  the  Strymon — 
where  some  women  were  in  the  habit  of  meeting 
on  the  Sabbath  (Ac  1613- ls).  vpoffevxri  evidently 
denotes  something  simpler  than  a  fully  organized 
ffwayuyr)  with  all  the  proper  officials  and  appoint- 
ments. It  is  true  that  Philo  and  Josephus  employ 
the  two  terms  as  synonymous  (Schiirer,  HJP  II. 
ii.  [1885]  68-73).  The  latter,  e.g.,  describes  the 
irpoffeux'n  of  Tiberias  as  (dyio~Tov  olKij/j.a  /cat  iro\vv  6x^-01' 
dirid^affffai  dwdpevov  ( Vita,  54).  But  the  fact  that 
St.  Luke  everywhere  else  uses  the  word  '  syna- 
gogue '  indicates  a  distinction  in  his  own  mind. 
Only  women  attended  the  Philippian  Trpoo-evxrf, 
whereas  the  presence  of  at  least  ten  adult  male 
persons  was  required  for  the  conduct  of  the  regu- 
lar worship  of  the  synagogue.  The  Philippian 
worshippers  had  doubtless  some  enclosure  which 
marked  off  their  meeting-place  as  sacred,  but  no 
roofed  building  like  a  synagogue.  The  river-side 
gave  them  the  means  of  Levitical  washings,  as 
well  as  a  refuge  from  the  interior  of  a  city  tainted 
with  idolatry.  Philo  (in  Flaccum,  14)  mentions 
the  instinctive  desire  of  Jews  residing  in  a  foreign 
city  to  pray  iv  Ka.6a.puTd.Ttp,  in  the  purest  place  they 
could  find.  It  was  in  green  pastures  and  beside 
still  waters  that  St.  Paul  won  his  first  European 
convert,  the  proselyte  (o-e^o^vt)  rbv  6e6v,  Ac  16U) 
Lydia. 

Another  Philippian  woman,  who  was  attracted 
by  the  Apostle  and  his  message,  was  well  known 
in  the  city  as  a  soothsayer  (1616).  She  was  in  the 
hands  of  a  syndicate  of  masters  who  exploited  her 
strange  powers,  advertising  her  as  the  possessor  of 
a  Python.  According  to  Plutarch  (de  Defec.  Orac. 
9),  Python  was  a  name  assumed  by  £yyaffTpl/j.v6oi 
(ventriloquists),  persons  whom  the  LXX  identifies 
with  diviners.  Popularly  regarded  as  inspired  by 
the  Pythian  Apollo,  the  girl  was  evidently  no 
mere  impostor,  but  a  person  of  abnormal  gifts  and 
temperament,  perhaps  with  symptoms  of  epilepsy, 
who  believed  herself  to  be  the  mouthpiece  of  a 
divine  power,  and  gave  free  expression  to  her 
intuitions,  often  astonishing  those  who  consulted 
her  by  the  justice  and  truth  of  her  oracular  words. 
She  was  irresistibly  drawn  to  the  evangelists, 
rightly  divining  that  they  had  brought  to  Philippi 
another  and  greater  power  than  that  of  Apollo. 
She  calls  them  servants  of  '  God  the  Most  High ' — 
an  expression  widespread  in  paganism,  as  Ramsay 
notes  (St.  Paul,  p.  215).  St.  Paul's  mode  of  saving 
her  is  an  example  of  the  mighty  workings  (Swdjtteis) 
of  which  he  speaks  (1  Co  1228).  An  authoritative 
word  in  the  name  of  Christ  broke  the  spell  of  her 
unhappy  possession,  and  liberated  her  to  serve  a 
new  Master. 

Her  conversion  was  the  signal  for  an  outburst 
of  pagan  hatred,  to  which  St.  Paul  alludes  years 
afterwards  (irpowa06i>Tes  Kal  vftpiffOtvres  .  .  .  Iv 
•fciXiTTTi-ois  [1  Th  22 ;  cf.  Ph  I30]).  Enraged  at  the 
loss  of  their  income  (TTJS  tpya.<rias, '  business,' '  gain  '), 
the  girl's  owners  avenged  themselves  by  contriv- 
ing to  get  the  apostles  charged  with  disturbing  the 


216 


PHILIPPI 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


peace  and  teaching  a  religio  illicita.  St.  Paul 
and  Silas  were  dragged  before  the  magistrates, 
scourged  without  a  hearing,  and  flung  into  the 
innermost  prison.  Weizsacker  (p.  285)  thinks  that 
'  the  story  is  rendered  impossible  by  the  conduct 
of  Paul  ;  he  lets  himself  be  chastised  illegally, 
in  order  afterwards  to  secure  greater  satisfaction. 
Paul  could  not  have  acted  so.'  But  in  the  tumult 
lie  may  well  have  made  a  protest  which  was 
drowned  by  a  babel  of  hostile  voices.  Or  who  will 
blame  him  if  he  sometimes  chose  to  suffer  in  silence 
— rpls  ^ppa^diffOrtv  (2  Co  II25)— like  ordinary  Chris- 
tians, who  could  not  shelter  themselves  under  the 
segis  of  the  Roman  citizenship  ? 

The  magistrates  of  Philippi  are  first  called 
apxovres  (1619)  and  then  o-rpar-nyol  (vv.20-  22-  ^  36-  38), 
Ramsay  (St.  Paul,  p.  217)  thinks  that  the  two 
clauses,  '  dragged  them  into  the  agora  before  the 
rulers,'  and  '  brought  them  before  the  magistrates ' 
(vv.19- 20),  mean  the  same  thing,  and  holds  that  if 
St.  Luke  had  revised  his  narrative  he  would  have 
struck  out  the  one  or  the  other.  Blass  says,  '  non 
licet  distinguere  inter  apxovrft  et  ffrparriyoi'  (Acta 
Apostolorum,  1895,  p.  180).  The  former  is  the 
ordinary  term  for  the  supreme  board  of  magistrates 
in  a  Greek  town,  the  latter  the  popular  equivalent 
of  prcetores.  St.  Luke  knew  no  doubt  that  in  a 
colonia  like  Philippi  the  highest  governing  power 
was  in  the  hands  of  duumviri  (see  inscriptions  in 
J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Philippians,  p.  51),  the  exact  trans- 
lation of  which  would  have  been  dvo  avdpes,  but  he 
preferred  good  Greek  to  slavishly  technical  accuracy 
on  such  a  point.  His  use  of  ffTparrjyol,  therefore, 
does  not  prove  either  that  the  magistrates  of 
Philippi  had  duly  received  the  dignity  of  the 
praetorship,  or  that  they  had  assumed  it  without 
leave,  as  provincial  duumviri  were  said  sometimes 
to  do  (Cicero,  de  Leg.  Agr.  ii.  34). 

St.  Luke  is  characteristically  careful  to  make  it 
clear  that  the  majesty  of  Roman  law  might  have 
been  invoked  against  the  Philippian  authorities 
and  on  behalf  of  the  apostles.  By  illegally 
punishing  Roman  citizens — Silas  was  apparently 
one  as  well  as  St.  Paul  (1637) — the  magistrates  had 
rendered  themselves  liable  to  be  degraded  and 
counted  unfit  ever  to  hold  office  again  (Cicero,  in 
Verr.  II.  v.  66).  The  scourging  and  imprisoning 
were  acts  of  high-handed  violence.  The  accused 
were  subjected  to  these  indignities  '  without  a 
trial ' ;  that  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  drara/cptTouy, 
which  is  translated  '  uncondemned  '  (1637).  In  the 
end  the  magistrates  saved  themselves  by  begging 
the  prisoners  to  leave  the  town  quietly,  and  the 
historian's  point  is  that  in  acceding  to  this  request 
the  apostles  forfeited  the  unquestionable  right 
to  appeal  against  a  gross  maladministration  of 
justice. 

Many  writers  regard  the  story  of  the  earthquake 
and  the  conversion  of  the  jailer  as  legendary. 
H.  J.  Holtzmann  asserts  that  this  is  the  view  of 
the  whole  critical  school  ('  Apostelgeschichte '  in 
Hand-Kom.  zum  NT  i.  [1889]  389).  The  inter- 

E  rotation  of  such  a  passage  is  naturally  affected 
y  one's  whole  attitude  to  the  miraculous.  The 
older  view  is  defended  by  Ramsay,  whose  acquaint- 
ance with  Turkish  prisons  helps  him  to  remove 
some  of  the  difficulties  of  the  narrative  (St.  Paul, 
pp.  220-222). 

Five  years  later,  probably  in  the  autumn  of 
A.D.  55,  St.  Paul  re-visited  Macedonia,  giving  the 
believers  '  much  exhortation '  (202)  ;  and  in  the 
spring  of  the  following  year,  having  unexpectedly 
to  begin  his  journey  from  Greece  to  Palestine  by  land 
instead  of  by  sea,  he  had  the  happiness  of  keeping 
the  Passover  with  the  brethren  of  Philippi  (v.6). 
None  of  his  converts  gave  him  the  same  unalloyed 
satisfaction  as  the  Philippians,  his  'beloved  and 
longed  for,'  his  'joy  and  crown'  (Ph  41).  He  re- 


peatedly showed  his  confidence  in  them  by  accept- 
ing at  their  hands  favours  which  he  refused  from 
every  other  church.  To  Thessalonica,  and  again 
to  Corinth,  their  messengers  followed  him  with  the 
tokens  of  their  love  (Ph  416,  2  Co  II9) ;  and  when 
he  was  a  prisoner  in  Rome,  Epaphroditus  of 
Philippi  made  a  journey  of  700  miles  over  land  and 
sea  to  bring  him  yet  another  gift,  which  was  ac- 
knowledged in  the  most  affectionate  letter  St.  Paul 
ever  wrote  (see  PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE). 

The  prestige  of  women  in  the  Church  of  Philippi, 
as  in  the  other  Macedonian  churches  (Ac  174-  li!)  is 
a  striking  fact,  '  only  to  be  compared  with  their 
prominence  at  an  earlier  date  in  the  personal 
ministry  of  our  Lord '  (Lightfoot,  op.  cit.  p.  57).  St. 
Paul's  first  Philippian  audience  consisted  entirely 
of  women  (1613) ;  his  first  convert  was  a  woman  of 
influence,  whose  familia  was  baptized  with  her, 
and  who  became  his  hostess  (vv.14- 1S) ;  and  the 
only  element  in  the  Philippian  Church  which 
called  for  reproof  in  his  letter  was  the  variance  of 
two  prominent  Christian  ladies,  both  of  whom  he 
remembered  gratefully  as  his  fellow-workers  in  the 
gospel  (Ph  42-  3).  Lightfoot  (op.  cit.  p.  56)  quotes 
a  number  of  Macedonian  inscriptions  which  '  seem 
to  assign  to  the  sex  a  higher  social  influence  than 
is  common  among  the  civilised  nations  of  an- 
tiquity.' 

In  the  time  of  Trajan — i.e.,  before  A.D.  117 — 
Philippi  became  a  stage  in  the  triumphal  progress 
of  St.  Ignatius  from  Antioch  to  Rome,  where  he 
was  to  die  in  the  arena.  His  visit  made  so  deep 
an  impression  on  the  Philippian  Church  that  they 
soon  after  requested  the  martyr's  young  friend 
Polycarp  to  write  them  and  send  them  copies  of 
St.  Ignatius'  own  letters.  Polycarp's  Epistle  to 
the  Philippians  was  the  response,  and  it  is  still 
extant.  The  writer  congratulates  the  Church  of 
Philippi  on  '  the  sturdy  root  of  their  faith,  famous 
from  the  earliest  days'  (1),  warns  them  against 
certain  doctrinal  and  practical  errors,  and  sets 
before  them  the  example  of  apostles  and  saints 
who  have  gone  to  their  rest.  The  later  history  of 
this  remarkable  church  is  almost  a  blank. 

The  village  of  Filibedjik  (Little  Philippi)  is  all 
that  remains  of  the  once  famous  city. 

LITERATURE. — W.  M.  Leake,  Travels  in  Northern  Greece, 
1835,  iii.  215-223;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Philippians*,  1878,  p. 
47  f.  ;  Conybeare  and  Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paid, 
new  ed.,  1877,  i.  341  f.  ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the 
Traveller,  1895,  p.  213  f.,  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire, 
1893,  p.  158  f.  ;  C.  von  Weizsacker,  The  Apostolic  Aqe  of  the 
Christian  Church*,  Eng.  tr.,  i.  [1897]  279  ff. ;  A.  C.  McGiffert, 
Apostolic  Age,  1897,  p.  239  f.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE.— 1.  Author. 

— This  document  purports  (1)  to  be  a  letter  sent 
from  St.  Paul  and  Timothy  to  the  Christian  com- 
munity in  Philippi.  Although  Timothy  is  men- 
tioned in  the  address  as  joint  author,  the  letter 
throughout  is  St.  Paul's  own.  He  commences  at 
once  in  the  1st  person  singular — ebxaPlffT&  rV  #6V 
nov  (1s) — and  continues  so  throughout.  When  he 
does  use  the  plural  (1st  person),  it  is  not  at  all 
clear  that  he  simply  means  Timothy  and  himself. 
Thus  in  3s — rjnets  yap  to-fiev  r/  Trepiro/x?? — the  meaning 
seems  to  be  that  Christians  are  the  real  people  of 
God.  Zahn  (Introd.  to  the  NT,  Eng.  tr.,  i.  538) 
opposes  this  view,  maintaining  that  St.  Paul  and 
Timothy  alone  are  meant,  because  they  were  cir- 
cumcised ;  but  his  argument  is  forced  and  incon- 
clusive. What  St.  Paul  says  is  that  '  we  who 
worship  in  the  spirit  of  God  and  put  no  confidence 
in  the  flesh '  are  the  true  circumcision,  and  this 
would  apply  to  Pauline  Christians  generally,  not 
simply  to  St.  Paul  and  Timothy.  Again,  in  317, 
'  Brethren,  unitedly  imitate  me,  and  mark  (approv- 
ingly) those  so  walking  even  as  you  have  us  as 
an  example'  (/catfws  £xere  T&ITOV  •fyuas),  other  leaders 


PHILIPPICS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


PHILIPPIAXS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE     217 


are  probably  included  as  well  as  Timothy.  And 
in  316- 20f-  420,  and  in  those  passages  of  inferior  MS 
authority  where  the  1st  plur.  occurs,  e.g.  I3 — 4y& 
ptv  ei^aptaru)  TtjJ  Kvpttf  yfiiHv  (a  reading  approved  by 
Zahn,  op.  cit.  i.  535,  and  by  Hauptin  Meyer's  Kom- 
mentar  uber  das  NT7,  in  loco,  for  different  reasons) — 
I28-  &  (ijfjuv  for  vfjilp),  the  reference  is  general.  Not 
even  in  421,  the  final  salutation,  where  one  might 
naturally  expect  it,  is  Timothy  mentioned.  More- 
over, he  is  spoken  of  in  the  3rd  person,  and  his 
character  and  intentions  are  described  quite  ob- 
jectively (219'23) :  '  But  I  hope  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
to  send  Timothy  speedily  to  you,  that  I  may  be 
encouraged,  when  I  come  to  know  your  affairs. 
For  I  have  none  like-minded  with  him,  who  will 
genuinely  concern  himself  about  your  affairs.  For 
all  seek  their  own,  not  the  things  of  Christ  Jesus. 
But  ye  know  the  proof  of  him,  that,  as  a  son  with 
a  father,  he  served  with  me  in  spreading  the  gospel. 
Him  then  I  hope  to  send  at  once,  whenever  I  come 
to  know  how  my  affairs  turn  out.' 

The  letter,  then,  on  its  face  value  is  St.  Paul's 
own,  nor  is  there  any  reason  for  exercising  false 
subtlety  to  account  for  the  presence  of  Timothy's 
name  in  the  address.  His  presence  with  St.  Paul 
at  the  time  of  writing,  and  especially  his  intimate 
relations  with  the  Philippians  in  the  past,  and  his 
coming  visit  are  a  sufficient  explanation.  (Timothy 
was  with  St.  Paul  at  the  founding  of  the  Church 
[Ac  1612tf-].  When  St.  Paul  left,  he  seems  to  have 
stayed  behind.  He  was  sent  to  Corinth  through 
Macedonia  [Ac  1922,  1  Co  1610].  When  2  Cor.  was 
written,  he  was  again  with  St.  Paul  in  Macedonia.) 
Nor  is  there  any  reason  to  doubt  the  genuineness  of 
the  letter  because  of  St.  Paul's  use  of  the  1st  person 
singular  throughout  in  spite  of  Timothy's  name  at 
the  beginning  (as  W.  C.  van  Manen,  EBi  iii.  3705). 
In  Col  I3,  1  Th  I2,  2  Th  Is,  and  2  Co  1s  the  joint 
authorship  is  indeed  remembered,  but  we  have  a 
parallel  in  1  Co  I4,  where  it  is  at  once  forgotten, 
as  here. 

Besides  Timothy,  St.  Paul  associates  with  him- 
self in  the  closing  salutation  the  brethren,  ol  <ri>v 
tpol  dde\(f>ol  (422).  Who  these  were  we  are  not  told, 
but  they  can  have  had  no  part  in  the  composing 
of  the  letter,  as  they  are  evidently  those  referred  to 
in  221  and  accused  of  selfishness.  Their  own  in- 
terests came  before  the  interests  of  the  Philippian 
Church,  to  which  St.  Paul  probably  asked  them  to 
convey  authoritative  tidings  of  himself.  Nor  would 
the  saints  as  a  whole  (i.e.  the  Christians  generally, 
but  especially  those  of  Caesar's  household)  know 
anything  of  the  letter  save  that  it  was  being  sent. 
The  saints  of  Caesar's  household  were  not  members 
of  the  ruling  family  but  freedmen  and  slaves  con- 
nected with  the  Imperial  court  (cf.  Lightfoot, 
Philippians,  p.  171  f.  ;  Zahn,  op.  cit.  i.  550). 

It  is  possible  that  the  letter  was  written  by 
Epaphroditus  (that  Epaphroditus  is  mentioned  in 
the  3rd  person  is  no  absolute  objection  to  this)  if 
the  phrase  '  true  yokefellow '  (yvricrte  fftivtvye,  4s) 
is  to  be  taken  as  an  appellative.  The  meaning  is, 
however,  very  doubtful,  and  the  most  varied  sug- 
gestions have  been  made— Christ,  Lydia,  Paul's 
wife,  Timothy,  Peter,  Paul's  brother,  an  allegorical 
personage,  etc.  Lightfoot  (in  loc.)  and  Zahn  (op. 
cit.  i.  537)  are  of  the  opinion  that  Epaphroditus, 
who  was  either  beside  St.  Paul  as  he  wrote  or  who 
actually  wrote  the  letter,  was  directly  addressed  in 
this  way.  This  Epaphroditus  was  a  messenger 
(dir6(rroXos)  sent  by  the  Philippian  Church  to  St. 
Paul  with  a  monetary  gift  (418),  and  his  experience 
is  described  in  the  letter :  '  I  think  it  needful  to 
send  to  you  Epaphroditus,  my  brother,  fellow- 
worker  and  fellow-soldier,  your  messenger  and 
minister  of  my  need.  For  he  was  home-sick  for  you 
all,  and  distressed  because  you  heard  he  was  ill. 
And  indeed  he  was  nigh  to  death  ;  but  God  had 


pity  on  him,  and  not  on  him  alone  but  also  on  me, 
lest  I  should  have  sorrow  upon  sorrow.  I  am  send- 
ing him  then  all  the  more  eagerly,  that  you  may 
rejoice  again  when  you  see  him,  and  that  I  may 
sorrow  the  less.  Receive  him  then  in  the  Lord 
with  all  joy  ;  and  have  such  in  honour,  because  on 
account  of  the  work  of  Christ  he  came  near  to 
death,  hazarding  (ira.pal3o\fvffd(j.ev os)  *  his  life  to  make 
up  what  was  wanting  in  your  ministry  to  me' 
(225-30). 

But  it  is  perhaps  better  to  regard  Synzygus  as 
a  proper  name — possibly  the  person  to  whom  the 
letter  would  directly  come  before  it  was  read  in  the 
church  assembly.  The  author,  in  a  passage  full  of 
earnest  passion,  runs  hurriedly  over  certain  auto- 
biographical details.  He  was  of  true  Hebrew 
descent— circumcised  on  the  eighth  day,  of  the  race 
of  Israel,  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  a  Hebrew  of 
the  Hebrews,  as  regards  the  Law  a  Pharisee,  as 
regards  zeal  persecuting  the  Church,  with  a  clean 
record  as  far  as  Law-righteousness  went.  But  all 
these  privileges  he  considered  loss  and  still  so  con- 
siders them  for  Christ's  sake.  To  know  Christ 
(perhaps  yvQvis  is  here  .used  as  being  admitted  to 
His  intimate  friendship  ;  cf.  ffepaffr6yvuffTt]s  ;  Deiss- 
mann,  Licht  vom  Osten,  p.  288,  Eng.  tr.,  p.  383),  to 
gain  Him,  to  be  found  in  Him,  that  is  worth  all, 
and  the  rest  is  worth  nothing^  in  comparison  with  it. 
Earthly  fortune,  future,  and  fame  are  but  stable- 
sweepings  compared  with  this  (Ramsay  says  Paul 
fave  up  literally  his  patrimony  and  was  disowned, 
t.  Paul  the  Traveller  and  the  Roman  Citizen, 
London,  1895,  p.  34  ff.).  For  by  faith  in  Christ 
the  writer  has  been  pardoned  and  empowered  to 
live  a  new  righteous  life — the  very  thing  the  Law 
could  not  do.  Thus  the  power  which  animated 
Christ  in  His  resurrection,  in  His  life  and  Passion, 
in  His  death  is  working  in  St.  Paul,  and  St.  Paul 
is  energizing  to  live  in  the  absolute  newness  of  life 
that  this  implies.  Absolute  attainment  is  not  yet 
his,  but  it  is  his  single  aim.  Whatever  his  past 
progress  may  have  been,  he  is  not  contented  with 
that.  Past  attainment  is  not  perfection,  but  it 
brings  nearer  the  realization  of  what  is  implied  in 
the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  (34'1*). 

Here  then  is  a  letter  purporting  to  be  from  one 
with  such  a  history  who  specially  associates 
Timothy  with  himself,  who  sends  greetings  from 
brethren,  especially  those  of  Cresar's  household  with 
whom  was  Epaphroditus,  to  a  Christian  community 
in  Philippi.  Does  a  careful  study  of  the  letter 
itself  substantiate  such  a  view  ?  Is  there  anything 
in  the  letter  itself  (as  Baur  and  others  think)  in- 
consistent with  its  own  account  of  its  origin  and 
authorship  ? 

Before  we  can  answer  we  must  ask  who  were  the 
recipients  and  what  were  their  relations  with  the 
writer. 

2.  The  recipients  of  the  letter. — The  letter  ia 
written  to  all  the  saints  in  Philippi,  with  the 
bishops  and  deacons  (I1).  Throughout  the  letter, 
however,  there  is  no  further  mention  of  officials ; 
and  there  is  a  remarkable  impartiality  as  well  as 
cordiality  towards  the  members  of  the  community 
as  a  whole  (cf.  the  use  of  Tras,  I1-  «• 7- 8- »  2"- «»  421). 
We  have  an  account  by  an  eye-witness  in  Ac  1612'40 
of  the  founding  of  the  Philippian  Church — a  Church 
interesting  to  us  as  being  the  first  Christian  com- 
munity on  European  soil.  It  is,  however,  to  be 
remembered  that  the  distinction  between  Europe 
and  Asia  was  not  anything  like  so  real  to  men  in 
ancient  times  as  it  is  now.  Dubiety  is  at  once 
raised  by  the  mention  of  '  bishops  and  deacons,' 
but  this  is  largely- due  to  modern  associations.  We 
think  of  these  words  in  their  modern  sense  or  in 
their  3rd  cent,  sense.  That  they  are  not  so  used 

*  See  O.  A.  Deissmann,  Licht  vom  Osten*,  Tubingen,  1909, 
p.  57,  Eng.  tr.,  Lightfrom  the  Ancient  East,  London,  1911,  p.  84. 


218    PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


here  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  what  we  have  is 
'  bishops,'  not  '  bishop.'  That  the  author  of  the 
letter  is  not  advocating  any  special  ecclesiastical 
organization  is  evident  from  the  casualness  of  the 
reference,  and  from  the  absence  of  any  further 
allusion  to  these  officials.  It  may  be  taken  for 
granted  that  every  church  would  have  an  organiza- 
tion of  some  sort.  It  was  not  easy — perhaps  not 
possible — for  the  individual  Christian  to  maintain 
his  position  without  the  social  strength  of  his 
brethren  behind  him.  Is  it  possible,  then,  to  think 
of  two  orders  in  a  church  like  that  of  Philippi,  in 
the  lifetime  of  St.  Paul  ?  There  were  officers  in 
the  Thessalonian  Church  called  ol  Koiriuvres,  ol 
irpoiffrdfj-evoi,  ol  vovderouvres  (1  Th  512),  but  it  is  clear 
that  their  authority  was  a  moral  one,  and  their 
position  due  to  their  spiritual  influence.  The  terms 
used  evidently  describe  the  same  persons  from 
different  points  of  view.  Haupt  regards  both 
terms  in  our  letter  as  applied  to  the  same  persons, 
but  it  is  probable  that  two  orders  are  in  view. 

Elsewhere  (Ac  202ff-)  we  understand  that  the 
essential  constituted  officials  were  Trpeffjifcrepol,  and 
that  these  were  also  known  as  'bishops.'  They 
formed  the  essence  of  church  government. 

From  the  Pastorals  also  it  is  clear  that 
and  tiriffKoiroi  are  interchangeable  terms  (Tit  I5ff-, 
1  Ti  31- 2).  With  the  alterations  in  later  times  in 
the  usage  of  these  terms  we  are  not  concerned  ; 
only  with  this,  that  there  seems  no  ground  for 
suspicion  as  regards  their  occurrence  here.  It  is 
certainly  preferable  to  regard  them  as  interpola- 
tions than  to  reject  the  whole  letter  as  spurious, 
but  it  is  not  necessary  to  do  this  if  the  terms  are 
dissociated  from  later  associations.  As  we  shall 
see,  one  main  cause  of  writing  the  letter  was  to 
thank  the  Philippians  for  monetary  help,  and  it  is 
not  inappropriate  to  regard  these  persons  as  being 
instrumental  in  the  collecting  and  dispatching  of 
this  money. 

Certain  individuals  are  mentioned  by  name, 
especially  two  women — Euodia  and  Syntyche  (42- s). 
'  Euodia  I  beseech,  and  Syntyche  I  beseech  that 
they  show  practical  agreement  in  the  Lord.'  It 
is  surely  the  reductio  ad  ridiculum  of  criticism  to 
find  here,  under  assumed  names,  subtle  references 
to  church  parties.  Zahn  gives  an  account  of  the 
subtle  hidden  meanings  found  in  these  names  (now 
proved  to  be  so  common,  although  not  yet  attested 
for  Philippi)  by  Schwegler,  Baur,  Hitzig,  and 
Holsten,  and  calls  them  '  fantastic  conceits '  (op.  cit. 
i.  561  f.).  This  is  now  the  unanimous  opinion,  so 
that  one  need  not  further  dwell  on  it.  What  we 
have  to  do  with  is  a  quarrel  between  two  women, 
the  origin  or  extent  of  which  we  know  not  (although 
it  cannot  have  been  serious).  A  certain  person 
(Synzygus)  is  asked  to  help  in  their  reconciliation  : 
'  I  would  request  you  (ipuru),  genuine  Synzygus  (or 
yoke-fellow),  help  those  women,  inasmuch  as 
they  laboured  with  me  in  the  gospel  and  with 
Clement  and  other  fellow-labourers  of  mine  whose 
names  are  in  the  book  of  life '  (42'4).  There  is  some 
doubt  as  to  the  interpretation  of  the  passage.  Some 
take  the  writer  to  mean  that  Clement  and  his 
fellows  should  help  in  settling  this  difference 
(Lightfoot,  Zahn) ;  others — and  this  seems  the 
only  feasible  view — that  the  women  laboured  with 
the  apostles  and  with  Clement.  Indeed,  from  the 
tone  of  the  passage  one  would  naturally  conclude 
that  Clement  was  already  dead.  To  identify  this 
Clement  with  Clement  of  Rome  on  the  ground  that 
no  other  of  that  name  is  known  to  us  from  either 
history  or  legend  (Baur,  Paul,  Eng.  tr.2,  2  vols., 
London,  1873-75,  pp.  63,  77),  is  foolish,  as  the  name 
Clement  seems  to  have  been  common  (cf.  Zahn, 
op.  cit.  i.  534).  Moreover,  this  Clement  is  a 
Philippian,  not  a  Roman.  That  women  should 
have  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  Philippian  Church 


agrees  with  Ac  16,  and,  indeed,  as  Lightfoot  points 
out  (Philippians,  p.  56),  with  the  conditions  in 
Macedonia  generally.  Various  attempts  have  been 
made  to  identify  one  or  other  of  these  women  with 
Lydia,  on  the  ground  that  Lydia  is  not  a  proper 
name  but  simply  means  '  the  Lydian  lady ' ;  but 
there  is  no  certainty  in  the  results.  It  is  certainly 
curious  that  neither  Lydia  nor  the  jailer  is  men- 
tioned, but  the  omission  of  their  names  is  no  ground 
for  identifying  the  one  with  Euodia  or  Syntyche 
or  the  other  with  Clement.  It  seems  a  strong 
proof  of  authenticity  rather  than  the  reverse. 

The  only  other  person  mentioned  in  the  letter  as 
belonging  to  Philippi  is  Epaphroditus  (see  above). 
He  is,  however,  with  the  writer  at  the  time  of 
writing,  preparing  to  go  back  after  having  de- 
livered their  gift  to  St.  Paul :  '  I  am  filled,  having 
received  from  Epaphroditus  the  things  that  come 
from  you,  an  odour  of  a  sweet  smell,  a  sacrifice 
acceptable,  well-pleasing  to  God '  (418). 

That  St.  Paul  should  have  written  to  Philippi  is 
a  priori  very  probable.  Is  there  any  reason  to 
reject  our  present  letter,  then,  as  an  authentic 
communication  by  the  Apostle  to  this  church  ?  It 
is  extremely  difficult  to  see  anything  in  this  artless 
affectionate  letter  which  raises  any  suspicion,  and 
the  onus  probandi  lying  on  him  who  would  reject 
it  owing  to  difficulties  which  may  reasonably  be 
explained  otherwise  is  very  great. 

3.  Purpose  of  the  letter. — As  Edith  Bellenden's 
letter  revealed  its  purpose  in  a  postscript  (see  Scott, 
Old  Mortality),  so  this  letter  also.  The  Philippians 
had  sent  monetary  help  by  Epaphroditus,  and  St. 
Paul  hereby  acknowledges  receipt  of  it  (d-n-txw 
[w6.vTa],  a  terminus  technicus,  as  is  now  abundantly 
proved)  (Deissmann,  Neue  Bibelstudien,  Marburg, 
1897,  p.  56,  Eng.  tr.,  Bible  Studies,  Edinburgh, 
1901,  p.  229,  Licht  vom  Osten,  p.  77  f.,  Eng.  tr., 
p.  110 f. ;  see  also  Exp,  7th  ser.,  vi.  [1908]  91).  The 
language  of  the  whole  passage  is  full  of  half- 
humorous  allusions  to  a  financial  transaction.  He 
tells  them  how  he  is  filled  with  Christian  joy 
because  of  the  proof  it  furnished  him  of  the  revival 
of  their  interest  in  him.  They  had,  indeed,  always 
thought  about  him  (that  he  knew),  but  they  lacked 
opportunity  (very  probably  owing  to  poverty  ;  cf. 
I9*11,  where  possibly  he  expects  that  by  a  more  en- 
lightened dydiri)  on  their  part  this  may  be  avoided 
in  the  future).  His  joy  is  not  that  of  one  whose 
material  necessities  have  for  the  moment  been 
relieved.  The  fact  is  that  he  has  learned  the  true 
secret  of  contentment  (avrdpKeia),  and  is  able  to 
endure  any  material  situation.  He  can  do  this 
not  in  his  own  strength  but  in  the  strength  of 
Him  in  whom  is  his  life  (cf.  4/j.ol  yap  -rb  ^v  Xpicrrdj) 
and  the  source  of  his  energy.  Nevertheless,  he 
feels  keenly  the  transparent  goodness  of  their 
succour  when  thus  they  shared  in  his  affliction. 
It  is,  indeed,  what  was  to  be  expected  of  them,  in 
view  of  their  past  liberality.  For  he  is  glad  to 
recall  that  at  the  very  beginning  of  his  European 
mission  they  opened,  as  it  were,  a  bank  account 
with  him — even  sending  twice  help  to  him  while 
he  was  yet  in  Thessalonica,  and,  besides,  when  he 
had  left  Macedonia  they  regularly  contributed  to 
his  support  (cf.  2  Co  II8-9).  It  is  not  the  present 
gift  itself,  qua  gift,  that  pleases  him,  but  the 
spiritual  reality  it  represents.  It  shows  him  that 
they  feel  their  indebtedness  to  him.  As  he  gave 
them  spiritual  riches,  so  they  give  him  material 
help.  His  God  is  thus  become  their  banker,  and 
He  pays  large  interest,  now  and  especially  here- 
after, when  Christ  through  whom  His  riches  are 
mediated  appears  in  glory.  Their  gift  then — as  an 
exhibition  of  their  spiritual  gratitude  for  His  un- 
speakable gift  (cf.  2  Co  915) — is  a  sweet-smelling 
savour  and  an  acceptable  and  well-pleasing  sacrifice 
to  God  (410-20). 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE     219 


Now  that  Epaphroditus  has  sufficiently  recovered 
and  is  about  to  return  to  them,  St.  Paul  thus 
acknowledges  their  generosity.  He  takes  advan- 
tage of  his  intended  departure  to  dispatch  this 
letter  (cf.  Cic.  ad  Atticum,  I.  ix.  1).  It  may  seem 
strange  thus  to  postpone  mention  of  their  gift  if 
this  be  the  main  object  of  sending  the  letter,  but 
there  are  references  in  the  very  beginning  also 
when  the  Apostle  thanks  God  for  their  Koivuvla  in 
the  furtherance  of  the  gospel  from  the  first  day 
until  now  (cf.  415,  '  in  the  beginning  of  the  gospel ') ; 
and  for  this  very  reason  he  feels  convinced  that 
God  will  carry  on  in  them  the  good  work  till 
Christ's  day  and  complete  it.  Their  spiritual  con- 
dition, as  evidenced  by  their  liberality,  is  a  proof 
that  the  perseverance  of  the  saints  shall  be  effective 
in  them. 

He  cannot  otherwise  regard  them — his  affections 
being  witness — for,  indeed,  they  are  fellow-partici- 
pators with  him  in  grace  because  thus  they  have 
shown  their  identity  with  him  both  in  his  chains 
and  in  his  defence  and  confirmation  of  the  gospel. 
What  more  graceful  reference  could  be  made  than 
this,  and  what  more  spiritual  inferences  drawn 
from  Christian  liberality  ? 

Besides,  there  is  the  reference  to  their  offering 
in  225  (v/jtuv  d£  dir6<TTo\ov  ical  \eirovpybv  rrjs  x/Jefas  pov). 

There  are,  however,  other  objects  for  the  letter 
as  well  as  this  main  one.  For  one  thing,  the 
Philippians  had  heard  of  the  sickness  of  Epaph- 
roditus and  were  anxious  about  him  (228),  and  the 
Apostle  tenderly  refers  to  him  and  commends  him 
to  them,  in  view  of  his  return,  for  his  work's  sake. 
Epaphroditus  was  evidently  sent  by  the  Philippians 
in  order  to  stay  with  St.  Paul  and  minister  to  him, 
and  his  return  home  so  soon  needed  explanation, 
perhaps  apology,  and  the  Apostle  does  this  in 
graceful  and  affectionate  language.  How  he  came 
to  know  of  their  feelings  as  regards  Epaphroditns 
we  are  not  told,  but  it  is  natural  to  infer  that  they 
had  meanwhile  written  to  him  about  this  and  other 
matters  as  well.  Indeed,  the  letter  becomes  much 
more  intelligible  when  we  regard  it  as  answering 
questions  and  meeting  a  situation  unfolded  in  an 
actual  correspondence  of  recent  date  from  Philippi, 
which  was  before  the  Apostle  as  he  wrote,  and 
which  may  well  have  conditioned  the  order  of  his 
topics.  (That  such  communications  took  place  is 
self-evident.  He  would  surely  have  acknowledged 
their  previous  gifts,  and  these  would  be  accom- 
panied by  writing.)  There  is  some  ground,  indeed, 
for  explaining  the  difficult  passage  (31)  as  referring 
to  a  letter  written  shortly  before  this  by  the  Apostle 
to  them.  At  any  rate,  to  explain  the  r&  afrrd  from 
the  contents  of  the  letter  itself  is  not  easy,  and  the 
reference  to  other  communications  is  a  feasible  one. 
Zalm  has  used  this  clue  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
letter  (cf.  also  W.  Lock,  Exp,  5th  ser.,  vi.  [1897] 
65 ff.  ;  and  especially  J.  Rendel  Harris,  ib.,  5th  ser., 
viii.  [1898]  161  ff.). 

It  is  clear  that  the  Philippians  were  inclined  to 
take  a  pessimistic  view  of  the  effect  of  St.  Paul's 
imprisonment  and  situation  in  general  on  the  cause 
of  the  gospel.  The  statement  in  I12ff-  is  a  correction 
of  this,  and  we  may  well  explain  the  repeated  in- 
junctions to  joy  as  proof  that  they  were  apt  to 
be  dispirited  owing  to  the  seeming  failure  of  the 
Apostle's  missionary  activity. 

Perhaps  also  they  needed  to  be  told  that  their 
gifts  were  thoroughly  appreciated  by  the  Apostle, 
and  that  there  was  no  feeling  of  disappointment  in 
his  mind  in  regard  to  the  tardiness  or  smallness  of 
their  liberality.  '  The  Philippians  must  recently 
have  expressed  their  dissatisfaction  with  what 
they  had  done  to  support  Paul  and  his  work, 
and  their  doubt  as  to  whether  Paul  had  been 
satisfied  with  the  same.  The  tone  in  which  Paul 
speaks  of  the  matter  throughout  the  letter  (ii.  17, 


25,  30,  iv.  10-20)  is  natural  only  on  the  supposition 
that  this  feeling  had  been  very  strongly  expressed, 
and  the  Church  had  lamented  and  apologised  for 
the  smallness  and  tardiness  of  their  last  remit- 
tance '  (Zahn,  op.  cit.  i.  527). 

St.  Paul  also  is  anxious  to  tell  of  his  intention  to 
visit  them  (224,  irtiroiOa  5t  tv  Kvpit?  Sri  /cat  airrds  TOX«?WS 
€\e>jffo/j,a.i)  and  to  assure  them  that  their  prayers 
help  to  this  end.  It  is  possible  that  they  spoke  of 
him  in  their  letter  as  their  Ka^xTrj/xa  (I26  ;  cf.  Rendel 
Harris,  Exp,  5th  ser.,  viii.  178).  The  sharp  change 
of  tone  in  32  may  also  be  due  to  a  fear  expressed  by 
the  Philippians  of  a  possible  Judaistic  propaganda 
among  them.  It  may,  however,  be  quite  well  ex- 
plained out  of  St.  Paul's  own  experience. 

Besides  all  this,  there  are  the  differences  of 
opinion  in  the  Church  itself  and  the  consequent 
reiterated  charges  to  present  a  united  front  to  the 
enemy,  and  as  in  all  his  letters  there  are  the 
Christian  moral  injunctions  based  on  the  great 
Christian  verities.  It  is  not  difficult  thus  to  get  a 
pretty  clear  conception  of  the  purposes  and  aims  of 
the  writer  in  this  Epistle,  nor  can  it  be  held  that 
there  is  anything  in  this  incompatible  with  the 
Pauline  authorship.  What  one  has  to  fear  in 
interpretation  is  over-subtlety  and  the  tendency  to 
forget  that  the  canons  of  criticism  that  apply  to  a 
modern  theological  treatise  are  not  applicable  to  an 
informal  letter  which  its  author  never  intended  as 

a  KTrip-a  es  aei. 

4.  Genuineness.  —  (a)  External  evidence. — So 
much  attention  is  given  by  recent  critics  to  in- 
ternal evidence  that  the  external  is  apt  to  be 
undervalued  or  overlooked,  although  it  is  as  strong 
as  one  can  reasonably  expect.  The  first  unmistak- 
able reference  of  a  direct  kind  to  St.  Paul's  Epistle 
is  found  in  Polycarp's  letter  to  the  same  church 
(ad  Phil.  iii.  2) : 

'  For  neither  I  nor  anyone  else  like  me  can  attain  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  blessed  and  glorious  Paul,  who  while  he  was 
among  you  taught  those  then  living  the  words  of  truth  accu- 
rately and  vigorously,  who  also  in  his  absence  wrote  letters  to 
you  '  (05  KCU  aTruv  Vfj.iv  Hypa^ev  etriaroAaf). 

That  our  letter  is  referred  to  here  seems  clear. 
Indeed,  it  is  evident  that  Polycarp  knew  it  well,  as 
there  are  distinct  echoes  of  it  in  his  short  epistle 
(cf.  ad  Phil.  i.  l  =  Ph  217  410 ;  ii.  1  =  210  321 ;  ix.  2= 
216[or  Gal  22] ;  x.  1=22-6;  xii.  3=318).  The  diffi- 
culty  is  to  account  for  the  plural  'letters.'  It  is 
sometimes  explained  as  if  it  were  simply  equivalent 
to  the  singular  (cf.  examples  in  Lightfoot,  Philip- 
pians, p.  140 ff.).  Others,  however,  point  out 
that  Polycarp  appreciates  the  difference  between 
the  singular  and  the  plural  in  this  epistle  (cf. 
xiii.  2),  and  that  we  must  here  understand  a  real 
plural.  Zahn  (op.  cit.  i.  536)  and  others  accord- 
ingly explain  it  on  the  supposition  that  1  and  2 
Thess.  and  Philippians  formed  a  Macedonian  group, 
and  Zahn  shows  that  Tertullian  so  regarded  them 
(Scorp.  13),  and  probably  Polycarp  himself  (xi.  3) ; 
cf.  also  Harnack,  TU,  new  ser.,  v.  3  [1900]  86  f. 
It  may  be  said,  however,  that  a  later  tradition 
supports  the  theory  of  more  letters  than  one  (cf. 
Georgius  Syncellus,  who  quotes  Ph  43  as  occurring 
in  St.  Paul's  first  letter  [Chronographia,  i  651] ;  cf. 
alsoStudiaSinaitica,ed.  A.  S.  Lewis,  i.  [Cambridge, 
1894]  11  ff.,  for  the  mention  of  a  Second  Epistle  in 
the  Syrian  Canon,  c.  A.D.  400).  As  we  shall  see  later 
on,  this  is  used  freely  to  support  modern  theories 
of  fusion  in  our  extant  Epistle,  but  it  remains  to  be 
proved  on  its  own  merits  that  the  present  Epistle 
contains  two  or  more  letters  joined  together ;  for 
there  is  every  likelihood  that  many  letters  written 
by  St.  Paul  are  now  lost,  and  possibly  among  them 
one  or  more  to  Philippi.  It  is,  however,  problem- 
atical if  lost  letters  are  here  referred  to,  as  it  is 
quite  possible  to  explain  the  plural  otherwise,  and 
it  is  not  likely  that  if  more  letters  than  one  existed 


220     PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


PHILIPPIAXS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


in  Polycarp's  time  they  would  have  been  lost  after- 
wards. 

The  statement  in  ad  Phil.  xi.  3 — 'qui  estis  in 
principio  epistolse  eius ' — is  difficult.  Some  supply 
'  laudati'  ('  you  who  are  praised  ')  in  the  beginning 
of  his  letter.  Others,  however,  say  the  text  is 
meaningless  (sinnlos)  (cf.  E.  Hennecke,  Handbuch 
zu  den  neutest.  Apokryphen,  Tubingen,  1904, 
p.  103),  and  translate  '  in  the  beginning  of  his 
gospel  [cf.  Ph  415]  or  his  mission,'  dTrocrroX^s  (E. 
Nestle  ace.  to  Zahn,  op.  cit.  i.  536).  Others  again, 
referring  to  2  Co  32-3,  make  'epistoloe'  plural, 
'  You  who  are  his  epistles.'  The  latter  is  not 
likely.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  that 
Polycarp(c.  125-130)  knew  our  letter,  although  it  is 
doubtful  if  he  knew  of  more  than  one.  It  is  also 
quoted  in  his  Martyrdom,  i.  2  ( =  Ph  2*}. 

There  is  also  cumulative  evidence  that  both 
Ignatius  and  Clement  of  Rome  were  acquainted 
with  our  letter  (see  Lightfoot,  Philippians,  p.  75  f.). 
It  is  quoted  by  Eusebius  (HE  v.  ii.  2)  in  the 
Epistle  from  Lyons  and  Vienne.  According  to 
Clem.  Alex,  and  Hippolytus  it  was  recognized  by 
the  heretical  Valentians  and  Sethites  who  quoted 
2s,  the  latter  to  prove  their  own  doctrine.  The 
Apologists  recognize  it  (Epistle  to  Diognetus,  v.  9= 
Ph  320  and  elsewhere),  and  it  is  found  in  all  the  2nd 
cent,  canons  as  well  as  in  the  Apostolicum  of 
Marcion.  Irenseus,  Tertullian,  and  Origen  also 
recognize  it.  The  fact  is,  the  genuineness  of 
the  letter  was  never  questioned  till  within  recent 
times,  and  that  solely  on  internal  grounds  (see 
Vincent,  ICC,  'Philippians  and  Philemon,'  Introd.; 
C.  R.  Gregory,  Canon  and  Text  of  the  NT,  Edin- 
burgh, 1907,  and,  indeed,  all  books  on  the  Canon 
of  Scripture). 

(b)  Internal  evidence.  —  It  is  impossible  and 
fortunately  unnecessary  to  review  in  detail  the 
various  arguments  that  have  been  brought  against 
the  authenticity  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians 
since  F.  C.  Baur  (Paul,  Eng.  tr.2,  ii.  45-79). 
Perhaps  the  three  most  formidable  opponents 
are  Baur  himself,  Holsten,  and  van  Manen. 
Baur  laid  special  stress  on  Gnostic  affinities, 
especially  in  26ff-.  According  to  him,  the  writer 
knew  the  theories  concerning  the  aeon  Sophia, 
its  bold  actus  rapiendi  to  gain  an  equality  with 
the  All -Father  and  its  consequent  degradation 
into  the  region  of  darkness  and  emptiness  (ev  <rKiais 
Kal  KevufMTos  rdTTots).  The  occurrence  of  words  like 
/j.(>p(p(i3ais  and  Ktvd)/j.a.  (not  apira.yfj.6s)  lends  colour  to 
this  view,  and  the  Gnostic  descent  into  hell  was, 
it  is  held,  well  known  to  the  writer.  The  whole 
passage  is  thus  explicable  only  on  the  supposition 
'  that  the  writer's  mind  was  filled  with  certain 
Gnostic  ideas  current  at  the  time'  (Eng.  tr.2,  vol. 
ii.  p.  46).  The  writer  was  not,  of  course,  advocat- 
ing these  ideas,  but  they  were  employed  by  him 
with  the  necessary  modifications  for  his  own  purpose. 
0.  Pfleiderer  still  holds  to  this  view  (Das  Urchris- 
tentum,  Berlin,  1887,  p.  320  f. ),  although  he  believes 
in  the  genuineness  of  the  letter,  and  so  is  compelled 
to  regard  the  passage  as  interpolated  (ib.  p.  153).  It 
was,  however,  given  up  by  Holsten,  and  van  Manen 
(EBi,  art.  '  Philippians  [Epistles] ')  does  not  refer 
to  it. 

More  recently  attempts  have  been  made  to  trace 
the  genesis  of  the  conceptions  used  in  the  passage 
to  primitive  apocalyptic  traditions  (see  W.  Bousset, 
Hauptprobleme  der  Gnosis,  Gottingen,  1907)  of 
an  apxavOpuiros,  or  Urmensch,  pre-existent  in  the 
highest  heaven,  who  descended  to  the  lowest,  such 
a  view  for  instance  as  is  given  in  the  Ascensio 
Isaice,  x.  29  f.  Isaiah  hears  God  telling  His  Son 
to  descend  into  the  world,  and  the  stages  of  this 
descent  through  the  heavens  are  given.  In  the 
Testaments  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs  we  have 
phrases  which  readily  suggest  affinity  with  Ph  26ff> 


(cf.  Benj.  x.  7  :  '  worshipping  the  king  of  the 
heavens  who  appeared  on  earth,  ev  /top^jj  dvdpuirov; 
Zeb.  ix.  8  :  ev  O-XTJ/MTI.  dvOpwirov).  These,  how  ever, 
are  probably  borrowed  from  Christian  traditions. 
It  is  well  known  that  Philo  had  the  conception  of 
an  ideal  man  (de  Conf.  Ling.,  ed.  Mangey,  i.  411), 
and  that  there  are  vague  indefinite  references  in 
Enoch  (Simile),  Psalms  of  Solomon,  Apocalypse  of 
Baruch,  etc. 

Moffatt  quotes  (LNT,  p.  172)  from  Poimandres 
(after  Reitzenstein)  the  description  of  this  Original 
Man  :  dfldcctros  &v  Kal  irdvrwv  TT\V  f£ov<riav  ?xa"'  T<* 
6vr)Tov  iraa"x.e(.  wro/cei/xe^oy  rrj  eliMpfj-evy  iiirepdvii)  yap  Siv 
rrjs  ap/j.ovias  evapft-bvios  yeyove  SoOXos. 

Holsten  was  greatly  concerned  with  the  repre- 
sentation of  Christ  in  Philippians  because  it 
contradicted  the  '  heavenly  man '  view  of  Ro  512"21 
and  1  Co  15.  But  it  is  clear,  on  a  careful  examina- 
tion of  these  passages,  that  what  St.  Paul  has  in 
mind  is  the  contrast  between  the  glorified  pneu- 
matic body  of  the  Redeemer  and  the  earthly  bodies 
of  His  people.  Holsten  is  right,  however,  in 
maintaining  that  in  Philippians  what  we  have  is 
not  a  Christ  originally  man — but  a  Divine  Being, 
and  a  Divine  Being  showing  His  Divinity  in  becom- 
ing man  and  in  the  energy  of  His  exalted  power. 
It  is  extremely  doubtful  if  St.  Paul  has  in  his  writ- 
ings at  all  the  conception  of  a  pre-existent  man 
either  ideal  or  actual  (see  H.  A.  A.  Kennedy,  Exp, 
8th  ser.,  vii.  [1914]  97  ff.).  The  danger  in  these  re- 
searches into  origins  is  to  conclude  that  vague  hints 
in  popular  traditions  suggest  to  St.  Paul  the  facts. 
The  facts  were  prior  and  creative,  causes  not  effects. 
They  were  not  suggested  by  his  early  acquaintance 
with  a  Rabbinic  doctrine  of  a  Heavenly  Man. 

Whatever  the  affinities  or  affiliations  with  vague 
traditions  may  be — whether  he  has  Adam,  Lucifer 
(Is  1412'15)  or  an  apxdvBpwiroy  in  mind  is  very  un- 
certain ;  what  is  certain  is  that  Christ's  life  on  earth 
and  St.  Paul's  own  experience  of  His  exalted  power 
necessarily  suggest  to  him  these  transcendent  views 
of  His  worth  (cf.  2  Co  89,  and  especially  Col.). 

The  attempts  of  Baur  to  find  in  the  yvyirie  <njv£vye 
(4s)  a  mediator  of  the  two  extreme  parties  in  early 
Christianity  and  the  identification  of  the  Clement 
of  our  Epistle  with  Clemens  Romanus  and  T. 
Flavius  Clemens  need  not  be  further  commented 
on  (see  above).  Objections  also  to  our  Epistle  on 
the  ground  of  what  Baur  calls  '  the  questionable- 
ness  of  some  of  the  historical  data ' — viz.  the  refer- 
ences to  the  Praetorium  and  the  saints  of  Caesar's 
household — are  due  to  an  inadequate  exegesis,  and 
Baur  himself  readily  admits  their  credibility  were 
it  not  for  his  theory  of  a  conflict  of  parties  in  the 
early  Church.  Besides,  the  mention  of  bishops 
and  deacons  (I1)  lends  no  support  to  the  theory  of 
false  historical  references  when  one  remembers 
that  bishops  are  just  the  presbyters  found  in  all 
churches,  and  the  deacons  servants  of  the  Christian 
community  under  them.  We  are  not  to  think  of 
these  officers  as  sacramentally  mediating  grace, 
but  as  spiritually  guiding  the  community.  One 
feels  that  the  objections  to  such  terms  are  to  a 
large  extent  exhibitions  of  annoyance  at  our  own 
ignorance  of  1st  cent,  conditions,  and  are  largely 
biased  by  modern  associations. 

The  objections  on  the  score  of  doctrinal  diver- 
gences from  the  Hauptbriefe  are  forcibly  set  forth 
by  Holsten  (as  also  by  Baur)  and  van  Manen.  It 
is  said  that  the  Epistle  is  vague  and  nebulous,  that 
it  lacks  any  leading  idea,  that  it  is  characterized 
by  monotonous  repetition,  by  lack  of  profound 
connexion  of  ideas,  and  by  poverty  of  thought,  of 
which  the  author  himself  is  conscious  when  he 
writes  31.  St.  Paul  is  said  here  also  to  show  a  desire 
for  self-glorification  (34'17) ;  his  acknowledgment 
of  the  Philippians'  gift  is  lacking  in  grace ;  his 
acceptance  of  it  is  contrary  to  his  statement  in 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE     221 


1  Co  912ff-  ;  he  shows  uncertainty  as  to  his  future, 
even  expressing  doubt  as  to  his  participation   in 
the  resurrection  (311).     His  views  of  justification, 
perfection,   and   the    Parousia  are  not  what   we 
would   expect  from   the  genuine  St.    Paul.      He 
imitates  freely  and  skilfully,  especially  2  Cor.  and 
Rom.  ;  but,  like  all  imitators,  wrongly  (cf.  his  use 
of  ^irLXoprjyia  rov  Hveti/j-aTos  'iTjtroO  XptcrroO,  Ph  I19). 
His  attitude  of  rejoicing  in  the  preaching  of  those 
who  preach  Christ  in  pretence  is  wholly  unlike  the 
real  St.  Paul.     Holsten  collects  words  used  which 
are  un-Pauline  and  anti-Pauline  as  well  as  non- 
Pauline.     The  autobiographical  section  is  based  on 

2  Co  HI3ff>.     In  short,  whatever  agrees  with  the 
Hauptbriefe  is  imitated,  and  whatever  does  not  is 
invented.     This  kind  of  criticism  looks  too  much 
like  the  story  of  the  wolf  and  the  lamb  to  carry 
conviction  save  by  opposition.     Let  any  one  read 
van  Manen's  column  (EBi  m.  3709)  as  to  the  views 
of  the   writer  of  Philippians  concerning  Christ, 
arranged  by  the  critic  to  convince  us  that  they 
could  not   have   been   held  by  St.  Paul,  and  one 
feels  at  once  that  if  these  were  not  St.  Paul's  views 
we  simply  know  not  what  they  were. 

Van  Manen  feels  it  necessary  to  defend  the 
writer  from  the  charge  of  fraudulency,  declaring 
that  he  wrote  more  from  modesty  than  from 
arrogance.  His  very  defence  shows  the  uneasiness 
of  his  conscience.  There  are  difficulties  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  but  they  are  not 
difficulties  like  the  above.  One  of  these — perhaps 
the  most  serious — is  the  change  of  tone  in  31*-; 
and  the  unsatisfactoriness  of  the  various  attempts 
to  explain  the  ypd<j>eiv  rd  airrd  reveals  the  difficulty 
and  has  given  rise  to  various  theories  as  to  the 
integrity  of  the  letter  itself — all  more  or  less 
motived  by  this  so-called  chasm.  Many  feel  as  if 
here  two  distinct  strata  appear ;  and,  although  it 
is  not  possible  to  say  definitely  where  the  second 
ends,  it  is,  they  say,  clear  that  it  begins  here. 
This  leads  us  to  consider  various  theories  regarding 
the  integrity  of  the  letter. 

5.  Integrity. — Various  attempts  since  Heinrichs 
(1810)  and  Paulus  (1799)  have  been  made  to  find  in 
our  Epistle  two  or  more  letters  fused  together. 
The  suggestion  was  first  put  forward  in  1685  by 
S.  le  Moyne  (Moine  or  Mayne),  in  Varia  Sacra,  ii. 
332  ff.,  and  it  is  the  view  (in  varying  forms) 
favoured  still  by  many  critics  (cf.  Bacon,  The 
Story  of  St.  Paul,  London,  1905,  p.  367  f.  ;  and 
Kirsopp  Lake,  Exp,  8th  ser.,  vii.  [1914]  487  f.). 
There  is,  however,  little  unanimity  as  to  what 
portions  make  up  the  different  letters,  or,  indeed, 
now  many  letters  are  incorporated  in  the  single 
canonical  Epistle  (J.  E.  Symes,  Interpreter,  x.  2 
[1914]  gives  five).  The  view  of  Heinrichs  is 
that  y~419  is  an  interpolated  communication 
addressed  to  the  leaders  of  the  Philippian  Church, 
and  that  IMJ30,  421"23  was  a  letter  to  the  church  as 
a  whole.  It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  this  view  with 
4'°  where  the  whole  church  is  addressed  and  where 
the  tone  of  rejoicing  is  again  heard.  Accordingly, 
Kirsopp  Lake  adopts  the  theory  that  the  inter- 
polated letter  stops  at  4s.  Both  are  genuinely 
Pauline  letters.  A  simpler  view  is  that  we  have 
two  letters,  chs.  1  and  2  forming  the  first  (but  in 
time  the  second),  and  3  and  4  forming  the  second 
— in  point  of  time  the  first  (Hausrath,  Paulus, 
Heidelberg,  1865,  p.  486  ff.  ;  cf.  also  Bacon,  op.  cit. 
It  may  be  objected  to  this  view  that  neither  of 
these  sections  is  a  complete  letter  in  itself,  and  also 
that  we  have  no  clear  mention  of  their  gift  in  the 
first  one  save  the  allusion  in  228,  for  although  the 
Apostle  speaks  of  their  '  fellowship '  yet  this  is  too 
indefinite  in  itself  to  be  a  thanksgiving  for  their 
contribution.  Besides,  it  is  doubtful  if  it  really 
explains  anything,  although  it  creates  fresh  diffi- 
culties. It  is  meant  to  free  us  of  3lff>,  as  indeed  all 


such  theories  are,  but  with  little  success.  It  is 
surely  not  necessary  to  see  any  contradiction  in 
what  is  said  in  221  regarding  the  brethren  with  St. 
Paul  and  what  is  said  in  I14,  nor  to  equate  those 
spoken  of  in  ch.  3  with  those  referred  to  in  I18  (so 
also  Motfatt,  LNT,  p.  175).  The  view  elaborated 
by  D.  Volter  (Theol.  Tijdschrift,  1892,  pp.  10-14, 
117-146)  and  others  as  to  various  interpolations  is 
also  due  to  a  large  extent  to  the  difficulty  of  ex- 
plaining the  TO.  avra  of  ch.  3  and  its  different 
tone,  as  is  also  Ewald's  view  that  St.  Paul  wrote 
first  chs.  1  and  2,  and  then  after  an  interruption  the 
remainder,  possibly  in  two  postscripts.  This  is  in 
itself  quite  conceivable  and  less  violent  than  the 
other  theories  of  a  similar  kind. 

Is  there  any  external  ground  for  holding  to  the 
theory  of  a  double  letter  ?  We  have  already  dis- 
cussed the  evidence  in  Polycarp  (see  above),  of 
which  so  much  is  made,  and  have  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  nothing  definite  can  be  found  there 
to  substantiate  a  double  letter.  Nor  is  the  com- 
parison with  2  Co  10-13  wholly  convincing.  There 
is  nothing  a  priori  improbable  in  the  idea  that 
St.  Paul  wrote  more  letters  than  one  to  Philippi ; 
indeed,  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose  this  to 
have  been  the  case,  yet  it  goes  no  way  towards 
proving  that  we  have  these  communications  fused 
together  in  our  extant  Epistle.  If  this  theory  can 
be  established,  it  must  be  established  on  other 
grounds,  and  it  must  satisfy  the  facts  better  than 
the  one-letter  theory.  The  chief  difficulty  is  to 
explain  the  TO,  avrd  ypdfpeiv.  Does  this  refer  to  the 
contents  of  the  letter  itself,  or  to  some  special 
prominent  thought  in  it?  Some  find  this  leading 
idea  to  be  '  rejoicing.'  This  is  Baur's  idea  :  'The 
TO.  avra  ypdcfreiv  refers  to  nothing  but  the  xalpere  (v 
Kupt'y,  that  is,  to  the  contents  of  the  Epistle  gener- 
ally, for  the  key-note  and  the  leading  thought  of  it 
are  expressed  in  this  constantly  recurring  ^cu/sere ' 
(Paul,  Eng.  tr.2,  vol.  ii.  p.  70).  But  it  cannot  be 
said  that  this  is  convincing  although  it  is  the 
most  natural  thought  that  one  would  gather  from 
the  words.  The  idea  occurs  often  in  the  letter 
(Ph  I18  217- 18-  »  31  44- 10 ;  also  I4- 25  2s-  »  41),  but  why 
should  there  be  special  safety  in  repeating  it  ? 

Others  say  that  the  reference  is  to  the  dangers 
of  dissensions  already  present  in  the  Church  at 
Philippi  (I27  22'4)  (Lightfoot),  and  this  agrees  with 
the  passage  following,  although  the  language 
(&Kvi]p6v,  dcr<j>a\ts)  is  very  strong  considering  the 
vagueness  of  the  allusions  to  these  previous  dis- 
sensions. Some  critics  find  the  idea  referred  to  in 
diKaioffijvr),  or  in  raweivoippoff^vri  (so  Maurice  Jones, 
Exp,  8th  ser.,  viii.  [1914]  471),  but  both  these  sug- 
gestions are  far  from  self-evident.  The  idea  that 
perhaps  St.  Paul  was  referring  to  previous  written 
communications  accordingly  suggests  itself,  and 
perhaps  satisfies  the  conditions  better,  or  the 
similar  idea  that  he  was  interrupted,  and  that  in 
the  meantime  he  had  received  disconcerting  news 
of  probable  Jewish  aggressiveness  in  Philippi.  It 
may,  however,  be  explained  on  subjective  grounds. 
If  St.  Paul  himself  was  at  this  point  suddenly 
arrested  by  the  experience  of  Jewish  fanaticism 
towards  himself,  it  might  very  well  occasion  this 
outburst,  which  is  undoubtedly  characteristic  of  the 
Apostle,  although  it  is  difficult  to  account  for  rd 
aiird  on  such  a  view. 

At  any  rate  there  is  not  here  sufficient  ground 
either  for  eliminating  31  or,  what  is  worse,  discredit- 
ing the  unity  of  the  letter  itself.  This  unity  is 
apparent  in  spite  of  the  admitted  difficulty;  and 
.no  one  has  recognized  it  more  clearly  than  van 
Manen  :  '  The  epistle  as  a  whole  does  not  present 
the  appearance  of  patchwork.  Rather  does  it  show 
unity  of  form  :  we  find  a  letter  with  a  regular 
beginning  and  ending  (llf>  420'23) ;  a  thanksgiving  at 
the  outset  for  the  many  excellences  of  the  persons 


222     PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


addressed  (I*11;  cf.  Ro  I8'12,  1  Co  I4'9),  notwith- 
standing the  sharp  rebukes  that  are  to  be  adminis- 
tered later ;  personalia ;  exhortations  relating  to 
the  ethical  and  religious  life  ;  all  mingled  together 
yet  not  without  regard  to  a  certain  order.  Here 
and  there  some  things  may  be  admitted  to  interrupt 
the  steady  flow  of  the  discourse  ;  31  or  3lb  raises  the 
conjecture  of  a  new  beginning;  the  "things" 
spoken  of  here  are  not  different  from  those  which 
we  meet  with  elsewhere  in  other  Pauline  Epistles 
— even  in  Rom.,  1  and  2  Cor.,  Gal.  There  also, 
just  as  here,  we  repeatedly  hear  a  change  of  tone, 
and  are  conscious  of  what  seems  to  be  a  change  of 
spirit.  Yet  even  apart  from  this,  to  lay  too  great 
stress  upon  the  spiritual  mood  which  expresses 
itself  in  32"6,  as  contrasted  with  that  of  I3"11,  or,  on 
the  whole,  of  1-2,  would  be  to  forget  what  we  can 
read  in  !'»-"  221  and  the  calm  composure  shown  in 
3/.'  (EBi  iii.  3708).  What  one  has  to  remember  is 
that  in  real  letters  we  must  expect  such  sudden 
changes.  A  recent  editor  (J.  D.  Duff)  of  Pliny's 
Letters  (bk.  vi.,  London,  1906,  Introd.  p.  xix) 
says:  '.  .  .  these  letters  [i.e.  Pliny's]  are  not 
genuine  letters  in  the  sense  that  they  were  not 
written  merely  for  the  information  or  pleasure  of 
the  person  addressed  but  mainly  with  an  eye  to 
future  publication.  If  they  are  compared  with 
genuine  letters  such  as  Cicero's  the  difference  is  at 
once  apparent.  Pliny  never  repeats  himself,  never 
sends  news  which  has  to  be  corrected  in  a  later 
letter,  never  betrays  a  sign  of  real  excitement  or 
depression.  He  never  jumps  from  one  subject  to 
another,  and  then  back  again  as  everyone  does 
in  a  natural  letter  to  a  friend.  .  .  .  Few  people 
are  so  fortunate  in  their  surroundings  that  their 
letters  to  intimate  friends  contain  nothing  but 
praise  of  the  persons  mentioned'  (cf.  Ph  221).  If 
these  be  the  criteria  of  a  real  letter,  they  are  all 
present  in  this  one — repetitions,  excitement,  depres- 
sion, jumps  from  one  subject  to  another,  and  pos- 
sibly expectations  that  were  not  fulfilled. 
i  The  TO.  avra  ypa<peiv  is  not  explained  by  fusion, 
for  it  is  even  more  probable  that  a  redactor  would 
see  the  break  sooner  than  St.  Paul  himself  would. 
We  must  either  hold  that  the  reference  is  to  earlier 
communications  which  have  been  lost,  or,  to  ex- 
plain it  of  our  present  letter,  admit  that  we  cannot 
be  sure  what  exactly  in  it  is  spoken  of,  recognizing, 
however,  that  the  change  of  tone  is  quite  in  the 
manner  of  St.  Paul.  The  double  rb  \onr6v  (31  and 
48)  might  lend  colour  to  the  view  of  amalgamation, 
but  it  is  possible  that  with  St.  Paul  it  is  not  very 
much  stronger  than  o$v  (cf.  Kennedy,  EOT,  '  Phil- 
ippians,'  in  locis,  and  G.  Milligan,  Thessalonians, 
London,  1908,  on  1  Th  41).  At  any  rate  in  a  letter 
one  is  not  astonished  to  find  such  usages.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  style  either  to  suggest  spurious- 
ness  or  fusion.  It  is  simple  and  artless,  rising  at 
times  to  a  rhythmical  height.  This  is  clearly  seen 
in  26ff-  and  also  in  411'13  (cf.  J.  Weiss,  Beitrdge  zur 
paulin.  Ehetorik,  Gottingen,  1897,  pp.  28,  29).  One 
can  naturally  explain  this  as  due  to  emotion  such 
as  e  /en  an  ordinary  preacher  often  feels  and  which 
produces  a  rhythmic  poetic  style.  3lb  is  an  iambic 
trimeter,  ^uot  ^v  OVK  oKvrjp6v,  v/jui>  S£  dcr^aX^s — possibly 
a  quotation,  more  probably  due  to  accident  and 
unconscious.  Baur  has  noticed  the  repetition  of 
the  same  word  (I9-  >8-25  217-18-27  32  4s-  «)  and  the  use 
of  synonyms  (I20  21- 2- 16-  &). 

Certain  words  occurring  nowhere  else  in  St.  Paul 
are  suggestive,  as  dperij,  48  ;  irpoKOir-fi,  I12  ;  irpoff(f>i\fj 
and  fff/jLvd  (only  in  Pastorals)  as  well  as  unusual 
combinations  of  common  words,  e.g.  6\tyiv  eyeipeiv, 
£%o/j.o\oyfT<r0ai  Sri,  TO.  £p.irpo<r6ev  (noun).  The  latter 
can  be  explained,  however,  by  LXX  usage ;  and 
possibly  the  former.  There  is  nothing  astonishing 
in  St.  Paul's  acquaintance  with  such  common 
words,  which  perhaps  came  to  him  through  popular 


Stoic  usage  (see  Lightfoot,  Philippians*,  '  St.  Paul 
and  Seneca,'  p.  270 f.),  nor  can  any  safe  general 
inference  be  drawn  from  them  as  to  a  change  in  his 
style  away  from  the  LXX  towards  a  more  literary 
form. 

A  more  thorough  knowledge  of  inscriptions  has 
revealed  the  fact  that  the  Pauline  vocabulary  and 
style  are  largely  the  natural  ones  of  his  time 
There  is  no  importance  to  be  attached  to  the  re- 
currence of  IT\T?II>,  which  in  itself  is  a  common  word, 
occurring  once  in  1  Co  II11.  The  quotations  from 
the  OT  are  mere  echoes  (210-  18- 16  43- 18),  save  I19 
from  Job  1316,  which  is  evidently  quoted  with  the 
original  context  clearly  in  view.  Nothing  is  more 
precarious  than  arguments  from  style,  and  in  this 
case  account  has  to  be  taken  of  the  directness  and 
lack  of  dogmatic  content  which  were  uncalled  for 
by  the  circumstances.  All  things  considered,  the 
style  and  vocabulary  are  genuinely  Pauline. 

6.  Date  and  place  of  origin. — The  solution  of 
the  second  question  largely  determines  the  first. 
There  is  no  definite  Abfassungsort  mentioned  in 
the  letter  itself,  so  that  we  are  thrown  back  on 
internal  evidence,  and  have  to  determine  what 
period  of  St.  Paul's  life  best  suits  the  circum- 
stances. He  was  a  prisoner  (I7).  He  had  been  a 
prisoner  for  some  time,  for  the  Philippians  had 
sent  Epaphroditus  to  him  with  a  gift  of  money 
under  the  impression  that  he  needed  it.  The 
messenger  had  arrived  and  fallen  ill.  The  news 
of  his  illness  had  reached  them  (either  orally  or 
in  writing),  and  they  had  again  sent  communi- 
cations expressing  their  anxiety.  Some  change 
had  taken  place  in  St.  Paul's  circumstances  since 
he  became  a  prisoner,  which  they  construed  pessi- 
mistically. The  Apostle  informs  them  that  already 
he  had  made  his  apologia  with  gratifying  results 
(I7),  evidently  a  preliminary  defence  before  the 
judicial  authorities.  The  result  was  that  the 
brethren  were  thereby  encouraged  to  resume  their 
preaching  of  Christ  with  greater  freedom  and 
boldness.  Wherever  he  was,  there  were  many 
preachers,  some  of  them  opposed  to  his  views  of 
Christianity,  others  favourable.  He  rejoiced  in 
the  renewed  energy  of  both  as  far  as  objective 
results  went,  though  he  could  not  but  deplore  the 
motives  of  those  who  disagreed  with  him.  He  is 
confident  that  the  issue  of  his  affairs  at  present 
will  be  final  deliverance,  and  that  he  will  soon  see 
them  again  (2'-i3).  If,  however,  it  should  otherwise 
happen,  then  before  he  is  finally  condemned — the 
case  is  not  yet  settled — he  will  speak  with  such 
clearness  and  boldness  that  Christ  shall  be  magni- 
fied in  his  body  either  by  life  or  death.  By  death 
he  would  see  Christ  face  to  face  (<riu>  Xpwry),  their 
faith  already  established  would  be  perfected  (217). 
The  possibility  of  death  is  always  a  real  one,  im- 
prisonment or  no  imprisonment,  but  it  is  no  ground 
of  despondency.  At  present  he  proposes  to  send 
Timothy  to  them,  but  let  them  be  sure  that  his 
own  coining  will  follow  shortly  thereafter,  for  he 
has  every  reason  to  regard  hopefully  his  situation. 
In  the  whole  Praetorium  his  imprisonment  is  viewed 
in  the  proper  light.  Misunderstandings  regarding 
the  nature  of  the  charge  against  him  have  been 
removed  owing  to  recent  events,  and  this  is  the 
case  generally.  He  is  glad  to  tell  them  that, 
besides  the  brethren  with  him,  the  saints  of  Caesar's 
household  especially  send  their  Christian  greetings. 
He  deplores  that  he  had  no  one  to  send  to  them  at 
present,  as  his  associates  at  the  time  refused  to  go 
as  envoys  (220). 

Of  what  place  could  these  facts  be  spoken  ?  The 
three  main  points  are  (1)  his  imprisonment,  (2) 
Prsetorium,  (3)  Caesar's  household. 

(1)  St.  Paul  was  often  in  prison  (2  Co  II23) :  in 
Philippi  itself  (Ac  1623),  in  Caesarea  (Ac  23),  and  in 
Rome  (Ac  28).  According  to  Clement  (ad  Rom.  L 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE    223 


56),  he  was  no  fewer  than  seven  times  in  gaol :  Sid 
£ri\ov  teal  i-piv  IlaCXos  {nro/j.ovijs  fipapetov  £vt$ei£ev, 
tirTdKis  Sffffj.0.  0op<:<rcij.  Jerusalem  and  Philippi  are 
ruled  out,  but  there  still  remain  the  possibilities  of 
Rome,  Csesarea,  and  Ephesus  if  we  can  be  sure  of 
an  imprisonment  there.  The  fact  of  imprisonment 
then  is  not  decisive. 

(2)  Prcetorium. — There  is  considerable  divergence 
of  opinion  as  to  what  this  term  means.     Elsewhere 
it  is  used  of  the  tower  of  Antonia  (Mk  1516),  and  of 
Herod's  palace  (Ac  2335).     It  occurs  nowhere  else 
in  St.  Paul's  writings.     If  a  locality  is  meant  (and 
this  is  not  ruled  out  by  the  phrase  KO.I  rots  AOI'TTOIJ 
ira<ri ;  cf.   CIG  i.    1770),   then   the  term  indicates 
some  princely  building,  the  residence  of  a  prince 
or  procurator.     There  is  no   evidence,   however, 
that  the  Palatium — the  Roman  Imperial  residence 
— was  so  called,  although  it  is  possible  that  a  pro- 
vincial  writing  in  Rome  might  loosely  describe 
it  by  this  term.      Herod's  residence  where  Felix 
stayed  in  Caesarea  was  a  prsetorium.     Or  the  re- 
ference is  to  the  camp  of   the  praetorian   guards, 
built  by  Tiberius  and  situated  at  the  Porta  Vimin- 
alis.     This  is  doubtful  ;  at  any  rate  there  seems  no 
evidence  to  prove  that  this  camp  was  called  prce- 
torium  (see  Zahn,  op.  cit.  i.  551). 

It  is  possible,  however,  that  the  term  is  used  of 
persons,  and  even  so  two  views  have  found  sup- 
porters : — (a)  There  is  no  doubt,  after  Lightfoot's 
researches,  that  the  term  '  prsetorium '  may  mean 
the  praetorian  guard,  and  it  would  admirably  suit 
St.  Paul's  case  in  Rome  as  we  learn  that  from 
Ac  28.  (b)  Mommsen,  however,  believes  that  the 
prcefectus(-i)  prcetorii(-o)  and  associates  are  referred 
to,  in  which  case  the  term  would  mean  the  legal 
authorities.  Ramsay  (St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  p. 
357)  agrees  with  this  (but  he  has  latterly  given 
his  opinion  in  favour  of  the  praetorian  guard).  The 
objection  to  it  is  that  a  large  body  is  referred  to — 
'  in  the  whole  praetorium ' — and  on  the  face  of  it 
this  does  not  suit  well  the  theory  of  the  judicial 
authorities,  nor  is  it  clear  that  the  term  '  praetorium ' 
simpliciter  was  so  used.  We  are  thus  restricted 
either  to  the  meaning, '  the  soldiers  of  the  praetorian 
guard '  or  else  '  the  provincial  residence  of  a  pro- 
curator,' so  that  this  term  does  not  definitely  decide 
the  origin  of  the  letter,  although  the  preponderance 
of  evidence  is  in  favour  of  Rome. 

(3)  The  saints  of  Caesar's  household. — The  mean- 
ing of  this  phrase  seems  clearly  to  be  '  servants 
of  the  Imperial  house,'  not  blood-relations  of  the 
Emperor.      This  appears   to  militate  against  the 
argument  of  many  who  uphold  the  Caesarean  origin, 
who  equate  this  term  with  the  praetorium  ;  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  possible  that  such  slaves  existed 
in  provincial  towns  like  Csesarea  or  Ephesus.    It  is, 
however,  a  strong  evidence  in  favour  of  Rome. 

We  are  thus  largely  thrown  back  on  the  evidence 
furnished  by  the  Apostle's  condition  at  the  time 
of  writing,  or  on  the  relation  of  this  letter  to  other 
letters  whose  origin  we  know.  On  this  ground 
many  have  defended  the  Csesarean  origin.  St. 
Paul  was  undoubtedly  in  prison  here  for  two  years 
(Ac  23s5),  and  in  a  prsetorium.  He  had  been  im- 
prisoned through  Jewish  hostility,  and  in  Philip- 
pians  (3lff-)  he  writes  with  bitterness  of  the 
Judaizers.  But  this  is  surely  no  argument,  because 
St.  Paul's  experience  of  this  hatred  was  so  uniform 
that  such  an  outburst  as  Ph  3  is  explicable  at  any 
period  in  his  career.  It  is  said  that  we  have  no 
proof  that  Timothy  was  ever  in  Rome  with  St. 
Paul  (outside  the  imprisonment  letters),  but  have 
we  any  direct  proof  that  he  was  with  him  in 
Caesarea?  The  greed  of  Felix  was  aroused,  it  is 
maintained,  by  the  gift  St.  Paul  received  from 
Philippi.  This  involves  a  circulus  in  probando. 
The  impression  given  in  Acts  is  that  Felix  thought 
St.  Paul  a  man  of  standing  and  substance.  H. 


Bottger  (Beitrage  zur  historisch-kritischen  Ein- 
leitung  in  die  paulinischen  Briefe,  Gottingen, 
1837)  urges  strongly  that  we  cannot  conceive  of 
such  a  delay  in  the  judicial  proceedings  as  is 
implied  in  the  letter,  taking  place  at  Rome.  It 
is  sufficient  to  refer  to  what  Lightfoot  has  said 
to  the  contrary  (Philippians,  p.  3ft'.  ;  cf.  also 
Neander,  Planting  and  Training  of  the  Christian 
Church,  Eng.  tr.,  2  vols.,  London,  1864-80,  i. 
312).  The  strongest  argument  against  Rome  is  the 
stylistic  and  doctrinal — the  difference  in  doctrine 
and  style  between  Philippians  and  both  Colossians 
and  Ephesians,  and  the  affinities  with  Romans  and 
1  and  2  Corinthians.  It  was  for  this  reason  that 
Lightfoot,  who  gives  an  elaborate  list  of  parallels 
between  Philippians  and  Romans,  placed  our  letter 
early  in  the  Roman  imprisonment  in  order  to  give 
time  for  doctrinal  development,  and  Haupt  also 
has  felt  the  force  of  this  argument  so  keenly  as  to 
say :  '  wenn  nur  die  Annahme  einer  romischen 
Abfassung  moglich  ware,  wiirde  ich  ohne  weiteres 
die  Echtheit  der  beiden  Briefe  preisgeben,  obwohl 
die  Annahme  der  romischen  Abfassung  bis  in 
dies  Jhdt.  hinein  die  allgemeingiiltige  gewesen 
und  auch  noch  jetzt  von  einer  grossen  Anzahl 
von  Gelehrten  verteidigt  ist.'  He  would  give  up 
unreservedly  the  genuineness  of  Colossians  and 
Ephesians  if  he  were  compelled  to  regard  them  as 
written  in  Rome  where  Philippians  was  written, 
and  that  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  so  many  scholars 
still  defend  the  Roman  origin  of  all  the  three 
letters  (Haupt  in  Meyer's  Kommentar1,  p.  70). 

But  it  is  not  clear  that  either  of  these  views 
would  in  any  way  help  us  out  of  the  difficulty,  for 
on  Lightfoot's  view  St.  Paul  changed  his  style 
within  two  years  and  his  doctrine  developed  and 
deepened.  Two  years  is  too  short  a  period  for 
this.  On  Haupt's  view  St.  Paul's  profound  style 
and  doctrine  in  Colossians  and  Ephesians  were  due 
to  his  confinement  in  Caesarea  when  he  had  time 
to  brood  and  ponder  such  as  he  had  not  before. 
This  enforced  inactivity  deepened  and  widened  his 
views  of  Christ.  But  the  weakness  of  this  explana- 
tion is  that  St.  Paul  again  goes  back  in  Philippians 
to  the  old  simple  style. 

Recently,  however,  a  theory  has  been  advocated 
which  seems  to  solve  this  difficulty.  The  theory  is 
that  Philippians  was  written  from  Ephesus,  and  the 
other  imprisonment  letters  from  Rome  or  Caesarea 
(so  M.  Albertz,  in  SK  iv.  [1910]  551  if.).  Thus 
the  Philippian  Epistle  is  ranged  alongside  Romans 
and  the  Corinthian  Epistles  ;  and  the  mission  of 
Timothy  (Ac  1922,  1  Co  1611)  is  explained.  The 
initial  difficulty,  however,  is  to  prove  an  Ephesian 
imprisonment.  There  is  no  mention  of  it  by  St. 
LUKB,  but  does  not  St.  Paul  himself  refer  to  it 
(1  Co  1532,  2  Co  48'10  69'10)?  The  extra-canonical 
arguments  used  by  Albertz  are  of  little  value — 
the  seven  imprisonments  mentioned  by  Clem.  Rom. 
(ad  Cor.  I.  v.  6),  the  account  in  Nicephorus  Kallisti 
of  St.  Paul's  fight  in  the  arena,  the  testimony  of 
the  Acts  of  Paul,  and  the  tower  still  in  Ephesua 
known  as  'Paul's  Prison'  (see  art.  PHILIPPI  for 
references).  The  real  argument  is,  however,  the 
'  fighting  with  beasts  at  Ephesus '  (1  Co  1532). 

The  theory  as  advocated  by  H.  Lisco  ( Vincula 
Sanctorum,  Berlin,  1900)  is  sharply  criticized  by 
Albertz  himself  (especially  his  view  that  Rome 
was  a  Hafengebiet  in  Ephesus,  which  is  a  curiosity 
of  criticism),  though  Lisco  seems  to  have  first  raised 
the  possibility  of  an  Ephesian  imprisonment. 
Deissmann,  who  claims  for  himself  the  originating 
of  the  theory  (Licht  vom  Osten,'ip.  171  n.,  Eng.  tr., 
p.  229  n.),  unfortunately  is  surer  of  the  Ephesian 
origin  of  Colossians  and  Ephesians  than  he  is  of 
the  Ephesian  origin  of  Philippians.  The  stylistic 
argument  he  explains  on  psychological  grounds 
(ib.).  Albertz's  article  is  worthy  of  serious  atten- 


224     PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


tion,  and  Kirsopp  Lake  claims  a  hearing  for  it 
(Exp,  8th  ser.,  vii.  [1914]  492  f.).  On  this  view,  it 
is  held,  it  is  easier  to  imagine  St.  Paul  influencing 
the  few  praetorians  in  Ephesus  than  the  9000  in 
Rome.  The  house  of  Coesar  offers  no  difficulty, 
for  slaves  of  the  Imperial  house  were  scattered 
all  over  the  provinces,  and  there  is  epigraphic  evi- 
dence for  their  existence  in  Ephesus  (q.v.).  St. 
Paul's  intention  of  going  to  Philippi  is  explicable, 
whereas  if  the  letter  was  written  from  Rome  we 
would  expect  him  to  go  farther  west.  His  expres- 
sion els  diro\oylav  etayyeXiov  Ke'i/J.ai  (I16  ;  cf.  v.7)  refers 
to  a  real  trial — an  appearance  before  the  court. 
Then,  if  the  letter  is  written  from  Rome,  the  refer- 
ence to  the  Philippians'  gift  is  sarcastic  (tfS-r]  irort), 
as  ten  years  had  elapsed  since  they  had  helped 
him,  and  this  is  unthinkable.  The  difficulties 
about  this  theory  are  to  prove  St.  Paul's  Ephesian 
imprisonment,  and  especially  his  fighting  with 
beasts,  for  he  was  a  Roman  citizen,  and  this 
indignity  would  accordingly  not  be  suffered  by 
him.  Luke's  silence  is  again  a  serious  matter ; 
and,  indeed,  his  account  militates  against  an 
imprisonment,  nor  is  it  likely  that  St.  Paul  would 
take  for  granted  that  the  Philippians  would  under- 
stand the  references  to  the  praetorium  and  the 
household  of  Caesar  without  further  explanation. 
Above  all,  his  situation  as  described  in  Philippians 
does  not  easily  fit  anything  we  know  of  his  stay  in 
Ephesus.  The  doctrinal  and  linguistic  argument, 
which  is  really  the  motive  of  all  these  theories, 
can  well  be  explained  on  psychological  grounds, 
and  the  different  conditions  of  the  churches 
addressed  (cf.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller, 
p.  359;  Deissmann,  L'icht  vom  Osten,  p.  171,  Eng. 
tr.,  p.  229;  Moffatt,  LNT,  p.  170). 

We  know  so  little  of  the  procedure  in  cases  of 
appeal  that  it  is  difficult  to  be  sure  of  the  situa- 
tion St.  Paul  was  in  when  Philippians  was  written, 
but  the  present  writer  concludes  that  the  Apostle 
wrote  Colossians,  Ephesians,  and  Philemon  earlier 
than  Philippians,  that  when  he  wrote  Philippians 
most  of  his  trusted  associates  (see  Colossians  and 
Philemon)  had  gone  on  missions  to  churches,  and 
he  had  difficulty  in  finding  any  one  to  go  to 
Philippi.  It  was  thus  either  at  the  end  of  his  two 
years  confinement  in  his  hired  house  (Ac  2830),  or 
at  a  later  date  when  he  was  more  immediately 
occupied  with  his  appearing  before  the  judicial 
authorities.  We  believe  that  he  had  already  made 
a  preliminary  defence  and  that  he  was  actually  set 
free  shortly  after  this,  either  because  the  Jews 
had  no  case  and  .failed  to  appear,  or  else  because 
their  case  broke  down  on  examination.  Whether 
we  can  interpret  Philippians  as  meaning  that  St. 
Paul  had  now  to  undergo  a  stricter  custody  than 
that  described  in  Acts  is  doubtful  though  not 
improbable  ;  if  it  took  place  it  was  not  due  to  a 
breaking  down  of  his  case  but  to  judicial  arrange- 
ments. Thus  the  dating  of  the  letter  depends  on 
the  view  which  we  take  of  Pauline  chronology 
generally.  The  two  points  to  be  fixed  are  Gallio's 
governorship  of  Achaia  and  Festus'  stay  in 
Csesarea  (see  C.  H.  Turner,  HDB  i.  415 ff.,  and 
Deissmann,  St.  Paul,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1912, 
Appendix  I. ).  The  present  writer  is  of  the  opinion 
that  St.  Paul  came  to  Rome  in  60  at  the  latest, 
and  that  he  was  liberated  towards  the  end  of  61. 
We  must  therefore  place  the  authorship  of  Philip- 
pians in  this  year,  and  that  of  the  other  imprison- 
ment letters  earlier. 

7.  Contents  of  the  letter.— (a)  The  fellowship  of 
the  gospel  (ll'n  410'23).— The  teaching  of  the  begin- 
ning and  ending  of  the  letter  centres  round  the 
thought  of  fellowship  (xotvuvla),  and  this  central  idea 
itself  is  suggested  to  the  Apostle  by  the  liberality 
of  his  Philippian  converts.  The  foundation  of  this 
fellowship  is  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ  (4s3)  or  of 


God  the  Father  (I2),  God  being  regarded  as  the 
source  of  this  grace,  and  Christ  as  the  agent 
through  whom  it  is  mediated.  Peace  is  the  result 
of  grace,  or  grace  viewed  in  relation  to  the  quality 
of  life  which  grace  produces.  Grace  is  this  new 
relationship  viewed  as  to  its  origin.  The  fellow- 
ship  of  Christians  follows  from  their  being  in 
Christ.  St.  Paul  and  Timothy  are  His  dov\oi — 
a  term  expressing  dignity  as  well  as  humility. 
Some  of  those  addressed  are  overseers  and  deacons 
of  His  flock,  all  are  consecrated  in  Him.  They  are 
thus  united  in  an  indissoluble  union  with  one 
another,  under  the  Lordship  of  Christ — a  Lordship 
of  grace.  This  free  redeeming  favour  is  at  once 
the  origin,  the  atmosphere,  and  the  ideal  of  Christian 
life.  It  is  a  subject  at  once  of  benediction  and  of 
prayer  (4s3).  It  is  a  common  Christian  possession 
(<rvt>Koivii)vobs  rfjs  xdptros),  shown  not  only  in  trust  in 
Christ,  but  also  in  suffering  on  His  behalf  (I29  ;  cf. 
v.7).  Grace  as  it  comes  with  its  lavish  offer  to  men 
is  the  gospel,  and  the  earnest  endeavour  to  pro- 
claim the  good  news,  or  the  support  of  those 
entrusted  with  this  proclamation,  is  the  fellowship 
in  the  gospel  (v.8).  The  Philippians  by  sending 
monetary  help  to  St.  Paul  have  demonstrated 
their  place  in  this  fellowship.  Their  material  gifts 
are  effects  of  their  spiritual  communion-life,  and 
the  steady  flow  *  of  their  liberality  all  along  from 
their  first  acceptance  of  the  gospel  until  now  is  a 
proof  of  their  growing  appreciation  of  this  com- 
munion and  a  proof  of  its  coming  completed 
realization  in  them  (vv.8'6).  Because  they  are  in 
Christ,  at  the  day  of  Christ  they  shall  be  perfect 
sharers  of  the  rich  life  which  He  has  in  glory  with 
God  the  Father,  and  which  is  mediated  through 
Him  to  His  people  (419).  This  revelation  of  their 
character — through  their  liberality — is  to  St.  Paul 
a  theme  of  thankful  prayer  and  rejoicing  (v.3),  of 
prayer  which  shall  be  answered  because  he  knows 
that  it  is  really  God  Himself  who  began  this  work 
in  them  and  He  will  complete  it,  of  rejoicing  also 
because  they  appreciate  what  the  fellowship  of  the 
gospel  is,  and  are  not  severed  from  it  by  afflictions 
(414).  Their  spiritual  condition  fills  him  with 
Christ-like  yearning  for  them  that  their  dydvij 
— their  spirit  of  Christian  brotherhood — should 
develop  along  the  Divinely  appointed  lines  of 
practical  wisdom  and  tactful  discrimination,  in  a 
world  where  enthusiasm  often  fails  in  insight,  and 
insight  in  kindly  consideration  of  others  (I10). 

His  thankfulness  and  his  joy  are  not  due  to  his 
appreciation  of  their  personal  kindness  to  himself, 
nor  yet  to  the  betterment  of  their  own  material 
circumstances.  It  is  more  deeply  rooted  and 
grounded  on  deeper  insight.  For  himself  he  can 
meet  plenty  or  poverty  in  the  sustaining  power  of 
Christ,  who  enables  him  and  has  enabled  him  hither- 
to to  cope  with  all  situations.  He  had  no  need  of 
any  further  gift  to  prove  their  attachment  to  him. 
The  past  can  supply  rich  evidence  of  that.  Nor  is 
it  this  exhibition  of  their  material  prosperity  that 
makes  him  rejoice.  It  is  the  fact  rather  that  thus 
he  has  a  fresh  proof  of  the  reality  of  their  fellow- 
ship in  the  gospel.  It  is  given  thus  to  them  (as  to 
him)  to  defend  and  strengthen  the  gospel,  to  offer 
to  God  an  acceptable  and  pleasing  sacrifice — to 
reap  already  the  fruit  of  that  uprightness  of  life 
•tfhich  is  produced  through  Christ  (v.11),  and  to  sow 
the  seeds  of  yet  richer  harvests.  For  their  spiritual 
prosperity  is  really  their  willingness  to  support  the 
gospel.  Spiritual  expenditure  is  the  accumulation 
of  spiritual  capital.  Spiritual  liberality  is  the 
plan  of  campaign  for  God's  successful  stewards,  for 
the  supply  will  be  according  to  the  demand  both 
here  and  hereafter.  Their  riches  are  with  the 
glorified  Christ,  and  these  riches  are  increased  for 

*  Any  interruption  of  their  liberality  was  due  to  necessity, 
either  poverty  or  impossibility  of  transmission  (410). 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE     225 


them  by  appropriation  and  use.     They  will  receive 
full  possession  of  the  inheritance  on  His  day. 

Never  was  Christian  liberality  so  exalted  and  so 
spiritually  interpreted,  never  were  donors  thanked 
in  such  a  fashion  save  when  the  Master  said  : 
'  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  these  my 
brethren,  even  these  least,  ye  did  it  unto  me' 
(Mt  2540).  On  this  is  grounded  his  conviction  as  to 
their  '  perseverance '  and  his  assurance  of  their  final 
salvation. 

(b)  The  furtherance  of  the  gospel  (irpoKovrj  rod 
ttayyeXiov)   (I12'26).' — The   Philippians   were    afraid 
that  St.  Paul's  recent  experiences  boded  ill  for  the 
success  of  the  gospel.     He  dispels  their  pessimism 
(1)  by  an  appeal  to  present  facts.      His  present 
condition  has  not,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  hindered 
the  progress  of  the  gospel ;  it  has  extended  it  and 
enabled  it — as  far  as  he  himself  is  concerned — to 
shine  forth  in  its  true  light,  sharply  defined  where 
it  was  apt  to  be  mingled  with  other  issues  (I12'13). 
It  has  quickened  it  also  into  fresh  activity  and 
vigorous  boldness  in  the  case  of  others — and  these 
include  the  majority  of  his  brother  preachers.     His 
chains  have  not  insulated  the  Word  of  God,  but 
are  a  vehicle  of  its  diffusion.     The  fact  that  some 
preachers   (these    are    not    included    in    the    robs 
irXfiovas  of  v.14)  are  motived  by  partisanship  and 
personal  opposition  to  himself  does  not  lessen  his 
joy,  because  he  rejoices  in  the  preaching  of  Christ, 
and  the  gospel   is  relatively  independent  of  the 
preacher's    personal   motives.      The    gospel    then 
advances,  and  this  advancement  is  due  to  his  chains. 
Let  them  therefore  rejoice  with  him.     He  dispels 
their  pessimism  in  regard  to   the  success  of  the 
gospel  also  (2)  by  a  consideration  of  the  future. 
A    new    reason    is    introduced    in   I18b  (dXXd    KO.I 
xapficronai).     At  present  the  gospel  is  furthered  by 
his  chains,  but  should  his  condition  change,  what 
cause  have  they  to  fear  that  thereby  Christ's  cause 
shall  suffer  ?    As  far  as  he  is  concerned  a  prolonga- 
tion of  his  life  on  earth  means  the  preaching  of 
Christ,  which  shall  be  fruitful  also  in  furthering  the 
gospel ;  it  means,  besides,  a  strengthening  of  their 
own   faith   and   a  vindication  of  their   Christian 
exultation  in   him.     So  convinced  is  he  of  their 
need  of  him  that  he  is  sure  their  prayers  will  thus 
be  answered,  and  the  rich  supply  of  Christ's  Spirit 
to  him  will  enable  him  in   life  yet   to  magnify 
Christ  among  them.     But  if  his  trial  should  issue 
in  his  death  even   then  also  Christ's  Spirit  will 
enable   him   to  speak  freely  and  boldly,  so  that 
Christ  shall  be  magnified  in  his  death  as  in  his  life. 
This  is  his  earnest  hope,  and  it  is  a  hope  that  will 
not  be  disappointed,  that  in  either  case  Christ  shall 
have  the  glory ;  yea,  even  they  themselves  also 
would   thus   have   their  faith  completed,  for  his 
death  would  be  a  crowning  of  its  reality  and  utter 
devotion    (217).       Besides,   the  present    situation, 
whatever  the  issue,  will  bring  nearer  his  own  salva- 
tion either  by  his  personal  liberation  or  his  reunion 
with  Christ  (o-wr^pt'a  possibly  but  not  certainly  = 
'  liberation').     The  latter  prospect  is  to  him  over- 
poweringly  attractive,  so  much  so  that  he  cannot 
say  what  actually   he  would   desire  for  himself. 
To  depart  and  see  Christ  is  far  better  than  any 
earthly  lot,  but  then  he  knows  the  will  of  God  to 
be  that  he  should  yet  continue  here,  because  they 
need  him. 

(c)  The  faith  of  the  gospel  (^  irlo-Tis  TOV  etayye\lov) 
(127_25  3i_49)i_The  philippians  were  anxious  as 
to  how  St.  Paul's  state  would  affect  the  cause 
of  Christ,  and  he  also  is  anxious  for  them,  not  so 
much  as  to  their  condition  viewed  by  itself,  but  as 
to  its  effect  on  the  gospel  as  a  whole.     If  his  coin- 
ing is  to  bring  them  Christian  exultation,  then  it  is 
on  condition  that  they  live  worthily  of  the  gospel 
whether  he  be  with  them  or  not. 

The  gospel  is  the  charter  of  the  commonwealth 

VOL.  II.  — 15 


to  which  they  belong,  and  fidelity  to  it  is  therefore 
imperative.  By  faith  here  we  are  to  understand 
not  individual  trust  in  Christ,  but  a  communal 
esprit  de  corps.  The  community  to  which  they 
really  belong  is  not  simply  their  own  church  in 
Philippi,  but  the  heavenly.  This  is  the  ideal,  yet 
it  is  through  participation  in  it  that  all  existing 
Christian  communities  receive  their  value.  Be- 
sides, their  Lord,  whom  they  expect,  will  give  them 
full  possession  of  this  commonwealth  and  prepare 
them  for  it  by  giving  them  each  an  organism  freed 
from  all  the  weaknesses  and  debasing  associations 
of  the  present  body.  His  power  to  do  this  is  un- 
limited (330-  21). 

Fidelity  to  the  gospel  then  is  imperative,  and 
is  to  be  exhibited  negatively  and  positively.  (1) 
Fidelity  to  the  gospel  is  to  be  exhibited  negatively 
by  their  presenting  a  strenuous  united  front  to 
their  enemies.  They  are  to  be  as  one  single  person. 
The  elements  of  personality  are  spirit  and  soul, 
and  both  these  in  their  communal  life  are  to  be 
unified  in  themselves  and  together  in  a  determined 
stand  against  opponents.  Their  united  determina- 
tion will  be  a  proof  of  their  salvation — a  Divine 
salvation — and  will  terrify  their  enemies  into  a 
hastening  destruction.  So  then  let  them  not  be 
scared  as  horses  are  sometimes  scared  by  shadows, 
for  to  suffer  on  Christ's  behalf  is  a  Divine  favour — 
as  they  see  in  his  own  case — as  surely  as  that 
Christ  called  them  to  rely  on  Him  is  a  favour. 
Who  these  enemies  were  we  are  not  told,  but  it  is 
reasonable  to  believe  that  they  are  referred  to  in 
eh.  3,  because  there  we  have  illustrations  of  their 
opponents,  as  in  ch.  4  we  have  illustrations  of 
the  perils  which  threaten  their  inward  unity. 
These  passages  are  the  illustrative  exemplifications 
of  the  double  warnings  conveyed  in  l'-"7-^.  They 
were  Jews  and  libertines.  Of  the  former  they  are 
to  beware.  They  have  nothing  to  gain  from  them. 
Let  them  learn  from  his  own  case.  He  had  all  the 
privileges  that  these  Jews  could  give,  but  for  the 
excellency  of  Christ's  friendship  he  parted  with 
them  all,  and  he  is  as  convinced  now,  as  when  he 
first  did  this,  that  he  did  right. 

For  Christ  gave  him  the  power  to  get  into  right 
relations  with  God  on  the  ground  of  faith,  while 
Judaism  trusts  in  a  legal  righteousness  which  can- 
not save.  It  is  true  that  even  he  has  not  yet 
reached  perfection,  but  Christ  is  leading  him  on, 
and  he  strenuously  and  lovingly  follows  Him. 
The  power  of  Christ's  Kesurrection-life  is  being 
gradually  realized  in  him,  inasmuch  as  he  is  able  to 
follow  Him  into  sufferings  ;  and  the  spirit  which 
enabled  Jesus  to  suffer  as  He  did  suffer  is  in  St. 
Paul  also,  and  when  it  takes  complete  possession 
of  him  then  he  shall  perfectly  participate  in  the 
glorified  exalted  life  of  the  Redeemer.  The  right- 
eousness which  is  in  Christ  is  not  a  modification  of 
the  present  earthly  status  quo — as  the  Jews  thought 
— but  a  complete  transformation  of  it  by  the  power 
of  Christ,  who  already  has  perfection  and  who  shall 
bring  His  people  into  it  as  He  Himself  came  into 
it  through  sufferings  and  death.  It  is  thus  a  call 
— but  not  therefore  like  the  longing  of  Tantalus, 
or  the  labour  of  Sisyphus  ;  it  is  attainable,  but  it 
needs  all  the  energy  of  the  soul ;  it  demands  perfect 
absorption  of  interest,  because  it  is  their  Lord's 
own  grasp  that  is  uplifting  them  out  of  spiritual 
death  into  a  life  of  glory.  This  he  can  personally 
testify.  Let  them  beware  also  of  those  who  live 
for  earthly  things,  forgetting  their  high  calling, 
and  their  great  hope,  men  who  claim  spiritual  per- 
fection, but  are  really  concerned  with  earthly 
gratification  and  spiritual  liberty,  meaning  thereby 
sensual  licence.  '  I  call  them,  says  the  Apostle, 
'enemies  of  the  Cross  of  Christ,  for  they  fail  to 
understand  to  my  sorrow  and  their  own  woe  that 
the  flesh  has  no  function  in  the  spiritual  common- 


226     PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


wealth  over  which  Christ  is  King  and  from  which 
He  shall  come  to  prepare  His  people  by  furnish- 
ing them  with  bodies  like  His  own  present  glorified 
body'(Ph3lsff-). 

(2)  Positively  they  must  show  their  fidelity  to 
the  gospel  by  inward  union.  In  ch.  4  they  are 
directly  reminded  of  the  variance  between  Euodia 
and  Syntyche,  and  both  these  women  are  exhorted 
to  practical  unity  in  the  Lord.  Others  are  to  help 
them  to  attain  this  end — recognizing  their  former 
diligence  and  associations  with  St.  Paul  and  his 
fellow-labourers.  This  unity  is  enforced  by  their 
standing  in  Christ.  From  this  vantage-point  the 
Apostle  can  appeal  to  them  with  strong  and  tender 
persuasion.  Are  they  not  loving  brethren  and 
fellow-participators  in  the  Spirit  ?  He  can  also 
add  his  own  personal  appeal,  for  they  are  his 
beloved,  his  joy  and  his  crown.  Therefore  let 
them  abjure  party-strife,  and  vainglory,  and  let 
them  imitate  their  Lord  in  His  self-denying 
humility  for  others.  Let  His  example  be  their 
constant  rule.  Let  them  do  all  things  without 
murmurings  and  disputings,  for  the  word  of  life  is 
theirs.  Let  their  light  shine  before  men,  lest  his 
labour  among  them  end  in  shame  instead  of  exult- 
ant joy,  for  he  is  ready  even  to  be  poured  out  as  a 
libation  to  complete  the  self-denial  of  their  faith, 
and  he  does  this  with  joy ;  let  them  also  with 
single  and  united  effort  imitate  him  ;  for  none  else 
but  God  Himself  is  energizing  in  them  to  effect  the 
complete  salvation  they  long  for.  Let  them  keep 
their  eye  on  him  and  those  who  walk  as  he  walks, 
maintaining  their  place  in  the  way,  waiting  for 
God's  light  to  shine  on  the  path  along  which  they 
now  advance.  '  Whatever  they  learned,  and  re- 
ceived, and  heard  from  him,  whatever  they  saw 
in  him,  let  them  do'  (49).  Let  them  also  think 
constantly  of  those  moral  virtues  which  are  every- 
where recognized.  Let  them  remember  the  near- 
ness of  their  Lord's  approach,  and  let  them  wait 
upon  Him  in  prayer.  Then  shall  their  life  be 
freed  from  the  paralysis  of  distraction  and  graced 
with  the  calm  sweetness  and  orderliness  of  the 
forward  full  vision,  with  the  joy  of  singleminded- 
ness.  For  God  gives  peace — i.e.  a  life  full  of  self- 
sufficiency  and  inward  security — and  this  peace 
shall  like  a  garrison  safeguard  them  in  Christ  (44'7). 
Let  them  then  rejoice  in  the  Lord.  Let  all  men 
see  the  strength,  the  sweetness,  and  the  sensible- 
ness  of  their  faith. 

We  have  already  dealt  with  St.  Paul's  references 
to  Timothy  and  Epaphroditus  (219-30).  We  must 
look  a  little  more  closely  at  their  Great  Example. 

(d)  The  imitation  of  Christ  (25'11). — This  famous 
passage  cannot  be  discussed  with  any  fullness  here. 
It  is  evident  from  the  rhythmical  structure  that 
thought  and  language  have  been  carefully  arranged 
and  elaborated,  yet  the  whole  statement  is  brought 
forward  as  a  practical  motive,  not  as  an  exhaustive 
theological  statement. 

Christ  first  comes  into  the  Apostle's  vision — as  he 
considers  Him  in  this  passage  in  His  pre-incarnate 
state — before  His  appearance  on  earth.  In  this 
state,  the  Apostle  says,  He  was  in  the  form  of  God. 
What  does  this  mean  ?  It  must  mean  something 
that  Christ  could  lay  aside,  of  which  He  did  empty 
Himself,  something  that  forms  a  direct  contrast 
to  the  '  form  of  a  servant.'  From  the  phrase  favrov 
^Ktvuirev  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  it  is  equi- 
pollent to  '  Himself,'  His  personality.  His  per- 
sonality then  was  essentially  identical  with  that  of 
God.  Is  it  not  absurd  to  say  of  any  one,  however, 
that  he  empties  himself  of  his  personality  ?  Logi- 
cally it  is,  but  really  it  is  not.  We  know  what  is 
meant  by  a  denial  of  oneself,  an  effacement  of  one- 
self. The  fact  is  that  these  ethical  activities  tran- 
scend the  bare  laws  of  logical  consistency.  The 
'  form  of  God  '  then  seems  to  describe  Christ's  pre- 


incarnate  personality  in  terms  of  the  Divine  nature. 
popart  is,  of  course,  not  used  here  as  an  accurate  ter- 
minus technicus  of  philosophy,  but  it  does  seem  in 
St.  Paul  to  express  (cf.  Ro  S29,  Gal  419,  2  Co  318, 
Ph  310)  a  personality  with  adequate  means  for  the 
expression  of  personal  activities,  and  to  St.  Paul 
Christ  in  His  pre-incarnate  state  was  a  Divine 
Personality,  with  a  spiritual  organism  perfectly 
adequate  for  the  manifestation  of  His  Divine  glory. 
This  is  implied  in  p.op4>-n,  which  still  retains  traces 
of  its  original  perceptual  reference.  St.  Paul  does 
not  say  that  this  /^op^iy  was  identical  with  our 
Lord's  post-Resurrection  spiritual  body,  far  less 
that  He  had  a  quasi-material  trw/m,  but  he  does 
seem  to  say  that  it  was  functionally  as  perfect  for 
the  expression  of  His  Divinity  then  as  the  latter 
is  for  the  expression  of  His  redemptive  Lordship 
now.  In  this  pre-incarnate  state  He  did  not  grasp 
at  equality  with  God  (ovx  apiray/^bv  riy-qffa.ro  TO  elva.i 
tea  0e£).  It  is  difficult  if  not  impossible  to  find 
here  a  reference  to  our  Lord's  earthly  life.  That 
has  yet  to  come  before  the  Apostle's  mind.  Psy- 
chologically, of  course,  the  self-denying  life  of  Jesus 
on  earth  was  the  temporal  prius  from  which  the 
Apostle  developed  his  view  of  Christ's  nature,  but 
here  it  is  the  ordo  eventuum  in  the  pre-earthly  life 
of  Christ  which  he  describes,  not  the  psychologi- 
cal order  of  his  own  thinking.  What,  however, 
does  it  mean  to  say  that  He  did  not  consider  equality 
with  God  a  thing  to  be  snatched  ?  How  could  He 
seize  on  equality  with  God  if  He  was  already  in  the 
form  of  God  ?  If  the  two  phrases  are  identical  is 
there  not  here  a  manifest  absurdity?  Lightfoot 
and  others  get  out  of  this  difficulty  by  translating 
— '  did  not  consider  equality  with  God  as  a  prize 
to  be  retained,  to  be  clung  to ' ;  but  the  phrase 
indicates  more  than  retaining — it  indicates  a  posi- 
tive grasping.  Others  again  refer  this  grasping  to 
His  future  Lordship  which  God  gave  Him  (as  a 
gift)  in  virtue  of  His  obedience.  '  He  might  have 
used  the  miraculous  powers  inherent  in  His  Divine 
nature  in  such  a  way  as  to  compel  men,  without 
further  ado,  to  worship  Him  as  God'  (Kennedy, 
EOT,  '  Philippians,'  p.  437a). 

But  the  insuperable  objection  to  this  opinion  is 
that  the  phrase  expresses  a  pre-incarnate  activity 
and  not  an  incarnate  one.  The  truth  in  this  view 
is  that  '  equality  with  God '  is  regarded  as  a  rela- 
tion— a  recognition  of  Divine  equality  from  others 
— spiritual  beings.  Christ  did  not  think  of  claim- 
ing this  in  heaven  before  His  appearance  on  earth. 
The  redemption  of  men  being  in  view  He  on  the 
contrary  voluntarily  determined  to  undertake  it, 
and  thereby  did  not  snatch  at  this  Divine  recogni- 
tion. In  one  word  the  self-humiliation  of  our  Lord 
was  first  transacted  on  the  theatre  of  His  own 
Divine  mind  above  before  it  was  concretely  mani- 
fested here  below,  and  it  was  not  simply  a  renuncia- 
tion touching  Himself  only,  but  a  renunciation  in 
spite  of  a  positive  essential  nisus  that  heavenly 
beings  might  in  virtue  of  His  nature  have  expected 
Him  to  have  exerted.  The  Apostle  no  doubt 
argued  from  Jesus'  earthly  activity,  but  he  natu- 
rally projects  this  activity  into  the  pre-incarnate 
state.  As  His  action  was  on  earth  so  it  was 
formerly  in  heaven.  The  Apostle  in  Jthe  expres- 
sion ovx  apiray/uibv  rjytjffaro  rb  elvai  foa,  Oef  is  not  con- 
cerned with  defending  Christ  from  blame,  but  with 
commending  Him  as  the  transcendent  moral 
Example.  He  might — at  any  rate,  all  others 
would — have  exercised  self-assertion  :  it  was,  as  it 
were,  His  right.  But  He  did  not  do  so.  The  diffi- 
culties here  are  not  those  of  formal  logic,  but  the 
ever-present  difficulties  of  visualizing  eternal  in- 
finite activities  in  finite  temporal  categories.  Then 
the  second  vision  which  the  Apostle  has  of  His 
Master  is  on  earth.  '  He  emptied  Himself  by  tak- 
ing the  form  of  a  servant,  being  or  becoming  in 


PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


PHILO 


227 


human  likeness,  and  being  found  in  human  guise, 
He  still  humbled  Himself  unto  death  —  yea  the 
Cross-death.'  Here  we  have  the  Apostle's  descrip 
tion  of  our  Lord's  incarnate  life.  What  is  involved 
in  His  self-emptying  we  cannot  say.  The  'how' 
of  it  is  beyond  our  understanding,  but  the  fact  of 
it  and  its  absolute  moral  value  are  full  of  force. 
The  Apostle  does  not  mean  by  '  the  likeness  of  men  ' 
or  '  in  fashion  as  a  man '  that  Jesus  was  less  than 
human,  but  that  He  was  truly  human,  tried  by  all 
experimental  tests — yet  more.  The  tKtvuffev  eavr6v 
is  not  physical  annihilation  but  moral  ettacement. 
To  discuss  theologically  the  possible  theories  that 
have  been  used  to  explain  this  is  not  called  for  here. 
They  are  neither  useless,  however,  nor  futile,  but 
due  to  an  essential  thought-impulse  in  us.  The 
difficulties  of  theory  must  not  obscure  the  glory  of 
the  fact  to  be  explained.  Milton  has  this  passage 
in  mind  when  he  says  : 

'That  glorious  Form,  that  Light  unsufferable, 
And  that  far-beaming  blaze  of  Majesty, 
Wherwith  he  wont  at  Heav'n's  high  Councel-Table, 
To  sit  the  midst  of  Trinal  Unity, 
He  laid  aside  ;  and  here  with  us  to  be, 

Forsook  the  Courts  of  everlasting  Day, 
And  chose  with  us  a  darksom  House  of  mortal  Clay ' 

(On  the  Morning  of  Christ's  Nativity,  8-14). 

Men  saw  Him  here  as  they  saw  other  men,  subject 
to  the  limitations  to  which  man  as  man  is  subject. 

The  third  vision  is  the  Exalted  Christ — yet  still 
the  same  Person,  but  now  freed  from  earthly  limi- 
tations, highly  exalted,  gifted  with  universal  Lord- 
ship by  God  because  of  His  obedience,  possessing 
now  the  ineffable  Name  in  recognizing  which  all  are 
to  worship  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father.  The 
Apostle's  view  of  the  imitation  of  Christ  is  not  a 
slavish  copying  of  His  earthly  habits  or  actions  but 
a  possession  of  His  Spirit  as  the  spirit  of  humility 
and  obedience  to  the  will  of  God.  This  Lordship 
of  Christ  is  central  in  St.  Paul's  teaching.  It  gives 
duty  its  obligation,  for  Christ  is  the  law  and  Tight 
of  the  individual  conscience.  It  supplies  virtue 
with  striving  and  sustaining  power,  guarantees  it 
with  the  sure  hope  of  ultimate  success  and  reward 
in  the  day  of  Christ,  the  day  when  His  Lordship 
shall  be  known  and  recognized.  It  supplies  the 
good  with  its  content,  for  the  glory  of  the  Lord — 
the  riches  of  that  glory — is  the  true  inheritance 
and  life  of  the  saints.  It  gives  moral  judgment 
a  norm  and  a  finality,  for  the  Lord  is  the  ultimate 
Judge.  It  gives  evangelism  its  programme  of 
advance.  It  enforces  sanctification  because  it  sees 
in  Christian  men  God  Himself  at  work.  It  assures 
salvation.  It  gives  life  on  earth  a  purpose  and 
robs  death  of  its  terror  and  transforms  suffering 
into  a  grace.  The  day  of  the  full  revelation  of  this 
Lordship  is  the  day  of  Christ.  Its  date  is  not  told, 
but  it  is  near.  The  measurement  used  is  the  pro- 
phetic not  the  chronological.  To  the  Apostle  death 
means  to  be  with  the  Lord — to  see  His  face.  There 
is  no  word  here  of  a  sleep  of  the  saints  (Kotfj.ao-0ai). 
The  coming  of  Christ  means  the  transformation  of 
the  body  of  humiliation  into  the  likeness  of  Christ's 
own  body  of  glory,  so  that  in  contrast  with  that 
glorious  life  this  life  of  striving, '  pent  in  the  body,' 
is  like  death.  Whether  this  happens  immediately 
after  death  or  after  an  interval  is  not  said.  St.  Paul 
does  not  say  that  the  Philippian  community  will 
be  alive  at  Christ's  coming,  but  he  seems  to  regard 
it  as  a  possibility  (I10). 

For  these  reasons  it  is  held  by  some  that  St.  Paul 
changed  his  view  of  eschatology,  that  he  gave  up 
the  idea  of  a  Koi^da-Bai.  of  the  saints,  and  favoured 
the  idea  of  immediate  reunion  with  Christ  after 
death  (W.  Beyschlag,  NT  Theology,  Eng.  tr., 
2  vols.,  Edinburgh,  1895,  ii.  267  ff. ).  The  influence 
under  which  this  change  took  place,  according  to 
this  view,  is  the  sure  prospect  of  his  own  death. 
But  many  others  had  died  in  Christ  before  him, 


and  it  is  impossible  to  think  that  St.  Paul  had  not 
considered  that  question  seriously.  He  is  working 
with  the  resurrection  of  Christ  Himself  as  the 
norm  of  his  thinking  on  this  subject  as  far  as  the 
'  -ise  of  Christians  is  concerned.  He  believes  in  a 
general  resurrection  for  all  (Ro  28  1410,  2  Co  510), 
but  for  the  Christian  the  Resurrection  means  a 
glorified  body  like  to  Christ's  own,  which  shall  be 
given  him  at  Christ's  coming.  How  he  is  clothed 
in  the  interval  is  not  said.  That  St.  Paul  regarded 
this  Parousia  of  Christ  as  near  at  hand  is  evident, 
but  it  is  equally  evident  that  he  did  not  claim  to 
know  the  date  and  that  he  did  not  lay  stress  on  it. 
What  is  of  value  for  practice  and  for  hope  is  that 
'  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  and  that  '  He  shall  come.' 

LITERATDRB. — There  is  no  attempt  to  give  an  exhaustive 
bibliography.  For  exegesis  the  following  commentaries  are 
useful :  J.  B.  Lightfpot,  Philippians*,  London,  1878  ;  M.  R. 
Vincent,  ICC,  'Philippians  and  Philemon,'  Edinburgh,  1897 
(strong  philologically) ;  C.  J.  Ellicott,  Philippians,  Colossians, 
and  Philemon^,  London,  1888;  but  especially  E.  Haupt,  in 
Meyer's  Kommentar  uber  das  HT>,  Gottingen,  1902,  and  H.  A. 
A. 'Kennedy,  -EGTV'Philippians,'  London,  1903.  The  history 
of  the  exegesis  before  1859  is  given  in  B.  Weiss,  Der  Philipper- 
Brief,  Berlin,  1859;  M.  R.  Vincent,  op.  cit.  supra,  p.  xiff., 
has  a  good  select  list.  J.  Moffatt  (LNT,  Edinburgh,  1911,  p. 
165*)  gives  a  very  full  list  of  commentaries  since  Calvin. 

Homiletics  and  Theology  : — R.  Rainy,  Expositor's  Bible, 
'  Philippians,'  London,  1893 ;  H.  C.  G.  Moule,  Cambridge 
Greek  Testament,  'Philippians,'  Cambridge,  1897,  Philippian 
Studies,  London,  1897  (full  of  sympathetic  insight);  C.  J. 
Vaughan,  Lectures  on  Philippians^,  Cambridge,  1864,  Greek 
Text  with  Notes,  London,  1885  ;  J.  Eadie,  Commentary  to  the 
Ep.  to  the  Philippians,  do.,  1857  (still  very  useful) ;  H.  von 
Soden,  Der  Brief  des  Apostels  Paulus  an  die  Philipper,  Frei- 
burg i.  B.,  1889  (2Tiibingen,  1906). 

There  is  a  whole  library  on  25-u  ;  see  Meyer's  Kommentari  for 
list  of  earlier  books.  Note  esp.  E.  H.  Gifford,  The  Incarnation, 
London,  1897  (very  thorough  but  explains  terms  too  rigidly) ; 
A.  B.  Bruce,  The  Humiliation  of  Christ*,  Edinburgh,  1881 ; 
D.  Somerville,  St.  Paul's  Conception  of  Christ,  do.,  1897,  p. 
188  f. ;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Philippians*,  pp.  127-137;  W. 
Weiffenbach,  Auslegung  der  Stelle  Philipper,  2«-",  Karlsruhe, 
1884  ;  and  indeed  all  commentaries. 

For  criticism  a  good  account  is  given  in  R.  A.  Lipsius,  in 
Handkommentar  zum  NT?,  Freiburg  i.  B.,  1891 ;  T.  Zahn, 
Introduction  to  the  NT,  Eng.  tr.,  3  vols.,  Edinburgh,  1909, 
vol.  i.  (excellent);  and  the  problems  are  luminously  set  and 
answered  in  J.  Moffatt,  op,  cit.  supra,  p.  165 ff.,  where  the 
literature  is  also  given.  J.  Weiss,  Die  Schriften  des  NT%, 
Gottingen,  1906-07,  ii.  372-390,  gives  a  good  popular  exegesis  ; 
see  also  Exp,  8th  ser.,  vii.  [1914]  481  ff.,  viii.  [1914]  143 ff.,  457ff., 
ix.  [1915]  235  S.,  481  ff.  D.  MACKENZIE. 

PHILO. — Philo  of  Alexandria,  the  Jew,  a  con- 
temporary of  the*  apostles,  was  so  highly  esteemed 
by  early  Christian  theologians  as  to  be  counted 
among  the  Christian  authors  (Jerome,  de  Vir.  III. 
11),  and  his  significance  for  the  Apostolic  Age  is  no 
less  clearly  recognized  by  modern  scholars. 

1.  Life. — About  the  life  of  Philo  we  have  only 
very  scanty  information ;  apart  from  occasional 
remarks  in  his  own  writings  (in  particular  in 
Flaccum  and  de  Virtut.  et  Leg.  ad  Gaium)  one 
has  to  refer  to  Josephus,  Ant.  xvin.  viii.  1  [259 f.], 
and,  for  the  background,  to  the  papyri  dealing 
with  persecutions  of  the  Jews  in  Alexandria.* 
The  Rabbinical  literature  does  not  mention  this 
Hellenistic  leader  of  Alexandria. 

Philo  belonged  to  one  of  the  noblest  and 
wealthiest  Jewish  families  of  Alexandria.  His 
brother  Alexander  was  alabarch  (or  arabarch,  i.e. 
in  control  of  the  custom-houses  on  the  Arabian 
frontier),  and  he  presented  the  magnificent  brazen 
doors  for  the  inner  court  of  the  Temple  in  Jeru- 
salem (Jos.  BJ  v.  v.  3  [205]).  His  nephew  Tiberius 
Alexander  took  service  with  the  Romans,  and, 
renouncing  his  Judaism,  became  a  high  official ;  he 
was  governor  of  Judaea  before  A.D.  48,  and  after- 
wards governor  of  Egypt.  In  69-70,  at  the  siege 
of  Jerusalem,  he  was  chief  commander  in  Titus' 
headquarters  (Jos.  Ant.  XX.  v.  2  [100] ;  BJ  II.  xv. 
1  [309],  xviii.  7  [492] ;  IV.  x.  6  [616] ;  V.  i.  6  [45], 
xii.  2  [510] ;  VI.  iv.  3  [237]).  Philo  had  had  the 

*  E.  von  Dobschutz, '  Jews  and  Antisemites  in  Ancient  Alex- 
andria,' A  JTh  viii.  4  [1904]  728-756. 


228 


PHILO 


PHILO 


usual  training  of  a  Greek  boy  of  good  family  :  he 
had  studied  grammar,  mathematics,  music,  and 
rhetoric  ;  he  had  acquired  a  good  knowledge  of 
Greek  literature  and  obtained  a  fairly  profound 
philosophical  education.  His  style  is  near  to 
Attic  classicism  ;  he  imitates  Plato  so  much  that 
people  said  :  •)}  IL\d,ruv  <j>i\uvi£ei,  r)  $i\wv  TrXarwvifft 
(Jerome,  de  Vir.  III.  11)  :  the  one  must  have 
copied  the  other.  But,  in  accordance  with  the 
prevailing  literary  taste,  he  uses  any  kind  of  style 
that  may  be  appropriate  to  his  purpose.  He  had 
also  heard  Jewish  interpreters  of  the  Torah,  prob- 
ably in  the  synagogue  ;  and  it  seems  as  if,  like 
other  serious  young  men,  e.g.  Josephus  and  Seneca, 
he  had  entered  into  temporary  retreat  and  held 
intercourse  with  ascetic  circles  in  order  to  gain 
perfection  in  theosophy  (de  Spec.  Leg.  iii.  1  [ed. 
Mangey,  ii.  299]).  Incidentally  he  mentions  a  pil- 
grimage to  Jerusalem  (de  Providentia  lap.  Eus. 
Prcep.  Evang.  VIII.  xiv.  64]).  In  his  later  life  he 
came  into  publicity  much  against  his  own  desire. 
In  consequence  of  the  anti-Semitic  riots  at  Alex- 
andria under  Flaccus,  Philo,  as  the  leader  of  a 
Jewish  embassy,  went  to  Rome  to  see  the  Emperor 
Caligula.  His  mission,  according  to  his  own 
report,  was  not  successful.  His  opponent  was  the 
same  Alexandrian  litterateur,  Apion,  against  whom 
Josephus  wrote  his  two  books. 

From  Eus.  HE  II.  xviii.  8  one  might  infer  that 
Philo  remained  at  Rome  until  the  time  of  Claudius 
(Jerome  thinks  rather  of  a  second  voyage),  and 
that  under  the  new  regime  Philo  was  honoured  by 
the  Senate,  while  his  works  (in  particular  in 
Flaccum  and  de  Legatione  ad  Gaium)  found  a  place 
in  the  public  library.  That  Philo,  while  at  Rome, 
met  the  apostle  Peter  (ib.  xvii.  1)  is  a  legend  of 
the  same  kind  as  the  legends  of  an  exchange  of 
letters  between  St.  Paul  and  Seneca,  or  of  rela- 
tions between  St.  Luke  or  Mary  Magdalene  and 
Galen  the  famous  physician.  The  papyri  report, 
in  the  time  of  Claudius,  a  hearing  or  the  Alex- 
andrian anti-Semites  against  King  Agrippa,  but 
do  not  mention  Philo. 

Philo's  significance  does  not  rest  so  much  upon 
his  personality  as  upon  his  numerous  writings. 
He  represents  a  mode  of  thought  evidently  wide- 
spread at  the  time. 

2.  Works.  —  Philo  is  (1)  an  interpreter  of  Holy 
Scripture,  (2)  an  apologist  for  Judaism.  The  earlier 
editions  of  his  works  contain  a  large  number  of 
individual  treatises  of  which  Eusebius  (HE  ii.  18) 
and  Jerome  (de  Vir.  III.  11)  *  give  a  long  list.  But 
it  has  been  shown  by  Schiirer,  Massebieau,  and 
Colm  that  they  fall  into  two  or  three  groups.  The 
first  and  largest  deals  with  the  Pentateuch  under 
three  heads  :  a  short  interpretation,  a  long  alle- 
gorical commentary,  and  an  exposition  in  system- 
atic order  (the  second  and  third  of  these  may  be 
called,  with  0.  Holtzmann,  a  kind  of  Midrash  and 
Mishna).  The  second  consists  of  philosophical 
tractates  in  dialogue  form,  probably  belonging  to 
the  earliest  period  of  Philo's  literary  activity.  The 
third  contains  apologetic  works  of  a  later  period. 
They  may  be  tabulated  as  follows  : 

I.    EXEGETICAL,   WORKS  ON  THE   PENTATEUCH  : 

i.  Questions  and  Answers,  6  bks.  on  Gen.,  5  bks.  on  Ex. 
(preserved  partially  in  Armenian  and  in  Latin)  :  short  verbal 
interpretations  with  allegorical  additions. 

z.  Legum  Allegoriae,  i.-viii.  :  a  scientific  commentary  on 
On  2-40. 


<v.>  de  Cherubim 

<vi.>  de  Sacrificiis  Abelis  et  Caini 


320-23> 
324-41 
42-4 
4»-7> 

<vii.  (viii.)>  Quod  deteriiis  potiori  insidiari  soleat    48-i* 
<viii.  (ix.)>  de  Posteritate  Caini  416-25 

*  This  later  list  has  no  value  whatever  ;  see  C.  A.  Bernoulli, 
Der  Schriftstellerkatalog  des  Hieronymus,  Freiburg  i.  B.,  1895, 
pp.  115  f.,  182  fF.  It  was,  however,  translated  into  Greek,  and 
thus  came  to  be  used  by  Suidas  and  Photius. 


So  far  the  commentary  is  continuous ;  the  following  are  indi- 
vidual tracts : 

de  Gigantibus  (2  bks.)  61-12 
(ii.  =  Quod  Deus  sit  immutabilis) 

<de  Fcederibus  (2  bks.  )  920> 
de  Agricultura  (2  bks.) 
(ii.  =de  Plantatione  Noe) 

de  Ebrietate  (2  bks.)  921 
(ii.  only  fragments) 

de  Sobrietate  &*•'** 

de  C'onfusione  Linguarum  II1-9 

de  Migrations  Abrahami  121-' 

<de  Prcemio  15i> 

Quis  rerum  divinarum  heres  sit  152-18 

de  Congressu  Eruditionis  Gratia  161-5 

de  Fuya  et  Inventione  (de  Profugis)  168-1* 

de  Mu'atione  Xominum  171-22 

<de  Deo  182> 
de  Somniis  (5  bks.) 

(extant  only  iv.  and  v. = i.,  ii.)  2810-"  31»-13  377-" 

409-17  4117-24 

Possibly  some  titles  are  wanting;  some  are  tentatively  put 
into  the  list  in   <  > .    Philo  seems  to  have  dealt  only  with 
selected  passages  from  ch.  6  onwards. 
3.  Systematic  delineation  of  the  Law. 

(a)  de  Opificio  Mundi.* 

(b)  The  unwritten  Law  as  represented  by  the  lives  of  the 
Fathers. 

Abraham  (virtue  as  acquired  by  learning) 

<Isaac  (virtue  as  innate)> 

<Jacob  (virtue  as  practised)> 

Joseph  (politicus) 

(e)  The  written  Law. 
de  Decaloijo 

de  Specialibus  Legibus  (i.-iv.) 
i.  de  Circumcisione 
de  Monarchia  i.,  ii. 
de  Prcemiis  Sacerdotum 
de  Victimis 

de  Victiinas  Offerentibus 
ii  de  Septenario 
de  Cophini  Festo 
<de  Colendis  Parentibus> 
iii.  de  Adulterio 

de  Nece 
iv.  de  Judice 

de  Concupiscentia 
de  Virtutibus 

de  Fortitiidine 
<de  Pietate> 
de  Humanitate  t 
de  Pcenitentiai 
de  Kobilitate 
[de  Vita  Contemplativa] 
de  Prcemiis  et  Paenis 
de  Exsecrationibus 

II.  PHILOSOPHICAL  TREATISES  IN  FORM  OF  DIALOGUES  : 
/  <Quod  omnis  nequain  servus> 
\  Quod  omnis  probus  liber 
de.  Providentia  (2  bks.)  (?) 
Alexander  vel  quod  rationem  habeant  bruta  animalia. 

III.  APOLOOETICAL  WORKS  : 

Vita  Mosis  (3  or  rather  2  bks.) 
Hypothetica  (i.e.  moral  advices) 
de  Judceis  (apologia) 
de  Virtutibus  (5  bks.) 

<i.  Introductin> 

<ii.  Sejanus,  Pilatust^ 

iii.  t'n  Flaccum 

iv.  de  Lenatione  ad  Gaium 

<v.  Palinodia> 

IV.  WORKS  OF  DOUBTFUL  ORIGIN  : 
de  Vita  Contemplativa 

de  Incorruptibilitate  Mundi 
de  Mundo 

Interpretatio  Nominum  Eebraicorum. 
V.  SPURIOUS  WORKS  : 
de  Sampsons 
de  Jona. 

The  text  of  Philo's  works  has  come  down  to  us 
in  an  extremely  unsatisfactory  condition,  some 
tractates  being  specially  unfortunate.  As  some 
treatises  are  known  only  from  one  MS,  others  may 
still  await  discovery  ;  about  some  we  know  nothing 
but  the  title ;  of  others  we  have  only  fragments ; 
some  are  preserved  only  in  Armenian  or  in  Latin. 
It  is  entirely  due  to  the  Christian  Church  that 
Philo's  works  have  been  preserved.  Cohn  thinks 
he  can  prove  that  all  our  MSS  go  back  to  the 
famous  library  of  Pamphilus  at  Csesarea,  or  rather 

*  In  MSS  and  early  editions  this  stands  with  the  group  I.  2 ; 
but,  since  Gfrorer,  the  above  arrangement  is  generally  adopted. 

t  Some  critics,  as,  e.g.,  Dahne,  Gfrorer,  Massebieau,  would 
transfer  these  two  pieces  to  the  Life  of  Moses  (see  III.); 
but  Wendland  and  Schiirer  have  adduced  strong  reasons  for 
keeping  them  in  their  present  place. 


PHILO 


PHILO 


229 


to  the  work  of  the  two  presbyters  Acacius  and 
Euzoius,  who  about  A.D.  350  copied  the  papyrus 
rolls  of  this  library  into  parchment  books.  This 
shows  the  importance  of  the  indirect  transmission 
by  quotations  in  the  works  of  early  Church  Fathers, 
as,  e.g.,  Eusebius  and  Ambrosius,  and  by  Catence 
and  Florilegia. 

3.  Religion. — '  Philo  the  Jew ' — that  is  his  main 
characteristic.     He  is  a  faithful,  nay  an  enthusi- 
astic, adherent  of  Judaism,  both  as  a  nation  and  as 
a  religion.     He  is  an  apologist  of  Judaism,  trying 
to  convert  the  heathen  or  at  least  to  destroy  their 
prejudices.     He  is  a  Jew  in  his  strict  monotheism, 
his  faith  in  God's  providence,  and  his  high  moral 
standard.     As  a  Jew  he  is  devoted  to  the  Law  and 
the  Lawgiver.     Most  of  his  writings  are  given  up 
to  the  glorification  of  the  Law.     Notwithstanding 
his  allegorical  interpretation,   he  firmly  believes 
the  biblical  stories  to  be  historically  true  ;  and  he 
protests  against  the  inference  that  the  Law  loses 
its  claim  to  be  observed  in  the  letter  once  it  is 
understood  spiritually.     Philo's  position  does  not 
differ  much  in  this  respect  from  that  of  the  Pales- 
tinian Rabbis.     He  knows  and  uses  their  Halakha 
as  well  as  their  Haggada.     One  may  prove  from 
his  writings  a  close  affinity  between  the  Hellenistic 
and  Palestinian  parts  of  Judaism. 

On  the  other  hand,  Philo  is  a  typical  Jew  of  the 
Diaspora.  He  feels  as  a  Greek.  To  him  Greek  is 
his  mother  tongue  ;  his  Bible  is  the  Greek  transla- 
tion of  the  Pentateuch.  We  do  not  know  whether 
he  knew  Hebrew,  or,  if  so,  how  much.  His  Judaism 
is  weakened  and  enlarged ;  it  has  lost  its  strictness 
and  national  narrowness.  In  the  former  respect  it 
is  notable  how  little  attention  Philo  pays  to  the 
Temple  at  Jerusalem  (he  never  mentions  the 
temple  at  Leontopolis  in  Egypt) ;  he  is  concerned 
with  the  cultus  only  in  so  far  as  it  is  prescribed  in 
the  Law  ;  the  true  sacrifice  is  prayer.  Still  more 
surprising  is  his  neglect  of  the  national  hope.  The 
Messiah  is  mentioned  only  occasionally  (de  Prcemiis 
et  Pcenis,  xvi.  95  [ed.  Mangey,  ii.  423] ;  cf.  de 
Exsecr.  viii.  164  [ed.  Mangey,  ii.  435]).  His  religion 
has  lost  its  national  limitation :  it  has  become  a 
universal  reasonable  religion. 

But  Philo's  religion  has  borrowed  new  features 
from  Hellenism,  as,  e.g.,  the  notion  of  mystery 
(i.e.  a  hidden  wisdom  to  be  revealed  only  to  the 
initiated  [or,  with  Philo,  the  susceptible]),  and 
the  mystical  ecstatic  visions.  True,  there  are 
examples  of  this  in  Palestinian  Judaism  (e.g.,  the 
Merkaba,  God's  chariot  in  Ezekiel ;  for  visions  of 
Paradise  cf.  2  Co  122-  *  and  Baba  Hagiga,  xiv.  6), 
but  these  are  exceptions  ;  with  Philo  such  things 
are  the  rule :  all  religion  comes  to  perfection  in 
the  vision  of  God  (Quis  rer.  div.  tier,  sit,  ed. 
Mangey,  i.  508). 

In  de  Vita  Contemplativa  Philo  describes  his  own 
ideal ;  and  it  is  of  no  consequence  whether  the 
ascetic  circles  there  described  really  existed  in 
Egypt  or  whether  he  is  drawing  an  ideal  picture. 
It  is  unnecessary  and  incorrect  to  think  that 
Christian  monks  are  in  view,  as  the  Fathers  did, 
who  praised  Philo  as  the  oldest  authority  for 
Christian  monasticism  ;  modern  ciitics  do  the  same 
even  when  they  deny  Philo's  authorship  of  the 
treatise.  From  the  existence  of  Essenes  in  Eastern 
Palestine  known  to  Philo  himself  (Quod  omnis 
probus  liber  and  Apologia  pro  Judceis  [ap.  Eus. 
Prcep.  Evang.  viii.  11])  we  may  infer  how  many 
possibilities  there  were  in  Judaism  at  this  period. 

4.  Philosophy. — Philo  was  no   prophet ;    he  is 
interested  not  so  much  in  religion  as  in  philosophy. 
Philo  the  Jew  has  a  place  among  the  Greek  philo- 
sophers.    To  be  sure,  he  is  not  an  original  thinker. 
He  belongs  to  the  eclectics,  deriving  his  notions 
from  all  the  different  schools  and  combining  them. 
Sometimes,  indeed,  he  does  not  go  direct  to  the 


primitive  sources  but  to  selections.*  The  way, 
however,  in  which  he  combines  Platonic,  Pytha- 
gorean, Stoic,  Aristotelian,  and  Sceptic  elements  is 
very  significant — significant  also  for  contemporary 
philosophy.  Some  elements  Philo  probably  found 
already  combined  by  Posidonius  of  Apamea,  the 
leader  of  later  Stoicism,  in  whose  philosophy  the 
religious  element  is  very  prominent.  The  char- 
acteristic feature  with  Philo  is  the  combination 
with  Jewish  religion  :  as  this  rests  on  revelation, 
a  certain  character  of  authority  alien  to  ancient 
philosophy  is  impressed  upon  Philo's  specula- 
tions. 

From  Plato,  whom  he  mentions  next  to  Moses 
and  with  nearly  equal  reverence,  Philo  borrows 
the  doctrine  of  the  Ideas,  combining  them,  how- 
ever, with  the  Stoic  doctrine  of  the  Logos  and  the 
logoi,  and  clothing  it  in  the  form  of  the  biblical 
doctrines  of  Wisdom  and  of  angels  (it  is  still  dis- 
puted whether  in  this  late  Jewish  theory,  as  well 
as  in  the  Stoic  theory,  there  is  a  reminiscence  of 
polytheism,  ancient  gods  being  turned  into  divine 
attributes,  or  only  a  poetical  mode  of  personifica- 
tion)^ Platonic  is  the  dualistic  view  of  the  world  : 
spirit  being  strictly  opposed  to  matter.  With 
Philo,  besides  the  one  transcendental  God,  who 
rules  over  all  without  mixing  in  it,  there  stands  a 
second  Divine  Being,  the  Logos,  sometimes  viewed 
as  God's  plan  of  the  world,  but  more  frequently  as 
a  personal  creative  being :  he  calls  it  a  second  God, 
God's  firstborn  son,  or  archangel,  begotten,  pro- 
duced, created  by  God.  This  Logos  is  the  maker 
of  the  world  (Demiurge)  and  at  the  same  time  its 
preserver :  He  forms  the  cosmos  by  dividing,  and 
sustains  it  by  keeping  it  together.  He  is  the 
mediator  between  God  and  man  :  revealing  God  to 
man,  and  protecting  man  against  God  through 
priestly  intercession — a  true  paraclete.  He  guards 
and  governs  man,  being  the  norm  of  his  ethical 
behaviour.  In  this  way  the  Logos  is  pre-eminent 
in  all  departments  of  philosophy  and  human  life. 
From  the  Logos  come  the  individual  logoi,  or  Ideas 
or  Angels.  Entering  the  material  world  and 
forming  it,  they  produce  the  visible  cosmos. 
Matter  is  not  created :  it  is  eternal  in  the  shape 
of  an  unformed  substance  (chaos).  Creation  means 
form-giving  (cosmos). 

From  the  Pythagoreans  comes  the  symbolism  of 
numbers,  which  finds  ample  support  in  the  Penta- 
teuch :  God  has  ordered  everything  according  to 
measure,  number,  and  weight,  as  already  in  Wis 
II20.  The  monas  (one)  is  the  divine  number,  the 
dyas  (two)  the  number  of  creature  and  of  sin  ;  the 
trios  (three)  is  the  number  of  the  body  ;  tetras 
(four)  and  dekas  (ten)  mean  perfection,  possible 
and  real  (10  =  1+2+3+4);  five  signifies  senses, 
sensuality  ;  there  is  no  end  of  speculation  on 
seven. 

From  the  Sceptics  Philo  borrows  the  criticism  of 
sense  perception ;  their  doubts  at  the  same  time 
are  helpful  for  refuting  Stoic  fatalism,  which  is 
incompatible  with  the  Jewish  faith  in  God. 

In  ethics  Philo  accepts  the  doctrine  of  the  four 
main  virtues  as  proposed  by  Plato,  and  the  Stoic 
principle  of  life  according  to  nature  ;  he  discovers 
both  in  the  Mosaic  Law,  which  represents  to  him 
the  true  reasonable  morality.  But  his  religion 
inclines  him  towards  asceticism  :  the  ideal  man  is 
created  sexless  ;  sin  arises  when  unity  is  split  into 
male  and  female. 

Complicated  as  this  system  may  seem  owing  to 
its  eclectic  character,  it  appears  to  its  author  as  a 
unity.  And  it  is  this  unity  which  Philo  finds 
represented  in  his  Bible,  i.e.  in  the  Pentateuch, 

*  P.  Wendland,  Eine  doxographische  QuelU  Phiio't,  Berlin, 
1897,  pp.  1074-78. 

t  K.  Reitzenstein,  Zweireligionsgetchichtliche  J<Vaff«n,  Straas- 
bur?,  1901. 


230 


PHILO 


PHILO 


compared  with  which  the  books  of  the  prophets, 
Psalms,  and  other  books  are  of  but  secondary 
importance. 

5.  Philo  as  interpreter. — The  most  important 
point  to  note  in  Philo  is  his  method  of  reading 
the  above  system  into  the  Law  of  Moses  or  the 
Pentateuch  by  means  of  allegorical  interpretation. 
He  did  not  invent  this  allegorical  method  :  he 
borrowed  it  from  the  earlier  Stoics  ;  but  he  makes 
the  most  ingenious  use  of  it.  The  Rabbis  of  Pales- 
tine were  no  less  skilful  in  finding  their  own 
thoughts  in  the  biblical  text  by  means  of  their 
interpretations.  But  Philo's  allegory  is  of  a 
different  type.  They  try  to  extract  from  every 
word  all  that  is  possible ;  he  has  a  complete 
philosophical  system  ready  for  combination  with 
whatever  words  he  is  explaining.  With  the  Rabbis 
one  never  knows  what  fresh  and  surprising  com- 
bination will  spring  from  therr  unlimited  imagina- 
tion. With  Philo  one  can  tell  beforehand  what 
result  he  will  reach,  if  only  one  is  familiar  enough 
with  his  writings.  It  is,  in  fact,  one  and  the  same 
system  all  through ;  it  is  his  philosophy,  his 
doctrine  of  the  Logos,  that  he  finds  everywhere ; 
but  the  method  of  combination  varies,  and  thus 
there  is  scope  for  ingenuity.  Philo  pays  attention 
to  every  point  in  the  text,  even  the  smallest  feature, 
and  by  skilful  combination  he  always  discovers 
fresh  light.  Long  before  Astruc  he  remarked  the 
interchange  of  the  two  Divine  names  in  the  Law — 
'  God'  (0e6s  =  Elohim)  and  '  Lord '  (cdpiof=Jahweh) ; 
he  explains  them  as  indicating  the  two  main 
powers  in  God — goodness  and  might,  the  former 
creating  and  saving,  the  latter  judging  and 
punishing.  He  sees  that  there  are  two  accounts 
of  creation  in  Gn  1.2:  he  understands  the  first  of 
the  ideal  man.  The  use  of  the  plural  in  Gn  I26 
proves  that  there  is  a  Logos  beside  God  ;  he  is  the 
likeness  of  God  ;  and  it  is  after  this  likeness  that 
man  is  formed.  It  is  the  Logos  along  with  the 
two  main  powers  of  God  which  together  appear  to 
Abraham  as  three  angels.  The  Logos  is  repre- 
sented by  Melchizedek  ;  the  manna  and  the  water 
from  the  rock  both  represent  the  Logos.  The 
two  powers  of  God  are  represented  by  the  two 
cherubim.  Paradise,  ark,  tabernacle  are  repre- 
sentations of  the  world.  Man  himself  is  micro- 
cosmus.  It  is  by  his  identifications  in  connexion 
with  the  manifold  significance  of  the  Logos  that 
Philo's  interpretation  gains  further  variety  by 
application  to  physical  cosmology,  to  anthropo- 
logical psychology,  and  to  human  ethics.  This 
variety  is  not,  however,  thereby  reduced  to  a 
system.  By  this  method  the  Law  is  spiritualized, 
on  the  presupposition  that  nothing  could  be 
contained  in  it  which  would  not  be  in  harmony 
with  the  supreme  thought  of  God.  It  would  be 
unfair,  according  to  Philo,  to  understand  the  laws 
regarding  food  literally,  whereas,  in  the  case  of 
other  laws,  he  tries  to  prove  that  even  the  literal 
meaning  witnesses  to  practical  wisdom,  while  the 
allegorical  interpretation  brings  out  the  true 
philosophy.  Philo  does  not  approve  of  the  poly- 
gamy of  the  patriarchs — he  would  prefer  celibacy  ! 
— so  he  declares  the  wives  to  represent  something 
spiritual :  Hagar  general  culture  (£y/cikAtos  vaiSeli,), 
Sarah  true  philosophy :  the  wise  man  must  have 
intercourse  with  both.  Etymology  of  names  is  of 
course  indispensable  for  this  method  of  interpreta- 
tion :  the  beginnings  of  the  Onomastica  sacra  may 
be  found  with  Philo,  who  almost  always  gives 
'  seeing  God '  as  the  meaning  of  the  name  when  he 
speaks  of  Israel,  or  '  confession '  when  he  mentions 
Judah. 

It  is  owing  to  this  method  of  interpretation  that 
Philo  had  such  an  astonishing  vogue  in  later 
centuries :  almost  all  Christian  writers  of  the 
early  and  mediaeval  Church  followed  in  his  foot- 


steps, in  particular  the  interpreters  of  the  Alex- 
andrian School,  from  the  author  of  the  so-called 
Epistle  of  Barnabas  down  to  Cyril.  There  is  but 
one  difference :  Christianity,  while  maintaining 
the  underlying  allegory,  nevertheless  insists  upon 
the  historicity  of  the  facts  ;  for  it  rests  upon 
historical  revelation.  So  Origen  systematizes  the 
various  ways  of  applied  interpretation,  by  means 
of  the  anthropological  trichotomy :  historical, 
moral,  and  mystical  interpretation  are  combined 
in  the  Scripture  as  body,  soul,  and  spirit  are  com- 
bined in  man.  Historical  feeling,  a  prerogative  of 
the  Semitic  race  as  compared  with  the  Greeks,  is 
still  more  predominant  with  the  Antiochene  School 
of  interpretation  :  here  typological  interpretation 
is  favoured.  The  result  is  another  combination : 
the  theory  of  the  four-fold  meaning  of  Holy 
Scripture.  It  was  through  Augustine  that  this 
theory  entered  the  Western  Church. 

6.  Philo's  significance  for  the  Apostolic  Age. — 
The  Fathers  esteemed  Philo  as  a  witness  in  favour 
of  early  Christian  monasticism  ;  besides,  they  used 
his  doctrine  of  the  Logos  and  his  method  of  inter- 
pretation for  their  Christological  constructions. 
His  influence  is  undeniable,  from  the  apologists  of 
the  2nd  cent,  onwards.  It  is  open  to  question, 
however,  how  far  his  influence  extended  in  earlier 
Christianity,  e.g.  on  St.  Paul  and  St.  John,  and 
in  particular  on  the  author  of  Hebrews.  Former 
generations  of  critics,  e.g.  Gfrb'rer  and  the  Tubingen 
School,  made  the  mistake  of  taking  Philo  as  the 
one  exponent  of  Hellenistic  thought.  They  did 
not  realize  that  he  was  neither  the  only  nor  the 
earliest  representative  of  a  Jewish  philosophy  of 
religion.  They  did  not  know,  nor  could  they, 
that  non- Jewish  Hellenism  had  produced  something 
similar,  and  that  it  also  influenced  early  Christi- 
anity independently.  As  for  St.  Paul,  it  is  not 
Philo  but  at  best  his  forerunner,  the  Book  of 
Wisdom,  that  accounts  for  certain  Hellenistic 
thoughts  ;  but  even  this  has  not  been  proved  (see, 
against,  E.  Grafe,  'Das  Verhaltnisder  paulinischen 
Schriften  zur  Sapientia  Salomonis,'  in  Theologische 
Abhandlungen,  C.  von  Weizsdcker  zu  seinem  70ten 
Geburtstage  gewidmet,  Freiburg  i.  B.,  1892,  pp. 
251-286  ;  F.  Focke,  '  Die  Entstehung  der  Weisheit 
Salomos,'  in  Forschungen  zur  Religion  und  Litera- 
tur  des  Alten  und  Neiien  Testaments,  newser.,  v. 
[1913]  113-126).  Apollos,  a  certain  Jew  born  at 
Alexandria,  an  eloquent  man,  mighty  in  the 
Scriptures  (Ac  1824),  was  not  necessarily  a  pupil  of 
Philo  ;  there  were  other  interpreters  of  the  Scrip- 
tures at  Alexandria  besides  him,  as  Philo  himself 
mentions  occasionally.*  Hebrews  after  all  shows 
more  traces  of  Palestinian  than  of  Alexandrian 
interpretation.  In  recent  discussion  the  Corpus 
Hermeticum  (or  the  writings  collected  under  the 
name  of  Hermes  Trismegistos)  and  Posidonius  of 
Apamea  are  often  referred  to  where  scholars  in 
former  times  would  have  referred  to  Philo.  The 
prologue  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  (Jn  I1'18),  treated 
for  a  long  time  by  many  scholars  almost  as  a 
Philonean  piece,  is  often  interpreted  now  without 
any  reference  to  Philo,  by  recurring  immediately 
to  the  popular  philosophy  of  the  time.  Thus 
Philo's  importance  is  becoming  less  and  less  promi- 
nent, even  with  those  scholars  who  are  prepared  to 
find  foreign  influence  active  in  primitive  Christi- 
anity. Nevertheless,  Philo  will  always  be  a  good 
witness  to  the  amalgamation  of  OT  religion  with 
Hellenistic  thought.  He  is  not  a  source  of  but  a 
parallel  to  the  same  mixture  in  early  Christianity ; 
and  it  is  certain  that  he  prepared  the  soil  for 
its  seed. 

*  In  deAbrahamo,  xx.  99  (ed.  Mangey,  ii.  15),  he  quotes  <f>ycn/col 
avSpet ;  in  de  Josepho,  xxvi.  151  (ed.  Mangey,  ii.  63),  rpoviicu/Tepov 
oKpi/Sowires ;  in  de  Circumcisione,  ii.  8  (ed.  Mangey,  ii.  211), 
fleoTreVioi  avSpet  ot  TO  Mtuucre'u;  oil  irope'pyus  SujpruKijcrav. 


PHILOLOGUS 


PHCEBE 


231 


LITERATURE.— (1)  Editions  of  Philo's  works:  T.  Mangrey, 
2  vols.,  London,  1742;  L.  Conn  and  P.  Wendland,  Berlin, 
1896  (in  course  of  issue,  6  vols.  ;  2  or  3  more  to  follow) ;  C.  E. 
Richter,  8  vols.,  Leipzig,  1823-30;  Tauchnitz  ed.,  8  vols., 
do.,  1851-53;  J.  R.  Harris,  Fragments  of  Phtto  Judceus, 
Cambridge,  1886;  P.  Wendland,  Neuentdeckte  Fragmente 
Philos,  Berlin,  1891 ;  F.  C.  Conybeare,  Philo  about  the  Con- 
templative Life,  Oxford,  1895  ;  Germ.  tr.  by  L.  Cohn  and  others, 
2  vols.,  Breslau,  1909-10;  Eng.  tr.  by  C.  D.  Yonge,  4  vols., 
London,  1854-55. 

(2)  G.  L.  Grossmann,  Qvcestiones  Philoneee,  Leipzig,  1829 ; 
A.  Gfrorer,  Philo  und  die  alexandrinische  Theosophie^, 
Stuttgart,  1831-35  (  =  Kritische  Geschichte  des  Urchristenlums, 
i.) ;  C.  Siegfried,  Philo  von  Alexandria  als  Ausleger  des  Alien 
Testaments,  Jena,  1875  ;  H.  Windisch,  Die  Frommigkeit  Philos 
und  ihre  Bedeutung  fur  das  Christentum,  Leipzig,  1909  ;  J. 
ReVille,  Le  Logos  d'apres  Philon  d' Alexandria,  Paris,  1877, 
La  doctrine  du  Logos  dans  le  quatrieme  Evangile  et  dans  les 
ceuvrfs  de  Philon,  do.,  1881 ;  M.  Heinze,  Die  Lehrevom  Logos, 
Leipzig,  1872;  A.  Aall,  Der  Logos,  do.,  189^99;  T.  Simon, 
Der  Logos,  do.,  1902;  H.  J.  Flipse,  de  Vocis  quce  est  Adyos 
significatione  atque  usu,  Leiden,  1902  ;  L.  Cohn, '  Die  Lehre  vom 
Logos  bei  Philo,'  in  Festschrift  Cohen  (Judaica,  Berlin,  1912, 
pp.  303-331) ;  E.  Bre'hier,  Les  idees  philosophiqttes  et  religieuses 
de  Philon  d'A lexandrie,  Paris,  1907;  M.  Freudenthal,  Die 
Erkenntnislehre  Philos  von  Alexandria,  Berlin,  1891 ;  L. 
Massebieau,  Le  classement  des  aeuores  de  Philon,  Paris,  1889  ; 
L.  Cohn,  'Einteilung  und  Chronologie  der  Schriften  Philos' 
(Philologus,  Suppl.  vii.),  Leipzig,  1899  ;  H.  von  Arnim,  Quellen- 
studien  zu  Philo  von  Alexandria,  Berlin,  1888 ;  B.  Ritter, 
Philo  und  die  Halacha,  Leipzig,  1879 ;  P.  Kriiger,  Philo  und 
Josephus  als  Apologeten  des  Judentums,  do. ,  1906  ;  P.  H einisch, 
'  Der  Einfluss  Philos  auf  die  alteste  christliche  Exegese," 
Alttestamentliche  Abhandlungen,  Miinster,  1908;  E.  Schiirer, 
GJV  iii.4  [Leipzig,  1909]  633-716;  W.  Bousset,  Die  Religion 
des  Judentums^,  Berlin,  1906,  pp.  503-524. 

E.  VON  DOBSCHtfTZ. 

PHILOLOGUS  (<f>iX6Xoyos,  a  Greek  name,  common 
among  slaves  and  freedmen  and  frequently  found 
in  inscriptions  of  the  Imperial  household). — Philo- 
logus is  the  first  of  a  group  of  five  persons  '  and 
all  the  saints  that  are  with  them '  saluted  by  St. 
Paul  in  Ro  1615.  Philologus  is  coupled  with  Julia 
(q.v.),  and  they  may  have  been  brother  and  sister 
or  more  probably  husband  and  wife.  If  this  be  so, 
Philologus  and  Julia  were  perhaps  the  parents  of 
'  Nereus  and  his  sister  and  Olympas,'  and  this 
family  were  the  nucleus  of  the  Christian  com- 
munity which  met  under  their  leadership  in  their 
house  (cf.  the  salutation  to  Prisca  and  Aquila, 
a  married  couple,  '  and  the  church  that  is  in 
their  house'  [vv.3'5]  ;  see,  however,  J.  A.  Robinson, 
Ephesians,  1909,  p.  281).  The  relationship  of 
Philologus  to  the  persons  mentioned  also  by  name 
is,  however,  purely  conjectural,  as  nothing  further 
is  known  of  any  member  of  this  group.  Another 
group  of  five  persons  (none  of  whom  are  women) 
'  and  the  brethren  that  are  with  them '  are  saluted 
in  the  preceding  verse,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  in  each  case  the  persons  named  were,  by 
virtue  of  seniority  as  Christians,  either  leaders  of 
a  single  tKK\r/cria,  or  heads  (jointly  if  a  married 
couple)  of  separate  churches.  The  locality  to 
which  we  shall  suppose  these  churches  belonged 
will  depend  upon  whether  we  think  the  destination 
of  these  salutations  was  Rome  or  Ephesus. 

T.  B.  ALLWORTHY. 

PHILOSOPHY.— This  word  (0iXo<ro0ta= '  the  love 
and  pursuit  of  wisdom ')  is  found  only  once  in  the  NT 
(Col  28).  But,  as  Christianity  claims  the  whole  realm 
of  human  thought  and  life  as  its  sphere,  it  could  not 
be  indifferent  to  so  important  a  subject.  Neverthe- 
less, the  gospel  is  supremely  a  proclamation  of  salva- 
tion, and  hence  its  relation  to  philosophy  in  apostolic 
days  was  incidental  and  dependent  on  special  cir- 
cumstances. Moreover,  as  Hatch  points  out,  the 
majority  of  those  to  whom  Christianity  was  preached 
were  not  concerned  with  philosophy,  and  the  former 
appealed  to  a  standard  which  the  latter  did  not 
recognize  (Influence  of  Greek  Ideas,  p.  124). 

St.  Paiil's  only  recorded  contact  with  philosophers 
occurred  in  Athens,  where  he  met  some  Epicureans 
and  Stoics  (Ac  1718).  Unfortunately,  nothing 
certain  is  known  of  this  interview,  though  many 
believe  that  in  his  subsequent  speech  he  showed 
friendliness  towards  the  Stoics.  In  his  Epistles 


several  references  are  found  to  certain  forms  of 
'wisdom'  or  philosophy.  In  1  Co  !17-26  he  asserts 
the  superiority  of  the  gospel  to  human  wisdom, 
but  the  gospel  wisdom  was  only  for  the  mature. 
In  the  later  Epistles  to  the  Col.,  Tim.,  and  Tit.  he 
attacks  false  teaching  of  a  philosophical  nature. 
This  insisted  on  some  obsolete  Jewish  practices, 
inculcated  '  a  voluntary  humility  and  worshipping 
of  angels'  (Col  216"18),  and  was  concerned  with 
fables  and  genealogies,  knowledge  '  falsely  so 
called,'  and  asceticism  (1  Ti  I4  41'4- 7  620,  Tit  1"  39). 
Some  suppose  that  we  are  here  confronted  with  the 
Gnosticism  of  the  2nd  cent.,  and  that  these  writings 
belong  to  that  period ;  but  this  is  improbable. 
The  ideas  and  practices  condemned  are  partly 
Jewish,  and  the  philosophy  is  in  an  undeveloped 
state.  Nor  does  Essenism  give  us  the  clue,  as  it 
had  not  as  yet  extended  so  far.  The  errors  are 
probably  an  amalgam  of  later  Jewish  speculations 
regarding  an  angelic  hierarchy  (cf.  Book  of  Enoch) 
and  the  Oriental  speculations  which  were  at  that 
time  very  prevalent  in  Asia  Minor.  The  result 
was  to  endanger  the  purity  and  simplicity  of  faith 
in  Christ,  hence  the  Apostle's  alarm. 

The  writer  (or  writers)  of  the  Gospel  of  John 
and  1  John  deals  with  the  contention  that  Jesus 
Christ  did  not  come  'in  the  flesh'  (1  Jn  41'3) — a 
theory  which  is  perhaps  to  be  attributed  to  Cerin- 
thus,  a  contemporary  of  St.  John. 

The  Epistles  of  Jude  (vv.4-7- 10- 19)  and  2  Peter 
(22- 10>  21- 2i)  denounce  a  specially  obnoxious  type  of 
antinomianism.  And  from  the  description  of  the 
Nicolaitans  in  Rev  261 1S  it  is  easy  to  perceive 
Docetism  again,  and  probably  an  early  stage  of 
Gnosticism. 

From  these  passages  it  appears  that  the  writers 
of  this  period  alluded  to  philosophy  only  when  it 
was  opposed  to  their  teaching  concerning  Christ 
and  the  purity  of  the  Christian  life,  and  that  in 
such  cases  it  met  with  their  uncompromising  con- 
demnation. See,  more  fully,  artt.  EPICUREANS, 
GNOSTICISM,  STOICS,  etc. 

LITERATURE.— Comm.  on  Epp.,  etc.,  mentioned  above,  also 
artt.  on  same  in  HOB,  EBi,  EBr^  ;  artt.  on  '  Philosophy,'  in 
HDB,  Smith's  DB ;  on '  Gnosticism '  in  HDB,  EBr™  ;  on  '  Gnosis' 
in  EBi ;  on  '  Wisdom '  in  DCG ;  P.  Wernle,  Beginnings  of 
Christianity,  Eng.  tr.,  1903-04  ;  C.  v.  Weizsacker,  Apostolic 
Age,  Eng.  tr.,  1894-95  ;  A.  Harnack,  History  of  Dogma,  Eng. 
tr.,  1894-99 ;  E.  Hatch,  Influence  of  Greek  Ideas  and  Usages 
upon  the  Christian  Church,  1890 ;  F.  J.  A.  Hort,  Judaistic 
Christianity,  1894  ;  A.  C.  McGiffert,  History  of  Christianity 
in  the  Apostolic  Age.  1897;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the 
Traveller,  1895.  J.  W.  LlGHTLEY. 

PHLEGON  ($\tywv,  a  Greek  name). — Phlegon  is 
the  second  of  a  group  of  five  names  (all  Greek)  of 
persons  '  and  the  brethren  with  them  '  saluted  by 
St.  Paul  in  Ro  1614,  probably  as  forming  a  house- 
hold church  at  Rome  or  Ephesus  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Asyncritus,  the  first  mentioned  (cf.  the 
group  saluted  in  v.1B,  of  which  Philologus  and 
Julia  were  perhaps  the  joint  heads).  Possibly  all 
were  greeted  by  the  Apostle  as  leaders  of  the  con- 
gregation by  virtue  of  seniority  as  Christians.  See 
artt.  ASYNCRITUS,  PATROBAS. 

T.  B.  ALLWORTHY. 

PHCEBE  (Qolpri,  a  Greek  name). — Phoebe  is  a 
woman  introduced  by  St.  Paul  to  his  readers  in 
Ro  161'2,  presumably  as  the  bearer  of  the  letter. 
She  is  not  mentioned  again  in  the  NT,  and  nothing 
further  is  known  of  her  than  may  be  gathered  from 
this  reference.  The  name  is  that  of  the  moon- 
goddess,  the  sister  of  Phoebus  (Apollo).  It  is 
interesting  to  notice  that  a  Christian  woman  in 
the  Apostolic  Age  did  not  think  it  necessary  to 
discard  the  name  of  a  heathen  deity.  Two  men 
among  those  saluted  in  Ro  16  also  bore  the  name 
of  a  god  (Hermes,  v.14  ;  Nereus,  v.1B).  The  martyro- 
logies  and  inscriptions  testify  to  a  similar  indiffer- 
ence at  least  in  the  first  three  centuries. 


232 


PHOEBE 


PHOENICIA 


Phoebe  is  described  (RV)  as  '  our  sister,  who  is 
a  servant  of  the  church  that  is  at  Cenchreae '  ( 
d.5e\0T)i>  T]fJ.wt>,  ofoatf  [«aJ]  Sidnovov  ri}s  £KK\i]<Tla.s  rijs 
Kevxpecus)  and  as  one  who  '  hath  been  a  succourer 
of  many  and  of  mine  own  self  '  (O.VTT\  Trpoardris  iroX 
\&v  4jfv-f]6r}  KO.I  tftov  O.VTOV). 

Cenchreae  (q.v.),  a  small  town  on  the  Saronic 
Gulf,  was  the  eastern  port  of  Corinth,  about  seven 
miles  from  the  city.  It  is  natural  to  suppose  that 
the  local  church  was  founded  during  St.  Paul's  first 
visit  to  Corinth.  At  the  close  of  his  stay  of  eigh- 
teen months  he  sailed  from  Cenchreae  on  his  way 
to  Syria  (Ac  1818)  and  (unless  the  latter  part  of  the 
verse  refers  to  Aquila)  before  setting  out  he  shaved 
his  head,  '  for  he  had  a  vow.'  It  was  during  his 
second  (recorded)  visit  to  Corinth  that  he  wrote 
the  letter  containing  Phoebe's  introduction.  A 
Jewish  plot  prevented  him  from  sailing  again  from 
Cenchreae,  and  he  returned  to  Syria  via  Macedonia 
(203). 

We  shall  suppose  that  Phoabe  herself  was  sail- 
ing eastward  from  Cenchreae  or  westward  from 
Lechaeum,  the  port  on  the  Corinthian  Gulf, 
according  to  the  view  we  take  of  the  probable 
destination  of  Ro  16  (or  vv.1"2,  detached  by  some 
scholars  from  the  rest  f  the  chapter).  If  these 
verses  are  an  integral  part  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  the  letter  which  Phoebe  carried  was  this 
most  important  of  the  apostolic  letters  and  her 
journey  was  to  Rome.  The  Imperial  post  was  not 
available  for  private  correspondence,  and  such  a 
letter  could  be  sent  only  by  special  messenger  or 
by  a  trusted  friend  who  happened  to  be  travelling. 
St.  Paul  bespeaks  for  Phoebe  not  only  a  welcome 
'  in  the  Lord '  but  assistance  '  in  whatsoever  matter 
she  may  have  need '  (tv  $  &v  v^Qiv  xpytv  irpdyfum). 
If  irpayna.  bears  here  its  common  forensic  sense 
(1  Co  6'  [G.  A.  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  Eng.  tr., 
1901,  p.  233]),  business  at  the  law-courts  necessi- 
tated for  her  a  visit  to  Rome  (E.  H.  Gifford, '  Romans,' 
in  Speaker's  Commentary,  iii.  [1881]  231),  and  the 
Apostle,  hearing  of  her  projected  journey,  seized  the 
opportunity  of  writing  and  dispatching  his  letter. 
The  impossibility,  however,  of  determining  the  ob- 
ject of  Phoebe's  journey  from  the  use  of  irpayfta 
may  be  illustrated  by  Mt  1819.  The  '  matters '  in 
which  she  would  require  assistance  might  well 
have  been  connected  with  the  church,  and  indeed 
she  may  have  been  specially  sent  to  Rome  by  St. 
Paul,  charged  with  the  duty  of  'reinforcing  and 
supplementing  the  Apostolic  message  '  with  which 
she  was  entrusted  (G.  Milligan,  Thessalonians,  1908, 
p.  130).  If,  on  the  other  hand,  Ro  161'21  (or  i-28) 
was  addressed  to  the  Church  at  Ephesus,  Phoebe's 
destination  was  that  city.  According  to  some 
scholars  who  hold  this  opinion,  these  verses  are  only 
a  part  of  a  letter  the  remainder  of  which  has  been 
lost.  Others  regard  them  as  forming  a  complete 
letter  of  recommendation  (2  Co  31),  written  expressly 
for  the  purpose  of  introducing  Phoebe,  whatever 
her  errand  may  have  been,  to  the  persons  greeted 
in  it  (C.  von  Weizsacker,  Apostolic  Age,  Eng.  tr., 
\.-  [1897]  381),  among  whom,  it  may  be  noted,  were 
a  number  of  Christian  women.  Such  letters  were 
a  characteristic  feature  of  the  Apostolic  Church, 
as  were  the  frequent  journeys  which  necessitated 
them  and  the  generous  hospitality  which  they  called 
forth.  They  were  a  protection  against  impostors 
and  false  teachers.  They  formed  one  of  the  strongest 
bonds  which  held  together  the  separateand  scattered 
Christian  communities.  The  verb  used  by  St.  Paul 
(crtw'cmjyut  5£  ip.lv  ^oi^rjv)  is  the  regular  technical 
term  in  classical  Greek  and  in  the  Greek  of  the 
papyri  for  introductions  by  letter.  If  we  suppose 
that  Phoebe  was  commissioned  by  the  Apostle  to 
visit  the  Ephesian  Christians,  we  may  perhaps  rind 
in  the  warning  which  he  included  in  the  letter 
(vv.17'20)  the  reason  for  her  mission. 


That  Phoebe  was  evidently  preparing  to  travel 
alone  suggests  that  she  was  a  widow  (Conybeare- 
Howson,  The  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  new  ed., 
1877,  ii.  189  n.).     The  term  wpom-dns  indicates  that 
she  was  a  woman  of  means.     Ilpocrrdris  is  the  fern, 
of  irpoo-rdrTjs,  in  its  strictly  legal  sense  the  wealthy 
and  influential  citizen  who  acted  as  representative 
and  guardian  of  the  /^rot/coi  ('resident  aliens')  and 
others  who  had  no  civic  rights.     It  corresponds  to 
the  Latin  patronus.     The  term  is  not  found  again 
in  the  NT  nor  does  it  occur  in  the  LXX.     It  was, 
however,  in  use  to   denote  the  '  patrons '  of  the 
pagan  religious   societies,  '  who  were  frequently 
ladies  of  rank  and  wealth '  (T.  M.   Lindsay,   The 
Church  and  the  Ministry  in  the  Early  Centuries, 
1902,  p.  124 n.).     It  is  closely  related  to  the  terms 
Trpoi(TT<i(j.evos  and  irpoeoTws,  applied  to  leadership  in 
the  Church  in  1  Th  512,  Ro  128,  1  Ti  5".     Descrip- 
tive  of  Phoebe's  relation  to  '  many,'  presumably  at 
Cenchreae  (perhaps  at  Corinth  also),  irpoardTts  must 
mean  at  the  least  that,  in  a  special  degree  made 
possible  by  her  circumstances,  she  discharged  the 
duties  of  '  communicating  to  the  necessities  of  the 
saints '  and  of  'pursuing  hospitality,'  which  belonged 
to  all  Christians  alike  (Ro  1218).     Gifibrd  (op.  cit. 
p.  231)  conjectures  that  the  personal  reference  ('  and 
of  mine  own  self ')  may  be  to  an  illness  in  which 
Phoebe  ministered  to  St.  Paul  at  Cenchrete,  and 
that  his  recovery  was  the  occasion  of  his  vow. 
Certainly  we  may  assume  that  she  received  him 
into  her  home  when  he  visited  or  passed  through 
Cenchreae  (cf.  Lydia  at  Philippi,  Ac  1618-40),  and 
that  she '  mothered '  him  as  did  the  mother  of  Ruf  us 
(Ro  1613).     The  house  in  which  the  Apostle  stayed 
naturally  became  a  centre  for  the  community,  and 
if  it  was  also  used  as  the  meeting-place  of  the  church 
(cf.  Gaius  at  Corinth,  '  my  host  and  of  the  whole 
church,'  Ro  1623),  the  owner  must  have  been  looked 
up  to  as  a  kind  of  'president,'  to  whom  the  term 
'  patron '  might  suitably  be  applied.     In  some  such 
way  as  this  Phoebe  devoted  herself  and  her  means 
to  the  service  of  the  Church,  and  earned  thereby  the 
title  of  Std/co^os,  which  no  more  means  '  deaconess ' 
in  the  later  sense  than  it  means  '  deacon '  when 
used    to    describe    Apollos,   Tychicus,    Epaphras, 
Timothy,  or  the  Apostle  himself.     The  case  of 
Phcebe  may  not  be  cited  as  evidence  of  the  inclu- 
sion of  women  in  the  technical  diaconate.     With 
that  of  Prisca  and  others,  it  witnesses  to  the  very 
important  part  played  by  women  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Church  before  informal  ministries  had 
given  place  to  definite  offices,  and  when  rule  and 
leadership  were  based  only  upon  willingness  to 
'serve '  (cf.  the  household  of  Stephanas  at  Corinth, 
1  Co  1615'16).     Parallel  with  the  term  Std/covcs  is  the 
term  dSeX0iJ  (F.  J.  A.  Hort,  The  Christian  Ecclesia, 
1897,  p.  208,  where  the  /ca£  is  said  to  be  'almost 
certainly  genuine ').     '  Brother '  and  '  sister  '  in  the 
NT  simply  mean  '  fellow-Christian.'    St.  Paul  uses 
the  term  here  and  calls  Phoebe  'our'  sister,  i.e., 
ours  and  yours,  to  remind  those  to  whom  he  would 
introduce  her  that  all  Christians,  whether  person- 
ally acquainted  or  not,  are  already  members  of  the 
same  great  spiritual  family,  of  which  God  is  Father 
and  Jesus  Christ  the  Elder  Brother,  and  that  they 
only  need  to  be  made  known  to  one  another  to 
realize  their  close  relationship  in  mutual  love  and 
helpfulness.  T.  B.  ALLWORTHY. 

PHCENICIA  (AV  '  Phenice,'  *owf«j).—  Phoenicia, 
the  coast-land  between  Mt.  Lebanon  and  the 
Mediterranean  Sea,  was  about  120  miles  in  length 
and  rarely  more  than  12  in  breadth.  It  presented 
to  the  eye  a  succession  of  hills  and  valleys,  well- 
watered  and  fruitful ;  and  it  had  the  best  harbours 
in  the  whole  Syrian  coast-line.  It  became  the 
home  of  one  of  the  great  civilizations  of  the  ancient 
world,  achieving  success  chiefly  owing  to  the  skill 


PHOENIX 


PHRYGIA 


233 


of  its  people  in  the  art  of  navigation,  'in  which 
the  Phoenicians  in  general  have  always  excelled 
all  nations  '  (Strabo,  XVI.  ii.  23).  The  OT  (like 
Homer)  styles  them  '  Sidonians,'  from  the  name  of 
their  principal  town  (Jg  33,  Dt  39,  etc.).  They 
established  colonies  and  commercial  agencies  all 
along  the  Mediterranean,  and  exerted  a  great  influ- 
ence on  Western  culture.  From  the  time  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great  onward,  the  country  was  one  of 
the  stakes  in  the  chronic  warfare  between  the 
Seleucids  and  the  Ptolemys.  In  65  B.C.  Pompey 
made  Syria-Phoenicia  a  Koman  province  under  a 
proconsul  or  propraetor.  He  did  not,  however, 
deprive  of  autonomy  the  ancient  cities  of  Tyre 
and  Sidon,  or  the  recently  founded  Tripolis.  For 
centuries  the  people  had  been  gradually  adopt- 
ing the  language,  manners,  and  customs  of  Greece. 
'  From  the  beginning  of  the  imperial  period  the 
sole  rule  of  Greek  is  here  an  established  fact  '  (T. 
Mommsen,  The  Provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
Eng.  tr.,  1909,  ii.  122). 

No  detailed  account  is  given  in  the  NT  of  the 
introduction  of  Christianity  into  Phoenicia,  but 
hints  are  not  wanting.  The  dispersion  which 
followed  Stephen's  death  brought  travellers 
thither,  '  speaking  the  word  to  none  save  only  to 
Jews'  (Ac  II19).  St.  Paul  and  Barnabas  at  the 
end  of  their  first  missionary  tour  '  passed  through 
Phoenicia  and  Samaria,  telling  the  whole  story 
(^Kdtr]yotjfj.fvoi)  of  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles' 
(153).  At  the  end  of  the  third  journey  St.  Paul 
sailed  for  Phoenicia  and  spent  a  week  among  '  the 
disciples  '  of  Tyre  (212-6  ;  see  TYRE  and  SIDON).  It 
should  not  be  forgotten  that  many  Phoenicians  had 
come  to  Galilee  to  hear  Christ  Himself  (Mk  38), 
that  He  returned  their  visit  by  going  into  '  the 
borders  of  Tyre  and  Sidon'  (7M),  and  that  He 
expressed  the  conviction  that  the  people  of  this 
country  could  have  been  more  easily  moved  to  re- 
pentance than  those  of  the  most  highly  favoured 
cities  of  His  native  land  (Mt  IP1). 

Phoenicia  continued  to  flourish  under  the 
Romans,  but  ceased  to  have  any  political  import- 
ance, and  gradually  lost  its  national  identity. 
The  conflict  between  the  old  and  the  new  civiliza- 
tions lasted  long,  and  down  to  the  2nd  cent.  A.D. 
Greek  and  Phoenician  characters  sometimes  appear 
together  on  coins,  while  Latin  was  the  language 
of  government  and  law.  In  the  end,  however, 
it  was  neither  of  the  Western  tongues,  but 
Aramaic,  that  displaced  Phoenician,  which  was 
still  spoken  in  North  Africa  till  the  4th  or  5th 
century.  The  fragmentary  writings  of  Philo  of 
Byblos  —  of  the  time  of  Hadrian  —  contain  an  inter- 
esting attempt  to  trace  the  mythology  of  Greece  to 
that  of  Phoenicia,  which  was  itself  largely  Baby- 
lonian. 

LITERATURE.  —  F.  C.  Movers,  Die  Phonizier,  1841-56  ;  G. 
Rawlinson,  Phoenicia,  1889  ;  G.  Maspero,  Histoire  anci'-enne 
des  peuples  de  I  'orient*,  1886  ;  E.  Meyer,  Geschichte  des  Alter- 
thums,  1884  fl.  ;  W.  von  Landau,  Die  Bedeutung  der  Phonizier 
irn  Volkerleben,  1905  ;  K.  Baedeker,  Palestine  and  Syria*,  1906. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 


PHOENIX  (*o^).—  When  the  lateness  of  the 
season  made  it  dangerous  for  an  Alexandrian  corn- 
ship,  which  had  lain  weather-bound  for  '  much 
time  '  in  Fair  Havens,  to  continue  her  voyage  to 
Italy,  the  question  of  a  wintering-place  arose  (Ac 
2712).  Following  the  advice  of  the  majority  (ot 
irXe/ous),  who  had  the  experts  —  the  captain  and  the 
ship-master  ('owner'  [RV]  conveys  a  wrong  idea) 
—  on  their  side,  and  disregarding  that  of  St.  Paul, 
who  thought  it  would  be  more  prudent  to  remain 
where  they  were,  the  centurion,  who  was  the  senior 
officer  in  an  Imperial  corn-ship,  decided  to  make  a 
run  for  the  haven  of  Phoenix  in  order  to  winter 
there.  Taking  advantage  of  a  soft  south  wind, 
they  set  sail,  but  had  no  sooner  rounded  Cape 


Matala,  and  entered  the  Gulf  of  Messara,  than 
they  were  caught  by  a  hurricane,  which  drove 
them  far  out  of  their  course  and  ultimately  wrecked 
them  on  the  coast  of  Malta.  The  harbour  which 
they  thus  failed  to  reach  has  to  be  identified  from 
data  supplied  by  ancient  geographers  and  modern 
navigators. 

Strabo  says  :  '  Then  there  is  an  isthmus  of  about 
100  stadia  [the  narrow  part  of  Crete  to  the  west  of 
Mt.  Ida],  having  the  settlement  of  Amphimalia  on 
the  northern  shore,  and  Phoenix  of  the  Lampeans 
on  the  southern'  (X.  iv.  3).  Ptolemy  names  a 
harbour,  Phoenikous,  and  a  town,  Phoenix,  on  the 
S.  coast  (ill.  xvii.  3) ;  and  Hierocles  (Synecdemus, 
14)  speaks  of  Phoenix  as  near  Aradena,  which  still 
retains  its  name,  while  Stephanus  Byzantinus 
makes  Aradena  synonymous  with  Anopolis  ( '  Upper 
City'),  a  name  which  is  now  attached  to  ruins 
slightly  farther  north.  As  Aradena  is  a  little 
over  a  mile,  and  Anopolis  about  2  miles,  from  the 
harbour  of  Loutr6,  the  latter  is  naturally  identified 
with  the  haven  of  Phoenix.  It  is  on  the  east  side 
of  the  neck  of  land  which  ends  in  Cape  Muros. 
Captain  Spratfc  maintains  that  it  is  '  the  only  bay 
to  the  westward  of  Fair  Havens'  in  which  a  vessel 
of  any  size  could  find  any  shelter  during  the  winter 
months'  (J.  Smith,  The  Voyage  and  Shipwreck  of 
St.  Paul4,  1880,  p.  92)  ;  and'  G.  Brown,  the  dis- 
coverer of  Lasea,  also  convinced  himself  that 
Phoenix  '  is  the  only  secure  harbour  in  all  winds 
on  the  south-coast  of  Crete'  (ib.  p.  261).  Brown 
found  at  Loutr6  an  inscription  of  the  time  of 
Trajan,  containing  a  record  of  some  work  done  by 
the  crew  of  a  ship  which  evidently  wintered  in  the 
haven.  The  inscription  contains  the  words  guber- 
nator  and  parasemum,  corresponding  to  Kvfiepvfrrw 
and  •jrapdffiitJ.ov,  which  are  used  by  St.  Luke  (Ac  27U 
28"). 

But  there  is  a  serious  objection  to  the  proposed 
identification.  St.  Luke  describes  the  harbour  of 
Phoenix  as  fiKtirovTo,  Ka.ro,  \lj3a  Kal  Kara  x<*>pov  (Ac 
27la).  This  is  one  of  the  most  discussed  phrases 
in  Acts.  If  it  is  translated  '  looking  toward  the 
south-west  and  north-west '  (AV),  it  is  quite  in- 
applicable to  Loutr6,  which  opens  eastward.  It 
would  verbally  tit  the  Bay  of  Phenika,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  promontory,  facing  the  west ;  but 
navigators  deny  that  this  affords  any  shelter 
worthy  of  the  name  of  haven.  The  RV  translates 
the  phrase  'looking  north-east  and  south-east,' 
i.e.  in  the  direction  to  which  the  S.W.  and  N.W. 
winds  blow — looking  down  these  winds.  No  satis- 
factory parallel  to  such  an  idiom  is  fonnd  in  any 
ancient  writer,  and  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  an 
educated  Greek  expressing  his  meaning  in  that 
manner ;  still  it  is  possible  that  St.  Luke  is  faith- 
fully reproducing  the  peculiar  language  of  men  of 
the  sea.  Conybeare  and  Howson  (The  Life  and 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  new  ed.,  1877,  ii.  400)  note  that 
'  sailors  speak  of  everything  from  their  own  point 
of  view,  and  that  such  a  harbour  does  "look" — 
from  the  water  towards  the  land  which  encloses  it — 
in  the  direction  of  "south-west  and  north-west."' 
It  is  surmised  by  W.  M.  Ramsay  (St.  Paul  the 
Traveller,  1895,  p.  326)  that  as  St.  Luke  never  saw 
the  harbour  in  question,  but  merely  described  it 
from  hearsay,  he  may  have  received  the  wrong 
impression  that  it  looked  N.W.  and  S.W. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PHRYGIA  (Qpvyla).—  Phrygia,  the  land  of  the 
Phryges,  was  the  western  part  of  the  central 
plateau  of  Asia  Minor.  Its  boundaries  were  vague 
and  varying.  At  one  time  it  extended  from  the 
^Egean  to  the  Halys,  and  from  the  mountains  of 
Bithynia  to  the  Taurus,  but  it  was  gradually 
contracted  on  every  side.  To  the  early  Greeks 
Phrygia  was  the  home  of  a  heroic  and  conquering 
race,  who  have  left  in  the  country  drained  by  the 


234 


PHYSICIAN 


upper  Sangarius  many  astonishing  monuments  of 
their  greatness. 

'  In  Phrygia  once  were  gallant  armies  known 
In  ancient  time,  when  Otreus  filled  the  throne, 
When  godlike  Migdon  led  his  troops  of  horse  ' 

(Horn.  11.  iii.  185  f.). 

But  to  the  later  Greeks  and  the  Romans  Phrygia 
was  politically  unimportant,  and  the  once  illustri- 
ous names  of  Midas  and  Manes  were  given  to 
Phrygian  slaves.  The  Kimmerian  inundation  in 
the  7th  cent,  broke  the  spirit  of  the  race,  who 
sank  into  a  state  of  peaceful  indolence,  disturbed 
only  by  fits  of  wild  religious  excitement.  Their 
land  became  an  easy  prey  to  every  spoiler,  and  in 
278  B.C.  the  Gauls  took  possession  of  N.E.  Phrygia, 
which  was  henceforth  known  as  Galatia.  Attains  I. 
of  Pergamos  (241-197  B.C.)  seized  the  territory  in 
which  lay  the  towns  of  Kotiaion  and  Dorylaion, 
and  which  was  thereafter  called  'Acquired  Phrygia' 
(Phrygia Epictetus).  IntheS.E.  waslconium  (q.v. ), 
which  the  natives  continued  to  regard  as  Phrygian. 
while  Roman  writers  assigned  it  to  Lycaonia.  In 
the  S.  was  Pisidian  Phrygia  (Ptol.  V.  v.  4)  or 
Phrygia  towards  Pisidia  (irpbs  Hundiq,  [Strabo,  xii. 
pp.  557,  566]),  the  most  important  town  of  which 
was  called  Antioch  towards  Pisidia  ;  but  as  Pisidia 
gradually  extended  northwards  this  Antioch  ceased 
to  be  Phrygian  and  was  called  Pisidian  Antioch 
(q.v.).  Only  in  the  S.W.  did  the  Phrygians  show 
any  sign  of  expansion.  Hierapolis  was  apparently 
once  Lydian,  and  Laodicea  Carian ;  but  in  the 
Roman  period  all  the  cities  of  the  Lycus  Valley 
were  regarded  as  Phrygian.  '  The  Gate  of  Phrygia  ' 
was  below  the  junction  of  the  Lycus  and  Mseander  ; 
Polemon  of  Laodicea  was  known  as  '  the  Phrygian ' ; 
and  '  Phrygian  powder '  was  a  Laodicean  prepara- 
tion. 

In  the  Roman  provincial  system  of  government 
Asia  Minor  was  cut  and  carved  with  but  little 
regard  for  old  national  and  historical  distinctions. 
While  the  eastern  part  of  Phrygia  (with  Iconium) 
and  the  southern  (with  Pisidia)  were  attached  to 
the  province  of  Galatia,  the  western  part,  which 
was  much  the  larger,  was  included  in  the  province 
of  Asia.  The  former  was  called  Phrygia  Galatica 
and  the  latter  Phrygia  Asiana. 

Phrygia  was  traversed  by  the  great  route  of 
traffic  and  intercourse  which  joined  the  ^Egean 
with  Syria  and  the  Euphrates.  Along  this  line 
the  early  Seleucids  planted  a  series  of  Greek  cities 
for  the  defence  of  their  Empire  and  the  diffusion 
of  Hellenic  culture.  Here  the  Greek  language 
gradually  displaced  the  Phrygian,  which  was 
'  perhaps  similar  in  character  to  the  Armenian ' 
(T.  Mommsen,  The  Provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
Eng.  tr.,  1909,  i.  328),  but  the  latter  continued  to 
hold  its  ground  in  the  rural  districts  down  to  the 
3rd  cent,  of  our  era.  A  striking  feature  in  the 
life  of  these  cities  was  the  presence  of  Jews  in 
large  numbers. 

Their  status  is  indicated  by  Josephus  (Ant.  xn.  iii.  1).  '  The 
Jews  also  obtained  honours  from  the  kings  of  Asia,  when  they 
became  their  auxiliaries ;  for  Seleucus  Nieator  made  them 
citizens  of  those  cities  which  he  built  in  Asia  .  .  .  and  gave 
them  privileges  equal  to  those  of  the  Macedonians  and  Greeks, 
who  were  the  inhabitants,  insomuch  that  these  privileges 
continue  to  this  very  day.'  Antiochus  the  Great  (223-187  B.C.) 
'  thought  proper  to  remove  2000  families  of  Jews,  with  their 
effects,  out  of  Mesopotamia  and  Babylon'  to  Lydia  and 
Phrygia  (XH.  iii.  4). 

In  these  Hellenistic  cities  the  Jews  relaxed  their 
strictness  so  much  that  the  orthodox  counted  them 
degenerate.  There  is  a  bitter  saying  in  the 
Talmud  to  the  effect  that  the  baths  and  wines  of 
Phrygia  had  separated  the  '  Ten  Tribes '  from  the 
brethren  (A.  Neubauer,  La  Geogr.  du  Talmud, 
1868,  p.  315).  This  very  liberalism,  however, 
probably  made  the  reaction  of  the  Jews  on  their 
environment  all  the  greater,  and  St.  Paul  found  in 


the  cities  of  Phrygia  numerous  proselytes,  whose 
minds  proved  the  best  soil  for  the  seed  of  the 
evangel.  The  case  of  Timothy  of  Lystra,  the  son 
of  a  Greek  father  and  a  Jewish  mother,  uncircum- 
cised  and  yet  acquainted  from  his  childhood  with 
the  Scriptures,  was  probably  typical. 

Phrygia  was  one  of  the  first  parts  of  Asia  Minor 
to  be  generally  Christianized.  Not  a  few  Christian 
monuments  of  the  2nd  cent.,  and  very  many  of  the 
3rd,  have  been  found  in  the  country.  Eusebius 
(HE  viii.  11)  says  that  in  the  time  of  Diocletian 
there  was  a  Phrygian  city  in  which  every  single 
soul  was  Christian.  The  enthusiasm  with  which 
the  pagan  Phrygians  were  in  the  habit  of  throwing 
themselves  into  the  worship  of  Cybele  re-appeared 
in  the  Phrygian  type  of  Christianity,  which  gave 
birth  to  Montanism  with  its  spiritual  ecstasies  and 
prophetic  visions. 

For  the  difficult  phrases  rijv  Qpvylav  Kal  FaXaTi/cV 
X^pai'  (Ac  166)  and  TT)V  FaXart/crji'  x^Pav  Ka^  3?pvy*-al' 
(1883)  and  the  rival  theories  of  the  North  and 
South  Galatians  see  GALATIA,  and  GALATIANS, 
EPISTLE  TO  THE,  §  5. 

LITERATURE. — C.  Ritter,  Die  Erdkunde  von  Asien,  1822-59; 
W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  1893, 
p.  74  f.,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  1895,  p.  194  f.,  Hist.  Com.  on 
Galatians,  1899,  The  Cities  of  St.  Paul,  1907  ;  G.  and  A.  K. 
Korte,  Gordion,  1904  ;  C.  v.  Weizsacker,  The  Apostolic  Age  of 
the  Christian  Church,  Eng.  tr.,  1894-95,  i.  273f.;  A.  C.  McGiffert, 
A  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  1897,  p.  235 ; 
J.  Moffatt,  LNT,  1911,  p.  93  f.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PHYGELUS. — Phygelus  is  mentioned  with  Her- 
mogenes  in  2  Ti  11S  as  among  the  disciples  in  pro- 
consular Asia  who  had  turned  away  from  (i.e. 
repudiated)  the  writer,  afraid  or  ashamed  to  recog- 
nize him  (being  a  prisoner),  and  are  thus  contrasted 
with  Onesiphorus  (q.v.).  The  pseudo-Dorotheus  of 
Tyre  makes  both  Phygelus  and  Hermogenes  to  be- 
long to  the  seventy  disciples,  and  the  former  to  be  a 
follower  of  Simon  Magus  and  afterwards  bishop  of 
Ephesus,  and  the  latter  bishop  of  Megara.  In  the 
ActfS  of  Paul  and  Thecla,  Demas  and  Hermogenes 
are  named  as  Paul's  fellow-travellers,  full  of  hypo- 
crisy, when  he  fled  from  Antioch  to  Iconium  and 
enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  Onesiphorus. 

W.  F.  COBB. 

PHYSICIAN. — Our  sources  of  knowledge  of  Greek 
medicine  and  physicians  are  (1)  works  of  ancient 
physicians  ;  (2)  notices  of  early  writers  concerning 
Greek  medicine  and  physicians,  as  Plato,  Aristotle, 
Plutarch,  Pausanias,  and  Galen  ;  (3)  various  medi- 
cal instruments  in  the  great  museums  of  Athens, 
Berlin,  Paris,  and  London,  such  as  knives,  probes, 
needles,  balsam  cups  ;  (4)  inscriptions  and  papyri ; 
(5)  altars,  temples,  and  caves ;  (6)  images  of  gods 
and  votive  offerings. 

Our  earliest  account  of  Greek  medicine  and 
physicians  is  in  the  Homeric  poems.  There  were 
two  sources  of  disease — supernatural ,  referred  to  the 
wrath  of  gods,  as  plague  and  melancholia;  and 
natural,  as  from  drugs  or  wounds.  Already  phy- 
sicians were  called  demiurges  and  were  recognized 
as  public  servants.  The  most  famous  were  Askle- 
pios  and  his  two  sons.  According  to  Homer  and 
Hesiod,  Asklepios  was  a  Thessalian  prince  who  had 
learned  from  Cheiron  about  drugs.  Later,  Apollo 
was  assigned  as  his  father,  and  a  snake  became  the 
symbol  of  his  healing  power.  His  two  sons — '  the 
cunning  leeches '  —  were  Machaon,  to  whom  he 
taught  surgery,  and  Podaleirios,  to  whom  he  taught 
medicine,  which  he  himself  preferred.  Honier  said, 
'  a  physician  outweighs  many  other  men '  (72.  xi. 
514).  Drugs  were  used  for  poison,  charms,  sooth- 
ing pain,  and  healing  wounds.  Battles  were 
occasion  for  many  bodily  injuries  and  became  an 
incentive  for  medical  and  surgical  tact.  Ana- 
tomical knowledge  was  slight,  and  was  gained  from 
sacrificial  victims  and  from  those  wounded  in  battle. 


PHYSICIAN 


PHYSICIAN 


235 


There  was  no  connexion  between  priests  and  medi- 
cal men  ;  only  as  priest  was  Calchas  summoned 
during  the  plague.  Women,  as  Helen  and  Agamede, 
had  medical  knowledge. 

The  cult  of  Asklepios  flourished  widely  in  Greece 
and  Asia  Minor.  In  the  traditions  concerning  him, 
that  which  associated  him  with  Epidauros  finally  pre- 
vailed. Shrines  were  dedicated  to  him  ;  one  might 
even  call  these  asklepia  hospitals,  Heilstdtte.  Of 
these  there  were  more  than  300  at  Athens,  Cnidos, 
Cos  (the  ruins  of  which  have  been  uncovered  within 
the  last  few  years),  Delphi,  Pergamos,  Rhodes,  and 
Troezen.  They  were  usually  situated  in  salubrious 
places,  on  mountain-sides,  by  pure  fountains  or 
streams,  by  mineral  or  hot  springs.  They  were 
cared  for  with  fastidious  cleanliness.  None  could 
get  the  benefit  of  them  without  preliminary  rites 
— shampooing,  baths,  friction,  fasting,  abstinence 
from  food  and  wine  ;  nor  were  religious  rites  of  an 
impressive  character,  including  music,  overlooked. 
Those  who  were  to  be  treated  were  shown  votive 
offerings  and  inscriptions  of  those  who  had  been 
healed.  To  the  divinity  there  was  the  sacrifice  of 
a  goat  or  ram,  a  cock  or  hen,  accompanied  by 
fervent  prayer  for  succour.  .  In  an  attitude  of  in- 
tense expectancy  the  sufferer  slept  in  the  abatons 
near  the  statue  of  Asklepios  on  a  bed,  or  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  temple  on  a  skin  of  the  sacri- 
ficial victim,  where,  as  he  fell  into  a  deep  slumber, 
the  divinity  awaited  him.  Whatever  of  surgery 
was  applied,  as  of  binding  or  anointing,  was  prob- 
ably performed  by  temple  attendants,  whom  the 
patient's  dream  identified  with  supernatural  power. 
Theurgy  was  thus  joined  to  natural  means  of  cure. 
The  death  of  a  patient  was  attributed  to  his  lack 
of  confidence.  In  the  asklepia  were  case-books  left 
by  the  patients  which  recorded  symptoms,  treat- 
ment, and  result. 

Gymnasia  existed  in  Greece  before  the  Askle- 
piadse  began  to  practise  medicine.  These  provided 
three  orders  of  service  :  the  director-gymnasiarch  ; 
the  subordinate  who  had  charge  of  pharmacy  with 
reference  to  the  sick  ;  those  who  gave  massage,  put 
up  prescriptions,  bled,  dressed  wounds  and  ulcers, 
and  reduced  dislocations.  Gymnasts  by  reason  of 
their  experience  were  often  called  in  to  treat  in- 
juries, dislocations,  or  fractures  before  the  arrival 
of  the  physician.  Naturally  the  influence  of  these 
men  increased.  They  were  of  special  use  where 
baths,  dietaries,  and  physical  manipulations  were 
indicated. 

In  addition  to  the  priests  and  the  gymnasts, 
there  were  earlier  Asklepiadae — hereditary  phy- 
sicians whose  medical  art  was  handed  down  from 
father  to  son.  Later,  promising  youths  from  out- 
side were  trained  for  this  practice.  Physicians 
were  put  in  charge  during  epidemics,  gave  expert 
testimony  in  courts,  accompanied  armies  and  fleets, 
and  practised  at  places  provided  at  public  expense. 
Anatomy  was  learned  from  oral  and  written  tradi- 
tion, from  sacrifices  and  domestication  of  animals, 
injuries  in  the  gymnasia,  from  bodies  long  exposed 
to  the  elements  or  to  wild  animals,  and  from  dis- 
section of  wild  animals.  Many  gatherers  and  dis- 
tillers of  roots  and  herbs  set  themselves  up  in  busi- 
ness. Druggists  also  with  various  remedies  claimed 
the  curative  worth  of  their  prescriptions.  There 
were  survivals  of  folk-medicine.  Women  practised 
as  midwives,  when  they  were  past  the  age  of  child- 
bearing.  They  treated  diseases  which  it  was  not 
proper  for  men  to  know  or  for  women  to  divulge 
to  men.  Some  of  these  announced  themselves  as 
'  beauty '  doctors. 

The  chief  centres  of  medicine  were  Cyrene, 
Crotona,  Cnidos,  and  Cos — the  last  the  home  of  the 
dogmatists.  Pythagoras  (born  c.  575  B.C.),  founder 
of  a  gild  at  Crotona,  appears  to  have  studied  the 
structure  of  the  body  and  reproduction,  but  knew 


very  little  of  surgery,  advocated  poultices  and 
salves,  inculcated  dietetic  and  gymnastic  practices, 
and  advised  a  limited  amount  of  meat  but  no  fish 
or  beans.  The  Pythagoreans  were  the  first  to  visit 
their  patients  at  home ;  they  also  went  from  city 
to  city,  and  thus  gained  the  name  of  ambulant 
physicians.  Following  Pythagoras,  whose  order 
was  dissolved  by  law  about  500  B.C.,  were  Alkmaion 
of  Crotona,  who  from  his  dissection  of  animals  was 
reported  to  be  the  first  Greek  anatomist,  and 
Demokles  (c.  520  B.C.),  the  first  physician  of  whom 
we  have  a  reliable  account.  He  migrated  from 
Crotona  to  yEgina,  where  he  was  made  medical 
officer  with  a  salary  of  one  talent  (about  £240)  a 
year.  Later,  at  Athens,  he  received  £406  ;  later 
still,  at  Samos  under  Polykrates,  £480.  After- 
wards, taken  captive  and  brought  to  the  court  of 
Dareios,  he  cured  the  king  of  a  sprained  ankle 
and  treated  his  gum  for  mammary  abscess. 

Particular  occasion  for  the  rapid  advance  in 
Greek  medicine  is  contact  with  Egypt  and  the 
East,  knowledge  of  drugs,  rivalry  of  centres  of 
culture,  and  separation  of  the  priestly  class  from 
medicine. 

An  account  of  the  history  of  physicians  in  general 
would  be  incomplete  without  at  least  a  cursory 
reference  to  the  great  philosophers  of  the  5th  and 
4th  centuries  B.C.  They  furnished  the  philosophy 
on  which  physicians  often  based  their  theories  of 
disease.  Aristotle  (384-322  B.C.),  descended  from 
a  long  line  of  physicians,  investigated  anatomy, 
embryology,  and  physiology,  and  for  the  first  time 
held  that  animal  life  is  spontaneous  movement. 
Anaxagoras  of  Clazomense  (c.  555  B.C.)  practised 
dissection  of  animals  and  even  dissected  the  brain. 
Empedokles  (490-430  B.C.)  followed  Pythagoras, 
and  also  professed  magical  powers  of  healing.  He 
resolved  all  conditions  into  warm,  cold,  moist,  and 
dry  ;  held  the  doctrine  of  the  four  substances,  fire, 
air,  water,  and  earth,  to  which  he  assigned  a  soul — 
hylozoism.  Love  and  hate  rule  development  and 
dissolution.  At  Selinos  and  Agrigentum  he  put  an 
end  to  two  pestilences  by  seeking  for  and  remedy- 
ing the  natural  causes.  He  discovered  the  laby- 
rinth of  the  ear. 

The  name,  however,  which  stands  out  above  all 
others  in  the  history  of  Greek  medicine  is  that  of  Hip- 
pokrates.  Born  at  Cos  about  460  or  459  B.  C. ,  son  of 
Herakleides,  his  descent  was  traced  on  his  father's 
side  from  Asklepios,  on  his  mother's  from  Herakles. 
He  was  the  second  of  seven  of  this  name.  He  was 
a  contemporary  of  Pheidias,  Perikles,  Sophokles 
and  Euripides,  Thukydides,  Praxiteles  and  Zeuxis. 
Plato  assigned  him  a  place  alongside  of  Pheidias 
and  Polykleitos.  Aristotle  called  him  '  the  Great,' 
Galen,  '  the  Divine ' ;  and  from  that  day  to  this  he 
has  been  acclaimed  'the  Father  of  Medicine.'  Of 
the  writings  attributed  to  him  in  the  Corpus 
Hippocraticum,  it  seems  impossible  to  decide  which 
portions  are  genuine,  and  which  belong  to  an 
earlier  or  later  period.  They  form,  however,  a 
tolerably  compact  body  of  writings,  and  for  2,000 
years  have  turned  attention  away  from  speculation 
to  observation,  and  thus  have  profoundly  influenced 
the  medical  ideal.  So  far  as  his  character  can  be 
made  out  from  these  treatises  and  from  tradition, 
he  was  a  man  of  great  genius  and  noble  character, 
with  an  unsullied  regard  for  his  art,  his  patients, 
and  his  pupils.  The  peculiarities  of  his  system 
may  be  summarized.  (1)  He  followed  Empedokles 
in  holding  to  the  four  elements  and  the  four  con- 
ditions, but  added  the  four  humours — black  bile, 
yellow  bile,  blood,  and  phlegm.  He  recognized  no 
supernatural  cause  of  disease :  '  none  is  more 
divine  or  human  than  another,'  and  '  none  arises 
without  a  natural  cause.'  (2)  He  held  a  theory 
of  crises  or  critical  days.  Diseases  pass  through 
three  stages  to  a  climax  ;  the  crude  humours  are 


236 


PHYSICIAN 


PHYSICIAN 


'  cooked,'  and  finally  resolved,  either  being  excreted 
or  causing  death.  Sometimes  nature  eliminates 
the  disease  by  sweating  or  vomiting,  sometimes  the 
physician  aided  by  bleeding,  or  administering  pur- 
gatives and  diuretics.  (3)  To  physis  and  dynamis, 
which  is  really  the  vis  medicatvix  naturce,  in  dis- 
tinction from  the  power  of  the  gods,  all  recovery 
is  referred.  '  Natural  powers  are  the  healers  of 
disease.'  The  task  of  the  physician  is  to  observe 
the  progress  of  the  disease,  to  interfere,  direct, 
divert.  '  Nature  suffices  for  everything  under  all 
conditions.'  (4)  Prognosis  is  recommended  for 
securing  and  retaining  the  esteem  of  others,  for 
freeing  the  physician  from  blame  which  might 
arise,  and  as  an  aid  towards  effecting  a  cure  through 
its  appeal  to  expectancy.  By  prognosis  is  meant  a 
complete  knowledge  of  the  patient  together  with 
the  tendency  of  the  disease.  '  The  best  physician  is 
the  one  who  is  able  to  establish  a  prognosis,  pene- 
trating and  exposing,  first  of  all  at  the  bedside, 
the  present,  past,  and  future  of  his  patients,  and 
adding  what  they  omit.'  An  essential  aspect  of 
his  practice  was  appeal  to  suggestion  in  the  patient. 
One-eighth  of  the  entire  Corpus  Hippocraticum  is 
occupied  with  the  subject  of  prognosis.  (5)  Hippo- 
krates  emancipates  medicine  from  all  but  practical 
aims.  In  his  hands  it  was  freed  from  theurgy  and 
speculation,  and  placed  on  a  secure  empirical  basis, 
not  that  of  casual  observation,  but  of  taking 
account  of  all  facts  which  have  bearing  on  the  case. 
He  left  forty-two  histories  of  clinical  cases,  twenty- 
five  of  which  cases  issued  fatally — a  practice  almost 
wholly  neglected  for  2,000  years  until  the  17th 
century.  His  treatises  on  '  Fractures '  and  '  Dislo- 
cations'  have  been  claimed  as  the  ablest  works 
ever  written  by  a  physician.  A  Hippokratic 
maxim  runs,  '  Life  is  short,  art  is  long,  opportunity 
fleeting,  experiment  fallacious,  and  judgment 
difficult.'  He  laboured  under  serious  limitations. 
Naturally  he  had  no  knowledge  of  either  ele- 
mentary and  physiological  chemistry  or  of 
bacteriology ;  he  took  no  account  of  pulse,  tempera- 
ture, respiration,  or  analysis  of  urine.  Owing  to 
customary  reverence  for  bodies  of  the  dead,  autop- 
sies were  unknown,  imless  indeed  a  criminal  or  a 
traitor  may  have  furnished  material,  andanatomical 
knowledge,  apart  from  that  concerning  bones,  had 
to  be  derived  from  dissecting  animals,  from  sacri- 
ficial animals,  and  surgical  cases.  Two  significant 
designations  have  survived :  '  Hippokratic  suc- 
cession,' and  Fades  Hippocratica. 
The  Hippokratic  Oath  is  herewith  given  : 

1 1  swear  by  Apollo,  the  physician,  by  Asklepios,  by  Hygeia, 
by  Panakeia,  and  by  all  gods  and  goddesses,  that  I  will  fulfil  re- 
ligiously, according  to  the  best  of  my  power  and  judgment,  the 
solemn  vow  which  I  now  make.  I  will  honour  as  my  father 
the  master  who  taught  me  the  art  of  medicine  ;  his  children  I 
will  consider  as  my  brothers,  and  teach  them  mv  profession 
without  fee  or  reward.  I  will  admit  to  my  lectures  and  dis- 
courses my  own  sons,  my  master's  sons,  and  those  pupils  who 
have  taken  the  medical  oath  ;  but  no  one  else.  I  will  prescribe 
such  medicines  as  may  be  best  suited  to  the  cases  of  my  patients, 
according  to  the  best  of  my  judgment ;  and  no  temptation 
shall  ever  induce  me  to  administer  poison.  I  will  not  give  to  a 
woman  an  instrument  to  procure  abortion.  I  will  religiously 
maintain  the  purity  of  my  character  and  the  honour  of  my  art. 
I  will  not  perform  the  operation  of  lithotomy,  but  leave  it  to 
those  to  whose  calling  it  belongs.  Into  whatever  house  I  enter, 
I  will  enter  it  with  the  sole  view  of  relieving  the  sick,  and 
conduct  myself  with  propriety  towards  the  women  of  the 
household.  If  during  my  attendance  I  happen  to  hear  of  any- 
thing that  should  not  be  revealed,  I  will  keep  it  a  profound 
secret.  If  I  observe  this  oath,  may  I  have  success  in  this  life, 
and  may  I  obtain  general  esteem  after  it ;  if  I  break  it,  may  the 
contrary  be  my  lot.' 

The  other  school  of  medicine  in  Greece,  the 
Cnidian — empiric — were  adepts  in  clinical  examina- 
tions, auscultations  of  the  chest,  and  gynaecology. 
They  were,  however,  handicapped  by  lack  of 
anatomical  and  physiological  knowledge.  They 
employed  analogy  of  men  with  cosmic,  vegetable, 
and  animal  existence.  The  two  chief  physicians 


were  Euryphon  and  Ktesias.  Euryphon  described 
pleurisy  as  affection  of  the  lungs,  explained  the 
cause  of  disease  as  insufficient  elimination  of  waste 
products,  and  haemorrhage  as  from  the  arteries  as 
well  as  from  the  veins,  contrary  to  the  general 
opinion.  He  was  probably  influential  in  compiling 
the  Cnidian  Sentences.  Ktesias  (after  398  B.C.), 
for  seventeen  years  a  prisoner  at  the  Persian  court 
of  Artaxerxes  Mnemon,  showed  a  general  interest 
in  poisons,  and  wrote  a  book  on  hellebore. 

In  the  Alexandrian  era  under  the  Ptolemys  medi- 
cine was  transplanted  from  Cos  and  Cnidos  to  Alex- 
andria. As  aliteraryandcommercialcentreitoffered 
great  attractions.  Here  was  one  of  the  largest 
libraries  of  the  world,  with  600,000  MSS,  and  here 
philosophers  of  all  sects  had  established  themselves. 
Commerce  brought  from  all  quarters  a  vast  supply 
of  new  medicaments.  Interest  in  botany,  zoology, 
and  mineralogy  flourished.  Physical  discoveries 
were  made  which  could  be  pressed  into  the  service 
of  medicine.  At  the  beginning  of  the  3rd  cent. 
B.C.  the  collection  of  books  attributed  to  Hippo- 
krates  had  been  brought  together  and  edited  by 
scholars  commissioned  by  the  Ptolemys ;  other 
medical  MSS  also  invited  study.  Patients  from 
many  quarters  were  attracted  by  the  treatment 
offered  by  Greek,  Jewish,  and  Egyptian  practi- 
tioners. Fresh  inquiry  had  opened  up  a  deeper 
interest  in  diagnosis,  pharmacology,  and  toxicology. 
Anatomy  received  an  impulse  hitherto  unknown. 
Not  only  animals  but  cadavers  were  dissected  ; 
vivisection  was  reported  as  performed  on  criminals. 
The  Ptolemys  encouraged  and  even  themselves 
engaged  in  dissections.  Objects  exhumed  in 
Pergamos  disclose  the  accuracy  of  anatomical 
knowledge.  In  Alexandria  medicine  was  divided 
into  surgery,  dietetics,  and  rhizotomy  or  pharmacy. 

Two  names  stand  out  in  this  period  (c.  300  B.C.). 
Herophilos  of  Chalcedon  in  Bithynia,  one  of  the 
most  distinguished  physiciansof  antiquity,  followed 
closely  the  methods  of  Hippokrates.  With  him 
anatomical  science  may  be  said  to  have  had  its 
beginning  ;  he  investigated  the  brain,  the  nerves, 
the  eye,  the  vascular  system,  the  liver ;  he  named 
the  duodenum.  He  first  regarded  the  nerves  as 
the  organs  of  sensation,  and  first  operated  for 
cataract  by  extracting  the  crystalline  lens.  He 
made  use  of  the  amazing  number  of  new  drugs 
available  by  commerce.  He  practised  venesection 
freely.  He  taught  obstetrics  and  wrote  a  book  for 
mid  wives.  '  The  most  perfect  physician  is  he  who 
distinguishes  between  the  possible  and  the  im- 
possible.' Erasistratos  of  Julis,  of  the  island  of 
Ceos,  son  of  a  physician,  left  the  court  of  Seleucus 
Nicator  and  went  to  Alexandria,  where  he  wrote 
on  fevers,  paralysis,  hygiene,  and  therapeutics. 
He  was  an  anatomist,  and  described  the  brain  as 
seat  of  the  soul  and  centre  of  the  nerves,  distin- 
guished the  cerebrum  from  the  cerebellum,  and  gave 
the  trachea  its  name  ;  disease  was  '  plethora ' — an 
overfilling  of  the  vessels  of  the  body  with  alimentary 
matter,  giving  rise  to  fever.  He  opposed  venesec- 
tion. 

By  reason  of  the  special  conditions  of  the  time, 
toxicology  exerted  a  powerful  fascination  over 
very  many  experimenters  in  Asia  Minor.  Krateros 
at  the  court  of  Mithridates  VI.,  Eupator,  a  rhizo- 
toniist,  Mithridates  himself,  Nikandros  of  Colo- 
phon, dealing  with  animal  and  vegetable  poisons, 
cultivated  and  experimented  with  various  toxic 
agents. 

Greek  physicians  and  midwives  made  their  ap- 
pearance in  Rome  in  the  3rd.  cent.  B.C.  Pliny, 
writing  in  the  1st.  cent.,  said  that  for  600  years 
Rome  had  been  without  physicians.  The  Romans 
were  a  sturdy  race  and  had  had  little  occasion  for 
the  physicians  who  flourished  elsewhere  ;  in  this 
respect  they  were  behind  all  other  civilized  peoples. 


PHYSICIAN 


PHYSICIAN 


237 


Sickness  was  referred  to  supernatural  agencies. 
The  cult  of  Asklepios  was  transferred  to  Rome  in 
291  B.C.,  and  the  worship  was  with  'superstitious 
rites  and  ceremonies.'  Every  function  of  life  was  pre- 
sided over  by  a  divinity  ;  therapeutic  agencies  were 
magical,  through  sin-offering,  invocations,  omens, 
and  the  like.  There  was  no  scientific  medicine. 
In  his  Natural  History  Pliny  devotes  many  pages 
to  a  description  of  the  ancient  popular  medicine, 
a  crude  empiricism  mingled  with  fantastic  and 
superstitious  formulae  ;  but  even  he  makes  no  dis- 
tinction between  scientific  and  purely  traditional 
domestic  methods.  Medicine  was  partly  in  the 
hands  of  priests,  and  partly  consisted  of  popular 
practice  and  rough  surgery.  Votive  offerings  of 
bronze  and  alabaster  disclose  the  limitations  in 
Etruscan  anatomical  knowledge.  Gymnastic  as- 
sistants in  Greece  came  to  Rome  and  set  up  in  the 
practice  of  their  profession.  Other  Greek  arts 
had  come  to  Rome,  but  owing  to  Roman  prejudice 
medicine  lagged  behind.  Archagathos  was  among 
the  first,  although  not  the  first  Greek  physician,  as 
Pliny  states  (HN  xxix.  6),  to  come  from  the  Pelo- 
ponnesos  ;  he  arrived  in  219  B.C.  Extraordinarily 
successful,  and  at  length  emboldened  by  his  fame, 
he  undertook  so  many  serious  cases  of  cutting  and 
burning  that  he  was  dubbed  '  carnifex  '  and  driven 
from  the  city.  Later,  Asklepiades  of  Prusa 
(Bithynia),  born  about  124  B.C.,  reconciled  the 
Romans  to  Greek  medicine.  An  adherent  of 
atomism,  he  won  the  favour  of  the  influential 
Epicureans  at  Rome.  He  rejected  the  Hippokratic 
axiom  that  nature  is  the  healer  of  disease  ;  often 
nature  does  not  help  but  even  hinders  recovery. 
His  principal  significance  lay  in  therapeutics ;  he 
relied  mainly  on  diet,  hygiene,  and  physical  and 
medical  treatment. 

In  49  B.c.  all  Greeks,  and  therefore  Greek 
physicians,  were  made  freedmen  by  Julius  Caesar. 
This  action  led  to  two  results :  it  increased  the 
number  of  Greek  physicians  in  Rome,  and  it  gave 
them  a  prestige  which  they  had  not  before 
enjoyed.  In  his  Natural  History  (xxix.  8)  Pliny 
wrote  that  those  who  adopt  the  Greek  language 
in  their  prescriptions,  no  matter  what  their  pre- 
tensions, nor  how  serious  the  peril,  are  fully 
believed.  For  a  century  and  a  half  after  25  B.C. 
a  galaxy  of  Greek  physicians  practised  in  Rome, 
all  of  whom  were  natives  of  Asia  Minor.  Themi- 
son  of  Laodicea  (born  c.  50  B.C.),  founder  of  the 
methodic  sect,  sought  for  the  symptoms  of  disease 
with  a  common  sign,  in  distinction  from  Asklepi- 
ades, who  inquired  after  the  cause.  He  recognized 
only  three  forms  of  disease— rigidity  or  congestion, 
relaxation,  and  a  combination  of  these  two  with 
one  or  other  condition  preponderating.  The  treat- 
ment was  to  relax  for  congestion,  to  constrict  for 
relaxation.  Prophylactic  measures  were  also  prac- 
tised. He  was  the  first  to  make  use  of  leeches.  The 
strict  methodists  conceded  neither  specific  disease 
nor  specific  remedies,  and  disallowed  such  medicines 
as  purgatives,  emetics,  diuretics,  and  emmen- 
agogues.  The  school  increased  rapidly,  since  it  was 
so  easy  to  complete  the  preparation.  Thessalos  of 
Tralles  in  Lydia  announced  himself  as  able  to 
train  physicians  in  six  months.  Among  his  pupils 
were  smiths,  dyers,  and  cobblers.  He  dedicated 
to  Nero  his  writings,  in  which  he  treated  of  diet, 
chronic  disease,  and  surgery.  He  taught  his 
pupils  at  the  bedside  of  his  patients.  Scribonius 
Largus  (c.  A.D.  47)  dedicated  to  Claudius,  whom 
he  had  accompanied  on  an  expedition  to  Great 
Britain,  a  collection  of  271  formulae  for  treatment 
of  every  portion  of  the  body,  from  head  to  foot. 
These  were  in  part  from  Greek  sources,  and  in 
part  from  secret  remedies  got  by  bribery  from 
physicians  and  quacks  at  health  resorts ;  some 
were  popular,  others  magical  and  fantastic. 


He  was  the  first  to  describe  the  method  of  abstract- 
ing opium  and  of  applying  electricity  for  severe 
headache.  Dioskurides  of  Anazarba  near  Tarsus 
in  Cilicia,  perhaps  a  contemporary  of  Pliny, 
simplified  pharmacology,  relieving  it  of  all  super- 
stitious remedies,  and  wrote  the  first  book  on  this 
subject,  Ilepl  CXijs  larpiKrjs,  in  A.D.  77  or  78.  Thia 
consisted  of  five  books,  and  included  the  three 
kingdoms.  He  also  wrote  on  poisons  and  anti- 
dotes, and  on  poisonous  beasts.  He  was  familiar 
with  all  the  plants  of  Arabia  and  Asia  Minor,  and 
in  a  single  book  he  describes  these  with  such 
exactitude  that  they  have  been  identified  by 
modern  botanists.  To  him  we  owe  descriptions 
of  ginger,  pepper,  gentian,  aloes,  and  wormwood, 
and  also  metallic  agents  such  as  quicksilver, 
acetate  of  lead,  and  copper  oxides.  A.  Cornelius 
Celsus,  not  indeed  of  Greek  birth,  drew  all  his 
inspiration  from  Greek  sources.  Probably  not  a 
practising  physician,  not  perhaps  even  medically 
trained,  he  wrote  in  the  first  half  of  the  qentury 
eight  books  on  medicine,  including  diet  and 
hygiene,  general  andspecialpathology,  and  surgery. 
Particularly  famous  are  his  descriptions  of  litho- 
tomy, operation  for  cataract,  and  obstetrics. 

In  the  middle  of  the  1st  cent,  there  arose  a  new 
school,  the  Pneumatics,  who  would  explain  all 
diseases  by  reference  to  '  vital  air ' ;  pneuma  takes 
the  place  of  humours  in  disease  and  health.  The 
school  was  founded  by  Athenaios  of  Attaleia  in 
Pamphylia.  He  paid  much  attention  to  air,  water, 
food-stuffs,  influence  of  different  climates  on  health, 
exercise,  baths,  mineral  waters,  dietetics  rather 
than  drugs.  For  the  sake  of  its  value  in  sexual 
development  he  advocated  physical  as  well  as 
mental  training  for  youth.  Women  were  to  find 
in  their  domestic  and  social  activity  a  means  of 
health.  Archigenes  of  Apamea  in  Syria  completed 
the  study  of  the  pulse,  wrote  on  drugs,  especially 
hellebore.  He  was  skilful  as  a  surgeon  and  phar- 
macologist. In  therapeutics  he  made  use  of  amu- 
lets for  their  value  in  suggestion.  He  was  not 
above  preparing  hair-dye  for  ladies  of  high  rank. 
He  operated  for  cancer  and  used  the  vaginal  specu- 
lum. Aretaios  (at  the  close  of  the  1st  cent.)  was 
equalled  only  by  Hippokrates  in  the  description  of 
diseases  and  in  the  principles  of  therapy.  For  the 
most  part  he  advocated  mild  remedies,  and  held 
that  even  if  the  patient  were  hopelessly  and  pro- 
tractedly ill,  the  duty  of  the  physician  toward  him 
was  not  relaxed.  Rufus  of  Ephesus,  who  also 
practised  medicine  in  the  reign  of  Trajan,  was 
educated  at  Alexandria.  He  derived  his  anatomi- 
cal knowledge  from  the  dissection  of  monkeys. 
Soranos  of  Ephesus,  who  received  his  medical  and 
anatomical  training  in  Alexandria,  was  the  most 
famous  obstetrician  of  antiquity.  One  learns  from 
him  what  were  the  most  approved  methods  of 
practice  in  this  department  of  medicine.  In  him 
the  methodic  school  culminated. 

If  Luke  was  a  physician  (Col  414),  as  Harnack 
has  adduced  strong  reasons  for  maintaining  (Lukas 
der  Arzt,  Leipzig,  1906,  p.  122  ff.,  Eng.  tr.,  Luke 
the  Physician,  London  and  New  York,  1907, 
Appendix,  p.  175 ff.;  cf.  W.  K.  Hobart,  The 
Medical  Language  of  St.  Paul,  Dublin,  1882 ;  T. 
Zahn,  Einleitung  in  das  NT,  Erlangen,  1897-1900, 
ii.  435  ff. ,  Eng.  tr. ,  Introduction  to  the  NT,  Edin- 
burgh, 1909,  iii.  160 ff.),  and,  further,  if  Luke  was 
a  Greek  either  of  Antioch  or  of  Antiochian  descent, 
he  may  have  had  such  training  as  was  character- 
istic 01  Asia  Minor  at  that  time. 

LITERATURE. — Hippokrates,  Genuine  Works,  Eng.  tr.,London, 
1849 ;  Edward  Meryon,  The  History  of  Medicine,  do.,  1861 ; 
H.  E.  Handerson,  Outlines  of  the  History  of  Medicine  and  the 
Medical  Profession,  New  York,  1889 ;  T.  Puschtnann.  History 
of  Medical  Education,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1891 ;  A.  Harnack, 
Medicinisches  aus  df,r  iiltesten  Kirchenaeschichte,  Leipzig,  1892 ; 
Edward  Berdoe,  The  Origin  and  Growth,  of  the  Healing  Art, 


238 


PILATE,  PONTIUS 


PILLAR 


do. ,  1893  ;  J.  Pagel,  Einfuhnmg  in  die  Geschichte  der  Medicin, 
Berlin,  1898 ;  Max  Neuburger  and  J.  Pagel,  Handbuch  der 
Geschichte  der  Medizin,  Jena,  1901-05 ;  Roswell  Park,  An 
Epitome  of  the  History  of  Medicine,  Philadelphia,  1906  ;  Max 
Neuburger,  Geschichte  der  Medizin,  Stuttgart,  1906 ;  J.  S. 
Milne,  Surgical  Instruments  in  Greek  and  Roman  Times, 
Oxford,  1907  ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  Luke  th»  Physician,  London, 
1908;  David  Allyn  Gorton,  The  History  of  Medicine,  New 
York,  1910 ;  J.  E.  Sandys,  A  Companion  to  Latin  Studies, 
Cambridge,  1910,  p.  715  ff.  C.  A.  BECKWITH. 

PILATE,  PONTIUS.— The  name  of  the  Roman 
procurator  of  Judaea,  Samaria,  and  Idumsea  (A.D. 
26-36),  whose  part  in  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus  is  re- 
counted in  the  Gospels,  occurs  four  times  elsewhere 
in  the  NT,  and  always  in  reflexions  upon  that 
event.  Its  first  mention  (Ac  313)  is  in  the  speech 
of  Peter  after  the  healing  of  the  lame  man  at  the 
Temple  gate.  There  the  emphasis  is  laid  upon  the 
sin  of  the  Jews  in  denying  Jesus  and  delivering 
Him  up  to  Pilate,  of  whom  it  is  said,  in  exoneration, 
that  he  was  determined  to  let  Him  go.  Some  ex- 
tenuation of  their  guilt,  however,  is  found  in  the 
fact  that  they  sinned  in  ignorance ;  and,  as  God 
has  glorified  Jesus  and  made  their  Avickedness  to 
serve  the  fulfilment  of  His  purpose  in  Him,  the 
hope  of  pardon  is  presented  to  them.  With  this 
reference  may  be  taken  that  (Ac  1328)  in  Paul's 
address  at  Antioch  in  Pisidia,  which  somewhat 
resembles  the  earlier  speech  of  Peter.  Here,  while 
the  same  view  is  taken  of  the  Divine  significance 
of  Christ's  death  and  its  fulfilment  of  prophecy, 
the  sin  of  the  Jews  is  not  so  strongly  insisted  upon, 
and  on  the  other  hand  a  less  favourable  conception 
of  Pilate's  action  seems  to  be  implied.  Of  the 
Jews  it  is  only  asserted  that,  though  they  found 
no  cause  of  death  in  Jesus,  yet  they  desired  Pilate 
that  He  should  be  slain  ;  to  Pilate  no  determina- 
tion to  release  Him  is  ascribed,  or  even  a  disin- 
clination to  yield  to  their  request.  The  Jews 
accused  Christ  wrongly  through  not  understanding 
their  own  Scriptures  ;  Pilate,  so  far  as  appears, 
callously  put  Him  to  death  at  their  bidding.  His 
guilt  is  accentuated  in  the  remaining  reference  to 
him  in  Acts  (427).  The  context  is  a  prayer  of  the 
early  believers  on  the  release  of  Peter  and  John 
from  prison,  which  proceeds  upon  a  Messianic  in- 
terpretation of  Ps  2  and  its  application  to  the 
death  of  Christ.  Pilate  is  represented  as  a  ruler 
of  the  earth  who  conspired  with  King  Herod  (Lk 
2312),  the  Gentiles,  and  the  people  of  Israel  against 
the  Lord's  Anointed.  Again  his  action  is  conceived 
as  overruled  by  God  for  His  own  purpose  ;  but  his 
guilt  is  neither  extenuated  nor  left  to  be  inferred. 
It  is  explicitly  stated  and  regarded  as  consisting, 
not  merely  in  the  sacrifice  of  an  innocent  person, 
but  in  an  act  of  rebellion  against  God.  This  view 
of  Pilate's  conduct,  with  regard  to  Christ,  probably 
prevailed  in  the  inner  circles  of  the  gospel,  since 
it  found  expression  so  early  in  the  intimacy  of  their 
religious  fellowship.  It  would  be  strengthened  by 
the  appearance  of  Divine  retribution  in  the  disgrace 
that  befell  Pilate  in  A.D.  36,  when  he  was  recalled 
to  Rome  at  the  instigation  of  Vitellius,  and  in  later 
years  would  help  to  mould  the  legends  that  gathered 
round  his  name.  The  last  mention  of  him  in  the 
NT  (1  Ti  613)  is  unimportant,  so  far  as  he  is  con- 
cerned. It  is  an  allusion  to  Christ's  virtual  con- 
fession of  His  Messiahship  in  Pilate's  presence, 
when  He  claimed  to  be  a  king.  D.  FREW. 

PILGRIM.— See  STRANGER. 

PILLAR.— The  pillar  (<m5Xos)  is  the  symbol  of 
stability  and  firmness,  that  which  upholds  and 
sustains.  Its  figurative  use  is  confined  to  the 
NT,  in  the  following  passages. 

1.  Gal  29. — 'Id/cwjSoj  Kal  K.T)<f>8.s  Kal  'ludvrjs,  ol 
SOKOWTSS  <TTIJ\OI  elvai,  '  James  and  Cephas  and  John, 
they  who  were  reputed  to  be  pillars.'  o-rtfXoi,  which 


was  used  quite  commonly  as  a  descriptive  title  for 
the  great  Rabbis,  here  refers  to  those  already 
mentioned  (Gal  22)  'who  were  of  repute' — the 
recognized  leaders,  and  (v.6)  '  tuose  who  were 
reputed  to  be  somewhat' — considerable  persons, 
'  those  who  are  the  great  authorities  with  you 
Galatians  now'  (Ellicott,  in  loc.). 

2.  1    Ti   315.— ijTis   (sc.    olKos)   to-rlv   tKK\r]ffia   6eov 
fwvros,   crrtfXos   Kai  edpaiufia  TTJS  dXrjOelas,   '  which  is 
the  church  of  the  living  God,  the  pillar  and  ground 
(stay)  of  the  truth.'     edpaiuna  is  &Tra£  \ey.  in  both 
classical  and  NT  Greek.     'House  of  God 'in  the 
OT  denoted,  in  the  first  place,  the  Temple,  and 
then,  by  metonymy,  the  covenant  people— -familia 
Dei.     Here  it  stands  for  the  congregation  of  be- 
lievers   among    whom    God    dwells.      Hort    (The 
Christian Ecclesia,  p.  172 ff.)  renders,  'a  household 
of  God,  which  is  an  Ecclesia  of  a  living  God,  a 
pillar  and  stay  of  the  truth,'  and  contends  that 
the  absence  of  the  article  is  not  immaterial,  and 
says,  in  opposition  to  the  rendering  in  the  RV  : 
'  There  is  no  clear  evidence   that  the  rare  word 
tdpaiw/j.a  ever  means  "  ground  "  =  "  foundation."    It 
is  rather,  in  accordance  with  the  almost  universal 
Latin  rendering  firmamentum,  a  "stay"  or  "bul- 
wark."    St.  Paul's  idea  then  is  that  each  living 
society  of  Christian  men  is  a  pillar  and  stay  of 
"the  truth"  as  an  object  of  belief  and  a  guide 
of  life  for  mankind,  each  such  Christian  society 
bearing  its  part  in  sustaining  and  supporting  the 
one  truth  common  to  all'  (cf.  ExpT  viii.  [1896-97] 
471).     The  reference  would  then  be  to  the  local 
Church  of  Ephesus.     But  a  large  body  of  inter- 
preters favour  the  rendering  of  the  AV  and  the 
RV — the  whole  society  of  believers,  the  Church 
universal,  is  regarded  as  the  ground  and  stay  of 
the  truth  (cf.  J.  Strachan,  Westminster  NT,  '  The 
Captivity  and  the  Pastoral  Epistles.'  London,  1910, 
p.  218).     The  Church  is  first  pictured  as  a  house, 
inhabited  by  a  living  God,  and  then,  by  a  quick 
change   of  metaphor,   is  described    as   o-rtfXos   Kal 
tdpalwfj.a,  holding  up  the  truth,  the  saving  truth  of 
the  gospel.     Attempts  have  been  made  to  avoid 
the  mixture  of  metaphor  by  referring  '  pillar  '  and 
'  stay '  to  Timothy  himself.     But,  though  there  is 
no  insuperable  objection  to  this,  it  is  not  needful. 
'  There  is  no  intolerable  mixture  of  metaphors  in 
speaking  of  Christians  first  as  a  house  and  then  as 
a  pillar,  any  more  than  in  speaking  of  any  one  as 
both  a  pillar  and  a  basis.     In  1  Ti  69  we  have  the 
covetous  falling  into  a  snare  and  hurtful  lusts  such 
as   drown  men '  (A.  Plummer,  Expositor's  Bible, 
'The  Pastoral  Epistles,'  London,  1888,  p.  131  n.). 

3.  Rev  312. — 6  VIKWV  TTOIIJCTW  avrbv  o~rv\ov  ev  rip  vaif 
TOM  Ofov  /J.QV,  Kal  Ufa  ov  fj.r)  e^f\0r]  UTI,  '  He  that  over- 
cometh,  I  will  make  him  a  pillar  in  the  temple 
(sanctuary)  of  my  God,  and  he  shall  go  out  thence 
no  more.'    The  letter  to  the  Church  of  Philadelphia 
'gives  the  pledge  of  safety  from  the  hour  of  trial, 
of  steadiness  like  the  pillar  of  a  temple,  of  ever- 
lasting guarantee  against  disaster  and  eviction,  of 
exaltation  above  the  enemies  who  now  contemn 
and  insult.  ...  It  was  always  in  dread  of  the  last 
hour  of  trial,  and  was  always  kept  from  it.     It 
stood  like  a  pillar,  the  symbol  of  stability  and 
strength '    (Ramsay,    The    Letters    to    the    Seven 
Churches  of  Asia,  p.  411  f.).     The  history  of  Phila- 
delphia does  not  belie  the  splendid  promise  made 
to  its  church.     It  stood  like  a  pillar  against  the 
troubles  of  the  times,  and  a  bulwark  of  civiliza- 
tion.    The  town  is  still  largely  Christian  (cf.  EBi 
\ii.  3692).     '  Philadelphia  alone    has   been    saved 
by  prophecy,  or  courage.  .  .  .  Among  the  Greek 
colonies  and  churches  of  Asia,  Philadelphia  is  still 
erect,  a  column  in  a  scene  of  ruins  :    a  pleasing 
example  that  the  paths  of  honour  and  safety  may 
sometimes  be  the  same'  (E.  Gibbon,  The  Decline 
and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  vii.2  [1902]  p.  27). 


PIPE,  FLUTE 


PISIDIA 


239 


It  has  been  said  that  among  the  few  ruins  of 
Philadelphia  there  are  four  strong  marble  pillars 
standing  in  one  spot,  and  on  the  sides  of  these 
pillars  inscriptions  are  found.  W.  M.  Ramsay 
(op.  cit.)  traces  in  the  promise  to  this  'church 
suggestive  references,  which,  he  thinks,  a  Phila- 
delphian  could  not  fail  to  discover,  e.g.  to  the 
disasters  and  earthquakes  common  to  the  district : 
'  he  that  overcometh  shall  never  again  require  to 
go  out  and  take  refuge  in  the  open  country.  The 
city  which  had  suffered  so  much  and  so  long  from 
instability  was  to  be  rewarded  with  the  Divine 
firmness  and  steadfastness.' 

Augustine  (quoted  by  R.  C.  Trench,  Commentary 
on  the  Epistles  to  the  Seven  Churches  in  Asia?, 
London,  1867,  p.  188)  says  :  '  Quis  non  desideret 
illam  civitatem,  unde  amicus  non  exit,  quo  inimicus 
non  intrat  ? ' 

The  majority  of  commentators,  followed  by  the 
RV,  take  the  name  as  written  upon  the  victor  and 
not  on  the  pillar  (the  metaphor  being  dropped),  but 
De  Wette  adopts  the  latter  rendering,  so  that 
oruXot  become  also  arf)\ai.  As  to  the  inscription 
itself,  Ramsay  (op.  cit.)  contends  that  there  are  not 
three  names,  but  one  '  which  has  all  three  char- 
acters, and  is  at  once  the  name  of  God,  the  name 
of  the  Church,  and  the  new  name  of  Christ.' 

LITERATURE. — F.  J.  A.  Hort,  The  Christian  Ecclesia,  London, 
1897 ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Letters  to  the  Seven  Churches  of 
A»ia,  do.,  1904  ;  P.  Brooks,  The  Candle  of  the  Lord,  do., 
1881,  p.  60  f. ;  C.  J.  Ellicott,  NT  Commentary,  1884,  in  loc. 

W.  M.  GRANT. 

PIPE,  FLUTE  (av\6s,  from  a&civ  '  to  blow').— The 
word  and  its  cognate  forms  appear  five  times  in 
the  NT.  Two  of  these  have  been  noted  under  art. 
MINSTRELS,  where  it  is  pointed  out  that  auXT/TiJs  in 
Mt  Q23  is  translated  '  minstrel '  and  in  Rev  1822 
'  piper,'  though  in  each  case  the  RV  has  the  more 
correct  '  flute-player.'  oi)\6s  and  av\ov/j.evov  occur  in 
1  Co  147 :  ' .  .  .  whether  pipe  or  harp,  except  they 
give  a  distinction  in  the  sounds,  how  shall  it  be 
known  what  is  piped  or  harped  ? '  By  this  musical 
illustration  St.  Paul  expounds  his  teaching  regard- 
ing the  apostolic  gift  of  speaking  with  tongues. 
av\tw  occurs  in  Mt  II17  and  its  parallel  in  Lk  7s2  : 
'  we  have  piped  unto  you,  and  ye  have  not 
danced.  .  .  .' 

The  three  traditional  wind  instruments  of 
Hebrew  music  (which  must  guide  us  in  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  instruments  of  the  Apostolic  Age) 
were  the  flute,  horn,  and  trumpet ;  and  of  these 
the  flute  was  most  often  used.  From  very  early 
days  the  '  peaceful  flute'  had  an  important  part  in 
the  observance  of  Jewish  ritual.  As  we  learn  from 
Is  3029,  it  was  played  during  the  procession  to  the 
Temple  of  the  pilgrims  who  kept  the  Feast  of 
Tabernacles,  and  its  use  at  other  national  festivals 
can  be  proved.  On  the  more  domestic  occasions  of 
rejoicing,  such  as  marriages  and  dances,  the  flute- 
player  was  also  considered  necessary  for  their 
proper  celebration  ;  and  Mt  1 117  shows  that  the 
musical  accompaniment  of  festivity  was  continued 
in  NT  times.  But  the  flute  was  also  the  charac- 
teristic instrument  in  the  ritual  of  mourning. 
Evidence  of  this  may  be  found  in  the  literature  of 
most  ancient  nations.  Amongst  the  Romans  the 
designator  and  his  lictores  made  the  tibicines  and 
other  musicians  take  the  forefront  of  the  funeral 
processions.  As  Ovid,  in  Fasti  vi.  657  ff.,  wrote  : 

4  Temporibus  veterum  tibicinis  usus  avorum 
Magnus,  et  in  magno  semper  honore  fuit. 
Cantabat  fanis,  cantabat  tibia  ludis, 
Cantabat  insestis  tibia  funeribus.' 

In  Jer  48s6  there  is  allusion  to  funereal  flute- 
playing,  and  there  were  minstrels,  as  we  have  seen, 
at  the  raising  of  Jairus'  daughter  (Mt  923).  In  the 
time  of  Christ  even  the  poorest  households  pro- 
vided flute-players  at  the  funerals  of  their  dead. 


Perhaps  the  best  instance  of  this  use  of  the  flute  is 
given  by  J.  Wellhausen  in  his  Appendix  to  Psalms 
(Haupt's  PB,  1898,  p.  219),  where  he  cites  the 
Jewish  lamentation  at  the  fall  of  Jotapata  as 
recorded  in  Josephus,  BJ  III.  ix.  5. 

When  we  attempt  to  describe  these  flutes,  we 
must  not  think  of  the  modern  keyed  flute  intro- 
duced by  Theodore  Boehm,  but  of  something  much 
more  primitive.  Yet  there  were  in  the  earliest 
times  several  distinct  varieties  of  flute-like  instru- 
ments which  roughly  correspond  to  the  flute  a  bee 
and  the^M^e  traversiere.  These  were  made  of  reed 
and  wood,  though  in  later  times  bone  and  ivory 
were  used ;  and  they  varied  in  length  as  in  the 
number  of  their  finger-holes.  Ancient  monuments, 
Egyptian  and  Assyrian,  have  representations  of  the 
long  flute  blown  at  one  end — a  type  that  has 
developed  into  the  flageolet — and  of  the  kind  that 
had  a  lateral  hole  near  the  end  of  the  instrument. 
Double  flutes  are  also  depicted,  i.e.  a  variety  that 
consisted  of  two  fairly  long  tubes  united  at  the  one 
mouthpiece,  which  probably  made  possible  notes 
of  considerable  compass. 

It  cannot  be  said  with  certainty  which  types 
are  represented  by  the  S'Sri  and  the  3Jiy  of  the  Jews. 
According  to  tradition,  the  latter  was  in  the  form 
of  a  Pan's  pipe.  ARCHIBALD  MAIN. 

PISIDIA  (Huridia). — Pisidia  was  a  rugged  and 
mountainous  country  in  the  south  of  Asia  Minor, 
bounded  on  the  N.  by  Phrygia,  on  the  S.  by  the 
coast-land  of  Pamphylia,  on  the  W.  by  Lycia,  and 
on  the  E.  by  Isauria.  Its  length  from  W.  to  E. 
was  about  120  miles,  and  its  breadth  50  miles. 
It  was  a  land  of  beautiful  lakes — Limnai,  Caralis, 
Ascania,  and  others — and  of  torrents  growing  into 
rivers — the  Cestrus,  the  Eurymedon,  and  the  Melas 
—  which  discharged  themselves  into  the  Pam- 
phylian  Sea.  The  semi-savage  Pisidians,  wholly 
untouched  by  the  Hellenizing  influences  which 
were  gradually  affecting  the  other  Anatolian  races, 
had  their  homes  in  the  upper  valleys  and  strong 
fastnesses  of  this  secluded  region.  Strabo  (XII. 
vii.  1-3)  gives  details  which  enable  us  to  realize 
their  life.  'Among  the  summits  of  Taurus  is  a 
very  fertile  tract  capable  of  maintaining  many 
thousand  inhabitants.  Many  spots  produce  the 
olive  and  excellent  vines,  and  afford  abundant 
pasture  for  animals  of  all  kinds.  Above  and  all 
around  are  forests  containing  trees  of  various 
sorts.'  The  mountaineers  were  'governed  by 
hereditary  chieftains,'  and  followed  'a  predatory 
mode  of  life,'  carrying  on  a  continual  warfare 
with  the  kings  to  the  N.  and  the  S.  of  their 
territories. 

The  task  of  subjugating  them  was  at  first  en- 
trusted by  the  Romans  to  Amyntas,  a  brave  and 
capable  Galatian  officer  whom  Mark  Antony  made 
king  of  Galatia  in  36  B.C.  His  work  was  advan- 
cing towards  success,  when  he  lost  his  life  in  an 
expedition  against  the  Homonades,  to  the  W.  of 
Lycaonia  (25  B.C.).  The  Romans  themselves  were 
then  obliged  to  complete  the  task  of  reducing  the 
refractory  highlanders.  About  6  B.C.  Augustus 
established  a  series  of  garrison  towns  on  the 
flanks  of  Pisidia  and  Isauria.  Supplying  Antioch 
with  veterans  and  re-organizing  it  in  Roman 
fashion,  he  built  one  military  road  to  connect  it 
with  the  colonice  which  he  planted  in  Olbasa, 
Comama,  and  Cremna  for  the  control  of  the  western 
region,  and  another  to  join  it  with  Parlais  and 
Lystra,  which  were  intended  to  hold  the  eastern 
tribes  in  check. 

•The  newly-founded  towns  remained  indeed  unimportant, 
but  still  notably  restricted  the  field  of  the  free  inhabitants  of 
the  mountains,  and  general  peace  must  at  length  have  made 
its  triumphal  entrance  also  here'  (T.  Mommsen,  The  Province* 
of  the  Roman  Empire*,  Eng.  tr.,  1909,  i.  337). 


240 


PIT 


PITY,  COMPASSION 


In  St.  Paul's  time  Pisidia  formed  part  of  the 
province  of  Galatia.  In  his  first  missionary 
journey  he  traversed  this  wildly  picturesque 
region  (Ac  1314),  then  comparatively  settled,  but 
still  by  no  means  free  from  'perils  of  robbers' 
(see  2  Co  II26).  His  route  through  it  can  only  be 
conjectured.  Conybeare  and  Howson  (The  Life 
and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  new  ed.,  1877,  i.  204) 
think  that  he  chose  the  steep  pass  leading  from 
Attalia  to  Lake  Ascania  (Buldur  Gol).  W.  M. 
Ramsay  (The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  1893, 
p.  19)  holds  that  '  the  natural,  easy,  and  direct 
course  is  along  one  of  the  eastern  tributaries  of 
the  Oestrus  to  Adada.'  On  the  return  journey 
St.  Paul  and  Barnabas  'passed  through  Pisidia' 
(5if\96i>Tes  TT)v  Huridlav,  Ac  1424),  a  phrase  which, 
according  to  Ramsay,  implies  that  some  missionary 
work  was  attempted  on  the  way.  But  it  must 
have  been  difficult  to  get  into  touch  with  mountain 
tribes  who  did  not  know  the  Greek  language,  and 
apparently  no  church  was  founded  in  this  part  of 
Roman  Galatia  till  a  much  later  date.  Yet  a  trace 
of  the  journey  seems  to  be  found  in  the  name  of 
Kara  Bavlo — the  modern  equivalent  of  '  Paul ' — 
which  is  borne  by  the  ruins  of  Adada.  It  is  im- 
possible to  decide  whether  the  name  is  based  upon 
a  genuine  tradition  or  is  merely  a  conjecture 
hazarded  after  the  town  was  Christianized,  but 
the  latter  supposition  is  perhaps  the  more  likely. 
In  a  forest  about  1  mile  S.  of  Adada  stand  the 
ruins  of  a  church  of  early  date.  The  modern 
town,  5  miles  S.  of  the  ancient  site,  is  also  called 
Bavlo. 

In  A.D.  74  Vespasian  transferred  a  great  part 
of  Pisidia  to  the  new  double  province  of  Lycia- 
Pamphylia.  The  name  Pisidia  was  gradually 
extended  northward  till  it  included  most  of 
Southern  Phrygia.  Thus  Antioch,  which  in  St. 
Paul's  time  was  not  strictly  '  Pisidian '  (though 
St.  Luke  so  describes  it  in  Ac  1314)  but  only 
'  Antioch  towards  Pisidia '  (' Avn6x«a,  ^  w/>6s 
IliffiSig.  [Strabo,  xn.  viii.  14]),  was  at  a  later 
time  correctly  designated  'Antioch  of  Pisidia' 
(TTJS  Ili<ri5las ;  so  the  TR  of  Ac  1314,  following 
the  Codex  Bezae,  which  reflects  the  usage  of  the 
2nd  century). 

The  mountainous  parts  of  the  country  are  to- 
day inhabited  by  Karamanians  who  are  as  wild 
and  rapacious  as  the  Pisidians  of  two  thousand 
years  ago. 

LITERATURE. — C.  Lanckoronski,  Les  Villes  de  la  Pamphylie 
et  de  la  Pisidie,  1890 ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Church  in  the 
Roman  Empire*,  1897,  p.  18  ff.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PIT.— See  ABYSS. 

PITY,  COMPASSION.— The  noun  'pity'  occurs 
only  once  in  the  AV  of  the  NT  (Mt  1883,  RV 
'  mercy  '),  and  once  in  RV  (Ja  511).  The  adjective 
'pitiful'  occurs  in  AV  (Ja  511  and  1  P  38,  RV 
'  tender-hearted ').  The  Greek  equivalents  for 
these  words  are  l\eeiv  (l\eav),  efiffTrXayxvos,  TroXtf- 
o"jr\ayxvos.  The  word  '  compassion  '  is  of  much 
more  frequent  occurrence,  being  represented  in  the 
following  21  passages  of  the  two  versions :  Mt  9s6 
1414  153-  1827  2034,  Mk  I41  519  (RV  'mercy')  6s4 82  922, 
Lk  713  1033  1520,  Ro  918,  Ph  21  (AV  '  mercies '),  Col 
312(AV  'mercies'),  He  52  (RV  'bear  gently')  1028 
(AV  ' mercy ')  1034,  1  Jn  3"  (AV  '  bowels'),  Jude  ** 
(RV  'mercy').  The  adjective  form  'compassion- 
ate'occurs  in  1  P  3s  (AV  'having  compassion'). 
The  Greek  words  corresponding  to  these  are 
ffirXdyxva,  o-irXayxvifca-ffai,  oiKrelpftv,  olKTipfj.6s,  AeelV 
(tXeav),  <rv/j.ira6ris,  p-erpiotradelv.  It  should  be  noted 
that  the  noun  crirXdyxva  is  found  in  the  original 
with  different  translations  in  the  following  cases  : 
Lk  I78  ('tender  mercy'),  2  Co  612  (AV  'bowels,' 
RV  '  affections '),  Ph  I8  (AV  '  bowels,'  RV  '  tender 


mercies'),  Philem  7.12.20  (j^V  'bowels,'  RV 
'  heart ').  The  noun  olKTip/j.6s  occurs  in  Ro  12l 
('mercies'),  2  Co  Is  ('mercies'),  the  adjective 
olKrLpp.uiv  in  Ja  511  (RV  '  merciful,'  AV  '  of  tender 
mercy').  tXeeiv  and  Aeos  occur  numerous  times 
with  the  standing  translation  'to  have  mercy,' 
'  mercy.'  ffvp.ira6f.lv  occurs  in  He  418  ('  to  be  touched 
with  the  feeling  of '). 

Of  these  several  Greek  words  ^erpioiradeiv  may 
be  left  out  of  account,  since  in  the  one  passage 
where  it  occurs  (He  52)  it  has  nothing  to  do  with 
compassion.  It  signifies  literally  '  to  have  a 
medium-emotion.'  While  this  may  be  in  contrast 
to  utter  lack  of  sympathy,  the  context  in  our 
passage  compels  us  to  understand  it  in  contrast  to 
excess  of  indignation  against  sin.  Hence  RV  has 
the  correct  rendering  '  who  can  bear  gently,' 
whereas  AV,  '  who  can  have  compassion,'  trans- 
lates the  word  as  if  it  were  equivalent  to 
<Tvp.ira.6elv. 

The  other  words  are  distinguished  in  their  mean- 
ing as  follows  :  ffirXayxvtfrffdai  is  from  ffir\dyxva  = 
the  viscera  nobilia  of  the  chest  (heart,  lungs,  liver, 
spleen).  This  word  denoted  in  classical  Greek  the 
seat  of  all  violent  passions,  and  the  passions  them- 
selves, but  the  Hebrew  Q'orp  for  which  the  LXX 
a-trXdyxva  is  the  equivalent,  stands  only  sensu  bono 
for  the  seat  of  the  tender  affections  and  then  for 
the  affections  themselves.  Both  in  classical  and 
in  biblical  Greek,  therefore,  a-irXdyxva  covers  more 
than  'compassion.'  Tittmann  (de  Synonymis  in 
Novo  Testamento,  p.  68)  is  quite  correct  in  claim- 
ing this  wider  sense  for  Lk  I78  and  Col  312,  where 
ffirXdyx^a  is  the  generic  concept,  which  is  more 
specifically  determined  by  the  genitives  tXtous  and 
olKripfjuav.  We  may  add  Ph  2',  where  ffir\a.~fxy°-  and 
olKTipp.oL  are  co-ordinated  ('bowels  and  mercies'). 
a-irXdyxva.  is  also  used  in  a  general  sense  in  2  Co 
6i2  7is}  philem  7.12.20.  The  verb  o-7rXa7xxtfe<r0£u 
seems  to  be  a  coinage  of  the  later  Greek.  It  does 
not  even  occur  in  the  LXX  except  in  the  active 
form  a-irXa.yxi'i^eiv  in  2  Mac  68= '  to  eat  the  in- 
wards.' Its  specific  sense  in  the  NT  is  that  of  a 
strong  inward  movement  of  sympathetic  feeling 
aroused  by  the  sight  of  misery.  The  notion  of 
intentness  upon  affording  relief  remains  in  the 
background,  much  more  so  than  in  £\eeiv.  From 
this  strong  emotional  colouring  of  the  word  is  to 
be  explained  the  fact  that  in  the  Gospels  it  does 
not  occur  in  the  appeals  addressed  by  suffering 
persons  or  their  friends  to  Jesus,  except  in  Mk  922, 
where  the  critical  nature  of  the  case  necessitates 
an  appeal  to  the  profoundest  compassion  of  Jesus. 
In  ordinary  cases  the  appeal  naturally  employs 
the*  word  in  which  the  impulse  to  help  is  most 
clearly  connoted,  and  this  is  tXeeiv.  To  express 
the  strength  and  inward  character  of  the  feeling 
the  English  versions  often  render  '  to  be  moved 
with  compassion,'  but  neither  AV  nor  RV  con- 
sistently (cf.  the  two  versions  in  Mt  2034  and 
Mk  6s4).  The  verb  is  predicated  both  of  God  (Jesus) 
and  of  man.  Its  object  is  not  merely  physical  but 
also  spiritual  distress  (cf.  Mk  6s4,  Mt  936  with  1414). 
'EXeeti'  and  £Xeos  are  distinguished  from  crirXayxvi^- 
effdai  by  the  implication  of  the  intent  to  help.  The 
same  difference  exists  between  tXeelv  and  oiKrelpeiv, 
the  latter  being  the  word  that  in  classical  Greek 
comes  closest  to  (nrXayxvi^ecrOai..  So  far  as  the  ele- 
ment of  feeling  is  concerned,  both  ffir\ayx"i^€ffdai 
and  oiKrelpeiv  are  stronger  words  than  tXfeiv. 
olKTelpeiv  is  connected  with  of  and  ol/cros  and  de- 
notes such  sympathetic  feeling  as  seeks  expression 
in  tears  and  lamentation.  On  the  other  hand, 
tXeelv,  being  connected  with  I'Xaos,  iXd<TKe<r6ai,  is 
the  stronger  word,  so  far  as  the  impulse  and  readi- 
ness to  afford  relief  require  expression.  A  criminal 
begs  £Xeos  of  his  judge,  whereas  hopeless  suffering 
can  be  the  object  of  oiKTip/j.6s  (cf.  Grimm-Thayer2, 


PLACE  (HIS  OWN) 


POISON 


241 


1890,  p.  203).  This  is,  however,  a  valid  distinction 
between  eXeelv  and  olKTflpetv  for  classical  Greek 
only.  In  biblical  Greek  it  scarcely  holds  true  that 
olKTelpfiv  carries  no  implication  of  the  intent  to 
help.  In  the  LXX  it  is  not  seldom  equivalent  to 
t\eflv  in  this  respect  (cf.  Ps  10213- 14).  For  the  NT 
olKTeipeiv  is  almost  a  negligible  quantity,  the  verb 
occurring  only  in  Ro  915  ( =  Ex  S319).  It  is  there 
predicated  of  God  ;  the  adjective  occurs  of  men  in 
Lk  G36,  of  God  in  Ja  5". 

That  IXeos,  notwithstanding  its  strong  practical 
connotation,  has  none  the  less  a  rich  ideal  con- 
tent appears  from  its  frequent  equivalence  to  ton, 
'lovingkindness.'  It  is  not  bare  pity  aroused  by 
the  sight  of  misery,  but  has  a  background  of  ante- 
cedent love  and  affection.  In  this  respect  it  also 
differs  from  oiKrelpeiv,  which  in  the  LXX  stands 
usually  for  orn.  This  feature  is  of  importance 
soteriologically.  Trench  (Synonyms  of  the  NT9, 
pp.  166-171)  represents  the  IXeos  as  preceding  the 
X<i/<Hs  in  the  movement  of  the  Divine  mind  towards 
the  sinner,  whereas  in  the  order  of  manifestation 
the  x<V's  would  come  first.  This  overlooks  the 
association  of  IXeos  with  non.  The  word  was  not 
colourless  but  had  acquired  from  non  the  sense  of 
pity  inspired  by  affection.  Inasmuch  as  the  same 
element  of  affection  is  present  in  x«/"s  likewise, 
the  latter  also  can  be  saia  to  underlie  the  IXeos  (cf. 
Eph  24 :  God  is  rich  in  IXeos  Sia  TTJV  iroXMjv  ayair-/iv). 
The  order  in  the  epistolary  salutations  (xdpis  Kal 
IXeos)  is  therefore  not  merely  the  order  of  mani- 
festation, but  also  a  reflex  of  the  order  in  the 
Divine  mind  (1  Ti  I2,  2  Ti  la,  2  Jn8).  As  in  the 
case  of  o-7rXa-x%j'ffeo-0cu  so  with  Aeetv,  the  exciting 
cause  can  be  spiritual  distress  as  well  as  physical. 
Heine  (Synonymik  des  neutest.  Griechisch,  p.  82) 
observes  that  IXeos  cannot  have  reference  to  sin. 
It  would  be  more  accurate  to  say  that  IXeos  has  no 
reference  to  sin  as  such,  but  can  have  reference  to 
sin  in  its  aspect  of  misery,  as  is  proved  by  Mt  57 
(f\er]dri<roi>Ta.i,  eschatologically)  1833  (with  parabolic 
allusion  to  God's  forgiveness),  Ro  915-  "• 18  U30-31- 32, 
2  Co  41,  1  Ti  I18- 16,  1  P  210.  Particularly  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  the  'sympathy 'of  Christ 
has  primary  reference  not  to  the  suffering  of  be- 
lievers in  itself,  but  to  the  suffering  in  its  moral 
aspect  as  exposing  to  temptation,  whence  also  its 
first  effect  is  the  shielding  from  sin  or  the  propitia- 
tion of  sin:  217- 18  ('a merciful  .  .  .  high  priest  to 
propitiate  the  sins  of  the  people ')  415- 16  (' that  we 
may  obtain  mercy  and  grace ')  58>  9  (sympathetic 
appreciation  of  the  nature  of  obedience  on  Christ's 
part  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  have  to  obey). 
Wherever  IXeos  is  applied  to  spiritual  salvation  the 
aspect  of  sin  as  misery  inevitably  enters  into  the 
conception,  and  with  this  the  further  idea  of  the 
unworthiness  of  the  recipient  and  the  gracious 
character  of  the  Divine  mercy.  It  is  perhaps 
different,  as  regards  the  latter  element,  in  the 
miracles  of  the  Gospels.  Here  the  question  may 
be  raised,  whether  the  regular  translation  by 
'  mercy '  does  not  unduly  suggest  the  moral  un- 
worthiness of  those  who  were  helped,  and  whether 
'  pity '  would  not  more  faithfully  reproduce  the 
associations  of  the  original. 

LITERATURE.  —  Cremer-Kb'grel,  Bibl.-theol.  W&rterbuch  der 
neutest.  GrazitaflO,  1912  ff.,  pp.  420-423;  J.  A.  H.  Tittmann, 
De  Synonymis  in  Xovo  Testamento,  1829-32,  i.  68-72 ;  R.  C. 
Trench,  NT  Synonym**,  1880,  pp.  166-171,  393 ;  J.  H.  H. 
Schmidt,  Handbuch  der  lat.  und  griech.  Synonymik,  1889, 
pp.  750-755  ;  G.  Heine,  Synonymik  df.g  neutest.  Griechisch, 
1898,  p.  82  ;  B.  B.  Warfield,  '  The  Emotional  Life  of  our  Lord,' 
in  Princeton  Biblical  and  Theological  Studies,  1912,  pp.  40-45. 

GEERHARDUS  Vos. 

PLACE  (HIS  OWN).— The  expression  occurs  in 
the  ordination  prayer  for  Matthias  (Ac  I28)  where 
St.  Peter  states  that  Judas,  into  whose  place  he 
was  being  appointed,  '  fell  away '  (irapfprj,  Vulg. 
prcevaricatus  est)  from  the  ministry  and  apostle- 
VOL.  n. — 16 


ship,  to  '  go  to  his  own  place.'  The  phrase  seems 
to  remind  us  of  the  frequent  OT  phrase  '  to  go  (or 
return)  unto  his  place,'  though  no  doubt  with  a 
special  significance  of  its  own  here,  to  which  the 
case  of  Balaam  (6s  /Mo-Qdv  dSi/a'as  ^yaTr^crev,  2  P  216) 
supplies  the  nearest  but  still  inexact  parallel 
(Nu  2420)  ;  cf.  also  Job  211,  where  the  three  friends 
came  each  '  from  his  own  place.'  In  both  passages 
Rabbinic  interpreters  appear  to  have  taken  this  to 
mean  hell,  though,  of  course,  without  any  justifi- 
h'cation  according  to  our  modern  methods  (see  J. 
Lightfoot,  Hor.  Hebr.,  ed.  Oxford,  1859,  iv.  19).  In 
the  present  passage,  nevertheless,  the  proper  place 
of  the  apostate  is  evidently  conceived  to  be  that 
spoken  of  by  our  Lord  Himself  (Mt  2541  ;  cf  .  Lk  12"). 
A.  Plummer  has  pointed  out  (HDB  ii.  798)  that 
some  of  the  early  Fathers,  notably  Origen  (Com.  in 
Matt.  35)  with  his  characteristic  ingenuity  and 
large-heartedness,  have  suggested  that  Judas'd 
motive  for  hurrying  away  from  this  world  to  the 
other  was  not  remorse  but  contrition  ;  having  failed 
to  obtain  Christ's  pardon  here,  he  hastened  to  meet 
Him  and  obtain  it  in  the  place  of  the  departed. 
At  all  events,  if,  as  St.  Matthew  seems  to  indicate, 
the  act  of  suicide  took  place  before  the  Cruci- 
fixion, it  is  a  striking  thought  to  dwell  upon,  that 
the  souls  of  the  Saviour  and  His  betrayer  did  meet 
for  a  brief  space  and  perhaps  held  commune  iv 
<j>v\a.Krj  (1  P  319)  ;  and  if  so,  with  what  merciful 
consequences  to  the  latter,  who  shall  say  ? 

C.  L.  FELTOE. 
PLAGUE.  —  The  word  irXijyi),  'stroke,'  occurs  in 


the  NT  only  in  the  Apocalypse  (88  918-  »  II6  133-  12-  " 
15i.  e.  s  169.  21  184.  a  21»  2218).  It  was  used  by  the 
LXX  for  the  '  plagues  '  of  Egypt  and  the  later  visita- 
tions of  God  upon  His  people  and  their  enemies, 
which  made  a  profound  impression  upon  the  Heb- 
rews (cf.  Lv  262-  »,  Nu  258f-,  2  S  2421).  In  the 
Apocalypse  the  plagues  are  unforeseen,  sudden 
occurrences,  greater  and  more  terrible  than  those 
in  Egypt,  which  will  disclose  God's  purpose  and 
providence  concerning  His  own.  However  violent 
the  opposition,  or  bitter  the  persecution,  or  extreme 
the  danger  to  which  God's  people  are  exposed, 
they  have  nothing  to  fear.  The  Seer  beholds 
successive  Divine  judgments  fall  upon  the  earth, 
the  sea,  the  rivers,  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars. 
Instruments  of  Divine  punishment  are  insects, 
beasts,  angels,  hail-stones,  death,  mourning,  want, 
and  fire.  In  a  word,  all  the  forces  and  agencies 
of  the  world  which  are  naturally  friendly  to  man 
are  turned  into  hostile  and  destructive  action 
against  those  who  dishonour  God  and  would  de- 
stroy His  Kingdom.  Even  the  people  of  God  are 
secure  against  the  same  fate  only  by  faith  and 
obedience.  C.  A.  BECKWITH. 

PLAITING.—  See  HAIR. 
PLEROMA.—  See  FULNESS. 
PLOT.—  See  CONSPIRACY. 
POETS.—  See  QUOTATIONS. 

POISON.  —  The  poison  referred  to  in  Ro  3U,  Ja  3s 

is  animal,  not  vegetable.  From  the  first  the 
Hebrews  had  been  but  little  interested  in  the 
medicinal,  military,  or  malicious  use  of  poisons. 
Their  experience  of  venomous  reptiles  had  fur- 
nished them  with  a  vivid  symbol  of  pin  (cf.  Nu 
216-9,  Dt  818,  Jn  314,  Ps  584  1403).  The  NT  singles 
out  for  mention  the  part  of  the  body  which  corre- 
sponds to  the  serpent's  weapon  of  attack,  the 
mouth,  i.e.  the  lips  and  tongue.  Here  the  poison 
is  concentrated  and  active.  Attention  is  directed 
to  the  stored-up  venom  which  awaits  its  chance  to 
inject  itself  into  its  victim,  the  insidiousness  and 


242 


POLITAECH 


POLYCARP 


sting  of  the  attack,  the  fierce  and  uncontrollable 
pain,  the  violence  and  deadliness  which  mark  its 
effects.  C.  A.  BECKWITH. 

POLITARCH.— See  MAGISTRATE. 

POLLUTION  (d\[<ryrifta,  only  found  as  noun  in 
Ac  1520;  as  verb  in  Dn  I8,  Mai  I7-12,  Sir  4029 
[LXX]). — dXiffyrina.  is  probably  from  a  root  mean- 
ing 'smear  with  fat  or  blood3  (cf.  a\iveiv,  Lat. 
linere),  and  is  therefore  a  natural  word  for  Jews  to 
use  of  idol  offerings  (Lv  317).  It  is  a  real  '  Jewish 
Greek '  word,  very  rare,  and  is  a  translation  of  SNJ 
(gd'al,  root-meaning '  loathe,'  afterwards  '  pollute '). 
Possibly  it  is  also  a  partial  transliteration  of  ^NJ, 
combining  this  and  the  Greek  root  d\iv-.  It  would 
then  be  a  similar  formation  to  Eng.-Fr.  'crayfish,' 
'Rotten  Row'  (for  instances  of  this  principle  see 
F.  J.  A.  Hort,  1  Peter  I.  1-IL  17,  1898,  p.  77,  LXX 
translation  of  Jer  9s,  A.  Edersheim,  LT*  i.  448, 
n.  3 ;  cf.  also  dya.irf)  as  a  sound-  as  well  as  sense- 
translation  of  njrrx).  This  would  make  St.  James 
use  a  peculiarly  biting  word,  '  a  loathed  smearing.' 
Its  use  in  the  LXX  suggests  also  that  it  referred 
to  the  ordinary  food  of  Gentiles  (Dn  I8,  Sir  4029)  as 
well  as  to  idol  offerings.  The  Council  did  not 
adopt  it,  and  changed  it  to  the  more  colourless 
el6w\6duTov,  '  idol  offering,'  wishing  perhaps  to  avoid 
a  racial  word  which  might  suggest  a  separation  in 
the  matter  of  ordinary  food  between  Jew  and 
Gentile,  such  as  afterwards  actually  happened 
(Gal  2s)  under  the  influence  of  those  who  'came 
from  James.' 

LITERATURE.—  R.  J.  Knowling,  in  EGT,  'Acts,'  1900,  p.  324  ; 
Conybeare-Howson,  The  Life  and  Epistles  <-f  St.  Paid,  new 
ed.,  1889,  ch.  vii.  esp.  pp.  162, 172.  SHERWIN  SMITH. 

POLLUX.— See  DIOSCURI. 

POLYCARP. — 1.  Life.— In  a  polemic  treatise 
entitled  IIe/>l  novapxia-s  and  addressed  to  a  Roman 
priest  named  Florinus,  Irenaeus  (c.  A.D.  190) 
speaks  of  Poly  carp,  bishop  of  Smyrna  (the  part 
relating  to  Polycarp  is  given  in  Eus.  HE  v.  xx. 
4-8).  Irenaeus  remonstrates  against  the  doctrines 
professed  by  Florinus,  which  Florinus  cannot  boast 
of  having  received  'from  the  presbyters  who 
were  before  us  and  who  lived  with  the  apostles.' 
Irenaeus  states  that  he  knew  Florinus  formerly  tv 
r%  K&TU  'Affig.  irapd  H6\vKdpir<f>  ( '  in  Lower  Asia  in 
company  with  Polycarp').  Irenseus  was  quite 
young  (7rcus  tri  &v)  when  Florinus,  while  still  a 
layman  but  older  than  Irenseus,  endeavoured  to 
ingratiate  himself  with  Polycarp.  Irenseus  re- 
members Polycarp  very  clearly ;  he  can  describe 
the  very  place  in  which  the  blessed  Polycarp  used 
to  sit  when  he  discoursed,  how  he  came  in  and 
went  out,  his  personal  appearance,  the  speeches 
that  he  addressed  to  the  Christian  community, 
how  he  would  describe  his  intercourse  with  John 
and  with  the  rest  who  had  seen  the  Lord  (T^V  perd 
'ludvvov  ffwavatrrpoffiv  .  .  .  icai  /xero  rwv  eopaKorwv 
rbv  Kijpiov),  how  he  recalled  their  words  and  the 
things  that  he  had  heard  them  relate  concerning 
the  Lord,  His  miracles,  and  His  teaching,  how 
Polycarp  had  received  all  that  from  eye-witnesses 
of  the  Word  of  life.  Irenseus  affirms  that  he  has 
neither  lost  nor  given  up  any  of  the  teaching  of 
Polycarp,  and  that,  if  Polycarp  were  still  alive 
and  heard  the  things  that  Florinus  teaches,  he 
would  stop  his  ears,  as  he  did  before,  and  say,  as 
he  often  said :  '  O  good  God,  for  what  times  hast 
thou  kept  me  that  I  should  bear  all  this  ? '  Irenaeus 
adds  as  confirmation  that '  the  letters  which  Poly- 
carp sent  to  the  neigh bouringchurches  to  strengthen 
them,  and  to  certain  brothers  to  warn  them  and 
arouse  them,  show  it  clearly.'  Again,  Irenseus 
(Haer.  ill.  iii.  4,  reproduced  by  Eusebius,  HE  IV. 


xiv.  3-8)  knows  that  Polycarp,  who  was  taught 
by  the  apostles  and  who  lived  with  several  persons 
who  were  eye-witnesses  of  the  Lord,  received  his 
appointment  in  Asia  from  the  apostles  as  bishop 
in  the  Church  of  Smyrna  (virb  TWV  dwo<TTb\wv  Kara- 
ffra&els  els  rijv'Affiav ivrrj  tv  S/ii/pi'j  ^KK\t]ffia ^TTtcncoTros). 
It  is  hardly  possible  to  take  these  words  literally  : 
Polycarp  could  not  have  been  old  enough  to  be 
made  bishop  by  the  apostles  (in  the  plural) ;  the 
apostle  John  at  the  most  could  have  taken  part. 
Nor  was  Polycarp  made  bishop  for  Asia,  since 
Asia  had  other  bishops  in  other  cities  besides 
Smyrna.  These  words  of  Irenaeus  therefore  are 
not  without  verbal  emphasis.  The  fact  remains 
that  Irenseus  is  the  principal  historical  witness  of 
Polycarp.  He  knew  him  at  a  time  when  he  him- 
self was  a  youth.  As  the  birth  of  Irenaeus  cannot 
have  been  before  130,  and  must,  to  all  appearances, 
be  placed  c.  140,  it  would  therefore  be  about  the 
year  150  that  Irenseus  as  a  child  could  have  known 
Polycarp  as  an  old  man  at  Smyrna.  If,  as  we 
shall  see,  Polycarp  was  eighty-six  years  old  when 
he  died  in  155,  his  birth  must  be  dated  A.D.  69. 

We  may  compare  this  information  of  Irenaeus 
with  that  of  Papias  (Eus.  HE  III.  xxxix.  4)  on  the 
apostles  and  the  presbyters  whose  evidence  he  has 
collected.  Papias  knew  Polycarp ;  so,  at  least, 
Irenaeus  assures  us  (Haer.  V.  xxxiii.  4,  quoted  in 
Eus.  HE  in.  xxxix.  1) :  '  Papias,'  he  saysj  '  was 
a  hearer  of  John  and  a  companion  (ercupos)  of  Poly- 
carp.' When  Irenseus  quotes  as  evidence  of  the 
Catholic  doctrine  words  of  the  presbyters  who 
were  disciples  of  the  apostles,  and  especially  of  the 
apostle  John,  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  he 
sometimes  quotes  the  words  of  Polycarp  (see  the 
'  Presbyterorum  reliquise  ab  Irenaeo  servatae,' 
collected  in  F.  X.  Funk,  Patres  apostolici2,  Tubin- 
gen, 1901,  i.  378-389).  What  is  possible  for  Iren- 
seus is  equally  possible  for  Papias,  who  among  the 
presbyters  that  he  mentions  as  hearers  of  John 
could  name  Polycarp  (see  the  '  Papise  fragmenta,' 
Funk,  op.  cit.  pp.  346-379).  But  critics  should  give 
up  identifying  what  may  properly  be  from  Poly- 
carp in  the  various  quotations  (A.  Harnack, 
Chronologic  deraltchr.  Lift.,  Leipzig,  1897,  i.  333- 
340). 

In  a  letter  to  Victor,  bishop  of  Rome,  Irenseus 
mentions  the  fact  of  the  journey  to  Rome  of  Poly- 
carp, bishop  of  Smyrna,  in  the  time  of  Anicetus, 
i.e.  at  the  very  end  of  Polycarp's  life  and  just  at 
the  beginning  of  the  episcopate  of  Anicetus,  as 
Polycarp  must  have  died  at  the  beginning  of  155, 
and  the  promotion  of  Anicetus  to  the  See  of 
Rome  must  have  been  about  154-155  (see  below). 
At  that  time  the  controversy  about  the  date  of 
Easter  was  in  progress  :  Polycarp,  who  could  only 
be  a  quartodeciman,  came  to  confer  with  the 
Roman  Church.  The  text  of  Irenaeus,  cited  by 
Eusebius  (HEv.  xxiv.  16  f. ),  states  that  the  blessed 
Polycarp  himself  also  paid  a  visit  to  Rome  in  the 
time  of  Anicetus  (tirl  ' AVIK-QTOV}.  (On  the  use  of 
the  names  of  the  Roman  bishops  as  chronological 
marks  in  the  time  of  Irenseus  and  Tertullian  see 
L.  Duchesne,  Le  Liber  Pontificalis,  i.  [Paris,  1884] 
2.)  Anicetus  and  Polycarp  had  several  other 
disagreements  between  them  of  very  little  import- 
ance, continues  Irenseus ;  they  immediately  made 
peace  with  one  another  ;  but  on  the  subject  of  the 
date  of  Easter  they  did  not  fall  out.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  Anicetus  could  not  persuade  Polycarp  not 
to  observe  what  he  had  always  observed  in  con- 
formity with  the  apostle  John  and  the  other 
apostles  with  whom  he  had  lived  (perd  'ludwov 
.  .  .  KO.I  TUV  \onrdv  diroffroXuv  ofr  (rvvdi^rpi^fv). 
Polycarp,  on  his  side,  did  not  convert  Anicetus  to 
an  observance  contrary  to  that  of  the  presbyters  who 
(at  Rome)  had  preceded  him  (TWV  irpb  avrov  irpe<r(jv- 
Matters  remained  thus.  They  communi- 


POLYCAEP 


POLYCARP 


243 


cated  with  each  other,  and  in  the  Church  (at 
Rome)  Anicetus  conceded  to  Polycarp  as  a  mark  of 
respect  the  honour  of  presiding  at  the  Eucharist. 
They  parted  from  each  other  in  peace. 

Irenaeus  (Haer.  III.  iii.  4)  says  that  Polycarp 
when  in  Rome  attracted  to  the  Church  of  God  a 
number  of  heretics  belonging  to  the  sects  of  Valen- 
tinus  and  Marcion.  He  taught  them,  says  Iren- 
seus,  that  there  was  only  one  truth  left  by  the 
apostles  and  .transmitted  by  the  Church.  These 
words  of  Irenasus  are  quoted  by  Eusebius  (HE  IV. 
xiv.  5).  Irenaeus  reports  in  the  same  passage  that 
one  day,  when  Polycarp  met  Marcion,  the  latter 
said  to  the  bishop,  '  Recognize  us,'  and  the  bishop 
answered,  'Ay,  ay,  I  recognize  the  first-born  of 
Satan '  (ib.  7).  Irenaeus  does  not  say  that  this 
meeting  of  Marcion  and  Polycarp  took  place  at 
Rome.  As  Marcion  flourished  about  140-150,  it 
is  possible  that  Polycarp  had  quarrelled  with  him 
long  before  coming  to  Rome  to  visit  Anicetus. 
As  regards  the  reply  given  by  Polycarp  to  Marcion, 
it  is  quite  in  the  manner  of  Polycarp  (cf.  the 
following  words  in  his  letter  to  the  Philippians 
[vii.  1] :  '  Whosoever  shall  not  confess  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Cross  is  of  the  devil ;  and  whosoever 
shall  pervert  the  oracles  of  the  Lord  to  his  own 
lusts  and  say  that  there  is  neither  resurrection  nor 
judgment,  that  man  is  the  first-born  of  Satan'). 

The  death  of  Polycarp  is  exceedingly  well  known 
through  the  letter  written  by  the  Church  of 
Smyrna  to  the  Church  of  Philomelium  and  '  to  all 
the  Churches  of  the  holy  and  catholic  Church  in 
all  places  '  (see  Harnack,  Ueberlieferung  der  altchr. 
Litt.,  Leipzig,  1893,  pp.  74-75).  Parts  of  the 
Martyrium  Polycarpi  are  quoted  at  some  length 
by  Eusebius  (HE  iv.  15).  At  the  end  of  the  4th 
cent,  a  hagiographer,  who  writes  under  the  name 
of  Pionius,  a  martyr  at  Smyrna  at  the  time  of  the 
Decian  persecution,  composed  a  Vita  Polycarpi, 
devoid  of  any  historical  value,  in  which  he  in- 
serted the  complete  text  of  the  Martyrium  Poly- 
carpi. This  Greek  Vita,  mentioned  as  early  as 
1633  by  Halloix,  published  in  Latin  by  the  Boilan- 
dists  in  1734,  was  edited  in  Greek  by  L.  Duchesne 
in  1881  :  the  Greek  text  will  be  found  in  Funk,  ii. 
291-336,  and  in  Lightfoot,  The  Apostolic  Fathers, 
pt.  ii.2  vol.  iii.  pp.  433-465).  The  text  of  the 
Martyrium  Polycarpi,  complete  and  not  connected 
with  the  Vita,  is  given  besides  in  several  Greek 
MSS,  which  have  been  utilized  for  critical  editions 
of  the  Martyrium,  that  of  Zahn  in  the  Patrum 
apostolicorum  opera,  ii.  (Leipzig,  1876)  132-168, 
that  of  Lightfoot,  op.  cit.  ii.  947-986,  that  of  Funk, 
op.  cit.  i.  314-345.  It  is  reproduced  in  0.  von 
Gebhardt,  Acta  martyrum  selecta,  Leipzig,  1902, 
pp.  1-12.  This  beautiful  fragment  forms  the  oldest 
known  example  of  acts  of  martyrdom.  As  early 
as  177  the  letter  of  the  Christians  of  Lyons  relat- 
ing the  martyrdom  of  Lyons  and  Vienne  depends 
for  several  editorial  details  on  the  Martyrium 
Polycarpi.  The  authenticity  of  the  Martyrium 
is  no  longer  contested  (Harnack,  Chronologie,  i. 
341). 

Among  the  minute  details  which  the  Martyrium 
Polycarpi  gives  on  the  arrest,  the  trial,  and  the 
execution  of  the  bishop  of  Smyrna,  there  appears 
a  valuable  date  :  '  The  martyrdom  of  the  blessed 
Polycarp,'  we  read  in  21,  '  took  place  on  the  second 
day  of  the  first  part  of  the  month  Xanthicus,  on 
the  seventh  day  before  the  Kalends  of  March,  on 
a  great  Sabbath,  at  the  eighth  hour.  He  was 
apprehended  by  Herodes,  when  Philip  of  Tralles 
was  high-priest,  in  the  proconsulship  of  Statins 
Quadratus,  but  in  the  reign  of  the  Eternal  King 
Jesus  Christ.'  The  martyrdom  took  place,  there- 
fore, on  a  Saturday  which  fell  on  23rd  February. 
The  proconsul  Statius  Quadratus  is  identified 
with  the  person  of  the  same  name  who  was  consul 


in  142  and  who,  according  to  inscriptions,  was  pro- 
consul of  Asia  between  151  and  157  :  the  year  155  is 
the  only  one  in  which  the  23rd  of  February  falls  on 
a  Saturday  (Harnack,  Chronologie,  i.  334-356, 
completed  by  Stahlin,  Christl.  griech.  Litteratur, 
Munich,  1914,  p.  977). 

The  proconsul,  interrogating  Polycarp,  said  to 
him  (ix.  3) :  '  Swear  the  oath,  and  I  will  release 
thee ;  revile  the  Christ '  ;  to  which  Polycarp  re- 
plied :  '  Fourscore  and  six  years  have  I  been  His 
servant  (dySo^Kovra.  KCLI  ££  fn;  5ov\€iju  avry),  and 
He  hath  done  me  no  wrong.  How  then  can  I 
blaspheme  my  King  who  saved  me  ? '  We  conclude 
from  these  words  that  Polycarp  was  eighty-six 
years  old  at  the  time  of  his  martyrdom,  not  that 
he  had  been  a  Christian  for  eighty-six  years  (Har- 
nack, Chronologie,  i.  323,  342  ft'. ). 

Other  Christians  suffered  martyrdom  at  Smyrna 
at  the  same  time  as  Polycarp  ;  cf.  the  data  supplied 
by  Wright's  Martyrologe  :  'Und  am  xxiii.  (Feb.) 
in  Asia  von  den  frtiheren  Martyrern,  Poly- 
karpos  der  Bischof,  und  Azotos  und  Koskonios 
und  Melanippos  und  Zenon'  (H.  Lietzmann,  Die 
drei  aeltesten  Martyrologien,  Bonn,  1903,  p.  10). 
The  Martyrium  Polycarpi  (1-4)  mentions  the 
tortures  that  were  inflicted  on  them,  and  gives  the 
name  of  one  of  them,  Germanicus,  whose  heroism 
went  the  length  of  attracting  the  wild  beast  to  him 
and  inciting  it  to  devour  him,  whereupon  the 
pagan  multitude  shouted  with  fury  :  '  Away  with 
the  atheists '  (alpe  TOI>J  dOtovs).  This  is  the  cry  by 
which  popular  hatred  designated  the  Christians  as 
enemies  of  the  gods.  The  people  loudly  demanded 
Polycarp  (^rehrtfw  IloXikapiros) ;  the  people  there- 
fore knew  Polycarp  as  the  most  notable  of  the 
Christians  of  Smyrna,  as  their  chief  (iii.  2).  Poly- 
carp remained  at  Smyrna,  in  spite  of  the  advice 
that  his  friends  gave  him  to  flee  secretly.  He  re- 
tired to  a  small  farmhouse  (dypidiov)  near  the  town. 
There  '  night  and  day  he  did  nothing  but  pray  for 
all  men  and  for  the  churches  of  the  inhabited  world 
(T&V  Kara  rrjv  otKovfj.^vrjv  titKXriffi&v),  as  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  do'  (v.  1).  Polycarp  was  arrested 
on  the  Friday  towards  evening  in  a  house  (?»»  nvi 
dufiarly)  in  which  he  had  found  shelter :  the  by- 
standers marvelled  '  at  his  age  and  his  constancy,' 
and  wondered '  why  there  should  be  so  much  eager- 
ness for  the  apprehension  of  an  old  man  like  him  ' 
(vii.  1-2).  The  bishop  requested  one  hour  to  pray 
before  following  them  ;  they  consented.  Then  Poly- 
carp '  stood  up  and  prayed,  being  so  full  of  the  grace 
of  God,  that  for  two  hours  he  could  not  hold  his 
peace  '  (vii.  3),  and  in  his  prayer  he  mentioned  '  all 
who  at  any  time  had  come  in  his  way,  small  and 
great,  high  and  low,  and  all  the  universal  Church 
throughout  the  world '  (/cai  Traces  TTJS  /card  rrjv  OIKOV- 
liAvi\v  /cafloXiKTjs  fac&ifaiat).  At  last  he  was  taken  to 
Smyrna  on  the  Saturday  morning  (viii.  1).  Herod 
the  irenarch  (the  chief  of  the  municipal  police) 
pressed  him  to  do  sacrifice  :  '  What  harm  is  there 
in  saying:  /ctfptos  Kaia-ap  ("Caesar  is  lord")?'  He 
evidently  wanted  to  suggest  an  equivocation  to 
Polycarp,  to  save  him  (cf.  Tertullian,  Apol.  34, 
'Dicam  plane  imperatorem  dominum,  sed  more 
communi,  sed  quando  non  cogor  ut  Dominum  Dei 
vice  dicam  ').  Polycarp  was  brought  els  rt>  ffrdSiov, 
where  the  people  were  assembled  and  the  proconsul 
was  present  (ix.  1).  Let  us  remark  in  passing  that 
this  appearance  of  Polycarp  before  the  proconsul 
in  the  open  stadium  is  very  unusual  from  the  point 
of  view  of  the  forms  of  proconsular  justice.  This 
is  not  the  only  surprising  detail,  for,  as  P.  Allard 
says:  'Tout  dans  cette  procedure  est  irregulier' 
(Histoire  des  persecutions,  i.  [Paris,  1885]  303). 
The  proconsul  called  upon  Polycarp  to  swear  by 
the  fortune  of  Caesar  (6fj.offov  ri]v  Kaieapos  Tin(r)v)  and 
to  say  :  '  Away  with  the  atheists  '  (dps  TOVS  dBtovs). 
Polycarp,  casting  his  eyes  on  the  multitude  of 


244 


POLYCARP 


POLYCARP 


pagans  who  filled  the  stadium,  '  sighs,  and,  raising 
his  eyes  towards  heaven,  says,  "  Away  with  the 
atheists  ! " '  But  he  refused  to  curse  the  Christ 
(ix.  2-3).  The  proconsul  insisted  in  vain.  '  I  am 
a  Christian,'  replied  the  bishop  ;  '  if  thou  wouldest 
learn  the  doctrine  of  Christianity,  assign  a  day 
and  give  me  a  hearing.'  '  Prevail  upon  the  people,' 
answered  the  Roman  magistrate  sarcastically. 
'  As  for  myself,'  said  Polycarp,  '  I  should  have 
held  thee  worthy  of  discourse  ;  for  we  have  been 
taught  to  render,  as  is  meet,  to  princes  and  authori- 
ties appointed  by  God  such  honour  as  does  us  no 
harm  ;  but  as  for  these,  I  do  not  hold  them  worthy, 
that  I  should  defend  myself  before  them  '  (x.  2)— a 
reminiscence  of  St.  Paul,  Ho  131'7.  The  proconsul 
threatened  to  throw  him  to  the  wild  beasts  if  he 
did  not  abjure.  '  Call  for  them,'  answered  the 
bishop,  '  for  the  repentance  from  better  to  worse  is 
a  change  not  permitted  to  us ;  but  it  is  a  noble 
thing  to  change  from  untowardness  to  righteous- 
ness' (xi.  1).  The  proconsul  threatened  him  with 
the  stake  ;  Polycarp  replied  :  '  Thou  threatenest 
that  fire  which  burneth  for  a  season  and  after  a  little 
while  is  quenched  :  for  thou  art  ignorant  of  the  fire 
of  the  future  judgment  and  eternal  punishment, 
which  is  reserved  for  the  ungodly.  But  why  delayest 
thou  ?  Come,  do  what  thou  wilt '  (xi.  2).  The  pro- 
consul ordered  his  herald  to  proclaim  in  the  middle 
of  the  stadium  :  '  Polycarp  hath  confessed  himself 
to  be  a  Christian '  (xii.  1).  The  whole  multitude, 
composed  of  pagans  and  of  Jews  living  in  Smyrna 
('lovdaiuv  TUT  TTJV  2/j.vpvav  KO.TOIKOIJVT<I)V)  (on  the  hos- 
tility of  the  Jews  towards  the  Christians  see  Har- 
nack,  Mission  und  Ausbreitung,  Leipzig,  1906,  i. 
400),  began  to  shout :  '  This  is  the  teacher  of  Asia 
(o5r6s  fcmv  6  TTJS  'Atrlas  di8d.ffKa\os),  the  father  of  the 
Christians,  the  puller  down  of  our  gods,  who 
teacheth  numbers  not  to  sacrifice  nor  worship  ! ' 
Notice  the  expression  6  irar^p  rd>v  XpiffTiavuv  to 
denote  the  bishop.  The  multitude  begged  that 
Polycarp  should  be  burned  at  once  (xii.  2-3). 
They  brought  fuel ;  the  Jews  were  in  the  greatest 
haste.  When  the  pile  was  ready,  the  bishop  laid 
aside  his  clothes  and  was  placed  against  the  stake. 
They  wanted  to  nail  him  to  it ;  he  refused  :  '  Leave 
me  as  I  am,'  he  said,  '  for  He  that  hath  granted  me 
to  endure  the  fire  will  grant  me  also  to  remain  at 
the  pile  unmoved,  even  without  the  security  which 
ye  seek  from  the  nails'  (xiii.  3).  Fixed  to  the 
stake,  his  hands  behind  his  back,  he  was  '  like  a 
noble  ram  out  of  a  great  flock  for  an  offering '  (xiv. 
1).  The  account  goes  on  to  say  that  the  bishop 
then  repeated  in  a  loud  voice  a  very  remarkable 
prayer,  for  it  is  in  the  manner  of  a  eucharistic 
prayer,  and  gives  the  impression  of  what  we  call 
a  praefatio  (xiv.  1-2).  While  dying,  the  bishop 
prayed  in  the  ritual  from  which  the  liturgy  is 
derived.  Thus  died  'the  glorious  martyr,  Poly- 
carp, who  was  found  an  apostolic  and  prophetic 
teacher  (8i8d<rKa\os  diro<rro\i;cdj  (cot  irpo<f>i]TiK6s),  bishop 
of  the  holy  Catholic  Church  which  is  in  Smyrna 
(^•jrlffKOirot  TTJS  4v  "Zfj-tipv-Q  KadoXiKTJs  tKK\rj<rl.a,s).  For 
every  word  which  he  uttered  from  his  mouth  was 
accomplished  and  will  be  accomplished '  (xvi.  2) 
(on  the  gift  of  prophecy  attributed  to  the  bishops 
see  Harnack,  Mission,  i.  289). 

The  Martyrium  Polycarpi  adds  that,  at  the 
instigation  of  the  Jews,  the  Christians  were 
refused  permission  to  take  away  the  body  of  Poly- 
carp (xvii.  2),  which  was  burned  by  the  soldiers 
of  the  proconsul,  according  to  the  pagan  custom 
(xviii.  1).  The  Christians  therefore  got  nothing 
but  the  ashes,  which  they  interred  '  in  a  suitable 
place,'  says  the  Martyrium  in  terms  which  do  not 
reveal  the  locus  depositionis :  '  Where  the  Lord 
will  permit  us  to  gather  ourselves  together,  as  we 
are  able,  in  gladness  and  joy,  and  to  celebrate  the 
birth-day  of  his  martyrdom  for  the  commemoration 


of  those  who  have  already  fought  in  the  contest ' 
(xviii.  3).  Here  we  have  the  most  ancient  evidence 
of  the  custom  of  celebrating  the  birthday  of  a 
martyr  (rty  rov  papTvpiov  avrou  7]fj.£pa.v  yevtQXiov). 
We  have  also  the  testimony  that  a  similar  anni- 
versary would  be  celebrated  for  Polycarp  when 
possible  ;  that  means  that  it  had  not  been  possible 
at  the  time  when  the  Martyrium  was  edited — 
which  proves  that  this  redaction  was  made  shortly 
after  Polycarp's  death. 

The  supplementary  paragraphs  of  the  Martyrium 
Polycarpi  state  that  Polycarp  was  the  twelfth  to 
suffer  martyrdom  at  Smyrna,  counting  the  Chris- 
tians of  Philadelphia,  but  that  the  martyrdom  of 
Polycarp  was  the  most  memorable,  '  so  that  he  is 
talked  of  even  by  the  heathen  in  every  place '  (xix. 
1).  By  his  suffering,  Polycarp  glorifies  God  and 
'  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  saviour  of  our  souls,  pilot 
of  our  bodies,  shepherd  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
the  whole  inhabited  world'  (TTOI/J^VO.  rfjs  KO.TO.  rrjv 
oiKov/j.4vrjv  KadoXiKTJs  tKK\i]crtas,  xix.  2  ;  cf.  verses  3-5 
of  the  epitaph  of  Abercius  :  OiW/u.'  'A/3^p/aos  &v,  6 
Hadt)Tr)s  iroifjAvos  ayvov,  ||  osj36ovcei  irpopdTuv  ayt\as  o8pe<ri 
TreStois  re,  ||  <5</>0aXjuoi>s  5s  ?xet  t"-fyo.\ovs  Travrt)  KadopCiv- 
TOJ).  The  appendix  (xxii.  1-3),  which  seems  to  be 
entirely  a  forgery  by  the  hand  of  pseudo-Pionius, 
author  of  the  Vita,  has  no  historical  interest. 

Must  we  believe  that  the  mention  on  several 
occasions  of  the  Catholic  Church  is  an  indication 
of  later  touches?  We  might  get  rid  of  this 
difficulty  if  the  phrase  i)  Ko-OokiK^  ^KK\rjffla  had  not 
already  occurred  in  Ignatius,  and  moreover  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Smyrnseans  (viii.  2),  with  the  mean- 
ing of  '  universal  Church,'  geographically  universal, 
in  contrast  to  'local  Church.'  This  same  geo- 
graphical meaning  is  the  one  which  the  Martyrium 
Polycarpi  retains  in  all  the  passages  where  the 
Church  qualified  by  '  Catholic '  is  that  which  is 
over  the  whole  inhabited  world  (Kado\iK^  —  KaTa 
TV  olKovijAvijv  ;  Martyrium  Polycarpi,  inscriptio, 
viii.  1,  xix.  2).  Once  only  (xvi.  2)  the  Church 
seems  to  be  qualified  by  '  Catholic '  as  a  legitimate 
predicate :  Polycarp  is  called  em'<r*co7ros  r^s  iv 
2fjLvpvy  KaOoXiKijs  tKK\t]<Tias.  This  is  the  earliest 
example  of  the  use  of  KaOo\tK6s  in  contrast  with 
alperi*(5s.  This  early  occurrence  may  be  surprising, 
but  it  is  clear  that  every  formula  appears  some- 
where as  the  need  for  it  arises.  At  the  time  of 
Polycarp  the  heretics  were  fairly  numerous  and  so 
far  separated  from  the  great  Church  that  the 
great  Church  distinguished  itself  from  them  by 
calling  itself  'the  Catholic.'  There  is  therefore 
no  reason  for  seeing  signs  of  interpolation  in  the 
use  of  Ka6o\iK6s  with  this  new  meaning. 

We  need  not  be  surprised  that  the  Martyrium 
Polycarpi  takes  up  the  task  of  comparing  the 
Passion  of  Christ  and  the  martyrdom  of  the  bishop. 
It  endeavours  to  show  that  the  martyrdom  is  'ac- 
cording to  the  Gospel '  (i.  1,  xix.  1).  It  is  a  model 
martyrdom,  and  the  author  explains  this  by  say- 
ing that  Polycarp  '  waited  to  be  given  up,  as  the 
Lord  also  did '  (irepit/j.evev  y&p  tva  irapaSody,  u>j  KO.I  6 
Ktipios),  to  teach  the  faithful  not  to  think  only  of 
their  individual  safety,  but  to  think  of  all  the 
brethren  (i.  2).  He  waited  to  be  given  up,  i.e.  he 
did  not  accuse  himself  and  present  himself  before 
the  magistrate  of  his  own  free  will.  The  ardour 
of  the  faithful  had  to  be  restrained  in  times  of 
persecution,  and  they  had  to  be  warned  against 
presumption.  The  author  of  the  Martyrium 
rolycarpi  explains  it  (4) :  '  But  one  man,  Quintus 
by  name,  a  Phrygian  newly  arrived  from  Phrygia, 
when  he  saw  the  wild  beasts,  turned  coward.  He 
it  was  who  had  forced  himself  and  some  others  to 
come  forward  of  their  own  free  will.  .  .  .  For 
this  cause  therefore,  brethren,  we  praise  not  those 
who  deliver  themselves  up,  since  the  Gospel  doth 
not  so  teach  us.'  It  is  impossible  to  establish  a 


POLYCARP 


POLYCARP 


245 


comparison  between  the  death  of  Christ  and  the 
deatli  of  a  martyr.  The  Christ  '  suffered  for  the 
salvation  of  the  whole  world  of  those  that  are 
saved  —  suffered  though  faultless  for  sinners ' 
(xvii.  2).  We  love  the  martyrs  because  they  are 
'  the  disciples  and  the  imitators  of  the  Lord,  and 
they  are  worthy  of  our  love  for  their  '  unconquer- 
able fidelity  to  their  real  king  and  their  master. 
May  we  share  their  fate  and  be  their  co-disciples ' 
(xvii.  3). 

2.  Writings  and  doctrine. — We  noted  above  that 
Ireneeus  mentions  several  letters  of  Polycarp, 
either  to  churches  or  to  individuals.  It  is  not 
impossible  that  Irenaeus  really  knew  several  letters 
of  Polycarp.  Only  one  has  been  preserved,  how- 
ever— the  letter  of  Polycarp  to  the  Philippians. 

We  know  that  Ignatius,  bishop  of  Antioch, 
during  the  journey  that  led  him  a  prisoner  to 
Rome,  stopped  at  Smyrna.  We  have  a  letter  of 
Ignatius  to  the  Smyrnseans,  in  which  the  prisoner, 
on  arriving  at  Troas,  thanks  them  for  the  kindness 
with  which  they  received  him  :  '  You  have  lavished 
all  kinds  of  comforts  on  me  :  may  Jesus  Christ 
reward  you  for  it  !  Both  far  and  near  you  have 
shown  me  your  kindness :  I  pray  God  to  recom- 
pense you'  (ad  Smyrn.  ix.  2).  Ignatius  thanks 
them  also  for  the  welcome  which  they  accorded  to 
his  three  companions  (x.  1).  He  requests  them  to 
send  a  messenger  to  Antioch  with  a  letter  con- 
gratulating the  Christians  of  Antioch  on  having 
restored  concord  in  their  church  (xi.  2).  We  may 
note  in  passing  that  a  similar  letter  must  have 
been  written  by  the  bishop  of  Smyrna.  Further, 
Ignatius  wrote  :  '  I  salute  the  bishop  worthy  of 
God  (affirdfo/Mii  rbv  d^deov  eiriffKOTrov),  who  is  your 
bishop.'  He  adds  several  other  salutations  to 
certain  Christians  of  Smyrna  whom  he  names — 
Tavia,  Alke,  Daphnos,  Euteknos  (13).  In  the 
Martyrium  Polycarpi,  xvii.  2,  an  Alee  is  men- 
tioned, whose  brother  Niketes  is  an  influential 
Smyrnaean  pagan,  and  very  hostile  to  the  Chris- 
tians. Before  leaving  Troas,  Ignatius  wrote  his 
epistle  to  '  Polycarp,  bishop  of  the  church  of  the 
Smyrnseans.'  The  tone  of  this  letter  recalls 
the  Pastoral  Epistles :  Ignatius  gives  Polycarp 
advice,  as  Paul  did  to  Timothy,  but  in  it  the 
authority  of  Ignatius  is  tempered  by  a  tender 
reverence  for  the  bishop  of  Smyrna,  who  was  evi- 
dently still  a  young  man.  'I  give  exceeding 
glory,'  says  Ignatius  to  Polycarp,  '  that  it  hath 
been  vouchsafed  me  to  see  thy  blameless  face '  (ad 
Polyc.  i.  1).  And  again  :  'In  all  things  I  am  de- 
voted to  thee — I  and  my  bonds  which  thou  didst 
cherish '  (ii.  3).  We  must  be  careful  not  to  think 
that  the  virtues  which  Ignatius  recommends  to 
Polycarp  are  so  many  virtues  wanting  in  the 
latter  !  Ignatius  insists  that  the  Christians  of 
Smyrna  should  send  a  messenger  to  Antioch  :  '  It 
becometh  thee,  most  blessed  Polycarp,  to  call 
together  a  godly  council  and  to  elect  some  one 
among  you  who  is  very  dear  to  you  and  zealous 
also,  who  shall  be  fit  to  bear  the  name  of  God's 
courier — to  appoint  him,  I  say,  that  he  may  go  to 
Syria  and  glorify  your  zealous  love  unto  the  glory 
of  God  '  (vii.  2).  Ignatius  apologizes  for  not  being 
able  to  write  to  all  the  churches.  '  Thou  shalt 
write  to  the  churches  in  front,  as  one  possessing 
the  mind  of  God,  to  the  intent  that  they  also  may 
do  this  same  thing'  (viii.  1).  The  letter  ended 
with  salutations  to  some  Smyrnaean  Christians, 
the  house  of  Epitropos,  Attalos,  and  Alke  once 
more.  We  shall  see  how  the  Epistle  of  Polycarp 
to  the  Philippians  fits  in  with  the  story  of 
Ignatius. 

This  epistle  is  attested  by  the  mention  of  it 
and  the  extracts  from  it  made  by  Eusebius  (HE 
III.  xxxvi.  13-14),  and  better  still  by  the  descrip- 
tion given  of  it  by  Irenaeus  (Haer.  lii.  3,  4),  cited 


by  Eusebius  (HE  iv.  xiv.  6) :  '  There  is  another 
letter  of  Polycarp  to  the  Philippians,  which  is  very 
important.  Those  who  wish  and  who  have  any 
care  for  their  salvation  may  learn  from  it  the 
character  of  his  faith  and  his  K-fipvypu  TT?S  d\r]()das.' 
Jerome  mentions  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians 
and  claims  that  '  usque  hodie  in  Asiae  conventu 
legitur'  (de  Vir.  111.  17) — which  means  that  at  the 
end  of  the  4th  cent,  the  Epistle  of  Polycarp  was 
read  in  the  liturgical  assemblies  of  the  province  of 
Asia  ;  but  the  assertion  remains  unconfirmed,  and 
everybody  knows  that  Jerome  often  wrote  very 
hurriedly.  The  written  tradition  of  the  Epistle 
of  Polycarp  is  very  deficient,  for  the  Greek  MSS  of 
it  which  are  extant  all  stop  at  ch.  9  ;  chs.  10-14 
(with  the  exception  of  12,  which  is  cited  by 
Eusebius)  have  been  preserved  only  in  the  old 
Latin  version  of  the  Epistle  (Harnack,  Ueberlief- 
erung  der  altchr.  Litt.,  pp.  69-72).  The  Latin 
text  was  edited  for  the  first  time  in  1498  by 
Lefevre  d'Etaples,  the  Greek  text  in  1633  by 
Halloix.  The  critical  editions  are  those  of  Zahn, 
Funk,  and  Lightfoot.  These  editors  have  re- 
translated into  Greek  the  parts  which  existed  only 
in  Latin.  The  authenticity  of  the  Epistle  of 
Polycarp,  formerly  contested  by  the  same  authors 
who  contested  the  Epistles  of  Ignatius,  has  now 
been  firmly  established.  The  same  may  be  said 
of  the  Epistles  of  Ignatius  (Stahlin,  Christl.  griech. 
Litt.,  p.  977). 

Polycarp  addressed  this  letter  to  the  Philippians 
a  short  time  after  hearing  of  the  reception  which 
the  Church  of  Philippi  had  given  Ignatius  and  his 
companions  in  captivity  :  '  I  rejoiced  with  you 
greatly  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  for  that  ye 
received  the  followers  of  the  true  Love  and  escorted 
them  on  their  way,  as  befitted  you — those  men 
encircled  in  saintly  bonds  which  are  the  diadems 
of  them  that  be  truly  chosen  of  God  and  our  Lord ' 
(i.  1).  He  exhorts  the  Philippians  to  show  that 
enduring  patience  which  they  have  seen  '  in  the 
blessed  Ignatius  and  Zosimus  and  Ruf  us '  (ix.  1) 
— apparently  Ignatius'  companions  in  captivity. 
The  Philippians  invited  Polycarp  to  write  to  them 
(iii.  1);  they  wrote  to  him  at  the  same  time  as 
Ignatius,  and  charged  him  with  a  letter  to  Antioch 
(xiii.  1).  They  asked  him  to  send  to  them  the 
letters  that  he  had  received  from  Ignatius  :  '  The 
letters  of  Ignatius  which  were  sent  to  us  by  him, 
and  others  as  many  as  we  had  by  us,  we  send 
unto  you,  according  as  ye  gave  charge  ;  the  which 
are  subjoined  to  this  letter  ;  from  which  ye  will 
be  able  to  gain  great  advantage.  For  they  com- 
prise faith  and  endurance  and  every  kind  of  edifica- 
tion, which  pertaineth  unto  our  Lord '  (xiii.  1-2). 
Polycarp  adds  :  '  Concerning  Ignatius  himself  and 
those  that  were  with  him,  if  ye  have  any  sure 
tidings,  certify  us'  (xiii.  2).  These  last  words 
prove  that  Polycarp  did  not  know  the  fate  of 
Ignatius  at  the  time  when  he  wrote  to  the  Philip- 
pians, and  it  has  been  concluded  from  this  that 
Ignatius  had  quite  recently  left  Philippi  en  route 
for  Rome.  The  text  (ix.  2)  often  alleged  as  a  sign 
that  Ignatius  must  have  been  already  dead  is 
not,  in  the  present  writer's  opinion,  convincing. 
Ignatius'  journey  from  Antioch  to  Rome  belongs 
to  the  last  years  of  the  reign  of  Trajan  (A.D.  98- 
117)  ;  the  Epistle  of  Polycarp  is  contemporaneous 
with  this  journey. 

The  historical  interest  of  the  Epistle  of  Polycarp 
is  very  great,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  proof  of  the  exist- 
ence of  letters  of  Ignatius.  The  literary  interest 
of  the  epistle  is  mediocre,  especially  if  it  is  com- 
pared with  the  exceptional  value  of  the  Ignatian 
epistles.  The  style  of  the  bishop  of  Smyrna  is 
without  personal  character.  His  epistle  is  in 
reality  something  like  a  cento.  For  that  very 
reason,  however,  it  is  a  witness,  since  the  majority 


246 


POLYCAKP 


POLYCAEP 


of  the  texts  which  it  utilizes  can  be  recognized — 
the  three  Synoptics,  the  Fourth  Gospel,  the  Acts, 
the  principal  Pauline  Epistles  (Rom.,  1  and  2  Cor., 
Gal.,  Eph.,  Phil.,  Col.,  2  Thess.,  1  and  2  Tim.),  the 
Epistle  to  James,  1  Peter,  1  and  2  John.  From 
the  fact  that  Polycarp  says  (iii.  2)  that  the  apostle 
Paul  wrote  letters  to  the  Philippians  (vp.lv  Zypa\j/ev 
^TrterroXds),  it  would  be  unwise  to  conclude  that 
Polycarp  knew  several  letters  of  Paul  to  the 
Philippians.  The  OT,  which  Polycarp  confesses 
he  does  not  know  well  (xii.  1),  is  represented  by 
only  a  few  references  (Is.,  Jer.,  Ps.,  Prov.,  Job, 
Tob.).  Polycarp  knew  1  Clem.,  and  made  numerous 
very  evident  borrowings  from  it(Harnack,  Ueberlief- 
erung,  p.  40  ;  Funk,  i.  pp.  xli-xliii). 

The  address  reads  :  '  Polycarp  and  the  presbyters 
who  are  with  him  to  the  Church  of  God  which  is 
in  Philippi.'  The  letter  speaks  (v.  3)  of  the  sub- 
jection of  the  Philippians  to  their  presbyters  and 
their  deacons,  to  whom  they  submit  '  as  to  God 
and  to  Christ.'  This  is  a  very  Ignatian  thought, 
but  Ignatius  would  have  spoken  of  the  bishop  also, 
while  Polycarp  does  not  once  mention  the  word 
'  bishop '  in  his  letter.  It  has  been  concluded 
from  this  that  the  Church  of  Philippi  did  not  at 
that  time  have  a  bishop  distinct  from  the  irpea-- 
f)6Tfpoi  (A.  Michiels,  L'Origine  de  Vepiscopat, 
Louvain,  1900,  p.  367  f.).  This  is  a  possibility 
which  cannot  be  altogether  ignored.  The  non- 
mention  of  a  bishop  at  Philippi,  however  surprising 
it  may  be  after  the  Ignatiau  language,  may  be  a 
sign  that  in  Thrace  the  distinction  between  the 
tiriffKoiros  and  the  Trpefffiurepoi  iiricTKOirovvTes  had  not 
yet  ended  in  the  monarchical  episcopate  so  clearly 
realized  in  Antioch,  in  Smyrna,  in  the  churches 
made  known  to  us  in  the  Ignatian  epistles  (cf. 
P.  Batiffol,  Etudes  d'histoire  et  de  theologie  positive6, 
1st  ser.,  Paris,  1907,  pp.  258-266).  C.  Gore  (The 
Ministry  of  the  Christian  Church2,  London,  1889, 
p.  329)  says :  '  The  hypothesis  of  a  superior  order 
in  the  Church,  such  as  Clement's  letter  has  been 
seen  to  imply,  of  which  no  representation  was  yet 
localized  in  the  Church  at  Philippi,  seems  to  meet 
the  conditions  of  the  problem.  .  .  .  This  would 
postulate  a  state  of  things  at  Philippi  which 
Ignatius  could  at  once  have  recognized  as  agreeable 
to  his  standard  of  apostolic  requirements.  .  .  . 
What  we  would  suggest  is  not  exactly  that 
Philippi  was  in  the  diocese  of  Thessalonica  or  of 
some  other  see,  but  that  we  have  still  to  do  with  a 
state  of  things  which  is  transitional.'  Harnack 
(Entstehung  und  Entwickelung  der  Kirchenver- 
fassung,  Leipzig,  1910,  p.  59  f.)  also  thinks  that 
Philippi  has  a  collegia!  government,  and  that  the 
bishop  or  bishops  are  included  in  the  IT  pee  fibre  poi. 

Among  these  irpecr/Sirre/wt  Polycarp  mentions  one 
called  Valens  who  greatly  horrified  his  colleagues 
by  his  greed  (xi.  1) ;  the  wife  of  Valens  was  as 
guilty  as  he  (xi.  4).  '  He  who  cannot  govern  him- 
self in  these  things,'  writes  Polycarp,  '  how  doth 
he  enjoin  this  upon  another?'  (xi.  2).  Polycarp 
exhorts  the  presbyters  to  bring  back  Valens  and 
his  wife  as  members  who  were  weak  and  had  gone 
astray,  for  the  good  of  the  whole  community  (xi. 
4).  The  sinner,  though  offensive,  is  not  to  be 
despaired  of  and  abandoned  by  the  community. 
The  presbyters  must  be  merciful  to  all,  bring  back 
the  erring,  visit  the  weak,  neglect  neither  the 
widows,  the  orphans,  nor  the  poor ;  avoid  unjust 
judgments,  not  believe  evil  readily  (vi.  1).  The 
deacons  must  be  beyond  reproach,  remembering 
that  they  are  '  deacons  of  God  and  Christ  and  not 
of  men,'  avoid  evil-speaking,  duplicity,  cupidity 
(v.  1).  Married  women  must  be  faithful  to  the 
virtues  of  faith,  charity,  chastity,  love  their 
husbands,  bring  up  their  children  in  the  fear  of 
God  (iv.  2).  Widows  are  the  altar  of  God,  Ovcriaa-- 
rripiov  6eov  (iv.  3),  in  the  sense  that  there  must  be 


nothing  in  them  that  would  not  be  worthy  of  being 
ottered  to  God,  and  also  in  the  sense  that  they  live 
on  the  offerings  of  the  charity  of  the  faithful. 
H.  Achelis  (Das  Christentum  in  den  ersten  drei 
Jahrhunderten,  Leipzig,  1912,  i.  192)  shows  that 
widows  are  always  in  the  first  rank  of  the  people 
to  whom  alms  are  given.  Virgins  (i.e.  young 
Christian  girls  in  general,  not  virgins  consecrated 
to  God)  must  lead  a  perfectly  pure  life  (v.  3). 
Young  people  must  flee  from  all  evil,  all  the  sordid 
pagan  vices  branded  by  St.  Paul  in  1  Co  69S 
and  they  must  be  under  the  subjection  of  the 
presbyter  and  the  deacons  (v.  3).  The  Epistle  of 
Polycarp  is  above  all  a  moral  exhortation,  which 
recalls  the  manner  of  1  Clem,  more  than  that  of  the 
Ignatian  epistles.  It  undoubtedly  gives  a  fairly 
accurate  idea  of  what  ought  to  be  the  preaching  of 
a  bishop  (vov0e<rla). 

Its  speculative  and  dogmatic  contents  are  very 
poor,  but  there  are  some  elementary  features 
worthy  of  notice. 

God  is  called  '  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,'  as  Jesus  Christ  is  said  to  be  the  '  Son  of 
God,'  and  '  Eternal  Pontiff'  (sempiternus  pontifex 
[xii.  2]).  Cf.  the  doxology  with  which  in  the 
Martyrium  Polycarpi  (xiv.  3)  the  prayer  of  Poly- 
carp ends :  '  For  all  things  I  praise  Thee,  I  bless 
Thee,  I  glorify  Thee,  through  the  eternal  and 
heavenly  High-priest,  Jesus  Christ,  Thy  beloved 
Son,  through  whom  with  Him  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
be  glory  both  now  [and  ever].'  The  idea  of  the 
Priesthood  of  Christ  is  also  found  in  Ignatius,  ad 
Phil.  ix.  1,  and  in  Clem,  ad  Cor.  xxxvi.  1,  Ixi.  3, 
Ixiv.  ;  it  is  the  fundamental  idea  of  Hebrews. 
Jesus  Christ  deigned  to  descend  even  to  death  for 
our  sins  (i.  2).  Give  up  vain  speeches  and  the 
errors  of  the  majority,  i.e.  paganism,  to  believe  in 
the  Risen  One  to  whom  God  has  given  a  throne 
at  His  right  hand,  and  to  whom  all  has  been  sub- 
jected in  heaven  and  on  earth :  God  will  demand 
an  account  of  His  blood  from  those  who  do  not 
believe  in  Him  (ii.  1).  God  will  also  raise  us  from 
the  dead  if  we  observe  the  precepts  of  Christ  (ii.  2). 
The  error  of  Docetism  is  denounced  by  Polycarp  aa 
an  imminent  danger :  '  Whosoever  shall  not  con- 
fess the  testimony  of  the  Cross,  is  of  the  devil ' 
(vii.  1) ;  PO  also  is  the  perversion  of  Christian 
morality  by  false  teachers :  '  Whosoever  shall 
pervert  the  oracles  of  the  Lord  (r&  \6yia  rov  Kvptou) 
to  his  own  lusts  and  say  that  there  is  neither 
resurrection  nor  judgment,  that  man  is  the  first- 
born of  Satan'  (vii.  1).  Let  us  avoid  'the  false 
brethren  and  them  that  bear  the  name  of  the  Lord 
in  hypocrisy,  who  lead  foolish  men  astray '  (vi.  3). 

Faith  is  our  mother  in  all  things,  'while  hope 
followeth  after  and  love  goeth  before — love  toward 
God  and  Christ  and  toward  our  neighbour '  (iii.  3). 
Let  us  reject  the  folly  of  the  majority  (i.e.  pagan- 
ism) and  false  teaching  (\f/evdodidaffKa\la.s,  the  new 
doctrines  of  the  heretics),  and  return  to  the  teach- 
ing which  has  been  given  us  from  the  beginning  (tirl 
rbv  ^  dpxys  'fl/J-iv  irapadodtvTa  \6yov,  the  teaching  of 
the  apostles  and  of  the  gospel),  tradition  being  the 
criterion  of  Christian  truth  (vii.  2).  Let  us  have 
our  eyes  constantly  fixed  on  our  hope  and  the 
pledge  of  our  justice,  i.e.  on  Jesus  Christ,  who  has 
'  endured  all  things,  that  we  might  live  in  Him ' 
(viii.  1).  Lastly,  let  us  pray  for  all  the  saints,  for 
the  magistrates  and  princes,  for  our  persecutors, 
and  for  the  enemies  of  the  Cross  (xii.  3).  The 
Church  is  not  mentioned,  but  Polycarp  says: 
'  May  God  give  you  a  share  in  the  inheritance  of 
the  saints,  may'  He  let  us  participate  in  it  with 
you,  we  and  all  those  who  are  under  heaven,  who 
believe  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  in  His 
Father'  (xii.  2).  Prayer  does  not  go  without 
fasting  (vii.  2).  The  prayer  recommended  is  the 
Lord's  Prayer  (vi.  2,  vii.  2). 


POLYGAMY 


PONTUS 


247 


The  eschatology  is  confined  to  the  resurrection 
of  the  dead  (ii.  2,  v.  2,  vii.  1),  to  the  judgment  of 
the  living  and  the  dead  by  the  Christ  who  comes,  8s 
tpxerai  (ii.  1  ;  cf.  vi.  2,  vii.  1,  xi.  2),  to  the  reward 
of  the  just  in  heaven  (v.  2,  ix.  2). 

The  Epistle  of  Polycarp  to  the  Philippians 
closes  with  the  mention  of  Crescens,  whom  Poly- 
carp  presents  as  the  bearer  of  the  letter ;  and 
whom  he  recommends,  as  well  as  his  sister,  to  the 
hospitable  reception  of  the  faithful  of  Philippi. 

In  the  editions  of  Zahn  (p.  171  f.)  and  Lightfoot 
(pt.  ii.  vol.  iii.  p.  421  f.)  will  be  found  five  Latin 
fragments  attributed  to  Polycarp  :  they  were  first 
published  by  the  editor  of  Irenseus,  Feuardent 
(1639),  who  found  them  in  a  group  now  lost,  which 
itself  gave  them  as  quoted  in  Victor  of  Capua 
(t  554).  Supposing  that  these  five  fragments  of 
scholia  on  the  Gospels  are  ancient  (3rd  cent.  ?),  they 
show  no  sign  that  Polycarp  was  the  author  of 
them  (Harnack,  Ueberliefemmg,  p.  73). 

Suidas  (Lexicon,  s.v.  HoXi/Kapiroj,  ed.  G.  Bern- 
hardy,  Halle  and  Brunswick,  1834-1893,  ii.  345) 
mentions  a  letter  of  Polycarp  to  Dionysius  the 
Areopagite,  of  which  there  is  no  other  trace.  Maxi- 
mus  the  confessor,  in  the  prologue  of  his  comment- 
ary on  the  Areopagitica,  also  mentions  a  letter  of 
Polycarp  to  the  Athenians  in  which  he  speaks  of 
Dionysius  (PG  iv.  17).  Lastly,  the  seventh  of  the 
ten  letters  of  pseudo-Dionysius  is  addressed  to 
Polycarp.  We  need  not  dwell  here  on  the  value  of 
the  Areopagitica  and  all  that  may  be  connected 
with  it  (Harnack,  Ueberlieferung,  p.  73). 

LITERATURB. — The  chief  references  are  given  in  the  course  of 
the  article.  For  general  bibliographj-  see  O.  Bardenhewer, 
Gesch.  der  altkirchl.  Litteratur,  i.2  [Freiburg  i.  B.,  1913]. 
Critical  editions  :  T.  Zahn,  '  Ignatii  et  Polycarpi  Epistulae,"  in 
Patrum  apostolicorum  opera,  ii.  [Leipzig,  1876] ;  F.  X.  Funk, 
Opera  patrum  apostolicorum,  Tubingen,  1878  and  1901 ;  J.  B. 
Lightfoot,  Apostolic  Fathers,  pt.  ii.*,  London,  1889.  See  also 
the  elementary  edition  of  A.  Lelong,  Jgna.ee.  d'Antioche  et  Poly- 
carpe  de  Smyrne,  Paris,  1910  (Gr.  text,  Fr.  tr.,  Introduction, 
and  notes  on  Ep.  ad  Phil,  and  Martyrium  Polycarpi). 

P.  BATIFFOL. 
POLYGAMY.— See  MARRIAGE. 

PONTDS  (n(Wos).  —  To  early  Greek  writers, 
Pontus  vaguely  denoted  any  coastland  of  the  '  In- 
hospitable Sea ' — II<Wos  <S£epos,  afterwards  changed 
into  n<Wos  efi£etvos — beyond  the  Bosporus.  To 
Herodotus  (vii.  95)  it  meant  the  southern  littoral 
of  the  Euxine,  and  to  Xenophon  (Anab.  V.  vi.  15) 
the  south-eastern.  It  had  not  a  definite  geo- 
graphical meaning  till  the  founding  of  the  kingdom 
of  Pontus  by  Mithridates  in  the  troubled  period 
which  followed  the  death  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

1  The  Macedonians  obtained  possession  of  Cappadocia  after  it 
had  been  divided  by  the  Persians  into  two  satrapies,  and  per- 
mitted, partly  with  and  partly  without  the  consent  of  the 
people,  the  satrapies  to  be  altered  to  two  kingdoms,  one  of 
which  they  called  Cappadocia  proper,  .  .  .  the  other  they 
called  Pontus,  but  according  to  other  writers  Cappadocia  on 
Pontus'  (T;  jrpbs  r<a  Uovrta  KairiraSoicia)  (Strabo,  XII.  i.  4). 
Polybius  names  the  kingdom  '  Cappadocia  towards  the  Euxine ' 
(KamraSoicia.  ^  irepi  rov  Ev£eivov)  (v.  xliii.  1).  In  popular  usage 
the  single  word  Pontus  displaced  the  more  cumbrous  nomen- 
clature. 

This  kingdom  attained  its  greatest  prosperity 
and  power  in  the  reign  of  Mithridates  IV.  Eupator 
(111-63  B.C.),  who  extended  it  to  Heracleia  on  the 
border  of  Bithynia  in  the  west  and  to  Colchis  and 
Lesser  Armenia  in  the  east  (Strabo,  xil.  iii.  1) ; 
but  his  wars  with  the  Komans  ended  in  his  over- 
throw. The  western  part  of  his  kingdom  was 
joined  to  Bithynia  to  form  the  double  province 
Pontus  -  Bithynia,  which  existed  for  three  cen- 
turies. The  eastern  part  was  broken  up  into 
possessions  for  a  number  of  native  dynasts,  and  one 
of  the  larger  fragments  passed  in  36  B.C.  from  the 
family  of  Mithridates  to  Polemon  of  Laodicea,  the 
founder  of  a  new  dynasty  of  Pontic  kings,  which 
lasted  till  A.D.  63.  Other  portions  were  added  one 
by  one  to  the  province  of  Galatia,  forming  together 


Pontus  Galaticus,  whose  chief  towns  were  Amasia 
and  Comana.  In  A.D.  63  the  Romans,-  thinking 
that  Polemon's  vassal  kingdom  had  become  civil- 
ized enough  to  be  incorporated  in  the  Empire, 
added  part  of  it,  including  the  cities  of  Trapezus 
and  Neo-Caesarea,  to  the  province  of  Galatia  as 
Pontus  Polemonaicus,  a  name  which  it  retained 
for  centuries.  Polemon  II.  was  consoled  for  his 
loss  by  receiving  the  kingdom  of  Cilicia  Tracheia, 
and  he  afterwards  married  Berenice  (q.v.),  the 
sister  of  Herod  Agrippa.  Still  another  fragment 
of  the  old  kingdom  of  Pontus  was  added  to  the 
province  of  Cappadocia,  and  called  Pontus  Cappa- 
docicus.  From  A.D.  78-106  the  provinces  of  Galatia 
and  Cappadocia  were  united  for  administrative 
purposes.  When  they  were  separated  again  by 
Trajan,  Pontus  Galaticus  and  Pontus  Polemonaicus 
were  permanently  joined  to  Cappadocia. 

PhUo  (Leg.  ad  Gaium,  36)  testifies  that  in  his 
time  the  Jews  had  penetrated  &xp<-  Bttfwias  KO.I  T&V 
rov  Ilovrov  ft.vx.Giv.  Pontus  stands  in  the  list  of 
countries  from  which  Jews  and  proselytes  came  to 
Jerusalem  to  attend  the  Feast  of  Pentecost  (Ac  29). 
As  the  geographical  names  in  this  list  have  their 
popular  rather  than  their  Imperial  meaning,  Pontus 
may  either  denote  the  province  of  Pontus  alone,  or 
may  include  Galatic  and  Polemonian  Pontus ;  but 
Polemon's  kingdom  was  scarcely  settled  enough  to 
be  likely  to  attract  Jewish  colonists.  '  The  elect 
who  are  strangers  of  the  Dispersion  in  Pontus '  are 
named  as  the  readers  of  the  First  Epistle  of  St. 
Peter  (I1),  and  here  the  language  is  strictly  Roman, 
for  the  three  provinces  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  and 
Asia,  together  with  the  dual  province  Pontus- 
Bithynia,  are  meant  to  sum  up  the  whole  of  Asia 
Minor  north  of  the  Taurus.  Ihe  severance  in  this 
passage  of  Pontus  from  Bithynia,  as  well  as  the 
order  in  which  the  provinces  are  named,  requires 
an  explanation,  and  the  best  has  been  suggested 
by  G.  H.  A.  Ewald  (Sieben  Sendschreiben  des 
neuen  Bundes,  1870,  p.  2f.).  The  order  indicated 
is  that  of  an  actual  journey,  which  the  bearer  of 
the  Epistle — probably  Silvanus,  the  amanuensis 
(1  P  5la) — is  about  to  undertake.  Landing  at  one 
of  the  seaports  of  Pontus  (Sinope  or  Amisus)  he 
will  make  a  circuit  of  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  and 
Asia,  and  work  his  way  through  Bithynia  to 
another  port  of  the  Euxine  (cf.  F.  J.  A.  Hort,  The 
First  Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  /.  1-IL  17,  1898,  p.  17). 

The  first  cities  of  Pontus  to  receive  Christianity 
were  doubtless  those  of  the  seaboard,  from  which 
it  must  have  rapidly  spread  inland.  Pliny  the 
Younger  was  sent  to  administer  Pontus  and 
Bithynia  in  A.D.  Ill,  and  his  correspondence  with 
Trajan  gives  a  clear  idea  of  the  changes  already 
being  wrought  by  the  new  religion — in  his  view  a 
'  superstitio  prava  inimodica' — not  only  in  the  great 
towns  but  in  remote  country  places  (Ep.  x.  97). 
His  reference  to  renegades  who  professed  to  have 
renounced  their  Christian  faith  as  much  as  twenty- 
five  years  previously  indicates  that  some  parts  of 
the  province  had  been  evangelized  some  time 
before  A.D.  87  or  88.  The  First  Epistle  of  Peter, 
even  if  it  was  not  written  till  A.D.  80,  carries  the 
date  of  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  Pontus 
a  good  deal  further  back. 

Aquila,  the  fellow-worker  of  St.  Paul,  was  a 
native  of  Pontus  (Ac  183).  Another  Aquila,  the 
translator  of  the  OT  into  Greek,  who  lived  in  the 
time  of  Hadrian,  belonged  to  the  same  province. 
An  inscription  to  an  Aquila  of  Sinope  (Sinub)  has 
recently  been  found.  Sinope  was  the  birthplace  of 
Marcion,  whose  father  is  said  to  have  been  a  bishop. 

LITERATURE. — W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Church  in  the  Roman 
Empire,  1893,  Hist.  Geography  of  Asia  Minor,  1890  ;  J.  G.  C. 
Anderson, '  Exploration  in  Pontus,'  in  Studia  Pontica,  1903,  and 
F.  and  E.  Cumont,  '  Voyage  d'exploration  archeol.  dans  le  Pont 
et  la  petite  Armenie,'  ib.,  1906.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 


248 


POOR,  POVERTY 


POSSESSION 


POOR,  POVERTY.— The  terms  used  in  the  NT 
to  describe  the  poor  are  TT&^J,  irei>ixp6s,  tvderis  (once 
each),  and  TTTUXOS.  In  the  great  majority  of  in- 
stances it  is  obvious  that  these  words  describe  the 
man  who  has  little  material  wealth,  but  there  are 
certain  passages  which  suggest  a  larger  meaning. 

In  the  Epistle  of  James  and  in  the  Gospel  of 
Luke  the  word  '  poor '  (TTTUX^S)  is  used  occasionally 
in  a  manner  which  suggests  that,  while  it  has  in 
part  its  literal  sense,  it  may  also  denote  one  who 
possesses  certain  virtues  which  may  have  been  con- 
ceived of  as  usually  associated  with  poverty.  '  Did 
not  God  choose  them  that  are  poor  as  to  the  world 
to  be  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  which 
he  promised  to  them  that  love  him  ?  But  ye  have 
dishonoured  the  poor  man.  Do  not  the  rich  op- 
press you,  and  themselves  drag  you  before  the 
judgement-seats?'  (Ja  2s-6).  Our  Lord's  words 
'  Blessed  are  ye  poor :  for  yours  is  the  kingdom  of 
God,'  and  '  Woe  unto  you  that  are  rich  !  for  ye 
have  received  your  consolation  '  (Lk  620-  M)  may  be 
thought  to  convey  the  same  suggestion.  In  Alt  53 
our  Lord's  words  are  repeated  in  a  different  form — 
'  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit ' ;  and  while  we  may 
be  inclined  to  think  that  Luke  gives  us  the  more 
original  form  of  the  words,  the  gloss,  if  it  be  such, 
of  Matthew's  Gospel  is  very  possibly  just  in  sub- 
stance. When  we  examine  the  OT  literature  we 
find  that  it  is  possible  that  the  word  '  poor '  is  often 
used  rather  in  a  spiritual  than  in  a  literal  sense,  e.g. 
Ps  3510  4017. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  this  points  to  some 
relation  between  the  NT  conception  of  the  poor  and 
some  supposed  body  of  Ebionites  or  pious  men  who 
are  also  called  poor,  but  the  material  is  too  scanty 
to  enable  us  to  form  any  very  positive  judgment. 

For  the  question  of  the  position  and  treatment 
of  the  poor  in  the  Apostolic  Church  see  the  artt. 
ALMS  and  COMMUNITY  OF  GOODS. 

A.  J.  CARLYLE. 

PORCH. — When  '  porch '  is  a  translation  of  erod, 
it  denotes  a  portico  (so  Ac  311  RVm),  covered 
colonnade,  or  cloister,  where  people  could  walk  and 
talk,  protected  from  sun  or  rain,  and  where  liberty 
of  public  speaking  and  teaching  was  generally  en- 
joyed. Round  the  entire  area  of  Herod's  Temple 
there  ran  a  succession  of  magnificent  porticoes  built 
against  the  enclosing  wall.  Solomon's  Porch,  which 
adorned  the  eastern  side — hence  called  also  the  ffroa 
avarokiK-f)  (Jos.  Ant.  XX.  ix.  7) — and  faced  the 
entrance  to  the  Women's  Court,  was  a  double 
portico,  about  50  ft.  wide,  formed  by  three  rows  of 
white  marble  monolithic  columns,  each  about  40  ft. 
high.  It  was  roofed  by  cedar  beams,  richly  carved, 
and  its  aisles  were  paved  in  mosaic  fashion  with 
stone  (Jos.  Ant.  XV.  xi.  5,  BJ  V.  v.  2).  Josephus 
appears  to  have  believed  that  it  had  survived  from 
the  time  of  Solomon  (Ant.  XX.  ix.  7,  BJ  V.  v.  1),  but 
in  all  probability  its  name  implied  no  more  than 
that  on  the  same  foundations  there  had  stood 
a  previous  structure  which  partly  dated  from 
Solomon's  time.  The  porch  in  which  Jesus  walked 
on  the  Feast  of  Dedication  (Jn  1023),  to  which  the 
people  ran  together  after  witnessing  St.  Peter's 
miracle  at  the  Beautiful  Gate  (Ac  311),  and  which 
was  a  rendezvous  of  the  early  Church  (512),  was 
certainly  modern.  It  was  in  the  style  of  contem- 
porary Hellenistic  architecture,  and  was  only  less 
magnificent  than  the  triple  colonnade  known  as  the 
'  Royal  Porch ' — «rrod  pao-i\iK-/i — which  ran  along  the 
south  side  of  the  Temple  court. 

LITERATURE.— A.  Edersheim,  LT*  i.  244  f.,  ii.  151 ;  A.  R.  S. 
Kennedy,  'Some  Problems  of  Herod's  Temple,'  in  ExpT  xx. 
[1908-09],  art.  'Temple'  in  EBr^ ;  B.  Kleinschmidt,  art. 
'Temple'  in  JB.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

POSSESSION.— In  the  earlier  period  of  his  career 
man  did  not  realize,  as  we  do,  the  difference 


between  himself  and  the  animals,  plants,  and 
objects  around  him.  He  thought,  and  in  the  lower 
culture  still  thinks,  of  these  as  in  many  respects 
like  himself.  When,  therefore,  through  dreams 
and  other  experiences,  he  realized  that  his  body 
was  inhabited  and  animated  by  a  spirit,  he  also 
thought  that  the  falling  rock,  the  running  river, 
the  waving  tree,  the  sun  moving  througli  the  sky, 
were  each  inhabited  by  a  spirit  or  spirits  like  that 
within  himself  ;  every  thing  and  every  affair  were 
animated  by  their  own  particular  spirit.  This  ani- 
mistic belief  was,  and  is  still,  held  by  the  men  of 
the  lower  culture,  by  the  primitive  Semites  and 
Aryans  and  the  races  springing  from  them,  by  the 
modern  Chinese,  and  even  by  educated  Europeans 
to-day.* 

Some  spirits,  like  vampires,  were  corporeal,  but 
the  majority,  if  not  all,  were  free  to  move  about, 
and  able,  nay  anxious,  to  enter  into  some  relation- 
ship with  man.  As  a  person's  ordinary  speech  and 
action  sprang  from  the  action  of  his  own  spirit 
(minor  differences  arising  because  each  had  his  own 
individual  spirit),  so  extraordinary  conduct  of  any 
kind  was  due  to  the  impact  of  a  spirit  other  than 
his  own.  The  man  was  not  himself,  he  was  out  of 
his  mind,  and  consequently  another  was  in.t 

The  contact  of  a  spirit  and  a  person  might  be 
at  the  instance  of  the  person,  through  his  eating 
laurel  leaves,  inhaling  fumes  or  incense,  drinking 
blood  or  an  intoxicant,  drumming,  dancing,  steady 
gazing.!  It  might,  again,  be  on  the  initiative  of 
the  spirit.  The  contact  might  be  either  obsession, 
in  which  the  spirit  acts  from  without,  or  embodi- 
ment, in  which  it  actually  enters  into  the  person.  § 
Such  expressions,  in  regard,  e.g.,  to  the  Holy  Spirit, 
as  '  come  upon,'  'was  upon,'  'fell  upon,'  'poured 
out  on,'  'baptized  with,'  pointing  in  the  direction 
of  obsession,  others,  as  '  tilled  with,'  '  God  gave 
them,'  'they  received  the  Holy  Spirit,'  pointing  in 
the  direction  of  embodiment,  indicate  that  the 
spirit  took  the  initiative. || 

The  conception  of  spirits  underwent  development 
along  two  distinct,  though  not  quite  independent, 
lines.  Certain  spirits,  coming  to  be  recognized  as 
stronger  than  others,  gradually  attained  a  higher 
dignity,  a  more  elaborate  ritual,  and  a  wider  sway. 
They  got  names  and  became  deities.  Further, 
some  of  these  becoming  more  important  than 
others,  came  to  be  the  chief  deities  of  tribes  and 
nations,  and  then,  like  Zeus,  the  head  of  a  pan- 
theon. A  strong  belief  in  such  a  deity  in  some 
cases  almost  attained  to,  and  in  the  case  of  Jahweh 
actually  reached,  monotheism,  or  at  least  what 
Hogarth  calls  '  super-Monotheism. '1T  In  some  re- 
ligions, as  Zarathustrianism  and  the  cults  of  Meso- 
potamia, the  inferior  spirits  were  grouped  into 
grades  as  angels,  archangels,  principalities,  and 
powers,  at  whose  head  there  sometimes  stood  a 
supreme  spirit  as  the  Satan.  Again,  as  primitive 
man,  believing  that  all  things  which  occurred  to, 
or  within,  him  arose  from  the  action  of  a  spirit — 
generally  a  minor  spirit — distinguished  between 
things  pleasant,  beneficial,  or  according  to  his 
standard,  good,  and  the  reverse,  he  came  to  dis- 
tinguish between  spirits  benevolent  and  beneficent, 

*  See,  e.g.,  C.  H.  Toy,  Introduction  to  the  History  of  Religions, 
Boston,  1913,  p.  293;  G.  T.  Bettany,  Primitive  Religions, 
London,  1891,  pp.  107,  122, 133  ;  J.  H.  King,  The  Supernatural, 
2  vols.,  do.,  1892,  i.  177,  199  ;  JE  iv.  516  ('  R.  Johanan  knew  of 
300  kinds  of  shedim  living  near  the  town  of  Shihin ') ;  J.  L. 
Nevius,  Demon  Possession  and  Allied  Themes,  London,  1897, 
p.  6;  R.  Howton,  Divine  Healing  and  Demon  Possession,  do., 
1905,  p.  1 ;  the  writings  of  E.  Swedenborg ;  J.  Duncan,  Col- 
loquia  Peripatetica3,  Edinburgh,  1871,  pp.  39,  40;  DCG  i. 
438b. 

t  EBr"  xxii.  175.  J  Ib.  xxii.  174. 

§  HDBiv.  22l>. 

||  Lk  135  225,  AC  1044  H15  1Q48  H16,  Lk  1«,  Ac  2*  431  158  192. 

1  C.  H.  Toy,  Introd.  to  the  Hist,  of  Religions,  p.  293 ;  EBr™ 
viii.  7  ;  D.  G.  Hogarth,  The  Ancient  East,  London,  1914,  p.  23. 


POSSESSION 


POSSESSION 


249 


and  others  malevolent  and  maleficent.*  When  one 
is  so  fortunate  as  to  be  able  to  predict  future 
events  (Ac  2111),  or  to  indicate  the  will  of  God 
(13- 1528  166),  then  clearly  one  is  filled  with  the  Holy 
Spirit.  This,  rightly  called  'inspiration,'  is  not 
found  in  the  lower  culture,  except  occasionally, 
when  it  is  due  to  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  though  it 
has  been  maintained  that  the  deliverances  of  the 
classic  oracles  were  given  by  a  divine  being.f  On 
the  other  hand,  a  person  who  becomes  hot  and 
burning,  is  twisted  or  tortured,  slowly  pines  away 
as  if  being  eaten  up,  is  thrown  helpless  on  the 
ground,  into  water  or  fire,  writhing  and  jerking, 
exhibits  the  strength  of  a  giant  or  the  fury  of  a 
wild  beast,  strips  off  his  clothes,  raves  in  a  voice 
not  his  own — such  a  one  seems  to  be,  and  was 
by  the  men  of  the  lower  culture  believed  to  be, 
possessed  by  a  maleficent  spirit.^  This  belief  acted 
in  two  ways.  When  the  seizures  were  intermittent 
the  sufferer  believed  that  at  the  period  of  seizure 
he  became  possessed  by  a  malevolent  spirit,  and 
even  gave  it  a  name.  Again,  a  person  who  imagined 
that  a  harmful  spirit  had  entered  into  him  acted 
in  the  way  possessed  people  were  conceived  inevit- 
ably to  act,  and  this  became  in  its  turn  a  proof 
Eositive  of  such  possession.!  The  entry  of  such  a 
urtful  spirit  is  of  course  involuntary.|| 

The  Greeks  called  a  supernatural  being  inter- 
mediate between  the  gods  and  men  dal/juav,  'demon.' 
This  was  used  in  the  LXX  and  the  Apocrypha,  as 
in  Tobit,  to  translate  onp  and  BTffv.  The  word 
thus  came  to  get  a  bad  meaning.  The  later  Jews 
and  Christians,  in  their  hatred  of  the  pagan  cults, 
emphasized  this  view,  and  it  has  ever  since  been 
retained  as  in  the  English  word  'demon. 'IT  The 
Greek  term  daifj-ovlfeaOai  means  '  to  be  possessed  by 
a  maleficent  spirit.'  Our  word  'epilepsy'  is  the 
English  form  of  eirlXrjij/is,  meaning  '  seizure '  by  a 
superhuman  agent,  while  epilepsy  itself  was  called 
by  the  Greeks  lepa  j»<5eros,  '  the  divine  illness.'  ** 

While,  therefore,  '  demonism '  and  '  demonist ' 
indicate  belief  in  and  a  believer  in  demons, 
'demonology'  is  the  science  which  treats  of 
demons,  '  demonolatry '  is  the  worship  of  demons  ; 
'  demonopathy,'  or,  better,  to  use  the  term  of  the 
Sydenham  Society  Lexicon  of  1883, '  demonomania ' 
is  the  pathological  condition  in  which  the  patient, 
a  'demoniac,'  believes,  and  his  conduct  would  in- 
duce others  to  believe,  that  he  is  possessed  by  a 
maleficent  spirit. 

Anthropological  research  shows  that  demono- 
mania prevails  or  has  prevailed  among  the  Amerind 
tribes  from  the  furthest  North  to  Patagonia, 
throughout  Polynesia,  in  New  Zealand,  the  Aus- 
tralian and  Tasmanian  regions,  in  all  parts  of 
India  and  Africa,  among  the  Egyptians,  Greeks, 
Romans,  and  all  the  Semitic  nations. ft 

But  the  facts  as  to  demonism  and  demonomania 
will  become  clearer  by  a  consideration  of  these  as 
we  find  them  present  in  the  life  of  one  nation. 
The  primitive  Semites  believed  in  demons,  and 
this  racial  faith  was  inherited  and  developed  by 
the  Arabians,  and  the  nations  which  swarmed  from 
the  desert  cradle-land  —  Mesopotamians,  Phoe- 
nicians, Canaanites,  and  Hebrews.  ££  The  last,  in 

*  T.  W.  Davies,  Magic,  Divination,  and  Demonology,  London, 
1898,  p.  7. 

t  Eflmxxii.  174. 

t  A.  Edersheim,  LT*,  London,  1887,  ii.  762,  774 ;  E.  B.  Tylor, 
PC*,  do.,  1903,  ii.  124,  130;  R.  B.  Marett,  The  Threshold  of 
Religion*,  do.,  1914,  p.  24  f. ;  Bettany,  Primitive  Religion,  pp. 
19,  67,  58,  69. 

§  Tylor,  PC*  ii.  132. 

I!  XBfU  xxii.  176. 

If  Davies,  Magic,  Divination,  and  Demonology,  p.  7 ;  ERE 
iv.  565. 

**  JE  iv.  517  ;  Edersheim,  LT*  ii.  762  ;  Tylor,  PC*  ii.  137. 

tt  See,  e.g.,  Tylor,  PC*  ii.  123, 137 ;  DCS  i.  438 ;  ERE  iv.  590, 
619,  620,  723,  etc.  ;  cf.  art.  EXORCISM,  3. 

U  K.  Marti,  The  Religion  of  the  OT,  London,  1907,  p.  50 ;  Exp, 
7th  ser.,  iii.  [1907]  325,  319  ;  JE  iv.  515  ;  Edersheim,  LT*  ii.  759, 


their  nomadic  state  and  their  sojourn  in  Egypt,  by 
their  settlement  in  Palestine  and  intercourse  with 
neighbouring  nations,  and  during  the  Exile,  were 
subjected  to  influences  which,  while  modifying, 
tended  to  intensify  the  ancestral  belief.*  They 
recognized  not  merely  the  existence  of  demons  but 
their  classification  into  the  two  great  groups,  bene- 
ficent and  maleficent,  the  latter  being  our  special 
concern.  I  The  demons  in  the  earliest  culture  had 
no  names,  but  gradually,  e.g.  in  Mesopotamia,  they 
were  divided  into  classes  with  distinct  names. 
Among  the  Hebrews  we  have  these  classes.^ 

(1)  The  QT#ip,  field  spirits,  like  satyrs,  so  called 
because  of  their  resemblance  to  hairy  he-goats. 
To  these  sacrifices  were  offered  in  the  open  tield, 
and  for  their  worship  Jeroboam  appointed  priests.  § 
A  further  reference  to  these  may  be  found  in  2  K 
238,  where  for  D"!V?  there  should  be  ready  o'Ty*'. 
One  of  these  spirits  became  prominent  enough  to 
receive  a  personal  name  ^JKJJJ,  and  to  have  a  dis- 
tinctive ritual  of  his  own  in  which  a  goat  was 
offered. IT 

(2)  In  Mesopotamian  mythology  one  of  the  most 
prominent  of  the  groups  of  demons  was  the  shedim, 
storm-deities.     They  were  represented  in  an  ox- 
like  shape,  and  from  being  used  as  the  protective 
genii  of  palaces  became,  in  Mesopotamia,  propitious 
deities.     From  Chaldsea  their  worship  passed  to 
Palestine,  and  the  name  ortf  was  applied  by  the 
Hebrews  to  the  Canaanite  demons  whom  they  re- 
cognized and  worshipped.**     If  rn-fn  'inx  (Job  5a) 
be  a  corruption  for  m^n  'jnj<,  then  '  the  lords '  were 
field-demons  of  this  kind.     A  further  reference  to 
them  is  found  in  Gn  143-  *• 10,  where  O'lsj-n  should  be 
printed  D"nyn;tt  andin  Hos  12lain37  nniy  $f^jj  should 
be  'i  D'-US^  '33,  '  at  Gilgal  they  sacrifice  to  the  false 
gods  (la-shedMm).'tt    Three  of  these  demons  at- 
tained to  such  eminence  as  to  receive  names.    These 
were  rr^,  Lilith  (the  night-hag,  Is  3413- 14),  a  female 
night-demon  who  sucked  the  blood  of  her  sleeping 
victims  ;§§   n'n^?n,  a  demon   servant   of  Jahweh 
warded  off  by  a  blood-talisman  (Ex  1223);  ||  ||  Asmedai, 
the  Asmodeus  of  To  3s"17,  who  is  called  in   the 
Aramaic  and  Hebrew  versions  of  To  38  '  king  of  the 
Shedlm,'  a  demon  borrowed  from  Zarathustrianism, 
who  is  identified  with'AxoXXi;wj'(Rev9u).1Iir  Indica- 
ERE  iv.  668,  670,  741 ;  and,  generally,  R.  C.  Thompson,  The 
Devils  and  Evil  Spirits  of  Babylonia,  London,  1903-04. 

*  ERE  iv.  755  ;  Marti,  The  Religion  of  the  OT,  p.  90. 

t  Jg  923,  i  s  161* ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  318 ;  DCG  f.  439. 

t  0.  H.  Toy,  Introd.  to  the  Hist,  of  Religions,  p.  293. 

§  Lvi  177,  2  Ch  I!" ;  see  also  Is  1321  34" ;  J.  H.  Kurtz, 
Hist,  of  the  Old  Covenant*,  Edinburgh,  1872,  5L  158 ;  W.  R. 
Smith,  AS2,  London,  1894,  p.  113 ;  H.  Schultz,  OT  Theology, 
Eng.  tr.,  do.,  1892,  ii.  270 ;  A.  H.  Japp,  Some  Heresies  dealt 
with,  do.,  1899,  p.  240 ;  J.  H.  Philpot,  The  Sacred  Tree,  do., 
1897,  p.  54  ;  JE  iv.  515 ;  A.  H.  Sayce,  Lectures  on  the  Origin 
and  Growth  of  Religion*  (UL,  1887),  London,  1891,  p.  199; 
Davies,  Magic,  Divination,  and  Demonology, p.  96 ;  Exp,  7th  ser., 
iii.  530,  532  ;  ExpT  iii.  485  ;  ERE  iv.  598  \UDB  i.  591,  v.  617»>. 

II  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  322,  531,  n.  3  ;  HDB  i.  207. 

1  Lv  16 ;  HDB  i.  207 ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  632  ;  ExpT  xxiv.  9 ; 
ERE  ii.  282,  iv.  598 ;  cf.  Bar  4?. 

»*  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  331 ;  ERE  iv.  670,  695  ;  Dt  32",  ps  10637 ; 
Edersheim,  LT*  ii.  760. 

tt  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  322 ;  HDB  i.  58b. 

jj  Hitzig,  quoted  by  A.  Euenen,  The  Religion  of  Israel, 
Eng.  tr.,  i.  [London,  1874]  94 ;  see  also  JE  iv.  515 ;  Davies, 
Magic,  Divination,  and  Demonology,  pp.  96,  103;  J.  J.  S. 
Perowne,  The  Book  of  Psalms,  2  vols.,  London,  1883^86,  ii.  266 ; 
Japp,  Some  Heresies  dealt  with,  p.  25  ;  H.  O.  Tomkins,  Studies 
on  the  Times  of  Abraham,  do.,  1878,  p.  149 ;  Sayce,  UL,  pp.  441, 
450,  463 ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  322,  iv.  [1907]  135  ;  HDB  i.  96«>,  591, 
v.  617;  EREiv.  598. 

§§  ERE  iv.  571,  598 ;  HDB  i.  690,  iii.  122,  v.  618,  553 ;  A. 
Reville,  The  DeviP,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1887,  p.  10 ;  T.  K.  Cheyne, 
The  Prophecies  of  Isaiah*,  do.,  1886,  i.  197  ;  Sayce,  HL,  p.  145 ; 
G.  Maspero,  The  Dawn  of  Civilization*,  Lond'on,  1896,  p.  632 ; 
E.  Schrader,  The  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  and  the  OT,  Eng.  tr., 
2  vols.,  do.,  1885-88,  ii.  311 ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iv.  142,  3rd  ser.,  vL 
[1887]  460;  Ps  91». 

HII  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  323. 

Ut  To  618  38-17  6-8 ;  HDB  i.  126<>,  172t>,  iv.  40S*>,  989»  ;  Exp,  7th 
ser.,  iv.  135  ;  DCG  i.  439  ;  ExpTu.  [1890-91]  208,  xi.  [1899-1900] 
258 ;  J.  H.  Moulton,  Early  Religious  Poetry  of  Persia, 
Cambridge,  1911,  pp.  68,  77 ;  Reville,  The  Devil*,  p.  18 ;  H. 
Schultz,  OT  Theology,  ii.  280  ;  ERE  iv.  600b. 


250 


POSSESSION 


POSSESSION 


tions  are  not  wanting  that  certain  words  which 
later  came  to  signify  calamities  were  originally  the 
demons  who  caused  the  calamities.  Such  were  sai, 
'  the  smiter,'  the  deadly  hot  wind  of  mid-day  ;  «]§n 
and  *]$•}  '.4?,  the  demon  of  destroying  flame  ;  *  riffi?!^, 
a  vampire,  a  blood-sucking  demon.f  Such  demons 
resemble  and  appear  as  either  wild  beasts  or 
imaginary  hybrid  monsters,  t  Satan  was  identified 
with  a  serpent.  'The  zoology  of  Islam,'  as  has 
been  well  said,  'is  at  once  a  demonology,'  and  the 
remark  need  not  be  confined  to  that  religion.  § 
While  originally  the  belief  in  such  demons  may 
have  been  caused,  partially  or  wholly,  by  the  sudden 
or  mysterious  appearance  or  action  of  animals,  the 
spirits  gradually  came  to  be  looked  on  as  assuming 
the  appearance  of  certain  animals.  ||  Thus,  when 
the  Shunammite  solemnly  conjures  the  daughters 
of  Jerusalem  by  the  itby  and  the  nixj?  (Ca  27  35)  she 
was  doubtless  referring  to  the  faun-like  spirits  of 
the  wild.lT  The  continuous  and  persistent  efforts 
of  the  prophets  to  extricate  Jahweh  from  the  other 
gods  and  to  exalt  His  power  and  importance  in- 
evitably diminished  those  of  the  demons  ;  and,  as 
His  holiness  and  goodness  became  clearer,  their 
malevolence  became  more  marked.**  The  con- 
tinuous prevalence  of  and  belief  in  demonomania 
becomes  clearer  still  when  we  recall  (a)  the  names 


given  to  the  art  of  dealing  with  the  demons, 

'  divination,  'ft  o$?P,  '  divination,'  ££  e>nj,  'enchant- 


ment,' §§  m,ne>,  'sorcery,  'II  II  173,  '  incantations  ';  HIT 
(6)  the  terms  indicating  the  practice  of  such  arts,  as 
jiiy,  'to  use  hidden  or  magical  arts,'  ***  such  as  those 
common  among  the  Philistines  ;  1317,  'to  tie  magical 
knots,'  ttt  *]¥?¥,  '  to  twitter,'  with  its  corresponding 
name  for  the  practitioner,  D's^s^on  ;  JJJ  (c)  the  various 
kinds  of  practitioners  whose  business  it  was  to  deal 
with  spirits,  as  D'narr^x  e»-n,  '  necromancers  '  ;  D'jjrr, 
'knowing  ones,'  or  wizards  ;§§§  Q'jnij,  'those  wh'o 
mutter  '  ;  ||  ||  i|  D'BX,  '  whisperers  '  ;  111111  ate,  those  who 
maintain  communion  with  the  dead,  cause  them  to 
return,  and  through  intercourse  with  them  deliver 
oracles,  speaking  low  as  if  out  of  the  ground.  Con- 

*  Ps  916,  £„.{,  Satfuoviov  /oteoT)/it/3pt»'ou  ;  Dt  3224,  ls  282,  Hos  IS1*  ; 
Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  332  ;  F.  W.  Farrar,  Life  of  Christ,  London, 
n.d.,  p.  180  ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iv.  145  ;  W.  St.  Chad  Boscawen, 
British  Museum  Lectures,  London,  n.d.,  iii.  9  ;  JE  iv.  515. 

t  Dt  3224,  Job  57,  Ps  764  7848,  Ca  8«,  Hab  3«  ;  Exp,  5th  ser., 
v.  [1897]  403  ;  PEFSt  xxx.  [1898]  259,  xlvi.  [1914]  141  ;  HDB  i. 
451,  ii.  418,  v.  618  ;  ERE  iv.  598. 

t  Pr  3015  ;  ERE  iv.  596  ;  HDB  ii.  418»,  iii.  210*>,  v.  618»;  JE 
iv.  516  ;  W.  Robertson  Smith,  OTJC,  Edinburgh,  1881,  p.  122, 
but  cf.  2nd  ed.  (do.,  1892),  p.  111.  For  123,  the  demon  of  plague 
in  Lv  2623,  see  JE  iv.  515  ;  PEFSt  xlvi.  *141. 

§  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  329  f.    For  other  examples  see  p.  529. 

II  76.  p.  535.          t  ERE  iv.  598.          »*  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  322. 

tt  Ezk  13«,  etc.  Its  cognates  are  Dpjj,  '  to  divine  '  (Dt  1810-  14 
etc.),  a  rite  practised  by  strangers  and  by  Balaam  (Is  62,  Jos 
1322),  and  D'op'p  (Dt  IS"),  the  practitioner  of  such  an  art  ;  see 
EBii.  1119. 

II  Ezk  1224  is  a  kindred  term. 

§§  Nu  2323,  etc.,  a  word  connected  with  divination  by  serpents, 
with  its  verb  eJnj,  to  practise  such  enchantments  ;  Lv  1926,  etc.  ; 
Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  540  ;  and  JWIIJ,  one  who  practises  such  divina- 
tion, occurring  only  as  a  proper  name  in  Ex  623. 

II  II  Is  47H  :  '  Evil  will  fall  upon  thee  which  thou  canst  not  dispel 
with  sorcery  and  which  thou  canst  not  remove  with  rituals  of 
purgation  '  ;  ExpT  xxii.  [1910-11]  323  ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  540 

TIT  2  K  922.  The  art  itself,  according  to  Robertson  Smith,  is 
an  expression  used  of  shredded  herbs  of  which  was  concocted  a 
magic  brew  (Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  539);  cf.  Is  65*.  ijg'j,  2  Ch  336, 
means  to  use  incantations,  while  t]tp3  (Jer  279),  »]8>3p,  and  HOBOD 


etc.,  Is  26.  The  LXX  translates  by  K\r,Sovifou.ai. 
The  practitioner  was  termed  jyiyp  (Dt  181°,  Jg  937). 

ttt  LXX  translates  by  KaraSeia  and  the  noun  by  <cai-a5e<r;u.oy, 
•an  being  the  magical  knot  so  tied—  Dt  18",  Ps  586  (S),  Is  479-  12 
(cf  .  Lk  1316,  a  daughter  of  Abraham  bound  by  Satan)  ;  Exp,  7th 
ser.,  PI.  536,  539.  See  also  the  sixteen  figures,  '  captives  '  found 
by  Bliss  at  Sendahannah  (PEFSt  xxxii.  [1900]  332  and  note  by 
Clermont  Qanneau,  ib.  xxxiii.  [19011  57). 

ttt  Is  819  101*  3814. 

?!!  ?'  ^o"'  £v  19M  206"  "•  l  S  283-  9  '•  Ea>PT  ix.  [1897-98]  157. 
Illlll  Is  819  ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  537. 
1ft  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  537  ;  Is  198. 


demned  by  the  Deuteronomic  legislation,  they  were 
banished  by  Saul,  patronized  by  Manasseh,  and 
much  sought  after  by  the  Egyptians.  *  The  entrance 
of  these  malevolent  spirits  into  a  person  might  be 

Srevented  by  using  proper  precaution.  Among  the 
rang  Laut  of  the  Malay  Peninsula  when  the 
demon  of  small-pox  is  active  in  one  locality  the 
people  of  the  adjacent  districts  prevent  it  coming 
to  them  by  placing  thorns  in  the  paths  between 
them  and  the  infected  locality.  The  Khonds  of 
Orissa  ward  off  the  same  intruder  by  presenting  the 
demon  with  gifts,  t  Among  the  Hebrews  the  chief 
prophylactics  were  amulets,^  chai'ms,§  knotted 
cords, ||  the  repetition  of  the  Shema  (Dt  64)  and 
other  formulae,  fixing  of  the  mfztizah,  wearing  the 
t'phillin,  eating  salt ;  IT  and,  as  we  may  infer  from 
the  practice  of  other  races,  the  intervention  of 
guardian  angels.**  When  the  malevolent  spirit  had 
actually  entered  a  person  the  usual  remedies  em- 
ployed were  sacrifice, tt  prayer,  ££  and,  as  the  thing 
aimed  at  was  the  expulsion  of  the  spirit,  exorcism.§§ 

These  notes  will  make  clear  what  needs  to  be 
kept  in  mind,  the  very  large  place  demonism 
occupied  in  the  minds  of  the  ordinary  Hebrews. 

As  men  came  to  think  of  the  river  running  and 
the  tree  falling  through  natural  causes,  while  still 
attributing  the  earthquake  and  the  thunder  to  the 
action  of  a  god,  so  they  came  to  think  of  certain 
maladies  as  also  due  to  natural  causes,  whereas 
others,  peculiar,  or  peculiarly  severe,  were  still 
considered  as  the  work  of  demons.  It  is  im- 
possible to  trace  out  this  process  in  every  religion, 
but  the  OT  affords  us  helpful  suggestions.  Among 
the  Hebrews  it  pursues  something  like  the  following 
line.  When  a  disease  in  its  advent  and  develop- 
ment followed,  in  different  people,  very  much  the 
same  course,  exhibiting  nothing  abnormal,  its 
nature  came,  so  far,  to  be  understood,  and  to  be 
considered  as  due  to  natural  causes.  The  sickness 
of  the  son  of  the  woman  of  Zarephath  (1  K  1717), 
Hezekiah  (2  K  201),  Daniel  (Dn  S27),  Jacob  (Gn  481), 
Abijah  (1  K  141),  is  not  attributed  to  any  extra- 
natural  cause.  ||  ||  This  conception  of  natural  diseases 
would  result  in,  and  go  hand  in  hand  with,  some 
study  of  such  diseases.  By  the  time  of  Hammu- 
rabi, the  doctor,  the  veterinary  surgeon,  and  the 
brand er  were  each  distinct  from  one  another.  1T1T 
The  hygienic  laws  of  Leviticus  would  encourage 
the  study  of  the  causes  of  disease.  '  In  the  Mishna 
it  is  mentioned  with  approval  "  Hezekiah  put 
away  "  a  Book  of  Healings.'  ***  In  the  time  of 
Jeremiah  physicians  were  a  distinct  set  of  men.  ttt 
They  were  more  or  less  connected  with  the  priests 
and  prophets,  and  were  probably  more  akin  to  the 
'  leech '  of  the  Middle  Ages  than  to  the  scientific- 

*  1  S  287,  Is  819  294,  Dt  184,  2  K  216,  2  Ch  336.  They  were  n 
reality  fyyaa-rpCuvdoi,  ventriloquists  in  the  original  sense  of  that 
term  ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  537;  ExpT  is..  157. 

t  Tylor,  PC*,  ii.  126, 127. 

t  E.g.  the  onpu&i,  Is  320;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  541 ;  cf.  2  Mao  12«; 
Davies,  Magic,  Divination,  and  Demonology,  pp.  99,  105 ; 
Edersheim,  LI*  i.  482  ;  Dt  2212,  Is  318-20 ;  japp,  Some  Heresies 
dealt,  with,  p.  239. 

§  Edersheim,  LT*  ii.  776. 

II  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  543,  where  see  other  similar  charms ; 
Dt  2212. 

t  Davies,  Magic,  Divination,  and  Demonology,  p.  79 ;  DOG  i. 
440. 

**  Ps  347  91",  Mt  1810,  Mk  113,  Ac  12" ;  Tylor,  PC*  ii.  199 ; 
HJ  xi.  [1912-13]  164  ;  DOG  i.  440. 

tt  Tylor,  PC*,  pp.  129,  131.  tt  Mt  1721,  Mk  929,  ja  5l«. 

§§  Mesopotamian  literature  has  preserved  many  magic  formu- 
lae ;  see  Sayce,  HL,  App.  iii. ;  R.  C.  Thompson,  The  Reports  of 
the  Magicians  and  Astrologers  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon  in  the 
British  Museum,  London,  1900,  The  Devils  and  Evil  Spirits 
of  Babylonia  •  other  authorities  quoted  in  artt.  DIVINATION  and 
EXORCISM  ;  Tylor,  PC*,  pp.  127, 133,  135  ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  327, 
536,  iv.  136,  139. 

II II  See  also  Lv  1533,  2  S  132,  2  K  1«  87-29  1314  201,  sir  318, 
2  Es  831. 

tt  §§  215-227. 

'**  Quoted  by  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  The  Epistles  to  the  Colossians 
and  to  Philemon,  London,  1875,  p.  140. 

ttt  Gn  502  refers  to  professional  embalmers. 


POSSESSION 


POSSESSION 


251 


ally  trained  physician  of  to-day.  Still  the  rise  of 
curative  applications  *  shows  the  dawning  of  some 
idea  of  rational  treatment.  Such  men  would  be 
viewed  with  prejudice  by  people  of  a  conservatively 
pietistic  type,  as  the  Chronicler  (2  Ch  1612)  who 
censures  Asa  for  resorting  to  physicians,  and  by 
disappointed  patients  with  whose  disease  they  had 
wrestled  in  vain  (Wis  1612,  Job  134).  But  the 
success  which  in  many  cases  they  achieved  merited 
and  won  its  meed  of  praise,  f 

But  when  a  disease  appeared  as  a  sudden 
seizure,  epidemical,  or  otherwise  abnormal,  men 
still  believed  that  it  was  caused  by  a  Divine  being. 
Jahweh  Himself  smites  with  disease  :  diseases  of 
the  abnormal  type  are  arrows  shot  from  the  hand 
of  God.t  Leprosy  was  clearly  sent  by  Jahweh, 
and  therefore  His  priests  were  the  judges  of  the 
presence  and  of  the  cure  of  that  disease,  and  the 
patient  when  cured  had  to  offer  sacrifice.  §  At 
other  times  Jahweh  employed  a  subsidiary  spirit 
like  the  Satan  (Job  27),  or  some  other  of  his 
messengers.]]  Saul's  case  is  instructive.  First  of 
all  there  came  upon  him  a  spirit  called  njaj  on  and 
0^9  on. IT  This  spirit  departed  from  him,  and 
another  spirit,  called  ni.-r  nxa  nyrnri,**  and  D'rfVnn 
run,  ft  a  malevolent  spirit  of  the  gods,  came  upon 
him  ;  and  a  pathological  condition  at  once  ensued, 
exhibiting  itself  in  intermittent  attacks  of  a  strange 
and  therefore  demoniacal  disorder.  JJ  For  such  ab- 
normal diseases  exorcism,  in  some  form  or  another, 
would  continue  to  be  employed.§§  Thus  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  function  and  character  of  spirits  and 
the  advance  of  medical  science  led  to  the  differ- 
entiation of  two  types  of  disease,  one  normal, 
always  tending  to  increase  in  number,  and  the 
other  abnormal,  always  tending  to  decrease  in 
number,  the  latter  type  being  due  to  the  action  of 
superhuman  beings. 

In  the  Apostolic  Age  a  belief  in  the  active  par- 
ticipation of  spiritual  beings  in  human  affairs  was 
universal.  ||  ||  Of  these  some  were  beneficent,  as  the 
Spirit  of  God,  the  Spirit  of  Jesus,  the  seven  spirits 
before  the  throne  of  God,  angels,  archangels, 
principalities,  powers,  '  living  creatures,'  and  prob- 
ably the  irpea-purepoi  before  the  throne.  HIT  Others, 
which  specially  concern  us,  were  malevolent.*** 
These  were  organized  into  a  kingdom,  the  prince 
of  the  demons  being  Beelzebul,  otherwise  named 
Satan,  and  the  devil, ttt  who  is  the  '  prince  of  the 
air,'  and  has  therein  his  residence. ttj  In  fact,  to 
some  Christians  the  age  appeared  one  of  law- 
lessness and  unbelief  lying  under  the  sway  of  the 
Satan. §§§  Satan  is  not  merely  a  malevolent  spirit ; 
he  delights  in  doing  evil.  As  the  Evil  One,  he  is 
in  a  special  sense  the  Tempter,  sows  evil  in  the 
world,  and  snatches  away  good.  He  has  the  power 
of  death.  He  suggests  to  Judas  to  betray  the 
Master,  and  the  final  surrender  of  the  traitor  to 
the  Tempter  is  described  in  the  words  'Satan 

*  See  the  case  of  Hezekiah  (2  K  207). 

t  Sir  IQio  381-3. 12 ;  On  3815  8ee  HDB  iii.  321 ;  ExpT  x.  [1898- 
99]  528;  Jos.  Ant.  vi.  viii.  2;  cf.  the  reported  hiding  of  a 
medical  book  of  Hezekiah  {HDB  i.  113»).  A  list  of  diseases  will 
be  found  in  HDB  in.  323. 

t  2  Ch  2114-  18,  Ex  91«,  NU  1133,  Dt  2822.  27.  28.  88.  60,  1  g  2538 
26W,  2  S  1215  2415,  2  K  618,  Is  3",  Zee  1412,  2  Es  15*,  2  Mac  95  ; 
HDB  iii.  323. 

§  Lv  13.  14,  2  K  160,  Mk  !«-« ;  Marti,  The  Religion  of  the 
OT,  p.  113. 

|i  2  K  193S,  2  S  24i«,  1  Ch  2112-27,  Dt  2923,  2  8  12",  Ex  12», 
Nu  1133,  i  s  2538,  2  K  155  193S. 

t  1  S  106. 10  H6  (2815)  (1812)  1623. 

**  1  S  16".  tt  i  s  1610-  M  1810. 

ii  Jos.  Ant.  vi.  viii.  2,  xi.  3. 

§§  76.  vin.  ii.  6  ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  323 ;  JE  iv.  616. 
||||  Mt  1426,  Mk  6^9,  Lk  2437-39,  AC  1215. 

tU  Mt  316,  Eo  89 -etc.,  Ac  167,  Rev  14,  Ac  107;  some  angels 
had  acquired  names,  Jude  9,  i  Th  4i«,  Ro  8*8  etc.,  Eev  44-6. 

***  Mt  1118  1243,  Lk  721-  33  82  1124-26,  Jn  670  720  848.  49  1Q20.  21. 

ttt  Rev  202,  Mt  1224.so=Mk  322.30=Lk  1115. 19 ;  DCG  i.  439, 
Ml. 

W  Eph  22,  Lk  1018 ;  HDB  i.  58b. 
§§§  Appendix  to  Mark  in  Codex  W,  the  Freer  Uncial. 


entered  into  him.'*  Subordinate  to  him  are 
potentates  of  the  dark  present,  the  spirit- forces 
of  evil  in  the  heavenly  sphere,  t  among  all  of  whom 
there  are  degrees  of  malevolence.^  The  demons 
were  numerous,  they  congregated  in  men,§  and  in 
certain  places  where  they  might  be  found.  These 
places,  as  can  easily  be  understood,  were  unin- 
habited, and  remote  from  human  dwellings. 
Arabs  and  Jews  thought  of  these  malevolent 
beings  as  dwelling  in  deserts,  waterless  places, 
mountains,  cemeteries,  and  places  which  had  been 
deserted.y  The  demons  were  able  to  enter  into 
men  and  animals  ;  they  could  go  out  of  their  own 
accord  and  they  could  be  cast  out  by  exorcists.  IT 
The  entrance  of  a  maleficent  spirit  made  a  human 
being  a  demoniac.  But  we  get  a  clearer  view  of 
demonomania  if  we  look  at  it  from  : 

(a)  The     ethical     standpoint.  —  People    whose 
strangeness  of    life  or    action    seemed  abnormal 
were  said  to  have  a  demon  ;  this  was  said  **  of  our 
Lord  even  by  His  own  relatives,  and  of  John  the 
Baptist.     In  the  Apostolic  Age  there  were  many 
people  whom  the  writers  of  the  NT  looked  upon  as 
wicked.     Amid  that  evil  and  disloyal  generation  tt 
were    hypocrites,     sinners,    adulterers,    harlots, 
thieves,  brigands,  and  open  enemies  of  our  Lord 
and  His  servants.     But  none  of  these  are  thought 
of  as  demoniacs.     The  boy  mentioned  in  Mk  921 
had   been  a  demoniac  from    a  child,   hence  the 
malady  could  not  have  arisen  from  moral  causes. 
Further,  the  fact  that  demoniacs  were  not  excluded 
from  the  synagogue  ££  indicates  that  demonomania 
was  not  looked  upon  as  constituting  them  immoral 
characters.     The  demons  were  maleficent,  some  of 
them  also  malevolent,  but  their  wickedness  did 
not  necessarily  contaminate  the  patient  morally. 
It  is  also  to  be  observed  that  demoniacs  were  not 
constantly  or  permanently  afflicted. 

(b)  The  -physical    standpoint. — By   the  time  of 
Jesus,  the  physician,  separated  off  now  from  the 
prophet  and  the  priest,  had  his  distinctive  name 
and  practised  his  art  on  payment  of  fees.§§    Indica- 
tions are  not  wanting  that  matters  of  diet  and  the 
use  of  restoratives  were  studied,  and  as  healing 
appliances    the    balm    of    Gilead,   the  waters   of 
Siloam  and  Bethesda,  the  hot  springs  of  Tiberias 
and  Callirhoe  were  well  known  and  widely  used.|||| 
Luke  was  a  physician, HIT  and  most  probably  it  was 
to  him   that  the  inhabitants  of  Melita  brought 
those  who  were  diseased  to  receive  medical  treat- 
ment.***   These  developments  of  medical  science 
more  and  more  differentiated  demonomania  from 
more  normal  diseases.    The  latter  were  well  known 
and  are  often  alluded  to.     Peter's  mother-in-law, 
./Eneas,  Dorcas,  the  father  of  Publius,  Epaphro- 
ditus,  Trophimus,  besides  many  others  whom  our 
Lord  cured,  all  laboured  under  ordinary  diseases 
and  no  hint  is  given  that  they  were  demoniacs. ttt 

*  Mt  1319-  38,  i  jn  213  312,  Mt  41,  Mk  113,  Lk  41,  Jn  1327,  Lk 
223,  Mt  1325.  39,  He  2",  Jn  132,  Lk  223,  jn  1327. 

t  Eph  612.  j  Mt  1245. 

§  Mk  59,  Lk  830,  Mt  1245,  Lk  827.  Sometimes  they  were 
in  parties  of  seven  (Lk  82  1126 ;  cf.  Rev  14) ;  ERE  iv.  570,  599  ; 
DCG  ii.  249. 

||  Dt  3210,  Lk  829,  Mt  1243,  Mk  52-  3.  S,  Lk  827,  Rev  132 ;  Exp, 
7th  ser.,  iii.  328,  528,  529;  ERE  iv.  613;  DCG  i.  439,  441; 
G.  A.  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  Edinburgh,  1901,  p.  281.  In 
India  the  demons  of  disease  live  in  damp  places,  latrines,  ruined 
houses,  the  source  of  many  diseases  (Davies,  Magic,  Divination, 
and  Demonology,  p.  104). 

t  Mk  51-13,  Lk  1124. 

»»  Mk  322,  Mt  1118,  Lk  733,  jn  720  848. 82  1020. 

tt  Lk  1129.  n  Mk  123,  Lk  433. 

§§  Mt  912 =Mk  2" =Lk  631,  Mk  526,  Lk  423  843  omitted  by 
BD,  etc. 

Illl  Lk  855  1Q34,  i  Ti  523,  Mk  613,  ja  5",  Jer  822  4511  518,  Ezk 
27",  jn  9iff.  529. ;  Jos.  Ant.  xvin.  ii.  3 ;  HDB  ii.  103 ;  Jos. 
Ant.  xvii.  vi.  5 ;  PEFSt  xxxvii.  [1905]  223. 

ft  Col  414. 

**»  A.  Harnack  and  W.  Ramsay  (Exp,  7th  ser.,  .  [1906]  492), 
J.  H.  Moulton  and  G.  Milligan  («>.  vii.  [1909]  472),  C.  X.  P. 
Grierson  (ib.  viii.  [1909]  514). 

ttt  Mt  8i4=Mk  130,  Ac  933-  37  288,  Ph  326,  2  Ti  420. 


252 


POSSESSION 


POSSESSION 


In  the  NT  the  distinction  is  carefully  observed  ; 
sicknesses  and  diseases  are  referred  to  as  pre- 
valent ;  *  particular  diseases  are  mentioned  by 
name,  as  lunacy,  haemorrhage,  paralysis,  dumb- 
ness, deafness,  leprosy,  fever,  blindness,  lameness, 
shrivelled  limbs,  dropsy,  dysentery,  maimedness  ;  t 
disease  is  differentiated  from  demononiariia.J 
Tliese  latter  types  of  disease,  differing  from  the 
other  by  suddenness  of  attack  or  other  abnormal 
feature,  were  still,  owing  to  ignorance  of  their 
real  nature,  attributed  to  the  action  of  super- 
human beings  such  as  Jahweh,§  one  of  His 
messengers,!!  the  Satan, 1T  one  of  his  messengers,** 
or  a  demon  who  was  sometimes  named  from  the 
disease  with  which  he  infected  the  sufferer,  as  a 
deaf  and  dumb  spirit, ft  an  unclean  spirit.JJ  a  spirit 
of  infirmity,§§  etc.  While  doubtless  the  old  pre- 
ventives against  the  entrance  of  demons  continued 
to  be  employed,  the  older  forms  of  expulsion  (be- 
sides the  direct  act  of  God  [Col  1s]  and  determined 
effort  on  the  part  of  the  sufferer  [Eph  612]),  such  as 
prayer  |j  ||  and  exorcism, ITU  were  practised.  We 
have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  our  Lord  and  His 
followers  thought  of  these  diseases  and  remedies 
in  any  other  way  than  the  rest  of  their  country- 
men.*** Our  Lord's  method  of  delivering  His 
message,  like  His  mode  of  living,  was  to  a  large 
extent  conditioned  by  the  times  in  which  He  lived. 
As  He  condescended  to  become  a  man,  He  humbled 
Himself  to  become  one  of  the  itinerant  healers  who 
abounded  throughout  the  country.  This  enables 
us  to  realize  how  Jesus  commanded  the  attention 
of  His  countrymen  not  merely  by  curing  diseases 
but  by  exorcizing  demons.  Further,  it  explains 
how  these  wonders,  while  attracting  the  crowd, 
did  not  impress  the  majority  of  the  people  with 
the  fact  that  He  was  a  Divine  Being,  any  more 
than  the  miracles  of  Moses  led  the  Egyptians  to 
think  of  him  as  a  messenger  from  Jahweh.  It  is 
very  significant  that,  after  recording  the  turning 
of  water  into  wine  (Jn  21  446),  the  cure  of  the  royal 
official's  son  (447),  the  healing  of  the  invalid  at 
the  Pool  of  Bethesda  (51),  the  feeding  of  the  five 
thousand  (61),  and  the  walking  on  the  sea  (619), 
the  writer  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  says  that  not  only 
many  of  His  disciples  refused  to  associate  with 
Him  any  longer  (v.^6),  but  even  His  own  brothers 
did  not  believe  in  Him  (78).  Of  the  mass  of  the 
people  it  is  said,  '  But  though  he  had  done  so  many 
signs  before  them,  yet  they  believed  not  on  him ' 
(1237),  but  continued  to  demand  a  sign  not  on  earth 
but  from  the  heavens. 

Jesus,  then,  cured  not  merely  normal  diseases, 
but  cases  of  demonomania  of  which  no  particulars 
are  given. ttt  But  there  are  recorded  four  types  of 

*  Mt  423  817  935  1414.  35  2536-  39-  43.  44,  Mk  6*-  85-  56,  Lk  4*0  6" 
72. 10  92  1Q9,  jn  54  446. 82  62  111-6  Ac  615  937  289,  Ph  226.  27  2  Ti 
420,  Ja  514. 15. 

t  Mt  424  1Q8,  Lk  722 ;  Mt  920,  Mk  525,  Lk  8« ;  Mt  424  92,  Mk  23, 
Lk  518,  Ac  87  933 ;  Mt  1529-31,  Mk  737,  Lk  120  ;  Mt  115,  Mk  732.  37 
Lk  722 ;  Mt  115  82  266,  Mk  140  143,  Lk  427  512  17'2 ;  Mt  814,  Mk 
130,  Lk  438,  Jn  462,  AC  288 ;  Mt  115  927  1514.  29-31  2030  2318,  Mk  822 
104«,  Lk  418  639  722  1413,  jn  53  91  1Q21 ;  Mt  115  1529. 31  Lk  722 
1413,  jn  52,  AC  32  87 ;  Mt  1210,  Mk  31,  Lk  66,  Jn  53 ;  Lk  142 ;  Ac 
288 ;  Mt  1530,  Lk  1413 ;  minor  troubles,  as  stomachic  complaints, 
stammering,  are  also  alluded  to,  1  Ti  523,  Mk  732. 

J  Mt  42*  816  101. 8,  Mk  132. 34  315  613  1617-18,  Lk  440.  41  gl7. 18 
133291.2,  Ac  87  1912. 

§  Ac  1223  1311  233.  ||  Ac  1223. 

•$  Lk  131S  »*  2  Co  127. 

ft  Mk  917- 28.  UMt  1243  etc. 

§§  Lk  1311.  ct.  the  Mesopotamian  differentiation  of  functions 
of  the  spirits  of  disease  (Maspero,  The  Daivn  of  Civilization, 
p.  631).  The  conception  of  disease  produced  by  supernatural 
agents  or  causes  is  found  in  Rev  6°,  1  Co  1130;  cf.  ps  1033, 
Jahweh  '  who  healeth  all  thy  diseases.' 

II II  Mt  1721,  Mk  929. 

Ulf  Jos.  BJ  vii.  vi  3 ;  Lk  10" ;  Davies,  Magic,  Divination,  and 
Demonology,  p.  29. 

»*«  DOG  ii.  92, 93 ;  P.  Dearmer,  Body  and  Soul,  London,  1909, 
p.  146 ;  T.  J.  Hudson,  The  Law  of  Psychic  Phenomena,  do., 
1913,  chs.  xxiii.,  xxiv. ;  O.  J.  Romanes,  Thoughts  on  Religion^, 
do.,  1896,  p.  180,  and  0.  Gore's  note ;  ExpT  xxv.  [1913-14]  483. 

ttt  Mt  424  816,  Mk  132  pi.  18  67  1&17,  Lk  82  441  72!  1333. 


demonomania  which  appeared,  and  might  well 
appear,  to  those  of  that  age  to  be  caused  by  the 
intrusion  of  a  demon:  (1)  where  certain  organs 
existed  but  seemed  prevented  from  fulfilling  their 
proper  functions,  as  cases  of  dumbness  (Mt  932, 
Lk  II14),  dumbness  allied  with  blindness  (Mt  1222), 
and  dumbness  aggravated  by  deafness,  sudden 
convulsions,  causing  suicidal  tendencies,  foaming 
at  the  mouth  and  grinding  the  teeth  (Mt  1715"18, 
Mk  917'26,  Lk  9s7-*3)  ;  (2)  the  case  of  the  demoniac 
of  Capernaum,  where  the  demon  made  its  presence 
felt  in  outcries,  shrieks,  and  convulsions  (Mk  I-3--6, 
Lk  433'35)  ;  *  (3)  the  demoniac  or  demoniacs  of 
Gadara  present  still  stronger  evidence  of  what 
would  be  deemed  embodiment,  such  as  abnormal 
physical  strength,  exhibiting  itself  in  fierceness, 
violence,  the  breaking  of  chains  and  fetters, 
passion  for  seclusion  among  the  tombs  and  moun- 
tains, frenzied  shriekings,  self-mutilation,  naked- 
ness, homicidal  tendencies,  loss  of  the  sense  of 
personality,  and  identification  of  the  patient  with 
the  demon  (Mt  S28'32,  Mk  52"13,  Lk  S27'33)  ;t  and  (4) 
the  case  of  the  daughter  of  the  Syrophcenician 
woman,  in  which  the  cure  was  effected  when  the 
afflicted  person  was  not  present  (Mt  1522"28,  Mk 

>724-30\ 

The  question  of  how  Jesus  accomplished  these 
cures  brings  us  face  to  face  with  problems  which 
have  not  as  yet  been  satisfactorily  solved,  but 
which  the  stu4y  of  insanity  and  kindred  diseases 
will  doubtless  one  day  clearly  explain.  As  to  the 
outward  methods  employed,  it  is  noticeable  that 
our  Lord  used  no  incantations  or  similar  outward 
means.  He  seems  to  have  been  in  the  habit  of 
laying  His  hands  on  the  sufferers,  and  this  became 
a  means  by  which  spiritual  blessing  was  also 
conveyed.^  His  word  alone  seems  to  have  been 
effective.  §  Jesus  Himself  uses  two  expressions  to 
indicate  the  power  which  lay  behind  and  wrought 
through  touch  and  word — '  the  Spirit  of  God '  (Mt 
1228)  and  '  the  finger  of  God'  (Lk  IP").  These  ex- 
pressions do  not  help  us  much  to  understand  the 
authority  which  the  crowds  recognized  as  accom- 
panying His  acts  (Mk  I27);  nor,  indeed,  do  the 
words  of  the  Third  Evangelist  (Lk  517) :  '  the  power 
of  the  Lord  was  pre*<  t  for  the  work  of  healing.' 
The  difficulty  is  not  lessened  when  we  remember 
that  this  power  is  said  to  have  been  conveyed  by 
Jesus  to  the  Twelve  and  to  the  Seventy  (see 
EXORCISM).  Indeed  it  is  increased  when  we  learn 
that,  even  during  our  Lord's  ministry,  unauthor- 
ized exorcists  effected  cures  in  His  name  (Mk  938, 
Lk  949,  Mt  722),  that  such  power  was  promised  '  to 
all  those  that  believe'  (Mk  1617),  and  that  Jewish 
exorcists  used  His  name  in  a  magical  formula  to 
cast  out  demons  (Ac  1913). 

The  real  solution  would  seem  to  lie  in  the 
direction  of  suggestion.  Suggestion  is  defined  as 
'  the  communication  of  any  proposition  from  one 
person  (or  persons)  to  another  in  such  a  way  as 
to  secure  its  acceptance  with  conviction,  in  the 
absence  of  adequate  logical  grounds  for  its  accept- 
ance.' The  idea  thus  suggested  '  is  held  to  operate 
powerfully  upon  his  bodily  and  mental  processes,' 
with  the  result  that  owing  to  the  conditions  of 
mental  dissociation  'the  dominance  of  the  sug- 
gested idea  is  complete  and  absolute.'  ||  Suggestion 
is  most  effective  when  the  agent  is  a  person  with 
an  intense  personality  wielding  magnetic  power, 
when  he  has  gained  a  reputation  for  power  to  do 
what  he  is  expected  to  do,  and  distinguished  by 

»  W.  M.  Alexander,  Demonio  Possession  in  the  NT,  Edin- 
burgh, 1902,  p.  81. 
t  Ib.  p.  39. 
t  Mt  918,  Mk  523  62-  8  823. 23  927,  Lk  440  1318,  Ac  512  917  828  ;  cf. 

Ac  37 ;  Dearmer,  Body  and  Soul,  p.  168 ;  Mt  1913,  Mk  lO™,  Ac  6« 
812. 18. 19  133  196,  i  Ti  414  522. 

§  Mt  8«-  82  1718,  Mk  58,  Lk  435. 38. 

II  EBrii  xxvi.  49. 


POSSESSION 


POSSESSION 


253 


some  outstanding  quality  like  kingship  or  holiness, 
and  if  there  has  grown  up  a  widespread  popular 
belief  in  his  power ;  also  when  the  patient  is  in- 
ferior in  knowledge  or  station  to  the  agent.  Sug- 
gestion becomes  still  more  powerful  if  the  attention 
of  both  is  intensely  concentrated  on  the  purpose  to 
be  accomplished,  if  the  impression  has  already  been 
produced  that  the  agent  will  accomplish  his  task, 
and  if  consciousness  is  practically,  for  the  time 
being,  concentrated  on  the  one  thing.  Of  course 
the  more  direct  and  powerful  the  suggestion  and 
the  more  receptive  the  patient,  the  greater  the 
success.  *  A  careful  reading  of  the  cures  of  deinono- 
mania  effected  by  our  Lord  will  show  how  the 
factors  making  for  success  were  not  only  present, 
but  powerfully  present.  We  are  in  this  way  led 
to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  '  no  reason  to  sup- 
pose that  the  cases  .  .  .  recorded  [in  the  NT]  were 
due  to  anything  but  disease.  .  .  .  No  facts  are 
recorded  which  are  not  explicable  either  as  the 
ordinary  symptoms  of  mental  disease  or  as  the 
result  of  suggestion.'! 

The  Jewish  doctrine  as  to  demonomania  will  be 
found  fully  developed  in  the  Talmud.  J 

The  article  EXORCISM  shows  how  belief  in  de- 
monomania  and  its  cure  by  exorcism  prevailed  in 
the  Apostolic  Church,  and  among  the  Fathers.  § 
In  the  post-Apostolic  Church  these  beliefs  were, 
if  possible,  even  more  strongly  held.  Justin 
Martyr  says  ||  that  some  Christians  had  '  the  spirit 
of  healing,'  and  claims  IT  that  their  exorcism  in  the 
name  of  Christ  always  succeeded,  while  success 
was  probable  only  if  the  exorcism  was  in  the  name 
of  the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  'The 
church  sharply  distinguished  between  exorcists 
who  employed  the  name  of  Christ,  and  pagan 
sorcerers  and  magicians,  etc.  ;  but  .  .  .  several  of 
her  exorcists  were  just  as  dubious  characters  as 
her  "prophets."'**  From  the  time  of  Justin 
Martyr  for  about  two  centuries  there  is  not  a 
single  Christian  writer  who  does  not  solemnly  and 
explicitly  assert  the  reality  and  frequent  employ- 
ment of  exorcism.  The  Christians  fully  recognized 
the  supernatural  power  possessed  by  the  Jewish 
and  Gentile  exorcists,  but  they  claimed  to  be  in 
many  respects  their  superiors.  By  the  simple 
sign  of  the  Cross  or  by  repeating  the  name  of  the 
Master  they  professed  to  be  able  to  cast  out  devils 
which  had  resisted  all  the  enchantments  of  the 
pagan  exorcists.  Tertullian,  Origen,  Lactantius, 
Athanasius,  Augustine,  and  Minucius  Felix  all 
profess  their  faith  in  demonomania  and  exorcism,  ft 
In  the  mediaeval  Church  the  etiepyov/j.evoi,  persons 
who  are  apt  to  become  possessed,  and  to  whom  a 
special  part  of  the  church  was  exclusively  assigned, 
were  under  the  care  of  an  £iropKio-T-/is.$+ 

The  belief  in  demonomania  lingered,  and  still 
lingers,  in  certain  Christian  circles.  We  have  it  in 
the  Church.  The  rite  of  casting  out  demons  from 
the  bodies  of  the  possessed  is  still  retained  in  the 
rituals  of  the  Roman  and  Greek  Churches,§§  the 
exorcist  in  the  former  Communion  occupying  the 

»  W.  MacDougrall,  Psychology,  London,  1912,  p.  196 ;  EBr^ 
xxvi.  49  ;  Boris  Sidis,  The  Psychology  of  Suggestion,  do.,  1898, 
pp.  56,  79;  DCG  i.  402;  Boris  Sidis  and  S.  P.  Goodhart, 
Multiple  Personality,  New  York,  1905,  which  contains  an 
account  of  the  famous  Hanna  Case ;  Hudson,  The  Law  of 
Psychic  Phenomena,  p.  351. 

t  EBrll  xxii.  175. 

J  Jos.  Ant.  vui.  ii.  5  ;  DCG  i.  439  ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  320,  325. 

§  HJ  xi.  153. 

II  Dial.  c.  Tryph.  30,  39,  76 ;  Apol.  ii.  5,  6. 

t  Apol.  ii.  6 ;  Dial.  30,  85. 

**  Harnack,  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity*,  tr.  J. 
Moffatt,  London,  1908,  i.  132. 

tt  W.  E.  H.  Lecky,  History  of  European  Morals,  London, 
1911,  i.  161 ;  HDB  iii.  39 ;  art.  EXORCISM  ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  viii. 
615  ;  de  Cioitate  Dei,  Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1871,  ii.  490  ;  Tylor. 
PC*  ii.  139. 

J{  See  art.  EXORCISM  and  authorities  quoted  there ;  ERE, 
'  Demons  and  Spirits  (Christian).' 

§§  Tylor,  PC*  ii.  142. 


third  place  among  the  four  minor  orders.  It  still 
holds  a  place  in  the  belief  and  ritual  of  the 
Maronite  Church.*  In  England,  by  the  72nd 
Canon  of  A.D.  1603,  '  no  minister  or  ministers  shall, 
without  licence  and  direction  of  the  bishop  .  .  . 
attempt  ...  to  cast  out  any  devil  or  devils.' t 
Among  individuals  we  find  Burton  £  a  firm  believer 
in  demonomania.  Times  of  excitement,  especially 
of  religious  excitement,  rouse  the  belief  in  demons 
and  demonomania.  Certain  disturbances  which 
occurred  in  the  Rectory  at  Epworth  were  ascribed 
by  the  Wesleys  to  the  devil.§  Wesley  (1703-28) 
himself  believed  that  disease  and  other  discomforts 
were  caused  by  demons,  and  that  epilepsy  was 
often  the  result  of  possession.  ||  He  gives  several 
cases  of  such  disease,  where  the  afHicted  person 
believed  that  he  or  she  was  possessed  by  an  evil 
spirit,  and  who  were  partially  or  completely  cured 
by  exorcism. IT  Cotton  Mather  (1663-1728)  was  a 
fervent  believer  in  demonomania.  Lavater  (1741- 
1801 )  was  so  convinced  of  the  facts  of  possession  that 
he  was  seriously  concerned  with  the  cessation  of 
the  gifts  of  healing  and  miracle-working  power 
possessed  by  the  early  Church.**  The  obsolete 
word  '  demonagogue '  was  used  as  late  as  1736  to 
indicate  a  medium  '  useful  in  expelling  preter- 
natural substances  from  the  body.'tt  George 
Lukins,  who  was  possessed  of  seven  devils  who 
threw  him  into  fits,  and  talked,  sang,  and  barked 
out  of  him,  was  cured  by  a  solemn  exorcism  by 
seven  clergymen  at  the  Temple  Church  in  Bristol 
in  1788.  Jt  In  1843  Pastor  Blumhardt  exorcized  the 
devil  out  of  the  sisters  Dittus.§§  As  late  as  1848 
'  demonifuge '  was  used  to  mean  some  substance, 
like  salt,  used  to  drive  away  demons.  In  countries 
still  under  the  sway  of  animism  the  belief  exists 
in  all  its  pristine  strength.  In  Ceylon  the  exorcist 
will  demand  the  name  of  the  demon  possessing 
a  person,  and  the  person  will  give  the  demon's 
name. || ||  To  the  question  'Does  Devil-possession, 
in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  referred  to  in  the  New 
Testament,  exist  at  this  present  time  amongst  the 
least  civilized  of  the  nations  of  the  globe?'  R. 
C.  Caldwell  gives  an  answer  in  the  affirmative, 
and  gives  instances  of  such  possession  from  Southern 
India. ITU  Among  all  peoples  of  the  lower  culture 
demonomania  and  exorcism  are  mixed  up  with  a 
good  deal  of  trickery  and  ventriloquism.***  But 
even  among  the  more  highly  educated  races  the 
belief  ever  and  anon  becomes  more  or  less  pro- 
minent. The  diseases  which  were  ascribed  to 
demons  still  occur,  and  where  a  person  of  powerful 
will  and  outstanding  religiosity,  with  a  profound 
belief  in  himself  and  in  demon-possession,  attains 
to  some  eminence,  then  persons  more  or  less 
demoniac  are  treated  by  exorcism.  But  modern 
exorcism — or  Divine  healing,  as  it  is  sometimes 
called — rests  very  much  on  the  personality  of  Satan 
and  on  subordinate  demons  only  as  doing  his 
work  ;  ttt  and  so  the  patient  should  be  treated  only 
by  those  who  are  '  anointed  by  the  Holy  Spirit.'  J£f 
Nevius,  an  American  missionary,  found  that  in 
China  demonomania  was  not  an  uncommon  disease, 
and  that  the  Chinese  ascribed  it,  as  all  people  of 

«  PEFSt  xxiv.  [1892]  144. 

t  Dearmer,  Body  and  Soul,  p.  289. 

J  Robert  Burton,  Anatomy  of  Melancholy,  ed.  London,  1866, 
pt.  i.  sect.  i.  mem.  1,  subsect.  1 ;  Tylor,  PC*,  p.  191. 

§  R.  Southey,  Life  of  Wesley,  new  ed.,  London,  1864,  pp. 
16,  306. 

II  Ib.  p.  365. 

t  The  Journal  of  the  Rev.  J.  Wesley  (Everyman  ed.),  L  190, 
235,  237,  295,  363,  412,  557,  ii.  100,  225,  259,  309,  iii.  149. 

**  HJ  xiii.  [1914]  191.  ft  OED  iii.  186. 

Jt  Tylor,  PC*ii.  140. 

§§  Dearmer,  Body  and  Soul,  p.  378. 

I!  II  Tylor,  PC*  ii.  404. 

f  «[  R.  C.  Caldwell,  CR  xxvii.  [1S76]  369  f. 

***  Tylor,  PC*  ii.  182. 

ttt  Howton,  Divine  Healing,  p.  82. 

JJJ  Ib.  p.  90. 


254 


POSSESSIONS 


POWEE,  POWERS 


the  lower  culture  do  and  did,  to  the  action  of 
demons — a  belief  confirmed  among  the  Chinese 
Christians  by  the  narratives  of  the  NT.  Nevius 
did  not  attempt  to  cast  out  the  demons  by  exorcism 
or  the  use  of  the  name  of  Jesus.  The  most  that 
he  and  the  other  missionaries  did  was  to  pray  for 
the  relief  of  the  patient  .  .  .  '  and  the  demon, 
speaking  apparently  in  a  different  personality  and 
with  a  different  voice,  confessed  the  power  of  Jesus, 
and  departed.'*  Howton,  who  declares  he  has 
seen  demons  possessing  human  bodies,  and  pro- 
ducing exactly  similar  effects  to  those  described  in 
the  Word  of  God,t  gives  many  instances  of  cures 
effected  by  himself,  of  which  the  following  is  typical. 
A  local  preacher  afflicted  evidently  by  multiple 
personality  had  baffled  Howton,  but  he  says,  '  early 
one  morning  the  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  me  and 
I  commanded  the  Demon  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  to  come  out  of  him.  The  Evil  Spirit 
threw  him  on  the  floor,  made  him  writhe  like  a 
serpent,  and  foam  at  the  mouth,  and  then  left  him. 
He  was  cured. '£ 

It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  draw  the  line  between 
the  milder  forms  of  demonomania  and  certain 
forms  of  temptation,  convictions  of  sin,  and  even 
theological  scepticism.  John  Bunyan's  prolonged 
periods  of  melancholia,  Brainerd's  deep  convictions 
of  evil,  Carlyle's  '  Stygian  darkness  are  all  in- 
stances in  point.  In  many  cases  these  feelings  are 
symptoms  of  an  already  existing  pathological 
state.  This  feeling  in  its  strongest  form  '  manifests 
itself  in  the  idea  of  demoniacal  possession.  The 
foreign  evil  power  by  which  the  patient  imagines 
he  is  governed,  assumes  different  demoniacalshapes, 
according  to  the  prevailing  superstitions  and  beliefs 
of  the  epoch  and  country.  The  chief  differentiating 
mark  of  demon  possession  is  the  automatic  pre- 
sentation and  the  persistent  and  consistent  acting 
out  of  a  new  personality.  With  this  are  associated 
convulsions  of  the  voluntary  muscles,  contraction 
of  the  larynx  which  alters  the  voice  in  a  striking 
manner,  anaesthesia  of  different  important  organs, 
hallucinations  of  sight  and  hearing.  This  delirium 
is  at  times  accompanied  by  intermittent  paroxysms 
of  violent  convulsions,  evidently  analogous  to  epi- 
leptic or,  still  more  frequently,  hysterical  attacks, 
which  are  separated  by  intervals  of  perfect 
lucidity.'f  At  Gheel  in  Belgium  there  was  a 
shrine  of  St.  Dymphna  to  which  in  former  days 
lunatics  were  carried  in  large  numbers  to  have  the 
demons  expelled.  Many  are  still  taken  there,  but 
to  be  treated  by  physicians.  ||  That  men  have 
believed  in  certain  things  'is  ground  for  holding 
that  such  ideas  were  indeed  produced  in  men's 
minds  by  efficient  causes,  but  it  is  not  ground  for 
holding  that  the  rites  in  question  are  profitable, 
the  beliefs  sound,  and  the  history  authentic. '  IT 
To  seek,  to-day,  for  the  action  of  a  demon  in  a 
case  of  demonomania  would  be  just  as  sensible  as 
to  take  a  walk  into  a  desert  to  have  an  interview 
with  Lilith  or  Azazel.  As  Comte  well  said,  '  no 
conception  can  be  understood  except  through  its 
history.'*  P.  A.  GORDON  CLARK. 

POSSESSIONS.— See  WEALTH  and  COMMUNITY 
OF  GOODS. 

POTENTATE.— The  word  occurs  only  in  the 
designation  of  God  in  1  Ti  61S,  'the  blessed  and 
only  Potentate  (dwdffTijs),  the  King  of  kings,  and 

*  Nevius,  Demon  Possession,  p.  vii,  etc. ;  A.  Lang,  The 
Making  of  Religion,  London,  1898,  p.  141. 

t  Howton,  Divine  Healing,  p.  89. 

J  Ib.  pp.  93, 103-106, 108  ;  R.  Brown,  Demonology  and  Witch- 
craft, p.  90 ;  Nevius,  Demon  Possession,  pp.  13,  35. 

§  W.  Griesinger,  Mental  Pathology,  New  York,  1882,  pp.  168, 
186,  206  ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  viii.  510. 

II  K.  Baedeker,  Belgium  and  Holland^,  London,  1894,  p.  184. 

If  Tylor,  PC*  i.  13.  »»  Quoted  by  Tylor,  id.  p.  19. 


Lord  of  lords.'  This  is  the  only  instance  in  the 
NT  in  which  the  word  dwdo-r-qs  is  applied  to  God. 
It  occurs  with  tolerable  frequency  in  this  sense  in 
the  apocryphal  books,  e.g.  Sir  465'- 6,  2  Mac  S24  121S, 
3  Mac  2s.  It  is  characteristic  of  the  Pastoral 
Epistles  to  set  God  in  the  foreground  as  the  author 
of  salvation,  and  the  heaping  up  of  attributes  in 
this  passage  to  denote  the  Divine  sovereignty  may 
be  merely  an  instance  of  this  tendency.  Some, 
however,  find  underlying  it  a  protest  against  Gnostic 
misrepresentations,  or  against  the  growing  practice 
of  Emperor-worship. 

G.  WAUCHOPE  STEWART. 

POTTER  (Kepanefa). — The  ceramic  art  is  of  great 
antiquity.  Wherever  the  primitive  races  of  man- 
kind found  clay,  they  became  potters.  Rude 
baked  vessels  are  found  with  the  remains  of  our 
remotest  ancestors.  In  the  story  of  the  creation, 
God  is  represented  as  a  Potter  moulding  the  human 
body  out  of  the  dust  of  the  ground  (Gn  27  ;  cf.  Job 
109  336),  and  thoughtful  men  in  all  ages  have 
figured  themselves,  in  their  Avhole  relation  to  God, 
as  clay  in  the  Potter's  hands  (Is  459  648,  Jer  186, 
Ro  921).  In  one  aspect  the  metaphor  is  still 
readily  accepted,  for  all  devout  men  believe  in  the 
Divinity  that  shapes  their  ends.  The  classical 
modern  expression  of  the  doctrine  is  found  in 
Browning's  Rabbi  Ben  Ezra  : 

1  Ay,  note  that  Potter's  wheel, 
That  metaphor  !  and  feel 
Why  time  spins  fast,  why  passive  lies  our  clay,— 

But  I  need,  now  as  then, 
Thee,  God,  who  mouldest  men  ; 

My  times  be  in  Thy  hand ! 
Perfect  the  cup  as  planned  1 ' 

But  God's  'vessels  of  wrath'  (Ro  Q22)  create  a 
difficulty  for  the  reason  as  well  as  the  heart,  a 
difficulty  which  becomes  a  a-Kdv8a\ov  when  the 
phrase  is  interpreted  as  meaning  that  '  the  Lord 
has  created  those  who,  as  He  certainly  foreknew, 
were  to  go  to  destruction,  and  He  did  so  because 
He  so  willed '  (J.  Calvin,  Institutes,  Eng.  tr.,  1879, 
ii.  229).  Such  a  doctrine  has  been  a  rock  of  offence 
to  very  many.  The  legitimate  protest  of  the  clay 
is  heard  in  the  quatrains  of  Omar  Khayyam  ;  and 
the  last  word  of  the  Christian  spirit  is  not  uttered 
in  the  militant  Messianic  Psalm  quoted  in  the 
Apocalypse :  '  Thou  slialt  dash  them  in  pieces  like 
a  potter's  vessel '  (Ps  29 1|  Rev  227).  See  PREDESTINA- 
TION. JAMES  STRAHAN. 

POYERTY.— See  POOR,  POVERTY. 

POWER,  POWERS.— Six  Greek  expressions  are 
thus  translated  in  the  EV. 

1.  ejjovo-ia  is  rendered  thus  frequently  in  the  AV. 
It  means,  more  exactly,  'authority,    which  the 
RV  often  substitutes,  but  sometimes,  especially 
in  Rev.,  it  follows  the  AV.     The  Revisers  prefer 
'  right '  in  Ro  921,  1  Co  94t,  2  Th  39.     In  Ac  2618  the 
expression  '  the  power  (e£ ov<rla)  of  Satan '  is  to  be 
noted,  with  which  compare  Lk  2253,  Col  I13. 

2.  STJ vajiis.  —  We  find  '  the   power  of  God '  in 
1  Co  I18-24  25,  2  Co  67;   'the  power  of  our  Lord 
Jesus '  in  1  Co  54 ;  '  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost ' 
in  Ro  1513- 19  ;  in  Ac  810  '  that  power  of  God  which 
is  called  Great '  is  a  title  given  to  Simon  Magus. 
There  is  a  strange  variation  in  the  RV  of  2  Co  129, 
where  Svvafus  is  twice  used    as  an  attribute  of 
Christ ;  on  the  first  occasion  it  renders  '  my  power 
is  made  perfect  in  weakness '  ( AV  '  my  strength '), 
but  on  the  second  (where  the  AV  has  'power')  it 
gives  '  that  the  strength  of  Christ  may  rest  upon 
me.'     Elsewhere  '  power'  is  uniformly  used  by  the 
RV,  replacing  '  might '  and  '  strength '  of  the  AV 
(cf.  Eph  I21,  Col  1",  Rev  1210). 

3.  teparos  is  rendered  '  power '  by  the  AV  in  Eph 


PRAETOR 


PRAISE 


255 


I19  610,  Col  1",  Rev  513,  1  Ti  6lfi,  He  214 ;  in  the  last 
two  references  the  RV  also  translates  in  the  same 
way. 

4.  !<TXVS  (2  Th  I9)  is  rendered  AV  '  power,'  RV 
'might.' 

5.  TO  SwaToV.— In    Ro  O22   AV  and  RV  have 
'willing  to  make  his  power  known,'  i.e.  'what  is 
possible  to  Him.' 

6.  TO!  SxivajieVu  is  translated  in  Ro  1628 '  to  him 
that  is  of  power ' ;  RV  '  to  him  that  is  able.' 

Lastly,  in  Rev.  the  AV  sometimes  inserts  the 
word  'power'  from  the  sense,  where  there  is  no 
Greek  to  correspond,  e.g.  Rev  64,  '  power  was  given 
to  him '  (t560t)  airy) ;  cf.  II3  1315  16s,  in  all  of  which 
the  word  disappears  from  the  RV. 

The  plural  '  powers '  represents  Swd/t"*  in  He  68, 
Ro  S38,  1  P  S22 ;  in  the  last  two  references  angelic 
beings  seem  to  be  meant,  as  also  in  Eph  I21  and  1  Co 
1524  (singular).  '  Powers '  is  used  by  the  A  V  and 
the  RV  for  tfrvcriai  (another  class  of  angels)  in  Eph 
310  612,  Col  I16  215,  and  in  Ro  131'3  in  the  sense  of 
'  earthly  rulers.'  In  Tit  31  the  AV  gives  '  powers,' 
the  RV  'authorities'  (q.v.).  See,  further,  art. 
PRINCIPALITY.  W.  H.  DUNDAS. 

PR-ffiTOR. — In  origin  this  word  means  '  the  man 
who  goes  before  (the  army),' prce-itor,  '  the  general,' 
and  was  applied  to  the  chief  magistrates  of  Rome, 
when  the  kingdom  gave  place  to  the  republic.  On 
the  appointment  (367  B.C.)  of  two  extra  officials  to 
look  after  the  legal  business  of  the  Roman  State, 
the  name  praetor  was  given  to  them,  and  a  new 
name  consul  was  given  to  the  chief  magistrates. 
The  same  Greek  equivalent,  ffTpa.rtry6s  ( '  general '), 
was  used  for  prostor  always,  though  the  duties  had 
changed.  The  praetors  of  Ac  1620fr-  are  the  chief 
magistrates  of  Philippi,  a  Roman  colonia.  It  is 
not  impossible  that  prcetores  was  their  official 
title,  but  it  is  generally  believed  that  in  their  case 
it  was  merely  honorary  (see  under  MAGISTRATE). 
See  W.  M.  Ramsay  in  JThSt  i.  [1899-1900]  114ff. 

A.    SOTITFR 

PRAETORIAN  GUARD.— See  GUARD. 

PRJETORIUM  (irpairuipiov). — Originally  denoting 
the  general's  (i.e.  the  praetor's)  tent  in  the  camp 
(Livy,  x.  33),  this  word  came  to  signify  the  official 
residence  of  the  governor  of  a  province  (Cic.  in 
Verr.  II.  iv.  28,  v.  35),  and  in  post- Augustan  times 
a  palace  (Juv.  x.  161)  or  any  splendid  country-seat 
(Suet.  Aug.  72,  Juv.  Sat.  i.  75).  See,  further,  art. 
PALACE.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PRAISE.— 1.  Ideal  of  praise.—'  He  knows  little 
of  himself  who  is  not  much  in  prayer,  and  he  knows 
little  of  God  who  is  not  much  in  praise.'  These 
words  express  the  habitual  thought  and  practice 
of  the  Apostolic  Church.  We  must  distinguish 
between  praise  and  thanksgiving.  We  praise  God 
for  what  He  is,  we  thank  Him  for  what  He  has 
done.  It  is  possible  that  a  strain  of  selfishness 
may  creep  into  our  thanksgivings — the  Pharisee 
spirit  is  not  easy  to  eradicate.  But  a  sincere  heart 
is  lifted  by  praise  to  the  highest  level  of  adoration. 
With  angels  and  archangels  we  laud  and  magnify, 
saying  'Holy,  Holy,  Holy.'  If  we  cannot  trace 
the  Sanctus  of  the  Eucharist  back  to  the  1st  cent., 
we  can  affirm  that  it  was  based  on  the  teaching 
of  the  Apocalypse,  and  may  be  said  to  perpetuate 
in  the  highest  degree  the  doxologies  so  often 
heard  on  the  lips  of  apostolic  writers. 

There  are  two  points  to  be  remembered  :  (1)  the 
rich  inheritance  of  the  traditions  of  praise  derived 
from  the  Temple  services,  and  (2)  the  teaching  of 
the  Synagogue  that,  when  one  is  cut  off  from  partici- 
pation in  sacrifices,  praise  should  take  their  place. 
The  few  scattered  hints  in  the  Acts  support  the 
paradox  that  least  is  said  in  the  NT  about  that 


which  is  most  familiar  in  thought  and  practice. 
The  preparation  of  the  apostles  for  Pentecost  was 
to  be  continually  in  the  Temple  praising  God 
(Lk  24s3).  Afterwards  we  read  that  the  apostles 
'  did  take  their  food  with  gladness,  .  .  .  praising 
God '  (Ac  246f-).  Peter  and  John  going  to  the  Temple 
at  the  hour  of  prayer  were  certainly  in  accord  with 
the  Psalmist :  '  Seven  times  a  day  will  I  praise 
thee'  (Ps  119164)  ;  and  the  lame  man,  whom  Peter 
healed,  instinctively  praised  God  (Ac  38).  When 
Peter  reported  to  the  apostles  and  brethren  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  the  Gentile  Cornelius  and 
his  friends  they  glorified  God  (II18). 

St.  Paul  goes  very  deeply  into  the  thought  of 
praise  as  an  essential  part  of  devotion  when  he 
speaks  of  the  degradation  of  the  heathen  world  as 
in  a  great  measure  due  to  their  neglect  of  praise. 
'  Knowing  God,  they  glorified  him  not  as  God ' 
(Ro  I21).*  His  own  practice  may  be  illustrated  by 
the  fact  that  when  he  and  Silas  had  been  beaten 
with  rods  at  Philippi  they  sang  hymns  to  God 
(Ac  1625).  And  in  Ro  I28  he  turns  from  the  loathsome 
subject  of  heathen  immorality  to  give  glory  to  God, 
as  if  to  guard  himself  from  contamination,  just  as 
he  prepares  himself  for  his  impassioned  argument 
on  backsliding  Israel  by  an  ascription  of  praise  to 
'  God  blessed  for  ever '  (9s),  and  passes  into  another 
doxology  at  the  end  of  his  argument  (II35-36). 
As  he  pictures  Abraham  when  he  received  God's 
promise  of  a  son  giving  glory  to  God  (421),  so  he 
desires  that  Gentiles  might  glorify  God  for  His 
mercy  (159,  quoting  Ps  1848 1171  LXX). 

The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  opens  (I1*14)  with  a 
great  ascription  of  praise  to  God  for  the  blessing 
of  the  Church.  We  are  chosen  in  Christ  that  we 
should  be  '  holy  to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his 
grace.'  Again  and  again  he  repeats  the  cadence  '  to 
the  praise  of  his  glory.' 

This  level  is  worthily  sustained  in  He  212 :  '  in 
the  midst  of  the  congregation  will  I  sing  praise 
unto  thee,'  when  the  writer  quotes  Ps  2222.  As 
the  typical  king  David  comes  to  his  own  despite 
Saul's  persecution,  so  does  Christ  the  true  King  in 
the  hour  of  His  victory  over  pain  acknowledge  His 
people  as  brethren,  ana  the  citizens  of  His  Kingdom 
take  the  song  of  praise  from  the  lips  of  their 
King. 

Again  in  He  1318  it  is  suggested  that  our  praises 
are  only  worthily  offered  through  our  great  High 
Priest :  '  Through  him  let  us  offer  up  a  sacrifice  of 
praise.'  The  phrase  is  quoted  from  Lv  712,  where  it 
is  used  for  the  nighest  form  of  peace  offering.  B.  F. 
Westcott  (ad  loc.)  adds  that  the  word  '  sacrifice '  in 
Mai  I11  '  appears  to  have  been  understood  in  the 
early  Church  of  the  prayers  and  thanksgivings  con- 
nected with  the  Eucharist.'  From  praise  for  '  the 
revelation  of  God  in  Christ  (His  Name) '  the  writer 
goes  on  naturally  to  speak  (v.16)  of  kindly  service 
and  almsgiving,  for  'praise  to  God  is  service  to 
men.' 

St.  Peter  also  has  a  characteristic  passage  on 
praise  (1  P  2") :  'That  ye  may  tell  forth  the  excel- 
lencies of  him  who  hath  called  you  out  of  darkness 
into  his  marvellous  light.'  He  is  quoting  2  Is  4321, 
and  his  word  '  excellencies,'  standing  for  Hebrew 
'  my  praise,'  means  an  eminent  quality  in  any 
person  or  thing,  and  the  idea  is  blended  with  that 
of  the  impression  which  it  makes  on  others ;  '  the 
one  sense  involves  the  other,  for  all  praises  of  God 
must  be  praises  either  of  His  excellencies  or  of 
His  acts  as  manifestations  of  His  excellencies '  (F. 
J.  A.  Hort,  ad  loc.).  St.  Peter  does  not  say  how 
the  Asiatic  Christians  are  to  tell  them  forth,  but 
he  implies  that  their  lives  must  correspond  to  their 
worship. 

There  is  a  fine  saying  of  Rabindranath  Tagore  to 

*  Cf.  Ac  1223,  •  Herod  was  punished  because  he  gave  not  God 
the  glory.' 


256 


PKAISE 


PKAISE 


the  effect  that  the  future  Saviour  of  India  will  be 
known  not  so  much  by  the  light  which  streams 
from  Him  as  by  the  light  which  is  reflected  to  Him 
from  His  people.  '  This  calling  into  God's  light 
...  is  thus  fitly  chosen  as  the  characteristic  act 
of  Him  whose  excellencies  the  Christians  were  to 
tell  forth,  because  it  was  on  their  use  of  the  realm 
of  vision  thus  opened  to  them  that  their  power  of 
exhibiting  Him  to  men  in  grateful  praise  would 
depend  '  ( Hort,  ad  loc. ). 

The  reference  to  '  marvellous  light '  suggests  a 
reminiscence  of  the  Transfiguration,  and  the  idea 
is  paraphrased  in  Clement  of  Rome  (36) :  '  Through 
Him  [Jesus  Christ]  let  us  gaze  into  the  heights 
of  the  heavens ;  through  Him  we  behold  as  in 
a  mirror  His  spotless  and  supernal  countenance ; 
through  Him  the  eyes  of  our  heart  were  opened  ; 
through  Him  our  dull  and  darkened  mind  burgeons 
anew  into  the  light '  (quoted  by  Hort,  ib.  ;  cf.  2  P 
I16). 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  classify  (after  Westcott) 
the  various  doxologies  found  in  the  Epistles  and 
the  Apocalypse. 

(1)  Gal  1».    To  whom  [our  God  and  Father]  be  the  glory  for 

ever  and  ever.    Amen. 

(2)  Ro  1136.    To  him   [the   Lord]  be  the  glory  for  erer. 

Amen. 

(8)  Ro  1627.  To  the  only  wise  God  through  Jesus  Christ  [to 
whom]  be  the  glory  for  ever.  Amen. 

(4)  Ph  420.  Unto  our  God  and  Father  be  the  glory  for  ever 
and  ever.  Amen. 

(6)  Eph  321.  Unto  him  [that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abund- 
antly] be  the  glory,  in  the  church  and  in  Christ  Jesus 
unto  all  generations  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen. 

(6)  1  Ti  117.     Unto  the  King  eternal  ...  the  only  God  be 

honour  and  glory  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

(7)  1  Ti  6J6.    To  whom  [the  blessed  and   only    Potentate 

.  .  .  ]  be  honour  and  power  eternal.    Amen. 

(8)  2  Ti  418.    To  whom  [the  Lord]  be  the  glory  for  ever  and 

ever.    Amen. 

(9)  He  132i.    To  whom  [the  God  of  peace  or  possibly  Jesus 

Christ]  be  the  glory  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen. 

(10)  1  P  411.     To  whom  [God  or,  possibly,  Jesus  Christ]  is 

the  glory  and  the  dominion  for  ever  and  ever.    Amen. 

(11)  1  P  511.    To  him  [God]  be  the  dominion  for  ever  and  ever. 

Amen. 

(12)  2  P  318.    To  him  [our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ]  be 

the  glory  both  now  and  for  ever.    Amen. 
(18)  Jude2^.    To  the  only  God  our  Saviour  through  Jesus 
Christ  our    Lord    be    glory,   majesty,   dominion    and 
power  before  all  time,  and  now,  and  for  evermore. 
Amen. 

(14)  Rev  16.    Unto  him  [that  loveth  us  and  loosed  us  from  our 

sins]  be  the  glory  and  the  dominion  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen. 

(15)  Rev  5i3.    Unto  him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  and  unto 

the  Lamb  be  the  blessing  and  the  honour  and  the 
glory  and  the  dominion  for  ever  and  ever.  And  the 
four  living  creatures  said,  Amen. 

(16)  Rev  712.    Amen  :  Blessing,  and  glory,  and  wisdom,  and 

thanksgiving,  and  honour,  and  power,  and  might,  be 
unto  our  God  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen. 

Westcott  notes  that  all  except  (12)  and  perhaps 
(16)  are  closed  by  Amen.  They  vary  greatly  in 
detail.  We  may  consider  first  the  address,  which  in 
most  cases  is  made  to  the  Father,  in  two — (3)  and 
(13) — through  Christ,  and  in  three  to  Christ — (8) 
(12),  and  (14),  possibly  also  (9)  and  (10).  The  rich- 
ness and  variety  of  the  titles  in  St.  Paul's  doxolo- 
gies contrast  with  the  simplicity  of  his  ascription  of 
'  glory.'  In  one  instance  he  adds'  honour,'  in  another 
substitutes  'honour  and  dominion.'  Enlargement 
of  the  ascription  is  found  in  Jude,  and  above  all  in 
the  central  vision  of  the  Apocalypse  when  the  seven- 
fold theme  marks  the  highest  range  of  praise. 

It  seemed  best  to  incorporate  in  the  foregoing 
the  formal  doxologies  of  this  type  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse, but  others  claim  mention.  In  48  the  living 
creatures  say :  '  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord 
God,  the  Almighty,  which  was  and  which  is  and 
which  is  to  come.  In  Swete's  words  (ad  loc,) : 
'  This  ceaseless  activity  of  Nature  under  the  Hand 
of  God  is  a  ceaseless  tribute  of  praise.'  The 
elders  also  lay  down  their  crowns  of  victory  before 
the  Throne  with  their  tribute  of  praise  (v.11) : 
'  Worthy  art  thou,  our  Lord  and  our  God,  to  re- 


ceive the  glory  and  the  honour  and  the  power  :  for 
thou  didst  create  all  things,  and  because  of  thy 
will  they  were,  and  were  created.' 

It  is  interesting  to  note  how  much  fuller  is  the 
doxology  which  the  angels  in  51-  offer  to  the  Lamb, 
adding  '  riches,  wisdom,  strength,  and  blessing,' 
and  showing  how  '  they  recognize  both  the  grandeur 
of  the  Lord's  sacrificial  act,  and  its  infinite  merit ' 
(Swete,  ad  loc. ). 

A  four-fold  doxology  follows  from  all  creation 
(no.  (15)  above),  '  dominion '  taking  the  place  of  the 
angels'  word  '  strength,'  '  active  power  being  here 
in  view  rather  than  a  reserve  of  secret  strength  ' 
(Swete,  ad  loc.). 

The  seven-fold  doxology  of  the  angels  in  712  (no. 
(16)  above)  again  follows  a  short  doxology  of  the 
Church  (v.10) :  '  Salvation  unto  our  God  which 
sitteth  on  the  throne  and  unto  the  Lamb.'  But 
they  do  not  include  the  Lamb  as  in  5U. 

2.  Music. — Our  study  of  the  ideal  of  praise  in 
the  Apostolic  Church  would  be  incomplete  without 
some  reference  to  the  music  both  vocal  and  instru- 
mental in  which  pious  hearts  desired  to  express  it. 
The  earliest  Christian  hymns  were  sung,  no  doubt, 
like  the  psalms,  but.  we  know  very  little  if  anything 
about  the  vocal  method  of  the  Hebrews.  A.  Eders- 
heim,  however,  thinks  that  some  of  the  music 
still  used  in  the  Synagogue  must  date  back  to  the 
time  when  the  Temple  was  still  standing,  and 
traces  'in  the  so-called  Gregorian  tones  ...  a 
close  approximation  to  the  ancient  hymnody  of  the 
Temple  '  (The  Temple,  p.  81).  Kef erences  to  musical 
instruments  are  few  in  number.  St.  Paul  refers  to 
pipes,  harps,  trumpets,  and  cymbals.  The  pipe  was 
a  cane  pierced  with  holes  for  notes,  or  a  bit  of  wood 
bored  out  and  played  like  a  flageolet. 

The  harp  (Ki.6a.pa.)  was  an  instrument  of  seven 
strings  akin  to  a  lyre.  St.  Paul  argues  (1  Co  147) 
that,  unless  pipe  or  harp  gives  a  distinction  in  the 
sounds,  no  clear  thought  will  be  conveyed  to  the 
hearer,  just  as  a  trumpet  must  give  no  uncertain 
sound  in  a  call  to  arms.  He  refers  also  to  cymbals, 
half -globes  generally  of  bronze,  giving  out  a  clang- 
ing sound  which  cannot  be  tuned  to  accord  with 
other  instruments.  They  are  symbolic  of  a  char- 
acter which  makes  professions  in  words  but  is 
lacking  in  love,  or,  as  Edersheim  puts  it,  '  he  com- 
pares the  gift  of  "  tongues  "  to  the  sign  or  signal  by 
which  the  real  music  of  the  Temple  was  introduced ' 
(op.  cit.  p.  78).  Edersheim  (ib.  p.  75)  also  draws  an 
'  analogy  between  the  time  when  these  "  harpers" 
are  introduced'  in  the  heavenly  services  (Rev  58 
142- s) '  and  the  period  in  the  Temple-service  when  the 
music  began — just  as  the  joyous  drink-offering  was 
poured  out.'  And  again  in  Rev  152  '  the  "  harps  of 
God  "  '  are  sounded  '  with  pointed  allusion  ...  to 
the  Sabbath  services  in  the  Temple,'  when  special 
canticles  (Dt  32,  Ex  15)  were  sung,  to  which  the 
Song  of  Moses  and  of  the  Lamb  corresponds  when 
sung  by  the  Church  at  rest.  There  was  a  certain 
prejudice  against  the  music  of  flutes,  but  they 
seem  to  have  been  used  at  Alexandria  to  accompany 
the  hymns  at  the  Agape  until  Clement  of  Alex- 
andria substituted  harps  about  A.D.  190. 

The  references  to  praise  in  the  Apostolic  Fathers 
bring  out  the  same  underlying  ideas.  We  find  in 
Clem.  Rom.  Ep.  ad  Cor.  i.  61  :  '  O  Thou,  who  alone 
art  able  to  do  these  things,  and  things  far  more 
exceeding  good  than  these  for  us,  we  praise  Thee 
through  the  High  Priest  and  Guardian  of  our  souls, 
Jesus  Christ,  through  whom  be  the  glory  and  the 
majesty  unto  Thee  both  now  and  for  all  genera- 
tions and  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen. ' 

The  ancient  homily  known  as  2  Clement  exhorts 
to  give  God  '  eternal  praise  not  from  our  lips  only 
but  from  our  heart '  (li.  9). 

The  Epistle  of  Barnabas  (7)  bids  '  the  children 
of  gladness  understand  that  the  good  Lord  mani- 


PRAYER 


PRAYER 


257 


fested  all  things  to  us  beforehand,  that  we  might 
know  to  whom  we  ought  in  all  things  to  render 
thanksgiving  and  praise.'  The  author  of  the  Odes 
of  Solomon  (Ode  6)  compares  a  soul  at  praise  to  a 
harp,  as  both  Philo  (i.  374)  and  Plato  (Phcedo,  86A) 
had  done  :  '  As  the  hand  moves  over  the  harp  and 
the  strings  speak,  so  speaks  in  my' members  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord,  and  I  speak  of  His  love.' 

Ignatius  also  writes  to  the  Philadelphians  (ad 
Phil.  1)  of  their  bishop  as  'attuned  in  harmony 
with  the  commandments,  as  a  lyre  with  its  strings.' 

Delight  in  self-surrender  quickens  adoration. 
In  the  beautiful  words  of  J.  F.  D.  Maurice : 
'  What  we  desire  for  ourselves  and  for  our  race, 
the  greatest  redemption  we  can  dream  of,  is 
gathered  up  in  the  words,  "Thine  is  the  glory"' 
(The  Lord's  Prayer,  London,  1848,  p.  130). 

LITERATURE. — In  addition  to  the  Commentaries  referred  to 
in  the  text,  see  A.  J.  Worlledge,  Prayer,  London,  1902 ;  W. 
.  Milligan,  The  Ascension  and  Heavenly  Priesthood  of  our  Lord*, 
do.,  1894,  p.  299 f.  ;  A.  Edersheim,  The  Temple:  its  Ministry 
and  Services  an  they  were  at  the  Time  of  Jesus  Christ,  do.,  n.d.  ; 
E.  Leyrer,  art. '  Mnsik  bei  den  Hebraern '  in  PRJ& ;  J.  Stainer, 
The  Music  of  the  Bible,  new  ed.,  London,  1914. 

A.  E.  BURN. 

PRAYER.  — 1.  General.  —  Prayer  was  to  the 
Apostolic  Church  the  very  secret  of  a  'life  hid 
with  Christ  in  God '  (Col  33).  It  was  to  them  the 
most  natural  thing  in  the  world  to  pray  for  guid- 
ance in  perplexity,  for  strength  and  blessing  when 
the  will  of  God  was  manifest.  In  a  word,  their 
intercourse  with  God  passed  through  the  whole 
scale  of  feeling  from  the  low  note  of  penitence  to 
the  highest  notes  of  thanksgiving  and  praise. 
Petition  for  themselves  invariably  grew  into  inter- 
cession for  others  and  was  never  the  last  word  of 
prayer.  Alike  when  the  apostles  were  about  to 
choose  a  successor  to  Judas  (Ac  I24)  and  when  the 
Church  of  Antioch  sent  forth  Barnabas  and  Paul 
on  their  first  missionary  journey  (133),  prayer 
was  offered.  When  Paul  was  kept  in  prison,  he 
desired  and  expected  such  earnest  prayer  of  the 
Church  unto  God  for  him  as  was  offered  by  the 
Church  of  Jerusalem  for  Peter  (12s). 

At  first  the  Temple  was  the  centre  for  the  Chris- 
tians' devotions.  They  clung  to  it  as  '  the  house 
of  prayer,'  and  used  'the  prayers'  (31)  of  Jewish 
devotion  at  the  customary  hours.  The  third  hour 
was  marked  by  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  (215),  the 
ninth  by  the  miracle  of  the  healing  of  a  lame  man 
by  Peter  and  John  on  their  way  to  prayer  (31), 
the  sixth  by  the  vision  which  taught  Peter  to  re- 
ceive Gentile  converts.  The  ill-will  of  priests  and 
Sadducees  only  drove  them  to  more  earnest  prayer 
for  grace  to  speak  God's  word  '  with  all  boldness' 
(Ac  424'30).  There  is  a  deep  thought  in  1  Jn  S22 
where  prayer  is  spoken  of  as  the  boldness  with 
which  a  son  appears  before  the  Father  to  make 
requests.  Every  such  prayer  is  answered  '  not  as 
a  reward  for  meritorious  action,  but  because  the 
prayer  itself  rightly  understood  coincides  with 
God's  will '  (Westcott,  ad  loc.). 

The  chief  characteristic  of  Christian  prayer  is 
the  new  power  which  the  fellowship  of  the  Spirit 
brought  to  Christians,  and  the  grace  of  persever- 
ance (Eph  618).  It  is  the  Spirit  whose  voice  within 
each  child  of  God  cries  'Abba,  Father'  (Gal  4s). * 
And,  when  we  are  weak  and  know  not  what  to  pray 
for,  '  the  Spirit  itself  entreats  for  us  with  groans 
which  are  not  to  be  expressed  in  words,' '  bears  His 
part  in  our  present  difficulties '  and  makes  '  our 
inarticulate  longings  for  a  better  life  .  .  .  audible 
to  God  .  .  .  and  acceptable  to  Him  since  they  are 
the  voice  of  His  Spirit'  (H.  B.  Swete,  The  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  NT,  London,  1909,  pp.  220,  221). 
In  this  deepest  teaching  of  Paul  we  are  led  to 
associate  with  the  work  of  the  Spirit  within  the 

*  A  reminiscence  of  the   Lord's  prayer  in  Gethsemane  or  a 
reflexion  of  the  liturgical  use  of  the  Church  of  Jerusalem. 
VOL.  II.  — 17 


intercession  of  the  Son  at  the  Right  Hand  (Ro  S34). 
And  we  find  the  clue  to  the  great  prayers  of  Paul. 

Beginning  with  1  Th  I2'3,  we  find  that  the 
Apostle  includes  thanksgiving,  intercession,  and 
consciousness  of  the  presence  of  God  as  of  the 
needs  of  others.  He  lays  stress  on  the  need  of 
intelligence  if  prayer  is  to  edify  (1  Co  14uff>)-  And 
along  with  intelligence  he  demands  from  the 
Christian  soldier  the  resolute  perseverance  which 
characterizes  his  own  prayers. 

Eph  618. — The  universality  of  the  duty  as  to 
mode,  times,  and  persons  is  enforced  by  the  words 
'  all  prayer,'  'at  all  seasons,'  'in  all  perseverance,' 
'  for  all  the  saints. ' 

Ro  I8'12. — As  elsewhere,  Paul  begins  with  thank- 
fulness, offering  all  prayer  through  the  one  Medi- 
ator, to  whom  he  commends  all  the  service  of  the 
Roman  Christians,  remembering  them,  no  doubt 
by  name,  and  desiring  to  see  them  both  to  impart 
and  to  receive  grace. 

Eph  I16'19  314'ia.—  Again,  beginning  with  thanks- 
giving, he  asks  that  his  friends  may  have  the  spirit 
of  efficiency,  growth  in  knowledge,  enlightenment, 
issuing  in  power.  Knowledge  and  power  are  the 
keynotes  in  the  second  prayer,  in  which  there  is 
remarkable  social  teaching.  As  each  individual  is 
strengthened,  the  life  of  the  whole  community 
will  be  uplifted  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Father  from 
whom  every  fatherhood  is  named,  and  who  has  sent 
the  Christ  to  teach  love  as  '  the  characteristic  virtue 
both  of  the  historic  Person  and  of  the  ideal  State ' 
(Chadwick,  Pastoral  Teaching  of  St.  Paul,  p.  292). 

In  Col  I9ff-  the  same  keynotes  —  knowledge, 
strength,  thankfulness  —  recur.  Knowledge  of 
God's  will  affects  conduct ;  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Spirit  we  are  led  to  new  forms  of  service,  are 
enabled  to  bear  with  cheerfulness  our  difficulties 
and  disappointments,  assured  that  the  lot  of  the 
saints  is  a  privilege  '  in  the  [Divine]  light.' 

In  Ph  I9'11  Paul  prays  that  love  may  abound  in 
knowledge  and  in  all  perception.  All  the  faculties 
of  reason  and  emotion  will  be  cultivated  in  the 
well-balanced  life,  in  which  enthusiasm  does  not 
overpower  intelligence  and  tact,  but  in  the  long 
series  of  moral  choices,  by  which  character  is  built 
up,  the  presence  and  power  of  Christ  will  determine 
the  goal  which  is  '  the  fruit  of  righteousness  '  in  a 
life  lived  in  union  with  Him.  '  Gloria  Dei  vivens 
homo.' 

These  prayers  of  Paul  throw  a  bright  light  on  the 
meaning  of  the  different  words  for  prayer  which 
are  often  discussed  from  a  philological  rather  than 
from  a  religious  point  of 'view.  The  most  import- 
ant are  united  in  the  explicit  charge  given  to 
Timothy  (1  Ti  2lf-) :  '  I  exhort  therefore,  first  of  all, 
that  supplications  (5e?j<reij),  prayers  (irpoffevx.a.1), 
intercessions  (^Tei/£ets),  thanksgivings  (evxapiffriai), 
be  made  for  all  men  ;  for  kings  and  all  that  are  in 
high  place  ;  that  we  may  lead  a  tranquil  and  quiet 
life  in  all  godliness  and  gravity.'  Here  irpoa-evx^ 
means  prayer  in  general,  always  as  addressed  to 
God,  whereas  ei/x7?  means  more  often  a  vow  than 
prayer  ;  S^ais  is  prayer  for  particular  benefits  ; 
tvrev£is  (lit.  'a  pleading  for  or  against  others') 
includes  the  idea  of  approach  (^riryxavw)  which  in 
Ro  8K  emphasizes  its  meaning  of  the  intercession 
of  the  Spirit,  and  in  Ro  S34,  He  T28  of  the  Son. 
Other  words  are  afrq/ui,  a  petition  of  man  to  God 
(Ph  46,  1  Jn515)  ;  and  iKerripia,  an  adjective  used  at 
first  with  such  a  word  as  pafidos  or  IXala,  picturing 
the  symbol  of  supplication,  an  olive  branch  bound 
round  with  wool  carried  by  the  suppliant. 

While  all  Christians  are  exhorted  to  pray  with- 
out ceasing  (1  Tho17)  it  was  regarded  as  a  special 
privilege  of  those  who  had  leisure,  such  as  '  widows 
indeed'  (1  Ti  55),  to  continue  in  supplications  and 
prayers  night  and  day.  Thus  the  apostles  enlisted 
the  help  of  the  Seven  in  order  to  give  themselves 


258 


PKAYER 


PREACHING 


to  prayer  and  to  the  ministry  of  the  Word 
(Ac  64). 

There  is  a  deep  meditation  on  the  hearing  of 
prayer  in  He  57,  with  reference  to  our  Lord's 
prayers.  'True  prayer — the  prayer  which  must 
be  answered — is  the  personal  recognition  and  ac- 
ceptance of  the  divine  will  (John  xiv.  7  :  comp. 
Mark  xi.  24  Ad/Sere).  It  follows  that  the  hearing 
of  prayer,  which  teaches  obedience,  is  not  so  much 
the  granting  of  a  specific  petition,  which  is  assumed 
by  the  petitioner  to  be  the  way  to  the  end  desired, 
but  the  assurance  that  what  is  granted  does  most 
effectively  lead  to  the  end.  Thus  we  are  taught 
that  Christ  learned  that  every  detail  of  His  Life 
and  Passion  contributed  to  the  accomplishment  of 
the  work  which  He  came  to  fulfil,  and  so  He  was 
most  perfectly  "  heard."  In  this  sense  He  was 
"heard  for  His  godly  fear'"  (Westcott).  These 
pregnant  sentences  go  to  the  very  root  of  the 
problem  of  prayer.  We  learn  its  meaning  as  the 
Apostolic  Church  learnt  it  only  by  following  our 
Lord  to  Gethsemane  and  the  Cross.  The  ordinary 
posture  of  prayer  was  standing  with  arms  out- 
stretched, like  the  Pharisee  of  our  Lord's  parable 
(Lk  1811),  and  the  earliest  paintings  of  Orantes  in 
the  Roman  Catacombs.  The  well-known  words  of 
Tertullian  may  be  quoted  (Apol.  30) :  '  Gazing  up 
heavenward  we  Christians  pray  with  hands  ex- 
tended because  they  are  innocent,  witli  the  head 
uncovered  because  we  are  not  ashamed ;  finally, 
without  a  guide  because  we  pray  from  the  heart.' 

Following  the  example  of  our  Lord,  both  kneel- 
ing and  prostration  were  also  adopted  ;  Stephen 
(Ac  760),  Peter  (940),  Paul  (2038  21s),  all  knelt. 
Clement  of  Rome  associated  prostration  with 
penitence  (Ep.  ad  Cor.  i.  48) :  '  Let  us  there- 
fore root  this  out  quickly,  and  let  us  fall  down 
before  the  Master,  and  entreat  Him  witli  tears.' 
The  value  attached  by  Ignatius  to  the  influence  of 
prayer  is  expressed  in  the  words  (Eph.  5) :  '  For  if 
the  prayer  of  one  and  another  hath  so  great  force, 
how  much  more  that  of  the  bishop  and  of  the 
whole  Church.' 

2.  Prayers  for  the  departed. — The  possible  refer- 
ences to  prayers  for  the  departed  in  the  NT  taken 
by  themselves  are  ambiguous,  nor  is  it  easy  to  deal 
with  this  subject  without  reference  to  authors  who 
wrote  outside  the  limits  of  this  Dictionary.  But 
there  is  one  reference,  which  may  be  fairly  said  to 
prove  the  existence  of  this  practice  during  the  first 
half  of  the  2nd  century. 

The  epitaph  of  Abercius  (Avircius  Marcellus), 
who  was  bishop  of  Hierapolis  in  Phrygia  Salutaris 
c.  A.D.  160,  includes:  'Let  every  friend  who  ob- 
serveth  this  pray  for  me.'  This  is  confirmed  by  the 
evidence  of  Tertullian,  de  Corona,  3  (written  c.  A.D. 
211):  'We  offer  oblations  for  the  dead  on  the 
anniversary  of  their  birth.'  And  again  (c.  A.D.  217), 
in  de  Monogamia,  10,  Tertullian  describes  a  Chris- 
tian widow  as  one  'who  prays  for  his  [i.e.  her  hus- 
band's] soul,  and  requests  refreshment  for  him  in 
the  meanwhile,  and  fellowship  in  the  first  resur- 
rection, and  she  offers  [sacrifice]  on  the  anniver- 
saries of  his  falling  asleep.' 

There  are  also  many  such  references  in  the  in- 
scriptions of  the  Catacombs,  some  of  which  may  be 
assigned  to  the  2nd  century.  And  there  is  a  con- 
tinuous tradition  of  such  prayers  in  the  ancient 
Liturgies,  in  which  prayers  are  offered  for  those 
who  rest  in  Christ  that  they  may  have  peace  and 
light,  rest  and  refreshment :  that  they  may  live  in 
God  (or  in  Christ) :  that  they  may  be  partakers  of 
the  joyful  resurrection,  and  of  tlie  inheritance  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God. 

It  is  clear  that  such  intercessions  date  from  the 
beginning  of  the  2nd  cent.,  and  that  they  represent 
quite  faithfully  the  general  tenor  of  the  teaching  of 
the  Apostolic  Church  on  the  Future  State.  Without 


labouring  the  point  we  may  say  that  they  support 
the  inference  that  Onesiphorus  was  dead  when 
Paul  prayed  for  him  (2  Ti  I1*'18) :  '  The  Lord  grant 
unto  him  to  find  mercy  of  the  Lord  in  that  day.' 
The  Apostle  mentions  his  household  in  I16  and  419, 
but  says  nothing  of  Onesiphorus  himself. 

The  reference  in  2  Mac  1243"45  to  sacrifices  offered 
for  the  dead  by  Judas  Maccabseus  may  be  taken 
to  prove  that  prayers  for  the  dead  were  not  un- 
known in  our  Lord's  time.  But  the  author  speaks 
in  an  apologetic  way,  as  if  the  act  of  Judas  were 
not  a  common  practice.  And  the  Sadducees  who 
controlled  the  Temple  services  did  not  believe  in 
any  resurrection,  so  we  cannot  suppose  that  they 
would  have  approved  of  such  prayers. 

The  central  thought  of  the  Apostolic  Church 
with  regard  to  their  relationship  to  the  faithful 
departed  is  summed  up  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  (1222'23)  in  the  words  :  '  Ye  are  come  .  .  . 
to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,'  also 
described  (121)  as  'a  great  cloud  of  witnesses.' 
They  are  living  and  they  are  interested  in  both 
our  faith  and  conduct,  and  the  least  response  of 
our  loyalty  to  them  will  naturally  find  expression 
in  our  prayers  for  their  peace  and  progress. 

LITKRATURB.—  W.  E.  Chadwick,  The  Pastoral  Teaching  of 
St.  Paul,  Edinburgh,  1907 ;  F.  E.  Warren,  The  Liturgy  and 
Ritual  of  the  Ante-Nicene  Church,  London,  1897 ;  A.  J. 
Worlledge,  Prayer,  do.,  1902;  G.  Bull,  Serm.  Hi.  (=  Works, 
7  vols.,  Oxford,  1846,  i.  77) ;  H.  M.  Luckock,  After  Death : 
Testimony  of  Primitive  Times*,  London,  1882  ;  S.  C.  Gayford, 
Future  State,  do.,  1903  ;  J.  Ussher,  An  Answer  to  a  Challenge 
made  by  a  Jesuite  in  Ireland,  do.,  1631 ;  G.  H.  S.  Walpole, 
The  Gospel  of  Hope,  do.,  I9U.  A.  E.  BURN. 

PRAYER  FOR  THE  DEAD.— See  PEAYER. 

PREACHING.— The  essential  nature  of  apostolic 
preaching  is  expressed  in  the  two  main  words 
used  throughout  the  NT  :  Kijpv<r<reu>,  '  to  proclaim 
as  a  herald  '  (KTJPV£),  and  evayyeXifew,  'to  tell  good 
tidings'  (ftayytXiov,  'the  gospel'),  both  of  which 
are  translated  'to  preach.'  Sometimes  the  full 
expression  K-qptiffffeiv  rb  fvayy£\iov,  '  to  proclaim  the 
gospel '  (Gal  22,  1  Th  29),  occurs,  while  €vayye\i£ei.v 
frequently  characterizes  the  content  of  the  good 
tidings,  specifically  as  '  the  gospel '  (T&  etiayytXiov, 
1  Co  151,  2  Co  II7,  Gal  I11),  or  more  variously  as 
'Jesus  Christ'  (Ac  542),  'peace'  (Eph  2"),  or  '  the 
word '  (Ac  1535).  Other  expressions,  such  as 
'proclaim  Christ'  (Karayyf\\eiv  X/H<rr6V,  Ph  I17*-) 
and  '  testify  the  gospel  (SianapTtpeffOai,  rb  e^ayy^Xtov) 
of  the  grace  of  God  (Ac  2024),  help  to  make  clear 
that  preaching  was  primarily  the  proclamation  of 
good  tidings  from  God,  the  heralding  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  men. 

To  get  back  to  the  NT  standpoint  it  is  necessary 
to  rid  one's  mind  of  the  preconception  that  preach- 
ing was  giving  a  sermon  or  delivering  a  discourse 
elaborated  in  accordance  with  certain  recognized 
homiletical  canons.  Still  less  was  it  the  detailed 
exegesis  and  exposition  of  a  so-called  text  or 
isolated  passage  of  Scripture,  such  as  prevailed  in 
the  synagogue  preaching.  That  the  message  was 
often  supported  by  quotations  from  the  OT  is  not 
doubted  ;  but  the  apostolic  preaching  did  not  con- 
fine itself  to  appeals  to  Scripture.  It  was  rather 
the  spontaneous,  authoritative  announcement  of 
a  truth  felt  to  be  new  to  the  experience  of  man, 
and  explicable  only  in  the  light  of  the  incarnation, 
death,  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  as  Saviour 
of  men. 

1.  Preaching  and  teaching. — The  function  of 
preaching,  as  above  outlined,  is  to  be  distinguished 
from  teaching  (Stdaxri),  in  which  the  truths  and 
duties  of  Christianity  were  more  deliberately  un- 
folded and  applied.  The  content  of  the  preaching 
and  of  the  more  elaborated  instruction  was  neces- 
sarily often  the  same  (Ac  542  15SS,  Col  I28).  The 


PREACHING 


PREACHING 


259 


preacher  (icijpv£)  was  sometimes  also  a  teacher 
(SiSaovraXos),  especially  in  the  more  settled  state  of 
the  early  Church  (1  Ti  27,  2  Ti  I11).  But,  even  so, 
a  clearly  marked  distinction  is  made  in  the  case 
of  Paul  'preaching  (icripvo-ffuv)  the  kingdom  of  God, 
and  teaching  (diSaffKuv)  the  things  concerning  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ '  (Ac  2831).  The  ability  to  preach 
or  to  teach  was  regarded  as  a  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  but  due  regard  was  given  to  the '  diversities  of 
gifts'  and '  diversities  of  ministrations '  even  in  these 
closely  related  activities.  '  To  one  is  given  through 
the  Spirit  the  word  of  wisdom,  and  to  another 
the  word  of  knowledge,  ...  to  another  prophecy ' 
(1  Co  124'" ;  cf.  Eo  12«ff-).  That  a  clearly  marked 
differentiation  of  function  was  believed  to  be 
Divinely  appointed  appears  from  the  two  formal 
lists  of  spiritually  gifted  members,  in  which 
'  teachers '  are  mentioned  after  apostles  and  pro- 
phets (1  Co  1228,  Eph  411).  Preaching  was  the 
function  of  the  apostles  (in  the  wider  meaning  of 
the  word)  and  of  the  prophets.  Both  travelled 
about,  the  former  continuously  in  their  missionary 
activities,  the  latter  frequently  settling  down  in 
one  locality  where  their  preaching  would  tend  to 
edification  and  exhortation. 

2.  Qualification. — The  work  of  preaching  in  the 
1st  cent,  was  regarded  not  as  an  office  but  as  a 
'  calling '  due  to  the  gift  of  the  Spirit.     Apostolic 
preaching  began  with  the  command  of   Christ  to 
the  Twelve  (Mt  107,  Mk  1615- 20) ;  but  it  was  after 
the  bestowal  of  the  Spirit  at  Pentecost  as  a  '  tongue 
of  fire '  that  this  gift  (xdpiff/j.a)  of  inspired  utterance 
became  general  in  the  early  Church.     Those  who 
preached  the  gospel    did  so  because  they  were 
under  Divine  compulsion  (Ac  4s-  *  610  S26).     The 
Holy  Spirit  qualified  them  for  this  special  work, 
and  authenticated  their  message.     They  felt  that 
they  were  commissioned  by  no  mere  human  author- 
ity.    Subjectively  their  call  to  preach  consisted  in 
a  feeling  of  'necessity'  (1  Co  91*),  but  an  objective 
test  was  applied  to  them  and  their  message  by  the 
spiritual   communities   to  which   they  ministered 
(1   Th  521,  1   Co  123-  10,  1  Jn  41'-).     The  Didache 
shows  that  at  a  later  stage  the  tests  were  practical, 
if  not  drastic.     The  prophet  must  '  have  the  ways 
of  the  Lord '  (xi.  8) ;  he  must  practise  what  he 
preaches,  and  not  ask  for  money  (xi.  9-12).     But 
the  preacher,  when  duly  approved,  had  the  right 
to  expect  support  (1  Co  O4*-,  2  Co  II81-,  Did.  xiii. 
1-3),   and   was  to   be  treated  with  great  honour 
(Did.   iv.    1 ).     '  The  picture  of  these  wandering 
preachers,   men   burdened   by  no    cares  of  office, 
with  no  pastoral  duties,  coming  suddenly  into  a' 
Christian  community,  doing  their  work  there  and 
as  suddenly  departing,  is  a  very  vivid  one  in  sub- 
apostolic  literature'  (T.  M.  Lindsay,  The  Church 
and  the  Ministry  in  the  Early  Centuries,  1902, 
p.  73). 

3.  Preaching  and  faith. — That  preaching  was 
the  Divinely  ordained  means  for  the  diffusion  of 
Christianity  appears  from  the  successful  appeal  it 
made  to  the  capacity  for  faith  which  is  latent  in 
all  men.     '  Belief  cometh  of  hearing,  and  hearing 
by  the  word  of   Christ'   (Ro  1017).     The  ancient 
world  was  familiar  with  much  propaganda  work 
done  by  travelling  teachers  of  various  philosophical 
schools.     But  the  basis  of  appeal  in  these  cases 
was  to  the  speculative  curiosity  of  their  hearers. 
The  preachers  of  the  gospel,  on  the  contrary,  did 
not  depend  upon  the  assent  of  reason  (1  Co  21-4). 
Not  that  the  gospel  had  no  place  in  a  rational 
view  of  man  and  his  relation  to  the  universe  and 
God  ;  there  was  a  '  wisdom '  to  be  spoken  among 
mature  believers  (v.6).     But  the  message  of  the 
early  Christian  preachers  was  more  in  the  nature 
of  a  Divine   summons    to    the    human   heart  to 
trust  in  the  fatherly  love  of  God  and  to  believe  in 
Jesus  Christ  as  the  pledge  of  His  redeeming  grace. 


It  was  a  call  to  the  human  will,  estranged  by  sin, 
to  yield  in  trustful  submission  to  the  Divine  will. 
The  faith  which  the  preacher  sought  to  arouse 
was  no  mere  intellectual  belief  in  a  system  of 
doctrine,  but  an  act  of  the  whole  personality,  in 
which  trust,  belief,  and  volition  united  in  a  self- 
commitment  to  a  Divine  Person — God  or  Christ. 
And  a  careful  study  of  the  NT  shows  that  sucli  a 
close  connexion  between  preaching  and  faith  was 
established :  '  So  we  preach,  and  so  ye  believed ' 
(1  Co  1511).  The  philosophic  teacher  might  cap- 
ture the  intellect,  the  mystery-monger  might  stir 
superstitious  hopes  and  fears,  but  '  the  first  Chris- 
tian preachers  testified  that  they  had  found  salva- 
tion through  faith  in  the  Gospel  of  the  Cross  as 
they  presented  it.  With  the  consciousness  of  the 
same  need  awakened,  their  hearers  believed  the 
testimony  that  was  thus  given  them  ;  they  em- 
braced the  Saviour  who  was  thus  presented  to 
them ;  and  so  believing,  they  entered  into  the 
same  experience  of  salvation  as  belonged  to  their 
teachers  '  (W.  L.  Walker,  The  Cross  and  the  King- 
dom2, 1911,  p.  25  f.).  The  gifts  of  the  Spirit  re- 
ceived by  the  '  hearing  of  faith '  authenticated  both 
the  believer  (Gal  32)  and  the  preacher  (1  Co  24). 

4.  Kinds  of  preaching. — The  preaching  of  the 
Apostolic  Age  was  marked  by  great  variety. 
The  sources  available  for  a  characterization  are 
the  historical  portions  of  Acts,  together  with  the 
actual  discourses  contained  therein,  and  also  what 
may  legitimately  be  inferred  from  the  Epistles. 
The  Epistles  should  not  be  regarded  as  specimens 
of  apostolic  preaching,  being  rather,  in  form  and 
content,  examples  of  primitive  teaching.  But 
they  contain  many  allusions  to  preaching,  and 
thus  help  us  to  reconstruct  historically  the  con- 
ditions under  which  it  took  place,  the  forms  it 
assumed,  and  its  main  doctrinal  contents. 

The  variety  of  apostolic  preaching  was  deter- 
mined by  the  individuality  of  the  speakers,  the 
nature  of  their  audiences,  and  the  stage  in  the 
doctrinal  development  of  the  message.  But  be- 
neath all  differences  a  unity  was  preserved  round 
the  central  theme  of  the  Person  and  work  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  human  redemption.  It  was 
'  preaching  Christ,'  whatever  might  be  the  local  or 
personal  conditions  under  which  the  message  was 
proclaimed.  Three  main  characteristics  are  to 
be  noted,  (a)  First  in  historical  order  came  the 
preaching  to  the  Jews,  which  may  be  called  Mes- 
sianic. St.  Peter's  addresses  in  Jerusalem  and  St. 
Paul's  sermons  in  the  synagogues  on  his  missionary 
journeys  appeal  to  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  in 
proof  of  His  Messiahship,  and  support  it  by  quo- 
tations from  the  OT.  Exhortations  to  repentance 
naturally  followed  this  kind  of  preaching,  especi- 
ally as  the  exaltation  and  second  coming  of  the 
Christ  were  emphasized,  (b)  Next  there  was  the 
preaching  to  the  Gentiles,  which  may  be  described 
as  missionary.  The  evangelization  of  heathen 
without  any  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  or  of 
the  facts  concerning  Jesus  naturally  employed 
different  methods  of  appeal.  On  the  negative  side 
it  exposed  idolatry,  superstition,  and  degrading 
notions  of  God,  and  condemned  human  sin.  The 
positive  element  was  the  proclamation  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  all  men.  This  included 
the  facts  of  His  earthly  life,  and  His  death  and 
resurrection  (Gal  44,  1  Co  153'-).  (c)  The  third 
kind  of  preaching  was  what  may  broadly  be  called 
edifying.  It  was  addressed  to  congregations 
composed  of  Jewish  Christians  and  converts  won 
from  heathenism.  In  these  spiritual  communities 
meetings  for  edification  were  held,  in  which  every 
one  who  had  a  'gift' — whether  of  prophecy  or 
interpretation,  or  'tongues,'  or  praise  (1  Co  1426'-) 
— used  it  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  Church.  It 
was  in  such  gatherings  that  preaching,  in  the 


260 


PREACHING 


PREACHING 


more  generally  accepted  sense  of  the  term,  was 
exercised. 

In  St.  Paul,  who  is  the  preacher  par  excellence 
of  the  Apostolic  Age,  we  see  all  the  foregoing 
kinds  of  preaching  illustrated,  together  with  a 
marvellous  variety  of  modes  of  address  to  win  his 
hearers.  In  the  case  of  Jews  he  appealed,  like  St. 
Peter,  to  the  OT  (Ac  1340-  47  1515J- 17-'-).  In  Athens 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  quote  a  pagan  poet  (1728), 
and  expounded  the  philosophy  of  the  Christian 
religion.  To  the  people  of  Lystra  (1415f-)  he  used 
the  arguments  of  natural  theology.  But  it  was 
in  Corinth  that  he  opposed  his  central  theme 
of  '  Christ  crucified '  to  the  impurity,  commercial- 
ism, and  superstitions  of  the  city  (1  Co  I22  22). 
Attention  has  also  been  drawn  (A.  C.  McGiffert, 
History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  1897, 
p.  255)  to  the  fact,  which  is  often  overlooked,  that 
St.  Paul  in  his  preaching  did  much  personal  work 
among  individuals  (Ac  182,  1  Th  29),  in  addition  to 
addressing  audiences.  The  effective  preaching  of 
Philip  to  the  Ethiopian  eunuch  (Ac  83B)  may  be 
quoted  as  an  earlier  example  of  this  'hand-to-hand 
work  '  in  Christian  evangelization. 

5.  Content  of  apostolic  preaching. — The  elabor- 
ated doctrinal  aspects  of  the  gospel  proclaimed  by 
the  apostles  are  dealt  with  in  the  artt.  GOSPEL 
and  TEACHING  and  those  concerned  with  the 
points  of  biblical  theology  involved.  All  that 
can  be  attempted  here  is  to  indicate  the  main  out- 
lines of  the  subject-matter  of  the  preaching  of  the 
apostles. 

(a)  God  and  Christ. — Our  Lord  proclaimed  as 
good  tidings  the  coming  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
But  after  His  death  and  resurrection  a  new  content 
appears  in  the  preaching  of  His  followers,  viz.  the 
Person  and  work  of  Christ  Himself.     Not  that  the 
subject  of  the  Kingdom  was  dropped  (Ac  812  2025 
2831) ;   but  it  became   subordinated  to  the  gospel 
concerning    Christ,    through    whom    the    Divine 
sovereignty  was  to  be  established  on  earth,  and  to 
the  ultimate  question  about  the  nature  of  God  and 
His  grace,  through  which  alone  such  a  Kingdom 
could   come  among  sinful   men.     As   a  basis  for 
missionary  Christological  preaching  the  doctrine 
of  the  existence  and  unity  of  God  would  form  a 
large  element  in  the  glad  tidings  to  heathen  living 
under  the  distractions  of  polytheism  and  demonism 
(Ac  172-ff-,  1  Th  I9).     But  undoubtedly  in  the  fore- 
front was  the  proclamation  to  all  nations  of  the 
'unsearchable  riches  of  Christ'  (Eph  38).     In  one 
word,   Christ  was  the  main  content  of  apostolic 
preaching.     Among  those  who  under  stress  of  per- 
secution  went  about   '  preaching  the  word '  was 
Philip,  who  in  Samaria  '  proclaimed  unto  them  the 
Christ'  (€KT/ipva-ffev  rbv  XptffT6v,  Ac  841-),  while  to  the 
Ethiopian  eunuch  he  '  preached  Jesus '  (eifyyyeXt'craTo 
rbv  'Iriaovv,  v.38).     Others  came  to  Antioch  '  preach- 
ing  the    Lord    Jesus '    (etiayye\i£6/j.ei>oi    rbv    Ktipiov 
'Iijvovv,    II20).      St.    Paul  warns    the    Corinthians 
against  anyone  who   '  preacheth    another   Jesus, 
whom  we  did  not  preach'  (iK-qp^anev,  2  Co  II4); 
and  he  rejoices  when,  even   under  conditions  of 
faction,   'Christ  is  proclaimed'  (Xpurrbs  KarayyA- 
Xerai,  Ph  I18).     The  very  Person  of  Jesus  Christ 
constituted   a  gospel   worth   preaching.     He  em- 
bodied and  expressed  in  human  nature  the  final 
revelation  of  God  (cf.  Jn  149). 

(b)  Resurrection  and  Messiahship  of  Jesus. — It 
was  no  mere  abstract  conception  of  the  personality 
of  Jesus  that  was  preached.     As  pointed  out  by 
B.  Weiss,   '  like  Jesus  Himself,  His  apostles  com- 
mence, not  with  a  religious  doctrine  or  an  ethical 
demand,   but  with    the    proclamation  of  a  fact' 
(Biblical  Theol.  of  NT,  Eng.  tr.,  1882-83,  i.  173). 
That  fact  was  the   Messiahship   of  Jesus.      But 
another   fact  formed  the   basis  of  this   proclama- 
tion— and  that  was  the  fact  that  Jesus  had  been 


raised  from  the  dead.  '  The  resurrection  of  Jesus,' 
says  G.  V.  Lechler,  '  appears  in  primitive  Christian 
preaching  as  the  fundamental  fact,  the  Alpha  and 
Omega  of  apostolic  announcement '  (Apostolic  and 
Post-Apostolic  Times,  Eng.  tr.,  1886,  i.  267).  Hence 
it  was  after  the  Resurrection  and  the  supernatural 
gift  at  Pentecost  that  the  apostles  '  ceased  not  to 
teach  and  preach  (ef>ayye\i£6/j.evoi)  Jesus  as  the  Christ' 
(Ac  542 ;  cf.  2s6  314f-  410  531).  This  close  connexion 
between  the  Resurrection  and  Messiahship  of  Jesus 
appears  also  in  the  preaching  of  the  Apostle  of 
the  Gentiles.  St.  Paul  declared  in  the  synagogue 
at  Thessalonica  :  '  it  behoved  the  Christ  to  sutler, 
and  to  rise  again  from  the  dead ;  and  this  Jesus 
whom  I  proclaim  unto  you  is  the  Christ '  (Ac  17s  ; 
cf.  1  Th  I10).  Later  in  Corinth  he  testified  that 
'  Jesus  was  the  Christ '  (18s),  reminding  them  after- 
wards that  the  '  gospel  preached '  unto  them  was 
that  '  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according  to  the 
scriptures  .  .  .  and  that  he  hath  been  raised  on 
the  third  day  according  to  the  scriptures'  (1  Co 
151'4).  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  good  tidings 
of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  carried  with  it  the  glad 
message  also  of  the  believers '  share  in  the  Messianic 
blessings  (Ac  319"26),  and  a  participation  in  the 
future  resurrection  (1  Co  1520ff- ;  cf.  Ac  1718 :  St. 
Paul  '  preached  Jesus  and  the  resurrection '). 

(c)  Death  and  Atonement  of  Christ. — The  earliest 
hearers  of  the  gospel,  however,  could  not  lose  sight 
of  the  prior  sinister  fact  of  the  crucifixion  and 
death  of  Jesus.  That  was  a  '  stumbling-block '  to 
the  Jews  and  '  foolishness '  to  the  Greeks.  But  St. 
Paul  found  in  the  death  of  Christ  the  central  theme 
of  his  preaching,  for  in  it  he  discerned  Christ's 
redeeming  work  as  Saviour  of  all  men.  '  We 
preach'  (Kripfoo-ofjiev),  he  says,  'a  Messiah  crucified' 
(1  Co  I23).  'I  determined  not  to  know  anything 
among  you,  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified' 
(22).  It  was  because  'the  word  of  the  cross'  (I18) 
was  also  the  '  word  of  reconciliation  '  (2  Co  519)  that 
St.  Paul  preached  it  so  fervently,  and  because  he 
had  proved  in  his  own  experience  that  this,  '  his 
gospel,'  was  the  'power  of  God  unto  salvation  to 
every  one  that  believeth '  (Ro  I16).  '  Only  a  man,' 
says  W.  Beyschlag,  '  in  whom  the  Lord  who  is  the 
Spirit  has  come  to  dwell,  who  exhibits  the  love  of 
Christ  in  its  transforming  power,  can  kindle  that 
flame  of  divine  life  in  others  ;  and  the  tire  is  spread, 
not  by  instruction  in  a  doctrinal  system,  but  by 
testimony  to  a  personal  experience  of  the  gospel  of 
God  coming  from  the  heart  with  individual  truth 
and  freedom '  (NT  Theology,  1895,  ii.  169).  That 
this  conception  of  the  redeeming  efficacy  of  the 
death  of  Christ  formed  a  large  part  of  apostolic 
preaching  may  be  inferred  from  many  different 
passages  (He  913'-,  1  P  I18f-,  1  Jn  I7  22). 

To  '  preach  Christ,"  then,  was  to  proclaim,  as 
good  news  to  sinful  and  dying  men,  the  many-sided 
fact  of  Christ,  the  whole  scheme  of  salvation — 
pardon,  regeneration,  spiritual  enrichment,  per- 
sonal immortality — involved  in  Christ's  death, 
resurrection,  and  exaltation.  This  may  be  seen 
from  several  expressions  in  which  the  term  '  preach- 
ing '  does  not  apply  to  the  gospel  message,  e.g. 
'  Moses  hath  in  every  city  them  that  preach  (mipfa- 
(rovTas)  him'  (Ac  1521),  where  the  whole  Mosaic 
dispensation  is  the  content  of  the  preaching.  Again, 
'the  baptism  which  John  preached'  (iK-^pv^ev ,  Ac 
1037),  and  to  '  preach  circumcision '  (Gal  511),  indicate 
clearly  other  and  wider  contents  than  '  baptism ' 
and  'circumcision.'  If  to  'preach  Moses'  meant 
to  proclaim  the  validity  of  the  whole  Mosaic 
legislation,  then  to  '  preach  Christ '  involves  not 
only  the  proclamation  of  the  religious  significance 
of  Jesus  Christ  but  the  whole  evangelical  scheme 
of  redemption  and  reconciliation  that  centres  in 
Him.  Hence  one  can  'preach  peace'  (Eph  217)  in 
view  of  the  results  of  the  gospel,  or  '  preach  the 


PRECIOUS 


PRECIOUS  STONES 


261 


faith '  (Gal  I*3),  or  '  preach  the  word  of  God '  (Ac 
13*)  as  a  Divinely  given  message  to  be  proclaimed 
and  as  a  gospel  of  salvation. 

LITERATURE. — In  addition  to  the  works  quoted  above,  see  J. 
Ker,  Lectures  on  the  History  o]  Preaching,  1888 ;  M.  Dods, 
'  The  Foolishness  of  Preaching,'  in  Expositor's  Bible,  '  1  Corinth- 
ians,' 1889  ;  artt.  on  '  Preaching,'  by  W.  F.  Adeney,  in  HDB 
and  DCG,  and  art.  on  'Preaching  Christ,'  by  J.  Denney,  in 
DCG  ;  A.  W.  Momerie,  Preaching  and  Hearing,  1886 ;  J.  B. 
Lightfoot,  Ordination  Addresses,  1890,  pp.  3-119;  J.  H.  Jowett, 
Apostolic  Optimism,  1910,  p.  262  ;  W.  T.  Davison,  Strength  for 
the  Way,  1902,  p.  137 ;  R.  W.  Dale,  Christian  Doctrine,  1894, 
p.  302  ;  J.  M.  E.  Ross,  The  Christian  Standpoint,  1911,  p.  15 ; 
A.  M.  Fairbairn,  Christ  in  the  Centuries,  1893,  p.  23. 

M.  SCOTT  FLETCHER. 

PRECIOUS. — The  word  is  of  frequent  occurrence 
in  the  NT,  and  represents  various  Greek  terms: 
fvn/j.os,  Ti/j.rj,  TL/JLIOS,  tcroViyuos.  The  root  idea  is  some- 
thing of  great  worth,  which  also  becomes  precious 
or  an  honour  to  those  who  possess  it.  It  is  applied 
to  jewels  (Rev  174  1812- J6  2111- 19),  to  wood  (1812), 
to  the  fruit  of  the  earth  (Ja  57),  to  costly  stones 
used  in  building,  i.e.  stones  of  large  size  or  of  great 
price,  like  marble,  etc.  (1  P  24- 6,  1  Co  3ia;  cf. 
2  Ch  36).  It  is  also  applied  to  the  great  promises 
(2  P  I4),  to  the  blood  of  Christ  (1  P  I19),  and  to 
faith,  'equally  precious  faith'  (2  P  I1,  RVm). 
The  AV  rendering  of  1  P  27,  '  Unto  you  therefore 
which  believe  he  is  precious,'  is  changed  in  RV  to 
'  For  you  therefore  which  believe  is  the  precious- 
ness.'  In  this  passage  the  RVm  '  honour '  is  to  be 
preferred  (see  HONOUR).  JOHN  REID. 

PRECIOUS  STONES  (\l0ot  rlfuoi-,  \l0os  rlfuos 
used  collectively  in  Rev  1812- 16). — The  writers  of 
Scripture  share  to  some  extent  the  instinctive 
delight  of  mankind  in  precious  stones,  '  a  subject 
in  which  the  majestic  might  of  Nature  presents 
itself  to  us  within  a  very  limited  space,  though,  in 
the  opinion  of  many,  nowhere  displayed  in  a  more 
admirable  manner'  (Pliny,  HN  xxxvii.  1).  St. 
Paul  uses  precious  stones  figuratively  (1  Co  313), 
in  allusion  either,  generally,  to  the  marbles  and 
other  costly  materials  employed  in  the  building 
of  palaces  and  temples,  or,  in  particular,  to  the 
'  pleasant  stones '  (LXX,  \l6oi  ^Xe/cTof,  Vulg.  'lapides 
desiderabiles ')  of  Is  54la.  He  thinks  of  Christians, 
of  characters,  or  of  creeds  (apparently  the  last 
are  more  immediately  in  view)  as  the  precious 
stones  which  may  be  built  upon  the  one  founda- 
tion, Jesus  Christ.  The  writer  of  the  Rev.  alludes 
to  the  proper  colours  of  precious  stones  in  a  very 
technical  manner,  displaying  '  that  exact  know- 
ledge of  particulars  only  possessed  by  persons 
either  dealing  with  precious  stones,  or  from  special 
circumstances  compelled  to  have  a  practical 
acquaintance  with  their  nature'  (C.  W.  King, 
The  Nat.  Hist,  of  Precious  Stones  and  of  the 
Precious  Metals*,  1867,  p.  325).  He  figures  Him 
that  sits  on  the  throne  of  heaven  as  like  a  jasper 
and  a  sardius  (43).  The  light  (<J>u<rrrip)  within  the 
New  Jerusalem  is  like  a  very  precious  stone, 
a  jasper,  crystal-clear  (2111) ;  and  the  foundations 
of  the  city  are  adorned  with  all  manner  of  precious 
stones  (2119).  The  merchandise  of  Imperial  Rome 
of  course  includes  precious  stones  (1812),  with 
which,  indeed,  the  city  decks  herself  (1818).  While 
Pliny,  a  contemporary  of  the  writer  of  Rev.,  ex- 
presses a  sober  regret  that  the  admiration  of 
precious  stones  '  has  now  increased  to  such  a  uni- 
versal passion'  (loc.  cit.),  the  Hebrew-Christian 
prophet  writes  with  a  holy  indignation,  since  to 
'his  mind  the  things  that  are  most  precious  have 
become  an  adornment  for  her  who  is  most  vile — for 
'Babylon,'  the  mother  of  harlots  (Rev  174-  B). 

The  idea  of  a  New  Jerusalem  built  of  precious 
stones  (2119'21)  was  not  original,  for  it  occurs  in  the 
prayer  of  Tobit  (To  1316-  17).  St.  John's  list  of  12 
precious  stones  is  closely  related  to  that  of  the 
12  engraved  stones  in  the  breastplate  of  the 


high  priest  (Ex  2817-20  3910-1S),  and  thus  to  that  of 
the  king  of  Tyre  (Ezk  281S,  where  the  LXX, 
diverging  widely  from  the  Massoretic  text,  simply 
reproduces  the  stones  of  the  breastplate).  It  was 
probably  the  writer's  intention  to  name  all  the 
12  stones  which  had  been  consecrated  by  use  in 
the  ephod,  but  he  quotes  loosely  from  memory, 
omitting  some  and  adding  others.  Sardius,  topaz, 
emerald,  sapphire,  jacinth,  amethyst,  beryl,  and 
jasper  reappear  in  his  list,  though  in  a  different 
order.  Carbuncle  (marg.  '  emerald '),  diamond 
(marg.  'carbuncle'),  agate,  and  onyx  (marg. 
'  beryl ')  are  omitted,  and  their  place  is  taken  by 
chalcedony,  sardonyx,  chrysolite,  and  chrysoprase. 

Various  causes  make  the  identification  of  the 
precious  stones  of  the  ancients  a  difficult  matter. 
The  classical  treatises  of  Theophrastus  (c.  300  B.C.) 
and  Pliny  (c.  A.D.  100)  are  full  of  interest,  but  the 
descriptions  of  particular  stones  are  often  too  vague 
for  diagnosis.  The  old  principle  of  classification 
was  colour  rather  than  chemical  affinity.  Various 
red  stones — ruby,  red  spinel,  and  garnet — were 
grouped  together  under  the  general  name  of 
carbuncle  (&v0pa£),  while  many  green  stones — 
emerald,  peridote,  green  fluorspar,  malachite,  and 
certain  kinds  of  quartz  and  jade — were  each  called 
<rfi.dpa.y8os.  Stones  once  deemed  valuable  have 
fallen  out  of  esteem,  and  their  names  have  been 
transferred  to  others  which  have  risen  into  favour. 
Stones  which  were,  and  still  are,  precious  have  had 
their  names  interchanged.  Of  the  twelve  founda- 
tion stones  in  Rev  2119-  x,  the  jasper,  the  emerald 
(a  corruption  of  <riJ.dpa.jSoy),  the  sardonyx,  the  sard, 
the  beryl,  and  the  amethyst  have  (on  the  whole) 
retained  their  ancient  meanings  ;  but  the  ancient 
sapphire  is  our  modern  lapis  lazuli,  the  chalcedony 
our  agate,  the  chrysolite  our  topaz,  the  topaz  our 
chrysolite,  and  the  jacinth  our  sapphire.  More- 
over, it  is  very  improbable  that  the  stones  in  the 
Hebrew  ephod  were  in  all  instances  so  precious  as 
the  Greek  names  assigned  to  them  in  the  Ptolemaic 
period  would  seem  to  indicate.  As  taste  developed, 
it  normally  moved  away  from  the  common  to  the 
rich  and  rare.  The  conquests  of  Alexander 
brought  into  the  Western  markets  all  the  gems 
of  the  gorgeous  East,  and  established  a  new 
standard  of  values  in  precious  minerals.  The 
diamond  and  the  ruby,  which  became  well  known 
in  the  Greek  and  Roman  periods,  are  anachronisms 
in  the  OT  (where  even  the  RV  retains  them) ;  and 
Flinders  Petrie  (HDB  iv.  619  fT.)  has  stated  strong 
reasons  for  holding  that  the  '  sardius '  of  the 
Hebrew  breastplate  (Ex  2817  ;  cf.  Rev  2120)  was  an 
opaque  red  jasper,  the  '  emerald '  a  quartz  crystal, 
the  '  topaz '  a  yellow  green  serpentine,  and  the 
'  beryl '  a  green  felspar.  The  question  whether  the 
writer  of  Rev.  gave  the  terms  he  found  (mostly) 
in  the  LXX  an  ancient  or  a  modern  connotation 
is  one  which  perhaps  scarcely  occurred  to  himself. 

It  is  probable  that  precious  stones  were  origin- 
ally valued  less  for  their  beauty  and  rarity  than 
for  the  magical  and  medicinal  powers  which  they 
were  supposed  to  possess.  By  a  kind  of  sympa- 
thetic magic  the  amethyst  (d,  '  not,'  and  /tt0i/(r/cw, 
'  make  drunk ')  with  its  wine-red  colour  was  re- 
puted to  be  a  preventive  of  intoxication,  the  red 
jasper  (or  blood-stone)  was  a  cure  for  haemorrhage, 
the  green  jasper  brought  fertility  to  the  soil,  and 
so  forth.  According  to  the  doctrine  of  '  signa- 
tures,' each  mineral  was  supposed  to  be  marked  by 
some  natural  sign  which  indicated  the  particular 
medicinal  use  to  which  it  could  be  put.  The 
belief  in  'lucky  stones'  was  widespread.  Pliny 
gravely  sets  down  the  peculiar  virtues  of  many 
of  the  precious  stones  which  he  describes :  the 
diamond  '  neutralizes  poison  and  dispels  delirium ' ; 
amber,  '  worn  on  the  neck,  is  a  cure  for  fevers  and 
other  diseases,'  and  so  on.  From  this  superstition 


262 


PREDESTINATION 


PREDESTINATION 


the  writer  of  Rev.  is  far  removed.  It  does  not 
appear  that  his  precious  stones  have  any  occult  or 
mystical  meaning.  He  merely  uses  their  colours 
aesthetically,  as  the  pigments  of  a  splendid  picture. 
His  sole  desire  is  to  fire  the  imagination  with  an 
idea  of  the  radiant  beauty  of  the  city  whose 
builder  and  maker  is  God. 

LITERATURE.— W.  M.  Flinders  Petrie,  art.  'Stones,  Precious,' 
in  HDB;  A.  S.  Murray  and  A.  H.  Smith,  art.  'Gem'  in 
.&Brll ;  C.  Babington,  art.  '  Gems'  in  Smith's  DC  A. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

PREDESTINATION.— 1.  Context.— Predestina- 
tion in  its  widest  reference,  as  attributed  to  God, 
is  '  His  eternal  purpose,  according  to  the  counsel 
of  His  will,  whereby,  for  His  own  glory,  He  hath 
foreordained  whatsoever  comes  to  pass'  (The 
Shorter  Catechism,  A.  7).  The  word  '  predestinate' 
appears  nowhere  in  the  AV  of  the  OT,  and  in  the 
NT  it  has  now  disappeared,  having  given  place  to 
'  foreordain '  in  the  RV  in  the  four  places  where 
the  AV  had  it  (Ro  829- 30,  Eph  I5-  ").  '  Foreordained' 
of  the  AV  has  also  given  place  to  '  foreknown  '  in 
the  RV  of  1  P  12U  (where  the  Gr.  is  irpoeyvuff^vov. 
See  FOREKNOWLEDGE).  '  Foreordain '  in  the  pas- 
sages referred  to  above,  and  also  in  Ac  4^  ( AV  '  de- 
termined before '),  1  Co  27  (AV  '  ordained '),  renders 
Trpoopifeiv,  the  tense  employed  in  these  six  instances 
being  the  aorist,  as  befitted  a  purpose  of  the 
Divine  mind  from  eternity.  The  simple  opL'geiv 
occurs  similarly  with  a  kindred  meaning  (Lk  2222  : 
Kara  rb  uipifffj^vov  ;  Ac  223 :  rrj  upiantvTj  /Soi/Ag  ;  cf. 
Ac  10421726-31,  Ro  I4). 

2.  Connotation.  —  Election   and  predestination 
belong  to  the  purpose  of  grace  cherished  in  the 
Divine   mind   from  all  eternity ;    and    as  far  as 
salvation  is  concerned  they  are  the  expression  of 
the  entire  dependence  of  sinful  man  upon  the  grace 
of  God  from  the  beginning  to  the  end.      They  are 
included  together  by  St.  Paul  among  the  spiritual 
blessings  bestowed  upon  believers ;   and  the  two 
transactions  are  regarded  as   taking  place  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world  (Eph  I4-*).     Election 
has  in  view  the  persons  who  are  to  be  the  objects 
of  Divine  blessing ;  predestination  the  privileges 
and     blessings    which    are    to    be    their    portion 
(Ro  829-30,   Eph    I4-6).     Foreknowledge  (Trp6yi>u<ns, 
1  P  I2  ;  cf.   Ro  S29,  1  P  I20)  belongs  to  the  same 
purpose  of  grace,  and  is  spoken  of  by  St.  Paul  as 
the  first  step  in  the  Divine  plan  of  salvation,  for 
it  is  those  whom  God  '  foreknew '  whom  He  also 
'  foreordained '  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of 
His  Son.     The  word  '  chose '  (ei'Xaro)  in  2  Th  213 
includes  '  foreknew '  and  '  foreordained '  of  Ro  S29, 
and  has  itself  apparently   the  force  of  '  elected ' 
(eleX^aro). 

3.  Predestination  in  the  moral  world.— It  be- 
longs to  the  very  nature  of  God  that  He  should 
have  a  counsel  or  purpose  which   embraces    all 
things  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  and  that  this 
counsel  shall  be  assuredly  accomplished.     This  is 
again  and  again  declared  in  Scripture  :  '  The  Lord 
hath   made  all  things  for  himself ;  yea,  even  the 
wicked  for  the  day  of  evil '  (Pr  164) ;  '  My  counsel 
shall  stand,  and  I  will  do  all  my  pleasure  '  (Is  4610). 
St.   Paul  affirms  this  truth   when   he  speaks    of 
'  the  purpose  of  him  who  worketh  all  things  after 
the  counsel  of  his  will'  (Eph  I11).     Not  only  the 
good  but  the  evil  of  the  world  comes  under  the 
Divine   predestinating    purpose,    for   the    evil  as 
well  as  the  good  is    known   beforehand   to   the 
Omniscient    (Ac    1518).      'In    him    we    live,   and 
move,  and  have  our  being'  (1728),  and  every  act 
of  man,  whatever  its  motive,  is  performed  with 
bodily  life  and  strength,  with  faculties  and  powers 
which  He  has  supplied,  and  continues  to  supply, 
to  the  best  and  to  the  worst,  to  the  noblest  and 
the    most   depraved.      Whilst  not    Himself    the 
author  of  sin,  He  not  only  suffers  the  evil  designs 


and  wicked  purposes  of  men,  but  uses  them  (and 
by  using  them  shows  that  He  purposed  to  use 
them  from  all  eternity)  for  ends  of  His  own, 
even  the  loftiest  and  holiest  of  which  men  can  form 
any  conception.  The  deatli  of  Christ  was  an 
essential  element  in  the  Divine  plan  of  redemption. 
To  bring  to  pass  the  deatli  of  Clirist  He  made  use 
of  the  hatred  of  the  Jews,  the  baseness  of  the 
betrayer,  and  the  culpable  weakness  of  the  Roman 
governor.  The  first  Christians  discerned  and 
acknowledged  this  as  they  lifted  up  their  united 
voice  in  prayer  to  God  and  said  :  '  Of  a  truth  in 
this  city  against  thy  holy  Servant  Jesus,  whom 
thou  didst  anoint,  both  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate, 
with  the  Gentiles  and  the  peoples  of  Israel,  were 
gathered  together,  to  do  whatsoever  thy  hand  and 
thy  counsel  foreordained  to  come  to  pass '  (da-a  y  xe//> 
crov  Kal  rj  /3ou\i]  irpo&piffev  yevtffdai,  Ac  4--i7'-).  And  St. 
Peter  declared  the  same  truth  to  the  Jewish 
multitudes  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost :  '  Him  being 
delivered  up  by  the  determinate  counsel  and  fore- 
knowledge of  God,  ye  by  the  hand  of  lawless  men 
did  crucify  and  slay'  (TTJ  wpi<T/j.tvri  fiooXrj  ical  irpo- 
yvwa-ei  TOV  0eoD,  Ac  223).  It  was  in  language  no  less 
strong  that  the  Lord  Himself  predicted  His  betrayal 
and  death  :  '  The  Son  of  man  indeed  goeth,  as  it 
hath  been  determined  (fcard  ri>  upurntvov,  Lk  2222) : 
but  woe  unto  that  man  through  whom  he  is  be- 
trayed.' We  also  read  that  He  showed  'unto  his 
disciples,  how  that  he  must  go  unto  Jerusalem, 
and  suffer  many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief 
priests  and  scribes,  and  be  killed,  and  the  third 
day  be  raised  up '  (Mt  1621).  These  passages  '  com- 
bine to  show  that  not  only  in  the  physical  world, 
which  is  generally  admitted  to  be  subject  in  all  its 
provinces  to  the  absolute  control  and  regulation 
of  the  Almighty,  but  also  in  the  moral  world,  all 
circumstances  and  events,  dependent  though  they 
may  be  on  the  voluntary  actions  of  His  intelligent 
creatures,  are  nevertheless  pre-arranged  and  pre- 
determined by  Him  ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  what- 
soever God  does  by  His  own  personal  agency  in 
any  department  of  the  universe,  and  whatsoever 
He  permits  to  be  done  by  the  agency  of  His 
rational  creatures,  is  done  or  permitted  by  Him 
purposely  and  designedly,  in  accordance  with  His 
own  determinate  counsels,  and  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  His  own  contemplated  ends'  (Crawford, 
Mysteries  of  Christianity,  p.  303). 

4.  St.  Paul's  view  of  predestination  and  sal- 
vation.— Predestination,  however,  in  its  bearing 
upon  salvation  finds  its  great  exponent  in  the 
apostle  Paul.  That  God  has  foreordained  par- 
ticular persons  from  all  eternity  to  salvation  and 
eternal  life,  that  He  has  provided  for  them  the 
means  to  that  salvation  in  the  work  of  Christ  and 
the  gracious  ministry  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  that 
He  bestows  upon  them  grace  to  persevere  to  the 
end,  is  especially  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul.  Here, 
again,  as  in  his  teaching  upon  election,  St.  Paul 
follows  up  the  teaching  of  the  Lord.  '  No  man  can 
come  to  me,'  says  Jesus,  '  except  the  Father  which 
sent  me  draw  him  :  and  I  will  raise  him  up  in  the 
last  day '  ( Jn  644).  '  My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I 
know  them,  and  they  follow  me.  .  .  .  My  Father, 
which  hath  given  them  unto  me,  is  greater  than 
all ;  and  no  one  is  able  to  snatch  them  out  of 
the  Father's  hand'  (1027-  *>).  'All  that  which  the 
Father  giveth  me  shall  come  unto  me '  is,  as  the 
older  divines  would  have  put  it,  an  article  in  the 
Covenant  of  Redemption  between  the  Father  and 
the  Son  in  the  counsels  of  eternity  ;  '  and  him  that 
cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out'  is  an 
article  in  the  Covenant  of  Grace  wherein  the  offer 
of  a  free  and  a  full  salvation  is  made  to  all  (6s7). 
It  is  this  teaching  which  St.  Paul  casts  into  his 
own  more  philosophical  moulds  and  expounds  in 
language  which  has  not  only  passed  into  the  voca- 


PREDESTINATION 


PREDESTINATION 


263 


bulary  of  theology,  but  even  become  familiar  in 
the  religious  speech  of  many  types  of  evangelical 
Christians.  '  We  know,'  he  says  in  a  characteristic 
utterance,  '  that  to  them  that  love  God  all  things 
work  together  for  good,  even  to  them  that  are 
called  according  to  his  purpose.  For  whom  he 
foreknew,  he  also  foreordained  to  be  conformed  to 
the  image  of  his  Son,  that  he  might  be  the  firstborn 
among  many  brethren  '  (Ro  S28- ya).  The  sovereignty 
in  which  St.  Paul  here  reposes  such  confidence  is 
the  sovereignty  of  a  God  of  grace  and  faithfulness  ; 
and  he  is  confident  that  He  who  began  a  good  work 
in  him  and  his  fellow-believers  'will  perfect  it 
until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ '  (Ph  I6).  The  end  to 
which  God  '  foreordained '  those  whom  He  '  fore- 
knew '  is  conformity  to  the  image  of  His  Son,  that 
they  should  be  sons  of  God  after  His  likeness  of 
love  and  holiness  here  and  dignity  and  glory  above. 
This  end  is  that  which  apostolic  teaching  always 
lias  in  view,  and  no  other  :  the  apostles  have  noth- 
ing to  say  of  predestination  to  wrath  or  destruction 
(cf.  1  Th  I2'8,  2  Th  213,  2  Ti  I9,  1  P  I1-  2). 

In  the  opening  passage  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians  St.  Paul  sets  forth  in  still  greater  detail 
this  great  doctrine  (Eph  18-8.11.12).  jt  is  'the 
saints  which  are  at  Ephesus  and  the  faithful  in 
Christ  Jesus'  who  are  the  objects  of  this  Divine 
choice  and  blessing,  persons  who  are  believing  men 
and  women  (rots  •n-ia-roh)  and  Christians  indeed 
(rots  ayiois).  The  benefits  bestowed  upon  them  in 
common  with  the  Apostle  are  enumerated  as 
'  redemption,'  '  forgiveness  of  sins,'  '  holiness,' 
'  adoption '  as  sons  of  God,  '  a  heavenly  inherit- 
ance,' and  they  comprise  '  every  spiritual  blessing 
in  the  heavenly  places  in  Christ' — benefits  not 
merely  offered  but  actually  enjoyed,  and  that  in 
accordance  with  the  purpose  of  God  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world.  The  Divine  choice  rested 
upon  them  and  took  effect  in  them  not  because  of 
their  merits  or  attainments,  not  because  God  fore- 
saw in  them  a  holiness  and  a  faith  marking  them 
out  as  recipients  of  eternal  favour  and  blessing, 
but  '  according  to  the  good  pleasure  of  his  will,  to 
the  praise  of  the  glory  of  his  grace.'  They  were 
chosen  not  because  of  foreseen  holiness  and  blame- 
lessness,  but  '  in  order  that  they  should  be  holy 
and  without  blemish.'  If  we  adopt  the  punctua- 
tion which  connects  '  in  love '  (at  the  close  of 
v.4)  with  '  having  foreordained '  (at  the  commence- 
ment of  v.5),  and  which  has  some  textual  authority, 
we  should  hold  that  it  was  in  love  that  He  fore- 
ordained them,  moved  by  'an  "unseen  universe" 
of  reasons  anil  causes  wholly  beyond  our  discovery ' 
(H.  C.  G.  Moule,  Cambridge  Bible,  'Ephesians,' 
1886,  p.  48).  Whatever  the  grounds  of  God's  pre- 
destinating purpose,  they  did  not  lie  in  any  merits 
or  qualifications  of  theirs,  for  they  were  called 
'not  according  to  their  works,  but  according  to 
his  own  purpose  and  grace  before  the  world  began ' 
(2  Ti  I8).  Election  is  a  spontaneous  act  of  God's 
favour  and  grace,  uncalled  for  by  anything  in  the 
objects  of  it  moving  Him  thereto.  Before  the 
ages  of  time  God  foreordained  the  glory  of  the 
saints,  and  with  a  view  to  that  consummation  He 
purposed  both  creation  and  redemption  (1  Co  27 
with  T.  S.  Evans'  note  in  Speaker's  Com.  iii.  [1881]). 

Whilst  St.  Paul  in  speaking  of  God's  pre- 
destinating purpose  towards  the  saints  calls  them 
'  vessels  of  mercy  which  he  afore  prepared  unto 
glory '  (Ro  O23),  he  is  careful  not  to  attribute  to  the 
immediate  agency  of  God  '  the  destruction '  which 
overtakes  the  '  vessels  of  wrath '  (Ro  9M).  These 
the  Apostle  describes  as  '  fitted  unto  destruction,' 
whom  God  'endured  with  much  longsuffering ' ; 
and  he  regards  them  as  bringing  upon  themselves 
by  their  obstinacy  and  continued  sinfulness  the 
naturalpenalty  of  their  guilt,  the  just  judgment  of 
God.  The  issue  of  glory  for  the  saints  proceeds 


from  God's  predestinating  purpose  '  according  to 
the  good  pleasure  of  his  will '  and  without  any 
foresight  of  merit  on  their  part ;  the  issue  of 
destruction  for  the  wicked  proceeds  from  the 
rejection  of  offered  grace  and  their  persistence  in 
transgression  and  sin.  The  distinction  is  that  set 
forth  by  St.  Paul  when  he  says :  '  The  wages  of 
sin  is  death ;  but  the  free  gift  of  God  is  eternal 
life  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord  (Ro  G23). 

That  God's  sovereignty  in  predestination  is  exer- 
cised consistently  with  man's  perfect  liberty  to 
choose  is  an  antinomy  which  it  is  impossible  for  us 
to  reconcile,  but  which,  nevertheless,  stands  out 
clear  in  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul.  In  Ro  920- 21  St. 
Paul  appeals  to  one  side  of  the  antinomy  and 
affirms  the  Divine  sovereignty  by  reference  to  the 
figure  of  the  potter  ;  and  in  Ro  1011'15  he  exhibits 
the  other  side  when  he  affirms  the  universality 
and  freeness  of  the  gospel  otter,  saying,  'Whosoever 
shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be 
saved.  How  then  shall  they  call  on  him  in  whom 
they  have  not  believed  ?  and  how  shall  they  believe 
in  him  whom  they  have  not  heard  ?  and  how  shall 
they  hear  without  a  preacher  ? '  Whilst  St.  Paul, 
as  we  have  seen,  affirms  the  doctrine  of  absolute 
predestination  to  life,  he  asserts  no  less  clearly  the 
truth  of  human  responsibility.  Underlying  all  his 
exhortations  to  holiness,  and  all  his  presentations 
of  gospel  privilege  and  blessing,  there  is  the 
assumption  of  the  freedom  of  the  human  will  to 
avail  itself  of  ottered  grace  or  to  refuse  it,  to  put 
forth  effort  or  to  remain  inactive.  Whilst  the 
kindling  of  the  Divine  life  in  the  soul  through  the 
exercise  of  faith  in  Christ  is.  of  sovereign  grace 
(Eph  2s),  the  increase  and  fruitfulness  of  the 
Divine  life  through  prayer  and  service  depends 
upon  the  same  grace,  as  St.  Paul  exhorts :  '  Work 
out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling  ; 
for  it  is  God  which  worketh  in  you  both  to  will 
and  to  work,  for  his  good  pleasure'  (Ph  212- 1S). 

5.  Predestination  in  Christian  experience. — The 
doctrine  of    predestination    has    the    analogy    of 
Christian  experience  to  support  it.     Every  Chris- 
tian man  is  ready  to  acknowledge  that  there  was 
some  power  at  work  for  his  salvation  before  his 
own  freewill.     '  We  love,'  says  St.  John,  '  because 
he  first  loved  us  '  (1  Jn  419).     It  is  He  who,  through 
the  Holy  Spirit,  by  the  use  of  the  means  of  grace, 
quickens  into  spiritual  life  men  who  are  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins.      And  there  are  multitudes 
who  acknowledge  their  experience  to  have  been 
that  of  Lydia,  '  whose  heart  the  Lord  opened,  to 
give  heed  unto  the  things  which  were  spoken  by 
Paul '  (Ac  1614).     In  Christian  experience  there  is 
the  conviction  of  this  gracious  influence  which  has 
been  beforehand  with  us  in  showing  us  the  guilt  of 
sin  and  leading  us  to  Christ  for  salvation,  but  there 
is  also   the  consciousness  of  moral  responsibility, 
requiring   from  us  the  constant  exercise  of  faith 
and  the  diligent  use  of  all  the  means  of  grace.     '  1 
could  no  more,'  says  Erskine  of  Linlathen,  writing 
to  Thomas  Chalmers  from  Herrnhut  (Letters,  1800- 
1840,  ed.  Hanna,  1877),  '  separate  the  belief  of  pre- 
destination  from  my  idea  of  God,  than  I  could 
separate   the    conviction   of    moral  responsibility 
from  my  own  consciousness.     I  do  not,  to  be  sure, 
see  how  these  two  things  coincide,  but  I  am  pre- 
pared for  my  own  ignorance  on  these  points.     We 
know  things,  not  absolutely  as  they  are  in  them- 
selves, but  relatively  as  they  are  to  us  and  to  our 
practical  necessities.'    There  we  must  be  content 
to  leave  the  antinomy,  believing  that  though  it  is 
beyond  our  limited  powers  to  reconcile,  it  is  recon- 
ciled in  the  mind  of  the  All-knowing  and  Eternal 
God. 

6.  Practical  applications. — The  doctrine  of  pre- 
destination has  practical  applications  full  of  com- 
fort and  encouragement.     A  reasonable  assurance 


264    FEE-EXISTENCE  OF  CHRIST 


PRE-EXISTENCE  OF  CHRIST 


of  salvation  finds  in  the  eternal  decree,  whose  sole 
cause  is  the  good  pleasure  and  eternal  will  of  God, 
its  most  certain  and  abiding  ground.  To  have  a 
well-grounded  persuasion,  through  the  fruit  of  the 
Spirit  and  the  evidences  of  the  new  life,  that  one 
is  of  the  number  of  those  whom  God  foreknew  and 
foreordained  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  His 
Son,  cannot  fail  on  the  one  hand  to  fill  one  with 
gratitude  and  humility,  and  on  the  other  to  stimu- 
late one  to  the  pursuit  of  holiness  and  all  the 
graces  of  the  Christian  life.  The  belief  that  God 
in  His  predestinating  purpose  has  His  elect — 
known  to  Him  when  unknown  to  man — in  every 
community  and  every  congregation  where  Christ  is 
preached,  is  an  encouragement  to  faithful  ministry, 
as  it  was  to  St.  Paul  when  in  a  vision  of  the  night 
the  Lord  said  to  him :  '  I  have  much  people  in 
this  city'  (Ac  1810).  'The  doctrine  of  this  high 
mystery  of  predestination,'  says  the  Westminster 
Confession  (ch.  iii.  8),  '  is  to  be  handled  with 
special  prudence  and  care,  that  men  attending  to 
the  will  of  God  revealed  in  His  word,  and  yielding 
obedience  thereunto,  may,  from  the  certainty  of 
their  effectual  vocation,  be  assured  of  their  eternal 
election.  So  shall  this  doctrine  atl'ord  matter  of 
praise,  reverence,  and  admiration  of  God,  and  of 
humility,  diligence,  and  abundant  consolation  to 
all  that  sincerely  obey  the  Gospel.' 

LITERATURE.— C.  Hodge,  Syttematic  Theology,  1872,  i.  535  ff. ; 
T.  J.  Crawford,  Mysteries  of  Christianity,  1874,  p.  291  ff.  ; 
John  Forbes,  Predestination  and  Freewill,  1878 ;  J.  B.  Mozley, 
Predestination?,  1878  ;  B.  Jowett,  The  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  to 
the  Thessalonians,  Galatians,  and  Romans,  1894,  ii.  870 ;  J. 
Drummond,  Studies  in  Christian  Doctrine,  1907,  p.  463  ;  T. 
Haering,  The  Christian  Faith,  1913,  p.  788  ff. 

T.   NlCOL. 

PRE-EXISTENCE  OF  CHRIST.— With  regard 
to  pre-existence,  the  apostolic  Scriptures  furnish 
material  for  the  two-fold  conclusion,  that  it  does 
not  belong  to  the  primary  data  of  Christian  faith 
in  the  Historic  and  Exalted  Jesus,  but  that  it  is 
a  necessary  implicate  of  that  faith.  It  forms  no 
element  in  the  primitive  doctrine  recorded  in  the 
opening  chapters  of  Acts.  Under  the  impulse  of 
the  Spirit,  the  conviction  of  their  Master  s  resur- 
rection wrought  in  the  first  disciples  a  victorious 
re-assertion  of  faith  in  Him  as  the  Messianic 
Redeemer.  He  is  proclaimed  as  '  both  Lord  and 
Christ ' ;  and  under  the  category  of  Messiahship 
this  primitive  gospel  involves  all  that  is  character- 
istic in  historical  Christianity  (see  Denney,  Jesus 
and  the  Gospel,  p.  15  fF. ).  Jesus  is  sovereign  in  the 
government  of  the' world  as  in  the  realm  of  spirit- 
ual ideals,  author  of  salvation  in  every  sense  of  the 
word,  moral  and  eschatological ;  but  there  is  no 
emergence  of  the  thought  that  His  origin  must  be 
transcendent  as  His  destiny — no  hint  of  pre- 
existence.  Christ's  place  in  eternity  is  in  the 
foreknowledge  and  counsel  of  the  Father. 

Coming  to  the  Pauline  Epistles,  we  enter  a 
Christological  atmosphere  which  is  startlingly 
different.  In  the  earlier  Epistles  the  Pre-existence 
is  not  so  much  asserted  as  taken  for  granted.  In 
marked  contrast  with  such  themes  as  the  Atone- 
ment or  Justification,  it  is  never  made  the  subject 
of  the  Apostle's  dialectic ;  but  deductions,  both 
practical  and  speculative,  are  drawn  from  it  as  an 
axiomatic  truth,  familiar  equally  to  writer  and  to 
readers,  and  disputed  by  no  one.  And  although  it 
is  only  in  the  later  Epistles  that  the  necessity  of 
the  Pre-existence  as  the  basis  for  a  full  world- 
embracing  redemption  is  deliberately  set  forth, 
there  is  no  evidence  of  a  real  development  either 
in  the  conviction  of  the  fact  or  in  the  conception 
of  its  significance. 

The  chief  Pauline  passages  are  the  following. 
With  regard  to  the  closely  parallel  texts,  Gal  44 
and  Ro  8s,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the 
obviously  intended  contrast  between  the  dignity  of 


God's  '  own  Son  '  and  the  conditions  of  His  earthly 
life  ('  born  of  a  woman,  made  under  the  law,'  '  in 
the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh ')  is  fully  illuminated 
only  by  the  assumption  of  His  pre-existence.  In 
speaking  of  the  sacraments  of  the  wilderness 
(1  Co  101'4)  St.  Paul  clearly  presupposes  the  activity 
of  the  pre-incarnate  Christ  in  the  history  of  Israel. 
The  statement  that  the  Rock  in  Kadesh  was  Christ 
does  not  imply  that  he  regarded  it  as  an  actual 
Christophany  (Bousset,  Die  Schriften  des  NT,  ii. 
[1908]  115) ;  but  it  does  imply  that,  in  St.  Paul's 
view,  the  water  miraculously  furnished  by  it  was 
'  spiritual  drink '  because  in  it  Christ  was  sacra- 
mentally  active  for  receptive  souls.  In  1  Co  86,  as 
one  God,  the  Father,  is  the  ultimate  source  and 
end  of  all  creation,  so  one  Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  is  its 
Mediator — the  first  hint  of  that  more  fully  formu- 
lated conception  of  the  '  cosmic '  Christ  which  is  a 
feature  of  later  Epistles.  A  similarly  anticipatory 
passage  is  2  Co  89 — 'Ye  know  the  grace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  though  he  was  rich,  he  for 
your  sakes  became  poor,'  which  cannot  be  naturally 
understood  in  any  other  sense  than  that  Christ's 
earthly  life  was  to  His  prior  condition  as  beggary 
to  wealth.  This  thought  of  the  Incarnation  as  an 
act  of  self-abnegation,  by  which  an  original  state 
of  heavenly  glory  was  voluntarily  exchanged  for 
one  of  human  limitation  and  suffering,  is  expanded 
in  Ph  25'11,  the  most  deliberate  and  majestic  of  St. 
Paul's  utterances  upon  the  subject.  Whether  we 
understand  by  fj.op<j>7j  0eou  a  form  which  is  separable 
or  that  which  is  inseparable  from  the  Divine 
essence,  one  which  was  surrendered  or  that  which 
could  not  be  surrendered,  does  not  affect  the 
assertion  of  pre-existence.  Christ  became  man 
only  by  laying  aside  a  state  of  being  to  which  an 
equal  participation  with  God  in  all  Divine  pre- 
rogatives (rb  elvai  Icra  Oe<f)  naturally  belonged. 
Finally,  in  Colossians  and  Ephesians  St.  Paul  de- 
velops the  thought  of  Christ's  relation  to  created 
being  as  a  whole.  In  His  pre-incarnate  state,  He 
is  the  apxtfi  the  Head  or  Origin,  the  TTPUTOTOKOS 
ird.<rt)s  Krlfffus,  begotten  before  all  creatures  and  the 
agent  of  their  creation,  therefore  possessing  supre- 
macy, absolute  and  universal  (Col  I15- 1(i).  The 
same  conception  is  implied  in  Eph  I10— as  all  things 
are  originally  centred  in  Him,  so  they  are  destined 
to  be  gathered  together  and  re-centred  in  Him ; 
while  in  Eph  I4  His  pre-existence  is  brought  more 
directly  into  relation  with  human  redemption — we 
are  chosen  '  in  him  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world.' 

In  the  later  Epistles,  it  thus  appears,  there 
is  a  larger  use  of  the  concept  of  pre-existence,  a 
more  deliberate  unfolding  of  its  relations  to  God, 
humanity,  and  the  created  universe ;  but,  while  this 
enables  us  to  apprehend  more  clearly  how  the  con- 
cept was  already  latent  in  the  primary  faith- 
experience  of  the  Exalted  Christ,  it'cannot  be  said 
that  the  later  Epistles,  as  compared  with  the 
earlier,  show  any  distinct  advance  in  the  Apostle's 
or  in  the  Church's  belief  in  the  fact.  And  here  we 
are  confronted  with  a  problem.  The  thought  of 
the  Apostolic  Church  has  advanced  from  the  posi- 
tion reflected  in  the  first  chapters  of  Acts,  in  which 
there  is  no  hint  of  a  doctrine  of  pre-existence, 
to  that  presupposed  even  in  the  earlier  Pauline 
Epistles,  where  its  presence  and  activity  are  fully 
assumed  ;  and  apparently  nothing  save  a  process 
of  development  so  gradual,  silent,  and  unconscious 
as  to  have  left  no  trace,  bridges  the  distance 
between  the  Pentecostal  discourses  and  Colossians. 
By  what  processes  of  thought  may  it  be  supposed 
that  this  remarkable  transition  was  effected  ? 
Various  attempts  have  been  made  to  find  a  solution 
of  the  problem  ab  extra. 

(a]  Jewish  apocalyptic. — '  Even  as  a  Jew,  Saul 
believed  the  Messiah  to  be  already  in  existence ' 


FEE-EXISTENCE  OF  CHRIST 


FEE-EXISTENCE  OF  CHEIST     265 


(H.  Weinel,  St.  Paul,  Eng.  tr.,  1906,  p.  45). 
'Jewish  Messianic  speculation  had  already  im- 
agined a  picture  for  the  completion  of  which  really 
nothing  was  wanting  but  the  Nicene  dogmas  '  (ib. 
p.  313).  It  is  true  that  such  passages  as  2  Es.  xii. 
32,  xiii.  26,  xiv.  9,  En.  xlviii.  6,  Ixii.  7  bear  out  the 
statement  that  pre-existence  of  the  Messiah  was  a 
feature  of  traditional  apocalyptic  doctrine  ;  nor  is 
there  any  antecedent  improbability  that  the  de- 
velopment of  Christian  belief  may  have  been  influ- 
enced from  this  quarter.  At  the  same  time  it  is 
to  be  noted  that  the  apocalyptic  tenet  has  its  place 
in  a  connexion  of  ideas  quite  different  from  the 
Christian.  Since  according  to  the  cherished  apoca- 
lyptic hope  the  Redemption  was  imminent  and 
might  arrive  at  any  moment,  it  followed  that  the 
Messiah  must  be  already  in  existence,  waiting  only 
to  be  revealed  (Dalman,  Words  of  Jesus,  Eng.  tr., 
1902,  p.  302).  No  such  stimulus  was  applicable  to 
the  development  of  the  Christian  belief. 

(b)  Rnbbinism. — According  to  its  peculiar  mode 
of  thought,  Rabbinism  expressed  the  transcendent 
value  of  any  person  or  thing  by  assigning  to  it  a 
pre-existent  celestial  archetype.     Thus,  according 
to  the  Midrash  on  Ps  89,  the  Throne  of  Glory, 
Messiah  the  King,  the  Torah,  ideal  Israel,  Repent- 
ance,  Gehenna,  were  created   before   the  world. 
But  the  inclusion  of  Repentance  in  this  list  sheds 
a  significant  light  upon  the  sense  in  which  these 
entities    are    regarded   as     having   preternatural 
existence.     In  Rabbinism,  according   to  the  best 
authorities,  the  pre-existence  of  the  Messiah  was 
only  ideal — '  not  literal,  but  present  only  in  God's 
eternal  counsel  of    salvation'   (Weber,   Judische 
Theologie,  p.  355).     The  name  of  the  Messiah  was 
ideally  pre-existent  (ib.    p.    198).     'As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  earlier  rabbinism  was   content  with 
holding,  on  the  basis  of   Ps   7217,  the  pre-exist- 
ence of  the  name  only'  (Dalman,  Words  of  Jesus, 
p.  301). 

(c)  Alexandrian  Judaism. — According  to  Philo 
(Sac.  leg.  alleg.  on  Gn  27  [ed.  Mangey,  i.  49],  de 
Miindi  opificio,  ed.  Mangey,  i.  30),  God  created 
two  kinds  &f  men — a  '  heavenly '  man,  made  after 
the  isnage  of  God,  incorruptible  and  super-terres- 
trial ;  the  other  formed  of  the  dust,  composed  of 
body  and  soul,  male  and  female,  by  nature  mortal. 
And,    with  1  Co  l544-49  as  almost  a  sole  support, 
it  has  been  maintained  by  various  scholars  since 
Baur,  that  St.   Paul  has  simply  taken  over  the 
Alexandrian  theory.     That  some  such  theory  has, 
directly  or  indirectly,  suggested  the  wording  of 
the  Pauline  passage  seems  certain.     But  if  there 
is  any  intentional  reference,  it  can  only  be  by  way 
of  refuting  the   Philonic  view   (see  Bousset,  Re- 
ligion des  Judenthums,  p.  406).     The  '  heavenly ' 
man,   who  with   Philo  is  the   'first,'  is  with  St. 
Paul  the  'second'  (as  if  to  emphasize  the  point, 
it  is  expressly  said,  '  that  was  not  first  which  was 
spiritual,  but  that  which  was  natural ;  and  after- 
ward that  which  is  spiritual ').     When,  moreover, 
St.   Paul  distinguishes  the   two  as  '  from   earth ' 
and  'from  heaven,'  he  points  to  their  respective 
sources  and  qualities  of  being,  implying  nothing 
as  to  a  previous  state  of  being. 

While  the  history  of  primitive  Christianity 
proves  its  eclectic  genius,  its  hospitality  towards 
all  ideas  and  forms  of  thought  by  which  it  could 
express  its  sense  of  the  inexpressible  religious 
value  of  Christ,  and  while  there  is  no  a  priori 
reason  to  deny  that  it  may  have  incidentally 
woven  into  its  own  web  sundry  hints  of  a  pre- 
existent  Messiah  or  Ideal  Man,  it  seems  impossible 
that  the  rapid  Christological  advance  which  had 
taken  place  by  the  time  the  Pauline  Epistles  were 
written  can  have  been  in  any  vital  way  influenced 
by  the  recondite  speculations  of  apocalyptic, 
Rabbinical,  or  Hellenistic  Judaism. 


That  this  advance  was  connected  chiefly  with  Pauline  lines 
of  thought  is  perhaps  suggested  by  the  fact  that  little  or  no 
use  is  made  of  the  conception  of  pre-existence  in  1  Peter.  The 
language  of  in — rb  iv  aurois  Trvevjia  XpiaroG — suggests  but  does 
not  necessarily  imply  it  (see  Hort's  note  in  lue.).  To  say  that 
the  Spirit  who  inspired  the  prophets  was  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
does  not  imply  that  Christ  was  personally  coeval  with  the  pro- 
phets (cf.  He  1126).  In  1  P  1*>  it  is  claimed  that  <t>a.vfp<a8fvros 
implies  pre-existence,  since  only  that  which  already  exists  can 
be  manifested ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  parallelism  between 
<£ai>ep<o0e'i/Tos  and  n-poeyviocrfxfVou  excludes  a  reference  to  per- 
sonal pre-existence.  He  who  was  manifested  is  He  who  was 
foreknown,  and  the  object  of  Divine  foreknowledge  must  be 
the  incarnate,  not  the  pre-existent  Christ.  Nor  is  the  present 
writer  able  to  appreciate  the  force  of  the  rrason  for  which 
Chase  (HDB  iii.  793»>)  regards  318. 19  as  decisive— viz.  that  the 
'  spirit*  in  which  Christ  was  'quickened'  and  ministered  to  the 
'  spirits  in  prison '  is  represented  as  something  assumed  by  Him 
no  less  than  the  'flesh'  in  which  He  was  'put  to  death,' and 
that,  therefore,  Christ  is  conceived  as  having  existed  before  the 
beginning  of  His  human  life.  To  deduce  from  the  words  iv  <J 
that  Christ  had  a  personal  existence  prior  to  His  possession  of 
the  'spirit'  in  which  He  acted  after  His  death  in  the  flesh,  seems 
to  lay  on  them  a  greater  stress  than  they  are  fitted  to  bear. 

The  advance  in  Christological  ideas  which  had 
taken  place  by  the  time  of  the  Pauline  Epistles 
must  be  ascribed  to  an  innate  necessity  of  thought. 
The  concept  of  pre-existence  lay  implicit  in  the 
Church's  most  primitive  consciousness  of  the 
Crucified  and  Exalted  Christ  as  Saviour.  The 
form  in  which  this  first  found  expression  was 
Messianic.  Jesus  was  the  Lord  Christ,  the  Person 
by  whom  the  people  of  God  were  to  be  turned 
from  their  iniquities,  and  the  Divine  Kingdom 
brought  to  men.  Without  intellectual  perception 
that  this  implied  His  proper  Divinity,  the  Exalted 
Lord  was  felt  as  God  ;  the  instinctive  attitude 
towards  Him  was  that  of  faith  and  worship.  But 
in  a  community  which  entirely  retained  the  funda- 
mental theocentric  postulate  of  OT  religion,  such 
an  attitude  could  not  long  remain  merely  instinct- 
ive. Granted  the  premise  that  Jesus  is  Saviour 
and  that  only  the  Eternal  God  can  save,  we  pass, 
logically,  at  a  single  step  from  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  into  Colossians.  The  inevitable  con- 
clusion, slowly  as  it  may  come  to  formulation,  is 
that  in  Him  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead  dwells; 
otherwise  it  is  a  man,  not  God,  who  takes  the 
central  place  in  faith's  universe.  And  to  connect 
the  Historical  Christ  with  the  being  of  Eternal 
God,  the  category  of  pre-existenee  was  indis- 
pensable ;  for  to  Jewish  monotheism  the  idea  of 
deoiroirjffis — that  any  one  should  become  God — was 
unthinkable.  He  who  was  Divine  unto  everlasting 
must  have  been  Divine  from  everlasting  ;  in  what- 
ever sense  God  is  preternatural,  in  the  same  sense 
must  Christ  also  be. 

Further,  there  are  two  lines  along  which  this 
necessity  of  thought  is  seen  to  be  especially  urgent. 

(a)  Ethical. — It  cannot  be  said  that  the  great 
ethical  appeal  of  the  gospel  to  self-sacrificing  love 
is  explicit  in  its  first  proclamation.  It  is  implicit 
there  in  its  central  truth  of  the  suffering  Messiah  ; 
but  the  presentation  is  shaped  by  the  polemical 
necessities  of  the  hour,  and  the  chief  aim  is  to 
establish  that  the  Crucified  Jesus  is  Lord  rather 
than  to  emphasize  that  His  sovereignty  is  won  by 
sacrifice.  In  St.  Paul's  Epistles  the  ethical  ap- 
peal is  dominant  throughout.  His  experience  of 
salvation  was  an  experience  of  forgiveness  and 
eternal  life  bestowed  with  an  unspeakable  fervour 
of  Divine  love — love  that  by  infinite  sacrifice 
reconciled  the  sinner  unto  God.  And  in  his  con- 
ception of  this  love,  the  pre-existence  of  Christ 
had  a  two-fold  function,  (i.)  It  raised  the  earthly 
manifestation  to  infinitude.  The  redeeming  sacri 
fice  of  Christ  was  not  a  love  that  was  commensur- 
able with  any  human  self-sacrifice.  It  is  voluntary 
poverty  seen  against  a  background  of  Divine 
wealth.  The  most  amazing  in  the  series  of  His 
self-emptyings  is  the  first — the  choosing  to  re- 
nounce the  Divine  form  of  existence  for  another 
in  which  He  was  destined  to  reach  the  absolute 


266     FEE-EXISTENCE  OF  CHEIST 


PRESENCE 


point  of  humiliation  and  suffering.  This  was  the 
love  beyond  compare,  passing  knowledge,  (ii.)  In 
the  same  way,  we  may  suppose,  the  conception 
of  pre-existence  helped  St.  Paul  to  relate  the  love 
of  Christ  to  the  love  of  God.  It  is  not  inconceiv- 
able, indeed,  that  St.  Paul  should  have  found  in 
the  historical  life  and  death  of  Jesus  ample  reason 
for  such  expressions  as,  '  Thanks  be  unto  God  for 
his  unspeakable  gift,'  '  He  that  withheld  not  his 
own  Son ' ;  but  how  much  more  amazing  and  sub- 
duing is  the  thought,  if  the  Son  thus  'delivered 
up  for  us  all'  was  God's  'own  image,'  His  '  first- 
begotten  before  every  creature.'  It  scarcely  per- 
mits of  doubt  that  this  was  the  thought  in  the 
Apostle's  mind. 

(b)  Soteriological. — Salvation  in  the  full  sense 
includes  not  merely  a  subjective  change  in  man, 
but  a  corresponding  change  in  man's  environment. 
No  more  than  humanity  itself  does  nature  em- 
body the  perfect  final  will  of  God.  In  its  present 
constitution  it  is  the  correlative  of  human  sin  ; 
it  lies  under  the  dominion  of  '  principalities  and 
powers '  that  are  unfriendly  to  man  ;  and  for  man 
to  be  spiritually  renewed  and  reconciled  to  God, 
and  yet  left  in  the  midst  of  a  hostile  universe, 
would  be  no  complete  redemption.  Thus,  even  in 
St.  Paul's  earlier  Epistles  it  is  seen  that  Christ's 
redeeming  work  must  extend  its  influence  over  all 
created  things  (1  Co  15s4-28,  Ro  S19'22-  37-39) ;  and  in 
Colossians  the  cosmic  Redemption,  the  vision  of 
a  '  Christianized  universe,'  becomes  one  of  the 
Apostle's  central  themes.  The  Church's  Lord 
and  Redeemer  must  be  Lord  and  Reconciler  of  all 
things  (Col  l>5-2°2!4- 15  ;  cf.  Ph  210-  »).  But  this  is 
possible  only  to  One  in  whom  the  undivided  full- 
ness of  the  Godhead  dwells  (Col  I19-  20  29- 10  ;  cf.  Ph 
2s-  9),  who  is  the  one  Mediator  between  God  and 
the  created  universe.  And  this,  again,  involves 
His  pre-existence  (irpwrfrroKos  Trdenjs  /c-n'creajj,  Col  I15). 
Only  He  who  is  the  original  and  eternal  principle 
of  unity  in  all  things  (I17),  who  stands  in  such  a 
relation  to  God  (e'lK&v  TOV  dopdrov  Oeov,  I15)  that  this 
must  be  His  relation  to  the  universe,  can  bring 
the  universe  into  final  unity  with  the  Divine 
character  and  purpose.  Only  He  who  is  the 
mediatorial  beginning  can  be  the  mediatorial  end ; 
only  the  First  can  be  the  Last. 

The  question  immediately  arises  for  theology : 
How  is  one  to  relate  this  conception  of  the  Pre- 
existent  Christ  to  the  Eternal  Unity  of  the  God- 
head ?  Beyschlag's  theory  of  an  ideal  pre-existence 
in  the  Divine  thought  and  will  is  wholly  inadequate 
as  a  historical  interpretation  of  Pauline  thought ; 
and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  theory  (Baur, 
Pfleiderer)  according  to  which  the  conception  of 
the  '  Man  from  Heaven,'  the  '  Second  Adam,'  is 
the  fountainhead  of  the  Pauline  Christology.  The 
point  in  which  the  effort  of  NT  thought  to  answer 
this  question  culminates  is  the  Johannine  doctrine 
of  the  Logos  ;  and  to  treat  of  this  lies  beyond  the 
scope  of  the  present  article.  Suffice  it  to  say  here, 
that  for  the  whole  Johannine  group  of  writings — 
Apocalypse,  Gospel,  Epistles — the  truth  of  Christ's 
pre-existence  is  absolutely  fundamental.  On  the 
one  hand,  there  is  the  deliberate  endeavour  to 
relate  this,  through  the  concept  of  the  Logos,  to 
the  Godhead  ;  on  the  other  hand,  and  especially 
in  the  First  Epistle,  the  strongest  emphasis  is  laid 
upon  the  complete,  personal,  permanent  identity  of 
the  Pre-incarnate  with  Him  who  became  flesh  and 
tabernacled  among  us.  That  '  Jesus  is  the  Christ 
come  in  the  flesh '  is  the  test  and  watchword  of 
the  Christian  faith.  Though  the  foundation  for  the 
cosmic  significance  of  the  Incarnation  is  laid  in  the 
prologue  to  the  Gospel  (I3)  this  is  nowhere  elabor 
ated  as  by  St.  Paul.  The  ethical  interest  absorbs 
all  others  ;  and  here  St.  John  has  spoken  the  last 
word  (Jn  316,  1  Jn  49-10).  The  love  of  Christ  is  the 


manifested  love  of  God.  He  who  died  on  Calvary, 
the  propitiation  for  our  sins,  is  He  who  came  forth 
from  the  bosom  of  the  Father. 

LITERATURE.— This  is  enormous:  all  the  text-books  on  NT  Theo- 
logy, including  those  by  Baur  (1893),  Beyschlag  (,Eng.  tr.,  1895), 
Feine  (1910),  Holtzmann  f-1911),  Schlatter  (^1906),  Stevens 
(1899),  Weinel  (21913),  B.  Weiss  (Eng.  tr.,  1SS2-8S).  Among 
special  treatises  the  following  may  be  mentioned :  H.  R. 
Mackintosh,  The  L>octrine  of  the  Person  of  Jesus  Christ,  1912  ; 
A.  B.  Bruce,  The  Humiliation  of  Christ*,  1881 ;  W.  Bousset, 
Die  Religion  des  Judenthums*,  1906  ;  J.  Denney,  Jesus  and  the 
Gospel,  1908 ;  A.  Harnack,  History  of  Dogma-,  Eng.  tr.2,  1897, 
vol.  i.  app.  i. ;  P.  Lobstein,  Notion  de  la  preexistence  du  Fil» 
de  Dieu,  1883  ;  W.  Olchewski,  Die  Wurzeln  der  paulinischen 
Christolngie,  1909  ;  R.  L.  Ottley,  The  Doctrine  of  the  Incarna- 
tion, 1896  ;  O.  Pfleiderer,  Paulinism,  Eng.  tr.,  1891,  i.  123-159  ; 
D.  Somerville,  St.  Paul's  Conception  of  Christ,  1897 ;  F. 
Weber,  Judische  Theologie,  1897.  R.  LAW. 

PREPARATION.— In  the  NT  Epistles  the  word 
appears  only  in  Eph  615 :  '  having  shod  your  feet 
with  the  preparation  (eroijuacrt'a)  of  the  gospel  of 
peace.'  The  exhortation  was  suggested  by  the 
sandals  (caligce)  of  the  Roman  soldier.  They  were 
very  heavy,  thickly  studded  with  hobnails,  and 
strongly  laced.  The  purpose  which  they  served  in 
the  equipment  of  the  Roman  soldier  is  to  be  served 
by  the  €Toi/j.ao-ia  provided  by  the  gospel  of  peace. 
The  sandals  gave  the  soldier  firm  footing,  and 
fitted  him  for  fighting  or  marching  through  any 
kind  of  country.  The  word  has  two  meanings : 
in  general,  that  of  '  preparation,' '  preparedness,'  or 
'  readiness,'  and  in  particular,  '  firm  foundation ' 
or  '  firm  footing.'  Illustrations  of  the  latter  mean- 
ing are  found  in  Ps  8914  I15',  '  Righteousness  and 
judgement  are  the  foundation  of  thy  throne '  (RV), 
also  in  Zee  511,  Ezr  (LXX  2  Es)  2s8.  The  verb  '  to 
prepare  '  (eToi/j.dffiv)  in  the  sense  of  'firmly  fix  '  or 
'  establish  '  is  found  in  Ps  242,  '  and  established  it 
upon  the  floods,'  also  994,  Pr  319,  2  S  512.  In  the 
NT  it  has  the  sense  of  '  destined  '  in  Mt  2023  ('for 
whom  it  hath  been  prepared  of  my  Father ')  25s4-  41, 
1  Co  29,  He  II16.  The  common  translation  of 
(Toinao-ia  in  Eph  615is  '  preparation  '  (EV,  Erasmus, 
Hodge,  Eadie,  etc.),  but  '  foundation  '  or  '  firm  foot- 
ing' is  strongly  supported  (Chrysostom,  Bengel, 
Hatch).  The  weakness  of  the  translation  '  pre- 
paration '  is  that  it  does  not  indicate  the  kind  of 
equipment  which  is  referred  to.  It  translates  the 
word  but  not  the  idea.  The  more  restricted  mean- 
ing of  '  firm  footing,'  with  its  suggestions  of  con- 
fidence or  assurance,  brings  out  more  clearly  what 
the  gospel  of  peace  provides.  This  'firm  confi- 
dence '  is  not  only  necessary  for  '  standing '  in  '  the 
evil  day,'  but  for  the  general  warfare  of  the  Chris- 
tian at  all  times. 

LITERATURE. — The  principal  Commentaries  in  loco ;  E. 
Hatch,  Essays  in  Biblical  Greek,  1889,  pp.  51-55 ;  A.  F. 
Buscarlet,  ExpT  ix.  [1897-98]  38-40,  where  there  is  also  a  fine 
illustration  of  the  foot-gear  of  a  Roman  soldier. 

JOHN  REID. 

PRESBYTER,  PRESBYTERY.  — See  ELDER, 
BISHOP. 

PRESENCE.  —  In  the  apostolic  writings  the 
following  Greek  words  lie  benind  our  English  term 
'  presence,'  dirtvavri,  £fj.irpo<r8ev,  Iv&iriov,  KaTev&iriov 
(prepositions  =  '  in  the  presence  of,'  and  frequently 
rendered  '  before') ;  irapovvia  and  irpbffuirov  (nouns). 
There  is  no  need  to  dwell  on  such  common  expres- 
sions as  the  ' presence'  of  Pilate  (Ac  313)  or  of  the 
Council  (541),  or  even  on  St.  Paul's  mention  of  his 
presence  (or  absence)  in  the  letters  to  Philippi 
(Ph  212),  Corinth,  and  Thessalonica.  The  question 
of  the  Apostle's  '  bodily  presence '  being  '  insignifi- 
cant '  (2  Co  101- 10)  is  discussed  elsewhere  (see  PAUL). 
There  remain  those  passages  which  speak  of  the 
presence  of  the  angels  and  of  the  Lamb  (Rev  1410), 
and  the  presence  of  God.  From  this  source  come 
'  times  of  refreshing '  (Ac  3la)  for  the  repentant,  but 
also  of  '  destruction  '  for  the  disobedient  (2  Th  I9, 


PRESENCE 


PRESENCE 


26; 


in  reference  to  the  Second  Advent  or  Parousia ;  cf. 
1  Th  219).  No  man,  however  wise  or  strong,  may 
boast  in  the  presence  of  God  (1  Co  I29} ;  in  that  pres- 
ence Christ  appears  on  our  behalf  (He  924) ;  and  there 
'  before  the  presence  of  his  glory '  we  ourselves 
may  hope  to  stand  (Jude  w).  There  is  matter  for 
reflexion  in  all  these  statements,  but  it  is  better 
to  leave  this  somewhat  artificial  and  mechanical 
schedule  of  references  in  order  to  discuss  the 
general  idea  of  the  presence  of  God  as  it  is  found 
in  the  writings  of  the  Apostolic  Age. 

1.  In   some  of  the  passages   cited   above  there 
is  unquestionably  a  reminiscence  of  the  sense  of 
sanctity  with  which  the  royal  presence  was  invested 
in  ancient  times.     The  OT  is  full  of  references  to 
this  fact.     We  have  it  literally  in  such  passages  as 
Gn  4146  ('the  presence  of  Pharaoh'),  Ex  1011,  1  S 
197,  2  S  244,  1  K  I28  122,  2  Ch  9*,  Nel^1,  Est  I10  815. 
Generally  speaking,  these  references  to  the  kingly 
presence  cariy  the  suggestion  of  favour,  gracious- 
ness,  assent,  or  benediction.     When  a  ruler  turned 
his  countenance  towards  a  suppliant  or  courtier,  it 
meant  that  his  desire  was  granted,  or  that  he  was 
a  persona  grata  in  the  court  (cf.  Est  8IS) ;  when  it 
was  turned  away,  it  foreboded  refusal,  the  loss  of 
favour,  or  serious  disgrace  (cf.  1  K  122).     The  same 
association    of  ideas  governs  the  usage  of  such 
phrases  as  '  the  presence  of  the  Lord '  (Gn  38,  Job 
I12  27  2315,  Ps  1611  975  14013,  etc.).     Those  hidden  in 
the  Divine  presence  are  safe  from  harm  (Ps  3P°  91') ; 
to  be  driven  from  God's  presence  is  to  be  outcast 
indeed  (Ps  51");  it  is  even  to  perish  utterly  (682). 
The  minds  of  the  NT  writers  were  saturated  with 
Hebrew  notions,  and  their  usage  of  language  corre- 
sponds with   this  fact.       Thus  the   '  presence  of 
Pilate '   (Ac  313)  means  his  seat  of  authority  (cf. 
541);  the  'presence  of  the  Lord'  is  the  source  of 
all  spiritual  blessing  (3la),  of  Divine  authority  (Lk 
lia),  and  of  eternal   felicity  (Jude  24) ;   while  the 
opposite  is  suggested  in  Rev  14ltf.     God's  presence, 
in  a  word,  saves  or  damns  those  who  are  exposed 
to    its    searching    radiance,    according    to    their 
spiritual  relation  to  Him. 

2.  It  is,  however,  the  positive  suggestions  of  the 
phrase  that  require  exposition.     The  presence  of 
God  (or  of  Christ  who  brought  '  life  and  incorrup- 
tion  to  light  through  the  gospel,'  2  Ti  I10)  means 
in   apostolic  literature  all  that  is  implied  in  the 
revelation  of  His  nature,  and  the  instrumentalities 
of  His  grace.     In  the  OT  that  presence  was  largely 
mediated  through  nature  and  Providence  (cf.  Job 
and  the  Psalms  passim) ;  in  the  NT  this  aspect  has 
largely  faded  into  the  background,  probably  as  a 
result   of  the  Deistic  attitude  of  later  Judaism, 
which  substituted  cultus  or  worship  (especially  in 
the  form  of  a  mass  of  liturgical  and  ceremonial 
acts  and   processes)  as  the  chief  medium  of   the 
approach  of  man  to  God,  or  of  God  to  man.     God 
Himself   became    remote,     His    very    name    was- 
avoided.     Belief  in  a  present  Deity,  glad  faith  in 
a  God  who  manifests  Himself  in  actual  experience 
is  found  only  in  such  exalted  experiences  as  the 
Maccabaean  struggle.      Men   tried  to   bridge  the 
chasm    by    angels,    especially    natural    guardian 
angels,  and    by  such   quasi  -  personalities,   quasi  - 
abstractions  as  the  Wisdom,  the  Word,  Shelcinah 
of  Glory,  the  Spirit  of  God.     But  all  such  efforts 
were  far  from  successful.     What  differentiated  the 
heightened  spiritual  consciousness  of  the  primitive 
Church  was  its  assurance  that  in  Jesus  Christ  God 
had  come  near  to  man  in  a  new  and  living  way. 
This   fact  is  expressed  with  matchless  felicity  in 
St.  John's  words  '  (we  beheld  his  glory,  glory  as  of 
the  only  begotten  from  the  Father),  full  of  grace 
and   truth'   (I14),   and  in   St.    Paul's   'God'  hath 

'  sinned  in  our  hearts,  to  give  the  light  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ '  (2  Co  46).  The  same  idea  is  given  in 


He  I1'3,  'God  .  .  .  hath  at  the  end  of  these  days 
spoken  unto  us  in  his  Son,  .  .  .  being  the  efful- 
gence of  his  glory,  and  the  very  image  of  his  sub- 
stance.' To  His  immediate  disciples  the  physical 
person  of  Christ  was  evidently  full  of  attractive- 
ness and  power,  because  of  the  spiritual  radiance 
that  shone  from  His  presence  ;  they  afterwards 
dwelt  lovingly  in  thought  on  the  expression  of  His 
face,  on  His  looks  and  gestures,  which  must  have 
been  eloquent  of  His  inner  disposition,  thoughts, 
and  purposes ;  and  they  afterwards  found  a  deep 
mystical  significance  in  these  things  as  they 
brooded  on  His  words  and  dealings  with  them. 
It  was  the  Resurrection-life  of  Jesus  that  provided 
the  interpretative  light  in  which  all  His  earthly 
life  was  transfigured  in  the  memory  of  His  imme- 
diate circle  of  friends,  and  which  brought  home 
the  real  meaning  of  His  dealings  with  them  in  the 
days  of  His  flesh. 

3.  This  personal  objective  nearness  of  God  in  the 
'presence'  of  Christ  as  mirrored  in  the  Gospels, 
becomes  in  the  Epistles  a  subjective   nearness  in 
the  souls  of    believers.      Christ    dwells  in   their 
hearts  by  faith  (Eph  317) ;  they  'have  peace  with 
God  through   our    Lord    Jesus   Christ  ;    through 
whom  also  we  have  had  our  access  by  faith  into 
this  grace  wherein  we  stand ' ;   they   '  rejoice  in 
hope  of  the   glory  of  God '  (a  synonym   for  His 
radiant  favouring  presence,  Ro  51- 2),  and  Christ 
who  is  the  'image  and  glory  of  God'  (1  Co  II7) 
becomes  at  last  in  them  '  the  hope  of  glory,'  i.e.  of 
a  blessed  immortality  (Col  P7).     This  indwelling 
presence  of  God  in  human  hearts  is  not  the  mere 
'inner  light'  of  which    the    mystics    speak,  but 
that  light  made  opulent   with   all   the    spiritual 
content  for  which    Christ    stands.      It  is  a  Life 
within  the  life,  a  Self  within  the  self,  a  Divine 
presence  enriching  and   irradiating    the   recesses 
of  the  soul  with  its  high  benefit  and  power.     St. 
Paul  is  perpetually  conscious  of  this  new  element 
in  his  life  which,  when  he  first  had  it,  made  him 
'a  new   creature,'    and   which   made   'all  things 
new'   to  him  (2   Co  517  [Ka.ii>6s=l  fresh,'    'bright,' 
'  glittering ']).     Whether  he  speaks  of  the  believer 
being  in  Christ  (Col  I2),  or  of  Christ  being  in  him 
(v.-'7),  or  of  being  together  with  Christ  (Eph   25  ; 
cf.  212),  he  is  referring  to  the  same  supreme  experi- 
ence in  its  various  aspects.     This  personal  fellow- 
ship of  the   Risen   Lord  around  and   within  him 
becomes  at  last  a  permeative  and  enfolding  presence 
in  virtue  of  which  he  becomes  identified  with  Him 
'  in  inmost  nearness,'  as  when  he  says,  '  I  have  been 
crucified   with   Christ ;    yet   I   live ;    and  yet   no 
longer  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me  '  (Gal  220).     The 
mystical  sense  of  oneness  with  Christ  is  the  highest 
and   most  distinctive  experience  of  the  Christian 
life.     It  is  seen  in  its  purity  only  in  the  very  finest 
saints,   such   as    Origen,    Athanasius,  Augustine, 
Abelard,   Tauler,    Luther,    Wesley ;  but  all   true 
believers  know  it  more  or  less  in   proportion   to 
their  spiritual  sensitiveness,  and  to  their  faithful- 
ness in  cultivating  the  '  practice  of  the  presence  of 
God '  in  their  hearts.     This  experience  has  natur- 
ally found  abundant  expression  in  our  hymns,  e.g. 
in  Eliza  Scudd.er's 

'  Thou  Life  within  my  life,  than  self  more  near, 
Thou  veiled  Presence  infinite!}1  clear, 
From  all  illusive  shows  of  sense  I  flee, 
To  find  my  centre  and  my  rest  in  Thee ' 

(Worship  Song,  line  156 ff.). 

4.  Rich   and   glowing  as  such  experiences  are, 
they  are  by  no  means  exclusively  mediated  through 
isolation.     The  NT,  indeed,  enforces  and  illustrates 
the  truth  that  the  presence  of  God  is  often  most 
vividly   apprehended   when   a  community  of  dis- 
ciples, whether  they  be  few  or  many,  meet  in  His 
name  for  fellowship,  praise,  and  edification.    There 
are  collective  experiences  to  which  the  recluse  is  a 


268 


PRESENCE 


PKIDE 


stranger,  and  the  monk,  whether  he  live  in  a  cell 
or  walk  the  fields  instead  of  joining  with  those  who 
assemble  themselves  together,  shuts  himself  off 
from  some  of  the  highest  possibilities.  The  early 
Christian  churches,  though  comprising  many  who 
were  but  '  babes  in  Christ '  and  were  far  from 
maturity  in  ethical  and  spiritual  matters,  were 
happy  in  the  united  exercise  of  their  gifts  and  in 
the  reality  of  the  Divine  presence  which  charac- 
terized their  meetings  for  worship.  In  marked 
contrast  to  the  OT  nothing  is  said  in  the  NT  of 
church  buildings,  hardly  anything  about  the  con- 
duct of  worship,  and  there  is  a  striking  absence 
of  regulations  regarding  rites  and  ceremonies. 
But  the  real  thing  is  there — the  presence  of  God, 
without  which  the  most  magnificent  architecture, 
the  most  elaborate  ritual  are  a  vain  show.  We 
remember  how  St.  Paul  would  have  the  Corinthian 
Christians  worship  in  such  a  fashion  that  if  the 
man  in  the  street  chanced  to  drop  in  to  one  of 
their  services  he  should  be  '  reproved  by  all  ... 
judged  by  all,'  so  that  the  secrets  of  his  heart 
should  be  made  manifest,  '  and  so  he  will  fall  down 
on  his  face  and  worship  God,  declaring  that  God 
is  among  [or  in]  you  indeed'  (1  Co  1424'-).  Such 
an  event  is  indeed  connected  by  the  Apostle  with 
'prophecy,'  or,  as  we  should  call  it,  preaching, 
but  it  is  not  only,  perhaps  not  mainly,  the  sermon 
that  thus  overwhelmingly  convinces  the  outsider 
of  the  presence  of  God  in  a  people.  •  Nor  is  it  the 
observance  of  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper, 
although  therein,  whatever  be  their  varying  con- 
ceptions of  its  mode  and  form,  disciples  of  Christ 
frequently  discern  the  Real  Presence  more  fully 
than  in  any  other  act  of  worship  or  experience  of 
everyday  life.  There  is  the  sense  of  prayer  and  of 
fraternal  union,  the  atmosphere  of  devotion  and 
of  brotherly  love.  These,  added  to  a  preaching  of 
the  Word  of  God  which  is  alive  and  powerful, 
piercing  and  exposing,  cleansing  and  comforting, 
are  the  signs  and  tokens  of  the  presence  of  God  in 
a  community,  and  are  visible  not  only  to  those 
within  but  to  those  without  the  circle. 

5.  Finally,  there  is  in  the  NT  consciousness  a 
strong  and  eager  forelooking  to  a  higher  experience 
still.  The  experience  of  believers  on  earth,  while 
strengthened  and  uplifted  by  a  sense  of  the 
presence  of  the  Saviour  through  His  spirit  in  the 
heart,  and  by  the  operation  of  His  saving  grace, 
yet  lacks  the  precision  and  definiteness  of  a  real 
personal  presence.  It  is  better  than  the  objective 
fellowship  of  Jesus  with  His  disciples  which  was 
limited  by  the  disabilities  of  the  flesh,  for  as  He 
was  then  with  them,  He  is  now  in  them  (Jn  1416) ; 
but  it  is  not  the  perfect  communion  for  which  the 
soul  craves  in  its  highest  moods.  The  Parousia  or 
Second  Coming  of  the  Lord  shaped  itself  to  the 
imagination  of  primitive  believers  as  a  quasi- 
physical  appearance  of  the  Lord  in  glory  and  great 
power  '  in  the  clouds '  and  with  a  retinue  of  '  holy 
angels'  (1  Th  417  ;  cf.  Rev  I7  '  He  cometh  with  the 
clouds ;  and  every  eye  shall  see  him ' ;  also  Mt 
16rf-).  In  the  later  writings  of  St.  Paul  this 
cruder  anticipation  is  spiritualized.  He  speaks  of 
death  as  a  door  into  the  nearer  presence  of  Christ 
(Ph  I23  'to  be  with  Christ;  for  it  is  very  far 
better');  he  is  'willing  rather  to  be  absent  from 
the  body,  and  to  be  at  home  with  the  Lord '  (2  Co 
5s) ;  and  he  warns  his  readers  that  all  must  '  be 
made  manifest  before  the  judgement-seat  of 
Christ'  to  give  an  account  of  their  earthly  life 
(v.10).  In  St.  John  this  process  of  spiritualization 
is  carried  still  further.  There  is  no  mention 
of  any  spectacular  or  objective  Parousia.  The 
'  Comforter '  is  promised  as  Christ's  representative 
presence  with  His  disciples  after  His  departure  to 
the  Father  (Jn  1416),  while  He  remains  with  the 
Father,  and  makes  preparation  for  the  time  when 


His  followers  will  rejoin  Him,  that  where  He  is 
there  they  may  be  also  (Jn  141'8).  It  may  be  said 
that  while  the  hope  of  the  Second  Coming  of 
Christ  in  the  earlier  sense  has  never  died  out  of 
the  Christian  Church,  the  normal  Christian  atti- 
tude throughout  the  ages  has  been  rather  that 
mirrored  in  St.  John  than  that  suggested  in  1  Th 
416'17  or  1  Co  15s1'-.  Believers  hold  firmly  that 
while  they  have  fellowship  with  Christ  in  the 
flesh,  this  is  but  a  dim  foretaste  of  the  perfect 
fellowship  that  awaits  the  redeemed  with  their 
Saviour  in  the  eternal  world.  We  know  nothing 
of  the  details  of  the  life  beyond  the  grave ;  it  is 
enough  to  know  that  there  Christ  reigns  even 
more  surely  and  triumphantly  than  here,  and  that 
where  He  is  there  will  be  blessedness  and  fullness 
of  life  (Jn  1010),  and  a  'joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory '(IP  1s). 

'  To  heaven's  high  city  I  direct  my  journey, 

Whose  spangled  suburbs  entertain  mine  eye ; 
Mine  eye,  by  contemplation's  great  attorney, 
Transcends  the  crystal  pavement  of  the  sky. 

But  what  is  heaven,  great  God,  compared  to  Thee? 
Without  Thy  presence,  heaven's  no  heaven  to  me. 

Without  Thy  presence,  earth  gives  no  reflection  ; 
Without  Thy  presence,  sea  affords  no  treasure ; 
Without  Thy  presence,  air's  a  rank  infection  ; 
Without  Thy  presence,  heaven  itself  no  pleasure. 
If  not  possessed,  if  not  enjoyed  in  Thee, 
What's  earth,  or  sea,  or  air,  or  heaven  to  me  ? ' 

(Francis  Quarles,  Divine  Emblems,  1635). 

A.  J.  GEIKVK. 
PRICKS.— See  GOAD. 

PRIDE. — This  word  occurs  thrice  in  the  AV : 
in  Mk  722  as  the  rendering  of  virep-r)<j>a.vLa.,  in  1  Jn 
216  of  dXafoVeta,  in  1  Ti  3"  as  the  rendering  ('  lifted 
up  with  pride')  of  rvtf>6u  (the  same  verb  is  found  in 
1  Ti  64,  '  he  is  proud '  [RV  '  putted  up '],  and  in  2  Ti 
34,  'highminded'  ['puffed  up'  RV];  it  is  formed 
from  the  substantive  ri50os,  '  smoke '  or  '  cloud, ? 
which  does  not  occur  in  the  NT,  but  is  found  in 
the  metaphorical  use  in  1  Clem.  xiii.  1  along  with 
dXafoveia  and  suggests  the  pride  which  beclouds  the 
moral  sense  and  destroys  self -control).  In  1  Co  134, 
where  we  read  that  love  '  vaunteth  not  itself ' 
(ov  Trepirfpfverai.),  '  is  not  putted  up '  (ov  <f>v<riovr<u),  the 
first  verb  appears  to  denote  the  arrogant  or  forward 
manner  of  one  who  sounds  his  own  praises,  the 
latter  (cf.  1  Co  46  81)  the  disposition  of  self-conceit 
which  loves  pre-eminence. 

The  two  words  inrepyQavla  and  d\a.f6i>eia,  with 
their  corresponding  adjectives,  are  common  in  the 
literatureof  the  early  Church:  e.g.  ,in  Hennas, Mand. 
VI.  ii.  5,  both  stand  together  as  signs  of  the  presence 
within  the  heart  of  'the  messenger  of  wickedness.' 
In  Ro  I30  with  these  is  associated  the  epithet  vfipia-rfy 
(AV  'despiteful,'  RV  'insolent');  but  C/8pts  indi- 
cates the  unrestrained  insolence  of  wrong-doing 
(common  in  Greek  tragedy)  rather  than  pride  in  the 
strict  sense  :  it  is  essentially  the  contempt  of  others 
breaking  forth  into  acts  of  wantonness  and  outrage, 
and  therefore  the  strongest  word  of  the  three  in 
the  scale  of  guilt.  In  distinguishing  the  pride  of 
the  dXdfui/  from  that  of  the  inrfpri<t>avos,  R.  C.  Trench 
(NT  Synonyms8,  1880,  pp.  98-105)  rightly  refers  the 
former  to  '  speech,'  the  latter  to  '  thought,'  but 
not  thought,  it  must  be  noted,  as  merely  quiescent 
and  passive.  The  pride  of  overmastering  lan- 
guage is  definitely  brought  out  in  the  use  of 
dXafoWio,  in  such  passages  as  Ja  416  (AV  '  boastings,' 
RV  '  vaun tings  ')  and  1  Clem.  xxi.  5  ;  in  1  Jn  216 
Trench  suggests  that  the  Germ.  Prahlerei  is  the 
most  adequate  rendering ;  the  English  '  pride '  is 
too  vague  and  colourless  ;  and  Beza's  '  gloriosus '  is  a 
better  rendering  of  a\dfav  than  Vulg.  '  elatus.'  On 
the  other  hand,  virepri<pai>ia  (Germ.  Hochmuth)  is  a 
vice  developed  not  so  much  in  society  as  in  the 
secrecy  of  the  heart ;  none  the  less,  it  manifests 


PKIEST 


PRIEST 


269 


itself  in  outward  acts  of  arrogance,  cruelty,  and 
revengefulness.  The  '  proud '  of  Ja  4",  1  P  5s,  Pr  3s4 
are  those  whose  overweening  treatment  of  others 
calls  forth  and  merits  the  Divine  antagonism. 

B.  F.  Westcott  (Epistles  of  St.  John2,  1886,  p.  65) 
suggests  that  while  dXafoveta  may  be  referred  to  a 
false  view  of  what  things  are  in  themselves,  empty 
and  unstable — a  sin  against  truth — v-irepTj<f>dvta  is  a 
sin  against  love  as  implying  a  false  view  of  what 
our  relations  to  other  persons  are.  Thus,  '  the 
vainglory  of  life '  is  a  false  view  of  the  value  of  our 
possessions,  and  therefore  dXafoWia  in  1  Jn  216  is 
rightly  associated  with  life  (/3£os)  in  its  external 
and  transient  significance,  not  in  its  essential 
principle  (fan}). 

It  may  be  noted  that  the  verb  Kai>xao/oat,  with  its 
corresponding  nouns  Kavxrjfj.a  and  Ka^xw*  (see  art. 
BOASTING)  is  often  used  by  St.  Paul  in  a  good 
sense  to  indicate  the  legitimate  pride  with  which 
an  apostle  contemplates  the  effects  of  his  ministry 
in  the  life  and  conduct  of  his  converts  (e.g.  2  Co 
92,  Ph  216) ;  it  also  expresses  the  sacred  glorying  of 
the  inner  life  in  God  or  Christ  (e.g.  1  Co  I31,  Ph  33, 
and  elsewhere) — a  characteristic  and  very  common 
Pauline  expression. 

The  pride  of  racial  exclusiveness,  e.g.  of  Greek 
towards  barbarian  and  especially  of  Jew  towards 
Gentile,  as  done  away  in  Christ,  is  a  common  theme 
with  the  same  apostle ;  cf.  Ro  1012  (and  argument 
of  the  whole  chapter),  Gal  328. 

R.  MARTIN  POPE. 

PRIEST. — Much  of  the  ambiguity  of  the  term 
arises  from  its  use  even  in  the  RV  to  represent  two 
different  Greek  words.  The  one  is  iepei/s,  a  sacri- 
ficing priest,  whose  services  were  necessary  in  the 
ritual  of  any  such  religion  as  that  of  the  ancient 
Jews.  In  other  cases  the  term  represents  irpea- 
/Stfrepos,  '  presbyter,'  from  which  indeed  it  has  been 
derived  by  a  process  of  compressing  the  several 
.  syllables  into  one.  Before  our  period  it  was  in  use 
both  in  Egypt  and  in  Asia  Minor  to  designate  the 
members  of  a  secular  corporation,  and  in  the  former 
case  also  the  members  of  a  college  of  priests  (Deiss- 
m&mn,  Bible  Studies,  Eng.  tr.,  1901,  pp.  154n°.,233ff.), 
and  its  connotation  had  already  come  to  refer  to 
office  and  not  to  age.  The  implications  of  the  word 
with  either  origin  may  be  conveniently  examined 
in  its  application  in  turn  to  Jewish  officials,  to 
Jesus  Christ,  to  Christians  generally,  and  to  the 
ministry  of  the  Church. 

1.  Use  in  regard  to  Jews. — The  actual  high  priest 
of  the  day  figures  in  Acts  alone  (46  71  225  234,  etc.), 
whilst  in  Heb.  the  original  and  typical  high  priest, 
Aaron,  is  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  comparison 
with  the  priest  of  the  New  Covenant.  The  term  is 
used  with  some  laxity  even  in  Acts,  as  in  46,  where 
it  is  applied  to  Annas,  whose  son-in-law  Caiaphas 
was  the  actual  holder  of  the  office.  Apparently  it 
covered  the  group  of  ex-high-priests,  whose  number 
varied  with  the  frequent  changes  of  appointment 
made  by  the  Roman  authorities,  and  was  the  style 
of  address  of  the  occupant  of  the  chair  at  any 
important  meeting  of  the  Sanhedrin.  The  phrase 
'  chief  priests,'  again  confined  to  Acts,*  is  of  the 
same  elastic  kind.  It  included  such  officials  prob- 
ably as  were  '  of  the  kindred  of  the  high  priest ' 
(Ac  46),  with  such  representatives  of  the  priesthood 
as  were  prominent  through  ability  or  influence. 
Technically  it  was  confined  at  first  to  the  heads 
of  the  twenty-four  courses ;  but  the  term  was 
convenient  and  fluid,  and  when  used  loosely,  em- 
braced any  priests  whose  character  or  status  gave 

*  In  the  Didache  the  title  is  (riven  to  the  prophets,  who  are  re- 
presented as  pronouncing  the  blessing  at  the  Eucharist  in  such 
words  as  they  pleased.  But  the  question  of  the  date  and  trust- 
worthiness of  this  part  of  the  document  has  lately  been  re- 
opened, and  a  date  within  our  century  is  impossible  (see  C. 
Bigg,  The  Doctrine  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  1898,  and  especially 
J.  Annitage  Robinson,  JThSt  xiii.  [1911-12]  339  ff.). 


them  a  certain  recognized  authority.  After  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem  they  rapidly  declined  in  influence 
through  their  loss  of  income  and  inability  to  dis- 
charge their  sacrificial  duties.  But  their  priestly 
pedigree  still  remained  a  distinction,  preserved  by 
the  incidence  upon  them  of  special  prohibitions, 
though  not  investing  them  with  any  authority 
comparable  in  fact  with  that  of  the  Rabbis,  the 
masters  and  expounders  of  the  Law.  A  sacrificial 
priest  becomes  an  anachronism  when  his  duties  are 
in  abeyance,  and  the  opportunity  for  their  discharge 
is  but  a  hope  always  deferred. 

2.  The  priesthood  of  Jesus  Christ. — According 
to  apostolic  teaching,  Jesus  Christ  (a)  gathered  to 
Himself  all  the  ideas  essential  to  the  conception  of 
a  sacerdotal  person  or  ministry  ;  (b)  particularly 
was  the  antitype,  in  regard  alike  to  qualification 
and  to  function,  of  all  the  distinctive  features  of 
the  Jewish  institution,  but  stood  eternally  above 
all  His  predecessors,  closing  the  line  of  development 
in  Himself  in  such  a  final  and  complete  way  that 
no  other  priest  is  needed,  and  no  real  want  of  the 
human  soul  is  left  unmet. 

(a)  In  the  earliest  times  the  priestly  was  a  part 
of  the  parental  function,  but  was  so  far  separable 
from  it  that  any  adult  man  was  held  to  be  able  to 
approach  God  for  himself  with  offerings  or  prayers, 
and  after  due  preparation  to  communicate  Divine 
responses  to  others.  Gradually  the  offices  were 
differentiated.  Access  to  God  in  aspiration  and 
vow  remained  the  recognized  privilege  of  every 
man,  while  in  the  case  of  sacrificial  duties,  of  every- 
thing that  belonged  to  the  deep  religious  life  and 
to  the  promptings  begotten  of  the  consciousness  of 
an  actual  or  imminent  breach  in  right  relation  with 
God,  resort  was  had  to  an  official  class  or  family. 
In  the  course  of  time  the  members  of  this  class 
were  invested  with  a  quasi-sacred  dignity,  and 
were  regarded  as  intermediaries  between  God  and 
man.  On  the  one  hand,  they  were  the  representa- 
tives of  man  to  God,  and  through  them  only  could 
offerings  be  made  that  would  expiate  sin  or  pro- 
pitiate an  offended  Deity.  They  were  the  cus- 
todians of  the  prescribed  ritual,  the  acknowledged 
mediators.  On  the  other  hand,  they  were  the 
representatives  of  God  to  man  ;  and,  however  this 
character  may  have  been  claimed  or  possessed  by 
the  prophets,  the  prophets  were  rather  preachers 
of  righteousness,  and  not  directly  concerned  with 
the  administration  of  institutional  religion.  The 
priest  presented  the  sacrifice  to  God,  and  blessed 
the  people  'in  the  name  of  the  Lord'  (Dt  215), 
settling  difficult  perplexities  and  sending  men  away 
from  the  altar  with  the  assurance  of  Divine  grace 
and  help.  For  Jesus  Christ  as  Priest  and  High 
Priest  the  NT  claims  this  doubly  representative 
character.  The  phrase  '  appointeu  for  men  in 
things  pertaining  to  God'  (He  217  5')  suggests,  if 
it  does  not  actually  cover,  '  appointed  for  God  in 
things  pertaining  to  man.'  He  otters  Himself,  as 
representing  man,  as  a  sacrifice  for  man.  Between 
God  and  man  there  is  only  '  one  mediator,  himself 
man  '  (1  Ti  25),  who  gave  Himself  a  ransom  for  all, 
and  in  whom  men  are  blessed  with  every  spiritual 
blessing  (Eph  I3).  As  representative  of  God,  He 
reveals  the  Father,  and  gives  men  in  Himself  the 
sum  of  all  benediction.  As  representative  of  men, 
He  approaches  God  with  an  adequate  ottering,  and 
continues  permanently  to  act  as  our  Paraclete  or 
Advocate  (1  Jn  21)  —  an  office  which  includes, 
though  it  is  not  confined  to,  His  priestly  work. 

The  NT  is  far  from  silent  in  regard  to  the  con- 
ditions of  His  appointment  as  Priest  and  Repre- 
sentative. He  was  not  self-appointed,  nor  on  the 
other  hand  was  He  selected  and  chosen  by  those 
whom  He  represents.  The  latter  course  was  im- 
possible in  the  case  of  a  priesthood  affecting  aii 
generations,  future  and  past  as  well  as  present ; 


270 


PRIEST 


PRIEST 


and  the  former  would  have  been  open  to  all  the 
objections,  and  liable  to  all  the  defects,  that  attach 
to  every  assumption  of  the  right  to  speak  or  act  for 
others.  The  appointment  was  made  by  the  Father 
(He  54),  and  the  action  of  the  Son  was  not  that  of 
initiation  but  of  loving  and  resolute  consent  (107ff-, 
1  Jn  520).  He  needed  no  constraint,  and  was  more 
than  ready  to  undertake  a  priesthood  that  involved 
the  pains  of  a  life  upon  earth  and  death  for  men. 
Love,  resolute  from  the  beginning  and  persisted  in 
through  all  difficulty  and  human  unresponsiveness, 
is  the  explanation  of  the  Incarnation  on  His  part, 
and  a  fundamental  qualification  for  priesthood. 

If  it  be  asked,  What  is  it  exactly  that  constitutes 
the  representative  character  of  Christ  ?  or  Why 
did  the  Father  appoint  Him  and  no  other  ?  apos- 
tolic thought  suggests  several  replies,  that  give 
prominence  in  turn  to  the  typical,  the  federal,  and 
the  immanental  relation  of  Christ  to  man.  He 
is  the  antitype  of  Adam,  between  whose  relation 
to  the  race  and  that  of  Christ  a  striking  parallel, 
with  a  more  striking  contrast,  may  be  drawn  (Ko 
512'21,  1  Co  1521f-43ff-).  The  one  was  the  medium  of 
sin  and  death,  the  other  of  redemption  and  life ; 
and  as  the  one  stands  for  a  race  sinful  before  God, 
so,  in  virtue  of  what  He  does  for  the  race,  lifting 
men  up  to  higher  spiritual  privileges  than  the  un- 
fallen  Adam  ever  knew,  the  other  is  even  a  fitter 
representative.  These  typical  representations  of 
Christ's  Headship  of  the  race  have  at  times  to 
be  modified  into  His  Headship  of  the  Church  on 
account  of  the  different  attitudes  towards  Him  that 
men  assume  (Col  I18,  Eph  I22f>,  1  Jn  22),  and  are 
strengthened  by  various  federal  considerations. 
He  brings  the  race  into  unity,  especially  by  His 
priestly  exercise  of  sympathy  and  brotherliness 
(He  210'17  414f>),  and  creates  human  solidarity  by 
the  common  tie  of  brotherhood,  binding  each  indi- 
vidual to  Himself  (Jn  1723).  Thereby  again  He  is 
qualified  to  act  for  all  ;  and  an  effective  motive 
is  secured  for  unlimited  forbearance  among  men 
and  for  mutual  kindness  and  helpfulness  of  every 
degree. 

But  deep  down  at  its  foundations  the  representa- 
tive character  of  Christ  rests  not  so  much  upon  His 
ethical  qualities  and  their  exhibition  and  effects,  or 
upon  typical  connexions  with  OT  beliefs,  as  upon 
what  He  actually  is,  upon  His  intrinsic  and  essential 
nature.  He  is  God  as  well  as  man,  and  as  God  He 
is  immanent  in  every  man,  and  thereby  naturally 
qualified  to  act  as  his  representative.  This  is  im- 
plied in  the  frequent  references  to  the  indwelling 
of  Christ  as  a  racial  fact,  which  becomes  when 
recognized  a  source  of  assurance  and  strength,  to 
the  universal  Fatherhood  and  Sonship,  and  to  the 
action  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  leaving  no  man  without 
internal  witness  and  prevenient  grace.  Not  only 
are  we  insphered  in  God  (Ac  1728),  but  we  are  the 
shrine  in  which  His  Spirit  dwells  (1  Co  316  619 ;  cf. 
Ko  89ff-),  dishonoured  and  powerless,  or  allowed  to 
rule,  and  leading  on  to  perfection.  All  the  differ- 
entiations of  the  universe,  personal  or  impersonal, 
were  produced  by  Christ  from  an  original  unity,  of 
which  He  was  the  centre  (Col  I15ff-),  just  as  again 
they  will  eventually  be  gathered  up  into  a  unity 
in  Him  (Eph  I10).  Meanwhile  'in  him  all  things 
consist,'  or  hold  together ;  and  Christ  is  thus  the 
secret  of  the  world's  order  and  the  natural  repre- 
sentative of  the  race  in  the  presence  of  God.  In 
the  apostolic  period  it  was  too  soon  to  discuss  at 
length  the  relations  between  the  Divinity  and  the 
humanity  of  Christ,  or  to  recover  the  doctrine  of 
immanence  from  the  pantheistic  schools  and  apply 
it  to  the  solution  of  the  problems  of  Christ's  work. 
Yet  the  germs  are  distinctly  present,  and  one  part 
of  St.  Paul's  writings  guards  and  completes  the 
teaching  of  another.  Christ  as  Priest  is  the  sub- 
stitute and  representative  of  man,  not  by  any 


arbitrary  appointment  on  the  part  of  God,  still 
less  by  a  legal  fiction  with  which  there  is  no  corre- 
spondence in  actual  fact,  but  because  as  God  He 
is  immanent  in  every  man,  and  therefore  in  His 
nature  the  fit  and  only  Person  to  act  in  the  behalf 
and  stead  of  all.  As  God-Man  He  stands  in  virtue 
of  what  He  is  between  the  two  parties  to  be  brought 
together,  and  represents  perfectly  each  to  the 
other. 

(b)  Since  the  apostolic  teaching  sprang  imme- 
diately out  of  Jewish  conceptions,  it  was  to  be 
expected  that  it  would  represent  the  Priesthood  of 
Christ  specifically  as  a  continuation  of  the  sacerdotal 
ministry  of  the  OT,  and  knit  the  two  together  as 
a  preparation  with  the  fulfilment,  or  as  provisional 
with  the  ideal  (He  85  923ff>)  and  permanent.  This 
it  does  in  respect  alike  to  the  priestly  qualifications 
and  to  the  priestly  functions  of  Christ.  To  the 
qualifications  already  referred  to — (1)  Divine  ap- 
pointment and  (2)  sympathy — several  are  added. 
The  list  begins  with  (3)  His  perfect  humanity,  in- 
volving oneness  with  the  men  for  whom  He  acts, 
with  the  experience  in  His  case  as  in  theirs  of  the 
discipline  of  suffering  and  temptation  (He  29ff-  41S). 
(4)  In  personal  character  He  was  holy  and  guileless 
(He  726,  1  P  318,  Ac  314),  not  only  free  from  moral 
disqualification,  but  an  example  of  virtue  and  godli- 
ness, with  a  personal  right  of  access  to  God.  (5) 
This  freedom  from  limitations  extends  beyond  the 
range  of  morality  to  all  the  infirmities  to  which 
man  is  subject  (He  T28  52),  and  lifts  Christ  altogether 
above  the  Aaronic  order.  A  better  comparison  is 
suggested  by  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews: seeMELCHlZEDEK.  The  Priesthood  of  Christ 
is  royal  from  the  beginning,  and  still  He  sits  '  on 
the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  the  Majesty  in  the 
heavens'  (81).  (6)  Its  timelessness  and  indissolu- 
bility  arise  from  Christ's  triumph  over  death  (Ho 
69f-,  He  7231-),  and  render  any  delegation  of  His 
priestly  duties  unnecessary,  and  any  succession  to 
His  office  impossible.  Because  '  he  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession,'  salvation  '  to  the  uttermost ' 
(725)  is  a  gift  He  can  bestow  at  any  moment  upon 
the  sincere  and  strenuous.  Other  priestly  aids 
become  superfluous  and  an  encumbrance.  (7) 
Finally,  the  offering  He  presents  is  perfect  both  in 
itself  ('Gal  I4,  Eph  52,  He  912-  w)  and  in  its  value  and 
effect  (Ro  521  69f-,  He  9251-  1012- 14-18,  Tit  214). 

Of  the  actual  priestly  work  of  Christ  two  views 
are  combined,  according  as  it  is  regarded  as  reach- 
ing its  supreme  point  on  the  Cross  or  as  still  con- 
tinuing ;  and  in  either  relation  it  may  be  considered 
under  various  aspects. 

(1)  Prominence  is  given  in  the  NT  to  the  fact 
that  the  offering  of  Christ  was  expiatory.     It  stands 
in  a  line  with  the  sacrificial  institutions  of  the  OT, 
and  even  takes  up  into  itself  the  meaning  of  each. 
It  is  a  burnt-ottering  (Eph  52,  Ph  418),  a  sin-offering 
(2  Co  521),  a  peace-offering  (Eph  214,  Col  I20),  and  it 
moves  easily  amid  the  implications  of  the  Passover 
and  Day  of  Atonement  (1  Co  57'-,  He  97- 12'14- 24ff-). 
The  very  variety  of  the  typical  sacrifices,  handled 
and  offered  by  our  Priest,  tells  of  the  exceeding  sin- 
fulness  of  sin,  and  of  the  primary  need  of  expiation 
through  the  shedding  of  blood  (He  922,  Eph  I7)  as 
the  ground  of  remission. 

(2)  From  this  idea  of  such  a  treatment  of  sin  as 
destroys  its  offensiveness,  wiping  it  out  or  neutral- 
izing its  relation  to  natural  justice,  it  is  but  a  step 
to  that  of  propitiation.     By  linking  His  offering 
with  our  sin  our  Priest  removes  the  necessity  for 
a  Divine  reaction  in  our  condemnation,  and  even 
propitiates  God,  i.e.  takes  away  the  hindrances  to 
the  manifestation  of  His  goodwill,  and  enables  His 
grace  to  exhibit  itself  in  forgiveness  (Ro  325*-,  He  217, 
1  Jn  22  410  ;  cf.  Lk  1813).     As  the  passages  show, 
propitiation   is  not  regarded  as  a  priestly  act  by 
which  love  is  excited  in  God,  for  God  devised  it  and 


PRIEST 


PRIEST 


271 


arranged  its  method,  but  as  an  act  so  altering  the 
condition  of  the  sinner  that  the  unchanged  love  is 
able  to  exhibit  itself  and  stream  out  upon  him. 
His  sin,  and  not  merely  his  creatureliness,  is  ren- 
dered inoperative  and  null ;  and  the  active  good- 
Avill  of  God  is  the  natural  response  to  Him  who 
substituted  Himself  in  sacrifice,  and  to  those  for 
whom  He  acts. 

(3)  Hence  complete  reconciliation  between  God 
and  man  is  rightly  viewed  as  the  culmination  of 
Christ's  priestly  work  upon  earth.     In  effecting  it 
He  removes  altogether  the  alienation  in  heart  and 
will  of  man  from  God,  and  the  alienation,  under  the 
necessities  of  His  perfect  nature,  of  God  from  sin- 
ful  man.     Of  these   two  aspects  of   His  priestly 
work,  the  one  is  explicit  in  Scripture  (Ro  5lof-  II15, 
2  Co  518'20,  Col  I21),  the  other  is  present  in  frequent 
logical    implication.     Not    only  is    reconciliation 
itself  a  mutual  process,  involving  a  changed  senti- 
ment on  either  side  (cf.  Mt  523,  where  the  advice  is 
to   do  everything  to  turn  a  brother's  coolness  or 
resentment  into  forgiveness),  but  God's  attitude 
changes    from     apparent    displeasure    to    evident 
pleasure  (Ro  88<  ltif-),  from  accumulating  wrath  to 
wonder-awakening  grace    (2  Th   I8-10).     He    pro- 
vides the  means  whereby  forgiveness  may  begranted 
without  moral  harm,  and,  the  means  being  used, 
His  unchangeable  nature  reacts  accordingly,  and 
the  love  that  is  outraged  but  not  quenched  by  sin 
becomes  the  most  assured  feature  of  His  relation- 
ship with  the  penitent.    Thus  the  Priestly  Mediator 
covers  the  sin  of  man  with  His  sacrifice,  enables  a 
God  who  is  compacted  of  all  moral  perfections  to 
act  without  denying  the  legitimate  rights  of  any 
of  them,   and,  breaking  down  all  non-moral  dis- 
tinctions, makes  men  everywhere  one  by  making 
each  severally  in  the  enrichment  of  his  faith  one 
with  God  (Eph  2I4ff-,  Col  I19'-). 

(4)  To  this  whole  process  from  its  beginning  in 
the  experience  of  the  regenerate  to  the  ultimate 
perfecting,  as  anticipated  by  St.   Paul,  the  term 
'  redemption '    is  freely  applied.     Redemption   is 
thus  the  result  either  of  the  offering  by  the  priest 
of  a  propitiatory  gift  in  satisfaction  for  a  forfeited 
life,  or  of  the  payment  of  the  required  price  for  the 
release  of  a   person  from  servitude  (1  P  I18'-,  Ac 
2028).     The  servitude  is  variously  represented  as 
captivity   to   sin  (He  926),  with  its  accompanying 
curse  (Gal  313)  or  with  its  penal  liabilities  (He  214fi). 
The  price  paid  by  the  Priest  is  Himself  (Gal   I4, 
Tit  214) ;  and  that  is  what  the  references  to  His  life 
(Mt  20-8)  and  to  His  blood  (Eph  I7,  Rev  5»)  really 
mean.     Thereby  He  binds  men  to  Himself  as  His 
property  (1  Co  620  7'-3) ;  and  to  His  rights  of  owner- 
ship, as  to  their  obligation  of  devoted  service,  there 
is  no  limit. 

(5)  At  His  death  the  sacrificial  part  of  Christ's 
priestly  work  was  completed  (He  727  928) ;  and  after 
His  ascension  He  entered  (620  912- 24,  Eph  410)  and 
'passed  through  the  heavens'  (He  414)  to  the  very 
presence  of  God  (9'J4),  where  from  His  throne  on  the 
right  hand  (He  I3  81)  He  continues  to  act  as  the 
Priestly   Representative  of  men,   interceding  for 
them  (725,  Ro  834),  Himself  the  permanently  valid 
propitiation  for  their  sins  (1  Jn  22),  and  therefore 
the  triumphant  Advocate  of  the  case  of  every  one 
in  fellowship  with  Him. 

3.  The  priesthood  of  believers. — It  has  been 
seen  already  that,  according  to  early  belief,  all 
sacrificial  institutions  and  ministries  were  gathered 
up  into  Jesus  Christ,  whose  Priesthood  is  complete, 
admitting  no  rivalry,  with  no  residue  of  opportunity 
or  work  for  a  successor.  Yet  metaphorically  the 
sacrificial  term  is  applied  to  the  whole  Christian 
community,  irrespective  of  office  or  any  other  dis- 
tinction (1  P  25- 9),  and  also  with  implications  of 
future  enlargement  (Rev  I6  5l°  20").  Thus  the 
conception  of  Israel  in  Ex  196  is  transferred  to 


the  community  of  believers,  whose  priestly  rights 
are  common  and  equal,  whatever  administrative 
grades  are  introduced  with  a  view  to  efficiency  and 
order.  To  all  alike  the  priestly  privilege  of  access 
to  God  belongs  (Ro  52,  Eph  218,  He  416  1019,  1  P  318). 
All  alike  are  called  upon  to  offer  spiritual  sacrifices 
of  praise  and  prayer  (Rev  103),  of  body  and  soul 
(Ro  121,  He  1315),  with  such  actual  gifts  in  charity 
and  helpfulness  as  are  prompted  by  love  to  God 
(He  1316,  2  Co  97,  Ph  418).  Nothing  of  this  kind 
is  an  ottering  for  sin,  the  virtue  of  that  made  by 
Christ  being  inexhaustible.  No  longer  does  any 
distinct  priestly  class  or  caste  mediate  between 
God  and  man ;  but  the  priestly  functions  and 
status,  in  a  strict  sense  reserved  entirely  to  the 
Saviour,  pass  over,  as  far  as  they  can  pass  over, 
to  the  whole  body  of  believers,  each  of  whom  has 
the  indefeasible  right  of  access  to  God  through 
Christ  alone.  Of  himself  the  individual  has  to 
give  account,  and  no  artificial  system  of  mediation 
prevents  him  from  standing  in  personal  and  in- 
communicable responsibility  before  God. 

4.  The  priestly  theory  of  the  Christian  ministry. 
— It  follows  that  this  theory  is  without  direct 
Scriptural  warrant.  The  word  used  for  the  office 
is  irpeo-purepos,  from  which  sacrificial  associations  are 
absent,  and  never  Zepetfs,  from  which  such  associa- 
tions are  inseparable. 

(a)  No  argument  can  be  based  upon  the  passages 
in  which  compounds  of  that  term  or  cognate  ex- 
pressions occur.     The  nearest  is  probably  Ro  15lfl 
RVm  :  'a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  unto  the  Gen- 
tiles, ministering  in  sacrifice  the  gospel  of  God.' 
Here  the  sacrificial    allusions   are  unquestionable 
but  entirely  figurative.     St.  Paul  is  a  \firovpy6s,  i.e. 
one  who  performs  functions  that  are  sacred  inas- 
much as  they  serve  the  needs  of  the  community, 
whether  viewed  as  an  ecclesiastical  (1  Ch  164,  He 
1011  82)  or  a  social  (Nu  182,  Sir  1025,  2  Co  91U)  unit. 
In  such  a  sense  priests  may  be  said  to  minister  in 
the  house  of  God  (2  Es  203B),  or  the  '  ministers '  may 
be  distinguished  from  the  priests  (2  Es  203a).     The 
word  may   be  used  of  the  work  of  prophets  and 
teachers  (Ac  132),  and  even  of  the  ministry  of  the 
rich  to  the  poor  (Ro  912  1527) ;  and  its  technical  use 
in  non-sacrificial  connexions  is  well  authenticated. 
St.    Paul  accordingly  applies  the  term  to  himself 
as  a  minister  of  Christ  to  the  Gentiles,  and  by  a 
familiar  figure  compares  his  functions  with  those 
of  a  sacrificing  priest,  the  offering  which  he  pre- 
sents being  that  of  converted  men.     Each  of  them 
in  a  figure  presents  himself  as  a  sacrifice  (Ro  121), 
their  apostle  in  a  figure  presents  them  all.     But 
that  the  ministry  of  the  Church  is  in  some  special 
sense  priestly  and  sacrificial  is  not  said  and  not  to 
be   inferred.     Similarly  witli    Ph    217 — '  If    I    am 
offered  upon  the  sacrifice  and  service  of  your  faith  ' 
— the  metaphor  does  not  make  St.  Paul  the  priest, 
but  the  Philippians  themselves,  while  their  faith 
with  the  accompanying  works  is  the  sacrifice.     So 
great  is  the  Apostle's  eagerness  to  help  them  that 
he  is  ready  to  die  for  Christ's  sake  in  their  behalf, 
or,  as  he  puts  it,  to  have  his  blood  poured  out  as 
a  libation,  according  to  the  practice  in  the  heathen 
rites  with  which  they  were  familiar  (see  Lightfoot, 
in  loc.). 

(b)  This  silence  of  Scripture  in   regard  to  the 
priestly  character  of  the  ministry  is  not  relieved 
by  an  assumed  identification  of  the  ministry  with 
the  priests  of  Judaism  or  by  the  assumption  of  a 
parallel  between  them.     There  is  no  such  parallel, 
as  far  as  our  period  is  concerned  ;  for  the  line  of 
typological  development  from  the  OT  conception, 
as  we  have  seen,  runs  up  directly  to  Jesus  Christ 
and  terminates  in  Him,  while  the  circle  of  analogy 
encompasses  all  the  faithful,  investing  them  with 
common  privileges  and  the  same  obligations,  and 
recognizing  no  distinction  between  the  classes  of 


272 


PRIEST 


PRINCE 


clergy  and  of  laity.  All  alike  are  priests  of  God, 
required  each  to  present  himself  a  living  sacrifice  ; 
and  the  priestly  work  of  Christ  is  so  completely 
done  that  the  intervention  of  any  official  to  repair 
or  supplement  it  is  superfluous  in  regard  to  man 
and  an  undesigned  reflexion  upon  the  Saviour. 

(c)  It   is    the    n  on -sacrificial    term    'presbyter' 
that  is  consistently  used  in  the  NT  as  the  chief 
and  technical  designation  of  a  Christian  minister. 
Other  officials  of  lower  rank,  and,  in  later  cen- 
turies, of  higher  rank,  were  appointed  in  the  in- 
terest of  fitness  and  efficiency  (1  Co  1440) ;  but  to 
none  of  them  did  sacerdotal  functions  appertain. 
The  ministers  of  a  congregation,  whether  engaged 
in  teaching  or  administration  (1  Ti  517),  were  called 
elders  or  presbyters,  probably  in  imitation  of  the 
practice  of  the  synagogue  (Ac  II30  1423  152).     For 
this  term  '  bishops '  was  sometimes  substituted  in 
churches  where   Hellenistic   influence  was  strong 
(Ac  2028,  Ph  I1,  1  Ti  31,  Tit  I7,  1  P  51-  2),  the  new 
term  being  familiar  to  the  people  as  the  title  of 
the  presiding  official  in  their  local  confraternities 
and  gilds.     In  NT  times  and  afterwards  the  terms 
were  interchangeable   (1    Clem.   21,   42,  44),   and 
for  either  substitutes  could  be  used.     The  holders 
of  the  office  were  responsible  rulers  (Ro  128,  1  Th 
512,  He  1324,  1  Clem.   1),  stewards  of  God  (Tit  I7), 
messengers   of  the  churches  (2  Co  S23),  ministers 
(1  Ti  46),  and  servants  (Ph  I1)  of  Christ  Jesus  ;  but 
of  sacrificial  duties  they  had  none,  and  in  sacer- 
dotal rank  they  ranged  with  the  laity,  whose  wor- 
ship they  shared  and  conducted,  and  over  whose 
faith  they  watched.     Of  actual  altar  and  literal 
sacrifice    since    Christ   died    there    is    no    need ; 
for  even  the  altar  of  He  1310  is  that  of  Christ,  on 
which  each   Christian  must  offer  for  himself  the 
sacrifice  of  praise  (He  13lsf-)  and  good  works.     In 
all  such  thinas  the  minister  should  be  an  ensample 
(1   Ti  412,  Tit  27,  1  P  53) ;  but  with  the  passing 
away  of  the  sacrificial  ritual  there  ceased  also  the 
need  and    the  possibility    of  any    sacerdotal    or 
vicarious  activities.     For  the  sake  of  order,   the 
minister  still  leads  and  represents  the  people,  and 
speaks  with  authority  when  he  proclaims  the  word 
of  God  ;  but  he  is  himself  one  of  them,  separated 
from  them   by  no   personal   quality  or  privilege 
whatever.     He  has  no  ottering  to  make  in  any- 
body's behalf  except  his  own,  and  no  immunity  or 
personal  sanctity  except  such  as  arises  from  his 
own  relation  to  God. 

(d)  Nor    is    there    any   trace  in  the  Apostolic 
Age  of  the  emergence  of  a  ministerial  theory  to 
which  the  sacerdotal  factor  was  integral.     (1)  The 
apostles  proper  never  claimed  either  to  be  or  to 
appoint  priestly  officers.     Their  specific  work  was 
to  bear  the  witness  of  their  senses  to  the  historical 
Christ  (Ac  I21,   1   Jn  I1"8)  ;  and  while  they  were 
shrewd  enough  to  take    steps  for    the  effective 
organization  of  the  little  groups  of  disciples  they 
attracted,  they  never  pretended  to  link  on  to  the 
new  Church  any  fragments  of  a  sacrificial  system 
that  was  in  their  opinion  outworn  and  spent.     (2) 
Or,   if  it  be  assumed  that  the  ministerial  office 
soon  began  to  be  conceived  as  the  result  of  a  fusion 
of  apostolic  and  presbyteral   functions,  as   there 
was  no  priestly  element  in  either  of  the  original 
constituents,  there  could  be  none  in  their   con- 
flation.    If,   consequently,   such  an  element  sub- 
sequently appeared,   its    introduction    must  have 
been  surreptitious,  and  a  legitimate  descent  from 
Scriptural  teaching  cannot  be  claimed.     The  minis- 
ter was  regarded  as   a  priest  in   no  other  sense 
than  was  every  disciple.     Every  disciple  had  ac- 
cess through  Christ  to  God,  and  was  charged  with 
the  priestly  function  of  evangelism  or  the  estab- 
lishment of  real  contact  between  man  and  God. 
When  the  communities  became  organized,  suitable 
disciples  were  appointed  to    the  various  offices ; 


and  the  appointment  to  at  least  the  presbyterate 
involved  three  concurrent  actions — the  commission 
of  God  (Ro  105,  1  Co  916 ;  cf.  Jn  1718),  and  selection 
by  church  leaders  or  '  men  of  repute,'  with  the 
consent  of  the  church  (Ac  1423  1527,  1  Ti  22,  Tit  Is, 
1  Clem.  44).  But  while  such  appointment  carried 
the  right  to  preside  at  the  Eucharist  and  other 
church  meetings,  it  added  no  priestly  quality  or 
prerogative  to  those  which  the  minister  already  as 
a  disciple  possessed. 

LITERATURE. — Comtn.  on  the  passages  cited,  especially  B.  F. 
Westcott,  Hebreu's,  1889  ;  Sanday-Headlam,  Humans^  (ICC, 
1902) ;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Philippians*,  1878,  with  appended 
dissertation  on 'The  Christian  Ministry."  The  principal  Patris- 
tic literature  is  Epistle  of  Barnabas  (A.D.  75[?]),  in  which,  how- 
ever, there  is  no  description  of  ministerial  qualifications  or 
functions,  and  no  mention  of  the  Eucharist,  but  all  Christians 
have  personal  access  to  saving  knowledge  ;  and  Clement  of 
Rome's  Ep.  to  Corinthians  (A.D.  96  or  97),  for  which  see  J.  B. 
Lightfoot,  Apostolic  Fathers,  pt.  i.  (1890).  See  also  W. 
Milligan,  Ascension  and  Heavenly  Priesthood  of  Our  Lord, 
1892  ;  E.  Hatch,  Organization  of  the  Early  Christian  Churches, 
1881 ;  F.  J.  A.  Hort,  The  Christian  Ecclesia,  1897 ;  W. 
Lefroy,  The  Christian  Ministry,  1890 ;  T.  Powell,  Essay  on 
Apostolical  Succession-,  1840 ;  C.  Gore,  The  Ministry  of  the 
Christian  Church"*,  1889,  and  Orders  and  Unity,  1909 ;  T.  M. 
Lindsay,  The  Church  and  the  Ministry  in  the  Early  Centuries, 
1902  ;  R.  C.  Moberly,  Ministerial  Priesthood*,  1907 ;  A.  E. 


J.  Rawlinson,  in  Foundations,  1912,  pp.  362-422  ;  and  C.  H. 
Turner,  Studies  in  Early  Church  History,  1912,  pp.  1-70. 

R.  W.  Moss. 

PRINCE.  — This  is  the  rendering  of  two  Gr. 
words  in  the  NT,  viz.  apxriybs  and  fi/>xw"-  The 
translation  '  prince '  is  assigned  to  a.pxnybs  in  two 
passages  in  Acts,  viz.  314f>,  '  desired  a  murderer  to 
be  granted  unto  you  ;  and  killed  the  Prince  of  life ' 
(AVm  and  RVm  '  Author ') ;  and  531,  '  Him  hath 
God  exalted  with  his  right  hand  to  be  a  Prince 
and  a  Saviour.'  In  the  latter  passage  the  title 
evidently  denotes  the  royal  dignity  to  which  Jesus 
has  been  raised  by  the  Resurrection  ;  but  in  the 
other  quotation  apxyyos  rfjs  fw^s  rather  refers  to 
His  work  as  Saviour,  and  thus  the  marginal  trans- 
lation is  preferable.  He  is  the  Author  of  life  in 
the  sense  that  He  is  the  Mediator  to  others  of 
eternal  life  (cf.  He  210,  dpxnyov  rfjs  o-uTTjpias  avrCiv 
[AV  and  RVm  'captain  of  their  salvation,'  RV 
'  author '],  and  59,  afnos  (rurrjplas  aiwviov  [ AV  and 
RV  'author  of  eternal  salvation,'  RVm  'cause']). 
The  title  'author  of  life'  is  specially  suggestive 
in  the  passage  in  Acts  in  virtue  of  the  contrast 
it  presents  to  the  '  murderer '  whom  they  desired 
instead. 

The  title  'Prince '  (&pxuv)i*  applied  to  Jesus  Christ 
in  Rev  1B,  ' firstbegotten  (RV  'firstborn')  of  the 
dead,  and  the  prince  (RV  'ruler')  of  the  kings  of 
the  earth '  (cf.  Ps  S927).  In  virtue  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion Jesus  has  been  exalted  to  Divine  Lordship  (cf. 
Mt  2818,  Ph  29).  The  title  '  prince  of  the  kings  of 
the  earth '  corresponds  to  the  '  King  of  kings  and 
Lord  of  lords '  of  Rev  1714  1916.  It  is  characteristic 
of  Rev. ,  with  its  transference  to  the  Christ  of  the 
attributes  of  the  theocratic  king,  to  emphasize  the 
sovereignty  of  the  Exalted  Christ  over  all  earthly 
potentates. 

There  are  two  other  passages  in  the  apostolic 
writings  in  which  fipxw  is  translated  '  prince.'  In 
one,  Eph  22,  '  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air ' 
(6  apxw  T??S  ^oVffias  rov  d^pos),  the  reference  is 
plainly  to  Satan.  t£ovo-ia  is  here  used  collectively 
to  denote  the  whole  array  of  the  hosts  of  evil. 
These  are  conceived  as  having  their  dwelling  in 
the  air,  i.e.  midway  between  heaven  and  earth 
(cf.  612,  ret  irvevfJ.ct.TiKa  rrjs  Trofijpias  tv  ro?s  tirovpaviois). 
The  other  passage  is  1  Co  26- 8.  There  is  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  who  are  '  the  princes  of  this  world ' 
(RV  'rulers  of  this  world,'  RVm  'age')  here  re- 
ferred to.  There  are  some  who  see  merely  a  refer- 
ence to  those  who  through  birth,  culture,  and  power 
hold  a  high  place  in  the  esteem  of  their  fellows. 
But  others  find  in  the  passage  an  allusion  to  the 
evil  spirits  to  which  there  was  a  tendency  in  later 


PRINCE  OF  THE  POWER  OF  THE  AIR      PRINCIPALITY,  PRINCIPALITIES     2?3 


Judaism  to  assign  part  at  least  of  the  government 
of  the  world.  These  spirits  are  represented  as 
having  brought  about  the  death  of  Christ  in  their 
blind  ignorance  of  the  Divine  wisdom.  Had  they 
known  the  Lord  of  glory,  they  would  never  have 
committed  such  a  fatal  mistake. 

LITERATURE.  —  H.  Lietzmann's  Handbueh  mm  NT,  1912, 
comm.  on  1  Co  26  ;  W.  Bousset,  Die  Religion  des  Judentums 
im  neutett.  Zeitalter'*,  1906,  p.  371  S.  ;  F.  H.  Chase,  The  Credi- 
bility of  the  Acts,  1902,  p.  129  f.  ;  HDB,  art.  'Prince.' 

G.  WAUCHOPE  STEWART. 
PRINCE  OF  THE  POWER  OF  THE  AIR.—  See 

AIR. 


PRINCIPALITY,  PRINCIPALITIES  . 

first  place,  principality,  rule,  magistracy  '  [Grimm 
Thayer]).  —  In  the  Epistles  the  Gr.  word  occurs  four 
times  in  the  singular  in  this  sense  (1  Co  1524,  Eph 
I21,  Col  210,  Jude6),  and  six  times  in  the  plural 
(Ro  8s8,  Eph  310  612,  Col  I16  215,  Tit  31).  The  AV 
gives  'principalities'  uniformly  for  the  latter, 
and  '  principality  '  in  two  of  the  former,  preferring 
'rule'  in  1  Co  1524,  and  'first  estate'  in  Jude6.  The 
RV  appears  to  use  '  principality  '  only  where  the 
reference  to  angelic  beings  is  undoubted  ;  it  gives 
'  rulers  '  in  Tit  31,  and  '  rule  '  in  1  Co  1524  and  Eph 
I21,  where  earthly  powers  may  be  included  (T.  K. 
Abbott  thinks  that  this  applies  also  to  Col  I16). 
So  in  Lk  1211  2020  the  RV  gives  '  rulers  '  and  '  rule.' 

For  the  term  as  used  of  angels  compare  certain 
passages  in  Daniel  (1013>21  121),  where  Michael  is 
called  the  '  prince  '  of  the  Jews  (LXX  Apx^v),  and 
there  is  also  a  hostile  angel,  'the  prince  of  the 
kingdom  of  Persia.' 

It  is  convenient  to  consider  in  this  article  the 
various  special  terms  applied  to  angels  in  the 
Epistles,  viz.  thrones  (0p6voi),  dominions  (Kvptbri]- 
r«),  principalities  (apxai),  authorities  (H-owitu),  and 
powers  (Swoj 


Ro  838  —  'angels,  principalities,  powers.' 

1  Co  15**  —  '  rule  (opx1?).  authority,  power.' 

Eph  I21  —  '  rule  (ipx^)),  authority,  power,  dominion.' 

Eph  31"  612  —  '  principalities,  powers.' 

Col  I18  —  'thrones,  dominions,  principalities,  powers.' 

Col  210  —  'principality,  power." 

Col  215  —  'principalities,  powers.' 

X  p  322  —  '  angels,  authorities,  powers.' 

The  contexts  show  that  in  some  of  the  above 
passages  all  possible  kinds  of  power,  spiritual  and 
earthly,  are  included  ;  in  some  the  reference  is 
limited  to  good  angels,  and  in  others  to  evil  angels, 
as  Eph  612.  It  may  be  noted  that  Milton  uses 
these  titles  for  unfallen  and  fallen  angels  alike 
(Paradise  Lost,  ii.  11  and  v.  601,  769). 

Do  these  titles  correspond  to  any  objective 
revelation  in  the  minds  of  the  writers  ?  Lightfoot's 
opinion,  which  Abbott  (on  Eph  I21)  adopts  without 
any  hesitation,  is  that  '  in  this  catalogue  [Col  I16] 
St.  Paul  does  not  profess  to  describe  objective 
realities,  but  contents  himself  with  repeating  sub- 
jective opinions.'  The  Apostle  takes  the  terms 
used  by  Colossian  teachers  and  does  not  inquire 
how  much  or  how  little  truth  is  in  them  ;  Christ  is 
elevated  above  them  all.  Salmond  (on  Eph  I21) 
says  that  we  must  take  the  terms  not  as  teaching 
or  implying  any  doctrine  of  graduated  ranks,  but 
as  rhetorical  terms  brought  together  to  express  the 
unique  supremacy  and  absolute  sovereignty  proper 
to  Christ.  And  Beet  (on  Col  I16)  states  that  '  in 
this  verse  .  .  .  the  existence  of  angelic  powers  is  not 
absolutely  assumed.  Paul  merely  says  that  if 
there  be  such,  be  they  what  they  may,  they  were 
created  in  the  Son  of  God.'  If  the  terms  were 
found  only  in  Col.,  where  a  tendency  to  angel 
worship  had  to  be  met,  this  might  be  admitted, 
but  similar  terms  are  found  in  Eph.,  where  there  is 
no  such  polemical  reference,  and  elsewhere.  On 
the  other  side  may  be  quoted  Ellicott  (on  Col  I16), 
who  holds  that  it  is  by  no  means  so  certain  as  it  is 
VOL.  ii.  —  18 


assumed  to  be  that  St.  Paul  is  simply  repeating 
subjective  opinions ;  there  is  nothing  to  show  that 
he  regarded  these  grades  and  orders  as  mere  theo- 
sophical  speculations.  Peake  says  :  '  in  face  of  the 
detailed  proof  that  St.  Paul  accepted  the  doctrine 
of  various  orders  of  angels,  Lightfoot's  remark  (on 
Col  I16)  that  a  spirit  of  impatience  is  shown  cannot 
be  maintained,  nor  is  there  any  polemical  reference 
in  Eph  I21' ;  and  Moule's  opinion  is  that  'St.  Paul 
is  glorifying  the  Son  of  God  by  a  view  of  His 
relation  to  created  being  ;  and  assuredly  this  would 
not  be  best  done  by  alluding  to  phases  of  created 
being  which  might  all  the  while  be  figments  of  the 
imagination.'  St.  Paul's  experience  (2  Co  121'4) 
must  not  be  forgotten,  and  Alexander  says  that 
not  without  reason  has  a  Greek  Father  (St. 
Gregory,  in  Horn,  in  Ezek.  8)  found  in  these  glow- 
ing words  a  probable  reminiscence  of  that  which 
was  actually  oeheld  by  him  who  was  '  caught  up 
to  the  third  heaven.' 

A  further  question  is — Can  anything  be  inferred 
from  the  order  in  which  these  terms  occur  ?  No 
list  contains  them  all ;  Eph  I21  and  Col  I16  have 
four  each,  but  they  are  not  the  same  four,  and 
while  '  dominion '  is  last  in  Eph.  it  is  second  in 
Col.  Fritzsche  and  Meyer  think  that  in  Col.  the 
superior  and  inferior  classes  form  pairs,  but  this  is 
precarious.  It  may  be  noted,  however,  that  princi- 
palities, authorities,  and  powers  (dpxal,  e£owr/at, 
5vvdfj*is)  always  occur  in  the  same  order ;  one  may 
be  omitted,  but  they  are  never  reversed.  It  is  quite 
possible  that  in  Col.  the  Apostle  is  following  the 
order  of  the  false  teachers.  The  Rabbis  had  a 
classification  of  ten  orders  (see  Fritzsche  on  Ro 
gsa.  39^  kut  it  was  elaborated  under  the  influence  of 
Platonism,  and  evidently  at  a  later  date  than  St. 
Paul  (Meyer).  The  names,  too,  are  quite  different 
from  those  of  the  NT.  The  Testaments  of  the 
Twelve  Patriarchs  (Levi,  3)  arranges  the  angels  in 
seven  heavens,  placing  powers  (Swd/itets  rCiv  irope/x- 
/SoXuij')  in  the  third,  and  thrones  and  authorities  in 
the  fourth.  The  Slavonic  Enoch  (xx.  1)  says  that  in 
the  seventh  heaven  '  Enoch  saw  ...  all  the  fiery 
hosts  of  great  archangels,  and  incorporeal  powers, 
and  lordships,  and  principalities,  and  powers ; 
cherubim  and  seraphim,  thrones  and  the  watch- 
fulness of  many  eyes '  (quoted  in  Peake,  Colossians). 

Turning  to  Christian  writings,  we  find  that 
various  systems  of  angelology  were  put  forward, 
but  it  is  difficult  to  say  how  far  they  are  inde- 
pendent of  St.  Paul.  From  Hernias  (Vis.  iii.  4) 
we  learn  that  instruction  as  to  the  positions  of 
angels  (roirodffflas  rfa  ayye\u(ds)  was  regarded  as 
teaching  for  the  more  perfect.  The  lists  given  by 
the  Fathers  vary.  Thus  Origen  (on  Jn  I34)  gives 
thrones,  principalities,  dominions,  authorities,  add- 
ing that  there  are  other  names  not  so  familiarly  in 
use  (cf.  Eph  I21) ;  but  in  de  Principiis  (I.  v.  3,  vi. 
2)  he  gives  in  an  ascending  scale  a  different  order 
— principalities,  authorities,  thrones,  dominions. 
Ephrem  Syrus  (Op.  Syr.  i.  270)  arranges  them  in 
three  classes:  (1)  gods,  thrones,  dominions;  (2) 
archangels,  principalities,  authorities  ;  (3)  angels, 
powers,  cherubim,  seraphim.  The  same  order  ap- 
pears in  Basil  of  Seleucia  (Orat.  39).  Gregory  of 
Nazianzus  (Orat.  xxviii.  31)  mentions  angels,  arch- 
angels, thrones,  dominions,  principalities,  authori- 
ties, splendours,  ascents,  intellectual  powers 
or  intelligences.  The  pseudo-Dionysius  gives  (1) 
thrones,  cherubim,  seraphim  ;  (2)  authorities,  do- 
minions, powers ;  (3)  angels,  archangels,  principali- 
ties. And  Gregory  the  Great  (Horn,  in  Ezek. 
xxxiv.  7)  has  the  following  classes — angels,  arch- 
angels, powers,  authorities,  principalities,  domin- 
ions, thrones,  cherubim,  and  seraphim. 

These  variations  will  confirm  the  opinion  of  St. 
Augustine  when  he  says  (Enchir.  58):  'what  the 
organization  is  of  that  supremely  happy  society 


274    PRINCIPALITY,  PRINCIPALITIES 


PRINCIPLES 


in  heaven  :  what  the  differences  of  rank  are,  .  .  . 
and  what  are  the  various  significations  of  those  four 
names  under  which  the  apostle  seems  to  embrace 
the  whole  heavenly  company  without  exception, 
"  whether  they  be  thrones,  or  dominions,  or  princi- 
palities, or  powers "  :  —  let  those  who  are  able 
answer  these  questions,  if  they  can  also  prove 
their  answers  to  be  true  ;  but  as  for  me,  I  confess 
my  ignorance.'  Meyer's  conclusion  is  that  for 
Christian  faith  there  remains  and  suffices  the  testi- 
mony as  to  different  and  distinctively  designated 
stages  and  categories  in  the  angelic  world  (cf.  Mt 
18'°),  while  any  attempt  to  ascertain  more  than  is 
written  in  Scripture  passes  into  the  fanciful  domain 
of  theosophy  (on  Col  I16}. 

Two  of  the  above  passages  require  a  more  de- 
tailed examination,  viz.  Col  215,  Ro  S38.  In  Col  215 
(R V  '  having  put  off  from  himself  the  principalities 
and  the  powers,  he  made  a  show  of  them  openly, 
triumphing  over  them  in  it ' ;  AV  '  having  spoiled  ) 
there  is  hardly  a  phrase  the  meaning  of  which  is 
undisputed.  The  Greek  is  cbre/cSwd/iecos  rds  dpxas 
Kal  ras  ^ovffias  tSeiyndricrev  tv  irapprjcria,  tf/xa/u/Setfcrcis 
avrotis  tv  a$T$.  direicSv(rd[j.evos  is  a  rare  word  which 
does  not  appear  to  occur  before  St.  Paul  (though 
Meyer  thinks  it  is  the  right  reading  in  Plato,  Rep. 
612A)  ;  and  being  middle  it  should  mean  '  having 
put  off  from  himself '  (cf.  Old  Lat.  exuens  seprinci- 
patibus) :  so  the  RV.  The  older  EVV,  following 
the  Vulg.,  give  it  the  active  meaning  'having 
spoiled,'  which  is  preferred  by  Bengel,  Meyer, 
Moule,  and  Peake.  It  is  admitted  that  the  middle 
is  a  difficulty,  but  it  is  explained  as  implying 
victorious  self-interest  (sibi  exxpolians).  It  might 
apply  to  good  or  bad  angels,  according  to  the  con- 
text. If,  with  the  RV,  we  take  it  in  the  natural 
middle  meaning,  the  next  questions  are — What  was 
put  off?  and  Who  is  the  subject?  Many  of  the 
Greek  Fathers  and  others  say  that  the  evil  angels 
were  put  off,  that  the  Lord  by  His  death  stripped 
away  all  the  opposing  powers  of  evil  which  sought 
to  win  a  victory  over  Him  in  His  human  nature. 
'When  He  died  on  the  cross,  when  He  dissolved 
that  temple  into  which  they,  both  in  earlier,  and 
later  and  perhaps  redoubled  efforts  of  temptation, 
had  vainly  endeavoured  to  make  sacrilegious  entry, 
He  reft  them  away  for  ever,  and  vindicated  His 
regal  power'  (Ellicott).  There  are  two  objections 
to  this  view.  (1)  When  and  in  what  sense  did 
Christ  wear  these  opposing  powers  as  a  robe? 
Lightfoot  says  that  '  the  powers  of  evil,  w7hich  had 
clung  like  a  Nessus  robe  about  His  humanity,  were 
torn  off  and  cast  aside  for  ever '  ;  on  which  Beet's 
criticism  is  :  'I  do  not  know  that  enemies  attack- 
ing are  ever  so  described  :  and  of  such  desperate 
struggle  with  evil  powers  we  have  as  yet  in  this 
place  no  hint.'  (2)  It  necessitates  a  change  of 
subject,  of  which  the  context  gives  no  intimation  ; 
in  vv.12- 1S- 14  the  subject  is  God  the  Father,  and  no 
one  would  think  of  changing  it  but  for  the  diffi- 
culty of  otherwise  giving  to  '  principalities  and 
powers '  the  meaning  of  evil  angels.  The  common 
interpretation  of  the  Latin  Fathers  was  '  putting  off 
from  Himself  His  body  '  (see  RVm),  and  it  found 
its  way  into  the  text  of  G  (rriv  o-dpKa  Kal  rds  e'£owicts, 
dpxas  being  omitted  ;  '  having  laid  aside  His  flesh, 
He  made  a  show  of  the  powers ').  The  introduc- 
tion of  the  metaphor  is  very  abrupt,  and  there  is 
again  the  change  of  subject. 

But  it  is  possible  to  keep  the  middle  meaning  of 
direKdvcrdfj-evos,  and  the  same  subject  throughout,  if 
'  principalities  and  powers '  are  good  angels.  This 
was  first  suggested  by  J.  Peirce  (in  A  Paraphrase 
and  Notes  on  Colossians2,  1729)  and  adopted  by 
Alford,  Ritschl,  Beet,  Findlay,  and  Peake.  It  is 
consistent  with  210  and  I16,  where  good  angels  are 
meant,  and  there  is  no  allusion  in  the  Epistle  to 
hostile  angels.  Peirce's  paraphrase  is,  '  and  having 


taken  from  the  good  angels  their  authority,  He 
subjected  them  to  Christ,  and  proposed  them 
publicly  as  an  example  of  cheerful  obedience  to 
Him  (i.e.  to  Christ),  causing  them  to  triumph  in 
Christ.'  What  was  this  authority  ?  In  Gal  319, 
He  22,  Ac  I53  angels  are  described  as  the  medium 
through  which  God  revealed  Himself  at  the  Law- 
giving,  and  in  this  sense  they  might  be  called  His 
robe  or  veil.  But  when  Christ  came  the  veil  was 
laid  aside  and  the  angels  took  an  inferior  position 
(cf.  He  I6),  God  henceforth  manifesting  Himself  in 
the  Person  of  His  Son.  '  He  has  put  off  and  laid 
aside  the  garb  of  angelic  mediation  in  which, 
under  the  Law,  He  was  wont  to  hold  intercourse 
with  men '  (Findlay).  On  this  view,  '  made  a  show 
of  them  '  implies  no  shame,  only  that  He  exhibited 
them  in  a  true  position  of  inferiority,  and  therefore 
not  to  be  worshipped.  The  chief  objection  lies  in 
the  word  'triumphing,'  which,  if  taken  in  the 
Roman  sense  of  'captives  led  in  triumph  by  a 
victorious  general,'  seems  to  require  that  the 
principalities  and  powers  should  be  hostile  angels. 
This  is  obviated  if  Findlay's  contention  can  be 
established,  viz.  that  'triumph'  (6pia/j.^w)  here  has 
the  meaning  of  0ptayu/3os — a  hymn  sung  in  procession 
in  honour  of  Dionysus ;  accordingly,  the  sense 
would  be — God  has  formed  them  into  a  festal  chorus 
'who  follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever  He  goeth,' 
hymning  His  praises,  and  devoted  to  His  service. 

In  Ro  838>  w :  'I  am  persuaded  that  neither 
death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor 
things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  powers 
.  .  .  shall  be  able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
God '  (RV),  the  same  question  arises  as  in  Col  21B. 
As  the  other  influences  are  in  pairs  of  opposites, 
some  find  here  also  a  contrast,  'angels'  being 
heavenly  beings  and  '  principalities '  earthly  ;  or 
'angels''  being  good  spirits  and  'principalities' 
evil.  Others  think  that  both  terms  mean  evil 
angels,  arguing  that  the  good  would  not  try  to 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  God.  But  this  may 
be  only  a  hypothesis  like  Gal  I8,  and  the  point  is 
that  nothing,  however  powerful,  whether  likely  to 
harm  us  or  not,  can  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
God  ;  and  Godet  well  says  that  what  is  itself  good 
may  contribute  to  lead  us  astray,  if  our  attach- 
ment or  adoration  stops  short  at  the  creature, 
instead  of  rising  to  God.  See  artt.  AUTHORITY, 
DOMINION,  POWER,  THRONE. 

LITERATURE.— Commentaries  on  Romans :  C.  F.  A.  Fritzsche, 
1836-43,  F.  Godet  (Eng.  tr.,  2  vols.,  1881-82)  ;  Ephesians :  H. 
A.  W.  Meyer  (Eng.  tr.,  1880),  S.  D.  F.  Salmond  (in  EGT, 
1903) ;  Colossians  :  J.  Peirce  (21729),  H.  A.  W.  Meyer  (Eng. 
tr.,  1875),  C.  J.  Ellicott (31865),  J.  B.  Lightfoot  (31879),  J.  A. 
Beet  (1890),  A.  S.  Peake  (in  EGT,  1903),  W.  Alexander 
(Speaker's  Commentary,  1881) ;  T.  K.  Abbott,  ICC,  '  Ephesians 
and  Colossians,'  1897 ;  G.  G.  Findlay,  '  St.  Paul's  use  of  6pi.au- 
/3ev'«j,'  in  Exp,  1st  ser.,  x.2  [1881] ;  Joseph  Hall,  'The  Invisible 
World,'  in  Works,  new  ed.,  viii.  [1837] ;  and  K.  R.  Hagenbach, 
History  of  Christian  Doctrines,  Eng.  tr.,  ii.  [1880]  §  131. 

W.  H.  DUNDAS. 

PRINCIPLES  (dpxt,  He  512  61).— In  Greek  philo- 
sophy dpx-fi  is  an  element  or  first  principle— that  by 
which  anything  begins  to  be.  When  it  is  dis- 
tinguished from  ffToixe'iov  —  the  terms  are  often 
interchanged — it  means  the  formal  and  active  as 
opposed  to  the  material  cause.  The  two  words  are 
used  together  in  He  512,  '  the  rudiments  of  the  first 
principles  of  the  oracles  of  God'  (ra  <mnx«a  TTJS 
apxys  TWV  \oyluv  rov  6eov).  The  tautology  is  studied 
and  effective.  The  writer  is  chiding  his  readers 
for  not  endeavouring  or  perhaps  caring  to  advance 
beyond  the  ABC  (in  Luther's  phrase,  die  ersten 
Buchstaben)  of  the  gospel.  He  reminds  them  that 
they  are  no  longer  v^irioi.  Milk  is  the  natural  food 
of  babes,  but  babes  are  potential  adults,  and  the 
food  of  men  (re\duv,  'perfect,'  i.e.  ' full-grown,' is 
emphatic),  and  of  those  who  aspire  to  be  such,  has 
to  be  more  solid  than  that  of  infants  (514).  The 
backwardness  which  the  writer  reproves  is  alike 


PRISON 


275 


intellectual  and  spiritual,  while  his  grave  tone 
differs  from  that  of  Horace's  '  blandi  doctores,'  who 
give  their  pupils  cakes  'elementa  velint  ut  discere 
prima'  (Sat.  I.  i.  25  f. ).  Tliat  there  is  an  immense 
difference  between  the  apx^  and  therAos  of  Christi- 
anity ;  that  Jesus  is  not  only  the  Beginner  but 
the  Perfecter  of  our  faith  (a.px.r]ydi>  KO.I  reXeiwrV, 
He  122)— these  are  the  truths  he  wishes  to  drive 
home.  Childhood  is  beautiful,  but  only  a  false 
sentiment  would  prolong  it.  The  same  thought  is 
frequent  in  St.  Paul's  writings  (1  Co  31  1311,  Eph 
414).  The  Rabbis  spoke  of  their  younger  pupils  as 
'sucklings.'  Perhaps  in  He  5'3- 14  we  have  a  case 
of  one  Alexandrian  echoing  another,  for  Philo 
says  (de  Agric.  ii.):  'Since  milk  is  the  food  of 
infants,  but  cakes  of  wheat  (TO.  £K  irvpuv  irt/jLfjLara) 
are  the  food  of  full-grown  men,  so  also  the  soul 
must  have  a  milk-like  nourishment  in  its  age  of 
childhood,  namely,  the  elementary  lessons  of  art 
and  science  (TO.  TTJS  ^y/cwMot)  novffiKijs  irpoTrai6ev/j.a.Ta.), 
but  the  perfect  food  which  is  for  men  is  education 
in  prudence,  temperance,  and  every  virtue.' 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 
PRISCA,  PRISCILLA.— See  AQUILA. 

PRISON.—!.  Greek  words  translated '  prison.'— 

The  term  0uXa/oj  is  almost  invariably  rendered 
'  prison '  in  A V  and  RV.  It  is  also  used  in  a  more 
restricted  sense  to  designate  a  portion  of  a  prison, 
in  one  instance  '  the  first  and  the  second  ward '  (Ac 
1210  AV  and  RV),  traversed  by  the  apostle  Peter 
on  his  way  to  freedom  ;  in  another,  '  the  inner 
prison '  (Ac  1624  AV  and  RV)  in  which  St.  Paul  and 
Silas  were  immured  by  the  Philippian  jailer.  The 
word  de<r/j.wrripiov,  frequently  applied  by  Attic 
orators  to  the  prison  at  Athens,  and  used  in  the 
Acts  interchangeably  with  <pv\a.K-fi,  is  translated 
'  prison-house '  in  the  RV  (5-1-  '*  1626).  The  word 
oiKy/Ma  ('a  roonj  in  a  house ;),  a  polite  equivalent  in 
Attic  Greek  for  8ffffj.uT7ipioi>,  is  used  (Ac  127)  to 
denote  '  the  cell '  in  which  the  apostle  Peter  was 
confined  by  order  of  Herod.  Another  word  for 
prison,  r-fipyais,  translated  '  hold '  (RV  '  ward '),  is 
employed  in  Ac  43  to  designate  the  place  of  con- 
finement into  which  the  apostles  were  thrown  by 
the  sacerdotal  authorities  at  Jerusalem  ;  also  in 
Ac  518  qualified  by  the  adjective  8rj/j.o<ria  (AV 
'  common  prison,'  RV  'public  ward'). 

2.  The  prison  in  apostolic  times. — In  most  of  the 
instances  mentioned  in  the  NT,  prisons  appear  to 
have  been  a  part  of  buildings  mainly  devoted  to 
other  uses,  such  as  palaces  and  fortresses,  rather 
than  buildings  exclusively  set  apart  for  the 
purpose.  The  system  then  in  vogue  differed  in 
this  and  other  respects  from  the  one  that  largely 
prevails  at  the  present  day.  As  a  rule,  prisons 
were  intended  not  as  places  of  punishment  for 
convicted  criminals,  but  as  places  of  detention  for 
persons  awaiting  trial,  or  pending  their  execution. 
In  support  of  this  view  may  be  cited  the  imprison- 
ment of  the  apostles  recorded  in  Ac  43  518ff-,  that  of 
the  apostle  Peter  in  Ac  123"10,  and  that  of  the 
apostle  Paul  at  Jerusalem,  Csesarea,  and  Rome. 
Among  the  Jews,  as  well  as  among  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  it  was  usual  to  inflict  other  penalties  than 
imprisonment  for  offences  against  law  and  order, 
e.g.,  fines,  scourging,  death. 

In  Philippi,  which  was  a  Roman  colony,  the 
prison  into  which  St.  Paul  and  Silas  were  cast 
seems  to  have  been  a  separate  establishment 
devoted  to  the  purpose.  But  it  is  rash  to  assume 
that  prisons  in  the  provinces  were  planned  on  the 
same  principle  as  the  Mamertine  prison  at  Rome. 
There  is  nothing  to  indicate  that  '  the  inner  prison ' 
in  which  the  Apostle  and  his  companion  were 
incarcerated  was  a  subterranean  dungeon.  The 
reference  to  'doors'  (Ac  1626)  and  to  the  circum- 
stance that  the  jailer  'sprang  in'  (v.29)  points  to 


the  fact  that  their  portion  of  the  prison  was  on 
a  level  with  the  other  portions.  The  narrative 
affords  us  one  of  the  few  glimpses  obtainable  into 
the  interior  of  a  Roman  prison,  with  its  different 
cells,  provided  with  the  inevitable  appurtenances 
of  chains  and  stocks,  and  its  governor's  house  above. 
In  Ac  123'10  an  interesting  glimpse  is  also  given 
into  the  interior  of  the  prison  in  which  the  apostle 
Peter  was  confined  at  Jerusalem.  This  was  prob- 
ably a  guard-room  in  the  fortress  Antonia,  situ- 
ated at  the  north-west  corner  of  the  Temple  area, 
escape  from  which  could  be  effected  on\y  by  passing 
through  '  the  first  and  the  second  wards,'  lying 
between  it  and  the  iron  gate  leading  into  the  city. 
The  place  of  custody  to  which  the  apostles  were 
committed  by  the  Temple  guard  (Ac  41'3  5ieff<)  was 
probably  attached  to  the  Temple  or  high  priest's 
palace,  as  it  would  appear  to  have  been  adjacent 
to  the  court  in  which  the  Sanhedrin  subsequently 
met  for  the  trial. 

Among  the  evidences  which  St.  Paul  adduces  of 
his  pre-eminence  in  suffering  is  his  '  more  frequent ' 
confinement  'in  prisons'  (2  Co  II23).  Besides  his 
imprisonment  at  Philippi  and  other  unrecorded 
instances  which  preceded  the  writing  of  2  Cor. ,  he 
became  painfully  familiar  with  custody  in  prison 
and  out  of  prison  at  subsequent  dates.  (1)  As  the 
result  of  the  riot  in  the  Temple,  set  on  foot  by  the 
fanatical  Jews  of  Asia,  he  was  consigned  for  a  time 
to  the  barracks  (irape/j-poXri,  AV  and  RV  'castle') 
connected  with  the  fortress  Antonia  (Ac  21s4),  the 
scene  of  St.  Peter's  imprisonment  at  an  earlier  date. 
(2)  The  discovery  of  the  plot  aiming  at  his  assassin- 
ation led  to  his  being  transferred  to  Csesarea, 
where  he  was  detained  for  upwards  of  two  years  in 
the  prsetorium  of  Herod,  now  the  residence  of  the 
procurator  (Ac  23s5).  Here  the  strictness  of  his 
confinement  was  sufficiently  relaxed  to  admit  of 
his  friends  having  free  access  to  him.  (3)  On  his 
being  transferred  to  Rome,  as  the  result  of  his 
appeal  to  Ca?sar,  a  still  larger  measure  of  liberty 
was  granted  him.  '  He  dwelt  two  whole  years  in 
his  own  hired  house,  and  received  all  that  came  in 
unto  him '  (Ac  2830).  (4)  If  we  are  to  assume  a 
second  imprisonment  at  Rome  —  a  subject  still 
under  discussion — it  seems  not  unlikely,  judging 
from  references  in  2  Tim.,  that  he  was  subjected  to 
severer  treatment.  According  to  tradition,  his 
place  of  custody  was  the  Mamertine  prison,  in  the 
lower  dungeon  of  which,  known  as  the  Tullianum, 
prisoners  condemned  for  crimes  against  the  State 
were  executed. 

3.  Metaphorical  use  of  '  prison.'  —  The  word 
'  prison  '  is  applied  in  a  figurative  sense  (1)  to  the 
place  of  confinement  of  the  spirits  '  which  were 
disobedient  ...  in  the  days  of  Noah'  (1  P  319f-  ; 
cf.  Gn  62'4).*  These  are  probably  to  be  identified 
with  '  the  angels  which  kept  not  their  first  estate,' 
declared  in  Jude  (v.6)  to  be  '  reserved  in  everlasting 
chains  under  darkness  to  the  judgment  of  the  great 
day,'  and  with  '  the  angels  that  sinned,'  who  are 
'  consigned  to  Tartarus '  (2  P  2*,  ro.pra.pwa as),  as 
distinguished  from  Gehenna,  'to  be  reserved  unto 
judgment.'  The  allusion  in  all  these  passages 
appears  to  be  to  the  Book  of  Enoch,  which  repre- 
sents the  fallen  angels  as  undergoing  temporary 
punishment  (in  Tartarus,  xix.  1-3  ;  cf.  xx.  2)  until 
the  day  of  their  final  doom.  (2)  The  term  '  prison  ' 
is  also  applied  to  'the  bottomless  pit'  (RV  'the 
abyss '),  in  which  Satan  is  bound  a  thousand  years 
(Rev207;  cf.  v.1). 

LITERATURE. — Artt. '  Career ' in  Smith's  DGRA-,  1875,'  Prison ' 
in  McClintock-Strong's  Bibl.  Cyclopedia,  viii.  [1879],  in  HDB 
iv.  [1902],  and  DCG  ii.  [1908].  For  instances  of  imprisonment  in 
the  life  of  St.  Paul,  see  Lives  by  Conybeare-Howson  (new  ed., 
1877),  F.  W.  Farrar  (1897),  and  others. 

W.  S.  MONTGOMERY. 

*  See  art.  SPIRITS  IN  PRISOS. 


276 


PRIZE 


PKIZE 


PRIZE.  —  According  to  the  Gospels,  reward 
(/j-iffOfa)  finds  a  place  in  the  teaching  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God.  But  the  doctrine  is  redeemed  from  mer- 
cenariness  by  the  fact  that  the  reward  is  reckoned 
of  grace  and  not  of  debt  (Mt  201'16,  Lk  1710)  as  well 
as  by  the  nature  of  the  reward.  It  is  no  mere  ex- 
ternal or  material  reward.  Generally  speaking,  it 
is  the  Kingdom  of  God  or,  according  to  the  Fourth 
Gospel,  eternal  life,  that  our  Lord  sets  before  His 
followers  as  the  reward  to  which  they  may  look 
forward.  The  blessedness  which  is  to  be  theirs 
consists  in  the  attainment  of  that  moral  perfection 
after  which  they  strive.  They  that  hunger  and 
thirst  after  righteousness  shall  be  filled  :  the  merci- 
ful shall  obtain  mercy  :  the  pure  in  heart  shall  see 
God. 

The  same  doctrine  is  found  in  the  apostolic  writ- 
ings. But  here  the  reward  is  described  as  a  prize. 
This  phraseology  is  most  common  in  the  speeches 
and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  but  it  occurs  also  in  the 
Epistles  of  St.  James  and  St.  John  and  in  the  Reve- 
lation of  St.  John.  The  imagery  is  taken  from  the 
Greek  games  which  occupied  such  a  large  place  in 
Greek  life  and  were  invested  with  almost  religious 
significance.  The  four  great  festivals  were  the 
Isthmian,  the  Nemean,  the  Olympian,  and  the 
Pythian  games.  Of  these  the  Olympian  were 
pre-eminent  in  theory,  being  the  cnief  national 
festival  of  the  Greeks,  and  in  practice  they  out- 
lasted all  the  others,  continuing  to  be  celebrated 
till  the  reign  of  Thepdosius.  But  when  the  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul  were  written  the  chief  interest  of  Greece 
was  in  the  Isthmian  games,  which  also  from  their 
proximity  to  Corinth  were  likely  to  supply  the 
Apostle  with  the  metaphors  of  the  foot-race,  the 
pugilistic  contest,  and  the  prize,  of  which  he  makes 
frequent  use.  The  Isthmian  games  were  held  on 
the  Isthmus  of  Corinth,  in  a  grove  of  pine-trees 
sacred  to  Poseidon,  near  the  shrines  of  the  Isthmian 
Poseidon  and  Melicertes,  in  the  first  month  of 
spring,  in  the  second  and  fourth  year  of  each 
Olympiad.  The  contests  consisted  of  gymnastic 
exercises,  horse  races,  and  competitions  in  music. 
Besides  the  customary  palm  the  prize  in  Pindar's 
time  consisted  of  a  wreath  of  dry  trtXtvov  (often 
translated  'parsley,'  but  more  probably  identical 
with  the  '  wild  celery ' — apium  graveolens).  After 
the  destruction  of  Corinth,  a  crown  of  pine-leaves 
was  substituted  for  it.  The  Nemean  games,  which 
were  celebrated  in  the  valley  of  Nemea  in  the  ter- 
ritory of  the  Argive  town  Cleonfe,  consisted  of 
gymnastic,  equestrian,  and  musical  contests.  The 
prize  was  a  palm-branch  and  a  garland  of  fresh 
crtXivov.  The  Olympian  games,  held  in  honour  of 
Zeus  at  Olympia  in  the  Peloponnesian  district  of 
Pisatis,  consisted  of  foot-races,  chariot-races,  leap- 
ing, quoit  and  spear  throwing,  wrestling  and  box- 
ing ;  and  the  prize  was  a  wreath  of  the  leaves  of 
the  sacred  wild  olive,  said  to  have  been  originally 
planted  by  Heracles,  which  had  been  cut  with  a 
golden  knife.  The  Pythian  games,  held  on  the 
Crissaean  plain  below  Delphi,  consisted  of  gym- 
nastic and  athletic  contests  similar  to  those  held 
at  Olympia,  with  the  addition  of  musical  ceremonies. 
The  prizes  were  a  wreath  from  the  sacred  bay-tree 
in  the  Vale  of  Tempe  and  a  palm-branch  (Seyffert, 
Diet,  Class.  Ant.,  pp.  326,  413,  427,  531). 

It  was  doubtless  these  games,  more  particularly 
the  Isthmian  games,  that  suggested  to  St.  Paul  the 
comparison  of  the  Christian  life  to  a  race  and  to  a 
boxing-match,  and  led  him  to  insist  on  the  need  for 
discipline  and  self-denial  in  order  to  gain  success. 
And  it  is  from  these  games  that  he  borrows  the 
figure  of  the  prize  which  awaits  the  successful 
runner  of  the  Christian  race.  In  two  passages  ( 1  Co 
9M,  Ph  314)  the  term  used  is  ^pa^elov,  the  word 
regularly  employed  to  denote  the  award  to  the 
victor  in  the  games,  a  prize  (Grimm-Thayer,  s.v.). 


It  is  also  used  by  Clem.  Rom.  Ep.  ad  Cor.  i.  5, 
tiiro/jiovijs  fipapeiov  ;  cf.  Mart.  Polyc.  17,  and  Tatian, 
ad  Grcec.  33.  The  word  occurs  in  its  Latin  dress, 
bravium  or  brabium,  in  Tertullian,  in  the  trans- 
lation of  Irenaeus,  and  in  the  Latin  versions  of  the 
Scriptures.  In  1  Co  O28,  2  Ti  48,  Ja  I12,  1  P  54, 
Rev  210  311  the  word  used  is  ffrtyavos,  meaning 
'  wreath '  or  '  garland,'  such  as  was  given  as  a 
prize  to  victors  in  the  public  games  (Grimm-Thayer, 
s.v.),  whilst  in  2  Ti  25  the  verb  ffTftpavovrai  is  used 
with  the  same  reference.  That  the  metaphor  was 
borrowed  from  the  Greek  games  is  evident  from 
1  Co  9241 25,  where  not  only  is  mention  made  of  ol 
tv  ffraSly  rptxovTes,  but  the  <t>da.prbs  crr^ai/os  won  by 
the  successful  competitor  in  the  games  is  contrasted 
with  thedipdapTos  ffrtyavos  aimed  at  by  the  Christian. 

The  nature  of  the  &<pdapTos  vrtyavos  set  before  the 
Christian  is  further  defined  in  the  NT.  In  2  Ti  48 
it  is  described  as  6  rrjs  diKaiocnjvir)s  (rrtyavos,  '  the 
crown  or  garland  which  belongs  to,  or  is  the  due 
reward  of,  righteousness ' ;  in  Ja  I12  and  Rev  210 
as  rbv  o-rtyavov  T?)J  fwrjs,  '  the  crown  or  garland  which 
consists  of  eternal  life '  (cf.  1  Ti  612) ;  and  in  1  P  5* 
as  TOV  dfj.ap6.vTi.vov  rrjs  3<5£?7S  ffr^<pavov,  '  the  crown  or 
garland  consisting  of  glory  which  will  never  fade,' 
in  contrast  to  the  garlands  of  <rt\ivoi>,  olive,  laurel, 
or  pine  won  by  the  competitors  in  the  games,  which 
withered  sooner  or  later.  Ppa@eloi>  is  described  in 
Ph  314  as  rb  fipafifiov  rrjs  &vu  /cX^crewj  TOV  6eov  Iv 
X.pi<TT$'Iriffov,  '  the  prize  of  God's  high  call  in  Christ 
Jesus'  (J.  Moffatt,  The  New  Testament:  A  New 
Translation8,  London,  1914,  ad  loc.). 

That  the  prospect  of  winning  this  prize  is  a 
legitimate  motive  in  inciting  the  Christian  to  exert 
himself  to  the  utmost  in  the  Christian  &yuv  and 
5p6/j.os  is  implied  in  2  Ti  47>  8,  where  it  is  evident 
that  St.  Paul  was  inspired  to  fight  the  good  fight, 
to  finish  the  course,  to  keep  the  faith,  by  the  hope 
of  having  TOV  TTJS  diKaiofftiv-qs  ffrtQavov  bestowed  on 
him  by  the  righteous  Judge  at  that  day  :  and  it  is 
explicitly  asserted  by  him  in  1  Co  O-4'27  and  Ph 
312-14.  In  1  Co  924'27  St.  Paul,  taking  the  foot-race 
as  his  illustration,  says  in  effect  to  his  readers,  '  It 
is  not  enough  merely  to  run — all  run  ;  but  as  there 
is  only  one  who  is  victorious,  so  you  must  run,  not 
with  the  slowness  of  the  many,  but  with  the  energy 
of  the  one'  (Stanley,  ad  loc.).  'In  the  Christian 
race  there  is  no  competition.  The  prize  is  within  ( 
the  reach  of  all.  But  then  each  runner  must  be  as 
much  in  earnest  as  though  there  were  competition 
and  only  one  prize.  And  this  is  what  the  Apostle 
expresses.  He  does  not  say  "  run  so — in  such  a  way 
— as  to  obtain  " — but,  "  run  so — as  those  runners  run 
— in  order  that  ye  may  obtain."  In  their  case  there 
is  rivalry,  and  therefore  they  are  in  earnest.  In 
your  case  there  is  no  rivalry  ;  but  their  earnestness 
of  purpose  is  an  example  to  you'  (Howson,  Meta- 
phors of  St.  Paul,  pp.  151,  152).  When  St.  Paul 
adds  (v.25),  '  They  do  it  to  win  a  fading  crown,  we 
do  it  for  an  unfading,'  he  makes  still  clearer  the 
reference  to  the  Greek  games,  and  also  the  legi- 
timacy of  the  desire  for  the  prize  as  a  motive  to 
Christian  exertion.  According  to  his  teaching  in 
this  passage  the  hope  of  the  prize  conduces  to 
earnestness  of  purpose,  self-restraint,  definiteness 
of  aim,  and  persevering  effort.  The  same  truths 
are  expressed  in  Ph  312'14,  where,  speaking  of  him- 
self, St.  Paul  says,  '  I  press  on,  if  so  be  that  I  may 
apprehend  that  for  which  also  I  was  apprehended 
by  Christ  Jesus.  .  .  .  One  thing  I  do,  forgetting 
the  things  which  are  behind,  and  stretching  for- 
ward to  the  things  which  are  before,  I  press  on 
toward  the  goal  unto  the  prize  (fipafie'iov)  of  the  high 
calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,'  where  the  imagery 
and  terminology  are  plainly  borrowed  from  the 
Greek  games,  more  particularly  the  foot-race,  and 
where  the  prospect  of  the  Ppapftov  nerves  the  Apostle 
to  press  on  and  reach  forward  toward  the  goal.  In 


PEOCHOEU8 


PROCURATOR 


277 


agreement  with  this  is  Rev  210,  where  the  hope  of 
receiving  rbv  <rrf<f>a.vov  TT?S  fwi}s  is  held  out  as  a  reason 
for  being  faithful  unto  death  ;  and  also  Rev  3U, 
where  the  angel  of  the  Church  in  Philadelphia  is 
exhorted  to  hold  fast  '  that  which  thou  hast,  that 
no  one  take  thy  crown '  (rbt>  <sri<pa.v6v  <rov).  Thus 
all  the  passages  in  the  writings  of  the  Apostolic 
Church  in  which  reward  is  represented  as  a  prize 
(Ppa./3e2ov)  or  garland  of  victory  (ffrtfiavos)  uniformly 
teach  that  the  hope  of  winning  the  prize  or  garland 
is  a  legitimate  motive  in  stimulating  the  Christian 
to  greater  earnestness  and  faithfulness  and  perse- 
vering effort. 

LITERATURE. — O.  Seyffert,  Diet.  Class.  Ant.,  ed.  Nettleship 
and  Sandys,  London,  1902  ;  Liddell  and  Scott's  Gr.-Eng.  Lex., 
Oxford,  1869;  Grimm-Thayer,  Gr.-Eng.  Lex.  of  the  NF>,  Edin- 
burgh, 1890 ;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Apostolic  Fathers,  pt.  i.  [London, 
1890]  vol.  ii.  ;  R.  Mackintosh,  art.  '  Reward '  in  DCG  ;  Exp, 
2nd  ser.,  i.  [1881]  401,  7th  ser.,  x.  [1910]  97,  224  ;  W.  J.  Cony- 
beare-J.  S.  Howson,  The  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  London, 
1870,  vol.  ii.  ch.  xx.  ;  J.  S.  Howson,  Metaphors  of  St.  Paul, 
do.,  1870  ;  Comni.  on  passages  quoted,  esp.  A.  P.  Stanley, 
The  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Corinthians^,  do.,  1865,  where 
notes  on  1  Co  924-27  are  of  special  value. 

J.  W.  SLATER. 

PROCHORUS. — Prochorus  was  one  of  the  Seven 
appointed  and  ordained  in  Ac  65.  He  is  said  to 
have  been  a  bishop  of  Nicomedia,  and  martyred  at 
Antioch.  W.  A.  SPOONEE. 

PROCONSUL.— Down  to  the  time  of  Augustus 
this  word  had  not  become  one,  but  was  still  two 
words — pro  consult,  'in  place  of  a  consul.'  It 
signified  a  man  with  the  rank  and  insignia  of  a 
consul,  whether  he  had  already  held  the  office  or 
not.  In  practice  the  title  was  conferred  on  certain 
governors  of  provinces,  and  only  the  Emperor 
possessed  the  power  belonging  to  this  office  within 
the  walls  of  the  city  of  Rome.  Nothing  need  here 
be  said  of  such  governors  during  the  Republican 
period.  By  the  arrangements  of  January,  27  B.C., 
all  the  provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire  (see 
PROVINCE)  were  divided  between  the  Senate  and 
the  Emperor  Augustus.  In  conformity  with  his 
desire  to  keep  all  the  real  power  in  his  own  hands, 
while  the  semblance  was  left  in  the  hands  of  the 
Senate,  the  governors  of  Imperial  provinces  were 
given  humble  titles  such  as  legati  Augusti  pro 
prcetore,  etc.,  whatever  had  been  their  career,  but 
all  governors  of  senatorial  provinces  were  called 
proconsules.  The  senatorial  provinces  were  divided 
into  two  grades — the  higher  grade,  open  only  to 
ex-consuls,  comprising  Asia  and  Africa  ;  and  the 
lower,  open  to  ex-praetors,  comprising  all  the  other 
senatorial  provinces.  The  governors  of  Asia  and 
Africa  were  provided  with  three  legati  each.  In 
the  NT  only  three  proconsuls  are  referred  to — the 
proconsul  of  Cyprus,  Sergius  Paulus  (Ac  137ff-)j 
the  proconsul  or  Achaia,  Gallio  (1812),  and  the  pro- 
consul of  Asia  (19s8,  the  plural  is  generalizing,  and 
does  not  imply  more  than  one  at  a  time). 

A.  SOUTER. 

PROCURATOR.— The  position  of  procurator,  in 
the  sense  in  which  we  are  familiar  with  the  word, 
cannot  be  understood  without  a  knowledge  of  the 
word's  history.  Before  the  Roman  Empire  was 
ever  thought  of,  and  regularly  also  after  it  had 
come  into  existence,  a  procurator  (Greek,  tiri- 
Tpoiros)  was  one  qui  prOcurat,  'who  attends  to' 
or  '  manages,'  particularly  the  affairs  of  a  house- 
hold or  an  estate — an  agent,  steward,  or  bailiff,  in 
fact.  Such  a  person  was  a  superior  servant, 
acting  for  his  master,  but  still  a  servant.  The 
Emperor  required  servants  to  manage  his  property 
in  various  parts  of  the  Empire,  and  these  were 
regularly  known  by  the  name  procuratores.  They 
derived  what  importance  they  had  solely  from  the 
high  position  of  their  master.  If  this  had  been 
clearly  understood,  probably  we  should  have  been 
spared  much  cheap  criticism  of  a  man  like  Pilate, 


procurator  of  Judaea,  whose  career  could  be  made 
or  marred  by  a  master's  whim.  Such  a  man  was 
in  an  entirely  different  position  from  an  ordinary 
governor  of  a  province,  who  would  be  a  member  of 
the  Senate,  still  a  privileged  body,  and  might  be  of 
as  good  as,  or  of  better  blood  than,  the  Emperor 
himself.  It  is  true  that  an  Emperor  could  also  get 
rid  of  such,  but  not  so  easily. 

Procuratores  were  of  many  kinds,  but  were 
never  of  higher  rank  than  the  equestrian.  Once 
or  twice  they  were  Imperial  freedmen.  The 
Emperor  had  procuratores  in  all  provinces,  sena- 
torial and  Imperial  alike,  who  attended  to  his 
financial  interests  there.  The  Emperors  had 
private  property  in  the  provinces,  often  consisting 
of  estates  that  had  belonged  to  the  domains  of 
various  gods  and  goddesses.  These  demanded  a 
large  staff  of  workers  of  many  kinds,  and  over 
them  were  set  procuratores.  Sometimes  these 
would  take  over  the  command  of  a  province  on  the 
occasion  of  the  death  or  absence  of  the  real 
governor.  They  arevto  be  distinguished  from  the 
procuratores  who  were  actually  set  over  provinces 
as  governors.  Only  Imperial  provinces  were  thus 
governed,  and  only  the  less  important  of  these 
(see  GOVERNOR,  PROVINCE).  They  took  the  place 
of  the  earlier  military  prefects.  The  following 
provinces  among  others  were  governed  at  one 
time  or  another  by  them — the  two  Mauretaniae, 
Raetia,  Noricum,  Alpes  Maritimse,  Alpes  Cottiae, 
Judaea,  Cappadocia,  Epirus,  the  Hellespont,  Cor- 
sica, Sardinia,  Bithynia,  Pamphylia.  To  the 
student  of  Christian  origins  Judaea  is  the  most 
interesting.  Of  Pontius  Pilate  we  know  almost 
nothing,  but  Felix  was  the*  first  man  born  a  slave 
who  governed  a  Roman  province  and  commanded 
the  troops  in  it.  Antonius  Felix  was  brother  of 
Claudius  great  minister  of  finance  (a  rationibus), 
Pallas,  and,  probably  on  account  of  his  marriage 
into  a  higher  class,  was  raised  to  the  equestrian 
order  before  his  appointment  to  Judaea.  Such 
governors  had  a  lower  status  than  the  finance 
procurators  in  other  provinces.  The  troops  under 
their  command  were  auxiliaries,  which  were  for 
the  most  part  drawn  from  the  country  itself,  and 
militia  formed  from  the  able-bodied  men  of  the 
province.  Such  troops  did  not  belong  to  the 
Imperial  army  in  the  strict  sense.  In  Judaea,  e.g., 
there  was  an  ala  formed  of  Ccesariani  and  Sebas- 
tcni,  the  ala  prima  gemina  Sebastenorum  (appar- 
ently drafted  in  Vespasian's  time  to  Mauretania), 
and  five  cohorts  (cf.  Ac  101  for  the  name  of  one  of 
them),  which  also  appear  to  have  been  raised 
entirely  in  the  country,  and  were  probably  in  part 
also  commanded  by  officers  of  Eastern  birth  (e.g., 
probably,  Claudius  Lysias,  Ac  2326).  Only  one  of 
these  cohorts  had  its  quarters  in  Jerusalem.  The 
200  5eftoXd/3ot  (probably  'slingers')  who  were  sent 
as  an  escort  with  St.  Paul  (Ac  2S23)  probably  did 
not  form  a  separate  troop.  In  their  quality  of 
commanders  of  troops  the  procurators  had  benefici- 
arii  under  them.  Sometimes  also  a  sub-procurator 
(avTfiriTpoiros)  of  equestrian  rank  is  mentioned  as 
an  assistant  to  the  procurator.  Lower  posts, 
filled  by  Imperial  freedmen  and  slaves,  were  those 
of  the  tabularii,  commentarienses,  librarii,  arcarii 
(cf.  Ro  1623,  where  dispensator  would  be  a  more 
exact  translation  ;  also  CIL  iii.  556,  v.  8818),  and 
dispensatores  with  their  vicarii,  to  which  titles  the 
name  of  the  province  is  always  added.  These 
officials,  to  avoid  the  appearance  of  partiality,  were 
never  natives  of  the  provinces  in  which  they  served. 

The  functions  of  the  procurators  were  judicial, 
financial,  and  military.  The  last  tended  to  become 
less  important  in  the  later  Empire.  They  had 
supervision  of  the  taxes.  They  had  to  pay  the 
soldiers,  not  only  in  procuratorial  but  also  in  the 
other  Imperial  provinces.  Each  had  charge  of  the 


278 


PROFANE 


PROFESSION 


carrying  out  of  road-building  and  other  buildings 
in  his  province.  In  the  more  important  Imperial 
provinces  the  financial  procurators  acted  ordinarily 
with  the  governors  in  the  supervision  of  building 
and  also  in  the  settlement  of  boundary  disputes, 
but  also  sometimes  independently.  In  the  ordinary 
Civil  Court  (Recorder's  Court,  Court  of  Common 
Pleas)  they  had  a  jurisdiction  like  that  of  other 
governors,  and  in  later  times  at  least  they  could 
appoint  a  guardian  to  a  ward  (t^ltoris  datio). 
Criminal  jurisdiction  over  non-citizens  was  ex- 
tended to  them  in  Judaea  already  in  Augustus' 
time  in  full  compass  (Jn  19'°),  but  over  Roman 
citizens  they  had  no  power  of  life  and  death 
(ius  gladii),  unless  this  had  been  communicated  to 
,them  in  a  special  mandate  from  the  Emperor.  The 
right  of  pardon  belonged  only  to  the  Emperor,  and 
the  liberation  of  such  a  criminal  as  Barabbas  can 
have  been  made  possible  only  by  a  clause  in  the 
special  lex  prouincice,  according  to  which  Judsea 
was  governed  (Jn  1839).  The  procurator  of  Judsea 
appears  to  have  stood  in  a  special  position  of 
dependence  under  the  governor  of  the  Imperial 
province  of  Syria.  Pilate  was  deposed,  or  at  least 
suspended,  by  L.  Vitellius,  the  governor  of  Syria 
(Josephus,  Ant.  XVIII.  iv.  2),  with  the  command 
that  he  should  appear  before  the  Emperor  in 
Rome,  and  a  provisional  governor  appointed  for 
Judaea.  A  similar  experience  fell  to  the  lot  of 
later  procurators  of  Judaea,  Felix  and  Cumanus, 
at  the  hands  of  Ummidius  Quadratus,  governor 
of  Syria.  But  it  has  been  pointed  out  that  both 
these  governors  had  a  wider  command  than  Syria, 
extending  in  fact  over  the  neighbouring  provinces 
as  well.  There  was,  however,  a  close  connexion 
between  Judaea  and  Syria,  the  result  of  Syria's 
importance  as  a  frontier  province  with  four  legions 
stationed  in  it. 

LITERATURE. — O.  Hirschfeld,  Die  kaiserlichen  Verwattungs- 
beamten  Ins  auf  Diocletian-,  Berlin,  1905,  pp.  410-465.  On 
Imperial  estates,  formerly  the  property  of  gods  or  goddesses, 
see  W.  M.  Ramsay,  '"The  Tekmoreian  Guest-Friends :  an 
Anti-Christian  Society  on  the  Imperial  Estates  at  Pisidian 
Antioch,'  in  Studies  'in  the  History  and  Art  of  the  Eastern 


A.  SOUTER. 

PROFANE  (ptp-rjXos,  'trodden  tinder  foot';  joro- 
fanus,  'outside  the  shrine').— The  word  denotes 
not  simply  what  is  common  (see.  CLEAN*),  but  a 
temper  which  despises  sacred  things  (1  Ti  I9) ;  cf. 
'profane  language.'  Esau  was  '  profane'  (He  1216) 
because  he  despised  his  spiritual  birthright.  St. 
Paul  is  accused  of  'profaning'  the  Temple  (Ac  24B) 
by  bringing  Gentiles  into  it.  It  is  the  temper  of 
those  who  know  the  good  and  yet  despise  it.  In 
the  early  days  of  Christianity  we  do  not  find  this 
sin  remarked  on,  because  Christianity  was  then 
novel  and  unrecognized,  and  hostility  to  it  was 
passionate  rather  than  profane.  But  later,  as  in 
1  and  2  Tim.,  when  it  became  a  tried  institution 
with  recognized  doctrine  (1  Ti  46),  and  had  a  clien- 
tele amongst  men,  then  there  was  room  for  this 
sin.  The  term  'profane'  is  applied  especially  to 
those  who  under  cover  of  Christianity  foist  their 
own  errors  and  deceits  upon  the  Church.  Judaism 
from  behind  and  Gnosticism  coming  on  in  front 
are  the  worst  offenders.  They  simulated  Christi- 
anity and  brought  their  mischief  into  its  very 
centre.  Thus  'profane  fables'  (1  Ti  47)  recalls  the 
foolish  stories  of  Rabbinical  preaching  (Tit  I10-  u). 
'  Profane  babblings  and  oppositions  of  knowledge 
falsely  so-called '  (1  Ti  620,  2  Ti  216),  if  they  are  not 
Gnostic,  are  leading  to  Gnosticism,  its  hair-split- 
tings, cloud  of  words,  pride  of  knowledge,  unnatural 
asceticism,  and  moral  looseness.  Gnosticism,  with 
all  that  led  up  to  it,  was  peculiarly  profane,  because 


it  brought  into  the  meekness  of  Christianity  the 
dialectical  pride  of  the  West  and  the  '  caste '  feeling 
of  the  East ;  it  pretended  to  have  special  know- 
ledge ;  it  made  purity  into  a  formal  distinction 
between  matter  and  spirit  (see  CLEAN)  ;  it  indulged 
in  capricious  philosophical  views  of  Christian  truth, 
and  became  a  masquerade  of  sacred  things. 

LITERATURE.— A.  Edersheim,  LT*,  1887,  i.  448 ;  F.  J.  A. 
Hort,  Judaistic  Christianity,  1894,  p.  138;  W.  Moeller, 
History  of  the  Christian  Church,  Eng.  tr.,  i.  [1892]  129-158  ;  J. 
B.  Lightfoot,  Colossians  and  Philemon,  new  ed.,  1879,  pp.  73- 
113 ;  for  analysis  of  present-day  Gnosticism,  P.  T.  Forsyth, 
Positive  Preaching  and  Modem  Mind,  1907,  pp.  118-123. 

SHERWIN  SMITH. 

PROFESSION. — Several  words  are  used  in  Acts 
and  the  Epistles  to  express  avowal,  professing,  or 
confessing.  (1)  In  the  general  sense  of  professing 
or  avowing  something  we  have  <j>acrKfii>  ('  professing 
themselves  to  be  wise,  they  became  fools,'  Ro  F2) 
and  tirayyt\\f<r6ai  ('which  becometh  women  profess- 
ing godliness,'  1  Ti  2l° ;  '  they  profess  that  they 
know  God,'  Tit  I16).  (2)  In  the  particular  sense  of 
professing  or  confessing  faith,  the  words  6fJLo\ojftv 
and  6/j.o\oyia  are  regularly  used.  In  this  connexion 
the  word  '  profession  '  disappears  from  the  RV  and 
the  more  accurate  word  '  confession '  takes  its  place  : 
e.g.  '  Christ  Jesus,  who  before  Pontius  Pilate  wit- 
nessed the  good  confession'  (1  Ti  613).  In  the 
specific  sense  of  confessing  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  it 
is  the  technical  term.  The  locus  classicus  is  Ro 
109- 10  :  'If  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  Jesus 
as  Lord  .  .  .  thou  shalt  be  saved  :  for  with  the  heart 
man  believeth  unto  righteousness  ;  and  with  the 
mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salvation'  (cf.  Ac 
24",  2  Co  913,  1  Ti  612,  He  31  414).  In  the  1st  and 
2nd  Epistles  of  John,  particular  stress  is  laid  on 
the  confession  of  the  reality  of  the  human  life  of 
Jesus — no  doubt  with  reference  to  the  Docetic 
heresy :  e.g.  '  Every  spirit  which  confesseth  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  of  God'  (1  Jn 
42,  also43,  2  Jn7). 

The  etymological  meaning  of  opo\oye'iv  is  '  to  say 
the  same  thing 'as  others.  It  fitly  expresses  the 
condition  necessary  for  joining  the  company  or 
society  of  those  who  believed  in  Jesus  Christ. 
Those  who  confessed  their  faith  '  said  the  same 
things '  about  Him  as  those  who  were  already  in 
the  society.  At  first  the  contents  of  the  con- 
fession were  very  simple.  Most  probably  the  con- 
fession was  the  avowal  of  belief  in  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah,  as  in  the  great  confession  of  Peter,  '  Thou 
art  the  Christ'  (Mk  S29).  To  the  Christian  Jew  of 
Palestine  He  was  the  '  Messiah ' ;  to  the  Hellenistic 
Christian  Jew  He  was  the  'Christ' ;  to  the  Chris- 
tian Gentile  He  was  the  '  Lord.'  Cf.  '  No  man  can 
say,  Jesus  is  Lord,  but  in  the  Holy  Spirit'  (1  Co 
123;  see  ExpT  xv.  [1903-04]  289,  296ft'.).  Out  of 
that  simple  confession  there  quickly  grew  other 
relative  beliefs  which  were  implicit  in  it,  e.g.  His 
resurrection  (Ro  109),  His  Divine  Sonship  (1  Jir 
(I4-7),  His  coming  in  the  flesh  (1  Jn  42),  and  the 
baptismal  confession  or  formula  (Mt  2819). 

Some  writers  on  the  Creeds  believe  that  there 
are  references  to  statements  of  belief,  or  summaries 
of  doctrines  which  may  have  been  included  in  the 
confession,  in  such  phrases  as  'the  form  of  sound 
words'  (2  Ti  11S),  the  'first  principles  of  Christ' 
(He  61),  etc.,  but  it  is  more  likely  that  all  such 
passages  have  only  a  general  meaning  (see  art. 
'Creeds,'  EBr11  vii.  393).  Not  till  the  time  of 
Irenfeus  and  Tertullian  (A.D.  175-200)  is  there 
evidence  of  definite  credal  statements,  embodying 
the  faith  of  the  Church.  It  is,  however,  highly 
probable  that  there  were  some  summaries  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine  before  that  time.  As  the  custom  of 
baptizing  immediately  after  conversion  gave  way 
to  the  system  of  the  catechumenate,  the  particular 
elements  of  Christian  doctrine  in  which  the  cat- 
echumens had  been  instructed  would  naturally  re- 


PROMISE 


PROPHECY,  PROPHET 


279 


appear  in  the  questions  that  were  asked,  or  the 
confession  of  faith  that  was  made,  before  baptism. 
The  process  of  creed-formation  was  largely  assisted 
by  the  catechizing  of  the  candidates  for  baptism 
(q.v. ).  The  rise  of  error  also  had  a  marked  influence 
in  determining  the  particular  beliefs  that  were  to 
be  confessed  at  different  times,  or  at  least  the 
particular  form  in  which  they  were  to  be  confessed. 
In  the  early  Church  the  confession  of  faith  was 
made  in  public,  or  before  the  Church.  The  Pauline 
principle,  '  If  thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth 
Jesus  as  Lord'  (Ho  109),  was  decisive  on  that  point, 
to  say  nothing  of  our  Lord's  evident  dislike  for 
secret  disciples.  The  public  confession  was  not 
only  a  testimony  for  Christ,  leading,  it  might  be, 
to  the  conversion  of  others  ;  it  had  a  strong  psycho- 
logical effect  on  those  who  made  the  confession, 
confirming  them  in  their  relation  to  Christ,  and 
calling  certain  forces  of  their  nature  to  the  side  of 
devotion.  Those  who  were  to  be  received  into  the 
Church  sometimes  had  a  form  of  words  provided 
for  them  which  they  might  use,  but  the  convert 
was  also  allowed  to  speak  for  himself,  as  in  the 
famous  instance  of  Victorinus,  whose  testimony  or 
confession  can  still  be  read  with  interest  (see 
Augustine's  Confessions,  bk.  viii.  ch.  2). 

LITERATURE. — In  addition  to  the  works  already  mentioned, 
see  P.  Wernle,  The  Beginnings  of  Christianity,  Enjj.  tr.,  i. 
[1903]  139,  154  ;  J.  C.  Lambert,  art.  'Confession  (of  Christ),'  in 
DCG ;  W.  A.  Curtis,  art.  '  Confessions,'  in  ERE  iii. 

JOHN  REID. 

PROMISE. — The  idea  of  promise  is  one  of  the 
great  elements  of  Scripture  teaching.  It  is  a 
peculiarity  of  the  Bible  ;  no  other  religious  book 
has  that  as  a  distinguishing  feature.  It  is  the 
element  of  promise  that  runs  through  its  various 
boeks,  binds  them  into  an  organic  whole,  and 
unites  in  a  vital  union  the  OT  and  the  NT.  The 
promise  of  the  OT  is  fulfilled  in  the  blessing  of  the 
NT.  Many  promises  may  be  taken  as  predictions. 
They  constitute  at  least  part  of  the  content  of 
prophecy.  To  write  about  promise  in  all  its  rela- 
tions would  involve  the  discussion  of  prophecy, 
the  preparation  for  the  coming  of  Christ,  the 
manifestation  of  the  grace  of  God,  etc.  In  what 
follows,  reference  is  restricted  to  'promise'  in  the 
apostolic  writings  of  the  NT. 

In  Acts  and  the  Epistles  the  element  of  promise 
is  very  prominent.  The  words  firayye\La,  lird.yyf\fjia, 
firayyt\\o/jiai  are  of  frequent  occurrence. 

(1)  They  are  used  in  a  general  sense  as  in  the 
phrases  '  looking  for  a  promise  from  thee'  (Ac  2321) ; 
'  the  first  commandment  with  promise '  (Eph  62 ; 
also  1  Ti  48,  2  P  219). 

(2)  They  are  employed  with  special  reference  to 
the    promises  of  God,   out  of    which    arose    the 
economy  of  grace  as  it  is  set  forth  in  all  the  variety 
of    its  blessing  in  the  NT.     Reference  is  often 
made    (a)    to    the    great    fundamental    promises 
given  to  Abraham,  relating  to  the  birth  of  Isaac, 
the  blessing  of  his  descendants,  and  the  inheritance 
of  the  land  of  Canaan  (e.g.  '  for  this  is  a  word  of 
promise  .  .  .  Sarah  shall  have  a  son  '  [Ro  9s  ;  also 
420,  Gal  4a,  Ac  717,  He  II9-  1S-  ",  etc.]) ;  (b)  to  the 
whole  spiritual  content  of  the  Messianic  blessing 
involved  in  the  promise  (e.g.  '  Now  I  stand  here  to 
be  judged  for  the  hope  of  the  promise  made  of  God 
unto  our  fathers '   [Ac  266],  '  strangers  from  the 
covenants  of  the   promise '  [Eph  212 ;  also  Ro  94, 
Gal316-17,  He  612,  etc.]).     The  passage  where  the 
significance  of  '  promise '  is  expressed  is  Gal  3s'29 
(cf.  also  Ro  413"21).     St.  Paul  is  the  chief  exponent 
of  the  meaning  of  the  promise  given  to  Abraham 
and   his  seed.     He  emphasizes  the   fact  that  the 
promises  in   all   their  variety  and  fullness  were 
fulfilled  in  Christ,  '  for  how  many  soever  be  the 
promises  of  God,  in  him  is  the  yea  :  wherefore  also 
through  him  is  the  Amen '  (2  Co  I20).     The  bless- 


ings of  the  promise  are  those  which  Christ  brings 
( '  fellow-partakers  of  the  promise  in  Christ  Jesus 
through  the  gospel '  [Eph  36]).  They  who  receive 
the  blessings  are  those  who  belong  to  Christ :  '  if 
ye  are  Christ's,  then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  heirs 
according  to  promise'  (Gal  S29).  Faith  is  the 
general  condition  of  receiving :  '  the  scripture  hath 
shut  up  all  things  under  sin,  that  the  promise  by 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ  might  be  given  to  them  that 
believe*  (Gal  S22).  Particular  emphasis  is  laid  on 
the  fact  that  the  promise  is  of  grace,  and  not  of 
works  of  the  law ;  '  for  this  cause  it  is  of  faith, 
that  it  might  be  according  to  grace ;  to  the  end 
that  the  promise  may  be  sure  to  all  the  seed  ;  not 
to  that  only  which  is  of  the  law,  but  to  that  also 
which  is  of  the  faith  of  Abraham,  who  is  the 
father  of  us  all'  (Ro  416).  The  term  'promise'  is 
itself  a  witness  to  the  spontaneity  of  the  grace  of 
God.  Among  the  Messianic  blessings  the  promise 
is  sometimes  identified  with  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost :  '  that  upon  the  Gentiles  might  come  the 
blessing  of  Abraham  in  Christ  Jesus ;  that  we 
might  receive  the  promise  of  the  Spirit '  (Gal  314  ; 
also  Ac  2s9,  Eph  I13).  The  forgiveness  of  sins  is 
also  regarded  as  included  in  the  promise  (Ac 

238.  39\ 

(3)  The  Messianic  promises  of  the  OT  are  not 
only  fulfilled  in  Christ,  but  out  of  His  work  many 
other  promises  are  referred  to,  as  '  whereby  he 
hath  granted  unto  us  his  precious  and  exceeding 
great  promises'  (2  P  I4).  Among  these  we  must 
include  'life'  (2  Ti  I1),  'eternal  life'  (1  Jn  22S), 
'  the  crown  of  life '  ( Ja  I12),  '  new  heavens  and  a 
new  earth'  (2  P  313,  etc.). 

LITERATURE. — Art.  '  Promise  '  in  HDB  (J.  Denney)  and  CE 
(J.  F.  Driscoll)  ;  J.  Orr,  The  Problem  of  the  OT,  1907,  pp.  35  ff., 

42.  JOHN  REID.  . 

PROPERTY.— See  WEALTH  and  COMMUNITY  OF 
GOODS.  ' 

PROPHECY,PROPHET,PROPHETESS.-Chris- 

tianity  produced  a  revival  of  the  ancient  gift  of 
prophecy,  which  was  so  marked  a  feature  of  the 
religious  life  of  Israel.  It  was  the  spoken  utter- 
ance of  the  man  of  vision  and  inspiration  ;  it  was 
a  declaration  of  the  '  word  of  Jahweh ' ;  it  was  a 
revelation  of  the  Divine  will  not  so  much  in  the 
sense  of  prediction — an  aspect  of  prophecy  not 
original,  but  subordinate — but  rather  in  the  sense 
of  spiritual  instruction  involving  a  special  degree 
of  religious  and  ethical  insight.  John  the  Baptist, 
the  herald  of  Christ,  may  be  called  the  last  of  the 
older  prophets.  Christianity  did  not  supersede  the 
earlier  revelation  but  fulfilled  it,  as  the  first  and 
greatest  Prophet  of  the  new  order  declared  (Mt 
5IB) ;  hence  Christian  prophecy  is  continuous  with 
the  prophecy  of  Israel,  and  the  functions  of  both 
Jewish  and  Christian  prophet  are  substantially  the 
same.  It  was  the  content  of  the  prophecy  which 
was  changed  with  the  new  revelation  of  God  in 
Jesus  Christ.  Christian  prophecy  was  born  on 
the  Day  of  Pentecost,  the  day  of  the  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  seemed  to  St.  Peter  to 
be  a  direct  fulfilment  of  ancient  prophecy  (cf.  Jl 
228'-). 

1.  The  office  of  prophet. — It  is  natural  to  look 
for  the  prophet  in  the  earliest  environment  of 
Christianity  ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  we  find 
prophets  and  prophetesses  from  the  very  beginning 
of  the  early  Jewish  Church.  Christian  prophets 
are  referred  to  in  the  context  of  Ac  21*,  where 
Trpo<t>i]Tevffovfftv  is  not  part  of  the  original  quotation  ; 
and  the  gift  which  developed  at  Pentecost  in 
the  Church  at  Jerusalem  was  destined  to  spread 
wherever  a  Christian  society  came  into  being.  To 
take  the  word  '  prophetess '  first,  we  find  in  Lk  2s6 
Anna  described  as  a  prophetess,  in  Ac  219  the  four 


280 


PEOPHECY,  PROPHET^ 


PROPHECY,  PROPHET 


daughters  of  Philip  the  Evangelist,  and  in  Rev  220 
Jezebel,  'which  called  herself  a  prophetess.'  It 
was  evidently  a  function  in  which  women  might 
share,  as  we  gather  from  1  Co  II5,  where  public 
prophecy  and  public  prayer  are  associated  as  gifts 
of  Christian  women.  Prophets  are  mentioned  in 
the  Acts— Agabus  (11282110),  Symepn  Niger,  Lucius 
of  Gyrene,  and  Manaen,  in  addition  to  Barnabas 
and  Saul  (131),  and  Judas  and  Silas  (1532).  We 
have  evidence  of  prophecy  not  only  in  the  churches 
of  Jerusalem  and  Caesarea,  but  also  in  Antioch 
(Ac  II27  131),  in  Rome,  Corinth,  and  Thessalonica 
(Ro  126'-,  1  Co  1432f-,  1  Th  520). 

'  The  three  members  of  the  Christian  group — 
apostles,  prophets,  teachers — were  already  to  be 
met  with  in  contemporary  Judaism,'  but  'the 
grouping  of  these  three  classes,  and  the  special 
development  of  the  apostleship,  were  the  special 
work  of  the  Christian  church'  (Harnack,  The 
Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity2,  Eng.  tr., 
i.  334).  The  '  apostles '  were  the  itinerant  mission- 
aries of  the  Christian  Church  ;  they  were  also  by 
nature  of  their  office  prophets  and  teachers  (cf. 
Eph  220,  'the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets,'  where  the  two  are  virtually  identified  ; 
also  315  and  411,  where  '  classes  of  functions  rather 
than  persons '  are  indicated  ;  see  Hort,  Christian 
Ecclesia,  p.  166).  '  Prophet '  stands  second  in  the 
list,  but  there  is  a  wide  sense  in  which  this  term 
could  be  applied  to  each  of  the  three  classes.  The 
prophet  in  Did.  xi.  10  is  called  a  teacher,  and 
teaching  was  undoubtedly  an  element  in  the  pro- 
phetic gift  (cf.  Polycarp,  ap.  Bus.  HE  IV.  xv.  30, 
5t5d(T/caXos  QTrocrroXiKos  KO.I  Trpotf>r)TiK6s).  But  though 
all  three  were  speakers  of  the  word  (\a\owres  rbv 
\6yov  [Did.  iv.  1]),  prophecy  was  a  distinctive 
xdptfffjLa  (see  GIFTS),  distinguishable  from  that 
of  the  'apostle'  and  the  'teacher.'  While  the 
'  apostle '  is  a  wandering  missionary,  the  '  pro- 
phets '  and  '  teachers '  were  in  general  attached  to 
a  local  church ;  e.g.  Silas  and  Judas,  prophets  of 
the  Church  of  Jerusalem,  are  described  as  ^yotfyuf vot 
(Ac  IS22) ;  and  in  He  137  such  i)yo6/j.ei>oi.  or  leaders 
are  described  as  speaking  '  the  word  of  God.' 
Neither  the  'prophet'  nor  the  'teacher'  was 
appointed  by  the  apostles,  as  were  '  bishops  '  and 
'  elders ' ;  their  gifts  were  an  endowment  of  the 
Spirit,  and  both  fulfilled  the  function  of  speaking 
in  the  spirit  (XaXeZV  iv  irvevfi.a.Ti). 

2.  The  nature  of  prophecy.— The  characteristic 
quality  of  the  prophet  was  not  his  power  of  ex- 
pounding the  facts  of  the  Christian  faith  in  their 
relation  to  each  other  or  to  life  and  conduct ;  it 
was  'revelation.'  This  did  not  necessarily  mean 
rapture  or  ecstasy  accompanied  by  unintelligible 
utterances.  On  the  contrary,  'prophecy'  is  a 
greater  gift,  a  nobler  function  than  -yXaworoXaXta  or 
'tongue-speaking.'  'The  former  gift  was  exer- 
cised with  the  consciousness  of  the  subject,  and  it 
issued  in  something  logically  intelligible.  To  use 
the  latter  gift,  which  issued  in  a  jargon  of  words 
and  unduly  excited  the  speaker,  was  to  speak  to 
God  instead  of  man '  (Selwyn,  Christian  Prophets, 
p.  If.).  'Prophecy'  is  of  course  a  larger  term 
than  '  revelation '  (airoKd\v\j/is ;  see  art.  APOCA- 
LYPSE) :  it  includes  '  revelation '  among  its  specific 
forms  of  expression  and  yet  may  be  distinguished 
from  it,  e.g.  1  Co  146  (where  the  Apostle  might 
speak  '  either  by  apocalypse,  or  gnosis,  or  prophecy, 
or  teaching').  Prophecy  is  connected  not  only 
with  revelations,  but  with  '  visions '  (2  Co  121'3). 
'The  Apocalypse,  which  is  the  great  prophetic 
book  of  the  NT  and  the  most  conspicuous  relic  we 
have  of  the  prophecy  of  the  primitive  Christian 
Church,  is  a  series  of  visions  seen  by  a  prophet 
and  related  by  him '  (T.  M.  Lindsay,  The  Chv.r<-h 
and  the  Ministry  in  the  Early  Centuries'*,  1903, 
p.  95,  who  further  refers  to  the  Shepherd  of 


Hernias,  a  Roman  presbyter  who  was  also  a 
'prophet1).  In  1  Ti  I18  St.  Paul  expresses  himself 
as  guided  by  '  prophecies '  in  relation  to  the  separa- 
tion of  Timothy  for  the  Christian  ministry.  These 
apparently  were  '  mysterious  monitions  of  the  kind 
called  prophetic'  (Hort,  op.  cit.  p.  182),  either 
arising  within  himself  or  through  the  lips  of  Silas, 
or  both  ;  cf.  also  '  prophecy  '  as  the  medium  of  the 
spiritual  gift  which  was  imparted  at  Timothy's 
ordination  (1  Ti  414).  There  was  undoubtedly  a 
mystical  or  ecstatic  element  in  prophecy,  but  it 
had  a  practical  aim.  In  1  Co  143St.  Paul  mentions 
three  functions  of  the  prophet  :  '  He  that  prophe- 
sieth  speaketh  unto  men  edification,  and  comfort, 
and  consolation ' :  in  other  words,  he  builds  up  the 
Christian  character,  utters  ethical  precepts  and 
warnings,  and  gives  the  encouragement  arising 
from  personal  testimony,  example,  and  sympathy. 
'  He  edifieth  a  church,'  while  '  the  speaker  with 
tongues  edifieth  himself.'  In  Ro  126  by  the  use  of 
the  phrase  dvaXoyia  Tr}j  iriffrtus  the  Apostle  declares 
that  a  prophecy  is  required  to  agree  with  the  ac- 
cepted doctrines  of  the  faith  ;  while  1  Co  1210  (Sia- 
Kpiffeis  irvev/jt.a.Twv)  shows  that  criticism  of  prophecy 
was  a  regular  practice  (cf.  1429).  The  canon  of 
edification  is  conspicuous  in  the  remarkable  set  of 
rules  laid  down  in  1  Co  1426f-  for  prophetic  and 
other  ecstatic  utterances.  Two  or  three  prophets 
may  speak,  while  the  rest  are  to  discriminate  as  to 
the  character  of  their  addresses  ;  but  if  a  '  revela- 
tion '  be  given  to  another  sitting  by,  the  first 
prophet  must  keep  silence.  'Ye  can  all  prophesy 
one  by  one,  that  all  may  learn,  and  all  may  be 
comforted  (and  the  spirits  of  the  prophets  are 
subject  to  the  prophets),'  which  means  that, 
although  individual  inspiration  is  legitimate  and 
undoubted,  it  is  subject  to  the  control  of  the 
prophets  collectively.  Thus,  St.  Paul  did  not 
limit  freedom  of  speech,  but  in  urging  that  only 
two  or  three  prophets  should  address  a  given 
meeting  he  aimed  at  securing  not  only  spiritual 
edification,  but  reverence  and  order  in  the  assembly. 
Even  if  we  had  no  evidence  of  the  apocalyptic 
character  of  prophecy  beyond  the  statements  of 
St.  Paul,  it  would  not  be  going  too  far  to  argue 
that  the  expectation  of  the  Parousia  would  naturally 
give  rise  to  a  predictive  element  in  prophetic  utter- 
ances. The  author  of  Revelation  speaks  of  the 
prophets  as  his  fellow-servants,  and  of  the  Church 
as  made  up  of  '  saints,  apostles,  and  prophets ' 
(1820),  'prophets  and  saints'  (v.24),  and  'saints  and 
prophets'  (166) ;  and  in  such  a  connexion  it  is  ea*y 
to  understand  how  ecstasy  might  lead  to  a  vivid 
realization  of  the  circumstances  of  the  Parousia. 
But  the  general  evidence  is  in  favour  of  the 
spiritual  and  ethical  quality  of  the  prophetic 
utterances,  which,  as  we  gather  from  1  Co  1424, 
were  addressed  to  pagans  as  well  as  to  Chris- 
tians. 

3.  The  history  of  prophecy  in  the  sub-Apostolic 
Age. — The  locus  classicus  for  the  subsequent  de- 
velopment of  prophecy  in  post-apostolic  times  is 
Did.  11,  which  is  the  clearest  evidence  afforded  by 
extra-canonical  literature  of  the  established  influ- 
ence of  Christian  prophecy  in  the  Church.  The 
prophet  is  rooted  in  the  life  of  the  Church  ;  but 
there  are  divergences  from  the  Pauline  tradition. 
No  apostle  is  ever  to  remain  more  than  three  days 
in  one  place,  otherwise  he  is  a  false  prophet 
(^euSoTTpo^njs).  The  spiritual  test  of  his  genuine- 
ness is  not  so  definite  as  St.  Paul's  ('no  man  can 
say  that  Jesus  is  Lord,  but  in  the  Holy  Spirit' 
[1  Co  123]).  He  has  indeed  to  speak  ev  Trvei/^an  ; 
but  his  speech  is  to  be  confirmed  by  his  possession 
of  '  the  ways  of  the  Lord,'  i.e.  the  general  test  of 
his  Christian  conduct.  This  is  so  far  sound  ;  but 
the  subordinate  tests  (e.g.,  asking  for  money, 
ordering  a  table  [i.e.  an  Agape]  in  which  he 


PROPHECY,  PEOPHET 


PROPITIATION 


281 


himself  is  to  participate,  not  practising  what  he 
teaches)  suggest  a  lower  type  of  spirituality  both 
in  prophet  and  people.  There  is  further  the 
obscure  proviso  that  he  is  not  to  '  make  assemblies 
for  a  worldly  mystery '  (or  to  '  act  for  a  worldly 
mystery  of  the  church '),  but  the  difficulty  of 
understanding  the  phrase  as  it  stands  forbids  any 
deduction  as  to  the  character  of  this  test.  Again, 
the  prophet  when  he  speaks  in  ecstasy  is  above 
criticism :  to  criticize  one  who  '  speaks  in  the 
spirit 'is  the  unpardonable  sin.  He  is  to  receive 
'  the  first-fruits ' :  for  '  the  prophets  are  your 
high-priests.'  Both  'prophets'  and  'apostles' 
hold  a  higher  rank  in  the  Didache  than  bishops 
and  deacons  (presbyters  are  not  mentioned),  con- 
cerning whom  the  warning  is  given  not  to  '  despise ' 
them.  The  apocalypse  with  which  the  Didache 
closes  has  many  phrases  that  recall  Mt  24,  e.g., 
the  warning  against  false  prophets,  and  the  predic- 
tion of  lawlessness  and  persecution  and  of  the 
appearance  of  the  world-deceiver  (6  KocrfioirXdvos), 
Thus  it  would  appear  that  the  authority  of  the 
prophets  was  already  beginning  to  be  undermined 
by  the  appearance  of  false  and  covetous  prophets. 
In  the  Apostolic  Fathers  '  prophets '  are  not 
mentioned  ;  when  Ignatius  speaks  of  prophets, 
they  are  OT  prophets  :  at  the  same  time,  he  claims 
to  receive  revelations,  lofty  and  incommunicable 
(Trail.  5),  and  waits  for  such  (Eph.  xx.  1),  while 
Polycarp  is  to  pray  for  them  (Polyc.  ii.  2). 
Hernias  considers  himself  to  be  a  prophet  com- 
missioned by  God  to  comfort  and  persuade  his 
hearers  and  to  sound  the  call  to  repentance  (Mand. 
XII.  iii.  2-3).  Harnack's  suggestion  that  the 
silence  of  Hermas  as  to  prophecies  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  he  reckoned  himself  a  prophet  is  not 
convincing  (op.  cit.  p.  340).  In-  Mand.  XI.  he 
refers  to  false  prophets  as  mere  magicians  practis- 
ing on  people  of  wavering  faith  who  apply  to  them 
ws  tnl  fiavTiv.  If  the  Didache  represents  the  situa- 
tion immediately  after  the  Apostolic  Age,  the 
Shepherd  of  Hermas  may  be  reasonably  regarded 
as  fixing  the  time  when  the  authority  of  Christian 
prophecy  was  beginning  to  decline.  Ecstasy  in 
either  its  orderly  or  irregular  forms  was  gradually 
to  die  under  the  development  of  the  Church  Order 
as  represented  by  bishops  and  elders.  We  have  to 
wait  for  the  rise  of  Montanism  in  the  4th  cent, 
for  a  revival  of  the  extemporaneous  enthusiasm 
and  unconventional  apocalypses  of  individual 
Christians.  But  it  is  more  likely  that  the  decline 
of  prophecy  was  due  less  to  Church  organization 
and  discipline  than  to  the  fact  that  the  gift  was 
so  open  to  abuse.  Even  the  apostolic  safeguards 
could  not  save  it :  these  depended  on  a  high  ideal 
of  Christian  conduct  for  their  efficacy.  Prophecy 
disappeared  because  its  spiritual  dignity  and  power 
were  difficult  to  maintain  in  a  community  where 
the  degrees  of  spirituality  differed  so  widely,  and 
where  the  mystical  elements  of  the  faith  had 
necessarily  to  be  subordinated  to  the  practical  in 
the  evolution  of  Christian  character.  On  the 
other  hand,  prophecy  in  its  less  reputable  forms 
became  a  barrier  to  Christian  progress  and  lent 
colour  to  the  criticisms  of  outsiders  like  Celsus 
(see  Origen,  c.  Cels.  vii.  9),  whose  intellectual 
tastes  were  offended  by  the  excesses  of  certain 
types  of  prophet,  and  who  had  not  sufficient  insight 
or  tolerance  to  estimate  the  spiritual  value  of 
prophecy  as  a  whole. 

LITERATURE. — In  addition  to  the  Literature  named  under 
artt.  GIFTS,  and  TOXQUES,  GIFT  OF,  the  following  may  be  consulted : 
A.  Harnack,  The.  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Chrintianity2, 
Enef.  tr.,  1908 ;  E.  von  Dobschiitz,  Chriittian  Life  in  the 
Primitive  Church,  Eng.  tr.,  1904  ;  E.  C.  Selwyn,  The  Christian 
Prophets,  1900 ;  P.  D.  Scott-Moncrieff,  Paganism  and  Chris- 
tianity in  Kyypi,  1913  ;  F.  J.  A.  Hort,  The  Christian  Ecclesia, 
1897 ;  C.  von  Weizsacker,  The  Apostolic  Age,  Eng.  tr., 

±894-95.  K.  MARTIN  POPE. 


PROPITIATION.  —  Propitiation  occurs  in  the 
apostolic  literature  of  the  NT  only  four  times  :  (1) 
Ko  S28  as  the  rendering  of  iXavTripiov  :  '  whom  God 
set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation,  through  faith,  by  his 
blood,  to  shew  his  righteousness,  because  of  the 
passing  over  of  sins  done  aforetime,  in  the  forbear- 
ance  of  God';  (2)  as  the  rendering  of  l\a<r/j.6s, 
1  Jn  22 :  '  and  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins ; 
and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the  whole  world ' ; 
(3)  1  Jn  410  :  '  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God, 
but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the 
propitiation  for  our  sins ' ;  (4)  in  R V  it  is  also  used 
in  He  217  as  the  translation  of  rb  l\dffKeo-6ai : . '  \Yhere- 
fore  it  behoved  him  in  all  things  to  be  made  like 
unto  his  brethren,  that  he  might  be  a  merciful  and 
faithful  high  priest  in  things  pertaining  to  God,  to 
make  propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  people' ;  i\cur- 
r-fipiov  also  occurs  in  He  9s,  rendered  'mercy-seat' 
(RVm  'Gr.  the  propitiatory').  These,  with  the 
verbal  form  l\&<T0irri.  in  the  story  of  the  Pharisee 
and  the  Publican  (Lk  1813,  '  God  be  merciful,'  RVm 
'  be  propitiated '),  and  the  use  of  the  adjective  I'Xeus 
twice  (Mt  1622,  He  812)  constitute  all  the  guidance 
afforded  by  the  NT  in  seeking  the  meaning  of  '  pro- 
pitiation,' a  term  of  much  importance  in  apostolic 
thought.  Consequently  we  are  largely  dependent 
for  help  in  its  interpretation  upon  what  we  know 
of  the  use  of  cognate  terms  in  the  LXX,  and  upon 
the  ideas  associated  with  their  Hebrew  equivalents 
in  the  OT  ;  for  the  classical  use  of  the  Greek  terms 
from  Homer  downwards  helps  mostly  by  contrast, 
presenting  a  usage  different  from  that  found  in  the 
LXX  and  the  NT.  (For  details  and  discussion  of 
Heb.  and  Gr.  usage  see  art.  '  Propitiation '  by 
Driver  in  HDB  ;  also  for  Gr.  usage  B.  F.  Westcott, 
Epistles  of  St.  John3,  p.  85  f.,  and  an  interesting  dis- 
cussion in  T.  V.  Tymms,  The  Christian  Idea  of 
Atonement,  p.  191  ff.  ;  and  for  the  opposite  view, 
maintaining  the  classical  and  pagan  use  of  the  Gr. 
term  in  the  apostolic  literature,  see  G.  Smeaton,  The 
Apostles'  Doctrine  of  the  Atonement,  p.  455  ff.)  H. 
Buslmell  also  maintains  that  the  language  of  Scrip- 
ture accords  with  the  pagan  idea  of  propitiation, 
but  he  rejects  the  idea  itself  on  ethical  grounds, 
suggesting  that  the  apostolic  writers  did  not  really 
mean  what  their  words  mean — an  evasion  which 
creates  an  exegetical  impasse  (cf.  The  Vicarious 
Sacrifice,  London,  1866,  p.  447  ff.). 

In  classical  Greek  the  verb '  propitiate '  (l\d<TKOfj.ai) 
is  common,  but  it  is  construed  regularly  with  the 
accusative  of  the  deity  (or  person)  propitiated. 
This  construction  is  never  used  by  apostolic  writers ; 
it  is  very  rarely  found  in  the  LXX,  even  when  used 
of  a  human  subject  (cf.  Gn  3220,  Zee  72,  Pr  1614). 
In  the  LXX  it  is  commonly  construed  with  wept 
('on  behalf  of),  followed  by  the  person  on  whose 
behalf  the  propitiatory  act  is  performed.  This 
difference  of  construction  marks  a  difference  be- 
tween pagan  and  biblical  ideas ;  for  although  pro- 
pitiating God  may  be  indirectly  involved  in  phrases 
used  in  the  OT,  it  is  not  direct  and  prominent  as 
in  non-biblical  writers.  The  restoration  of  God's 
favour  and  the  forgiveness  of  the  worshipper  are 
generally  the  aim  of  the  propitiatory  sacrifice  (cf. 
Lv  420) ;  but  the  idea  of  directly  appeasing  one  who 
is  angry  with  a  personal  resentment  against  the 
offender,  which  is  implied  when  the  deity  is  the 
direct  object  of  the  verb,  is  foreign  to  biblical  usage. 
This  distinction  of  usage  corresponds  with  the  fact 
that  the  higher  biblical  conception  of  God  is  more 
ethical  and  less  anthropomorphic  than  the  concep- 
tion in  heathen  writers ;  it  also  accords  with  the 
fact  that  the  Hebrew  term  represented  in  the  LXX 
by  l\dffKOfj.ai  and  its  derivatives  early  came  to  be 
used  in  a  specialized  rather  than  in  a  literal  sense 
in  its  application  to  the  acknowledged  ethical  rela- 
tions between  the  God  of  Israel  and  His  people. 
The  root  meaning  of  this  term  (kipper,  19?)  is  prob- 


282 


PROPITIATION 


PROPITIATION 


ably  '  cover  over '  ;  so  Arabic  also ;  the  Syriac 
(and  probably  the  Assyrian)  cognate  =  '  wipe  ' 
(cf.  Pr  3020),  or  'wipe  away,'  e.g.  tears  or  sins,  and 
therefore  'disperse'  or  'abolish.'  W.  K.  Smith 
(The  OTin  the  Jewish  Church,  Edinburgh,  1881,  p. 
438  f.)  adopts  the  latter  as  the  primary  meaning — 
e.g.,  'to  wipe  clean  the  face  blackened  by  dis- 
pleasure' (cf.  Gn  3221).  Obviously  both  'cover 
over '  and  '  wipe  away  '  are  convenient  metaphors 
for  the  common  idea  of  rendering  null  and  void  ; 
the  OT  supplies  frequent  examples  of  the  use  of 
each  in  regard  to  sin  (cf.  Ps  32'  852,  Is  4325  4422, 
Jer  1823 ;  see  also  HDB  iv.  128  ;  P.  Haupt  in  JBL 
xix.  [1900]  61,  80).  But  in  OT  theological  ter- 
minology, kipper,  which  holds  an  important  place, 
is  used  always  in  a  figurative  or  moral  sense  with 
the  collateral  idea,  which  in  time  became  the  domi- 
nant if  not  the  exclusive  one,  of  conciliating  an 
offended  person  or  screening  an  offence  or  offender. 
Guilt  is  covered  or  withdrawn  from  the  sight  of  the 
person  propitiated,  so  that  the  way  is  clear  for  the 
guilty  to  approach  him  with  confidence.  G.  F. 
Moore  objects  altogether  to  the  use  of  etymological 
meanings,  as  a  fault  of  method,  and  as  fruitful 
of  error.  Plain  facts  of  usage,  which  suggest  no 
reference  to  '  wiping  out '  or  '  covering,'  are  the  sole 
guide  for  interpreting  the  term  (cf.  EBi  iv.  4220). 
Several  points  in  the  OT  usage  should  be  carefully 
noted,  (a)  Its  subject  is  usually  either  God  or  the 
priest ;  its  means,  when  indicated,  either  a  gift  or 
a  sacrifice,  (b)  Its  use  in  the  Levitical  system  is 
especially  associated  with  the  sin-ottering,  whose 
characteristic  potence  lies  in  the  blood  of  the  sacri- 
fice, because  '  the  blood  is  the  life,'  and  it  is  followed 
by  '  it  shall  be  forgiven  him '  in  reference  to  sin  ; 
whether  the  fault  is  ritual  or  moral  is  not  always 
clearly  distinguished,  (c)  The  idea  of  appeasing 
God  in  the  heathen  sense  by  offering  Him  an  induce- 
ment to  alter  His  disposition  towards  the  offerer  is 
absent,  '  nor  is  it  ever  implied  that  the  offerer  of 
such  a  sacrifice  is  outside  God's  dispensation  of 
grace,  or  the  object  of  His  wrath' (Driver,  HDB 
iv.  131) ;  the  propitiation  is  Divinely  appointed ; 
the  motive  as  far  as  indicated  is  the  grace  of  God. 
(d)  The  idea  of  the  offender  hiding  or  covering  his 
sin  is  not  tolerated  ;  he  is  to  confess  and  repent  of 
it :  '  the  object  is  never  the  sin,  but  the  person  (or 
thing)  on  whose  behalf  the  offering  is  made'  (ib. 
iv.  130).  (e)  Propitiation  was  only  for  unintentional 
sins  (except  in  four  specified  cases) ;  for  deliberate 
and  wilful  sin — sin  '  with  a  high  hand ' — propitia- 
tory provision  was  not  made. 

With  some  such  connotation  as  here  suggested 
the  Hebrew  term  for  '  propitiation '  passed  on 
through  the  LXX  from  OT  usage  to  that  of  the 
apostolic  writers,  possibly  hardened  also  by  the 
priestly  and  Rabbinical  emphasis  of  their  times.  It 
became  for  them  a  naturally  serviceable  term  in 
which  to  state  and  interpret  into  current  forms  of 
religious  speech  the  new  experience  of  God's  act  of 
forgiveness  of  sins,  which  they  unhesitatingly  con- 
nected directly  with  the  suffering  death  of  Jesus 
Christ.  But  this  transition  was  made  in  the  light 
of  the  conviction  that  the  transcendent  and  final 
character  of  the  redemptive  work  of  Christ  raised 
a  term  connected  chiefly  with  legal  and  ritual  signi- 
ficance into  a  realm  of  ethical  and  spiritual  realities 
of  which  its  ancient  use  had  been  merely  typical 
and  tentative.  Moreover,  the  apostles'  application 
of  the  term  as  interpretative  of  the  meaning  of 
Christ's  offering  of  His  sinless  life  to  do  away  with 
the  power  of  sin  to  separate  between  God  and  man 
was  marked  by  a  certain  personal  freedom  of  usage. 
This  freedom  expresses  itself  in  differences  dis- 
cernible in  the  use  of  the  NT  term.  The  Pauline 
usage  may  be  distinguished  from  that  of  the  writer 
of  the  Johannine  Epistles  and  from  that  adopted 
by  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews.  These  apostolic 


writers  held  in  common  the  fundamental  idea  that 
it  was  by  an  offering  in  His  blood  which  Christ 
made  in  His  death  that  He  fulfilled  a  function  ana- 
logous to,  but  infinitely  transcending,  that  to  which 
the  term  '  propitiation '  was  applied  in  the  OT. 
By  this  means  the  grace  of  God  was  expressed 
towards  man,  and  became  efficacious  through  the 
removal  of  the  obstacle  raised  by  the  sin  that 
hindered  the  freedom  and  confidence  of  his  access 
to  God.  But  the  propitiation  was  always  of  God's 
providing,  as  it  was  also  His  setting  forth.  St. 
Paul  in  his  use  of  the  term  is  specially  concerned 
to  make  clear  '  the  setting  forth  '  of  the  propitiation 
in  relation  to  the  law  of  God's  righteousness ;  the 
Johannine  writer  uses  it  to  declare  the  source  of  an 
actual  cleansing  from  the  defilement  of  sin,  whilst 
the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  chooses  it  to  express  the 
resultant  privilege  of  the  propitiation  revealed  in 
direct  access  to  God  in  the  sanctuary  of  His  holi- 
ness. But  this  illustrative  use  of  the  term  by 
these  three  apostolic  writers,  whilst  it  contributes 
figuratively  to  a  legal,  ethical,  and  ceremonial  in- 
terpretation of  the  one  reality  of  a  common  spirit- 
ual experience  of  redemption  in  Christ's  blood, 
involves  no  essential  divergence  in  their  respective 
teaching.  Each  writer  selected  a  particular  phase 
of  the  import  of  propitiation.  This  he  did  rather 
to  meet  the  exigencies  of  the  occasion  for  his  writ- 
ing than  to  indicate  a  difference  of  view  respecting 
the  historical  fact  or  the  spiritual  experience  in- 
volved ;  these  last  were  central  to  all  apostolic 
teaching.  Consequently  the  several  applications 
of  '  propitiation '  exhibit  a  diversity  in  unity.  It 
seems  improbable  that  practically  the  same  term 
was  used  within  nearly  the  same  period  in  the 
primitive  apostolic  community  with  any  essential 
difference  of  meaning,  especially  when  we  consider 
the  common  stock  of  OT  and  later  Jewish  ideas 
from  which  the  term  was  taken  over  by  each  sepa- 
rate writer.  Moreover,  sin,  whether  regarded  with 
St.  Paul  as  guilt,  with  the  Johannine  writer  as 
moral  defilement,  or  with  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews 
as  a  religious  hindrance  in  access  to  God,  is  the  one 
reality  which  is  the  occasion  of  'propitiation.' 

(1)  The  Pauline  use.— The  Pauline  use  (Ro  S25) 
states  the  propitiation  in  relation  to  a  Divine 
righteousness  expressed  in  'a  wrath  of  God  re- 
vealed from  heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and 
unrighteousness  of  men,  who  hold  down  the  truth 
in  unrighteousness'  (I18);  its  purpose  is  to  show 
God's  righteousness  to  be  consistent  with  the  fact 
of  His  forbearance  '  in  the  passing  over  of  sins 
done  aforetime' :  for  there  has  never  been  a  time 
under  any  dispensation  when  God  has  not  dealt 
graciously  with  sinful  men ;  He  is  always  God  the 
Saviour, '  whose  property  is  always  to  have  mercy.' 
But  lest  the  persistent  exercise  of  Divine  grace  in 
the  forgiveness  of  sins  should  be  consideredxas  a 
challenge  of  God's  righteous  opposition  to  sin,  He 
set  forth  Christ  Jesus  a  propitiation  by  His  blood 
that  He  '  might  himself  be  just,  and  the  justifier 
of  him  that  hath  faith  in  Jesus'  (326).  In  this 
propitiation  something  is  done  by  God  in  Christ 
which  demonstrates  the  consistency  and  inviola- 
bility of  His  righteousness  in  the  presence  of  His 
mercy.  What  that  something  is  St.  Paul  does  not 
further  define  ;  he  simply  asserts  the  efficiency  of 
the  propitiation  for  the  ethical  situation  implied. 
His  chosen  word  (iXaa-r^piov)  has  caused  his  com- 
mentators great  trouble,  but  the  great  majority 
of  all  schools  agree  that  the  view  here  expressed 
is  in  substance  St.  Paul's  teaching.  The  opinion, 
formerly  influentially  supported  (e.g.  by  Luther, 
Calvin,  Ritschl,  Cremer,  Bruce),  that  i\a<rr-fipiov 
signifies  '  the  mercy-seat,'  '  the  lid  of  the  ark,' 
as  in  He  95,  is  now  generally  rejected  as  fanciful 
and  inadequate  (for  reasons  see  Deissmann,  Bibel- 
studien,  Marburg,  1895,  p.  121  f.,  Eng.  tr.,  Bible 


PROPITIATION 


PROPITIATION 


283 


Studies,  Edinburgh,  1901,  p.  124  ff.  ;  Stevens, 
Christian  Doctrine  of  Salvation,  p.  61).  Its  inter- 
pretation as  '  a  propitiatory  offering ' — a  means  of 
rendering  God  consistently  favourable  towards  sin- 
ful men  and  the  means  of  reconciliation  between 
God  and  man — is  the  most  natural,  and  is  in- 
deed the  only  meaning  suitable  to  the  context  of 
Ro  3 ;  other  Pauline  passages  harmonize  with  it 
better  than  with  any  other  meaning  (cf.  Ro  59, 

1  Co  620  T23,  Gal  313  45). 

It  is  evident  that  St.  Paul  regarded  the  pro- 
pitiation as  essential  to  the  manifestation  of  the 
Divine  nature  in  love  and  righteousness ;  it  was 
not  an  arbitrary  appointment  dependent  simply  on 
God's  mere  good  pleasure  ;  it  implied  a  rational 
and  ethical  necessity  in  His  being.-  Judging  from 
the  affinities  of  St.  Paul's  thought  generally,  it  is 
probable  that  he  may  have  regarded  propitiation 
less  in  the  light  of  a  Levitical  sacrificial  offering 
than  in  that  of  the  prophetical  ideal  of  vicarious 
suffering,  or  possibly  even  after  the  analogy  of 
human  sacrifice — one  man  dying  for  another  (cf. 
Ro  57 ;  see  Bruce,  St.  Paul's  Conception  of  Christi- 
anity, p.  167  ff.).  St.  Paul  certainly  held  that  the 
propitiation  was  provided  by  God ;  he  expounded 
it  as  exhibiting  the  love  rather  than  the  wrath  of 
God.  Al  though  such  phrases  as '  propitiating  God ' 
or  God  '  being  propitiated  '  are  foreign  to  apostolic 
teaching,  the  Pauline  view  relates  the  propitiation 
to  God  as  recipient.  The  propitiation  being  thus 
provided  by  God  and  received  by  Him,  the  question 
has  arisen,  Does  St.  Paul  teach  that  it  is  also 
offered  by  God — that  is,  that  God  propitiates  Him- 
self ?  Probably  the  best  answer  is  that  St.  Paul 
constantly  conceives  of  the  propitiation  as  the 
work  of  God  in  Christ  (cf.  2  Co  5181-);  it  is  not 
something  done  outside  God,  but  '  God-in-Christ ' 
stands  for  St.  Paul's  conception  of  God  as  Redeemer 
— that  is,  God  united  with  human  nature.  It  may, 
therefore,  be  the  best  approach  to  the  sanctuary  of 
the  unfathomable  mystery  of  God's  redeeming 
work  to  suggest  that  strictly  He  did  not  propiti- 
ate Himself.  God  requiring,  providing,  receiving 
the  propitiation,  it  was  offered  by  Christ,  who 
was  God-in-man,  acting  not  as  God,  but  as  the 
Representative  of  man.  God  gave  humanity  in 
Christ  the  means  of  making  propitiation  (cf.  H. 
Cremer,  Bibl.-Theol.  Lex.3,  p.  91  ff.  ;  HDB  iv.  206). 
This  suggestion  is  the  more  probable  as  it  har- 
monizes with  St.  Paul's  great  doctrine  of  the  self- 
identification  of  Christ  with  the  human  race,  and 
through  Him  of  the  race  with  God  (cf .  Ro  5  and  6, 

2  Co  515ff-). 

(2)  The  Johannine  use. — Although  the  Johannine 
writer  uses  for  'propitiation'  a  different  Greek 
\vord'(i\afffji6s,  not  l\a.ffT^pioi>)  there  is  no  satisfactory 
ground  for  maintaining  a  meaning  essentially 
different  from  that  presented  in  the  Pauline 
thought ;  characteristic  words  of  a  common  re- 
ligion cannot  safely  be  applied  in  a  different  sense 
where  it  is  obvious  that  the  same  great  circle  of 
ideas  is  acknowledged.  Propitiation  is  part  of  an 
apostolic  system  of  ideas  of  redemption,  and  is 
found  in  the  writings  of  St.  John  associated  with  its 
correlatives  of  sin  and  righteousness,  and  with  the 
blood  of  Christ  as  the  means  of  putting  away  sin 
and  establishing  righteousness,  ideas  with  which 
it  is  vitally  associated  in  the  Pauline  Epistles  (for 
the  opposite  view  cf .  Stevens,  Christian  Doctrine 
of  Salvation,  p.  108 ff.).  The  Johannine  concep- 
tion of  propitiation  is  inseparably  associated  with 
'Jesus  Christ  the  righteous,'  in  whom  'we  have  an 
Advocate  with  the  Father'  (1  Jn  21),  implying 
that  the  righteous  nature  of  God  involves  a  right- 
eous orde.  in  the  Divine  method  of  dealing  with 
sin.  Moreover,  the  declaration  is  unmistakable 
that  Christ  is  a  propitiation  '  not  for  our  sins  only, 
but  also  for  the  whole  world,'  implying  an  objec- 


tive accomplishment,  a  finished  work  for  the  whole 
world  as  the  basis  on  which  the  individual  forgive- 
ness and  cleansing  from  sin  proceed  ;  for  the  virtue 
of  the  propitiation  extends  beyond  the  subjective 
experience  of  those  who  actually  are  made  par- 
takers of  its  grace.  Whilst  these  points  of  contact 
with  the  Pauline  view  of  propitiation  appear,  there 
are  nevertheless  lines  of  distinction  in  the  use  of 
the  term  which  constitute  a  Johannine  variety 
distinguishable  from  that  found  in  the  Pauline 
usage.  For  instance,  the  propitiation  is  more 
vividly  personal :  '  He '  is  our  propitiation  ;  the 
life  01  Christ  as  well  as  His  death  is  involved — 
His  Person  as  well  as  His  work.  Then  its  per- 
petual persistence  as  a  process  as  well  as  its 
achievement  as  a  fact  is  a  dominant  Johannine 
idea :  '  he  is  the  propitiation,'  '  his  blood  is 
cleansing  us  from  all  sin'  (1  Jn  I7).  It  is  more 
than  a  completed  act;  the  propitiation  abides  as  a 
living,  present  energy  residing  in  the  personality 
of  Christ  Himself  (cf.  J.  McLeod  Campbell,  The 
Nature  of  the  Atonement,  London,  1895,  p.  170  f.). 
Hence  the  Johannine  emphasis  falls  naturally 
upon  the  issues  of  the  propitiation  set  forth  in 
terms  of  cleansing  from  sin  rather  than  of  justifi- 
cation in  the  sight  of  the  Law.  But  the  main 
Johannine  distinction  is  probably  found  in  the 
wealth  of  the  Divine  love,  in  which  the  writer 
makes  explicit  what  is  elsewhere  implied  in  the 
teaching  on  propitiation,  where  it  is  associated 
more  Closely  with  the  righteousness  of  the  Law. 
Universally  assumed  in  the  apostolic  teaching,  the 
love  of  God  in  the  propitiation  suffuses  the  whole 
Johannine  conception  with  radiant  light.  So  far 
from  being  contrasts,  love  and  propitiation  become 
interchangeable  realities — necessary  to  one  another, 
explaining  one  another,  even  lost  in  one  another. 
The  writer  defines  love  by  propitiation,  and  pro- 
pitiation by  love  :  '  in  this  have  we  come  to  know 
what  love  is,  that  he  (£icfivos)  for  us  (virtp  ^/oiwv) 
laid  down  his  life'  (1  Jn  316).  '  Herein  is  love,  not 
that  we  loved  God,  but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent 
his  Son  to  be  the  propitiation  for  our  sins '  (410).  This 
is  the  writer's  closer  definition  of  what  he  means 
by  '  God  is  love' ;  he  can  convey  no  idea  of  love  in 
God  beyond  that  which  shows  itself  in  propitia- 
tion ;  for  that  is  love's  last  word  ;  'the  ultimate 
meaning  of  propitiation  is  love's  ultimate  meaning 
too  ;  contrast  between  them  is  unthinkable. 

'  If  the  propitiatory  death  of  Jesus  is  eliminated  from  the 
love  of  God,  it  might  be  unfair  to  say  that  the  love  of  God  is 
robbed  of  all  meaning,  but  it  is  certainly  robbed  of  its  apostolic 
meaning '  (Denney,  Death  of  Christ,  p.  276). 

(3)  Use  in  Hebrews. — Propitiation  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  (217,  '  to  make  propitiation  for  sins,' 
rb  IXdffKecrdai)  is  interpreted  in  terms  of  sacrifice 
and  comes  nearest  in  apostolic  teaching  to  the  OT 
usage.  Christ  is  the  High  Priest  who  offers  Him- 
self ;  He  is  at  once  Victim  and  Priest  in  a  propitia- 
tion that  procures  forgiveness  of  sins  and  thereby 
the  privilege  of  direct  access  to  and  communion 
with  God.  The  writer  noticeably  departs  from  the 
classical  construction  of  the  verb,  and  adopts  the 
biblical,  making  its  object  '  the  sins  of  the  people ' ; 
he  thus  avoids  making  God  the  object  of  the  pro- 
pitiation, producing  in  doing  so  a  construction 
strange  at  the  same  time  to  Greek  ears  and  to 
pagan  ideas.  What  relation  this  propitiation 
bears  to  the  nature  of  God  this  loose  construction 
is  too  vague  to  indicate ;  clearly,  however,  it  deals 
in  some  sacrificial  way  with  the  sin  that  separates 
from  God.  The  writer  assumes  that  propitiation 
is  necessary  for  this  end,  and  the  only  propitiation 
known  to  him  is  that  made  by  a  priest  through 
sacrifice ;  but  the  necessity  for  it  lies  in  a  Divine 
fitness  rather  than  in  any  definite  legal  obligation  ; 
the  Pauline  idea  of  the  law  of  righteousness  is 
absent.  If  a  Pauline  philosophy  of  redemption 


284 


PROPORTION 


PROSELYTE 


lies  behind  the  use  in  this  Epistle  of  a  term  com- 
mon to  apostolic  thought  generally — as  seems  prob- 
able— the  meaning  would  be  that  the  propitiation 
Christ  offered  so  dealt  with  sin  that  there  no 
longer  remained  in  the  Divine  mind  an  obstacle  to 
sin's  forgiveness  (cf.  Holtzmann,  Neutest.  Theol.*, 
Tubingen,  1911,  ii.  300,  favouring  this  view,  and 
Stevens,  Christian  Doctrine  of  Salvation,  p.  84, 
criticizing  it).  The  particular  contribution,  how- 
ever, made  by  the  writer  of  Hebrews  to  the  apos- 
tolic teaching  on  propitiation  is  the  discussion  of 
the  conception  that  the  propitiation  offered  by 
Christ  is  capable  of  dealing  with  all  and  every 
kind  of  sin  as  a  barrier  between  God  and  man, 
and  not  with  sins  of  ignorance  and  infirmity  alone  ; 
the  key  to  the  discussion  is  that  Christ's  is  a 
'  better  sacrifice,'  which  perfects  the  imperfect, 
abolishes  the  typical,  and  lifts  the  whole  signifi- 
cance of  propitiation  from  the  circle  of  legal  and 
ceremonial  ideas  into  the  realm  of  abiding  ethical 
and  spiritual  realities ;  Jesus,  '  who  through  the 
eternal  Spirit  offered  himself  without  blemish  unto 
God,'  thus  becomes  the  author  of  eternal  salvation 
— a  salvation  whose  characteristic  is  finality ; 
'  through  his  own  blood,  (he)  entered  in  once  for 
all  into  the  holy  place,  having  obtained  eternal 
redemption '  (cf.  He  911'15). 

The  Fathers  of  the  Apostolic  and  the  sub-Apos- 
tolic Ages  adhered  in  their  interpretation  of  pro- 
pitiation to  the  sacrificial  language  of  the  OT  and 
to  the  usage  of  NT  terms  by  the  apostles  (cf. 
Polycarp,  ad  Phil.  i.  8  ;  Clement  of  Rome,  ad  Cor. 
i.  7,  32). 

LITERATURE:.— H.  Schultz,  OT  Theology*,  Edinburgh,  1895, 
ii.  87  ff. ;  D.  W.  Simon,  The  Redemption  of  Man?,  London, 
1906,  p.  31  ff.  ;  J.  Denney,  The  Death  of  Christ,  do.,  1902 ;  G. 
Smeaton,  The  Apostles'  Doctrine  of  Atonement,  Edinburgh, 
1870  ;  J.  J.  Lias,  The  Atonement  in  the  Light  of  Modern  Diffi- 
culties, London.  1884 ;  T.  V.  Tyrnrns,  The  Christian  Idea  of 
the  Atonement,  do.,  1904,  pp.  191-251;  F.  R.  M.  Hitchcock, 
The  Atonement  and  Modern  Thought,  do.,  1911,  p.  132 ff.  ;  W. 
F.  Lofthouse,  Ethics  and  Atonement,  do.,  1906,  p.  148  ff.  ;  A. 
B.  Bruce,  St.  Paul's  Conception  of  Christianity.  Edinburgh, 
1894,  p.  167  ff. ;  G.  B.  Stevens,  Christian  Doctrine  of  Salva- 
tion, do.,  1905,  pp.  61  ff.,  108 ff.,  NT  Theology,  London,  1899, 
pp.  412  ff.,  589f. ;  B.  F.  Westcott,  Epistles  of  St.  Johns,  do., 
1892,  p.  85  f. ;  Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  '  Romans '  B,  Edinburgh, 
1902,  p.  92 f.;  H.  Cremer,  Bibl.-Theol.  Lexicon*,  do.,  1880,  p. 
91  ff. ;  artt.  '  Propitiation '  in  HDB  and  DCG. 

FREDERIC  PLATT. 

PROPORTION.— The  Greek  word  avaXoyia  is  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  classical  writings,  but  in  the 
NT  it  is  found  only  in  Ro  126,  '  Whether  prophecy 
[let  us  prophesy]  according  to  the  proportion 
of  faith'  (AV;  RV  'according  to  the  proportion 
of  our  faith  ' ;  RVui  '  according  to  the  proportion  of 
the  faith  ').  Interpreters  are  divided  as  to  whether 
'the  faith'  is  to  be  taken  subjectively  (Meyer, 
Sanday  -  Headlam)  or  objectively  (Vaughan, 
Liddon).  The  first  alternative  would  mean  that 
they  who  had  received  the  gift  of  prophecy  were 
to  exercise  it  in  consistency  with  the  extent  (or 
limits)  of  their  own  faith,  the  measure  of  which 
had  been  allotted  to  them  (v.3) ;  the  second,  in 
harmony  with  '  the  faith '  as  referring  to  the 

fospel  as  a  whole.  The  latter  is  very  attractive, 
ut  the  usage  of  the  NT  is  against  it.  There  is  no 
instance  in  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  of  the  use  of  ^ 
•jrlo-ris  in  the  sense  of  'the  gospel.'  It  is,  however, 
found  in  Jude  8- 20,  and  is  one  of  the  indications  of 
its  late  date.  The  avaXoyia  T?}S  ir£<rrews  must  be 
taken  as  parallel  with,  and  not  different  from, 
fib-pav  Trlo-reus  (v.8).  (For  an  elaborate  examination 
of  'Analogy  considered  as  a  guide  to  Truth'  see 
the  work  of  J.  Buchanan,  published  under  that 
title,  Edinburgh,  1864.)  JOHN  REID. 

PROSELYTE.— 1.  Meaning  of  the  term The 

word  irpoo-/i\vros  is  not  found  in  classical  Greek.  It 
is  still  an  open  question  whether  those  who  formed 
the  word  from  irpoo'tpxofMi  thought  of  the  verb  in 


its  primary  sense  of  '  advenio,'  or  in  its  religious 
sense  of  '(deum)  adeo'  (cf.  He  728,  TOI)J  irpoo-epx- 
o/j.tvovs  di'  avrovT^Qftf).  In  the  former  case,  irpoo-fi\vros 
originally  meant  aduena,  'new-comer'  (for  which 
the  classical  equivalent  is  tirri\vs)  ;  in  the  latter, 
it  meant '  proselyte '  in  the  sense  of  '  one  who  comes 
or  draws  near  to  God.'  In  his  exhaustive  study  of 
•rrpoo-riXvTos  in  the  LXX  (Exp,  4th  ser.,  x.  264  ff.), 
W.  C.  Allen  argues  from  the  fact  that  the  word 
is  correctly  used  in  a  majority  of  cases  for  the  is  to 
whom  certain  rights  were  conceded  in  Israel  (Oxf. 
Heb.  Lex.,  s.v.  na  2  [p.  158a]),  that  its  meaning  was 
from  the  first  that  of  '  proselyte  '—the  meaning  of 
'  stranger '  being  secondary,  and  arising  from  the 
proselyte's  having  his  home  '  in  a  strange  land ' 
(like  the  Israelites  themselves  in  Egypt :  hence 
they  are  called  irpoo-^Xvroi,  Ex  2221  239,  Lv  1934,  Dt 
1019).  The  statement  of  Philo  (de  Monarch.  1.  7, 
TOVTOVS  5£  Ka\el  irpoffrjKiJTovs  airb  TOV  irpoo-e\-rj\v8tvai 
KO.IVTI  KO.I  0i\o0«fy  iroXireia),  and  also  the  words  of  Jo- 
sephus  (Ant.  XVIII.  iii.  5,  vo/j.lfj.ois  irpoo-e\ri\vdv'ia  rots 
'lovdaiKols),  are  in  favour  of  this  view.  What  pre- 
vents us,  however,  from  giving  it  our  full  adhesion 
is  that  the  LXX  does  not  use  TrpoarJAvros  in  all  the 
passages  where  na  seems  to  mean  or  to  approximate 
in  meaning  to  '  proselyte,'  but  has  sometimes 
•jrdpoiKos.  This,  of  course,  may  be  due  to  different 
hands  having  been  employed  in  the  work  of  trans- 
lation. Valuable  for  guidance  is  W.  R.  Smith's 
note  (OTJC2,  p.  342)  :  'In  the  Levitical  legislation 
the  word  Ger  is  already  on  the  way  to  assume  the 
later  technical  sense  of  proselyte '  (cf.  Driver,  ICC, 
'  Deuteronomy,' p.  165). 

The  distinction  drawn  between  '  the  proselyte 
of  the  gate'  (nyOT  "ia,  a^in  ia),  who  accepted  the 
'  Seven  Noachian  Laws '  (ERE  iv.  245"),  and  '  the 
proselyte  of  righteousness  '  (p-™  na,  rnsn  -ia),  who  by 
complete  adoption  of  Israel's  laws  became  incorpor- 
ated with  the  covenant  people  (HDB  ii.  157a), 
belongs  to  Rabbinical  Judaism  (ERE  vii.  592b), 
and  is  not  found  in  Scripture.  It  had  its  preced- 
ents, however,  in  the  differences  of  religious  stand- 
ing observable  among  the  nnj  in  Israel ;  while  the 
o-ej36fj.evoi.  rbv  6e6v  mentioned  by  Josephus  (Ant.  XIV. 
vii.  2),  and  frequently  in  Acts,  may  roughly  repre- 
sent the  '  proselytes  of  the  gate '  of  the  Gemara. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  mrr  '*•):  of  Ps  2223 
11511-  13  1184  135*>  are  identical  with  the  ^o/Soi'^ej/ot 
TOV  0e6v  of  Ac  1316>  *,  but  A.  B.  Davidson  has  shown 
that  the  general  usage  of  the  OT  is  against  the 
identification  (ExpT  iii.  491).  While  Bertholet 
and  others  maintain  that  irpoo-fi\vroi,  oi  (poj3ov/j.evoi 
TOV  0e6v  and  ol  o-f^6/j.evoi  Tbv  0e6v  are  synonymous 
(EBi  iii.  3904),  the  view  of  Schiirer  (HJP  II.  ii. 
314  ff.)  that  the  first  term  means  proselytes  in  the 
technical  sense,  and  the  other  two  those  who, 
without  having  submitted  to  the  rite  of  circum- 
cision, joined  in  Jewish  worship,  has  gained  a 
wider  acceptance.  The  adherence  of  Gentiles  to 
Judaism  in  the  centuries  immediately  preceding 
and  following  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  '  ranged  over 
the  entire  gamut  of  possible  degrees,'  depending 
upon  '  the  different  degrees  in  which  the  cere- 
monial precepts  of  the  Law  were  observed ' 
(Harnack,  The  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christi- 
anity2, i.  12,  10).  The  following  passage  from 
Theodore  Reinach  well  illustrates  this  : 

'Judaism  possessed  the  prudence  and  tact  not  to  exact 
from  its  adepts  [converts]  at  the  outset  full  and  complete  adop- 
tion of  the  Jewish  Law.  The  neophyte  was  at  first  simply  a 
"  friend"  to  the  Jewish  customs,  observing  the  least  enthralling 
ones_the  Sabbath  and  the  lighting  of  a  fire  on  the  previous 
evening;  certain  fast-days;  abstention  from  pork.  His  sons 
frequented  the  synagogues  and  deserted  the  temples,  studied 
the  Law,  and  contributed  their  oboli  to  the  treasury  of  Jeru- 
salem [cf.  Neh  103--*,  ERE  vii.  592"].  By  degrees  habit  accom- 
plished the  rest.  At  last  the  proselyte  took  the  decisive  step  : 
he  received  the  rite  of  circumcision,  took  the  bath  of  purity  .  .  ., 
and  offered,  doubtless  in  money,  the  sacrifice  which  signalized 
his  definitive  entrance  into  the  bosom  of  Israel.  Occasionally,  in 


PROSELYTE 


PROSEUCHE 


285 


order  to  accentuate  his  conversion,  he  even  adopted  a  Hebraic 
name.  ...  In  the  third  generation,  according  to  Deut.  xxiii.  8, 
there  existed  no  distinction  between  the  Jew  by  race  and  the 
Jew  by  adoption '  (JE  iv.  570). 

'  The  bath  of  purity '  here  spoken  of  refers  to 
the  baptism  of  proselytes.  This  is  described  by  W. 
Brandt  (ERE  ii.  408)  as  '  a  practice  of  ceremonial 
ablution  altogether  new,'  which  '  we  may  safely 
assume  .  .  .  was  not  of  later  origin  than  Christian 
baptism.'  It  is  not  mentioned  in  the  OT,  and  the 
traces  of  it  found  by  Talmudic  scholars  in  Gn  35-', 
Ex  1910  are  quite  imaginary.  It  is  referred  to  by 
Epictetus  (who  taught  till  A.D.  94)  in  his  conversa- 
tions as  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  :  '  When 
a  man,'  he  says,  '  takes  upon  himself  the  arduous 
life  of  the  baptized  and  the  elect  (rov  pefianntvov  /cat 
•gprmtvov),  then  he  is  really  what  he  calls  himself, 
a  Jew  '  (Arrian,  Diss.  Epicteti,  ii.  9).  The  Baby- 
lonian Talmud  reports  that  about  the  end  of  the 
1st  cent,  two  famous  Rabbis  disputed  with  one 
another  as  to  its  necessity,  which  shows  that  at 
that  period  it  was  not  universally  regarded  as 
indispensable.  It  was  designated  in  later  times 
'  the  immersion  of  proselytism,'  and  the  manner  of 
its  administration  was  as  follows  :  '  The  individual 
who  desired  to  become  a  Jew  was  conducted  to 
the  bath,  and  there  immersed  himself  in  the 
presence  of  the  Rabbis,  who  recited  to  him 
portions  of  the  Law '  (cf.  Plummer,  art.  '  Baptism,' 
in  HDB  i.  239  f.  for  other  references). 

2.  NT    passages  referring    to    proselytes.— (1) 
Mt  231S.     Gratz's  conjecture  that  this  verse  refers 
to  an  actual  incident,  the  voyage  of  R.  Gamaliel, 
R.   Eliezer,   R.   Joshua,  and  R.  Akiba  to  Rome, 
where  they  converted  Flavius  Clemens,  the  cousin 
of  Domitian  (cf.  ERE  vii.  592b),  would  imply  that 
the  saying  is  not  justly  attributed  to  our  Lord. 
It  is  probable,    as    Adolf    Jellinek,   the    famous 
Austrian  Rabbi  and  scholar  (1821-1893),  suggested, 
that   what   is  here   condemned  is  the   Pharisees' 
practice  of  winning  over  every  year  at  least  one 
proselyte  each  (E.    G.    Hirsch,   JE  x.    221).     (2) 
There  were  proselytes  among  the  multitude  who 
witnessed  the  miracle  of  Pentecost  (Ac  210),  some 
of  whom  may  have  been  added  to  the  Church  ;  the 
selection  of  '  Nicolas  a  proselyte  of  Antioch '  (65) 
as  one  of  the  seven   deacons  indicates  that  there 
was  a  certain  proportion  of  men  of  his  class  in  the 
primitive  Christian  community.     (3)  InAcl343Twi' 
fftftop-tvuv  irpo<rr)\vruv  is  perhaps  a  conflate  reading 
(EBi  ill.  3902),  but  the   phrase  appears   to   be  a 
popular  designation  of  '  God-fearing  proselytes  ' — 
the  same  whom  St.  Paul  twice  appeals  to  (1316>  x) 
as  ol  <j>of3outj.evoi  TOV  6et>v.     (4)  Ac  827.     The  chamber- 
lain of  Candace  is  included  by  Reinach  among  the 
'  distinguished  recruits '  of  the  Jewish   faith  (JE 
iv.  570b).     (5)  Cornelius  was  one  of  the  (j>oj3ou/j.evoi 
rbv  6e6v  (Ac  102>  w-  M) ;  note  that  in  v.3s  St.  Peter's 
words  have  not  the  breadth  often  assigned  to  them 
— he  only  goes  the  length  of  recognizing  the  mani- 
fest signs  of  God's  acceptance  of  a  Gentile  who 
'feareth   him,   and   worketh   righteousness.'      (6) 
Lydia  (Ac  1614),  Titus  Justus   (187),  and   the  o-e£- 
6fj.fvoi  of  Thessalonica  and  Athens  (174-  17)  illustrate 
the  important  aid  that  members  of  this  class  gave 
to  St.  Paul  in  his  travels.     He  did  not,  however, 
always  find   the  fffj36ficvai  ywaiKfs  favourable  to 
the  gospel  (1350).     It  was  partly  owing  to  the  fact 
of  the  Christian  faith  having  found  so  many  ad- 
herents among  the  <rcj36/j.evoi  rbv  6t6v  that  the  class 
of  'half-proselytes'  or  '  half-converts '  came  to  be 
regarded   by   Rabbinical   teachers  with    doubtful 
approval. 

3.  Outline  of  the  history  of  proselytism. — Con- 
versions to  Judaism  went  on   unimpeded  in  NT 
times,  both  before  and  after  the  Jewish  war  (Part- 
ing of  the  Roads,  pp.  286,  305).     The  chief  source 
of  our  information  on  this  point  is  Josephus,  whose 


historical  accuracy  is  now  generally  admitted 
(HDB  v.  466).  Some  of  the  proselytes  whom  he 
mentions  by  name  were  acquisitions  of  very  doubt- 
ful value,  as  the  kings  Azizus  of  Emesa  and  Polemo 
of  Cilicia,  who  were  prompted  to  embrace  Judaism 
by  the  desire  to  contract  advantageous  marriages 
with  Herodian  princesses  (Ant.  XX.  vii.  1,  3),  and 
the  Empress  Popprea,  whom  he  calls  Oeoo-ffiris  (ib. 
XX.  viii.  11).  On  the  other  hand,  the  conversions 
of  Helena,  queen  of  Adiabene,  and  her  son,  Izates, 
seem  to  have  been  due  to  sincere  conviction,  and 
the  chapters  in  which  the  historian  records  their 
life  and  virtuous  deeds  are  some  of  the  most 
attractive  of  his  great  work  (ib.  XX.  ii.-iv.). 

The  bitterness  engendered  by  the  persecution 
which  followed  the  failure  of  the  rising  against 
Hadrian  (A.D.  132-135),  and  the  growth  of  the 
Christian  Church,  were  joint  causes  which  led  the 
Rabbis  to  make  conversion  to  Judaism  more 
difficult.  '  Qualified  conversions  to  Judaism  '  were 
'regarded  with  increasing  disfavor,'  R.  Johanan 
declaring  'that  if  after  a  probation  of  twelve 
months  the  ger  toshab  did  not  submit  to  the  rite 
of  circumcision,  he  was  to  be  regarded  as  a  heathen ' 
(E.  G.  Hirsch,  JE  x.  222a).  But  the  prs  na— he 
who,  in  St.  Paul's  words,  '  by  receiving  circum- 
cision, became  a  debtor  to  do  the  whole  law '  (Gal 
53) — was  always  admitted  with  fervour.  '  That 
proselytes  are  welcome  in  Israel  and  are  beloved  of 
God  is  the  theme  of  many  a  rabbinical  homily' 
(Hirsch,  loc.  cit.). 

It  should  be  mentioned  that  in  two  passages 
of  the  LXX  where  a  proselyte  proper  is  meant 
(Ex  1219,  Is  141)  na  is  rendered,  not  by  irpoa-fjKvTos 
but  by  yeiwpas,  an  Aramaic  word  derived  from  ta 
(HDB  iv.  133a ;  Exp,  4th  sen,  x.  269  ;  cf.  HDB  ii". 
157a). 

LITERATURE. — W.  C.  Allen,  '  On  the  meaning  of  irpocnjAyTos 
in  the  Septuagint,'  in  Exp,  4th  ser.,  x.  [1894]  264  flf.  ;  Arrian, 
Dissertationes  Epicteti,  ii.  9 ;  Oxf.  Heb.  Lex.,  s.v.  1J,  p.  158  ; 
A.  B.  Davidson,  'They  that  fear  the  Lord,'  in  ExpT~i\\.  [1891- 
92]  491  ;  HDB  v.  466;  S.  R.  Driver,  ICC,  '  Deuteronomy '2, 
Edinburgh,  1896,  p.  165  ;  W.  Brandt,  art.  'Baptism (Jewish),' in 
ERE  ii.  40S  ;  H.  Hirschfeld,  art.  'Creeds  (Jewish),'  ib.  iv.  245  ; 
H.  Loewe,  art.  'Judaism,'  ib.  vii.  592  ;  H.  Gratz,  Die  jiid- 
ischen  Proselyten  im  Romerreiche,  Breslau,  1884,  p.  30  ;  A. 
Harnack,  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity^,  London, 
1908,  pp.  10,  12;  T.  Reinach,  art.  'Diaspora,1  in  JE  iv.  570; 
E.  G.  Hirsch,  art.  '  Proselyte,'  ib.  x.  221,  222 ;  A.  Jellinek. 
Beth- ha •  Midrasch,  Vienna,  1853-78,  pt.  v.  p.  xlvi ;  A. 
Plummer,  art.  'Baptism,'  in  HDB  i.  239,  240;  P.  C.  Porter, 
art.  '  Proselyte,'  ib.  iv.  132  f. ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the 
Traveller  and  the  Roman  Citizen,  London,  1895,  p.  43;  E. 
Schurer,  HJP  n.  ii.  [Edinburgh,  1885]  311  f.,  315;  J.  A. 
Selbie,  art.  '  Ger,'  in  HDB  ii.  157" ;  W.  R.  Smith,  OTJ&, 
London,  1892,  p.  342 ;  W.  R.  Smith  and  W.  H.  Bennett,  art. 
'Proselyte,'  in  EBi  iii.  3902,  3904  ;  The  Parting  of  the  Hoods, 
ed.  F.  J.  Foakes  Jackson,  London,  1912,  pp.  286,  305. 

JAMES  DONALD. 

PROSEUCHE.  —  irpoffevxtf,  the  name  for  the 
Jewish  place  of  worship,  originally  meant '  prayer,' 
afterwards  'place  of  prayer'  (roVcs  rfjs  irpo<rfvx^> 
1  Mac  S46).  The  word  is  found  in  3  Mac  720  ;  Philo, 
in  Place.  6,  7,  14  (Mangey,  ii.  523,  524,  535), 
Leg.  ad  Gaium,  20,  43,  46  (Mangey,  ii.  565,  596, 
600) ;  Josephus,  Vita,  54,  where  it  is  described  as 
'  a  large  edifice  capable  of  receiving  a  great  number 
of  people.'  As  a  rule,  however,  the  Proseuche 
was  situated  outside  the  city,  near  the  river  or  the 
sea,  where  there  was  a  supply  of  water  for  the 
ablutions  required  before  prayer  (see  Ac  1613f-  and 
Josephus,  Ant.  XIV.  x.  23 ;  cf.  Tertullian,  de 
Jejuniis,  16,  ad  Nationes,  i.  13 ;  and  Epiphanius, 
Hcer.  Ixxx.  1).  Frequently  these  prayers  seem  to 
have  been  said  in  the  open  air  (cf.  also  Josephus, 
c.  Apion.  II.  ii.  2).  This  would  best  account  for 
the  strange  opinion  expressed  by  Juvenal  (Sat.  xiv. 
97)  and  others  that  the  Jews  prayed  to  or  wor- 
shipped the  heavens.  The  name  '  Proseuche '  is 
frequently  found  in  inscriptions.  See  E.  Schurer, 
GJV3  ii.  [1898]  443,  note  53,  and  447,  notes  64  and 
65.  See  also  art.  SYNAGOGUE.  K.  KOHLER. 


286 


PROVINCE 


PROVINCE 


PROVINCE. — The  wordprouincia,  the  derivation 
of  which  is  unknown,  has  originally  no  territorial 
application.  Pronincia  is  in  fact  '  a  sphere  of 
duty,'  whether  that  be  in  an  office  or  court,  like 
that  of  the  urban  pnetor  at  Rome,  or  that  of  a 
governor  of  a  vast  district.  It  is  only  because  it 
came  to  be  generally  associated  with  the  rule  of 
large  districts  out  or  Italy,  that  it  ultimately  ob- 
tained the  territorial  sense  of  '  subjugated  territory 
out  of  Italy  under  Roman  government '  (R.  Ogilvie, 
Horce  Latince,  1901,  p.  229).  The  original  wide 
sense  of  the  word  had  not,  however,  died  out  in  the 
classical  period. 

The  Roman  Empire  grew  by  that  inevitable  pro- 
cess of  expansion  which  is  the  lot  of  all  great 
Empires.  For  the  first  two  and  a  half  centuries  of 
the  Republic  expansion  had  been  confined  to  Italy 
(see  ROMAN  EMPIRE).  With  the  conclusion  of  the 
P"irst  Punic  War  (241  B.C.)  a  new  situation  had 
arisen.  Having  worsted  a  foreign  people  in  a  long- 
continued  contest  (264-241  B.C.),  they  found  it 
necessary  to  maintain  a  stand  beyond  the  bounds 
of  Italy.  The  war  itself  had  led  to  the  construc- 
tion of  the  earliest  Roman  fleet,  and  now  the  prob- 
lem of  governing  overseas  dominions  faced  them. 
One  of  the  conditions  of  peace  between  Rome  and 
Carthage  was  that  Carthage  should  evacuate  Sicily. 
This  condition  having  been  complied  with,  all  of 
Sicily  except  Syracuse  and  its  territory,  which 
remained  in  the  possession  of  King  Hiero,  the  ally 
of  Home,  became  the  first  Roman  province,  Pro- 
uincia  Sicilia,  governed  by  an  annual  praetor,  elected 
for  the  purpose,  over  and  above  the  regular  estab- 
lishment of  two  prsetors,  who  remained  in  the  city 
of  Rome. 

During  the  Republic  at  least,  the  same  method 
was  always  carried  out  in  ta-king  over  a  province. 
The  Senate  appointed  commissioners  (legati), 
usually  (if  not  always)  ten  in  number,  who  left 
Rome  together  for  the  country  in  question,  and 
studied  its  circumstances  on  the  spot.  The  normal 
Greek-speaking  country  of  that  time  consisted  of  a 
number  of  7r<5X«s  (ciuitates,  '  city-States ')  with  their 
territory  surrounding  them.  Such  of  these  States 
as  had  especially  favoured  Rome  during  the  pre- 
ceding war  might  receive  preferential  treatment. 
Individual  States,  e.g.,  might  be  allowed  to  enter 
into  a  special,  individual  fcedus  (treaty)  with  Rome, 
and  thus  join  the  class  of  ciuitates  foederatce.  Such 
a  reciprocal  treaty  presupposed  that  the  two  parties 
to  the  treaty  were  in  a  sense  on  an  equality.  Sub- 
ject States  prized  this  position  very  highly.  But 
the  majority  of  the  communities  were  treated  as 
subjects  in  the  fullest  sense.  After  the  commis- 
sioners, in  consultation  with  the  victorious  general, 
had  studied  the  conditions  fully,  they  made  a 
report  to  the  Senate,  which  thereupon  drafted  a 
lex  prouincice,  which  remained  for  the  future  the 
statute  regulating  the  conditions  under  which  that 
province  was  to  be  governed,  the  taxes  to  be  paid, 
etc.  For  each  Roman  province  there  was  in  exist- 
ence a  special  statute  of  this  nature.  The  text  of 
none  is  extant. 

Our  chief  knowledge  of  provincial  government 
during  the  Republic  concerns  Sicily  and  Cilicia. 
In  the  speeches  of  Cicero  against  Verres  (70  B.C.) 
there  is  much  information  about  the  government 
and  administration  of  Sicily,  in  which  Cicero  him- 
self had  been  quaestor.  From  Cicero's  letters  we 
learn  much  of  the  details  of  his  own  government  of 
the  province  Cilicia,  where  he  was  governor  in  the 
year  51-50  B.C.  For  the  Imperial  period  we  have 
the  correspondence  between  Pliny,  governor  of 
Bithynia-Pontus,  and  the  Emperor  Trajan  (c.  A.D. 
113).  The  experience  of  the  Republic  was  invalu- 
able to  the  Empire.  For  the  most  part,  no  doubt, 
the  conditions  in  the  provinces  were  the  same  in 
both  periods,  with  the  exception  that  in  the  later 


period  extortion  by  governors  was  for  various 
reasons  much  less  frequent.  In  this  article  we 
must  confine  ourselves  as  far  as  possible  to  the 
Empire,  under  which  the  Apostolic  Church  came 
into  existence. 

In  the  middle  of  the  1st  cent.  A.D.  the  Roman 
provinces  encircled  the  Mediterranean.  The  sena- 
torial provinces,  those  belonging  to  the  Senate  and 
people  by  the  arrangement  of  January,  27  B.C.,  were 
eleven  in  number — Asia,  Africa,  Hispania  Baetica, 
Gallia  Narbonensis,  Sardinia  et  Corsica,  Sicilia, 
Macedonia,  Acluea,  Greta  et  Cyrense,  Cyprus, 
Bithynia  et  Pontus.  These  were  in  a  peaceful  state, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  Africa,  had  no  army. 
Asia  and  Africa  were  governed  only  by  ex-consuls 
with  three  legati  each,  and  were  in  a  class  by  them- 
selves. The  others  could  be  governed  by  ex- 
praetors,  but  all  were  entitled  proconsuls  (see  PRO- 
CONSUL) ;  each  had  one  legatus.  Asia  comprised 
roughly  the  western  third  of  the  country  we  call 
Asia  Minor,  Africa  corresponded  roughly  to  the 
territory  of  modern  Tunis,  Hispania  Baetica  to 
Andalusia,  and  Gallia  Narbonensis  to  the  south- 
eastern quarter  of  France.  The  important  Imperial 
provinces,  which  required  the  presence  of  an  army, 
were  twenty-one  in  number  :  Suria  (Syria),  His- 
pania Tarraconensis,  Gernmnia  Superior,  Germania 
Inferior,  Britannia,  Pannonia  Superior,  Pannonia 
Inferior,  Moesia  Superior,  Moesia  Inferior,  Dal- 
matia,  Lusitania,  Gallia  Aquitanica,  Gallia 
Lugudunensis,  Gallia  Belgica,  Galatia,  Pamphylia, 
Lycia,  Cilicia  et  Syria  et  Phcenice,  Numidia, 
Cappadocia,*  each  governed  by  a  legatus  Augusti 
pro  praetor e,  and  Egypt,  governed  by  an  equestrian 
prcefectus  jEgypti,  acting  for  his  master  the 
Emperor,  who  reigned  as  king  of  Egypt.  Some 
further  Imperial  provinces  of  less  importance  were 
governed  by  procuratores  (see  under  GOVERNMENT, 
PROCURATOR).  It  is  inexact  to  speak  of  Judaea  as 
a  province  at  this  period.  It  remained  from  the 
beginning  down  to  the  time  of  Vespasian  a  client- 
State,  whether  ruled  by  one  king  or  by  a  number 
of  princes,  or  by  a  Roman  procurator  in  company 
with  an  apxiepeus  ical  tdvapxTis.  The  king  was  sub- 
ordinate to  the  governor  of  the  province  Syria. 
The  procurator's  position,  however,  was  like  that 
of  the  prcefectus  JEgypti.  He  took  the  place  of 
the  highest  ruler  (the  Emperor),  but  neither  Judaea 
nor  Egypt  was  part  of  the  Roman  Empire  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  term  (T.  Mommsen,  Gesarn- 
melte  Schriften,  vol.  iii.  :  'Juristische  Schriften,' 
1907,  p.  431,  n.  1,  contradicting  his  earlier  work, 
The  Provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire,  Eng.  tr.,  vol. 
ii.  p.  185). 

During  the  Empire  all  the  provinces  were  sub- 
ject to  taxation,  even  those  ciuitates  which  had 
formerly  been  and  were  still  liberce  being  now  com- 
pelled to  contribute.  This  change  is  traced  to 
Pompey.  Immunity  of  cities  was  an  exceptional 
privilege  in  the  Empire,  belonging  exclusively,  or 
almost  exclusively,  to  colonies,  in  virtue  of  the  fact 
that  they,  like  the  inhabitants  of  Italy,  owned  their 
soil.  Augustus  first  grappled  with  the  task  of 
numbering  the  subjects  of  the  Empire,  and  appor- 
tioning the  fiscal  burdens  among  the  provinces  and 
individuals  in  them.  The  census  of  Egypt  occurred 
every  fourteen  years  (A.D.  19-20  the  earliest  attested 
date),  and  the  same  or  a  similar  arrangement  was 
doubtless  current  in  other  provinces,  though  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  situation  in  Egypt 
was  peculiar.  The  census-papers  were  the  basis 
for  the  levy  of  the  poll-tax,  as  well  as  for  the 
fixing  of  the  proportion  of  other  public  burdens  due 
from  each  householder.  The  taxes  were  either 
land-taxes  or  imposts  on  the  person.  The  land- 

*  For  the  Asia  Minor  provinces  see  the  splendid  map  in 
Ramsay's  Historical  Commentary  on  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
Galatians,  1899,  opposite  page  1. 


PSALMS  OF  SOLOMON 


287 


tax  in  a  few  cases  was  paid  in  kind.  The  poll-tax 
pure  and  simple  was  rare  ;  generally  the  basis  of 
taxation  was  the  profession,  ^he  income,  or  the 
value  of  the  movable  property.  In  the  public 
provinces  the  stipendium  (as  it  was  called)  was  per- 
haps collected  by  the  States  themselves  and  by 
them  handed  over  to  the  qucestor,  while  in  the 
Imperial  provinces  the  tributum  ('war-tax,'  pro- 
perly) was  paid  direct  to  the  procurator.  But  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Emperor  had  his 
procurators  even  in  senatorial  provinces  :  these, 
however,  may  have  been  specially  concerned  with 
the  management  of  his  private  estates.  Thepub- 
licani,  however,  the  middlemen  farmers  of  taxes, 
still  had  their  place  in  Nero's  time,  for  measures 
had  to  be  taken  to  repress  their  exactions.  A 
definite  allowance  (solarium)  was  now  given  to 
governors  of  provinces,  and  this  must  have  lessened 
extortion  somewhat.  The  legati  of  proconsuls  had 
more  definite  jurisdiction.  The  legions  in  the 
Imperial  provinces  had  their  own  military  com- 
manders (legatus  legionis)  apart  from  the  governors. 
While  the  proconsuls  held  office  for  one  year  only, 
the  Emperor's  legates  were  retained  in  office  during 
his  pleasure. 

The  Roinanization  of  the  provinces  was  a  gradual 
process.  To  begin  with,  it  was  against  Roman 
practice  to  give  a  provincial  constitution  to  a 
district  until  it  had  been  civilized  to  a  sufficient 
extent  by  its  own  ruler  (or  rulers),  and  so  was 
ready  for  the  further  process.  Roinanization  itself 
took  place  through  the  channels  of  social  and  trade 
intercourse,  but  in  the  West  more  conscious  efforts 
were  made  towards  it.  We  can  see  how  proud  the 
inhabitants  of  South  Galatia  were  of  their  Roman 
connexion.  One  of  the  secrets  of  Rome's  success 
was  that  her  governors  were  always  content  to  let 
well  alone.  No  attempt  was  made  to  unify  the 
type  of  administration  throughout  the  Empire. 
In  most  cases  slight  adjustments  and  the  gradual 
purifying  of  municipal  life  were  sufficient  to  bring 
all  the  local  machinery  into  harmony  with  the 
central  government. 

LITERATURE. — The  standard  work  for  the  individual  provinces 
is  T.  Mommsen,  Romische  Geschichte,  v.2  [Berlin,  1885],  tr.  W. 
P.  Dickson,  The  Provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire  from  Caesar  to 
Diocletian,  2  vola.,  London,  1886 :  improved  and  cheaper  edition 
by  F.  Haverfield,  one  of  the  leading  authorities  on  this  subject, 
do.,  1909.  Otto  Hirschfeld's  Die  kaiserlichen  Venoaltungs- 
beamten  bis  auf  Diocletian^,  Berlin,  1905,  is  invaluable.  Prin- 
ciples of  administration  ot  the  provinces  in  general  are  summar- 
ized in  A.  H.  J.  Greenidge,  Roman  Public  Life,  London,  1901, 
chs.  viii.  and  xi.  Students  will  find  it  helpful  to  concentrate  on 
one  province,  and  Galatia  is  suggested  on  account  of  the  masterly 
treatment  by  W.  M.  Ramsay,  A  Historical  Commentary  on 
St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  London,  1899.  On  the 
fourteen  years'  census  in  Egypt,  cf.  W.  M.  Ramsay,  Was 
Christ  born  in  Bethlehem  ?,  London,  1898,  and  G.  Milligan, 
Selections  from  the  Greek  Papyri,  Cambridge,  1910,  pp.  44  ff., 
72  f.  ;  both  provide  texts  and  mention  other  relevant  litera- 
ture. A.  SOUTER. 

PSALMS — 'Psalms'  in  the  Apostolic  Church  in- 
cluded OT  Psalms  and  similar  hymns  of  praise  to 
God,  as  sung  to  musical  accompaniment.  In  1  Co 
1418  St.  Paul  contemplates  impromptu  utterances 
under  the  influence  of  the  Spirit,  and  appeals  for 
the  use  of  the  reason  in  praise  no  less  than  in 
prayer.  In  v.26  he  assumes  that  members  of  the 
congregation  will  bring  their  assembly  psalms 
which  they  have  composed  or  learnt  and  wish 
to  sing  with  or  before  others.  The  Psalms  of 
Solomon,  which  may  be  dated  c.  50  B.C.,  prove 
the  use  of  sacred  poetry  among  the  Jews  at 
this  period.  Forceful  hymns,  full  of  noble  in- 
dignation against  Roman  oppression  and  Jewish 
secularity,  in  their  praise  of  patience  and  resigna- 
tion they  express  the  feeling  that  Israel  deserves 
chastening.  Like  the  Benedictus  they  look  for  a 
Messiah  of  the  house  of  David.  But  they  fall 
short  of  the  canticles  of  the  NT  in  spiritual  in- 


sight.    The  tone  is  self-righteous  and  sometimes 
fierce. 

The  use  of  psalms  in  private  is  referred  to  in  Ja 
513 :  'He  that  is  merry  let  him  sing  psalms'  (cf. 
Eph  519).  A.  E.  BURN. 

PSALMS  OF  SOLOMON.— These  Psalms  are 
eighteen  in  number,  and  were  probably  written  in 
the  1st  cent.  B.C.  It  is  doubted  whether  they  are 
even  indirectly  cited  in  the  NT  ;  but  both  the 
language  and  the  thought  in  them  are  of  import- 
ance for  a  complete  study  of  the  Apostolic  Age. 

1.  MSS  and  YSS.— It  is  generally  admitted  and 
is  practically  certain  that  these  Psalms  were 
originally  written  in  Hebrew ;  but  not  even  a 
fragment  of  any  Hebrew  MS  of  them,  nor  any 
Hebrew  quotation  from  them,  exists.  The  MSS  in 
which  the  Psalms  have  survived  are  (1)  Greek,  and 
(2)  Syriac.  The  Syriac  is  a  secondary  version, 
made  from  the  Greek  ;  but  the  Greek  is  probably 
a  direct  version  from  the  lost  Hebrew  original. 

Eight  Greek  MSS  are  now  known.  Of  these 
the  earliest  (H)  was  written  in  the  10th  or  llth 
cent.,  the  latest  in  1419,  the  rest  in  the  llth  to  the 
14th  centuries.  The  first  edition  of  the  Greek 
text  was  published  in  1626  by  John  Louis  de  la 
Cerda  ;  it  was  printed  from  a  faulty  copy  of  a  MS 
which  is  now  in  Vienna  (V)  and  which  is  derived 
from  H.  Later  editions  of  the  Psalms,  down  to 
and  including  that  of  Ryle  and  James  in  1891, 
also  rested  entirely  on  H,  or  MSS  derived  from  it. 
A  more  accurate  text  became  possible  when  use 
could  be  made  of  other  MSS,  especially  R  (repro- 
duced in  vol.  iii.  of  Swete's  Old  Testament  in  Greek) 
and  J,  which,  though  written  later,  were  inde- 
pendent of  H  and  in  many  respects  superior  to  it. 
A  critical  text  based  on  the  eight  known  MSS  was 
published  in  1895  by  Oscar  von  Gebhardt. 

The  Syriac  Version  first  became  known  in  1909, 
when  Rendel  Harris  published  the  Syriac  text 
from  a  nearly  complete  MS  which  came  into  his 
possession  '  from  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Tigris.' 
This  MS  is  probably  no  older  than  the  16th  or  17th 
century.  Subsequently  a  fragment  of  another  MS 
of  the  Syriac  text  was  found  in  the  Cambridge 
University  Library,  and  yet  another  and  much 
earlier  (incomplete)  MS  in  the  British  Museum. 

The  Syriac  MS  edited  by  Rendel  Harris  is 
defective  both  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end, 
and  title  and  colophon  are  consequently  missing ; 
the  separate  psalms  are  numbered,  but  are  without 
titles.  The  same  is  true  of  the  more  ancient 
British  Museum  MS  described  by  Burkitt  (see 
Literature).  A  general  title  to  the  whole  collec- 
tion occurs  only  in  the  Greek  MSS  L,  H  which  repre- 
sent a  late  stage  in  the  textual  history.  On  the 
other  hand,  in  most  of  the  Greek  MSS,  including 
R  and  J,  nearly  every  individual  psalm  is  entitled 
'  of  Solomon,'  r$  ZaXwyaciv,  with  which  we  may 
compare  the  r$  AaueiS  in  the  LXX  version  of  the 
canonical  Psalter.  (For  details,  von  Gebhardt's 
textual  apparatus  and  his  remarks  on  p.  47  f. 
should  be  consulted  ;  see  also  E.  A.  Abbott,  Light 
on  the  Gospel  from  an  Ancient  Poet,  1912,  pp.  1-7.) 

But  for  the  connexion  of  Solomon's  name  with 
these  Psalms  we  can  pass  behind  the  MSS.  They 
originally  stood  in  the  Codex  Alexandrinus  (5th 
cent.  A.D.)  of  the  Bible  ;  and,  though  the  part 
which  contained  them  has  perished,  the  entry  in 
the  table  of  contents  or  catalogue  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Codex  survives  and  reads  :  '  Psalms  of 
Solomon  XVIII.'  This  entry  constitutes  the  earliest 
direct  external  evidence  not  merely  of  the  associa- 
tion of  Solomon's  name  with  the  Psalms,  but  of 
the  existence  of  the  Psalms  themselves. 

Rather  earlier  indirect  external  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  the  Psalms  has  sometimes  been  sought 
elsewhere  ;  but  it  is  at  least  doubtful  whether  the 


288 


PSALMS  OF  SOLOMON 


PSALMS  OF  SOLOMON 


fifty-ninth  canon  of  the  Council  of  Laodicea  (c.  A.D. 
360),  when  it  directs  that '  private  psalms  (idiuriKovs 
\j/a\(j.ovs)  are  not  to  be  read  in  the  church,'  and  a 
similarly  vague  reference  in  Ambrose,  refer  to  the 
Psalms  of  Solomon  ;  and  it  is  now  certain  that  the 
Odes  of  Solomon  mentioned  in  the  Pistis  Sophia 
(c.  A.D.  250)  and  by  Lactantius  (4th  cent.)  are  not 
these  Psalms,  but  a  different  set  of  poems,  which 
actually  precede  the  18  Psalms  in  Harris's  Syriac 
MS. 

The  inclusion  of  these  Psalms  originally  in  the 
Codex  Alexandrinus,  and  perhaps,  too,  in  the  Codex 
Sinaiticus,  the  association  of  them  in  most  of  the 
eight  Greek  MSS  in  which  they  now  survive  with 
other  Solomonic  works,  canonical  and  apocryphal 
— the  Psalms  commonly  standing  between  Wisdom 
and  Ecclesiasticus  —  indicate  the  position  which 
they  occupied  in  the  early  history  of  the  Church  ; 
but  the  paucity  of  references  to  them  and  quota- 
tions from  them  shows  at  the  same  time  that  they 
proved  neither  very  attractive  nor  very  influential : 
they  probably  owed  their  preservation  to  the  fact 
that  they  bore  the  name  of  Solomon. 

2.  Contents. — The  chief  contents  of  the  Psalms 
may  be  briefly  indicated  as  follows  : 

Ps  1. — Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  prosperity, 
threatened  with  war  and  assault,  Sion,  confident  in 
her  righteousness,  had  appealed  to  God  ;  but  closer 
examination  had  convinced  her  that  secret  sins, 
surpassing  those  of  the  heathen,  had  been  com- 
mitted, and  the  sanctuary  of  God  polluted. 

Ps  2. — Foreigners  have  shattered  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem  with  a  battering-ram,  and  treated  God's 
altar  profanely.  This  and  the  captivity  of  many 
Jews  that  followed  seem  to  the  writer  to  be  the 
punishment  meted  out  by  God  for  the  previous  pro- 
fanation of  the  sacrifices  by  some  of  the  Jews,  '  the 
sons  of  Jerusalem,'  themselves.  Nevertheless,  the 
foreign  executant  of  God's  anger  had  outgone 
his  commission  :  he  too  is  punished  ;  he  is  slain 
in  Egypt,  and  his  body  exposed  to  dishonour. 

Ps  3. — The  character,  conduct,  and  faith  of  the 
righteous  and  unrighteous  are  contrasted. 

Ps  4.  —  The  '  men-pleasers '  are  described  as 
hypocrites  —  outwardly,  even  extravagantly  re- 
spectable and  severe  in  their  condemnation  of 
sinners  ;  but  actually  consumed  with  lust,  in  their 
gratification  of  which  they  destroy  the  peace  of 
family  after  family.  May  God  reward  them  with 
dishonour  in  life  and  death,  with  penury  and  lonely 
old  age. 

Ps  5. — The  goodness  of  God  towards  animals  and 
men  alike  is  without  stint :  man's  is  a  grudging 
goodness. 

Ps  6. — Happy  is  the  man  who  prays. 

Ps  7. — Let  God,  if  needs  be,  chasten  Israel,  but 
not  by  giving  them  up  to  the  nations. 

Ps  8. — A  more  elaborate  treatment  of  the  theme 
of  the  first  Psalm  :  the  wickedness  of  a  party  of 
the  Jews  had  consisted  in  immorality  and  the  pro- 
fanation of  the  sacred  precincts  and  the  sacrifices 
by  disregard  of  the  laws  of  ritual  cleanness.  In 
vv  15-24  a  specific  account  is  given  of  the  progress 
of  the  invader  and  of  his  reception. 

Ps  9. — Righteousness  in  God  and  man  :  man's 
free-will,  and  God's  goodness  to  the  penitent. 
Through  God's  goodness  Israel  hopes  not  to  be 
rejected  for  ever. 

Ps  10. — Happy  is  the  man  whom  God  chastiseth : 
Israel  shall  praise  Him  for  His  goodness. 

Ps  11. — The  return  of  the  Diaspora  to  Jerusalem. 

Ps  12.— May  God  curse  the  slanderers,  and  pre- 
serve the  quiet  and  peace-loving. 

Ps  13. — God  has  preserved  the  righteous  at  a 
time  when  the  '  sinners '  perished  miserably.  If 
God  chastens  the  righteous,  it  is  as  a  father  his 
first-born.  The  life  of  the  righteous  and  the  de- 
struction of  the  sinners  are  for  ever. 


Ps  14. — Eternal  life  and  joy  await  the  pious ; 
but  Sheol,  darkness,  and  destruction  are  the  lot  of 
sinners,  whose  delight  is  in  '  fleeting  corruption.' 

Ps  15.— Similar  to  13  and  14. 

Ps  16. — But  for  God's  mercy  and  strength,  even 
the  righteous  would  slip  down  to  the  fate  of  the 
wicked.  A  prayer  for  preservation  from  sin,  from 
beautiful  but  beguiling  women,  and  for  strength  to 
bear  affliction  with  cheerfulness. 

Ps  17. — Sinners  who  had  set  up  a  non-Davidic 
monarchy  have  been  removed :  a  man  of  alien 
race  has  laid  waste  the  land  of  Judah  and  carried 
men  captive  to  the  West.  The  psalm  closes  (vv.  23'5J) 
with  a  long  description  of  the  Messianic  king,  for 
whose  advent  the  author  prays. 

Ps  18. — '  Again  of  the  anointed  of  the  Lord.' 

3.  Date. — Two  things  in  particular  stand  out 
clearly  in  these  Psalms :  (1)  the  Jewish  nation  is 
divided  sharply  into  two  sects  or  parties,  the 
'  righteous,'  to  whom  the  writer  belongs,  and  the 
'  sinners,'  or  the  party  of  his  opponents ;  (2)  the 
nation  has  suffered  severely  from  the  invasion  of 
unnamed  foreigners.  More  than  one  period  in 
Jewish  history  would  satisfy  these  conditions,  and 
certainly  the  period  of  the  Maccabsean  revolt  (167 
B.C.  and  following  years) ;  and  in  the  profanation 
of  the  altar  to  which  Ps  2  refers  it  is  tempting  at 
first  to  see  an  allusion  to  Antiochus  Epiphanes'  act 
in  setting  up  on  the  altar  the  'abomination  of 
desolation'  (1  Mac  I54).  To  this  period,  then, 
some  scholars  have  assigned  the  Psalms.  But  the 
whole  of  the  more  specific  allusions  taken  together, 
and  most  of  them  even  taken  separately,  are  far 
better  satisfied  by  the  circumstances  of  the  middle 
of  the  1st  cent.  B.C. — a  period  of  bitter  feud 
between  the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees,  and  of 
the  invasion  of  Judah  by  the  Romans  under 
Pompey.  It  is  to  this  period,  therefore,  that  most 
recent  scholars  refer  the  Psalms.  The  (alien) 
nations  (22-  6- 2U- 24  73>  6  8s8)  who  attack  Jerusalem,  and 
by  whom  the  Jewish  captives  are  led  away,  and 
against  whom  the  writer  prays  for  deliverance,  are 
the  Romans.  Their  commander,  '  who  is  from  the 
end  of  the  earth,  who  smiteth  mightily'  (816),  who 
is  met  by  the  Jewish  princes  and  at  first  invited 
by  them  to  Jerusalem,  but  ultimately  has  to 
capture  the  fortresses  and  the  walls  of  Jerusalem 
by  force  (818~21),  by  bringing  battering-rams  to  play 
upon  them  (21),  who  allows  his  soldiers  profanely 
to  trample  upon  the  altar  (22),  who  carries  his 
captives  to  the  West  (1714),  and  whose  end  was  a 
dishonoured  death  '  on  the  mountains  of  Egypt ' 
(230.  si)  is  Pompey.  For  he,  as  a  Roman,  came  from 
the  West,  and  thither  he  led  back  to  grace  his 
triumph  in  Rome  the  Jewish  prince  Aristobulus  ; 
he  availed  himself  of  the  quarrels  between  the 
Jewish  princes  Hyrcanus  and  Aristobulus  and  their 
supporters  to  secure  the  Roman  power  in  Judah  ;  he 
was  at  first  approached  and  welcomed  by  both  these 

Erinces,  but  in  the  end  he  was  resolutely  resisted 
y  Aristobulus  in  Jerusalem,  so  that  he  was  com- 
pelled to  bring  up  battering-rams  from  Tyre  where- 
with to  break  down  the  fortified  wall  of  Jerusalem  ; 
he  shocked  Jewish  feeling  by  intruding  into  the 
Holy  of  Holies,  and  fifteen  years  after  he  had 
captured  Jerusalem  and  profaned  the  Temple,  he 
was  slain  beside  Mons  Cassius  near  Pelusium,  his 
body  being  at  first  left  unburied  on  the  Egyptian 
shore,  and  then  hastily  and  unceremoniously 
burned. 

A  considerable  similarity  of  tone  and  temper 
and  the  possibility  of  satisfying  all  the  specific 
allusions,  more  or  less  completely,  by  what  is 
known  independently  of  the  condition  of  the  Jews 
between  about  80  and  40  B.C.  and  of  the  circum- 
stances of  Pompey's  treatment  of  them,  and  of  his 
death,  favour  the  commonly  accepted  view  that 
these  Psalms  (possibly  with  the  exception  of  Ps  18) 


PTOLEMA1S 


289 


were  written  in  Palestine  (and  probably  indeed  in 
Jerusalem)  within  a  single  generation,  and  not 
improbably  by  a  single  writer  ;  absolute  proof, 
however,  of  single  authorship  is  not  forthcoming, 
and  some  of  the  more  colourless  of  the  Psalms 
might  then  belong  to  another  age.  The  second 
Psalm,  which  refers  to  the  death  of  the  foreign 
invader,  must  have  been  written  after,  but  prob- 
ably soon  after,  Pompey's  death  in  48  B.C.  ;  the 
rest  of  the  Psalms  (except  18)  were  probably 
written  rather  earlier,  most  of  them  soon  after 
Pompey's  capture  of  Jerusalem  in  63  B.C.,  but  one 
or  two  (4  and  12)  perhaps  earlier  still,  before  the 
Jews  in  general  haa  suffered  at  Pompey's  hands  and 
the  party  of  the  '  sinners '  had  received  that  severer 
treatment  which  Pompey  measured  out  to  Aristo- 
bulus  and  his  party. 

4.  Main  ideas. — (1)  Pharisees  and  Sadducees. — 
The  chief  interest  of  these  Psalms  is  that  they 
reveal  the  temper  and  ideals  of  those  two  parties 
which  in  the  period  of  the  formation  of  the  NT 
played  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  Jewish  life :  the 
author  is  a  Pharisee,  and  the  opponents  whom  he 
denounces  are  Sadducees.  The  Psalms  indeed  run 
back  two  or  three  generations  before  the  separation 
of  the  Christian  Church  from  the  Jewish  religion, 
but  we  can  trace  in  them  much  that  was  still 
characteristic  of  the  two  parties  later. 

The  Sadducees  are  to  the  writer  '  the  unright- 
eous'  (&diKoi),  '  sinners  '  (d/xaproiXo/),  '  transgressors' 
(irapdvo)j.ot),  '  the  profane '  (^/fyXoi),  the  '  men- 
pleasers'  (dvffpuirdpeo-icoi).  The  use  of  these  terms 
and  the  charges  brought  against  the  Sadducees  of 
insolence,  self-reliance,  disregard  of  God,  and  gross 
sensual  sins  may  largely  represent  the  generaliza- 
tions, exaggerations,  or  inventions  of  a  political  or 
religious  opponent.  But  in  charging  them  with 
profanation  of  the  sanctuary  and  its  sacrifices  he 
implies  that  somewhat  intimate  association  of  the 
priesthood  with  the  Sadducees  which  is  conspicuous 
later.  So  again  in  charging  them  with  setting  up 
a  uon-Davidic  monarchy  (177t8),  i.e.  with  recog- 
nizing the  royal  dignity  which  the  Hasmonseans 
had  claimed  since  Aristobulus  I.  (104  B.C.),  he  im- 
plies a  readiness  in  that  party  to  acquiesce  in 
an  existing  polity,  even  though  it  was  inconsist- 
ent with  the  Messianic  promises,  which  seems 
natural  enough  in  the  ancestors  of  the  Sadducees 
of  the  1st  cent.  A.D. 

Over  against  these  'sinners'  the  writer  sees  in 
his  own  party,  i.e.  the  Pharisees,  'the  righteous' 
(diicaioi),  '  the  pious'  (6'<rtot,  representing  the  Hebrew 
hasldim),  '  those  that  fear  the  Lord  '  ([oi]  (f>o^ov/j.evoi 
rbv  Kvptov),  '  the  guileless '  (dfrcucot) ;  occasionally  too 
this  party  appears  as  'the  poor'  (TTTWXOI,  Wvijres). 
They  were  devoted  to  the  Law  (141),  troubled 
about  sins  done  in  ignorance  yet  convinced  that 
the  punishment  of  the  righteous  for  sins  done  in 
ignorance  was  something  very  unlike  that  which 
awaited  the  'sinners'  (IS4-1*).  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  though  'righteous'  and  'sinners'  alike 
must  have  suffered  greatly  from  the  necessary 
results  of  Pompey's  attack  on  and  capture  of 
Jerusalem,  it  was  the  party  of  the  Sadducees, 
the  adherents  of  Aristobulus,  who  with  his  children 
were  taken  captive,  that  suffered  most.  But  in 
their  view  of  a  future  life  these  Pharisees  of  the 
1st  cent.  B.C.  already  found  further  ground  for 
differentiating  the  lot  of  the  sinners  and  the 
righteous.  '  They  that  fear  the  Lord  shall  rise  to 
life  eternal,  and  their  life  shall  be  in  the  light  of 
the  Lord,  and  shall  come  to  an  end  no  more '  (316). 
When  the  wicked  depart  into  '  Sheol  and  darkness 
and  destruction,'  the  righteous  will  obtain  mercy 
and  '  the  pious  of  the  Lord  shall  inherit  life  in 
gladness'  (146- 7  ;  cf.  also  IS"'11  142-  s  1515  IB1'8).  On 
the  other  hand,  the  end  of  the  wicked,  if  not  actual 
annihilation,  is  but  the  miserable  life  of  Sheol  in- 
VOL.  n. — 19 


definitely  prolonged  :  whereas  the  righteous  'rise 
to  life  eternal,'  the  sinner  '  falls  and  rises  no  more  ' 
and  his  destruction  is  for  ever  (31S'1S  ;  cf.  99  127  1310 
14"  15").  With  this  hope  the  righteous  pray  that 
they  may,  and  the  writer  claims  that  they  already 
do,  accept  with  patience  the  present  passing  chas- 
tisement of  God. 

(2)  Free-will. — In  their  view  of  man's  free-will  the 
author  of  the  Psalms  and  his  party  are  at  one  with 
the  Pharisees  of  the  1st  cent.  A.D.  as  described  by 
Josephus(Jn<.  II.  viii.  14)  :  i.e.  like  the  Sadducees 
they  assert  man's  freedom,  but  at  the  same  time 
they  difler  from  the  Sadducees   by  asserting  and 
indeed   emphasizing  the   Divine    knowledge  and 
control  of  human   action  :  '  Man  and  his  portion 
lie  before  Thee  in  the  balance  :  he  cannot  add  to, 
so  as  to  enlarge,  what  has  been  prescribed  by  Thee ' 
(56).     '  Our  works  are  subject  to  our  own  choice 
and  power  to  do  right  or  wrong  in  the  work  of  our 
hands.' 

(3)  The  Messianic  hope. — Lastly,  we  may  note  the 
very  important  light  cast  by  Pss  17  and  18  on  the 
Messianic  hope  as  cherished  in   this  circle.     The 
Messiah  is  to  be,  unlike  the  actual  king  whom  the 
sinners  had  presumptuously  set  up  (177-8),   a  de- 
scendant of  David  (v.i3).     He  will  enjoy  the  old 
title  of  the  Hebrew  kings — the  anointed  of  Jahweh 
(or  the  Lord) ;  for  the  phrase  '  Christ  (the)  Lord' 
(cf.  Lk  211)  which  occurs  in  theMSS  at  1730  is  prob- 
ably, even   if  it  be  the  original  Greek  reading, 
nothing  but  a  mistranslation  (as  in  La  420)  of  the 
ordinary  Hebrew   genitival  phrase  '  the  anointed 
of  the   Lord.'    This   Messiah   is  also  called  'the 
king  of  Israel '  (1747)  and  '  the  son  of  David '  (v.23). 
He  will  appear  at  a  time  determined  by  God  (186), 
being  raised  up,  or  brought  forward  again  (though 
the   idea  of  a   pre-existing   Messiah  detected  by 
some  in  this  phrase  is  very  doubtful)  by  God  Him- 
self.    He  will  purge  Jerusalem  alike  from  heathen 
enemies  who  profane  it,  and  from  native  unrighteous 
rulers.     He  will  then  restore  the  true  kingdom  to 
Israel — a  kingdom  righteous,  holy,  glorious,  world- 
wide— and  rule  as  the  vicegerent  of  God,  who  Him- 
self remains  over  and  above  this  human  ruler,  the 
king  of  Israel,  'for  ever  and  ever'  (1751). 

LITERATURE. —(1)  GREEK  TEXT.  —  O.  von  Gebhardt,  Die 
Psalrnen  Salome's  (TU  xiii.  2  [1895]) ;  H.  B.  Swete,  The  Old 
Testament  in  Greek,  1894-96,  iii.  765-787  (text  of  MS  R  with  the 
variants  of  H  and  three  MSS  dependent  on  H). 

(2)  SVRIAC  TEXT.— J.  Rendel  Harris,  The  Odes  and  Psalms 
of  Solomon,   1909  (21911,  where  the  variants  of  a  Cambridge 
University  MS  discovered  by  Barnes  [Harris,  p.  46]  and  contain- 

•ingr  part  of  Ps  16  are  given);  F.  C.  Burkitt,  in  JThSt  xiii. 
[1911-12]  372-385  (a  description  of  a  British  Museum  MS  con- 
taining in  immediate  continuation  of  the  Odes  of  Solomon  and 
with  continuous  enumeration  Pss.-Sol.  i.  1-iii.  5  and  x.  4- 
xviii.  5). 

(3)  COMMENTARIES,  etc. — H.   E.   Ryle  and    M.   R.  James, 
Psalms  of  the  Pharisees,  1891  (the  Greek  text  here  printed  is 
antiquated  ;  but  on  account  of  the  fullness  and  excellence  of 
the  introduction  and   commentary  this   work  remains  of  the 
first    importance);    J.    Wellhausen,   Die   Pharisder  und  die 
Sadducaer,  1S74  (contains  a  German  translation) ;  J.  Viteau, 
Les  Psaumes  de  Salomon,  1911  (text,  translation,  and  full  intro- 
duction  and    commentary) ;    G.    B.    Gray,    '  The   Psalms    of 
Solomon '  (brief  introduction  and  notes  to  an  English  transla- 
tion arranged  in  parallel  lines    in    Charles's  Apocrypha    and 
Pseudepigrapha  oj  the  Old  Testament,  1913,  ii.  6^5-652).    For  a 
full  bibliography,  see  Viteau,  op.  cit.  pp.  240-251. 

G.  BUCHANAN  GRAY. 

PTOLEMAIS  (IlToXe/«iij).  —  Ptolemais  is  the 
ancient  Canaanite  town  of  Acco  (mentioned  in 
Jg  I81  and  in  the  corrected  text  of  Jos  1930),  still 
known  in  Arab.  as'Akka.  Standing  on  the  rocky 
promontory  which  forms  the  northern  boundary 
of  the  sandy  Bay  of  Acre,  protected  by  the  sea  on 
the  W. ,  S.,*and  S.E.,  and  strongly  fortified  on  the 
landward  side,  it  came  to  be  regarded  as  the  key 
of  Palestine,  and  its  chequered  history  is  chiefly  a 
record  of  sieges,  of  which  it  has  probably  had  to 
endure  more  in  ancient  and  modern  times  than 
any  other  Syrian  town.  Between  it  and  the  hills 
of  Galilee  lies  the  fertile  Plain  of  Acre,  six  miles 


290 


PUBLIUS 


PUNISHMENT 


in  width,  watered  by  the  Nahr  Namein,  the 
ancient  Belus,  a  river  famous  for  the  manufacture 
— Pliny  (HN  xxxvi.  65.  26)  says  the  invention — 
of  glass  at  its  mouth,  as  well  as  for  the  murex 
shells  from  which  purple  dye  was  extracted  by  the 
Phoenicians. 

The  town  rose  to  considerable  importance  under 
the  Macedonian  kings  of  Egypt,  who  converted  it 
into  a  Greek  city,  and  its  new  name — given  prob- 
ably by  Ptolemy  Soter,  and  retained  when  the 
rival  kings  of  Syria  gained  the  mastery — continued 
to  be  used  till  the  end  of  the  Roman  period,  after 
which  the  old  native  name  was  revived.  The  city 
played  a  prominent  part  in  the  Maccabsean  wars. 
There  Simon  routed  the  Syrian  Greeks  (1  Mac  515), 
and  there  Jonathan  was  treacherously  captured  by 
Trypho  (1245'48).  Ptolemais  had  an  era  dating  from 
a  visit  of  Julius  Caesar  in  47  B.C.  Augustus  was 
entertained  in  it  by  Herod  the  Great  (Jos.  Ant. 
XV.  vi.  7),  and  Claudius  established  it  as  a  colonia 
(Pliny,  II N  v.  17).  The  Romans  used  it  as  a  base 
of  operations  in  the  Jewish  war,  at  the  outbreak 
of  which  its  inhabitants  proved  their  loyalty  to 
Rome  by  massacring  2,000  Jews  resident  in  the  city 
and  putting  others  in  bonds  (Jos.  BJ  II.  xviii.  5). 

Ptolemais  is  mentioned  only  once  in  the  NT. 
St.  Paul  touched  it  in  sailing  from  Tyre  to  Csesarea 
(Ac  217).  Its  distance  from  Tyre  is  25  miles.  The 
Apostle  saluted  the  Christians  whom  he  found  in 
the  town,  and  remained  a  day  in  their  company. 
The  founder  of  the  Church  is  not  known.  Philip 
the  Evangelist,  who  laboured  in  Csesarea,  has  been 
suggested. 

Under  the  name  of  Accon  (St.  Jean  d'Acre  of 
the  Knights  of  St.  John),  the  town  was  the  scene 
of  many  conflicts  in  the  time  of  the  Crusaders,  who 
made  it  their  chief  port  in  Palestine.  Its  capture 
by  the  Saracens  brought  the  kingdom  of  the 
Franks  to  an  end.  The  destruction  of  the  city 
'  produced  terror  all  over  Europe  ;  for,  with  its  fall 
in  1291,  the  power  of  the  Christian  nations  of  the 
West  lost  its  last  hold  upon  the  East '  (C.  Ritter, 
The  Comparative  Geography  of  Palestine  and  the 
Sinaitic  Peninsula,  1866,  iv.  361).  Reconstructed 
in  the  18th  cent.,  besieged  in  vain  by  Napoleon 
(1799),  captured  by  Ibrahim  Pasha  (1831),  and 
bombarded  by  the  fleets  of  Britain,  Austria,  and 
Turkey  (1840),  it  still  has  some  commercial  import- 
ance, though  the  recent  growth  of  Haifa  has  told 
heavily  against  it. 

LITERATURE. — A.  P.  Stanley,  Sinai  and  Palestine,  new  ed., 
1877,  p.  265  f. ;  G.  A.  Smith,  HGUH,  1897  ;  W.  M.  Thomson, 
The  Land  and  the  Book,  1864,  p.  308 ;  C.  Baedeker,  Palestine 
and  Syria*,  1906 ;  E.  Schurer,  H JP  n.  [1885]  i.  90  f. 

JAMES  STRAHAK. 

PUBLIUS  (IldirXios).—  Publius  was  the  leading 
man  of  Malta  at  the  time  of  St.  Paul's  shipwreck 
there,  when  he  hospitably  entertained  the  ship- 
wrecked party  (Ac  287).  His  father,  who  was  sick 
of  fever  and  dysentery,  was  healed  by  the  Apostle 
(v.8).  The  epithet  6  Tr/xDros,  '  the  chief  man,'  seems 
to  have  been  an  official  title  peculiar  to  Malta 
(cf.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul,  1895,  p.  343).  The  form 
'  Poplios '  may  be  either  the  Greek  popular  equiva- 
lent for  the  Roman prcenomen  Publius  or  the  Greek 
rendering  of  the  nomen  Popilius.  Ecclesiastical 
tradition  makes  him  the  first  bishop  of  Malta. 

W.  F.  BOYD. 

PUDENS  (Uov5r)s).— Pudens  was  a  Christian 
of  Rome  who  along  with  Eubulus,  Claudia,  and 
Linus  sends  greetings  to  Timothy  (2  Ti  421).  He 
was  thus  on  intimate  terms  with  the  apostle  Paul 
at  the  time  of  his  last  Roman  imprisonment. 
Nothing  certain  is  known  regarding  him.  He  is 
supposed  by  many  to  have  been  the  husband  of 
the  Claudia  of  the  same  verse  and  has  been  identi- 
fied with  the  Pudens  of  Martial's  Epigrams,  whose 
wife  also  bore  the  name  Claudia  (Epigr.  iv.  13,  xi. 


54).     For  a  full  account  of  various  identifications 
and  literature,  see  art.  CLAUDIA. 

W.  F.  BOYD. 

PUNISHMENT.— The  word  '  punishment '  is  em- 
ployed to  translate  K6Xa<ris  (1  Jn  418  RV)  and  ri^upla. 
(He  1029).  The  corresponding  verbs  /coXdfw  and 
Ti/j.<ap{u,  translated  'punish, 'are  used  indiscrimin- 
ately (Ac  421,  2  P  29 ;  cf.  Ac  22s  2611)  ;  so  that  the 
classical  distinction,  exemplified  in  Plato  and. 
Aristotle,  between  rifjuapia,  which  regarded  the  re- 
tributive suffering,  and  K<5Xa<rts,  which  regarded  the 
correction  of  the  offender,  can  hardly  be  pressed  in 
the  case  of  NT  usage  (for  the  distinction,  see  R.  C. 
Trench,  Synonyms  of  the  N2's,  London,  1876). 
Other  words  translated  'punishment'  are  dixy 
(2  Th  1st  RV),  ticSlKijffis  (1  P  214,  '  vengeance '  in  RV), 
and  ewiTtfjLia  (2  Co  26). 

The  term  '  punishment '  (Lat.  posna)  may  be  de- 
fined as  pain  or  suffering  inflicted  in  expiation  of 
a  crime  or  offence  by  an  authority  to  which  the 
offender  is  subject.  The  authority  inflicting  it  may 
be  human  or  Divine.  The  human  authority  may 
be  civil  or  ecclesiastical.  Human  authority  to  in- 
flict punishment  is  ultimately  derived  from  a  Divine 
source. 

1.  Punishment  inflicted  by  human  authority.— 
Under  this  head  may  be  mentioned  (a)  that  inflicted 
by  civil  authority.    Roman  magistrates,  under  the 
supremacy  of  the  Emperor,  in  so  far  as  they  ad- 
ministered just  laws,  are  regarded  as  executors  of 
the  Divine  wrath  or  vengeance  against  evil-doers, 
and  submission  to  their  jurisdiction  is  made  im- 
perative on  members  of  the  Apostolic  Church  (1  P 
214 ;  cf.  Ro  131'6). 

(b)  That  inflicted  by  ecclesiastical  authority,  (a) 
In  the  Jewish  Church,  the  supreme  Sanhedrin  at 
Jerusalem  and  local  Sanhedrins  claimed  and  exer- 
cised the  right  to  punish  persons  adjudged  guilty 
of  contumacy,  schism  (cd'pe<ris),  or  seducing  the 
people.  On  the  basis  of  such  charges  it  was  sought 
to  make  the  apostles  and  others  who  adhered  to 
their  doctrine  and  fellowship  amenable  to  punish- 
ment (Ac  421  2226  2611).  (£)  In  the  exercise  of  dis- 
cipline, the  members  of  a  Christian  church,  acting  as 
a  judicial  body,  were  vested  with  the  power  to 
inflict  censure,  or  the  severer  punishment  of  ex- 
clusion from  the  fellowship  of  the  Church,  on  every 
brother  who  walked  disorderly  (1  Co  53'5,  1  Th  5l4, 
2  Th  36).  In  carrying  out  the  sentence  of  exclusion, 
the  name  and  authority  of  Christ,  as  King  and 
Head  of  the  Church,  were  solemnly  invoked.  While 
the  extreme  penalty  of  exclusion  was  called  punish- 
ment (twirl/Ala,  2  Co  26  ;  ixdlicriffis,  711),  the  object  of 
its  infliction  was  the  ultimate  restoration  of  the 
offender  to  Church  privileges  (2  Co26f-  ;  cf.  108  1310). 

2.  Divine  punishment. — In  passages  in   which 
the  term  occurs  it  is  conceived  as  eschatological. 
(a)  It  is  associated  with  the  Intermediate  State,    (a) 
According  to  representations  derived  from  apoca- 
lyptic   literature,  the  fallen  angels  are  depicted 
as  undergoing  punishment  in  Tartarus  while  await- 
ing the  Final  Judgment  (2  P  29  ;  cf.  24,  Jude6,   1  P 
319).    (/3)  The  inhabitants  of  the  Cities  of  the  Plain 
have  been   continually  subjected   to   punishment 
since  the  period  when  it  was  first  inflicted  upon 
them  in  the  time  of  Lot  (Jude7  RV). 

(b)  Punishment  is  associated  with  tfie  Parousir. 
(a)  At  the  Second  Advent  the  heathen  and  unbe- 
lieving Jews  who  have  persecuted  or  ill-used 
members  of  the  Church  are  to  receive  the  due 
reward  of  their  deeds.  The  punishment  meted  out 
to  them  is  more  particularly  defined  as  '  eternal 
destruction  from  the  face  of  the  Lord  and  from  the 
glory  of  his  might'  (2  Th  I9  RV).  (£)  Apostates 
from  the  Christian  faith,  being  guilty  of  wilful  sin, 
for  which  no  further  sacrifice  is  provided,  are  liable 
under  the  New  Covenant  to  far  severer  punishment 
at  Christ's  Return  than  that  which  overtook 


PURIFICATION 


PUTEOLI 


291 


offenders  under  the  Old  Covenant  (He  l(Ff-  ;  cf. 
v.37). 

The  primary  purpose  of  punishment,  human  or 
Divine,  is  to  vindicate  the  law,  and  uphold  the 
moral  order  of  the  world,  which,  in  the  absence  of 
such  sanction,  would  fail  to  command  the  respect 
of  the  law-breaker.  Punishment  may  also  be  im- 
posed with  a  view  to  reform  the  offender  or  to  deter 
others  from  the  commission  of  like  offences  by 
making  an  example  of  him.  It  must  be  maintained, 
however,  that  even  should  punishment  fail  to  exer- 
cise a  corrective  or  deterrent  effect,  its  infliction  as 
righteous  retribution  would  still  be  justified  (see 
W.  N.  Clarke,  An  Outline  of  Christian  Theology, 
Edinburgh,  1898,  pp.  253-255,  and  R.  Mackintosh, 
Christianity  and  Sin,  London,  1913,  p.  215).  Pun- 
ishment is  the  natural  correlate  and  consequence 
of  guilt.  It  presupposes  that  the  wrong-doer  is 
responsible  for  the  acts  which  have  exposed  him  to 
it,  and  justly  merits  its  infliction.  Divine  punish- 
ment is  the  reaction  of  God's  holy  nature  against 
sin.  It  is  the  outward  manifestation  of  the  Divine 
wrath  against  all  ungodliness  and  unrighteousness 
of  men.  As  the  manifestation  of  God's  just  resent- 
ment, it  is  mainly,  though  not  exclusively  (in 
opposition  to  Kitschl,  see  A.  E.  Garvie,  The  Ritsch- 
lian  Theology-,  Edinburgh,  1902,  pp.  307-310), 
eschatological.  Punishment  by  itself,  i.e.  apart 
from  disclosures  of  Divine  grace,  leading  to  '  the 
apprehension  of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ '  (Shorter 
Catechism,  A.  87),  has  no  redemptive  or  remedial 
effects  upon  the  character,  and  cannot  produce 
repentance  (Ho  24  415,  2  Co  710).  Doubtless  it  is 
for  this  reason  that  the  future  punishment  of  the 
impenitent  is  never  regarded  as  tending  to  the 
purification  of  the  sufferers.  Whatever  possibilities 
the  eternal  future  may  have  in  store,  the  NT  draws 
a  veil  over  the  fate  of  those  who  have  failed  to 
improve  the  opportunity  afforded  by  the  dispensa- 
tion under  which  men  are  now  living. 

LITERATURE. — For  theories  of  punishment,  in  addition  to  works 
referred  to  in  art.  see  F.  H.  Bradley,  Ethical  Studies,  London, 
1876,  ch.  i. ;  J.  Seth,  A  Study  of  Ethical  Principles™,  do.,  1908, 
pp.  320-323 ;  Borden  P.  Bowne,  Principles  of  Ethics,  New 
York,  1892,  ch.  x.  ;  G.  F.  Barbour,  A  Philosophical  Study  of 
Christian  Ethics,  Edinburgh  and  London,  1911,  pp.  285- 291, 409  f. 

W.  S.  MONTGOMERY. 

PURIFICATION  (ayvianos,  Ac  2128  ;  KaOapio-^, 
He  I3,  2  P  P). — Purification  is  an  old-world  idea 
and  ideal.  It  arose  out  of  the  mystery  of  God 
and  the  misery  of  man.  The  signification  of 
ayi>ifffj.6s  is  that  we  must  approach  God  carefully, 
of  Ka.6apio-tJ.6s  that  we  are  unable  to  do  so  without 
the  help  of  some  mediator  who  cleanses.  Men 
instinctively  felt  that  those  mysterious  presences 
which  surround  man  were  dangerous  forces,  and 
that  both  in  approaching  and  leaving  them  a  wise 
ritual  of  restrictions  was  necessary.  Outside  the 
Bible  these  restrictions  are  called  '  tabus.'  Aaron, 
for  instance,  washed  both  before  and  after  the  act 
of  atonement  (Lv  164-  28-«  ;  W.  R.  Smith,  RS*,  1894, 
p.  152  tf,  and  additional  note  B).  Man's  misery 
had  taught  him  the  need  of  being  made  fit,  and  so 
there  lurked  at  the  heart  of  tabu  the  idea  of  an 
act  of  moral  cleansing.  It  was  to  be  such  as  both 
to  annul  man's  guilt  and  to  appease  God.  Thus 
after  child-birth,  bringing  with  it  the  mystery  of 
Divine  forces,  the  mother  kept  days  of  purification. 
Whenever  man  sighted  the  Unseen  Powers — when 
with  the  dead,  e.g.,  or  in  war — he  was  under  tabu. 
The  Nazirite  vow  (Nu  6,  Ac  2126)  was  a  continuous 
tabu,  an  active  hourly  recognition  of  the  Unseen. 
St.  Paul  was  Jew  enough  to  respond  to  these  forms, 
and  Christian  enough  to  extract  value  out  of  them 
(Ac  1818) — to  make  them  '  days  of  separation'  (Nu 
64,  He  728)  in  the  religious  life. 

The  Jewish  sacrificial  system  is  the  specially 
Divine  one  among  the  primitive  systems  of  sacrifice 
and  tabu.  It  puts  into  dogmatic  form  the  vague 


God- ward  instincts  of  the  primeval  heart.  One 
instinct  was  the  community  of  blood  between  the 
god,  man,  and  the  animal  world,  so  that,  if  the 
blood  of  a  human  or  an  animal  victim  was  shed, 
it  was  an  offering  of  their  common  life,  and,  if 
the  flesh  was  eaten,  they  became  one  in  a  mys- 
terious sacrament  (W.  R.  Smith,  op.  cit.  p.  312  n".  ; 
J.  G.  Frazer,  GB*  [1900]  ii.  318).  So  the  sin- 
offering  was  eaten  (Lv  6-6),  embodying  man's  guilty 
feelings  towards  God  and  God's  appeased  feelings 
towards  man.  The  final  act  of  this  mystery  is 
when  '  God  made  Jesus  Christ  to  be  sin,'  a  sin- 
offering,  a  setting  forth  of  man's  guilt  and  God's 
purification.  He  made  'purification  of  sins'  (He 
I3).  How  ? 

There  are  three  answers,  (a)  Psychological. — 
He  fulfils  the  vague  cravings  for  a  guilt-offering 
from  the  beginning.  That  which  we  cannot  put 
into  words,  but  which  has  written  itself  in  history, 
in  language,  in  religion,  in  instinctive  humanity,. 
He  is  and  does,  (b)  Ethical. — An  exhibition  on  a 
great  scale  of  an  act  of  justice  purges  a  people. 
Aristotle  made  this  one  of  the  uses  of  tragedy,  to 
purify  the  passions  by  pity  and  terror  (cf.  S.  A. 
Brooke,  Life  and  Letters  of  F.  W.  Robertson,  new 
ed.,  1868,  Letters  86,  87).  Christ's  death  was 
such  an  exhibition,  (c)  Spiritual  ('  cleansing  their 
hearts  by  faith ').  —  Personal  identification  with 
His  suffering  cleanses  (J.  R.  Seeley,  Ecce  Homo11, 
1873,  p.  7;  Ro  64'7 ;  Sanday  -  Headlam,  ICC, 
'Romans'8,  1902,  p.  162).  It  is  the  absence  of 
such  identification  which  in  2  P  I9  is  deplored. 

LITERATURE. — B.  F.  Westcott,  Hebrews,  1889,  pp.  283,  293, 
The  Epistles  of  St.  John,  1883,  p.  34 ;  A.  Edersheim,  The 
Temple :  its  Ministry  and  Service,  1874,  ch.  18 ;  J.  Scott 
Lidgett,  The  Spiritual  Principle  of  the  Atonement,  1897;  J. 
M'Leod  Campbell,  The  Nature  of  the  Atonement*,  1895. 

SHERWIN  SMITH. 
PURITY.— See  HOLINESS. 

PURPLE.— See  COLOURS. 

PUTEOLI  (IlvrioXoi,  now  Pozzuoli).— The  town 
of  Puteoli  lay  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  Bay  of 
Naples  (Sinus  Cumanus),  a/id  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  lovely  Sinus  Baiauus,  which  was  a  bay 
within  a  bay.  Originally  a  Greek  settlement,  it 
retained  the  name  of  Dicsearchia  till  the  Romans 
established  a  colony  there,  when  the  Latin  ele- 
ment swamped  the  Greek.  Eastward  the  town  was 
separated  from  Neapolis  by  a  headland  (Posilipo) 
which  Augustus  pierced  with  a  tunnel,  while  west- 
ward it  joined  hands  with  Baiae,  the  gay  resort  of 
fashionable  Rome.  By  the  short  Via  Campania  (or 
Consularis)  it  was  connected  with  the  Via  Appia 
at  Capua,  which  was  125  miles  from  Rome.  Puteoli 
was  not  only  the  usual  landing-place  of  travellers 
for  Rome — such  as  St.  Paul  (Ac  2813),  Jpsephus 
(Vit.  3),  and  the  prisoner  Ignatius  (Martyr '5) — but 
the  haven  for  the  merchant-ships  of  Syria  and 
Egypt  in  the  east,  of  Carthage  and  Spain  in  the 
west.  It  was  '  the  Liverpool  of  Italy  '  (Conybeare- 
Howson,  The  Life  and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  new 
ed.,  1877,  ii.  433).  Seneca  (Ep.  77)  gives  a  life-like 
picture  of  the  Puteolan  crowd  gathering  on  the 
pier  in  spring  to  watch  the  fleet  of  Alexandrian 
corn-ships  heaving  in  sight,  easily  distinguished  '  in 
magna  turba  navium '  because  they  alone  were 
allowed  to  enter  the  bay  carrying  their  top-sails. 
The  mercantile  supremacy  of  Puteoli  is  explained 
by  Strabo  (c.  A.D.  20) :  Ostia  '  has  no  port,  owing  to 
the  accumulation  of  alluvial  deposit  brought  down 
by  the  Tiber,  .  .  .  vessels  therefore  bring  to  anchor 
farther  out,  but  not  without  danger'  (V.  iii.  5). 
All  this  was  changed  by  the  construction  at  Ostia 
of  the  Portus  Augusti,  begun  in  the  reign  of  Claudius 
and  finished  in  that  of  Nero,  close  to  the  time  (A.D. 
59  or  60)  of  St.  Paul's  arrival  in  Italy.  The  Apostle's 


292 


PYLON 


PYTHON 


ship,  however,  sailed  for  the  old  port,  so  that  he 
and  his  companions  had  to  make  the  usual  overland 
journey.  In  Puteoli  they  '  found  brethren '  of 
whom  they  had  no  previous  knowledge  (as  the 
absence  of  the  article  proves),  and  '  were  cheered 
among  them  (va.pfK\-f)6r}iJ.ev  Trap'  airrots),  remaining 
seven  days'  (Ac  2814).  This  reading  is  preferred 
by  W.  M.  Ramsay  (St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  1895, 
p.  212)  and  F.  Blass  (Acta  Apostolorum,  1895,  p.  287) 
to  '  were  entreated  by  them '  (lii  at/rots),  which  would 
convey  the  idea  that  St.  Paul,  though  a  prisoner, 
was  able  to  make  his  own  arrangements  ;  whereas 
the  truth  probably  was  that  when  Julius  decided 
that  a  halt  must  be  made  for  a  week,  the  Apostle 
used  the  measure  of  liberty  given  him,  and  passed 
the  time  in  happy  fellowship  with  the  little  Chris- 
tian Church.  There  had  been  a  colony  of  Jews  in 
Puteoli  before  the  time  of  Christ  (Jos.  Ant.  XVII. 
xii.  1,  BJ II.  vii.  1),  so  that  the  soil  had  been  partly 
prepared  for  the  seed  of  the  gospel  ;  and  as  ships 
plied  between  Puteoli  and  every  port  in  Syria  and 
Egypt,  it  was  nothing  wonderful  that  St.  Paul 
found  Christianity  already  planted  in  that  great 
commercial  city.  Other  Eastern  cults  took  root 
there  sooner  than  in  Rome,  as  a  temple  of  Serapis, 
frequented  in  the  2nd  cent.  B.C.,  proved.  The 
modern  town  (population,  17,000)  retains  many 
relics  of  ancient  greatness — amphitheatre,  baths, 
circus,  villas.  Its  cathedral  is  built  into  a  temple 
of  Augustus. 

LITERATURE.— Strabo,  v.  iv.  7  ;  C.'Dubois,  Pomzoles  antique, 
1908  ;  C.  Baedeker,  Southern  Italy  and  Sicily^,  1896. 

JAMES  STKAHAN. 
PYLON.-See  GATE. 

PYRRHUS  (Tlvppos,  a  Greek  name).— In  S  ABDE 
and  several  ancient  versions  Sopater  of  Bercea,  who 
accompanied  St.  Paul  on  at  least  part  of  his  return 
journey  from  Greece  to  Palestine,  is  described  in 
Ac  204  as  'the  son  of  Pyrrhus'  (SaJTrarpos  II%>ou). 
In  the  TR  lltppov  is  omitted  in  accordance  with 
later  MSS  and  versions.  Hence  the  omission  in  the 
English  AV  and  the  addition  in  the  RV.  Nothing 
further  is  known  of  Pyrrhus  or  of  Sopater  (q.v. ), 
Unless  the  latter,  as  is  possible,  is  identical  with 
Sosipater  of  Ro  1621,  who  is  one  of  three  men  who 
send  salutations  from  Corinth  as  '  kinsmen  '  of  St. 
Paul,  i.e.  fellow-Jews.  If  we  consider  this  identi- 
fication likely,  we  shall  suppose  father  and  son  to 
have  been  Hellenistic  Jews,  and  perhaps  both  to 
have  been  among  the  '  many '  converts  made  at 
Bercea  during  the  Apostle's  visit  there  (Ac  1710'14). 
The  mention  of  Pyrrhus  at  all  may  indicate  that  he 
had  become  well  known  as  a  Christian.  On  the 
other  hand,  some  commentators  consider  that  his 
name  has  been  inserted  purposely  to  distinguish 
Sopater  from  Sosipater.  This  is  the  only  instance 
of  a  patronymic  of  the  usual  Greek  fashion  in 
the  NT.  It  may  point  to  a  family  of  some  social 
position.  T.  B.  ALLWOKTHY. 

PYTHON. — The  primitive  Aryans  worshipped  a 
deity  named,  from  dirAXa,  '  the  fold,'  'AirtXXuv  or 
'ATroXXaw',  'he  of  the  fold,'  the  special  god  of  the 
cattle-pen,  the  patron  deity  of  cattle-rearing.  He 
was  also  called  A.IJKIOS,  '  he  who  frightens  away  the 
wolf.'  As  4>o?/3os,  the  sun-god,  was  the  deity  who 
opened  the  aTr^XXai  ('cattle-pens')  in  the  morning 
and  drove  out  the  herds,  the  one  god  became 
identified  with  the  other.  Apollo  dwelt  in  caves.* 
Certain  tribes  of  Aryan  Hellenes  who  invaded  and 
conquered  what  is  now  called  Greece  brought  with 
them  their  cave-dwelling  deity.  One  of  these 
tribes  settled  in  a  narrow  vale  shut  in  between 
Mount  Parnassus  and  Mount  Cirphis.  The  place, 
afterwards  called  Delphi,  was  then  named  lived) 
or  R66uv.  In  n<j0uv  was  a  cavern  which  emitted 
*  ERE  ii.  36. 


vapour  of  a  more  or  less  mephitic  character.  To 
the  autochthons  this  was  clear  evidence  of  the 
presence  of  a  chthonian  spirit,  most  probably  name- 
less, whom  they  worshipped.  The  cults  of  the  two 
cave-dwellers  inevitably  amalgamated,  and  Apollo 
took  the  place  of  the  nameless  chthonian  spirit  and 
was  called  IWdios.*  The  name  UtiOuv  is  in  some 
way  connected  with  irtiBeiv,  'to  rot.'  Such  a  cave 
in  primitive  times  was  certain  to  have  been  a  resort 
of  serpents,  and  an  aetiological  myth  arose  to  the 
effect  that  the  cavern,  which  had  been  possessed  by 
Themis,  had  been  guarded  by  an  immense  serpent 
called  Ilvdwv  who  was  the  offspring  of  Gaia,  pro- 
duced from  mud  after  the  flood  of  Deucalion. 
Four  days  after  his  birth  Apollo,  the  child  of  Zeus 
and  Leto,  killed  the  serpent,  from  whom  he  took 
the  name,  its  carcass  being  allowed  to  rot  where  it 
was  killed. f 

Cattle-rearing  being  the  chief  employment  of  the 
earlier  Aryans  and  Apollo  being  the  protector  of 
the  fold,  we  can  understand  how  helpfulness  became 
one  of  his  characteristics.  This  developed  along 
two  lines.  (1)  He  suggested  means  by  which 
calamities  might  be  avoided.  This  led  (2)  to  the 
conception  of  a  power  of  prediction.  In  this  way 
Apollo  became  the  prophet  of  Zeus.  Plato  calls 
him  '  the  interpreter  of  religion  to  all  mankind.' £ 
His  oracle  made  Delphi  particularly  famous,§  he 
became  the  most  typical  representative  Hellenic 
deity,  and  his  oracle  at  Delphi  the  most  powerful 
influence  in  guiding  and  moulding  the  growth  of 
Hellenism.il  At  Delphi  his  cult  and  oracle-giving 
became  recognized  and  organized  institutions.  The 
oracle  in  historic  times  was  of  the  ecstatic,  en- 
thusiastic, or  epileptic  kind.  The  chief  agent  was 
the  HvBla  (the  fern,  of  Iltffltos).  When  an  oracle  was 
asked,  she,  after  preparation,  drank  the  water  of 
the  sacred  stream,  chewed  the  leaves  of  the  sacred 
laurel,  mounted  a  tripod  above  the  cavern  from 
which  the  mephitic  vapour  arose,  and  then  began 
to  speak.  Near  her  were  the  Scrtoi,  five  priests  who 
listened  and  interpreted  her  sayings.  1T  Thus  the 
HvQia,  a  virtuous  woman,  became  a  mere  tool  in 
the  hands  of  the  Holy  Ones,  whose  power  has  been 
aptly  compared  to  that  of  the  prophet  Samuel.** 
Apollo  had  the  power  of  communicating  this  gift 
of  oracle-giving  to  others  besides  the  nv0ta.tt 
Persons  who  were  ventriloquists,  in  the  original 
sense  of  that  term,  would  naturally  be  supposed 
to  have  had  it  conferred  on  them.  Hence  IlvBuv 
meant  equally  the  divine  being  and  the  person 
whom  it  possessed.  These  ^yycurrpfyti/flot  were  ap- 
parently very  common  throughout  the  countries 
where  Greek  influence  predominated.  They  were 
called  Eurykleidai,  Sternomanteis,  and  Pythones. 

Such  diviners  belonged  to  the  lowest  grade  of  the 
profession  and  were  evidently  for  the  most  part 
ventriloquists.  Jt  One  such  is  brought  before  us  in 
Ac  1616'18,  in  the  Greek  city  of  Philippi,  during  a 
visit  paid  to  it  by  Paul  and  Silas.  She  was  not  a 
priestess  of  the  Pythian  Apollo,  or  in  other  words 
an  accredited  agent  of  the  Delphic  Oracle,  as  has 
been  supposed, §§  but  a  female  slave,  probably  a 
ventriloquist,  afflicted  with  lunacy  of  a  mild  chronic 

•  ERE  iv.  797. 

t  Apollodorus  (c.  140  B.C.)  I.  iv.  1 ;  Smith's  DGRB,  artt. 
'  Apollo '  and  '  Python ' ;  ERE  i.  609» ;  Hymn  to  Apollo. 

J  Quoted  by  J.  E.  Carpenter,  Comparative  Religion,  London, 
1913,  p.  183. 

§  Smith's  DGRG,  art.  '  Delphi,'  DGRA,  art.  'Oraculum.' 

l!  HDB  v.  143. 

IT  Ib.  p.  146 ;  cf.  the  accounts  of  the  Plutonium  at  Hierapolis 
by  different  travellers  summarized  by  J.  B.  Lightfoot  in  Colos- 
sians  and  Philemon*,  London,  1879,  p.  12. 

*»  W.  B.  Halliday,  Greek  Divination.  London,  1913,  p.  64 ;  L.  R. 
Farnell,  The  Cults  of  the  Greek  States,  5  vols.,  Oxford,  1896- 
1909,  iv.  185-193. 

tt  Smith's  DGRB,  art.  'Apollo,'  p.  231;  Homer,  II.  L  72; 
Hymn  to  Mercury,  iii.  471. 

Jt  Halliday,  op.  tit.  p.  244. 

§§  J.  Neil,  Pictured  Palestine,  London,  1891,  p.  38. 


QUARTUS 


QUOTATIONS 


293 


se  peculiarity  was,  according  to  the  ideas 
of  the  time,  looked  upon  as  caused  by  her  being 
possessed  with  a  Pythonic  spirit.t  She  was  ac- 
cordingly consulted  by  those  who  desired  to  have 
the  future  revealed  to  them,  a  business  which  pro- 
duced a  considerable  revenue.  She  was  not  a  slave 
mantic  owned  and  exploited  by  a  syndicate,  as  has 
often  been  stated,:}:  for  ol  Kvptot  does  not  mean 

*  W.  M.  Alexander,  Demonic  Possession,  Edinburgh,  1902, 
pp.  36,  161. 

t  The  reading  nvevna.  UvOuva.  is  supported  by  K  ABC* D*, 
while  the  reading  of  the  TR  Uv0u>vos  is  only  that  of  C3  D2  E  H  L  P. 

I  E.g.  G.  V.  Lechler,  Commentary  on  Acts,  Edinburgh,  1872, 


'  masters '  but  rather,  as  A.  Souter  has  pointed  out, 
the  girl's  master  and  mistress.*     These  dealt  with 
her  cries  as  the  &not  did  with  the  deliverances  of 
the  Delphic  priestess,  framing  out  of  them  answers 
to  those  who  consulted  the  girl. 
For  the  Patristic  view  see  Hermas,  Mand.  11. 
P.  A.  GORDON  CLARK. 

p.  306 ;  W.  J.  Conybeare-J.  S.  Howson,  Life  and  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul,  London,  1877,  i.  353;  F.  W.  Farrar,  Life  and  Work  of  St. 
Paul,  do.,  1897,  p.  278  ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller 
and  the  Roman  Citizen,  do.,  1895,  p.  216. 
*  Exp,  8th  uer.,  viii.  [1914]  95. 


Q 


QUARTUS  (Koi/a/rroy,  a  common  Latin  name). — 
Quartus  is  a  Christian  whose  greeting  is  sent  in 
Ko  1623  from  Corinth  with  that  of  Erastus,  '  the 
treasurer  of  the  city."  He  was  probably  a  member 
of  the  church  there,  and  was  associated  with  St. 
Paul  at  the  time  of  writing.  He  was  almost  cer- 
tainly a  convert  from  heathenism,  not  from  Judaism, 
and  in  this  respect  was  unlike  the  three  men  whose 
salutations  are  sent  in  v.21  and  who  are  distinguished 
from  Tertius,  Erastus,  and  Quartus,  as  '  kinsmen ' 
of  the  Apostle.  The  name  Quartus  itself  might  of 
course  have  been  borne  by  a  Jew  (cf.  Lucius,  v.M). 
It  has  been  conjectured  that  Tertius  and  Quartus 
were  brothers,  but  there  is  no  ground  for  thinking 
so.  If  we  suppose  Rome  to  have  been  the  destina- 
tion of  these  Corinthian  salutations,  Quartus  may 
have  been  a  Roman  with  friends  in  the  church  in 
the  city.  It  is,  however,  easier  to  believe  that 
members  of  the  Church  at  Corinth  had  friends  in 
Ephesus,  to  which  city  some  scholars  think  that  the 
greetings  were  directed.  We  should  remember,  at 
the  same  time,  that  in  the  Apostolic  Church  per- 
sonal acquaintance  was  not  necessary  to  create 
Christian  sympathy.  Quartus  is  described  simply 
as  'the  brother'  (6  dSe\$6s).  Elsewhere  in  the 
Pauline  Epistles,  Apollos  (1  Co  1612),  Epaphroditus 
(Ph  225),  Onesimus  (Col  49),  Sosthenes  (1  Co  I1), 
Timothy  (2  Co  I1,  etc.),  Titus  (2  Co  21S),  Tychicus 
(Eph  621,  Col  47)  are  similarly  described  (cf.  also 
2  Co  818  1218),  while  two  Christian  women,  Phcebe 
and  Apphia,  are  alluded  to  as  '  our  sister'  (Ro  161, 
Philem  2).  One  of  the  earliest  titles  used  by 
Christians  of  themselves  was  '  the  brethren. '  '  The 
brethren,'  forming  with  Asyncritus  and  four  others 
a  household  or  district  church,  are  saluted  in  Ro  1614. 
The  term  was  perhaps  taken  over  from  Judaism. 
It  is  frequently  found  in  Acts  addressed  to  Jews 
by  Jews  (2129-37,  etc.),  and  Saul  before  his  baptism 
was  called  '  brother  Saul '  by  a  Christian,  Ananias 
(917).  It  was  also  in  use  among  the  heathen  to 
designate  members  of  the  same  religious  community 
(see  G.  A.  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  1901,  p.  87  f., 
and  the  authorities  there  quoted).  St.  Paul  over 
and  over  again  addresses  the  readers  or  hearers 
of  his  Epistles  as  'brethren,'  i.e.  simply  'fellow- 
Christians,'  members  of  the  one  great  spiritual 
family  of  which  God  is  Father  and  Jesus  Christ 
the  Elder  Brother,  '  the  firstborn  among  many 
brethren '  (Ro  S29).  In  one  passage  at  least  ( 1  Th  514) 
it  is  possible  that  the  leaders  of  the  church  are 
addressed  as  'brethren'  (see  G.  Milligan,  Thessa- 
lonians,  1908,  ad  Ipc.),  and  indeed  we  may  say 
that  in  the  Apostolic  Church  the  terms  '  brother ' 
or  '  sister '  and  '  minister '  (SiaKovos)  were  practically 
synonymous.  To  be  a  member  of  the  community 
was  to  be  a  '  servant '  of  the  community  according 


to  one's  gift.    We  cannot  floubt  that  Quartns  was 
an  active  worker.  T.  B.  ALLWOKTHY. 

QUATERNION  (rerpaSiov,  from  rerpds,  '  the  num- 
ber four ' ;  Vulg.  quatemio,  whence  the  English 
word). — St.  Peter,  arrested  by  King  Herod  Agrippa, 
was  handed  over  to  four  quaternions  of  soldiers 
(Ac  124),  probably  at  the  fortress  Antonia.  A 
quaternion  was  a  guard  consisting  of  four  men, 
two  of  whom  would  be  chained  to  the  prisoner  in 
the  cell,  while  the  other  two  kept  watch  outside 
(cf.  Philo,  in  Flaccum,  13 ;  Polyb.  VI.  xxxiii.  7). 
The  second  two  were  apparently  the  '  first  ward ' 
(0u\a/ci$),  which  had  to  be  passed  before  the  iron 
gate  was  reached  (Ac  1210).  Four  quaternions  were 
required,  as  the  night  was  divided  in  Roman 
fashion  into  four  watches  of  three  hours  each. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

QUEEN  (paffi\t<Tffa). — The  only  person  bearing 
this  title  that  meets  us  in  the  apostolic  writings  is 
Candace,  queen  of  the  Ethiopians  (Ac  S27).  This 
oeople  appear  frequently  to  have  had  female 
sovereigns,  and  the  name  Candace  seems  to  have 
been  handed  on  from  one  to  another,  as  we  meet 
with  several  queens  of  this  name  in  their  early 
history.  The  only  other  passage  in  which  the 
title  occurs  is  Rev  187,  where  Babylon  is  represented 
as  sitting  as  a  queen,  priding  herself  upon  her  power 
and  immunity  from  sorrow  (cf.  Is  477). 

G.  WAUCHOPE  STEWART. 

QUICKSANDS.— See  SYRTIS. 

QUOTATIONS.— A  wide  variety  has  been  found 
to  exist  in  the  literary  allusions  of  the  four  Gospels. 
The  same  freedom  pervades  the  rest  of  the  NT. 
Characteristic  differences  are,  no  doubt,  to  be  met 
with  in  different  groups  of  apostolic  writings  ;  but 
the  field  of  quotation,  direct  and  indirect,  extends 
throughout  from  exact  reproduction  of  the  original 
texts  to  the  merest  suggestion  or  reminiscence, 
often  hardly  to  be  traced.  The  present  article 
seeks  to  cover  the  more  obvious  reminiscences,  as 
well  as  explicit  citations,  in  the  NT  books  under 
review. 

1.  Acts  of  the  Apostles. — The  direct  quotations 
in  Acts  are  confined  to  speeches  of  the  apostles  and 
the  story  of  the  Ethiopian  eunuch  (8™a-).  They 
are  invariably  drawn  from  the  LXX,  even  when 
that  Version  departs  considerably  from  the  Hebrew 
(as  in  743f-  IS1'*-),  and  normally  introduced  by 
formulae  like  '  It  is  written  (in  the  book  of 
Psalms),'  '  This  is  that  which  hath  been  spoken  by 
the  prophets,'  '  For  David  saith  concerning  him,' 
etc.  A  number  of  the  citations  are  exact,  viz. 
225-28  _  ps  iQS-ut  omitting  the  last  clause  (identity 
being  secured  by  reading  T)  KapSia  /j.ov  with  XAD, 


294 


QUOTATIONS 


QUOTATIONS 


etc.);  234'-  =  Ps  HO1 ;  425<-  =  Ps  2»- ;  832f-  =  Is  537f- 
(with  addition  of  avr6v,  as  in  KA,  etc.) ;  235= 
Ex  22*  (in  Lucian's  recension);  2826f-  =  Is  69f- 
(apart  from  a  slight  difference  in  the  opening 
formula).  Under  the  same  category  is  virtually  to 
be  placed  the  long  citation  from  Jl  2'^32  woven  into 
Peter's  speech  at  Pentecost  (217'21),  the  only  changes 
from  the  LXX  (XA)  being  a  substitution  of  the 
eschatological  phrase  fv  rais  ^<rx<frnus  ii/jitpais  (from 
Is  2a,  Mic  41)  for  the  simple  /j-era  ravra  of  the 
original,  the  insertion  of  the  solemn  formula  of 
Divine  utterance  X^-yei  6  6e6s,  and  the  transposition 
of  the  clauses  relating  to  the  young  men  and  the 
old.  In  close  dependence  on  the  historical  narra- 
tives from  Genesis  to  Kings  stands  Stephen's  long 
survey  of  the  Divine  leading  and  mission  of  Israel 
(7lff-),  many  of  the  verses  being  abbreviated,  but 
sufficiently  exact,  citations  of  biblical  texts  (cf. 
esp.  vv.3-  6f.  a*-28-  so-34-  «  with  Gn  121  1513f-,  Ex 
213f-  32ff-  321).  More  deliberate  alterations  are 
evident  in  I20,  where  the  general  denunciation  of 
wicked  men  in  Ps  G925  (amplified  by  a  further 
reference  to  Ps  1098)  is  directly  pointed  against 
Judas  ;  230,  an  indirect  citation  of  Ps  13211 ;  3**- 
(abbreviated  in  737),  a  connate  of  Dt  1815'19  and 
Lv  2S29 ;  S28,  a  free  blending  of  the  promises 
addressed  to  the  fathers  in  Gn  123  1818,  etc.  ;  411,  a 
loose  citation  of  the  verses  (Ps  11822f>)  which  are 
fully  reproduced  and  applied  to  Christ  in  Mt  2142 
and  parallel  texts;  742S  where  the  famous  words 
of  Am  5'K''M  are  quoted  with  considerable  changes, 
the  most  remarkable  being  the  substitution  of 
'  Babylon  '  for  '  Damascus  '  (due  either  to  accident, 
or,  more  probably,  to  a  desire  to  bring  the  prophecy 
into  line  with  later  events)  ;  74i)fg,  where  the 
prophet's  great  contrast  between  the  heavens  of 
the  Most  High  God  and  even  the  noblest  temple 
built  by  man  (Is  66lf-)  is  reproduced  with  consider- 
able freedom  ;  1322,  a  noteworthy  conflate  of 
Ps  89*  2  S  231  (or  Ps  7220),  1  S  1314,  and  Is  44128 ; 
other  verses  from  St.  Paul's  speech  at  Antioch, 
esp.  1333-  •"• 35>  41>  47,  which  are  abbreviated  citations 
of  Ps  27,  Is  553,  Ps  1610,  Hab  I5,  and  Is  496  respec- 
tively ;  1516'-,  a  free  rendering  of  Am  911,  introduced 
by  a  phrase  from  Jer  121S ;  and  2617t,  an  applica- 
tion to  St.  Paul  himself  of  the  prophetic  passage 
Is  427'16. 

In  addition  to  direct  citations,  however,  there 
are  many  reminiscences  of  Scriptural  phraseology 
scattered  through  Acts.  The  following  may  be 
presented  as  most  suggestive  of  the  original  texts  : 
2-24  (cf.  Ps  184'-  1163,  Job  392'-) ;  239  (cf.  Is  5719,  Jl  232, 
etc.) ;  2*°  (cf.  Dt  325) ;  4W  1415 1724  (cf.  Gn  I1,  Ex  2011, 
etc.) ;  4s4  (cf.  Dt  154) ;  54  (cf.  Jos  24",  etc.) ;  82  (cf. 
Gn  5010) ;  821  (cf.  Dt  1212,  Ps  7S37) ;  1036  (cf.  Ps  10720, 
Is  527,  etc.) ;  1727  (cf.  Is  556,  etc.) ;  1729  (cf.  Is  4018f- 
465);  1731(cf.  Ps98,  etc.). 

Outside  of  the  OT,  no  texts  are  ever  cited  as 
Scripture.  Other  sources  are,  however,  clearly 
before  the  mind  of  the  writer.  Thus  721  suggests 
Wis  II14  185  ;  1729,  Wis  1310  ;  and  1730,  Wis  II23  122. 
The  phraseology  of  314  (cf.  752  2214)  412  104  1731  re- 
calls Enoch,  xxxviii.  2,  xlviii.  7,  xcix.  3,  and  xli.  9  re- 
spectively. In  St.  Stephen's  speech  (I36-  •»'•)  R.  H. 
Charles  rinds  distinct  evidence  of  dependence  on  the 
Assumption  of  Moses  (iii.  11-13).  There  is  here  also 
(716)  betrayed  an  acquaintance  with  extra-canonical 
Jewish  tradition  regarding  the  burial  of  Joseph's 
brethren,  as  it  was  afterwards  committed  to  writing 
in  the  Book  of  Jubilees  (xlvi.  9f.).  Finally,  St. 
Paul's  great  speech  at  Athens  brings  classical 
poetry  into  the  service  of  Christ.  The  final  clause 
of  1728,  ToG  yap  ical  7^0$  iy^v  ('for  we  are  also  his 
offspring')  has  long  been  recognized  as  an  exact 
quotation  from  Aratus'  Phenomena,  line  5  (cf.  the 
similar  phrase,  £K  <rov  yap  ytvos  evp.lv,  from  Cleanthes' 
Hymn  to  Jove,  line  4).  But  Rendel  Hams  has 
recently  traced  the  immediately  preceding  words 


( '  for  in  him  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being ') 
to  the  Minos  of  the  Cretan  poet,  Epimenides, 
from  which  also  Tit  I12  is  drawn,  the  text  being 
restored  as  follows : 

TVfjL^ov  irf.KT-rjvo.vro  fftOev,  KitdiffTf,  ntyurre, 
Kp^res  dei  \f/€v<rrai,  KO.KO.  Bypla,  -yeurrfyes  dpyal. 
'AXXo.  <rti  y'  ov  6vTjffKeis,  ^arrjKas  yap  fooj  atei, 
tv  yap  ffol  £&fJ.fv  Kal  KivvfueQ'  ydt  /cat  £<rfi£v 

(cf.  Exp,  8th  ser.,  iv.  [1912]  348  ff.). 
2.  The  Pauline  Epistles. — These  are  peculiarly 
rich  in  allusions.  Every  important  doctrinal  argu- 
ment is  buttressed  by  an  appeal  to  Scripture  ;  and 
even  moral  counsels  are,  as  a  rule,  referred  to  some 
basal  principle  of  the  OT.  The  Apostle's  ordinary 
language  is  likewise  steeped  in  OT  phraseology. 
Here  too  the  LXX  is  the  great  storehouse  of  literary 
reference.  'More  than  half  of  the  direct  quota- 
tions of  the  OT  in  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  are 
taken  from  the  LXX  without  material  change' 
(H.  B.  Swete,  Introduction  to  the  OT  in  Greek, 
Cambridge,  1900,  p.  400).  In  the  remaining  cases 
he  allows  himself  considerable  freedom,  sometimes 
quoting  from  memory,  or  otherwise  altering  the  text 
for  the  purpose  immediately  in  view,  though  occa- 
sionally there  is  evidence  of  direct  translation  from 
the  Hebrew. 

(a)  The  Epistle  to  the  Romans  is  a  veritable  mine 
of  quotations.  Exact  reproductions  of  the  LXX 
are  found  as  follows:  34b  =  Ps  514b;  43  (cf.  v.6ff-) 
=  Gn  156;  47t  =  Ps  32"-;  417  (varlpa.  vo\\ut>  tOvuv 
rtQeiKa  <re)  is  excerpted  from  Gn  17s  ;  418  (OUTWJ  Icrrai 
rb  ffirtpvLa  <rov)  from  Gn  158 ;  77  (O&K  {tridv/j.^ffea) 
from  the  Decalogue  (Ex  2017) ;  836=Ps  4422;  97  (&• 
'laaaK  K\7]&ri<TeTai  croi  <rirtp/j.a)  comes  from  Gn  2112 ; 
912  (6  fjitifav  SoiAewrei  T£  tXaa-ffovi)  from  Gn  2523 ; 
9ls  =  Ex3319;  9^  =  18  I9;  1013  =  J1232;  1016  =  Is53la; 
1018=Ps  194;  1220  =  Pr  2521t  (omitting  the  last 
words)  ;  13"  (dyaTTTjcms  TOV  ir\riaiov  ffov  ws  ffeavr6i>) 
comes  from  Lv  1918 ;  153=Ps69tt;  159  =  Psl84a;  1510 
(ev<f>pa.v6'r}Tf,  I6vrj,  /Aera  TOV  XaoO  avTov)  from  Dt  S243  ; 
and  1511  (ace.  to  certain  MSS)  =  Ps  1171.  The 
quotation  from  Hab  24  introduced  in  I17  is  identical 
with  the  LXX  save  for  the  omission  of  /totf  (ct. 
Heb.  in^oga,  '  through  his  faith ') ;  26  likewise 
differs  from  Pr  2412  only  in  the  pronouns.  The 
long  citation,  310"18,  opens  with  a  phrase  from  EC  720 ; 
the  rest  is  almost  an  exact  reproduction  of  the 
LXX  text  of  Ps  141'3,  though  this  is  really  a  con- 
flate of  various  OT  passages  (Ps  59  1403  107, 
Is  597fi,  and  Ps  361)  interwoven  with  the  original. 
320  is  clearly  introduced  as  a  quotation  (from 
Ps  1432),  but  differs  considerably  from  both  the 
Hebrew  and  the  LXX;  99  is  a  free,  abbreviated 
reference  to  Gn  1810>  14,  and  918  a  citation  from 
Mai  I21-,  with  a  trifling  transposition  of  the  opening 
words.  917  (from  Ex  916)  shows  a  distinct  approach 
to  the  original  Hebrew.  On  the  other  hand,  9s5'- 
2?f.  32f.  are  free  reproductions  of  the  thought  of 
Hos  I10  223,  Is  1022*-  2816  (blended  with  814)  respec- 
tively, in  the  last  instance  so  free  as  to  yield  a 
sense  quite  contrary  to  the  original.  The  final 
clause  of  9s3  is  repeated  in  1011  with  the  addition  of 
iras ;  while  10°  is  a  direct  application  of  Lv  185  to 
'  the  righteousness  that  is  of  the  law.'  The  long 
passage  on  the  nearness  and  saving  power  of  the 
Word  of  God  (106*9)is  another  free  compound  of 
Dt  94  3011'14,  etc.  1018  (from  Is  527)  gives  further 
evidence  of  direct  use  of  the  Hebrew  ;  1019  differs 
from  the  LXX  text  of  Dt  3221  only  in  the  substitu- 
tion of  the  personal  pronoun  'you'  for  'them,'  and 
\(fat,  from  is  65".  in  a  slight  transposition  of  words. 
II3'-  (from  1  K  19loff-).has  been  altered  and  trans- 
posed under  Hebrew  influence.  II8  is  a  free  blend 
of  ideas  from  Is  2910,  Dt  294,  etc.  (with  traces  of 
Hebrew  influence) ;  II26'-  is  also  a  complex  from 
Is  5920'-  (in  the  main)  and  Ps  147,  Is  279,  etc.  II9'-, 
again,  is  a  close,  though  abbreviated,  citation  of 
Ps  69221-,  and  II341-  is  but  slightly  altered  from 


QUOTATIONS 


QUOTATIONS 


295 


Is  40lsf-  (in  the  fuller  reading  of  KA,  etc.).  1219 
(from  Dt  32s5)  shows  the  same  approach  to  the 
original  Hebrew  as  the  Targum  of  Unkelos.  1411 
is  a  somewhat  free  rendering  of  Is  4S23,  with  intro- 
ductory phrase  from  Is  4918,  or  a  similar  context ; 
1512  is  an  abbreviated  reference  to  Is  lllu  (cf.  Is 
424) ;  and  1521  is  the  exact  equivalent  of  Is  5218, 
except  for  the  transposition  of  fii/wrat. 

(b)  A  number  of  these  citations  are  repeated  in 
other  Epistles  of  St.  Paul.  Thus  the  fundamental 
assertion  of  justification  by  faith  (Ro  !17=Hab  24) 
reappears  in  Gal  311,  and  the  texts  Ro  320  (from 
Ps  1432)  in  Gal  216 ;  Ro  4s  (  =  Gn  156)  in  Gal  36; 
Ro  105  (from  Lv  185)  in  Gal  312 ;  Ro  139b  (from  Lv 
1918)  in  Gal  514;  and  Ro  II84  (from  Is  4013)  in  1  Co 
218  (a  different  close  being  here  adopted). 

Fresh  quotations  from  the  Ol  are  found  as 
follows:  Gal  4a7=Is  541 ;  430  =  Gn  2110  (with  the 
significant  change  of  -riyj  4\ev6tpa.s  instead  of 
'Ivadic) ;  38,  a  blend  of  the  promises  in  Gn  123  1818, 
etc.  ;  310,  from  Dt  27s28,  with  phrase  inwoven  from 
Dt  911 ;  313,  an  abbreviated,  and  slightly  altered, 
citation  from  Dt  2123 ;  316,  a  direct  application  to 
Christ  of  the  promise  to  Abraham  and  his  '  seed ' 
(Gn  127  1315  178,  etc.). 

The  closing  phrase  of  1  Co  616  comes  directly 
from  Gn  224  (the  whole  verse  being  reproduced  in 
Eph  531);  99  (in  reading  of  NAD,  etc.)  =  Dt  254 
(repeated  in  1  Ti  518  with  transposition  of  words) ; 
107  =  Ex  32s;  1028,  a  phrase  from  Ps  241 ;  1532  =  Is 
22i3;  jwt.  comes  from  is  2914.  with  alteration  of 
verb  ;  I31  (repeated  in  2  Co  1017)  is  a  free  reproduc- 
tion of  Jer  923,  and  29  a  very  free  rendering,  perhaps 
through  independent  Jewish  channels  (cf.  below), 
of  the  ideas  in  Is  644,  with  suggestions  from  Is  6516 
or  Jer  316 ;  319  is  from  Job  513,  under  direct  in- 
fluence of  the  Hebrew  ;  320,  from  Ps  9411,  with  '  of 
the  wise'  substituted  for  'of  men '(to  make  the 
application  more  apt) ;  1020  (daijj.ovlois  /cai  ov  Oeif 
Ouovffiv)  from  Dt  3217,  with  a  change  in  the  order  of 
words  ;  14s1,  a  very  free  citation,  supported  by  X^yei 
Ktfpios,  of  Is  28m-  ;  1434  153-  *• 15-  ^  47,  free  allusions 
to  Gn  316,  Is  5312,  Hos  62,  and  Gn27,  all  adduced  as 
1  written '  or  Scriptural  authorities ;  1527  (cf.  Eph 
I22,  Ph  321),  from  Ps  86  with  direct  reference  to  the 
Hebrew  ;  1584'-,  a  free  conflate  of  Is  258  and  Hos  1314. 

2  Co  413  (tiria-Tevffa  dib  <?XdXi?o-a)  exactly  =  Ps 
11610;  62=Is  498;  99=Ps  1128;  131  (cf.  1  Ti  519)  = 
Dt  1915  (Luc.);  46,  a  free  blend  of  Gn  I2*-,  Is  9lf-, 
etc.  ;  616,  a  loose  conflate  of  Ezk  3727  and  Lv  26nf- ; 
617,  abbreviated  from  Is  5211  and  Ezk  2034  ;  618,  a 
compound  of  Jer  319,  Is  436,  2  S  78,  etc.  ;  815, 
from  Ex  1618,  with  direct  approacli  to  the  Hebrew  ; 
97,  a  free  reproduction  of  Pr  229  (cf.  Ex  252). 

Eph  48  is  from  Ps  6818,  with  the  £Xa£es  boldly 
altered  to  Idwicev,  to  make  it  more  applicable  to 
the  Giver  of  good ;  425,  from  Zee  816  with  the  nx 
more  accurately  rendered  by  /*erd  rov ;  426,  an 
excerpt  from  Ps  44 ;  514,  a  very  free  reproduction 
of  Is  601- 18£-  (cf.  below) ;  518,  from  Pr  2331  (with  otvy 
for  iv  ofrois);  62'-,  from  the  Decalogue  (Ex  2012), 
the  motive  being  somewhat  altered,  and  a 
new  clause  added  to  emphasize  the  element  of 
'promise.' 

Ph  I19  is  a  literal  extract  from  Job  1316 ;  and 
the  two  'seals'  of  2  Ti  219  are  free  citations  of 
Nu  165  and  Is  2613  respectively.  Direct  quotations 
from  the  OT  are  not  found  in  Colossians,  1  and  2 
Thessalonians,  Titus,  or  Philemon. 

Among  the  more  striking  reminiscences  may  be 
noted  Ro  I23  (cf.  Dt  415-18,  Ps  10620) ;  2s  (cf.  Ps  HO5, 
Zeph  I18);  S4*  (cf.  Ps  11611);  3291-  (cf.  Mai  210) ;  411 
(cf.  Gn  1711);  4'3-18  (cf.  Gn  127  1315,  etc.);  419  (cf. 
Gn  1717,  etc.) ;  420  519-  32  (cf.  Is  531-) ;  55  (cf.  Ps  22«- 
2520).  78.11  (cf  Gn  2i«.  3lff-);  S27  (cf.  Heb.  text-of 
Ps  79) ;  8s3'-  (cf.  Is  50s'-) ;  920f-  (cf.  Is  2916  459) ;  lllf- 
(cf.  Ps  9414);  ll1Bir-  (cf.  Jer  II18);  II25  1218  (cf. 
Is  521,  Pr  37) ;  1214  (cf.  Ps  10928) ;  1217  (cf.  Pr  34). 


1  Co  I2  (cf.  Jl  232) ;  I20  (cf.  Is  19llf-  3318) ;  3"  (cf. 
Is  2818) ;  57  (cf.  Ex  1215) ;   62  (cf.  Dn  718ff-) ;  617  (cf. 
2  K  18") ;  88  (cf.  Dt  4«- 39,    Mai  21U,  etc.);  97  (cf. 
Dt  208,  Pr2718,  etc.);  913  (cf.   Dt   18lff-,  Nu  188ff-) ; 
10lff-,   from   Ex  IS1*-    (combined   with   tradition); 
1022  (cf.  Dt  3221);   II7  (cf.   Gn   I28'-);  1425  (cf.    Is 
4514,  Zee  S23) ;  1531  (cf.  Ps  4422). 

2  Co  3s-7  (cf.  Ex3118,  Jer  3133,  Ezk  II19,  etc.); 
37fr-  (cf.  Ex  3429ff-) ;  411  (cf.  Ps  4422) ;  510  (cf.  EC  1214) ; 
517  (cf.    Is  4318f-) ;  69  (cf.    Ps  11817'-) ;  611  (cf.    Ps 
11932) ;  78  (cf.  Is  4913) ;  821  (cf.  Pr  34) ;  910  (cf.  Is  5510, 
Hos  1012) ;  II3  (cf.  Gn  34). 

Gal  I4  (cf.  Is  5312) ;  I15'-  (cf.  Jer  1s) ;  317  (cf.  Ex 
1240'-) ;  S^cf.  Mai  210) ;  618  (cf.  Ps  125s,  etc.). 

Eph  I20  (cf.  Ps  1101) ;  I22  (cf.  Ps  88) ;  213ff-  (cf. 
Is  5719) ;  219  (cf.  Lv  2583) ;  220  (cf.  Is  2818) ;  46  (cf. 
Dt  64) ;  49f-  (cf.  Dt  3012ff-) ;  52  (cf.  Gn  821,  Ex  2918, 
etc.) ;  5™*-  (cf.  Gn  316) ;  614  (cf.  Is  11s  5917,  etc.) ; 
61S  (cf.  Is  527) ;  617  (cf.  Is  492  5118  5917). 

Ph  2lot-  (cf.  Is  4523) ;  21B  (cf.  Dt  325) ;  218  (cf.  Is  494 
6S23);  3s  (cf.  Jer  9231-);  321  (cf.  Ps  88) ;  43  (cf . ,  Ps 
G928,  etc.). 

Col  2s  (cf.  Is  453)  ;  2P  (cf.  Is  2913) ;  31  (cf.  Ps 
1101) ;  310  (cf.  Gn  I27) ;  318  (cf.  Gn  316). 

1  Th  24  (cf.  Jer  II20) ;  218  (cf.  Gn  1518,  Dt  S23) ; 
48  (cf.  Ezk  II19  36^-,  Ps  51") ;  58  (cf.  Is  5917) ;  522 
(Job  I1- 8). 

2  Th  I8  (cf.  Ex  32,  Is  6615) ;  lw-  (cf.  Is  2loff-,  Ps 
898) ;  I12  (cf.  Is  2415  49s  66s) ;  24  (cf.  Dn  II38,  etc.) ; 
28(cf.  Is  II4);  213(cf.  Dt3312). 

1  Ti  I17  (cf.  Dt435,  etc.);  2s  (cf.  Is  534ff-)  ;  21"- 
(cf.  Gn   318);  214  (cf.  Gn  38ff-);  61  (cf.  Is  525) ;  615 
(cf.  Dt  1017,  Ps  1363,  Dn  247,  etc.). 

2  Ti  414  (cf.  Ps  284  6212) ;  417  (cf.  Dn  620). 

Tit  20  (cf.  Gn  318) ;  214  (cf.  Ex  195,  Is  534ff-,  Ezk 
S723,  etc.). 

The  Pauline  Epistles  also  show  the  influence  of 
apocryphal  books.  A  clear  instance  is  found  in 
Ro  1215,  compared  with  Sir  7s4  (M  vffrtpei  dvb 
K\a.ibvTuv,  Ka.1  fj.erd  irevOovvruv  irtvGrjo'ov)  ;  cf.,  further, 
Ro  211  (Sir  321"-)  1627  (Sir  I8),  1  Co  612  (Sir  S728), 
613(Sir  Se23)  713-  *  (Sir  429f-),  Col  23  (Sir  I25),  1  Th  46 
(Sir  53).  Between  Romans  and  the  Wisdom  of 
Solomon  there  are  several  close  parallels  betraying 
St.  Paul's  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  latter ; 
cf.,  especially,  Ro  I18ff-  (Wis  13^-  148f-),  818  (Wis 
S4*),  9t9L  (Wis  12'2),  921  (Wis  157),  931  (Wis  2"),  II32 
(Wis  1 123),  1310  (Wis  618).  Of  the  other  Epistles,  cf. 
1  Co  II7  (Wis  2s3)  15J8-47  (Wis  15"),  2  Co  5lff-  (Wis 
918),  Eph  I18,  Col  I13  (Wis  5s),  Eph  212  (Wis  318), 
6iiff.  (Wis  5mr.)f  !  Th  I10  (Wis  168).  To  a  common 
use  of  Wisdom  are  no  doubt  to  be  traced  the 
frequent  resemblances  between  the  Epistles  and 
Philo.  A  considerable  list  of  parallels  with  the 
Book  of  Enoch  has  been  drawn  up  by  Charles,  the 
most  obvious  being  Ro  8s8,  Eph  I21,  Col  I18  (En. 
Ixi.  10),  Ro  9s,  2  Co  II31  (En.  Ixxvii.  1),  Ph  210 
(En.  xlviii.  5),  Col  2s  (En.  xlvi.  3),  2  Th  I7  (En.  Ixi. 
10),  1  Ti  11S  (En.  xciv.  1).  The  very  free  citation, 
1  Co  29,  is  referred  by  Origen  and  other  Church 
Fathers  to  the  Apocalypse  of  Elijah,  and  is  actually 
found  in  the  Latin  version  (ii.  34) ;  this  may  well 
have  been  the  direct  source,  its  ultimate  depend- 
ence on  the  OT  explaining  the  formula  uddus 
ytypairrai  (cf.  1  Clem,  xxxiv.  8,  where  the  text  re- 
curs in  almost  the  same  form,  though  in  a  different 
eontext).  Eph  514  is  likewise  traced  by  Epiphanius 
to  the  Apocalypse  of  Elijah,  though  other  Fathers 
give  different  sources  (Isaiah,  or  an  apocryphal 
work  of  Jeremiah) ;  it  may,  however,  be  but  a 
loose  rendering  of  Is  601- 19f-  (cf.  above).  Further 
acquaintance  with  Jewish  tradition — probably  de- 
rived from  the  actual  Book  of  Jannes  and  Jambres 
mentioned  by  Origen  (on  Mt  279) — is  presupposed 
in  the  reference  to  the  withstanding  of  Moses  (2  Ti 
38).  Various  phrases  recall  the  Testaments  of  the 
Twelve  Patriarchs :  e.g.  Ro  I32  (Asher,  vi.  2)  1221 
(Benj.  iv.  3),  2  Co  710  (Gad,  v.  7),  1  Th  218 


296 


QUOTATIONS 


QUOTATIONS 


(Levi,  vi.  11).  There  are  also  two  direct  citations 
of  classical  texts  :  1  Co  1533  ('  evil  communications 
corrupt  good  manners ')  from  Menander's  Tha.is — 
ultimately  perhaps  from  a  lost  play  of  Euripides 
(cf.  Socrates,  HE  iii.  16) — and  the  verse  from  the 
'  prophet'  of  the  Cretans  (Tit  I12),  an  excerpt  from 
the  Minos  of  Epimenides  already  alluded  to  (cf. 
Ac  1728).  Both  were  apparently  common  tags, 
Kprjres  del  \f/evffrai  being  introduced  as  a  familiar 
quotation  in  Callimachus,  adJovem,  line  8.  The 
Apostle  may  thus  have  received  them  from  float- 
ing tradition,  instead  of  direct  acquaintance  with 
the  texts.  The  analogies  with  stoical  writings 
and  the  mystery-religions,  at  all  events,  show  the 
influence  of  the  Zeitgeist  rather  than  first-hand 
study  of  the  literature  (cf.  H.  A.  A.  Kennedy,  St. 
Paul  and  the  Mystery-Religions,  1913). 

The  Apostle  reveals  in  his  letters  a  varied 
knowledge  of  Christian  tradition  and  even  words 
and  deeds  of  Jesus,  afterwards  embodied  in  the 
Gospels.  Thus  in  1  Co  710  (on  divorce)  he  contrasts 
his  own  advice  with  definite  instructions  of  our 
Lord,  which  may  be  compared  with  Mt  532  199  and 
parallel  passages.  His  counsel  to  remain  un- 
married because  of  the  coming  distress  (1  Co  725ff-) 
recalls  Mt  2419,  etc.  The  Christian  principle  of 
living  by  the  gospel  (1  Co  914)  is  directly  referred 
to  the  Master's  ordinance  (cf.  Mt  1010,  Lk  107). 
The  words  of  institution  at  the  Lord's  Supper 
(1  Co  ll23*)  are  in  close  harmony  with  Mt  2626a 
and  parallel  passages,  and  belong  undoubtedly 
to  common  tradition.  Other  reminiscences  of  the 
Gospels  (or  their  sources)  are  found  in  1  Co  II19 
(cf.  Mt  1034,  etc.) ;  1  Co  132  (cf.  Mt  1720,  etc.) ;  2  Co 
I17  (cf.  Mt  537) ;  Gal  514  (cf.  Mt  2239t,  etc.) ;  1  Th 
218'-  (cf.  Mt  2331'-) ;  1  Th  48  (cf.  Lk  1018) ;  1  Th  416f- 
(cf.  Mt  2430'-) ;  1  Th  5lff-  (cf.  Mt  2436ff- ). 

3.  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.— This  Epistle 
equals  Romans  in  its  dependence  on  the  OT.  It 
is,  indeed,  '  in  great  part  a  catena  of  quotations ' 
(Swete,  p.  402).  A  considerable  number  are  either 
wholly  or  virtually  exact:  1s*  (55)  =  Ps  27;  I5b= 
2  S  714;  l«b=Dt  S243  (in  Lucian's  recension)  ;  I8b= 
LXX  addition  to  Ps  458f-  (with  one  or  two  changes, 
absent  from  certain  MSS)  ;  l10-12=Ps  10225"27  (with 
slight  textual  differences)  ;  !13=Ps  HO1 ;  26'8  (with 
addition  in  HAD,  etc.)  =  Ps  84'8 ;  213b=Is  818;  37'11 
(individual  verses  repeated  in  318  4s-  B>  7)  =  Ps  957'11 
(with  slight  textual  differences,  not  found  in  several 
MSS);  44  (cf.  410)  =  Gn  22  (Luc.);  56  (cf.  717  and, 
with  variations,  510  620  7u'ai)  =  Ps  HO4;  1030b  =  Dt 
32s5;  136  =  Ps  1186.  Of  the  remaining  citations, 
!7  =  Ps  1044,  with  irvp&s  <j>\6ya  for  trvp  <f>\tyov  (A: 
™/>ds  <p\tya)  =  He\).  Brft  E*K  ;  212=Ps  2222,  with 
dirayyeXw  for  di^yri<ro/Mi  (Heb.  ••ngpK) ;  213a=Is  817, 
with  transposition  of  words ;  613fi,  from  Gn  2216'-, 
exact,  but  abbreviated  ;  71"10,  a  historical  survey 
depending,  often  literally,  on  Gn  I417ff-  ;  88=Ex 
2540,  with  deixfftvTa  for  deSeiyptvov  ;  88'13  (abbrevi- 
ated, and  somewhat  altered,  in  1016'-),  from  Jer 
3131'34,  with  certain  alterations  pointing  the  pro- 
phecy directly  to  Christ;  920  (cf.  1029  1320),  from 
Ex  248,  with  changes,  in  part  suggested  by  the 
words  of  institution  (cf.  Mt  2626ff-,  etc.);  10»-7  (re- 
peated with  changes  in  v.8f-),  from  Ps  406'8,  with 
accidental  and  other  alterations ;  1030*,  from  Dt 
32s5,  in  the  same  form  as  in  Ro  1219 ;  1037,  from 
Hab  23f- ,  the  principle  of  justification  repeated  as 
in  Ito  I17  (the  two  instances  thus  pointing  to  some 
common  original,  either  in  tradition,  or  in  a  written 
collection  of  Messianic  prophecies),  and  a  6  inserted 
before  tpx6/J-fvos  to  give  the  text  a  still  clearer 
Messianic  reference;  Il4ff-,  the  roll-call  of  heroes, 
drawn  from  the  historical  books  from  Gen.  on- 
wards, often  with  close  dependence  on  the  texts 
(cf.  vv.6- 18-  21  with  Gn  524  2112  and  4731  respectively) ; 
12M-  (detailed  application  in  vv.7-11),  from  Ps  311(-, 
with  verbal  changes  due  probably  to  textual  trans- 


mission ;  1220,  a  free  reproduction  of  Ex  191S, 
probably  from  memory ;  1221,  from  Dt  919,  with 
addition  of  /cat  ftrpojuos ;  1226,  from  Hag  2s,  verb- 
ally altered  to  emphasize  the  argument ;  1229,  from 
Dt  424,  with  yap  added  in  harmony  with  Heb.  '? ; 
135,  from  Dt  316-  8,  changed  into  the  form  of  a  direct 
quotation  by  the  use  of  the  first  person  ;  1320,  a 
complex  of  phrases  from  Is  6311  and  Jer  3240,  etc. 

Among  reminiscences  of  OT  texts  may  be  given 
1s  (cf.  Ps  1101);  32-6  (cf.  Nu  127) ;  317  (cf.  Nu 
14a».82f.);  6s  (cf.  Qn  3171.).  e19  1020  (cf.  Ex  2633,  Lv 
162) ;  81  1012'-  122  (cf.  Ps  1101) ;  82  (cf.  Nu  248) ;  92ff- 
(cf.  Ex  26lff-) ;  9s8  (cf.  Is  5312) ;  1027  (cf.  Is  2611) ; 
1028  (cf.  Dt  176) ;  1212  (cf.  Is  353,  Sir  2S23) ;  121S 
(cf.  Pr  426) ;  1215  (cf.  Dt  2918) ;  1216  (cf.  Gn  25s3) ; 
12"  (cf.  Gn  27s8) ;  1218ff-  (cf.  Ex  1916ff-) ;  13s  (cf.  Gn  188 
19lff-) ;  1311  (cf.  Lv  1627) ;  1316  (cf.  Ps  5014-  **,  Hos  14s). 

In  I8  we  have  another  clear  mark  of  the  influence 
of  Wis.  (I2**-).  The  description  of  the  martyrdoms 
in  ll381-  probably  derives  certain  elements  from 
1  Mac  g26,  2  Mac  6loff-  7lft,  etc.,  as  well  as  the 
tradition  of  Isaiah's  death  by  sawing  (Ascension  of 
Isaiah,  v.  11-14).  A  few  passages  recall  the  Book 
of  Enoch,  e.g.  413  (En.  ix.  5) ;  ll10  (En.  xc.  29). 
A  suggestion  of  the  '  words  of  institution '  has 
been  found  in  920,  while  the  reference  to  the 
Master's  '  strong  crying  and  tears '  (57)  recalls  the 
scene  in  Gethsemane  (cf.  Mt  2638ff-),  though  known 
to  the  writer  only  from  tradition.  In  Hebrews 
there  is  no  trace  of  classical  literature. 

4.  The  Catholic  Epistles.  —  (a)  James. — The 
practical  character  of  James  necessitates  less 
reliance  on  OT  authority.  Of  direct  quotations 
in  his  Epistle  there  are  but  six,  28- ffl  and  4s 
being  virtually  exact  reproductions  of  the  LXX 
text  of  Lv  1918,  Gn  158,  and  Pr  3s4  respectively,  211 
an  original  version  of  the  Decalogue  (Ex  2018* 1S), 
540  a  rendering  of  Pr  1012  with  direct  dependence 
on  the  Hebrew  (though  here  possibly  introduced 
from  an  intermediate  source),  and  4*  a  reference  to 
some  unknown  passage  definitely  recognized  as 
'  Scripture.'  In  addition  there  are  various  remi- 
niscences of  OT  and  apocryphal  books :  e.g.  1st-  (cf . 
Jer  g23) ;  llof-  (cf.  Is  406f-) ;  I19  (cf.  Pr  1429  1727, 
EC  79);  221  (cf.  Gn  229) ;  225  (cf.  Jos  2lff-  617) ; 
53  (cf.  Ps  219)  ;  54  (cf.  Is  59,  Ps  186,  etc.) ;  57  (cf. 
Dt  ll14);  511  (cf.  Ps  103s  1114,  etc.);  517f-  (cf.  1  K 
17iff.  igur.).  l»(cf.  Sir  2015);  I13  (cf.  Sir  15nt) ;  I19 
(cf.  Sir  511) ;  51'6  (cf.  En.  xciv.  8-11).  The  remark- 
able  feature  about  the  Epistle,  however,  is  the 
number  of  correspondences  with  sayings  of  Jesus, 
especially  those  included  in  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  e.g.  I2'-  (cf.  Mt  53'12) ;  I8'8  (cf.  Mt  66'16) ; 
11M-  (cf.  Mt  619'21);  I22*-  (cf.  Mt  721ff-);  I28''  (cf.  Mt 
61'7) ;  311'-  (cf.  Mt  716'20) ;  43  (cf.  Mt  77) ;  512  (cf.  Mt 
533-3?)  The  mind  of  the  Apostle  was  evidently 
saturated  with  Jesus'  thoughts  and  words  ;  and 
they  came  to  him  unbidden  in  a  form  resembling 
their  original.  The  relation  of  the  Epistle  to  other 
parts  of  the  NT  belongs  rather  to  the  region  of 
literary  criticism. 

(b)  Of  the  other  Catholic  Epistles,  1  Peter  offers 
a  number  of  quotations  from  the  OT,  some  of 
them  exact  equivalents  of  the  LXX,  as  l18=Lv 
11««. ;  27=Ps  11822;  31(M3=Ps  3412-18a  (with  simple 
change  from  imperative  to  jussive);  3l4f-  =  Is  812f- 
(with  ~KpiffT6v  instead  of  Ktfptox) ;  418  =  Pr  ll31  (a 
passage  where  the  LXX  differs  widely  from  the 
original);  58  =  Pr  3s4;  while  others  show  distinct 
evidence  of  the  Hebrew,  e.g.  I24f-  (from  Is  406'8), 
2s  (from  Is  2816),  2s  (from  Is  814),  48  (from  Pr  1012) ; 
210  is  a  free  reproduction  of  the  thought  of  Hos 
223;  29  a  loose  conflate  of  Ex  198'-,  Is  4320f-  ;  and 
2s2  of  Is  539,  Zeph  313.  Reminiscences  of -OT  texts 
may  be  traced  in  I18  (cf.  Is  523),  2s  (cf.  Ps  348),  24f- 
(cf.  Ps  11822),  217  (cf.  Pr  2421),  36  (cf.  Pr  S28),  414b 
(cf.  Is  ll2),  57  (cf.  Ps  S522) ;  while  a  direct  allusion 
to  the  Book  of  Enoch  (x.  4-6,  12  f.)  is  found  in  319f-. 


QUOTATIONS 


RAHAB 


297 


The  author  is  further  acquainted,  not  merely  with 
Synoptic  tradition,  and  parts  at  least  of  Acts,  but 
also  with  the  Epistles  to  the  Romans  and  Ephesians 
(on  details,  and  the  bearing  of  the  facts,  cf.  the 
standard  NT  Introductions  and  Commentaries,  or 
the  art.  on  '  Peter,  First  Epistle  of  in  HDB). 

(c)  In  contrast,  2  Peter  and  Jude  show  little  trace 
of  the  influence  either  of  the  OT  Scriptures  or  of 
Christian  tradition  and  literature.     The  only  ex- 
plicit citation  of  the  OT  is  in  2  P  2*,  where  the 
saying  from  Pr  26U  ('  the  dog  returning  to  his  own 
vomit  again '),  directly  translated  from  the  Hebrew, 
is  referred  to  as  'the  true  proverb.'    There  are, 
however,  a  few  suggestions  of  OT  texts,  e.g.  2  P 
24ff-  (cf.  Gn  6lff-);  21M-  (cf.  Nu  228ff-) ;  36  (cf.  Gn 

721ff.)  .    38  (ps  9Q4)  .    39  (Ig    4618)  .    313    (cf-    Ig  6517  6622)  . 

Jude  9  (^iriTi/x^o-at  <roi  Kfyjtos),  from  Zee  32.  But 
the  most  remarkable  fact  about  these  Epistles  is 
their  dependence  on  apocryphal  writings.  1  Pet. 
had  already  alluded  to  the  legend  of  the  fallen 
angels  as  narrated  in  En.  x.  4-6,  12  f.  The  same 
context  is  drawn  from,  in  still  more  detail,  by 
2  P  241'  and  Jude  ".  An  actual  quotation  from 
En.  (i.  9)  is  given  in  Jude  14ft,  and  introduced  as 
a  prophecy  of  '  Enoch,  the  seventh  from  Adam.' 
According  to  the  united  testimony  of  the  Church 
Fathers,  the  reference  to  the  contest  of  Michael 
for  the  body  of  Moses  (Jude  9)  comes  from  the 
Assumption  of  Moses ;  while  v.16  is  composed  of 
fragments  from  v.  5,  vii.  7,  9  (Latin  text)  of  the 
Testament  of  Moses.  The  language  of  Jude  &  7-  ia 
likewise  recalls  the  Testaments  of  the  Twelve  Patri- 
archs (Napht.  iii.  4,  Asher,  vii.  1).  The  parallels 
in  2  Pet.  are  doubtless  derived  from  Jude. 

(d)  The  only  OT  allusion  in  the  Epistles  of  John 
is  found  in  1  Jn  312  (cf.  Gn  48).     There  are  natur- 
ally, however,  many  reminiscences  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel.     For  these  compare  Commentaries,  etc. 

5.  Revelation. — In  Revelation  there  are  no  for- 
mal citations,  but  the  whole  work  is  saturated  with 
OT  allusions.  These  are  drawn  from  almost  the 
entire  range  of  the  OT  Canon,  though  Psalms, 
Isaiah,  Ezekiel,  and  Daniel  contribute  by  far  the 
largest  number.  The  Book  of  Enoch,  and  probably 
other  apocalyptic  works,  add  to  the  writer  s 
treasury  of  symbols.  Here  too  the  LXX  supplies 
the  basis ;  but  the  writer  seems  occasionally  to 
have  used  Theodotion  or  some  other  Greek  version, 
and  often  to  have  gone  direct  to  the  Hebrew.  In 
the  present  article  only  a  few  representative 
allusions  can  be  offered  ;  for  the  rest  such  sources 
as  Westcott  and  Hort's  Greek  text  and  Swete's 
Apocalypse*,  p.  cxxxix  ff.,  must  be  referred  to. 

The  coming  of  the  Messiah  with  the  clouds  (I7) 
is  clearly  based  on  Dn  713,  and  the  rest  of  the  verse 
on  Zee  121<M4.  The  actual  description  (I13ff-)  closely 
follows  Dn  79ff*  lO5*.  Various  expressions  in  the 
Letters  to  the  Churches  recall  OT  phraseology, 


e.g.  27  (Gn  29)  217  (Is  626)  226f-  (Ps  28'-)  37  (Is  2222)  31' 
(Pr  S22)  319  (Pr  312)  320  (Ca  52).  The  vision  of  the 
King  on  the  throne  (42ff-)  rests  on  Is  6lff-,  Ezk  I2681'- 
(cf.  En.  xiv.  18 ff.);  that  of  the  sealed  book  (5lff-J 
on  Ezk  29f-  (cf.  En.  Ixxxix.  70 f.,  xc.  20).  The 
number  of  the  worshipping  angels  (511)  follows  Dn 
710  (cf.  En.  xiv.  22).  The  vision  of  the  horses  (62ff-) 
is  based  on  Zee  I8ff-,  and  the  earthquake  (612)  on 
Jl  210 ;  the  hiding  in  the  rocks  (61M-)  on  Is  2loff-,  and 
the  'day  of  wrath'  (617)  on  Jl  2"  34,  etc.  The 
picture  of  the  final  blessedness  of  the  saints  (715-17) 
recalls  Is  4910,  En.  xlviii.  1.  The  fall  of  the  star 
(810  91)  is  based  on  Is  1412  (cf.  En.  Ixxxvi.  1),  and 
the  plague  of  locusts  (93ff>)  on  Jl  I6ff-.  The  allusion 
to  the  worship  of  demons  and  idols  (920)  recalls  Dt 
3217,  Dn  54-  2S,  the  sealing  of  the  vision  (104)  Dn  124- 9, 
and  the  eating  of  the  book  (lO8*-)  Ezk  28f-  3lff-. 
The  measuring  of  the  new  temple  (lllff-)  is  based 
on  Ezk  403ff>,  the  olive  trees  and  candlesticks  (II4) 
on  Zee  42ff-,  the  raising  of  the  dead  martyrs  (II11)  on 
Ezk  375ff>,  and  the  Messiah's  eternal  reign  (II18)  on 
Ps  22f>.  The  description  of  the  dragon  (123(-)  is  sug- 
gested by  Dn  77ff-,  and  that  of  the  Beast  with  the 
horns  (13lff-)  by  Dn  73'7.  The  peal  for  the  fall 
of  Babylon  (148  182)  conies  from  Is  219  (combined 
with  Dn  427).  The  vision  of  the  sickle  (1415ff-) 
follows  Jl  318,  the  '  Song  of  Moses '  recalls  Ex  15lf- 
and  the  description  of  the  'fear'  (154)  Jer  107. 
The  account  of  the  last  plagues  (16lff>)  is  based  on 
that  of  the  plagues  of  Egypt  (Ex  717ff-)>  an(i  the 
language  used  to  describe  the  terror  of  the  earth- 
quake (1618)  recalls  Dn  121.  The  actual  description 
of  Babylon  and  her  downfall  (184ff-)  follows  various 
prophetic  passages  (Is  477"9  5211,  Jer  508ff-,  etc.). 
The  treading  of  the  winepress  (1913ff-)  recalls  Is  631'3, 
and  the  mention  of  Gog  and  Magog  (208)  Ezk 
38lff-,  the  judgment  scene  (20llff-)  Dn  79'-,  En. 
xlvii.  3,  and  the  yielding  up  of  the  dead  (2013)  En. 
li.  1.  The  picture  of  the  New  Jerusalem  (21loff-) 
contains  features  from  Ezk  40lff-,  Is  52lff-  60lff-,  To 
1316,  etc.,  while  the  passing  of  the  curse  and  the 
dawn  of  everlasting  day  for  the  righteous  (223ff-)  is 
clearly  reminiscent  of  Zee  147ff-. 

LITERATURE. — D.  McC.  Turpie,  The  Old  Testament  in  the 
New,  1868;  C.  H.  Toy,  Quotations  in  the  New  Testament, 
1884  ;  F.  Johnson,  The  Quotations  of  the  New  Testament  from 
the  Old,  1897  ;  W.  Dittmar,  Vet.  Test,  in  Novo,  pt.  ii.,  1903  (a 
very  useful  compendium,  the  texts  being  quoted  in  full,  both 
in  Or.  and  Heb.) ;  E.  Htihn,  Die  alttest.  Citate  und  Remi- 
niscenzen  im  Neuen  Testament,  1900  (very  full) ;  F.  H.  Woods, 
art  'Quotations'  in  HDB  iv.  184  ff.  Cf.  also  Westcott  and 
Hort,  The  New  Testament  in  Greek,  ii.  [1882]  Appendix  ;  H.  B. 
Swete,  Introd.  to  NT  in  Greek,  1900,  p.  381  ff.,  Apocalypse?, 

1907,  p.  cxxxix  ff.  ;  Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  'Romans '5,  1902, 
p.  51  f. ;  B.  F.  Westcott,  Hebrews,  1889,  p.  67  ff.  ;  J.  B.  Mayor, 
JamesS,  1910,  p.  Ixix  S.,Jude  and  2  Peter,  1907,  p.  cliii  ff.  ;  R.  H. 
Charles,  Book  of  Enoch,  1893  (21912),  p.  41  ff.,  Assumption  of 
Moses,  1897,  p.  Ixiiff.,  The  Testaments  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs, 

1908,  p.  Ixxviiiff.,  The  Apocrypha  and  Pseudepigrapha  of  th» 
Old  Testament,  1913,  i.  199,  294 f.,  525  ft.,  ii.  180  f.,  292,  412  f. 

A.  R.  GORDON. 


E 


RACE.— See  GAMES. 


RAHAB  OPad/3).— Rahab,  the  harlot  (vbpvn)  of 
Jericho,  is  the  heroine  of  the  romantic  story  told 
in  Jos  2.  At  the  risk  of  her  life  she  sheltered  two 
Hebrew  spies  and  cunningly  contrived  their  escape, 
receiving  as  her  reward  her  own  safety  and  that  of 
her  whole  house.  She  is  accorded  a  place  in  a 
great  roll  of  the  faithful  (He  II81),  and  her  case  is 
cited  by  James  (22S)  in  support  of  his  thesis  that  one 
is  not '  saved'  by  faith  alone  but  by  faith  and  works 


(cf.  F.  Weber,  Jiid.  TheoL,  ed.  F.  Delitzsch  and  G. 
Schnedermann,  Leipzig,  1897,  p.  332).  These  high 
estimates  of  her  are  doubtless  based  on  an  edifying 
speech  (Jos  29'13),  in  which  she  acknowledges  that 
Jahweh  has  given  her  land  to  Israel,  and  that  He 
is  God  in  heaven  above  and  on  earth  beneath. 

The  Jewish  Rabbis  and  Christian  Fathers  alike 
took  much  interest  in  her  story.  Some  of  them 
softened  the  statement  that  she  was  a  harlot, 
Josephus  (Ant.  V.  i.  2),  followed  by  Chrysostom, 
suggesting  that  she  was  merely  an  innkeeper  ; 


298 


BAILING 


HANSOM 


others,  confessing  her  evil  behaviour,  represented 
her  as  seeking  forgiveness  from  the  God  of  Israel 
and  pleading  the  merit  of  her  good  works  (Mechilta, 
646).  The  allegorizing  of  her  scarlet  thread  was 
begun  by  St.  Clement  of  Rome,  who  calls  her  '  the 
hospitable  Rahab.' 

'  Through  faith  and  hospitality  Rahab  the  harlot  was  saved. 
.  .  .  And  they  [the  spies]  proceeded  further  to  give  her  a  sign, 
that  she  should  hang  from  her  house  scarlet,  making  it  manifest 
beforehand  that  through  the  blood  of  the  Lord  there  should  be 
redemption  to  all  who  believe  and  hope  upon  God.  Behold, 
beloved,  how  there  was  not  only  faith,  but  prophecy  in  the 
woman '  (Ep.  ad  Cor.  i.  12).  JAMES  STRAH AN. 

RAILING.— See  EVIL-SPEAKING. 

RAINBOW  (Ipis). — The  rainbow  which  the  writer 
of  the  Revelation  saw  around  the  throne  of  God 
was  'like  an  emerald  to  look  upon'  (Rev  43). 
Flinders  Petrie  (HDB  iv.  620)  argues  from  this 
passage  that  fffj,dpay5os  was  not  an  emerald  but  a 
rock-crystal,  as  only  a  colourless  stone  can  show  a 
rainbow  of  prismatic  colours.  But  while  the  glory 
encircling  the  throne  was  like  a  rainbow  in  shape, 
it  may  well  have  been  conceived,  not  as  prismatic, 
but  as  having  the  soft  green  colour  of  an  emerald. 
Any  nimbus  round  another  body,  as  the  halo  of  the 
moon  or  a  candle,  was  called  an  Ipis  (Arist.  Meteor. 
III.  iv.  9).  What  the  prophet  depicts  is  a  startling 
contrast :  the  very  throne  from  which  proceed 
lightnings  and  thunders  (Rev  45)  is  yet  arched 
with  emerald.  In  other  words,  mercy  tempers 
justice :  '  Deus  in  judiciis  semper  foederis  sui 
meminit'  (Grotius,  quoted  by  H.  Alford,  Greek 
Testament5,  Cambridge,  1875,  p.  596).  Noah's  rain- 
bow and  its  traditional  (mythological)  explanation 
(Gn  912'17)  were  doubtless  in  the  background  of  the 
Seer's  mind.  When  the  dread  storm,  in  which  the 
lightnings  were  Jahweh's  arrows  and  the  thunder 
His  voice,  was  passing,  His  bow  appeared  in  the 
clouds  as  a  sign  that  His  anger  was  appeased.  '  The 
brilliant  spectacle  of  the  upturned  bow  against  the 
dark  background  of  the  retreating  storm  naturally 
appeals  to  man  as  a  token  of  peace  and  good-will 
from  the  god  who  has  placed  it  there '  ( J.  Skinner, 
ICC,  'Genesis,'  Edinburgh,  1910,  p.  172).  The 
Jewish  Rabbis  would  have  agreed  with  the  English 
poet  who  apostrophizes  the  rainbow : 
'  I  ask  not  proud  Philosophy 
To  teach  me  what  thou  art ' 

(T.  Campbell,  To  the  Rainbow,  St.). 

They  discouraged  (Hagiga,  16a)  the  study  of  a 
mysterious  phenomenon  which  was  to  them  a 
sacrament  or  covenant  of  Divine  grace. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

RANSOM.  — 'Ransom'  is  the  rendering  in  AV 
and  RV  of  a  word  (dvTi\vrpov)  rare  in  apostolic 
literature,  and  possibly  coined  by  St.  Paul  for  use 
in  1  Ti  2s,  '  Christ  Jesus,  who  gave  himself  a  ransom 
for  all.'  It  appears  to  be  a  strengthened  form  of 
\6rpov  (cf.  EOT,  '  1  Tim.,'  1910,  p.  105),  the  word 
attributed  to  Jesus,  and  rendered  '  ransom '  in 
Mt  2028,  Mk  1045,  '  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for 
many.'  The  strong  substitutionary  force  of  &vri 
in  the  compound  word  may  be  reduced  by  the  birtp 
('  on  behalf  of ')  which  immediately  follows  in  1  Ti 
2s.  '  Ransom  '  is  not  elsewhere  used  in  the  NT. 

In  each  place  it  is  the  figure  chosen  to  indicate 
the  redemptive  significance  of  the  death  of  Christ 
which  had  become  familiar  in  the  Apostolic  Church, 
and  had  apparently  become  specialized  by  the  time 
the  Pastoral  Epistles  were  written.  Access  to  its 
meaning  in  the  apostolic  times  may  be  sought  in 
(a)  the  fairly  frequent  uses  in  the  NT  of  cognate  or 
derivative  forms  of  \fa-pov  for  expressing  the  saving 
processes  or  issues  of  Christ's  death  for  men  ;  e.g. 
i\vrpu()TiTe  (1  P  I18),  Xi/rpuxm  (He  912),  diroXvrpucris 
(Ro  324,  Eph  I7,  Col  I14) ;  as  so  used  its  reference  is 
clear ;  it  offers  an  illustrative  form  of  the  great 


apostolic  unity  of  thought  which  directly  relates 
the  death  of  Christ  to  the  reconciliation  of  God 
and  men  ;  (b)  the  occasion  and  context  of  the  term 
as  used  by  the  Synoptics  (Mk  1046,  Mt  2028) ;  here 
the  redemption  for  which  the  Son  of  Man  gave  His 
life  a  ransom  is  closely  connected  in  the  context 
with  the  liberation  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus  from 
the  thraldom  of  worldly  and  ambitious  self-seeking, 
and  their  entrance  into  the  liberty  of  self-imparting 
service  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  which  it  was  the 
mission  of  Jesus  to  establish  by  His  death  (so 
Beyschlag,  NT  TheoL  i.  153  ;  Stevens,  Christian 
Doctrine  of  Salvation,  p.  47  f . ) ;  but  this  view  is 
not  fully  adequate  to  the  expiatory  value  attri- 
buted to  Christ's  death  by  Christ  and  His  apostles 
(Mt  2628,  1  Co  II25  15s);  (c)  the  attempt  to  find, 
with  most  expositors,  a  closer  definition  of  the  term 
by  isolating  it  from  its  context  and  treating  it  as 
a  word  study  ;  it  is  the  representative  in  the  LXX 
of  certain  much-used  Hebrew  words.  Several  of 
these  are  there  rendered  by  a  common  use  of  \vrpov. 
Which  of  them  corresponds  most  closely  to  the  NT 
usage  is  a  matter  of  discussion.  One  of  them,  if?, 
is  said  to  have  the  root  idea  of  '  covering,'  or  of 
'  wiping  away,'  though  it  is  almost  entirely  used 
in  an  accommodated  moral  sense  of  '  making  pro- 
pitiation '  (cf.  Driver  in  HDB  iv.  128,  G.  F.  Moore 
in  EBi  iv.  4220).  The  leaning  here  is,  therefore, 
towards  sacrificial  implications.  The  alternative 
words  are  .TIJ  and  VNJ  with  the  primary  significance 
of  '  liberating,'  which  lean  towards  the  social  or 
legal  notion  of  redemption,  illustrated  possibly  by 
the  obligation  to  redeem  laid  upon  the  goel  or  kins- 
man (cf.  Lv  2551 ;  see  T.  V.  Tymms,  Christian  Idea 
of  Atonement,  London,  1904,  p.  240  if.).  The 
majority  of  expositors  favour  the  former  deriva- 
tion, though  Wendt  and  others  criticize  its  lin- 
guistic basis.  The  idea  of  ransom  is  thus  obtained 
from  the  idea  of  '  covering '  or  '  clearing  the  face ' 
of  an  offended  person  by  means  of  a  gift,  especially 
by  a  gift  which  is  the  satisfaction  for  the  life  of  a 
man  paid  either  to  God  or  man  (cf.  Ex  2130  3012, 
Nu  2130,  Job  SS24,  Is  123,  Ps  497,  Pr  6s5,  Am  512 ; 
cf.  also  Cremer,  Bibl. -TheoL  Lex.  of  NT  Greetf, 
p.  408;  B.  Weiss,  Bibl.  TheoL  i.  101).  Support 
for  the  second  line  of  derivation  with  the  primary 
idea  of  a  ransom  price  paid  is  found  in  the  rendering 
of  fn^  in  Is  3510,  Ps  6918,  Hos  1314,  Is  5111,  Jer  3111  ; 
and  in  the  rendering  of  "?!«  in  Is  5110,  Jer  31".  (d) 
Dissatisfied  with  a  reference  of  the  NT  passages 
to  the  LXX,  and  assuming  that  Jesus  spoke  not 
Greek,  but  Aramaic,  G.  Holhnann  has  sought  by 
elaborate  investigation  to  discover  the  Aramaic 
term  of  which  \6rpov  is  the  equivalent ;  he  thinks 
that  this  inquiry  results  more  favourably  for  the 
idea  of  '  liberating '  than  of  '  covering '  in  the 
Hebrew  original  (Die  Bedeutung  des  Todes  Jesu, 
Tubingen,  1901,  p.  98  ff.).  One  advantage  of  the 
precarious  method  of  thus  going  behind  the  Greek 
term  has  been  a  fruitful  suggestion  by  Ritschl  that 
Ps  497f-  and  Job  S323  (cf.  Mk  837),  where  both  rn$ 
and  *7X3  occur,  may  furnish  the  best  interpretation 
of  XuTpov  in  the  mind  of  Christ  (cf.  Rechtfertigung 
und  Versohnung*,  ii.  69  ff.  ;  Denney,  Death  of 
Christ,  p.  43 f.). 

Whichever  line  of  derivation  may  be  followed, 
the  resultant  idea  from  the  Hebrew  terms,  of  which 
\vrpov  is  the  representative  in  the  LXX,  is  that  the 
word  indicates  the  means  or  cost  by  which  a  re- 
demption is  achieved.  Consequently  the  apostolic 
interpretation  will  lie  within  that  circle  of  ideas 
which  carry  the  implication  that  life  in  the  higher 
sense  may  be  lost,  and  that  man  has  no  means  of 
buying  it  back.  To  meet  such  a  situation  Christ 
laid  down  His  life  as  a  price  or  means  of  redemp- 
tion by  which  the  forfeited  possession  was  restored. 
The  further  implication  we  should  gather  from  the 
consensus  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus  and  His  apostles 


RAPTURE,  ECSTASY 


READING 


299 


is  that  this  ransom  was  not  His  death  alone,  but 
His  life  also — Himself  indeed,  in  that  perfect  unity 
of  which  the  life  lived,  laid  down,  and  taken  again 
are  integral  parts.  It  is  not  stated  to  whom  the 
ransom  price  was  paid.  This  has  been  the  subject 
of  wide  conjecture.  It  does  not  seem  essential  to 
the  apostolic  use  of  the  metaphor  to  state  it.  Nor 
is  it  stated  precisely  from  what  the  ransom  delivered  ; 
it  was  a  saving  advantage  for  men.  A  closer  defini- 
tion when  sought  will  best  be  supplied  from  the 
analogy  of  faith  as  it  deals  with  the  issues  of  the 
death  of  Christ  and  from  the  more  definite  use 
of  analogous  terms  in  the  apostolic  teaching  (see 
ATONEMENT  and  REDEMPTION). 

LITERATDRB. — For  a  discussion  of  Aurpov  and  its  cognates  see 
B.  F.  Westcott,  Hebrews,  London,  1889,  pp.  295 f.,  229  if. ;  W. 
Beyschlag,  A21  Theol.,  Halle,  1891-92,  i.  149,  Eng.  tr.,  Edin- 
burgh, 1895,  i.  152  ;  J.  Denney,  Death  of  Christ,  London,  1902, 
p.  38  f.  ;  A.  Ritschl,  Rechtfertigung  und  Versohnung4,  Bonn, 
1895-1902,  iii.  68-88,  Eng.  tr.,  Justification  and  Reconciliation, 
Edinburgh,  1900  ;  G.  B.  Stevens,  Theology  of  the  XT,  do.,  1899, 
p.  126  ff.,  Christian  Doctrine  of  Salvation,  do.,  1905,  p.  45  ft*. ; 
H.  H.  Wendt,  Teaching  of  Jeans,  Eng.  tr.,do.,  1892,  ii.  226  S.  ; 
B.  Weiss,  Biblical  Theology  of  A'T,  Eng.  tr.,  do.,  1882-83,  i.  101 ; 
H.  Cremer,  Bibl.-Theol.  Lex.  of  AT  Greek,  do.,  1880,  p.  408. 

FREDERIC  PLATT. 

RAPTURE,  ECSTASY.— The  English  word  '  rap- 
ture '  is  derived  from  Lat.  raptus,  the  act  of  seizing 
and  carrying  away,  hence  transport  of  mind  or 
ecstasy  (iKcrrao-is).  In  classic  Greek  dcara-ais  means 
frenzy  ;  in  the  NT  it  rarely  expresses  this  high 
degree  of  emotion,  but  may  include  distraction  of 
mind,  caused  by  wonder  and  astonishment,  or 
exceptional  joy  and  rapture.  In  Ps  1611  (LXX) 
the  latter  condition  seems  to  be  implied.  Amongst 
the  results  of  the  healing  of  the  paralytic  by  Christ, 
St.  Luke  tells  us  that  '  amazement  (ftco-racm)  took 
hold  on  all '  (Lk  5s6),  whilst  St.  Mark,  in  describing 
the  effects  of  the  Resurrection  upon  the  minds  of 
the  women,  as  they  tied  from  the  tomb,  states  that 
'  trembling  and  astonishment  (fttoreurtj)  had  come 
upon  them'  (168).  In  Mt  1223,  Mk  212  651  the  verb 
ftio-Ta.fj.ai  is  used,  also  in  reference  to  the  effects 
upon  the  multitude  of  the  bestowal  of  the  '  gift  of 
tongues  '  (Ac  27- 12),  and  further  of  the  preaching  of 
St.  Paul  in  the  synagogues  immediately  after  his 
conversion  (9a).  The  stronger  sense  of  the  word, 
translated  in  English  as  '  trance,'  is  found  in  the 
description  of  St.  Peter's  vision  of  the  vessel  full  of 
unclean  beasts  (1010  II5).  Whilst  engaged  in  prayer 
in  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  St.  Paul  fell  into  an 
€Kffrao-is,  in  which  he  was  warned  by  the  Lord  to 
escape  from  the  city  (2217"21).  These  references  to 
the  word  do  not  by  any  means  exhaust  the  instances 
of  undoubted  rapture  or  ecstasy  found  in  the  OT 
or  the  NT.  When  the  prophets  felt  that  the  hand 
of  the  Lord  was  upon  them,  there  would  doubtless 
have  been  the  exaltation  of  spirit  and  the  entrance 
upon  the  higher  transcendent  experiences,  accom- 
panied more  or  less  by  a  cataleptic  condition  of 
the  body.  Whatever  the  gift  of  tongues  implied 
in  the  early  Church,  it  certainly  included  the 
power  of  rapt  and  ecstatic  utterance,  sometimes 
incoherent  and  requiring  interpretation  (1  Co  14). 
St.  Paul  claimed  to  possess  this  gift,  but  lie  placed 
it  on  a  lower  level  than  the  work  of  instruction 
that  tended  to  edification.  As  an  instance  of  the 
second  stage  of  trance  in  which  the  spirit  is 
believed  to  make  excursions  into  other  states  and 
come  into  contact  with  other  beings  in  the  spirit 
world,  we  may  instance  St.  Paul's  rapture  on  being 
caught  up  into  Paradise  and  hearing  unutterable 
words.  St.  John  in  his  apocalyptic  vision  of  the 
Lord  of  Churches  was  in  the  Spirit,  and  he  saw  the 
Living  One  in  all  His  glory,  when  he  '  fell  at  his 
feet  as  one  dead  '  (Rev  I17). 

In  all  mystical  experiences  and  in  all  great 
religious  revivals  such  outbursts  of  rapture  are 
especially  noticeable.  The  bodily  powers  are  held 
in  abeyance,  and  it  seems  as  though  the  soul  were 


actively  engaged  in  cognizing  spiritual  objects, 
as  St.  Teresa  experienced  when  'she  simply  felt 
Christ  close  by  her.'  F.  von  Hugel  deals  with  this 
subject  fully,  and  indicates  the  manner  in  which 
these  experiences  may  be  tested  by  the  moral  and 
spiritual  value  of  their  results.  W.  James,  who 
works  out  the  psycho-physical  accompaniments  of 
these  states,  dwells  upon  the  authoritative  value 
they  have  for  the  experients  themselves,  and 
shows  that  they  tend  to  break  down  the  exclusive 
authority  of  the  non-mystical  or  rational  conscious- 
ness. They  are  as  real  as  their  results  are  real, 
and  their  value  is  to  be  judged  by  their  effects  in 
a  higher  order  of  morals  and  of  life. 

LITERATURE.— W.  James,  The  Varieties  of  Religious  Experi- 
ence, 1902 ;  F.  von  Hugel,  The  Mystical  Element  of  Religion  as 
studied  in  Saint  Catherine  of  Genoa  and  her  Friends,  1908 ; 
Evelyn  Underbill,  Mysticism,  191L  J.  G.  JAMES. 

READING  (dvdyvuffis).  —  In  apostolic  literature 
the  mention  of  reading  occurs  almost  invariably  in 
connexion  with  the  OT  Scriptures.  A  few  refer- 
ences are  made  to  those  writings  which  later 
formed  part  of  the  NT.  The  subject  resolves  it- 
self into  the  three  questions  as  to  what  was  the 
usage  of  the  early  Church  in  regard  to  (1)  the 
public  reading  of  the  OT  ;  (2)  the  private  reading 
of  Scripture ;  (3)  the  place  assigned  to  Christian 
writings. 

1.  The  public  reading  of  the  OT,  both  Law 
(Ac  1521,  2  Co  314f-)  and  Prophets  (Lk  417,  Ac  1315-  »), 
was  regularly  observed  by  the  Jews  in  their  syna- 
gogue service.  It  is  only  natural  to  suppose  that 
the  custom  was  followed  by  both  Gentile  and 
Jewish  Christians  in  their  worship,  especially  in 
their  meetings  for  edification.  The  lack  of  direct 
reference  to  it  as  a  practice,  noticed  by  most 
writers  on  the  history  of  the  period,  is  perhaps  the 
best  proof  that  Scripture  was  so  used.  For  there 
are  certain  considerations,  in  the  nature  of  indirect 
proof,  which,  as  McGitt'ert  says,  '  make  it  practi- 
cally certain  that  the  Scriptures  were  diligently 
read  and  expounded  in  their  meetings '  (A  History 
of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  Edinburgh, 
1897,  p.  533).  The  OT  was  treated  with  great 
reverence  by  Christians,  being  spoken  of  as  '  the 
holy  scriptures '  (Ro  I2),  '  the  sacred  writings ' 
(2  Ti  315),  or  absolutely  as  'the  scripture'  (Ac  I16, 
Gal  38,  1  P  2«)  or  '  the  scriptures '  (Ac  18",  1  Co  154). 
Truths  are  quoted  and  duties  frequently  enforced 
by  the  formula,  'it  is  written'  (Ac  742,  Ro  I17, 
1  Co  99,  He  1017,  1  P  I18,  and  many  others).  The 
OT  was  regarded  by  Christians  as  inspired  by  God  ; 
to  it  men  did  well  to  take  heed  (2  P  I21) ;  and  it 
was  able  to  make  men  '  wise  unto  salvation '  as 
well  as  '  furnished  completely  unto  every  good 
work'  (2  Ti  316f>).  The  Scriptures  were  freely 
quoted,  and  allusions  were  made  to  them  in  a  way 
that  presupposes  that  even  Gentiles  had  frequently 
heard  them  read. 

The  procedure  of  St.  Paul  in  his  missionary  work 
enables  us  to  see  the  transition  from  the  Jewish 
usage  to  the  Christian.  In  Thessalonica  he  went 
into  the  synagogue,  as  was  his  custom,  and 
'  reasoned  with  them  from  the  scriptures,  opening 
and  alleging  that  it  behoved  the  Christ  to  suffer, 
and  to  rise  again  from  the  dead'  (Ac  IT2*-)-  In 
Bercea  the  Jews  '  examined  the  scriptures  daily, 
whether  these  things  were  so'  (v.11).  The  Corin- 
thian believers  are  reminded  by  St.  Paul  of  his 
preaching,  wherein  he  had  proved  that  Christ  died 
for  our  sins  and  was  raised  '  according  to  the 
scriptures'  (1  Co  153f-).  This  question  as  to  the 
Messiahship  of  Jesus  makes  it  practically  certain 
that  the  early  Christians  read  the  Scriptures  in 
their  meetings.  To  prove  that  the  events  in  the 
life  of  Jesus,  His  death,  and  resurrection  were  in 
harmony  with  the  OT  prophecies,  involved  frequent 


300 


READING 


RECONCILIATION 


reading  of  the  passages  concerned  (Ac  225ff-  425t 
1516'-,  Ro  1512).  St.  Paul's  injunction  to  Timothy 
to  'give  heed  to  reading'  (r-g  avayvwa-et,  1  Ti  413) 
almost  certainly  refers  to  the  public  reading  of 
Scripture,  as  it  is  connected  in  the  immediate 
context  with  '  exhortation '  and  '  teaching.'  Weiz- 
sacker  makes  an  ingenious  suggestion  that  the 
part  of  the  heavenly  rites  described  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse in  which  a  book  was  opened  and  read  (Rev 
5ltf>)  was  typical  of  what  took  place  ordinarily  in 
the  Divine  service  on  earth  (The  Apostolic  Age, 
Eng.  tr.,  London,  1894-95,  ii.  277).  That  the 
Scriptures  were  read  in  the  Christian  assemblies 
from  the  earliest  times  is  evident  from  the  testi- 
mony of  Clement  of  Rome :  '  Ye  know  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  know  them  well,  and  ye  have  deep 
insight  into  the  oracles  of  God '  (Ep.  to  the  Corin- 
thians, ch.  53),  and  the  statement  of  Justin  Martyr 
that  in  his  day  this  was  so  (Apol.  i.  67). 

2.  The  question  as  to  the  private  reading  of 
Scripture  in  the  early  Church  is  of  special  import- 
ance because  of  the  attitude  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church   in   the  matter.      No  prohibition  against 
Bible  reading  can  be  found   in  the  NT  ;   nor,  on 
the  contrary,  is  it  urged  as  a  duty.     But  that  the 
Scriptures  were  actually  read  in  private  by  the 
Christians  of  the   1st  cent,    cannot   be   doubted. 
The  Jews  did  so  before  the  time  of  Christ  (1  Mac 
I56ff-).      The   Gentile    proselytes    had    their    own 
copies  of  portions,  at  least,  of  the  OT,  which  they 
read  diligently.     This  gave  the  Christian  mission- 
ary an   opportunity  for  delivering   his   message. 
For  example,  Philip  found  the  Ethiopian  eunuch 
reading  Isaiah,  and  '  beginning  from  this  scripture 
he  preached  unto  him  Jesus'  (Ac  835).      Among 
Jewish  Christians  the  practice  would  not  be  dis- 
continued, as  they  had  special  reason,  in  wishing 
to  prove  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  for  making  a 
careful  study  of  the  Prophets.     Harnack,  who  has 
investigated  the  subject  in  his  Bible  Reading  in 
the  Early  Church  (Eng.  tr.,  London,   1912),  says 
the  Jewish  usage  of  reading  the  OT  '  simply  and 
easily  passed  over  from  the  Jewish  to  the  Gentile 
Christians,  for  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  the  Greek 
translation  were  fully  accessible  to,  and  were  read 
by,  the  Jews  of  the  Dispersion.      Moreover,   we 
know  that  among  the  Gentile  Christians  the  order 
of  public  worship  and  private  and  family  discipline 
in  matters  of  religion  and  morality  took  form  in 
accordance  with   the    Jewish    (Jewish   Christian) 
models '  (p.  32). 

The  only  restriction  experienced  was  that  im- 
posed by  the  bulky  form  of  Scripture.  It  existed 
in  separate  rolls  of  parchment  or  papyrus  (see  F. 
G.  Kenyon,  Textual  Criticism  of  the  NT2,  London, 
1912,  ch.  ii.),  and  a  complete  copy  of  the  OT  would 
be  possessed  by  but  few  people.  Still,  the  exist- 
ence of  collections  of  extracts,  the  widespread  use 
of  papyrus,  and  the  diffusion  of  a  popular  litera- 
ture like  the  apocalyptic,  make  it  a  probable  con- 
jecture that  the  sacred  writings  in  part,  if  not  in 
whole,  were  possessed  and  studied  by  many  private 
persons.  Harnack  argues  that,  as  the  knowledge 
of  Scripture  brought  to  light  by  the  apologists  of 
the  2nd  cent,  and  the  controversies  of  the  great 
Gnostic  movement  could  not  have  been  derived 
solely  from  what  was  heard  in  public  worship,  we 
may  conclude  that  the  sacred  writings  were  in 
private  hands  also  in  the  period  before  Irenaeus, 
and  that  from  the  first  the  Christians  were  in  the 
habit  of  reading  the  OT. 

3.  The  reading  of  Christian  writings.  —  It  is 
obvious  that  the  apostolic  Epistles  were  read  in 
the  meetings  of  the  church  to  which  they  were 
addressed.     St.  Paul  either  directs  explicitly  that 
this  be  done  (1  Th  5s7,  Col  416),  or  presupposes  it 
(1  Co  59,  2  Co  I13  109ff-).     Other  writings  were  thus 
read  to  assemblies  of  Christians.     Of  the  Book  of 


Revelation,  for  example,  the  writer  says,  '  Blessed 
is  he  that  readeth  and  they  that  hear  the  words 
of  the  prophecy,  and  keep  the  things  which  are 
written  therein  '  (  I3  ;  cf  .  2216-  18).  Letters  were 
exchanged  between  churches  (Col  416)  or  one  con- 
gregation addressed  another,  e.g.  the  Church  in 
Rome  sent  an  epistle  to  Corinth  (Clement,  Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians,  47).  In  the  2nd  cent,  and  later 
the  Shepherd  of  Hermas  and  Epistles  like  those  of 
Barnabas,  Ignatius,  and  Polycarp  were  read  in 
churches. 

It  is  more  difficult  to  determine  whether  during 
the  1st  cent,  narratives  from  the  life  of  Jesus  and 
collections  of  His  sayings  were  so  read.  That 
there  were  such  writings  is  evident  from  the  early 
existence  of  Mark  and  Q,  the  common  source  of 
much  of  the  First  and  Third  Gospels,  and  from 
the  use  of  such  records  in  Christian  teaching 
(Lk  I4).  As  eye-witnesses  of  Jesus  died  out,  the 
oral  or  written  tradition  of  His  life  would  be  highly 
prized  by  the  early  Christians,  and  the  paren- 
thetical remark,  '  Let  him  that  readeth  under- 
stand '  (Mk  1314,  Mt  2415),  points  to  the  reading, 
publicly  or  privately,  of  such  records.  It  must 
not  be  supposed,  however,  that  even  the  apos- 
tolic writings,  though  widely  read  for  didactic 
purposes,  were  regarded  at  first  as  'Scripture.' 
The  Sayings  of  Jesus  were  quoted  as  of  supreme 
authority  (Ac  2035,  1  Co  710  914,  1  Th  415)  in  matters 
of  belief  and  practice,  but  the  written  record  of 
these  and  the  separate  apostolic  writings  were  not 
looked  upon  as  '  Scripture  '  till  the  2nd  century. 
But  even  then  the  writings  which  now  form  the 
NT  did  not  displace  the  OT,  though  they  found  a 
place  in  the  public  reading  of  Scripture.  Justin, 
describing  the  practice  of  his  day  (c.  155),  says, 
'  There  are  meetings  of  all  of  us  who  live  in  cities 
or  the  country,  and  the  memoirs  of  the  apostles 
and  the  writings  of  the  prophets  are  read  as  long 
as  time  allows  '  (Apol.  i.  67). 

LITERATURE.  —  In  addition  to  works  quoted  above,  see  artt. 
'  Anagnostes,'  by  D.  Butler,  and  '  Lectionary,'  by  F.  H. 
Scrivener,  in  W.  Smith-S.  Cheetham's  DCA,  London,  1875-80; 
also  artt.  by  W.  F.  Adeney,  on  '  Worship  (in  NT)'  in  UDB, 
and  '  Reader  '  in  DOG.  M.  SCOTT  FLETCHER. 

REBECCA  ('Pe£<?/c/oi).  —  Rebecca,  the  wife  of 
Isaac,  received  a  Divine  oracle  before  the  birth 
of  her  twin  sons,  Esau  and  Jacob,  foretelling  her 
that  she  would  be  the  mother  of  two  nations  or 
peoples,  of  whom  the  elder  would  serve  the  younger 
(Ro  910-12,  from  Gn  252*-26).  St.  Paul  uses  this 
tradition  as  illustrating  a  mysterious  principle 
which  he  observed  in  the  operation  of  Divine  grace. 
Even  within  the  family  of  Abraham,  to  whom  the 
promises  were  given,  God  more  than  once  made 
choice,  rejecting  Ishmael  and  accepting  Isaac, 
loving  Jacob  and  hating  Esau  (Ro  97-  13).  In  the 
OT  those  preferences  were  regarded  as  purely 
arbitrary,  Jalnveh  having  the  right  to  do  as  He 
pleased  with  any  mother's  sons  ;  but  the  Apostle 
discerns  in  His  sovereign  decrees  a  gracious  design 
which  embraces  all  mankind  —  '  the  purpose  of 
God  working  by  means  of  election  '  (17  KO.T'  £K\oyr)v 
irp6df(ns).  See  JACOB  and  ESAU. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

RECOMPENSE.—  See  REWARD. 


RECONCILIATION  (iraraXXery^).  —  '  Reconcilia- 
tion '  is  the  elect  word  in  the  apostolic  literature 
to  denote  the  changed  relations  issuing  in  the 
restoration,  brought  about  by  means  of  the  Person 
and  work  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  the  fellowship 
between  God  and  man,  which  sin  had  interrupted. 
The  Greek  term  is  based  upon  the  idea  of  exchange, 
especially  the  exchange  of  equivalent  values  ;  this 
passes,  through  the  ideas  of  exchange  of  sympathy, 
mutual  understanding  and  reciprocal  confidence, 


EECONCILIATION 


RECONCILIATION 


301 


into  the  notion  of  reconciliation,  and  thus  becomes 
a  term  expressive  of  personal  relations,  with  the 
implication  that  a  previous  hostility  of  mind  or 
heart  is  now  put  away.  Whilst  the  English  '  recon- 
ciliation '  (and  its  German  equivalent  Versohming) 
implies  a  mutual  putting  away  of  hostility,  the 
Greek  term  is  frequently  used  where  only  one 
person  ceases  to  be  angry  with  another  and  receives 
him  into  favour  (see  Grimm-Thayer2,  Edinburgh, 
1890,  p.  333).  In  the  apostolic  writings  it  is  used 
both  where  the  enmity  is  one-sided  and  where  it  is 
mutual ;  in  the  former  case  the  context  must  show 
on  which  side  the  active  enmity  exists ;  the  word 
in  and  of  itself  cannot  declare  on  which  side  the 
adjustment  is  required  or  whether  the  hostility  is 
mutual.  '  Reconciliation  '  is  the  redemptive  term 
specially  acceptable  to  the  modern  mind,  which 
seeks  to  interpret  the  Atonement  in  terms  of 
personality  ;  because  it  states  the  apostolic  thought 
on  the  redemptive  relations  of  God  and  man  in 
personal  and  therefore  in  ethical  terms,  and  not 
in  terms  of  law  or  of  sacrifice.  The  practical  value 
of  the  term,  and  the  immediacy  of  its  application 
to  living  experience,  make  a  similar  appeal  ;  for  in 
the  apostolic  teaching  it  is  directly  and  organic- 
ally connected  with  '  the  ministry  of  reconcilia- 
tion'  and  'the  word  of  reconciliation'  (2  Co  518f-) 
which  constituted  the  essence  of  the  apostolic 
preaching.  Moreover,  it  presents  '  at-one-ment '  as 
the  result  of  atonement ;  it  brings  the  mystery  of 
a  past  '  propitiation  '  into  the  light  of  present  and 
abiding  personal  relations  Godward  and  manward  ; 
for  it  declares  a  restored  communion  to  be  a  perma- 
nent attitude  of  God  to  man,  and  at  the  same 
time  a  progressively  realized  experience  in  man 
himself ;  '  God,  who  reconciled  us  to  himself 
through  Christ,  and  gave  unto  us  the  ministry  of 
reconciliation,'  is  also  'in  Christ  reconciling  the 
world  unto  himself,  not  reckoning  unto  them  their 
trespasses,  and  having  committed  unto  us  the 
word  of  reconciliation'  (2  Co  518'-)- 

Unlike  'propitiation,'  'reconciliation'  is  a  term 
without  direct  ancestry  in  OT  usage,  and  in  the 
NT  it  is  a  redemptive  term  peculiar  to  the  writ- 
ings of  St.  Paul.  The  Pauline  usage  is  found  in 
Ro  510'-  II15,  2  Co  514ff-,  Eph  216,  Col  I20'-  (cf.  also 
1  Co  711  and  Jer  3139  [LXX],  2  Mac  I5  7s3  S29,  Mt  5s4). 
In  Ro  5luf-  the  context  distinctly  shows  that  the 
reconciliation  spoken  of  is  that  of  God  to  man  ;  it 
is  something  received  by  man  as  an  accomplished 
fact;  and,  although  the  act  of  man  in  'receiving' 
the  reconciliation  by  obedient  faith  is  implicitly 
recognized  as  perfecting  the  Divine  purpose  by  his 
becoming  himself  reconciled  to  God,  the  clear 
Pauline  contention  is  that  there  is  a  reconciliation 
on  the  part  of  God  that  is  not  only  antecedent  to 
any  reception  of  it  on  the  part  of  man,  but  is 
independent  of  any  change  of  feeling  on  the  part 
of  man  brought  about  by  the  Divine  redemption  ; 
it  is  not  an  alteration  in  his  relation  to  God  accom- 
plished by  man.  God  is  regarded  as  having  estab- 
lished anew  a  relation  of  peace  by  putting  away 
His  hostility  towards  man  in  his  sin  (cf.  Ro  111S, 
Eph  I6).  '  While  we  were  enemies  we  were  recon- 
ciled to  God  through  the  death  of  his  Son '  (Ro  510)  ; 
'enemies'  (^Opoi.),  whilst  it  is  a  term  used  both 
actively,  denoting  hostility  towards  God,  and 
passively,  denoting  hostility  from  God,  almost 
certainly  includes  the  latter  in  this  place  as  it 
obviously  does  in  II'28,  where  it  is  correlated  with 
'  beloved '  (dyaTrrjToL),  which  is  certainly  passive — 
'  beloved  of  God  ' ;  the  verb  '  were  reconciled '  (KO.T- 
i)\\AyT)fj.ev,  510)  is  a  real  passive  ;  men  are  primarily 
the  objects,  not  the  subjects,  of  the  reconciliation. 
Otherwise  the  force  of  St.  Paul's  great  argument 
that  God's  'own  love  towards  us  in  that  while 
we  were  yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us'  (v.8)  was 
sufficiently  strong  to  account  for  this  changed 


attitude  would  be  of  little  value.  He  can  exalt 
the  love  only  by  pointing  to  what  God  has  done, 
not  to  what  we  have  done ;  our  laying  aside  our 
hostility,  though  ultimately  required  to  make  the 
reconciliation  complete,  is  wisely  and  intentionally 
ignored  here  ;  it  has  no  place  in  the  demonstration 
of  the  transcendent  and  undeserved  love  of  God  in 
providing  the  means  of  reconciliation  and  in  estab- 
lishing with  men  a  relation  of  peace.  Both  in  this 
passage  and  in  II18,  Col  I201-,  Eph  216  this  distinct- 
ively Pauline  sense  prevails — and  it  is  the  most 
direct  indication  we  have  of  the  general  apostolic 
thought — that  reconciliation  is  a  work  complete 
on  God's  side  before  man's  share  in  it  begins,  a 
work  wrought  by  God  in  Christ  and  made  avail- 
able for  the  world,  which  men  are  besought  to 
'  receive'  in  order  that  it  may  become  effective  in 
them  individually.  That  this  is  the  Pauline  teach- 
ing is  acknowledged  by  the  great  body  of  NT 
exegetes,  although  some  distinguished  scholars 
seriously  question  it  (e.g.  A.  Hitachi, Rechtfertigitng 
und  Versohnung,  ii.  230  ff.  ;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Colos- 
sictns3,  London,  1879,  p.  159;  B.  F.  Westcott, 
Epistles  of  St.  John*,  do.,  1892,  p.  85;  cf.  also 
Askwith  in  Cambr.  Theol.  Essays,  p.  206).  Some 
others,  who  personally  disagree  with  St.  Paul, 
frankly  acknowledge  that  the  hostility  overcome 
by  the  reconciliation  is  regarded  by  him  as  mutual, 
and 'hence  any  reconciliation  which  is  accomplished 
between  God  and  man  must  be  two-sided.  Not 
only  must  man  renounce  his  hostility  to  God,  but 
God  must  change  His  attitude  toward  man — must 
relinquish  His  wrath  and  resentment'  (Stevens, 
Christian  Doctrine  of  Salvation  p.  59).  Cremer 
thus  states  the  case  in  favour  of  the  same  position  : 
'  As  this  view  is  grammatically  as  possible  as  the 
other ;  as,  further,  there  are  no  lexical  difficulties 
in  its  way  ;  and  as,  finally,  it  is  indicated  by  the 
context  of  both  passages  (Ro  511  and  II15) — no  solid 
objection  can  be  raised  against  it ;  whereas  the 
other  quits  the  biblical  circle  of  thought,  and  has 
merely  a  hortatory  character,  but  no  force  as 
evidence,  such  as  is  required,  especially  in  Ro  5 ' 
(Bibl. -Theol.  Lex.8,  p.  92).  A  reasoned  theological 
defence  of  the  same  situation  is  given  in  HDB  iv. 
205 ff.  (cf.  also  Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  '  Romans'8, 
p.  129  f.  ;  J.  Denney,  EOT,  '  Romans,'  1900,  p. 
625  f. ;  B.  Weiss,  Biblical  Theology  of  the  NT,  Eng. 
tr.,  1882-83,  i.  428 ff.). 

The  reluctance  to  accept  the  Pauline  view  that 
reconciliation  must  deal  with  hostility  on  God's 
side  as  well  as  on  man's  arises  mainly  from  two 
causes,  (a)  There  is  an  exaggerated  anthropo- 
morphic interpretation  of  the  significance  of  God's 
anger  against  sin ;  it  is  set  in  opposition  to  His 
love,  as  if  these  were  mutually  exclusive,  or  it  is 
made  the  expression  of  the  purely  judicial  demand 
for  punishment.  This  is  not  the  apostolic  view  ; 
for  in  it  there  is  no  conflict  between  the  Divine 
wrath  and  the  Divine  love,  nor  do  they  dwell  apart ; 
they  are  expressions  of  the  one  perfect  Personality 
whose  name  and  nature  is  love.  All  the  processes 
of  redemption  are  traced  in  the  Pauline  discussion 
to  God's  own  love  for  sinful  men.  His  anger  is 
real ;  it  is  not  simply  official  as  the  hostility  of  a 
law -giver  in  presence  of  a  law-breaker ;  it  is  per- 
sonal, but  not  a  fitful  personal  resentment :  it  is 
the  hot  displeasure  of  a  fatherly  love  in  presence  of 
all  that  disturbs  the  filial  relations  of  His  children 
with  Himself,  and  destroys  His  ideal  for  their  peace ; 
it  is  love's  crowning  sign,  not  its  contradiction. 
His  anger  is  the  indication  that  His  love  discrimin- 
ates ;  for  righteousness  and  love  are  moral  differ- 
ences which  would  be  lost  in  a  love  of  God  which 
was  incapable  of  moral  indignation  and  hostility 
to  wrong,  (b)  There  is  the  unethical  conception  of 
the  Divine  immutability,  which  leads  to  confusion 
of  thought ;  as  a  true  Personality  God  can  and 


302 


RECONCILIATION 


REDEMPTION 


does  change  His  feelings  and  attitudes  ;  these  must 
change  to  correspond  with  His  moral  activity  to- 
wards the  changing  character  and  conduct  of  men  ; 
whilst  behind  the  varying  attitudes  involved  in  a 
change  from  hostility  to  complacence,  such  as 
reconciliation  supposes,  lie  the  unchangeable  char- 
acter and  the  changeless  moral  purpose  which  give 
unity  and  consistency  to  all  God  does  (cf.  I.  A. 
Dorner's  '  Divine  Immutability '  in  A  System  of 
Christian  Doctrine,  Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1880-82, 
i.  244,  iv.  80 ;  W.  Adams  Brown,  Christian  Theo- 
logy in  Outline,  do.,  1907,  p.  117  f.). 

In  2  Co  514"21,  the  locus  classicus  for  the  apostolic 
doctrine  of  reconciliation,  St.  Paul  is  supremely 
concerned  with  its  practical  results  in  the  ethical 
and  spiritual  history  of  mankind  and  in  the  personal 
experience  of  the  individual.  These  results  are 
profoundly  assured  in  the  self- identification  of  God 
in  Christ  with  mankind,  whilst  their  blessedness  is 
individually  realized  by  the  response  of  a  reciprocal 
self-identification  with  God  in  Christ  on  the  part 
of  man  ;  in  this  response  the  reconciliation  is  per- 
fected. To  achieve  this  end  God  in  Christ  has 
given  a  '  word  of  reconciliation '  and  inspires  the 
tender  persuasions  of  a  '  ministry  of  reconciliation,' 
which  are  to  us  men  the  mystic  wonder  of  the  whole 
redemptive  process  :  for  they  reveal  a  love  of  God 
which  humbles  itself  to  beseech  sinful  men,  '  as 
though  God  were  intreating  by  us  :  we  beseech  you 
on  behalf  of  Christ,  be  ye  reconciled  to  God '  (v.20). 
But  in  this  work  of  reconciliation  the  initiative  is 
taken  by  God  ;  and  its  cost  in  sacrificial  self-giving 
is  borne  by  Him.  We  never  read  that  God  has 
been  reconciled ;  God  Himself  does  the  work  of 
reconciliation  in  and  through  Christ,  '  God  was  in 
Christ  reconciling  the  world  (even  a  world)  unto 
himself '  (v. 19).  The  self-identification  of  God  with 
men  is  made  in  Christ  —  it  is  truly  God's  self- 
identification  ;  the  humanity  of  Christ  is  the 
humanity  of  Deity,  which  is  made  manifest  in  time. 
In  His  death  particularly  Christ  identified  Himself 
with  men  ;  He  '  died  on  behalf  of  all  (£/TT£/>  TT&VTUV), 
therefore  all  died'  (v.14).  The  death  on  behalf  of 
all  involved  the  death  of  all  ;  because  through  His 
self-identification  with  all  Christ  was  the  Repre- 
sentative of  all.  As  it  was  the  death  of  all  men 
which  was  died  by  Him,  His  self-identification  with 
men,  being  real  in  the  flesh  as  in  the  spirit,  involved 
a  true  but  mysterious  fellowship  in  the  deepest 
mystery  of  their  experience  in  the  flesh — their  sin. 
'  Him  who  knew  no  sin  he  [God]  made  to  be  sin  on 
our  behalf  (v.21).  His  death  on  behalf  of  all  was 
a  death  unto  sin  once  for  all,  that  in  the  flesh  He 
might  destroy  sin  in  the  flesh.  Such  a  death  on 
their  behalf  was  virtually  the  death  of  mankind 
with  whom  He  was  self-identified.  The  further 
significance  of  His  death  on  behalf  of  all  is  '  that 
we  might  become  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him ' 
(v.21).  '  Because  we  thus  judge  ...  he  died  for 
all,  that  they  which  live  should  no  longer  live  unto 
themselves,  but  unto  him  who  for  their  sakes  died 
and  rose  again'  (v.15).  The  issue  of  this  self- 
identification  of  God  in  Christ  with  man  is  that 
'  he  is  a  new  creature,  the  old  things  are  passed 
away;  behold,  they  are  become  new'  (v.17).  In 
this  new  creation  of  humanity  with  its  new  identi- 
ties with  God  in  Christ  is  found  the  reconciliation 
to  which  'the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us'  (v.14). 
But  the  justification  as  well  as  the  source  of  all 
this  is  God — God  Himself,  not  Christ  apart  from 
God  ;  not  man  by  his  penitence  or  by  the  response 
of  his  submission  to  God.  '  All  things  are  of  God 
who  reconciled  us  to  himself  through  Christ,  and 

fave  unto  us  the  ministry  of  reconciliation'  (v.18). 
'he  heart  of  the  apostles'  teaching,  their  gospel 
of    reconciliation,     is    'all    things    are    of    God.' 
Reconciliation  is  a   Divinely  accomplished   fact, 
done  once  for  all.     In  the  Apostolic  Church  it  was 


believed  that  this  reconciliation  was  the  issue  of 
that  which  God  had  done  in  the  setting  forth  of 
Christ  Jesus  to  be  a  'propitiation'  (Ro  325).  Such 
a  propitiation  is  the  Divinely  appointed  sanction 
and  constraint  of  the  apostles'  doctrine  (\6yos)  of 
reconciliation — '  To  wit,  that  God  was  in  Christ 
reconciling  the  world  unto  himself,  not  reckoning 
unto  them  their  trespasses '  (2  Co  519) ;  see,  further, 
PROPITIATION.  But  whatever  may  be  the  God- 
ward  side  of  reconciliation,  they  proclaimed  on  its 
manward  side,  with  beseeching  urgency,  a  ministry 
of  reconciliation.  Their  doctrine  gave  no  counten- 
ance to  the  idea  that  man  is  secure  in  the  Divine 
favour  through  something  accomplished  for  him 
apart  from  the  obedience  of  his  own  faith,  by  which 
the  reconciliation  is  personally  'received.'  The 
wistful  word  of  their  beseeching,  '  Be  ye  reconciled 
to  God'  (v.20),  is  at  one  with  the  lingering  pathos 
of  their  admonition,  '  and  working  together  with 
him  we  intreat  also  that  ye  receive  not  the  grace 
of  God  in  vain  '  (61).  A  man's  whole  attitude  to- 
wards sin  must  be  changed,  otherwise  the  incidence 
of  this  yearning  admonition  must  rest  upon  him. 

A  careful  examination  of  the  apostolic  docu- 
ments available  leaves  an  irresistible  conviction 
that  the  Apostolic  Church  held  the  view  that 
'  reconciliation '  was  a  change  from  mutual  hos- 
tility, resulting  from  the  sinfulness  of  mankind,  to 
mutual  friendship  between  God  and  man  ;  that 
this  change  was  God's  own  work  accomplished  in 
Christ  through  His  life  and  death  ;  but  that  it  was 
also  a  process,  carried  on  by  God  in  Christ,  requir- 
ing for  its  completion  the  receiving  of  it  as  a  grace 
and  the  consequent  participation  in  it  as  a  Divine 
operation  by  men  individually.  Whether  this  view 
accords  with  the  teaching  of  Jesus  recorded  in  the 
Synoptics,  and  whether  it  is  an  interpretation  of 
the  experience  of  salvation  binding  permanently 
upon  the  faith  of  the  Church  are  questions  beyond 
the  scope  of  this  article. 

LITERATURE. — H.  Cremer,  BM.-Theol.  Lexicon  of  NT  Greek*, 
Edinburgh,  1880,  p.  91 S. ;  Sanday-Headlam,  ICC, 'Romans' 5, 
do.,  1902,  p.  129 f.;  E.  H.  Askwith,  'Sin,  and  the  Need  of 
Atonement,'  in  Cambridge  Theological  Essays,  London,  1905, 
p.  175  ;  W.  F.  Lofthouse,  Ethics  and  Atonement,  do.,  1906, 
pp.  82-179;  F.  R.  M.  Hitchcock,  The  Atonement  and  Modern 
Thought,  do.,  1911,  pp.  255-283  ;  J.  Scott  Lidgett,  The  Spirit- 
ual Principle  of  the  Atonement,  do.,  1897,  pp.  219-306 ;  J. 
Denney,  The  Death  of  Christ,  do.,  1902,  p.  139  ff. ;  G.  B. 
Stevens,  Christian  Doctrine  of  Salvation,  Edinburgh,  1905,  p. 
59 ff.  ;  ExpT  iv.  [1892-93]  335 f.,  v.  [1893-94]  532 ff.;  W.  H. 
Moberly,  '  The  Atonement,'  in  Foundations,  London,  1912,  p. 
265  ff.  ;  A.  Ritschl,  Rechtfertif/unfj  und  Versohnung*,  Bonn, 
1895-1902,  Hi.,  Eng.  tr.,  Justification  and  Reconciliation,  Edin- 
burgh, 1900 ;  D.  W.  Simon,  Reconciliation  by  Incarnation, 
do.,  1898;  W.  L.  Walker,  The  Gospel  of  Reconciliation,  do., 
1909;  R.  C.  Moberly,  Atonement  and  Personality,  London, 
1901 ;  S.  A.  MacDowall,  Evolution  and  the  Need  of  Atone- 
ment, Cambridge,  1912 ;  art.  '  Reconciliation '  in  HDB  and 

DCG.  FREDERIC  PLATT. 

RED.— See  COLOURS. 

REDEMPTION. — Among  the  figures  employed  by 
the  apostolical  writers  to  set  forth  the  nature  of 
the  transaction  by  which  our  Lord  has  saved  His 
people,  none  is  more  illuminating  than  that  which 
we  are  accustomed  to  speak  of  as  'redemption.' 
The  terms  'redeem,'  'redemption,'  'redeemer' 
are  a  gift  of  the  Latin  Bible  to  our  theological  lan- 
guage. They  fail  in  complete  exactness  as  render- 
ings of  the  terms  which  they  are  used  to  translate 
in  the  apostolical  writings,  in  so  far  as  there  still 
clings  to  them  the  notion,  intrinsic  in  their  form, 
that  the  buying  which  they  denote  is  distinctively 
a  '  buying  back.'  The  English  word  '  ransom,' 
etymologically  a  doublet  of  '  redeem,'  has  more 
completely  lost  its  etymological  implication  of 
specifically  '  buying  back,'  taking  on  in  its  stead 
rather  that  of  '  buying  out.'  The  series  '  ransom,' 
'ransoming,'  'Ransomer'  might  on  this  account 
serve  better  as  equivalents  of  the  Greek  words  cur- 


REDEMPTION 


REDEMPTION 


303 


rently  employed  by  the  apostolical  writers  to  con- 
vey this  idea.  These  are  :  [\vrpov,  Mt  2028,  Mk  1045] ; 
d.vri\vrpov,  1  Ti  2s;  \\rrpowBtu,  Lk  2421,  Tit  214, 
1  P  l'»;  \Arpuffis,  Lk  I68  238,  He  912  ;  d.Tro\6rpw<ns, 
Lk  2128,  Ro  324  S23,  1  Co  I30,  Eph  I7- 14  4s0,  Col  I14, 
He  91S  II35  ;  [Xi/rpwrifc,  Ac  7s5].  No  words  provided 
by  the  Greek  language  could  convey  more  distinctly 
the  idea  which  we  commonly  express  by  the  term 
'ransoming.'  Their  current  employment  by  the 
writers  of  the  NT  to  describe  the  action  of  our 
Lord  in  setting  His  people  free  is  proof  enough  of 
itself  that  this  action  was  thought  of  by  them  not 
broadly  as  '  deliverance,'  but  as  a  deliverance  in 
the  distinct  mode  of  '  ransoming.'  If  '  deliverance ' 
alone,  without  implication  of  the  mode  of  accom- 
plishing it,  had  been  what  was  intended  to  be 
expressed,  the  simple  forms  \titiv,  Xwns,  Xvrrip  or 
some  of  their  strengthened  prepositional  compounds 
lay  at  hand.  These  were  in  common  use  in  the 
sense  of  '  delivering,'  and  indeed  some  of  them 
(like  XtitcrOai  and  diroXuecrOai)  had  even  acquired  the 
special  sense  of  'ransoming.'  Instead  of  them, 
however,  the  NT  writers  elected  to  employ  forms 
which  embody  in  their  very  structure  an  open 
assertion  that  the  mode  of  deliverance  spoken  of 
is  by  '  ransom.'  To  say  Xisrpov  is  to  say  '  ransom  ' ; 
and  to  say  \vrpovff6ai,  Xi/rpu<ris  is  to  say  \\npov ; 
while  d7roXi/rpw<ns  is  but  a  stronger  way  of  saying 

\VTpWfflS. 

Of  course,  even  words  like  these,  in  the  very 
form  of  which  the  modal  implication  is  entrenched, 
and  which  owe,  in  fact,  their  existence  to  the  need 
of  words  emphasizing  the  mode  unambiguously, 
may  come  to  be  used  so  loosely  that  this  implica- 
tion retires  into  the  background  or  even  entirely 
out  of  sight.  In  our  common  English  usage  the 
words  'redeem,'  'redemption,'  'redeemer'  retain 
no  sure  intimation  of  their  etymological  denotation 
of  '  buying  back,'  but  suggest  ordinarily  only 
a  '  buying  out.'  They  are  sometimes  used  so 
loosely  as  to  convey  no  implication  even  of  pur- 
chase. That  \i>Tpovada.i,  \vrpuffis,  aTroXirrpwcris  have 
suffered  in  their  NT  usage  such  a  decay  of  their 
essential  significance  cannot  be  assumed,  however, 
without  clear  proof.  In  point  of  fact,  the  actual 
accompaniments  of  their  usage  forbid  such  an 
assumption.  In  a  number  of  instances  of  their 
occurrence  the  intimation  of  a  price  paid  is  promi- 
nent in  the  context ;  in  other  words,  the  deliverance 
spoken  of  is  definitely  intimated  as  a  ransoming. 
In  the  remaining  instances  this  intimation  becomes 
no  doubt  rather  an  assumption,  grounded  in  their 
form  and  their  usage  elsewhere  ;  but  that  is  no 
reason  for  neglecting  it.  The  apparently  varying 
usage  of  the  terms  depends  merely  on  an  oscillation 
of  emphasis  between  the  two  elements  of  thought 
combined  in  them.  Sometimes  the  emphasis  is 
thrown  on  the  mode  in  which  the  deliverance  as- 
serted is  wrought — namely,  by  ransoming.  Some- 
times, on  the  other  hand,  it  is  shifted  to  the  issue 
of  the  ransoming  which  is  affirmed — namely,  in 
deliverance.  In  the  former  case  the  stress  falls  so 
strongly  on  the  idea  of  ransoming  that  the  mind 
tends  to  rest  exclusively  on  the  act  of  purchasing 
or  the  price  paid.  In  the  latter  it  rests  so  strongly 
on  the  idea  of  deliverance  that  we  are  tempted 
to  forget  that  an  act  of  ransoming  is  assumed  as 
its  procuring  cause.  In  neither  case,  however,  is 
either  element  of  thought  really  suppressed  entirely. 
Christ's  ransoming  of  His  people  is  of  course 
always  thought  of  as  issuing  in  their  deliverance. 
His  deliverance  of  His  people  is  equally  thought 
of  always  as  accomplished  by  a  ransoming. 

We  may  be  surprised  to  observe  that  the  epithet 
'  Redeemer '  ('  Ransomer,'  Xurpan-Tjs)  is  never  applied 
to  our  Lord  in  the  NT.  Even  the  broader  designa- 
tion, '  Deliverer,'  is  applied  to  Him  only  once,  and 
that  in  a  quotation  from  the  OT  (opud/tei'os,  Ro  II26, 


from  Is  5920 ;  cf.  1  Th  I10).  In  fact,  we  do  not 
meet  with  '  Redeemer  '  (\vrpurris)  as  a  designation 
of  our  Lord  in  extant  Christian  literature,  until 
the  middle  of  the  2nd  cent.  (Justin,  Dial.  xxx.  3  ; 
cf.  Ixxxiii.  3),  and  it  does  not  seem  to  become 
common  until  three  centuries  later.  Nevertheless, 
Justin  himself  tells  us  that  it  was  in  ordinary  use 
in  the  Christian  community  when  he  wrote.  '  For 
we  call  Him  Helper  and  Redeemer,'  he  says,  with 
an  allusion  to  Ps  1914.  And  it  seems  that  in  the 
only  instance  of  the  appearance  of  the  term  in  the 
NT — Ac  7s5,  where  it  is  used  of  Moses — its  employ- 
ment as  a  designation  of  our  Lord  is  already  pre- 
supposed. For  it  is  applied  to  Moses  here  only 
as  the  type  of  Christ,  and  with  a  very  distinct 
reference  to  the  antitype  in  the  choice  of  the  word. 
The  Israelites  had  demanded  of  Moses,  '  Who 
made  thee  a  ruler  and  a  judge  ? '  Stephen,  driving 
home  his  lesson,  declares  that  him  who  was  thus 
rejected  as  '  ruler  and  judge  '  God  has  sent  '  both 
as  ruler  and  as  redeemer.'  The  '  both  .  .  .  and'  is 
to  be  noted  as  well  as  the  change  of  term. 
'  Redeemer '  is  introduced  with  great  emphasis ; 
attention  is  called  markedly  to  it  as  a  significant 
point  in  the  argument.  '  Observe,'  says  H.  A.  W. 
Meyer,  '  the  climax  introduced  by  \vrpwT-riv  in  rela- 
tion to  the  preceding  diKaa-rriv.  It  is  introduced 
because  the  obstinacy  of  the  people  against  Moses 
is  type  of  the  antagonism  to  Christ  and  His  work 
(v.5*) ;  consequently,  Moses  in  his  work  of  deliver- 
ance is  a  type  of  Christ,  who  has  effected  the  Xi/rpoxrtj 
of  the  people  in  the  highest  sense  (Lk  I68  2s8,  He 
912,  Tit  214) '  (Commentary  on  the  NT,  '  Acts,'  vol.  i. 
[1877]  p.  204  f . ).  We  must  look  upon  the  absence  of 
instances  of  the  application  of  the  epithet  '  Re- 
deemer '  to  Christ  in  early  Christian  writers, 
therefore,  as  merely  a  literary  phenomenon.  Chris- 
tians were  from  the  first  accustomed  to  speak  of 
their  Lord  as  '  Redeemer.'  The  usage  undoubtedly 
was  not  so  rich  and  full  in  the  earlier  ages  of  the 
Church  as  it  has  since  become.  The  intense  con- 
creteness  of  the  term  probably  accounts  in  part  for 
this.  But  it  was  already  in  use  to  express  the 
apostolic  conception  of  the  function  of  our  Lord  as 
Saviour. 

The  basis  of  this  apostolic  conception  is  laid  in 
our  Lord's  own  declaration,  '  For  verily  the  Son  of 
man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister, 
and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many '  (Mk  1045, 
Mt  2028),  a  declaration  elucidated  and  enforced  in 
those  others,  preserved  by  John,  in  which  He 
speaks  of  laying  down  His  life  for  the  sheep  (Jn  1011), 
or  His  friends  (1513),  or  of  giving  His  flesh  for  the 
life  of  the  world  (651).  In  this  great  declaration 
our  Lord  is  commending  a  life  of  service  to  His 
disciples  by  His  own  signal  example.  He  adduces 
His  example  after  a  fashion  which  runs  on  precisely 
the  lines  repeated  by  Paul  in  Ph  25ff\  He  calls 
Himself  by  the  lofty  name  of  the  Son  of  Man,  and, 
by  thus  throwing  the  exaltation  of  His  Person  into 
contrast  with  the  lowliness  of  the  work  He  was 
performing,  He  enhances  the  value  of  His  example 
to  a  life  of  service.  He  describes  His  whole  mission 
in  the  world  as  service,  and  He  adverts  to  His 
ransoming  death  as  the  culminating  act  of  the 
service  which  He  came  into  the  world  to  render. 
He,  the  heavenly  man  of  Daniel's  vision  (Dn  713), 
came  into  the  world  for  no  other  purpose  than  to 
perform  a  service  for  men  which  involved  the  giving 
of  His  life  as  a  ransom  for  them.  Thus  He  makes 
His  ransoming  death  the  final  cause  of  His  whole 
manifestation  in  the  world.  The  terms  He  employs 
to  describe  His  death  as  a  ransom  are  as  simple 
and  precise  as  possible.  He  speaks  of  '  giving  his 
life,'  emphasizing  the  voluntariness  of  the  act. 
He  speaks  of  giving  His  life  as  a  'ransom,'  using 
the  most  exact  word  the  Greek  language  affords 
(\vrpov)  to  express  the  price  paid  to  secure  the 


304 


REDEMPTION 


REDEMPTION 


release  of  prisoners,  the  manumission  of  slaves 
(see  A.  Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Ancient  East, 
p.  322  ff.,  with  some  of  the  necessary  correctives 
in  T.  Zahn,  Der  Brief  an  die  Corner,  1910, 
p.  180,  note  51  from  .the  middle),  or  the  purchase 
of  immunity  for  faults  committed  against  Deity 
(see  F.  Steinleitner,  Die  Beicht  im  Zusammen- 
hange  mit  der  sakralen  Rechtspflege  in  der  Ant  ike, 
p.  37  f.).  He  speaks  of  giving  His  life  as  a  ransom 
'  for,'  or  rather  '  in  the  place  of,'  '  instead  of,' 
'  many,'  the  preposition  (avrl)  employed  emphasizing 
the  idea  of  exchange,  or,  we  may  say  shortly,  of 
substitution.  In  this  declaration,  then,  our  Lord 
Himself  sets  forth  in  language  as  precise  as  possible 
His  work  of  service  for  man  as  culminating  in  the 
vicarious  payment  by  His  voluntary  death  of  a 
ransom  price  for  them.  This  is  what  He  came  to 
do  ;  and  in  this,  therefore,  is  summed  up  briefly  the 
nature  of  His  work  for  men. 

It  would  be  strange  if  so  remarkable  a  declara- 
tion had  produced  no  echoes  in  the  teaching  of  our 
Lord's  followers.  A  very  distinct  echo  of  it  sounds 
in  1  Ti  2s,  where  it  is  declared  of  the  man  Christ 
Jesus,  the  only  Mediator  between  God  and  men, 
that  '  he  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all. '  The 
term  employed  for  '  ransom '  here  is  a  strengthened 
form  (dvTl\vrpoi>),  in  which  the  idea  of  exchange, 
already  intrinsic  to  the  simple  form  (\vrpov),  is 
made  still  more  explicit.  This  idea  having  thus 
been  thrown  into  prominence  in  the  term  itself, 
the  way  was  opened  to  add  an  intimation  of  those 
with  whom  the  exchange  is  made  by  means  of  a  pre- 
position which  indicates  them  as  beneficiaries  of  it 
(inrtp).  The  voluntariness  of  the  ransoming  trans- 
action on  our  Lord's  part  is  intimated  when  it  is 
said  that  He  '  gave  himself '  a  ransom  for  all,  a 
phrase  the  full  reference  of  which  on  Paul's  lips 
may  be  gathered  from  Gal  I4  :  '  who  gave  himself 
for  our  sins '  (cf.  Gal  220,  Eph  52-  25).  Every  element 
of  thought  contained  in  Mk  1045,  Mt  2028,  in  a 
word,  is  repeated  here  ;  and  what  is  there  repre- 
sented by  our  Lord  as  the  substance  of  His  mission, 
is  here  declared  by  Paul  to  be  the  sum  of  the 
gospel  committed  to  him  to  preach.  It  is  the  '  testi- 
mony in  its  own  times,  whereunto  I  was  appointed 
a  preacher  and  an  apostle '  (1  Ti  27). 

It  is  only  an  elaboration  of  the  central  idea  of 
this  declaration  when  Paul  (Tit  214),  stirred  to  the 
depths  of  his  being  by  the  remembrance  of  all  that 
he  owes  to  'our  great  God  and  Saviour,  Jesus 
Christ,'  for  'the  epiphany  of  whose  glory'  he  is 
looking  forward  as  his  most  '  blessed  hope,'  cele- 
brates in  burning  words  the  great  transaction  to 
which  he  attributes  it  all :  '  who  gave  himself  for 
us,  that  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and 
purify  unto  himself  a  people  for  his  own  posses- 
sion, zealous  of  good  works.'  The  fundamental 
fact  thrown  up  to  observation  here  too  is  that 
Jesus  Christ  'gave  himself  for  us.'  The  assertion 
is  the  same  as  that  of  1  Ti  26,  and  the  meaning  is 
the  same  :  our  Lord  voluntarily  gave  Himself  as  a 
ransom  for  our  benefit.  This  statement  dominates 
the  whole  passage,  and  doubtless  has  determined 
the  choice  of  the  verb  '  ransom '  in  the  first  clause 
of  the  telic  sentence  which  follows.  But  it  is  the 
effects  of  this  ransoming  which  are  particularly 
developed.  Paul's  mind  is  intent  in  this  context 
on  conduct.  He  would  have  his  converts  live 
worthily  of  the  grace  of  God  which  has  come  to 
them,  their  eyes  set  upon  the  recompense  of  the 
reward.  If  Christ  gave  Himself  for  our  sins,  it 
was  that  we  might  sin  no  more.  That  is  expressed 
in  Gal  I4  thus  :  '  That  he  might  deliver  us  out  of 
this  present  evil  world.'  It  is  expressed  here  thus  : 
'  That  he  might  ransom  us  from  all  iniquity  and 
purify  for  himself  a  people  for  his  own  possession, 
zealous  of  good  works.'  The  two  statements  have 
fundamentally  the  same  content,  expressed,  how- 


ever, in  the  one  case  negatively,  and  in  the  other 
positively.  Christ  ransomed  us  by  the  gift  of  Him- 
self, that  we  might  no  longer  belong  to  the  world 
but  to  Him.  To  belong  to  Christ  is  to  be  holy ; 
and  therefore  those  who  are  His,  while  still  in  the 
world  must  live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly, 
expecting  His  coming,  that  their  deliverance  out  of 
this  evil  world  may  be  completed.  The  verbs  used 
in  the  two  statements  are,  however,  different.  In 
the  one  case,  the  verb  employed  (e£atpeicr0ai,  Gal  I4) 
declares  the  effect  wrought  exclusively,  with  no 
intimation  of  the  mode  of  action  by  which  it  is 
attained  :  the  purpose  of  Christ's  giving  Himself 
for  our  sins  is  our  rescue,  deliverance,  out  of  the 
present  evil  world.  In  the  other  case,  the  verb 
employed  (XvrpovffOai,  Tit  214)  has  a  distinct  modal 
connotation  -.  Christ's  purpose  in  giving  Himself 
for  us  is  to  ransom  us  from  every  iniquity,  and  thus 
to  purify  for  Himself  a  people  of  His  own,  zealous 
of  good  works.  The  concept  of  ransom  intrinsic 
in  Christ's  giving  Himself  for  us  is  here  expressly 
carried  over  to  the  ultimate  effects,  our  deliver- 
ance from  all  iniquity,  and  our  purification  for 
Christ,  '  so  that,'  as  B.  Weiss  puts  it,  '  His  giving 
Himself  up  for  our  liberation  from  guilt  is  conceived 
as  the  ransom-price,  apart  from  which  these  things 
could  not  result'  (Die  Brief e  Pauli  an  Timotheus 
und  Titus?,  1885,  p.  384  n.).  This  is  only  to  say,  in 
our  current  modes  of  speech,  that  the  ransom  paid 
by  Christ,  when  He  gave  Himself  for  us,  purchases 
for  us  not  only  relief  from  the  guilt  but  also  release 
from  the  power  of  sin. 

How  little  such  a  reference  to  the  revolution 
wrought  in  the  life  of  Christians  empties  the  term 
'  to  ransom '  of  its  implication  of  purchase  may  be 
learned  from  1  P  I18f-.  Peter  is  here  as  completely 
engrossed  with  conduct  as  Paul  is  in  Tit  214.  He 
too  is  exhorting  his  readers  to  a  life,  during  their 
sojourn  here  expecting  the  revelation  of  the  Lord, 
consonant  with  their  high  dignity  as  a  people  of 
God's  own  possession.  And  he  too  seeks  to  gain 
force  for  his  exhortation  by  reminding  them  of 
what  they  owe  to  Christ  their  Ransomer.  The 
thing  asserted  to  be  secured  by  this  ransoming  is, 
with  Peter  as  with  Paul,  an  ethical  deliverance. 
'  Knowing,'  says  he,  '  that  ye  were  redeemed  .  .  . 
from  your  vain  manner  of  life  handed  down  from 
your  fathers'  (1  P  I18).  The  thought  is  closely 
similar  to  that  of  Gal  I4 :  '  That  he  might  deliver 
us  out  of  this  present  evil  world.'  If  we  should  be 
tempted  to  suppose  that,  therefore,  the  term  '  ran- 
somed,' as  here  used,  has  lost  its  implication  of 
purchase,  and  become  the  exact  equivalent  of  the 
'  deliver '  of  Gal  I4,  Peter  at  once  undeceives  us  by 
emphasizing  precisely  the  idea  of  purchasing.  The 
peculiarity  of  the  passage  consists  just  in  the  full- 
ness with  which  it  dwells  on  the  price  paid  for  our 
deliverance.  Paul  contented  himself  in  Tit  214  with 
saying  merely  that  Christ  'gave  himself  for  us.' 
Peter  tells  us  that  this  means  that  He  poured  out 
His  blood  for  us.  '  Ransomed '  here,  although  used 
exactly  as  in  Tit  214,  cannot  possibly  mean  simply 
'  delivered.'  It  means  distinctively,  '  delivered  by 
means  of  the  payment  of  a  price.' 

What  the  price  was  which  Christ  paid  to  ran- 
som us  '  from  our  vain  manner  of  life,  handed  down 
from  our  fathers,'  Peter  develops  with  great  full- 
ness, both  negatively  and  positively.  Negatively, 
he  tells  us,  it  was  no  corruptible  thing,  no  silver  or 
gold.  His  mind  is  running  on  the  usual  commodi- 
ties employed  in  the  ordinary  ransomings  familiar 
to  everyday  life  ;  and  we  perceive  that  he  intends 
to  represent  the  ransoming  of  which  Christians  are 
the  object  as  similar  in  kind  to  them.  It  differed 
from  them  only  in  the  incomparable  greatness  of 
the  price  paid  ;  and  this  carries  with  it  the  great- 
ness of  the  evil  from  which  it  delivers  us  and  the 
greatness  of  the  good  which  it  secures  for  us. 


REDEMPTION 


REDEMPTION 


305 


The  price  paid,  Peter  tells  us  positively,  is  the 
blood  of  Christ.  This  blood  he  characterizes  in 
a  two- fold  manner.  On  the  one  hand,  he  speaks 
of  it,  enhancing  its  value,  as  precious.  It  is  at  great 
cost  that  we  have  been  ransomed.  On  the  other 
hand,  intimating  the  source  of  its  efficacy,  he  com- 
pares it  with  the  blood  '  of  a  lamb  without  blemish 
and  without  spot'  (1  P  I19).  The  sacrihcial  allusion 
here  is  manifest,  whether  we  think  (with  Hermann 
Gunkel),  through  the  medium  of  Is  53,  of  the  ordin- 
ary offerings  (cf.  Lv  2312),  or  (with  F.  J.  A.  Hort) 
particularly  of  the  Paschal  lamb  (cf.  Ex  12s).  The 
main  point  to  observe  is  that  Peter  feels  no  incon- 
gruity in  blending  the  ideas  of  ransom  and  sacri- 
fice. The  blood  which  Christ  shed  as  a  sacrifice 
is  the  blood  by  which  we  are  ransomed.  The  two 
modes  of  representation  express  a  single  fact. 

Peter  does  not  inform  his  readers  of  these  things 
as  something  new  to  them.  He  presents  them 
as  matters  which  are  of  common  knowledge : 
'  knowing,  as  you  do,  that,'  etc.  '  It  is  an  appeal 
to  an  elementary  Christian  belief  (F.  J.  A.  Hort, 
The  First  Epistle  of  St.  Peter  I.  l-II.  17,  p.  75). 
Of  course,  then,  there  are  other  allusions  to 
them,  more  or  less  full,  scattered  through  the 
NT.  There  is,  for  instance,  a  similar  conjunction 
of  the  notions  of  sacrifice  and  ransom  in  He  912. 
There  we  are  told  that  Christ,  in  contrast  with 
the  priests  of  the  old  dispensation,  '  a  high  priest 
of  the  good  things  to  come,  .  .  .  not  by  means 
of  the  blood  of  goats  and  calves,  but  by  means 
of  his  own  blood,  entered  in  once  for  all  into  the 
holy  place  having  obtained  eternal  ransoming.' 
There  are  not  two  acts  intimated  here :  by  the 
one  shedding  of  His  blood,  Christ  both  entered 
once  for  all  into  the  holy  place  and  obtained  an 
eternal  ransoming.  The  correspondence  of  the 
'once  for  all '  in  the  one  clause  and  the  '  eternal '  in 
the  other  should  not  be  overlooked  ;  it  is  a  binding 
link  assimilating  the  two  assertions  to  one  another. 
Christ,  unlike  the  Levitical  priests  with  their 
repeated  entrances,  entered  the  holy  place  'once 
for  all,'  because  the  ransoming  He  was  obtaining 
through  His  blood  was  not  like  theirs,  temporary  in 
its  effect,  but  '  eternal,'  that  is  to  say,  of  never- 
failing  absoluteness  (cf.  'eternal  Spirit,'  v.14, 
'eternal  inheritance,'  v.18).  The  effect  of  the 
sacrificial  shedding  of  Christ's  blood  is  here  ex- 
pressed in  terms  of  ransoming. 

Precisely  how  this  author  conceived  this  ransom- 
ing is  made  plain  by  a  phrase  which  he  employs 
three  verses  further  on :  'a  death  having  taken 
place  for  the  ransoming  of  the  transgressions.'  He 
is  still  contrasting  the  effective  work  of  Christ  with 
the  merely  representative  work  of  the  Old  Covenant. 
A  promise  had  been  given  of  an  eternal  inheritance. 
But  men  had  not  received  the  heritage  which  had 
thus  been  promised.  Their  sins  stood  in  the  way, 
and  there  was  no  sacrifice  which  took  away  sin. 
Christ  had  now  brought  such  a  sacrifice.  In  His 
case  a  death  had  taken  place  '  for  the  ransoming 
of  the  transgressions '  which  they  had  committed. 
'  Ransoming '  here  conveys  a  meaning  which  might 
have  been  conveyed  by  '  expiation.'  The  term 
used  is  not  the  simple  form  Xi/rpoxrts,  but  the  streng- 
thened form  djroXi/rpwcris ;  and  the  construction  is 
inexact — it  is  not  the  transgressions  but  the  trans- 
^lessors  that  are  ransomed.  But  the  meaning  is 
plain.  '  The  genitive  expresses  in  a  wide  sense 
the  object  on  which  the  redemption  is  exercised 
("redemption  in  the  matter  of  the  transgressions," 
"transgression — redemption")'  (B.  F.  Westcott, 
Hebrews,  p.  264).  It  was  because  men  had  sinned 
that  they  required  to  be  ransomed  ;  sin  had  brought 
them  into  a  condition  from  which  they  could  be 
delivered  only  by  a  ransom.  And  the  ransom 
required  was  a  death.  The  matter  is  put  quite 
generally  :  '  a  death  having  taken  place  for  ransom- 

VOL.  II. — 20 


ing  the  transgressions.'  This  death  was,  in  point 
of  fact,  Christ's  death  ;  and  it  was  because  it  was 
Christ's  death  that  it  was  adequate  to  its  end  (v.14). 
But  the  fundamental  point  in  our  present  passage 
is  that  Christ  could  ransom  men  from  their  sins, 
that  is  to  say,  from  the  consequences  of  their  sins, 
including,  of  course,  that  consciousness  of  sin  which 
bites  into  the  conscience  (v.14),  only  by  dying.  By 
sacrificing  Himself  He  put  away  sin  (v.26) ;  He 
was  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many  (v.28).  The 
images  of  sacrifice  and  of  ransoming  are  inextric- 
ably interwoven,  but  it  easily  emerges  that  Christ 
is  thought  of,  in  giving  Himself  to  death,  as  giving 
Himself  as  a  ransom-price  to  deliver  men  from  the 
guilt  and  penalties  of  sin. 

This  representation  meets  us  again,  very  tersely 
put,  in  Eph  I7,  of  which  Col  I14  is  a  sligntly  less 
completely  expressed  repetition.  The  ransoming 
(diroXi/rpwcrts)  which  is  in  Christ,  described  with 
more  particularity  in  Ephesians  again  as  having 
been  procured  '  through  his  blood,'  is  in  both 
passages  alike  identified  immediately  with  '  the 
remission  of  our  trespasses '  (Eph.),  or  '  of  our  sins ' 
(Col.).  'The  studied  precision,'  as  J.  B.  Lightfoot 
phrases  it  in  his  note  on  Col  I14,  with  which  the  ran- 
soming is  thus  defined  to  be  just '  remission  of  sins,' 
is  the  more  noteworthy  because  it  is  apparently 
directly  contrasted  as  such  with  the  wider  '  deliver- 
ance' (tpfaaTo)  from  the  power  of  darkness  and 
removal  into  the  Kingdom  of  the  Son  of  God's 
love,  for  which  it  supplies  the  ground.  It  is  be- 
cause Christ  has  at  the  cost  of  His  blood,  that  is, 
by  dying  for  us,  purchased  for  us  remission  of  sins 
(which  is  our  ransoming),  that  we  have  deliverance 
from  the  tyranny  of  darkness  and  are  transferred 
under  His  own  rule.  We  thus  reach  a  very  close 
determination  of  the  exact  point  at  which  the  ran- 
soming act  of  Christ  operates,  and  of  the  exact 
evil  from  which  it  immediately  relieves  us.  It 
relieves  us  of  the  guilt  and  the  penal  consequences 
of  our  sins ;  and  only  through  that  relief  does  it 
secure  to  us  other  blessings.  It  is,  at  its  very 
centre,  just  '  the  remission  of  our  sins '  that  we 
have  in  Christ  when  we  have  in  Him  our  ransom- 
ing. 

The  great  passage  in  which  the  nature  of  our 
ransoming  is  unfolded  for  us,  however,  is  Ho  S*4. 
There,  nearly  all  the  scattered  intimations  of  its 
essential  nature  found  here  and  there  in  other 
passages  are  gathered  together  in  one  comprehen- 
sive statement.  The  fundamental  declarations  of 
this  very  pregnant  passage  are,  that  men,  being 
sinners,  can  be  justified  only  gratuitously,  by  an 
act  of  pure  grace  on  God's  part ;  that  God,  how- 
ever, can  so  act  towards  them  in  His  grace,  only 
because  there  is  a  ransoming  (ajroXuV/jawrtx)  available 
for  them  in  Christ  Jesus ;  and  that  this  ransoming 
was  procured  by  the  death  of  Christ  as  an  expia- 
tory sacrifice,  enabling  God  righteously  to  forgive 
sins.  The  ransoming  found — perhaps  we  may  even 
say  stored — in  Christ  Jesus  is  here  represented  as 
the  result  of  His  sacrificial  death  ;  this  sacrificial 
death  is  made  the  ground  of  God's  forgiveness 
of  sins ;  and  this  forgiveness  of  sins  is  identified 
with  the  justification  which  God  gratuitously 
grants  believing  sinners.  The  blending  of  the 
ideas  of  ransoming  and  expiation  is  complete  ;  the 
'  blood  of  Christ,'  in  working  the  one,  works  also 
the  other.  The  ascription  to  God  of  the  whole 
process  of  justification,  including  apparently  the 
ransoming  act  itself,  which  is  usually  (but  not 
always)  ascribed  to  Christ,  but  which  is  thus  traced 
back  through  Christ  to  God,  whose  will  in  this  too 
Christ  does,  is  apparently  due  to  the  emphasis 
with  which,  throughput  the  passage,  the  entirety 
of  salvation,  in  all  its  elements,  is  attributed  to 
God's  free  grace.  This  emphasis  on  the  gratuitous- 
ness  of  the  whole  saving  process  is  the  most  notice- 


306 


REDEMPTION 


REDEMPTION 


able  feature  of  the  passage.  It  has  been  strangely 
contended  (e.g.  by  T.  Zahn)  that  it  is  inconsistent 
with  the  conception  of  a  ransom,  strictly  taken. 
There  is,  however,  not  even  an  antinomy  here : 
the  gratuitousness  of  justification  quoad  homines 
cannot  possibly  exclude  the  grounding  of  that  act 
in  the  blood  of  Christ,  as  a  ransom  paid  for  men 
from  without.  What  the  passage  teaches  is,  that 
all  men  have  sinned  and  have  failed  to  attain  the 
glory  God  has  in  mind  for  them  ;  all  are  in  this 
matter  in  like  case ;  those  whom  God  justifies — 
namely,  all  believers— are,  then,  justified  freely,  by 
God's  grace  alone.  But  it  does  not  teach  that  God 
acts  thus,  in  His  free  grace,  justifying  sinners  gra- 
tuitously so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  arbitrarily 
and  with  no  adequate  ground  for  His  action.  On 
the  contrary,  it  asserts  a  ground  for  His  justifying 
act ;  and  the  ground  which  it  asserts  is  the  ransom- 
ing that  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  says,  indeed,  not 
'  on  the  ground  of  the  ransoming  that  is  in  Christ 
Jesus '  (5td  TTJV  atroXvrpuffiv),  but  'through  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  ransoming  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus ' 
(Sta  TTJS  aTroXirrpuxrews).  But  this  is  only  a  formal 
difference.  What  Paul  says  is,  that  the  ransoming 
that  is  in  Christ  Jesus  is  the  means  by  which  men, 
being  sinners,  are  brought  by  God  into  a  justifica- 
tion which  they  cannot  secure  for  themselves.  If 
the  ransoming  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus  is  the  means 
by  which  alone  they  can  be  justified,  that  is  only 
another  way  of  saying  that  God,  who  gratuitously 
justifies  them  in  His  grace,  proceeds  in  this  act  in 
view  of  nothing  in  them,  but  solely  in  view  of  the 
ransoming  that  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  How  this  ran- 
soming comes  to  be  in  Christ  Jesus  is,  then,  im- 
mediately explained :  God  has  set  Him  forth  as 
an  expiatory  sacrifice  through  faith  in  His  blood, 
for  the  manifestation  of  His  righteousness  in  the 
forgiveness  of  sins.  Christ,  then,  has  been  offered 
as  an  expiatory  sacrifice  ;  this  enables  God  to  for- 
give sins  righteously  ;  those  thus  forgiven  are  justi- 
fied gratuitously  ;  and  this  justification  has  taken 
place  in  view  of,  and  that  is  as  much  as  to  say  by 
means  of,  the  ransoming  which  has  resulted  from 
the  shedding  of  the  blood  of  Christ.  The  ransom- 
ing provided  by  Christ  is,  in  a  word,  the  means  by 
which  God  is  rendered  gracious  ;  and  in  this  His 
gface,  thus  secured  for  us,  He  gratuitously  justifies 
us,  although  we,  as  sinners,  have  no  claim  upon 
this  justification. 

The  fundamental  idea  underlying  the  representa- 
tion of  salvation  as  a  ransoming  is  its  costliness. 
In  some  of  the  passages  which  have  been  adduced 
this  idea  is  thrown  very  prominently  forward. 
This  is  the  case  with  Ro  &*,  and,  indeed,  with  all 
the  passages  in  which  Christ  is  said  to  have  given 
'  Himself,'  or  '  His  blood,'  as  a  ransom  for  His 
people  ;  and  it  is  elaborated  in  much  detail  in  such 
passages  as  He  912  and  1  P  I18'-.  But  the  emphasis 
often  falls  no  less  on  the  value  of  the  acquisition 
obtained,  and  that  both  on  its  negative  and  on  its 
positive  sides.  Naturally  it  is  the  eschatological 
aspects  of  this  acquisition  on  which  ordinarily 
most  stress  is  laid.  These  eschatological  aspects 
of  our  ransoming  are  brought  very  decidedly  into 
the  foreground,  for  example,  in  Tit  2U,  1  P  P8,  and 
not  less  so  in  He  912,  Eph  I7,  Col  I14.  When  the 
mind  is  thus  occupied  with  the  eschatological  re- 
sults of  the  ransoming,  it  is  apt  to  be  relatively 
less  engaged  with  the  nature  of  the  ransoming  act 
itself,  and  we  may  be  tempted  to  read  the  term 
'  ransoming '  as  if  its  whole  implication  were  ab- 
sorbed in  the  simple  idea  of  'deliverance.'  This 
is,  of  course,  not  really  the  case.  The  term 
'  ransoming  '  is  employed  instead  of  one  by  which 
nothing  more  than  '  deliverance '  would  be  ex- 
pressed, precisely  because  the  writer  is  conscious 
that  the  deliverance  of  which  he  is  speaking  has 
been  secured  only  at  a  cost,  and  instinctively 


employs  a  term  which  intimates  this  fact.  It  was 
thus  a  true  feeling  which  led  James  Morison  (A 
Critical  Exposition  of  the  Third  CJiapter  of  Paul's 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  1866,  p.  254)  to  insist  that 
by  the  terms  in  question  is  expressed  not  mere 
deliverance,  but  '  deliverance  which  is  effected  in  a 
legitimate  way,  and  in  consistency  with  the  rights 
and  claims  of  all  parties  concerned.'  We  must, 
however,  go  a  step  further  and  recognize  that  the 
deliverance  intimated  by  these  terms  is  thought 
of  distinctively  as  resting  on  a  purchase,  as,  in  a 
word,  the  issue  of  a  ransoming.  This  is,  at  all 
events,  the  state  of  the  case  with  the  NT  instances. 

When  we  read,  for  example,  in  Ro  S23,  that  we, 
in  this  life,  are  groaning  within  ourselves,  waiting 
for  our  adoption,  and  then  this  adoption  is  defined 
as  '  the  ransoming  (airoXiJTpuffis)  of  our  body,'  the 
word  '  ransoming '  cannot  be  taken  out  of  hand  as 
merely  '  deliverance,'  and  much  less  can  it  be  sup- 
posed to  intimate  that  a  special  ransom  shall  be 
paid  at  the  last  day  for  the  deliverance  of  the  body. 
What  is  meant  is  that  the  deliverance  of  our  bodies 
— by  which  is  intended  just  our  resurrection,  con- 
nected in  this  context  with  the  repristination  of 
the  physical  universe,  an  object  as  yet  of  hope 
only — shall  be  experienced  in  due  season,  not  as 
something  disconnected  writh  the  salvation  we  are 
enjoying  here  and  now  in  its  first-fruits,  but  as  its 
consummation  ;  that  is  to  say,  as  one  of  the  results 
of  the  ransom  paid  by  Christ  in  His  blood  on  the 
Cross,  from  which  flow  all  the  blessings  which,  as 
believers,  we  receive.  It  is  because  Paul's  mind  is 
fixed  upon  this  fundamental  ransom-paying  that 
he  uses  here  a  term  which  imports  a  ransoming  and 
not  one  of  mere  deliverance. 

Similarly,  when  we  read  in  the  closing  words 
(Eph  I14)  of  that  splendid  hymn  of  praise  which 
opens  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  that  believers, 
having  received  the  promised  Spirit,  defined  spe- 
cifically as  '  the  earnest  of  the  inheritance,'  have 
been  '  sealed  unto  the  ransoming  of  the  acquired 
possession,  to  the  praise  of  God's  glory,'  every 
element  in  the  wording  of  the  statement  itself,  and 
of  the  context  as  well,  cries  out  against  seeing  in 
the  term  '  ransoming '  anything  else  but  a  reminder 
that  this  deliverance  is  an  issue  of  the  ransom - 
paying  of  Christ  in  His  blood.  This  ransom-paying 
had  just  (Eph  I7)  been  defined  as  made  by  Christ 
in  His  blood,  and  as  consisting  in  the  remission 
of  our  trespasses.  As  it  is  impossible  to  suppose 
that  the  term  is  used  in  two  radically  different 
senses  in  the  same  sentence,  so  it  is  impossible 
to  imagine  that  those  who  are  delivered  are  de- 
scribed expressly  as  God's  '  acquired  possession,' 
and  their  deliverance  is  made  dependent  upon 
their  reception  of  the  Spirit,  described  specifically 
as  'the  earnest  of  their  inheritance,'  without  a 
very  precise  intention  of  connecting  this  deliver- 
ance with  the  ransom-paying  out  of  which  it  flows 
as  its  consummation.  And,  this  being  true,  it  is 
quite  clear  that  '  the  day  of  ransoming '  of  Eph  430 
does  not  mean  the  day  on  which  the  ransom  shall 
be  paid,  nor  merely  the  day  of  a  deliverance 
wrought  somehow'  or  other  not  intimated,  but 
distinctly  the  day  on  which  there  shall  be  actually 
experienced  the  ultimate  results  of  the  ransom- 
paying  which  Christ  has  made  '  through  his  blood ' 
(I7),  that  is,  at  His  death  on  the  Cross,  assured  to 
believers,  because  they  are  sealed  thereto  by  the 
Holy  Spirit  of  God,  received  now  as  the  earnest  of 
their  inheritance. 

There  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  same 
conception  underlies  the  language  of  our  Lord 
(Lk  2128)  when  He  encourages  His  followers  to  see 
in  the  signs  of  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man,  fear- 
ful to  others,  the  indications  of  their  approaching 
'  ransoming '  (diroXvrpuo-is)  :  '  But  when  these  things 
begin  to  come  to  pass,  look  up,  and  lift  up  your 


REDEMPTION 


REDEMPTION 


307 


heads;  because  your  ransoming  draweth  nigh.'  He 
does  not  point  them  to  the  time  when  the  ransom 
which  He  came  into  the  world  to  pay  (Mk  1045, 
Mt  2028)  is  at  length  to  be  paid  for  them  ;  neither 
does  He  promise  them  some  other  deliverance, 
different  from  that  and  disconnected  with  it,  which 
they  might  expect  some  time  in  the  undefined  but 
distant  future.  He  says  'your  ransoming,'  inti- 
mating that  it  was  already  theirs  in  sure  expecta- 
tion ;  He  speaks  of  it  as  '  drawing  nigh,'  recognizing 
that  it  was  eagerly  looked  for.  He  is,  of  course, 
pointing  to  the  complete  realization  of  the  ransom- 
ing of  which  He  speaks  in  the  actual  deliverance 
which  shall  be  experienced.  But  when  He  speaks 
of  this  deliverance  as  a  '  ransoming'  He  is  equally, 
of  course,  referring  it  as  its  result  to  a  ransom - 
paying  which  secures  it ;  and  can  we  doubt  that 
what  was  in  His  mind  was  His  own  promise  that  He 
would  give  His  life  a  ransom  in  the  place  of  many  ? 

This  declaration  of  our  Lord's  (Lk  2128)  may  lead 
us  to  the  two  or  three  passages  (all,  like  it,  occur- 
ring in  Luke's  Gospel,  I68  2s8  24ai)  which  differ 
from  the  other  instances  in  which  the  terms  denot- 
ing '  ransoming '  are  employed  in  the  NT,  in  that 
they  do  not  have  the  great  basal  assertion  of  our 
Lord  (Mk  1045,  Mt  2028)  behind  them,  but  give 
expression  to  hopes  nourished  on  the  promises  of 
the  Old  Covenant.  We  read  of  Zacharias,  on  the 
birth  of  his  prophetic  son,  praising  the  God  of 
Israel,  because  '  he  hath  visited  and  wrought 
ransoming  (Xi/r/joxm)  for  his  people'  (Lk  I68);  and 
of  Anna,  the  prophetess,  on  seeing  the  infant  Jesus 
in  the  Temple,  giving  '  thanks  unto  God,  and  speak- 
ing of  him  to  all  them  that  were  looking  for  the 
ransoming  (Xtrrpwo-ts)  of  Jerusalem '  (2s8) ;  and  of  the 
two  disciples,  sorrowing  over  Jesus'  death,  sadly 
telling  their  unknown  Companion,|as  they  journeyed 
together  to  Emmaus :  '  We  hoped  that  it  was  he 
that  should  ransom  (\vrpou<r0ai)  Israel '  (2421).  Ob- 
viously these  passages  stand  somewhat  apart  from 
those  which  embody  the  apostolic  conception  of 
the  nature  of  the  saving  work  of  Christ.  They 
represent  rather  the  anticipations  of  the  faithful 
in  Israel  with  respect  to  the  salvation  promised  to 
God's  people.  Their  interest  to  us  is  due  to  the 
use  in  them  of  the  same  terminology  to  express 
Israel's  hope  which  afterwards  was  employed  by 
the  apostles  when  they  described  Christ's  work  as 
at  its  root  a  ransom-paying.  As  we  can  hardly 
ascribe  to  these  aspirations  of  saints  taught  by  the 
OT  revelation  so  clearly  cut  and  definitely  con- 
ceived a  conviction  that  the  Divine  deliverance 
for  which  they  were  waiting  was  to  be  specifically 
a  ransoming,  as  we  have  ascribed  to  the  apostolic 
writers  with  respect  to  the  deliverance  wrought  by 
Christ,  the  question  easily  arises  whether  we  have 
not  overpressed  the  apostles'  language,  and  whether 
it  would  not  be  better  to  interpret  their  declara- 
tions from  the  vaguer,  if  we  should  not  rather  say 
the  looser  or  at  least  the  broader,  use  of  the  same 
terms  in  these  earlier  passages  which  represent  a 
usage  going  back  into  the  OT. 

Such  has  been  the  method  of  many  expositors 
(the  typical  instance  is  commonly  taken  from  H. 
Oltramare  on  Ro  3-4;  cf.  the  corrective  in  Sanday- 
Headlam  on  the  same  passage).  Following  it, 
they  have  felt  entitled  or  bound  to  empty  the 
language  of  the  apostles,  which  literally  expresses 
the  idea  of  ransoming,  when  speaking  of  the  work 
of  Christ,  more  or  less  completely  of  all  such  impli- 
cation, and  to  read  it  as  conveying  merely  the 
broad  idea  of  delivering.  This  method  of  dealing 
with  the  apostolic  usage  is,  however,  quite  mis- 
leading. The  language  of  the  apostles  is  alto- 
gether too  definite  to  permit  such  a  process  of 
evacuation  to  be  carried  successfully  through  with 
respect  to  it.  Their  teaching  as  to  the  nature 
uf  our  Lord's  work  as  an  act  of  ransoming  is  not 


conveyed  exclusively  by  the  implication  of  the 
ransoming  terms  which  they  prevailingly  employ 
in  speaking  of  it ;  they  use  other  terms  also,  of 
similar  meaning,  side  by  side  with  them  (cf.  Ac 
2028,  1  Co  6-°  T23,  Gal  313,  2  P  21,  Rev  5"  143- 4)  ;  and 
they  often  expound  their  meaning  in  the  sense 
of  ransoming  in  great  detail.  It  must  not  be 
permitted  to  drop  out  of  sight  that  something 
happened  between  the  prophetic  promises  of  the 
Old  Covenant  reflected  in  the  anticipations  of  the 
early  days  of  the  gospel,  and  the  dogmatic  ex- 
positions of  the  nature  of  the  work  of  Christ  by 
the  apostles,  which  was  revolutionary  precisely 
with  respect  to  the  conceptions  held  by  God's 
people  of  the  nature  of  His  great  intervention 
for  their  deliverance.  We  cannot  interpret  the 
apostles'  exposition  of  the  meaning  of  the  death 
of  Christ  and  the  manner  in  which  it  produces 
its  effect — which  was  to  them  the  most  tremendous 
of  experienced  facts — wholly  within  the  limits 
of  the  anticipations  of  even  the  most  devout  of 
Israelites  who,  at  the  best,  only  dimly  perceived 
the  necessity  of  a  suffering  Messiah  (Lk  2025f<). 
We  must  expect  a  precision  in  defining  the  mode 
of  God's  deliverance  of  His  people  to  enter  in 
after  the  experience  of  it  as  a  fact,  which  could 
not  exist  before  ;  and  that  the  more,  because  a 
model  which  necessarily  dominated  all  their  teach- 
ing had  been  given  His  followers  by  our  Lord 
Himself  (Mk  1045,  Mt  2028)  for  interpreting  the 
nature  of  His  work  and  the  meaning  of  His  death. 
F.  J.  A.  Hort  is  certainly  right  in  saying,  when 
speaking  of  1  P  I19 :  '  The  starting  point  of  this 
and  all  similar  language  in  the  Epistles  is  our 
Lord's  saying  in  Mt  20-8  II  Mk  1045 '  (cf.  also  B.  F. 
Westcott,  Ephesians,  1906,  p.  140,  and  even,  though 
more  cautiously,  A.  Deissmann,  Light  from  the 
Ancient  East,  p.  331).  Moreover,  the  primary 
assumption  of  this  method  of  determining  the 
apostolic  usage  of  these  terms  is  not  unquestion- 
able— to  wit,  that,  in  their  earlier  use,  running 
back  into  the  OT,  the  implication  of  purchase  has 
dropped  wholly  out  of  sight,  and  only  the  broad 
sense  of  delivering  has  been  retained.  It  is  at 
least  noticeable  that  the  OT  persistently  employs 
terms  with  the  implication  of  purchase,  when 
speaking  whether  of  the  great  typical  deliverances 
from  Egypt  and  the  Captivity  or  of  the  greater 
deliverance  typified  by  them  which  Jahweh  was 
yet  to  bring  to  His  people.  This  is  no  more  a 
phenomenon  of  the  LXX  than  of  the  underlying 
Hebrew  ;  and  it  does  not  appear  that  it  is  due  to 
a  complete  decay  of  feeling  for  the  implication 
of  purchase  intrinsic  in  these  terms.  No  doubt 
they  are  sometimes  used  when  we  see  nothing 
further  necessary  for  the  sense  than  simple  de- 
liverance, and  sometimes  in  parallelisms  together 
with  terms  of  simple  deliverance.  They  are  also 
used,  however,  when  the  implication  of  purchase 
is  express.  And  we  are  not  encouraged  to  think 
that  they  had  ceased  to  bear  their  intrinsic  mean- 
ing to  the  writers  of  the  OT,  even  when  applied 
to  the  greater  matters  of  destiny,  whether  of  the 
individual  or  of  the  nation,  by  such  a  passage,  say, 
as  Ps  497'8 :  '  None  of  them  can  by  any  means 
redeem  (.TIB,  \vrpova-0ai)  his  brother,  nor  give  to 
God  a  ransom  (-$3,  ££l\afffj.a)  for  him  :  (for  the 
redemption  [p"]9,  rty  rifj.r)v  rijs  Xi/T-puwrews]  of  their 
life  is  costly  .  .  . ) ' ;  or  by  such  a  passage  as,  say, 
Is  43lff- :  '  Fear  not,  for  I  have  redeemed  thee 
(?l'fi^xa,  t\vrpw<rd/j.i)i>) ;  .  .  .  I  have  given  Egypt  as 
thy  ransom  (Tl??,  &\\ayfj.a),  Ethiopia  and  Seba  for 
thee.  ...  I  have  loved  thee  ;  therefore  will  I  give 
men  for  thee,  and  peoples  for  thy  life.'  The  truth 
seems  to  be  that  the  language  of  ransoming  and 
redemption  is  employed  in  the  OT  to  describe 
the  deliverances  which  Israel  had  experienced  or 
was  yet  to  experience  at  the  Divine  hands,  not 


308 


REDEMPTION 


REDEMPTION 


because  this  language  had  lost  to  the  writers  of 
the  OT  its  precise  import,  but  in  order  to  intimate 
that  these  deliverances  were  not,  and  were  not  to 
be,  without  cost.  Even  the  later  Jews  were  not 
without  some  sense  of  this,  and  looked  about  for 
the  purchase-price.  '  With  two  bloods,'  says  the 
Midrash  on  Ex  1222,  '  were  the  Israelites  delivered 
from  Egypt,  with  the  blood  of  the  paschal  lamb 
and  with  the  blood  of  circumcision '  (A.  Wiinsche, 
Bibliotheca  Rabbinica,  ii.  [1890]  135,  as  cited  by 
F.  J.  A.  Hort  on  1  P  I19,  p.  79b).  There  is  no 
compelling  reason,  then,  why  we  should  not 
recognize  an  implication  of  purchase,  however 
undefined,  even  in  Lk  I68  2s8  2421. 

If  there  be  any  instance  in  the  NT  of  the  use 
of  a  derivative  of  Xi/rpoc,  from  which  this  implica- 
tion is  wholly  absent,  it  will  most  probably  be 
found  in  He  II35,  where,  in  the  bead-roll  of  the 
heroes  of  faith,  we  are  told  of  some  who  were 
beaten  to  death,  '  not  accepting  the  ransoming 
(dTroXtfrpwcm),  that  they  might  obtain  a  better 
resurrection.'  There  is  nothing  in  the  context  to 
intimate  that  the  deliverance  from  their  martyr- 
dom which  they  refused  was  to  be  purchased  by  a 
ransom.  But  is  anything  further  needed  to  carry 
this  intimation  than  the  employment  of  this 
particular  word,  in  which  the  idea  of  a  ransom  is 
included  ?  Is  it  not  possible  that  the  writer  has 
selected  this  particular  word  (it  is  not  employed 
in  the  account  from  which  he  is  drawing)  precisely 
in  order  to  intimate  that  Eleazar  and  '  the  seven 
brethren  with  their  mother ' — if  he  is  really  allud- 
ing to  their  cases  (2  Mac  6,  7) — felt  apostasy  too 
great  a  price  to  pay  for  their  deliverance?  They 
did  not  refuse  a  bare  deliverance  ;  they  refused 
a  deliverance  on  a  condition,  a  deliverance  which 
had  to  be  paid  for  at  a  price  which  they  rated  as 
too  high.  The  term  employed  is,  at  all  events, 
perfectly  adapted  to  express  this  fact;  and  the 
words  of  this  stem,  when  used  elsewhere  in  this 
Epistle,  retain  the  implication  of  purchase  (9U<  15). 

There  is  another  passage  in  which  we  are  practi- 
cally dependent  on  the  implications  of  the  form 
itself,  without  the  aid  of  contextual  indications, 
to  determine  its  meaning.  This  is  1  Co  I30,  where 
the  Apostle,  in  enumerating  the  contents  of  that 
wisdom  which  Christ  has  brought  to  His  followers, 
orders  the  several  elements,  which  he  mentions, 
thus  :  '  that  is  to  say,  righteousness  and  sanctifica- 
tion,  and  also  ransoming.'  It  is  a  little  surprising 
to  find  the  '  ransoming '  (aTroXtfrpwcris)  placed  after 
the  righteousness  and  sanctification,  of  which  it  is 
the  condition.  We  may,  therefore,  be  tempted  to 
give  it  some  looser  sense  in  which  it  may  appear 
to  be  conceived  as  following  upon  them,  if  not 
chronologically,  at  least  logically.  There  seems 
to  be  no  justification,  however,  for  departing  from 
the  proper  meaning  of  a  word  which  is  not  only 
clear  in  its  natural  meaning,  but  is  closely  defined 
in  other  passages  in  Paul's  writings  in  accordance 
with  this  natural  meaning.  We  may  think,  with 
Lightfoot  and  T.  C.  Edwards,  of  the  eschato- 
logical  usage  of  the  word,  and  understand  it  'of 
redemption  consummated  in  our  deliverance  from 
all  sin  and  misery ' ;  and  suppose  it  to  be  mentioned 
last  because  referring  to  the  final  deliverance,  and, 
therefore,  '  almost  equivalent  to  fwrj  aldvios '  (Light- 
foot,  ad  loc.  ;  cf.  also  Edwards,  ad  loc.).  Or  we 
may  think  with  H.  A.  W.  Meyer  and  C.  F.  G. 
Heinrici  of  its  ordinary  use  as  the  proper  term  to 
designate  the  act  by  which  Christ  purchased  His 
people  to  Himself  by  the  outpouring  of  His  blood, 
and  suppose  it  to  be  mentioned  last  in  the  enumera- 
tion of  the  blessings  received  from  Christ,  with  the 
emphasis  of  climax,  because  it  supplies  the  basis 
of  those  further  acts  of  salvation  (justification  and 
the  gift  of  the  Spirit),  by  means  of  which  righteous- 
ness and  holiness  are  conveyed  to  believers.  The 


one  thing  which  we  cannot  easily  suppose  is  that 
Paul  has  departed  in  this  one  instance  from  his 
uniform  usage  of  a  word  which  holds  the  rank  of  a 
technical  term  in  his  writings.  A.  Deissmann  cries 
out :  '  This  rare  word  occurs  seven  times  in  St. 
Paul !'  (op.  cit.  p.  331,  n.  2).  The  reason  obviously 
is  that  Paul  had  something  to  say  which  he  needed 
this  word  to  say.  Are  we  to  suppose  that  he  might 
just  as  well  have  used  the  common  words,  current 
in  everyday  speech,  for  what  he  had  to  say? 

How  little  strange  the  idea  of  salvation  as  a 
thing  purchased  is  to  this  particular  Epistle  may 
be  observed  from  the  declaration  twice  repeated  : 
'  Ye  were  bought  with  a  price '  (620  I23),  which  Paul 
uses  as  an  incitement  to  Christian  effort.  The 
addition  to  the  assertion  of  the  verb  that  Ave  have 
been  '  bought,'  of  the  words,  'with  a  price,'  serves 
to  give  great  emphasis  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
notion  that  salvation  was  acquired  for  us  without 
the  payment  of  an  equivalent,  and  thus  to  make 
very  prominent  the  essential  idea  of  exchange 
which  underlies  the  conception  of  ransoming. 
What  the  price  was  which  was  paid  for  our 
purchasing  is  not  mentioned  in  these  passages  :  it 
was  too  well  understood  to  require  explicit  state- 
ment. It  is  similarly  taken  for  granted  in  the 
like  allusion  in  2  P  21,  where  the  false  teachers  who 
were  vexing  the  Church  are  condemned  as  even 
'denying  the  Master  (SecrT^-njs)  that  bought  them.' 
There  is  no  question  that  they  were  bought :  this 
pungent  fact  is  rather  treated  as  the  fundamental 
thing  in  the  consciousness  of  all  Christians,  and  ia 
therefore  employed  as  a  whip  to  their  consciences 
to  scourge  them  to  right  conduct  towards  their 
Master.  In  all  these  instances  the  stress  falls  on 
the  ownership  over  us  acquired  by  Christ  by  His 
purchase  of  us.  They  therefore  naturally  suggest 
the  remarkable  words  of  Paul,  when,  in  bidding 
farewell  to  the  Ephesian  elders,  he  exhorts  them 
'  to  feed  the  church  of  God,  which  he  acquired  by 
means  of  his  own  blood'  (Ac  2028).  Although, 
however,  not  the  specific  '  purchased '  but  the 
broader  '  acquired '  is  employed  here,  the  emphasis 
is  shifted  from  the  mere  fact  of  acquisition  and 
consequent  ownership  to  the  costliness  of  the 
acquisition,  and  therefore  the  price  paid  for  it  is 
not  only  explicitly  mentioned  but  strongly  stressed. 
God  has  acquired  His  Church  by  means  of  His  own 
blood,  a  paradoxical  statement  which  presented  no 
difficulties  to  Paul  and  his  readers,  but  rather  was 
freighted  with  the  liveliest  gratitude.  Whence 
'  the  church  of  God '  was  thus  acquired  '  by  means  of 
his  own  blood,'  we  learn  from  the  new  songs  of  the 
Apocalypse.  It  was  '  purchased  out  of  the  earth,' 
'from  among  men'  (143>4),  or,  more  explicitly,  'of 
every  tribe,  and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation ' 
(59).  And  here  we  are  reminded  again  of  the  great 
price  which  was  paid  for  it,  and  of  the  great  deliver- 
ance which  was  obtained  for  it  at  this  great  cost. 
The  purchase- price  was  nothing  less  than  '  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb,'  and  they  that  are  purchased 
are  '  loosed  (Xtfeiv,  the  primitive  of  \vrpovff6ai)  from 
their  sins  in  his  blood'  (I5),  and  made  unto  God  'a 
kingdom  and  priests '  (I5  510)  who  shall  '  reign  upon 
the  earth '  (510).  All  the  virtues  gather  to  them — 
'they  are  without  blemish'  (145).  That  nothing 
should  be  lacking  to  the  presentation  of  the  whole 
idea  of  ransoming  outside  the  term  itself,  we  find 
Paul  employing  the  exact  synonym,  'to  buy  out' 
(^ayopafav),  to  express  the  common  idea.  '  God  sent 
forth  his  Son,'  he  tells  us,  '  born  of  a  woman,  born 
under  the  law,  that  he  might  buy  out  them  under 
law,  that  we  might  receive  the  adoption  of  sons ' 
(Gal  44'-) ;  '  Christ  bought  us  out  from  the  curse  of 
the  law,  having  become  a  curse  for  us '  (Gal  313). 
Paul's  whole  doctrine  of  the  ransoming  Christ  has 
been  compressed  into  these  two  sentences.  We 
were  under  the  dominion  of  law,  and  have  been 


REDEMPTION 


REFORMATION 


309 


bought  out  from  it,  that  we  may  become  rather 
sons  of  God  and  receive  the  Spirit.  We  were  under 
the  curse  of  the  broken  law  and  had  incurred  its 
penalty — the  wrath  of  God  and  all  that  the  wrath 
of  God  means :  Christ  has  bought  us  out  from 
under  this  curse.  He  has  done  this  by  becoming 
Himself  a  curse  for  us ;  that  is,  by  taking  the 
wrath  of  God  upon  Himself  and  enduring  the 
penalty  of  the  broken  law  in  our  stead.  As  a 
consequence,  the  blessing  of  Abraham  has  come  to 
us,  and  we  have  received  the  promised  Spirit. 

We  have  called  this  Paul's  doctrine  of  the 
ransoming  Christ,  and  that  designation  of  it  is 
just.  The  derivatives  of  \frrpov  occur  nowhere 
except  in  Paul's  own  letters  and  other  writings 
closely  affiliated  with  them  (Luke,  1  Peter, 
Hebrews).  The  technical  term  by  way  of  eminence 
for  the  expression  of  this  doctrine,  airoXin-pwo-is, 
occurs  seven  times  in  Paul  and  but  three  times 
elsewhere  (Hebrews,  twice;  Luke,  once).  From 
another  point  of  view,  however,  it  deserves  to  be 
called  a  generally  apostolic  doctrine.  It  is  rooted 
in  distinct  teachings  of  our  Lord  Himself.  It  is 
found  clearly  enunciated  in  the  whole  series  of 
Paul's  letters,  from  Galatians  to  Titus.  It  has  a 
place  also  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  both 
Epistles  of  Peter,  and  the  Book  of  Revelation.  Its 
outlines  are  so  sharply  etched  in  by  a  touch  here 
and  a  touch  there,  as  allusion  to  it  is  added  to 
allusion,  that  they  cannot  be  obscured.  It  is  not 
a  doctrine  merely  of  '  moral  reform '  or  even  of 
'  moral  revolution,'  although  it  includes  in  it  an 
effective  provision  for  moral  regeneration.  It  is 
not  a  doctrine  of  'deliverance  from  the  world,' 
although  again  it  counts  deliverance  from  the 
•world  among  its  most  valued  effects.  It  is  not 
merely  a  doctrine  of  deliverance  from  sin,  conceived 
as  a  power,  although  it  provides  for  deliverance 
from  the  power  of  sin.  It  is  most  particularly 
not  a  doctrine  of  deliverance  from  the  powers  of 
evil  under  whose  dreadful  dominion  'this  world' 
labours,  although  it  is  a  doctrine  of  deliverance 
from  bondage  to  Satan.  It  is  specifically  a  doctrine 
of  deliverance  from  the  guilt  and  penalties  of  sin, 
with  all  that  flows  from  this  deliverance  to  the 
uttermost  consequences.  The  function  of  Christ 
in  it  cannot  be  reduced  to  that  of  a  teacher  or  of 
an  example.  It  is  presented  rather  as  that  of  a 
substitute.  He  gives  Himself,  His  life,  His  blood, 
and  He  gives  it  as  a  ransom-price  to  buy  man  out 
from  the  penalties  he  has  incurred  by  sin,  and  thus 
to  purchase  for  him  newness  of  life.  Parallel  and 
intertwined  with  the  doctrine  of  Christ  our  Sacri- 
fice, this  doctrine  of  Christ  our  Ransom  is  made 
thus  a  vehicle  of  that  '  blood  theology '  which  is 
the  very  heart  of  the  entire  teaching  of  the 
apostles,  and  which  has  given  to  Christianity  its 
whole  vitality  in  the  world. 

LITERATURE. — James  Orr,  artt.  '  Ransom '  and  '  Redemption ' 
in  DCG,  Christian  View  of  God  and  the  World,  1893,  p.  333  fl.; 
the  Biblical  Theologies  of  the  NT  :  among  the  older  ones  H.  J. 
Holtzmann,  Neutest,  Theologie,  1896-97,  and  A.  Titius,  Die 
neutest.  Lehre  von  der  Seligkeit,  1895-1900;  among  the  later 
ones,  Paul  Feine,  Theologie  des  NT,  1910,  p.  43»f.,  has  a  brief 
but  instructive  note,  and  H.  Weinel,  Bill.  Theol.  des  NT%, 
1913,  pp.  291  and  546,  may  be  profitably  consulted.  The  com- 
mentaries of  H.  Oltramare  (1872),  J.  Morison  (1866),  Sanday- 
Headlam  (51902),  T.  Zahn  (1910)  on  Ro  3*»,  have  extended 
notes ;  B.  F.  Westcott,  Hebrews,  1889,  p.  297  f.,  has  a  detached 
note  of  importance;  F.  J.  A.  Hort,  1  Peter  I.  l-II.  17,  1898, 
p.  76ff.,  has  a  very  valuable  note;  A.  Deissmann,  Licht  vom 
Oaten,  1908,  p.  232 ff.,  Eng.  tr.,  Light  from  the  Ancient  East, 
1911,  p.  322  ff.,  needs  the  correction  of  Zahn  as  cited,  and  of  the 
facts  adduced  by  F.  Steinleitner,  Die  Beicht  im  Zusammen- 
hange  mil  der  sakralen  Hechtspllege  in  der  Antike,  1913,  p.  37  f. ; 
James  Denney,  Thf  Death  of  Christ,  1902 ;  also  from  differing 
points  of  view,  E.  Kiihl.  Die  Ueilsbedeutung  des  Todes  Je/tu, 
1890  ;  A.  Seebergr,  Der  Tod  Christi  in  seiner  Bedeviling  fur  die 
Erlomng,  1895 ;  J.  F.  S.  Muth,  Die  Heilstat  Christi  alt  stell- 
vertretende  Gemigtuung,  1904;  M.  Kahler,  Zur  Lehre  von  der 
Versohmmtt,  1898 ;  G.  B.  Stevens,  The  Christian  Doctrine  of 
Salvation,  1905,  together  with  his  earlier  The  Pauline  Theology, 
1892,  The  Theology  of  the  NT,  1899  ;  E.  Me'ne'goz,  Le  Peche  et 


la  Redemption  d'apres  Saint  Paul,  1882.  Julias  Kaftan  has 
made  a  particularly  sustained  effort  to  interpret  the  Christian 
doctrine  of '  ransoming  from  sin '  in  terms  of  the  general  religious 
idea  of  'deliverance  from  the  world':  Dogmatik,  1897,  §  48; 
/JtV  christliche  Welt,  xvi.  [1902]  411  ff.  ;  ZTK  xiv.  [1904]  273-355, 
reprinted  in  Zur  Dogmatik,  1904,  pp.  255-337 ;  Jesus  und 
Paulus,  1906,  p.  30 ff.  ;  ZTK  xviii.  [1908]  237-292.  In  connexion 
with  Kaftan  there  should  be  consulted :  W.  Wrede,  Paulus, 
1904  (Eng.  tr.,  1907),  to  which  Kaftan's  Jesus  und  Paulusia  an 
answer :  Wrede,  under  the  same  terminology  of  '  deliverance 
from  the  world,'  interprets  Paul  as  teaching  not,  as  Kaftan,  a, 
purely  subjective,  ethical  '  redemption,'  equivalent  to  regenera- 
tion, but  an  objective  one,  explained  as  deliverance  from  the 
evil  spirits  and  demons  which  dominate  the  world,  a  notion 
repeated  in  H.  B.  Carr6,  Paul's  Doctrine  of  Redemption,  1914. 
See  also  Max  Reischle,  Die  christliche  Wett,  xvii.  [1903]  10  ff., 
28  ff.,  61  ff.,  76 ff.,  and  98  ff.,  the  last  of  which  is  a  criticism 
of  Kaftan.  Reischle's  articles  discuss,  under  the  title  of 
'  Erlosung,'  the  general  religious  doctrine  of  '  deliverance,'  and 
in  connexion  with  them  should  be  read  E.  Nagel,  Das  Problem 
der  Erlosung :  eine  religionsphUosophische,  philusophiegeschicht- 
liche  und  kritische  Untersuchung,  1901.  There  seems  to  be 
nothing  in  English  which  covers  the  ground  of  Nagel's  book ; 
but  cf.  H.  O.  Taylor,  Deliverance,  1915.  Josef  Wirtz,  Die 
Lehre  von  der  Apolytrosis.  Vntersucht  nach  den  heiligen 
Schriften  und  den  yriechischen  Schriftstellern  bis  auf  Origenea 
einschliesslich,  1906,  deals  very  slightly  with  the  biblical  material, 
and,  for  the  rest,  investigates  the  history  of  the  Patristic  doc- 
trine of  ransoming  from  Satan. 

BENJAMIN  B.  WARFIELD. 

RED  SEA.— The  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  with 
the  destruction  of  Pharaoh's  army  was  one  of  the 
great  miracles  of  Jewish  history  which  the  people 
loved  to  recall.  There  are  three  distinct  references 
to  this  event  in  the  NT.  In  Ac  T36  St.  Stephen 
mentions  it  as  manifesting  the  glory  of  Moses.  In 
He  H29  it  is  referred  to  as  a  striking  instance  of 
what  faith  can  do.  But  the  chief  reference  is  in 
1  Co  10K  2,  where  St.  Paul,  in  warning  the  Corin- 
thians of  the  danger  of  neglecting  their  Christian 
benefits,  quotes  Israel's  escaping  from  Egypt  as  an 
illustration.  Of  several  great  benefits  bestowed 
by  God  on  His  people  Israel  oae  was  that  they  all 
passed  through  the  Sea ;  while  a  second  was  that 
they  were  all  baptized  in  the  Sea  as  followers  of 
Moses.  But  all  their  great  benefits  did  not  save 
them  when  they  afterwards  became  disobedient. 
St.  Paul  here  conceives  the  passage  through  the 
Red  Sea  to  have  been  an  initiatory  rite  like 
baptism  (see  G.  G.  Findlay,  EOT,  '  1  Corinthians,' 
1900,  p.  857).  J.  W.  DUNCAN. 

REED  (KdXa^toy,  Heb.  njj3  =  Eng.  'cane').— The 
'  reed  like  a  staff'  ((cd\a/ios  6>oioj  /W/35<j>)  which  St. 
John  used  for  measuring  the  temple  of  God  (Rev 
II1)  was  probably  the  arundo  donax,  which  flour- 
ishes especially  in  the  Jordan  Valley,  growing  in 
marshy  brakes  to  a  height  of  15  to  20  ft.  and 
strong  enough  to  be  used  as  a  walking-stick  (Ezk 
298-  7,  Is  36B).  Being  straight  and  light,  this  reed 
served  also  as  the  most  convenient  measuring- 
rod  (Ezk  40s- 8),  and  as  a  definite  measure  it  was 
6§  cubits  long=about  9  ft.  (Liddell  and  Scott,  s.v.). 
The  New  Jerusalem  was  measured  by  an  an^el 
who  had  for  a  measure  a  golden  reed  (Rev  2115- 16). 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

REFORMATION  (8t6p6uffu).— This  word— fraught 
with  so  much  significance  in  the  history  of  Christen- 
dom— occurs  only  once  in  the  English  Bible.  The 
passage  is  He  910,  in  which  the  writer,  speaking  of 
the  ordinances  of  the  First  Covenant,  says  that 
they  are  '  carnal  ordinances,  imposed  until  a  time 
of  reformation  '  (RV).  The  time  of  reformation  re- 
ferred to  is  the  period  of  the  New  Covenant,  de- 
scribed in  He  88ff-  by  a  quotation  from  Jer  3131"84. 
The  inauguration  of  it  by  the  offering  of  Christ  is 
set  forth  in  He  9nff-,  where  His  perfect  sacrifice  of 
Himself  is  contrasted  with  the  annual  sacrifices  of 
the  older  dispensation. 

It  is  from  an  Old  Testament  point  of  view  that 
this  title  is  bestowed  on  the  Christian  era.  Other 
aspects  of  that  era,  from  the  same  point  of  view,  are 
indicated  by  the  words  '  regeneration '  (•n-aXivyevfo-ia, 
Mt  1928)  and  '  restoration '  (diroKardo-Tao-is,  Ac  3'J1). 


310 


REGENERATION 


REGENERATION 


The  aspect  of  '  reformation '  is  complementary  to 
these,  and  involves  a  necessary  element.  It  was 
when  Christ,  the  '  High  Priest  of  the  good  things 
to  come,'  appeared  that  all  defects  inherent  in  the 
ancient  system  were  remedied.  The  numerous 
ineffectual  sacrifices  were  replaced  by  the  one 
perfect  Sacrifice ;  the  veil  was  taken  away.  Re- 
ligion became  less  a  matter  of  mechanical  routine, 
and  more  a  matter  of  rational  spiritual  service. 

The  corresponding  Greek  word  5i6p0u><m  is  equally 
unique  in  biblical  usage.  Except  in  He  910  it  does 
not  occur  in  the  Greek  Bible.  It  is  fairly  common 
in  later  Greek  in  the  general  sense  of  '  amendment ' 
or  'correction.'  Aristotle  so  uses  it  with  refer- 
ence to  laws  and  constitutions  (Pol.  III.  i.  5,  VII. 
i.  9).  Polybius  employs  it  of  the  rectification  of 
things  that  have  mischanced  or  gone  amiss  (V. 
Ixxxviii.  2,  VI.  xxxviii.  4).  The  corresponding 
verb  dtopffovv  is  used  in  the  LXX  of  amending  one's 
ways  (cf.  Jer  1s- 6,  Wis  918). 

LITERATURE. — J.  F.  Schleusner,  Novum  Lex.  Gr.-Lat.  in 
Nov.  Test.,  Leipzig,  1819,  s.v.,  and  the  Commentaries  on 
Hebrews,  in  loc.,  esp.  B.  F.  Westcott  (London,  1889,  p.  254); 
A.  B.  Bruce  (Edinburgh,  1899,  p.  324  f.). 

DAWSON  WALKER. 

REGENERATION.— Introductory.—  A  study  of 
the  NT  idea  of  regeneration  does  not  mean,  of 
course,  simply  an  examination  of  the  passages  in 
which  that  particular  metaphor  occurs,  but  a  con- 
sideration of  the  theory  which  the  NT  writers  held 
as  to  the  nature  of  the  experiences  which  they 
found  in  themselves  and  in  their  converts.  These 
experiences  did  not  take  place  in  a  vacuum,  but  in 
a  world  in  which  supernatural  religion  was  an  in- 
tensely significant  interest.  No  movement  can 
ever  be  so  original  that  it  is  entirely  independent 
of  the  ideas  and  conditions  of  its  day.  However 
new  it  may  be  in  its  spirit,  it  will  inevitably  clothe 
itself  in  the  familiar  forms  of  human  speech  and 
conduct,  even  though  it  give  to  them  a  wholly  new 
significance.  In  the  time  of  Jesus,  people  believed 
already  in  a  Divine  power  which  would  make  them 
fit  for  an  immortality  of  bliss.  They  thought  of 
the  necessary  transformation  as  a  death  and  resur- 
rection, as  a  new  birth,  as  a  purification.  If  the 
totality  of  the  utterances  of  later  Judaism  and  of 
the  non-Christian  religions  be  considered,  it  is  prob- 
able that  we  should  regard  the  conditions  of  the 
new  life  which  they  present  as,  for  the  most  part, 
unethical,  external,  magical.  But  when  the  finest 
of  these  utterances  are  read  with  due  appreciation, 
it  must  be  recognized  that  they  have  a  large  ethical 
meaning.*  The  gospel  of  regeneration  was  not  a 
striking  novelty  either  to  the  Jewish  or  to  the 
pagan  world,  and  if  the  condition  of  regeneration 
were  simply  stated  as  a  belief  that  Jesus  was  the 
Messiah,  the  Son  of  God,  it  might  seem  quite  con- 
sonant with  the  common  faith  of  the  time.  And 
this  was  probably  so  much  the  case  that  one  of  the 
great  problems  before  the  creative  personalities  of 
Christianity,  who  were  passionately  inculcating  a 
spiritual  faith,  was  to  put  ethical  content  into 
those  supernatural  conceptions  of  the  new  religion 
with  which  the  people  were  all  too  easily  satisfied. 
It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  we  shall  have  to  look 
for  the  highest  meaning  of  regeneration  as  con- 
ceived by  the  apostles,  not  so  much  in  those  mir- 
aculous aspects  which  have  generally  attracted 
attention,  important  as  these  are  in  NT  thought, 
but  rather  in  what  was  added  of  real  ethical  quality 
to  the  conceptions  that  otherwise  might  have  been 
largely  external  and  magical. 

So  far  as  Judaism  is  concerned,  it  has  always 
been  recognized  that  early  Christianity  formed 

*  Reitzenstein's  comparison  of  the  NT  with  these  is,  however, 
significant:  'the  tremendous  seriousness  with  which  guilt  and 
atonement  are  preached  is,  so  far  as  I  can  discover,  lacking  in 
Hellenism  '  (Poimandres,  p.  180,  n.  1). 


itself  against  the  background  of  the  great  faith 
that  had  come  from  the  OT,  and  it  has  latterly 
been  quite  generally  recognized  that  the  back- 
ground of  NT  theology  is  also  that  apocalyptic 
Messianism  that  had  come  to  such  elaborate  de- 
velopment at  the  time.  The  continuity  of  revela- 
tion which  has  been  thought  of  between  the  OT 
and  the  NT  has  made  it  easy  for  us  to  think  of 
Christianity  as  accepting  the  language,  the  meta- 
phors, and  many  of  the  externals  of  Judaism, 
giving  to  them  a  larger  significance.  But  it  is 
necessary  also  to  realize  that  Christianity  was  able 
to  take  over  the  whole  schema  of  apocalypticism 
by  simply  putting  Jesus  as  the  expected  Messiah. 
The  conditions  for  a  doctrine  of  regeneration  were 
then  complete.  Current  Judaism  made  sharp 
distinction  between  the  present  age  under  the 
dominion  of  Satan  and  the  coming  age  when  the 
Messiah  would  be  in  power.  Among  the  most 
glorious  expectancies  regarding  the  Messiah  were 
the  supernatural  endowments  that  He  would 
bestow  upon  His  people.  And  there  was  not 
wanting  the  ethical  expectation  that  sin  would  be 
pardoned,  and  a  great  era  of  righteousness  would 
ensue.  If,  then,  Jesus  were  the  Messiah  already 
manifested,  crucified  for  sin,  raised  from  the  dead, 
coming  again  in  glory,  empowered  to  bestow  an 
earnest  of  the  gifts  of  the  coming  age,  a  super- 
natural new  life  would,  of  course,  be  possible.  The 
believer  in  those  redemptive  facts  would  be  trans- 
lated from  the  Kingdom  of  Satan  to  that  of  Messiah. 
He  would  receive  salvation,  he  would  become  a 
child  of  God,  he  would  be  miraculously  re-born  (a 
phrase  already  probably  used  of  proselytes),  and 
he  would  obtain  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  with  its 
miraculous  effects.  It  is  evident  that  there  is  here 
a  possibility  either  of  the  highest  ethical  motive  or 
of  confidence  in  a  mere  magical  salvation.  The 
whole  spiritual  quality  of  the  new  faith  depended 
upon  the  degree  in  which  the  acceptance  of  Jesus 
became  a  moral  power  in  human  lives.  If  regenera- 
tion gave  men  a  sure  status,  guaranteeing  that 
they  would  be  pardoned  in  the  coming  Judgment, 
so  that  they  might  live  secure  in  having  made 
comfortable  provision  for  the  future,  then  the 
whole  supernaturalism  would  be  in  vain.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  inspired  them  to  be  worthy  to 
reign  with  Christ,  it  would  have  the  highest  moral 
quality.  The  great  NT  passages  are  concerned  not 
with  a  definition  of  regeneration,  but  with  en- 
treaties and  exhortations  to  live  the  new  life  which 
had  been  so  Divinely  bestowed. 

But  not  only  in  Judaism  was  there  a  background 
for  the  doctrine  of  regeneration.  The  researches 
of  recent  years  compel  us  to  recognize  that  there 
were  widespread  hopes  and  expectancies  of  new 
life  among  the  people  who  had  felt  the  influence 
of  the  great  mystery-religions.*  And  these  were 
not  national  and  racial,  as  were  those  of  the  Jews, 
but  personal.  The  individual  could  be  saved 
through  a  purification,  this  sometimes  seeming  to 
be  ethical,  perhaps  more  often  ceremonial.  There 
was  intense  interest  in  personal  immortality,  and 
a  belief  that  the  way  to  this  salvation  and  immor- 
tality was  that  of  initiation  into  the  mysteries, 
involving  mystic  communion  with  the  god.  The 
very  metaphor  of  the  new  birth  was  in  all  proba- 
bility employed,  indicating  the  attainment  of  a 
new  status  and  the  possibility  of  miraculous  charis- 
mata. Indeed,  it  is  not  without  significance  that 
the  word  '  regeneration '  is  not  used  in  the  great 
NT  passages.  Its  only  occurrence  as  applied  to 
the  individual  is  Tit  35,  a  passage  of  very  doubtful 
Pauline  authenticity,  where  the  most  obvious 
interpretation  is  that  salvation  is  effected  by  bap- 
tism. Is  it  possible  that  the  word  had  so  sacra- 
mental a  significance  that  it  was  better  avoided  by 
*  See  art.  MYSTERY,  MYSTERIES. 


[REGENERATION 


REGENERATION 


311 


those  who  were  insisting  upon  an  actual  ethical 
renewal  ?  With  the  triumph  of  sacrameutalism  in 
the  Church  the  word  attained  its  technical  value.* 
Of  course  the  documents  that  present  these  ideas 
so  fully  belong  for  the  most  part  to  a  period  not 
earlier  than  the  end  of  the  2nd  cent.  A.D.,  and  it  is 

Cossible  to  maintain  that  they  have  been  coloured 
y  Christianity.  But  the  essential  doctrines  of 
the  mystery-religions  could  not  have  been  so  soon 
completely  metamorphosed.  Clemen  (Primitive 
Christianity  and  its  Non-  Jewish  Sources,  p.  231),  in 
a  very  careful  examination  of  the  material,  recog- 
nizes the  priority  in  the  mystery-religions  of  many 
of  the  redemptive  doctrines,  and  these  not  without 
ethical  character.  So  far  as  regeneration  is  con- 
cerned, he  believes  that  even  the  yfvvr)6rjvai  avwffev 
(Jn  37)  might  be  so  derived.  He  thinks  also  that 
the  mention  in  the  Naassenic  sermon  of  a  irvev- 
/j.a.TiKri,  tirovpavios,  &vu  ytvfffis,  in  which  the  reference 
is  to  the  Eleusinian  mysteries,  may  well  indicate 
a  general  influence,  at  least  upon  the  Christian 
phraseology.  This  is  not  to  say  that  Christianity 
borrowed  its  ideas  from  paganism  at  the  same  time 
that  it  felt  the  most  intense  revulsion  against  the 
idolatries,  but  only  that  certain  common  religious 
thought-forms  concerning  miraculous  purifications 
and  transformations  were  current,  and  Christianity 
inevitably  expressed  its  own  new-born  faith  in  the 
language  of  the  day.  If,  then,  in  the  non-Jewish 
world  Jesus  was  proclaimed  as  the  Son  of  God,  who 
had  become  incarnate,  had  died  the  sacrificial 
death,  had  risen  from  the  dead  and  ascended  into 
heaven,  was  coming  again  to  give  immortality  to 
His  followers,  it  would  be  quite  in  accord  with  the 
religious  ideas  of  the  time  to  believe  that  an 
acceptance  of  these  redemptive  facts  would  con- 
stitute one  a  child  of  God,  and  would  avail  to 
secure  the  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  which  would  be  the 
attestation  of  having  passed  from  death  unto  life. 
And,  again,  as  among  the  Jews,  it  would  be 
possible  to  accept  such  a  doctrine  in  a  wholly  ex- 
ternal way,  making  the  salvation  process  merely 
miraculous.  There  was,  of  course,  the  other 
glorious  possibility  that  those  who  believed  them- 
selves saved  from  sin  and  translated  into  eternal 
life  by  the  loving  acceptance  of  the  grace  of  God  in 
Jesus  Christ  would  be  actually  impelled  by  new 
ethical  motive,  and  would  manifest  the  moral,  as 
well  as  the  miraculous,  fruits  of  the  Spirit.  This 
was  the  experience  of  the  NT  writers  themselves, 
and  it  is  to  this  new  life  of  love  and  moral  en- 
deavour that  they  exhort  their  readers. 

The  basis  for  a  doctrine  of  regeneration  is  there- 
fore to  be  found  in  the  sacramental  ism  of  both 
Judaism  and  the  mystery-cults.  And  the  NT 
writers  believe  in  a  miraculous  change  of  status 
brought  about  at  the  moment  of  faith.  But  they 
always  insist  that  this  has  no  meaning  unless  a 
new  moral  life,  governed  by  new  motives,  has 
actually  resulted.  And  this  is  a  practical  nullifica- 
tion of  the  sacramental  conception.  It  is  further 
a  nullification  of  the  artificial  distinction  which 
later  theology  elaborated  between  regeneration 
and  sanctification.  In  the  effort  to  make  a  self- 
consistent  theology  all  the  passages  which  referred 
to  the  miraculous  change  of  status  were  used  for  a 
doctrine  of  regeneration,  and  those  which  referred 
to  the  ethical  agency  of  the  Spirit  for  one  of  sancti- 
fication. There  was  thus  developed  the  idea  that 
regeneration  produced  a  complete  change  of  nature, 
an  idea  which  neither  common  human  experience 
nor  scientific  psychology  supports.  The  NT 
writers,  far  more  concerned  with  the  facts  of 
experience  than  with  the  formulation  of  a  self- 

*  For  a  careful  study  of  the  word  iraXivycvco-ia.  see  art.  '  Re- 
generation'  in  HDB,  by  J.  Vernon  Bartlet,  and  for  its  use  in 
the  mystery-religions  see  Reitzenstein,  Poimandres,  and  Die 
hellenistiscken  Mysterienreliyiunen,  s.v.  iroAi-yyei'eo-ia  in  Index. 


consistent  theology,  developed  no  such  theory. 
To  them  regeneration  was  always  a  moral  fact. 
Hence  the  idea  of  the  regeneration  of  infants, 
very  easily  held  by  those  who  believe  in  the  possi- 
bility of  a  supernatural  change  of  nature,  does  not 
appear  in  the  NT.  The  reason  for  this  will  be 
noted  in  the  discussion  of  1  John. 

The  examination  of  the  NT  documents  may  well 
begin  with  Jesus'  teaching  in  the  Synoptics,  then 
proceed  to  the  Book  of  Acts  as  presenting  the 
external  manifestations  of  the  early  Christian 
experience  with  the  interpretations  that  were 
current  in  the  Church,  and  then  to  the  writings 
that  more  clearly  express  the  personal  contributions 
of  the  great  spiritual  leaders. 

1.  The  Synoptics.  —  The  idea  of  regeneration, 
strictly  so  called,  does  not  appear  in  the  words  of 
J«us  in  the  Synoptic  tradition.     This  is  significant 
at  once  of  the  faithfulness  of  the  tradition  and  of 
Jesus'  own  extraordinary  originality.     The  iraXtv- 
yevfcria.  of  Mt  1928  is,  of  course,  the  Messianic  con- 
summation.    But  neither  here,  nor  in  any  other 
passage  that  refers  to  the  Kingdom  of  God  in 
apocalyptic  fashion,  is  there  any  statement  of  a 
miraculous    change  of  status  of   the  individual. 
The  saying  of  John  the  Baptist  that  the  Coming 
One  shall  baptize  with  the  Holy  Spirit  (Mt  3",  Lk 
316)  implies  the  supernaturalism  of  the  charismata, 
but  Jesus'  own  words  have  to  do  with  the  simplicity 
of  a  religious  experience  within  the  reach  of  all 
who  fulfil  the  ethical  conditions  of  thorough-going 
repentance  (Mt  18s)  and  heroic,  sacrificial  choice 
of  the  higher  values  (1039  ll25*-  1624ff-  188f-).     Of 
course  God  Himself  reveals  truth  to  the  obedient 
soul    (1617),   but   there   is   no  natural   incapacity 
for  righteousness.     Men  can  become  sons  of  their 
Father  if    they  will    (540).     The   striking    figure 
used   of  the  Prodigal,  who  was  alive  after  being 
morally  dead,  is  only  a  strong  expression  of  the 
happy  result  when  the  foolish  sinner  '  came  to 
himself.' 

2.  The  Book  of  Acts. — That  the  specific  meta- 
phor of  regeneration  had  not  been  theologized  in  the 
primitive    Church    is    evident    from     the    entire 
absence  of  the  figure  from  this  book.     The  only 
reference  to  men  as  the  children  of  God  is  the 
quotation  from  the  Greek  poet  (1728).     However, 
there  is  here  the  essentially  similar  idea,  as  through- 
out the  NT,  that  the  saved  man  is  one  who  has 
received  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.     He  is  Divinely 
possessed.     He  may  be  so  carried  out  of  himself  by 
the  supernatural  enthusiasm  that  he  appears  to  on- 
lookers as  drunk  (213) ;  more  generally  he  has  the 
miraculous    power    of    uttering    ecstatic    sounds 
(speaking  with  tongues,  24  1046  198),  and  declaring 
his  faith  in  exuberant  public  speech  (prophesying, 
II28  198  219- lo)  ;    while  those  especially   endowed 
may  work  miracles  (2«  430  512  813  143).     This  gift  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  with  its  wonderful  manifestations, 
is  the  distinguishing  mark  of  the  Christian  (233-  M 
532  8i?  1044  158  196).     The  schema  of  the  new  religion 
is  clearly  set  forth  ;  Jesus  is  the  Messiah  (2s6  542), 
predicted  in  the  Scriptures  (762  8s5  1347),  attested  by 
the  Resurrection  (23J  1041  1333  262S) ;  acceptance  of 
Him  as  such  is  the  basis  of  salvation  (412  1043  1339) ; 
but  there  must  be  also  a  very  definite  repentance, 
not  merely  for  having  crucified  the  Messiah  (2s8), 
but  a  turning  from  iniquities  (S26),  and  from  dark- 
ness to  light  (2618),  and  this  is  to  be  followed  by 
works  worthy  of  repentance  (2620)  ;  baptism  follows 
on  repentance  and   seems  to  have  a  sacramental 
efficacy    (j3a.TrTiff6-/jTw  .    .   .   els    a<f>ecriv  rwv  afj.apriwv 
vfj.Cov,  2s8  ;    pdTTTtffai  Kal  air6\ovffat  ras  d/ua/mas  trov, 
2216).     As  regards  baptism,  it  is  noteworthy  that 
Cornelius  and  his  company  are  accepted  of  God 
and  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  before  they 
are  baptized  (104*- 47),  though  in  every  other  case 
the  gift  of  the  Spirit  is  subsequent  to  baptism. 


312 


REGENERATION 


REGENERATION 


Finally,  those  who  are  thus  saved  and  endowed 
are  ordained  unto  eternal  life  (1346-  **),  the  blessed 
inheritance  of  the  future  (2618).  While  it  is  evident 
that  much  of  this  programme  would  be  entirely 
familiar  to  the  world  of  the  mystery-religions,  the 
peculiar  power  of  primitive  Christianity  was  mani- 
fest in  its  fine  moral  glow  and  its  gracious  charities, 
as  well  as  in  its  religious  enthusiasm.  And  this 
story  of  the  early  Church  reveals,  on  the  one  hand, 
an  utter  absence  of  those  coarser  elements,  from 
which  the  mystery-cults,  whatever  may  have  been 
their  philosophical  refinements,  never  freed  them- 
selves, and,  on  the  other  hand,  a  positive  moral 
power  resulting  from  glad  allegiance  to  the 
Historical  Founder  of  Christianity,  such  as  was 
never  accorded  to  the  mythical  founders  of  the 
other  religions  of  the  time. 

3.  The  Pauline  writings. — The  central  passage 
for  St.  Paul's  thought  on  the  experience  of  re- 
generation is  Ro  6-8.  It  is  evidently  autobio- 
graphical in  fact  as  well  as  in  rhetorical  form,  and 
is  a  wonderful  piece  of  self-revelation.  It  is  a 
classic  of  religious  experience,  and  yields  in  a  most 
interesting  way  to  clear  psychological  interpreta- 
tion. The  passage  exhibits  what  the  experience 
of  regeneration  really  is  in  the  case  of  such  persons 
as  are  conscious  of  what  has  been  called  '  the 
divided  self.'  It  is  the  case,  familiar  enough  in 
some  form  to  most  of  us,  where  all  one's  ethical 
ideals  reinforced  by  education  lead  in  one  direction, 
while  the  strength  of  many  habits  and  even  of 
primitive  instinct  (if  eiridv^ia.  in  77  is  to  be  under- 
stood as  'lust')  impel  one  in  another  direction. 
When  attention  is  concentrated  upon  duty,  a  man 
acts  according  to  his  sense  of  higher  values  ;  when 
impulse  determines  his  conduct,  he  is  false  to  his 
better  knowledge.  And  so,  in  spite  of  longings 
and  endeavours  after  moral  victory,  defeat  is  the 
constant  result.  To  the  earnest  Pharisee  the 
terrible  impasse  is  reached,  that  he  wants  to  be 
righteous  but  he  cannot  (721"24) :  he  must  actually 
do  what  he  hates  (71S).  Some  new  idea  with  very 
high  emotional  quality  is  essential  to  secure  the 
concentration  of  attention  on  the  nobler  course  of 
conduct.  This  comes  to  St.  Paul  in  his  conversion 
experience.  He  feels  himself  thereupon  released 
from  the  thrall  of  the  lower  self  and  empowered  to 
live  in  the  higher  self.  The  new  idea  has  the 
emotive  power  necessary  to  make  his  ethical  ideals 
actually  attainable,  and  so  he  comes  into  the  ex- 
perience of  the  peace  of  the  unified  self  (724<  25  ;  cf. 
51).  An  element  of  this  new  idea  that  has  strong 
emotional  value  is  the  belief  that  there  awaits  the 
victor  in  the  conflict  an  eternity  of  splendid  peace 
in  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  those  experiences  for 
which  now  he  must  contend  so  hardly  (815'17). 
This  creates  a  condition  distinctly  favourable  for 
pursuing  lines  of  conduct  conducive  to  the  desired 
end.  The  transformation  has  thus  taken  place, 
that  ethical  ideals  are  no  longer  merely  intellectu- 
ally conceived,  but  have  gained  an  emotional 
quality  that  renders  the  inhibition  of  contrary 
tendencies  easy  and  natural  (8-).  Of  course  under 
strong  provocation  the  old  impulses  to  wrong 
conduct  would  revive,  and  sometimes  so  strongly 
as  to  overcome  the  new  inhibitions  and  pass  over 
into  action.  But  the  experience  of  victory  and 
unity  would  be  so  vivid  that  this  re-emergence  of 
the  divided  self  would  be  painful,  the  new  desir- 
able lines  of  conduct  would  renew  their  hold  upon 
the  attention,  the  inhibitions  would  regain  their 
sway,  and  peace  would  again  ensue.  (This  involves 
an  interpretation  of  77"25  as  a  continuous  experience, 
and  not  merely  a  post-conversion  memory. ) 

St.  Paul's  own  interpretation  of  this  regenera- 
tion experience  is  based  on  the  antagonism  be- 
tween the  <rdp£  and  the  wvev/M.  Whether  his 
psychology  involves  an  actual  anthropological 


dualism  it  is  perhaps  not  necessary  to  decide.  He 
was  probably  not  conscious  of  attempting  a  philo- 
sophical explanation,  but  was  using  the  currently 
conceived  antagonism  between  flesh  and  spirit  to 
express  the  fact  of  his  own  experience  and  observa- 
tion. The  resolution  of  the  antagonism  is  to  St. 
Paul  a  Divine  miracle  of  grace  (725).  The  flesh  is 
gaining  the  victory,  but  the  Divine  Spirit  comes  to 
the  reinforcement  of  the  human  spirit  and  over- 
comes the  flesh.  St.  Paul  conceives  the  irvev^a.  Oeov 
as  an  actual  external  power  coming  to  the  aid  of  the 
believer,  as  a  donation  to  be  received  (818 ;  cf.  2  Co 
I22,  Eph  I13  430).  It  is  difficult  here  to  follow  him 
exactly  because  we  are  not  sure  of  his  psychology, 
but  it  is  not  at  all  difficult  to  arrive  at  his  practical 
purpose.  He  is  not  so  much  concerned  to  explain 
the  religious  experience  of  the  Christian,  except  to 
ascribe  it  to  the  power  of  God,  as  he  is  to  insist 
that  it  must  be  a  moral  experience,  involving 
necessarily  the  active  moral  endeavour  of  the 
believer.  The  passage  is  primarily  hortatory,  only 
incidentally  doctrinal.  St.  Paul  knows  that 
eternal  vigilance  has  been  the  condition  of  his 
own  moral  victory,  God-given  though  he  believes 
it  to  be,  and  he  is  anxious  for  his  readers  not  to 
fail  of  victory  by  any  easy  acceptance  of  an  ex- 
ternal salvation. 

The  four  rich  metaphors  of  this  passage,  of  which 
regeneration  is  not  one,  are  all  employed  with  this 
hortatory  aim.  (1)  Death  and  resurrection. — 
Under  the  symbol  of  baptism,  the  believer  is  pic- 
tured as  dead  and  risen  again,  in  order  to  en- 
force the  obligation  of  living  in  newness  of  life 
(63'n).  (2)  Change  of  masters.— The  figure  of  the 
bondservant  is  used  to  press  the  alternative  that 
we  belong  either  to  sin  or  to  righteousness.  Our 
conduct  determines  which  is  master  (616'23).  (3)  Re- 
marriage of  a  widow. — Just  as  a  widow  assumes  a 
new  loyalty  when  she  marries  a  new  husband,  so 
are  we  free  from  the  old  sense  of  moral  obligations 
and  under  the  highest  necessity  of  being  true  to 
the  new  (71'6).  (4)  Legal  adoption  of  children. — 
The  most  significant  figure  of  adoption  is  employed 
to  indicate  a  new  relationship  to  God  attested  by 
the  presence  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  enabling  the 
believer  to  call  God  his  Father.  But  this  is  all 
dependent  upon  actual  life  in  the  Spirit  (or  in  the 
spirit,  conceived  as  the  higher  human  nature) 
(S*2~17).  The  Apostle  is  peculiarly  careful  that 
these  metaphors  shall  not  be  pushed  to  an  un- 
ethical conclusion.  He  sees  the  danger  in  his  own 
day,  which  was  fully  realized  in  the  history  of  the 
doctrine  of  regeneration.  If  any  reader  assumes 
that,  having  been  baptized,  he  is  therefore  dead  to 
the  old  life,  St.  Paul  is  not  afraid  to  present  to 
him  the  paradox,  that  the  man  who  lias  died  to  the 
flesh  and  is  thus  released  from  its  bondage  (66>  7810) 
is  still  to  go  on  putting  to  deatli  the  doings  of  the 
body  (813).  In  close  juxtaposition  he  speaks  of 
a  definite  bestowal  of  the  Spirit  (aorist  Ad/Jere, 
815),  with  a  constitution  of  the  status  of  adoption, 
and  of  a  relationship  to  God  contingent  on  an  ever- 
present  obedience  (&aoi  (Lyovrai,  814).  So  the  new 
life  of  the  Christian  is  at  the  same  time  an  ethical 
achievement  and  a  supernatural  gift.  St.  Paul 
does  not  carefully  distinguish  between  these. 
They  are  merged  in  any  vital  religious  experience, 
so  that  the  regenerate  man  is  the  one  who  is  in  the 
actual  experience  of  living  the  new  life  of  moral 
victory  (S9). 

Entirely  in  keeping  with  Ro  6-8  are  all  St.  Paul's 
references  to  the  new  spiritual  life.  He  assumes 
that  it  has  had  a  miraculous  beginning  (note  his 
use  of  the  past  tense  :  5i/c<uw0e»Tes,  tXevOepuOevTes, 
K\ri0fi>T£s,  iiyiaff/jitvoi),  but  he  lays  the  emphasis  upon 
the  ethical  endeavour,  which  alone  can  make  the 
potential  actual.  Thus  in  Ro  122,  using  the  word 
dvaKaivuffis,  very  near  akin  to  the  idea  of  regenera- 


REGENERATION 


REGENERATION 


313 


tion,  he  calls  upon  his  readers  to  make  a  complete 
change  for  the  better.  Sanday-Headlam  (ICC, 
'  Romans ' 5,  1902)  paraphrase,  '  do  not  adopt  the  ex- 
ternal and  fleeting  fashion  of  this  world,  but  be  ye 
transformed  in  your  inmost  nature.'  Denney  (EOT, 
'Romans,'  1900)  says  that  the  process  would  in 
modern  language  be  rather  sanctification  than  re- 
generation, but  that  the  latter  is  assumed.  Would 
it  not  be  nearer  to  the  Apostle's  thought,  as  to  his 
experience,  to  say  that  he  regards  the  process  of 
spiritual  renewal  as  one  bestowed  by  God  through 
faith,  but  rendered  significant  and  vital  only  by 
continued  faithfulness?  To  the  Colossians  he 
affirms  in  repeated  metaphors  a  definite  change 
that  has  been  effected  by  Divine  agency  :  a  trans- 
lation from  the  kingdom  of  evil  to  the  Kingdom  of 
Christ  (I13),  a  reconciliation  from  alien  enmity 
(I-1-22),  a  death  and  resurrection  with  Christ  (220 
31* 8),  an  unclothing  and  reclothing  (39- 10).  But 
the  reconciliation  is  dependent  on  continuance  in 
the  faith  (I23) ;  the  members  of  the  dead  man  are 
to  be  put  to  death  (36) ;  and  the  new  man  is  to  be 
renewed  (310).  In  the  last  passage  the  equivalent 
word  for  regeneration  (dva.Kaivo6(j.ei>oi>)  is  clearly 
used  in  the  sense  of  process  as  in  2  Co  418,  where 
the  contrast  is  between  the  loosening  hold  upon 
physical  life  and  the  growing  sense  of  spiritual 
reality.  To  the  Ephesians  St.  Paul  writes  in  the 
most  absolute  terms  of  a  fore-ordained  adoption 
as  sons  ( I5)  and  of  salvation  as  a  free  gift  (2s),  and 
the  metaphor  of  the  new  life  is  a  resurrection 
(21-  B<  6),  not  as  in  Romans  a  dying  and  rising  with 
Christ,  which  is  merely  a  bold  use  of  the  symbol 
of  baptism,  but  a  resurrection  to  new  life  of  a 
nature  so  corrupt  as  to  be  regarded  as  morally 
dead.  And  yet  the  splendid  description  of  Divinely 
given  salvation  is  only  an  argument  for  a  realiza- 
tion of  an  actual  moral  renewal,  progressively  to 
take  place  :  putting  away  the  old  man,  putting  on 
the  new,  being  renewed  (dvaveowGai)  in  the  spirit 
of  their  minds  (i22"88).  The  same  paradox,  though 
with  a  change  of  metaphor,  appears  in  58. 

4.  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.— The  figure  of 
regeneration  is  not  used  in  this  document.  Chris- 
tians are  called  sons  of  God  and  brethren  of  Christ, 
but  are  not  said  to  have  been  made  so.  When 
they  are  called  the  sons  whom  Jesus  brings  unto 
glory  (210)  the  antithesis  is  not  between  sons  of 
God  and  the  unregenerate,  but  between  the  mortal 
humanity  of  the  sons  whose  likeness  Jesus  took  and 
the  immortal  glory  of  His  own  proper  estate  which 
they  shall  share.  And  in  the  consciousness  of  son- 
ship  that  is  gained  through  suffering  (128)  the 
antithesis  is  between  uncared-for  children  who 
receive  no  correction  and  those  beloved  who  are 
the  objects  of  paternal  discipline.  However,  the 
initial  Christian  experience  as  a  definite  change 
of  attitude  and  relationship  is  very  clearly  ex- 
pressed. It  is  an  enlightenment  (1032),  a  tasting 
of  the  heavenly  gift  (of  forgiveness),  a  reception  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  a  tasting  of  the  good  word  of  God, 
and  of  the  powers  of  the  age  to  come  (i.e.  a  fore- 
taste of  the  blessed  experiences  that  the  expected 
Messianic  Age  would  bring)  (64- 5).  This  experi- 
ence is  elaborated  in  many  passages  of  the  Epistle 
and  is  represented  as  produced  by  Divine  power. 
The  blood  of  Christ  cleanses  the  conscience  from 
sin,  and  makes  it  possible  for  the  man  of  faith  to 
serve  the  living  God  (914  1022).  The  blood  of  the 
covenant  is  that  which  sanctifies  (sanctification 
being  here  equivalent  to  regeneration)  (1029). 
Baptism  symbolizes  (or  perhaps  effects)  the  clean- 
sing (1023).  The  Holy  Spirit  is  bestowed  as  a  gift 
(24).  Indeed,  salvation  would  seem  to  be  altogether 
miraculous  when  it  is  said  that  by  one  ottering  God 
hath  perfected  for  ever  them  that  are  sanctified 
(1014).  And  yet  the  purpose  of  the  Epistle  is  to 
warn  against  apostasy,  and  to  insist  that  all  the 


blessedness  of  the  new  life  is  only  a  potentiality  to 
be  realized  by  faithfulness.  The  great  passage 
(64'6)  which  enumerates  all  that  has  been  done  for 
the  believer  is  written  for  the  sake  of  the  conclu 
sion  that  if  apostasy  follows  such  blessedness  there 
is  no  further  hope.  If  we  hold  fast,  we  belong  to 
Christ  (38),  and  are  partakers  of  Christ  (314).  We 
shall  not  escape  if  we  turn  away  (1228),  and  if  we 
sin  wilfully  after  being  enlightened  there  is  no 
further  means  of  salvation  (1026).  Thus,  although 
the  new  religious  experience  is  Divinely  bestowed 
and  sustained  (122)  and  perfected  (1320- 21),  it  is  not 
magical  and  sacramental,  but  dependent  upon 
ethical  striving  and  continued  faithfulness. 

5.  The  Catholic  Epistles.  — In    the  Epistle  of 
James  the  idea  of  regeneration  is  connected  with 
the  coming  Messianic  Age  :  believers  are  Divinely 
brought  forth  (d.vtKin)fffv)  as  firstfruits  of  the  new 
order  (I18).     In  another  figure  the  dualism  between 
this  world  and  the  Divine  order  is  indicated,  when 
God's  people  are  represented  as  joined  to  Him  by 
a  marriage  vow  so   that  'the   friendship  of  the 
world  is  an  adultery'  (44).     Yet,  while  this  Epistle 
recognizes     miraculous     salvation,     it     distinctly 
affirms  that  religion  can  be  defined  only  in  ethical 
terms  (I26-  yi))  and  lays  careful  emphasis  on  justifi- 
cation by  works  (214"26). 

1  Peter  is  full  of  the  exultant  expression  of  a 
rich  religious  experience.  The  metaphor  of  re- 
generation appears  several  times.  It  is  used  to  ex- 
press the  utterly  new  life  which  belongs  to  the 
person  who  has  attained  a  hope  of  resurrection  and 
heavenly  glory  (dvayevvfia-as,  1s).  Again,  Christians 
are  said  to  be  begotten  again  (dvayeyewijfj^voi)  to  a 
new  life  of  brotherly  love,  the  moral  quality  of 
the  regeneration  being  very  marked  (I22-  a).  And, 
with  expansion  of  the  figure,  the  new-born  babe  is 
urged  to  desire  the  fitting  nourishment  for  pro- 
ducing the  maturity  of  salvation  (22).  St.  Paul's 
great  figure  of  death  and  resurrection  is  employed 
to  indicate  that  union  with  Christ  means  a  death 
to  sins  and  a  life  unto  righteousness  (224). 

In  2  Peter  the  new  life  is  separated  from  the  old 
by  a  Ka.6apKrfj.fa  (I9).  It  is  described  as  an  escape 
from  the  corruptions  of  the  world  (14220).  Chris- 
tians thus  become  '  partakers  of  the  divine  nature ' 
(I4).  This  is  effected  through  knowledge  (tiriyvuffis) 
of  God  (I2- s)  and  of  Christ  (I2- 8  220  318).  But  if,  in 
spite  of  this  redemptive  knowledge,  there  should 
be  a  return  to  the  defilements  of  the  world,  salva- 
tion is  lost  and  'the  last  state  is  become  worse 
with  them  than  the  first'  (220).  The  Epistle  is 
throughout  strongly  ethical. 

6.  The  Johannine  literature. — The  purpose  of 
the  Gospel  of  John  is  definitely  stated  in  the  con- 
clusion (2031)  to  be  a  demonstration  that  Jesus  is 
the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God,  in  order  that  men 
might  believe  and  have  life  in  His  name.     Life  is 
the  key-word  of  the  Gospel.     This  is  more  than  a 
hope  of  immortality,  which  of  course  it  includes 
(640  1419).     It  seems  to  imply  a  certain  rich  and 
exuberant  experience  as  a  result  of  the  indwelling 
of  the  Spirit.     One  becomes,  as  it  were,  a  perennial 
spring  of  spiritual  vitality  (414  738'1).     It  is  an  ex- 
perience of  spiritual  apprehension  (847),  of  walking 
in  light  and  not  in  darkness  (812).     The  object  of 
salvation  is  that  one  shall  live  to  the  full,  abun- 
dantly (1010).      It  may   be  doubted   whether  our 
modern  social  interpretations  of  the  abundant  life 
were  in  the  mind  of  the  writer,  but  he  evidently 
referred  to  an  exultant  sense  of  the  glorious  worth- 
fulness  of  being  a  child  of  God,  superior  to  worldly 
circumstance,  possessed  of  the  Spirit,  with  miracu- 
lous powers,  and  certain  of  a  glorious  future.     This 
new  life  is  so  different  from  ordinary  mundane  life 
that  very  naturally  the  metaphor  of  regeneration 
is  used  to  explain  it.     As  our  human  begetting  by 
the  will  of  man  bestows  upon  us  common  life,  so 


314 


REGENERATION 


REJECTION 


the  Divine  begetting  gives  us  life  eternal  (1IS). 
The  antithesis  is  clear  :  one  is  either  regenerate  or 
not  (36).  The  conversation  with  Nicodenms  affords 
the  opportunity  for  presenting  the  doctrine.  The 
Kingdom  of  God  comes  not  by  natural  heritage 
even  to  a  Jewish  Rabbi,  but  by  supernatural 
bestowment.  It  is  mysterious  as  the  incalculable 
winds,  but  is  inevitable  and  essential  (38).  The 
condition  of  this  regeneration  is  a  belief  that  Jesus 
is  the  Messiah,  Son  of  God  ;  for  what  is  definitely 
stated  in  the  prologue  (I12' ls)  is  implied  in  the 
believing  unto  eternal  life  (318).  Regeneration  as 
thus  presented  might  seem  to  be  the  mere  change 
of  status  with  miraculous  charismata  in  conse- 
quence of  an  external  act  of  homage,  which  the 
pagan  heart  would  so  well  understand.  But  faith 
is  not  an  external  act  in  this  Gospel.  He  that 
doeth  the  truth  cometh  to  the  light  (321) ;  he  that 
is  willing  to  do  the  will  of  God  gains  experiential 
evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel  (717).  And  the 
great  central  teaching  of  the  last  discourse  of 
Jesus  is  fundamentally  ethical.  The  figure  changes 
from  regeneration  to  that  of  the  branch  in  the 
vine.  The  question  is  not  whether  the  branch  is 
in  the  vine,  but  whether  it  bears  fruit,  failing 
which  it  is  cast  forth  and  burned  (15B).  And  the 
fruit  is  love  (1512).  So  the  test  of  regeneration  is 
the  actual  experience  of  love  of  the  brethren,  the 
actual  fulfilment  of  the  commandment  of  Christ. 
Belief,  then,  through  which  comes  regeneration,  is 
not  an  intellectual  assent,  but  a  passionate  loyalty, 
rich  in  ethical  impulse,  and  a  continuous  experience. 
1  John  has  the  same  theme  as  the  Gospel,  but 
the  treatment  is  more  homiletic.  The  conditions 
are  peculiarly  favourable  to  the  definition  of  a 
doctrine  of  regeneration,  for  the  letter  is  evidently 
written  to  a  Christian  community  or  communities, 
in  which  many  must  belong  to  the  second  or  third 
generation  of  believers,  and  therefore  would  not 
have  experienced  the  decided  change  involved  in 
a  conversion  from  heathenism.  The  silence  of  the 
NT  upon  the  matter  of  the  regeneration  of  children 
is  interesting  in  view  of  the  large  place  which  it 
has  held  in  subsequent  theological  discussion.  In 
the  NT,  however,  regeneration  is  always  dependent 
upon  faith.  The  children  would,  of  course,  receive 
such  instruction  as  would  enable  them  to  believe. 
Both  the  Jewish  and  the  Greek  world  were 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  idea  of  a  coming  of 
age  at  puberty,  and  the  children  probably  received 
the  baptism  which  was  the  seal  of  their  faith  at  that 
time.  The  figure  of  regeneration  had  not  been  so 
thoroughly  theologized  that  the  question  whether 
or  not  children  were  regenerate  would  arise.  The 
silence  of  the  NT  is  an  assumption  that  the 
children  of  believers  were  candidates  for  salvation. 
But  a  religion  dependent  on  instruction  might 
easily  become  merely  formal.  And  it  is  such  a 
situation  that  this  Epistle  presupposes.  It  is 
addressed  to  the  Christian  community  (518),  to 
fathers  who  have  long  known  the  truth,  to  young 
men  who  are  conquering  evil  (213-  14),  all  of  whom 
have  received  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  an 
abiding  enlightenment  (227).  The  writer  identifies 
them  with  himself  in  the  absoluteness  of  salvation 
— '  we  are  of  God,  and  the  whole  world  lieth  in  the 
evil  one'  (519).  And  yet  the  distinctive  emphasis 
of  the  Epistle  is  upon  regeneration  as  a  moral  ex- 
perience rather  than  as  a  religious  status.  When 
the  author  says,  '  whosoever  believeth  is  begotten 
of  God'  (51),  he  is  stating  the  fact  which  any 
primitive  Christian  would  have  understood.  But 
with  equal  emphasis  he  insists  that '  everyone  that 
doeth  righteousness  is  begotten  of  him'  (229),  and 
again  that '  everyone  that  loveth  is  begotten  of  God ' 
(47).  He  does  not  say  that  we  know  that  we  have 
passed  from  death  unto  life  because  we  have  been 
baptized,  but  because  we  have  the  Spirit  (41S),  and 


the  evidence  of  this  is  love  of  the  brethren  (412  314). 
The  ethical  quality  of  regeneration  is  still  more 
emphatically  stated  — '  whatsoever  is  begotten  of 
God  doeth  no  sin'  (39  518).  Thus  mankind  is 
divided  into  children  of  God  and  children  of  the 
devil,  each  living  according  to  the  paternal  nature 
that  is  in  them  (39- 10).  Of  course  this  is  stated  in 
absolute  terms,  and  the  correction  is  at  hand  :  '  if 
we  say  we  have  no  sin  we  deceive  ourselves,'  etc. 
(I8- 10).  It  is  St.  Paul's  fine  paradox  again  :  we  are 
children  of  God  by  supernatural  creation  ;  the 
Divine  seed  is  in  us ;  what  is  Divine  cannot  sin  ; 
therefore  the  believer  does  not  sin  in  his  own 
proper  nature,  and  if  he  does  sin  he  seeks  and  finds 
forgiveness.  And  the  paradox  is  true  to  the 
real  religious  experience.  But  sacramentalism  is 
avoided,  and  the  whole  conception  of  regeneration 
is  ethicized  by  the  warning  against  confidence  in 
a  formal  regeneration  which  does  not  manifest 
itself  in  new  life.  The  regenerate  life  is  an 
exultant  and  abiding  love  to  God  and  the  brethren 
(412.  is.  i8)j  an(j  if  tjjjg  is  absent  there  is  no  re- 
generation at  all  (I6  29). 

LITERATURE. — Art.  '  Regeneration '  in  HDB  by  J.  V.  Bartlet, 
in  DCG  by  J.  Denney,  and  literature  there  cited  ;  works  on 
NT  Theology,  especially  B.  Weiss  (Ens.  tr.,  1882-83),  W. 
Beyschlag  (Eng.  tr.,  1895),  H.  J.  Holtzmann  (1896-97), 
G.  B.  Stevens  (1899);  also  special  works:  T.  D.  Bernard, 
The  Progress  of  Doctrine  in  the  NT,  1864,  51900 ;  G.  B. 
Stevens,  Johannine  Theology,  1894,  The  Pauline  Theology, 
1892;  O.  Pfleiderer,  Paulinisinus?,  1890  (Eng.  tr.,  1891); 
A.  B.  Bruce,  St.  Paul's  Conception  of  Christianity,  1894 ;  P. 
Gennrich,  Die  Lehre  von  der  Wiedergeburt,  1907.  For  the  his- 
torical background  :  R.  Reitzenstein,  Die  hellenist.  Mysterien- 
religionen,  1910,  Poimandres,  1904  ;  J.  G.  Frazer,  GB3,  pt.  iv., 
Adonis  Attis  Osiris,  1914  ;  F.  Cumont,  The  Oriental  Religions 
in  Roman  Paganism,  Eng.  tr.,  1911 ;  M.  Briickner,  Der  ster- 
bende  und  auferstehende  Gottheiland,  1908 ;  A.  Loisy,  '  The 
Christian  Mystery,'  in  HJ  x.  [1911]  45  ff. ;  C.  Clemen, 
Primitive  Christianity  and  its  Non-Jewish  Sources,  Eng.  tr., 
1912  ;  T.  G.  Scares, '  Some  Psychological  Aspects  of  Regenera- 
tion,' in  BW xxxvii.  [1911]  78  ff. ;  E.  D.  Burton, '  Spirit,  Soul,  and 
Flesh,'  in  A  JTh xvii.  [1913]  563  ff.,  xviii.  [1914]  59  ff.,  395  ff..  571  ff. 

THEODORE  GERALD  SCARES. 

REJECTION. — Rejection  is  an  idea  expressed  by 
more  than  one  word  in  the  NT.  (1)  airo8oKi/j.a.^eu>, 
which  means  'to  reject  after  trial,'  is  used  of  our 
Lord  in  His  own  Person  (Mk  831,  Lk  922  1725),  and 
of  our  Lord  as  '  the  stone  which  the  builders  re- 
jected' (Mt  2142,  Mk  1210,  Lk  2017,  1  P  24-7,  in  all 
these  places  quoted  from  Ps  117  (118)22,  although 
St.  Luke,  in  reporting  St.  Peter's  words  in  Ac  4n, 
uses  of  the  rejected  stone  ££ov9evi)0fls),  and  of  Esau 
(He  1217) ;  (2)  dirop<i\\etv  (in  the  forms  dTro/SXTjToi', 
1  Ti  44,  and  cwc/SoXr?,  Ac  27-2,  Ro  II16)  and  (3)  airwO- 
efoeai  (Ac  727-39  1346,  Ro  II1-8,  1  Ti  I19)  are  used  in 
a  general  sense  in  most  of  the  references. 

In  the  references  to  Romans,  (2)  and  (3)  are 
employed  in  the  special  sense  of  the  rejection  of 
Israel  to  make  way  for  the  Gentiles  as  recipients 
of  the  gospel.  It  was  a  cause  of  deep  distress  (Ro 
9s- 3)  to  St.  Paul  that  God's  chosen  people  whom 
He  foreknew  seemed  to  be  rejected,  and  it  was 
taken  by  opponents  as  a  reflexion  upon  his  apostle- 
ship  that  Israel  as  a  nation  rejected  his  gospel. 
But  St.  Paul  did  not  admit  the  final  rejection  of 
Israel.  '  Did  God  cast  off  his  people  (pfy  air^aro  6 
6e6sTbi>\abv  afirov,  II1)?  God  forbid.  .  .  .  God  did 
not  cast  oft'  his  people  which  he  foreknew.'  He 
then  proceeds  to  show  that  Israel's  rejection  is  not 
final,  and  does  not  exclude  individual  members  of 
the  chosen  race  from  the  acceptance  of  gospel 
blessing.  But  Israel  itself  as  a  nation  rejects  the 
gospel  (Ac  1346)  in  order  that  the  offer  of  it  may  be 
made  to  the  Gentiles,  who  had  no  hereditary  claim 
to  it  and  were  not  even  seeking  it  (Ro  1020). 

The  unbelief  or  disobedience  of  Israel  is  noted 
by  St.  Peter  ( 1  P  2s),  who  points  out  also,  in  language 
as  strong  as  St.  Paul's,  that  Israel's  stumbling  and 
rejection  had  a  place  in  God's  great  purpose  in  the 
salvation  of  men  '  whereunto  they  were  appointed.' 
This  is  a  great  mystery  which  St.  Paul  sets  forth 


RELIGION 


REMNANT 


315 


(Ro  II28),  but  in  Gentile  communities  and  under 
the  conditions  of  Gentile  life,  the  gospel  had  scope 
for  world-wide  extension  and  universal  acceptance 
which  were  not  possible  among  the  Jewish  people. 
Such,  however,  is  the  inherent  genius  of  the  Jewish 
people  for  religion  that  when  they  mark  the  blessed- 
ness and  joy  of  Christian  believers  and  the  mani- 
festations of  grace  in  those  who  bear  the  name  of 
Christ,  they  will  be  stirred  up  to  seek  as  their  own 
the  righteousness  and  holiness  manifested  in  the 
lives  of  Christians.  '  And  so  all  Israel  shall  be 
saved '  and  their  election  at  the  first  upheld,  seeing 
that  the  gifts  and  calling  of  God  are  incapable  of 
being  revoked  (vv.25-29).  'Did  they  stumble  that 
they  might  fall  ?'  asks  the  Apostle.  '  God  forbid  : 
but  by  their  fall  salvation  is  come  unto  the  Gentiles. 
.  .  .  For  if  the  casting  away  of  them  (ij  iiro^oX^ 
avrwv)  is  the  reconciling  of  the  world,  what  shall 
the  receiving  of  them  be,  but  life  from  the  dead  ? ' 
(w.11-15).  THOMAS  NICOL. 

RELIGION.— The  uses  of  the  word  '  religion '  in 
the  apostolic  writings  may  be  classified  under  three 
heads. 

1.  In  Gal  I13'-  'Iovdaicr/j.bs  is  twice  translated  'the 
Jews'  religion.'    St.   Paul  reminds  the  Galatians 
that  they  had  heard  of  his  manner  of  life  aforetime 
when  he  followed  Judaism,  and  that  they  knew  his 
proficiency  in  Judaism.     In  this  context  the  literal 
rendering  '  Judaism '  is  to  be   preferred,  for  the 
factious  rather  than  the  religious  aspect  of  Judaism 
is  prominent.     The  EV  '  Jews'  religion  '  is  an  '  un- 
fortunate' translation,  because  'it  implies  a  de- 
finite separation  between  the  two  religions  which 
did  not  then  exist,  .  .  .  and  it  puts  this  view  into 
the  mouth  of  Paul,  who  steadfastly  persisted  in 
identifying  the  faith  of  Christ  with  the  national 
religion.  .  .  .  Here    'Iou5ai'<r/i6s     denotes     Jewish 
partisanship,  and  accurately  describes  the  bitter 
party  spirit  which  prompted  Saul  to  take  the  lead 
in  the  martyrdom  of  Stephen  and  the  persecution 
of    the    Church.  .  .  .  He    advanced    beyond    his 
fellows  in  sectarian  prejudice  and  persecuting  zeal ' 
(F.  Kendall,  in  EGT,  'Galatians,'  London,  1903, 
p.  153  f.). 

2.  The  Greek  adjective  5dffidalfj.wv  is  rendered  in 
Ac  1728 '  superstitious '  (RV)  and  '  religious '  (RVm). 
The  derivative  noun  5eiffidai/j.ovia  is  rendered  in  Ac 
2519   'religion'  (RV)   and    'superstition'   (RVm). 
The  dominant  meaning  of  the  words  in  classical 
Greek  is  '  due  reverence  of  the  gods,'  but  in  the 
1st  cent.  A.D.  they  had  a  depreciatory  sense  and 
signified  'excessive  fear  of  the  gods'  (cf.  E.  Hatch, 
Essays  in  Biblical  Greek,  Oxford,  1889,  p.  45).     It 
does  not,  however,  follow  that   '  religion '   is  an 
impossible  rendering  in  the  address  of  Festus  to 
the  Jewish  king,  Agrippa,  who  paid  outward  de- 
ference to   the  Jewish    religion.      But  although 
Felix  is  not  likely  to  '  have  used  the  term  offen- 
sively ...  he  may  well   have  chosen  the  word 
because  it  was    a    neutral   word    (verbum  /d<rov, 
Bengel)   and    did    not  commit   him   to  anything 
definite'  (R.  J.  Knowling,  in  EGT,  'Acts,'  London, 
1901,  p.  497).     'Superstitious'  is  more  probably, 
though  not  certainly,  the  correct  translation  in  Ac 
1 7".     St.  Paul  was  addressing  Athenians,  and  they 
'  would  instinctively  recall  the  literary  associations 
of  the  word.  ...  In  point  of  fact,  the  words  ws 
8ei<ridaitJiove<rTtpovs  give,  in  a  form  as  little  offensive 
as  possible,  St.  Paul's  view  of  Athenian  idolatry 
already  noticed  by   the  historian  (v.16).     The  ws 
brings  out  the  fact  that  the  word  SeiffiSai/MovecrT^povs 
expresses  the  speaker's  own  impression'   (F.   H. 
Chase,  The  Credibility  of  the  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  London,  1902,  p.  213). 

3.  In  Ac  265  and  Ja  I26f-  '  religion  '  is  the  render- 
ing of  6pT)ffKfia  which  in  Col  218  is  translated  '  wor- 
shipping.'   The  contemporary  meaning  of  the  word 


is  religion  in  its  external  aspect — '  cultus  religiosus, 
potissimum  externus'  (Wilke-Grimm,  Clavis  Novi 
Test.,  1868).  It  is  appropriately  used  by  St.  Paul 
in  his  address  to  Agrippa  (Ac  265).  Calling  to 
remembrance  his  life  as  a  Pharisee,  the  Apostle 
claims  to  have  been  '  a  zealous  and  diligent  per- 
former ...  of  the  outward  service  of  God'  (R.  C. 
Trench,  Synonyms  of  the  NT11,  London,  1890, 
p.  175).  In  Ja  F6'-,  when  the  word  is  rightly 
understood,  there  is  no  support  for  those  who  dis- 
parage inward  and  spiritual  religion,  nor  for  those 
who  so  exalt  its  outward  aspects  as  practically  to 
identify  it  with  morality  and  works  of  benevolence. 
What  St.  James  asserts  of  such  works  is  that  they 
are  '  the  body,  the  Opya-icda,  of  which  godliness,  or 
the  love  of  God,  is  the  informing  soul.  .  .  .  The 
apostle  claims  for  the  new  dispensation  a  superior- 
ity over  the  old,  in  that  its  very  OprjcrKda  consists 
in  acts  of  mercy,  of  love,  of  holiness,  in  that  it  has 
light  for  its  garment,  its  very  robe  being  righteous- 
ness ;  herein  how  much  nobler  than  that  old,  whose 
0pi)ffKda  was  at  best  merely  ceremonial  and  formal, 
whatever  inner  truth  it  might  embody'  (R.  C. 
Trench,  op.  cit.  p.  176,  who  says,  '  these  observa- 
tions are  made  by  Coleridge,  Aids  to  Reflection  t 
1825,  p.  15 ').  J.  G.  TASKER. 

REMISSION.— See  FORGIVENESS. 

REMNANT. — This  word  occurs  only  twice  as  a 
substantive  in  the  English  NT,  both  instances 
being  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 

1.  Ro  9s7,  vwdXeiwa  (WH,   vir6\ifjL/j.a)  with  N*AB 
Eus.     The  TR  reads  /cardXet^a  with  later  authori- 
ties.    The  latter  variant  probably  originated  in 
the   desire  to  make  St.   Paul's  word  correspond 
exactly  with  that  of  the  passage  in  Is  1022,  which 
he  is  here  quoting  from  the  LXX  :  '  And  Isaiah 
crieth  concerning   Israel,   If   the  number  of   the 
children  of  Israel  be  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  it  is 
the  remnant  that  shall  be  saved '  (LXX,  rt>  Kara- 
\etfi/j.a  airr&v  ffwO-^aerai). 

The  Apostle  is  expressing,  in  language  adapted 
from  the  OT,  his  conviction  that  only  a  remnant 
of  the  Jews  will  be  saved,  a  conviction  forced  upon 
him  by  the  repeated  experiences  of  his  missionary 
journeys.  This  sad  outlook  on  the  immediate 
present  is  afterwards  modified  by  his  prophetic 
forecast  of  the  ultimate  return  of  the  whole 

when  'all  Israel  shall  be  saved'  (II26). 
e  passage  in  Isaiah  is  one  of  central  signifi- 
cance. The  prophet  is  convinced  that  the  Assyrians, 
the  instruments  of  God's  punishment,  will  over- 
throw not  only  Samaria  but  Jerusalem.  As  a 
State,  Judah  will  be  destroyed.  The  only  survivors 
will  be  the  '  remnant,'  the  group  of  true-hearted 
believers  who  submit  to  God's  word  spoken  by  the 
prophet.  We  have  here  for  the  first  time  the  dis- 
sociation of  the  religious  from  the  national  life, 
the  conception  of  a  Church  as  free  from  political 
associations.  Of  this  '  remnant '  the  prophet  says 
that  it  '  shall  return '  (3«r).  The  LXX  rendering, 
(ru9ri<r(Tat,  lends  itself  more  directly  to  St.  Paul's 
reference  to  the  Messianic  salvation.  To  show, 
as  he  does  here,  that  not  only  the  calling  of  the 
Gentiles,  but  also  the  partial  rejection  of  the  Jews, 
was  foretold  in  the  prophetic  writings,  was  both  a 
ground  of  assurance  to  himself  and  an  effective 
answer  to  Jewish  criticism. 

2.  Ro  II5,  \e"ifj./jLa  (WH,  Xf/t/wi) :  '  Even  so  then  at 
this  present  time  also  there  is  a  remnant  according 
to  the  election  of  grace.'    The  comparison  here  is 
with  the  '  seven  thousand  men '  who  during  the 
religious    persecution    of  Ahab's  reign    had   not 
'bowed  the  knee  to  Baal'  (1  K  1918).     The  refer- 
ence,  as  in  9s7,  is  to  the  small  body  of  faithful 
believers  who  constituted  the  true  Israel,  in  con- 
trast with  the  recreant  and  disobedient  majority. 


316 


REPENTANCE 


REPENTANCE 


The  '  remnant '  in  the  time  of  Elijah  and  that  in 
the  time  of  Isaiah  are  prototypes  of  the  believing 
minority  of  Jews  who  accepted  Jesus  as  the 
Messiah. 

LITERATURE. — The  Commentaries  on  Romans  in  loce. ;  F. 
Delitzsch,  Jesaia?,  Leipzig,  1869,  on  Is  1022;  Q.  F.  Oehler, 
Theology  of  the  OT,  Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1874-75,  ii.  381  ff. ;  G. 
A.  Smith,  Expositor's  Bible,  'Isaiah,'  London,  1888-90,  i.  126 ff. 

DAWSON  WALKER. 

REPENTANCE.— Repentance  (fj-erdvoia)  is  one  of 
two  words  used  in  the  NT,  both  of  which  origin- 
ally denoted  a  change  of  mind  of  any  sort.  It  is 
so  used,  though  only  occasionally,  in  Thucydides, 
Plato,  Poly  bins,  etc.,  and  the  phrase  locus  pceni- 
lentice  ('opportunity  for  a  change  of  mind  ;  cf. 
T6Trov  fj.erai'oias,  Wis  1210  and  He  1217,  both  with  a 
deeper  religious  meaning — for  the  latter  passage 
see  B.  F.  Westcott,  Hebrews,  1889,  in  loc.)  is  found 
in  the  Roman  jurists,  /j-eravofiv  is  common  in  the 
LXX ;  there,  with  Trapa.K\T]drjvai  (cf.  the  use  of 
I'Xews),  it  denotes  change  of  mind  or  attitude,  both 
in  man  and  in  God,  as  the  translation  of  orn  (Niph), 
whose  causative  mood  is  used  for  bringing  about 
the  special  change  from  sorrow  to  ease  (e.g.  Gn  67, 
Ex  321-- 14,  1  Ch  2115,  Jl  213,  1  S  1529  [cf.  v.%  The 
noun  is  very  rare  in  the  LXX,  occurring  only  in 
Pr  141S,  Wis  II23  1210-19,  and  Sir  4416  ('Exu>x  .  .  . 
wr68fty/j.a  neravoias).  In  the  NT,  a  differentiation 
takes  place  :  /aera/n^Xo/wii  (which  is  also  found  in  a 
few  passages  in  the  classics)  is  used  for  a  general 
change  of  attitude  or  purpose  (Mt  21s0  273  and  He 
721,  a  quotation  from  Ps  HO4,  the  only  reference  to 
a  change  of  mind  in  God  in  the  NT,  though  cf.  2 
Co  78} ;  fj.er6.voia.  and  /j-fravoeiv  are  used  of  a  religious 
change  of  attitude  to  God  and  to  sin,  often  occur- 
ring in  the  phrase  /j-frdvoia  airb  or  £K.  No  such  idea 
is  found  in  classical  Greek  literature.  It  is  com- 
moner in  Acts  than  in  any  other  book  of  the  NT. 
The  earliest  Christian  preaching,  as  there  described, 
involved  the  announcement  of  Jesus  as  the  Messiah 
and  the  simple  call  for  repentance  in  view  of  His 
near  return  (Ac  2s8  319  S22  2021).  This  is  equally 
true  of  the  sermons  of  the  original  apostles  and  of 
St.  Paul ;  in  Ac  1730,  St.  Paul  tells  the  Athenians 
that  God  is  summoning  all  to  repentance,  using 
the  same  phrase — dirayy^\\fiv  neravoelv — as  he  uses 
of  his  own  action  in  2620.  In  essence,  this  is 
identical  with  the  preaching  of  the  Baptist  (Ac  1324 
194;  cf.  Mt  32  and  ||s),  except  that  the  Baptist 
spoke  of  Jesus  as  coming,  and  of  the  Kingdom,  or 
the  Messiah,  as  at  hand,  while  the  apostles  referred 
to  Jesus  as  already  come.  How  repentance  is  to 
be  brought  about 'is  not  stated.  The  imperative 
mood  implies  an  act  of  human  will,  possible  for  all 
to  whom  the  call  comes.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
apostles  speak  of  Jesus  as  having  been  exalted  by 
God  as  Captain  and  Saviour,  to  give  repentance 
unto  Israel,  and  remission  of  sins  (Ac  531) ;  and  the 
Christians  in  Jerusalem,  hearing  of  the  conversion 
of  Cornelius,  exclaim,  'Why,  God  has  given  re- 
pentance to  the  Gentiles'  (Ac  II18;  cf.  Wis  1219). 
There  is  probably  here  no  contradiction,  though,  if 
such  existed,  it  might  easily  have  been  overlooked 
by  the  early  preachers.  Man  could  not  be  thought 
of  as  forced  into  repentance  independently  of  his 
own  will ;  but  repentance  is  none  the  less  made 
possible  only  through  a  dispensation  of  God's  grace 
(cf.  art.  ATONEMENT,  and  2  P  39,  where  the  Lord 
is  said  to  will  that  all  men  should  come  to  repent- 
ance). As  in  the  preaching  of  the  Baptist  (Mt  32 
and  ||s),  repentance  is  expected  to  manifest  itself  in 
conduct  (Ac  2620). 

The  above  passages  show  that  repentance  was 
an  integral  part  of  St.  Paul's  preaching  ;  but  refer- 
ences to  repentance  in  the  Pauline  Epistles  are 
very  rare,  though  of  great  interest.  The  kindness 
of  God  leads  to  repentance  (Ro  2*  ;  a  strikingly 
similar  thought  is  also  found  in  Ezk  SG2^-,  though 
in  Ezk  69  the  impulse  to  repentance  is  attributed 


to  a  different  cause ;  cf.  the  interesting  passage 
Wis  1222'27).  The  forbearance  and  mildness  char- 
acteristic of  the  servant  of  God  may  lead  to  God's 
giving  repentance  to  those  who  experience  such 
treatment  (2  Ti  235).  In  each  case,  the  simple  con- 
ception of  Ac  531  II18,  that  repentance  is  an  attitude 
induced  or  made  possible  by  God,  is  at  once  elabor- 
ated and  modified.  There  is  no  explicit  reference 
here  to  the  work  of  Christ ;  but,  as  in  Ezekiel,  the 
experience  of  blessings  felt  to  be  unmerited,  or 
the  shock  of  unmerited  forbearance  from  Christian 
people,  brings  about  a  change  of  mind  towards  sin 
and  God.  With  the  foregoing,  we  may  compare 
the  simple  statement  in  Clem.  Rom.  (Ep.  ad  Cor. 
i.  7)  that  from  generation  to  generation  the  Master 
has  given  opportunity  for  repentance  to  those  who 
wish  to  turn  to  Him. 

How  is  this  wish  caused?  Hitherto,  we  have 
met  no  reference  in  the  NT  to  the  '  godly  sorrow ' 
for  sin  emphasized  by  Ezekiel.  In  converts  from 
heathenism  there  might  be  fear  at  a  threatened 
catastrophe  (cf.  the  Philippian  jailer)  but  not 
sorrow.  In  one  passage,  however,  St.  Paul  is  led 
to  develop  very  clearly  the  influence  of  sorrow  for 
sin  on  believers.  He  is  referring  to  the  effect  of 
his  previous  sharp  rebuke  on  the  Corinthian  Church, 
which  hitherto  had  refused  to  mourn  for  the  pres- 
ence of  sin  within  its  borders  (1  Co  52 ;  cf.  1226). 
He  does  not  now  regret  (fiera/dXecrOai,  not  fj-eravoelv 
in  this  case)  the  pain  he  had  caused  them,  since 
this  pain  was  experienced  in  the  way  of  God  (/card 
6e6t>)  rather  than  in  the  way  of  the  world,  and  this 
worked  not  death  (cf.  the  young  man's  sorrow  in 
Mt  1922)  but  repentance,  arousing  in  them  indigna- 
tion, fear,  longing,  and  a  passionate  desire  to  set 
themselves  right.  The  result  of  such  sorrow  in 
the  community  is  seen  in  the  punishment  inflicted 
on  the  guilty  member  ;  and  once  this  has  brought 
repentance  to  him  also,  he  must  be  comforted  by 
his  fellow-believers,  lest  he  be  overwhelmed  by  his 
pain.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  this  punishment  is 
ineffectual,  more  drastic  treatment  from  the 
Apostle  will  be  needed  (2  Co  132).  At  the  same 
time,  he  knows  that  the  sin  of  his  converts  and 
friends  will  cause  a  deep  sorrow,  a  'vicarious 
repentance,'  in  him  (1221  ,  cf.  Jer  8I8ff<). 

One  passage,  denying  the  possibility  of  repent- 
ance to  those  who  fall  away  after  illumination  (He 
66 ;  cf.  1217)  has  occasioned  great  difficulty  to  inter- 
preters. With  the  theological  questions  raised  by 
the  verse  we  have  no  concern  here ;  repentance, 
however,  is  evidently  used  in  its  largest  sense  of 
an  entire  change  of  attitude,  and  the  writer's 
meaning  is  that  when  a  man  has  definitely  relin- 
quished the  fullest  spiritual  privileges,  it  is  im- 
possible (for  human  agency)  to  enter  on  a  process 
of  making  him  anew  (the  expressions  and  the 
tenses  used  are  noteworthy).  Apart  from  this 
passage,  however,  the  possibility  that  repentance 
may  be  for  some  men  unattainable  is  never  hinted 
at.  Repentance  in  believers  has  a  prominent  place 
in  the  messages  to  the  Seven  Churches.  There,  it 
is  expected  that  repentance  will  follow  from  the 
accusation  and  conviction  of  sin.  If  not,  a  sudden 
punishment  in  each  case  is  to  fall  on  both  the 
guilty  church  and  the  sinners  harboured  in  it  (Rev 
2«.  is.  21  33^  etc.).  In  the  Apostolic  Fathers,  explicit 
references  to  this  repentance  are  lacking.  Even 
the  letters  of  Ignatius,  though  addressed  to  churches 
with  whom  their  writer  had  considerable  fault  to 
find,  say  nothing  definite  on  the  subject.  Hernias 
is  aware  that  this  sorrow  may  be  a  blessing  ;  but 
he  is  more  concerned  to  point  out  that,  in  general, 
sorrow  may  distress  the  Spirit  which  dwells  in  the 
Christian  (Mand.  X.  iii.  1,  2).  In  the  Apostolic 
Age,  indeed,  it  would  seem  that  Christians  were 
so  eager  to  enter  into  the  new  joy,  that  they  would 
not  stay  to  contemplate  sorrow  (Ac  246,  Eph  I8 ;  if 


REPENTANCE 


REPROACH 


317 


they  groaned,  it  was  for  a  fuller  illumination,  Ho 
S23).  This  frame  of  mind  finds  constant  expression 
in  the  Odes  of  Solomon ;  in  almost  the  only  place 
where  repentance  and  sorrow  might  have  occurred 
to  the  writer  (xxxiii.,  Christ's  preaching  in  Hades), 
they  are  unmentioned.  As  for  the  heathen,  their 
sins  had  been  overlooked  (Ac  1730).  Divine  punish- 
ments for  sin  might  well  bring  sorrow  to  the  evil- 
doer ( Ja  51,  Rev  920-  21  169-  n,  where  the  most  drastic 
treatment  meted  out  to  the  sinners  in  the  world 
before  the  Parousia  fails  to  produce  repentance) ; 
but  such  sufferings  as  come  to  the  Christian  are 
lifted  up  into  the  rapture  of  communion  with 
Christ  (Col  I24,  1  P  413). 

These  considerations  may  be  thought  hardly 
sufficient  to  explain  the  comparative  silence  of  St. 
Paul.  It  may  be  added  that  he  was  writing  for 
believers,  in  whom  repentance  was  an  accomplished 
fact,  his  chief  concern  being  to  lead  them  on  to  re- 
ligious conceptions  and  levels  of  conduct  of  whose 
significance  they  could  not  have  been  aware  when 
they  first  turned  from  dead  works.  Further,  he 
does  not  lay  great  emphasis  on  the  original  and 
simple  change  of  attitude  in  his  converts.  He 
rather  analyzes  what  would  seem  to  have  been  his 
own  experience  of  it :  the  crushing  weight  of  law  ; 
the  emergence  of  desire  :  the  resultant  sense  of  help- 
lessness ;  and  the  deliverance  wrought  by  the  grace 
of  God  (Ho  7M ;  cf.  I.  A.  Dorner,  System  of  Chris- 
tian Ethics,  Eng.  tr.,  1887,  p.  364;  the  wretched- 
ness to  which  St.  Paul  here  refers  is  not  sorrow  for 
sin,  but  the  resulting  sense  of  being  torn  in  two) ; 
or  else  he  describes  its  immediate  consequences,  in 
relation  to  Christ,  under  the  figures  of  death  and 
resurrection  (Col  220).  Similarly,  no  reference  is 
made  to  repentance  in  the  Johannine  Epistles  or 
the  Fourth  Gospel.  Its  place  is  taken  by  the 
figures  of  the  new  birth  ( Jn  33 ;  cf.  also!  P  I23)  or  the 
passage  from  darkness  to  light  ( Jn  812, 1  Jn  28),  which 
are  equally  applicable  to  repentance  and  conversion. 

For  this  comparative  neglect  in  the  NT  a  psycho- 
logical reason  may  perhaps  be  suggested.  Repent- 
ance and  conversion,  unless  either  is  imperfect, 
must  go  together.  They  are  two  sides  of  the  same 
process.  In  repentance,  however,  the  emotional 
side  of  the  process  is  more  prominent ;  but  it  is 
questionable  whether  a  past  emotion  is  ever  re- 
called. The  memory  of  its  occurrence  can  of  course 
be  retained,  and  an  appropriate  stimulus  may 
arouse  a  similar  emotion.  But  it  may  be  that  such 
a  stimulus  never  occurs.  This  would  be  the  case 
with  the  normal  Christian.  Sorrow  for  sin  becomes 
as  much  a  thing  of  the  past  as  sin  itself.  The 
emotions  associated  with  repentance  are  only 
memories,  and  the  forward  look  (Ph  31S,  He  12*) 
and  the  preoccupation  of  the  mind  with  the  things 
of  the  Kingdom  (Ph  48)  will  prevent  any  morbid 
dwelling  on  an  experience  which  can  only  be  tem- 
porary and  ought  to  be  short-lived,  just  as,  by 
these  means,  any  desire  for  a  formal  analysis  of  a 
past  psychosis  will  be  removed.  St.  Peter  never 
refers,  save  by  way  of  allusion,  to  his  own  repent- 
ance ;  and  the  long  description  of  the  stages  previ- 
ous to  repentance  and  conversion  in  Augustine's 
Confessions  and  Bunyan's  Grace  Abounding  would 
seem  to  be  foreign  to  the  spirit  of  the  NT  writers. 
They  prefer  to  dilate  on  the  consequences  of  the 
process  (1  Co  611,  Tit  35). 

The  same  absence  of  interest  in  abstract  analysis 
explains  the  silence  of  the  NT  on  the  question  of 
the  relative  parts  played  by  man  and  God  in  re- 
pentance. The  attitude  of  the  NT  writers  is  rather 
that  of  the  normal  believer,  who  knows  that  his 
attitude  of  mind  changed  (see  above),  and  that  he 
once  willed  a  very  different  set  of  actions,  while  he 
is  equally  sure  that  this  change  could  never  have 
happened  apart  from  the  grace  of  God  (Ro  1 133).  The 
argument  in  Ro  914"18  is  not  intended  to  prove  that 


God  arbitrarily  grants  repentance  to  some  and  with- 
holds it  from  others  (cf.  the  catalogue  of  warnings 
;iven  to  Israel,  Ro  10) ;  but  only  that  if  God's 


favours  are  withheld,  God  cannot  rightly  be  blamed 
(see  Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  'Romans'5,  1902,  p. 
248  ff.).  On  the  other  hand,  with  regard  to  the 
ethical  consequences  of  repentance,  there  is  no 
ambiguity  whatever  :  a  fact  which  is  the  more  re- 
markable since  the  belief  in  the  near  approach  of 
the  Parousia  might  have  been  expected  to  lead  to 
an  '  Interimsethik,'  or,  as  some  of  the  Thessalonian 
converts  believed,  to  no  ethics  at  all  (1  Th  57,  2  Th 
3").  The  same  thing  may  be  seen  clearly  in  the 
Epistle  of  Barnabas,  in  which  the  apocalyptic 
section  is  followed  immediately  by  the  transcription 
of  the  'Two  Ways.'  (See  Schweitzer,  Geschichte 
der  paulinischen  Forschung,  1911,  who  points  out 
that  the  same  stress  on  the  importance  of  ethics  in 
the  descriptions  of  the  coming  world  after  the 
Parousia  effectually  distinguishes  Jewish  and 
Christian  from  pagan  eschatology.) 

But  in  truth,  no  multiplied  references  to  repent- 
ance were  necessary.  No  Christian  could  forget 
the  new  light  in  which  he  had  come  to  look  upon 
his  past  life  (the  paganism  around  him  would  make 
this  impossible),  nor  the  act  of  loving  self-surrender 
to  a  new  personal  influence  which  accompanied  it 
(Ac  2021 ;  cf.  Mk  I15,  He  61) ;  and,  though  he  might 
fail  to  display  at  the  first  all  the  graces  of  a  mature 
Christian  character  (Eph  428),  he  knew  that  repent- 
ance and  faith  together  had  wrought  a  real  deliver- 
ance for  him  (1  P  43) ;  and  if  he  had  felt  less  sorrow 
at  the  time  than  we  might  have  expected  for  sins 
which  hitherto  he  had  not  thought  of  as  sins,  he 
now  regarded  them  with  the  more  loathing  and 
contempt. 

LITERATURE.— R.  J.  Drummond,  Relation  of  the  Apostolic 
Teaching  to  the  Teaching  of  Christ,  Edinburgh,  1900;  H.  H. 
Henson,  Moral  Discipline  in  the  Chrittian  Church,  London, 
190f.,  esp.  ch.  iv. ;  R.  J.  Knowling,  The  Testimony  of  St.  Paul 
to  Christ,  do.,  1905  ;  H.  Weinel,  St.  Paul :  The  Man  and  His 
Work,  Eng.  tr.,  do.,  191)6 ;  W.  P.  DuBose,  The  Gospel  accord- 
ing to  St.  Paid,  do.,  1907  ;  R.  Allen,  Missionary  Methods:  St. 
PauFs  or  Ourst,  do.,  1912;  W.  M.  Macgregor,  Christian 
Freedom,  Edinburgh,  1914.  \V.  F.  LOFTHOUSE. 

REPHAN  (Ac  1°,  so  RV ;  AV  «  Remphan,'  WH 
'Rompha,'  Tisch.  'Romphan'). — St.  Stephen  in 
his  speech  is  quoting  from  LXX  of  Am  526.  None 
of  the  above  forms  is  known  at  all  as  the  name  of 
a  god  elsewhere,  the  suggestion  of  Lipsius  that  it 
isconnected  with  thename repa-n-neteru,  '  youngest 
of  the  gods,'  a  title  of  the  god  Seb  ( =  Saturn),  being 
too  far-fetched.  The  Hebrew  has  Chiun,  which 
may  have  been  read  as  Kewan,  and  changed  into 
Rephan,  a  similar  change  of  3  to  "\  in  LXX  occur- 
ring in  Nah  I6.  The  Hebrew  Kewan  might  repre- 
sent the  Babylonian  Kaawanu, '  Saturn '  (Schrader, 
KAT*,  1883,  p.  409  f.,  Eng.  tr.,  1885-88,  ii.  141  f.), 
but  more  probably  it  is  not  a  proper  name  at  all 
(W.  R.  Smith).*  The  mention  of  the  'star'  is  all 
that  is  requisite  for  St.  Stephen's  purpose,  namely, 
to  show  that  the  foreign  idolatrous  planet-worship 
had  crept  in  and  meant  apostasy  from  the  true 
worship  of  Jahweh.  See,  further,  Commentaries 
on  Acts  and  Amos.  F.  W.  WORSLEY. 

REPROACH.— So  far  as  the  RV  rendering  of  the 
apostolic  writings  is  concerned,  this  word  represents 

*'  The  words  DD'n^K  3313  f  star  of  your  God  Tare  a  gloss,  as  is 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  Septuagint  read  them  before 
Fa.i<j>a.v  =  ]r^.  The  gloss  arose  from  the  idea  that  Chiun  is 
equivalent  to  the  Syriac  Kewan,  a  Persian  name  of  the  planet 
Saturn.  But  the  date  of  Amos  forbids  this  interpretation. 
Both  ni3D  and  JV3  must  be  common  nouns  in  the  construct 
state,  probably  "  the  shrine  of  your  (idol)  king  and  the  stand  of 
your  images,"  i.e.  the  portable  shrine  and  platform  on  which 
the  idols  were  exhibited  and  borne  in  processions '  (OTJCP, 
London,  1892,  p.  294  n.  ;  cf.  also  Prophets  of  Israel,  do.,  1882,  p. 
401). 


318 


REPROACH 


REPROBATE 


the  Greek  6i>fi8iff/j.6s.  It  occurs  twice  in  the  Pauline 
Epistles  and  three  times  in  Hebrews,  and  affords 
interesting  instances  of  references  to  OT  thought 
and  employment  of  OT  language.  The  word  ovei- 
6icr/j.6s  belongs  to  the  sphere  of  Hellenistic  as 
distinct  from  classical  Greek.  It  is  of  frequent 
occurrence  in  the  LXX  throughout  the  later  pro- 
phetic writings  and,  for  the  most  part,  represents 
the  Hebrew  nfin. 

St.  Paul  (Ro  153),  in  appealing  to  the  '  strong ' 
to  bear  the  infirmities  of  the  '  weak,'  adduces  the 
example  of  Christ,  who  '  also  pleased  not  himself, 
but ' — and  here  the  Apostle  breaks  the  grammatical 
construction  in  order  to  introduce  intact  an  OT 
quotation  —  '  the  reproaches  of  them  that  re- 
proached thee  fell  upon  me.'  This  is  an  exact 
employment  of  the  words  of  Ps  6810  in  the  LXX 
(EV  699),  ol  6vet.Si.ff/jiol  TUI>  oveidifdifruv  <re  tirtireeov  tif 
ipt.  The  general  purport  of  this  psalm  is  to 
describe  the  sufferings  of  the  typically  righteous 
man  at  the  hands  of  the  ungodly.  Many  passages 
from  it  are  referred  to  our  Lord  in  various  parts  of 
the  NT.  In  v.10  the  righteous  sufferer  is  repre- 
sented as  speaking  to  God  and  as  saying  that  he 
has  to  bear  the  reproaches  uttered  against  God. 
St.  Paul  here  puts  the  words  into  our  Lord's  lips, 
who  is  conceived  as  speaking,  not  to  God,  but  to  a 
man,  and  as  saying  that  in  enduring  reproaches 
He  was  bearing,  not  His  own  sufferings,  but  those 
of  others. 

The  passage  so  used  is  an  interesting  example 
of  the  way  in  which  St.  Paul  takes  OT  phraseology 
out  of  its  original  context  and  employs  it  for  his 
own  purpose.  In  the  hands  of  one  who  viewed 
Ps  68  as  Messianic  in  its  reference,  this  procedure 
was  both  legitimate  and  appropriate. 

In  1  Ti  37  the  Apostle,  enumerating  the  charac- 
teristics requisite  for  a  bishop,  says  that  '  he  must 
have  good  testimony  from  them  that  are  without ; 
lest  he  fall  into  reproach  and  the  snare  of  the 
devil.'  There  is  considerable  uncertainty  as  to  the 
exact  meaning  of  this  passage.  One  question  is, 
whether '  reproach '  is  to  be  taken  alone,  or  whether 
'  reproach  and  snare  of  the  devil '  is  to  be  treated 
as  all  one  phrase.  Some,  perhaps  feeling  that 
'  reproach  of  the  devil '  is  an  impossible  expression, 
take  5i.a,p6\ov  here  in  the  general  sense  of  '  slan- 
derer,' and  translate,  '  lest  he  fall  into  the  re- 
proaches and  snares  prepared  by  slanderers.'  On 
the  whole,  the  RV  as  given  above  seems  to  afford 
the  most  natural  meaning.  A  bishop's  life  must 
be  such  as  not  to  forfeit  the  approval  in  general  of 
surrounding  non-Christian  society.  Should  he  fail 
to  secure  this  general  approval,  there  is  the  proba- 
bility that  his  life  is  open  to  adverse  criticism 
and  that  he  may  thus  fall  a  prey  to  the  wiles  of 
the  tempter. 

He  1033  recalls  how  the  readers  of  the  Epistle 
had  been  '  made  a  gazingstock  both  by  reproaches 
and  afflictions ' ;  but  the  passages  of  greater 
interest  in  this  book  are  II26  and  1313.  The 
reference  in  each  is  to  the  '  reproach  '  of  Christ.  In 
II28  it  is  said  that  Moses  accounted  '  the  reproach  of 
Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of  Egypt.' 
The  '  reproach '  which  Moses  endured  is  called 
'  the  reproach  of  the  Christ '  because  it  was  on 
account  of  his  belief  in  God's  saving  purpose  that 
he  suffered  it.  '  The  reproach  which  Moses  suffered 
in  the  fellowship  of  the  People  of  God — the  hard- 
ship, contempt,  and  the  like,  inflicted  at  the  hands 
of  the  Egyptian  world  then — was  the  same  as  that 
inflicted  on  Christ  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  and  the 
same  as  was  borne  by  the  Hebrew  believers  in  their 
day,  or  as  is  borne  by  believers  at  all  times. 
Though  the  reproach  and  the  sufferings  are  the 
same,  however,  Christ  is  worthy  to  give  name  to 
them  ;  to  others  they  derive  their  meaning  from 
having  been  endured  by  Him,  and  in  Him  they 


reached  their  climax  '  (A.  B.  Davidson,  The  Epistle, 
to  the  Hebrews,  Edinburgh,  n.d.,  p.  228).  The 
statement  does  not  necessarily  imply  belief  on  the 
part  of  Moses  that  a  personal  Christ  was  to  come. 
What  he  did  believe  in  was  the  fulfilment  of  God's 
promise,  which,  in  point  of  fact,  was  fulfilled  in  the 
coming  of  Christ. 

In  He  1313  the  readers  are  exhorted  to  '  go  forth 
unto  him  [Jesus]  without  the  camp,  bearing  his 
reproach.'  They  must  make  their  choice  between 
Christianity  ana  Judaism,  for  the  two  cannot  be 
amalgamated.  Christ's  death  '  without  the  gate ' 
was  the  symbol  of  His  being  cast  out  of  the  com- 
munity and  religious  life  of  the  OT  Israel.  To 
realize  the  full  power  of  His  redeeming  work,  His 
followers  must  abandon  '  the  camp ' — the  sphere 
within  which  the  religious  life  and  ordinances  of 
Israel  prevail — and  must  go  forth  to  Him.  To  be 
branded  as  a  traitor  and  to  be  deprived  of  Jewish 
privilege  was  '  the  reproach  of  the  Christ.'  This 
His  followers  must  share. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  the  language  of 
Ps  8950'51  underlies  both  of  these  passages  in 
Hebrews  (LXX  i's  885U  82),  ^v^Q-r^i  Kvpie,  TOV  oveiSiff- 
fjLou  T&V  dov\uv  ffov  .  .  .  oC  uvfidiffav  TO  avTd\\a.y{M 
TOV  XpioroO  ffov. 

In  the  AV  the  word  '  reproach '  occurs  in  two 
passages  in  2  Corinthians.     In    II21  it  is  used   to 
translate  the  Greek  drt/uta  (RV  '  disparagement '). 
In  12'°  it  is  used  to  translate  fySpis  (RV  '  injury '). 
DAWSON  WALKER. 

REPROBATE.— 'Reprobate'  is  the  rendering  of 
the  Greek  word  dSd/a^uos,  which  is  used  in  the  NT 
only  by  St.  Paul  and  only  of  persons,  except  in  He 
68,  where  it  is  used  of  the  land.  It  is  the  negative 
form  of  d6Ki/ji.os  (from  S^XOMCU),  '  acceptable,' '  tested,' 
'  worthy,'  and  means  '  unacceptable,'  '  unworthy,' 
'  rejected  after  trial.'  '  Reprobate  silver  shall  men 
call  them,'  says  Jeremiah  of  God's  degenerate 
people,  '  because  the  Lord  hath  rejected  them '  (630 
LXX).  In  Ro  I28  St.  Paul  uses  the  word  when  speak- 
ing of  the  natural  condition  of  the  heathen  world, 
alienated  from  God,  abandoned  to  their  lusts  and 
passions  and  to  a  reprobate  mind  (eis  dS6Kifj.ov  vovv), 
as  if,  having  failed  to  avail  themselves  of  the  light 
of  nature,  they  were  now  left  without  it  altogether 
and  without  hope  of  amendment  at  all.  A  're- 
probate mind '  in  the  judgment  of  St.  Paul  is  proof 
of  the  deep  depravity  of  the  heathen  and  at  the 
same  time  its  awful  punishment.  In  1  Co  O27  St. 
Paul  uses  the  word  in  a  passage  where  he  is  com- 
paring the  Christian  life  in  its  strenuousness  to 
the  contests  in  the  Grecian  games.  In  them  the 
racer  or  the  boxer  must  contend  strictly  according 
to  the  rules,  for  if  he  is  found  fouling  a  rival  or 
transgressing  the  rules  of  the  contest,  he  is  liable 
to  be  cast  out  of  the  lists  and  scourged,  and  at  any 
rate  will  be  declared  disqualified  for  a  prize.  It 
was  in  this  spirit  that  Ignatius,  on  the  way  to 
martyrdom  at  Rome,  entreated  the  prayers  of  his 
fellow-Christians  so  as  to  be  found  worthy  of  the 
lot  he  had  set  before  him,  that  in  the  end  he  might 
not  be  found  'rejected'  (d5o(a/uos)  (Ignatius,  ad 
Trail,  xii.  3).  See  CASTAWAY.  Elsewhere  St. 
Paul  urges  the  necessity  of  earnest  self-examination 
and  the  close  following  of  Christ  if  his  readers 
would  escape  this  reproach  (2  Co  135'7) ;  and  utters 
words  of  solemn  warning  against  men  who  after 
having  made  a  Christian  profession  become  de- 
praved in  mind  and  heart,  or  content  themselves 
with  an  outward  profession,  whilst,  as  regards  the 
faith  and  every  good  work,  they  are  discredited, 
•reprobate'  (2  Ti  38,  Tit  I16). 

The  passage  in  He  6s  where  O.S&KIIJ.OS  is  used  not 
of  persons  but  of  the  land  is,  taken  in  connexion 
with  its  preceding  context,  very  suggestive.  The 
land  which  drinks  in  the  rain  and  brings  forth  the 
Iqoked-for  crop  receives  blessing  of  God,  but  that 


REPROOF 


RESPECT  OF  PERSONS 


319 


which  receives  the  same  benign  influence  and  pro- 
duces only  thorns  and  thistles  is  '  rejected '  (d.66- 
KI/JLOS),  gets  no  share  of  that  blessing,  but  is  fit  only, 
like  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  for  the  fire.  It  is  in 
these  solemn  words  that  the  writer  sums  up  his 
urgent  message  to  the  Hebrew  Christians  to  press 
on  unto  perfection  and  to  be  on  their  guard  against 
spiritual  sloth,  which  may  issue  in  falling  away. 
He  speaks  as  if  a  fall  from  grace  were  possible  even 
on  the  part  of  those  who  have  experienced  spiritual 
enlightenment  and  renewal,  as  if  there  were  a  point 
even  in  the  spiritual  life  where  backsliding  becomes 
apostasy,  and  the  man  who  crucifies  the  Son  of  God 
afresh  and  puts  Him  to  an  open  shame  is  beyond 
repentance,  rejected,  reprobate.  St.  Paul  and  the 
writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  in  these 
passages  are  not  presenting  a  reasoned  system  of 
predestination  and  election,  but  rather  dealing 
with  what  may  happen  under  the  stress  and  strain 
of  temptation  and  trial  in  the  ordinary  tenor  of 
the  Christian  life,  and  emphasizing  the  need  of 
diligence  and  watchfulness,  if  they  and  their 
readers  would  make  their  calling  and  election  sure. 

Of  '  reprobation '  as  the  issue  of  a  Divine  decree 
there  is  no  direct  statement  in  the  NT,  St.  Paul, 
indeed,  seeming  deliberately  to  avoid  any  such 
statement.  When  asserting  the  Divine  sovereignty 
under  the  figure  of  the  potter  who  makes  of  the 
same  lump  one  vessel  unto  honour,  and  another 
unto  dishonour,  he  asks,  'What  if  God,  willing  to 
shew  his  wrath,  and  to  make  his  power  known, 
endured  with  much  long-suffering  vessels  of  wrath 
fitted  unto  destruction :  and  that  he  might  make 
known  the  riches  of  his  glory  upon  vessels  of  mercy, 
which  he  afore  prepared  unto  glory?'  (Ro  921'^). 
The  distinction  drawn  by  the  Apostle  when  speak- 
ing of  '  the  vessels  of  wrath '  and  '  the  vessels  of 
mercy '  in  the  above  passage  is  significant.  Of  the 
former  he  uses  the  passive  and  impersonal  form, 
'  fitted  to  destruction ' ;  of  the  latter  he  speaks  in 
the  active  voice,  'the  preparation'  being  directly 
attributed  to  God.  Our  Lord  similarly  distin- 
guishes between  the  sentence  which  He  will  pass 
in  the  Judgment  on  those  on  His  right  hand  and 
that  on  those  on  His  left.  To  the  former,  the 
address  is, '  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father ' ;  to  the 
latter,  'Depart,  ye  cursed,'  the  blessing  being  all 
of  God,  the  curse  entirely  of  themselves.  In  the 
same  connexion  '  the  everlasting  fire '  is  '  prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels,'  but  the  Kingdom  to 
which  the  righteous  are  summoned  is  prepared  for 
them  'before  the  foundation  of  the  world.' 

It  is  interesting  as  a  matter  of  NT  interpretation 
to  notice  that  three  of  the  most  notable  of  the 
Reformed  Confessions — the  Heidelberg  Catechism, 
the  Revised  Thirty-nine  Articles,  and  the  Scots 
Confession  of  1560 — pass  the  subject  of  reprobation 
over  in  silence.  THOMAS  NICOL. 

REPROOF.— The  subject  of  reproof,  i.e.  the  re- 
futation of  error,  the  discovery  of  sin,  the  con- 
vincing and  convicting  of  the  wrongdoer  (t\ey/ji,6s, 
Aeyxoj,  e\tyxu :  LXX  for  n0:in,  nrgin,  o'j'in),  is 
mentioned  frequently  in  the  Bible.  Reproof  is 
used  generally  in  the  sense  of  rebuke.  Rules  are 
laid  down  for  its  administration,  and  advice  given 
as  to  its  reception.  It  is  necessary,  beneficial,  and 
not  to  be  despised.  The  great  and  constant 
dangers  to  be  avoided  are  these — reproving  un- 
skilfully, withholding  reproof  unfaithfully,  and 
resenting  reproof  administered  in  love.  Christians 
in  general  are  exhorted  to  reprove  '  the  unfruitful 
works  of  darkness'  (Eph  5n<  •  ;  cf.  Mt  1815'18),  and 
Christian  ministers  in  particular  must  regard  re- 
proof as  an  important  duty  of  their  office  (1  Ti  520, 
2  Ti  42,  Tit  I9-  13  215). 

Reproof  may  be  administered  (a)  by  word,  in 
which  case  there  is  the  underlying  idea  of  severe 


rebuke  and  admonition.  The  offender  must  be 
called  upon  to  give  an  explanation  of  his  conduct 
and  his  fault  must  be  made  plain  to  him  (1  Ti  520, 
2  Ti  42,  Jude  15 ;  cf.  Mt  1815,  Lk  319) ;  (b)  by  deed, 
in  a  two-fold  sense  :  (i. )  by  deeds  of  light  being 
manifested  in  a  way  that  will  be  a  virtual  reproof 
of  deeds  of  darkness  (Eph  513 ;  cf.  Jn  319'21) ;  (h.)  by 
chastening  or  punishment  (He  125 ;  cf.  Ps  37  (38)2 

9412    11967.  75;    pr    311;    Jer   3118.  U>    Rev   3l9j    Wis    122t 

To  II18  135-9,  Jth  S27) ;  (c)  by  the  Scriptures  (2  Ti 
318).  Behind  the  censure  lies  the  fundamental  idea 
of  the  conviction  of  sin.  The  verb  A^TXW  signifies 
'prove,  refute,  expose,  convict.'  It  is  used  with 
these  meanings  in  classical  writers  from  the  time 
of  Euripides.  Many  scholars  hold  the  opinion  that 
it  means  rather  more  than  '  reprove '  and  rather 
less  than  '  convince.'  For  '  reprove '  in  the  sense  of 
'  bring  to  the  proof  see  2  Ti  4a  RVm  ;  cf.  Ps  3814 
RVm.  For  reproof  in  relation  to  sin,  see  1  Co  1424, 
Ja  29,  Jude  l5  ;  cf.  Jn  89- 46  168 ;  Aristoph.  Pint. 
574.  For  reproof  of  false  teachers,  see  Tit  I9-  u  215. 

H.  CARISS  J.  SIJDNELL. 

REPUTATION.— This  word  occurs  in  four  pas- 
sages of  the  AV.  In  each  case  it  is  employed  as  a 
rendering  of  a  different  Greek  adjective  or  verb, 
and  in  each  case  the  RV  uses  some  other  expres- 
sion which  translates  the  Greek  somewhat  more 
literally  and  exactly. 

1.  Ac  5s4  speaks  of  Gamaliel  as  a  vo^oSiSacr/caXos 
rifjuos  vavrl  T<£  Xa<£.     AV  renders  this  :  '  had  in  re- 
putation among  all  the  people,'  RV  more  literally, 
'  had  in  honour  of  all  the  people.' 

2.  Gal  22  tells  of  St.  Paul's  visit  to  Jerusalem, 
when     he    communicated    the    gospel    which    he 
preached  to  the  Gentiles  KO.T  Idlav  row  doKovai.     A V 
renders  this :    '  privately  to  them   which  were  of 
reputation';  Rv — in  almost  identical  terms,   but 
again  with  a  degree  of  greater  exactness — 'who 
were  of  repute.'    ol  doKovvres  is  in  itself  a  term  of 
honour,  and  is  used  as  such  here.     The  meaning, 
however,  may  vary  with  the  context,  and  in  Gal  2s 
it  is  depreciatory,  not  of  the  worth  of  the  apostles, 
but  of  the  extravagant  claims  advanced  by  some 
on  their  behalf. 

3.  Ph  27  says  of  Christ  that  He  lavrbv  tKtvwe.    AV 
renders  this  :  '  made  himself  of  no  reputation ' ;  the 
RV  '  emptied  himself  is  obviously  more  exact.   The 
import  of  this  mysterious  predicate  is  discussed  in 
art.  PHILIPPIANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE,  above,  p.  226  f. 

4.  Ph  229  is  the  passage  in  which  St.  Paul,  com- 
mending Epaphroditus  to  his  Philippian  friends, 
bids  them  TOI>S  rotoi/rous  frTlpovs  fyfTe.     AV  renders 
this :   '  hold  such  in  reputation.'    The  RV   '  hold 
such  in  honour'  is  equally  clear  and  maintains 
closer  correspondence  with  the  Greek  adjective. 

DAWSON  WALKER. 

RESPECT  OF  PERSONS.— The  abstract  noun 
irpoffwro\-ri/j.\{/ta  occurs  in  the  NT  four  times.  In 
three  of  these  instances  (Ro  2U,  Eph  69,  Col  S25)  it  is 
used  with  reference  to  God,  in  the  fourth  (Ja  21) 
with  reference  to  man.  The  cognate  verb  irpoffuiro- 
\i)fj.irT^(a  occurs  once  only  in  the  NT  in  Ja  2s.  The 
masculine  form  ir/xxrwTroX^irr^s  occurs  only  once  in 
Ac  1034  and  the  negative  adverb  dirpocruiro\ritJ.irTw 
only  once  in  1  P  I17.  The  compound  is  a  late 
Hellenistic  formation,  appearing  only  in  the  NT 
and  in  ecclesiastical  literature. 

Before  the  formation  of  the  compound,  and  along 
with  it,  the  constituent  elements  were  used  together 
as  separate  words.  The  expression  \a/j,pdvei.v  irp6<r- 
uirov  is  used  in  the  LXX  to  translate  a^  xjpj, 
'  to  accept  the  face,'  i.e.  to  receive  kindly  or  look 
favourably  upon  any  one  (cf.  Lv  191S).  Originally 
the  expression  was  a  neutral  one,  involving  no  idea 
of  improper  partiality.  When,  however,  it  becomes 
a  distinctive  expression,  as,  e.g.,  in  Gal  2s  (-n-pbauirov 
debs  dvdpuirov  oi>  \a.p.fiA.vei),  it  takes  a  worse  sense. 
Lightfoot  (in  loc.)  suggests  that  this  is  owing  to  the 


320 


BEST 


REST 


secondary  meaning  of  irpbffwirov,  '  mask,'  so  that 
irpfowTrov  Xapfidveiv  signifies  '  to  regard  the  external 
circumstances  of  a  man  '  —  his  rank,  wealth,  etc.  —  as 
opposed  to  his  real  intrinsic  character.  The  phrase 
\a/j.8dveiv  irp6<ruTrov  occurs  again  in  the  NT  in  Lk  2021. 
It  also  occurs  in  the  Didache  iv.  3  :  Kpivets  ducalus, 
ov  XT?^J?  irpoffwirov  t\ey£a.i  fri  TrapaTTTWfj.a<nv.  Alter- 
native expressions  with  a  similar  meaning  are 
P\{Treiv  eh  wpoauTrov  (Mt  2216,  Mk  1214)  and  6avndfriv 
irpbffunrov  (Jude  16). 

The  NT  instances  of  the  compound  word  fall 
into  three  main  groups.  Ac  1034,  1  P  I17,  and  Ro  211 
constitute  the  first  of  these.  In  Ac  1034  St.  Peter, 
addressing  the  assembled  household  of  Cornelius, 
says,  KaTaXafj.j3dvofj.ai  on.  OVK  ZVTIV  irpoffUTroXTjfji.irTijs  6 
0eoj.  On  this  assertion  of  God's  character,  as  free 
from  partiality  to  one  nation  above  other  nations, 
the  Apostle  bases  his  repudiation  of  the  exclusive 
covenant  of  Israel.  In  Ro  211  St.  Paul  asserts  the 
same  view  with  the  similar  phrase  ov  yap  eaTiv  irpoo-- 
uvoXiju^ia  ira-pa.  r<$  6ey.  The  expression  in  1  P  I17 
describing  God  as  rbv  dirpo(ruTroXri/j.irTW5  Kpivovra  Kara 
rb  ficdo-Tov  epyov  involves  the  same  assertion,  but  it 
also  involves  a  warning  (with  a  possible  reference  to 
Dt  1017)  that,  under  the  New  Covenant  as  under 
the  Old,  God  would  show  no  favour  to  those 
whose  deeds  made  them  unworthy  of  it. 

The  two  passages  Eph  69  and  Col  S28  form  the 
second  group.  Both  are  concerned  with  the  mutual 
relations  of  masters  and  slaves.  In  Eph  69  masters 
are  counselled  as  to  the  right  treatment  of  their 
slaves,  '  knowing  that  both  their  Master  and  yours 
is  in  heaven,  and  there  is  no  respect  of  persons 
(irpoo-uiroXr)fj.\f/la)  with  him.'  In  Col  3M  the  word 
occurs  in  the  counsels  addressed  to  the  slaves.  The 
passage  is  interesting  as  showing  that  irpoffuiro- 
Xrnu.\j/ia,  though  usually  exercised  in  favour  of  rank 
and  power,  might  occasionally  be  employed  on 
the  opposite  side  (cf.  Lv  1915).  The  slave  might 
assume  that  because  man's  irpoo-<inroXri/j.\}/ia  would 
usually  be  on  the  master's  side,  there  would  be  a 
corresponding  irpocrarjro\7i/j.\l/la.  of  God  on  the  slave's 
side.  St.  Paul's  warning  in  this  passage  corrects 
any  such  mistaken  impression. 

The  third  group  of  passages  consists  of  the  two 
in  St.  James,  the  noun  in  21  and  the  corresponding 
verb  in  v.9.  In  the  general  context  it  is  partiality 
in  favour  of  the  wealthy,  well-dressed  member  of 
the  Christian  assembly  that  is  condemned.  In  21 
the  noun  is  used  in  the  plural,  iv  •jrpoo-wiroXrjfj.ij/tais, 
with  probable  reference  to  the  many  ways  in  which 
partiality  may  display  itself. 

In  the  sub-apostolic  writings  irpo<ruiro\r)n\//la  oc- 
curs only  in  Polycarp,  ad  Phil.  vi.  1.  Elders  are 
warned  that  they  should  be  compassionate  and 
merciful,  direxoftevoi  irdo~i)s  dpyijs,  irpoffwiroXtj/jLij/ias, 
Kplffews  ddixov'.  The  negative  adverb  occurs  in 
1  Clem.  i.  3  (dTrpocrwjroXi^iirrws  yap  iravTa.  e'Troie'iTe)  and 
in  Ep.  Barn.  iv.  12  (6  Kvpios  dir/>ocrw7roXi?/itirT«j  Kpivel 


LITERATURE.  —  Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  '  Romans  '  8,  Edin- 
burgh, 1902,  p.  58  ;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Galatians^,  London,  1876, 
p.  108,  Colossians  and  Philemon,  new  ed.,  do.,  1879,  p.  230;  J. 
B.  Mayor,  James^,  do.,  1910,  p.  78. 

DAWSON  WALKER. 

REST.  —  So  far  as  the  apostolic  writings  are  con- 
cerned, the  teaching  on  rest  in  its  relation  to  the 
believer's  life  is  confined  to  two  great  passages  — 
He  41'11  and  Rev  1413.  The  basis  of  the  idea  is  the 
Divine  rest,  the  rest  on  which  God  entered  at  the 
completion  of  His  work  of  creation.  Participation 
in  this  rest  is  a  Divine  gift  to  man.  The  natural 
tendency  is  to  conceive  rest  as  mere  cessation  of 
work.  So  far  as  the  Jews  shared  this  misappre- 
hension, it  is  corrected  by  our  Lord  in  the  discourse 
of  Jn  517ff-  beginning  with  the  words,  6  irar^p  pov 
Iws  &pn  tpyd^ercu,  K&yu  tpyd<,o/j,cu.  This  idea  of  rest 
as  freedom  for  further  work  finds  expression  in 


Rev  141S :  '  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the 
Lord  from  henceforth  :  yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that 
they  may  rest  from  their  labours  (icbiruv) ;  for  their 
works  (epya.)  follow  with  them.'  The  '  labours '  of 
the  Christian's  life  are  ended  at  death  ;  its  '  works ' 
— i.e.  habits,methods,and  results — abide  and  remain 
in  the  new  life. 

It  is  in  He  41'11  that  we  find  the  most  exhaustive 
treatment  of  this  theme.  The  whole  passage  may 
almost  be  called  a  homily  or  discourse  having  for 
its  text  the  words  of  Ps  95n,  us  &/j.o<ra  ev  rfj  opyrj 
fj.ov,  et  elffeXevffovra.1  els  TTJV  KaTd-jravaiv  fj.ov.  The 
rest  to  which  God,  as  quoted  by  the  Psalmist, 
refers  is  the  Divine  rest,  after  creation,  of  which 
Gn  22  speaks  :  KO.I  Kar^Travffe  rrj  i;/J.^pa  rrj  e{3d6fj.r]  dirb 
irdvTwv  TUV  epytav  C.VTOV  Siv  e'iroir)ffe,  a  passage  which 
links  the  idea  of  Divine  rest  indissolubly  with  the 
Sabbath.  The  writer's  argument  is  briefly  this. 
The  inspired  oracle  in  Ps  95  speaks  of  a  '  rest '  of 
God.  The  Psalmist  tells  how  in  the  days  of  Moses 
this  rest  lay  open  to  God's  people,  but  they  did 
not  enter  in  through  disobedience.  Neither  then 
nor  at  the  entry  into  Canaan  under  Joshua  was 
the  Divine  idea  of  rest  realized.  The  Psalmist,  in 
fact,  implies  that  the  Divine  idea  still  remains 
unrealized,  it  still  awaits  fulfilment ;  and  the 
author  of  Hebrews,  taking  the  Psalmist's  word  as 
the  last  utterance  of  the  OT  on  the  subject  of  rest, 
applies  it  with  confidence  to  his  hearers  of  the 
NT  epoch.  He  draws  the  inference  &pa  diroXeiweTai 
cra/3/3aTiay*ds  T$  Xatf  TOV  Oeov. 

The  word  <ra/3/3aTto>i6s  (RV  '  Sabbath  rest')  occurs 
here  only  in  the  Greek  Bible.  It  is  not  a  coinage 
of  the  author's,  because  it  is  found  in  Plutarch,  de 
Superstit.  3.  Its  occurrence  therefore  in  Justin 
Martyr,  Dial.  23  B,  is  not  necessarily  dependent 
on  Hebrews.  The  substitution  of  this  word  for 
Kardiravo-is,  the  word  employed  throughout  the 
remainder  of  the  passage,  is  not  accidental.  It 
not  only  denotes  the  Divine  rest  as  a  Sabbatic 
rest ;  it  links  together,  in  a  most  suggestive  way, 
the  end  with  the  beginning,  the  consummation 
with  the  creation.  It  implies  too  that  the  rest 
which  God  gives  is  one  which  He  also  enjoys,  and 
it  strikes  the  note  of  universalism,  for  the  Divine 
rest  is  prior  to  the  very  existence  of  a  chosen 
people.  Just  as  in  the  case  of  salvation,  the 
Christian  rest  may  be  viewed  both  as  a  present 
possession  and  as  a  future  blessing.  On  the  one 
hand,  '  we  which  have  believed  do  enter  into  that 
rest.'  On  the  other  hand,  the  very  conception  of 
the  rest  as  God's  rest  involves  fuller  realization 
yet  to  come. 

The  word  Avdvavo-is  occurs  now  and  then  in  the 
sub-apostolic  writings  with  reference  to  the  heavenly 
rest.  2  Clem.  v.  5  speaks  of  the  dvdiravo-is  TTJS 
fj.tXXovo~i]s  /3cureXe£as  /ecu  fwrjs  aluvLov,  and  in  vi.  7  we 
read,  iroiovvTes  yap  rb  6f\Tt)/j.a  TOV  X/McrroO  evprfffo/Jiev 
dvdvavffiv.  The  verb  Karairavw  occurs  throughout 
an  interesting  passage  (Ep.  Barn.  15)  in  which  the 
hallowing  of  the  Sabbath  is  discussed  as  something 
which  will  find  its  fulfilment  in  Christianity  (as 
opposed  to  Judaism)  in  the  impending  Messianic 
Age.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  treatment  here 
may  be  influenced  by  the  thought  and  language  of 
He'41'11. 

In  2  Th  I7  the  RV  agrees  with  AV  in  using 
'rest'  to  translate  &ve<rts.  This  word  is  used  in 
the  NT  only  by  St.  Paul,  always  with  a  contrast 
to  6\i\j/is  expressed  (as  here)  or  implied.  That  the 
idea  of  rest  here  has  an  eschatological  reference 
is  seen  from  the  following  words  :  ev  r-fj  diroicaXfyei. 
TOV  Kvpiov  'IijcroO  &TT'  ovpavou  per'  &yyt\wv  dvvdpeus 
CLVTOV. 

LITERATURE. — HDB,a.rt.  'Rest';  H.  B.  Swete,  Apocalypse*, 
London,  1907,  p.  187;  A.  B.  Bruce,  Hebrews,  do.,  1889,  pp. 
92-100 ;  G.  Milligan,  Thessalonians,  do.,  1908,  p.  89. 

DAWSON  WALKER. 


RESTITUTION 


RESTITUTION 


RESTITUTION.  —  1.  The  term.  —  The  word 
'restitution'  is  the  AV  rendering  (RV  'restora- 
tion ')  of  the  Gr.  diroKardcrraffif,  which  is  found  in 
the  NT  only  in  Ac  321,  though  the  verb  a.iroKa.0icfTritJ.i, 
'  restore,'  occurs  several  times  (see  especially  Mt 
1711,  Ac  I6).  In  the  exegesis  of  Ac  3'-^  two  views 
have  been  taken  of  the  relation  of  the  phrase  #XP' 
Xp^vuv  diroKdraffrdcrfus  irdvrwv  ('until  the  times  of 
restitution  of  all  things ')  to  the  relative  clause 
which  follows,  and  these  two  views  are  reflected  in 
the  renderings  of  the  AV  and  RV  respectively. 
According  to  the  AV  rendering  the  relative  pro- 
noun 3>v  lias  irdvTuv  for  its  antecedent,  so  that  the 
restitution  is  a  restitution  only  of  those  things  of 
which  the  prophets  had  spoken.  According  to  the 
RV  and  the  great  majority  of  modern  commentators 
the  antecedent  is  xpbvuv,  so  that  it  was  the  times 
of  restoration  of  which  the  prophets  spoke,  and  the 
restoration  is  a  restoration  of  all  things  in  some 
sense  not  denned  in  the  context.  The  sense,  how- 
ever, is  suggested  by  the  passages  to  which  the 
present  one  evidently  refers.  The  prophet  Malachi 
had  foretold  that  Elijah  should  be  sent  as  the 
Messiah's  forerunner  (Mai  45)  and  that  he  should 
effect  a  work  of  moral  restoration  (v.6) ;  and  in  the 
LXX  this  restoring  work  (Heb.  3'pn,  EV  '  turn ')  of 
Elijah  is  expressed  by  the  word  diroKaraffT-rivei.  On 
the  ground  of  this  saying  the  expectation  of  Elijah's 
reappearance  to  herald  the  advent  of  the  Messiah 
had  become  general  among  the  Jews  (Sir  4810-  u  ; 
cf.  Schurer,  HJP  II.  ii.  [1885]  156),  and  when 
Jesus,  after  His  transfiguration,  forbade  His  dis- 
ciples to  tell  any  one  of  their  vision  of  Moses  and 
Elijah  on  the  mount,  they  asked  Him,  '  Why  then 
say  the  scribes  that  Elijah  must  first  come?'(Mt 
17"  ;  cf.  Mk  911).  '  Elijah  indeed  cometh,'  was  His 
reply,  '  and  shall  restore  all  things '  (dTroKarcwTTjim 
•n-dvra,  Mt  1711 ;  cf.  Mk  912) ;  but  He  immediately 
made  them  understand  that  Elijah  had  come  al- 
ready in  the  person  of  John  the  Baptist  (Mt  1712'-). 

The  '  restoration  of  all  things '  of  which  St.  Peter 
spoke  was  thus  not  a  restoration  in  the  large  sense 
of  a  Universalist  doctrine,  but  a  moral  and  spiritual 
recovery  of  Israel  such  as  Malachi  had  foretold  and 
St.  John  proclaimed  in  preaching  the  baptism  of  re- 
pentance. That  St.  Peter  at  this  stage  of  his  career 
could  not  have  entertained  any  idea  of  a  universal 
restoration  is  proved  by  his  later  experiences  at 
Csesarea  (Ac  10).  And  "if  it  is  suggested  that  the 
phraseology  of  the  verse  is  due  to  St.  Luke,  the 
writer  of  Acts,  with  his  much  wider  outlook,  it  has 
to  be  considered  that  a  close  fidelity  of  the  historian 
to  his  sources  is  suggested  by  St.  Peter's  whole 
speech,  embodying  as  it  does  a  purely  Jewish  form 
or  Christian  expectation  quite  different  from  the 
later  perspective  of  the  Church  after  the  door  had 
been  opened  to  the  Gentiles  and  the  national  life 
of  Judaism  had  been  destroyed. 

2.  The  idea. — A  discussion  of  the  NT  doctrine 
of  restitution  or  restoration,  however,  cannot  be 
limited  to  an  examination  of  the  particular  term. 
The  idea  of  a  '  restoration  of  all  things  :  is  raised 
not  only  by  this  speech  of  Peter's  but  by  one  or  two 
of  our  Lord's  utterances,  and  above  all  by  certain 
striking  statements  and  declarations  in  the  Pauline 
Epistles. 

(1)  The  saying  of  Jesus  in  Mt  1710  (Mk  911)  has 
been  already  referred  to.  But  in  1928  we  find  Him 
speaking  of  the  '  regeneration  '  (waXifyevecria),  when 
the  Son  of  Man  shall  sit  on  the  throne  of  His  glory. 
The  word  ira\ivyeveala.  in  this  passage  is  practically 
synonymous  with  the  diroKa.TdiTTao'i.s  of  Ac  321  (cf. 
Jos.  Ant.  XI.  iii.  8,  9,  where  the  words  are  used 
interchangeably  of  the  national  restoration  under 
Zerubbabel).  Jesus  is  referring  to  that  hope  of  a 
renovation  of  heaven  and  earth  which  formed  part 
of  the  Jewish  Messianic  expectation  (Enoch  xlv. 
4,  5  ;  cf.  2  P  313,  Rev  211)  and  was  based  on  Is  6517 

VOL.   II. — 21 


6622.  No  more  here  than  in  Rev  21,  where  we  have 
the  Apocalyptist's  conception  of  the  dTroKaTdorao-is 
or  iraXtvyevfcria,  is  there  any  suggestion  of  a  uni- 
versal restoration  of  sinful  beings  (see  Rev  218  2211). 
The  same  thing  must  be  said  of  Jn  1232,  which  is 
sometimes  adduced  in  the  interests  of  a  Univer- 
salist doctrine.  The  context  (v.20ff-)  shows  the 
point  of  the  verse  to  be  that  the  uplifting  of  Jesus 
on  the  Cross  (cf.  314'-)  would  draw  to  Him  Gentiles 
as  well  as  Jews. 

(2)  It  is  in   St.   Paul's  writings,   however,   and 
especially  in  such  passages  as  Ro  II82,  1  Co  IS22*', 
Ph  210-  n,  Eph  I9- 10,  Col  1*>,  that  support  is  chiefly 
sought  for  the  idea  of  a  universal  restoration.    But 
the  argument  of  Ro  11  shows  that  in  v.3-,  as  in  Jn 
1232,  '  all '  means  Jew  and  Gentile  alike.     In  1  Co 
1522,  again,  nothing  more  is  asserted  than  a  uni- 
versal resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  in  vv.24'28  what 
is  in  view  is  a  subjugation  of  all  forces  that  are 
hostile  to  the  Divine  Kingdom  so  that  God  may  be 
all  in  all.     And  if  we  find  that  in  Ph  2'°-  u  the 
adoration  of  the  Exalted  Jesus  is  represented  as  an 
act  in  which  the  whole  creation  participates,  while 
in  Eph  I10,  Col  I20  Christ  appears  as  summing  up 
all  things  in  Himself  and  reconciling  all  things 
unto  Himself,  these  soaring  utterances  cannot  be 
interpreted  apart  from  St.  Paul's  emphatic  teach- 
ing that  the  wages  of  sin  is  death  (Ro  B23),  and  that 
destruction  awaits  the  enemies  of   the  Cross  of 
Christ  (Ph  319).     In  the  light  of  such  texts  it  seems 
safe  to  conclude  that  the  Apostle's  '  universalism ' 
implies  not  a  universal  redemption  of  individuals, 
but  a  restoration  of  the  disordered  world  to  unity 
and  harmony  by  an  elimination  of  all  discordant 
elements  or  a  subdual  of  all  hostile  powers. 

(3)  Support  for  a  restorationist  doctrine  is  some- 
times sought  in   those  passages   of   the   Pastoral 
Epistles  where  it  is  said  that  God  '  willeth  that  all 
men  should  be  saved'  (1  Ti  24),  that  He  is  'the 
Saviour  of  all  men,  specially  of  them  that  believe ' 
(410),  that  His  grace  '  hath  appeared,  bringing  salva- 
tion to  a^l  men '  (Tit  2n).     Yet  it  seems  hardly 
possible  to  affirm  more  here  than  that  the  Divine 
saving  purpose  brings  salvation  within  the  reach  of 
all,  while  the  realization  of  that  purpose  depends 
upon  the  .attitude  of  the  individual  to  the  Divine 
grace.     Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save 
sinners  (1  Ti  I18) ;  but  to  obtain  mercy  men  must 
'believe  on  him  unto  eternal  life'  (v.16).     In  the 
same  Epistle  we  read  that  destruction  (5Xe0pos ;  cf. 
2  Th  I9)  and  perdition  (dTroiXeia ;  cf.  Ph  319)  await 
those  who  walk  in   the  way  of  their  own   lusts 
(1  Ti  69). 

Attractive  as  it  is,  the  idea  of  universal  restora- 
tion finds  little  support  in  a  careful  exegesis. 
Those  who  advocate  it  usually  fall  back  upon 
conjectures  suggested  by  the  hidden  possibilities  of 
the  future  life  or  general  considerations  with  re- 
gard to  the  grace  of  Christ  and  the  Fatherly  love 
of  God.  Even  when  a  case  has  been  made  out  for 
Universalism  from  the  direct  utterances  of  the  NT, 
it  has  to  be  admitted  that  the  materials  for  a  case 
against  it  are  abundantly  present.  To  Martensen 
it  seemed  that  on  this  subject  the  Scriptures  set 
before  us  an  unresolved  antinomy  corresponding  to 
the  antinomy  between  the  sovereignty  of  God  and 
the  free  will  of  man.  The  Divine  saving  purpose 
is  universal  in  its  scope,  but  it  is  conditioned  by 
human  freedom.  The  one  entitles  us  to  cherish 
'  the  larger  hope ' ;  the  other  suggests  that  in  the 
very  nature  of  man  there  lies  the  possibility  of  final 
condemnation  (Christian  Dogmatics,  Eng.  tr.,  1866, 
pp.  474-484). 


LITERATURE.— S.  Cox,  Salvator  Mundi,  1877  ;  F.  W.  Farrar, 


322     [RESTORATION  OF  OFFENDERS 


RESURRECTION 


RESTORATION  OF  OFFENDERS.-In  the  disci- 
pline of  the  Apostolic  Church  the  restoration  of 
the  offender  was  the  main  idea  and  that  of  punish- 
ment subordinate.  Even  excommunication  was 
not  final,  if  the  expelled  member,  conscious  of 
guilt,  was  led  to  repentance  and  reformation.  The 
Christian  Church  has  the  right  and  the  authority 
to  admit,  to  exclude,  to  re-admit  suitable  persons 
to  its  privileges.  This  is  seen  clearly  in  the  case 
of  the  Corinthian  offender  (2  Co  25'11). 

A  general  rule  is  laid  down  in  Gal  61 — '  Brethren, 
even  if  a  man  be  overtaken  in  any  trespass  ( 'flag- 
ran  te  delicto '),  ye  which  are  spiritual,  restore  (KCLT- 
apTi^ere)  such  a  one  in  a  spirit  of  meekness  ;  look- 
ing to  thyself,  lest  thou  also  be  tempted."  Bengel, 
in  his  comment  upon  the  word  '  brethren,'  says,  '  a 
whole  argument  lies  hidden  under  this  one  word  ' 
(cf.  Gal  315  412  618).  Some  (e.g.  Lightfoot)  think 
that  the  Corinthian  case  was  before  the  mind  of 
St.  Paul.  Others  (e.g.  Ramsay)  reject  this  idea. 

Karaprifa  (to  make  dpnos,  '  fit,'  '  sound,'  '  com- 
plete ')  is  a  surgical  term  used  of  setting  a  broken 
bone  or  a  dislocated  joint.  It  may  be  used  to  refer 
to  the  repair  of  material  or  spiritual  damage  ;  e.g., 
mending  nets  (M-t  421,  Mk  I19) ;  setting  up  walls 
(Ezr  412) ;  removing  State  factions  (Herod,  v.  28) ; 
righting  spiritual  calamity  (Gal  61).  Spiritual 
restoration  is  gradual,  but  it  may  become  complete. 
All  the  powers  of  the  sinner  may  be  combined 
harmoniously,  all  defects  supplied,  all  faults 
amended,  so  that  the  restored  one  is  fitted  perfectly 
for  service  (1  Co  I10  Gr- 1  Th  310,  He  105  II3  1321,  1  P 
510 ;  cf.  Lk  640,  Herod,  v.  106.  See  Eph  412,  KO.T- 
a.pTifffj.6s ;  2  Co  139,  KardpTuns,  Vulg.  consummatio  ; 
cf,  Ign.  Eph.  2,  Phil.  8,  Smyrn.  1,  Mart.  Ign. 
4).  As  the  many  members  of  the  body  in  each 
believer  must  be  fitly  framed  together,  so  believers 
themselves  must  be  brought  into  harmonious 
relationship  in  Christ's  body  the  Church,  and  this 
mainly  through  the  duly  appointed  ministers  of 
the  Church  (Eph  411- 12).  '  The  enumeration  is  not 
of  classes  of  persons  or  formal  offices,  but  of  classes 
of  functions,  is  Hort's  comment  on  Eph  411  (The 
Christian  Ecclesia,  1897,  p.  166). 

This  work  must  be  carried  out  by  the  spiritual  (ol 
irvev/jLariKol ;  cf .  1  Co  213- ls  31),  believers  in  general 
as  well  as  the  ministry.  It  must  be  done  '  in  the 
spirit  of  meekness,'  which  will  counteract  any 
tendency  to  vainglory  or  feeling  of  superiority. 
Here  '  irvev/j.a.  seems  immediately  to  refer  to  the  state 
of  the  inward  spirit  as  wrought  upon  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  ultimately  to  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the 
inworking  power ;  cf.  Ro  I4  815,  2  Co  413,  Eph  I17, 
in  all  which  cases  irvev/j.0.  seems  to  indicate  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  the  abstract  gen.  the  specific 
Xdpiffna'  (C.  J.  Ellicott,  on  Gal  61). 

The  doctrine  of  the  final  restoration  of  all  offenders 
cannot  be  based  upon  texts  of  Scripture.  Upon 
this  point  there  is  an  almost  general  agreement. 
Those  who  advocate  this  theory  base  it  upon  other 
foundations  than  biblical  texts  which  deal  with 
the  subject  of  restoration  in  general  or  the  restora- 
tion of  offenders  .a  particular. 

H.  CARISS  J.  SIDNELL. 

RESURRECTION.  —  /.  GENERAL  CONSIDERA- 
TIONS.— The  resurrection  of  Christ  does  not  fall  to 
be  discussed  in  this  article,  the  next  article  being 
devoted  to  it.  Nevertheless  it  will  be  impossible 
to  treat  of  the  Pauline  view  of  resurrection  with- 
out some  discussion  of  his  attitude  towards  the 
nature  of  Christ's  resurrection.  St.  Paul  is  practi- 
cally the  only  NT  writer  who  has  really  worked 
out  the  problem  of  the  resurrection  on  the  basis  of 
the  resurrection  of  Christ.  It  will  be  necessary  to 
show  how  much  he  has  in  common  with  the  Jewish 
apocalyptic  writers  of  the  1st  cent.  A.D.  in  his 
attitude  towards  the  problems  of  the  resurrection, 
and  also  how  far  he  has  introduced  new  elements 


and  developed  along  fresh  lines.  In  dealing  with 
the  Fourth  Gospel  we  have  to  examine  the  relation 
between  that  Gospel  and  St.  Paul,  how  far  the 
author  is  developing  along  the  lines  laid  down  by 
St.  Paul  and  how  far  he  is  travelling  on  inde- 
pendent lines. 

The  principal  questions  that  must  be  answered 
by  any  inquiry  into  the  subject  of  the  resurrection 
from  the  historical  point  of  view  are:  (1)  What 
was  the  place  of  the  resurrection  in  the  eschatology 
of  the  time  ?  (2)  Are  there  more  than  one  resur- 
rection in  any  of  the  eschatological  schemes  of  the 
1st  century  ?  (3)  How  is  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
related  to  the  general  Christian  resurrection-doc- 
trine of  the  period  ?  (4)  How  is  the  question  of 
the  relation  between  body  and  spirit,  flesh  and 
spirit,  worked  out?  (5)  How  far  does  an  ethical 
element  enter  into  the  various  views  of  the  resur- 
rection developed  by  NT  writers  ?  These  questions 
involve  ethical,  metaphysical,  and  eschatological 
considerations  which  were  not  clearly  distinguished 
in  the  thought  of  the  time,  and  cannot  be  separated 
in  our  treatment  of  the  subject ;  yet  they  must  be 
borne  in  mind  in  examining  the  various  systems  of 
the  period. 

The  roots  of  eschatology  have  been  found  to  be 
far  more  widely  spread  in  early  civilizations  than 
was  formerly  believed,  and  of  all  the  conceptions 
of  eschatology  none  has  a  more  varied  and  compli- 
cated history  than  the  conception  of  the  resurrec- 
tion. It  is  not  our  task  to  trace  out  its  roots  in 
the  ancient  past.  But  we  have  to  consider  and 
take  stock  of  the  stage  of  development  which  the 
conception  of  resurrection  had  reached  at  the 
beginning  of  our  period.  It  was  the  moment  when 
the  focus  of  national  and  political  consciousness 
was  shifting  from  the  present  to  the  future — a 
movement  which  expressed  itself  in  every  phase  of 
human  activity,  especially  in  religion.  Hence  the 
significance  of  the  mystery-religions,  whose  em- 
phasis was  wholly  on  the  future  life.  The  word 
'  syncretism '  has  been  much  abused,  but  it  ex- 
presses well  the  characteristic  tendency  of  this 
period.  An  immense  number  of  currents  of  re- 
ligious and  philosophic  thought  were  meeting  and 
influencing  one  another,  and  it  is  easier  to  dis- 
tinguish the  main  currents  than  to  estimate  the 
extent  to  which  they  intermingled  and  modified 
one  another.  The  history  of  the  interpretation  of 
St.  Paul  bears  witness  to  the  difficulty  of  this 
attempt.  The  main  currents  may  be  broadly 
distinguished  as  follows : 

(a)  Neo-Platonism,  in  its  earliest  form,  repre- 
senting   a    fusion    of    Platonic    philosophy    with 
Oriental  mysticism,  and  emphasizing  the  superior- 
ity of  the  intellectual  principle  in  man,  the  vovs, 
over  the  body.     Hence,  for  our  inquiry,  it  is  an 
influence  against  the  conception  of  a  bodily  resur- 
rection.    Possibly  it  would   be  more  accurate  to 
call  this  current,  in  which  Philo  has  a  place,  Neo- 
Pythagoreanism. 

(b)  Orientalism,  to  use  a  broad  term   for  the 
various  forms  in  which  the  dualism  and  mysticism 
of  the  East  expressed  themselves  in  religious  sects 
and   mystery-cults,   and    so    influenced    religious 
thought  in  the  Grseco-Roman  world  of  our  period. 
The  eternal  antithesis  between  matter  and  spirit, 
the  necessity  of  redemption  from  the  bondage  of 
matter,  and  the  consequent  stress  on  asceticism, 
are   factors  working  against  the  conception  of  a 
bodily  resurrection. 

(c)  Judaism,  although  logically  coming  under  the 
head  of  Orientalism,  yet  practically  stands  apart. 
At  the  time  under  consideration  Judaism  presents 
two  forms  of  resurrection-doctrine  :  (1)  the  doctrine 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  righteous  only,  developed 
from  ethical  and  spiritual  interests,  and  probably 
quite  independent  of  external  influences ;  (2)  the 


RESURRECTION 


RESURRECTION 


323 


doctrine  of  a  general  resurrection  of  both  righteous 
and  wicked,  possibly,  but  not  necessarily,  due  to 
the  influence  of  Mazdeism  (cf.  R.  H.  Charles, 
Esckatologf,  London,  1913,  pp.  139-141).  In  addi- 
tion to  this  divergence,  Judaism  also  represents 
two  other  lines  of  divergent  thought  on  this  sub- 
ject, lines  which  were  not  so  sharply  separated  at 
this  period  as  they  became  later:  (i.)  the  Pales- 
tinian doctrine  of  bodily  resurrection,  both  of  the 
individual  and  of  the  nation,  for  the  Messianic  king- 
dom ;  (ii.)  the  Alexandrian  doctrine,  influenced 
by  Neo-Platonic  ideas,  teaching  only  a  spiritual 
resurrection,  and  tending  to. abandon  the  idea  of 
the  Messianic  kingdom.  These  various  forms  of 
thought  will  be  dealt  with  in  fuller  detail  in  the 
historical  examination  of  the  Jewish  literature. 

(d)  Christianity,  receiving  its  doctrine  of  resur- 
rection from  both  forms  of  Judaistic  thought,  but 
profoundly  modifying  the  doctrine  it  thus  received 
by  the  conception  of  the  nature  of  Christ's  resur- 
rection as  interpreted  by  St.  Paul,  to  be  reacted 
on  later  by  contact  with  the  Hellenic  and  Oriental 
streams  of  thought,  especially  in  the  conflict  with 
Gnosticism. 

The  fuller  discussion  of  these  various  currents  of 
conflicting  and  intermingling  views  concerning  the 
nature  of  the  resurrection,  its  time  and  conditions, 
will  arise  out  of  our  examination  of  the  various 
passages  relating  to  it  in  the  literature  of  the 
Apostolic  Age. 

//.   THE  RESURRECTION  IN  THE  LITERATURE 

OF  THE  APOSTOLIC  AGE.—l.  Jewish  literature.— 
The  references  to  the  subject  of  resurrection  and 
the  related  question  of  body  and  spirit  may  be 
considered  under  the  separate  heads  of  Alexandrian 
and  Palestinian,  although,  as  already  pointed  out, 
at  this  time  there  was  not  a  sharp  line  of  demarca- 
tion. Palestinian  Judaism  was  influenced  by 
Alexandrian,  and  the  literature  of  the  former 
will  show  the  influence  of  the  latter  in  its  con- 
ceptions. 

(a)  Alexandrian  Judaism. — The  principal  liter- 
ary sources  for  Alexandrian  Judaism  are  Philo, 
the  Book  of  Wisdom,  2  Enoch,  and  4  Maccabees. 
The  general  attitude  of  this  phase  of  Judaism 
towards  the  resurrection  can  only  be  touched  on 
briefly,  as  our  main  inquiry  lies  in  the  Christian 
literature  of  the  period.  The  Alexandrian  and 
Palestinian  Judaism  must  be  touched  on  sufficiently 
to  show  its  influence  on  the  formation  of  Christian 
thought. 

Philo  holds  the  Neo-Pythagorean  view  of  the 
evil  nature  of  matter.  The  soul  was  once  free 
from  matter,  has  become  united  to  and  debased 
by  matter,  and  can  attain  to  the  full  knowledge 
of  God,  the  supreme  good,  only  by  deliverance 
from  matter,  Hence  the  resurrection  of  the  body 
is  obviously  impossible,  and  any  doctrine  of  a 
corporate  resurrection  of  a  blessed  community  can 
have  no  place.  Philo's  mysticism  is  purely  indi- 
vidualistic, like  that  of  Plotinus,  and  looks  to  the 
perfection  of  the  disembodied  soul,  after  death, 
with  God.  The  national  Messianic  hope  is  replaced 
by  the  expectation  of  the  universal  triumph  of  the 
Law.  In  the  words  of  a  French  scholar,  E.  Brehier, 
'  Of  the  whole  Jewish  eschatology,  this  idea  alone 
retains  its  vitality  in  Philo's  system,  the  future  of 
the  Law  which  is  destined  to  attain  universal 
sway '  (Les  idles  philosophiques  et  religieuses  de 
Philon  d" Alexandrie,  Paris,  1908,  p.  10). 

The  author  of  the  Book  of  Wisdom  also  held  the 
eternity  and  evil  of  matter,  and,  in  spite  of  some 
objections,  it  is  most  probable  that  he  held  the 
pre-existence  of  the  soul  (81S)-  2U).  The  body,  even 
if  '  undefiled,'  is  nevertheless  'corruptible'  (915), 
and  clogs  and  imprisons  the  soul.  Hence  '  immor- 
tality '  (817),  '  incorruption  '  (2'J3  619),  are  terms  which 
belong  only  to  the  state  of  the  soul,  and  do  not 


imply  any  resurrection  of  the  body.  The  judgment 
is  immediately  after  death,  for  both  righteous  and 
wicked  (318  41U-  14). 

In  2  Enoch  we  have  the  conception  of  the 
millennial  Messianic  kingdom,  at  the  end  of  which 
occurs  the  Final  Judgment.  There  are  inter- 
mediate abodes  for  souls  (71"8  32').  The  writer 
holds  the  doctrine  of  the  pre-existence  of  souls. 
It  is  not  clear  whether  he  holds  a  resurrection  of 
the  body,  since  his  description  of  the  change  from 
the  earthly  to  the  heavenly  body  is  curiously  akin 
to  St.  Paul's  doctrine  of  the  spiritual  body  (cf. 
22s'10).  His  account,  too,  of  the  torments  of  the 
wicked  suggests  a  bodily  state  in  hell,  unless  the 
language  used  be  taken  symbolically  ( 101-  •). 

In  4  Maccabees  there  is  no  resurrection  of  the 
body.  The  souls  of  the  righteous  are  received  by 
Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  after  death,  and  enjoy 
eternal  communion  with  God  (1316  175). 

(b)  Palestinian  Judaism. — The  chief  sources  are 
the  Assumption  of  Moses,  2  Baruch,  and  4  Ezra 
for  the  apocalyptic  literature,  and  such  portions  of 
the  Talmud  as  may  reflect  the  Rabbinical  tradition 
of  this  period!  The  division  Sanhedrin  contains 
the  most  important  of  the  traditional  utterances  on 
this  subject. 

The  Assumption  of  Moses  presents'  a  temporary 
Messianic  kingdom,  without  a  Messiah  (cf.  2  Bar.). 
At  its  close  Israel,  probablyidentified  by  the  writer 
with  the  righteous  in  Israel,  is  exalted  to  heaven, 
and  sees  its  enemies  in/Gehenna.  As  in  Alex- 
andrian Judaism,  so  hizre  there  is  noVesurrection 
of  the  body.  _/ 

2  Baruch  is  a  composite  work,  containing,  accord- 
ing to  Charles's  analysis,  three  apocalypses  written 
prior  to  A.D.  70  and  three  fragments  belonging  to 
a  later  date.  In  the  parts  of  the  book  composed 
before  A.D.  70  we  have  the  following  important 
passages :  301-  2,  '  And  it  will  come  to  pass  after 
these  things,  when  the  time  of  the  advent  of  the 
Messiah  is  fulfilled,  and  He  shall  return  in  glory. 
Then  all  those  who  have  fallen  asleep  in  hope  of 
Hiin  shall  rise  again.'  Here  the  resurrection  of 
the  righteous  is  placed  after  the  period  of  tribula- 
tion preceding  the  advent  of  Messiah.  The  form 
of  the  passage  strongly  suggests  Christian  influence 
or  interpolation,  especially  the  phrase  '  fallen 
asleep  in  hope  of  Him'  (cf.  1  Th  413'14).  This 
doctrine  of  the  bodily  resurrection  of  the  righteous 
seems  to  be  characteristic  of  only  the  portions  of 
the  book  composed  prior  to  A.D.  70.  In  302"5,  which 
belongs  to  the  sections  written  after  A.D.  70,  we 
have  the  doctrine  of  a  general  resurrection,  also  in 
chs.  50.  51.  These  chapters  also  discuss  the  nature 
of  the  resurrection  very  fully.*  The  personal 
identity  of  the  dead  is  to  be  preserved  in  the 
resurrection  in  order  to  give  force  to  the  judgment 
by  the  recognition  of  identity,  '  when  they  have 
severally  recognized  those  whom  they  now  know, 
then  judgement  will  grow  strong'  (504).  The 
bodies  of  the  righteous  will  be  changed  into  bodies 
of  glory  that  they  may  be  able  to  take  part  in  the 
world  to  come ;  they  will  be  *Ihade  fike  to  the 
angels. 

The  close  resemblance  of  this  teaching  to  that 
of  the  Pauline  Epistles  and  of  Luke  2034'36  is  very 
striking. 

4  Ezra  is  also  a  composite  book,  written  partly 
before  A.D.  70  and  finally  edited  after  that  date. 
The  doctrine  of  resurrection  occupies  a  large  place 
in  it.  It  contains  the  doctrine  of  a  Messianic 
kingdom  of  400  years'  duration,  at  the  close  of 
which  the  Messiah  and  His  companions  are  to  die, 

*  It  should  be  remarked  here  that  the  precise  place  of  the 
resurrection  in  the  general  eschatological  scheme  depends 
entirely  on  Charles's  analysis  of  the  book  in  question  into  sources. 
There  are  signs  of  a  reaction  against  this  tendency  to  carry 
analysis  to  an  extreme  (cf.  Burkkt,  Jewish  and  Christian 
Apocalypses,  Lecture  m.). 


324 


EESURRECTION 


KESUEKECTION 


before  the  Final  Judgment  and  end  of  all  things. 
In  the  earlier  sources,  i.e.  the  Ezra- Apocalypse 
and  the  Son  of  Man  Vision,  we  have  the  doctrine 
of  the  revelation  of  Messiah  from  heaven  with  the 
saints  who  had  been  caught  up  alive,  prior  to  the 
establishment  of  the  400  years'  kingdom.  Then 
follows  the  death  of  the  Messiah  and  all  men,  then 
the  Final  Judgment  for  which  all  will  be  raised 
(cf.  4  Ezr.  vi.  f. ).  In  the  Salathiel-Apocalypse,  the 
most  important  of  the  later  constituents  of  the 
book,  the  souls  of  both  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked  await  the  Final  Judgment  in  a  kind  of 
intermediate  state  of  blessing  and  misery  respec- 
tively. The  terms  in  which  their  condition  is 
described  suggest  some  kind  of  bodily  state  (cf. 
775'101).  In  73:i  there  is  a  clear  reference  to  the 
resurrection  of  the  body,  but  G.  H.  Box  would 
assign  this  verse  to  the  redactor,  who,  according 
to  him,  is  seeking  to  supplement  the  resurrection- 
doctrine  of  the  author  of  the  Salathiel-Apocalypse. 
The  souls  of  righteous  and  wicked  are  assembled 
for  the  Final  Judgment  which  determines  the  full 
blessing  and  torment  of  each  respectively.  Hence 
the  resurrection-doctrine  of  the  Salathiel-Apoca- 
lypse lies  midway  between  the  Alexandrian  doctrine 
of  a  spiritual  resurrection  immediately  after  death, 
and  the  Palestinian  doctrine  of  an  intermediate 
disembodied  state  and  a  resurrection  of  the  body 
for  the  Final  Judgment. 

The  most  important  point,  however,  in  these  two 
apocalyptic  works  is  the  suggestion  of  the  doc- 
trine of  a  first  resurrection  which  appears  explicitly 
in  the  NT.  This  germ  of  the  idea  of  a  first  resur- 
rection appears  especially  in  4  Ezr.  vii.  28,  xiii.  52 
(see  Charles,  Eschatology,  p.  133  ff. ). 

P'or  the  Rabbinical  views  on  the  resurrection 
at  this  period  we  have  the  second  article  in  the 
Shemoneh  Esreh,  which  speaks  of  the  power  of 
God  in  raising  the  dead.  Lagrange  finds  no  trace 
of  a  connexion  between  the  resurrection  and  the 
Messianic  kingdom  earlier  than  R.  Meir  ;  but  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  apocalyptic  writings 
already  quoted  may  well  represent  Rabbinical 
eschatology  of  this  period,  and  it  is  not  necessary 
to  suppose  that  the  Talmud  is  the  only  source  of 
information  as  to  contemporary  Rabbinical  belief. 

The  general  tradition,  however,  is  clear  for  a 
belief  in  the  bodily  resurrection  of  both  righteous 
and  wicked  for  the  Final  Judgment.  (For  an 
excellent  account  of  the  Rabbinical  doctrine  of 
the  resurrection  see  Lagrange,  Le  Messianisme 
chezlesjuifs,  Paris,  1909,  p.  176  ff.) 

2.  St.  Paul. — If  the  passages  relating  to  the  re- 
surrection in  St.  Paul's  correspondence  be  collected 
and  compared  they  appear  to  show  three  distinct 
elements  at  work. 

(a)  There  is  his  own  view  of  the  resurrection, 
which,  as  the  evidence  of  Acts  plainly  indicates, 
he  held  in  common  with  the  Pharisaic  party  of  his 
time.  It  is  not  very  easy  to  determine  precisely 
what  shade  of  resurrection-doctrine  he  held,  and 
possibly  St.  Luke  was  not  clear  himself  on  the 
matter,  but  the  point  must  be  discussed  as  the 
passages  are  examined.  This  form  or  shade  of 
resurrection-doctrine  may  be  assumed  to  have  con- 
stituted a  part  of  St.  Paul's  general  eschatological 
belief  at  the  time  of  his  conversion  to  Christianity. 

(b)  There  is  the  distinctively  Christian  belief  in  the 
resurrection  of  Christ  as  a  historical  fact.     Possibly 
it  was  afterwards  interpreted  in   different  ways 
according  to  the  particular  view  held  concerning 
the  resurrection,  but  it  is  absolutely  clear  that  the 
belief  in   the   fact  of   the  resurrection  of   Christ 
operated  more  powerfully  than  any  other  cause  in 
transforming  current   beliefs  in  the  resurrection. 

(c)  There  is  the  particular  line  of  modification  in 
St.  Paul's  view  of  the  resurrection  which  can  be 
traced  out  in  process  of  development  and  which  is 


due  to  his  interpretation  of  what  he  accepted  as 
the  historical  fact  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ. 

If  the  speeches  in  Acts  may  be  accepted  as  in 
any  degree  authentic,  they  depict  the  Apostle  as 
holding  the  general  belief  in  a  resurrection  of  just 
and  unjust  for  a  Final  Judgment  (cf.  Ac  236  2415). 
The  passage  in  1731  does  not  necessarily  refer  to 
the  resurrection  of  the  dead  in  general,  though 
v.32  may  imply  that  the  Athenians  understood  it  in 
that  sense. 

In  1  Thessalonians,  where  St.  Paul's  exposition 
of  the  resurrection  clearly  implies  a  resurrection 
before  the  Messianic  kingdom  in  order  that  the 
dead  may  share  in  its  blessings,  it  is  possible 
that  the  idea  may  have  been  already  present  in 
his  original  scheme  of  eschatology,  although  he 
had  not  imparted  it  to  his  converts.  But  it  is  also 
clear  that,  whatever  be  the  source  of  the  idea,  it 
receives  a  new  setting,  and  is  brought  into  organic 
connexion  with  the  resurrection  of  Christ  (see  art. 
PAROUSIA). 

In  1  Co  15  the  whole  argument  presupposes  a 
belief  in  the  resurrection,  not  necessarily  depending 
upon  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  although  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ  is  used  to  support  the  belief  in  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead  and  to  modify  the  general 
outline  of  the  eschatology. 

The  question  of  St.  Paul's  indebtedness  to  the 
mystery-religions  for  any  ideas  as  to  the  resurrec- 
tion belongs  rather  to  the  discussion  of  the  develop- 
ment of  his  doctrine  than  to  the  evidence  for  his 
original  stock  of  ideas  on  the  subject. 

(b)  Turning  to  the  second  point,  St.  Paul's  inter- 
pretation of  Christ's  resurrection,  we  have  first  of  all 
several  passages  which  do  not  call  for  special  dis- 
cussion proving  the  Apostle's  belief  in  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  as  a  historical  occurrence.  Indeed, 
the  whole  of  his  correspondence  rests  upon  this  as 
the  most  fundamental  thing  in  his  religious  experi- 
ence. It  is  well  expressed  in  Ac  2519 :  '  a  certain 
Jesus,  who  had  died,  whom  Paul  pretended  to  be 
alive.'  The  discussion  of  this  point  belongs  to  the 
following  article.  We  are  here  concerned  only 
with  St.  Paul's  interpretation  of  the  fact  in  so  far 
as  it  bears  on  his  view  of  the  resurrection  of  be- 
lievers or  of  a  general  resurrection. 

The  passages  in  1  Thessalonians  only  yield  the 
general  inference  that  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
is  related  to  His  Parousia  ;  through  His  resurrec- 
tion He  is  able  to  enter  upon  the  Kingdom  in 
power ;  God  will  bring  Him  again  with  the  dead 
saints  ;  it  is  as  raised  from  the  dead  that  He  be- 
comes the  deliverer  from  the  coming  wrath. 

In  Galatians  the  subject  of  resurrection  is  not 
touched  on,  but  it  is  possible  that  the  famous 
passage  in  230  may  throw  light  on  St.  Paul's  view 
of  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  Taken  along  with 
other  passages  to  be  quoted  later  it  appears  certain 
that  St.  Paul,  probably  in  common  with  the  leaders 
of  the  primitive  Church,  had  considered  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ  not  merely  as  an  eschatological 
event,  or  as  an  article  of  belief,  but  as  an  event  in 
the  human  experience  of  Christ  intimately  related 
to  the  experience  of  the  believer.  It  is  possible 
that  we  may  see  in  such  passages  as  Ro  I3'4  64-10, 
2  Co  411"14  134,  and  others,  the  evidence  of  such  an 
attitude  towards  the  Resurrection.  Ro  I3'4  is 
commonly  interpreted  to  mean  that  St.  Paul 
regarded  the  Resurrection  as  an  evidence  of  the 
Messiahship  of  Jesus.  But,  while  this  may  be 
implied,  there  appears  to  be  much  more  implied 
as  well.  '  Son  of  God '  is  not  used  by  St.  Paul  as 
a  Messianic  title  but  rather  as  a  personal  name, 
possibly  implying  moral  likeness  to  God.  Also 
'  according  to  the  spirit  of  holiness '  would  seem 
to  refer  to  the  personal  holiness  of  the  human  life 
of  Jesus,  so  that  the  Resurrection  marks  out  or 
distinguishes  Jesus  in  virtue  of  His  absolute  holi- 


RESURRECTION 


RESURRECTION 


ness  as  Son  of  God,  possessing  that  character. 
There  was  something  in  His  life  which  made  this 
special  act  of  power  possible  in  His  case.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  another  element  in  the  experience  is 
introduced,  viz.  faith.  Not  St.  Paul  only,  as  in 
2  Co  411'14,  but  the  early  Church  in  general,  seems 
to  have  regarded  the  Resurrection  as  a  result  of 
Christ's  faith,  and  also  as  an  act  of  necessary 
justice  on  God's  part,  '  by  the  glory  of  the  Father.' 

These  factors  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Resur- 
rection  need  to  be  considered  in  order  to  understand 
the  extension  of  the  principle  to  believers.  Now, 
the  passage  in  Galatians  already  cited  suggests 
that  St.  Paul,  in  considering  the  death  and  resur- 
rection of  Christ  from  this  point  of  view,  had  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  faith  was  the  governing 
principle  in  Christ's  life,  and  that  he  himself  as  a 
believer  lived  by  virtue  of  the  faith  which  Christ 
had  exercised  and  which  had  brought  Him  through 
resurrection  into  a  spiritual  state  in  which  He 
could  realize  and  make  good  the  purpose  of  God 
in  His  death  by  dwelling  in  those  who  believed  on 
Him. 

This  is  the  central  idea  in  St.  Paul's  view  of  the 
Resurrection — his  belief  in  the  present  spiritual 
existence  of  the  same  Christ  whose  faith  during 
His  earthly  life  had  brought  about  the  whole  pos- 
sibility of  resurrection,  a  spiritual  life,  and  the 
communication  of  it  to  believers.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  think  that  St.  Paul  separated  the  earthly  from 
the  heavenly  Christ ;  the  heavenly  Christ  was  the 
earthly  Christ  in  a  new  state  of  existence,  but  the 
same  in  experience  and  personal  identity.  Hence, 
by  His  indwelling,  the  principles  that  had  been 
proved  in  His  own  experience  could  be  reproduced 
in  those  who  believed  on  Him. 

(c)  This  brings  us  to  the  third  set  of  passages,  viz. 
those  in  which  St.  Paul  develops  the  consequences 
of  the  indwelling  of  Christ  for  the  future  state 
of  believers.  The  most  important  are  Ro  81"30 
especially  vv."- *>,  1  Co  15,  2  Co  3-5,  PhS10-20'21. 
The  clearest  exposition  of  this  view-point  is  found 
in  2  Co  3-5,  where  St.  Paul  develops  the  ministry 
of  the  Spirit  in  its  various  consequences,  identi- 
fying Christ  with  the  Spirit,  and  reaching  the 
climax  in  the  passage  413-510.  The  dying  of  Jesus 
is  at  work  in  him,  and  by  the  same  spirit  of  faith 
he  is  certain  that  God  will  raise  him  with  Jesus 
and  present  him  along  with  the  other  believers, 
clothed  in  a  new  and  glorious  habitation  prepared 
by  God  and  already  existing  in  heaven. 

In  the  same  way,  in  Ro  8  the  consequences  of 
the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  again  identi- 
fied with  Christ,  extend  to  the  quickening  of  the 
mortal  bodies  of  those  who  are  thus  dwelt  in.  In 
Ph  3  the  Apostle  desires  to  be  completely  identi- 
fied with  the  experiences  of  Christ,  His  death  and 
His  sufferings,  in  order  to  reach  the  goal  of  resur- 
rection and  attain  to  the  resurrection  from  among 
the  dead. 

In  1  Co  15  the  general  line  of  argument  is :  (1) 
the  proof  of  the  possibility  of  a  resurrection  from 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  accepted  as  a  historical 
event ;  (2)  the  argument  from  analogy,  based  on 
the  Rabbinical  conception  of  '  body,'  to  prove  the 
possibility  of  the  existence  of  such  a  thing  as  a 
spiritual  body  ;  (3)  the  contrast  between  Christ 
and  Adam  as  the  respective  sources  of  the  incor- 
ruptible and  the  corruptible,  the  heavenly  and  the 
earthly.  The  Second  Man,  the  Last  Adam,  is  a 
quickening  spirit ;  by  this  title  St.  Paul  implies  all 
that  is  developed  at  length  in  Ro  8  and  2  Co  3-5. 
Lastly,  he  describes  the  manner  in  which  the  change 
from  the  earthly  to  the  heavenly  body  is  effected. 
Hence  the  general  line  of  St.  Paul's  development 
of  the  doctrine  is  clear.  As  a  Pharisee  he  held 
the  continued  existence  of  the  soul  after  death  ; 
as  part  of  his  Palestinian  eschatology  he  held  the 


necessity  of  a  resurrection  to  judgment  of  both 
righteous  and  wicked,  and  probably  a  first  resur- 
rection of  righteous  to  participation  in  the  Mes- 
sianic kingdom. 

Into  this  original  stock  of  eschatological  belief 
there  broke  the  new  conception  of  a  Messiah  who 
had  died  and  risen.  It  is  so  clear  from  the 
Pauline  correspondence  that  this  new  conception 
was  based  upon  what  St.  Paul  believed  to  be  a 
trustworthy  historical  event,  supported  by  con- 
temporary evidence  and  confirmed  for  himself  by 
his  Damascus  experience,  that  it  is  unnecessary  to 
discuss  the  question  of  whether  he  owed  this  con- 
ception to  one  of  the  mystery-religions. 

The  effect  of  this  new  element  was  two-fold.  On 
the  one  hand,  it  shifted  the  eschatological  centre 
of  interest,  almost  unconsciously,  to  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ,  as  1  Co  15  shows.  The  resur- 
rection of  Christ  assumes  a  catastrophic  colouring, 
so  to  speak  :  it  becomes  the  first  act  of  Divine 
intervention  in  the  introduction  of  the  Kingdom, 
the  first  step  of  a  process  whose  culmination  also 
has  a  catastrophic  character  derived  from  the 
original  scheme  of  eschatology.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  introduced  into  the  eschatological  scheme  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Spirit  of  Christ  with  its  new  ethical 
implications  and  a  special  theory  of  the  way  in 
which  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  operated  to  trans- 
form the  whole  personality  of  the  oeliever  into  the 
likeness  of  the  Glorified  Christ. 

The  tendency  of  this  double  working  of  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ 
was  to  disturb  the  outline  of  the  old  eschatology. 
We  can  see  in  1  Thess.  the  stress  laid  on  the  first 
resurrection,  that  of  believers  to  the  likeness  of 
Christ ;  then  in  1  Cor.  the  outline  of  the  eschato- 
logical scheme  is  adjusted  to  this  new  emphasis : 
first  Christ's  resurrection,  then  the  resurrection  of 
those  that  are  Christ's  at  His  Parousia — clearly  the 
first  resurrection — then  the  end,  when  the  Kingdom 
is  delivered  to  the  Father.  No  mention  is  made  of 
what  happens  in  this  third  stage,  whether  another 
resurrection  takes  place  or  not. 

Thus  St.  Paul's  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  as 
far  as  it  can  be  reconstructed  from  the  Epistles, 
becomes  limited  to  a  resurrection  of  believers  only, 
in  the  likeness  of  Christ ;  and  further,  this  likeness 
is  conceived  of  more  and  more  as  ethical  and 
spiritual,  and  the  whole  ensuing  state  of  blessing 
as  a  spiritual  state  rather  than  as  a  concrete  king- 
dom on  earth.  But  the  latter  never  wholly  dis- 
appeared from  St.  Paul's  thinking ;  it  only  fell 
into  the  background.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that 
St.  Paul  ever  reached  the  point  of  abandoning 
entirely  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  although  his 
conception  of  the  doctrine  was  extremely  spiritual. 
But  the  difference  between  a  mere  life  of  the  spirit 
after  death,  even  in  full  communion  with  God,  and 
St.  Paul's  doctrine  of  a  spiritual  body  ia  much 
more  than  a  difference  of  words.  It  involves  two 
fundamentally  different  views  of  redemption.  The 
Oriental  view,  which  influenced  Alexandrian 
eschatology,  regarded  redemption  as  the  separa- 
tion of  matter  from  spirit,  the  dissolution  of  an 
evil  and  unnatural  union.  The  Pauline  view, 
which  was  based  on  the  Palestinian,  and  which 
ultimately  passed  into  the  distinctively  Christian 
point  of  view,  was  the  deliverance  of  the  body  from 
corruption,  the  corruptible  and  mortal  element  in 
it  due  to  sin,  and  its  true  union  with  the  spirit 
in  an  incorruptible  form.  No  doubt  metaphysical 
speculation  may  find  practically  no  difference  be- 
tween a  spirit  preserving  personal  identity  and 
a  spiritual  body,  but  it  is  more  than  doubtful 
whether  St.  Paul  ever  reached  such  a  point  of  view. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  the  Pauline  doctrine  of  resur- 
rection it  may  be  of  interest  to  add  a  note  on  the  special  doc- 
trine of  the  spiritual  body.  The  Kabbala  reflects  a  theory 


326 


RESURRECTION 


RESURRECTION 


•which  goes  back  to  very  early  Jewish  times,  possibly  earlier 
than  R.  Meir,  that  unfallen  man  in  the  garden  of  Eden  was 
clothed  in  a  garment  of  light,  which  after  the  Fall  changed  into 
A  covering  of  skin  (Zohar,  ii.  2296).  In  the  Bardesanian  Hymn  of 
the  Soul,  contained  in  the  Syriac  Acts  of  Judas  Thomas,  we  have 
also  a  full  and  striking  account  of  the  Light-Form,  or  spiritual 
counterpart  of  man,  which  remains  in  heaven  during  man's 
gtay  on  earth,  and  is  reunited  to  him  when  he  casts  off  his 
earthly  body  and  returns  to  his  home  in  heaven.  Likewise,  in 
the  recently  discovered  Odes  of  Solomon  occur  several  refer- 
ences to  the  same  belief,  closely  connected  with  the  sacrament 
of  baptism.  Burkitt  (Early  Eastern  Christianity,  London,  1904, 
Lecture  iv.  p.  124  f.)  has  shown  that  in  early  Syriac  Christi- 
anity the  sacrament  of  baptism  was  believed  to  have  a  special 
efficacy  in  relation  to  complete  physical  resurrection,  and  was 
limited  to  celibates.  Hence  the  Pauline  doctrine  of  a  spiritual 
body  seems  to  have  its  roots  in  early  Jewish  metaphysical  and 
cosmologicat  speculation,  although  considerably  modified  by 
his  views  of  the  ethical  and  spiritual  element  in  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ. 

There  is  also  a  remarkable  resemblance  between  the  theory 
of  resurrection  put  forward  in  2  Bar  49-51  and  St.  Paul's  doc- 
trine of  the  spiritual  body.  According  to  Baruch,  all  who  have 
died  are  first  raised  in  precisely  the  same  physical  form  in 
which  they  were  buried  (502) ;  they  are  then  transformed,  the 
righteous  into  the  likeness  of  angels,  and  the  wicked  into  some 
worse  or  baser  aspect  (5H-6).  in  St.  Paul's  doctrine  transfor- 
mation holds  good  only  of  the  living  who  remain  until  the 
Parousia  ;  the  dead  are  raised  in  their  new  and  glorious  form. 
Charles  would  also  add  that  the  believing  dead  receive  their 
glorious  form  or  state  immediately  after  death,  according  to 
his  view  of  2  Co  5.  In  St.  Paul's  teaching  there  is  no  place  for 
the  resurrection  of  the  wicked,  or  for  any  such  change  as  is 
taught  in  2  Bar  501.  The  only  exception  is  Ac  236. 

2  Timothy  is  the  only  one  of  the  Pastorals  that 
contributes  any  thing  of  importance  to  our  subject. 
d.<j>6apo-ia,  'incorruptibility,'  is  one  of  the  elements 
of  the  Pauline  gospel  ('l10-  ").  The  elect  are  to 
obtain  salvation  with  eternal  glory  (210).  Those 
who  share  the  death  will  also  share  the  life,  those 
who  suffer  will  reign  (211).  There  were  some  who 
taught  that  the  resurrection  had  already  happened 
(218),  but  no  answer  to  this  heresy  is  deemed  neces- 
sary by  the  author  of  the  Epistle,  showing  that 
the  belief  in  a  future  resurrection  already  formed 
a  part  of  the  orthodox  faith.  Christ  is  to  judge 
both  living  and  dead  (41).  But  there  is  little  or 
nothing  of  the  distinctively  Pauline  teaching  on 
the  resurrection. 

3.  The  Catholic  Epistles. — (a)  Hebrews  is  impor- 
tant for  our  inquiry.     The  resurrection  of  Christ 
is  held  firmly  as  a  historical  event.     God  brought 
Christ  again  from  the  dead  (1320).     Yet  the  resur- 
rection-state of  Christ  seems  to  be  conceived  of 
as  purely  spiritual,  and  the  same  term  'perfected,' 
rereXeiw/I^pos,  is  used  of  Christ's  present  condition 
(I28)  as  is  used  for  the  present  state  of  the  righteous, 
'  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect'  (12^).     'A 
better  resurrection'  is  spoken  of  in  II33  as   the 
object  of  the  hope  of  the  martyrs. 

The  general  tendency  of  the  Epistle  seems  to 
point  to  what  Charles  calls  a  spiritual  resurrection, 
the  belief  which,  as  we  have  already  seen,  was 
characteristic  of  Alexandrian  Judaism.  But  it  is 
impossible  to  draw  any  conclusions  from  this 
Epistle  as  to  the  place  of  the  resurrection  in  the 
general  scheme  of  eschatology. 

(6)  The  First  Epistle  of  Peter  supports  the  con- 
tention already  put  forward  that  the  early  Church 
regarded  the  faith  of  Christ  as  an  important 
element  in  the  historical  fact  of  His  resurrection. 
The  Epistle  draws  a  parallel  between  the  ark  as 
the  means  of  salvation  for  Noah  and  his  company 
from  the  judgment  of  his  time  and  Christian 
baptism,  which  by  the  resurrection  of  Christ  saves 
the  believer  from  the  eschatological  judgment 
which  is  regarded  as  imminent.  But  the  manner 
of  the  salvation  is  left  quite  vague.  Believers  are 
to  share  the  '  glory '  which  is  to  be  revealed  at  the 
Parousia,  but  in  what  state  is  left  undefined. 
There  is  also  a  vague  reference  to  the  future  state 
of  the  wicked  (46),  but  it  is  impossible  to  draw  the 
implication  of  the  resurrection  of  the  wicked  from 
it. 

4.  The  Synoptic  Gospels.— One  or  two  passages 


in  the  Synoptic  Gospels  fall  to  be  considered  here, 
although,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  ascertaining 
the  original  form  of  Christ's  sayings,  we  can  gather 
from  them  only  the  general  nature  of  His  atti- 
tude towards  the  resurrection-doctrine  of  His  time. 

In  the  passage  containing  the  question  raised  by 
the  Sadducees  as  to  the  resurrection  (Mk  12I8~27  = 
Mt  2223'32),  the  Marcan  form  of  the  Saying  of 
Christ,  closely  followed  by  Matthew,  appears  to 
show  two  elements:  (1)  the  acceptance  of  the 
current  Pharisaic  belief  in  a  future  resurrection, 
although  the  position  of  that  resurrection  in  tlie 
eschatological  scheme  is  not  defined,  and  a  too 
materialistic  view  of  the  resurrection-state  is 
corrected ;  (2)  an  argument,  more  rabbinico,  in 
which  it  is  proved  from  Ex  36  that  the  resurrection 
follows  from  the  nature  of  the  relation  between 
God  and  the  patriarchs.  The  line  of  argument 
appears  to  imply  that  the  relation  '  God  of  the 
living '  is  not  fully  satisfied  by  the  present  state  of 
the  patriarchs  in  Sheol  or  Paradise,  but  requires 
the  resurrection  of  the  persons  concerned  to  give 
its  full  meaning  and  truth.  The  older  doctrine  of 
Sheol,  as  represented  in  many  of  the  Psalms, 
teaching  that  in  Sheol  there  was  no  relation  be- 
tween God  and  the  soul,  would  give  more  point  to 
the  argument ;  but  that  doctrine  can  hardly  have 
been  current  in  the  time  of  Christ,  nor  would  it 
have  been  denied  by  the  Sadducees.  The  Lucan 
form  of  the  Saying  (Lk  2034'36)  either  has  been 
considerably  modified  by  Luke,  or  has  its  source  in 
a  different  tradition.  The  phrase  TTJS  dvacrrda-fus 
Trjs  tic  veKp&v  (v.35)  is  Pauline,  as  is  also  the  thought 
of  attaining  to  the  resurrection  (cf.  Ph  310). 

The  Pharisaic  view  of  the  resurrection  is  given 
in  much  fuller  detail.  The  resurrection  is  definitely 
connected  with  the  Messianic  Age,  TOV  alwvos 
ticfivov,  but  those  who  rise  cannot  die  again  ;  they 
enter  on  their  eternal  state,  possibly  as  against 
the  doctrine  of  the  death  of  Messiah  and  His  com- 
panions at  the  close  of  the  Messianic  Age,  taught 
in  4  Ezra  (see  above).  The  implication  that  the 
resurrection  is  only  for  the  righteous  is  made 
clearer:  'sons  of  God 'is  the  equivalent  of  'sons 
of  the  resurrection.'  But  in  the  second  part  of  the 
argument  an  addition  is  made  which  implies  a 
general  resurrection — 'all  live  unto  Him.  This 
is  not  consistent  with  the  older  form  of  the  Saying 
and  its  implication,  and  may  possibly  arise  from 
the  same  point  of  view  which  led  St.  Luke  to 
represent  St.  Paul  as  holding  the  doctrine  of  a 
general  resurrection  in  Ac  236. 

Although  the  Synoptic  Gospels  are  outside  our 
field  of  inquiry,  yet  they  illustrate  the  primitive 
background  of  the  Christian  resurrection-doctrine, 
the  spiritualizing  tendency  at  work  having  a 
partial  source  of  support  in  our  Lord's  teaching, 
and  the  possibilities  of  later  modifications  of  an 
earlier  tradition. 

5.  The  Johannine  literature. — (a)  The  Apoca- 
lypse. —  In  the  Apocalypse  we  have  the  only 
absolutely  explicit  teaching  of  more  than  one 
resurrection.  Here  also  the  question  is  complicated 
by  source-theories.  The  principal  passage  with 
which  we  are  concerned  is  204'6-  n'18.  This  passage, 
after  the  account  of  the  binding  of  Satan  in  the 
Abyss  during  the  1000  years  (vv.1'3),  goes  on  to 
describe  the  resurrection  of  those  who  had  been 
slain  during  the  tribulation.  They  live  and  reign 
with  Christ  1000  years  (vv.4'6).  Then  at  the  close 
come  the  final  assault  of  Gog  and  Magog,  their 
defeat,  the  general  judgment  and  resurrection  of 
all  the  dead,  or,  strictly  speaking,  of  the  rest  of  the 
dead  (v.8),  for  judgment. 

In  considering  this  passage  we  have  to  take 
several  points  into  account:  (1)  The  possibility  of 
different  sources.  E.  de  Faye  (Les  Apocalypses 
juives,  Paris,  1892,  p.  17 If.),  following  F.  Spitta's 


RESURRECTION 


RESURRECTION 


327 


analysis  (Die  Offenbarung  des  Johannes  untersucht, 
Strassburg,  1889),  assigns  201"3- 7'15  to  a  Caligula- 
Apocalypse  of  Jewish  authorship,  while  204'6  is 
assigned  to  a  Christian  redactor  of  Trajan's  time. 
Hence  the  original  Apocalypse  would  not  have 
contained  a  pre-millennial  resurrection.  Modern 
critical  opinion,  however,  has  expressed  itself 
strongly  in  favour  of  unity  of  authorship,  and  that 
authorship  Christian.  Thus  we  are  sufficiently 
justified  in  regarding  as  held  in  the  time  of 
Domitian,  in  certain  Christian  circles,  the  view 
that  there  was  a  pre-millennial  resurrection, 
possibly  of  martyrs  only,  followed  by  a  post- 
millennial  general  resurrection  for  judgment. 

(2)  There  is  also  the  possibility  that  the  author, 
who   seems   to   distinguish  the   Church   from  the 
remnant  of   Israel  and  the  slain  martyrs  of  the 
tribulation,  may  have  regarded  the  rapture  and 
resurrection  which  St.  Paul  contemplates  in  1  Th  4 
as  having  already  taken  place.     The  difficulty  of 
interpreting  the  symbolic  representations  conies  in 
here,  but  it  is  possible  that  the  elders  already  in 
heaven  in  ch.  5  represent  the  Church.     In  this  case 
we  have  a  scheme  of  three  resurrections  implied  : 
(i.)   the  resurrection  and   rapture  of  the  Church 
before  the  pre-Messianic  woes  commence  ;  (ii.)  the 
pre-millennial  resurrection    at    the  close    of    the 
tribulations,  coniined  by  Charles  to  the  martyrs  ; 
and  (iii.)  the  resurrection  of  the  rest  of  the  dead 
at  the  end  of  the  millennium  for  the  general  Judg- 
ment.      In    support    of    this    view  there    is   the 
evidence  of  a  somewhat  ambiguously  expressed 
belief  that  the  Church  would  be  saved  from  the 
final  tribulation,  possibly  due  to  St.  Paul's  teach- 
ing.    Even  if  this  be  not  accepted — and  there  are 
serious  objections  to  it — it  is  impossible  to  think 
that  the  author  could  have  confined  the  enjoyment 
of  the   millennial   kingdom   to   the  martyrs  and 
survivors,  shutting  out  all  the  righteous  of  early 
times,  and  those  believers  who  had  died,  but  not 
as  martyrs,  before  the  establishment  of  the  king- 
dom.    Those  who  have   part  in  what  the  writer 
calls  '  the  first  resurrection  '  are  '  blessed  and  holy.' 
It  hardly  seems  likely  that  he  contemplated  the 
omission  of  any  who  possessed  this  character  from 
the  first  resurrection.     The  phrase  '  the  first  resur- 
rection '   certainly   militates  against  the  view  of 
three   resurrections.     But,  as  we  have  seen  from 
St.  Paul's  earlier  scheme,  possibly  abandoned  after- 
wards by  him,  the  resurrection  of  Christ  could  be 
considered  as  the  commencement  of  a  resurrection 
which  culminates  with  that  of  the  dead  believers — 
'  Christ  the  firstfruits  ;  then  they  that  are  Christ's, 
at  his  coming '  (1  Co  1523).     Possibly  the  author  of 
the  Apocalypse  may   have    understood  the   first 
resurrection  in  such  a  sense,  namely,  as  a  process 
commencing  with  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  con- 
tinuing with  the  rapture  and  resurrection  of  the 
Church   before   the  tribulation,  and  closing  with 
the  resurrection  of  martyrs  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Messianic  kingdom  on  earth.     But  this  is  certainly 
a  highly  disputable  point.* 

(3)  Lastly,   we    must    note    that    the    author's 
scheme  is  clearly  a  combination  of  non-congruent 
elements.     It  combines  at  least  two  views  of  the 
resurrection,  and  possibly  three,  if  we  accept  the 
influence  of    the   Pauline  teaching  as  suggested 
above.     He  has  combined  the  early  Judaic  and 
Pharisaic  view  of  an  earthly  temporal  Messianic 
kingdom,  to  which  the  righteous  are  raised,  with 
the  later  view,  partly  due  to  Alexandrian  influence 
and  also  to  the  failure  of  Messianic  hopes  after  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  of  a  general  resurrection 
of  righteous  and  wicked  for  judgment  before  the 
establishment  of  an   eternal   kingdom   in  a  new 
heaven  and  earth. 

*  Charles  has  offered  a   reconstruction   of  this  passage   in 
ExpTxxvi.  [1914-15]  54,  119. 


It  is  obvious  that  the  resurrection  of  all  the 
righteous  and  holy  before  the  Messianic  kingdom, 
if  we  accept  this  as  the  writer's  intention,  renders 
nugatory  a  discriminating  judgment  at  the  close 
of  the  kingdom,  for  none  but  the  wicked  are  left 
to  be  raised.  Yet  the  account  of  the  final  resurrec- 
tion and  judgment  clearly  implies  a  discriminating 
judgment. 

Of  the  nature  of  the  resurrection-condition  we 
can  gather  nothing  from  the  writer  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse. 

(b)  The  Fourth  Gospel. — The  Gospels  lie  outside 
the  plan  of  this  work.  Yet  the  Fourth  Gospel  by 
its  date  belongs  to  our  period,  and  a  few  words  as 
to  its  teaching  on  resurrection  are  necessary  to 
complete  our  account  of  the  whole  view  of  the 
resurrection  during  the  Apostolic  Age.  See  also 
artt.  PAEOUSIA  and  IMMORTALITY. 

The  principal  point  to  be  observed  concerning 
the  resurrection-doctrine  of  this  Gospel  is  that  it 
presents  the  completion  of  that  process  which  we 
observed  at  work  in  the  Pauline  eschatology.  The 
conception  of  Christ's  resurrection  has  completely 
transformed  the  traditional  doctrine  of  resurrec- 
tion. The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  the  demonstra- 
tion of  the  nature  of  His  spiritual  life,  the  eternal 
life,  pre-existent,  and  incapable  of  being  touched 
by  death.  Hence  Christ  not  only  rises,  but  is  in 
His  own  Person  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life. 
The  two  ideas  coalesce  in  Him.  Hence  the  believer 
in  Christ,  possessing  eternal  life,  possesses  the 
resurrection-life  already,  and  after  death  merely 
enters  into  its  fuller  enjoyment.  Hence,  in  con- 
sistency, an  eschatological  scheme  of  resurrection 
has  no  place  in  this  writer's  view.  But  such  a 
scheme  certainly  had  a  place  in  Christ's  teaching, 
and  the  writer  could  not  wholly  remove  it  from 
his  presentation  and  interpretation  of  that  teach- 
ing ;  and  even  if  we  allow  with  Charles  and  other 
scholars  that  528-  w  is  an  interpolation,  we  still 
have  the  repetition  of  the  phrase  '  I  will  raise  him 
up  at  the  last  day.' 

Like  all  the  NT  writers,  the  author  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel  presents  elements  which  are  not 
entirely  congruent,  save  by  a  forced  and  artificial 
process  of  exegesis.  We  have  the  furthest  and 
highest  spiritual  development  of  the  doctrine  of 
life,  transcending  the  current  views  of  eschato- 
logical events,  and  we  have  also  the  survival, 
perhaps  unconscious,  perhaps  a  conscious  accom- 
modation to  the  reader's  point  of  view,  of  the 
older  doctrine. 

6.  The  Apostolic  Fathers.— (a)  1  Clement.— The 
author  of  1  Clement  in  a  curious  passage  (chs. 
24-26)  proves  the  doctrine  of  the  future  resurrec- 
tion along  the  lines  of  St.  Paul's  proof  in  1  Co  15. 
He  uses  the  analogy  of  day  and  night,  of  the  seed 
sown,  and  finally  the  myth  of  the  phoenix,  to  illus- 
trate his  view.  But,  while  a  resurrection  of  the 
flesh  is  clearly  implied,  its  time  and  nature  are 
left  undefined.  The  only  other  passage  that  bears 
on  the  subject  is  in  ch.  50,  where  the  resurrection 
and  public  manifestation  of  the  righteous  are 
placed  at  the  tiriffKoiry  TT)S  /3a<ri\efas  TOV  Qeov,  appar- 
ently the  coming  of  the  Kingdom  ;  but  whether  an 
earthly  millennial  kingdom  is  intended  or  an 
eternal  heavenly  one  is  not  clear. 

(b)  2  Clement. — In  this  little  treatise  we  have  a 
good  deal  more  definite  teaching  on  the  resurrec- 
tion. In  ch.  8  the  future  state  of  the  believer  is 
contingent  on  purity  of  the  flesh  and  on  baptism. 
In  ch.  9  the  resurrection  of  the  flesh  is  explicitly 
stated,  '  Let  none  of  you  say  that  this  flesh  is  not 
judged  nor  rises  again,'  '  we  shall  receive  the 
reward  in  this  flesh.'  In  ch.  14  we  have  an 
apparent  similarity  to  the  mystical  teaching  of 
Ignatius.  The  relation  between  flesh  and  spirit 
is  conceived  of  as  corresponding  to  the  relation 


328 


RESURRECTION 


RESURRECTION 


between  the  Church  and  Christ  ;  the  abuse  of  the 
one  involves  the  loss  of  the  other.  Life  and 
immortality  are  connected  with  the  possession  of 
the  Spirit,  which  is  identified  with  Christ.  In 
chs.  16  and  17  a  physical  resurrection  of  both 
righteous  and  wicked  at  the  Day  of  Judgment  is 
implied.  In  ch.  19  those  who  do  righteousness 
'gather  the  immortal  fruit  of  the  resurrection.' 

(c)  Ignatius. — The    general  trend  of  Ignatius' 
attitude  towards  the  resurrection  closely  resembles, 
and   has   possibly   been   formed   by,  that  of   the 
Fourth  Gospel.     Christ  is  his  true  life.     He  expects 
to  rise  again  to  God  as  the  immediate  consequence 
of  his  martyrdom.     He  lays  stress,  however,  in  the 
Pauline   way,  on  the  salvation  of  both  flesh  and 
spirit  by  the  Passion  of  Christ,  who  Himself  rose 
both  in  flesh  and  in  spirit.     The  possession  of  life 
and  immortality  is  also  connected  with  the  Euchar- 
ist, '  the  medicine  of  immortality '  (Eph.  xx.  2).    In 
Magn.  9  we  have  a  reference  to  the  raising  of  the 
righteous  dead  of  the  OT,  by  the  descent  of  Christ 
into   Hades,  possibly  reflected  in   Mt  2982- 6S ;  cf. 
also  Hernias,  Sim.  ix.  16,  and  Gospel  of  Peter,  9. 
In  Smyrn.  3  we  have  the  assertion  of  the  physical 
resurrection  of  Christ,  in  7  those  who  have  love 
are  those  who  will  rise  again.     In  the  Letter  to 
Polycarp,   1,   is  the  only  clear  reference  to  the 
resurrection  as  an  eschatological  event, '  that  I  may 
be  found  your  disciple  at  the  resurrection.' 

From  the  nature  of  the  correspondence  a  clear 
statement  of  eschatological  views  is  hardly  to  be 
expected,  but  it  is  fairly  clear  that  the  older 
scheme  of  eschatological  expectation  has  no  living 
place  in  the  experience  of  Ignatius.  '  Christ  our 
life'  has  for  him  replaced  the  earlier  form  of 
Jewish  Christian  hope. 

(d)  Epistle  of  Polycarp. — This  letter  contains 
two  references  (chs.  2  and  5)  to  the  resurrection  as 
the  subject  of  future  hope,  but  nothing  definite  as 
to  its  time  and  nature. 

(e)  The  Didache. — In  the  last  chapter  of    the 
Didache  we  have  a  brief  summary  of  the  kind  of 
eschatology  which  was  characteristic  of  primitive 
Judseo-Christian   community  represented  by  this 
treatise.     There  is  the  great  tribulation  preceded 
by  a  general  apostasy,  as  in  the  little  Apocalypse 
of  Mk  13.     Then  come  the  signs  of  the  Parousia, 
the  third  sign  being  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 
Then  the  writer  adds,  '  but  not  of  all  the  dead,' 
quoting  Zee  14s  in  order  to  limit  the  resurrection 
to  the  righteous  only. 

This  apparently  will  be  the  pre-millennial  resur- 
rection of  Rev  204'6.  But  no  mention  is  made  of  a 
final  judgment  and  resurrection. 

(/)  Barnabas  teaches  (v.  7)  the  general  resurrec- 
tion and  judgment  of  both  wicked  and  righteous, 
and  also  (xi.  8)  lays  stress  on  the  importance  of 
baptism  in  this  respect  (cf.  also  xxi.  1.  6). 

(g)  The  Shepherd  of  Hernias. — In  this  strange 
medley  we  have  what  may  represent  the  point  of 
view  of  the  poorer  and  uneducated  class  of  Chris- 
tians in  Rome  about  the  middle  of  the  2nd  century. 
Much  stress  is  laid  on  baptism  for  the  salvation  of 
flesh  and  spirit  to  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  (Vis. 
III.  iii.  5).  In  Vis.  IV.  iii.  5  the  world  is  to  be 
destroyed  by  blood  and  fire,  but  the  righteous  pass 
through  the  final  tribulation  in  safety.  The  elect 
will  dwell  in  the  world  to  come,  without  spot  and 
pure.  In  Sim.  IV.  '  the  world  to  come  is  summer 
for  the  righteous,  but  winter  for  the  wicked.'  All 
are  to  be  manifested  in  that  world  and  to  receive 
the  reward  of  their  deeds.  In  Sim.  V.  vii.  4  both 
flesh  and  spirit,  kept  pure,  are  to  be  preserved  for 
the  future  life.  In  Sim.  ix.  16  we  have  the  fullest 
passage  for  the  raising  of  the  OT  saints,  but  with 
considerable  differences  from  the  view  that  appar- 
ently became  stereotyped  in  the  Roman  Creed. 
The  apostles  after  their  death  preached  to  the  OT 


saints  and  gave  them  the  seal  of  baptism.  It  is 
remarkable  that  Hernias,  speaking  of  the  apostles, 
says,  '  they  went  down  alive  and  came  up  alive,' 
in  contrast  with  the  OT  saints  who  '  went  down 
dead  and  came  up  alive.' 

It  is  difficult  to  extract  much  coherency  from 
the  rambling  visions  and  parables  of  Hernias,  but 
apparently  he  conceives  of  the  completion  of  the 
tower,  the  Church,  as  the  moment  when  the  world 
to  come  will  be  ushered  in.  There  will  be  judg- 
ment of  wicked  and  righteous,  a  great  tribulation, 
a  resurrection  of  flesh  and  spirit  for  the  righteous, 
and  apparently  eternal  death  or  annihilation  for 
the  wicked. 

Hence,  the  survey  of  the  Apostolic  Fathers  shows 
us  in  the  main  the  same  lines  of  cleavage,  repre- 
sented by  Ignatius  and  the  Didache  respectively. 
We  have  too  little  remaining  to  us  of  the  literature 
of  the  Church  of  this  period  to  form  a  compre- 
hensive judgment.  C.  H.  Turner  (Studies  in 
Early  Church  History,  Oxford,  1912,  p.  Iff.)  has 
already  entered  a  weighty  protest  against  regard- 
ing the  Didache  as  in  any  way  representative  of 
the  general  thought  and  practice  of  the  Church  at 
the  beginning  of  the  2nd  century.  Nor  can  we 
infer  that  the  type  of  eschatology  which  it  repre- 
sents largely  outweighed  the  more  spiritual  form 
of  hope  characteristic  of  the  Christian  experience 
of  Ignatius. 

///.  CONCLUSION. — In  closing  this  examination 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  as  held  in 
various  circles  of  the  early  Church  during  the  1st 
cent,  of  Christianity  the  same  general  conclusions 
meet  us  as  appearea  at  the  close  of  the  survey  of 
the  Parousia.  There  are,  however,  some  important 
differences  in  the  development  of  the  two  concep- 
tions. 

The  Parousia — that  is,  the  coming  of  Messiah 
with  glory  to  inaugurate  a  time  of  bliss — had 
always  formed  a  somewhat  uncertain  element  in 
Jewish  eschatology.  It  was  not  bound  up  with 
the  future  hope  pi  Israel  by  any  moral  necessity  ; 
hence  we  find  it  absent  from  various  forms  of 
Jewish  eschatology,  and  at  various  periods. 

The  resurrection  of  the  righteous,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  increasingly  regarded  by  the  best  Jewish 
thought  as  morally  bound  up  with  the  character 
and  faithfulness  of  God,  and  hence  appears  in 
nearly  every  form  of  eschatological  construction, 
whether  strictly  Messianic  or  not. 

Thus,  when  we  pass  into  NT  eschatology,  we 
find  that  the  two  factors  of  the  belief  in  the 
historical  resurrection  of  Christ  as  the  Messiah, 
and  the  connexion  of  this  resurrection  with  His 
own  moral  character  and  God's  response  to  it, 
operate  much  more  cogently  in  the  development 
of  the  resurrection-doctrine  of  the  NT  than  in  that 
of  the  Parousia,  especially  in  St.  Paul's  teaching. 
Hence  we  find  two  lines  of  thought  of  unequal 
strength  at  work  in  St.  Paul's  treatment  of- the 
subject. 

(1)  On  the  one  hand,  he  seeks  to  find  a  place  for 
the  resurrection  of    the  believers  in  the  general 
scheme  of  eschatology  as  he  had  inherited  it,  and 
to  relate  the  resurrection  of  Christ  and  those  who 
were  vitally  connected   with  Him  to  the  whole 
scheme.     The  result  was  a  disturbance  of  the  main 
lines  of  the  Palestinian  eschatology  and  a  gradual 
blurring  of  its  determined  sequence  of  events. 

(2)  On  the  other  hand,  St.  Paul  is  far  more  inter- 
ested in  working  out  the  nature  of  the  resurrection 
of  believers  as  a  moral  implication  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ.     The  essential  form  of  his  resurrec- 
tion-doctrine   is    principally  determined  by   this 
factor,  although  his  Judaeo-  Hellenistic  psychology, 
his    Rabbinical    metaphysics,    and   his   Pharisaic 
eschatology   have  a  subordinate  influence  on  his 
modes  of  thinking.     These  three  last  factors  con- 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     329 


tribute  far  less  to  the  essence  of  St.  Paul's  resur- 
rection-doctrine than  has  been  generally  supposed. 

The  outstanding  results  of  the  development  in 
those  circles  where  the  historical  resurrection  of 
Christ  remained  the  fundamental  fact  in  the 
Church's  belief  were  the  gradual  liberation  of  the 
belief  in  the  resurrection  of  believers  from  any  par- 
ticular scheme  of  eschatology  and  an  increasing 
spiritualization  of  the  resurrection.  The  strength 
of  the  belief  in  the  physical  resurrection  of  Christ, 
however,  caused  the  resurrection  of  the  body  or 
the  flesh  to  become  a  fixed  element  in  the  belief  of 
the  Church  as  a  whole,  as  witnessed  by  the  early 
forms  of  creed. 

The  subsidiary  results  of  development  were  a 
divergence  of  opinion  between  those  circles  in  the 
Church  which  held  to  the  Jewish  expectation  of 
an  earthly  kingdom  and  those  which  inclined  to 
the  Alexandrian  view.  In  the  former  the  millennial 
scheme  prevailed,  with  a  resurrection  of  the  right- 
eous preceding  the  Messianic  kingdom,  and  a 
general  resurrection  and  final  judgment  following 
it.  This  is  represented  in  the  Apocalypse  and 
the  Didache,  and  was  perhaps  most  prevalent  in 
the  Palestinian  churches  and  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts of  Asia  Minor.  In  the  latter  circles  the 
tendency  was  to  regard  the  righteous  as  entering 
upon  their  glorified  state  after  death,  although 
even  here  the  conception  of  a  final  resurrection  as 
necessary  for  the  full  consummation  was  retained, 
and  the  belief  in  a  final  resurrection  of  both  right- 
eous and  wicked  for  judgment  kept  its  place. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  real  inward- 
ness, the  essence,  of  both  the  Pauline  and  the 
Johannine  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  failed  to 
be  apprehended  by  the  Church  as  a  whole,  although 
individuals  such  as  Ignatius  show  clear  traces  of 
its  influence. 

LITERATURE. — See  Literature  of  art.  PAROUSIA,  and,  in  addition, 
F.  C.  Burkitt,  Jewish  and  Christian  Apocalypses  (Schweich 
Lectures  for  1914),  London,  1914 ;  R.  H.  Charles,  Studies  in 
the  Apocalypse,  Edinburgh,  1913 ;  W.  O.  E.  Oesterley,  The 
Books  of  the  Apocrypha,  London,  1914.  S.  H.  HOOKE. 

RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST. 

I.  The  place  of  the  Resurrection  of  Christ  in  the  Apostolic 
Church. 

II.  The  .apostolic  evidence  for  the  fact. 

i.  The  primary  evidence. 
ii.  The  documentary  evidence. 
i.  The  witness  of  St.  Paul. 
(a)  The  empty  grave. 
(6)  The  appearing  of  the  Risen  Christ. 
a.  The  witness  of  the  Gospels, 
(a)  The  empty  grave. 
(6)  The  appearings. 

III.  The  nature  of  Christ's  Resurrection-Body. 

i.  The  Gospel  witness, 
ii.  The  witness  of  St.  Paul. 

IV.  The  significance  of  the  Resurrection  of  Christ  for  Apostolic 
Ohristianity. 

i.  Evidential  significance — in  respect  of 

1.  The  Person  of  Christ. 

2.  His  work. 

3.  The  Christian  hope. 

ii.  Essential  or  constitutive  significance— for 
i.  Christ  Himself, 
a.  Christian  life  and  experience  in  all  its  forms. 

(a)  Justification. 

(6)  Sanctification. 

(c)  Bodily  resurrection. 
3.  The  consummation  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

V.  Attempted  naturalistic  or  semi-naturalistic  explanations  of 
the  apostolic  belief. 

i.  Older  forms. 

1.  The  swoon  theory. 

2.  The  theft  or  fraud  theory. 

3.  The  subjective  vision   or  mental  hallucination 

theory. 

4.  The  objective  vision  or  telegram  theory. 
ii.  More  recent  forms. 

1.  The  psychological  or  psychical  research  theory. 

2.  The  mythological  theory. 

3.  The  spiritual  significance  theory. 

4.  The  '  supernatural-without-miracle '  theory. 

I.    THE    PLACE    OF    THE    RESURRECTION    OF 

CHRIST  IN  THE  APOSTOLIC  CHURCH.— The  funda- 


mental fact  on  which  the  Apostolic  Church  rests  is 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.  What  lies  at  the 
basis  of  everything  else  determining  the  whole 
round  of  apostolic  thought  and  life  is  the  conviction 
that  the  Jesus  who  was  crucified  was  raised  from  the 
grave  by  the  power  of  God  and  is  now  the  Exalted 
and  Sovereign  Lord.  Apart  from  this  the  very 
existence  of  Apostolic  Christianity  as  exhibited  in 
the  NT  is  unintelligible  and  inexplicable.  Three 
aspects  of  this  fundamental  significance  of  the 
Resurrection  may  here  be  indicated. 

(a)  It  is  the  fontal  source  or  spring  of  the  apo- 
stolic faith,  that  which  brought  the  Church  into 
existence  and  set  it  moving  with  that  wonderful 
vitality  and  power  which  lie  before  us  in  the  NT. 
Much  of  modern  historical  criticism  attempts  to 
find  the  impulse  which  constitutes  Christianity  in 
the  impression  of  the  life  and  teaching  of  Jesus  on 
His  disciples.  But  so  far  as  .that  went,  and  if  that 
were  all,  there  would  have  been  no  such  thing  as 
the  Christianity  of  the  apostles.  There  might 
have  been  memoirs  of  Him,  there  might  have  been 
a  school  of  thought  founded  on  His  teaching,  but 
there  would  have  been  no  living  faith,  no  Christian 
gospel,  no  Apostolic  Church.  He  had  spoken  as 
no  man  had  ever  spoken ;  He  had  done  many 
mighty  works,  '  works  which  none  other  man  did  ' 
(Jn  1524).  And  more  than  what  He  said  and  did 
was  what  He  was — the  unique  impression  of  His 
life  and  personality,  whereby  He  made  men  feel 
that  in  Him  they  were  face  to  face  with  one  who 
was  none  other  than  the  great  Promised  One  of 
God,  'the  Christ'  (Mk  S29,  Mt  1616,  Lk  920),  'the 
Holy  One  of  God '  ( Jn  669 ;  cf.  Ac  31*,  '  the  Holy 
and  Righteous  One'). 

Yet  the  faith  called  forth  by  the  life  of 
Christ  was  a  faith  which  broke  into  fragments 
under  the  crash  of  the  Cross.  The  creative  force 
or  dynamic  of  Christianity  has,  as  a  matter  of 
history,  to  be  found  in  an  event  that  carries  us 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  earthly  life.  It  was  the 
Resurrection,  viewed  as  a  great  declaratory  act  of 
God,  the  fact  that  God  'raised  him  from  the  dead, 
and  made  him  to  sit  at  his  right  hand '  (Eph  I20), 
that  re-interpreted  and  re-established  the  faith 
evoked  by  the  Life,  and  for  the  first  time  gave 
Him  His  true  place  as  Lord  and  Christ  in  their 
lives.  This  is  best  seen  by  reference  to  the  reports 
of  St.  Peter's  speeches  in  the  Acts,  in  which,  by 
general  consent,  we  have  a  true  representation  of 
the  earliest  Christian  preaching.  In  these  speeches 
St.  Peter  starts  indeed  from  the  historical  Person 
of  Jesus  and  from  facts  well  known  to  his  hearers 
regarding  His  life  on  earth  :  ;  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a 
man  accredited  to  you  by  God  through  miracles 
and  wonders  and  signs  which  God  performed  by 
him  among  you,  as  you  yourselves  know  '  (Ac  222) ; 
'  anointed  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  power : 
who  went  about  doing  good,  and  healing  all  that 
were  oppressed  of  the  devil ;  for  God  was  with 
him'  (HP). 

This  Divine  approval  of  Jesus  on  earth,  as 
certified  by  His  works,  was,  however,  apparently 
contradicted  and  denied  by  His  death  on  the  Cross, 
which  to  the  Jew  was  the  symbol  of  Divine  re- 
jection (5SO  1039 ;  cf.  Dt  2128).  But  the  difficulty 
thus  presented  to  faith  by  His  death  was  re- 
moved or  annulled  by  the  Resurrection  on  '  the 
third  day'  (1040),  which  is  represented  as  a  great 
historical  act  on  the  part  of  God,  who  thereby  re- 
versed Israel's  act  of  rejection  and  vindicated  the 
claim  of  Jesus  to  be  the  Christ,  '  whom  ye  crucified, 
whom  God  raised '  (410 ;  cf.  224- 32- x  31S).' 

Thus  through  the  Resurrection  Jesus  is  pro- 
claimed not  only  as  '  Messiah '  (318'20  428-28),  but  as 
'  Lord '  (I21  221-  «'•  s6  313- 21  531  1036),  '  Saviour '  (5S1  412, 
'  In  none  other  is  there  salvation '),  '  Prince  of  life ' 
(315  581),  and  '  Judge  of  quick  and  dead '  (1042,  repre- 


330     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


sented  as  in  accordance  with  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
Himself).  So  men  are  called  to  repentance  and  to 
be  baptized  in  the  name  of  Christ  for  the  remission 
of  sins  and  receiving  of  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
(238  1043). 

(b)  Not  only  is  the  resurrection  of  Christ  the 
fontal  source  or  spring  of  Apostolic  Christianity, 
so  that  from  it  the  apostolic  gospel  dates ;  it  is 
itself  the  very  centre  and  substance  of  His  gospel. 
So  far  from  being  a  mere  accessory  or  appendage 
to  the  apostolic  message,  a  detached  event  added 
on  to  the  life  and  teaching  of  Jesus  to  assure  the 
disciples  of  His  survival  of  death  and  of  the  truth 
of  His  claim,  in  it  lay  germinally  and  as  in  a  kernel 
the  whole  gospel  they  had  to  preach ;  so  that  the 
preaching  of  Christ  is  for  the  apostles  the  preaching 
of  His  resurrection,  and  their  primary  function  is 
to  be  witnesses  of  the  fact  (Ac  I8- 22,  etc. ).  St. 
Paul  but  represented  the  common  apostolic  mind 
when,  writing  to  the  Corinthians,  he  said :  '  If 
Christ  hath  not  been  raised,  then  is  our  preaching 
vain '  (Kevdv,  there  is  nothing  in  it,  it  has  no  real 
content) ;  and  '  your  faith  is  vain  (parata,  it  is 
futile,  to  no  purpose,  fruitless  of  effect) ;  ye  are  yet 
in  your  sins'  (1  Co  1514- 17).  If  Christ  died  and  in 
that '  lorn  Syrian  town '  lies  in  His  grave  like  other 
men,  then  the  whole  gospel  of  the  apostles  falls  to 
the  ground,  for  the  good  news  they  have  to  declare 
is  that  God  hath  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead 
and  made  Him  the  Exalted  Lord  to  whom  all  power 
is  given  in  heaven  and  on  earth.  '  This  Jesus  whom 
ye  crucified  God  hath  made  both  Lord  and  Christ ' 
(Ac  236) — this  is  the  concentrated  essence  of  the 
gospel  they  proclaim.  There  is  nothing  else  in  it 
except  what  comes  out  of  this,  and  belongs  to  this, 
and  is  illumined  by  this. 

The  resurrection  of  Christ,  viewed  not  as  a 
mere  revivification  of  His  earthly  body  but  as  His 
entrance  on  a  state  of  exalted  power  and  Lordship, 
is  the  key  which  unlocks  the  inner  meaning  and 
significance  of  His  earthly  life  and  ministry.  The 
earthly  life  of  Jesus,  with  its  amazing  memories, 
is  seen  to  be  a  very  incarnation  of  God,  a  '  sending 
forth '  of  His  Son  by  the  Father,  the  event  to  which 
all  else  in  the  world's  history  had  been  moving 
(Gal  44).  The  Death  on  the  Cross,  the  very  symbol 
of  shame,  which  had  seemed  to  wipe  out  for  them 
the  meaning  of  the  Life,  becomes  in  the  light  of 
the  Resurrection  full  of  Divine  meaning  and  signi- 
ficance, the  central  disclosure  of  redeeming  self- 
sacrificing  Love. 

But  more  than  this ;  the  revelation  of  the  life 
and  death  of  Christ  attained  its  end  and  became 
an  effective  reality  only  through  the  Resurrection. 
For  only  through  His  being  raised  from  the  dead 
and  His  exaltation  to  supreme  power  and  sove- 
reignty with  the  redeeming  virtue  of  His  life  and 
death  in  Him,  did  Christ  enter  fully  on  His  career 
as  Prince  and  Saviour  (Ac  531),  and  become  the  life- 
giving  principle  of  a  new  humanity  (1  Co  1522),  the 
second  Adam  (Ro  512f>,  1  Co  1545),  inaugurating  a 
new  era  in  the  process  of  Divine  creative  evolution. 
The  religion  of  the  apostles  is  communion  with  a 
Risen  Lord.  Only 'in  Him,'  'in  Christ,'  in  union 
with  a  living  Saviour,  have  we  redemption  and 
renewal  of  life  (Eph  I7,  Col  I14  213,  Ro  3-4). 

(c)  As  the  entrance  of  the  crucified  and  buried 
Jesus  on  a  state  of  exalted  power  and  glory  in 
which  He  is  Lord  both  in  grace  and  in  nature,  the 
Resurrection  is,  further,  the  fundamental  determin- 
ative principle  of  the  whole  apostolic  view  of  the 
world  and  life.  It  pervaded  and  revolutionized 
their  whole  universe  of  thought,  controlling  and 
governing  their  interpretation  of  existence  and 
creating  a  new  intellectual  perspective  so  that  all 
things — God,  the  world,  man — came  to  be  viewed 
sub  specie  Resurrectionis.  The  characteristic  apo- 
stolic title  for  God  becomes  '  God  the  Father  who 


raised  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead'  (e.g.  Ro  424  64 
811,  Col  212,  1  P  I21).  The  God  in  whom  they 
believe  is  One  whose  character  is  once  for  all  made 
manifest  in  that  He  raised  up  Jesus  Christ.  The 
Cross  and  the  Burial  had  seemed  to  be  the  triumph 
of  evil  in  the  world,  the  final  defeat  of  holy  love. 
But  by  the  Resurrection  and  Exaltation  God  had 
vindicated  the  holiness  of  Jesus,  and  by  thus  vin- 
dicating Jesus  had  vindicated  and  authenticated 
Himself.  At  the  great  crucial  moment  in  the 
world's  moral  history,  in  the  case  of  a  perfectly 
holy  life,  the  omnipotence  of  God — in  apostolic 
language  the  '  working  of  the  strength  of  his 
might'  (Eph  I19) — was  shown  to  be  on  the  side  of 
goodness  and  righteousness.  Through  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ,  too,  as  no  merely  spiritual  resur- 
rection— '  the  survival  of  personality  beyond  death ' 
— but  a  rising  from  the  grave  and  from  the  power 
of  death,  God  has  convincingly  manifested  the 
supremacy  of  spirit  over  the  strongest  material 
forces. 

The  long  struggle  between  nature  and  spirit 
was  concentrated  climactically  in  the  body  of 
Jesus,  and  by  His  bodily  resurrection  from  death 
and  the  grave — and  what  other  kind  of  resurrection 
from  the  grave  could  there  be  ? — victory  is  shown 
to  remain  with  spirit.  Death  itself,  the  crowning 
manifestation  of  the  seeming  victory  of  material 
forces  over  spirit,  has  been  vanquished  and  over- 
come ;  and  this  supreme  and  crucial  revelation  of 
the  power  and  character  of  God  sheds  its  trans- 
figuring light  over  all  other  revelation  in  nature 
and  history,  illuminating  the  mysteries  of  life  here 
and  of  destiny  hereafter.  By  the  Resurrection 
assurance  of  personal  immortality  is  given  to  men, 
and  the  present  life  in  the  fullness  of  its  embodied 
existence  is  lifted  above  the  vicissitudes  of  time 
and  invested  with  infinite  meaning  and  eternal 
value.  '  Wherefore ' — such  is  the  conclusion  of  St. 
Paul's  great  argument  in  the  Resurrection  chapter 
in  1  Cor. — '  be  ye  stedfast,  unmoveable,  always 
abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as 
ye  know  that  your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the 
Lord'  (1558).  In  a  word,  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
was  for  the  apostolic  mind  the  one  fact  in  which 
the  world  and  history  arrived  at  unity,  consistency, 
coherence;  the  pledge  and  the  guarantee  of  'the 
gathering  together  in  one  of  all  things  in  Christ ' 
(Eph  lw).  It  was  the  breaking  in  upon  human 
life  of  a  new  world  of  triumph  and  hope,  in  which 
were  contained  at  once  the  pledge  and  the  ground 
of  the  consummation  of  God's  purpose  for  the 
world.  Hence  the  vitalizing  and  energizing  opti- 
mism of  the  apostolic  outlook  on  life — '  born  anew 
to  a  living  hope  through  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ  from  the  dead'  (1  P  I3). 

That  the  Resurrection  holds  this  place  of  cen- 
trally determinative  importance  in  the  Apostolic 
Church  is  a  fact  which,  if  not  always  sufficiently 
realized  by  the  friends  of  Christianity  in  subsequent 
centuries,  is  at  all  events  acknowledged  by  her 
opponents.  D.  F.  Strauss,  e.g.,  the  most  trenchant 
and  remorseless  of  her  critics  in  dealing  with  the 
Resurrection,  acknowledges  that  it  is  the  '  touch- 
stone not  of  lives  of  Jesus  only,  but  of  Christianity 
itself,'  that  it  'touches  all  Christianity  to  the 
quick,'  and  is  'decisive  for  the  whole  view  of 
Christianity'  (New  Life  of  Jesus,  Eng.  tr.,  2  vols., 
London,  1865,  i.  41,  397).  If  this  goes,  all  that  is 
vital  and  essential  in  Christianity  goes ;  if  this 
remains,  all  else  remains.  And  so  through  the 
centuries,  from  Celsus  onwards,  the  Resurrection 
has  been  the  storm  centre  of  the  attack  upon  the 
Christian  faith.  The  character  of  this  attack  has 
varied  from  age  to  age.  To-day  it  differs  in  im- 
portant respects  from  what  it  was  even  fifteen  or 
twenty  years  ago.  The  application  of  new  and 
more  stringent  methods  of  criticism  to  the  evidence, 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     331 


the  rich  store  of  new  material  provided  through 
recent  researches  in  comparative  religion  and 
mythology,  the  re-discovery  of  Judaistic  apoca- 
lyptic literature,  and  the  new  interest  in  the 
psychology  of  religion — all  this  has  given  '  a  new 
face '  to  the  critical  attack. 

It  is  not,  indeed,  that  the  apostolic  belief  in 
the  resurrection  of  Christ,  or  the  centrality  of 
this  belief  to  Apostolic  Christianity,  is  denied. 
These  are  admitted  on  all  sides  as  incontest- 
able. What  is  called  in  question  is  the  validity 
of  the  belief,  the  historical  reality  of  the  fact  or 
facts  on  which  the  belief  was  based.  It  is  held 
that  in  the  light  of  the  new  critical  methods 
applied  to  the  evidence,  and  the  new  knowledge 
made  accessible  to  us  to-day  in  the  light  of  what 
is  generally,  though  ambiguously,  called  '  modern 
thought,'  it  is  no  longer  possible  for  us  to  believe 
in  the  Resurrection  as  the  apostles  believed  in  it. 
In  particular,  in  much  present-day  discussion  it 
is  maintained  that,  in  view  of  modern  scientific- 
historical  criticism  of  the  evidence,  it  is  impossible 
to  believe  in  the  resurrection  of  Christ  in  any 
other  sense  than  that  of  a  spiritual  resurrection. 
The  result  is  that  to-day  we  are  faced  with  this 
somewhat  new  situation,  that  not  by  the  opponents 
of  Christianity  only,  but  by  some  of  its  most 
honoured  supporters  and  advocates  in  their  effort 
to  recommend  Christianity  to  the  '  modern  mind,' 
the  bodily  resurrection  of  Christ  is  denied,  or 
minimized  as  forming  no  vital  or  essential  part  of 
the  Christian  faith. 

We  shall  first  of  all  examine  the  nature  and 
extent  of  the  historical  evidence  which  is  pre- 
sented in  the  apostolic  writings  for  the  fact  of  the 
Resurrection,  and  thence  educe  the  nature  or 
character  of  the  apostolic  belief  in  the  fact. 
Thereafter  we  shall  consider  the  meaning  or  signifi- 
cance of  the  Resurrection  for  Apostolic  Christianity 
— this  in  itself  is  part  of  the  apostolic  evidence  for 
the  fact,  as  the  true  nature  of  a  cause  becomes 
apparent  only  in  its  effects — and  finally  examine 
the  main  critical  attempts  to  explain  the  belief 
without  acknowledging  the  fact.  In  the  course  of 
the  inquiry  the  conviction  will  be  expressed  and 
supported  that  the  recorded  evidence  for  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  though  in  many  ways  dis- 
appointingly meagre  and  when  critically  examined 
not  devoid  of  '  contradictions,'  or  '  discrepancies,' 
is  yet  adequate  and  sufficient  for  the  purpose  in 
view,  and  that  those  critics  who  come  to  negative 
conclusions  do  so  less  because  of  difficulties  con- 
nected with  the  evidence  than  because  of  pre- 
suppositions or^prccjudicia  of  a  dogmatic  or  philo- 
sophical character  with  which  they  come  to  the 
examination  of  the  subject.  The  evidence  avail- 
able for  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  it  is  recognized, 
can  appeal  aright  only  to  those  to  whom  the  fact 
has  a  significance  altogether  different  from  that 
which  an  ordinary  fact  of  human  history  can  ever 
possess.  Mere  historical  evidence  is  of  itself  in- 
competent to  generate  true  Christian  faith  in  the 
Resurrection.  This  depends  on  anterior  and  prior 
considerations  determining  our  religious  attitude 
to  the  fact — upon  our  philosophy  of  life  and,  in 
the  last  resort,  upon  our  estimate  of  Jesus  Christ 
Himself. 

II.  THE  APOSTOLIC  EVIDENCE  FOR  THE  FACT. 
—\.  THE  PRIMARY  EVIDENCE.— In  proceeding  to 
examine  the  evidence  for  the  fact  it  should  be 
remarked,  to  begin  with,  that  this  is  much  wider 
than  is  often  represented.  The  historical  evidence 
presented  in  the  NT  narratives — upon  the  examin- 
ation of  which  the  truth  of  the  Resurrection  is 
often  decided — is  after  all  but  a  small  part  of  the 
witness  by  which  the  fact  is  established.  The 
primary  evidence  lies  further  back,  in  the  trans- 
formation effected  in  the  lives  of  the  apostles. 


giving  rise  to  the  Christian  Church  ;  in  the  fullness 
of  that  energizing  life  and  power  of  which  the  NT 
writings  are  themselves  but  the  product.  To 
realize  the  greatness  of  this  transformation  we 
have  but  to  take  the  picture  of  the  apostles  after 
the  event  as  given  in  the  Acts,  and  compare  it 
with  that  before  as  given  in  the  Gospels.  Sadness 
has  given  place  to  joy,  weakness  to  strength, 
cowardice  to  courage,  despair  to  confidence.  The 
men  who,  timorous  and  un-understanding,  had 
forsaken  their  Master  in  His  hour  of  utmost  need, 
who  counted  all  their  hopes  in  Him  lost  when  He 
was  put  to  death,  who,  disillusioned  and  hopeless, 
had  for  fear  of  the  Jews  shut  themselves  up  within 
closed  doors,  now  face  the  rulers  of  the  land  pro- 
claiming that  He  whom  they  had  condemned  and 
crucified  was  indeed  the  Christ,  the  Messiah,  in 
whom  alone  there  was  salvation  (Ac  412),  and 
summoning  them  to  repentance  and  to  baptism  in 
His  name  for  the  remission  of  their  sins  and  the 
receiving  of  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  (238). 

Such  a  change,  such  a  moral  and  spiritual  trans- 
formation, with  the  results  following,  demands  a 
sufficient  cause.  What  the  apostles'  own  explana- 
tion was  we  know — the  Resurrection  '  whereof  we 
are  witnesses'  (Ac  232  318  533  1039,  etc.).  They 
believed  that  the  Crucified  Jesus  was  now  the 
Risen  and  Exalted  Lord,  raised  from  the  dead  on 
the  third  day  by  thte  power  of  the  Father — a  belief 
which  early  found  institutional  expression  in  the 
observance  of  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  '  the 
Lord's  Day.'  Whether  they  were  deceived  or  not, 
is  not  now  the  question.  It  is  sufficient  at  present 
to  note  that  this  is  the  primary  evidence  in  relation 
to  which  all  other  evidence  must  be  seen.  '  It  is 
not  this  or  that  in  the  New  Testament — it  is  not 
the  story  of  the  empty  tomb,  or  of  the  appearing 
of  Jesus  in  Jerusalem  or  in  Galilee — which  is  the 
primary  evidence  for  the  resurrection ;  it  is  ... 
the  existence  of  the  Church  in  that  extraordinary 
spiritual  vitality  which  confronts  us  in  the  New 
Testament'  (Denney,  Jesus  and  the  Gospel,  p. 
lllf.).  This  is  where  the  apostles  themselves 
placed  the  emphasis.  '  He  hath  poured  forth  this 
which  ye  both  see  and  hear'  (Ac  223),  says  St. 
Peter  in  his  first  sermon,  referring  to  the  gift  of 
the  Spirit  at  Pentecost  as  proof  of  the  resurrection 
and  exaltation  of  Christ ;  and  in  his  second  sermon 
or  address  the  healing  of  the  cripple  is  adduced  as 
further  proof  (316).  In  his  view  the  evidence  of  the 
Resurrection  was  not  merely  a  past  event  '  on  the 
third  day,'  but  present  religious  experience.  'The 
Resurrection  was  not  an  isolated  event.  ...  It 
was  the  beginning  of  a  new  and  living  relation 
between  the  Lord  and  His  people.  .  .  .  The  idea 
may  be  expressed  by  saying  that  the  apostolic 
conception  of  the  Resurrection  is  rather  "the 
Lord  lives"  than  "the  Lord  was  raised"  .  .  . 
Christ  lives,  for  He  works  still '  (Westcott,  The 
Gospel  of  the  Resurrection,  p.  294  f.).  Thus  it  is 
that  the  continued  existence  of  the  Church,  and 
of  the  moral  miracle  in  which  the  Church  consists, 
is  a  vital  part  of  the  evidence  for  the  Resurrection. 
If  the  Resurrection  were  not  a  fact  continued  into 
the  present,  the  historical  incidents  recorded  would 
soon  have  faded,  like  all  merely  historical  facts, 
into  a  past  significance. 

The  remembrance  of  this  primary  evidence  for  the  Resurrec- 
tion has  important  consequences.  (1)  The  Apostolic  Church, 
the  Christian  society,  existed  before  any  of  the  NT  narra- 
tives were  written,  and  essentially  is  independent  of  them. 
Therefore  even  if  the  narratives  were,  as  alleged,  '  conflicting 
and  confused  ' — nay,  even  if  it  could  be  shown  that  there  are 
features  in  them  whose  historical  value  is  doubtful,  this  would 
not  of  itself  disprove  the  fact  of  the  Resurrection.  We  should 
in  that  case  know  less  than  we  thought  we  did  about  the  mode 
of  the  Resurrection  life  of  Christ,  but  our  faith  in  the  Resurrec- 
tion itself,  of  which  the  existence  of  the  Church  is  the  primary 
evidence,  would  not  be  disturbed.  (2)  It  is  only  in  relation  to 
this  primary  evidence  that  the '  historical  evidence  '  presented  in 
the  narratives  can  be  estimated  aright.  The  narratives  were 


332     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


written  from  within  the  Church,  they  were  the  product  of  the 
faith  created  by  the  Resurrection.  Further,  they  relate  to  a 
fact  which  is  no  mere  event  of  the  past,  but  continues  as  a 
living  power  in  the  present,  and  so  must  be  viewed  in  the  context 
of  living  history  and  experience.  Historical  criticism,  therefore, 
-which  isolates  the  narratives  from  this  living  context,  and  analyzes 
them  out  of  relation  on  the  one  hand  to  the  experience  of  which 
they  are  the  outcome,  and  on  the  other  to  the  experience  in 
which  they  result,  is  in  its  nature  abstract,  and  can  give  only  a 
limited  or  partial  view  of  the  facts. 

ii.  THE  DOCUMENTARY  EVIDENCE. — With  this 
fundamental  and  primary  evidence  for  the  Resur- 
rection before  us,  \ve  pass  to  consider  what  is 
commonly  called  '  the  historical  evidence,'  that 
presented  in  the  NT  documents  or  narratives. 

1.  The  witness  of  St.  Paul. — The  earliest  docu- 
mentary evidence  to  the  fact  of  the  resurrection  of 
Christ  is  that  presented  in  the  writings  of  St.  Paul. 

(a)  The  empty  grave. — St.  Paul  is  sometimes 
appealed  to  in  support  of  a  purely  spiritual  Resur- 
rection, as  teaching  that  it  was  the  spirit  of  Christ 
which  rose  into  new  life,  and  his  view  is  contrasted 
with  the  '  more  materialized '  representation  of  the 
Gospels.  The  empty  tomb  and  the  resurrection  of 
the  Body  were,  it  is  alleged,  no  part  of  St.  Paul's 
teaching,  but  a  later  development.  Schmiedel, 
e.g.,  supports  his  contention  of  the  unhistorical 
character  of  the  evidence  for  the  empty  tomb  by 
reference  to  '  the  silence  of  Paul  .  .  . — a  silence 
which  would  be  wholly  inexplicable  were  the  story 
true'  (EBi  iv.  4066).  Weizsacker  urges  that  St. 
Paul  says  nothing  of  what  happened  at  the  grave 
because  he  knew  nothing  of  it  (Apost.  Age2, 
London,  1897-99,  i.  5).  And  Harnack,  while  think- 
ing it  '  probable '  that  the  Apostle  knew  of  the 
message  about  the  empty  grave,  holds  that  '  we 
cannot  be  quite  certain  about  it.'  In  any  case, 
'  certain  it  is  that  what  he  and  the  disciples  regarded 
as  all-important  was  not  the  state  in  which  the 
grave  was  found,  but  Christ's  appearances '  ( What 
i.9  Christianity  ?,  Eng.  tr.3,  London,  1904,  p.  164  f.). 
What  are  the  facts?  In  the  first  Epistle  of  his 
which  has  come  down  to  us,  which  is  also  the  first 
extant  NT  writing — 1  Thess. — written  from  Corinth 
about  A.D.  51,  St.  Paul  simply  asserts  the  fact  of 
the  Resurrection  without  denning  its  nature.  He 
recalls  how  the  Thessalonians  '  turned  unto  God 
from  idols,  to  serve  a  living  and  true  God,  and  to 
wait  for  his  Son  from  heaven,  whom  he  raised  from 
the  dead,  even  Jesus' (I9'-) ;  'if  we  believe  that 
Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so,'  etc.  (414).  The 
fact  is  referred  to  incidentally  as  if  it  were  a 
matter  unquestioned  in  the  Church.  This  is  St. 
Paul's  general  attitude  in  his  Epistles,  and  it  is  an 
attitude  even  more  significant  as  an  attestation  of 
the  Resurrection  than  any  more  direct  evidence. 

But  St.  Paul's  conception  of  the  nature  of  the 
fact  is  plainly  indicated  by  the  more  explicit  refer- 
ence in  1  Co  15,  written  about  the  year  A.D.  55 
(see  Sanday,  in  EBi  i.  904),  i.e.,  about  twenty-five 
years  after  the  Resurrection.  Here  St.  Paul  re- 
minds the  Corinthians  of  the  fundamental  facts 
of  his  preaching  and  of  their  faith — 'the  gospel 
which  I  preached  unto  you  ...  by  which  also  ye 
are  saved '  (v.lf-).  In  this  earliest  extant  narrative 
of  the  facts,  which  is  therefore  the  primary  docu- 
ment in  regard  to  the  Resurrection,  St.  Paul's 
words  are :  '  For  I  delivered  unto  you  first  of  all 
(iv  Trpwrois,  '  first  and  foremost '  [Motfatt])  that 
which  also  I  received,  how  that  Christ  died  for  our 
sins  according  to  the  scriptures  ;  and  that  he  was 
buried  ;  and  that  he  hath  been  raised  on  the  third 
day  according  to  the  scriptures ;  and  that  he  appeared 
to  Cephas,'  etc.  (v.Sfr-).  In  this  outline  statement 
of  the  substance  of  his  preaching  in  Corinth  the 
following  points  of  importance  are  to  be  noted : 

(1)  St.  Paul  explicitly  refers  to  a  rising  '  on  the 
third  day,'  which  was  distinct  from  and  prepara- 
tory to  the  appearances.  This  event  on  the  third  day, 
as  concrete  an  event  as  the  death  of  Jesus,  is  set 


over  against  the  burial,  and  is  presented  as  the 
reversal  of  it,  thus  making  clear  what  is  meant 
by  the  fact.  If  St.  Paul  meant  simply  a  spiritual 
resurrection,  a  manifestation  of  the  spirit  of  Jesus 
from  heaven,  he  need  have  said  no  more  than  that 
Jesus  died  and  on  the  third  day  appeared  to  the 
disciples.  The  clause  '  and  that  he  was  buried  '  not 
merely  emphasizes  the  full  reality  of  His  death,  but 
points  to  the  grave  as  the  state  from  which  the 
Resurrection  took  place.  '  Why  mention  His 
burial  unless  it  was  His  bodily  resurrection  he 
[Paul]  had  in  view  ? '  (Dods,  in  Supernatural  Chris- 
tianity, p.  103).  Who  ever  heard  of  a  spirit  being 
buried?  Even  Schmiedel  somewhat  inconsistently 
admits  this  :  '  That  Jesus  was  buried  and  that  "  he 
has  been  raised"  (1  Co  154)  cannot  be  affirmed  by 
any  one  who  has  not  the  reanimation  of  the  body 
in  mind  '  (EBi  iv.  4059).  So  in  the  other  two  pas- 
sages in  St.  Paul's  writings  where  reference  is  made 
to  the  burial  of  our  Lord  (Ro  64,  Col  212).  In  both, 
the  Resurrection  is  presented  as  relative  to  the 
burial  and  as  the  reversal  of  it,  showing  that  even 
if  St.  Paul  does  not  explicitly  mention  the  empty 
grave  it  was  the  bodily  resurrection  he  had  in  view. 
This  is  borne  out  by  the  whole  line  of  the  Apostle's 
argument  in  1  Co  15.  St.  Paul  is  replying  to  those 
in  Corinth  who  denied,  not  the  continued  spiritual 
existence  of  the  Christian  after  death,  but  the 
possibility  of  his  bodily  resurrection,  on  the  ground 
that  they  could  not  conceive  how  the  body  could 
rise  ;  and  he  does  so  by  setting  the  resurrection  of 
Christian  believers,  the  quickening  of  their  mortal 
bodies  ( v.42ff- ),  in  closest  and  organic  connexion  with 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  as  '  the  firstfruits  of 
them  that  are  asleep  '  (v.20).  Here,  obviously,  only 
a  reference  to  the  bodily  resurrection  of  our  Lord 
would  have  been  relevant.  This  is  the  concep- 
tion of  the  Resurrection  which  permeates  his 
Epistles  (e.g.,  Ro  64ff-  811,  2  Co  51'6,  Ph  321),  and  it 
is  reflected  in  the  speeches  of  St.  Paul  reported  in 
the  Acts  ( 1329f-  1731  2623).  Such  a  conception  of  the 
Resurrection,  indeed,  was  required  by  the  whole 
context  of  Pauline  thought  on  the  matter.  For 
St.  Paul,  as  for  the  entire  Jewish  Christian  com- 
munity, sin  and  physical  death  stood  in  organic 
connexion  with  each  other.  Hence  Christ's  triumph 
over  sin  involved  for  them  His  final  and  complete 
victory  over  the  death  not  only  of  the  soul  but  of 
the  body  as  well. 

(2)  The  significance  of  the  term  used  in  reference 
to  the  resurrection  of  Christ  has  to  be  noted  as 
setting  forth  St.  Paul's  conception  of  the  nature  of 
the  event.     He  does  not  say  simply,  '  He  rose  on 
the  third  day,'  but,  '  He  hath  been  raised  (tyTjyfpTcu) 
on  the  third  day.'     The  use  of  the  perfect  tense 
signifies  that  the  event  was  of  such  a  character  as 
had  an  abiding  effect  on  the  condition  of  the  Lord. 
His  resurrection  was  not  like  other  raisings  from 
the  dead  recorded   in  the   Scriptures,  where  the 
raising  meant  simply  restoration  to  the  old  life  and 
the  old  conditions,  with  the  prospect  of  meeting 
death  again  in  the  future.     Christ  rose,  St.  Paul 
says,   and   remains   in    the  risen    state ;    He   has 
triumphed  over  death  :  '  Christ  being  raised  from 
the  dead  dieth   no    more;   death  no   more  hath 
dominion  over  him '  (Ro  69).     As  risen  He  belongs 
to  a  new  and  higher  mode  of  being.     St.  Paul's 
conception  of  the  nature  of  Christ's  risen  body  is 
more  fully  elucidated  by  his  teaching  as  regards 
the  '  spiritual '  body  (see  more  fully  below,  III.  ii. 
and  IV.  ii.  2  (c)). 

(3)  This  gospel  which  he  had  preached  in  Corinth, 
including  as  one  of  its  great  affirmations  the  fact 
that  Christ  was  raised  on  the  third  day,  was  not, 
he  says,  peculiar  or  original  to  him.     He  had  but 
'  delivered  '  (iraptSuKa,  '  passed  on  '  [Motfatt])  what 
he  had  himself  '  received '  (irapeXapov) — received  not 
by  direct  revelation  from  Christ,  but  through  tra- 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     333 


dition  from  those  who  were  in  Christ  before  him 
(see  Lake',  The  Historical  Evidence  for  the  Resur- 
rection of  Jesus  Christ,  p.  38  ff. ).  The  channel 
through  which  he  received  the  tradition  he  does  not 
here  indicate.  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians, 
however,  an  Epistle  accepted  with  practical  un- 
animity by  NT  scholars  though  it  is  difficult  to  date 
it  definitely,  he  tells  us  that  three  years  after  his 
conversion  he  Avent  up  to  Jerusalem  expressly  '  to 
visit  Cephas '(I18,  lffToprj<rai  Kt]<j>av),  that  he  stayed 
there  for  a  fortnight,  and  that  he  saw  St.  James 
also.  The  term  icrroprjcrat  '  implies  a  careful  and 
searching  inquiry  on  his  [Paul's]  part'  (A.  Eders- 
heim,  LT\  London,  1887,  ii.  625;  cf.  Knowling, 
Testimony  of  St.  Paul  to  Christ,  p.  222,  and 
A.  Sabatier,  The  Apostle  Paul,  Eng.  tr.,  London, 
1891,  p.  81).  That  his  knowledge  of  the  details  of 
the  common  Christian  tradition  may  be  traced  to 
this  visit  and  prolonged  interview  with  two  of  the 
primary  witnesses  of  the  Resurrection  is,  therefore, 
altogether  probable.  As  Schmiedel  acknowledges, 
'  during  his  fifteen  days'  visit  to  Peter  and  James 
(Gal  I18f-),  he  had  the  best  opportunity  to  perfect 
his  knowledge  on  the  subject  in  the  most  authentic 
manner '  (EBi  iv.  4057). 

Through  this  visit,  therefore,  if  not  indeed  already 
at  his  conversion,  he  came  into  possession  of  the 
facts  which  he  had  handed  on  to  the  Corinthians 
as  the  common  Christian  tradition.  Some  hold 
(e.g.,  W.  Bousset,  Kyrios  Christos,  Gottingen,  1913, 
p.  90 ft'.)  that  the  tradition  which  St.  Paul  here 
repeats,  though  indirectly  derived  from  the  older 
apostles,  was  mediated  for  him  by  the  Hellenistic 
Christianity  of  Damascus  and  Antioch,  and  suffered 
modification  accordingly.  But  St.  Paul  distinctly 
asserts  (v.11)  that  the  substance  of  his  preaching 
in  Corinth  was  identical  with  that  of  the  other 
apostles.  This  is  a  fact  of  the  first  importance. 
St.  Paul's  conversion  took  place  not  long  after  the 
death  of  Christ.  Lightfoot  dated  it  six  or  seven 
years  after  the  Crucifixion,  but  the  trend  of  more 
recent  criticism  is  to  place  it  much  earlier,  within 
a  year  or  two  of  this  event.  Harnack  places  it  in 
the  year  following  the  Death,  as  do  also  McGiffert 
and  Moffatt,  while  Ramsay  makes  it  three  or  four 
and  Weizsacker  five  years  after  (see  art.  '  Chrono- 
logy of  the  NT '  in  HDB  i.  424).  St.  Paul's  visit 
to  Jerusalem,  therefore,  and  his  interview  Avith  St. 
Peter  and  St.  James  fall  possibly  within  five  years, 
but  certainly  well  within  ten  years,  of  the  Resur- 
rection. "We  have,  accordingly,  in  documents 
which  all  reasonable  critics  admit,  the  clearest 
evidence  as  to  what  the  fundamental  facts  of 
Christianity  were,  as  taught  in  the  primitive  com- 
munity, within  the  first  decade  of  the  event,  by 
those  who  were  primary  witnesses  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion. These  were  that '  Christ  died  for  our  sins, 
according  to  the  scriptures,'  that  '  he  was  buried,' 
that '  on  the  third  day  he  was  raised  from  the  dead 
according  to  the  scriptures,'  and  that '  he  appeared  ' 
to  His  disciples.  If  St.  Paul's  testimony,  therefore, 
proves  anything,  it  proves  that  the  earliest  apostolic 
witness  included  not  only  the  fact  of  appearances 
of  the  Risen  Christ,  but  the  empty  grave  and  the 
Resurrection  on  the  third  day. 

(4)  One  other  point  in  St.  Paul's  summary  state- 
ment is  to  be  noted.  The  atoning  death  of  Christ 
('for  our  sins'),  and  His  resurrection  on  the  third 
day  are  represented  as  being  'according  to  the 
scriptures '  ((card  ras  ypa<pds,  v.8'-)-  St.  Paul's  belief 
in  the  Resurrection  on  the  third  day  has  been  re- 
presented as  a  deduction  or  inference  from  OT 
prophetic  Scripture,  based  '  on  theological  rather 
than  historical  grounds'  (Lake,  Resurrection  of 
Jesus  Christ,  p.  264),  or  as  due  to  a  'Messianic 
dogmatic,'  a  pre-Christian  sketch  of  the  Christ- 
portrait  derived  from  widespread  non-Jewish  myths 
(chiefly  Babylonian  in  origin)  and  embodied  in 


Jewish  writings  (see,  e.g.,  T.  K.  Cheyne,  Bible 
Problems,  London,  1904,  p.  113).  In  answer  to  this 
it  is  sufficient  here  to  note  that  St.  Paul  claims  to 
stand  in  this  matter  precisely  on  the  same  ground 
as  the  earlier  apostles.  The  gospel  he  had  preached 
to  the  Corinthians  in  its  two  great  affirmations — 
the  atoning  significance  of  the  Death  and  the 
reality  of  the  Resurrection  on  the  third  day — was 
not,  he  claims,  original  to  him  ;  he  had  but '  handed 
on*  the  tradition  which  he  had  himself  'received.' 
The  attempt  to  explain  the  primitive  apostolic 
belief  in  the  Resurrection  on  the  third  day  as  an 
inference  from  Scripture  will  be  considered  later 
(below,  II.  ii.  3). 

(b)  The  appearings  of  the  Risen  Christ. — St.  Paul's 
witness  to  the  Resurrection  includes,  however,  not 
only  the  rising  on  the  third  day  but  the  fact  of 
subsequent  appearings  of  the  Risen  Lord.  In  his 
outline  statement  in  1  Co  15  the  following  list  of 
appearances  is  given  :  '  He  appeared  to  Cephas  ; 
then  to  the  twelve  ;  after  that  he  appeared  to  over 
five  hundred  brethren  at  once,  the  majority  of 
whom  survive  to  this  day  though  some  have  died  ; 
after  that  he  appeared  to  James,  then  to  all  the 
apostles,  and  last  of  all  he  appeared  to  me  also — 
this  so-called  "  abortion"  of  an  apostle'  (vv.5'8). 

(1)  The  purpose  for  which  St.  Paul  adduced  this 
list  has  to  be  noted,  for  the  consideration  of  this 
at  once  removes  certain  objections  which  have  been 
urged  against  it.  There  were  some  members  of 
the  Corinthian  Church  (rives,  v.12)  who  denied  the 
fact  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead — not  the  re- 
surrection of  Jesus  in  particular,  but  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead  generally.  They  said,  '  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  a  resurrection  of  dead  persons'  (dvd- 
ffraffis  vexpuv  OVK  tcmv,  v.12 ;  cf.  v.29,  'dead  men  are 
not  raised  at  all '  [SXws]),  asserting  a  universal  nega- 
tive. Who  these  rivts  were  St.  Paul  does  not  say, 
but  we  know  that  in  his  missionary  labours  amon" 
the  Greeks  the  subject  of  teaching  which  proved 
the  chief  stumbling-block  was  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead.  In  Athens,  e.g.,  we  are  told  that,  when 
he  began  to  speak  of  the  resurrection  of  dead  men 
(dvdffTacriv  veKpCiv),  they  derided  the  very  idea,  and 
their  manifest  impatience  and  ridicule  forced  him 
to  terminate  his  speech  abruptly  (Ac  1782 ;  cf.  268). 
These  nvts  in  Corinth  shared  the  prejudice  of  Greek 
culture  against  the  idea  of  a  bodily  resurrection. 
They  denied  the  possibility  of  the  fact.  They 
repeated  the  dogma  '  Dead  men  do  not  rise '  as  the 
last  word  of  philosophy,  much  as  in  modern  times 
the  similar  dogma  '  Miracles  do  not  happen '  has 
been  repeated  as  the  last  word  of  science. 

To  deny  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  is  by 
implication  to  deny  Christ's  resurrection,  and  to 
do  this  is  to  contravene  the  Gospel  witness,  and, 
further,  as  St.  Paul  shows  by  the  reductio  ad 
absurdum  argument,  to  render  the  whole  saving 
worth  of  the  gospel  ineffective  (vv.14'18),  and  to 
show  that  they  believed  the  gospel  heedlessly  or 
at  haphazard  (etVij,  v.2)  without  seriously  realizing 
the  facts  involved.  So,  before  advancing  to  the 
doctrinal  discussion  which  was  the  real  purpose  of 
his  argument  in  this  great  chapter,  St.  Paul  felt 
called  to  rehearse  the  historical  evidence  for  Christ's 
bodily  resurrection  which  he  had  'received,'  and 
which  he  had  already  '  delivered '  to  them  by  word 
of  mouth  when  he  was  among  them.  In  this  re- 
hearsal he  recalled  not  only  the  Burial  and  the  fact 
of  the  Resurrection  on  the  third  day,  but  a  summary 
of  the  chief  appearings  of  the  Lord  after  His  re- 
surrection. Whether  St.  Paul  is  here  giving  his 
own  summarized  statement  of  the  principal  wit- 
nesses to  the  Resurrection  or,  as  some  maintain, 
a  stereotyped  or  formulated  summary  list  which 
he  had  himself  received  and  had  handed  on  to  the 
Corinthians  ('a  selection  made  for  purposes  of 
preaching '  [Sanday,  HDB  ii.  640*])  does  not  affect 


334     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


the  argument.  In  either  case  the  list  given  is  a 
summary  statement  of  evidence  already  received. 

The  remembrance  of  this  supplies  a  complete 
answer  to  the  objections  drawn  from  St.  Paul's 
omitting  to  refer  to  certain  appearances  recorded 
in  the  Gospels.  Weizsacker,  e.g.,  argues  from  St. 
Paul's  silence  as  to  the  appearance  to  the  women 
at  the  grave,  recorded  in  the  Gospels,  and  from  his 
placing  the  appearance  to  St.  Peter  first  in  his 
list  of  Christophanies,  to  his  ignorance  of  the  fact. 
'  The  only  possible  explanation  is  that  the  Apostle 
was  ignorant  of  its  existence'  (Apost.  Age2,  i.  5). 
And  from  this  he  proceeds  to  draw  the  inference 
that,  since  '  Paul's  knowledge  of  these  things 
must  have  come  from  the  heads  of  the  primitive 
Church,  therefore  it  is  the  primitive  Church  itself 
that  was  ignorant  of  any  such  tradition,'  which  is, 
therefore,  a  'later  product'  (p.  6).  Such  is  the 
conclusion  to  which  Weizsacker  comes  on  the  sup- 
position on  which  he  proceeds  that  St.  Paul  is  here 
relating  the  appearances  '  in  order  to  prove  the 
fact '  of  the  Resurrection,  '  proof  which  he  under- 
takes so  earnestly  and  carries  out  with  such  pre- 
cision '  (p.  5).  To  like  effect  Schmiedel :  '  By  his 
careful  enumeration  with  "then  .  .  .  next  .  .  . 
next  .  .  .  then  .  .  .  lastly  "(elra  .  .  .  tireira  .  .  . 
ZireiTa  .  .  .  elra.  .  .  .  ^xarov,  155'8)  he  guarantees 
not  only  chronological  order  but  also  completeness ' 
(EBi  iv.  4058).  On  this  ground  he  argues,  like 
Weizsacker,  from  St.  Paul's  omission  of  reference 
to  the  appearance  to  the  women  to  his  ignorance 
of  the  fact,  and  hence  to  the  supposition  that  the 
Jerusalem  Church,  from  which  St.  Paul  derived 
his  facts,  included  in  its  testimony  to  the  Resurrec- 
tion no  such  stories  of  the  appearing  of  Jesus  to 
the  women  as  are  now  found  in  the  Gospels.  It  is 
doubtless  a  fair  inference  from  St.  Paul's  manner 
of  expressing  himself  that  he  gives  the  appearances 
which  he  mentions  in  what  he  considers  their 
chronological  order.  So  much  '  then  .  .  .  after 
that  .  .  .,' etc.,  denotes  or  implies. 

But  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  he  considers  his 
enumeration  exhaustive.  Indeed,  there  is  every- 
thing against  it.  The  statement  here  given  is  almost 
as  condensed  as  it  could  possibly  be,  and  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  see  how  it  could  ever  be  mistaken  for  an  ex- 
haustive evidential  account  of  the  proofs  of  Christ's 
resurrection.  In  this  list  nothing  more  than  the 
names  or  numbers  of  the  witnesses  are  given.  No 
mention  is  made  of  locality  or  other  detail  of  the 
appearances,  not  from  lack  of  knowledge  but 
because  the  Corinthians  themselves  would  be  able 
to  fill  in  the  details  from  memory.  The  passage  is 
but  a  recapitulation  of  oral  teaching,  giving  in  a 
summary  fashion  what  he  had  enlarged  upon  in 
all  its  circumstances  and  significance  when  he  was 
among  them.  For  this  summary  purpose  St.  Paul 
selects  the  appearances  to  the  leaders  of  the  Church 
whose  names  were  well  known  to  the  Corinthians 
and  would  carry  weight  with  them,  and  who  were, 
like  himself,  specially  chosen  and  commissioned  to 
be  witnesses  of  the  Resurrection  (1  Co  1515;  cf.  Ac 
I22  433)— Cephas,  the  Twelve,  St.  James,  all  the 
apostles — mentioning,  besides  these,  only  the  great 
crowning  manifestation  of  the  Risen  Lord  to  '  more 
than  five  hundred  brethren  at  once.'  This  in  itself 
would  explain  the  omission  of  the  appearance  to 
the  women  which  had  a  more  private  significance 
and  would  not  be  of  special  interest  to  the  Corin- 
thians. It  may  have  been  on  this  ground  too,  as 
Sanday  suggests  (HDB  ii.  639b)— '  because  the  two 
disciples  involved  were  not  otherwise  conspicuous 
as  active  preachers  or  prominent  leaders ' — that 
the  appearing  on  the  way  to  Emmaus  is  not  men- 
tioned. In  any  case,  the  mere  omission  to  mention 
this  appearing  or  that  to  the  women  cannot  be  held 
to  argue  St.  Paul's  ignorance  of  the  fact  (though 
this  was  possible),  much  less  warrant  the  conclusion 


that  the  manifestation  of  Jesus  to  the  women  had 
no  place  in  the  primitive  Church  tradition. 

(2)  Whether  St.  Paul  means  that  the  entire  list 
of  appearances  here  given  (with  the  exception,  of 
course,  of  that  to  himself)  formed  part  of  the 
original  tradition  which  he  had  received  has  been 
disputed.  The  grammatical  construction  continues 
unbroken  to  the  end  of  v.8  ('that  he  hath  been 
raised  on  the  third  day  .  .  .  and  that  he  appeared 
to  Cephas,  then  the  twelve')  and  then  changes 
('then  he  appeared,'  etc.):  and  some  hold  that 
these  later  appearances  were  added  to  the  list  by 
St.  Paul  himself.  But  it  is  precarious  to  make  the 
mere  grammatical  structure  of  the  sentence  the 
basis  of  reasoning.  Such  a  break  is  not  unusual 
with  St.  Paul.  Certainly  the  implied  idea  would 
seem  to  be  that  St.  Paul  is  here  summarizing  the 
common  tradition  Avhich  he  had  received,  and  it  is 
natural  to  suppose  that  the  recapitulation  extends 
to  the  end  of  the  series.  Chase  interprets  the 
break  in  construction,  if  intentional,  as  denoting 
that  '  the  Apostle  regards  the  appearances  which 
he  mentions  as  falling  into  two  groups,'  and  infers 
that  '  he  places  the  appearance  to  Cephas  and  that 
to  the  Twelve  among  the  events  "  of  the  third 
day'"  (Gospels  in  the  Light  of  Hist.  Criticism, 
p.  41). 

A  detailed  examination  of  St.  Paul's  summary  list  will  show 
how  far  it  is  in  line  with  the  Gospel  accounts  and  confirms  the 
narratives  there  given. 

(i.)  '  He  appeared  to  Cephas.'  The  source  of  St.  Paul's  know- 
ledge of  this  appearance  is  scarcely  open  to  dispute.  When  he 
went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  '  visit  Cephas,'  who  can  doubt  that 
while  St.  Paul  had  much  to  say  of  his  experiences  on  the 
Damascus  road  St.  Peter  told  how  the  Master  had  appeared  to 
himself  on  the  very  day  of  the  Resurrection.  Of  the  Evan- 
gelists, Luke  alone  mentions  this  appearance  and  assigns  to 
Peter  the  privilege  of  being  the  first  apostle  to  whom  the  Risen 
Lord  appeared  (24s4).  The  source  of  Luke's  knowledge  is  not 
difficult  to  trace. 

(ii.)  'Then  to  the  twelve.'  'The  twelve'  is  here  used  as  the 
official  title  of  the  apostolic  body — a  technical  phrase  (cf.  Godet, 
in  loc.  ;  Lake,  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  p.  37) — without 
exact  regard  to  number.  It  is  probable  that  the  incident  to 
which  St.  Paul  here  refers  was  the  appearance  to  the  Ten  in  the 
Upper  Chamber  on  the  evening  of  the  Resurrection  (Lk  2436, 
Jn  2019),  or  the  appearance  to  the  Eleven  (Thomas  being 
present)  a  week  later  (Jn  20'2S) ;  or  it  may  be  that  St.  Paul's 
reference  would  cover  both  these  incidents.  It  is  the  fact  of 
the  manifestation  of  the  Lord  to  the  assembled  company  of  His 
selected  companions  that  is  referred  to,  and  the  absence  of 
Thomas  on  the  day  of  the  Resurrection  is  an  accident.  Ac- 
cordingly, even  if  others  were  present  on  the  first  of  these 
occasions,  as  Luke's  language  seems  to  imply  ('  the  eleven  and 
those  that  were  with  them,'  v.33),  the  significance  of  the  appear- 
ance would  rest  in  the  recognition  of  the  Lord  by  His  chosen 
friends. 

(iii.)  '  Then  he  appeared  to  above  five  hundred  brethren  once 
for  all '  (e</>a7raf) — rather  than  '  at  once '  or  '  simultaneously ' 
(cf.  Ro  610,  Ac  727  912  1010)— the  implication  of  e<|>ajraf  being 
that  not  only  did  they  see  the  Lord  together  but  '  the  occa- 
sion in  question  was  the  only  one  on  which  this  lar<re  com- 
pany of  disciples  had  so  wonderful  an  experience"  (CQR  Ixi. 
[1906]  328).  The  identity  of  this  appearance  with  that  on  a 
mountain  in  Galilee  recorded  in  Mt  28j6f- — the  appearance  fore- 
told in  the  promise  of  vv.7- 10  and  anticipated  in  Mk  167 — has 
been  maintained  by  many.  And  certainly  this  appearance 
would  seem  to  require  location  in  Galilee,  not  in  Jerusalem. 
'  An  appearance  to  so  large  a  body  of  disciples  at  one  time  could 
only  have  taken  place  on  the  Galilean  hills'  (Swete,  Appear- 
ances of  our  Lord  after  the  Passion,  p.  82).  Matthew,  indeed, 
speaks' only  of  'the  eleven  disciples'  in  connexion  with  this 
meeting  in  Galilee,  but  in  the  expression  '  some  doubted '  (oi  6e 
t&ia-Taa-av,  Mt  2817)  there  has  been  found  an  indirect  indication 
of  the  presence  of  a  larger  body.  'In  the  small  body  of  the 
eleven  there  is  hardly  room  for  a  "  some  " '  (Orr,  Resurrection 
of  Jesus,  p.  190).  Further,  as  H.  Latham  (Risen  Master, 
Cambridge,  1901,  p.  290)  urges,  a  meeting  with  the  Eleven  only 
would  not  have  necessitated  an  appointment  in  the  hill  country. 
It  could  have  been  held  with  perfect  safety  in  a  room  at 
Capernaum.  Matthew's  speaking  only  of  '  the  eleven  disciples ' 
in  connexion  with  the  meeting  may  be  explained  by  the  fact 
that  his  interest  lay  wholly  in  the  commission  of  the  Risen  Lord 
to  the  apostles  which  was  given  at  this  meeting  (cf.  Chase, 
Gospels  in  the  Light  of  Hist.  Criticism,  p.  42).  The  identi- 
fication can  never  indeed  be  more  than  a  probability.  Weiss 
(in  loc.)  rejects  it,  and  E.  von  Dobschiitz  (Ostern  und  Pfingsten, 
Leipzig,  1903,  p.  34),  followed  by  Harnack  and  Lake,  attempts 
to  identify  the  appearance  with  the  coming  down  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  upon  the  assembled  company  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost. 
But  in  any  case  it  is  to  be  noted  that  St.  Paul,  writing  twenty- 
five  years  after  the  Resurrection,  says  that  the  majority  of 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     335 


those  '  more  than  five  hundred '  were  still  living  and  could  be 
interrogated  by  his  readers  for  themselves  as  he  had  doubtless 
interrogated  them.  Of  this  appearance  the  Apostle  makes 
much,  including  it  even  in  a  summary  list ;  as  well  indeed  he 
might,  for,  even  if  the  Eleven  could  be  deceived  or  deceivers, 
was  it  credible  that  their  error  or  their  fraud  would  be  shared 
by  so  large  a  company  ?  '  Some  there  must  have  been  among 
them  who,  as  the  days  went  on,  would  have  exposed  the  im- 
posture or  betrayed  their  doubts.  But  if  any  doubts  of  this 
kind  had  arisen,  it  would  have  been  dangerous  for  the  Apostle 
to  appeal  to  the  survivors  of  the  five  hundred  in  a  letter  written 
to  Corinth,  where  he  had  enemies  who  were  in  frequent  com- 
munication with  Jerusalem  '  (Swete,  Appearances,  p.  83  f.). 

(iv.)  'Then  he  appeared  to  James.'  Of  this  appearance  we 
have  no  notice  in  the  Gospels.  An  extra-canonical  account  of 
it  is  found  in  the  fragment  of  the  Gospel  according  to  the 
Ili'breit'K  preserved  by  Jerome  (de  Vir.  III.  2),  a  Palestinian 
work  of  the  end  of  the  1st  or  beginning  of  the  2nd  century. 
'  The  Lord  .  .  .  went  to  James  and  appeared  to  him ;  for 
James  had  sworn  that  he  would  not  eat  bread  from  the  hour  in 
which  he  had  drunk  the  cup  of  the  Lord  until  he  saw  Him 
raised  from  the  dead.  .  .  .  Bring,  the  Lord  said,  a  table  and 
hread.  .  .  .  He  brought  bread,  and  (Jesus)  blessed  and  brake  it 
and  gave  it  to  James  the  Just  and  said  to  him,  My  brother,  eat 
thy  bread,  for  the  Son  of  Man  has  risen  from  the  dead.'  This 
cannot,  however,  '  with  any  confidence  be  connected  with  the 
appearance  to  James  the  Lord's  brother  of  which  S.  Paul 
spoaks '  (Swete,  p.  89  f.  ;  cf.  J.  B.  Mayor,  Epistle  of  St.  James*, 
London,  1910,  p.  xxvii).  Though  not  thus  referred  to  else- 
where in  the  NT,  corroboration  of  the  fact  may  be  derived  from 
the  light  thrown  by  it  on  what  we  are  told  of  the  Lord's 
brethren  after  the  Resurrection.  That  they  did  not  believe  in 
Him  during  the  days  of  His  public  ministry  is  recorded  in  the 
Fourth  Gospel  (Jn  75 ;  cf  Mk  3'21).  After  the  Ascension,  how- 
ever, we  find  them  included  among  the  little  company  of 
believers  (Ac  I14) ;  and  within  a  short  time  we  find  St.  James 
in  particular  president  of  the  Jerusalem  Church  (Ac  1513).  The 
natural  explanation  of  the  cliange  is  contained  in  St.  Paul's 
assertion  '  He  appeared  to  James.'  It  seems  impossible  to 
doubt  that  St.  Paul  derived  his  information  direct  from  St. 
James  himself  during  his  fortnight's  visit  to  Jerusalem  (Gal  I18) ; 
and  this  appearance  is  included  in  the  summary  because  of  the 
special  value  attached  to  the  testimony  of  St.  James  from  the 
fact  that  he  was  the  eldest  brother  of  the  Lord  and  head  of 
the  Jerusalem  Mother  Church,  as  well  as  from  the  fact  of  his 
previous  unbelief. 

(v.)  'Then  to  all  the  apostles.'  The  appearances  in  this  list 
being  set  down  in  chronological  order,  the  incident  to  which  St. 
Paul  here  refers  may  with  a  reasonable  degree  of  probability  be 
identified  with  the  appearance  of  Christ  to  the  Eleven  before 
the  Ascension,  more  circumstantially  narrated  by  Luke  (2450f-, 
Ac  l«f- ;  cf.  Mk  16"f-).  Ac  1'^,  which  speaks  of  those  who  had 
companied  with  the  Eleven  from  the  beginning  until  '  the  day 
that  he  was  received  up,"  would  support  the  contention  of 
those  who  hold  that  on  the  occasion  of  this  appearance  others 
were  present  besides  the  Eleven,  and  that  St.  Paul  means  to 
convey  this  by  distinguishing  an  appearance  of '  all  the  apostles ' 
from  an  appearance  to  '  the  twelve.'  St.  Paul's  wider  usage  of 
the  term  ajrdo-roAos  makes  such  an  interpretation  possible. 

The  appearances  recorded  by  St.  Paul  may  thus 
be  held  to  correspond  to  appearances  recorded  in 
the  Gospels,  with  the  one  exception  of  that  to  St. 
James,  which  we  have  seen  reason  to  assume  he 
obtained  at  first  hand  during  his  visit  to  Jerusalem. 
The  further  appearances  of  the  Risen  Christ  re- 
corded in  the  Gospels  of  which  there  is  no  mention 
in  St.  Paul's  summary — the  appearance  to  the 
women,  to  Mary  Magdalene,  to  the  travellers  to 
Emmaus,  to  the  seven  at  the  Sea  of  Tiberias — may 
have  been  omitted  for  the  reason  already  indicated, 
viz.  that  they  were  of  less  interest  for  the  purpose 
in  view,  having  little  more  than  a  private  signifi- 
cance. St.  Paul's  list,  therefore,  helps  us  to  verify, 
and  at  one  or  two  points  to  supplement,  the  nar- 
rative of  the  Gospels.  The  significance  of  this  has 
to  be  noted.  It  has  often  been  asserted  that  the 
Gospel  story  of  the  Resurrection  was  not  com- 
mitted to  writing  till  thirty  or  forty  years  after 
the  events  recorded,  and  that  this  period  allows 
time  for  the  incorporation  of  details  which  may  be 
nothing  more  than  tradition.  But  here  we  have 
written  down  within  twenty-two  or  twenty-three 
years  of  the  event  (taking  the  date  of  1  Cor.  as 
A.D.  55)  a  list  of  witnesses  expressly  affirmed  to  be 
part  of  the  tradition  which  St.  Paul  had  received 
either  at  his  conversion  (A.D.  31  or  33)  or,  at 
latest,  during  his  visit  to  Jerusalem  three  years 
later,  from  first-hand  sources,  thus  taking  us  back 
to  within  a  few  years  of  the  event.  And  how 
remarkable  a  list  it  is — '  Cephas,'  '  James,'  '  the 
twelve,"  '  more  than  five  hundred  brethren,'  and 


'all  the  apostles.'  To  realize  the  weight  of  this 
testimony  it  must  be  taken  as  a  whole  and  not  in 
its  isolated  parts.  The  number  and  variety  of  the 
persons  to  whom  the  manifestations  were  made,  as 
well  as  the  character  and  status  of  the  witnesses 
and  the  simultaneous  perception  by  many,  make 
this  a  statement  of  evidence  for  the  Resurrection 
which  cannot  be  made  light  of  by  the  impartial 
historian. 

(3)  The  most  important  appearing  of  all,  as 
giving  St.  Paul's  direct  evidence  to  the  Resurrec- 
tion —  an  addition  to  the  traditional  list  'received' 
—  has  yet  to  be  considered.  Behind  St.  Paul's 
preaching  of  the  Resurrection  there  stood  not  only 
the  testimony  of  others,  but  the  great  historical 
fact  of  the  Risen  Lord's  appearing  to  himself  on 
the  way  to  Damascus.  '  Last  of  all  (ea-^arov 
wdvTWf)  he  appeared  also  to  me  —  to  this  so-called 
"abortion"  of  an  apostle'  (ilia-irfpel  ry 


The  AV  translation  '  as  to  one  born  out  of  due  time  '  finds  the 
suggestion  in  uxnrepel  r<a  exTpwuan  to  be  that  he  was  born  too 
late  to  witness  one  of  th'e  normal  appearings  of  Christ  after  the 
Resurrection  and  before  the  Ascension.  But  J.  Weiss  points  out 
(II.  A.  \V.  Meyer,  Kominentar  utter  das  NT,  Gottingen,  186S-78, 
Eng.  tr.,  London,  1873-95,  in  loc.)  that  e/crpw/ia  means  born  not 
too  late  but  too  early,  too  quickly,  the  suggestion  being  that  of 
the  suddenness  and  violence  of  St.  Paul's  birth  into  Christ. 
His  was  an  unripe  and  violent  birth  (cf.  G.  G.  Findlay,  EGT, 
'  1  Cor.,'  London,  1900,  in  loc.,  '  the  unripe  birth  of  one  who  was 
changed  at  a  stroke  from  the  persecutor  into  the  Apostle, 
instead  of  maturing  normally  for  his  work  ').  In  either  case  the 
point  is  the  abnormality  of  St.  Paul's  birth  into  faith  and 
apostleship,  and  probably  the  significance  of  the  article  is,  as 
Weiss  points  out,  that  TO  etcrpioy.*  was  an  insulting  epithet  flung 
at  St.  Paul  by  those  who  belittled  his  apostleship.  In  their 
eyes  he  was  a  real  Missyeburt.  St.  Paul  adopts  the  title  and 
gives  it  a  deeper  meaning,  arguing  that,  notwithstanding  his 
abnormality  and  unworthiness,  his  apostleship  was  as  valid  as 
that  of  the  older  apostles. 

A  considerable  body  of  negative  criticism  has 
maintained  that  the  appearance  to  St.  Paul  was  of 
an  inward  visionary  character,  and  that,  since  he 
includes  it  in  his  list  with  the  others  without  any 
discrimination  between  them  except  as  regards 
time,  using  the  same  word  (&<(>0ri)  to  describe  all 
the  appearances,  he  must  have  regarded  these  as 
like  his  own,  visionary.  Weizsacker,  e.g.,  says: 
'  There  is  absolutely  no  proof  that  Paul  presup- 
posed a  physical  Christophany  in  the  case  of  the 
older  Apostles.  Had  he  done  so  he  could  not  have 
put  his  own  experience  on  a  level  with  theirs. 
But  since  he  does  this,  we  must  conclude  that  he 
looked  upon  the  visions  of  his  predecessors  in  the 
same  light  as  his  own  '  (Apost.  Age2,  i.  9  ;  cf.  O. 
PHeiderer,  Christian  Origins,  Eng.  tr.,  London, 
1906,  pp.  136  f.,  160f.).  The  'more  materialistic' 
accounts  of  the  appearances  given  in  the  Gospels 
are  the  outcome  of  later  '  unhistorical  embellish- 
ments.' The  truth,  however,  is,  as  Westcott 
points  out  (Gospel  of  the  Resurrection,  p.  Ill), 
that  the  exact  converse  is  the  proper  line  of  argu- 
ment. St.  Paul,  we  have  seen,  conceived  of  the 
Resurrection  as  a  bodily  resurrection,  in  this  be- 
lieving himself  to  be  at  one  with  the  older  apostles, 
and  his  use  of  the  same  term  to  describe  all  the 
appearances  shows  that  he  regarded  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Risen  Lord  to  himself  on  the  road  to 
Damascus  aa  of  the  same  kind  as  those  granted  to 
the  others.  He  believed,  and  always  acted  on  the 
belief,  that  he  had  seen  the  Risen  Lord  in  the  same 
sense  as  did  those  who  saw  Him  during  the  forty 
days,  that  he  was  a  witness  of  Christ's  resurrection 
in  the  same  sense  as  the  others  were,  and  the  last 
of  such  witnesses  ;  and  this  '  seeing  '  he  regarded 
as  containing  the  basis  and  justification  of  his 
apostolic  mission.  He  claimed  to  be  as  directly 
commissioned  by  our  Lord  in  person  as  any  other 
of  the  apostles  (Gal  I11'17).  'Am  I  not  an  apostle, 
have  I  not  seen  Jesus  our  Lord?'  (OI/KI  'Itjeovv  -rbv 
Kupiov  TI/J.UV  ewpaxa,  1  Co  91)  (cf.  Jn  2018,  ewpaKe  rbv 
Kvpiov  ;  v.25,  edip6.KO.iJ.ev  rbv  JLvpiov  ;  v.29,  euipa/cds  pe). 


336     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


'The  phrase  seems  to  have  been  current  in  the 
Apostolic  Church  in  speaking  of  a  personal  experi- 
ence of  the  appearances  of  the  risen  Christ '  (Svvete, 
Appearances,  p.  41  n.).  That  the  reference  here  is 
to  a  risen  appearance  and  not  to  a  seeing  of  Jesus 
during  His  earthly  life  is  obvious.  For  even  if,  as 
some  maintain,  St.  Paul  had  so  seen  the  Lord, 
what  he  is  concerned  with  in  this  passage  is  his 
claim  to  be  an  apostle  and  a  witness  equally  with 
the  Twelve  of  the  Lord's  resurrection  ;  and  to 
justify  this  claim  a  'seeing'  of  the  Risen  Lord  was 
necessary. 

The  visionary  character  of  this  experience 
has  sometimes  been  argued  from  the  mere  use 
of  the  term  &<$>Qi\,  but  this  is  illegitimate.  The 
term  is,  indeed,  sometimes  used  of  '  visionary ' 
seeing  (e.g.  Ac  169)  ;  but  it  is  used  equally  of 
seeing  which  is  not  visionary  (e.g.  Ac  726).  '  What 
it  suggests  in  almost  every  case  is  the  idea  of 
something  sudden  or  unexpected  ;  that  which  is 
seen  is  conceived  to  be  so,  not  because  one  is  look- 
ing at  it  or  for  it,  but  because  it  has  unexpectedly 
thrust  itself  upon  the  sight'  (Denney,  Jesus  and 
the  Gospel,  p.  116).  Support  for  the  visionary 
interpretation  of  the  appearance  has,  however, 
been  sought  by  reference  to  St.  Paul's  words  else- 
where. 

Two  passages  in  particular  have  been  adduced  : 
2  Co  121'9,  Gal  I18'-.  To  take  the  latter  first : 
1  When  it  was  the  good  pleasure  of  God,  who 
separated  me  even  from  my  mother's  womb,  and 
called  me  through  his  grace,  to  reveal  his  Son  in 
me  (fv  ffj.oi),  that  I  might  preach  him  among  the 
Gentiles.'  That  this  revelation  refers  to  his  ex- 
perience near  Damascus  is  indicated  in  v.17 ;  and  it 
is  urged  that  in  these  words  St.  Paul  unequivocally 
asserts  the  inward  character  of  the  revelation 
granted  to  him,  and  that  this  meaning  must  in 
consequence  be  applied  to  all  other  passages  in 
his  writings  where  the  point  is  spoken  of. 

But  St.  Paul's  assertion  here  of  the  inward  char- 
acter of  the  revelation  does  not  require  us  to  resolve 
the  whole  manifestation  into  an  inward  experience 
and  exclude  an  accompanying  or  preceding  appear- 
ance vouchsafed  to  the  senses.  Lightfoot  (in  loc.) 
maintains  that  the  words,  '  when  it  pleased  God  to 
reveal  his  Son  in  me,'  should  be  taken  in  close 
connexion  with  the  words  immediately  following, 
'  that  I  might  preach  him  among  the  Gentiles ' 
(this  giving  the  content  of  the  inner  and  spiritual 
revelation);  while  the  words,  'called  me  by  his 
grace,'  should  be  understood  as  a  reference  to  the 
actual  event  on  the  Damascus  road  on  which  the 
inner  revelation  supervened.  However  this  may 
be,  the  admission  of  an  inner  revelation  does  not 
exclude  an  external  manifestation  as  well.  Even 
such  a  negative  critic  as  Meyer  admits  this  :  '  It  is 
not  therefore  (because  of  the  inward  revelation)  to 
be  denied  that  Paul  conceived  the  appearance  of 
Christ  to  him  to  be  objective  and  external'  (Die 
Auferstehung  Christi,  p.  186).  The  revelation  of 
God  to  him  was  two-fold,  the  inward  supplementing 
the  outward.  Such  an  inward  revelation  indeed, 
as  Knowling  points  out,  was  necessary  to  complete 
and  interpret  the  outward.  Without  this  '  the 
outward  appearance  could  never  have  been  recog- 
nised for  what  it  was  in  its  full  meaning,  nor  could 
the  Apostle  have  been  assured  against  all  suspicion 
of  an  illusion  of  the  senses '  (Testimony  of  St.  Paul, 
p.  184).  The  outer  revelation  separated  from  the 
inner  would  have  been  valueless,  and  would  have 
left  St.  Paul  in  the  same  bewildered  state  as  the 
companions  of  his  journey.  But  the  outward 
revelation,  though  valueless  without  the  inward, 
was  a  necessary  condition  and  presupposition  of  it. 

In  the  other  passage  referred  to,  2  Co  12)ff-,  St. 
Paul  writes,  '  I  must  needs  glory,  though  it  is  not 
expedient ;  but  I  will  come  to  visions  and  revela- 


tions of  the  Lord,'  etc.  May  not  the  Apostle,  it  is 
urged,  have  '  seen  '  the  Lord  in  one  of  these  ecstatic 
visions,  visions  with  regard  to  which  he  could  not 
even  affirm  whether  he  was  in  the  body  or  out  of 
it?  But  this  very  passage,  as  Sabatier  truly  ob- 
serves, '  shows  that  Paul,  so  far  from  comparing 
the  manifestation  of  Christ  to  him  at  his  con- 
version with  the  visions  he  afterwards  enjoyed, 
laid  down  an  essential  difference  between  them ' 
(The  Apostle  Paul,  p.  65).  Of  the  latter  he  speaks 
with  the  utmost  reserve  and  reticence — '  of  which 
it  is  not  expedient  that  he  should  glory.'  But  the 
former  he  places  in  the  forefront  of  his  preaching, 
as  containing  not  only  the  grounds  of  his  con- 
version, but,  as  we  have  seen,  the  basis  of  his 
claim  to  apostleship.  Moreover,  St.  Paul  describes 
the  appearance  of  Christ  here  referred  to  as  the 
last  of  a  series — '  last  of  all '  (t(rx.a.Tov  irdfTuv).  The 
force  of  the  words  is  often  overlooked.  They  do 
not  mean  merely  that  St.  Paul  was  the  last  of  the 
particular  series  of  persons  named  in  the  previous 
verses  ;  '  he  does  not  say  .  .  .  that  Christ  appeared 
to  him  the  last ;  but  that  He  appeared  to  him  for 
the  last  time,  i.e.  as  in  a  series  which  was  now 
closed'  (Knowling,  p.  182).  St.  Paul,  we  know, 
had  many  visions  and  revelations  of  tne  Lord  after 
this,  and  he  could  not  therefore  tell  us  more 
definitely  than  he  does  by  this  expression  '  last  of 
all '  how  fully  and  clearly  he  distinguished  between 
the  Damascus  vision  and  every  other  vision  of  the 
Risen  Saviour  (cf.  Weiss,  on  1  Co  15s :  '  All  later 
visions  of  Christ  belong  for  Paul  to  a  different 
category,  they  cannot  be  viewed  in  the  same  way 
as  proofs  of  the  Resurrection '). 

This  external  objective  character  of  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Risen  Christ  to  St.  Paul  is  corroborated 
by  an  examination  of  the  three  accounts  of  it  given 
in  Acts  (91'22  221'16  261'18).  The  first  occurs  in  the 
course  of  Luke's  own  narrative  of  the  circumstances 
of  St.  Paul's  conversion.  The  second  occurs  in  the 
report  of  St.  Paul's  defence  before  Lysias,  when 
Luke  was  probably  present  (a  '  we  '  section).  The 
third  is  in  the  report  of  St.  Paul's  defence  before 
Agrippa,  when  Luke  again  was  probably  present. 
Of  these  different  accounts  Schmiedel  says  that 
'  they  contradict  one  another  so  violently  .  .  . 
that  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  how  it  could  ever  have 
been  possible  for  an  author  to  take  them  up  into 
his  book  in  their  present  forms'  (EBi  iv.  4063). 
The  divergences,  however,  relate  to  details,  not  to 
the  essential  facts.  '  In  the  essential  point  there 
is  the  same  impression  throughout'  (H.  Weinel,  St. 
Paul,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1906,  p.  77). 

The  chief  variations  concern  (i.)  the  effect  of  the  appearance 
upon  St.  Paul's  companions :  in  the  first  account  they  are 
described  as  '  hearing  the  voice  but  beholding  no  man '  (97, 
dicoioi'Tes  nev  Trjt  (JxofTJs,  uriofva.  Sf  Bfiapovvrfs)  ;  in  the  second  it 
is  said,  'They  beheld  indeed  the  light,  but  heard  not  the  voice 
of  him  that  spake  to  me"  (229,  -n\v  K  ^xatnjv  OVK  riKOvo-av  TOV 
AoAovvTos  noi);  (ii.)  the  place  of  Ananias :  in  the  first  account 
Saul  is  bidden  to  arise  and  go  into  the  city,  where  it  shall  be 
told  him  what  he  must  do.  So  also  in  the  second  account. 
The  instruction  is  then  left  to  be  given  by  Ananias.  But  in  the 
third  account  the  instruction  is  given  by  the  Lord  Himself  and 
no  mention  is  made  of  Ananias.  These  variations,  however,  are 
relatively  unimportant.  As  regards  (i.),  in  the  very  variation  a 
significance  has  been  discerned.  'They  may  have  heard  a 
vague  sound  (<f><ovfjs,  genitive),  and  yet  not  the  articulate, 
intelligible  voice  (^wwii/,  accusative),  which  fell  upon  St.  Paul's 
ear  with  a  definite  meaning'  (H.  A.  A.  Kennedy,  St.  Paul's 
Conceptions  o/  the  Last  Things,  London,  1904,  p.  86 ;  cf. 
Grimm-Thayer,  «.».).  As  regards  (ii.),  St.  Paul's  omission  in 
Ac  26  of  the  part  of  Ananias  may  be  sufficiently  explained  by  the 
difference  of  circumstances.  He  naturally  dwelt  on  it  in  his 
defence  before  a  Jewish  mob  (Ac  22),  because  the  mention  of 
Ananias  and  his  part  would  be  reassuring  bo  his  hearers,  while 
in  speaking  before  Festus  and  Agrippa  at  Cresarea  such  a 
reference  would  be  uncalled  for.  In  Ac  9  we  have  the  historian's 
own  circumstantial  narrative  of  the  course  of  events  where  we 
would  expect  Ananias  to  be  mentioned. 

In  regard  to  St.  Paul's  own  experience  of  the 
appearance  the  different  accounts  agree  in  the 
following  details,  (i. )  A  light  from  heaven  suddenly 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     337 


shone  round  about  him  as  he  journeyed  to  Damascus 
(93,  Trepir)ffTpa\j/fi'  0(2>s  ;  22s,  Treptcwrpdi/'cu  $>tDj  ;  2613, 
irfpi\d/j.\f/av  .  .  .  0dJs).  Of  this  light  Saul's  fellow- 
travellers  also  were  cognizant,  (ii.)  From  the 
shock  of  this  dazzling  light  Saul  falls  prostrate  on 
the  ground,  (iii.)  He  hears  a  voice  (the  others 
heard  only  a  sound),  which  he  discovers  to  be  that 
of  the  Glorified  Jesus  speaking  to  him  in  words 
which  he  can  understand.  Whether,  besides  seeing 
a  splendour  of  light  and  hearing  a  voice,  St.  Paul 
saw  also  the  Risen  Lord  in  bodily  form  the  accounts 
in  Acts  do  not  explicitly  assert — though  this  seems 
implied  in  what  is  said  by  contrast  of  the  experience 
of  his  companions,  who  are  described  as  hearing  the 
voice  but  '  beholding  no  man '  (fj-ydtva  6fwpovvr(s, 
Ac  97),  and  in  Barnabas'  subsequent  announcement 
to  the  Church  at  Jerusalem  that  '  Saul  had  seen 
the  Lord  in  the  way '  (Ac  927  ;  cf.  his  announcement 
to  St.  Paul  himself,  '  the  Lord,  even  Jesus,  who 
appeared  unto  thee,'  v.17  ;  cf.  2214). 

That  St.  Paul  believed  he  had  seen  the  Lord  in 
His  risen  body  is  involved  in  the  references  to  the 
event  in  his  letter  to  Corinth  which  we  have  already 
considered  (1  Co  91  158).  In  the  former  passage,  in 
defending  his  apostleship  he  claims  to  have  '  seen 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."  The  primary  apostolic 
function  was  to  witness  to  the  resurrection  of 
Christ,  and  in  order  to  discharge  this  function  it 
was  requisite  that  the  Apostle  should  with  his  own 
eyes  have  seen  the  Risen  Lord.  In  the  latter 
passage,  in  which  he  classes  his  own  experience 
with  the  earlier  appearances  of  the  Risen  Christ, 
his  purpose  is  to  prove  not  the  continued  spiritual 
existence  of  the  Christian,  but  his  bodily  resurrec- 
tion ;  and  only  a  reference  to  the  bodily  resurrec- 
tion of  our  Lord  and  a  bodily  appearance  would 
have  been  relevant.  But  according  to  the  account 
in  Acts  the  aspect  of  the  appearance  which  chiefly 
impressed  him  was  the  Divine  glory  of  it,  '  the 
glory  of  that  light'  (Ac  22").  And  this  is  reflected 
in  many  passages  in  his  letters — 2  Th  I9"11  28,  1  Co 
1544'49,  Ro  818-  *,  1  Ti  61Bf-,  2  Ti  !«*,  and  especially 
Ph  320f-  ('  the  body  of  his  glory').  The  vision  he 
saw  was  of  Christ  glorified ;  but  this  Glorified 
Christ  was  identical  with  the  Crucified  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  (Ac  228,  '  I  am  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom 
thou  persecutest ' ;  2615,  '  I  am  Jesus  whom  thou 
persecutest').  And,  however  the  phenomena  per- 
ceived by  his  senses  were  to  be  described,  what  is 
important  to  note  is  the  immediate  effect  that  the 
appearance  had  upon  him,  for  St.  Paul  himself  in 
his  accounts  of  it  is  concerned  with  the  significance 
of  the  fact  rather  than  with  any  precise  descriptive 
details.  He  became,  through  it,  absolutely  con- 
vinced that  the  Jesus  who  was  crucified  and  whose 
followers  he  was  persecuting  was  indeed  the  Risen 
and  Exalted  Lord  (Ktpios) ;  and  this  conviction 
revolutionized  his  whole  thought  and  life,  energiz- 
ing in  him  unto  a  new  life  of  absolute  devotion 
and  surrender  whereby  he  became  henceforth  the 
property  (SouXos)  of  a  crucified  but  living  and  glori- 
fied Christ  (Ro  I1,  Gal  I10,  Ph  I1).  His  own  ex- 
planation  of  the  transformation  is  contained  in 
these  words,  'He  appeared  to  me  also' — words  in 
which  he  claimed  for  himself  the  same  kind  of 
revelation  as  that  made  to  Peter,  James,  and  the 
other  apostles  after  the  Resurrection. 

Various  attempts  have  been  made  to  explain  the  appearance 
on  purely  natural  grounds.  Any  explanation,  to  be  satisfac- 
tory, must  be  able  to  give  a  sufficient  reason  for  the  greatness 
of  the  revolutionary  change  referred  to  in  the  persecutor's 
experience,  with  its  lasting  moral  and  spiritual  effects,  (i.) 
Taken  to  this  test,  the  attempt  to  account  for  the  experience  as 
a  species  of  epileptic  seizure  in  scorching  heat,  the  product  of 
excitable  nerves  and  atmospheric  effects— a  view  identified  with 


represents  St.   Paul's   'blinding  heavenly  vision'  as  a  phen- 
omenon of  this  sort  ( Varieties  of  Religious  Experience,  London, 
VOL.  II. — 22 


1902,  p.  251  f.).  The  parallelism  between  St.  Paul's  experience 
and  the  modern  instances  quoted  is  hard  to  find,  but  inas- 
much as  James  himself  claims  that  his  hypothesis  does  not 
necessaril3r  involve  a  denial  of  the  heavenly  or  Divine  origin  of 
the  appearance  to  St.  Paul,  his  hypothesis  need  not  be  con- 
sidered as  a  purely  naturalistic  one.  (iii.) Chief  of  such  natural- 
istic attempts  is  that  which  would  represent  the  appearance  as 
the  result  of  St.  Paul's  psychological  condition  (Strauss,  Baur, 
Holsten).  Doubts  or  misgivings,  so  it  is  represented,  had  been 
working  in  his  mind  for  some  time  previously,  scruples  of 
conscience  as  to  his  persecuting  proceedings.  Such  scruples 
were  induced  largely  by  his  experience  of  the  calm  confi- 
dence and  triumphant  joy  of  the  Christians  in  persecution, 
as  compared  with  his  own  inner  consciousness  of  turmoil,  born 
of  the  conflict  between  self  and  the  holy  law  of  God. 

Strauss's  classical  representation  of  the  case  may  be  quoted  : 
'  They  [the  believers  in  Jesus]  showed  a  state  of  mind,  a  quiet 
peace,  a  tranquil  cheerfulness,  even  under  suffering,  which 
put  to  shame  the  restless  and  joyless  zeal  of  their  persecutor. 
Could  he  have  been  a  false  teacher  who  had  adherents  such  as 
these?  could  that  have  been  a  mendacious  pretence  which 
gave  such  rest  and  security?  On  the  one  hand,  he  saw  the 
new  sect  in  spite  of  all  persecutions,  nay,  in  consequence  of 
them,  extending  their  influence  wider  and  wider  around  them  ; 
on  the  other,  as  their  persecutor  he  felt  that  inward  tranquillity 
growing  less  and  less  which  he  could  observe  in  so  many  ways 
in  the  persecuted.  We  cannot  therefore  be  surprised  if  in  hours 
of  despondency  and  inward  unhappiness  he  put  to  himself  the 
question  :  "Who  after  all  is  right,  thou  or  the  crucified  Galilean 
about  whom  these  men  are  so  enthusiastic?"  And  when  he  had 
once  got  as  far  as  this  the  result,  with  his  bodily  and  mental 
characteristics,  naturally  followed  in  an  ecstasy  in  which  the 
very  same  Christ  whom  to  this  time  he  had  so  passionately 
persecuted  appeared  to  him  in  all  the  glory  of  which  His  ad- 
herents spoke  so  much,  showed  him  the  perversity  and  folly  of 
his  conduct,  and  called  him  to  come  over  to  His  service '  (Xew 
Life  of  Jesus,  i.  420).  Time  and  again — so  C.  Holsten  represents 
the  case  in  his  searching  analysis  of  St.  Paul's  state  of  mind  at 
his  conversion  (Zum  Evangeliwn  des  Paulus  und  dei>  Petrus, 
Rostock,  1868)— -the  reproachful  image  of  Jesus,  as  described  by 
Stephen  and  other  Christians,  stood  before  his  soul  and  made 
appeal  so  that  he  was  half  persuaded  to  join  himself  to  His 
followers.  In  such  a  state  of  mind  he  journeyed  to  Damascus, 
when  he  experienced  his  vision.  This  view  is  supported,  it  is 
held,  by  the  words  reported  in  the  narrative  of  his  conversion 
as  spoken  to  St.  Paul  by  Christ  Himself,  '  It  is  hard  for  thee  to 
kick  against  the  goad '  (Ac  26H).  '  In  what  else  can  it  have 
consisted,'  asks  Pfieiderer,  '  than  in  the  painful  doubt  as  to  the 
lawfulness  of  his  persecution  of  the  Christians — in  the  doubt, 
therefore,  whether  the  truth  was  really  on  his  side,  and  not 
rather,  after  all,  on  that  of  the  persecuted  disciples  of  Christ?" 
(Influence  of  the  Apostle  Paul  on  the  Development  of  Christian- 
ity [HL],  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1885,  p.  35). 

Now  it  is  not  necessary  to  deny  all  inward  psychological 
preparation  on  St.  Paul's  side  for  the  experience  issuing  in  his 
conversion.  Otherwise,  as  Pfleiderer  truly  enough  observes,  his 
conversion  would  have  to  be  recorded  as  a  '  magical  act  of  God, 
in  which  the  soul  of  Paul  would  have  succumbed  to  an  alien 
force '  (ib.  p.  34).  '  Such  visions  do  not  happen  in  a  vacuum ' 
(Moffatt,  Paul  and  Paulinism,  London,  1910,  p.  10;  cf.  P. 
Feine,  Theologie  des  NT,  Leipzig,  1910,  p.  202).  It  was  the 
difference  in  this  inward  or  psychological  preparation  between 
Saul  and  his  journey  companions  that  partly  explains  why  the 
occurrence  meant  one  thing  to  him  and  another  to  them. 

As  elements  in  Saul's  psychological  preparation  contributing 
or  disposing  towards  the  result,  the  two  factors  referred  to  by 
supporters  of  this  theory  may  be  admitted.  (1)  The  wonderful 
demeanour  of  the  followers  of  the  crucified  Nazarene,  their 
triumphant  joy  and  calm,  unswerving  Ioyalt3r  even  in  persecu- 
tion, could  not  but  leave  a  powerful  impression  on  such  an 
ardent  and  sensitive  nature  as  St.  Paul's.  In  particular,  the 
calm  confidence  and  heroism  of  Stephen  in  face  of  death  and 
his  dying  vision  of  the  Lord  probably  sank  deep  into  his  soul. 
And  then  (2)  the  impression  made  by  these  would  be  emphasized 
by  contrast  with  his  own  experience  of  inward  turmoil  and 
dispeace.  The  words  reported  in  the  narrative  of  his  conversion, 
1  It  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the  goad'  (oxArjpoi'  o-oi  irpb? 
nev-rpa.  *.<iKTi$ftv),  are  no  doubt  full  of  significance  in  this  con- 
nexion. Even  if  proverbial,  and  as  such  not  to  be  pressed  too 
closely  with  regard  to  St.  Paul's  state  of  mind  before  his  con- 
version (so  Knowling,  in  EOT,  London,  1900,  on  Ac  2614),  taken 
in  connexion  with  references  in  his  letters  they  reveal  a  pro- 
found internal  conflict  going  on  within  Saul's  soul,  a  deep  mis- 
giving concerning  his  own  religious  position  and  standing  before 
God.  A  Pharisee  of  the  Pharisees,  he  had  striven  to  attain 
peace  with  God  through  fulfilment  of  the  Law,  but  already  upon 
him  the  painful  sense  of  failure  and  moral  despair  was  pressing 
(cf.  Ro  7).  '  His  soul  had  been  pierced  and  lacerated  by  his 
sense  of  moral  impotence  in  face  of  the  Law.  Like  a  stupid 
beast,  Saul  knew  not  whither  this  incessant  goad  was  driving 
him,  nor  whose  was  the  hand  that  plied  it'  (Findlay,  HDB  iii. 
702b).  He  could  not  but  contrast  his  own  state  of  mind  with 
that  of  the  followers  of  Jesus.  But  with  all  this  there  is  in  the 
narratives  no  hint  of  doubt  on  Saul's  part  of  the  rectitude  of 
his  persecuting  zeal,  nothing  to  show  that  he  ever  suspected  the 
real  truth  to  lie  in  the  direction  of  the  new  sect  of  the  Naza- 
renes. 

St.  Paul's  own  uniform  representation  of  his  mental  condition 
on  his  way  to  Damascus  is  not  thai  of  doubtful  misgiving,  but 
of  conscious  rectitude  undisturbed  by  the  least  shadow  of  doubt 
that  in  persecuting  the  Christians  even  to  death,  he  was  doing 


338     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


God's  will.  '  I  verily  thought  within  myself  that  it  was  my 
duty  to  do  many  things  contrary  to  the  name  of  Jesus  o 
Nazareth '  (Ac  26«).  To  Saul  the  position  of  the  Jesus-sect  was 
a  blasphemy  against  God.  It  was  not  only  that  their  so-callec 
Messiah  had  been  put  to  death.  That  in  itself  to  the  mind  o 
Saul,  the  orthodox  Jew,  shattered  the  claim  that  Jesus  was  the 
Christ.  The  conception  of  a  Suffering  Messiah  was,  to  quote 
Holsten's  own  words,  '  so  far  removed  from  the  orthodoxy  o 
Jewish  belief  that  a  suffering  Messiah,  during  the  lifetime  o: 
Jesus,  was  still  to  His  disciples  an  inconceivable  and  enigmati- 
cal representation '  (op.  cit.  p.  98).  But  it  was  above  all  the 
peculiar  form  of  the  Death  which  disproved  the  claim  of  Jesus 
to  be  the  Messiah.  To  a  Jew,  the  Cross  was  the  very  emblem 
of  Divine  rejection.  'Cursed,'  not  merely  by  man  but  by  God, 
'is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a  tree'  (Gal  3]3 ;  cf.  Dt  21^ 
Hence  avaSe^a.  'Irjtrous,  1  Co  123).  To  the  mind  of  Saul  of  Tarsus 
the  death  on  the  Cross  appeared  a  Divine  retribution  on  a 
blasphemous  claim.  God  Himself  had  endorsed  the  verdict  of 
Caiaphas  and  Pilate,  and  in  proclaiming  a  crucified  Messiah  the 
followers  of  Jesus  were  fighting  against  God. 

Thus  to  Saul  the  suppression  of  the  Jesus-sect  was  a  sacred 
duty  and  a  meritorious  service  for  the  glory  of  God.  The  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus  spoke,  indeed,  of  a  resurrection  of  their  crucified 
Master,  but  no  one  had  seen  Him  save  some  of  their  own  company, 
and  to  Saul's  mind  it  was  the  uttermost  heresy,  and  he  simply 
refused  to  believe  it.  The  young  Pharisee  was.  indeed,  far  from 
being  at  peace  within  himself.  Yet  this  very  inward  dispeace 
only  fanned  his  anti-Christian  zeal  to  new  flame  and  urged  him 
forward  more  fiercely  than  ever  in  loyal  adherence  to  the 
traditions  of  his  fathers,  if  thereby  he  might  the  better  fulfil 
the  righteousness  of  the  Law.  As  he  says  himself,  he  was 
'  exceedingly  mad  against  them '  (Ac  2611).  With  all  the  intensity 
of  his  nature  he  set  himself  to  stamp  out  the  heresy.  Not  con- 
tent with  harrying  the  Christians  in  Jerusalem,  he  '  persecuted 
them  even  unto  strange  cities.'  Such  was  the  spirit  in  which 
he  started  on  his  way  to  Damascus,  when  all  at  once  his  per- 
secuting zeal  was  brought  to  a  halt.  An  incident  occurred 
which  cleft  his  life  in  twain  and  'drove  him,  in  spite  of  himself, 
into  a  new  channel'  (Sabatier,  The  Apostle  Paul,  p.  60).  The 
mental  conditions,  therefore,  out  of  which  a  self-generated  vision 
of  the  Glorified  Jesus  might  conceivably  have  been  formed  were 
wanting  in  him  at  the  time. 

The  whole  impression  conveyed  to  the  reader  of  the  narra^ 
tive  in  Acts  is  that  of  the  suddenness,  unexpectedness,  sur- 
prisingness  of  the  change  in  the  persecutor's  psychological 
condition  (Ac  9s  226).  And  this  is  corroborated  by  the  references 
in  St.  Paul's  own  letters.  He  always  referred  to  the  event 
which  formed  the  turning-point  of  his  life  as  a  sudden,  surpris- 
ing, overwhelming  experience.  The  very  language  he  uses  in 
reference  to  it  emphasizes  this.  'I  was  apprehended  (KO.TC- 
Ajj<£07)i')  by  Christ  Jesus'  (Ph  3l2)_a  remarkable  word  which 
denotes  that  the  persecutor  was  seized  upon  suddenly,  taken 
hold  of  by  Christ,  and  subdued  as  if  by  main  force.  He  looks 
upon  himself  in  2  Co  2"  as  a  suddenly  subdued  rebel,  whom 
God  leads  in  triumph  about  the  world.  The  same  suggestion 
of  suddennes_s  and  violence  we  have  seen  already  to  be  implied 
in  the  term  £(CTp<o|to,  That  this,  and  not  a  gradual  change,  is 
the  view  required  by  St.  Paul's  language  is  admitted  by  so 
unprejudiced  a  critic  as  H.  J.  Holtzmann  in  his  edition  of  the 
Acts :  '  It  is  at  all  events  certain  that  the  Apostle  knows  nothing 
of  a  gradual  process  which  has  drawn  him  closer  to  Christianity, 
but  only  of  a  sudden  halt  which  he  was  compelled  to  make  in 
the  midst  of  an  active  career'  (Handkommentar  zum  NT3, 
Tubingen,  1901,  ii.  701.,  quoted  by  Knowling,  Testimony  of 
St.  Paul,  p.  189). 

2.  The  witness  of  the  Gospels.— The  apostles,  in 
their  preaching  of  Jesus  and  the  Resurrection, 
would  from  the  first  be  called  upon  to  substantiate 
their  statements  by  detailed  historical  evidence. 
One  of  the  first  requirements  in  missionary  teach- 
ing of  the  Resurrection  would  be  a  summary  of 
the  principal  witnesses.  Thus  arose,  we  may  well 
believe,  for  missionary  and  catechetical  purposes 
such  a  list  of  the  chief  appearances  as  that  given 
in  1  Co  153'8.  But,  especially  as  time  went  on, 
more  would  be  required  than  this.  'How  can 
you  believe  in  a  crucified  Messiah  ? '  '  How  can  you 
preach  the  gospel  of  forgiveness  and  justification 
in  His  name?'  To  such  challenging  questions  the 
full  answer  would  be  not  merely  an  adducing  of  the 
evidence  for  the  Resurrection,  but  an  account  of 
the  life  and  ministry  of  Jesus  on  earth — essentially 
a  Passions-Geschichte — showing  that  the  suffering 
of  the  Death  was  the  climax  of  a  life  of  service 
and  suffering  on  the  part  of  One  who  claimed  to 
be  the  Messiah,  and  who  supported  His  claim  by 
His  works.  So  the  main  facts  of  Christ's  life  and 
teaching  on  earth  would  be  recalled,  and  an  oral 
tradition  would  grow  up  based  on  first-hand  evi- 
dence derived  from  the  apostles  and  other  eye- 
witnesses ;  until,  as  time  went  on  and  the  possi- 
bility of  distorting  the  facts  grew  ever  greater,  it 


would  become  necessary  for  apologetic  and  practical 
purposes  to  put  on  record  the  tradition  hitherto 
preserved  in  the  Church  only  by  oral  means. 
Thus  arose  written  narratives  of  our  Lord's  life 
and  ministry  as  culminating  in  the  Death  and 
Resurrection,  the  primary  aim  of  which  was  not 
historical  or  biographical,  but  that  expressed  by 
the  word  '  gosp°.l.'  '  These  signs  are  recorded  that 
you  may  believe  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  God  ;  and  that  believing  you  may  have  life 
through  his  name'  (Jn  2U31  ;  cf.  Mark's  heading 
of  his  work,  '  The  beginning  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,'  I1). 

The  generally  accepted  results  of  recent  criticism  with  regard 
to  the  relations  of  the  Gospels  may  be  represented  shortly  as 
follows.  Two  main  sources  are  to  be  recognized  :  (1)  a  collec- 
tion made  at  a  fairly  early  date  of  the  sayings  and  discourses 
of  Jesus,  the  chief  object  of  which  was,  according  to  Sanday, 
'to  set  before  its  readers  (the  new  converts  in  the  different 
Churches)  some  account  of  the  Christian  ideal,  the  character 
and  mode  of  life  expected  of  them  as  Christians '  (EKE  ii.  575») ; 
this  original  document  is  identified  with  the  Loyia  mentioned 
by  Papias  (Eus.  HEiii.  39)  and  usually  christened  'Q'(Quelle, 
the  original  source) ;  (2)  a  later  document  supplementing  Q,  a 
narrative  or  sketch  of  the  Lord's  public  ministry  which  was 
practically,  if  not  quite,  identical  with  our  present  Second 
Gospel  written  by  John  Mark,  the  companion  of  Peter,  and 
embodying  the  substance  of  that  apostle's  reminiscences 
of  his  Master's  words  and  works.  (The  original  ending  of  the 
narrative  is  lost,  and  the  present  ending  [169"20]  is  a  later 
appendix  ;  but  the  fact  that  it  appears  in  nearly  all  extant  iISS 
and  versions  points  to  an  early  date,  and  perhaps  to  a  close 
relation  with  Mark  himself.)  Then  a  little  later  came  two 
fuller  narratives,  going  behind  the  Ministry  to  the  Birth.  The 
writers,  Matthew  and  Luke,  writing  for  different  classes  of 
readers,  with  the  two  main  sources  referred  to  before  them  as 
basis  of  their  narratives,  arranged  and  edited  independently 
the  material  thus  supplied,  sometimes  interpreting  it,  sometimes 
giving  it  new  point  and  fullness,  and  each  adding  information 
derived  from  his  own  minute  investigations.  This  dependence 
of  Matthew  and  Luke  in  their  narrative  portions  on  Mark  is 
reckoned  '  the  one  solid  contribution '  of  literary  criticism  (F. 
C.  Burkitt,  TheGospel  H  istory  and  its  Transmission.  Edinburgh, 
1906,  p.  37  ;  cf.  W.  C.  Allen,  ICC,  '  S.  Matthew ' a,  do.;  L912, p.  vii). 

It  cannot,  however,  be  argued  that,  while  Mark  is  a 
primary  authority,  Matthew  and  Luke  are  secondary  author- 
ities. Much  critical  argument  proceeds  on  this  assumption, 
as  if  the  narratives  of  the  First  and  Third  Gospels  were  a 
simple  'writing  up'  and  embellishing  of  Mark's  stories,  and  any 
details  not  found  in  the  latter  were  to  be  rejected  as  unhistorical 
and  legendary.  Luke,  e.g.,  in  the  most  important  portion  of 
his  whole  narrative — the  Passion  and  the  Resurrection  sections 
— wholly  deserts  Mark  and  prefers  to  rely  on  independent 
information.  As  to  the  source  of  this  information,  Chase 
(Gnspels  in  the  Light  of  Historical  Criticism,  pp.  12,  62  f.) 
makes  out  a  strong  case  for  James  and  the  elders  of  the  Church 
with  whom  Luke  was  brought  into  personal  contact  in  Jeru- 
salem some  twenty-five  years  after  the  Passion  (see  Ac  2115ff-). 
Now  James  was  a  primary  witness  of  the  Resurrection,  one  of 
those  who  saw  the  Lord,  so  that  Luke  in  his  narrative  would 
be  in  touch  with  first-hand  information  as  much  as  Mark  (cf. 
Lk  I2).  Then  later  still,  the  writer  of  the  Fourth  Gospel, 
having  a  knowledge  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels,  wrote  his  narra- 
tive, wishing  to  supplement  and  perhaps  in  some  details  to 
correct  them.  In  connexion  with  the  narrative  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion in  particular,  the  writer,  with  his  more  precise  and  con- 
secutive account,  affords  valuable  information.  There  is  a 
growing  tendency  among  critics  to  hold  that,  in  substance  at 
least,  this  Gospel  represents  a  genuine  work  of  the  apostle  John 
written  in  his  old  age,  containing  authentic  reminiscences  of  the 
Lord's  words  and  works.  These  reminiscences  indeed  have 
been  moulded  by  the  writer's  meditation  through  many  years 
on  their  significance,  so  that  reminiscence  and  interpretation 
are  often  so  interwoven  that  it  is  difficult  to  say  where  one  ends 
and  the  other  begins,  but  this  does  not  detract  from  the  trust- 
worthy character  of  the  Gospel.  '  It  is  a  blending  of  fact  and 
interpretation ;  but  the  interpretation  conies  from  one  who 
had  an  unique  position  and  unique  advantages  for  getting  at 
the  heart  and  truth  of  that  which  he  sought  to  interpret.  It 
is  the  mind  of  Christ  seen  through  the  medium  of  one  of  the 
first  and  closest  of  His  companions'  (Sanday,  The  Criticism 
of  the  Fourth  Gospel,  Oxford,  1905,  p.  169).  Indeed,  John's 
account  may  be  truest  to  reality.  'The  history  of  a  great 
movement  will  be  told  long  years  afterwards  with  the  nearest 
approach  to  truth,  not  by  the  prosaic  observer  who  noticed 
only  what  lay  on  the  surface,  but  rather  by  one  who  at  the 
;ime  discerned  something  of  its  grandeur,  and  who  as  he 
recalled  it  instinctively  idealized  it.  Idealization  is  perhaps  a 
necessary  condition  for  the  preservation  of  the  memory  of  a 
momentous  spiritual  crisis '  (Chase,  p.  17).  (Ch.  21  is  an  appen- 
dix to  the  Gospel  which  closed  at  the  end  of  ch.  20.  Yet  it  must 
lave  become  an  integral  part  of  the  Gospel  at  an  early  period, 
or  no  trace  exists  of  a  Gospel  without  it.  The  style  also  is 
imilar  to  the  rest  of  the  Gospel,  so  that  on  both  internal  and 
external  evidence  an  increasing  number  of  critics  support 
Godet's  contention  :  '  Either  John  himself  composed  this  piece 
some  time  after  having  finished  the  Gospel,  or  we  have  here  the 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     339 


work  of  that  circle  of  friends  and  disciples  who  surrounded  the 
Apostle  at  Ephesus,  who  had  often  heard  him  relate  the  facts 
contained  in  it,  and  who  have  reproduced  them  in  his  own 
language.') 

It  is  often  urged  against  the  narratives  of  the  Gospels  that 
none  of  the  writers  were  first-hand  witnesses,  but  if  the  Fourth 
Gospel,  as  a  growing  weight  of  criticism  encourages  us  to  be- 
lieve, is  a  genuine  work  of  the  apostle  John,  we  have  at  least 
one  such  witness  of  first-rank  importance.  But  further,  Mark 
was  the  companion  and  interpreter  of  Peter,  another  primary 
witness.  Besides,  Luke  was  the  companion  of  St.  Paul,  and  St. 
Paul  had  direct  communication  with  Peter,  James,  and  other 
members  of  the  original  apostolic  company  ;  and  Luke  lays 
stress  on  the  fact  that  the  things  which  he  relates  rested  on 
the  testimony  of  those  who  were  eye-witnesses.  The  Gospel  of 
Matthew,  if  not  directly  the  work  of  that  Apostle — another  first- 
hand witness — must  have  been  written  by  one  so  closely  asso- 
ciated with  him  that  it  ever  afterwards  passed  as  Matthew's 
own.  We  are  thus,  throughout,  in  contact  with  first-hand 
information,  and  all  claim  to  be  but  recording  a  tradition  well 
established  in  the  Church,  and  derived  originally  from  the 
apostles. 

Approximate  probable  dates  for  the  Gospels  may  be  given  as 
follows:  Mk.  A.D.  60-70,  Mt.  Lk.  (Gospel  and  Acts)  A.  D.  70-80; 
Jn.  A.D.  85-100-^all  falling  probably  within  the  1st  century. 
The  extra-canonical  Gospels,  the  Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews 
and  the  Gospel  of  Peter,  parts  of  which  have  been  preserved, 
and  both  of  which  belong  probably  to  the  beginning  of  the  2nd 
cent,  add  little  or  nothing  of  a  trustworthy  character  to  the 
canonical  accounts  of  the  Resurrection. 

The  witness  to  the  Resurrection  in  the  Gospels 
may  be  thus  exhibited  :  (a)  Empty  grave  on  the 
third  day  (Mk  154'2-1G8,  Mt  2757-288,  Lk  2350-241:! 
I---1-'4),  Jn  19382013)  ;  and  (b)  post-Resurrection  appear- 
ances (Mk  [App.]  169-20,  Mt  28a-20,  Lk  2412'53, 
Jn  2014'29  21  [App.],  Gospel  ace.  to  Hebrews,  xii. 
50-57,  Gospel  of  Peter,  xiv.  58-60). 

The  historical  value  of  the  Gospel  witness  to  the 
Resurrection  has  been  called  in  question  on  various 
grounds,  chief  of  which  are  :  (1)  Alleged  discrep- 
ancies between  the  different  accounts.  This  was 
already  one  of  the  chief  objections  to  the  Gospels 
in  the  earliest  reasoned  criticism  of  Christianity 
that  has  come  down  to  us — The  True  Word  of 
Celsus,  written  about  the  end  of  the  2nd  cent,  (see 
Origen,  c.  Celsum,  ii.  56-63,  v.  56,  58).  H.  S. 
Reiiuarus,  writing  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  ago, 
enumerated  ten  irreconcilable  contradictions  or 
discrepancies  in  the  narratives  (G.  E.  Lessing, 
Wolfenbutteler  Fragments,  1774-78).  '  In  reality,' 
says  a  more  recent  critic,  '  the  number  is  much 
greater  '  (Schmiedel,  EBiiv.  4041).  And  Harnack, 
on  the  basis  of  examination  of  the  various  narra- 
tives, feels  himself  driven  to  an  Agnostic  despair 
of  history,  which  regards  the  problem  of  what 
happened  on  the  first  Easter  morning  as  absolutely 
insoluble.  (2)  The  presence  of  mythical  and 
legendary  elements  in  the  accounts.  '  Even  the 
empty  grave  on  the  third  day  can  by  no  means  be 
regarded  as  a  certain  historical  fact,  because  it 
appears  united  in  the  accounts  with  manifest 
legendary  features'  (Harnack,  Hist,  of  Dogma, 
Eng.  tr.,  7  vols.,  London,  1894-99,  i.  85  n.).  (3) 
The  insufficiency  of  the  evidence,  even  if  allowed, 
to  satisfy  the  demands  of  scientific  historical 
inquiry.  '  Secure  evidence  of  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  would  be  the  attestation  of  it  in  a  decided 
and  accordant  manner  by  impartial  witnesses. 
But  .  .  .  Jesus  showed  himself  to  his  adherents 
only  :  why  not  also  to  his  enemies,  that  they  too 
might  be  convinced,  and  that  by  their  testimony 
posterity  might  be  precluded  from  every  conjecture 
of  a  designed  fraud  on  the  part  of  his  disciples?' 
(Strauss,  Life  of  Jesus,  Eng.  tr.2,  London,  1892,  pt. 
iii.  ch.  iv.  sect.  140,  p.  738).  To  like  purpose  Renan 
demands  thcit  the  evidence  for  the  Resurrection  be 
such  as  would  convince  '  a  commission,  composed  of 
physiologists,  physicists,  chemists,  persons  accus- 
tomed to  historical  criticism,'  and  on  this  basis 
criticizes  the  NT  narratives  as  not  satisfying 
'  scientific  conditions '  or  '  rational  principles '  (Life 
of  Jesus,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1873,  Introd.,  p.  29  f.). 
We  shall  consider  the  two  parts  of  the  witness 
separately,  keeping  these  objections  in  view. 


(a)  The  empty  grave. — The  narratives  agree  as 
to  the  following  facts.  (1)  On  the  morning  of 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  '  the  third  day '  after  the 
Crucifixion,  very  early,  certain  women  went  to  the 
grave  (Mt  281,  Mk  161'-,  Lk  241- 10,  Jn  201) ;  (2) 
they  found  the  stone  rolled  away  and  the  grave 
empty  (Mt  28--7,  Mk  163'6,  Lk  242-6,  Jn  20ullf-); 
(3)  they  were  informed  by  angelic  means  that  Jesus 
had  risen,  and  that  they  were  bidden  to  convey  the 
news  to  the  disciples  (Mt  28s-8,  Mk  16«-8,  Lk  244'11, 
Jn  20llf>).  Divergences  in  detail  have  to  be 
acknowledged,  though  they  are  slight  in  com- 
parison with  the  general  agreement,  and  do  not 
impugn  the  trustworthiness  of  the  central  facts  in 
the  common  tradition. 

Chief  of  these  divergences  are  the  following.  (1)  In  regard 
to  the  number  of  the  women,  John  represents  the  visit  to  the 
sepulchre  as  made  by  Mary  Magdalene  alone  (201),  while  the 
others  (Mt.,  Mk.,  Lk.)  represent  her  as  in  company  with  other 
women,  variously  named.  (2)  As  regards  the  purpose  attributed 
to  the  women  in  coming  to  the  tomb,  two  of  the  Evangelists, 
Mark  (16J)and  Luke  (23S«  241),  represent  this  purpose  as  the 
anointing  of  the  body  of  Jesus,  while  John  records  the  fact  that 
the  anointing  had  already  been  done  by  Joseph  and  Nicodemus 
at  the  time  of  the  entombment.  (3)  In  regard  to  the  angelic 
message,  Matthew  and  Mark  speak  of  one  angel  at  the  tomb ; 
Mark  representing  him  as  'a  young  man'  arrayed  in  a  white 
robe,  appearing  to  the  women  on  their  'entering  into  the 
tomb '  (lt>15),  while  Matthew  has  an  independent  story  of  a  great 
earthquake,  and  represents  the  angel  as  rolling  away  the  stone 
and  sitting  upon  it  (i.e.  outside  the  tomb,  2S2-5).  Luke  and 
John,  on  the  other  hand,  speak  of  two  angels  as  appearing  to  the 
women  (or  woman),  Luke  representing  the  interview  as  occur- 
ring inside  the  tomb  (24-*-5),  while  John  represents  Mary 
Magdalene  as  still  remaining1  outside  (2012). 

In  regard  to  such  divergences  or  alleged  'discrepancies'  we 
have  to  remember  two  things.  (1)  The  aim  of  the  narratives  is 
not  to  supply  evidence  or  proof  for  a  court  of  law,  but  rather 
to  supply  information  regarding  facts  already  believed,  as 
Luke  says,  '  fully  established '  (ire-jr\r)po<l>oprinfvu>v'),\n  the  Church, 
concerning  which  they  had  already  been  '  catechetically 
instructed '  (v.4,  Kar>)x>)07)s).  This  explains  the  often  naive  and 
informal  character  of  the  narratives.  None  of  the  Evangelists 
aims  at  giving  a  complete  account  of  everything  that  happened 
on  that  wonderful  Easter  morning  and  day.  Each  selects  and 
combines  witli  his  own  special  object  in  view.  From  this 
incompleteness  arises  much  of  the  seeming  contradictoriness 
of  the  different  narratives.  E.g.,  John  speaks  only  of  Mary 
Magdalene  at  the  sepulchre  probably  because  he  has  a  special 
story  to  tell  of  her — though  the  'we'  of  Jn  202  seems  to  imply 
the  presence  of  others.  (There  is  no  need  to  suppose  that  the 
women  came  all  together  to  the  sepulchre.  It  is  more  probable 
that  they  came  in  different  groups  or  companies.)  (2)  We  have 
to  remember  further  that  the  Resurrection  day  was  necessarily 
one  of  intense  excitement  and  agitation.  This  is  vividly 
reflected  in  the  narratives — the  shock  of  amazement  of  the 
witnesses,  their  incredulity,  their  mingled  fear  and  joy.  So  it 
is  possible  that  the  events  of  the  day  were  told  by  different 
witnesses  in  a  different  order,  and  with  differences  in  detail. 
The  excitement  of  the  moment  may  have  left  the  memory 
dazed  and  unable  to  form  any  distinct  impression  of  what  was 
seen  and  heard,  so  that  from  the  first  there  would  be  a  certain 
confusion  in  the  stories.  But  to  discredit  the  narratives  because 
they  betray  imperfections  such  as  these  is  altogether  unreason- 
able. So  far  from  being  incompatible  with,  they  rather  confirm, 
their  historical  veracity.  'The  usual  character  of  human 
testimony  is  substantial  truth  under  circumstantial  variety ' 
(W.  Paley,  Evidences  of  Christianity,  in  J.  S.  Memes'  Christian 
Evidences,  London,  1859,  pt.  iii.  ch.  i.  p.  203). 

It  need  not  be  denied  that  some  details  of  the  narratives 
may  possibly  be  unhistorical  or  legendary.  In  Matthew's  story, 
e.g.,  about  the  resurrection  of  many  bodies  of  the  saints,  and 
their  appearance  to  many  after  the  Resurrection  (2"sif-),  we 
seem  to  have  something  akin  to  what  we  find  in  the  Apocryphal 
Gospels  (of.  Chase,  Gospels  in  the  Light  of  Hist.  Criticism, 
p.  31).  But  the  earthquake  account  (given  only  by  Matthew, 
which  is  the  only  account  of  how  the  stone  was  rolled  away) 
and  that  of  the  angelic  visitation  when  ruled  out  (e.g.  Lake, 
Resurrection,  p.  251  f.)  as  legendary  and  unhistorical,  are  so  not 
so  much  because  of  any  insufficiency  of  evidence,  as  through 
prejudice  against  the  supernatural,  which,  however,  is  of  the 
very  essence  of  the  narratives  throughout. 

Luke  records  (2412)  that,  on  receipt  of  the  message 
of  the  women,  Peter  went  to  the  sepulchre  and 
found  it  empty,  with  only  the  grave-clothes  left. 
This  verse  is  of  doubtful  authority — being  absent 
from  important  Western  documents  —  and  is 
omitted  by  Westcott  and  Hort  and  by  Tischendorf 
as  a  later  insertion,  though,  as  F.  Elass  points  out 
(Philology  of  the  Gospels,  London,  1898,  p.  189), 
Luke's  account  contains  another  reference  to  a 
visit  to  the  grave  on  the  part  of  some  of  the 


340     RESURRECTION  OF  CHKIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


apostles  (v.24),  the  genuineness  of  which  there  is  no 
good  ground  for  calling  in  question. 

John  in  his  account — that  of  an  eye-witness  of  the 
facts — tells  us  (203'10)  that,  on  receipt  of  the  message 
of  the  women,  Peter  and  himself  went  to  the  grave 
and  found  the  condition  as  the  women  had  said. 
He  gives  a  circumstantial  description  of  the  way  in 
which  the  grave-clothes  were  found  lying  ;  in  par- 
ticular, that  the  napkin  which  had  been  round  His 
head  was  found  'folded  up'(v.7,  evrerv\(.y^vov)  by 
itself,  apart  from  the  other  bandages,  doubtless  at 
the  raised  end  of  the  chamber  where  the  head 
rested  (see  Latham,  Risen  Master,  plate  2,  for  an 
imaginary  sketch  of  the  interior  of  the  tomb). 
Latham's  theory  is  that  the  word  implies  that  the 
head-cloth  still  partially  retained  its  annular  form 
(p.  43),  and  that  the  other  grave-clothes  still 
retained  the  general  outline  of  the  human  form 
(p.  50).  If  this  interpretation  be  correct,  the  sug- 
gestion of  the  careful  observer  (Beupel,  Jn  206) 
would  be  that  the  Body  had  somehow  passed  out 
of  the  grave-clothes,  rather  than  that  it  had  been 
removed  by  human  hands  for  burial  elsewhere.  In 
any  case,  the  position  of  the  clothes  is  noted  by  the 
Evangelist  as  significant. 

In  this  connexion  the  significance  of  the  incident 
recorded  in  Mt  2811'15  is  to  be  noted — the  attempt 
of  the  Jewish  authorities  to  bribe  the  guard  to 
misrepresent  the  facts  and  say  that  the  disciples 
removed  the  body — a  saying  which  is  'commonly 
reported  among  the  Jews  until  this  day.'  This 
fraudulent  transaction  proceeds  upon  the  admission 
by  tlie  enemies  of  Christianity  that  the  grave  was 
empty — an  admission  which  is  enough  to  show 
that  the  evidence  for  the  empty  grave  was  '  too 
notorious  to  be  denied '  (Cambridge  Theological 
Essays,  ed.  H.  B.  Swete,  London,  1905,  p.  336). 

The  whole  story  of  the  guard  at  the  tomb,  which  is  narrated 
only  by  Matthew  (2T62-66)  has  been  called  in  question.  But  the 
action  of  the  authorities  in  setting  a  watch  at  the  tomb  is 
altogether  credible.  Had  not  Jesus  spoken  repeatedly  of  His 
being  put  to  death  and  rising  again  the  third  day  (Mt  1621  17->:!f- 
2Q18-  is  and  ||s)?  And  may  not  such  words  have  come  to  the 
ears  of  His  enemies?  Had  not  indeed  His  mysterious  words 
about  the  buiMing  of  the  Temple  in  three  days  been  quoted 
against  Him  before  the  chief  priests  und  Pharisees  (Mk  14S» ;  cf. 
jn  9)8.22)  ?  And  with  such  in  their  minds,  was  not  the  fact  that 
the  body  of  Jesus  had  been  committed  to  His  friends  for  burial 
enough  to  create  the  fear  that  His  disciples  might  remove  it 
and  afterwards  pretend  that  He  had  risen  ?  To  meet  this 
apprehension,  a  watch  was  obtained,  and  to  make  security 
doubly  sure,  the  tomb  was  sealed  with  the  official  seal. 

Nothing,  indeed,  in  the  Resurrection-story  of  the 
narratives  is  more  strongly  attested  than  the  fact  of 
the  empty  tomb  on  the  third  day  after  the  Cruci- 
fixion. It  is  not  only  attested  by  the  women,  and 
subsequently  by  Peter  and  John  —  'interested 
parties  '—but  also  acknowledged  by  foes.  This  is 
the  fundamental  fact  at  the  basis  of  the  apostolic 
belief  in  the  Resurrection  on  the  third  day.  It  is 
not  uncommon  among  negative  critics  to  represent 
the  case  as  if  the  belief  were  a  deduction  or  infer- 
ence from  certain  prophetic  references,  a  belief 
resting  'on  theological  rather  than  historical 
grounds'  (Lake,  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ, 
p.  264).  Strauss  set  the  way  in  his  endeavour  to 
show  how  the  belief  might  have  originated  from 
OT  hints  (New  Life  of  Jesus,  i.  438  f.).  O.  Holtz- 
mann  (Life  of  Jesus,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1904,  p.  336) 
lays  much  stress  on  Hos  62 :  '  After  two  days  will  he 
revive  us  :  on  the  third  day  he  will  raise  us  up,  and 
we  shall  live  before  him. '  Schmiedel  (EBi  iv.  4067 ) 
appeals  to  2  K  205  as  a  text  that  has  'special 
relevance '  in  this  connexion.  Others  combine 
with  these  OT  hints  the  predictions  of  Jesus  Him- 
self (e.g.  Meyer,  Die  A itferstehung  Christi,  p.  181  f.), 
while  more  recently  others  trace  the  belief  pri- 
marily to  a  '  Messianic  dogmatic,'  a  pre-Christian 
sketch  of  a  dying  and  rising  Messiah  which  found 
its  way  into  Jewish  writings  from  Oriental  sources, 
shiefly  Babylonian  (see,  e.g.,  Lake,  pp.  197  f.,  261  ; 


Cheyne,  Bible  Problems,  p.  110  ff.).  The  OT  hints 
and  pre-Christian  Messianic  belief  alone  or  com- 
bined with  the  predictions  of  Jesus,  it  is  repre- 
sented, naturally  took  shape  in  the  belief  in  the 
Resurrection  on  the  third  day,  or  were  the  pre- 
disposing cause  for  this  belief.  The  belief  created 
the  Resurrection  rather  than  the  Resurrection  the 
belief.  But  what  are  the  facts  ?  The  Gospels  tell 
us  unmistakably  that  the  disciples  had  no  antici- 
pation whatever  of  the  resurrection  of  their  cruci- 
fied Master.  For  all  that,  Jesus  did  predict  His 
resurrection  on  the  third  day  and  represent  this  as 
foreshadowed  in  the  Scriptures  (Mt  1621 17221-  2016- 19, 
Mk  831  931  1033,  Lk  g22  1831  246-? ;  cf.  Lk  2446).  The 
astonishment  of  the  disciples  at  the  empty  tomb  is 
explained  by  the  reflexion  that  '  as  yet  they  knew 
not  the  scripture,  that  he  must  rise  again  from  the 
dead '  ( Jn  209).  So  far  from  the  victory  of  the 
Messiah  over  death  through  a  resurrection  being 
part  of  the  current  Jewish  Messianic  belief,  the 
very  idea  of  a  suffering  and  dying  Messiah  was  '  to 
His  disciples  an  inconceivable  and  enigmatical 
representation'  (Holsten,  op.  cit.  p.  98;  cf.  Mt  1621 
1723).  '  Suffering  and  death  for  the  actual  possessor 
of  the  Messianic  dignity  are  in  fact  unimaginable, 
according  to  the  testimony  of  the  prophets'  (Dai- 
man,  Words  of  Jesus,  Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1902, 
p.  265).  Ps  161U  is  the  only  passage  which  the  NT 
writers  quote  as  prophetic  or  the  Resurrection,  but 
it  is  clear  that  its  Christian  interpretation  was 
by  no  means  obvious  before  the  event.  The  proof 
from  Scripture  prophecy  of  the  Resurrection  on  the 
third  day  was  thus  an  interpretation  or  confirma- 
tion after  the  event,  and,  under  the  influence  of 
Jesus'  post  -  Resurrection  teaching,  an  '  after- 
thought, as  Lake  himself  admits  (p.  30).  It  is 
not  the  prophecies  which  suggest  the  fact,  but  the 
fact  which  extracts  and  explains  the  prophecies. 
The  attempt  to  trace  the  belief  in  the  event '  on  the 
third  day  ultimately  to  Oriental  sources  will  be 
more  fully  considered  below  (V.  ii.  2).  But  mean- 
time the  fact  is  to  be  emphasized  that  no  detail  is 
better  attested  in  connexion  with  the  Resurrection 
than  the  discovery  of  the  empty  tomb  on  the  third 
day,  and  any  criticism  which  ignores  this  cannot 
justly  lay  claim  to  be  '  scientific.' 

It  has  often  been  pointed  out  that  in  the  Gospels  none  of  the 
witnesses  claims  to  have  seen  our  Lord  leave  the  tomb.  Of  the 
Resurrection  itself  there  was  no  eye-witness.  This  is  some- 
times adduced  in  disparagement  of  the  Gospel  evidence.  But 
this  very  silence  of  the  narratives  is  a  significant  corroboration 
of  their  historical  trustworthiness.  If  the  accounts  of  the 
events  at  the  empty  grave  were  as  legendary  as  some  recent 
criticism  would  represent,  the  silence  is  almosj,  inexplicable.  '  A 
faith  that  was  capable  of  creating,  with  absolutely  no  basis  in 
fact,  so  circumstantial  an  account  of  the  emptiness  of  the 
Tomb,  would  assuredly  not  have  left  without  a  witness  the  one 
moment  on  which  the  significance  of  its  whole  creation  seems  to 
depend '  (Cambridge  Theol.  Essays,  p.  332).  A  comparison  with 
the  account  given  in  the  apocryphal  Gospel  of  Peter  brings  into 
clear  relief  the  self-restraint  of  the  canonical  Gospels  (cf.  Orr, 
Resurrection  of  Jesus,  p.  260  f.). 

(b)  The  post -Resurrection  appearances. — Though 
the  empty  grave  on  the  third  day  is  thus  ade- 
quately attested,  this,  according  to  the  evidence, 
was  not  in  and  by  itself  the  cause  of  the  disciples' 
belief  in  the  Resurrection.  According  to  the  Evan- 
gelists, it  was  not  simply  the  fact  of  the  empty 
tomb,  not  even  this  supplemented  by  the  angelic 
proclamation  that  the  Lord  had  risen,  which  pro- 
duced in  the  disciples  the  conviction  that  their 
crucified  Master  was  indeed  risen  from  the  dead. 
The  women  returned,  as  they  were  bidden,  to  tell 
the  disciples  what  they  had  seen  and  heard  at  the 
empty  grave,  but  'this  story  of  the  women  seemed 
in  their  opinion  to  be  nonsense  (\rjpos) ;  they  would 
not  believe  them  '  (Lk  24U  [Moffatt] ;  cf.  Mk  1611- 
JS-  ",  Jn  2025,  ov  pr)  irurTeijffu.  For  a  whole  week 
Thomas  refused  to  believe).  Peter  and  John  go  to 
the  grave  and  find  the  condition  of  things  as  the 
women  had  said.  They  stoop  down  and  enter  in  and 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     341 


find  the  grave-clothes  lying  where  the  body  had 
rested,  with  the  head-cloth  folded  up  by  itself,  in- 
stead of  lying  beside  the  other  bandages,  and  they 
return  home  'wondering  what  had  happened'  (Lk 
24'-  [Moflatt]),  perplexed  and  unable  to  explain  what 
they  saw.  John  indeed,  writing  many  years  after, 
says  of  himself  that  he  '  saw  and  believed  '  ( Jn  20s, 
tide  icai  eiriffTfvfffv).  The  meaning  of  these  words 
is  doubtful.  It  has  been  suggested  that,  from  the 
manner  in  which  the  grave-clothes  lay  folded,  John 
was  led  not  merely  to  believe  in  the  emptiness  of 
the  grave,  but  to  the  idea  of  resurrection.  So,  e.g., 
Cyril  of  Alexandria  :  '  Ex  involutis  linteaminibus 
resnrrectionem  colligunt,'  as  the  Latin  version 
renders  it  (Migne,  PG  Ixxiv.  683,  quoted  by 
W.  J.  S.  Simpson  in  DCG  ii.  507a) ;  cf.  Latham, 
Risen  Master,  and  Dods,  EOT,  in  loc.  But  if  such 
was  the  case,  it  does  not  appear  that  he  said  any- 
thing to  the  others  on  the  subject.  On  the  other 
hand,  to  say  that  he  '  believed  here  means  simply 
'became  convinced'  that  the  grave  was  empty  and 
the  body  removed  may  be  saying  too  little.  Prob- 
ably it  is  nearest  the  truth  to  say  with  Swete : 
'  There  arose  in  his  [John's]  mind  at  that  moment 
a  nascent  confidence  that  in  some  way  as  yet 
unknown  their  darkness  would  be  turned  to  light, 
and  the  victory  of  the  Christ  be  secured.  For  the 
present,  however,  the  mystery  remained  unsolved  ; 
they  seemed  to  have  exhausted  their  means  of 
getting  at  the  truth,  and  both  men  went  home 
again  '  (Appearances,  p.  6).  Even  as  regards  the 
women  themselves,  the  chief  impression  we  receive 
of  their  mental  condition  from  the  narratives  is 
that  of  terrorized  amazement.  The  dazzling  vision 
and  the  voice  from  the  grave  filled  them  with  dis- 
may. They  tied  from  the  sepulchre,  and  on  their 
way  back  to  the  city  they  spoke  not  a  word,  so 
great  was  their  terror.  'They  were  seized  with 
terror  and  beside  themselves '  (Mk  168  [MofTatt]). 
Not  the  empty  grave,  therefore,  and  not  the  angelic 
report  merely,  but  these  followed  by  and  in  essen- 
tial connexion  with  the  subsequent  self-revelation 
of  the  risen  living  Lord  in  the  shape  of  manifesta- 
tions or  appearings  of  Himself  to  them  (or  what 
were  taken  to  be  such),  were  what,  according  to  the 
narratives,  gave  rise  to  the  apostles'  belief  in  the 
Resurrection. 

The  list  of  the  appearances  given  in  the  various 
narratives  is  as  follows  : 

(1)  .Mark's  account  (in  the  genuine  portion) 
records  none.  But  the  abrupt  way  in  which  the 
narrative  breaks  oft'  in  the  middle  of  a  sentence 
at  168  ('for  they  were  afraid  of  .  .  .'  [Moflatt]) 
points  to  the  fact  that  the  writer  meant  to  add 
some  account  of  the  meeting  of  the  Risen  Lord 
with  the  disciples  in  Galilee  referred  to  in  v.7. 
The  probability  is  that  such  was  added  and  that 
it  is  lost.  There  is  good  reason  for  believing 
that  Matthew  has  worked  up  into  his  last  chapter 
much  of  the  matter  contained  in  the  lost  ending  of 
Mark,  adding  certain  incidents  for  which  he  relied 
upon  his  own  resources  (see  Chase's  art.  '  The 
Lord's  Command  to  Baptize '  in  JThSt  vi.  [1904-05] 
481  if.).  The  Mk.  App.  (169-20)  records  appear- 
ances to  Mary  Magdalene  (v.9),  to  two  disciples 
on  the  way  to  Emmaus  (v.12),  and  to  the  Eleven  at 
meat  (v.1-1). 

(•_')  Matthew  records  two  appearances — the  first  to 
the  women  in  or  near  Jerusalem  on  the  morning 
of  the  Resurrection  (289f-),  and  then  to  the  Eleven 
in  Galilee  on  a  mountain  '  where  Jesus  had  ap- 
pointed them '  (vv.16'w),  the  meeting  referred  to  in 
forecast  in  Mark. 

(3)  Luke  records  three:  *i  the  two  disciples  on 
the  way  to  Emmaus  (2413--"!),  to  the  'eleven  .  .  . 
and  them  that  were  with  them '  in  Jerusalem 
(v.368'-),  and  to  Peter,  this  preceding  the  last  and 
being  indirectly  stated  (v.84 ;  cf.  1  Co  155).  Luke 


also  refers  (v.60'')  to  a  meeting  on  the  day  of 
Ascension  at  Bethany  (more  fully  reported  in 
Ac  I4'12). 

(4)  John,  writing  with  knowledge  of  the  other 
Gospels  and  filling  up  from  his  reminiscences  what 
the  others  had  left  untold,  records  four :  the  ap- 
pearance to  Mary  Magdalene  in  the  garden  (2014'17)  ; 
an  appearance  to  the  disciples  (without  Thomas) 
the  same  evening  in  Jerusalem  (vv.  "»-=»);  another 
appetirance  a  week   later  to   the  disciples   (with 
Thomas)  in  Jerusalem   (vv.28-28) ;  and  lastly,   an 
appearance  to  seven  disciples  some  time  later  at 
the  Sea  of  Tiberias  (21 J-14). 

(5)  Extra-canonical  Gospels. — The  Gospel  ace.  to 
the  Hebrews  tells  of  an  appearance  to  James,  and 
the  Gospel  of  Peter  seems  on  the  point  of  narrating 
an  incident  not  unlike  the  appearance  to  the  seven 
at  the  Sea  of  Tiberias  when  the  fragment  ends 
abruptly.     Both  narratives,  however,  are  distinctly 
secondary  in  character  and  add  nothing  of  a  trust- 
worthy nature  to  the  canonical  accounts. 

It  is  against  the  accounts  of  the  appearances  in 
the  Gospels  that  the  argument  from  discrepancies 
has  most  force.  It  has  to  be  frankly  admitted 
that  the  records  present  many  difficulties  in  the 
way  of  constructing  a  coherent  harmonized  account. 
'Whichever  way  we  turn,  dilliculties  meet  us, 
which  the  documents  to  which  we  have  access  do 
not  enable  us  to  remove'  (Sanday,  Outlines  of  Life 
of  Christ,  p.  180).  These  difficulties  concern  in  the 
main  two  points  :  (i. )  the  sequence  or  time  order  of 
the  appearances,  and  (ii. )  their  place  or  locality. 

(i.)  The  sequence  or  time  order  of  the  appearances. 
— None  of  the  Gospels  presents  us  with  an  ordered 
statement  of  the  whole  facts.  St.  Paul's  list  in 
1  Co  15  is  no  doubt  given  in  chronological  order, 
but  it  does  not  profess  to  be  complete,  and  leaves 
room  for  other  appearances  to  be  added.  By  the 
time  the  Gospel  accounts  were  written,  however, 
it  may  have  been  too  late  to  find  out  with  any 
precision  how  this  or  that  additional  appearing 
preserved  in  tradition  was  related  in  time  to  the 
others.  In  particular  the  relation  of  the  appear- 
ance to  Mary  Magdalene  (recorded  by  Jn.  and  Mk. 
App.)  to  the  appearance  to  the  women  recorded  in 
Mt  28s"10  is  left  by  the  narratives  in  uncertainty — 
an  uncertainty  connected  with  the  seeming  con- 
fusion in  the  First  and  Third  Gospels,  between 
Mary's  return  to  Jerusalem  and  the  return  of  the 
other  women.  Again,  Luke  gives  the  impression 
that  all  the  appearances  took  place  on  the  day 
of  the  Resurrection,  and  that  the  Ascension  itself 
took  place  on  the  evening  of  that  day.  But  this 
is  contrary  to  what  we  find  in  the  other  Gospel 
accounts,  where  the  appearances  are  represented 
as  extending  over  a  considerable  time.  And  it  is 
contrary  to  Luke's  own  account  in  Ac  1,  where  he 
interposes  '  forty  days'  between  the  Resurrection 
and  the  Ascension,  and  assumes  the  appearances  of 
Christ  to  be  spread  over  the  whole  period  (cf.  Ac 
1331,  'many  days').  The  latter  'contradiction' is 
made  much  of  by  Strauss  and  Keim,  and,  more 
recently,  by  Wei/sacker  and  Meyer.  The  explana- 
tion is  to  be  found,  however,  in  Luke's  highly  com- 
pressed or  condensed  style  of  narrative  in  the 
closing  chapter  of  his  Gospel  (cf.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul 
the  Traveller  and  the  Roman  Citizen,  London,  1895, 
p.  17,  'compressed  to  the  highest  degree').  Chase 
maintains  that  there  are  good  grounds  for  thinking 
that  the  opening  section  of  the  Acts  was  already 
composed  before  the  closing  section  of  the  Gospel 
(Gospels,  p.  46),  and  Denney  says  that  in  all  prob- 
ability it  was  produced  continuously  with  it  (Jesus 
and  the  Gospel,  p.  142).  Having  in  view  from  the 
beginning  to  write  a  sequel  to  his  Gospel,  giving 
a  more  detailed  account  of  the  events  leading  up 
to  the  Ascension,  the  Evangelist  '  fore- shortens ' 
and  compresses  the  narrative  in  the  Gospel,  treating 


342     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


two  or  three  distinct  occasions  as  if  they  were  con- 
tinuous, knowing  that  facts  well  known  in  the 
Church  would  render  impossible  the  supposition 
that  all  the  events  recorded  took  place  in  a  single 
day. 

(ii. )  The  scene  or  locality  of  the  appearances. — 
More  serious  is  the  difficulty  which  confronts  us 
here.  St.  Paul  in  1  Co  15  makes  no  mention  of 
locality,  but  the  Gospel  accounts  are  divided  be- 
tween Galilee  and  Jerusalem.  Matthew  and  prob- 
ably Mark  (original  conclusion)  lay  the  stress  upon 
Galilee.  In  Mark  indeed  (in  the  genuine  portion) 
no  record  is  given  of  any  appearances,  but  the 
women  are  bidden  by  the  angel  at  the  tomb  to  say 
that  the  Risen  Lord  would  meet  the  disciples  in 
Galilee  (167).  The  same  message  of  the  angel  is 
given  even  more  emphatically  in  Mt  287 — '  Go 
quickly  and  tell' — and  (unless  vv.9'10  represent,  as 
P.  Rohrbach  maintains  [see  A.  B.  Bruce,  EGT, 
in  loc.],  the  same  fact  in  another  form)  repeated 
by  Jesus  Himself  when  He  appears  to  these  women 
on  their  way  to  execute  the  charge  of  the  angel 
(2810).  A  promise  to  the  same  effect  had  already 
been  given  by  Jesus  to  His  disciples  before  they 
left  the  upper  room  for  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane, 
and  is  recorded  by  both  Matthew  and  Mark  (Mt 
2632,  Mk  14*8). 

In  accordance  with  this  message  and  promise 
is  the  programme  of  appearances  given  in  the 
First  Gospel.  The  eleven  disciples  departed  into 
Galilee  (2816),  and  there  saw  Jesus,  and  there  also 
received  the  great  commission,  Go  and  make  dis- 
ciples of  all  nations.  No  record  is  given  of  any 
appearance  of  Jesus  to  the  apostles  in  or  near 
Jerusalem.  And  it  is  probable  that  the  original 
conclusion  of  Mark  carried  out  the  same  programme. 
Luke  and  John,  however,  confine  their  account  to 
appearances  in  Jerusalem  and  neighbourhood. 
Luke,  who  records  (in  ch.  24)  the  appearances  to 
the  two  on  the  way  to  Emmaus,  to  Peter,  and  to 
the  Eleven,  all  in  or  near  Jerusalem,  ends  his 
account  with  a  command  of  Jesus  to  the  disciples 
to  remain  in  Jerusalem  until  they  were  '  clothed 
with  power  from  on  high'  (v.49).  But  this  appears 
definitely  to  exclude  any  departure  into  Galilee, 
and  the  possibility  of  an  appearance  there.  In 
line  with  this  is  the  different  representation  of  the 
angelic  message  given  in  Luke  from  that  in  Matthew 
and  Mark.  The  Marcan  version,  '  He  goeth  before 
you  into  Galilee  :  there  shall  ye  see  him,  as  he 
said  unto  you'  (167),  becomes  in  Luke,  'Remember 
how  he  spake  unto  you  when  he  was  yet  in  Galilee, 
saying,'  etc.  (246f>).  That  is  to  say,  the  message 
as  given  by  Luke  becomes  not  a  direction  to  go 
into  Galilee,  but  a  reminder  that  Christ  spoke  to 
them  about  His  resurrection  when  He  was  yet  with 
them  in  Galilee.  In  like  manner,  all  the  appear- 
ances mentioned  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  except  that 
in  the  Appendix  (ch.  21)  are  placed  in  Jerusalem, 
and  the  author  indicates  that  the  disciples  remained 
at  least  a  week  in  Jerusalem  after  the  Resurrection 
(2026). 

What  are  we  to  make  of  this  discrepancy?  Are 
these  two  versions  or  traditions  to  be  regarded  as 
contradictory  and  'irreconcilable'  alternatives,  only 
one  of  which  can  be  received,  the  other  being  ruled 
out  as  unhistorical  ?  This  is  how,  e.g.,  Strauss 
and  Weizsacker  represent  the  case  (New  Life  of 
Jesus,  i.  435,  and  Apost.  Age2,  i.  2f.).  If  so,  the 
question  is,  Which  is  the  more  trustworthy  ?  The 
usual  course  among  critics  has  been  to  prefer  the 
tradition  in  Matthew  and  Mark  as  the  more  primary, 
and  to  confine  the  appearances  to  Galilee.  The 
appearances  to  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem  were,  it  is 
represented,  unknown  to  Matthew  and  Mark,  and 
form  a  later  addition  to  the  earliest  version  of  the 
Resurrection-story  which  spoke  only  of  Galilee. 

This  Galilaean  theory,  which  we  shall  go  on  to 


discuss,  is  generally  maintained  in  connexion  with 
a  naturalistic  visionary  theory  of  the  Resur- 
rection. The  advantage  of  it  for  this  purpose  is 
obvious.  By  separating  the  appearances  from  the 
events  of  the  third  day  and  transferring  them  to 
Galilee,  it  gives  more  time  for  visions  to  develop 
amid  scenes  coloured  by  memory  and  imagination. 
As  Strauss  puts  it,  '  If  the  transference  of  the 
appearances  to  Galilee  dis-engages  us  from  the 
third  day  as  the  period  of  the  commencement  of 
them,  the  longer  time  thus  gained  makes  the  re- 
action in  the  minds  of  the  disciples  more  conceivable ' 
( New  Life,  i.  437).  Support  for  this  Galilsean  theory 
has  been  sought  in  the  extra-canonical  Gospel  of 
Peter,  where  in  xiv.  58-60  the  disciples  are  repre- 
sented as  returning  to  Galilee  in  sorrow  and  there- 
fore without  knowledge  of  the  Resurrection.  The 
difficulties  of  this  theory  have  been  forcibly  pointed 
out  by  F.  Loofs  (Die  Auferstehungsberichte  und  ihr 
Wert,  Leipzig,  1898,  pp.  18-25),  who  slrows  that  it 
requires  an  impossible  misrepresentation  of  the 
facts.  To  place  the  first  appearance  of  our  Lord 
in  Galilee,  it  is  of  course  necessary  to  transfer  the 
apostles  from  Jerusalem.  But  this  has  no  historical 
basis  whatever.  The  words,  '  they  [the  disciples] 
all  forsook  him  and  fled'  (Mk  146"),  the  upholders 
of  this  theory  interpret  as  referring  to  a  flight  not 
from  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  but  direct  home 
to  Galilee. 

This  interpretation,  however,  is  refuted  by  the 
facts  recorded.  It  is,  as  J.  Weiss  calls  it,  '  a 
scientific  legend.'  The  oldest  tradition  expressly 
mentions  that  on  the  very  night  of  the  flight  Peter 
was  found  in  the  high  priest's  palace  (Mk  1454 ;  cf. 
Mt  265'8)  and  there  thrice  denied  his  Lord.  The 
message  sent  to  the  disciples  through  the  women 
on  Easter  Day,  according  to  the  earliest  Evan- 
gelist, was  this,  '  He  goeth  before  you  into  Galilee,' 
implying,  as  Loofs  points  out  (p.  19),  that  the  dis- 
ciples were  still  waiting  in  Jerusalem.  And  so 
John,  who  predicts  the  'scattering'  (1632),  yet 
gives  detailed  accounts  of  the  meetings  in  Jeru- 
salem. If  Mt  289'10  is  accepted  as  genuine,  the 
fact  that  the  Evangelist  records  the  appearance 
to  the  women  in  Jerusalem,  in  which  the  previous 
direction  of  the  angels  to  the  disciples  to  go  into 
Galilee  is  received  from  Jesus'  own  lips,  shows  that 
the  appointed  meeting  in  Galilee  was  not  held  to 
exclude  earlier  appearances. 

Further  (see  Chase,  Gospels,  p.  45),  to  argue  that 
the  silence  of  Matthew  (probably  following  his 
source  Mark)  as  to  any  appearance  to  the  apostles 
in  Jerusalem,  means  ignorance  of  the  fact,  and  that, 
therefore,  the  appearances  in  or  near  Jerusalem  are 
to  be  looked  upon  as  a  later  addition  to  the  earliest 
form  of  the  Resurrection-story,  which  spoke  only  of 
Galilee,  proves  too  much.  Even  as  regards  Galilee, 
Matthew  mentions  only  one  appearance  to  the 
apostles.  Are  we,  therefore,  to  conclude  that  he 
and  his  '  source '  were  unaware  of  any  other  appear- 
ance ?  We  know  from  St.  Paul  that  a  list  of 
appearances  was  handed  down  in  the  Apostolic 
Church  from  the  earliest  times,  and  that  this 
formed  part  of  the  catechetical  instruction  given 
in  the  churches.  The  facts  about  the  appearances, 
therefore,  would  be  familiar  to  his  readers,  and  just 
here  may  be  found  the  sufficient  explanation  of 
their  silence.  The  Evangelists  felt  at  liberty  to 
make  a  selection  of  the  facts,  each  from  his  own 
point  of  view. 

If  the  theory  which  would  confine  all  the  appear- 
ances to  Galilee  is  thus  unsuccessful  in  account- 
ing for  the  facts,  is  Loofs  any  more  successful  in 
transferring  all  the  appearances  to  Jerusalem,  as 
he  does  in  arguing  in  favour  of  the  tradition  repre- 
sented by  Luke  and  John  ?  To  carry  out  his 
theory,  Loofs  is  obliged  to  separate  Jn  21  from  the 
rest  of  the  Gospel,  treating  it  as  having  little  or 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     343 


no  connexion  with  it,  and  finding  in  it  a  combina- 
tion of  two  incidents,  one  of  which  (the  fishing 
scene  of  vv.1"14)  has  been  misplaced  (Lk  51'11),  while 
the  other  (the  dialogue  of  vv.18'23)  was  originally 
unconnected  with  Galilee.  On  this  Sanday  says  : 
'  These  are  strong  measures,  which,  however  high 
our  estimate  of  the  tradition,  Lk-Jn,  are  obvi- 
ously not  open  to  one  who  thinks  that  the  identity 
of  style  between  Jn  21  and  the  rest  of  the  Gospel 
is  too  great  to  permit  of  their  separation'  (HDB 
ii.  640h). 

The  attempt  to  treat  the  narratives  as  alter- 
natives and  to  confine  the  appearances  either  to 
Galilee  or  to  Jerusalem  being  thus  unsatisfactory, 
we  seem  compelled  to  combine  the  traditions  much 
as  they  are  combined  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  (with 
App. )  and  in  the  App.  to  Mark,  and  to  recognize 
appearances  both  in  Jerusalem  and  in  Galilee.  If 
Mt  28iMO  is  to  be  treated  as  a  later  addition,  the 
purpose  of  the  insertion  apparently,  as  Rohrbach 
suggests,  was  to  cancel  the  impression  otherwise 
produced  that  Jesus  was  seen  only  in  Galilee. 
This  is  supported  by  St.  Paul's  list  of  appearances 
in  1  Co  15,  which,  though  it  makes  no  mention  of 
place,  '  suggests  Galilee  for  the  scene  of  the  ap- 
pearance to  the  500  hardly  less  clearly  than  it 
suggests  Jerusalem  for  the  appearance  to  Peter 
and  the  Eleven.' 

We  cannot,  indeed,  fit  the  narratives  into  each 
other  so  as  to  leave  no  difficulties  or  contradictions 
unsolved.  As  regards  the  details  of  the  different 
traditions  it  would  seem  that  from  the  first  there 
was  a  certain  amount  of  confusion  which  was 
never  wholly  cleared  up.  But  these  difficulties 
with  regard  to  details  are  discounted  as  serious 
objections  when  we  remember — a  fundamental 
consideration  in  this  connexion — the  aim  of  the 
Evangelists  in  the  Gospels.  '  The  narratives  con- 
stitute not  primarily  a  history,  but  a  Gospel  of  the 
Resurrection  '  (Westcott).  They  were  written  not 
to  create  belief  in  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  in  the 
minds  of  men  to  whom  the  fact  was  unfamiliar, 
but  to  inform  more  fully  those  who  had  already 
received  the  general  tradition  of  the  Church,  and 
to  show  the  significance  of  the  fact,  both  for  Him 
and  for  them.  '  Believing  in  the  resurrection 
themselves,  and  writing  for  those  who  believed  in 
it,  they  [the  writers]  aimed  at  giving  such  an 
account  of  it  as  should  bring  out  its  permanent 
significance  for  the  Church '  (Denney,  Jesus  and  the 
Gospel,  p.  153).  With  this  in  view  each  writer 
selects  the  facts  which  he  considers  most  appro- 
priate to  his  object.  He  is  so  far  indifferent  to 
their  connexion  with  other  facts  which  he  is  not 
concerned  to  relate.  He  may  pass  over  a  great 
part  of  the  evidence,  or  he  may  mass  it  together 
in  a  generalized  statement ;  and,  while  he  will  not 
consciously  depart  from  historical  truthfulness,  he 
will  yet  so  handle  his  materials  that,  in  order 
to  estimate  them  aright,  we  must  keep  distinctly 
before  us  his  special  aim. 

The  ditt'erent  interests  or  points  of  view  of  the 
Evangelists  will  determine  the  perspective  in  which 
the  facts  are  viewed,  and  the  different  aspects  of 
the  facts  emphasized.  Matthew,  e.g.,  is  occupied 
throughout  his  Gospel  with  the  Galilsean  ministry 
of  Jesus  as  that  in  which  he  beheld  the  fulfilment 
of  Jewish  prophecy.  So  in  his  account  of  the 
appearances  he  concentrates  on  the  meeting  in 
Galilee  with  its  great  commission,  '  Go  ye  there- 
fore, and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations.'  To 
this  as  his  objective  he  hastens  on  without  pausing 
on  intermediate  events.  While  Matthew  concen- 
trates on  the  meeting  in  Galilee,  Luke  is  chiefly 
interested  in  the  appearances  in  Jerusalem  on  the 
Resurrection  day  as  leading  up  to  the  promise  of 
the  Spirit  and  the  Ascension  at  Bethany,  and 
ignores  the  appearances  in  Galilee.  '  We  do  the 


Evangelists  injustice,'  therefore,  'when  we  regard 
them  as  witnesses  in  a  court  of  law,  who  have  been 
appointed  to  prove  a  fact,  and  who  have  deliber- 
ately taken  it  in  hand  to  do  so'  (W.  Milligan,  The 
Resurrection  of  our  Lord,  p.  57).  Not  that  the 
narratives  are  not  evidence,  but  they  are  not  put 
forward  as  presenting  the  complete  evidence. 
There  is  not  the  least  ground  for  supposing  that 
the  Evangelists  told  us  all  they  knew,  nor  yet 
the  least  necessity  that  they  should  have  done  so. 
They  recorded  what  was  sufficient  for  their  pur- 
pose. To  bring  out  the  meaning  or  significance 
of  the  appearances  to  the  disciples,  they  may  have 
condensed  into  a  single  representative  or  typical 
scene  what  they  knew  to  be  different  appearances. 

Thus  we  find  that  even  so  conservative  a  critic 
as  Denney  counts  it  '  not  in  the  least  improbable 
.  .  .  that  in  the  great  appearing  of  Jesus  to  the 
eleven  recorded  in  all  the  gospels  (Mt  2816'2u,  Mk 
1614'18,  Lk  2438-49,  Jn  2019'23)  we  have  not  the  literal 
record  of  what  took  place  on  a  single  occasion,  but 
the  condensation  into  a  representative  scene  of 
all  that  the  appearances  of  Jesus  to  His  disciples 
meant.  .  .  .  And  if  Jesus  nevertheless  had  in 
point  of  fact  appeared  in  different  places,  we  can 
understand  how  one  evangelist  should  put  this 
typical  scene  in  Galilee  and  another  in  Jerusalem. 
When  we  see  what  is  being  done  we  should  rather 
say  that  both  are  right  than  that  either  is  wrong' 
(Jesus  and  the  Gospel,  p.  155  f.).  The  main  thing 
in  all  the  narratives  is  not  the  details  of  time  or 
place  or  circumstances — in  regard  to  these  a  certain 
confusion  may  remain  through  unassimilated  and 
unharmonized  traditions — but  the  fact  of  the  ap- 
pearing of  the  Risen  Christ  to  His  disciples, 
together  with  the  significance  of  the  fact.  And 
to  establish  this,  to  justify  and  sustain  the  faith 
that  Jesus  is  risen  from  the  dead,  the  narratives, 
though  fragmentary  and  in  no  case  presenting 
an  orderly  statement  of  the  whole  facts,  supply 
sufficient  evidence.  So  that  Sanday,  while  recog- 
nizing to  the  full  the  difficulties  in  the  narratives, 
yet  maintains  that  '  no  difficulty  of  weaving  the 
separate  incidents  into  an  orderly  well-compacted 
narrative  can  impugn  the  unanimous  belief  of  the 
Church  which  lies  behind  them,  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  rose  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day 
and  appeared  to  the  disciples'  (art.  'Jesus  Christ' 
in  HDB  ii.  641a). 

This  enables  us  also  to  answer  the  other  objec- 
tion brought  against  the  apostolic  narratives — that 
the  appearances  recorded  were  only  to  the  circle 
of  His  disciples,  to  'interested  parties,'  and,  there- 
fore, that  the  evidence  presented  is  not  of  a  kind 
to  satisfy  the  demands  of  scientific  historical  in- 
quiry. This  objection,  urged,  as  we  have  seen 
above,  by  Strauss  and  Renan,  is  one  which  occurs 
already  in  Celsus'  criticism  of  Christianity  written 
about  the  end  of  the  2nd  century.  '  After  these 
points,'  says  Origen,  taking  up  Celsus'  objections 
one  by  one,  '  Celsus  proceeds  to  bring  against  the 
Gospel  narratives  a  charge  which  is  not  to  be 
lightly  passed  over,  viz.  that  if  Jesus  desired  to 
convince  men  that  He  was  really  divine  He  ought 
to  have  appeared  to  those  who  had  ill-treated  Him, 
and  to  him  who  had  condemned  Him,  and  to  men 
generally  (SXws  irS.<ni>) '  (c.  Cels.  ii.  63).  The  fact  to 
which  this  criticism  refers  is,  it  should  be  noted, 
explicitly  acknowledged  by  the  apostles.  '  Him,' 
says  Peter,  '  God  raised  on  the  third  day,  and 
allowed  him  to  be  seen  not  by  all  the  People  but 
by  witnesses  whom  God  had  previously  selected, 
by  us  who  ate  and  drank  with  nim  after  his  resur- 
rection from  the  dead'  (Ac  lO40'-  [Moffatt]). 

The  evidence  was  designed  not  to  satisfy  '  scien- 
tific experts,'  but  to  evoke  and  support  belief  in  the 
Resurrection  on  the  part  of  those  '  whom  God  had 
previously  selected '  that  they  might  be  '  witnesses ' 


344     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


to  others.  If  the  fact  to  be  testified  to  were  the 
manner  of  the  Resurrection  and  the  exact  sequence 
of  the  physical  changes  that  accompanied  it,  sup- 
posing this  capable  of  description  in  scientific  terms, 
tlien,  no  doubt,  the  disciples  were  not  qualified 
witnesses.  They  were  born  1900  years  too  soon 
for  this.  But  '  if  the  essential  truth  to  be  con- 
veyed was  the  personal  identity  of  Him  who  died 
and  was  buried  with  Him  who  was  raised  and 
appeared,  what  evidence  is  to  be  compared  with 
that  of  intimate  personal  friends?'  (Cambridge 
Theol.  Essays,  p.  323).  To  impugn  their  witness 
as  not  impartial  is  to  forget  what  the  narratives 
uniformly  testify,  that  so  far  from  being  predis- 
posed to  believe  in  the  fact,  their  predisposition 
was  all  the  other  way. 

There  are  two  other  considerations  which  may 
be  brought  forward  in  support  of  the  restriction 
of  the  appearances  of  the  Risen  Christ  to  His 
disciples,  (i. )  This  limitation  or  restriction  is  in 
keeping  with  Christ's  manifestations  during  His 
earthly  life.  To  appear  to  outsiders,  to  His  op- 
ponents or  enemies  or  men  generally,  in  order  to 
convince  them  of  His  resurrection  and  thus  turn 
them  to  belief  in  Him,  would  have  been  contrary 
to  the  principle  whereby  He  consistently  refused 
to  present  miraculous  proofs  in  order  to  force  un- 
willing belief.  When  on  one  occasion  the  Pharisees 
asked  Him  to  give  them  a  sign  which  should  re- 
move their  unbelief,  we  read  that  '  He  sighed 
deeply  in  his  spirit,  and  said,  Why  dotli  this 
generation  seek  a  sign  ?  verily  I  say  unto  you, 
There  shall  no  sign  be  given  unto  this  generation  ' 
(Mk  81-).  Faith  induced  by  such  signs  was  not  of 
the  proper  quality  (cf.  Lk  1631).  This  is  not  the 
kind  of  evidence  that  convinces.  True  faith  is 
morally  and  spiritually  conditioned.  The  principle 
which  governed  the  action  of  Jesus  on  earth  in 
His  manifestation  of  Himself  still  determined  the 
action  of  the  Risen  Christ.  '  Why  is  it  that  you 
are  to  appear  to  us  and  not  to  the  world  ?  ...  If 
any  one  loves  me  .  .  .  we  will  come  to  him '  ( Jn 
1422f>).  (ii. )  Especially  is  this  the  case  when  we  re- 
member that  the  purpose  of  the  appearances  was 
not  merely  to  convince  of  identity  but  to  reveal 
a  new  order  of  life.  If  the  Resurrection  were 
simply  a  return  to  life  under  normal  conditions, 
the  mere  survival  of  death,  the  objection  urged 
might  have  more  weight.  Outsiders,  'men  gener- 
ally,' can  tell  whether  a  man  who  is  dead  at  one 
moment  has  returned  the  next  to  a  normal  human 
life.  But  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  was  a  rising  to 
life  under  new  and  more  spiritual  conditions,  the 
revelation  of  a  new  kind  of  life,  and  because  of 
this  it  could  appeal  only  to  those  who  were  capable 
of  receiving  such  truth.  Such  a  revelation  could 
be  received,  its  significance  could  be  appreciated, 
only  by  those  of  spiritual  receptiveness,  who  had 
the  faculties  to  discern  the  possibilities  of  a  new 
life  in  Him.  Only  they  were  competent  witnesses. 

Here  we  .are  in  a  realm  where  the  scientific  expert 
is  not  the  expert  in  the  case.  There  are  those  who 
go  the  length  of  maintaining  that  the  Resurrection- 
Body  of  Jesus  was  in  its  very  nature  such  as  re- 
quired a  spiritual  susceptibility  to  discern,  making 
it  impossible  for  the  outward  senses  alone  to  re- 
cognize its  existence.  Westcott,  e.g.,  says,  'If  it 
[the  Resurrection]  was  a  foreshadowing  of  new 
powers  of  human  action,  of  a  new  mode  of  human 
being,  then  without  a  corresponding  power  of 
spiritual  discernment  there  could  be  no  testimony 
to  its  truth.  The  world  could  not  see  Christ,  and 
Christ  could  not — there  is  a  Divine  impossibility — 
sliew  Himself  to  the  world'  (Revelation  of  the 
Risen  Lord,  p.  11  ;  cf.  The  Gospel  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion, p.  162  f . ,  '  Human  sense  alone  was  not  capable 
of  discerning  WTho  He  was').  But  even  if  such 
a  manifestation  could  have  been  made  it  would 


have  been  valueless  for  the  purpose  in  view  in  the 
manifestations.  '  Even  if  the  world  could  have 
visibly  recognised  the  identity  of  the  risen  with 
the  earthly  Jesus,  yet  it  could  have  had  no  per- 
ception of  what  His  risen  life  meant,  seeing  that 
the  transformation  in  Him,  which  was  quite  as 
real  and  essential  as  the  identity,  required  spiritual 
receptivity  for  the  discernment  of  its  significance' 
(Forrest,  The  Christ  of  History  and  of  Experience', 
p.  156  n.). 

LITERATURE. — B.  F.  Westcott,  Gospel  of  the  Resurrection*, 
London,  1888,  ch.  i.,  Revelation  of  the  Risen  Lord-,  do.,  1882; 
W.  Milligan,  Resurrection  of  our  Lord,  do.,  1881,  iect.  ii.  ; 
W.  Sanday,  Outlines  of  the  Life  of  Christ^,  Edinburgh,  1906, 
art.  '  Jesus  Christ,'  H DB  ii.  638-«42  ;  R.  J.  Knowlingr,  Witness 
of  the  Epistles,  London,  1892,  Testimony  of  St.  Paul  to  Christ, 
do.,  1905;  A.  C.  McGiffert,  A  History  of  Christianity  in  the 
Apostolic  Age,  Edinburgh,  1897,  pp.  39-44,  55  f.  ;  F.  Loofs,  Die 
Auferstehungsberichte  und  ihr  Wert,  Leipzig,  1898;  E.  von 
Dobschutz,  Ostern  und  Pjingsten,  do.,  1903;  P.  W.  Schmiedel, 
'  Resurrection-  and  Ascension-Narratives'  in  EBi  iv.  4039-4087, 
'The  Evidence  for  the  Resurrection  of  Christ'  in  CQR  Ixi. 
[1906]  323 ff.  ;  K.  Lake,  The  Historical  Evidence  for  the 
Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  London,  1907  ;  H.  B.  Swete,  The 
Appearances  of  our  Lord  after  the  Passion,  do.,  1907 ;  J. 
Denney,  Jesus  and  the  Gospel,  do.,  1908,  pp.  107-159 ;  J.  M. 
Thompson,  Miracles  in  the  New  Testament,  do.,  1911,  pp. 
161-205 ;  F.  H.  Chase,  The  Gospels  in  the  Light  of  Historical 
Criticism,  do.,  1914,  p.  39  ff. ;  T.  J.  Thorburn,  The  Resurrection 
Narratives  and  Modern  Criticism,  do.,  1910  (a  criticism  of 
Schmiedel's  art.  in  EBi);  W.  P.  Armstrong,  'The  Place  of 
the  Resurrection  Appearances  of  Jesus '  in  Biblical  and  Theo- 
logical Studi.es  (Princeton),  New  York,  1912,  p.  307  ff. ;  W.  J. 
Sparrow  Simpson,  The  Resurrection  and  Modern  Thought, 
London,  1911,  hks.  i.  and  ii.  ;  R.  H.  Hutton,  Theological 
Essays*,  do.,  1895,  Essay  vi.  '  Christian  Evidences,  Popular  and 
Critical,'  and  Essay  viii.  'The  Incarnation  and  Principles  of 
Evidence.' 

III.  THE     APOSTOLIC     WITNESS     TO     THE 

NATURE  OF  CHRIST'S  RESURRECTION -BODY.— 
That  the  grave  was  found  empty  on  the  third  day, 
that  on  the  same  day  He  appeared  to  His  disciples, 
and  that  these  appearances,  succeeding  upon  the 
empty  grave,  had  already  given  rise  on  the  third 
day  to  a  belief  in  the  Resurrection,  are  facts 
historically  well  attested  by  the  Gospel  narratives 
and  corroborated  by  St.  Paul's  account.  But 
there  is  more  than  this.  The  appearances  of  the 
Risen  Christ  were,  according  to  the  apostolic 
witness,  not  mere  appearances  and  nothing  more  ; 
they  were  in  the  nature  of  interviews,  sometimes 
for  a  considerable  length  of  time,  between  Him 
and  His  disciples.  '  There  is  no  such  thing  in  the 
New  Testament  as  an  appearance  of  the  Risen 
Saviour  in  which  He  merely  appears.  He  is 
always  represented  as  entering  into  relation  to 
those  who  see  Him  in  other  ways  than  by  a  fiasli 
upon  the  inner  or  the  outer  eye  :  He  establishes 
other  communications  between  Himself  and  His 
own  than  that  which  can  be  characterised  in  this 
way'  (Denney,  Death  of  Christ,  London,  1902, 
p.  67).  And  the  apostolic  narratives  bear  witness 
to  a  certain  view  of  the  nature  or  mode  of  exist- 
ence of  the  Risen  Christ. 

i.  THE  WITNESS  OF  THE  EVANGELISTS. — In  the 
picture  given  in  the  Gospel  narratives  we  have 
a  noteworthy  combination  of  seemingly  opposite 
qualities  in  the  Risen  Christ's  mode  of  existence. 

(a)  On  the  one  hand,  Christ  seemed  to  have  re- 
sumed the  form  of  bodily  existence  maintained 
while  on  earth.  His  mode  of  existence  was  not 
phantasmal  or  apparitional  like  a  ghost,  but  em- 
bodied. He  appeared  in  a  body  possessing  attri- 
butes and  functions  which  attested  its  physical 
reality  and  identity  (or  continuity)  with  the  former 
earthly  body. 

(1)   He  could   be   seen,  touched,   handled,  as  a 

Surely  spiritual  existence  could  not  (Lk  2431"-, 
n  2(J2").  Indeed  we  are  told  that  He  offered 
Himself  to  their  touch  and  handling  to  convince 
the  disciples  of  His  bodily  existence  :  '  Feel  me  and 
see ;  a  ghost  has  not  flesh  and  bones  as  you  see 
I  have'  (Lk  2438  [Mottatt] ;  cf.  Jn  2020).  Or,  as 
another  report  has  it,  coming  either  from  the 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     345 


Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews  or  from  the 
Doctrine  of  Peter  :  '  Take  handle  me  and  see  that 
I  am  not  a  bodiless  spirit '  ( Ignatius,  Smyrn.  3,  XcfySere, 
\j/rj<t>a\riffa.Tt  tie,  /cat  Idere  Sri  owe  flfj.1  8a.ift.6vi.ov  dcrw/xarov). 
On  '  flesh  and  bones '  Westcott  says  :  '  The  signifi- 
cant variation  from  the  common  formula  "flesh 
and  blood  "  must  have  been  at  once  intelligible  to 
Jews,  accustomed  to  the  provisions  of  the  Mosaic 
ritual,  and  nothing  would  have  impressed  upon 
them  more  forcibly  the  transfiguration  of  Christ's 
Body  than  the  verbal  omission  of  the  element  of 
blood  which  was  for  them  the  symbol  and  seat 
of  corruptible  life'  (Gospel  of  the  Resurrection,  p. 
162n.).  We  are  not  told  that  the  disciples  availed 
themselves  of  the  test  at  Jesus'  invitation.  But 
in  Mt  289  we  read,  '  They  [the  women]  took  hold 
of  his  feet  and  worshipped  him.'  If  the  disciples 
did  not  actually  touch  Him  it  was,  it  would  seem, 
because  '  they  were  so  convinced,  by  sight,  of  His 
reality,  that  they  abstained  out  of  reverence  from 
subjecting  Him  to  the  further  test '  (Forrest,  The 
Christ  of  Hist,  and  of  Exper."1,  p.  148  n.). 

The  body  was  apparently  capable  also  of  par- 
taking of  food,  for  we  are  told  that  as  they  were 
still  incredulous  and  'wondered,'  He  took  a  piece 
of  a  broiled  fish  which  remained  from  the  evening 
meal  and  ate  before  them  (Lk  2441'43 ;  the  words 
'  and  of  a  honeycomb '  are  omitted  by  the  best  MSS). 
This  touch  in  the  incident,  which  is  mentioned  only 
by  Luke,  has  been  called  in  question  by  Loofs  and 
others  as  '  secondary '  and  '  representing  the  more 
realistic  shape  which  the  legend  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion ultimately  took.'  Even  Denney  shares  this 
doubt :  '  There  does  seem  something  which  is  not 
only  incongruous  but  repellent  in  the  idea  of 
the  Risen  Lord  eating,'  and  he  finds  in  it  one  illus- 
tration of  Luke's  '  tendency  to  materialise  the 
spiritual '  (Jesus  and  the  Gospel,  p.  146).  In  support 
of  this  it  has  been  noted  that  in  the  case  of  the 
meal  with  the  two  disciples  at  Emmaus  (Lk  2430), 
and  in  the  later  scene  of  the  seven  beside  the  Lake 
recorded  in  Jn  214'18,  it  is  not  said  in  either  case 
that  Jesus  Himself  partook  of  the  bread  which  He 
distributed  to  others  with  His  own  hand.  If  we 
retain  this  touch,  we  must  say  with  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  '  He  did  not  eat  for  the  sake  of  His 
body,  but  for  their  sakes  with  whom  He  conversed,' 
to  convince  them  that  they  were  not  seeing  a 
ghost.  '  If  there  be  resurrection  of  the  body,  there 
is  no  reason  why  such  a  body  should  not  have  the 
power  of  taking  food  without  depending  on  it' 
(E.  R.  Bernard,  HDB  iv.  234a).  But  even  if  we 
eliminate  this  detail  in  the  picture,  which  ad- 
mittedly is  the  least  certain  element  in  it,  the 
picture  in  its  essentials  is  not  appreciably  altered. 
The  Risen  Christ's  mode  of  existence  was  such 
that  human  eyes  could  see  and  human  hands  could 
touch  and  feel  Him. 

(2)  Further,  the  body  in  which  He  appeared  was 
a  body  identical  (or  continuous)  with  the  body 
which  He  had  on  earth,  and  which  had  suffered  on 
the  Cross  and  been  laid  in  the  tomb.  Apart  from 
the  fact  that  the  grave  in  which  the  body  of  Jesus 
had  been  laid  on  the  Friday  evening  was  found 
empty  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day,  identity 
(or  continuity)  was  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the 
Risen  Body  bore  the  marks  of  the  Passion,  the 
print  of  the  nails  in  the  hands,  and  the  spear-mark 
in  the  side  (Lk  24a9f-,  Jn  2027). 

Lk  2440,  (tat  TOUTO  e'nruiv  eSeifei'  airTots  ras  \tipa*  KO.I  TOV« 
woSas,  is  called  in  question  as  omitted  in  some  authorities,  but 
Jn  2020,  where  probably  the  same  appearance  is  described 
though  there  is  a  seeming  discrepancy  in  the  number  of  disciples 
present,  is  undoubted.  See  Plummer,  ICC,  '  St.  Luke  '2,  Edin- 
burgh, 1898,  in  loc. 

The  identity,  it  would  seem,  extended  still  further. 
Mary  recognized  Him  by  the  familiar  tone  of  the 
voice  (Jn  2016)  and  the  two  disciples  by  the  familiar 
gesture  in  the  breaking  of  bread  (Lk  2431). 


(b)  On  the  other  hand,  the  body  if  the  same  was 
yet  somehow  not  the  same.  It  had  undergone 
some  marvellous  change.  If  there  was  identity, 
there  was  yet  contrast.  The  Risen  Body  had 
mysterious  peculiarities  which  distinguished  it 
from  the  natural  earthly  body.  Indeed,  so  promi- 
nent were  these  distinguishing  peculiarities  that 
the  Risen  Lord  is  uniformly  represented  in  the 
narratives  as  with  difficulty  persuading  the  disciples 
of  the  identity  of  the  two.  Chief  of  these  peculi- 
arities are — 

(1)  The  transcendence  of  the  ordinary  laws  of 
material  or  physical  existence.  —  Matter  was  no 
longer  an  obstacle.     The  Risen  Christ  could  pass 
through  a  closed  sepulchre  (apparently  implied  by 
Mt  28^)  and  through  shut  doors  (Lk  24s8,  Jn  2019-26). 
Distance  could   not    delay   His   movements ;    He 
could  be  present  in  different  and  distant  places  at 
short  intervals  (Lk  2415-  **).     Suddenly  He  appears 
without  apparent  physical  locomotion   (Lk  24s6, 
Jn  2019- 26,  '  Jesus  stood  [ftrrij]  in  the  midst ').     As 
suddenly  He  disappears  (Lk  243),  '  He  vanished 
from  their  sight,'  AQavros  tytvero  O.TT  O.ITUV — a  dis- 
appearance, not  a  local  withdrawal).     Here  appar- 
ently is  an  emerging  from  and  a  withdrawal  into 
complete  invisibility  at  will.     And   then,  finally, 
as  illustrating  this  transcendence  of  the  ordinary 
laws  of  material  existence,  we  are  told  He  ascended 
from  earth  to  heaven   in   visible  form   (Lk  2451, 
Ac  I9  ;  cf.  Mk  1619). 

The  words  icai  avefepfro  fisTovavpavovm  Lk  2451  and  all  v.19  in 
Mk  16  are  regarded  as  doubtful  by  textual  criticism,  and,  even 
if  they  be  accepted,  it  has  been  contended  that  they  do  not  of 
themselves  implv  a  visible  ascent  (see  E.  P.  Gould  in  ICC,  'St. 
Mark,'  Edinburgh,  1896,  p.  309).  But  such  a  visible  ascent  is 
directly  stated  in  Luke's  second  treatise,  Ac  I9f-,  and  the 
subsequent  joy  of  the  disciples  (Lk  245-f-)  distinctly  points  to 
some  such  visible  representation  of  His  final  triumph  over  death 
(of.  Forrest,  The  Christ  of  Hist,  and  ofExper.'',  p.  413). 

(2)  Difficulty  of  recognition  from  mere  outward 
appearances. — So  great  was  the  change   that,  it 
would  seem,  the  mere  external  form  and  features 
failed  to  disclose  who  He  was,  even  to  those  with 
whom  He  had  had  familiar  intercourse  on  earth. 
Mary  Magdalene  mistook  Him  for  the  gardener, 
until  He  called  her  by  her  name  (Jn  2014'16).     The 
two  men  on  the  way  to  Emmaus  not  only  walked 
but  conversed  with  Him  for  a  considerable  length 
of  time,  yet  did  not  know  who  He  was  till  He  was 
made  known  to  them  in  the   breaking   of   bread 
(Lk  2430-3*).     When  He  stood  in  the  midst  of  the 
assembled  disciples  He  seemed  so  strange  to  them 
that  they  '  imagined  it  was  a  ghost  they  saw '  and 
they  were  '  scared  and  terrified  '  till  '  he  showed 
them  his  hands  and  feet'  (Lk  24s7-40  [Moffatt] ;  cf. 
Jn  2020,  'his  hands  and  his  side').     And  again,  at 
the  Sea  of  Tiberias,   when    Jesus  stood   on  the 
beach,    the    disciples    (among    whom    were    four 
apostles)  failed  to  recognize  Him  (Jn  214). 

This  is  the  more  striking  when  we  consider 
(i.)  that  the  appearances  were  not  momentary 
glimpses,  but,  at  least  in  several  of  the  cases,  pro- 
longed interviews;  and  (ii.)  that  even  when  He 
appeared  to  the  same  people  a  second  or  third  time 
they  were  still  at  first  perplexed  and  had  their 
doubts  as  to  His  identity.  What  was  the  cause  of 
this  non-recognition  ?  It  may  be  that  the  failure 
of  Mary  Magdalene  to  recognize  Jesus  at  the 
beginning  was  due,  as  some  maintain,  to  her  eyes 
being  dimmed  with  tears,  and  her  mind  bewildered 
and  perplexed — this,  combined  with  the  dimness 
of  the  early  morning  light.  It  may  be  that  the 
two  disciples  on  the  way  to  Emmaus  failed  to 
recognize  Him  because  of  mental  preoccupation 
with  their  grief,  and  absorption  in  their  puzzled 
discussion  of  the  story  told  by  the  women.  '  Their 
e}'es  were  holden  (^Kparowro,  overpowered,  spell- 
bound) that  they  should  not  know  him  (rov  /J.TJ 
eiriyvuvat  avrdv),'  says  Luke  in  explanation  (2418). 


346     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


These  words  need  not  be  taken  to  imply  any  special 
supernatural  action  on  their  senses  on  the  part  of 
the  Risen  Christ,  '"who  would  not  be  seen  by 
them  till  the  time  when  He  saw  tit "  '  (see  Plummer, 
ICC,  in  loc.).  Tiiey  may  mean  simply  that  they 
did  not  know  Him  ;  that,  through  some  conditions 
on  their  side,  they  failed  to  recognize  Him  (cf. 
Moffatt's  translation,  '  t&fey  were  prevented  from 
recognizing  him').  It  has  to  be  remembered  that 
in  this  case  neither  of  the  two,  so  far  as  we  know, 
belonged  to  the  company  of  the  apostles,  and  so 
they  may  never  before  have  come  into  close 
quarters  with  the  Master,  so  that  their  failure  to 
recognize  Him  was  not  surprising  (cf.  Swete, 
Appearances,  p.  23).  Once  more,  in  the  incident 
at  the  Lake  of  Tiberias  the  words  of  the  Evangelist, 
'  when  early  morn  was  now  arrived,  or  arriving ' 
(irpuias  5£  ijdri  yevo^vi]^,  other MSS  yivofdvrjs),  suggest 
that  the  disciples  may  have  been  hindered  from 
recognizing  Jesus  on  the  shore  by  the  dimness  of 
the  dawning  morning  light.  These  and  such  like 
conditions  may  have  contributed  to  the  effect. 
Their  mental  condition  in  particular  has  to  be 
taken  into  account  as  an  operating  factor  in  the 
case.  It  is  altogether  probable  that  their  surprise 
and  bewilderment,  combined  with  their  hopeless 
grief,  made  them  less  capable  of  exact  observation 
than  in  ordinary  circumstances.  Yet  the  narra- 
tives convey  the  impression  that  there  was  some- 
thing more  in  the  case  than  this ;  that  some 
mysterious  change  had  occurred  in  Jesus'  outward 
appearance  which  at  least  assisted  non-recognition 
and  excited  awe  in  the  beholders  (Lk  24s7) ;  that 
some  change  in  bodily  appearance  had  taken  place 
corresponding  to  the  mysterious  change  already 
referred  to  in  Christ's  relation  to  ordinary  physical 
laws. 

'  He  appeared  to  them  in  another  form '  (tv  trtpq. 
li.op<f>T)),  says  the  Mk.  App.  of  the  manifestation  to 
the  two  on  the  way  to  Emmaus.  That  the  words 
mean  only  that  to  the  two  on  the  way  to  Emmaus 
He  presented  a  different  appearance  from  that  to 
Mary  Magdalene  (possibly,  as  Alford  suggests, 
through  His  dress  being  changed,  giving  the  im- 
pression not  now  of  a  gardener  or  labourer  at  work, 
but  rather  of  a  traveller  with  his  loins  girt,  shoes 
on  feet,  and  staff  in  hand)  is  altogether  improbable. 
The  natural  interpretation  of  the  words  is  that  He 
appeared  in  a  different  form  from  that  He  had  on 
earth,  that  some  change  had  come  over  Him  so 
that  He  did  not  look  the  same  as  when  He  was 
with  them  before  the  Passion  ('  /j.op<pri  always 
signifies  a  form  which  truly  and  fully  expresses 
the  being  which  underlies  it '  [H.  A.  A.  Kennedy, 
in  EGT,  London,  1903,  on  Ph  2"]). 

This  is  supported  by  the  cumulative  evidence  of 
the  narratives,  the  uniform  testimony  of  which  is 
that,  while  the  same,  some  mysterious  change  had 
come  over  His  whole  mode  of  existence.  It  is  a 
change  which  attaches  to  all  that  we  read  in  the 
Gospels  of  the  appearances  of  Jesus.  It  was  not 
only,  as  we  have  seen,  that  His  risen  body  Avas  no 
longer  subject  to  ordinary  physical  laws,  but  the 
manner  of  His  intercourse  with  His  disciples  after 
His  resurrection  was  altogether  changed.  His 
appearances  were  occasional.  He  appeared  only 
when  He  willed  to  appear.  There  is  a  strange 
aloofness  and  reserve  about  His  attitude  to  them. 
He  is  no  longer  their  companion  as  He  used  to  be  ; 
He  speaks  of  the  time  '  when  I  was  yet  with  you  ' 
(Lk  24").  Though  He  invites  them  to  feel  Him 
and  see  that  they  may  be  thus  convinced  that  He 
was  no  phantasm  or  apparition,  but  indeed  the 
Risen  Jesus,  He  forbids  Mary  Magdalene  to  '  keep 
clinging  to  him'  (Jn  2017,  ^  /toy  S.TTTOV)  so  as  to 
hold  Him  in  possession.  The  prohibition  of  Jesus 
meant  that  the  old  earthly  intercourse  and  rela- 
tions with  His  disciples  which  Mary  wished  to 


resume  could  not  be  restored,  that  they  were  for 
ever  past,  and  that  their  place  was  to  be  taken  by 
a  new  and  higher  kind  of  fellowship,  to  be  realized 
only  when  He  had  completed  His  earthly  self- 
manifestation,  and  had  '  ascended  unto  the  Father  ' 


(Jn  2017,  oijiru  yap  ava^^Ka.).  For  the  present  He  is, 
in  His  intercourse  with  them,  hovering  between 
the  old  and  the  new  in  a  transitional  condition, 
combining  the  seemingly  opposite  qualities  of  the 
material  and  spiritual,  embodied  in  another  form. 

This  combination  of  two  opposite  sets  of  char- 
acteristics in  the  appearances  of  the  Risen  Christ 
Weizsacker  (Apost.  Age2,  i.  9-11)  makes  the 
basis  of  criticism  of  the  credibility  of  the  Gospel 
accounts.  They  represent,  he  says,  two  different 
layers  of  tradition.  The  appearances  were  in 
their  earliest  form  purely  spiritual  or  visional  ; 
but,  as  time  went  on,  the  craving  for  external 
and  palpable  signs,  combined  with  popular  realistic 
ideas  of  a  carnal  Resurrection,  led  to  a  gradual 
materializing  of  the  visions,  and  an  endowing  of 
the  visional  with  physical  attributes,  thus  over- 
laying history  with  legend.  So  Harnack  and 
others  hold  that  the  idea  of  a  bodily  Resurrection 
was  a  form  subsequently  imposed  on  a  more 
primary  spiritual  belief  in  the  Lord's  continued 
life.  This  overlaying  of  the  Gospel  representations 
by  popular  realistic  conceptions  was  a  process 
which  history  shows  speedily  manifested  itself  in 
the  early  Church.  But  the  combination  of  con- 
trasted traits  —  the  '  dual  quality  '  or  double  aspect 
of  His  appearances  —  is  of  the  very  essence  of  the 
Gospel  accounts  throughout,  present  in  what 
"W  eizsacker  terms  the  earlier  layers  of  the  tradi- 
tion as  really  as  in  the  later.  And  if  the  Resurrec- 
tion be  what  it  is  uniformly  represented  in  the 
narratives  as  being  —  not  the  simple  reanimation  of 
His  mortal  body  which  Harnack  speaks  of  (Hist. 
of  Dogma,  i.  85  n.),  a  resuscitation  and  restoration 
to  the  former  conditions  of  existence,  but  the 
entrance  on  a  new  order  of  life,  then  the  combina- 
tion in  the  Gospel  accounts  of  the  appearances  of 
apparently  inconsistent  aspects,  so  far  from  casting 
doubt  on  these  accounts,  is  a  strong  evidence  of 
their  historical  trustworthiness. 

For  such  a  conception  of  the  mode  of  existence 
of  the  Risen  Christ  the  disciples  had  absolutely  no 
precedent.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  to  them,  as  the 
records  show,  a  most  novel  and  strange  idea  for 
which  they  were  unprepared,  and  which  with  diffi- 
culty they  were  persuaded  to  receive.  It  was 
opposed  to  both  Jewish  and  Greek  ideas  on  the 
subject.  The  Resurrection  as  it  actually  took  place 
'  would  be  quite  foreign  to  Jewish  ideas,  which 
embraced  the  continuance  of  the  soul  after  death 
and  the  final  resurrection  of  the  body,  but  not  a 
state  of  spiritual  corporeity,  far  less,  under  condi- 
tions such  as  those  described  in  the  Gospels' 
(Edersheim,  LT*  ii.  624).  About  the  current 
Jewish  conception  of  the  Resurrection-Body  there 
was  little  that  was  spiritual.  '  The  future  body, 
as  to  material  and  organisation,  was  conceived  as 
essentially  of  the  same  quality  as  the  present  ' 
(F.  W.  Weber,  Lehren  des  Talmud,  Leipzig,  1880, 
p.  353,  quoted  by  Kennedy,  St.  Paul's  Conceptions 
of  the  Last  Things,  p.  227).  In  Apoc.  Bar.  (e.g. 

I.  2)  it  is  stated  that  the  bodies  of  the  dead  shall 
be  raised  exactly  as  they  were  when  committed  to 
the  ground.    After  this  has  been  done  for  purposes 
of  recognition  by  friends,  a  glorious  change  will 
take  place  :    '  they   shall  be  made  like  unto  the 
angels,  and  be  made  equal  to  the  stars,  and  they 
shall  be  changed  into  every  form  they  desire  from 
beauty  into  loveliness,  and  from   light  into   the 
splendour  of  glory'  (li.  10  ;  cf.  the  more  spiritual 
ideas  prominent  in  Enoch,  e.g.  1.  4,  civ.  4,  6,  cviii. 

II,  etc.).      The  changed   body  is  still,    however, 
described  largely  in  sensuous  physical  terms,  while 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     347 


here,  in  the  case  of  the  Risen  Christ,  was  a  body  so 
spiritualized  that  they  thought  it  was  a  spirit. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Alexandrian  Greek  concep- 
tion was  that  of  emancipation  from  the  body  and 
continued  existence  as  pure  spirit.  But,  besides 
the  fact  that  the  tomb  was  empty,  here  was  a  body 
which  could  be  not  only  seen  but  touched  and 
felt,  and  presented  evident  marks  of  identity  with 
the  body  of  earth.  '  Feel  me  and  see,  a  spirit  hath 
not  flesh  and  bones.'  The  marvel  of  the  records  is 
the  perfect  simplicity,  the  perfect  naturalness  with 
which  the  two  sets  of  characteristics  are  combined 
in  the  same  narratives,  '  as  if  those  who  put  the 
facts  together  were  conscious  of  no  difficulty  in  the 
apparent  contradiction '  (Westcott,  Gospel  of  the 
Resurrection,  p.  ix).  If  we  take  one  series  of 
events,  the  Resurrection  might  appear  to  have  been 
a  mere  coming  back  to  life  ;  if  we  take  another,  it 
might  appear  to  be  purely  spiritual  or  spiritual- 
istic. But  the  records  combine  both,  and  thus 
differentiate  the  apostolic  representation  of  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  from  the  two  current  concep- 
tions— from  the  sensuous  conception  of  it  held  by 
the  Pharisees,  and  from  the  spiritualistic  concep- 
tion of  the  Alexandrian  or  Greek  philosophers. 

Such  a  representation  had  no  precedent,  and  can 
be  explained  only  by  the  new  revelation  conveyed 
to  the  disciples  through  the  appearances  and  inter- 
course of  the  Risen  Christ,  as  recorded  for  us  in 
the  narratives.  Through  these  appearances  and 
self-manifestations  Christ  sought  to  impress  on  His 
disciples,  on  the  one  hand,  the  identity  of  the 
Risen  with  the  Crucified  Jesus,  and  on  the  other, 
that  His  resurrection  was  not  a  mere  restoration  to 
life  but  a  triumph  of  His  whole  personality  over 
death  and  His  entrance  on  a  new  and  higher  mode 
of  existence.  So  Jesus  offered  Himself  to  the 
senses  of  the  disciples,  even  to  their  touch  and 
handling,  if  this  were  needed  to  convince  them  of 
His  identity — even,  it  may  be,  to  the  eating  of 
bread,  if  only  so  the  feeling  that  He  was  a  phantasm 
or  apparition  could  be  removed.  But  when  this 
was  attained,  when  doubt  of  His  identity  was 
removed  and  the  disciples  thought  to  resume  the 
old  familiar  intercourse,  He  manifested  the  charac- 
teristics of  a  more  spiritual  form  of  existence,  and 
they  learned  the  truth,  that  the  Resurrection  was 
the  entrance  on  a  new  order  of  life  and  a  higher 
kind  of  fellowship.  So  the  Ascension  is  represented 
in  the  Gospel  narratives  as  the  natural  and  neces- 
sary sequel  of  the  Resurrection.  The  visible  lifting 
from  the  earth  marked  the  close  of  the  visible  in- 
tercourse and  the  beginning  of  the  more  spiritual 
for  which  the  disciples  were  gradually  prepared  by 
the  teaching  of  the  forty  days  ( Jn  201'7  ;  cf.  Lk  2449, 
Ac  I8,  Jn  14-16)  (see  Denney,  art.  '  Ascension,' 
HDB  i.  161).  The  contention  (e.g.  Newman 
Smyth,  Old  Faiths  in  New  Light,  London,  n.d., 
p.  156  f.)  that  the  body  of  Jesus  during  the  forty 
days  underwent  a  gradual  process  of  spiritualiza- 
tion  or  glorification,  a  '  process  of  resurrection,' 
which  was  consummated  in  the  Ascension  does  not 
seem  to  be  supported  by  the  narratives.  On  the  very 
day  of  His  resurrection  the  spirituality  of  His  risen 
body  was  as  manifest  as  in  the  case  of  the  appearance 
by  the  Sea  of  Tiberias  (cf.  Lk  2431-  «,  Jn  214ff-  ;  see 
Forrest,  Christ  of  Hist,  and  of  Exper."3,  p.  411  f.). 

With  the  essential  nature  of  the  Resurrection- 
Body  the  Evangelists  were  not  concerned.  But 
from  the  temporary  manifestations  of  the  Risen 
Body  during  the  forty  days  there  were  two  things, 
either  of  which  they  might  have  thought  it  to  be, 
which  they  came  to  know  it  was  not.  It  was  not 
simply  the  old  earthly  body  resumed,  and  it  was 
not  a  mere  phantasmal  existence.  And  one  thing 
they  knew  it  was — it  was  a  body  no  longer  subject 
to  physical  limitations  and  restrictions,  but  com- 
pletely under  the  control  of  the  spiritual  nature 


or  will,  so  under  control  that  it  could  manifest 
itself  in  such  material  form  or  forms,  if  this  were 
necessary,  for  evidential  purposes.  Already  dur- 
ing the  earthly  ministry  there  were,  according  to 
the  Gospels,  pre-glimpses  of  this  control  of  body 
by  spirit.  Two  of  the  best  attested  incidents  in 
the  narratives — His  M-alking  on  the  sea  and  the 
Transfiguration  —  are  instances  in  point.  The 
chief  significance  of  the  Transfiguration  has  been 
found  by  some  to  consist  just  in  this,  that  it  was 
meant  to  prepare  the  disciples  for  the  Resurrection 
and  for  the  appearance  of  the  Risen  Jesus  in  glori- 
fied form  (see,  e.g.,  H.  A.  A.  Kennedy  in  JThSt 
iv.  [  1903]  270  ff.). 

ii.  THE  WITNESS  OF  ST.  PAUL.  —  St.  Paul's 
teaching  on  the  nature  of  the  Resurrection-Body 
as  '  spiritual '  is  but  the  further  carrying  out  of 
the  teaching  of  the  forty  days,  and  is  intelligible 
only  against  the  background  of  the  appearances 
of  Christ's  risen  body,  reports  of  which  he  would 
receive  from  first-hand  witnesses.  In  regard  to  the 
Risen  Body  he  holds  firmly  the  two  points  borne 
witness  to  by  the  Gospel  accounts  :  (1)  the  identity 
between  the  body  which  was  buried  and  the  body 
which  rose.  Some  critics  maintain  that  there  is 
no  substantial  identity  between  the  two  in  St. 
Paul's  teaching  ;  but  apart  from  the  analogy  of  the 
seed,  the  words  '  that  Christ  died  .  .  .  and  that 
he  was  buried  and  that  he  hath  been  raised  on  the 
third  day '  are,  as  Feine  points  out  (Theol.  des  NT, 
p.  362),  susceptible  of  no  other  interpretation  than 
that  of  identity.  But  (2)  equally  with  identity  the 
difference  between  the  two  is  insisted  on,  repre- 
sented by  the  distinction  between  the  seed  and  the 
perfected  plant :  '  Thou  sowest  not  that  body  that 
shall  be  '  (1  Co  1537).  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the  risen 
body  as  a  body  not  of  flesh  and  blood  ('  flesh  and 
blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God,'  v.80) 
but  one  transfigured  and  transformed.  A  distinc- 
tion is  drawn  between  the  '  psychical '  or  '  natural ' 
body  and  the  '  pneumatical '  or  '  spiritual '  body, 
the  former  the  vehicle  of  self-manifestation  under 
earthly  conditions,  the  latter  the  organ  of  self- 
manifestation  under  supra- terrestrial  conditions. 
The  difference  consists  not  in  the  body  ceasing  to 
be  material  or  being  changed  into  spirit,  but 
in  the  material  being  entirely  subjected  to  the 
dominion  of  the  spirit.  The  risen  body  of  Christ 
was  spiritual  '  not  because  it  was  less  than  before 
material,  but  because  in  it  matter  was  wholly  and 
finally  subjugated  to  spirit,  and  not  to  the  exi- 
gencies of  physical  life.  Matter  no  longer  restricted 
Him  or  hindered.  It  had  become  the  pure  and 
transparent  vehicle  of  spiritual  purpose'  (Gore,  Body 
of  Christ,  p.  127).  (For  the  striking  corroboration 
of  St.  Paul's  conception  of  the  '  spiritual  body ' 
supplied  by  recent  science,  see  below,  IV.  ii.  2  (c).) 

St.  Paul's  view  has  been  contrasted  with  that 
of  the  Evangelists,  as  less  materialistic,  and  the 
difference  has  been  traced  to  the  more  spiritual 
character  of  the  appearance  of  the  Risen  Christ 
to  St.  Paul  as  compared  with  those  to  the  older 
apostles.  But  we  have  to  remember  the  difference 
of  relationship  to  the  Risen  Lord  between  St.  Paul 
and  the  older  disciples.  That  St.  Paul  had  ever 
seen  Jesus  during  His  earthly  life  and  ministry  is 
doubtful.  Ramsay,  C.  Clemen  (Paulus,  Giessen, 
1904),  and  J.  Weiss  (Paulus  iind  Jesus,  Berlin, 
1909),  among  recent  critics,  maintain  that  he  had. 
The  weight  of  probability,  however,  is  against  the 
supposition  (see  Feine,  Jesus  Christus  und  Paulus, 
Leipzig,  1902,  pp.  93,  350)  (2  Co  516  cannot  be 
cited  for  or  against,  for  what  St.  Paul  is  contrast- 
ing here  is  the  knowledge  of  Christ  '  after  the 
flesh '  [not  '  in  the  flesh ']  with  the  knowledge  of 
Him  after  the  spirit — the  difference  between  the 
estimate  of  Christ  formed  by  St.  Paul  before  his 
conversion  and  after).  Recognition  of  identity 


348     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


under  changed  conditions  was  not,  therefore, 
the  primary  requirement  in  St.  Paul's  case,  as  it 
was  in  the  case  of  the  older  apostles.  The  aim  of 
the  appearance  to  him  was  to  convince  him  that 
the  Jesus  who  was  crucified  and  whose  followers 
he  persecuted  was  indeed  the  Risen  and  Exalted 
Christ.  To  him,  therefore,  Christ  was  manifested 
in  the  majesty  of  His  Divine  glory,  a  Figure  in- 
vested in  dazzling  splendour,  with  none  of  those 
more  tangible  characteristics  which  He  manifested 
to  the  earlier  apostles  and  which  seemed  necessary 
for  evidential  purposes.  Though  thus  less  tangible, 
however,  the  appearance  to  St.  Paul  was  not  less 
objective  than  those  to  the  earlier  apostles.  In 
St.  Paul's  own  judgment  it  was  the  same  kind  of 
appearance  as  that  to  Peter,  James,  and  the 
others — 'He  appeared  to  me  also.' 

The  question  has  been  raised  whether  St.  Paul 
derived  his  view  of  the  resurrection-body  entirely 
from  what  he  had  seen  and  heard  of  the  Risen 
Lord,  or  was  partly  influenced  by  contemporary 
Jewish  or  Hellenistic  ideas.  Lake,  e.g.  (Resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ,  p.  23  ff.),  maintains  that  '  the 
Pauline  doctrine  of  a  transubstantiation  of  the  body 
at  the  resurrection  is  one  which  was  in  the  main 
familiar  to  the  Jews,'  yet  he  recognizes  the  influ- 
ence on  St.  Paul's  doctrine  of  '  his  knowledge  of 
appearances  of  the  Risen  Lord  in  the  light  of  which 
knowledge  he  re-formed  his  ideas  on  the  Resurrec- 
tion generally.'  The  question  of  the  influence  on 
St.  Paul's  doctrine  of  Christ's  own  teaching  on 
the  resurrection  has  also  to  be  considered.  Feine 
(Jesus  Christns  und  Paulus,  p.  181  f.)  points  out 
certain  remarkable  similarities  between  St.  Paul's 
teaching  in  1  Cor.  and  the  narratives  of  our  Lord's 
discussion  with  the  Sadducees  in  Mk  12'8f>,  Lk  2027'-. 
The  condition  of  the  risen  is  described  by  Jesus  as 
being  '  as  the  angels  of  God  in  heaven  '  (Mk  1225, 
ws  ayyeXoi  iv  ro?s  ovpavois),  or  '  like  the  angels ' 
(iffdyyeXoi),  and  as  being  '  sons  of  God,  being  sons  of 
the  resurrection '  (Lk  2036).  That  is  to  say,  they 
possess  a  heavenly  or  spiritual  organism,  and  are 
conformed  to  the  likeness  of  God  (see  Kennedy, 
St.  Paul's  Conceptions  of  the  Last  Things,  pp.  100, 
234).  This  Christian  tradition  of  Jesus'  eschato- 
logical  teaching,  if  received  by  St.  Paul,  was,  how- 
ever, illumined  and  defined  by  the  manifestations 
of  Jesus  to  himself  and  to  the  other  apostles. 
Others  maintain  (e.g.  Reitzenstein ;  see  J.  Weiss, 
on  1  Co  1544)  that  St.  Paul's  contrast  between 
the  '  natural  body '  (a-w/j.a  \f/vxiic6t>)  and  the  '  spiritual 
body '  (ffwfJLa  irvev/j,aTiK6i>)  was  derived  from  the 
Greek  mystery -religions.  But  the  Greek  anti- 
thesis is  based  on  a  dualistic  conception  of  human 
nature,  and  St.  Paul's  contrast  is  in  quite  a 
different  category. 

LITERATURE. — On  the  Resurrection-Body  see  E.  M.  Goulburn, 
The  Resurrection  of  the  Body  (EL),  London,  1850  ;  J.  H.  Skrine, 
OR  Ixxxvi.  [1904]  860-871;  'The  Resurrection-Body:  a  Study 
in  the  History  of  Doctrine,'  CQR  Ixviii.  [1909]  138  if.  ;  R.  H. 
Charles,  Eschatology,  Hebrew,  Jewish  and  Christian,  London, 
1899  ;  R.  C.  Moberly,  Problems  and  Principles,  do.,  1904 ; 
C.  Gore.  The  Body  of  Christ,  do.,  1901 ;  C.  H.  Robinson, 
Studies  in  the  Resurrection  of  Christ,  do.,  1909,  ch.  ii. ;  W.  J. 
Sparrow  Simpson,  The  Resurrection  and  Modern  Thought, 
do.,  1911,  chs.  xxiv.-xxix. 

IV.  THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  THE  RESURREC- 
TION OF  CHRIST  FOR  APOSTOLIC  CHRISTIANITY. 
— The  significance  of  the  Resurrection  for  the 
Apostolic  Church  may  be  represented  under  a  two- 
fold aspect,  (i.)  as  evidential,  (ii.)  as  essential  or 
constitutive. 

i.  EVIDENTIAL  SIGNIFICANCE.  —  In  the  older 
mode  of  treatment  of  the  Resurrection,  in  English 
theology  especially,  main  stress  was  laid  upon  its 
evidential  value  as  the  confirmation  or  proof  of  the 
truth  of  Christ's  claims  as  to  His  person  and  work. 
To  place  the  chief  emphasis  on  this  aspect  of  its 
significance  is  to  give  the  Resurrection  too  abstract 


and  external  a  character,  and  is  the  correlative  of 
that  view  of  the  miracles  of  Jesus  natural  to  18th 
cent,  theology,  which  lays  stress  on  their  value  as 
credential  appendages  rather  than  as  an  essential 
part  of  Jesus'  redemptive  revelation.  According 
to  the  invariable  apostolic  representation,  however, 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  not  merely  something 
consequent  upon  the  redemptive  revelation  of  His 
life  and  work  on  earth,  something  added  on  to  it 
as  the  reward  and  guarantee  of  its  efficacy  ;  it  is 
itself  an  essential  and  constitutive  part  of  the 
revelation  necessary  to  its  culmination  or  comple- 
tion. While  this  is  so, .the  importance  of  the  evi- 
dential aspect  of  the  Resurrection  is  not  to  be 
minimized.  This  is,  indeed,  where  we  must  begin 
in  our  study  of  the  apostolic  representation.  For 
the  apostles  the  first  and  primary  significance  of 
the  Resurrection  lay  undoubtedly  in  the  fact  that 
it  was  the  Divine  confirmation  of  Jesus'  entire 
claim  as  to  His  person  and  work.  Thus  it  is — and 
the  importance  of  the  fact  has  to  be  noted,  as  it  is 
often  overlooked — that  it  is  always  God  to  whom 
the  apostles  impute  the  raising  of  Christ.  His 
resurrection  was  the  immediate  act  of  God  the 
Father,  who  by  this  gave  His  verdict  concerning 
Jesus,  thus  once  for  all  reversing  Israel's  act  of 
rejection,  and  refuting  the  Jews'  charge  of  blas- 
phemy. '  Whom  they  slew,  hanging  him  on  a  tree, 
him  God  raised  up '  (Ac  1039'-).  This  is  the  uniform 
apostolic  representation  common  to  St.  Paul  and 
the  earlier  apostles  (cf.  Ac  224- 32-  *«  3IB  410  531  1330'39 
1731,  1  Th  llu,  Ro  I4  64,  1  Co  1515,  Gal  I1,  Eph  I20, 
Ph  29,  1  P  I21,  He  IS-'0).  So  that  St.  Paul  says, 
'  If  Christ  did  not  rise  .  .  .  we  are  detected  bear- 
ing false  witness  to  God  (Kararov  deov)  by  affirming  of 
him  that  he  raised  Christ/  (1  Co  1514-  "  [Moffatt]). 
And  if  this  affirmation  or  witness  is  false,  then 
their  whole  view  of  the  worth  of  Christ's  person 
and  work  is  without  validity.  Their  preaching  of 
Christ  is  '  empty '  (v.14)  and  faith  in  Him  is  '  vain  ' 
( v.17).  To  develop  this  evidential  significance  of  the 
Resurrection  into  its  details  : 

1.  Evidential  with  regard  to  His  Person. — (a) 
Through  the  Resurrection  conclusive  proof  was 
afforded  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus.  This  aspect 
of  its  significance  was  that  which  was  primarily 
emphasized  in  the  earliest  apostolic  teaching  as 
represented  by  the  sermons  of  St.  Peter  recorded 
in  the  early  chapters  of  Acts.  That  Jesus  claimed 
to  be  the  Messiah,  the  Divinely  sent  One  in  whom 
all  the  hopes  of  Israel  were  to  be  realized,  cannot 
be  seriously  doubted.  In  calling  Himself  '  the  Son 
of  man  '  He  adopted  a  title  which,  it  is  now  gener- 
ally recognized,  involved  Messianic  pretensions 
(see  Sanday,  The  Life  of  Christ  in  Recent  Re- 
search, Oxford,  1907,  p.  123 ff.).  This  claim  He 
had  already  supported  by  His  life  and  work.  His 
miracles — works  of  God  wrought  through  Him  (cf. 
Jn  1410) — were  proofs  of  His  mission  as  God's 
accredited  messenger  to  Israel  (Ac  222,  '  a  man 
accredited  to  you  by  God  through  miracles, 
wonders,  and  signs  which  God  performed  by  him 
among  you ' ;  cf.  Ac  1038,  '  anointed  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  with  power  he  went  about  doing  good, 
for  God  was  with  him').  This  claim,  however, 
was  apparently  contradicted  and  denied  by  His 
death  on  the  Cross,  which  to  the  Jew  was  the 
symbol  of  Divine  rejection  (530  1039).  Through 
the  Death  on  the  Cross,  therefore,  the  Jews' 
verdict  on  Jesus  seemed  Divinely  supported.  But 
through  the  Resurrection  as  not  merely  His  being 
raised  on  the  third  day  (Ac  104')  but  His  being 
exalted  to  the  right  h'and  of  God  in  power  and 
glory,  Israel's  act  of  rejection  was  Divinely  re- 
versed, and  the  claim  or  Jesus  to  be  the  Christ 
was  for  ever  vindicated.  '  This  Jesus  has  God 
raised  up' (Ac  232).  'The  God  of  our  fathers  has 
glorified  Jesus  his  servant '  (313 ;  cf.  2s3  531  7M). 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     349 


'God  has  made  him  both  Lord  and  Christ,  this 
Jesus  whom  ye  crucified '  (Ac  2®  ;  cf.  922).  '  Up- 
lifted then  by  God's  right  hand,  and  receiving  from 
the  Father  the  long-promised  holy  Spirit,  he  has 
poured  on  us  what  you  now  see  and  hear '  (2s3 
[Moffatt]).  There  could  be  but  one  conclusion — 
earth's  rejected  was  God's  accepted. 

(6)  Through  the  Resurrection  the  Divinity  of 
Jesus  was  established.  He  was  shown  to  be  not 
only  Messiah  but  the  Son  of  God.  A  unique  rela- 
tion to  God  He  had  Himself  claimed.  The  title 
'  Son  of  God,'  indeed,  is  very  rarely  found  applied 
by  Jesus  to  Himself.  More  often  it  is  used  to 
describe  the  impression  made  by  Him  upon  others 
(e.g.  on  the  possessed,  Mk  311  57  and  ||s  ;  on  the 
centurion,  Mk  1539  and  ||s).  The  crowning  instance 
is  the  confession  of  Peter,  '  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  living  God'  (Mt  1616).  That  on  this 
matter  of  His  Divine  Sonship  our  Lord  maintained 
a  great  measure  of  reserve  and  reticence  was  quite 
in  keeping  with  His  whole  method  of  self-revela- 
tion. The  truth  of  His  Divine  Sonship  was  not 
one  that  could  be  taught  the  disciples  as  a  dogma  ; 
it  must  be  allowed  to  break  naturally  upon  them 
as  they  increasingly  divined  the  uniqueness  of  His 
character.  But  we  see  in  the  records  of  the  Evan- 
gelists how  Jesus  consistently  sought  to  guide  the 
thoughts  of  His  disciples  concerning  Himself  into 
true  and  worthy  lines.  He  uniformly  claimed  to 
stand  in  a  unique  relation  to  God.  He  habitually 
speaks  of  God  as  'my  Father'  (Mt.  23  times), 
never  embracing  Himself  with  His  disciples  as  being 
in  the  same  sense  sons  of  God.  He  attributes  to 
Himself  powers  and  prerogatives  which  imply 
essential  coequality  with  God.  He  claims  perfect 
mutuality  of  knowledge  as  well  as  of  will  with  the 
Father,  whereby  He  possesses  an  exclusive  power 
of  manifesting  Him  (Mt  II27,  Lk  1022).  He  claims 
to  do  for  men  what  only  God  can  do — to  grant  for- 
giveness (Mt  96,  Mk  210,  Lk  S24)  and  to  bestow  the 
Holy  Spirit  (Mt  1019,  Lk  1212).  And,  further,  He 
demands  from  men  that  complete  surrender  and 
utter  devotion  of  life  which  can  be  granted  only  to 
God  (Mt  1037,  Lk  1426).  So  it  is  altogether  in  keep- 
ing with  the  Synoptic  representation  when  the 
Fourth  Gospel  records  such  sayings  as  these :  '  I 
and  the  Father  are  one '  (thing  or  essence,  iv) 
(1030),  '  He  who  has  seen  me  has  seen  the  Father  ' 
(149),  'I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  is  in 
me'  (1411),  'the  Jews  sought  the  more  to  kill  him 
because  he  said,  God  was  his  peculiar  (tSiov) 
Father,  making  himself  equal  to  God  '  (518). 

The  claim  of  Jesus  to  be  the  Son  of  God  is  thus 
implied  in  His  attitude  throughout,  and  for  refusing 
to  disown  it  He  was  counted  a  blasphemer  and  con- 
demned to  death  (Mt  2G63-  «'•  2743 ;  cf.  Jn  1036). 
Such  a  death — a  '  hanging  on  a  gibbet ' — seemed  to 
be  a  confirmation  of  the  judgment  of  His  enemies, 
but  the  Resurrection  was  God's  great  declaration 
in  action  substantiating  the  truth  of  Jesus'  claim  : 
'declared  Son  of  God  with  power  according  to  the 
spirit  of  holiness  by  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  ' 
(Ro  I4).  No  blasphemer  was  He.  The  Resurrec- 
tion 'declared,'  defined,  or  marked  Him  out  to  be 
(bpiadevro's)  what  He  always  truly  was — Son  of  God. 
For  the  Sonship  thus  declared  'in  power'  (ev 
5wdfj.fi — no  longer  in  humiliation  but  in  power,  the 
power  of  exalted  Lordship)  by  the  Resurrection 
was  'according  to'  or  answered  to  the  spirit  of 
holiness  (Kara.  irvev/j.a  ayiwffvvrjs),  the  spirit  of  excep- 
tional and  transcendent  holiness  which  was  the 
inmost  reality  in  the  person  and  life  of  Jesus,  and 
testified  to  His  peculiar  relation  to  God.  Divine 
Sonship,  that  is  to  say,  was  not  an  honour  to 
which  for  the  first  time  Christ  was  exalted  after 
His  death.  The  Resurrection  only  displayed  Him 
as  being  what  He  was  inalienably  from  the  first, 
and  installed  Him  in  the  dignity  which  corre- 


sponded to  His  nature.  '  In  virtue  of  His  resur- 
rection .  .  .  Christ  is  established  in  that  dignity 
which  is  His  and  which  answers  to  His  nature ' 
(Denney,  EOT,  on  Ro  I4). 

For  St.  Paul  the  conviction  of  the  Divine  Son- 
ship  of  Jesus  dated  from  the  appearance  to  him  on 
the  way  to  Damascus  of  the  Glorified  Christ.  What 
was  revealed  to  him  then  was  that  the  Crucified 
One  was  the  Son  of  God  in  power.  So  that  the 
gospel  he  immediately  began  to  preach  was  '  that 
Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God '  (Ac  920).  It  is  sometimes 
maintained  that  the  '  Son  of  God  '  was  a  recognized 
title  of  the  Messiah  (cf.  En.  cv.2;  4  Ezr.  vii.  28  f., 
xiii.  32,  37,  52,  xiv.  9),  and  that  we  cannot  argue 
from  the  mere  use  of  the  phrase  to  His  Divinity. 
But  it  is  not  a  case  of  thus  arguing.  We  have  but  to 
take  the  first  writing  of  his  which  has  come  down 
to  us — 1  Thess. — to  see  there  writ  large  what  the 
assertion  of  the  Divine  Sonship  of  Jesus  meant  for 
St.  Paul.  In  this  first  extant  NT  writing  (written, 
according  to  Sanday,  probably  about  A.D.  51,  i.e. 
about  twenty  years  after  the  Resurrection)  three 
remarkable  predictions  are  made  of  Jesus. 

( 1 )  In  the  first  verse,  the  Glorified  Jesus  is  brack- 
eted in  dignity  with  God  the  Father.     St.  Paul  and 
his  companions  give  solemn  greeting  to  'the  Church 
of  the  Thessalonians  (which  is)  in  God  the  Father 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ1  (v.1).     The  wonder  of 
such   a  juxtaposition   is   realized   only   when   we 
remember  that  St.  Paul  was  a  strict  Jew,  in  whose 
blood  therefore  monotheism  ran  like  a  passion.    Yet 
this  Jewish  apostle  does  not  scruple  to  place  Jesus 
side  by  side  with  God,  and  assume  a  like  estimate 
of  Him  on  the  part  of  those  to  whom  he  writes. 

(2)  In  this  brief  letter  Jesus  is  more  than  twenty 
times  referred    to    as   'Lord'   (Ktfptos).     The  dis- 
ciples had  been  in  the  habit  of  addressing  their 
Master  as  '  Lord '  during  His  lifetime,  using  the 
term  as  a  title  of  authority  in  a  sense  not  very 
different  from  that  in  which  any  Rabbi  might  be 
addressed  by  his  pupils  (Jn  IS13'-)  (see  Sanday  in 
HDB  ii.  648b).     But  that  sense  is  no  longer  ade- 
quate to  the  apostolic  usage  ;  the  word  has  become 
filled  with  a  deeper  meaning,  being  used   as  the 
LXX  equivalent  of  the  OT  '  Jahweh '  and  as  sig- 
nifying  Divine    power    and   sovereignty.      What 
Jahweh  was  to  Israel,  that  Jesus  was  to  the  re- 
ligious consciousness  of  St.  Paul — the  One  who  has 
earned  the  place  of  Sovereign  in  his  heart,  and 
whom  he  feels  constrained  to  worship  and  serve. 

(3)  Prayer  is  addressed  to  Jesus  directly,  and 
not  merely  offered  in  His  name — 'Now  may  our  God 
and  Father  himself,  and  our  Lord  Jesus,  direct  our 
way  unto  you'  (311).     And  all  this,  it  is  significant 
to  note,  is  referred  to  by  the  Apostle  only  in  the 
passing,  without  the  slightest  indication  that  it  was 
a  novel  or  unfamiliar  attitude  to  his  readers.     In 
his  subsequent  Epistles  St.  Paul  gives  fuller  and 
more  developed  doctrinal  expression  to  his  convic- 
tion of  the  truth  of  the  Divine  Sonship  of  Jesus. 
Personal  pre-existence   in   the  Godhead  is  unam- 
biguously affirmed  of  Him  in  2  Co  89  ('  ye  know  the 
grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,' etc.) and  in  Ph  26tf- 
( '  though  he  was  divine  by  nature,  he  did  not  snatch 
at   equality  with   God  but    emptied  himself    by 
taking  the  nature  of  a  servant,'  etc.  [Moffatt]).     In 
Col  l15-'-10  His  cosmic  significance  is  dwelt  upon.     As 
'  the  image  (elK&v)  of  the  invisible  God,'  He  occupies 
a  position  of  unique  pre-eminence  and  sovereignty, 
and  is  agent  or  mediator  and  end  in  creation  as 
well  as  in  redemptive  history  ('  in   him  were  all 
things  created  ...  all  things  have  been  created 
through  him,  and  with  a  view  to  [et s]  him ' ;  cf . 
1  Co  86  104).     But  already  in  his  earliest  as  truly 
as  in   his   latest  writings  full,   eternal,  essential 
Divinity  is  ascribed  to  Jesus  as  Son  of  God,  whereby 
He  is  placed  alongside  the  Father  in  honour  and 
worship. 


350     RESURRECTION  OF  CHEIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHKIST 


St.  Paul's  usage  of  the  term  '  Son  of  God '  in  this 
transcendent  sense  has  been  traced  to  Hellenistic 
influence.  While  the  title  had  been  employed  by 
the  earliest  Christian  community  '  in  a  very  harm- 
less sense,'  St.  Paul  gave  it  the  altogether  new  and 
mythical  sense  of  a  God  who  had  descended  from 
heaven,  a  sense  which  was  intelligible  enough  to 
Greeks  and  heathen  but  not  to  Jews  with  their 
strict  monotheism  ;  and  in  so  doing  he  '  became  the 
creator  of  the  new  Christology,  which  drew  its 
inspiration,  not  from  history,  but  from  something 
above  it — from  a  mythical  being,  and  which  won 
over  the  heathen  for  this  very  reason  '  ( Wernle, 
Beginnings  of  Christianity,  Eng.  tr.,  2  vols., 
London,  1903-04,  i.  250).  '  Son  of  God,'  as  employed 
by  St.  Paul,  is  thus  held  to  be  primarily  a  Gentile 
title,  one  which  was  sometimes  applied  to  the 
Emperors,  like  the  title  '  Lord  '  (e.g.  it  is  so  found  in 
a  letter  of  the  Emperor  Augustus  dated  A.D.  5  ;  see 
Exp,  6th  ser.,  vii.  [1903]  114,  and  Knowling,  Testi- 
mony of  St.  Paul,  p.  44).  This  Imperial  usage, 
Deissmann  conjectures,  may  have  first  suggested 
to  St.  Paul  the  application  of  the  title  to  Jesus 
(Bibelstudien,  Marburg,  1895,  i.  167,  Eng.  tr.,  Bible 
Studies,  Edinburgh,  1901,  p.  166 f.).  But  'Son  of 
God,'  if  a  Gentile,  was  also  a  Jewish  title,  and,  as 
Knowling  points  out,  it  is  most  significant  that  the 
first  and  earliest  intimation  which  we  have  in 
Acts  of  St.  Paul's  Christian  teaching  is  this,  that 
'  in  the  synagogues ' — not  to  Greeks  or  Romans,  but 
to  Jews  and  proselytes — '  he  proclaimed  Jesus,  that 
he  is  the  Son  of  God '  (920). 

If  St.  Paul  had  interpreted  '  Son  of  God '  differ- 
ently from  the  other  apostles,  and  if  the  deification 
of  Christ  had  been  due  to  him,  the  surprising 
thing  is  that  we  do  not  hear  of  any  opposi- 
tion on  this  point  between  him  and  the  other 
apostles.  The  older  apostles  and  St.  Paul  differed 
no  doubt  in  many  things,  but  there  is  no  trace  that 
they  differed  in  the  estimate  which  they  formed  of 
the  Person  of  Christ,  and  of  His  relationship  to  the 
Father.  St.  Paul's  representation  of  Christ  is  only 
a  more  developed  expression  of  what  is  present 
already  in  solution  in  the  primitive  apostolic  teach- 
ing. Of  this  St.  Peter's  sermons  in  Acts  and  his 
First  Epistle  may  be  taken  as  representative. 

In  St.  Peter's  sermons  in  Acts,  while  no  attempt 
is  made  at  a  fully  developed  doctrine  of  the  Person 
of  Christ,  He  is  quite  definitely  placed  on  the 
side  of  God  as  over  against  man,  the  theme  of 
the  gospel  and  the  object  of  faith.  Through  His 
resurrection  and  exaltation  Jesus  is  proclaimed  not 
only  '  Messiah '  (318'20  425-28),  but '  giver  of  the  Holy 
Spirit'  (22S),  'Prince  of  life'  (315  531),  'Saviour' 
(412  521),  and  'Judge  of  living  and  dead'  (1042,  a 
prerogative  which  in  the  OT  belongs  to  God  and  to 
God  alone).  Prayer  is  offered  to  Him  directly  (I24 
769),  so  that  one  mode  of  describing  Christians  in 
these  early  days  was  to  speak  of  them  as  those  that 
called  upon  the  name  of  Jesus  (921).  And  already 
in  his  first  sermon  we  find  St.  Peter  applying  to 
Christ  the  term  'Lord'  (K^tos,  Ac  221-33-36;  cf. 
313.  21  531  iQse^  tne  same  term  as  is  used  of  Jah- 
weh  in  the  LXX,  thus  assigning  to  Him  Divine 
sovereignty  and  authority.  The  mere  use  of  the 
word  KAptot  may  not  in  itself  necessarily  involve 
Divinity.  The  Jews  applied  it  to  their  Messiah 
(Mk  1236f-  and  ||s)  without  thereby,  it  is  said,  pro- 
nouncing him  to  be  God.  But,  as  Knowling  points 
out,  '  it  is  not  merely  that  the  early  Christians 
addressed  their  Ascended  Lord  so  many  times  by 
the  same  name  which  is  used  of  Jehovah  in  the 
LXX  .  .  .  but  that  they  did  not  hesitate  to  refer 
to  Him  the  attributes  and  the  prophecies  which  the 
great  prophets  of  the  Jewish  nation  had  associated 
with  the  name  of  Jehovah  '  (EOT,  on  Ac  2-'). 

In  his  First  Epistle  St.  Peter  represents  the  same 
point  of  view  in  slightly  fuller  and  more  developed 


form.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  definitely  spoken  of  as 
'  the  Spirit  of  Christ'  (I11) ;  and  although  the  title 
'Son  of  God'  is  not  employed,  we  find  the  ex- 
pression '  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ'  (1s),  with  an  undeniable  implication  of 
Christ's  special  Sonship.  Christians  are  called  to 
'  sanctify  in  their  hearts  Christ  as  Lord '  (315)  in 
words  which  in  the  OT  are  applied  to  Jahweh  and 
His  sanctification  by  Israel  (Is  813).  He  is  pro- 
claimed to  be  Lord  not  only  of  the  spiritual  world 
but  of  the  material  as  related  to  and  subserving  the 
spiritual,  '  angels  and  authorities  and  powers  being 
made  subject  unto  him  '(IP  322).  It  is  a  disputed 
question  whether  I11  and  I20  do  or  do  not  imply  the 
real  pre-existence  of  Christ.  While  the  language 
of  the  former  seems  satisfied  if  we  take  it  to  mean 
simply  that  the  Divine  Spirit,  now  so  bound  up 
with  Christ  that  it  can  be  called  His  Spirit,  moved 
also  in  the  prophets  of  old,  the  latter  passage  is 
more  significant.  '  While  the  word  "  foreknown  " 
(irpoeyv<a<r(j.ti>ov)  in  no  way  involves  the  pre-existence 
of  Christ,  since  it  is  used  even  of  Christians  in  I2, 
yet  the  unusual  combination  of  "  foreknown  "  with 
"  manifested  "  may  justly  be  considered  as  placing 
the  matter  beyond  doubt.  Only  that  can  be  mani- 
fested which  was  in  being  before  manifestation' 
(H.  R.  Mackintosh,  The  Person  of  Jesus  Christ, 
Edinburgh,  1912,  p.  45  f.).  With  the  sermons  of 
St.  Peter  in  Acts  and  his  First  Epistle  as  represent- 
ing the  general  conception  of  Christ  current  in  the 
earliest  Apostolic  Age  may  be  coupled  the  Epistle 
of  St.  James,  where  Jesus  is  extolled  as  '  the  Lord 
of  glory'  (21)  and  ranked  with  God  in  honour  and 
dignity  (I1) ;  and  the  brief  Epistle  of  Jude,  who 
describes  Jesus  as  '  our  only  Master  and  Lord, 
Jesus  Christ '  (v.4),  whose  '  slave  '  (SoOXoy)  he  is  (v.1). 
As  representing  the  more  developed  apostolic 
doctrine,  we  have  not  only  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul 
but  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  and  the  Johannine 
writings.  In  Hebrews  the  central  thought  is  that 
of  the  Divine  Sonship  of  Christ,  in  virtue  of  which 
He  is  the  Mediator  of  the  new  and  better  covenant 
(1224  915  86).  He  is  announced  as  a  '  Son '  (I2),  tran- 
scendently  related  to  God,  the  effulgence  of  the 
Father's  glory  and  the  very  image  of  His  substance 
(I3),  creator,  upholder,  and  heir  of  all  things  (I2- 10), 
who,  though  thus  eternal  and  Divine,  because  the 
children  were  partakers  of  flesh  and  blood,  Himself 
likewise  partook  of  the  same  and  is  now  through 
His  suffering  and  sacrifice  exalted  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  majesty  on  high  (I3  81  106).  In  the  Fourth 
Gospel  the  emphasis  on  the  Divine  Sonship,  marked 
throughout,  so  that  even  such  a  critic  as  J.  Weiss 
admits  that  in  this  Gospel  Christ  is  God  in  the 
fullest  sense,  possessing  '  those  qualities  which  con- 
stitute the  nature  of  the  Deity '  ( Christ :  The  Begin- 
nings of  Dogma,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1911,  p.  148  ff.). 
The  view  of  the  writer  is  summed  up  in  the  Pro- 
logue in  terms  of  the  rebaptized  Logos  conception 
of  which  he  predicates  His  eternity  ('  existed  in  the 
very  beginning,'  v.1  [Moffatt]),  His  eternal  personal 
relation  to  God  ('was  with  [717)6$]  God.'v.1;  'was 
with  God  in  the  very  beginning,'  v.2),  His  agency  in 
creation  ('through  him  all  existence  came  into 
being,  no  existence  came  into  being  apart  from 
him,'  v.8),  giver  of  life  and  light  to  the  whole  race 
of  mankind,  the  medium  alike  of  creation  and 
of  revelation  ('  in  him  life  lay,  and  this  life  was  the 
Light  for  men,'  v.4  ;  '  the  real  Light  which  lightens 
every  man,'  v.9).  In  1  Jn.  such  a  unity  between 
God  and  the  Son  is  recognized  that  he  who  confesses 
the  Son  hath  the  Father  also  (520).  In  the  Apoca- 
lypse Christ  is  represented  as  He  whom  all  creation 
unites  to  worship  as  it  worships  God  Almighty 
(1s;  cf.  712).  God  and  the  Lamb  receive  united 
adoration  (513  710).  He  is  the  '  First  and  the  Last,' 
the  '  Beginning  and  the  End  '  (I8  2162213),  the  Lord 
of  the  churches,  who  holds  their  stars  or  guardian 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     351 


angels  in  His  hand  (I16-20),  who  is  Enler  of  the 
nations  and  King  of  kings,  the  all- wise  and  almighty 
Judge  of  the  nations  (7a  154). 

2.  Evidential  with  regard  to  His  work, 
especially  His  death. — The  Resurrection  was  not 
only  the  confirmation  of  Christ's  claim  to  Sonship 
and  Messiahship  ;  it  was  through  this  the  Divine 
justification  of  Jesus'  claim  as  to  the  redemptive 
character  of  His  life  and  work  as  culminating  in 
His  death,  and  the  public  declaration  of  its  accept- 
ance. The  Messiah  was  looked  for  as  coming  in 
outward  glory,  but  Jesus  came  in  a  way  that  was 
the  very  opposite  of  this.  His  life  on  earth  had 
been  one  of  humiliation  and  suffering,  of  self- 
denying  service  and  sacrifice  for  others,  until  at  last 
the  culminating  point  of  His  sacrifice  was  reached 
in  His  death.  All  were  '  offended  '  in  Him.  He 
needed  to  be  justified,  and  the  Resurrection  was 
His  Divine  justification  or  vindication.  In  the 
Epistle  to  the  Philippians  His  resurrection  (and 
exaltation)  is  connected  with  His  'making  himself 
of  no  reputation '  and  taking  upon  Him  the  form  of 
a  servant  (26'11).  In  Romans  (I4)  it  is  in  contrast 
with  His  having  been  made  of  the  seed  of  David 
according  to  the  flesh  that  He  is  said  to  have  been 
declared  Son  of  God  with  power.  Above  all,  His 
death  needed  justification.  Jesus  had  Himself 
while  on  earth  proclaimed  the  necessity  of  His 
suffering  and  death.  But  this  was  so  contrary  to 
Jewish  conceptions  of  the  Messiah  that  the  first 
disciples  had  difficulty  in  attaining  to  it.  'The 
idea  of  the  Messianic  sufferings  and  death  is  one 
that  wakes  no  echo  in  the  heart  of  any  Jewish 
contemporary  of  our  Lord,  not  excepting  even  His 
disciples '  (L.  A.  Muirhead,  Eschatology  of  Jesus, 
London,  1904,  p.  206),  and  the  Death  on  the  Cross 
when  it  came  was  fatal,  in  Jewish  eyes,  to  Messianic 
claims.  This  was  the  great  ffxavdaXov.  It  was  His 
resurrection,  and  the  fact  that  by  it  He  had  been 
'  declared  '  the  Son  of  God  with  power,  that  showed 
the  peculiarity  and  importance  of  His  death.  So 
St.  Paul  represents  the  case.  If  Jesus  was  indeed 
both  Lord  and  Christ,  as  through  his  experience  on 
the  Damascus  road  he  had  come  to  know,  the  death 
which  He  died  could  not  be  what  it  seemed  to  be, 
a  curse,  the  death  of  a  malefactor  and  blasphemer, 
but  a  Divine  appointment  for  the  salvation  of  men. 
There  must  be  in  it  a  Divine  virtue.  '  God  was  in 
Christ,'  even  Christ  the  crucified,  reconciling  the 
world  unto  Himself  (2  Co  519  ;  cf.  1  Co  1517,  Ro  42S 
64'7).  It  was  a  vicarious  death  ;  He  was  delivered 
up  for  our  transgressions  (Ro  4'-*),  and  the  Resur- 
rection was  the  assurance  that  God  had  accepted 
Christ's  atoning  work,  and  that  the  foundation  of 
perfect  reconciliation  between  God  and  man  had 
been  laid.  In  the  light  of  the  revelation  of  the 
Resurrection,  the  Death  on  the  Cross  lost  its  shame 
and  became  a  spring  of  blessing,  the  central  '  com- 
mendation '  or  proof  of  Divine  love  (Ro  58). 

Already  in  the  primitive  Christian  community, 
following  hints  of  the  Lord  Himself  in  His  earthly 
and  then  in  His  post- Resurrection  teaching,  we  have 
the  atoning  significance  of  the  Death  represented. 
That  Jesus  '  died  for  our  sins  according  to  the 
scriptures ' — not  only  the  fact  of  the  Death  but  its 
atoning  significance — was  part  of  the  tradition 
which  St.  Paul  had  received  and  which,  he  claimed, 
Mas  common  to  himself  and  the  older  apostles 
(1  Co  lo3-  n).  '  The  inference,'  Weizsacker  acknow- 
ledges, '  is  indisputable ;  the  primitive  Church 
already  taught,  and  proved  from  Scripture,  that 
the  death  of  Jesus  exerted  a  saving  influence 
in  the  forgiveness  of  sin'  (Apost.  Age2,  i.  130 f.). 

This  is  borne  out  by  the  reports  of  St.  Peter's 
speeches  in  the  Acts,  where  the  death  of  Jesus  is 
represented  as  a  Divine  necessity,  taking  place  '  by 
the  determined  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God  ' 
{'213 ;  cf.  428),  and  as  in  accordance  with  prophecy 


(318  ;  cf.  Christ's  post-Resurrection  teaching,  Lk242. 
Is  53  seems  to  have  been  the  special  passage  in  the 
Apostle's  mind — the  Suffering  Messiah  being  fre 
quently  identified  in  these  early  speeches  with  the 
Servant  of  the  Lord  in  Isaiah,  e.g.  313  41"  ;  cf .  835). 
So,  although  represented  as  a  crime  on  the  part  of 
the  Jews  (223  313-'5  530),  the  death  of  Jesus  is  viewed 
as  a  fact  Divinely  foreordained  and  Divinely  neces- 
sary. This  Divine  necessity  of  the  Death  has  refer- 
ence to  its  saving  or  redemptive  significance  in 
virtue  of  which  the  great  blessing  of  the  gospel, 
offered  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  is  the  forgiveness  of 
sins  (2s8  319  531  1043).  In  these  early  sermons  or  dis- 
courses the  redemptive  significance  of  the  Death  is 
not  developed.  We  have  to  remember  that  '  the 
Petrine  speeches  in  the  Acts  were  called  forth  by 
special  circumstances  and  (except  the  speeches 
recorded  in  Ac  1030'43  157'11)  were  all  addressed  to 
non-Christian  Jews  at  Jerusalem.  We  have  no 
right,  therefore,  to  look  to  them  for  the  full  cycle  of 
Christian  doctrine  which  even  in  the  beginning  of 
the  Gospel  Peter  had  apprehended '  (Chase,  HDB 
iii.  793b).  In  the  First  Epistle  of  Peter  we  have 
a  somewhat  more  developed  doctrine  ;  the  atoning 
efficacy  of  the  suffering  and  death  of  Christ  being 
described  in  varied  language — covenant  blood  (I2), 
ransom  (I18f>),  sin-bearing  (220ff-),  substitution,  the 
sacrifice  of  the  righteous  for  the  unrighteous  (3,18). 

In  St.  Paul  the  redemptive  significance  of  the 
Death  is  further  developed.  He  died  '  for  our 
sins'  (1  Co  15s,  2  Co  521) ;  a  '  ransom  '  (\trpov,  1  Ti 
2s) ;  through  His  death  there  is  inaugurated  a  New 
Covenant  (1  Co  II28),  in  which  the  Divine  purpose 
of  '  salvation  '  is  realized  :  deliverance  from  wrath 
(Ro  59),  from  the  curse  of  the  Law  (Gal  313),  and  the 
imparting  of  eternal  life  (1  Th  59f<).  The  shedding 
of  His  blood  was  a  sacrifice  which  had  propitiatory 
value  (Ro  S26'-  59,  1  Co  59),  in  virtue  of  which  men 
are  brought  into  a  new  relation  to  God,  treated 
as  righteous  (Ro  324),  'accepted  in  the  Beloved' 
(Eph  I6).  This  sacrificial  significance  of  the  Death 
is  specially  emphasized  by  the  writer  to  the 
Hebrews,  who  finds  in  the  sacrifices  of  the  Old 
Covenant  types  and  shadows  of  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ.  Through  its  propitiatory  efficacy  the  Death 
is  viewed  as  a  crown  of  glory  (29;  cf.  58f-).  In  the 
Johannine  writings  '  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous '  is 
represented  as  'the  propitiation  for  our  sins' 
(1  Jn  22  410;  cf.  Rev  1s  5*-  9- 12),  in  the  Gospel  the 
suffering  and  death  being  viewed,  as  in  Heb.,  as  a 
glorification  (1331).  'He  [St.  John].  .  .  does  not 
ever,  like  St.  Paul  (e.g.  Ph  2s- 9),  separate  it 
[the  Passion]  as  a  crisis  of  humiliation  from  the 
glory  which  followed '  (Westcott,  on  Jn  1232 ;  cf. 
Milligan,  Resurrection,  p.  314). 

3.  Evidential  with  regard  to  man's  eternal 
destiny. — Another  aspect  of  the  evidential  signi- 
ficance of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  for  the  Apos- 
tolic Church  is  that  which  concerns  the  eternal 
destiny  of  those  '  who  through  him  do  believe  in 
God.'  Already  in  the  OT  we  have  foreshadowings 
of  the  belief  in  a  continued  personal  life  with  God 
after  death.  The  religious  relation  of  the  soul  to 
God  was  felt  to  carry  with  it  the  pledge  of  such  a 
continued  life.  Fellowship  with  God  constitutes 
a  bond  which  death  cannot  sever.  '  Immortality 
is  the  corollary  of  Religion.  If  there  be  religion, 
that  is,  if  God  be,  there  is  immortality '  (Davidson, 
Job,  Cambridge,  1884,  p.  296).  As  Jesus  Himself 
put  it,  interpreting  and  supporting  this  funda- 
mental OT  source  of  the  faith  in  immortality,  God 
is  '  not  a  God  of  dead  people  but  of  living '  (Mt  223-, 
Mk  1227,  Lk  2038).  And  this  immortality  was  for 
the  Hebrew  an  immortality  of  the  whole  personal 
being  of  man,  body  as  well  as  soul.  The  conception 
of  a  disembodied  future  life  was  entirely  foreign 
to  the  OT — belonging  to  ethnic  not  to  Hebrew 
thought.  Such  a  destiny,  indeed,  could  be  for  the 


352     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


OT  believer  but  a  hope,  a  faith,  a  faith  venture, 
though  involved  in  the  very  nature  of  religion  as 
fellowship  with  God.  If  certainty,  if  assured  con- 
fidence or  such  a  full  personal  immortality,  was  to 
be  attained,  some  more  '  sure  word '  of  God  must 
be  spoken  ;  and  such  a  sure  word  the  Apostolic 
Church  found  in  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  As  the 
crowning  example  of  a  life  lived  in  fellowship  with 
God,  and  trusting  God  for  the  future,  Jesus  supplied 
the  test  case,  the  crucial  instance,  of  God's  love. 

Since  therefore  Jesus  —  the  man  Jesus  —  was 
raised  from  the  grave,  the  faith  in  the  Resurrection 
grounded  in  the  life  of  fellowship  with  God  has 
received  its  final  seal  and  assurance.  The  resur- 
rection of  those  who  are  His  is  guaranteed — '  For 
if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even 
so  them  also  that  are  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus  will 
God  bring  with  him"  (1  Th  414).  The  empty  grave 
therefore,  as  Harnack  admits  with  some  inconse- 
quence,  is  'the  birthplace  of  the  indestructible 
belief  that  death  is  vanquished,  that  there  is  a  life 
eternal'  (What  is  Christianity?3,  p.  165). 

St.  Paul  puts  this  evidential  significance  of  the 
Resurrection  first  negatively  :  '  If  Christ  be  not 
risen,  then  they  also  which  have  fallen  asleep  in 
Christ  have  perished  (airu/KovTo)'  (1  Co  1518).  They 
have  '  perished '  not  in  the  sense  of  suffering  annihi- 
lation or  extinction  of  conscious  existence,  but  of 
undergoing  deprivation  of  continued  existence,  in 
any  sense  in  which  it  is  worth  having — deprivation 
of  '  life '  through  separation  from  God,  the  Sheol 
state  of  existence.  (For  St.  Paul's  use  of  a.ir6\\v<r()a.i 
and  dTriiXeia  as  the  antithesis  of  fftl>f(ff6at  and 
ffuT-rjpia  see  Kennedy,  St.  Paul's  Conception  of  the 
Last  Things,  p.  119  ff.)  '  But  now  hath  Christ  been 
raised  and  become  the  first  fruits  (d-n-apx^)  of  them 
that  are  asleep'  (v.20).  This  is  the  more  positive 
statement  of  it.  As  the  first  ripe  shear  is  the 
earnest  and  guarantee  of  the  coming  harvest,  so 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  the  pledge  and  guaran- 
tee of  the  resurrection  of  those  who  are  His  (cf. 
Col  I18,  Rev  I8,  7rpwr6ro/cos  £K  TUV  veitpuv,  '  the  first 
born  from  the  dead ').  So  St.  Peter  speaks  of 
Christians  being  '  born  anew  to  a  life  of  hope 
through  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the 
dead,  born  to  an  unscathed,  inviolate,  unfading 
inheritance'  (1  P  I3f-  [Moffatt]). 

The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  not  only  the  assur- 
ance or  pledge  of  the  full  personal  immortality  of 
believers ;  it  is  also  the  revelation  of  the  nature 
of  this  immortal  life.  It  '  has  brought  life  and 
immortality  to  light '  (2  Ti  I10) ;  it  has  displayed  it 
to  our  view.  He  has  risen  in  possession  of  a  body 
like  ours,  only  glorified  and  made  free  from  the 
law  of  sin  and  death,  a  body  'spiritual'  in  the 
sense  of  being  the  perfect  instrument  of  the  pur- 
poses of  spirit.  In  this  glorified  embodied  state  of 
the  Risen  Christ  we  have  a  look  at  the  nature  of 
the  future  state  of  believers.  At  present  we  are 
pent  up  in  a  body  which  is  but  an  imperfect  medium 
of  our  will  or  spirit.  It  is  'a  body  of  death' 
(Ro  724),  full  of  weakness  and  corruption,  limiting 
our  powers  of  service.  But '  this  body  that  belongs 
to  our  low  estate'  shall  be  transformed  'till  it 
resembles  the  body  of  his  Glory'  (Ph  321  [Moffatt]). 
For  '  if  the  Spirit  of  him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from 
the  dead  dwelleth  in  you,  he  that  raised  up  Christ 
Jesus  from  the  dead  shall  quicken  also  your  mortal 
bodies  through  his  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  you ' 
(Ro  811).  (On  the  connexion  between  the  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  and  the  resurrection  of  believers, 
whereby  the  former  is  not  only  the  pledge  or 
guarantee  but  the  ground  of  the  latter,  and  the 
moral  significance  of  the  doctrine,  see,  further, 
below,  IV.  ii.) 

ii.  ESSENTIAL  OR  CONSTITUTIVE  SIGNIFICANCE. 
— The  heart  of  the  apostolic  representation  is  not 
reached  until  it  is  perceived  that  the  Resurrection 


is  not  simply  an  external  seal  or  evidential  ap- 
pendage added  to  guarantee  certain  truths  about 
Christ  and  His  work,  but  an  essential  or  constitu- 
tive element  in  the  work  itself,  an  integral  part  of 
His  redemptive  revelation.  Such  a  view  as  that 
of  Herrmann  already  referred  to,  which  lays  the 
chief  stress  on  the  impression  produced  by  Christ's 
life,  making  the  Resurrection  at  most  a  deduction 
of  faith  without  vital  relation  to  redemption,  fails 
to  do  justice  to  the  inner  meaning  of  the  fact. 
This  more  inner  vital  significance  of  the  Resurrec- 
tion for  apostolic  thought  and  life  as  the  neces- 
sary sequel  of  the  Incarnation  and  Crucifixion, 
and  essential  to  the  completion  of  the  work  of  re- 
demption, may  be  presented  under  the  following 
heads : 

1.  What  it  meant  for  Christ  Himself.  — The 
Resurrection  was  essential  to  Christian  faith,  be- 
cause of  what  it  meant  for  Christ  Himself.  As 
the  transition  from  a  state  of  humiliation  to  a  state 
of  exaltation,  the  entrance  in  His  risen  manhood 
on  a  new  life  of  exalted  power  and  sovereignty, 
whereby  He  became  Lord  over  all,  the  Resurrection 
formed  a  new  beginning  in  the  life  of  Christ  Him- 
self. This  is  the  central  significance  of  the  Re- 
surrection insisted  on  by  St.  Peter  in  his  sermons 
recorded  in  Acts  :  '  God  hath  made  him  both  Lord 
(Kvpiov)  and  Christ,  this  Jesus  whom  ye  crucified' 
(23S) ;  '  Him  hath  God  exalted  at  his  right  hand  to 
be  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour'  (531) ;  'therefore  being 
by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted  ...  he  hath 
poured  forth  this'  (2s3),  and  the  healing  of  the 
lame  man  is  pointed  to  as  further  evidence  of  His 
exalted  sovereignty  (410).  Ktfyuos,  the  LXX  name 
for  Jahweh  and  the  characteristic  apostolic  title 
for  the  Exalted  Jesus,  defines  Him  as  One  who  is 
sovereign  in  the  spheres  both  of  grace  and  of  nature, 
Lord  not  only  over  the  Church  but  over  all  creation. 
This  too  is  the  connotation  or  significance  of  the 
phrase  'at  the  right  hand  of  God' — a  phrase 
borrowed  from  Ps  1101  and  oftener  used  in  the  NT 
than  any  other  words  of  the  OT.  It  defines  Christ's 
exaltation  as  a  sharing  in  the  universal  sovereignty 
and  almighty  power  of  God.  So  in  1  P  S22  the 
statement  that '  angels  and  authorities  and  powers ' 
are  '  made  subject  unto  him '  is  the  affirmation  of 
His  personal  participation  in  the  universal  sove- 
reignty of  God,  whose  servants  the  angels  and 
authorities  and  powers  are. 

This  is  most  strikingly  expressed  by  St.  Paul,  for 
whom  the  greatness  of  the  Resurrection,  as  the 
supreme  manifestation  of  Divine  power  ('the  sur- 
passing greatness  of  his  powerj'  Eph  I19  [Moffatt]), 
consisted  in  the  fact  that  it  was  not  merely  the 
raising  of  Jesus  from  the  dead,  but  His  exaltation 
and  enthronement  '  in  the  heavenly  sphere  (£v  rots 
eirovpaviois)  .  .  .  the  sphere  of  spiritual  activities .  .  ., 
which  lies  behind  the  world  of  sense,  .  .  .  the  sphere 
of  all  the  ruling  forces  of  the  universe'  (J.  Armitage 
Robinson,  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  Lon- 
don, 1903,  pp.  21,  20),  '  above  all  the  angelic  Rulers, 
Authorities,  Powers,  and  Lords ' — above  all  powers 
whether  of  the  natural  sphere  or  of  the  spiritual — 
and  all  this  for  redemptive  ends,  that  He  might  be 
'  head  over  everything  for  the  church,  the  church 
which  is  his  Body'  (Eph  I20'22  [Moffatt]).  As  he 
puts  it  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians,  '  God 
raised  him  high  and  conferred  on  him  a  Name 
above  all  names  [Ktf/wos],  so  that  before  the  Name 
of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bend  in  heaven,  on 
earth,  and  underneath  the  earth,  and  every  tongue 
confess  that  "Jesus  Christ  is  Lord,"  to  the  glory 
of  God  the  Father '  (29'11  [Moffatt]).  The  Resurrec- 
tion thus  constituted  a  '  crisis '  in  the  experience 
of  Christ  Himself.  Through  it  His  activity  was 
raised  to  a  new  level,  whereby  He  became  clothed 
with  absolute  might  to  carry  out  the  issues  of  His 
saving  work  on  earth. 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     353 


The  frequency  with  which  St.  Paul  speaks  of  Jesus  as  '  Lord ' 
(Kvpios)  is  remarkable.  The  word  occurs  some  131  times  in  his 
writings  (see  Feine,  Theol.  desA'T,  p.  344).  In  his  first  Epistle, 

1  Thess.,  the  title  is  applied  to  the  Risen  Christ  more  than  20 
times.     The  peculiar  significance  of  St.  Paul's  use  of  the  term 
is  sometimes  minimized  on  the  ground  that  it  was .  used  in 
ancient  times  to  express  the  relation  of  a  king  to  his  subjects — 
cf.  Ac  2S26,  where  it  is  applied  to  the  Roman  Emperor— and  in 
Oriental  religions  to  express  the  relation  between  a  god  and  his 
worshippers.     So  Deissmann  maintains  that  the  Pauline  title 
'  the  Lord '  is '  a  genuinely  Oriental  predicate, 'and  that  St.  Paul 
uses  it  as  a  silent  protest  against  the  acknowledgment  of  any 
other  Lord,  even  the  Roman  Emperor,  as  a  rival  to  the  Lordship 
of  Christ  (see  Feine,  Jesus  Christits  und  Paulus,  p.  38).     So 
Heitmtiller  and  Bousset  claim  that  St.  Paul's  view  of  Jesus  as 
Kvpios  was  determined  by  the  Hellenistic  Christianity  which  he 
found  in  Damascus  and  Antioch.     But  if  it  was  a  Gentile  it  was 
also  a  Jewish  title,  being  the  LXX  name  for  Jahweh,  and  this 
for  St.   Paul  as  a  Jew  was  its  nearer  context.    And  St.  Paul's 
application  of  the  term  to  the  Exalted  Jesus  was  in  line  with 
the  usage  of  the  early  Christian  community  (see  above,  IV.  i.  i). 
To  say,  as  Pfleiderer  does,  that  the  common  faith  of  St.  Paul 
and  the  early  disciples  in  Jesus  as  Lord  was  due  to  a  pre- 
Christian  conception  of  Messiah  which  came  ultimately  from 
Oriental  sources,  is  to  cut  it  off  from  its  origin  in  apostolic  ex- 
perience and  to  leave   unexplained  what  is  the  central  and 
essential  fact  to  be  explained— how  Lordship  came  to  be  pre- 
dicated of  One  who  died  on  a  Cross  of  shame. 

When  we  ask  in  what  ways  the  Risen  Lord 
exercises  His  sovereignty  and  power,  we  find  the 
apostolic  writers  dwelling  especially  upon  two 
manifestations  of  it :  (a)  the  giving  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  (b)  the  intercession  of  Christ  at  the 
Father's  right  hand. 

(a)  The  giving  of  the  Spirit  is  represented  by 
the  apostles  as  the  gift  of  the  Exalted  Lord  by 
which  He  carries  on  His  work  on  earth,  and  secures 
the  ends  for  which  He  lived  and  died.  '  Being 
therefore  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,'  says 
St.  Peter,  connecting  the  fact  with  the  exaltation 
of  Christ,  '  and  having  received  from  the  Father 
the  promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  has  poured  forth 
on  us  what  you  now  see  and  hear'  (Ac  233).  So 
intimately  was  the  giving  of  the  Spirit  connected 
with  the  exaltation  and  glorification  of  Christ  that 
St.  John  can  say  that  there  was  no  gift  of  the 
Spirit  before  the  Ascension.  '  Spirit  was  not  yet, 
because  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified '  ( Jn  I39).  He 
was  anointed  with  the  Holy  Spirit  Himself,  and 
by  the  power  of  the  Spirit  accomplished  the  work 
given  Him  to  do  ;  but  not  till  His  work  on  earth 
was  done  and  His  glory  entered  did  He  possess 
the  Spirit  in  such  wise  as  to  be  able  to  bestow  it 
on  men.  It  was  the  promise  of  the  Father — part 
of  Christ's  reward  for  His  work  on  earth — and,  as 
such,  a  sure  proof  of  God's  acceptance  of  that  work. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  characteristic  apostolic  name 
for  the  Spirit  is  '  the  Spirit  of  Christ '  or  '  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  [Jesus]5  (Ac  167  RV,  Ro  89,  2  Co 
3",  Gal  46,  Ph  I19,  1  P  I11),  not  only  as  having 
dwelt  in  Christ  Himself,  but  as  being  the  gift  of 
Christ  as  Christ  was  the  gift  of  the  Father  (cf.  Jn 
14a6  1526).  Further,  the  Spirit  is  called  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  as  having  Christ  for  His  theme,  His  office 
being  to  witness  to,  interpret,  and  glorify  Christ, 
and  thus  carry  on  His  work  on  earth  (cf.  Jn  1526'- 
1614).  As  such  the  Spirit  is  characterized  chiefly 
in  three  ways:  (1)  as  the  Spirit  of  truth,  to  lead 
men  into  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesns,  to  take  of  the 
things  of  Christ  and  show  us  their  meaning  (Jn  1426 
1526  16i3f.;  AC  24  610  et  passim,  1  Co  210  123,  etc.); 
(2)  as  the  Spirit  of  holiness,  to  convince  of  sin,  of 
righteousness,  and  of  judgment  (Jn  16"),  to  help  our 
infirmities  (Ro  S26),  to  set  free  from  the  power  of 
sin  and  death  (Ro  82- 10- 13,  Gal  525,  etc.),  to  produce 
the  virtues  of  the  Christian  character  which  are 
the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  (Gal  522,  Eph  59),  and  to 
conform  us  in  body  and  in  spirit  into  the  likeness 
of  the  Risen  Christ  (Ro  829'-  1013,  1  Co  316  619  154--44, 

2  Co  318,  Gal  220,  etc. ) ;  (3)  as  the  Spirit  of  power,  to 
enable  men  to  be  effective  witnesses  in  word  and 
life  to  the  Risen  Christ  (Ac  I8  312  47,  etc.). 

The  function  of  the  Spirit  was  thus  to  realize  a  new 
kind  of  fellowship  between  Christ  and  His  followers 

VOL.  II. — 23 


— a  spiritual  fellowship  with  a  living,  everywhere 
present  Lord — in  and  through  which  they  were 
led  into  new  truth  and  holiness  and  power.  The 
coming  of  the  Spirit,  therefore,  is  not  to  be  looked 
upon  as  a  compensation  or  substitute  for  an  absent 
Christ ;  it  is  the  higher  mode  of  Christ's  own 
presence,  to  which  He  pointed  forward  when  He 
said,  '  I  will  be  with  you  all  the  time,  to  the  very 
end  of  the  world'  (Mt  2820).  On  Christ's  own  life, 
the  promise  'the  Comforter  will  come'  is  inter- 
changeable with  '  I  will  come  to  you '  (Jn  1418  1526). 

St.  Paul  in  more  than  one  passage  expressly 
identifies  the  Risen  Christ  with  the  Holy  Spirit  (e.g. 
2  Co  317,  '  the  Lord  is  the  Spirit,'  and  v.18,  '  we  are 
changed  into  the  same  image  by  the  Lord  the 
Spirit ').  And  on  this  ground  it  is  sometimes  argued 
that  for  St.  Paul  the  Risen  Exalted  Christ  and 
the  Holy  Spirit  are  really  one  and  the  same  (e.g. 
von  Dobschiitz,  Ostern  und  Pfingsten,  p.  34).  To 
identify  the  Risen  Lord  and  the  Spirit,  however, 
without  qualification  in  the  face  of  the  three-fold 
benediction  in  the  same  Epistle  (Hi1*)  is  unwar- 
ranted. What  St.  Paul  meant  was  that  between 
the  Spirit  and  the  power  of  the  Risen  Christ  no 
experimental  distinction  could  be  made.  '  The 
truth  of  the  passage  is  the  same  as  that  of  Ro  89ff>  : 
"  If  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ  he  is 
none  of  His.  And  if  Christ  is  in  you,"  etc.  Here, 
so  far  as  the  practical  experience  of  Christians 
goes,  no  distinction  is  made  between  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  and  Christ  Himself  ;  Christ  dwells  in  Chris- 
tians through  His  Spirit '  (Denney,  Expositor's 
Bible,  'The  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,' 
London,  1894,  p.  134).  'What  the  Apostle  means 
by  his  form  of  verbal  identification  ["the  Lord  is 
the  Spirit "]  is  rather  the  religious  certainty  that 
Jesus  Christ,  in  whom  God  redeems  men,  and  the 
Spirit,  in  whom  He  communicates  Himself  to  men, 
are  so  indissolublj'  bound  up  in  one,  act  so  absolutely 
for  the  same  end  and  through  the  same  means, 
that  from  the  standpoint  of  the  practical  issue 
they  are  seen  as  merged  in  each  other.  They  are 
one  as  the  fountain  and  the  stream  are  one. 
"Christ  in  you,  or  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  you; 
these  are  not  different  realities  ;  but  the  one  is  the 
method  of  the  other"  (Moberly)'  (H.  R.  Mackintosh 
in  SDB,  p.  708b  ;  cf.  the  same  writer's  The  Person 
of  Jesus  Christ,  p.  374). 

(b)  While  thus  through  the  Spirit  the  Exalted 
Christ  carries  on  His  work  on  earth,  by  His  inter- 
cession at  the  Father's  right  hand  He  Himself 
carries  on  His  work  in  heaven.  This  aspect  of  the 
Risen  Christ's  activity  is  specially  emphasized  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  where  it  is  represented 
as  the  culmination  of  His  high-priestly  functions, 
the  entering  'through  his  own  blood,'  i.e.  with 
the  virtue  of  His  atoning  sacrifice  in  Him,  into  the 
holiest  of  all  '  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  God  for 
us '  (He  9-4),  and  the  guarantee  of  the  full  effective- 
ness of  His  redemptive  work,  '  wherefore  also  he  is 
able  to  save  to  the  uttermost  them  that  draw  near 
unto  God  through  him,  seeing  he  ever  liveth  to 
make  intercession  (evTvy\&,veiv)  for  them '  (725). 
But  in  the  other  apostolic  writings,  both  Pauline 
and  Johannine,  His  intercession  at  God's  right 
hand  is  equally  represented  as  the  culminating 
aspect  of  Christ's  work,  and  '  with  a  kind  ot 
adoring  awe  which  is  quite  peculiar  even  in  the 
New  Testament'  (Denney,  Studies  in  Theology, 
London,  1894,  p.  162).  'It  is  Christ  Jesus  that 
died,  yea  rather,  that  was  raised  from  the  dead, 
who  is  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh 
intercession  (ivTvy^vei)  for  us '  (Ro  8s4,  '  who 
actually  pleads  for  us '  [Moftatt]).  '  These  things 
write  I  unto  you  that  ye  sin  not.  And  if  any  man 
sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous'  (1  Jn  21). 

It  would  no  doubt  be   misleading  to  represent 


354:     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


His  heavenly  intercession  as  oral  or  vocal,  as 
taking  place  in  words  or  spoken  entreaty.  '  Words 
imply  distance  and  duality  of  a  kind  incongruous 
with  the  identity  of  life  subsisting  between  Christ 
and  the  Father.  Theirs  is  a  unity  that  needs  no 
language '  (Mackintosh,  The  Person  of  Jesus  Christ, 
p.  377).  When  the  apostles  speak  of  His  '  making 
intercession  for  us,'  they  are  not  speaking  of 
'  specific  acts  done  or  words  spoken  by  Christ  in 
His  glory.  His  glorified  presence  is  an  eternal 

Sresentation  ;  He  pleads  by  what  He  is '  (R.  C. 
loberly,  Ministerial  Priesthood,  London,  1897, 
p.  246).  On  the  other  hand,  it  would  seem  to  be 
doing  less  than  justice  to  the  apostolic  thought  to 
represent  His  intercession  as  nothing  more  than 
His  appearance  and  constant  presence  before  God 
for  us,  with  the  virtue  of  His  atoning  life  and  deatli 
in  Him,  God  being  thus  continually  reminded, 
as  it  were,  at  once  of  the  efficacy  of  Christ's 
atoning  work  and  of  the  needs  of  humanity. 

Apparently  \ve  should  interpret  the  apostolic 
language  (e.g.  He  416,  '  that  we  may  find  grace 
to  help  in  time  of  need,'  grace  for  timely  suc- 
cour) as  implying  that  the  intercession  of  Christ 
is  not  a  continuous  unvarying  representation  to 
God  on  behalf  of  men  on  the  part  of  the  Exalted 
Christ,  but  an  intercession  which  relates  itself 
sympathetically  to  the  varying  needs  and  exi- 
gencies of  the  believer's  life.  This  direct  personal 
representation  to  God  on  our  behalf  is  not  to  be 
conceived  as  limited  to  prayer.  The  verb  tvrvy- 
xdvfiv  translated  '  intercede '  means  to  deal  or 
transact  with  one  person  for  another,  and,  when 
it  stands  alone  without  any  limiting  expressions, 
ought  to  be  understood  in  a  much  wider  sense 
than  petition  or  prayer,  viz.  as  '  including  the 
whole  series  of  transactions  in  which  one  person 
may  engage  with  another  on  behalf  of  a  third ' 
(Milligan,  The  Ascension  and  Heavenly  Priesthood 
of  our  Lord,  p.  151).  Christ's  intercession  is  the 
whole  action  or  transaction  in  the  presence  of  God 
of  the  Exalted  Christ,  whereby,  on  the  ground  of 
His  atoning  work,  the  full  blessings  of  salvation 
are  made  over  to  those  '  who  come  to  God  through 
him'  (He  725 ;  cf.  Ro  8s4). 

2.  What  it  meant  for  humanity. — In  virtue  of 
its  being  thus  the  entrance  on  a  new  life  of  exalted 
power  and  Lordship  in  which  He  exercises  His 
full  redemptive  activity,  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
constitutes  a  new  beginning  in  the  life  of  humanity, 
ushering  in  a  new  creative  epoch.  The  Risen 
Jesus  becomes  a  new  life-principle  in  men,  a 
'life-creating  Spirit'  (1  Co  1545,  irvev/M  faoiroiovv) 
introducing  men  into  a  new  world  of  spiritual  ex- 
perience. This  epochal  significance  of  the  Resur- 
rection St.  Paul  represents  by  saying  that  in  and 
by  His  resurrection  Christ  became  the  '  second 
Adam,'  the  Founder  and  Head  of  a  new  humanity, 
so  that  the  resurrection  of  Christ  represents  as 
real  a  crisis  in  the  history  of  man  as  his  creation 
(Ro  512f-,  1  Co  IS45*-).  'The  first  Adam  became 
a  living  soul'  (1  Co  1545,  ^1^7?  f£<ra,  a  person 
possessing  a  principle  of  life) — this  marks  the 
crisis  of  man's  creation.  '  The  second  Adam  be- 
came a  life-creating  spirit'  (ib.) — this  marks  the 
crisis  of  man's  redemption  whereby  he  becomes 
a  '  new  creation '  (KO.IVTJ  m-Uris)  and  henceforth 
walks  '  in  newness  of  life '  (Ro  64,  iv  /cat^r^n  fwijs). 

This  new  life  into  which  believers  are  introduced 
through  union  by  faith  with  the  living  Lord  St. 
Paul  can  describe  only  by  saying  that  he  possesses 
the  Spirit  (irvevfjia)  of  Jesus  Christ  (Ro  99),  that  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  or  the  Spirit  of  God  mediated 
through  the  Exalted  Christ  dwells  in  him  (9n)  or 
that  Christ  lives  in  him,  so  that  he  can  say,  '  I 
live  ;  and  yet  no  longer  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me ' 
(Gal  220 ;  cf.  Ro  89'11).  The  life  He  now  lives  as 
a  human  being  has,  as  its  central  determining 


principle,  not  himself  but  Christ.  Christ  is  '  our 
life '  (Col  34,  ij  fwT?  ww).  The  fat  of  the  believer 
is  the  very  fwi)  of  the  Exalted  Christ  (cf.  Ro  810, 
2  Co  410f-).  Christianity  for  St.  Paul  is  the  con- 
dition of  being  '  in  Christ'  (iv  Xpio-ry).  A  man  '  in 
Christ ' — that  is  his  definition  of  a  Christian.  The 
new  dispensation  or  epoch  inaugurated  by  the 
Resurrection  is  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit  pre- 
dicted by  Christ  Himself  (Jn  1416-  *  1526  167). 

By  those  who,  like  Pfleiderer  and  Beyschlag,  trace  St.  Paul's 
view  of  Christ  as  '  the  second  Adam,'  the  man  '  from  heaven  ' 
(1  Co  1547),  to  the  influence  of  Philo's  Jewish-Hellenic  concep- 
tion of  a  pre-existent  heavenly  Man,  the  Urmensch  or  arche- 
typal model  of  man's  creation,  St.  Paul  is  represented  as  con- 
ceiving of  Christ  in  His  pre-incarnate  state  merely  as  Man  in 
heaven,  the  prototype  of  humanity  (see  J.  Weiss,  on  1  Co  154~, 
and  Feine,  Theol.  des  NT,  p.  353).  Even  if  we  assume,  how- 
ever, that  St.  Paul  borrowed  the  contrast  in  the  first  place 
from  current  Hellenic  thought,  using  the  schema  lying  to  his 
hand,  he  filled  it  with  a  content  determined  not  by  the  specula- 
tions of  Alexandrian  philosophy  but  by  his  own  experience  of 
the  Risen  Christ.  lie  seems,  indeed,  expressly  to  contrast  his 
own  point  of  view  with  that  of  Philo,  by  designating  the  man 
'  from  heaven '  not  the  '  First  Man '  as  in  Philo,  but  the  '  Second 
Man.'  '  That  is  not  first  which  is  spiritual  but  that  which  is 
natural '  (1  Co  1546).  It  is  only  at  His  resurrection  that  Christ 
is  represented  by  St.  Paul  as  becoming  the  'second  Adam,'  the 
life-giving  head  of  a  new  humanity. 

For  the  apostles,  accordingly,  Christian  life  and 
experience  in  all  its  forms  depends  upon  the  Resur- 
rection. 

(a)  Our  justificat ion  depends  upon  it.  The  great 
passage  here  is  Ro  425 :  '  He  was  delivered  up  for 
our  trespasses  (Sia  ra  TrapairTwfj.a.Ta  -f]fj.wv)  and  was 
raised  for  our  justification  (dia  TTJV  diKaiua-iv  TJ^UV).' 
The  latter  clause  is  sometimes  taken  to  mean  that 
the  Resurrection  is  necessary  to  our  justification 
in  the  sense  of  being  the  great  proof  that  the 
sacrifice  of  the  Death  was  Divinely  accepted,  thus 
evoking  faith  in  us.  '  He  was  delivered  up  [to 
death]  because  of  our  trespasses  [to  make  atone- 
ment for  us] :  and  He  was  raised  because  we  were 
justified  by  His  death.'  On  this  interpretation 
the  significance  of  the  Resurrection  for  our  justi- 
fication becomes  reduced  to  a  '  divine  declaration 
that  we  are  accepted  with  God '  (G.  B.  Stevens, 
Pauline  Theology,  London,  1892,  p.  254 ;  cf. 
B.  Weiss,  Biblical  Theologij  of  the  NT,  Eng.  tr., 
Edinburgh,  1882,  i.  437).  Its  purpose  is  evidential ; 
it  is  little  more  than  a  certificate  or  testimonial  to 
the  validity  of  the  Death.  That  the  Resurrection 
has  this  evidential  significance  we  have  seen.  But 
this  is  only  a  partial  statement  of  the  apostolic 
view.  If  this  were  all,  no  inner  or  essential  con- 
nexion is  to  be  traced  between  the  Resurrection 
and  our  justification,  but  one  which  is  purely 
external  and  temporary ;  and  the  Resurrection 
would  be  a  matter  which  can  be  dispensed  with  as 
soon  as  faith  is  gained,  or  is  unnecessary  if  faith  is 
gained  in  some  other  way  (see,  e.g.,  Pfleiderer, 
Paulinism,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1877,  i.  119). 

But  this  is  not  adequate  to  the  Pauline  thought. 
The  Resurrection  is  necessary  to  our  justification, 
not  merely  because  of  the  difference  it  makes  to  us 
as  certifying  the  atoning  efficacy  of  the  Death  and 
thus  evoking  faith  in  us,  but  also  because  of  the 
difference  it  makes  to  Christ  Himself.  It  marks 
the  point  at  which  His  sovereign  power  as  Lord  is 
made  effective.  Our  justification,  the  basis  for 
which  has  been  laid  in  the  Death,  becomes  an 
accomplished  fact  and  effective  reality  only 
through  Christ's  rising  again,  with  the  virtue  of 
His  atoning  life  and  death  in  Him,  to  apply  His 
atonement  in  those  wrho  are  united  with  Him  by 
faith.  That  which  redeems  is  not  Christ's  atoning 
death  apart  from  His  living  Person  into  union 
with  whom  we  are  brought  by  faith.  Nearly 
every  error  in  theories  of  the  Atonement  may  be 
traced  ultimately  to  separating  the  propitiatory 
work  of  Christ  from  Christ  Himself.  The  very 
ABC  of  Apostolic  Christianity  is  that  we  are  saved 
not  by  believing  the  fact  that  Christ  died  for  our 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     355 


sins  but  by  union  with  the  Crucified  and  now 
Risen  Exalted  Saviour.  Only  through  union  with 
a  living  Saviour  who  has  in  Him  the  virtue  of  His 
atoning  death  do  justification,  forgiveness,  and 
all  the  blessings  of  redemption  become  ours — '  In 
whom  we  have  redemption  through  his  blood ' 
(Eph  I7,  Col  I14).  We  are  accepted  '  in  the  beloved ' 
(Eph  I8)  ;  'there  is  therefore  now  no  condemna- 
tion to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus'  (Ro  81). 
Justification  is  ours  as  we  are  '  in  Christ '  in  such 
living  union  with  Him  that  His  life  becomes 
identified  with  ours  and  ours  with  His.  Because 
of  this  identification  or  incorporation  Christ's  acts 
are  repeated  in  us  so  that  in  His  death  we  die  to 
sin,  '  crucified  with  Christ '  (Gal  220),  and  in  His 
life  we  live  to  righteousness.  But  it  is  only  by 
His  risen  life  that  Christ  can  come  into  such  living 
union  with  men  as  thus  to  effect  their  redemption. 

The  apostolic  thought  accordingly  is  this :  '  He 
was  delivered  up  [to  death]  on  account  of  our  tres- 
passes [to  make  atonement  for  them] ;  and  He 
was  raised  on  account  of  our  justification  [that  it 
might  become  an  accomplished  fact].'  '  His  rising 
again  was  the  necessary  antecedent  of  His  applying 
to  His  elect  the  virtue  of  that  Atonement  which  His 
dying  wrought  for  all  men.  .  .  .  He  died  to  pur- 
chase what  He  rose  again  to  apply '  ( J.  H.  Newman, 
Lectures  on  the  Doctrine  of  Justification*,  London, 
1874,  p.  206).  So  it  is  that  the  resurrection 
rather  than  the  death  of  Christ  is  spoken  of  as  the 
cause  of  justification.  It  is  doubtless  true,  as 
Denney  urges,  that '  Paul  did  not  make  an  abstract 
separation  between  Christ's  Death  and  His  Resur- 
rection, as  if  the  Death  and  the  Resurrection 
either  had  different  motives,  or  served  ends  separ- 
able from  each  other'  (EOT,  on  Ro  II23'25).  Christ's 
work  is  one  and  its  end  one.  He  both  died  and 
was  raised  for  our  justification.  But  this  end  was 
made  effective  only  through  the  Resurrection  ;  cf. 
Ro  S34  :  '  Who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?  It  is  Christ 
that  died,  yea  rather,  that  was  raised  from  the 
dead ' ;  510 :  '  saved  .by  his  life ' ;  and  1  Co  1517  : 
'  If  Christ  be  not  risen  your  faith  is  futile ;  you  are 
still  in  your  sins.' 

In  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  the  same  truth  is 
presented  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Priesthood 
of  Christ.  Just  as  in  OT  ritual  only  when  the 
high  priest  took  the  blood  within  the  veil  and 
sprinkled  it  upon  the  Mercy  Seat  was  the  offering 
for  sin  completed  and  the  covenant-fellowship  with 
God  established,  so  Christ's  offering  for  sin  is  not 
completed  until  in  the  heavenly  sanctuary  He 
presents  Himself  '  through  his  own  blood '  (912), 
i.e.  with  the  virtue  of  His  atoning  death  in  Him. 
Only  then  is  the  new  covenant-fellowship  between 
God  and  sinners  established.  It  is  in  Him  as  the 
living  prevailing  High  Priest,  and  not  merely 
through  something  He  did  in  the  past,  that  we 
have  peace  with  God. 

(b)  Our  sanctification,  our  moral  and  spiritual 
renewal  or  quickening,  depends  upon  it.  This  is 
but  a  further  explication  of  (a).  'In  Christ,'  and 
through  union  with  Him,  we  have  pardon;  'in 
Christ,'  and  through  union  with  Him,  we  have 
sanctification  of  life.  Through  His  resurrection, 
therefore,  Christ  becomes  '  a  life-creating  Spirit ' 
(1  Co  1549),  the  source  of  spiritual  quickening  to 
believers.  Here  and  now  they  share  in  the  power 
of  Christ's  risen  life,  whereby  they  become  the 
subjects  of  a  moral  and  spiritual  resurrection. 
Through  union  with  Christ  by  faith,  and  symbolic- 
ally in  baptism,  they  are  'crucified  with  Christ' 
(Gal  220)  unto  sin,  'engrafted  (<rv/j.<f>vroi,  united 
vitally)  into  the  likeness  of  his  death  '  (Ro  6s),  the 
old  nature  being  '  annulled '  by  the  introduction 
through  faith  into  the  'in  Clirist'  environment, 
the  environment  of  the  power  of  the  exalted 
victorious  Lord.  They  rise  with  Him  and  live 


with  Him,  '  engrafted  into  the  likeness  of  his 
resurrection,'  that  '  like  as  Christ  was  raised  from 
the  dead  through  the  glory  of  the  Father,  so  we 
also  might  walk  in  newness  of  life'  (Ro  64ff> ;  cf. 
Ro  89'11,  Eph  24'7,  Col  21-  31'3,  Ph  31W-). 

This  spiritual  resurrection  through  union  with  the 
Risen  Christ  St.  Paul  describes  as  being  'quickened 
together  with  him '  and  '  raised  up  with  him  and 
made  to  sit  with  him  in  the  heavenly  places,  in 
Christ  Jesus'  (Eph  24'6).  This  renewal  in  which 
the  Christian  life  consists  is  a  manifestation  in  us 
of  'the  power  of  his  resurrection'  (Ph  310),  or,  as 
St.  Paul  more  often  puts  it,  of  the  same  mighty 
power  of  God  which  had  effected  Christ's  resurrec- 
tion and  enthronement  in  the  heavenly  places, 
'  that  working  of  the  strength  of  his  might  which 
he  wrought  in  Christ,  when  he  raised  him  from 
the  dead  .  .  .  and  (raised)  you  when  ye  were  dead 
through  your  trespasses  and  sins'  (Eph  I19f>  21 ;  cf. 
2  Co  414).  The  resurrecting  energy  of  God  in 
raising  Christ  and  in  raising  us  when  we  were 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins  is  one  and  the  same. 
The  one  act  is  the  prolongation  of  the  other,  the 
manifestation  in  two  steps  or  stages  of  the  same 
Divine  miraculous  energy.  '  Every  conversion, 
every  advance  in  the  new  life,  is  part  of  that  great 
new  creation  which  began  at  the  open  grave, 
which  advanced  at  Pentecost,  and  which  will  only 
reach  its  consummation  when  every  knee  shall 
bow  to  Christ  and  every  tongue  confess  that  He  is 
Lord '  (Cairns,  Christ  and  Human  Need,  p.  186). 
St.  Paul,  indeed,  speaks  of  the  Christian's  resur- 
rection and  enthronement  as  a  Divine  act  'con- 
temporaneous with  the  Resurrection  and  Ascension 
of  Christ '(J.  Armitage' Robinson,  on  Eph  26),  as 
if  it  were  already  achieved.  It  is  involved  in  the 
latter  ideally  in  posse,  but  it  has  to  be  worked  out 
really  in  esse.  But  one  is  as  much  the  creative 
work  of  His  Spirit  as  the  other.  And  the  outcome 
of  this  working  of  the  Spirit  St.  Paul  describes  as 
being  'transformed  into  the  same  image  (elKbva), 
passing  from  one  glory  to  another,  inasmuch  as 
(this  influence  proceeds)  from  the  Lord  the  Spirit' 
(2  Co  318,  Ko.06.icep  airb  KvpLov  irvev/jLaTos).  '  Not  mere 
semblance  is  implied  in  St.  Paul's  use  of  etVcic, 
but  semblance  resting  on  identity  of  nature, 
community  of  being'  (Kennedy,  Last  Things, 
p.  294).  So  that  the  end  is  nothing  less  than 
perfect  assimilation  to  the  very  nature  of  God 
Himself. 

(c)  The  bodily  resurrection  of  believers  depends 
upon  it.  Already  in  the  Apostolic  Age  there  were 
those  who,  under  the  influence  of  non-Christian 
dualistic  pre-suppositions,  declared  that  there  was 
nothing  more  to  hope  for  than  a  moral  and  spiritual 
rising  from  the  dead,  that  '  the  resurrection  has 
taken  place  already '  (2  Ti  218).  And  similar  attempts 
are  made  to-day,  under  the  influence  of  the  dualistic 
pre-suppositions  of  modern  thought,  to  confine  the 
resurrection  to  the  moral  and  spiritual  side  of  our 
natures,  and  thus  to  exclude  the  physical.  And 
sometimes  the  authority  of  St.  Paul  is  claimed  for 
such  a  position.  Matthew  Arnold,  e.g.,  claims 
that  in  St.  Paul's  teaching  the  expression  '  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead '  '  has  no  essential  connexion 
with  physical  death.  .  .  .  Resurrection,  in  its 
essential  sense,  is  ...  for  Paul  the  rising,  within 
the  sphere  of  our  visible  earthly  existence,  from 
death  in  this  sense  [obedience  to  sin]  to  life  in  this 
sense  [obedience  to  righteousness].  .  .  .  Christ's 
physical  resurrection  after  he  was  crucified  is 
neither  in  point  of  time  nor  in  point  of  character 
the  resurrection  on  which  Paul,  following  his 
essential  line  of  thought,  wanted  to  fix  the 
believer's  mind.  The  resurrection  Paul  was  striv- 
ing after  for  himself  and  others  was  a  resurrection 
now,  and  a  resurrection  to  righteousness '  (St.  Paul 
and  Protestantism,  ed.  London,  1887,  p.  55  ff.). 


356     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


How  little  this  represents  St.  Paul's  point  of  view 
may  be  seen,  not  only  from  the  argument  in  1  Co  15, 
which  we  shall  presently  consider,  but  from  such 
a  passage  as  Ro  8loff-  where  St.  Paul  impressively 
reasons  from  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit  (or  the 
Risen  Christ)  in  believers,  not  only  to  their  moral 
but  to  their  bodily  resurrection.  '  If  Christ  is  in 
you,  the  body  is  dead  [consigned  to  physical  dis- 
solution] because  of  sin  [of  Adam]  ;  but  the  spirit 
[the  human  spirit  of  the  believer]  is  living  as  the 
result  of  righteousness  [of  Christ].  And,'  he  goes 
on — for  the  spiritual  resurrection  which  has  already 
taken  place  through  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit  in 
the  believer  is  not  all — '  if  the  Spirit  of  him  who 
raised  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwells  in  you,  then  he 
who  raised  Christ  Jesus  from  the  dead  will  also  make 
your  mortal  bodies  live  by  his  indwelling  Spirit  in 
your  lives.'  For  St.  Paul,  as  for  Jewish  thought 
generally,  personal  life  was  an  indissoluble  unity 
of  soul  and  body.  (On  the  Hebrew  '  synthetic 
view '  of  life,  see  Kennedy,  St.  Paul's  Conceptions 
of  the  Last  Things,  pp.  113,  153,  157.)  There  is  no 
trace  in  his  thinking  of  the  Hellenic  dualistic 
antagonism  between  body  and  spirit.  And  the 
quickening  or  '  making  alive '  which  is  the  result 
of  the  indwelling  irvev/j-a  extends  to  the  whole 
personality,  physical  as  well  as  moral  and  spiritual. 

It  may  be,  as  Matthew  Arnold  complains,  that 
popular  theology  has  confined  the  idea  of  the 
resurrection  both  of  Christ  and  of  the  Christian  too 
much  to  the  bodily  resurrection,  thus  losing  sight 
of  the  profoundly  spiritual  conception  of  the 
Resurrection  for  apostolic  thought.  Jesus  had 
already  taught,  according  to  the  Johannine  account 
(Jn  ll25f-  ;  cf.  640-44  521  3s8),  that  the  root  of  the 
resurrection-life  lay  in  living  organic  connexion 
with  Him  who  is  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life,  and 
apostolic  teaching  is  in  line  with  this.  The  ground, 
the  operating  principle  of  the  resurrection,  both 
spiritual  and  physical,  of  the  believer  is  the 
indwelling  in  him  of  the  life-giving  Spirit,  the 
Spirit  of  the  Risen  Christ,  or  '  the  Spirit  of  him 
that  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead.'  The  link 
which  makes  the  Christian  participate  in  Christ's 
resurrection  is  the  possession  of  His  Spirit — 
'  Christ  in  you  the  hope  of  glory '  (Col  I27). 

Not  only  is  Christ  in  His  resurrection  a  '  firstfruit 
(I  Co  15'-°,  dirapxri)  of  them  that  have  fallen  asleep,' 
the  promise  and  earnest  of  the  resurrection  of  His 
followers  ;  He  is  further  the  apxy  (Col  I18),  the  '  first 
principle'  and  potency  of  this  resurrection.  As 
death  was  grounded  in  Adam,  so  life  is  grounded 
in  Christ.  '  As  in  Adam  all  die  [all  who  belong  to 
Adam's  family],  so  also  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made 
alive  [all  who  belong  to  Christ]'  (1  Co  1522).  The 
new  life  derived  from  Christ,  i.e.,  includes  the 
body  as  well  as  the  soul  in  the  sphere  of  its  quicken- 
ing. The  indwelling  Spirit  is  a  regenerative  prin- 
ciple or  power  for  the  whole  personality,  physical  as 
well  as  moral,  leading  not  only  to  a  moral  resurrec- 
tion now  but  to  a  physical  resurrection  hereafter. 
Nay  more,  this  physical  quickening  whose  final 
fruit  and  issue  is  in  the  resurrection  after  death,  is 
already  begun  here  on  earth,  leading  to  a  gradual 
inward  transformation  of  the  body  (2  Co  416, 
'  renewed  from  day  to  day ').  Through  the  indwell- 
ing of  the  Spirit,  there  is  already  going  on  in  the 
believer  that  subjugation  of  matter  to  spirit  which 
in  its  highest  manifestation  and  outcome  was 
exhibited  in  the  resurrection  of  Christ's  body, 
transfigured  and  transformed  into  a  more  glorified 
mode  of  being,  and  which,  in  its  final  issue  in  the 
believer,  '  shall  transform  (/aercwxw"'^")  the  body 
of  our  humiliation  into  conformity  with  the  body 
of  his  glory  (<r6fj.fj.op<f>ov  T<£  crw/uciTt  TT?J  d6£i)s  O.VTOV), 
according  to  the  working  whereby  he  is  able  even 
to  subdue  all  things  to  himself  (Ph  321 ;  cf. 
1  Jn  32). 


How  different  a  conception  of  the  future  life  is  this  from  the 
current  Greek  conception  familiar  to  the  Corinthians,  and  pre- 
valent in  Jewish- Alexandrian  literature.  The  prospect  before 
St.  Paul  (and  the  apostles)  is  not  that  of  a  bodiless  state,  the 
deliverance  of  the  soul  from  its  earthly  '  prison  house '  (o-w/oia 
(TTj^ta),  but  the  rising  to  new  life  of  the  entire  personality.  '  We 
that  are  in  the  tabernacle  do  groan,  being  burdened ' ; — St.  Paul 
has  just  been  emphasizing  the  contrast  between  the  weariness 
and  burden  of  the  present  earthly  life  and  the  glory  which  awaits 


e7rei/v<mo-cu, 

mortal  may  be  swallowed  up  of  life  '  (2  Co  54).  These  words  are 
sometimes  taken  as  giving  expression  to  an  intense  desire  on 
St.  Paul's  part  that  Christ  should  come  (the  Parousia  take  place) 
before  his  death,  so  that  he  might  be  spared  the  terrifying  ex- 
perience of  bodily  dissolution,  and  have  the  corruptible  put  on 
mcorruption  and  the  mortal  put  on  immortality  without  that 
trial.  'If  Christ  comes  first,  the  Apostle  will  receive  the  new 
body  by  the  transformation,  instead  of  the  putting  off,  of  the 
old  ;  he  will,  so  to  speak,  put  it  on  above  the  old  (cTrei/Svo-acrSai)  ; 
he  will  be  spared  the  shuddering  fear  of  dying  ;  he  will  not  know 
what  it  is  to  have  the  old  tent  taken  down,  and  to  be  left  house- 


ght to  interpr 

words  simply  as  affirming  the  Christian  conception  of  the  future 
life  as  opposed  to  the  Greek  conception  prevalent  in  Corinth  — 
this  in  any  case  is  implied  —  'We  groan,  not  that  we  long  for  a 
disembodied  existence,  a  condition  of  spiritual  nakedness  ; 
rather  our  longing  is  for  the  new  embodied  condition,  the  pos- 
session of  the  spiritual  body.' 

Some  verses  in  2  Co  5  (esp.  v.8,  '  We  choose  rather  to  be  absent 
from  the  body  and  to  be  present  with  the  Lord  ')  have  been  held 
to  evidence  an  advance  on  St.  Paul's  part,  in  the  interval  between 
1  Cor.  and  2  Cor.,  to  a  more  spiritual  view  of  the  Resurrection, 
a  disembodied  immortality  (e.g.  H.  J.  Holtzmann,  Lehrbuch  der 
NT  Theologie^,  2  vols.,  Tubingen,  1911,  ii.  193;  Charles,  Escha- 
tology,  pp.  397-403).  But  the  words  do  not  justify  such  a 
position.  St.  Paul  is  simply  asserting  his  confidence  that  the 
condition  of  the  believer  which  is  in  prospect  (the  possession  of 
the  <r<o/ia  irvevpoLTiicov'),  which  is  guaranteed  by  the  pledge  of  the 
irvevna,  is  infinitely  preferable  to  his  present  condition  of  being 
'  at  home  in  the  body  '  (the  cra^i  ^VXIKOV).  And  the  supposition 
of  a  change  of  conception  on  St.  Paul's  part  in  his  later  Epistles 
—  in  itself  very  unlikely  when  we  consider  the  short  interval 
between  the  two  Corinthian  Epistles—  is  decisively  negatived  by 
Ph  321. 

The  moral  significance  of  such  a  doctrine  cannot 
be  overrated.  It  gives  a  new  sanction  to  bodily 
consecration  and  temperance.  Each  sin  against 
the  body  is  no  longer,  as  it  was  on  the  Greek  con- 
ception, a  stain  on  that  which  is  itself  doomed  to 
perish,  but  a  defilement  of  that  which  is  conse- 
crated to  an  eternal  life  —  '  Know  ye  not  that  your 
body  is  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost?'  (1  Co  619)  ; 
'  the  body  is  not  for  fornication,  but  for  the  Lord  ; 
and  the  Lord  for  the  body  .  .  .  your  bodies  are 
members  of  Christ.  .  .  .  Glorify  God  therefore  in 
your  body  '  (vv.13'*°)  ;  '  let  not  sin  therefore  reign 
in  your  mortal  body'  (Ro  612).  The  nature  of  the 
resurrection-body  of  believers  St.  Paul  sets  forth 
in  1  Co  1535'42,  where  he  endeavours  to  answer  in 
detail  the  question,  '  With  what  kind  of  a  body  (woly 
ff<l}fj.ari)  do  they  come?'  This  was  the  difficulty 
which  perplexed  the  Corinthian  Christians,  and 
led  some  of  them  (rivts,  v.1-)  under  the  influences  of 
Greek  thought  to  deny  altogether  the  possibility 
of  a  bodily  resurrection.  Like  most  similar  present- 
day  objections,  the  difficulty  was  based,  as  St. 
Paul  shows,  upon  the  supposition  that  it  was  the 
identical  body  laid  in  the  grave  that  was  raised 
again,  that  the  resurrection  meant  a  revivifying 
of  the  present  material  body,  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  the  current  popular  Jewish  idea. 

The  difficulty  or  problem  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  body  St.  Paul  seeks  to  elucidate  by  means  of  the 
analogy  or  metaphor  of  the  sowing  of  seed.  It  was 
an  analogy  already  used  by  Jesus  Himself  (Jn  12-4), 
though,  as  writers  of  the  '  religious-historical  ' 
school  especially  maintain,  the  use  of  this  analogy 
or  metaphor  from  the  world  of  vegetation  may 
have  been  suggested  to  St.  Paul  by  the  prevalence 
of  such  nature-myth  ideas  in  popular  religious 
thought,  in  which  case  the  analogy  would  appeal 
with  peculiar  force  to  his  readers  (see  J.  Weiss,  on 
1  Co  1538  ;  cf.  Kennedy,  St.  Paul's  Conceptions  of 
the  Last  Things,  p.  241).  St.  Paul's  argument  on 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     357 


the  basis  of  this  analogy  is  directed  to  remove  the 
objection  to  the  resurrection  of  the  body  derived 
from  its  alleged  incredibility,  and  must  not  be 
pressed  beyond  its  purpose. 

His  argument  is  as  follows  :  '  What  you  sow  (crv  8  onretpets)  is- 
not  made  alive  (jJwojroieiTou)  unless  it  dies'  (v.s«).  The  seed  de- 
posited in  the  earth  has  to  die  before  it  can  develop  into  a  fuller, 
larger  life.  The  apparent  extinction  is  the  condition  of  a  higher 
vitality.  It  is  not  impossible  therefore,  nor  even  improbable, 
that  our  present  body  may  through  death  develop  into  a  new 
and  more  perfectly  equipped  body.  The  fact  that  we  cannot 
beforehand  conceive  the  nature  of  this  body  is  no  valid  objec- 
tion to  the  possibility.  The  same  life  principle  can  clothe  itself 
in  altered  bodily  semblance.  Who  could  foretell  without 
previous  observation  what  would  spring,  e.g.,  from  a  grain  of 
wheat?  The  grain  of  wheat  itself  gives  to  the  eye  no  token  or 
foreshadowing  of  the  stalk  with  ears  and  grain  that  is  to  develop 
out  of  it  by  God's  working  in  the  economy  of  nature.  '  What 
you  sow  is  not  the  body  that  is  to  be,  it  is  a  mere  naked  unde- 
veloped grain  (yvtivbv  KOKKOV)  of  wheat,  e.g.,  or  some  other  seed. 
But  God  (6  Sf  6(6?  in  contrast  to  <rv  &  enrei'pets  in  v.36)  gives  it  a 
body  according  as  He  willed '  (icaflus  jjfle'ATja-e),  not '  as  He  wills ' — 
'  the  aor.  ijfle'Arjo-e  denotes  the  flrst  act  of  God's  will  determining 
the  constitution  of  nature'  (T.  0.  Edwards,  1  Corinthians*, 
London,  1885,  p.  434 ;  cf.  Kennedy,  St.  Paul's  Conceptions  of 
the  Last  Things,  p.  243).  '  And  to  each  kind  of  seed  (he  gives) 
a  body  peculiar  to  itself  (i&iov),'  the  body  best  fitted  to  give 
effective  expression  to  the  life  which  possesses  it.  So  the  pre- 
sumption is  that  God  will  find  a  fit  body  for  man's  redeemed 
nature  as  He  does  for  each  of  the  seeds  vivified  in  the  soil. 

'  For  you  must  not  suppose,'  St.  Paul  argues — coming  now 
(v.39f.)  to  closer  quarters  with  the  assumption  on  which  the 
objection  to  the  resurrection  was  based,  viz.  that  it  is  the  same 
identical  body  that  is  laid  in  the  grave  that  is  raised  up  from  it — 
'  you  must  not  suppose  that  there  is  no  other  kind  of  o-u/m  than 
that  consisting  of  crapf  which  you  now  possess.  Even  as  regards 
earthly  fleshly  bodies,  there  are  great  varieties  in  the  Divine 
economy  of  nature,  bodies  of  men,  of  beasts,  of  birds,  of  fishes, 
each  fitted  to  life  in  its  own  element.  And  there  are  not  only 
earthly  bodies  (O-U/JMTO.  eTri-yeia)  but  heavenly  bodies  (cru/uara 
fTrovpavio),  bodies  for  heavenly  beings  just  as  there  are  for 
earthly,  and  great  varieties  here  also,  each  fitted  to  their  several 
distinctive  ends  or  constitution.'  '  So,'  he  says,  summing  up  his 
discussion  on  this  point,  'with  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  the 
quickening  of  the  present  body  through  death  into  another 
body  unimaginably  different  from  it  is  in  the  inexhaustible 
variety  of  God's  resources— for  the  secret  of  all  is  the  power  of 
God — as  possible  and  likely  as  the  springing  up  of  the  seed  in  a 
wholly  different  fuller  and  larger  form  of  life.  God,  we  may 
well  expect,  will  equip  the  redeemed  life  with  a  body  or  organism 
as  fitted  to  the  conditions  of  the  future  life  as  the  present  body 
is  to  the  conditions  of  earth." 

This  future  body  or  organism  he  describes  by  contrast  with 
the  present  body  in  the  following  four  particulars :  '  The 
sowing  is  in  corruption  (iv  <j>8opa),  the  rising  in  incorruption 
(iv  a$0apcri'<?),  sown  inglorious  (iv  arifiia)  it  rises  in  glory 
(ev  66fj)),  sown  in  weakness  (ev  a<r6<sveiq)  it  rises  in  power  (iv 
Bwa-^fi),  sown  a  natural  body  (erifia  \fiv\i-icov)  it  rises  a  spiritual 
body '  (oxofia  •avtvfijiri.Kov)  (v.43*-).  In  the  last  contrast  the  root 
cause  or  reason  of  the  other  contrasts  is  given.  'Corruption,' 
'dishonour,'  and  'weakness'  are  the  characteristics  of  a 
'natural'  body;  'incorruption,'  'glory,'  and  'power'  are  the 
characteristics  of  a  'spiritual*  body.  'The  </»vy7J,  the  natural 
principle  of  being,  the  life-force  in  the  individual,  has  by  God's 
appointment  an  organism  corresponding  to  itself,  the  o-ujua 
I//VXIKO",  the  body  whose  substance  is  o-apf ,  with  all  which  that, 
in  the  actual  condition  of  human  nature,  implies  ;  whose  end  is 
necessarily  <t>9opa,  decay.  .  .  .  The  wyeufio,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  Divine  gift,  the  power  which  enters  human  nature  in 
response  to  faith,  and  changes  it  so  that  henceforward  it  is 
governed  by  a  Divine  principle,  will  be  equipped  with  an 
organism  corresponding  to  itself,  the  crw^a  nvcvfuiTiicov,  the 
"body"  which  has  no  fleshly  element  inherent  in  it,  which 
therefore  enters  upon  a^dopo-ia,  incorruption,  immortality,  as 
its  necessary  sphere  of  existence '  (Kennedy,  p.  252  f .). 

Now  there  is  here  a  difference  of  interpretation.  The  first  im- 
pulse is  to  refer  the  '  sowing '  here  spoken  of  to  the  burial  and 
dissolution  in  the  grave  after  death,  and  the  'rising'  to  the  com- 
ing forth  from  the  grave  after  death.  (So  Bengel,  e.g.  Of  cnretp- 
erai  he  says, '  verbum  amcenissimum  pro  sepultura.')  But  many 
scholars  hold  that  this  is  unwarrantably  to  limit  the  Apostle's 
point  of  view  and  to  confuse  his  analogy.  Our  present  life,  it  is 
held,  is  for  St.  Paul  the  seed  time  (Gal  &s-),  and  our  mortal 
bodies  (Ro  S1^)  are  in  the  germinal  state,  concluding  with 
death,  out  of  which  a  wholly  different  organism  will  spring. 
The  attributes  of  <f>eopa  (cf.  Ro  821),  iri/m'a  (cf.  Ph  321),  i^evela 
(cf.  2  Co  134)  are,  it  is  said,  those  that  St.  Paul  is  wont  to 
ascribe  to  man's  condition  in  his  present  state  of  existence  in 
contrast  with  the  a.<j>6apa-ia,  Sofa,  fiuvajus  of  the  post-resurrec- 
tion state  (cf .  2  Co  47- 10. 16  51. 4f  RO  I4  818-23 ;  8ee  Findlay,  EOT, 
in  loc.  ;  Milligan,  Resurrection,  p.  168 ;  Charles,  Eschatology, 
p.  392).  The  difference  of  interpretation  is  important  for  its 
bearing  on  the  question  as  to  when  the  process  of  transforma- 
tion from  the  one  kind  of  body  to  the  other  takes  place,  and  the 
latter  interpretation  is  in  line  with  what  we  have  seen  to  be  St. 
Paul's  view,  that  through  relation  to  Christ  the  resurrection- 
life,  not  only  moral  but  physical,  begins  here,  to  be  consum- 
mated after  death. 
What,  however,  St.  Paul  is  concerned  with  in  this  passage  is 


primarily  the  contrast  between  the  two  bodies,  the  '  natural ' 
and  the  'spiritual,'  and  their  genetic  relations.  The  <ru>p.a 
\IIV\LKOV  we  have  in  relation  to  Adam,  the  natural  head  of 
the  human  race,  who  through  the  Divine  creative  inbreathing 
became  '  a  living  soul '  (^vx^l  £<a<ra).  The  0-u/u.a  TTVCV/JMTLKOV  we 
have  in  relation  to  Christ,  the  second  Adam,  who  through  the 
Resurrection  has  become  a  life-creating  Spirit  (wtv^a  faoiroiovv), 


between  the  heavenly  man  and  the  earthly  and  its  relation 
to  current  Hellenistic  ideas,  see  Weiss,  in  loc.,  and  Feine,  Theol. 
des  NT,  p.  353.)  And  as  we  have  borne  the  likeness  of  the 
earthly  man,  so  we  are  to  bear  (reading  <t>ope<rontv)  the  likeness 
of  the  heavenly  man  (v.49).  Not  the  body  of  flesh  therefore,  the 
self-expression  of  the  <livxn,  the  natural  principle  of  life  which 
we  have  in  relation  to  Adam  the  first  member  of  the  race,  is 
that  which  will  be  raised  up  as  the  organism  of  our  future 
glorious  existence,  for  it  is  subject  to  weakness  and  corruption. 
'This  I  admit,  flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of 
God,  neither  doth  corruption  inherit  incorruption'  (v.5*).  This 
o-<oju.a  \IIV\IKOV,  the  body  of  our  humiliation,  shall  be  exchanged 
for  a  body  made  like  unto  ((rv/iMop^ov)  the  body  of  Christ's 
glory,  the  body  of  the  Exalted  Lord,  the  second  Adam,  who  in 
His  risen  '  heavenly '  life  possesses  a  o-u^a  irvev^ariKov,  a  body 
which  is  the  perfect  organ  and  instrument  of  the  Spirit's  self- 
expression.  What  the  substance  of  this  spiritual  body  is,  is  not 
described  (is  it  &6£a't),  only  its  formative  principle.  To  call  it 
spiritual  is  not  to  assert  its  immateriality  or  to  identify  it  with 
spirit,  but  to  affirm  its  complete  subordination  to  the  purposes 
of  spirit.  Just  as  the  natural  or  psychical  body  does  not  consist 
of  soul,  neither  does  the  spiritual  or  pneumatical  body  consist  of 
spirit  (cf.  Simpson,  Resurrection  and  Modern  Thought,  p.  331). 

The  support  afforded  by  modern  science  to  the  apostolic  view 
of  the  Resurrection-Body,  in  particular  to  St.  Paul's  doctrine  of 
the  'spiritual  body'  and  its  connexion  with  the  'natural,'  is 
striking  and  noteworthy.  The  whole  trend  of  modern  psycho- 
logy is  to  draw  the  two  sides  of  man's  nature,  the  bodily  and 
the  spiritual,  more  closely  together  by  emphasizing  the  domin- 
ance of  spirit  over  matter,  recognizing  that 

' ...  of  the  soule  the  bodie  forme  doth  take ; 
For  soule  is  forme,  and  doth  the  bodie  make ' 
(Spenser,  An  Hymne  in  Honour  of  Beautie,  1. 132  f.). 

The  identity  even  of  our  present  bodies  is  now  conceived  by 
science  in  a  less  materialistic  fashion,  as  consisting  not  in  iden- 
tity of  the  particles  of  matter  of  which  the  body  is  composed, 
for  this  is  continually  changing,  but  in  that  which  organizes 


Pauline  teaching,  'the  ™  body"  is  the  same  not  by  any  material 
continuity,  but  by  the  permanence  of  that  which  gives  the  law, 
the  "  ratio  "  (Aoyos)  ...  of  its  constitution,'  the  ratio  insita  a 
Deo  (see  Westcptt,  art. '  Origenes,'  DCS  iv.  138  n.).  Further,  the 
essential  meaning  of  body,  science  itself  is  more  and  more  insist- 
ing, is  the  vehicle  of  manifestation  or  expression  of  spirit,  and 
this  will  take  different  forms  in  different  conditions  of  existence. 
'The  real  meaning  of  the  bodily  life  is  its  spiritual  meaning.  .  .  . 
The  bodily  being  is  but  vehicle,  is  but  utterance  of  the  spiritual, 
and  the  ultimate  reality  even  of  the  bodily  being  is  only  what 
it  is  spiritually '  (Moberly,  Ministerial  Priesthood,  p.  40).  '  A 
human  body  is  the  necessary — is  the  only — method  and  condi- 
tion, on  earth,  of  spiritual  personality.  It  is  capable,  indeed,  of 
expressing  spirit  very  badly  ...  it  is,  in  fact,  almost  always 
falling  short  of  at  least  the  ideal  expression  of  it.  And  yet  body 
is  the  only  method  of  spiritual  life  ;  even  as  things  are,  spirit  is 
the  true  meaning  of  bodily  life  ;  and  bodies  are  really  vehicles 
and  expressions  of  spirit ;  .  .  .  the  perfect  ideal  would  cer- 
tainly be,  not  spirit  without  body,  but  body  which  was  the 
ideally  perfect  utterance  of  spirit'  (Moberly,  Problems  and 
Principles,  p.  358).  Admitting  the  scientific  truth  of  this  view 
of  the  relation  of  body  and  spirit,  O.  Lodge  recognizes  the 
probability  of  a  future  embodied  state.  'Since  our  identity 
and  personality  in  no  way  depend  upon  identity  of  material 
particles,  and  since  our  present  body  has  been  "composed"  by 
our  characteristic  element  or  soul,  it  is  legitimate  to  suppose 
that  some  other  "  body  "  can  equally  well  be  hereafter  composed 
by  the  same  agency  ;  in  other  words,  that  the  spirit  will  retain 
the  power  of  constructing  for  itself  a  suitable  vehicle  of  mani- 
festation, which  is  the  essential  meaning  of  the  term  "  body  "  ' 
(Man  and  the  Universe,  London,  1908,  p.  281  f.).  In  particular, 
he  recognizes  the  reasonableness  of  the  Christian  doctrine  of  a 
bodily  resurrection.  '  Christianity  both  by  its  doctrines  and  its 
ceremonies  rightly  emphasises  the  material  aspect  of  existence. 
For  it  is  founded  upon  the  idea  of  Incarnation  ;  and  its  belief  in 
some  sort  of  bodily  resurrection  is  based  on  the  idea  that  every 
real  personal  existence  must  have  a  double  aspect — not  spiritual 
alone,  nor  physical  alone,  but  in  some  way  both.  Such  an 
opinion  ...  is  by  no  means  out  of  harmony  with  science. 
Christianity,  therefore,  reasonably  supplements  the  mere  sur- 
vival  of  a  discarnate  spirit,  a  homeless  wanderer  or  melancholy 
ghost,  with  the  warm  and  comfortable  clothing  of  something 
that  may  legitimately  be  spoken  of  as  a  "body";  that  is  to 
say,  it  postulates  a  sirpersensually  appreciable  vehicle  or  mode 
of  manifestation,  fitted  to  subserve  the  needs  of  future  exist- 
ence as  our  bodies  subserve  the  needs  of  terrestrial  life '  (HJ  vi. 
[1907-08]  294  f. ;  cf.  'The  Material  Element  in  Christianity,'  t'6.  iv. 
[1905-06]  314  ff.,  and  Substance  of  Faith,  London,  1907,  p.  106). 
To  a  great  many  questions  raised  by  the  in- 
quiring mind  in  this  connexion  no  answer  is 


358     RESURRECTION  OF  CHEIST 


supplied  by  the  Apostle.  As  to  the  nature  of  the 
process  or  method  by  which  the  '  natural J  body 
will  be  changed  at  the  Resurrection  into  the 
'  spiritual '  body,  St.  Paul  never  speculates.  His 
interestwas  practical,  not  theoretical.  He  was  writ- 
ing as  a  missionary,  not  as  a  dogmatic  theologian, 
and  he  confines  himself  to  positive  conceptions. 
It  is  sufficient  for  him  that  he  is  sure  of  two 
things:  (1)  that  the  cause  or  operating  principle 
(dpx1?)  is  the  power  of  the  new  Divine  life  in  the 
believer's  nature,  the  same  power  that  raised 
Jesus ;  and  (2)  that  the  end  or  consummation  of 
the  process  is  the  transformation  into  the  likeness 
of  the  body  of  Christ's  glory.  We  are  apt  to  dwell 
more  on  the  difference  between  the  resurrection  of 
Christ  and  that  of  Christians.  In  one  respect,  in 
particular,  Christ's  resurrection  was  different  from 
the  resurrection  of  believers.  The  body  of  Christ 
saw  no  corruption.  If  Christ's  natural  body  had 
remained  in  the  grave,  no  demonstration  had  been 
given  in  His  resurrection  of  that  continuity 
between  the  earthly  body  and  the  risen  body  which 
is  implied  in  St.  Paul's  representation.  So  St. 
Paul  recognizes  two  'orders'  (1  Co  1523,  rdy/tara, 
groups  or  divisions)  of  the  risen  :  the  one  contains 
none  but  Christ  the  'firstfruit'  (d-rapx^),  who  rose 
on  the  third  day  ;  the  other  is  composed  of  those 
who  belong  to  Christ  who  shall  rise  'afterwards' 
(t-jreiTa),  denned  as  'at  the  Parousia.'  But  as  to 
how  they  shall  rise  St.  Paul  does  not  speculate. 

Again,  no  information  is  given  as  to  the  Apostle's 
conception  of  the  state  after  death  of  those  who 
had  died  or  shall  die  before  the  Parousia.  St. 
Paul  betrays  little  interest  in  the  Intermediate 
State.  '  The  influence  upon  his  heart  and  mind 
of  the  crucified  and  risen  Messiah  fixed  for  ever 
the  point  of  emphasis  in  his  outlook  upon  the 
future.  He  was  able  to  ignore  many  aspects  of 
the  Last  Things  on  which  Jewish  and  Christian 
Apocalyptic  had  set  great  importance.  To  go  to 
Christ,  to  be  with  Christ,  overshadowed  all  the 
accompaniments  of  the  End.  He  knew  that  noth- 
ing could  separate  His  followers  from  the  love  of 
Christ  in  time  or  in  eternity  '(Kennedy,  Last  Things, 
p.  312).  As  Wernle  succinctly  expresses  it,  the 
'  longing  [to  be  with  Christ]  spans  the  chasm  that 
lies  between  death  and  the  resurrection,  and  pro- 
ceeds straight  to  the  desired  goal,  to  the  meeting 
with  Jesus'  (Beginnings  of  Christianity,  i.  287). 

So  it  is  that  even  on  a  question  apparently  so 
central  as  that  of  a  general  resurrection  little  light 
is  given  in  St.  Paul's  writings.  His  absorbing 
interest  was  in  the  resurrection  of  believers,  the 
resurrection  whose  operating  principle  or  dpx'n  is 
the  power  of  the  indwelling  Spirit.  And  his 
description  of  the  resurrection-body  as  '  spiritual,' 
i.e.,  a  fit  organ  for  the  spirit,  is  one  which  cannot 
refer  to  any  but  Christians.  A  resurrection  of 
unbelievers  as  well  as  believers  is  involved  in  his 
recognition  of  a  universal  judgment  at  the  Parousia 
of  Christ  (Ac  2415,  Ro  25ff-  1410- 12,  1  Co  62  II32, 
2  Co  510),  but  such  a  resurrection  occupies  a  sub- 
ordinate place  in  Pauline  eschatology  and  must 
proceed  on  different  lines.  What  St.  Paul  is 
interested  in  is  the  resurrection  of  Christians,  and 
the  other  though  recognized  is  not  dwelt  upon  or 
in  any  way  elaborated — possibly  he  had  not  come 
to  definite  conclusions  on  the  matter.  A  resurrec- 
tion of  the  wicked  as  well  as  of  the  righteous  was 
recognized  in  Jewish  apocalyptic  literature  (cf. 
Dn  122,  Apoc.  Bar.  xxx.  2-5  and  2  Es  T32'37),  though 
the  more  general  view  in  apocalyptic  Judaism 
limited  the  scope  of  the  resurrection  to  the  right- 
eous. In  the  teaching  of  Jesus  a  general  resurrec- 
tion is  presupposed.  In  Jn  5Wi-  He  speaks  of  a 
resurrection  of  '  all  that  are  in  the  graves,'  and 
distinguishes  a  'resurrection  of  life'  (avdcrraffiv 
fuijs)  from  a  '  resurrection  of  condemnation  or 


judgment'  (dt>dffra<nv  /cpttreus).  The  rejection  of 
these  verses  as  an  interpolation  on  the  ground  that 
their  teaching  is  not  found  in  the  Synoptics  or 
elsewhere  in  John  itself  is  not  justified.  Charles 
(Eschatology,  p.  371  n.)  holds  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  resurrection  of  the  wicked  in  Jn.  is  an  intrusion 
due  to  Judaistic  influence.  But  a  general  resurrec- 
tion of  just  and  unjust  forms  at  least  the  back- 
ground of  the  thought  in  Mt  5wt-  10-8  12411-  2531'46, 
Lk  II32,  Jn  1248. 

In  the  Fourth  Gospel,  it  is  true,  a  profounder  view 
of  the  resurrection-life  is  revealed  than  that  con- 
tained in  the  Synoptics.  The  resurrection  is  repre- 
sented as  intimately  connected  with  the  spiritual 
renewal  or  quickening  which  comes  of  organic 
relationship  between  Christ  and  believers  (ll25'-; 
cf.  640-  **  52i  3s6).  So  that,  while  the  resurrection  in 
some  sense  of  unbelievers  is  affirmed  (5'->8f-  1248),  it 
must  have  a  widely  different  basis  and  meaning 
from  that  of  believers.  It  is  referred  to  the  omni- 
potence of  the  Father:  'the  Father  raiseth  the 
dead  and  quickeneth  them'  (521).  But  faith's 
primary  interest  is  in  '  the  resurrection  of  life,' 
the  resurrection  of  those  who  are  '  in  Christ,'  and 
the  apostolic  writers  often  use  language  as  if  there 
were  no  other.  So  it  is  that  scanty  reference  is 
made  to  a  general  resurrection  in  St.  Paul's  writ- 
ings. Lightfoot  (on  Ph  311)  distinguishes  firmly 
between  77  dvdffTacns  (or  e^avdoracrts)  i]  e/c  venpuv  and 
i]  dvdffraffis  TWI>  vfKp&v,  the  former  being  equivalent  to 
dvaffraffis  fwj)s,  the  latter  to  dvdffracns  xpkrews  ( Jn  S29). 

There  are  indeed  those  who  hold  that  in  1  Co  1524 
there  is  an  explicit  reference  to  the  resurrection 
of  unbelievers,  interpreting  rb  rAos  as  '  the  last 
act  (of  the  resurrection)'  (Meyer)or  'the  remainder,' 
the  rest  of  men,  those  not  '  in  Christ,'  as  forming  a 
third  rdy/M.  According  to  this  view,  a  resurrection 
of  believers  takes  place  at  the  Parousia,  then,  after 
an  interval  of  indefinite  duration — between  the 
point  marked  by  iTretra  and  the  following  elra.  in 
which  Christ  gradually  subdues  all  His  enemies — a 
resurrection  of  the  wicked  (see  Lietzmann  and  J. 
Weiss,  in  loc.).  Such  a  millennarian  view  finds 
support  in  Rev  20"-,  where,  although  there  is  no 
specific  reference  to  the  resurrection  of  the  wicked, 
this  is  implied  in  the  expression  '  the  first  resurrec- 
tion,' as  well  as  in  the  connexion  established 
between  the  Resurrection  and  the  Judgment.  But 
the  introduction  of  such  a  thought  is  quite  irrele- 
vant to  St.  Paul's  argument  here  where  he  is 
answering  the  difficulties  raised  as  to  the  resurrec- 
tion of  those  who  have  died  in  Christ.  St.  Paul's 
interest  throughout  is  in  the  resurrection  of  Chris- 
tians, and  for  the  rest  he  is  content  to  urge  men 
to  the  attaining  of  this  resurrection  (Ph  311),  and  to 
warn  them  of  the  fate  attendant  on  the  rejection 
of  Christ  (Ro  25,  2  Th  I9 ;  cf.  1  Th  lw,  Ph  319,  etc.). 

3.  What  it  means  for  the  Kingdom  of  God.— 
The  resurrection  of  Christ,  as  thus  the  ground  not 
only  of  the  moral  but  of  the  physical  resurrection 
of  believers,  is  further  the  pledge  and  ground  of 
the  ultimate  dominance  of  spiritual  interests,  the 
consummation  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  This  is  its 
wider  cosmic  significance. 

(a)  The  redemption  of  the  body  from  the  power 
of  death  and  the  grave,  St.  Paul  shows,  is  an 
essential  part  of  the  Divine  world-plan,  necessary 
to  the  fulfilment  of  God's  Kingdom  through  Christ 
(1  Co  IS20'28).  Without  this  Christ  is  not  Lord  of 
all  ;  'all  things'  are  not  subdued  unto  Him  (v.27). 
'Then  comes  the  end  (rt>  T<?XOS,  not  merely  the 
termination,  but  the  consummation,  expressing 
and  manifesting  the  goal  of  the  whole  process) 
when  he  shall  have  abolished  every  rule  (dpx1?") 
and  every  authority  (tf-ovtriav)  and  power  (Svvafuv)' 
— every  force  or  power  antagonistic  to  the  Divine 
dominion.  '  The  last  enemy  to  be  abolished  is  death 
(6  6dvaros).'  For  St.  Paul,  death,  not  the  mere 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHEIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     359 


physical  experience,  but,  as  for  Hebrew  thought 
generally,  this  experience  in  co-relation  with  sin, 
was  the  supreme  enemy  (see  Kennedy,  Last  Things, 
p.  113).  When  'he '(6  ffdvaros — St.  Paul  almost 
personifies  it)  has  been  vanquished,  Christ's  do- 
minion is  complete  (cf.  He  214,  '  Him  that  had  the 
power  of  death,  that  is,  the  devil,'  and  Rev  2014). 
In  the  resurrection  of  Christ  we  have  the  assurance 
that  sin  and  death  are  not  the  final  realities  in  the 
universe,  but  are  destined  to  be  swallowed,  up  in 
victory. 

(6)  In  the  redemption  of  the  body  through  Christ, 
we  have  the  pledge  of  the  ultimate  subjugation  of 
the  entire  material  order  to  the  purposes  of  spirit, 
the  revelation  of  the  destiny  of  the  whole  material 
universe  to  be  included  in  the  transformation 
wrought  by  Christ.  The  material  order  has  shared 
with  the  moral  and  spiritual  in  the  consequences 
of  sin.  It  has  been  subjected  to  futility  (yuaraiorijTi, 
Ko  820),  to  vain  striving ;  the  full  purpose  of  its 
existence  has  been  defeated  through  man's  sin. 
Like  human  life,  it  is  'in  thraldom  to  decay'  (v.21, 
(pBopd)  and  'waits  with  eager  longing'  (v.19)  for 
'  the  freedom  of  the  glory  (TTJS  do£ijs)  of  the  child- 
ren of  God'  (v.21).  The  redemption  of  the  body 
(17  diroXvrpuffis  TOV  ffutfiaros)  which  is  the  climax 
of  material  evolution,  the  rescue  of  it  from  the 
bondage  of  <j>6opd,  and  the  transfiguring  and  trans- 
forming of  it  so  as  to  make  it  the  complete  in- 
strument of  the  spirit — this  contains  the  promise 
of  the  transtiguration  and  transformation  of  the 
entire  creation,  '  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth ' 
(2  P  313,  Kev  211),  'all  things  new'  (Rev  215).  In 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  as  the  pledge  and  ground 
of  the  moral  and  physical  resurrection  of  believers 
we  have,  accordingly,  the  assurance  that  the  re- 
demption of  Christ  involves  the  rectification  of  the 
material  as  well  as  of  the  spiritual  universe.  This 
new  condition  of  things  Jesus  once  names  the 
'  regeneration  '  or  '  new  birth '  (iraXtvyeveo-la,  Mt 
1918)  of  all  things.  (St.  Peter's  phrase  in  Ac  321 
[&xpi  xp°vwv  aTTOKaracrrdcrews  iravruv]  rendered  in  AV 
'until  the  times  of  restitution  of  all  things'  is 
hardly  a  parallel.) 

(c)  So,  finally,  in  the  resurrection  of  Christ  we 
have  the  pledge  of  the  consummation  of  God's 
redeeming  purpose — the  '  summing  up  (dva.Ke<pa\ai- 
wo-ao-ffai)  all  things  in  Christ,  the  things  in  heaven, 
and  the  things  on  earth'  (Eph  I10),  and  thus  the 
bringing  in  of  final  world-unit}',  when  '  Christ  is 
all  and  in  all'  (iravTa  KO.I  tv  irao-iv,  Col  311).  For  'it 
pleased  (the  Father) ' — this  was  His  aim — '  through 
(5id)  him  to  reconcile  all  things  unto  (e/s)  himself 
.  .  .  whether  tilings  upon  the  earth,  or  things  in 
the  heavens '  (Col  1-°  ;  cf.  Ph  29'11).  The  Resurrec- 
tion, that  is  to  say,  was  for  the  apostles  not  only 
the  completion  of  the  incarnation  and  atonement 
of  Jesus;  it  was  the  fulfilment  of  the  original 
purpose  of  God  in  creation,  the  consummation  of 
the  whole  evolutionary  process.  This  is  expressed 
most  definitely  by  St.  Paul  in  Col  I15ff-,  where 
Christ,  '  the  firstborn  of  all  creation '  (irpwoTOKO'i 
TTCUTIJS  /fTto-ecjs),  its  norm  and  type,  that  which  sets 
for  it  its  true  end — '  for  in  him  were  all  things 
created,  in  the  heavens  and  upon  the  earth  .  .  . 
all  things  have  been  created  through  him,  and 
unto  [with  a  view  to]  him'  (e/s  avrov,  v.15'-) — is 
described  as  the  beginning  (dpxi?,  the  first  principle), 
the  first  begotten  from  the  dead  in  order  that  He 
might  become  (iva.  ytvtrrai)  prominent  over  all  (iv 
irciffiv,  '  no  doubt  purposely  left  indefinite,  includ- 
ing every  province  of  creation '  [Kennedy,  tit.  Paul's 
Conceptions  of  the  Last  Things,  p.  298]).  Through 
the  Resurrection,  as  the  culmination  of  the  In- 
carnation and  Atonement,  by  means  of  which 
Christ  becomes  the  apx^l  or  life-giving  principle  of 
a  new  humanity,  God's  aim  in  the  whole  process 
of  creation  attains  its  end. 


LITERATURE. — On  the  significance  of  the  Resurrection  see 
W.  Milligan,  Resurrection  of  our  Lord,  London,  1881,  lects. 
iv.,  v.,  vi.  ;  B.  F.  Westcott,  Gospel  of  the  Remirrectioiii,  do., 
1891,  chs.  ii.  and  iii.  ;  S.  D.  F.  Salmond,  Christian  Doctrine 
of  Immortality*,  Edinburgh,  1901,  bks.  iv.,  v. ,  vi.  ;  J.  Orr, 
Resurrection  of  Jesus,  London,  1908,  ch.  x. ;  D.  W.  Forrest, 
Christ  of  History  and  of  Experience"* ,  Edinburgh,  1914,  lect.  iv.  ; 
E.  Griffith-Jones,  The  Ascent  through  Christ^,  London,  1901, 
bk.  iii.  chs.  i.  and  ii.  ;  W.  J.  Sparrow  Simpson,  Resurrection 
and  Modern  Thought,  do.,  1911,  bk.  iii.,  art.  'Resurrection  of 
Christ,'  in  DCG  ii.  512;  B.  Lucas,  The  Fifth  Gospel,  London, 
1907,  p.  160 ff.  ;  D.  S.  Cairns,  'The  Risen  Christ,'  in  Christ  and 
Human  Seed,  do.,  1912,  p.  176 f.  ;  H.  Scott  Holland,  'The 
Power  of  the  Resurrection,'  in  Miracles,  do.,  1911,  p.  118  ff.  ; 
S.  Eck,  '  Die  Bedeutung  der  Auferstehung  Jesu  fur  die  Ur- 
gemeinde  und  fiir  uns,'  in  Hefte  zur  christtichen  Welt,  xxxii. 
[1898} ;  R.  H.  Griitzmacher,  Modern-positive  Vortrage,  Leip- 
zig, 1906,  pp.  109-129,  'Jesu  Auferstehung  und  der  Mensch  der 
Gegenwart.' 

V.  ATTEMPTED  EXPLANATIONS  OF  THE  BE- 
LIEF.—  The  character  and  significance  of  the 
apostolic  belief  in  the  resurrection  of  Christ  have 
been  considered,  and  the  historical  evidence  on 
which  the  belief  was  based.  It  remains  to  review 
the  attempts  which  have  been  made  to  account 
for  the  apostolic  belief  and  its  consequences  without 
acknowledging  the  full  fact  of  the  Resurrection, 
as  this  is  represented  in  the  apostolic  writings. 

i.  OLDER  FORMS  OF  EXPLANATION. — Some  of  the 
older  naturalistic  hypotheses  may  now  be  regarded 
as  obsolete  and  abandoned.  They  have  practically 
only  a  historical  or  antiquarian  interest,  and  do 
not  need  to  be  re-argued  at  length.  Yet  they  are 
not  on  that  account  to  be  overlooked.  As  monu- 
ments not  only  recording  past  history,  but  serving 
as  warnings  to  all  time  of  the  futility  of  certain 
methods  of  explanation,  they  demand  passing 
notice. 

1.  The  swoon  theory. — According  to  this  theory, 
Jesus'  supposed  death  on  the  Cross  was  in  reality 
only  a  swoon,  a  case  of  'suspended   animation.' 
In  the  cool  air  of  the  cavern  tomb  He  revived  and 
again   appeared   among  His    disciples.     This  ex- 
planation— a  favourite  one  in   the  school  of  18th 
cent,  rationalism,  and  associated  especially  with 
the  name  of  Paulus — is  now  hopelessly  discredited. 
To  escape  with  His  life  after  having  been  nailed  to 
the  Cross  meant  that  the  Resurrection,  if  resurrec- 
tion it  could  be  called,  was  a  return  to  life  under 
the  same  conditions  as  before,  and  this,  as  we  have 
seen,  is  not  the  kind  of  fact  with  which  the  records 
deal.     The  practical  difficulties  of  the  theory  are 
insuperable.    If  Jesus  had  presented  Himself  merely 
as  one  who  had  stolen  half-dead  out  of  the  sepulchre, 
His  appearance  would  have  produced  the  impres- 
sion or  weakness  and  helplessness,  not  that  of  a 
conqueror    over    death    and    the    grave.     (For  a 
trenchant  statement  of  these  practical  difficulties 
see  Strauss,  New  Life  of  Jesus,  i.  412.) 

2.  The  theft  or  fraud  theory. — A  second  hypo- 
thesis, which  may  also  be  taken  as  now  practically 
discredited,   is  the  theory  that  the  disciples,   in 
order  that  they  might  still  have  a  message,  stole 
the  body  and  pretended  that  Jesus  had  risen.    The 
theory  is  an  old  one — the  oldest  of  all  indeed,  if  we 
may  believe  the  story  of  Mt  2511'15,  which  was  still 
current  in  the  days  of  Justin  Martyr  (Dial,  with 
Trypho,  17).     The  theory  thus  anticipated  by  the 
Jewish  authorities  was  urged,  though  with  some 
difference  of  detail,  by  Celsus  (see  Origen,  c.  Cels. 
ii.   56).     It  is  identified  in  modern  times  chiefly 
with   the  name  of  Reimarus.     The   theory  thus 
stated  would  found  Christianity  on  imposture  or 
fraud.     But  no  sober   critic  now  challenges   the 

food  faith  of  the  first  disciples  in  their  witness, 
'hey  '  really  had  the  impression  of  having  seen 
him'  (Schmiedel,  EBi  iv.  4061).  A  more  recent 
form  of  the  theory  is  that  adopted  by  O.  Holtz- 
mann  (Life  of  Jesus,  p.  499),  that  the  body  was 
quietly  removed  by  the  owner  of  the  grave  without 
the  knowledge  of  the  disciples.  Joseph  of  Arima- 
thaea,  feeling,  on  reflexion,  that  it  would  not  do  to 


360     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


have  in  his  respectable  family  vault  the  body  of  a 
man  who  had  been  crucified,  had  the  body  of  Jesus 
secretly  removed  and  buried  elsewhere.  Another 
form  of  the  theory  is  that  suggested  by  A.  Reville 
(see  Jesus  de  Nazareth.  Etudes  critiques  sur  les 
antecedents  de  I'histoire  evangelique,  Paris,  1897,  ii. 
420ft'.),  that  the  leaders  of  the  Sanhedrin  bribed 
the  soldiers  to  remove  the  body  lest  the  tomb 
might  become  an  object  of  pilgrimage  to  Jesus' 
followers  in  Galilee,  and  fanatical  outbreaks  might 
occur  in  Jerusalem.  Lake  gives  what  he  holds  to 
be  a  more  possible  hypothesis.  His  suggestion  is 
that  the  women  in  the  dusk  of  the  morning  came 
to  a  tomb  which  they  thought  was  the  one  in 
which  they  had  seen  the  Lord  buried.  '  They 
expected  to  find  a  closed  tomb,  but  they  found  an 
open  one ;  and  a  young  man,  who  was  in  the 
entrance,  guessing  their  errand,  tried  to  tell  them 
that  they  had  made  a  mistake  in  the  place.  "  He 
is  not  here,"  said  he;  "see  the  place  where  they 
laid  him,"  and  probably  pointed  to  the  next  tomb. 
But  the  women  were  frightened  at  the  detection  of 
their  errand  and  fled,  only  imperfectly  or  not  at 
all  understanding  what  they  heard '  (The  Resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  Christ,  p.  251  f.).  B.  H.  Streeter  (in 
Foundations,  London,  1912,  p.  134)  claims  that 
'  with  a  little  ingenuity  it  is  not  difficult  to  imagine 
more  than  one  set  of  circumstances  which  might 
account  on  purely  natural  grounds  for  the  tomb 
being  found  empty.' 

But,  apart  altogether  from  the  consideration 
that  the  theory  in  these  different  forms  contra- 
dicts the  historical  evidence  in  vital  points,  and 
that  to  ascribe  to  fraud  or  mistake  the  rise  of  a 
belief  with  such  revolutionary  effects  in  the 
thought  and  life  of  the  disciples  is  altogether  im- 
probable as  an  adequate  explanation,  there  is  one 
fact  on  which  all  such  theories  come  to  grief. 
Within  a  few  weeks  of  the  Death  and  the  Burial 
the  disciples  were  boldly  proclaiming  in  the  streets 
of  the  very  city  where  Jesus  had  been  crucified, 
and  even  before  the  authorities  who  were  respon- 
sible for  the  Crucifixion,  that  God  raised  Him  up 
on  the  third  day,  and  through  this  public  proclama- 
tion were  making  multitudes  of  converts.  If  their 
testimony  was  false,  why  did  not  the  Jewish  and 
Roman  authorities  for  ever  silence  the  disciples  by 
pointing  to  where  the  body  of  Jesus  still  lay,  or  by 
showing  how  it  had  come  to  be  removed  from  the 
tomb  in  which  it  had  been  laid  after  the  Cruci- 
fixion ?  What  could  have  been  at  once  easier  and 
more  effective?  Even  after  an  interval  of  fifty 
days,  as  medical  science  acknowledges,  the  body 
must  have  been  recognizable.  '  The  silence  of  the 
Jews  is  as  significant  as  the  speech  of  the  Chris- 
tians '  (Fairbairn,  Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ, 
p.  357).  'Did  not  in  this  case  spells  could  not,  and 
the  empty  tomb  remains  an  unimpeachable  witness 
to  the  truth  of  the  message  that  the  Lord  had 
risen'  (Orr,  Resurrection  of  Jesus,  p.  213  f.). 

3.  The  subjective  vision  or  mental  hallucina- 
tion theory. — This  is  the  most  weighty  of  the 
older  theories  put  forward  to  explain  the  apostolic 
belief  in  the  Resurrection,  without  acknowledging 
the  actual  fact.  According  to  this  theory  the  so- 
called  '  appearances '  of  the  Risen  Christ  were  due 
to  the  excited  state  of  mind  in  which  the  disciples 
were  after  the  death  of  their  Master.  Overwrought 
and  mentally  distraught  by  the  shock  of  His  death, 
and  yearning  for  His  presence,  they  saw  apparitions 
or  visions  of  Him.  But  these  were  purely  subjec- 
tive— phantasms  or  mental  hallucinations.  They 
longed  to  see  Him ;  they  expected  to  see  Him  ; 
and  they  thought  they  did  see  Him.  Their 
thought  was  perfectly  honest,  but  it  was  neverthe- 
less a  hallucination.  For  persons  in  a  state  of 
unusual  mental  excitement  and  expectancy,  especi- 
ally Avhen  they  are  also  of  a  highly  strung  nervous 


temperament,  such  visions  are,  it  is  represented, 
common  phenomena  of  religious  history,  and  are 
often  contagious.  So  it  was  in  the  case  of  the 
appearances  of  Jesus.  They  began  with  the 
women,  probably  with  Mary  Magdalene,  an  excit- 
able and  nervous  person.  Her  story  that  she  had 
seen  the  Lord  was  eagerly  embraced  ;  it  spread 
with  lightning  rapidity,  and  with  the  force  of  an 
epidemic.  What  she  believed  she  had  seen  others 
believed  they  too  must  see,  and  they  saw.  The 
visions  were  the  product  of  their  dwelling  in  fond 
and  affectionate  memory  on  the  personality  of 
their  Master,  which,  after  the  first  shock  of  despair 
was  over,  they  came  to  feel  was  such  that  He  must 
have  survived  death.  So  it  is  that  Renan  repre- 
sents the  case.  As  he  puts  it,  '  Ce  qui  a  ressuscit6 
Jesus,  c'est  1'amour '  (Les  Apdtres,  Paris,  1866,  ch. 
L,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1869).  With  this  Strauss 
combines  reflexion  upon  certain  passages  of  the 
OT  expressing  faith  in  the  Resurrection,  together 
with  recollection  of  the  Master's  own  predictions 
of  the  fact.  The  inadequacy  of  such  a  theory  to 
account  for  a  belief  with  such  incalculably  momen- 
tous results  as  the  belief  in  the  Resurrection  has 
often  been  exposed,  but  because  of  its  continued 
prevalence  in  one  form  or  other  in  the  present  day 
— such  recent  critics  as  Schmiedel,  Weizsacker, 
Harnack,  A.  Meyer,  and  Loisy  support  it — the 
chief  objections  to  it,  in  addition  to  the  funda- 
mental consideration  referred  to  at  the  end  of  last 
section,  which  applies  equally  against  all  forms  of 
the  vision  theory,  may  be  briefly  indicated. 

(1)  Such  a  psychological  condition  as  is  necessary  to  the 
vision  theory  is  absent  on  the  disciples'  part.  With  hearts  sad 
and  hopes  broken,  so  far  from  expecting  a  Resurrection,  they 
could  hardly  be  persuaded  of  the  fact  even  after  it  occurred 
(Lk  2411,  jn  209-2o,  Mk  16"- ").  The  women  themselves  who 
went  on  the  third  morning  to  the  tomb  went  to  anoint  a  dead 
body,  not  to  behold  a  Risen  Lord.  (2)  With  reference  to 
Strauss's  attempt  to  base  the  expectation  on  certain  passages 
of  the  OT,  there  is  no  evidence  of  any  Jewish  belief  in  Jesus' 
time  of  a  resurrection  from  the  dead  before  the  last  day,  much 
less  of  such  a  resurrection  as  took  place  in  the  case  of  Jesus 
(see  Edersheim,  LT*  ii.  624).  Even  Jesus'  own  intimations  that 
He  would  rise  again,  frequently  as  they  were  given  (e.g.  Mt  162i 
179  2Q19  26p2,  etc.,  and  II s),  seem  to  have  made  no  impression 
upon  the  disciples.  The  thought  was  so  strange  to  them  that  they 
were  unable  to  receive  it.  Only  after  the  event  were  these  pre- 
dictions understood  (cf.  Jn  222).  (3)  The  tradition  of '  the  third 
day '  and  of  the  appearances  already  on  this  day  of  the  Risen 
Christ  in  Jerusalem  is  set  aside  as  affording  too  little  time  for 
the  rise  of  visions.  So  the  upholders  of  the  vision  theory  feel 
the  necessity  of  transferring  the  appearances  of  Jesus  from 
Jerusalem  to  Galilee,  thus  not  only  giving  more  time  for  visions 
to  develop,  but  transferring  them  to  scenes  where  memory  and 
imagination  could  more  easily  work.  This  involves  the  separat- 
ing them  from  the  empty  tomb  and  the  events  of  the  Easter 
morn,  which  we  have  seen  to  be  facts  firmly  rooted  in  the  apos- 
tolic tradition.  The  inadequacy  of  Strauss's  endeavour  to  show 
how  the  belief  in  '  the  third  day '  may  have  originated  from  OT 
hints  (New  Life,  i.  438  f.)  has  already  been  referred  to.  (4)  The 
fact  that  the  manifestations  were  made  not  merely  to  this  or 
that  individual  but  to  companies  of  persons  at  the  same  time, 
'the  twelve,'  'all  the  apostles,'  'more  than  five  hundred,'  in- 
creases many-fold  the  difficulty  of  explaining  as  the  product  of 
subjective  vision  the  fact  to  which  they  bear  witness.  There 
are  no  doubt  genuine  instances  of  '  collective '  delusion,  an  im- 
pression received  or  idea  conceived  by  one  ardent  soul  being 
transmitted  by  a  kind  of  electric  sympathy  to  others  ready  to 
bear  witness  that  they  have  had  a  like  experience.  Schmiedel 
gives  some  instances  (EBi  iv.  4083) ;  but  there  is  this  funda- 
mental difference  between  these  and  the  appearances  of  the 
Risen  Christ,  that  in  the  latter  case,  as  the  narratives  bear  dis- 
tinctly on  their  face,  the  whole  company  was  instantaneously 
affected  in  the  same  way.  (5)  The  theory  is  inconsistent  with 
the  fact  that  the  visions  came  so  suddenly  to  an  end.  After  the 
forty  days  no  appearance  of  the  Risen  Lord  is  recorded,  except 
that  to  St.  Paul,  the  circumstances  and  object  of  which  were 
altogether  exceptional.  It  is  not  thus  that  imagination  works. 
As  Keim  says,  '  the  spirits  that  men  call  up  are  not  so  quickly 
laid '  (Jesus  of  Nazara,  vi.  357). 

4.  The  objective  vision  or  telegram  hypothesis. 

— Keim,  realizing  the  difficulties  of  the  last  theory, 
advanced  the  hypothesis  that  the  appearances, 
while  essentially  of  the  nature  of  visions,  were  not 
purely  subjective — the  result  of  the  enthusiasm 
and  mental  excitement  of  the  disciples — but  real, 
objectively  caused  manifestations  of  the  Risen 
Christ.  His  theory  is  that,  while  the  body  of  the 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


Crucified  Jesus  remained  in  the  tomb,  His  living 
spirit  sent  telegrams  to  the  disciples  to  assure  them 
that  He  still  lived,  telegrams  or  supernatural  mani- 
festations which  the  disciples  took  for  bona  fide 
bodily  appearances  of  their  Kisen  Master  (Jesus  of 
Nazara,  vi.  364).  Keim  thinks  that  in  this  way 
he  saves  the  truth  of  the  Resurrection.  '  Though 
much  has  fallen  away,  the  secure  faith-fortress  of 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus  remains'  (p.  365).  The 
aim  of  the  theory  is,  while  acknowledging  a  kind 
of  resurrection,  to  relieve  the  mind  from  the  diffi- 
culty of  believing  in  an  actual  resurrection  of  the 
body  from  the  grave.  The  root  of  the  theory  is 
thus  aversion  to  the  recognition  of  the  supernatural 
in  the  physical  realm.  In  such  a  theory,  Keim 
himself  acknowledges,  the  supernatural  is  not 
altogether  eliminated.  '  Christian  faith  .  .  . 
oversteps  these  boundaries  [of  the  natural  order], 
not  merely  in  the  certain  assurance  that  Jesus  .  .  . 
took  his  course  to  the  higher  world  of  God  and  of 
spirits  .  .  .  but  also  in  the  conviction  that  it  was 
he  and  no  other  who,  as  dead  yet  risen  again,  as 
celestially  glorified  even  if  not  risen,  vouchsafed 
visions  to  his  disciples'  (p.  360).  The  intervention 
of  the  supernatural  in  the  normal,  mental,  or 
psychological  order  of  the  disciples'  experience  is 
thus  presumed.  Once  we  admit  such  an  inter- 
vention, however,  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should 
not  proceed  further  to  the  full  apostolic  affirmation 
— for  which  this  is  a  poor  substitute — that  Jesus 
burst  the  bands  of  death  and  came  forth  bodily 
from  the  tomb  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day. 

Of  this  theory  Bruce  remarks  with  truth  that  it 
is  '  a  bastard  supernaturalism  as  objectionable  to 
unbelievers  as  the  true  supernaturalism  of  the 
Catholic  creed,  and  having  the  additional  drawback 
that  it  otters  to  faith  asking  for  bread  a  stone ' 
(Apologetics,  p.  393).  Besides,  there  is  the  further 
difficulty  urged  by  Bruce  that  Keim's  hypothesis 
requires  us  to  believe  that  the  faith  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  is  based  upon  a  revelation  from  heaven 
which  was  in  fact  misleading.  '  Christ  sends  a 
series  of  telegrams  from  heaven  to  let  His  disciples 
know  that  all  is  well.  But  what  does  the  telegram 
say  in  every  case  ?  Not  merely,  My  Spirit  lives 
with  God  and  cares  for  you  ;  but,  my  body  is  risen 
from  the  grave.  ...  If  the  resurrection  be  an 
unreality,  if  the  body  that  was  nailed  to  the  tree 
never  came  forth  from  the  tomb,  why  send  messages 
that  were  certain  to  produce  an  opposite  impres- 
sion ? '  (ib. ).  The  hypothesis  really  means  that 
Christ  deceives  His  disciples  by  inducing  them,  and 
through  them  the  whole  Cnristian  Church,  to 
believe  a  lie.  The  new  turn  given  to  the  theory 
by  psychical  research  will  be  considered  below 
(ii.  1). 

LITERATURE. — For  criticism  of  older  theories  see  T.  Keim, 
Jesus  of  Hazard,  Eng.  tr.,  6  vols.,  London,  1873-83,  vi. ;  A.  B. 
Bruce,  Apologetics,  Edinburgh,  1892,  pp.  383-398 ;  W.  Milligan, 
Resurrection  of  our  Lord,  London,  1881,  lect.  iii. ;  J.  Orr, 
Resurrection  of  Jesus,  do.,  1908,  ch.  viii.  ;  A.  M.  Fairbairn, 
Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,  do.,  1881,  ch.  xviii. 

ii.  MORE  RECENT  EXPLANATIONS.— The  charac- 
ter of  the  attack  on  the  Resurrection  in  recent 
times  has  changed  in  some  important  respects. 
New  knowledge  and  new  critical  methods  have 
given  rise  to  new  ways  of  attempting  to  explain 
the  belief  in  the  Resurrection  without  accepting 
the  full  facts  presented  in  the  apostolic  narratives. 
A  close  relation  exists  between  these  different 
theories — they  are  but  different  aspects  of  the  same 
attempt  to  remove  or  minimize  the  supernatural  in 
Christianity — but  different  forms  can  be  distin- 
guished according  to  the  difference  of  emphasis. 

1.  The  psychological  OP  psychical  research 
theory. — A  new  turn,  and  with  it  a  new  vogue, 
has  been  given  to  the  objective  vision  theory  in 
recent  times  by  bringing  the  appearances  of  the 


Risen  Christ  recorded  in  the  narratives  into  line 
with  the  phenomena  of  psychical  research.  The 
late  F.  W.  H.  Myers,  the  leader  in  this  movement, 
held  that  psychical  research  had  definitely  estab- 
lished the  reality  of  telepathic  intercommunication 
between  this  world  and  another.  'Observation, 
experiment,  inference,  have  led  many  inquirers,  of 
whom  I  am  one,  to  a  belief  in  direct  or  telepathic 
intercommunication,  not  only  between  the  minds 
of  men  still  on  earth,  but  between  minds  or  spirits 
still  on  earth  and  spirits  departed'  (Human 
Personality  and  its  Survival  of  Bodily  Death,  p. 
350).  And  so  highly  did  Myers  estimate  the 
worth  of  the  evidence  supplied  by  these  psychical 
investigations  that  he  predicted  that  '  in  conse- 
quence of  the  new  evidence,  all  reasonable  men,  a 
century  hence,  will  believe  the  Resurrection  of 
Christ,  whereas,  in  default  of  the  new  evidence,  no 
reasonable  men,  a  century  hence,  would  have 
believed  it'  (ib.  p.  351).  The  ground  of  this  pre- 
diction he  proceeds  to  state :  '  Our  ever-growing 
recognition  of  the  continuity,  the  uniformity  of 
cosmic  law  has  gradually  made  of  the  alleged 
uniqueness  of  any  incident  its  almost  inevitable 
refutation  .  .  .  and  especially  as  to  that  central 
claim,  of  the  soul's  life  manifested  after  the  body's 
death,  it  is  plain  that  this  can  less  and  less  be 
supported  by  remote  tradition  alone  ;  that  it  must 
more  and  more  be  tested  by  modern  experience 
and  inquiry'  (ib.). 

The  position  thus  stated  has  found  con- 
siderable support,  among  both  theologians  and 
scientists.  It  is  to  '  the  type  of  phenomena  col- 
lected by  the  Society  of  Psychical  Research,  and 
especially  by  the  late  Mr.  F.  W.  H.  Myers,'  that 
Lake,  e.g.,  turns  for  help  in  understanding  the 
nature  of  the  appearances  of  the  Risen  Christ  (The 
Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  p.  272).  As  to  the 
results  already  obtained  in  this  sphere  he  expresses 
himself  more  cautiously  than  Myers.  He  thinks 
it  possible  that  at  least  'some  evidence'  already 
exists  pointing  to  the  fact  of  such  communications 
having  taken  place.  But  '  we  must  wait  until  the 
experts  have  sufficiently  sifted  the  arguments  for 
alternative  explanations  of  the  phenomena,  before 
they  can  actually  be  used  as  reliable  evidence  for 
the  survival  of  personality  after  death  '  (p.  245). 
As  to  the  value  of  the  evidence,  however,  when 
thus  sifted  and  substantiated,  Lake  has  no  doubt. 
The  belief  in  the  Resurrection  even  in  the  sense  of 
the  personal  survival  of  Jesus  after  death  depends 
on  the  success  of  the  experiments  and  investiga- 
tions of  psychical  research.  It  must  remain 
'  merely  an  hypothesis  until  it  can  be  shown ' 
through  these  experiments  and  investigations  '  that 
personal  life  does  endure  beyond  death,  is  neither 
extinguished  nor  suspended,  and  is  capable  of 
manifesting  its  existence  to  us'  (ib.).  Some  of  the 
leading  representatives  of  present-day  science,  too, 
have  found  in  the  phenomena  of  psychical  research 
new  support  in  favour  of  belief  in  the  recorded  ap- 
pearances of  Christ  after  His  death.  Lodge,  e.g., 
maintains  that  the  narratives  of  the  appearances 
are  substantially  accurate  records  or  genuine 
psychical  experiences  on  the  part  of  the  apostles. 
The  appearances  during  the  forty  days  are  mys- 
terious enough,  but  they  can  be  accepted  very 
much  as  they  stand,  for  they  agree  with  our  experi- 
ence of  genuine  psychical  phenomena  the  world 
over  (cf.  Man  and  the  Universe,  p.  290).  This  relat- 
ing of  the  appearances  of  the  Risen  Christ  to  psy- 
chical phenomena  is  held  to  explain  some  of  the 
difficulties  belonging  to  the  narratives,  in  particular 
the  apparent  discrepancy  in  regard  to  the  locality 
of  the  appearances  (see  Resurrectio  Christi,  London, 
1909  ;  Interpreter,  vi.  [1909-10]  306). 

Now  this  branch  of  psychological  science  is  still  in 
its  infancy,  and  it  is  difficult  to  speak  yet  of  any 


362     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


definiteness  of  results.  But  already  it  is  evident 
that  a  new  chapter  in  the  discussion  of  the  Resur- 
rection has  opened  here.  The  whole  question  of 
relation  of  body  and  spirit  has  taken  on  a  new 
aspect  through  these  investigations.  The  mystery 
of  human  personality  and  the  possession  of  hitherto 
unrecognized  powers,  not  only  of  mind  over  mind, 
but  of  mind  over  body,  is  being  revealed  as  never  be- 
fore. The  evidences  of  hypernormal  mental  control, 
especially  in  the  hypnotic  state,  over  bodily  processes 
(e.g.  the  production  of  blisters  and  ecchymoses  of 
the  skin,  the  so-called  '  stigmata '  by  verbal  sug- 
gestion) show  that  mind  has  the  power  of  exerting 
a  far  greater  influence  over  body  than  had  been 
generally  recognized  by  physiologists  (see,  e.g., 
MacDougall,  Body  and  Mind,  ch.  xxv.).  And  the 
evidence  produced  by  such  investigations  of  the 
control  of  matter  by  spirit  in  extraordinary  if  not 
preternatural  ways  may  aid  not  a  little  in  removing 
prejudice  to  the  facts  recorded  in  the  narratives 
as  to  the  resurrection  and  ascension  of  Christ. 
'  When  scientists  of  world-wide  reputation,  trained 
in  the  strictest  school  of  scientific  inquiry,  such  as 
Sir  William  Crookes,  Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  and  Sir 
Alfred  Wallace,  declare,  as  they  have  done,  that 
they  have  verified  the  fact  by  repeated  experiment 
that  ponderable  bodies  can  be  moved  without 
physical  contact  by  some  hitherto  unrecognised 
force  which  was  brought  into  play  by  the  action  of 
human  will,  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  treat  with 
scientific  contempt  the  assertions  contained  in  the 
Gospels  that  Christ's  material  body  disappeared 
from  the  tomb  as  the  result  of  a  hitherto  unrecog- 
nised force  which  was  exerted  upon  it  without 
physical  contact'  (Robinson,  Studies  in  the  Resur- 
rection, p.  97).  It  is  doubtful,  however,  how  far 
help  can  be  obtained  from  this  quarter  in  under- 
standing the  bodily  manifestations  of  Jesus  to  His 
disciples  recorded  in  the  narratives.  The  verdict 
of  most  critics  will,  we  fancy,  be  at  present  one  of 
non-committal. 

Against  the  attempt  to  bring  the  resurrection  of  Christ  into 
line  with  the  phenomena  dealt  with  by  psychical  research  and 
to  make  belief  in  the  Resurrection  dependent  on  the  scientific 
verification  of  these  phenomena  in  the  way  that  Myers  and  Lake 
suggest,  various  objections  may  be  urged. 

(1)  It  does  less  than  justice  to  the  apostolic  claim.   According  to 
Myers,  the  '  essential  claim '  of  the  tradition  of  Christ's  resurrec- 
tion is  taken  to  be  '  the  soul's  life  manifested  after  the  body's 
death.'    Its  claim  extends,  that  is  to  say,  only  to  a  spiritual 
Resurrection,  a  Resurrection  in  the  sense  of  a  personal  survival 
of  Jesus,  an  assurance  that  though  His  body  was  laid  in  the 
tomb  and  remained  there  He  lived  in  spirit.     '  What  we  mean 
by  resurrection  is  not  resuscitation  of  the  material  body,  but  the 
unbroken  survival  of  personal  life '  (Lake,  p.  265).    So'it  is  held 
that  'the  existence  of  verified  apparitions  would  substantiate 
all  that  is  useful  in   the  study  of  the  resurrection,  and  make 
human  experience  in  all  ages  akin '  (J.  H.  Hyslop,  Psychical 
Research  and  the  Resurrection,  Boston,  1908,  p.  383).     As  for  a 
physical  resurrection,  '  this  must  remain  incredible  so  long  as 
such  phenomena  are  not  now  frequent,  and  as  long  as  human 
experience  does  not  reproduce  it  as  a  law  of  nature '  (ib.).     But 
it  was  not  upon  such  spiritual  apparitions  or  '  manifestations  of 
a  surviving  personality '  that  the  faith  of  the  Church  in  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ  was  built ;  it  was,  as  we  have  seen,  upon  His 
victory  over  death  and  the  grave,  as  witnessed  by  the  empty 
tomb  on  the  third  day  and  His  subsequent  appearances. 

(2)  To  place  the  appearances  of  the  Risen  Christ  on  the  same 
level  as  spiritualistic  apparitions  of  the  dead — no  more  miracu- 
lous or  significant  than  they— given  to  assure  the  sorrowing 
disciples  that  their  Master  was  still  living  in  the   world  of 
spirits,  thus  '  making  human  experience  in  all  ages  akin,'  is  to 
eliminate  just  that  which  is  of  distinctive  worth  and  value  in 
His  appearances,  and  to  fail  to  realize  the  true  significance  of 
the  Resurrection    for    apostolic    thought.      The  Resurrection 
claims  to  be  a  new  beginning,  a  new  departure  in  experience,  a 
revelation  sui  generis.    For  the  apostles  the  Resurrection  had 
a  significance  far  beyond  the  incidental  revelation  of  the  truth 
that  Christ  lives  on  after  death.     It  was  a  fact  of  the  largest 
moral  and  spiritual  significance,  for  it  meant  His  exaltation  at 
the  right  hand  of  God,  supreme  in  the  material  as  well  as  in  the 
spiritual  world,  and  as  such  led  to  a  revolution  in  apostolic 
thought  and  life.     To  compare  the  appearances  and  manifesta- 
tions of  the  Risen   Christ  with  their  unique  and  far-reaching 
results  to  the  spiritualistic  apparitions  of  psychical  research  and 
alleged  communications  from  the  other  world  is  to  compare  the 
incomparable.     When  any  of  the  '  resurrections '  investigated  by 
the  Society  for  Psychical  Research  has  consequences  of  a  moral 


and  spiritual  character  to  be  compared  with  the  NT  or  the 
Apostolic  Church — then,  but  not  till  then,  will  we  believe  it  is 
the  same  kind  of  thing  as  the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  So-called 
'  messages '  or  '  communications '  from  the  other  side  of  death 
we  have  in  abundance,  but  they  are  mere  inanities  and  plati- 
tudes which  we  are  as  well  without.  '  If  communication  is 
established  at  all  with  the  spirit-world,  it  is  merely  with  "  the 
dregs  and  lees  of  the  unseen  universe  " — with  spirits  who  either 
have  not  the  power  or  else  the  will  to  communicate  anything 
of  importance  to  man '  (\V.  P.  Paterson,  SDH,  p.  458*). 

(3)  A  scientific  proof  or  verification  of  the  Resurrection  by  ex- 
perimental methods  on  evidence  open  to  all  alike,  such  as  Myen 
and  Lake  desiderate,  would  have  no  religious  value.  The  belief 
in  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  depends  on  an  initial  appreciation 
of  the  uniqueness  of  His  personality — it  is  belief  in  Jesus  as 
risen — and  this  is  spiritually  discerned.  (4)  The  object  of  the 
theory  is  to  bring  the  resurrection  of  Christ  into  line  with 
natural  phenomena  and  '  our  ever-growing  recognition  of  the 
continuity,  the  uniformity  of  cosmic  law'  (Myers,  Human 
Personality,  p.  351),  and  thus  to  get  rid  of  the  supernatural 
especially  in  the  physical  realm.  The  empty  tomb  and  the 
event  on  the  third  day  become,  on  this  theory,  mistakes  for 
which  some  explanation  has  to  be  found.  What  Lake's  sug- 
gested explanation  is  has  already  been  considered  (V.  i.  2). 

LITERATURE. — On  this  theory  see  F.  W.  H.  Myers,  Human 
Personality  and  its  Survival  of  Bodily  Death,  ed.  London,  1907 ; 
K.  Lake,  Historical  Evidence  .for  the  Resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ,  do.,  1907;  O.  Lodge,  Survival  of  Man,  do.,  1909,  art. 
'The  Immortality  of  the  Soul,'  pt.  ii.,  in  HJ  vi.  [1908]  574 ff.  ; 
F.  Podmore,  The  Newer  Spiritualism,  London,  1910;  W. 
MacDougall,  Body  and  Mind,  do.,  1911,  ch.  xxv. 

2.  The  mythological  theory. — The  theory  ad- 
duced from  the  side  of  the  study  of  comparative 
religion  and  mythology  is  perhaps  the  most  char- 
acteristic modern  form  of  explanation.  It  is  con- 
nected, in  its  most  recent  phase,  with  the  rise  of 
the  school  of  thought  usually  called  '  Neo-Baby- 
lonian '  or  'Pan-Babylonian'  from  its  attempt  to 
account  for  much  in  Bible  story  through  the  in- 
fluence of  conceptions  imported  into  Judaism  from 
the  Orient,  ami  derived  chiefly  from  Babylonia. 
The  fundamental  principle  of  this  school  or  move- 
ment in  relation  to  Christianity  is  the  demand  that 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  including  its  OT  pre- 
paration, be  studied  by  the  scientific-historical 
method,  not  as  if  it  were  something  unique  and 
apart,  'a  holy  island  in  the  sea  of  history,'  but  in 
its  place  in  the  stream,  and  in  essential  connexion 
with  religions  chronologically  and  geographically 
adjacent  to  it.  As  applied  to  the  NT,  the  attitude 
of  the  school  may  be  represented  by  the  thesis  of 
H.  Gunkel  that  'in  its  origin  and  shaping  (Aus- 
bildung)  in  important  and  even  in  some  essential 
points  the  religion  of  the  NT  stood  under  the  in- 
fluence of  foreign  religions,  and  that  this  influence 
was  transmitted  to  the  men  of  the  NT  through 
Judaism  '  (Zum  religionsgeschichtl.  Verstanrlnis  des 
NT,  Gottingen,  1903,  p.  1) ;  or  by  that  of  Cheyne  : 
'  There  are  parts  of  the  New  Testament — in  the 
Gospels,  in  the  Epistles,  and  in  the  Apocalypse — 
which  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  newly- 
discovered  fact  of  an  Oriental  syncretism,  which 
began  early  and  continued  late'  (Bible  Problems, 
p.  19).  Among  the  beliefs  thus  accounted  for  is 
the  belief  in  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  in  the  form 
in  which  this  appears  in  the  NT.  Myths  of  the 
death  and  resurrection  of  gods,  '  resurrection 
legends,'  derived  ultimately  from  Babylonia,  were 
spread,  it  is  represented,  through  the  whole  East, 
and  these,  entering  through  many  channels,  chiefly 
through  the  mystery-religions,  became  attached 
first  to  the  figure  of  the  expected  Messiah  in  Jewish 
literature,  and  then  through  Judaism  to  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  and  had  a  powerful  influence  in  moulding 
the  NT  representation  of  His  resurrection. 

It  is  nothing  new  to  draw  comparisons  or  ana- 
logies between  the  NT  story  of  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  and  the  myths  of  the  death  and  resurrection 
of  gods  in  pagan  religions.  Celsus  had  already 
made  a  beginning  in  this  direction.  He  compared 
the  NT  narratives  of  the  Resurrection  with  similar 
myths  in  Greek  story  (see  Origen,  c.  Gels.  ii.  55  f. ). 
What  is  characteristic  of  this  new  scientific  school 
of  thought  is  that  it  is  no  longer  comparisons  or 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     363 


analogies  merely  which  are  sought  between  the 
Gospel  narratives  and  pagan  myths,  but  an  actual 
derivation  the  one  from  the  other.  Gunkel,  e.g., 
thus  derives  from  Oriental,  and  ultimately  from 
Babylonian,  conceptions,  the  NT  story  of  the  Re- 
surrection  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day  (op.  cit. 
pp.  76-83  ;  cf.  pp.  31-35),  the  Ascension  (ib.  p.  71  f.), 
and  the  origin  of  Sunday  as  a  Christian  festival 
(ib.  pp.  73-76).  And  Cheyne  holds  that  '  the 
apostle  Paul,  when  he  says  (1  Co  153'-)  that  Christ 
died  and  that  He  rose  again  "according  to  the 
Scriptures,"  in  reality  points  to  a  pre-Christian 
sketch  of  the  life  of  Christ,  partly  .  .  .  derived 
from  widely-spread  non-Jewish  myths,  and  em- 
bodied in  Jewish  writings '  (Bible  Problems,  p.  113). 
This  is  the  theory  of  Strauss  over  again,  with  the 
substitution  of  Babylonian  mythology  for  OT 
prophecy. 

In  criticism  of  such  an  attempted  derivation  of  the  apostolic 
belief  in  the  Resurrection  it  has  to  be  said  :  (1)  that  the  funda- 
mental assumption  or  allegation  on  which  the  application  of 
the  theory  to  the  NT  story  depends,  viz.  the  influence  of 
Oriental  conceptions  on  Jewish  thought  in  the  way  of  giving 
rise  to  a  pre-Christian  sketch  of  a  dying  and  rising  Messiah,  is 
unjustified.  That  Jewish  thought  in  the  time  of  Christ  was 
familiar  with  the  idea  of  a  resurrection  of  the  dead — a  resurrec- 
tion of  the  body  at  the  last  day — is  certain  (though  Gunkel's 
attempt  to  trace  its  origin  to  extra-Jewish  Oriental  sources 
must  be  contested  ;  see  Kennedy,  St.  Paul's  Conceptions  of  the 
Last  Things,  p.  64).  But  that  the  idea  of  a  dying  and  rising 
Messiah  formed  part  of  this  thought,  that  the  idea  of  a  resur- 
rection from  the  dead  was  connected  with  the  Messiah  in  current 
Jewish  beliefs,  is  contrary  to  evidence.  The  notion  of  a  resur- 
rection of  the  Messiah  had  nothing  corresponding  to  it  in  the 
beliefs  of  Judaism.  Even  when  Jesus  had  given  repeated  in- 
timations of  His  death  and  resurrection,  and  had  represented 
this  as  in  accordance  with  OT  prophecy,  so  contrary  was  the 
idea  to  contemporary  .Judaism  that  the  disciples  themselves 
were  '  slow  of  heart  'to  believe  the  things  that  Jesus  had  spoken 
to  them  (Lk  24'-»«'-  44-4«). 

(2)  Not  only  is  the  fundamental  assumption  of  the  theory 
without  support,  but  the  analogies  quoted  between  the  NT 
and  extra-Jewish  mythological  thought  are  altogether  in- 
adequate for  the  purpose  in  view.  If  God  is  in  all  history 
we  may  expect  to  find  a  preparation  for  the  higher  in 
the  lower  in  the  way  of  foreshadowings  or  prefigurations  of 
Christian  truths  in  ethnic  religions.  But  the  analogies  cited  to 
explain  the  Christian  ideas  are  no  real  parallels.  Take,  e.g., 
the  mythological  explanations  of  the  Resurrection  on  the  third 
day.  Why  was  the  third  day  fixed  upon  for  the  occurrence? 
Strauss  maintained  that  it  was  because  of  OT  hints.  The  in- 
sufficiency of  such  an  answer  Gunkel  and  Cheyne  acknowledge, 
and  they  claim  that  the  matter  can  be  satisfactorily  explained 
only  from  the  historical-religious  point  of  view,  as  due  to  the 
influence  of  pagan  myths  of  solar  deities  on  Jewish  thought. 
'The  three  days'  of  Jonah  and  'the  three  and  one  half  of  Dn. 
(72*  127)  and  the  Apocalypse  (1112- 14)  are  all  forms  of  Oriental 
sun-god  myths  (Gunkel,  p.  82ff. ;  Cheyne,  p.  HOff.).  To  this 
influence  also  is  due  the  observance  of  Sunday  as  the  day  of  the 
commemoration  of  the  Resurrection.  The  Lord's  Day  was  the 
day  of  the  sun-god.  Easter  Sunday  was  the  day  of  the  sun's 
emergence  from  the  night  of  winter  (Gunkel,  pp.  74,  79).  It  is 
not  strange  that  this  was  the  day  on  which  Jesus  was  said  by 
the  primitive  Christian  community  to  have  risen.  It  is  really 
an  ancient  Oriental  festival  which  has  here  been  taken  over  by 
the  early  Church.  But  a  borrowed  story  ought  at  least  to  have 
some  real  likeness  to  its  source,  and  there  is  no  true  analogy 
between  the  story  of  Christ's  death  and  resurrection  on  the 
third  day  and  the  pagan  myths  of  slain  and  risen  gods,  beyond 
the  general  ideas  of  death  and  survival.  These  myths  were 
polytheistic  in  origin,  and  were  a  poetic  rendering  of  the 
phenomena  of  the  yearly  death  and  revival  of  vegetation  repre- 
sented in  ritual  and  personified.  The  death  and  resurrection 
of  Christ,  on  the  other  hand,  were  historical  facts  which  bore 
no  relation  whatever  to  these  myths.  The  resurrection  of  Attis, 
Adonis,  and  Osiris  was  an  annual  affair  symbolizing  the  sun's 
victory  over  winter  in  spring.  The  resurrection  of  Christ,  how- 
ever, was  commemorated  not  only  once  a  year  at  Easter,  but 
also  every  Sunday.  Had  it  been  suggested  by  pagan  myths 
and  rituals,  its  commemoration  would  have  shown  some  trace 
at  least  of  the  rites  which  suggested  the  belief,  but  nothing 
such  is  found.  That  Christ's  death  and  resurrection  took  place 
at  the  time  of  such  a  pagan  commemoration  may  be  regarded 
as  a  coincidence  and  nothing  more,  although  it  may  have  had 
some  influence  in  furthering  the  acceptance  of  the  story  itself 
among  pagans.  The  pagan  beliefs  in  slam  and  risen  gods,  there- 
fore, bear  no  real  likeness  to  the  account  of  Christ's  death  and 
resurrection  in  the  NT.  Attis,  Adonis,  and  Osiris  are  in  no 
sense  historical  characters.  They  are  ideal  embodiments  of  the 
decay  and  reanimation  of  natural  life  year  by  year.  Even  if  the 
apostles  knew  of  such  myths  there  is  no  evidence  that  they 
suggested  to  them  the  idea  of  a  resurrection  of  their  Master. 
All  the  evidence  shows  that  the  last  thing  the  disciples  expected 
was  such  a  resurrection.  The  change  in  their  attitude  came 
about  suddenly.  It  was  not  a  slow  growth,  and  it  claimed  to 


be  based  on  an  alleged  occurrence  which  it  was  within  the 
power  and  in  the  interest  of  many  to  disprove  had  it  been  but 
a  myth — the  empty  grave  on  the  third  day  together  with  His 
subsequent  appearances.  This  was  their  own  explanation  of 
the  ethical  and  spiritual  power  which  differentiates  their  belief 
from  that  of  alleged  pagan  counterparts,  and  this  is  the  only 
explanation  that  is  adequate  to  the  facts. 

LITERATURK.  —  On  the  Mythological  Theory  see,  further, 
J.  Orr,  Resurrection  of  Jesus,  London,  1908,  ch.  ix.  ;  T. ' J. 
Thorburn,  Jesus  the  Christ:  Historical  or  Mythical?,  Edin- 
burgh, 1912  ;  R.  J.  Knowling-,  Testimony  of  St.  Paul  to  Christ, 
London,  1905,  p.  282  ff. 

3.  The  spiritual  significance  theory. — Another 
tendency  which  is  dominant  at  the  present  time  is 
that  which  lays  emphasis  on  the  spiritual  worth  or 
significance  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  while  sur- 
rendering or  sitting  loose  to  the  belief  in  a  bodily 
rising  from  the  grave.  A  bodily  Resurrection,  so 
far  from  being  of  the  essence  of  the  Christian  faith, 
is  represented  as  a  temporary  excrescence  which 
can  be  dropped  without  affecting  it  in  any  vital 
way.  This  is  a  tendency  associated  especially 
with  a  certain  section  of  the  Kitschlian  school  of 
theologians  and  'connects  itself  naturally  with  the 
disposition  in  this  school  to  seek  the  ground  of 
faith  in  an  immediate  religious  impression — in 
something  verifiable  on  its  own  account — and  to 
dissociate  faith  from  doubtful  questions  of  criticism 
and  uncertainties  of  historical  inquiry'  (Orr,  Re- 
surrection of  Jesus,  p.  23 f.).  'The  basis  of  faith 
must  be  something  fixed  ;  the  results  of  historical 
study  are  continually  changing"  (W.  Herrmann, 
Communion  of  the  Christian  with  God,  Eng.  tr.2, 
London,  1906,  p.  76).  The  certainty  to  which 
Christian  faith  holds  fast  is  that '  Christ  lives,'  but 
this  is  a  'judgment  of  value,'  or,  as  Herrmann 
prefers  to  call  it,  a  '  thought  of  faith '  (Glctubensge- 
danke),  a  conviction  based  on  the  impression  of 
religious  worth  produced  by  the  earthly  life  of 
Jesus,  and  not  affected  by  any  view  that  may  be 
held  as  to  the  historical  Resurrection.  The  belief 
in  the  Resurrection  is  thus  not  a  belief  based  on 
historical  evidence  in  regard  to  an  event  in  the 
past,  but  a  faith  inference  from  a  prior  judgment 
of  His  person.  Foremost  among  representatives 
of  this  position  stands  Harnack,  who  lias  probably 
done  more  than  any  other  to  popularize  the  theory. 

In  his  Hist,  of  Dogma  (i.  85-87)  Harnack  contends  (1)  that 
there  is  no  satisfactory  historical  evidence  of  the  actual  bodily 
Resurrection.  '  None  of  Christ's  opponents  saw  him  after  his 
death.  .  .  .  The  succession  and  number  of  the  appearances  can 
no  longer  be  ascertained  with  certainty.  .  .  .  The  disciples,  and 
Paul,  were  conscious  of  having  seen  Christ  not  in  the  crucified 
earthly  body,  but  in  heavenly  glory.  .  .  .  Even  the  empty 
grave  on  the  third  day  can  by  no  means  be  regarded  as  a 
certain  historical  fact,  because  it  appears  united  in  the  accounts 
with  manifest  legendary  features,  and  further  because  it  is 
directly  excluded  by  the  way  in  which  Paul  has  portrayed  the 
resurrection  in  1  Co  15.'  But  (2)  Harnack  goes  further,  and 
pours  ridicule  on  the  attempt  to  find  such  evidence.  He  scouts 
the  idea  of  faith  being  dependent  on  historical  evidence  at  all. 
Faith  must  be  independent  of  evidence  coming  to  us  through 
the  testimony  of  others.  'To  believe  in  appearances  which 
others  have  had  is  a  frivolity  which  is  always  revenged  by  rising 
doubts.'  But  the  faith  which  is  thus  independent  of  historical 
evidence  is,  it  speedily  appears,  a  faith  which  is  indifferent  to  the 
question  of  the  physical  Resurrection.  '  Faith  has  by  no  means 
to  do  with  the  knowledge  of  the  form  in  which  Jesus  lives,  but 
only  with  the  conviction  that  he  is  the  living  Lord.'  The  faith  in 
the  Resurrection  and  the  belief  in  the  empty  tomb  are  two 
different  things.  The  historical  question  and  the  question  of 
faith  must  clearly  be  distinguished  here.  In  his  later  lectures 
on  'What  is  Christianity?'  Harnack  gives  expression  to  the 
same  view  in  his  famous  distinction  between  what  he  calls  the 
'  Easter  message '  and  the  '  Easter  faith."  '  The  Easter  message 
tells  us  of  that  wonderful  event  in  Joseph  of  Arimathsea's  garden, 
which,  however,  no  eye  saw  ;  it  tells  us  of  the  empty  grave  into 
which  a  few  women  and  disciples  looked  ;  of  the  appearance  of 
the  Lord  in  a  transfigured  form— so  glorified  that  his  own  could 
not  immediately  recognise  him  ;  it  soon  begins  to  tell  us,  too, 
of  what  the  risen  one  said  and  did.'  But  '  the  Easter  faith  is 
the  conviction  that  the  crucified  one  gained  a  victory  over 
death  ;  that  God  is  just  and  powerful ;  that  he  who  is  the  first- 
born among  many  brethren  still  lives  '  (What  is  Christianity  ?*, 
p.  163  f .).  To  found  the  Easter  faith  on  the  Easter  message  is  to 
rest  it  on  an  'unstable  foundation."  'What  he  [Paul]  and  the 
I  disciples  regarded  as  all-important  was  not  the  state  in  which 
I  the  grave  was  found,  but  Christ's  appearances.  But  who  of  us 
I  can  maintain  that  a  clear  account  of  these  appearances  can  be 


364     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


constructed  out  of  the  stories  told  by  Paul  and  the  evangelists  ; 
and  if  that  be  impossible,  and  there  is  no  tradition  of  single 
events  which  is  quite  trustworthy,  how  is  the  Easter  faith  to  be 
based  on  them?  Either  we  must  decide  to  rest  our  belief  on  a 
foundation  unstable  and  always  exposed  to  fresh  doubts,  or  else 
we  must  abandon  this  foundation  altogether,  and  with  it  the 
miraculous  appeal  to  our  senses '  (p.  164  f.).  It  must  have  been, 
he  thinks,  even  to  the  disciples  themselves  not  so  much  the 
Easter  message  as  the  impression  of  His  personality  which  was 
the  ultimate  foundation  of  the  Easter  faith  that  He  was  still 
alive.  This  impression  of  the  personality  of  Jesus  at  least  is  a 
simple  matter  of  fact  which  no  historical  criticism  can  in  any 
way  alter  (ib.). 

This  position  is  open  to  objection  on  the  follow- 
ing grounds.  (1)  It  is  based  on  a  view  of  the  rela- 
tion of  faith  and  history — an  attempt  to  make  faith 
independent  of  historical  evidence — which  cannot 
be  accepted.  Mere  historical  evidence,  indeed,  is 
incompetent  of  itself  to  generate  true  Christian 
faith  in  the  Resurrection.  For  this  there  is  needed 
also  an  estimate  of  the  moral  and  religious  unique- 
ness of  Jesus  derived  from  the  impression  of  His 
personality,  which  prepares  the  mind  for  the  proper 
appreciation  of  the  evidence.  Only  to  those  who 
have  received  this  impression  is  the  Resurrection 
truly  credible.  In  this  sense  it  is  true  to  say  that 
the  belief  in  the  Resurrection  is  a '  value  judgment ' 
or  'thought  of  faith' ;  and  that '  no  appearances  of 
the  Lord  could  permanently  have  convinced  them 
[the  disciples]  of  his  life,  if  they  had  not  possessed 
in  their  hearts  the  impression  of  his  Person  '  (Hist, 
of  Dogma,  i.  86  n.).  But  this  is  not  to  make  faith 
independent  of  historical  evidence.  It  may  be  and 
is  involved  in  a  proper  estimate  of  His  worth  that 
'  He  could  not  be  holden  of  death,'  which  means 
not  merely  that  '  Jesus  lives,'  as  the  Ritschlians 
put  it,  but  that  '  He  is  risen  from  the  dead.'  But, 
if  all  historical  evidence  for  the  fact  were  either 
wanting  or  discredited  at  the  bar  of  criticism,  faith 
would  be  involved  in  insoluble  contradiction.  The 
Easter  faith  cannot  dispense  with  the  Easter 
message  which  is  its  historical  attestation,  an 
attestation  which  has  to  be  judged  by  the  principles 
of  historical  criticism.  (2)  When  we  take  the  posi- 
tion to  the  test  of  the  narratives  its  inadequacy  is 
further  established.  Harnack  holds  that  the  dis- 
tinction between  the  Easter  faith  and  the  Easter 
message  is  one  already  drawn  in  the  NT.  '  The 
story  of  Thomas  is  told  for  the  exclusive  purpose 
of  impressing  upon  us  that  we  must  hold  the 
Easter  faith  even  without  the  Easter  message  : 
"  Blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen  and  yet  have 
believed."  The  disciples  on  the  road  to  Emmaus 
were  blamed  for  not  believing  in  the  resurrection 
even  though  the  Easter  message  had  not  yet  reached 
them.  The  Lord  is  a  Spirit,  says  Paul ;  and  this 
carries  with  it  the  certainty  of  his  resurrection ' 
(What  is  Christianity?*,  p.  163  f.).  But  the  sup- 
port thus  found  involves  a  misrepresentation  of 
the  facts.  The  words  to  Thomas  (Jn  2029)  are 
a  rebuke  to  him  for  distrusting  the  testimony 
of  his  fellow-disciples  and  refusing  to  believe  the 
Easter  message  without  the  personal  verification  of 
it  by  his  own  senses.  The  reproach  to  the  two  on 
the  way  to  Emmaus  (Lk  24251"-)  is  directed  against 
their  hesitation  to  believe  the  story  of  the  women, 
confirmed  as  this  was  by  prophetic  prediction,  and 
the  previous  intimations  of  Jesus  Himself. 

St.  Paul's  conviction  that  the  Lord  is  the  Spirit  is 
the  direct  outcome  of  the  appearance  to  him  of  the 
Risen  Christ  outside  Damascus,  which  he  reckons 
in  the  same  category  as  the  earlier  appearances  to 
the  other  apostles.  The  stress  St.  Paul  lays  on  the 
appearances  as  evidence  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
(1  Co  155'8),  combined  with  his  reference  to  the 
burial,  altogether  forbids  the  attempt  to  detach  his 
Easter  faith,  or  that  of  the  early  Christian  com- 
munity, with  which  in  these  matters  he  knew  him- 
self to  be  at  one,  from  the  Easter  message.  '  It 
would  have  conveyed  no  meaning  to  Paul  or  to  any 
member  of  the  original  Christian  circle  to  say  that 


it  was  the  spirit  of  Christ  which  rose  into  new  life, 
or  that  He  rose  again  in  the  faith  of  His  devoted 
followers,  who  could  not  bear  the  thought  that  for 
Him  death  should  end  all '  (Denney,  Jesus  and  the 
Gospel,  p.  113).  The  rising  of  which  they  speak  is 
relative  to  the  grave  and  the  burial.  They  did  not 
need  to  be  assured  that  His  spirit  survived  death. 
Not  one  of  them  doubted  that.  What  they  did  need 
to  be  assured  of,  if  their  faith  in  Jesus  was  to  be 
re-established,  was  His  victory  over  death  and  the 
grave,  and  nothing  but  a  bodily  resurrection  would 
have  convinced  them  of  that.  It  may  be,  as  A.  E. 
Garvie  suggests  (Studies  in  the  Inner  Life  of  Jesus, 
London,  1907,  p.  439),  '  that  Jesus  Himself  would 
have  esteemed  the  Easter-faith,  the  conviction  that 
His  life  and  work  were  of  such  infinite  value  to 
God  that  He  must  prove  the  conqueror  of  death, 
without  the  Easter  message — the  sensible  evidences 
of  the  reality  of  His  Resurrection — as  much  more 
precious  than  this  belief  which  rested  on  the  signs 
of  sense."  As  during  His  earthly  ministry  He  rated 
low  the  faith  that  rested  on  His  miracles  (Jn  448), 
so  the  belief  in  His  resurrection  which  needed 
sensible  evidence  might  be  less  satisfactory  to  Him, 
because  showing  less  spiritual  discernment  of  His 
worth,  than  a  humble  and  confident  trust  in  His 
word.  And  for  us  to-day  brought  up  within  the 
Christian  Church,  the  heirs  of  the  past  with  the 
evidence  of  Christ's  working  through  the  centuries 
before  us,  belief  in  the  Risen  Lord  may  not  depend 
so  immediately  or  directly  on  the  historical  testi- 
mony of  the  empty  grave  and  the  appearances. 
But  if  one  thing  is  made  more  plain  and  certain 
by  the  narratives  than  another  it  is  that  the 
disciples  were  quite  incapable  of  the  belief  without 
the  Easter  message.  Deeply  as  He  had  stamped 
Himself  upon  them  in  His  earthly  intercourse,  the 
disaster  of  His  death  paralyzed  their  faith  in  Him, 
and  this  was  regained  and  reconstituted  only 
through  the  Easter  message  of  the  empty  grave 
and  the  subsequent  appearances. 

But,  it  may  be  said,  the  Easter  message,  though 
thus  needful,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  early 
Christian  community,  to  re-establish  their  faith 
and  thus  set  the  Church  agoing — all  the  more  so 
that  for  them  as  Jews  a  resurrection  without  an 
empty  grave  was  unthinkable  —  is  no  longer 
necessary  to  the  Christian  faith,  and  may  be 
dropped  without  affecting  it  in  any  vital  way. 
Essential  to  the  first  disciples,  so  essential  that  as 
a  matter  of  history  the  Apostolic  Church  sprang 
from  the  conviction  that  the  body  of  Jesus  was  not 
left  in  the  grave,  it  is  no  longer  essential  to  us 
to-day.  The  Christian  faith,  it  is  urged,  is  not  bound 
up  with  holding  a  particular  view  of  the  relation  of 
the  Glorified  Christ  to  the  body  that  was  laid  in 
Joseph's  tomb.  Faith,  it  is  said,  is  to  be  exercised 
in  the  Exalted  Lord,  and  of  this  faith  belief  in  a 
resuscitation  of  the  Body  is  no  vital  part.  This  is 
the  position  taken  up  in  the  latest  outstanding 
illustration  of  the  attempt  to  conserve  a  spiritual 
Resurrection  while  denying  or  minimizing  the  fact 
of  a  bodily  resuscitation — that  of  Sanday  in  his 
pamphlet  Bishop  Gore's  Challenge  to  Criticism 
(1914).  Sanday  is  of  opinion  that  we  ought  to  be 
satisfied  with  a  heart-felt  expression  of  the  convic- 
tion that  the  Risen  Lord  as  Spirit  still  governs 
and  inspires  His  Church,  while  sitting  loose  to  the 
question  of  what  became  of  His  body.  In  regard 
to  the  resuscitation  of  the  body  of  the  Lord  from 
the  tomb,  '  the  accounts  that  have  come  down  to 
us  seem  to  be  too  conflicting  and  confused  to 
prove  this.  But  they  do  seem  to  prove  that  in 
any  case  the  detail  is  of  less  importance  than  is 
supposed.  Because,  whatever  it  was,  the  body 
which  the  disciples  saw  was  not  the  natural  human 
body  that  was  laid  in  the  grave.  .  .  .  The  central 
meaning  of  the  Resurrection  is  just  that  expressed 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST     365 


in  the  vision  of  the  Apocalypse :  "  I  am  the  first 
and  the  last,  and  the  Living  one  ;  and  I  was  dead, 
and  behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore"  (Rev  I18)' 
(p.  20).  All  else  in  the  apostolic  representation  is 
unessential  for  us  to-day,  and  can  be  spared.  The 
bodily  Resurrection  is  but  a  '  symbolical '  repre- 
sentation of  the  essential  fact,  the  result  of  the 
world  of  ideas  in  which  the  first  disciples  moved. 
Their  world  of  ideas  was  one  in  which  the  Resur- 
rection was  conceived  as  a  bodily  resuscitation. 
Their  '  minds  were  steeped  in  the  Old  Testament ' 
and  their  '  thoughts  naturally  ran  into  the  moulds 
which  the  Old  Testament  supplied'  (pp.  24,  25), 
with  its  belief  in  '  nature-miracles '  gathering  round 
great  personalities  in  a  pre-scientific  age — a  belief 
which  'perpetuated  itself  in  the  New  Testament' 
(p.  27).  For  the  first  disciples,  therefore,  the 
'  nature-miracle '  of  the  bodily  Resurrection 
'  seemed  necessary  to  the  completeness  of  the  idea, 
but  it  is  so  no  longer.'  It  '  has  done  its  work  and 
can  be  spared.  It  is  like  a  lame  man  laying  aside 
his  crutches'  (p.  28). 

Sunday's  position  may  be  further  elucidated  by  reference  to  a 
sermon  of  his  published  some  years  previously  in  Miracles 
(London,  1911).  '  It  was  in  Jewish  circles  that  the  belief  in  the 
Resurrection  first  sprang-  up.  .  .  .  But  among  the  Jews  the 
characteristic  form  of  the  belief  in  a  life  after  death,  or  (as  they 
expressed  it)  "life  from  the  dead,"  was  the  Pharisaic  doctrine 
of  a  bodily  resurrection.  This  was  the  form  of  the  belief  which 
the  first  disciples  had  in  their  minds,  and  which  naturally  and 
inevitably  shaped  and  coloured  all  their  experiences.  This  was 
pre-eminently  so  with  St.  Paul,  who  before  his  conversion  had 
been  a  zealous  Pharisee.  ...  So  it  was  in  the  last  resort  this 
Pharisaic  doctrine  that  was  taken  over  by  the  Christian  Church, 
and  that  from  the  first  dictated  the  form  of  the  Christian  con- 
ception. It  could  not  be  otherwise.  It  was  the  one  alternative 
open  to  those  who  believed  in  life  from  the  dead  at  all.  In  that 
mould  the  belief  of  the  first  disciples  was  cast,  and  it  has 
remained  dominant  in  the  Church  down  to  our  own  time' 
(p.  16  f .).  But  it  is  characteristic  of  our  time  to  attempt '  to  go 
behind  this  form  of  the  belief,'  to  show  how  it  arose  naturally  in 
certain  circumstances,  and  to  distinguish  between  the  question 
of  its  origin  and  that  of  its  permanent  validity.  '  And  I  for  one 
do  not  feel  that  I  can  condemn  those  attempts.  I  do  not  think 
that  we  are  called  upon  to  regard  the  precise  form  of  the 
Pharisaic  doctrine  as  the  last  word  on  the  subject.  It  is  ... 
only  the  relative  expression  or  outward  clothing  of  a  Divine 
revelation.  ...  It  was  through  the  medium  of  minds  possessed 
and  dominated  by  these  ideas,  and,  indeed,  practically  not  con- 
scious of  the  existence  of  any  other,  that  the  first  announcement 
that  Christ  was  alive  and  not  dead  was  given  to  the  world' 
(p.  17 f.)-  But  we  have  to  distinguish  between  'what  the 
ancients  themselves  really  thought '  and  '  what  we  moderns 
should  think.'  Indeed  this  is  'the  main  problem  before  us  at 
the  present  day '  (p.  23). 

The  view  of  '  nature  -  miracle '  at  the  root  of 
Sanday's  position  will  be  examined  in  the  follow- 
ing section,  but  meanwhile  two  considerations 
may  be  urged  in  criticism  of  this  depreciation  of 
the  bodily  resurrection.  (1)  It  is  no  doubt  true 
that  faith'  to-day  is  to  be  exercised  directly  in  the 
Exalted  and  Glorified  Lord,  but  our  faith  must 
ultimately  rest  on  historical  fact,  and  it  is  difficult 
to  understand  how  Christian  faith  can  ever  be 
really  indifferent  or  'agnostic'  with  regard  to  the 
facts  about  the  empty  tomb  and  the  Risen  Body, 
which  form  so  essential  a  part  of  the  apostolic 
evidence.  To  make  the  belief  in  the  physical 
resurrection  of  merely  temporary  significance — to 
set  the  Apostolic  Church  agoing — while  now  it 
may  be  cast  aside  as  '  no  longer  necessary,'  is  to 
spurn  the  ladder  by  which  we  have  risen  to  our 
Christian  faith  and  to  leave  this  faith  'in  the  air.' 
It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  conceive  how 
faith  in  an  Exalted  Lord  could  ever  have  been 
attained  if  the  fact  of  the  bodily  resurrection  of 
Jesus  had  not  first  been  recognized.  It  is  founded 
basally  on  the  belief  that  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
was  the  actual  raising  in  glory  and  power  of  that 
which  was  sown  in  dishonour  and  weakness ;  and 
faith  can  never  be  indifferent  to  this  its  historical 
foundation.  (2)  To  sit  loose  to  the  bodily  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  is  to  do  less  than  justice  to  the  full- 
ness of  the  apostolic  representation  of  the  essential 
constitutive  significance  of  the  Resurrection  for  the 


Christian  faith  (see  above,  IV.  ii.).  The  rising  of 
Jesus  from  the  grave  was  for  the  Apostle  at  once 
the  guarantee  and  the  ground  of  the  Christian's 
full  redemption  and  immortality,  body  as  well  as 
spirit  having  its  place  in  the  renewed  Kingdom 
of  God,  '  who  shall  fashion  anew  the  body  of  our 
humiliation  that  it  may  be  conformed  to  the  body 
of  his  glory '  (Ph  3'21).  If  the  body  of  Jesus  rotted 
away  in  the  grave,  then  what  guarantee  have  we 
that  material  forces  are  not  after  all  supreme,  and 
that  Christ  is  indeed  Lord  over  all,  in  nature  as 
well  as  in  grace,  Lord  of  life  and  of  death  ?  The 
Resurrection-Body  is  indeed  not  the  same  natural 
human  body  that  was  laid  in  the  grave.  It  is  this 
body  so  changed  as  to  be  described  as  a  '  spiritual ' 
body,  but  this  is  very  different  from  representing 
it  as  simply  dropped  and  lost,  left  behind  ii  the 
grave  to  see  corruption.  The  plain  question  to  be 
answered  is,  Was  the  body  of  Jesus  left  lying  in 
the  tomb  on  the  hillside  of  Jerusalem,  or  in  some 
other  tomb,  or  was  it  not?  If  it  was,  what  then? 
Let  us  suppose  it  to  be  firmly  established  that, 
instead  of  being  raised,  the  body  of  Jesus  was  for 
some  reason  removed  from  the  tomb  in  which  it 
was  first  laid,  and  buried  elsewhere,  and  that  this 
or  something  like  this  is  all  the  ground  there  is, 
beyond  the  pious  imaginations  of  the  disciples,  for 
the  belief  that  the  body  of  Jesus  was  raised  from  the 
grave.  On  this  supposition  the  apostolic  doctrine 
of  redemption  becomes  seriously  attenuated,  and 
our  Christian  faith  turns  out  to  be  a  very  different 
thing  from  what  it  was  for  the  early  Church. 

The  view  under  criticism  is  really  based  not  so 
much  on  a  scientific  examination  of  the  historical 
evidence  as  on  a  dogmatic  or  philosophical  attitude 
which,  while  seeking  to  preserve  what  is  essential 
to  Christian  faith,  could  sacrifice  the  supernatural 
in  the  physical  realm  as  being  what  Herrmann 
explicitly  calls  it,  '  a  great  hindrance  to  men  to- 
day '  ( Communion2,  p.  80)  in  the  way  of  accepted 
Christianity.  That  this  is  so  is  recognized  with 
characteristic  frankness  by  Sanday  in  this  pamph- 
let. It  is  professedly  because  he  finds  the  evidence 
on  behalf  of  the  bodily  Resurrection  unsatisfactory 
that  he  ranges  himself  with  the  '  modernists '  in 
doubting  the  fact.  But  this  denial  or  minimizing 
of  the  bodily  Resurrection  is  made,  he  recognizes, 
in  an  apologetic  interest,  viz.  of  commending 
Christianity  to  the  '  modern  mind '  by  removing 
what  he  calls  '  the  greatest  of  all  stumbling-blocks  ' 
in  the  way  of  its  acceptance,  the  admission  of 
miracle  in  the  physical  realm.  '  I  know,'  he  says, 
'  that  the  suggestions  I  have  made  will  come  with 
a  shock  to  the  great  mass  of  Christians ;  but  in 
the  end  I  believe  that  they  will  be  thankfully 
welcomed.  What  they  would  mean  is  that  the 
greatest  of  all  stumbling-blocks  to  the  modern 
mind  is  removed,  and  that  the  beautiful  regularity 
that  we  see  around  us  now  has  been,  and  will  be, 
the  law  of  the  Divine  action  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end  of  time '  (Bishop  Gore's  Challenge  to  Criti- 
cism, p.  30).  The  ground  of  this  repugnance  to 
the  recognition  of  the  physical  supernatural  or 
'  nature-miracle '  will  be  considered  in  the  follow- 
ing section. 

LITERATURE. — On  the  Spiritual-Significance  Theory  see  J.  H. 
Skrine,  Miracle  and  History,  London,  1912;  J.  Orr,  The  Chris- 
tian View  of  God  and  the  World,  Edinburgh,  1893,  lect.  vi.  note 
C  (p.  512  ff.);  D-  W.  Forrest,  Christ  of  History  and  of  Ex- 
perience"!, do.,  1914,  p.  158  ff.  ;  B.  Lucas,  Fifth  Gospel,  London, 
1907,  p.  160. 

4.  The  « supernatural-without-miracle '  theory. 
— The  real  motif  of  all  theories  which  attempt  to 
explain  the  apostolic  belief  in  the  Resurrection 
without  accepting  the  full  apostolic  representation 
of  the  fact  is  the  repugnance  to  the  admission  of 
the  supernatural  in  any  specific  or  unique  sense  in 
the  physical  realm.  This  is  the  presupposition  or 


366     RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


prcejudicium  lying  behind  and  determining  the 
attitude  of  modern  thought  to  the  evidence  ;  so 
that  the  fundamental  apologetic  problem  to-day  in 
connexion  with  the  Resurrection  is,  as  it  has  been 
in  all  ages,  the  problem  of  the  supernatural.  The 
latest  evidence  of  this  is  the  attitude  of  Sanday  to 
the  bodily  Resurrection  as  definitely  elicited  by 
his  controversy  with  Gore.  His  '  entire  and  strong 
belief  in  the  central  reality  of  the  .  .  .  Supernatu- 
ral Resurrection '  Sanday  affirms  (Bishop  Gore's 
Challenge,  p.  28) ;  but  he  claims  that  this  need  not 
involve  the  admission  of  the  '  nature-miracle '  of 
the  resuscitation  of  the  Body  from  the  tomb. 
Sanday  adopts  the  old  distinction  between  contra 
naturam  and  supra  naturam  miracles.  The 
latter,  the .'  healing-miracles '  of  the  Gospels,  '  were 
abundantly  accounted  for  by  the  presence  in  the 
world  of  a  unique  Personality,  and  by  that  wave 
of  new  spiritual  force  which  flowed  from  it  in  ever- 
increasing  volume.  They  involved  no  real  breach 
in  the  order  of  nature  (p.  24).  The  '  nature- 
miracles  '  of  the  Gospels,  however,  with  the  bodily 
resurrection  of  Jesus  as  the  supreme  instance,  are 
represented  as  not  merely  thus  supra  naturam  but 
as  contra  naturam,  involving  a  '  definite  reversal 
of  the  natural  physical  order'  (p.  23).  The  con- 
ception of  'nature-miracles'  'took  its  rise  in  the 
region  of  the  Old  Testament '  through  the  influence 
of  myths  or  legends  gathering  round  great  person- 
alities in  a  pre-scientih'c  age  and  '  perpetuated 
itself  in  the  New  Testament'  (p.  27).  But  the 
admission  of  such  miracles  is  contrary  to  the 
postulate  of  modern  science,  the  uniformity  of 
nature,  '  the  beautiful  regularity  that  we  see 
around  us  ...  the  law  of  the  Divine  action  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  time'  (p.  30),  and  must 
be  dropped.  So  the  watchword  of  much  current 
Christian  apologetic  in  its  attempt  to  recommend 
Christianity  to  the  'undetermined'  is  '  the  super- 
natural without  miracle. '  This  is  the  point  of  view 
represented  in  an  extreme  form  by  J.  M.  Thomp- 
son's Miracles  in  the  New  Testament  (London, 
1911). 

At  the  root  of  this  modern  repugnance  to  the 
supernatural  in  the  physical  region  lies  the  con- 
ception of  miracle  as  a  '  violation  of  natural  law,' 
or  'a  breach  in  the  order  of  nature.'  This  is  the 
view  of  miracle  which,  e.g.,  controls  Schmiedel's 
negative  criticism.  '  By  miracle  we  here  through- 
out understand  an  occurrence  that  unquestionably 
is  against  natural  law'  (EBi  iv.  4040).  This  is 
the  view  which  already  underlay  Hume's  famous 
argument  in  his  essay  '  On  Miracles '  (Essays, 
Moral,  Political  and  Literary,  2  vols. ,  ed.  London, 
1907)  as  to  the  insufficiency  of  evidence  for  the 
alleged  Gospel  miracles  in  face  of  our  experience 
of  the  regularity  of  nature,  and  of  the  notorious 
fallibility  of  human  testimony  to  extraordinary 
events.  'A  miracle  is  a  violation  of  the  laws  of 
nature  ;  and  as  a  firm  and  unalterable  experience 
has  established  these  laws,  the  proof  against  a 
miracle,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  fact,  is  as 
entire  as  any  argument  from  experience  can 
possibly  be  imagined  '  (ii.  93).  He  takes  the  Resur- 
rection as  his  typical  example.  '  It  is  no  miracle 
that  a  man  .  .  .  should  die  on  a  sudden  :  because 
such  a  kind  of  death  .  .  .  has  yet  been  frequently 
observed  to  happen.  B.ut  it  is  a  miracle,  that  a 
dead  man  should  come  to  life;  because  that  has 
never  been  observed,  in  any  age  or  country '  (ib.). 
Briefly,  it  is  contrary  to  experience  that  a  miracle 
should  be  true,  but  not  contrary  to  experience  that 
human  testimony  should  be  false  (cf.  ii.  105). 

While  the  '  healing '  miracles  of  the  Gospels,  or 
most  of  them,  may  be  scientifically  explicable  in 
accordance  with  laws  recognized  by  modern  science 
(what  M.  Arnold  called  'moral  therapeutics'), 
the  'nature-miracles,'  with  the  bodily  Resurrection 


as  the  supreme  instance,  are  ruled  out  as  violations 
of  natural  law.  This  objection  to  nature-miracles, 
however,  goes  back  to  a  view  of  nature  and  natural 
law  which,  as  the  offspring  of  a  mechanical  view 
of  the  world,  is  now  obsolete,  yet  which  continues 
to  influence  thought  in  subtle  ways.  If  nature  be 
regarded  as  a  closed  mechanical  system  owing  its 
origin,  it  may  be,  to  the  creative  power  and 
wisdom  of  the  Divine,  but  now  a  self-sufficient,  self  • 
running  order  bound  together  by  iron  bonds  of 
natural  law,  then  what  we  call  'miracle'  can  be 
conceived  only  as  an  intervention  from  without,  an 
inroad  or  intrusion  into  an  ordered  and  complete 
mechanical  whole.  But  if  nature,  as  a  more 
adequate  philosophy  is  now  teaching  us,  and  as 
science  itself  is  increasingly  recognizing,  is  no 
such  closed  mechanical  system  shut  in  upon  itself, 
but  alive,  moving,  a  growing  organism,  a  process 
of  creative  evolution  ;  if  its  laws  are  not  ultimate 
realities  or  entities  which  bind  the  universe  into  a 
changeless  mechanism  of  material  forces,  but 
simply  modes  of  the  Divine  activity,  forms  of 
God's  self-expression — then  a  very  different  con- 
ception of  miracle  presents  itself.  The  distinction 
between  '  natural '  and  '  supernatural '  becomes  a 
distinction  between  lower  and  higher  forms  of 
Divine  activity.  What  is  called  the  '  natural 
order'  is  Gods  basal  method  of  working  in  the 
world,  the  indispensable  condition  of  all  stable 
rational  experience.  What  are  called  the  '  laws  of 
nature '  are  the  general  laws  of  sequence  based  on 
past  observation  and  experience  of  the  Divine 
working  on  this  basal  level — '  a  convenient  short- 
hand method  of  summingupourexistingknowledge' 
— whereby  we  can  say  that  if  the  same  conditions 
are  fulfilled  the  same  results  will  follow.  In  this 
sense  nature  is  'uniform'  or  'regular.'  If  the 
conditions  are  changed,  however,  and  new  forces 
are  introduced  whereby  a  new  level  of  Divine 
working  is  brought  about,  the  ordinary  laws  of 
nature  are  not  violated  or  contradicted  but  tran- 
scended, their  action  is  controlled  or  modified  for 
higher  ends.  Standing  at  the  lower  level  and 
without  experience  of  the  higher,  the  new  experi- 
ences may* seem  to  contradict  what  is  natural  at 
that  level,  to  be  in  that  sense  contra  naturam, 
while  really,  as  St.  Augustine  long  ago  pointed 
out,  being  only  '  contrary  to  nature  so  far  as  yet 
known'  ('non  contra  naturam,  sed  contra  quam 
est  nota  natura '  [de  Civ.  Dei,  xxi.  8]).  From  the 
point  of  view  of  the  physical  order  the  phenomena  of 
organic  nature  and  still  more  of  self-conscious  per- 
sonality will  appear  as  if  they  contradicted  the  laws 
of  that  order.  They  would  be  contradictory  only 
if  these  laws  were  assumed  to  be  final  and  ultimate 
instead  of  being  means  to  ends  beyond  themselves. 
Apply  this  to  the  nature-miracles  of  Jesus, 
and  in  particular  to  His  bodily  resurrection. 
If  we  regard  Jesus  of  Nazareth  as  one  whose 
life  moved  wholly  on  the  plane  of  our  ordi- 
nary human  experience,  the  contra  naturam  argu- 
ment might  be  urged  with  plausibility.  But  in 
Jesus,  as  the  narratives  present  Him,  we  have  a 
new  phenomenon  in  human  history,  unique  in  His 
character,  person,  and  work.  He  stood  in  the 
midst  of  a  sinful  world,  the  alone  sinless  One, 
living  in  perfect  communion  with  God,  and  claim- 
inga  unique  relation  to  God  and  man — aclaim  which 
He  substantiated  in  the  experience  of  those  who 
submitted  themselves  to  Him,  making  them  verit- 
ably 'new  creations.'  This  is  a  miracle  in  the 
moral  and  spiritual  sphere  as  wonderful  as  any 
alleged  miracle  in  the  physical.  It  is  a  new 
departure  in  human  history — in  this  sense  'con- 
trary to  experience ' — so  that  we  cannot  criticize 
Him  by  the  light  of  any  canons  drawn  from  our 
past  experience  of  ordinary  humanity.  In  the 
case  of  such  a  new  phenomenon  we  should  ante- 


RESURRECTION  OF  CHRIST 


REVELLING 


367 


cedently  expect  that  He  would  manifest  Himself 
in  new  and  unfamiliar  ways.  '  As  with  the  appear- 
ance of  man  there  were  introduced  new  powers 
and  properties  unimaginable  from  the  animal 
point  of  view  and  therefore  from  that  point  of 
view  seemingly  supernatural  —  so  with  the 
appearance  of  the  Christ  we  ought  to  expect  new 
powers  and  properties  unimaginable  from  the 
human  point  of  view  and  therefore  to  us  seemingly 
supernatural,  i.e.  above  our  nature '  (J.  le  Conte, 
F.rnl  ution  in  Relation  to  Religious  Thought,  London, 
1888,  p.  362). 

Human  personality  is  a  unity  in  which  spirit- 
ual and  material  are  organically  connected  and 
mutually  dependent,  the  spirit  moulding  the  body 
and  the  body  in  turn  influencing  the  spirit.  Sin, 
accordingly,  is  a  fact  which  though  primarily 
moral  and  spiritual — a  matter  of  the  will — yet 
extends  to  and  includes  the  physical  as  well, 
moral  and  physical  mingling  with  and  react- 
ing on  each  other  till  the  entire  resultant  may  be 
spoken  of  as  '  the  body  of  this  death  ' — '  a  complex 
whole  in  which  it  is  impossible  to  disentangle  the 
spiritual  element  from  the  diseased  conditions  and 
perverted  functions  of  organ  and  tissue,  which 
personal  and  ancestral  sins  have  brought  about ' 
(Illingworth,  Divine  Immanence,  p.  92).  In  like 
manner  sinlessness  is  a  fact  which,  though  primarily 
moral  and  spiritual,  concerns  the  physical  as  well, 
a  sinless  soul  carrying  with  it  as  its  correlative 
an  unstained  body.  It  may  be  '  contrary  to 
experience,'  as  Hume  says,  that  a  human  body 
should  rise  from  the  dead  ;  it  is  contrary  to  our 
experience,  that  is  to  say,  of  ordinary  human 
bodies,  the  bodies  of  sinful  men.  But  in  the  case 
of  a  sinless  personality  like  that  of  Jesus  we  have 
a  fact  so  transcending  ordinary  experience  that  no 
amount  of  evidence  drawn  from  such  experience 
can  warrant  us  in  laying  down  beforehand  how 
nature  will  react  on  such  an  one.  It  may  be  as 
normal  for  a  sinless  man  to  rise  from  the  dead  as 
it  is  for  the  bodies  of  sinful  men  to  remain  in  the 
grave.  At  all  events  our  modern  scientific  know- 
ledge of  the  mutual  interdependence  of  spirit  and 
body  makes  it  a  priori  probable  that  one  who  like 
Jesus  was  not  holden  of  sin  should  also  not  be 
holden  of  death.  Without  this  the  manifestation 
of  His  triumph  over  sin  would  be  incomplete. 
But  more  than  this.  Jesus  claimed  not  only  to 
be  sinless  Himself  but  to  have  come  into  the  world 
to  destroy  the  dominion  of  sin  in  others.  He 
stood  over  against  men  the  alone  sinless  One  claim- 
ing to  have  power  to  forgive  and  to  redeem,  and, 
in  manifestation  of  His  power  to  rectify  the  whole 
disorder  caused  by  sin  and  restore  the  entire 
personality  of  man,  body  as  well  as  soul,  to  God's 
plan  for  it,  He  performed  works  of  healing  on  the 
body.  His  healing  of  the  one  He  connected  with 
His  forgiving  of  the  other  as  parts  of  the  same 
redemptive  work.  Of  this  redemptive  Lordship, 
His  own  bodily  resurrection  was  at  once  the  con- 
summating manifestation  and  the  final  guarantee  ; 
so  that  being  such  an  One  as  He  was  and  proved 
Himself  to  be  per  ejus  benefcia  'it  was  not  possible 
that  he  should  be  holden  of  death '  (Ac  2'24). 

It  is  in  the  light  of  these  considerations  that  the 
physical  Resurrection  becomes  credible,  and  even 
antecedently  probable.  It  is  not  an  isolated  abnormal 
incident  in  an  otherwise  normal  career.  '  If  the 
Resurrection  were  alleged  to  have  occurred  abruptly 
in  the  middle  of  a  series  of  events  which  passed 
on  slowly  to  their  consummation  unaffected 
by  its  interruption  .  .  .  then  we  might  have 
paused  in  doubt  before  so  stupendous  a  miracle, 
and  pleaded  the  uniformity  of  nature  against  the 
claims  of  such  an  event  upon  our  belief '  (Westcott, 
Gospel  of  the  Resurrection,  p.  105).  But  the 
Resurrection  is  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  and,  as 


such,  an  event  at  once  with  unique  antecedents 
and  unique  consequents.  Its  context  on  either 
side  is  miraculous.  It  is  the  culmination  of  a 
unique  human  life,  a  life  which  was  a  moral 
miracle  constituting  a  break  in  human  experience, 
and  making  such  a  physical  miracle  as  the  Resur- 
rection altogether  natural  and  congruous ;  a  life 
too  which  was  represented  as  the  consummation  of 
God's  purposes  in  all  previous  human  history — for 
this  is  the  essential  meaning  of  the  appeal  to  proph- 
ecy made  by  the  apostles.  Then  there  are  the  unique 
consequents  of  the  fact — and  the  nature  of  a  cause 
becomes  apparent  only  in  the  effect — the  rise  of  the 
Christian  Church  as  a  new  and  ever-increasing 
power  in  history  constituted  in  the  continuous 
miracle  of  Christian  history  and  experience.  It  is 
when  we  consider  the  Resurrection  thus  in  its  con- 
text that  we  see  the  naturalness  and  congruousness 
of  the  fact.  As  the  consummation  of  the  Incarna- 
tion and  the  means  of  realizing  its  purposes,  the 
Resurrection  is  at  once  an  end  and  a  new  begin- 
ning. '  To  this  fact  all  former  history  converges  as 
to  a  certain  goal ;  from  this  fact  all  subsequent 
history  flows  as  from  its  life-giving  spring  (ib. 
p.  104).  And  so,  taking  all  the  evidence  together 
— evidence  converging  and  cumulative — it  is  not 
too  much  to  say  with  Westcott  that  '  there  is  no 
single  historic  incident  better  or  more  variously 
supported  than  the  resurrection  of  Christ'  (p.  137). 

LITERATURE. — On  the  Resurrection  and  the  supernatural  see 
B.  F.  Westcott,  Gospel  of  the  Resurrection1*,  London,  1888, 
pp.  15-54;  J.  p.  F.  Murray,  'The  Spiritual  and  Historical 
Evidence  for  Miracles,'  in  Cambridge  Theological  Essays,  ed. 
H.  B.  Swete,  jdo.,  1905,  p.  311  ff.  ;  M.  Dods,  The  Super- 
natural in  Christianity  (in  reply  to  Pfleiderer),  2Edinburgh, 
1894 ;  J.  R.  Illingworth,  Divine  Immanence,  London,  1898, 
The  Gospel  Miracles,  do.,  1915  (e»p.  ch.  ii.);  A.  C.  Headlam, 
The  Miracles  of  the  New  Testament,  do.,  1914  ;  A.  J.  Balfour, 
Theism  and  Humanism,  do.,  1915 ;  H.  Scott  Holland  in 
Christian  Commonwealth,  June  1909  (criticism  of  Sanday). 

LITERATURE. — The  chief  relevant  literature  on  the  various 
aspects  of  the  subject  has  been  indicated  in  the  body  of  the 
article.  On  the  whole  subject  the  older  works  of  B.  F.  West- 
cott,  The  Gospel  of  the  Resurrection1,  London,  1865,  The 
Revelation  of  the  Risen  Lord%,  do.,  1882,  W.  Milligan,  The 
Resurrection  of  our  Lord,  do.,  1881,  Ascension  and  Heavenly 
Priesthood  of  our. Lord,  do.,  1S92,  and  S.  D.  F.  Salmond,  The 
Christian  Doctrine  of  Immortality,  Edinburgh,  1895,  are  not 
yet  superseded.  Among  more  recent  works  covering  the  whole 
field  the  more  important  are  A.  Meyer,  Die  Auferstehung 
Christi,  Freiburg  i.  B.,  1905;  L.  Ihmels,  Die  Auferstehung 
Jesu  Christi,  Leipzig,  1906  ;  J.  Orr,  The  Resurrection  of  Jesus, 
London,  1908;  C.  H.  Robinson,  Studies  in  the  Resurrection  of 
Christ,  do.,  1909  ;  W.  J.  Sparrow  Simpson,  Our  Lard's  Resur- 
rection, do.,  1905,  The  Resurrection  and  Modern  Thought,  do., 
1911.  Cf.  E.  R.  Bernard,  art.  'Resurrection,'  HDB  iv.  231- 
28(i ;  W.  J.  Sparrow  Simpson,  art.  'Resurrection  of  Christ," 
DCG  ii.  505-514.  J.  M.  SHAW. 

RETRIBUTION.— See  VENGEANCE. 
REUBEN.— See  TRIBES. 
REVELATION.— See  INSPIRATION. 
REVELATION,  BOOK  OF.— See  APOCALYPSE. 

REVELLING.— 'Revelling'  is  the  tr.  of  KtD/uos 
(perhaps  from  Keifuii)  in  Ro  13lif  (RV),  Gal  5a,  1  P 
4s.  The  Greek  word  denoted  also  a  band  of 
revellers.  The  KU/U.OS  was  a  characteristic  feature 
of  Greek  life.  There  was  (1)  the  more  regular  and 
orderly  /ctD/tos,  the  festal  procession  in  honour  of  the 
victors  at  the  games,  partaking  of  the  nature  of  a 
chorus.  Most  of  Pindar's  odes  were  written  to  be 
sung  at  Kwfj.oi  of  this  sort.  And  there  was  (2)  the 
riotous  KcD/xos,  the  nocturnal  procession  of  revellers, 
who  ended  their  carousal  on  a  festival-day  by 
parading  the  streets  with  torches  in  their  hands 
and  garlands  on  their  heads,  singing  and  shouting 
in  honour  of  Bacchus  or  some  other  god,  and  otter- 
ing wanton  insult  to  every  person  they  met.  In 
later  Greek  mythology,  as  we  learn  from  the 
Ei^m  of  Philostratus  (3rd  cent.  A.D.),  Comus  was 


368 


KEVENGE 


KEWARD 


the  god  of  festive  mirth.  Milton  calls  him  the  son 
of  Bacchus  and  Circe,  and  puts  into  his  mouth  the 
words  : 

'  Meanwhile,  welcome  joy  and  feast, 
Midnight  shout  and  revelry, 
Tipsy  dance  and  jollity. 

What  hath  night  to  do  with  sleep  ?' 

(Comus,  102  ff.). 

With  such  pagan  ideas  in  mind,  St.  Paul  urges 
the  Romans  to  '  walk  becomingly  (e&rx^AidVws), 
as  in  the  day  ;  not  in  revelling  and  drunkenness' 
(Ro  1313).  See  R.  C.  Trench,  Synonyms  of  the  NT6, 
London,  1876,  §  Ixi.,  and  art.  DRUNKENNESS. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

REVENGE.— See  VENGEANCE. 

REWARD. — It  will  be  convenient,  in  the  course 
of  this  article,  (1)  to  define  the  usage  of  the  term  ; 
(2)  to  indicate  its  occurrence  in  the  apostolic  writ- 
ings ;  (3)  briefly  to  set  forth  the  place  of  this  con- 
ception in  the  apostolic  teaching. 

1.  The  verb   '  to  reward '  is  capable  of  neutral 
usage  ;  it  may  mean  to  give  in  return  evil  as  well 
as  good  (cf.  Ps  74  3512  [AV]).     But  the  usual  mean- 
ing of  '  reward '  as  a  noun  is  an  equivalent  return 
for  good.    A  '  reward '  is  a  thing  that  carries  with 
it  the  idea  of  gain,  profit,  or  remuneration.     The 
present  discussion  will  confine  itself  to  this  view  of 
the  word  and  will  endeavour  to  indicate  the  place 
which  '  reward,'  in  the  sense  of  payment  or  wages, 
holds  as  a  factor  in  the  Christian  life. 

2.  The  usual  word  in  the  NT  for  '  reward,'  in  the 
sense  of  hire  or  wages  for  work,  is  /jucrOds.     It  is  so 
used  by  St.  Paul  (Ro  44,  1  Co  3s- 14  917- 18).    In  1  Ti  518 
(quoting  Lk  107)  RV  translates  'hire.'    In  Ja  54, 
2  P  213- 15,  and  Jude  "  RV  also  translates  by  '  hire.' 
But  in  2  Jn  8,  Rev  II18  2212  the  rendering  is  again 
'reward.'     St.  Paul  also  twice  uses  the  late,  non- 
classical  compound  avri/juo-Gia,  which  in  each  case 
RV  translates   'recompense.'     This  expression  is 
neutral  in  meaning,  for  in  Ro  I27  the  allusion  is  to 
due  recompense  of  error  ;  in  2  Co  613,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  to  corresponding  enlargement  of  heart 
in  response  to  the  Apostle's  affection. 

The  normal  verb  to  express  reward,  in  the  sense 
of  equivalent  payment,  of  either  good  or  evil  is 
dirodidw/j.1.  This  occurs  in  NT  passim,  and  is  the 
basis  of  the  substantive  which  occurs  only  once  in 
the  NT  as  used  by  St.  Paul  in  Col  S24,  when,  in 
urging  slaves  to  single-hearted  service,  he  says  that 
they  shall  receive  from  the  Lord  rty  dvrair65o<nv  TTJS 
K\Tjpovo/j,ia'i  (RV '  the  recompense  of  the  inheritance '). 
This  word  is  frequent  both  in  LXX  and  in  classical 
Greek.  It  occurs  also  in  inscriptions  and  papyri 
(cf.  Moulton  and  Milligan,  Vocabulary  of  the  Greek 
Testament,  pt.  i. ,  London,  1914,  s.v. ). 

From  a  combination  of  /j.ur96s  and  diroStSufj-i  we 
get  the  late  and  non -classical  compound  fucrB- 
airoSoffia,  which  word  (with  its  corresponding  /ucr0- 
a7ro56r»7s,  He  II6)  occurs  in  Hebrews  only  (22 10s5  II26) 
and  nowhere  else  in  the  Greek  Bible.  RV  trans- 
lates fj.iff0airoS6Tris  by  '  rewarder,'  but  /u<r0cnro5o<ria  in 
each  instance  by  'recompense  of  reward.'  The 
word  is  employed  in  a  neutral  sense,  for  22  refers 
to  the  consequences  of  transgression  and  disobedi- 
ence, while  1035  refers  to  the  consequences  of  Chris- 
tian Trappijo-i'a,  and  ll8-26  refer  to  the  reward  of 
faith  and  faithful  endurance.  In  fact,  the  word 
emphasizes  the  exact  requital  of  either  good  or 
evil  by  a  sovereign  judge. 

The  word  fj.iff6a.Tro8ocria.  does  not  occur  in  the  writ- 
ings of  the  Apostolic  Fathers.  The  Pauline  avri- 
/j.iff6ia  appears  now  and  then  in  2  Clement  (i.  3,  5, 
ix.  7).  In  xi.  6  it  is  coupled  with  a  quotation 
from  He  1023,  Trwrds  yap  ecr-riv  6  eirayyfi\d/j.€vos  rots 
dvTi/j.i<r6ias  d.TroSiS6vai  e/cdory  r&v  fpyuv  avrov.  XV.  2, 
speaking  of  faith  and  love,  says,  Tafrrr)v  yap  ?x<Vi«' 
diroSovvai  rip  Qe$  T<$  KTlcravri  r/yufis. 


occurs  in  Ep.  Barn.  xix.  11  and 
Didache  iv.  7,  in  the  same  phrase  in  both  places : 
ov  Sicrrdcreis  Sovvai  ov5£  didovs  yoyytifffts'  yv&ffj)  yap  rls 
iffnv  6  TOV  fjuffffov  KaXbs  dvraTroSbrrjs. 

fju<r66s  is  of  fairly  frequent  occurrence  in  con- 
texts suggesting  reward  or  requital.  Perhaps  the 
most  interesting  for  the  present  purpose  are  1  Clem, 
xxxiv.  3  and  Ep.  Barn.  xxi.  3,  in  both  of  which  the 
allusion  is  to  Is  4010  :  Kvpios  pera  icrx^os  ipxerai  .  .  . 
I8ov  6  iMffQbs  avrov  per'  avrov.  The  same  idea  is 
expressed  in  Ep.  Barn.  iv.  12  :  l/caoros  /catfws  tirolrjffev 
/co/uetrai. 

3.  The  foregoing  investigation  has  been  con- 
cerned with  the  words  usually  employed  by  the 
apostolic  writers  to  express  the  idea  of  requital 
in  general  and  of  reward  in  particular.  The  general 
idea  of  requital  does  not  come  up  here  for  discus- 
sion. It  may  suffice  to  say  that  the  idea  of  judg- 
ment, with  the  view  that  a  man's  works,  the 
general  moral  tenor  of  his  life,  is  the  standard  by 
which  lie  will  be  judged,  is  the  consistent  doctrine 
of  Scripture  throughout.  The  more  immediate 
question  is  the  place  which  the  idea  of  reward  holds 
in  the  apostolic  teaching — the  conception  of  the 
Christian  life  as  a  service  rendered  for  which  pay- 
ment will  be  received. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  conception  of  reward 
may  be  traced  throughout  the  apostolic  writings, 
the  later  as  well  as  the  earlier,  and  that,  presum- 
ably, it  reproduces  the  teaching  of  our  Lord.  That 
it  formed  part  of  His  teaching  is  undeniable  (cf. 
Mt  64  1627).  It  is  sometimes  suggested  that  the 
holding  forth  of  reward  is  not  the  highest  ground 
of  appeal  for  virtuous  action,  and  that  our  Lord's 
words  here  were  conditioned  by  the  exigencies  of 
addresses  to  a  popular  audience.  Without  raising 
the  question  whether  '  virtue  for  virtue's  own  sake,' 
in  total  abstraction  from  all  thoughts  of  conse- 
quences of  any  kind,  is  a  thing  really  conceivable 
by  any  human  intelligence,  it  may  be  asserted  that 
the  idea  of  reward  as  employed  by  Christ  requires 
neither  extenuation  nor  apology. 

He  came  to  proclaim  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The 
relation  of  the  members  of  that  Kingdom  to  God 
is  one  of  service,  a  service  involving  the  correspond- 
ing idea  of  reward.  This  idea  of  service  is  in  no 
way  incompatible  with  that  of  sonship ;  a  son  as 
well  as  a  subject  must  serve.  It  should  also  be 
remembered  that  reward,  so  far  as  it  appears  in 
Christ's  teaching,  is  conceived  not  quantitatively 
but  qualitatively.  The  reward  for  which  the 
disciple  looks  is  simply  the  completion  of  his  sal- 
vation. In  all  his  service  and  all  his  sacrifice  for 
the  Kingdom  he  is  moved  by  the  desire  for  parti- 
cipation in  the  completed  Kingdom.  His  reward 
lies  in  the  attainment  of  that  for  which  he  has 
striven,  and  any  other  motive  destroys  the  value 
of  his  service. 

In  fact,  the  idea  of  reward  is  entirely  legitimate 
and  appropriate  when  we  remember  in  what  the 
reward  consists.  It  might  be  thought,  for  example, 
that  the  Johannine  conception  of  salvation  as 
eternal  life,  a  life  developing  by  its  own  inner 
necessity,  \vould  exclude  the  idea  of  reward.  But 
in  the  Johannine  writings,  along  with  the  idea  of 
life,  we  have  that  of  keeping  Christ's  command- 
ments. From  this  point  of  view  the  idea  of  service 
appears,  and  with  it  the  presence  of  an  impulse, 
which  is  provided  by  the  promised  reward.  What 
is  the  reward  ?  Simply  closer  union  with  Christ. 
'  He  that  hath  my  commandments,  and  keepeth 
them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  me  :  and  he  that  loveth 
me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father,  and  I  will  love 
him,  and  will  manifest  myself  unto  him  '  (Jn  1421) ; 
'  if  ye  keep  my  commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in 
my  love'  (1510) ;  'ye  are  my  friends,  if  ye  do  the 
things  which  I  command  you'  (1514).  A  reward 
for  service,  which  consists  in  abiding  in  Christ's* 


KEWARD 


BHEGIUM 


369 


love,  needs  no  apology,  but  may  well  stand  as  the 
highest  conceivable  motive  to  action.  The  reward 
may  be  otherwise  expressed  as  honour  bestowed  by 
the  Father  (cf.  Jn  1224"26,  a  passage  which  comes  into 
close  contact  with  the  Synoptic  presentment  of  the 
matter  in  Mt  1032,  Lk  1411).  It  is  the  teaching  of 
the  Fourth  Gospel,  as  quoted  above,  that  forms 
the  background  to  the  passage  in  2  Jn 8,  '  Look 
to  yourselves  .  .  .  that  ye  receive  a  full  reward.' 

None  of  the  various  Greek  words  for  '  reward ' 
occurs  in  1  Peter,  but  the  general  idea  of  the  con- 
summation of  all  things  as  a  'reward'  to  faith 
holds  here,  as  it  does  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus  ;  cf. 
P,  '  receiving  the  end  of  your  faith,  even  the  sal- 
vation of  your  souls.'  This  is  the  object  of  the 
'  hope '  to  which  repeated  allusion  is  made.  Here, 
too,  the  reward  is  homogeneous  with  the  service  ; 
it  simply  consists  in  this,  that  faith  is  recognized, 
and  receives  glory,  praise,  and  honour  at  the  return 
of  Christ  (I7).  This  is  expressed  in  more  figurative 
fashion  in  54  as  '  the  crown  of  glory  that  fadeth  not 
away.'  It  is  quite  true  that  life  is  viewed  in  this 
Epistle  as  a  matter  of  Divine  grace  and  Divine 
calling  (cf.  51U)  ;  but  there  is  no  inherent  contra- 
diction. The  promised  gift  of  grace  is  also  viewed 
as  a  reward  when  the  conditions  for  its  attainment 
are  admitted  to  have  been  fulfilled. 

The  fact  is  that  the  Christian  salvation  may  be 
viewed  under  various  aspects,  which  are  not  con- 
tradictory but  mutually  complementary.  It  is  a 
life,  it  is  sonship,  it  is  membership  in  a  kingdom, 
it  is  service ;  and  with  the  last  there  goes,  indis- 
solubly,  the  idea  of  reward — a  reward  consisting  in 
fuller  life  and  opportunity  for  more  faithful  and 
loving  service,  with  the  Divine  approbation  and 
benediction.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  2  Clem, 
iii.  3,  speaking  of  Christ's  confession  of  His  faithful 
followers  before  the  Father,  says,  oCros  oCc  larlvo 
/j.HTdbs  7i/j.ui>.  When  these  considerations  are  borne  in 
mind,  any  seeming  difficulty  in  St.  Paul's  language 
tends  to  disappear.  He  undoubtedly  speaks  of  re- 
ward, and  at  first  sight  he  may  appear  to  conflict  with 
his  own  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith.  But  justi- 
fication is  a  past  act  resulting  in  a  present  state. 
It  pertains  to  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  life. 
That  life  is  one  of  action  and  of  service,  and  the 
service  is  inspired  by  the  hope  of  the  reward.  In 
Ro  2s'-  (quoting  Pr  2412)  St.  Paul  says  that  God  '  will 
render  to  every  man  according  to  his  works :  to 
them  that  by  patience  in  well-doing  seek  for  glory 
and  honour  and  incorruption,  eternal  life.'  The 
conception  of  fj.urdfc  appears  in  1  Co  38<  a- 14>  l5.  The 
man  whose  work  stands  the  test  of  the  fire  will 
receive  his  reward ;  the  man  whose  work  is 
destroyed  will,  apparently,  though  saved  himself, 
lose  his  reward.  The  fj.ur66s  here  does  not  appear 
to  be  identified  with  salvation,  but  more  particularly 
with  the  opportunities  of  higher  service  as  distinct 
from  the  man's  own  personal  salvation.  In  1  Co 
917- 18  the  Apostle  comes  more  closely  to  the  general 
NT  idea  of  the  pia-66s.  The  '  pay '  that  he  prefers 
is  the  continued  opportunity  to  preach  the  gospel 
without  pay.  The  opportunity  for  fuller  service 
is  the  reward.  It  is  in  no  way  inconsistent  with 
this  that  he  regards  those  who  have  believed 
through  him  as  his  'crown  '  (1  Th  219,  Ph  41),  and 
that,  sharing  the  idea  of  St.  James  (I12),  St.  Peter 
(54),  and  the  Seer  of  the  Apocalypse,  he  looks  on  to 
'  the  crown  of  righteousness '  that  awaits  him  (2  Ti 
48).  So  in  Col  324  the  faithful  and  single-hearted 
slave  will  receive  a  'reward'  consisting  in  the 
Divinely  promised  inheritance. 

It  is  quite  mistaken  to  regard  St.  Paul's  lan- 
guage about  rewards  as  a  piece  of  earlier  Judaism 
persisting  in  his  Christian  teaching,  in  which  it 
forms  an  intractable  and  contradictory  element.  It 
presents  no  fundamental  opposition  whatever  to  his 
cardinal  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith. 
VOL.  ii. — 24 


It  remains  to  say  a  word  about  the  language  of 
Hebrews  at  this  point.  One  great  aspect  of  Christi- 
anity, as  depicted  in  this  Epistle,  is  that  it  is  the 
fulfilment  of  the  Divine  promises.  But  here  again, 
in  so  far  as  the  receiving  of  the  promises  is  con- 
nected with  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  the 
New  Covenant,  it  may  be  regarded  as  wages  or 
reward ;  hence  the  use  of  niffBairoSoffia  in  10s8. 
So  in  11s  God  is  conceived  as  the  fj.iffda.iroS6rris  of 
those  who  seek  for  Him.  It  was  the  fu<r0airo$o<Tia 
for  which  he  looked  that  nerved  Moses  to  be  '  evil 
entreated  with  the  people  of  God'  (II26).  And 
even  in  the  case  of  Jesus  Himself,  the  idea  of 
reward  is  not  alien  :  '  Who  for  the  joy  that  was 
set  before  him  endured  the  cross'  (122). 

The  idea  of  reward  accompanies,  almost  of 
necessity,  belief  in  a  personal  God.  Viewed  as  the 
apostolic  writers  were  taught  by  our  Lord  to  view 
it,  it  is  the  loftiest  and  most  potent  incentive  to 
holiness  of  life. 

LITERATURE.— Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  'Romans'8,  Edin- 
burgh, 1902,  on  26  ;  A.  Robertson  and  A.  Plummer,  ib. '  1  Cor- 
inthians,1 do.,  1911,  Index,  s.v.;  B.  Weiss,  Biblical  Theology  of 
the  Sew  Testament,  Eng.  tr.  of  3rd  ed.,  do.,  1882-83,  s.v.  ;  DCG, 

«•»•  DAWSON  WALKEK. 

RHEGIUM  (Priyiov,  now  Reggio). — Rhegium  was 
an  ancient  Greek  colony,  mainly  of  Chalcidians, 
in  the  south  of  Italy.  Commanding  the  southern 
entrance  to  the  Sicilian  Straits,  it  had  great  stra- 
tegic importance,  and  willingly  or  unwillingly  played 
a  part  in  many  wars.  For  a  time  it  held  its  own 
among  the  leading  cities  of  Magna  Grsecia,  but  in 
revenge  for  a  slighted  ofler  of  friendship  it  was 
totally  destroyed  by  Dionysius,  the  tyrant  of 
Syracuse  (387  B.C.).  From  this  calamity  it  never 
quite  recovered,  but  it  profited  by  fidelity  to  Rome 
in  the  Punic  Wars  and  to  Augustus  in  the  Civil 
Wars.  Re-peopled  by  the  Emperor,  it  assumed 
the  name  of  'Rhegium  Julium.'  Strabo,  in  the 
beginning  of  our  era,  speaks  of  it  as  '  tolerably 
well  peopled,'  and  as  one  of  three  cities  founded 
by  the  Greeks  in  Italy — the  others  were  Neapolis 
and  Tarentum — that  had  not  become  barbarian, 
i.e.  lost  the  language  and  manners  of  their  mother- 
country  (VI.  i.  6).  Since  134  B.C.  it  had  a  further 
importance  as  the  terminus  of  the  Via  Popilia, 
which  branched  from  the  Via  Appia  at  Capua  and 
traversed  southern  Italy.  The  actual  place  of 
crossing  to  Messana  (now  Messina)  was,  and  still 
is,  about  8  miles  north  of  the  city,  at  Columna 
Rhegina  (^  'Prryivuv  ervXis),  now  Villa  San  Gio- 
vanni, where  the  channel  is  only  5  miles  wide. 

In  view  of  the  destruction  of  Reggio  by  earthquake  in  1908, 
when  35,000  out  of  40,000  inhabitants  perished,  Strabo's  words, 
with  their  curious  mingling  of  fact  and  fancy,  are  striking. 
'  It  was  called  Rhegium,  as  ^Eschylus  says,  because  of  the  con- 
vulsion which  had  taken  place  in  this  region ;  for  Sicily  was 
broken  from  the  continent  by  earthquakes.  .  .  .  But  now 
these  mouths  [of  JStna,  the  Lipari,  and  the  neighbouring 
islands]  being  opened,  through  which  the  fire  is  drawn  up,  and 
the  ardent  masses  and  water  poured  out,  they  say  that  the 
land  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Sicilian  Strait  rarely  suffers 
from  the  effect  of  earthquakes ;  but  formerly  all  the  passages 
to  the  surface  being  blocked  up,  the  fire  which  was  smoulder- 
ing beneath  the  earth,  together  with  the  vapour,  occasioned 
terrible  earthquakes '  (vi.  i.  6). 

To  indicate  the  course  of  St.  Paul's  ship  from 
Syracuse  to  Rhegium,  St.  Luke,  who  was  evidently 
impressed  by  the  good  seamanship  of  the  crew, 
uses  a  nautical  term  (irepteX0<Wes)  which  has  per- 
plexed exegetes  (Ac  2813).  Probably  it  means  '  by 
tacking.'  This  explanation  was  suggested  by  J. 
Smith,  who  writes,  '  I  am  inclined  to  suppose  that 
the  wind  was  north-west,  and  that  they  worked  to 
windward'  (The  Voyage  and  Shipwreck  of  St.  Paul*, 
1880,  p.  156).  This  tr.  is  now  generally  adopted 
in  place  of  'we  fetched  a  compass'  (AV)  or  'we 
made  a  circuit '  (RV).  The  alternative  reading  in 
N*B  —  irepie\6t>Tes,  'casting  loose'  —  was  probably 
due  to  copyists  who  were  not  at  home  in  the 
language  of  men  of  the  sea.  Arriving  at  Rhegium, 


370 


KHODA 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


the  crew  had  to  wait  a  day  for  a  favourable  wind. 
If  the  north-west  breeze  was  still  blowing,  they 
could  not  go  through  the  Straits,  where  tliere  is 
scarcely  enough  sea-room  for  successful  tacking  ; 
but  when  the  wind  veered  to  south  they  ran  before 
it  to  Puteoli,  a  distance  of  180  miles,  in  little  more 
than  a  day  (2813). 

LITBRATCRE. — C.  Baedeker,  Southern  Italy  and  Sicily™, 
London,  1896  ;  P.  Larissa,  Rhegium  Chalcidense,  Rome,  1905. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

RHODA  (P65ri,  'rose'). — After  St.  Peter's  mira- 
culous deliverance  from  Herod's  prison  he  went  to 
the  house  of  Mary  the  mother  of  Mark.  When 
he  had  knocked,  a  young  girl  called  Rhoda  came 
to  listen.  In  her  joy  at  the  sound  of  St.  Peter's 
voice,  she  forgot  to  open  the  door,  and,  returning 
to  report  his  presence,  slie  was  accused  of  being 
mad,  but  persisted  in  her  declaration  (Ac  1213'15). 
Nothing  further  is  known  of  her.  The  name  was 
a  common  slave  name,  and  she  may  have  been  a 
Christian  slave  in  the  home  where  we  tind  her. 

LITF.RATURE.— W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Bearing  of  Recent  Dis- 
covery on  the  Trustworthiness  of  the  XT,  London,  1915,  p.  209  ff. ; 
Lady  Ramsay,  '  Her  that  kept  the  Door,'  ExpT  xxvii.  (1915-16) 
217ff.,  314ff.  W.  F.  BOYD. 

RHODES  ('P65os).— When  St.  Paul,  in  his  voyage 
from  Troas  to  Caesarea,  touched  at  the  island  of 
Rhodes  (Ac  211},  12  miles  from  the  S.W.  corner  of 
Asia  Minor,  he  was  in  sight,  if  only  for  an  evening 
and  morning,  of  a  beautiful  city  which  was  for  cen- 
turies the  capital  of  one  of  the  noblest  free  States 
of  ancient  Greece.  '  With  regard  to  harbours, 
roads,  walls,  and  other  buildings,  it  so  far  sur- 
passes other  cities,  that  we  know  of  none  equal, 
much  less  superior  to  it'  (Strabo,  XIV.  ii.  5). 
Highly  favoured  by  Nature — '  the  sun  shines  every 
day  in  Rhodes,'  said  an  ancient  proverb  (Pliny,  HN 
ii.  62) — it  owed  still  more  to  the  naval  enterprise, 
political  wisdom,  commercial  integrity,  and  artistic 
genius  of  its  people.  On  an  amphitheatre  of  hills 
it  was  as  carefully  planned  in  404  B.C. — by  Hippo- 
damus  of  Miletus,  who  also  laid  out  the  Piraeus — 
as  a  modern  garden-city.  Occupying  so  central  a 
position  in  the  world  that  geographers  reckoned 
from  it  their  parallels  of  latitude  and  longitude,  it 
succeeded  in  making  itself  a  focus  of  the  traffic  of 
three  continents.  After  the  time  of  Alexander 
the  Great,  it  was  the  first  naval  power  in  the 
JEgean,  and  its  code  of  mercantile  law  was  regarded 
as  an  ideal  for  all  other  States.  Its  opulence  was 
merited  by  its  humanity.  '  The  Rhodians,  although 
their  form  of  government  is  not  democratic,  are 
attentive  to  the  welfare  of  the  people,  and  endeavour 
to  maintain  the  multitude  of  the  poor.  .  .  .  There 
are  public  officers  in  the  State,  the  function  of  whom 
is  to  procure  and  distribute  provisions,  so  that  the 
poor  may  obtain  subsistence,  and  the  city  not 
suffer  for  want  of  persons  to  serve  her,  especially 
in  manning  her  fleets '  (Strabo,  loc.  cit. ). 

Such  a  commercial  centre  naturally  attracted  a 
colony  of  Jews,  and  about  139  B.C.  Rhodes  was  one 
of  the  many  free  States  to  which  Rome  is  said  to 
have  addressed  a  letter  in  favour  of  that  race 
(1  Mac  1523).  Rhodes  alternately  benefited  by  the 
deserved  favour  and  suffered  from  the  unworthy 
jealousy  of  the  Romans.  For  assisting  them  in 
their  war  against  Antiochus  the  Great,  she  received 
(189  B.C.)  a  large  part  of  Lycia  and  Caria,  but 
when  she  began  to  be  dreaded  as  a  possible  rival 
of  Rome  itself,  she  was  not  only  shorn  of  these 
possessions,  but  nearly  ruined  in  her  commerce  by 
the  raising  of  her  rival  Delos  into  a  free  port. 
In  the  Mithridatic  war  her  services  to  Rome  were 
again  so  signal,  and  she  won  so  much  glory  by 
successfully  resisting  a  great  siege  (88  B.C.),  that 
3he  recovered  some  of  her  lost  territory  and  all  her 
former  prestige.  Finally,  however,  for  taking 
Caesar's  part  in  the  Civil  War,  she  was  so  severely 


punished  by  Cassius,  who  robbed  her  of  her  whole 
fleet  (43  B.C.),  that  she  never  again  attained  her  old 
prosperity.  Vespasian  made  the  island  a  part  of 
the  province  of  Lycia. 

Rhodes  was  the  city  of  the  famous  Colossus. 
Two  specimens  of  her  art  are  the  Laocoon  and  the 
Toro  Farnese.  Her  coins,  with  the  Sun-god  on 
the  one  side  and  the  Rose  on  the  other,  are  among 
the  most  beautiful  in  existence.  Rhodes  acquired 
a  new  fame  in  the  Middle  Ages  as  the  home,  for 
two  centuries,  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John. 

LITERATURE. — J.  P.  Mahaffy,  Greek  Life  and  Thought*, 
1896,  ch.  xv.,  Alexander's  Empire,lSS~,  ch.  xx. ;  C.  Torr,  Rhodes 
in  Ancient  Times,  1885;  H.  van  Gelder,  Geschichte  der  alien 
Rhodier,  1900.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

RICHES.— See  WEALTH. 

RIGHT. — Three  terms  translated  'right'  in  the 
EVV  call  for  notice. 

1.  evdus    ('straight')    expresses    pictorially   the 
simplest  notion,  which  also  underlies  the  Eng.  term 
'  right,'  being  especially  used   in  connexion  with 
'way'  or  '  path'  (Ac  1310,  2  P  215).     A  transitional 
use,  carrying  an  ethical  sense,  occurs  in  Ac  821 : 
'  thy  heart  is  not  right'  (evdeia). 

2.  SIKCUOS  comes  into  use  when  the  notion  of  '  right ' 
emerges  on  the  ethical  plane.     Whatever  accords 
with  established  custom  (Siicr)),  with  a  recognized 
norm,  is  dlicaiov.     That  norm  is  found  in  the  com- 
mon ethical  judgment  of  men  ;  but  the  NT  accent- 
uates the  norm  as  fixed  by   God  (Ac  419).     And 
ultimately  the  only  true   5'iKa.i.ov   '  in  the  sight  of 
men,'  is  rb  8'iKaiov,  '  in  the  sight  of  God.'    That  is  the 
element  of  truth  in  '  vox  populi  vox  Dei.'     In  every 
conceivable  position  and  relation  in  which  a  man 
finds  himself  there  is  a  course  of  action  or  a  state 
of  being  for  him  which  is  as  it  should  be  :  the  one 
straight  line  of  conduct  amongst   many  more  or 
less  crooked.     This  is  rb  SLKO.LOV,  what  it  is  right 
for  a  man  to  do  or  be. 

3.  e£ov<ria  ('a   right').  —  The  idea  of   'a  right' 
easily  grows  out  of  the  foregoing.     It  is  the  power 
or  liberty  to  be,  do,  or  possess  what  it  is  diKaiov  for 
a  man  in  such  and  such  circumstances  to  be,  do,  or 
possess  (cf.  1  Co  912,  He  1310,  Rev  2214).     (Regarding 
e£ou<rt'a  as  =' authority  to  rule,'  note  that  all  such 
authority,  to  be  worth  anything,  must  rest  on  rb 
dlKaiov  as  its  basis. ) 

Discussions  as  to  the  'rights'  of  Christians  as 
such  soon  emerged  in  the  primitive  Church.  In 
the  NT  see  especially  St.  Paul's  illuminating  treat- 
ment in  1  Co  8-10.  The  widest,  boldest  claim  is 
made  as  regards  these  rights  (irdvra  &€<rriv),  only 
to  be  qualified  immediately  by  a  severe  reference 
to  the  bearing  of  their  exercise  on  others.  Higher 
ethical  judgments,  too,  may  under  certain  circum- 
stances demand  the  waiving  of  undoubted  rights. 
See,  e.g.,  hj^v  St.  Paul  deals  with  the  question  of 
marriage,  and  especially  with  that  of  ministerial 
stipends  (1  Co  9).  J.  S.  CLEMENS. 

RIGHTEOUSNESS. — The  term  'righteousness' 
does  not  convey  a  very  definite  or  even  a  very 
attractive  meaning  to  the  reader  of  modern  English, 
and  the  meaning  which  it  does  convey  is  only  part 
of  the  full  significance  which  the  Greek  term 
(SiKaiocrvvn)  would  carry  for  a  Christian  reader  in 
the  Apostolic  Age.  In  ordinary  speech,  a  man  is 
not  usually  called  '  righteous ' ;  the  term  has  a 
certain  formality  and  archaic  flavour  about  it. 
But  when  he  is,  it  means  that  he  is  just,  that  he 
will  observe  the  moral  code  strictly,  or  that  he  will 
be  punctilious  in  the  discharge  of  such  obligations 
as  are  incumbent  on  a  man  in  his  position.  A 
'  righteous '  man  will  be  high-principled,  but  the 
adjective  suggests  limitations.  It  does  not  neces- 
sarily follow  that  he  will  be  kind  or  affectionate. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  speak  of  a  man  as  'just 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


371 


but  not  generous,'  and  'righteous'  has  come  upon 
the  whole  to  be  associated  with  'just'  in  this  con- 
nexion. A  person  who  is  '  righteous '  is  estimable 
rather  than  attractive.  It  is  curious  that  once  at 
least  in  the  NT  we  come  across  a  similar  use  of  the 
Greek  equivalent,  in  St.  Paul's  remark  :  '  Why,  a 
man  will  hardly  die  for  the  just  (vTrtp  diKaiov) — 
though  one  might  bring  oneself  to  die,  if  need  be, 
for  a  good  man'  (inrep  TOV  dyaffov,  Ro  57).  Here 
there  certainly  seems  to  be  an  implied  distinction  be- 
tween the  '  righteous '  or  '  just '  man  and  the  '  good  ' 
man  ;  the  former  lacks  those  qualities  of  human 
kindness  and  affection  which  enable  the  latter  to 
inspire  enthusiasm  and  devotion  in  others.  It  is 
one  thing  to  be  scrupulous  in  respecting  the  rights 
of  others,  or  even,  as  perhaps  St.  Paul  meant,  in 
fulfilling  one's  religious  duties  ;  it  is  another  thing 
to  have  an  instinctive  sense  of  helpfulness  and 
beneficence.  The  godly  man  may  not  be  particu- 
larly human  or  humane.  Even  when  he  is,  his 
beneficence  sometimes  lacks  the  warmth  and  heart 
which  the  'good'  man  puts  into  his  relations  with 
others. 

'  He  that  works  me  good  with  unmoved  face, 
Does  it  but  half :  he  chills  me  while  he  aids, 
My  benefactor,  not  my  brother  man  ! ' 
(Reflections  on  having  left  a  place  of  retirement,  49  ff.). 

What  Coleridge  describes  in  these  words  resembles 
the  character  of  the  righteous  or  just  man  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  good  man.  If  we  take  Cicero's 
definition  of  the  good  man  as  '  he  who  assists  those 
whom  he  can,  and  hurts  nobody'  ('vir  bonus  est 
is  qui  prodest  quibus  potest,  nocet  nemini'  [de 
Ojfficiis,  iii.  15.  64]),  we  get  a  similar  stress  upon 
the  positive  and  active  interest  of  the  good  man  in 
his  fellows,  as  opposed  to  the  more  negative  attitude 
;i»i>ciated  with  •righteous.'* 

But  this  is  merely  one  of  the  meanings  of  '  right- 
eousness '  in  the  literature  of  the  Apostolic  Age. 
The  Greek  term  SiKaioo-vvrj  is  employed  by  St.  Paul 
in  a  technical  sense,  and  by  him  and  other  writers 
in  a  variety  of  non-technical  senses.  One  of  the 
latter  has  just  been  noted,  and,  before  passing  on 
to  the  technical  Pauline  sense,  it  will  be  well  to 
survey  the  other  passages  in  which  it  is  employed 
by  him  and  later  writers  of  the  Apostolic  Age 
without  any  specific  theological  reference. 

1.  Non-technical  use  of  the  term  in  apostolic 
literature  (including  St.  Paul). — The  usage  of  the 
term  in  2  Cor.  is  particularly  instructive.  The 
verb  'justify'  does  not  occur  in  this  Epistle,  but, 
as  we  shall  see,  one  of  the  profoundest  passages  on 
righteousness  in  its  technical  application  to  the 
doctrine  of  justification  falls  within  the  scope  of 
this  letter.  Yet  side  by  side  with  this  lie  two  non- 
technical meanings  of  the  term. 

(a)  One  of  these  is  diKaiocrvvrj  in  the  sense  of  alms- 
giving, which  it  had  already  begun  to»acquire.  In 
urging  the  Corinthians  to  be  prompt  ^id  generoiis 
with  their  contributions  to  his  fund  for  the  relief 
of  poverty  among  the  Palestinian  Jewish  Christians, 
he  quotes  the  LXX  version  of  Ps  1129  and  applies 
it  to  the  situation  of  his  readers  (99) :  '  as  it  is 
written,  He  scatters  his  gifts  broadcast  to  the 
poor,  his  charity  (SiKaio(Ti>i>rj)  lasts  for  ever.  He 
who  furnishes  the  sower  with  seed  and  with  bread 
to  eat  will  supply  seed  for  you  and  multiply  it ;  he 
will  increase  the  crop  of  your  charities  (TO.  -^fv-ft^ara, 
TTJS  diKaioffvvijs  vfj.ui>).  In  this  use  of  the  term  we 
can  overhear  the  meaning  which  it  had  begun  to 
gather  in  the  religious  ethic  of  Judaism  (as  early 
;is  the  period  of  Sirach),  where  almsgiving  or  charity 
was  regarded  as  so  characteristic  an  expression  of 
the  truly  pious  life  that  diKaioa-vvri  could  be  used  as 

*  There  is  an  excellent  note  on  this  in  Lightfoot's  Notes  on 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  London,  1895,  p.  286  f.     In  Ro  712—'  the 
command  is  holy,  just  (Sueaia),  and   for  our  good  (a 
ayodos  has  the  same  sense  of  '  beneficent.' 


an  equivalent  for  it  upon  occasion.  Rabbinic 
piety  now  and  then  made  this  a  feature  of  the 
imilatio  Dei,  as  in  the  well-known  saying  *  of 
Rabbi  Chama  ben  Chaninah  (Sota,  14a) :  '  As  He 
clothes  the  naked  (Gu  321),  so  do  thou  clothe  the 
naked ;  as  He  nurses  the  sick  (Gn  181),  so  do  thou 
nurse  the  sick ;  as  He  comforts  the  mourners 
(Gn  2511),  so  do  thou  comfort  the  mourners  ;  as 
He  buries  the  dead  (Dt  345),  so  do  thou  bury  the 
dead.'  In  other  directions,  it  fitted  in  with  the 
stress  on  charity  as  one  of  the  surest  means  of 
acquiring  merit  before  God.  '  Almsgiving  is  a 
strong  mediator  between  the  Israelites  and  their 
Father  in  heaven  ;  it  brings  the  time  of  redemption 
nigh '  (Bfiba  Bathra,  lOa).  This  still  prevails  in 
popular  Islam.  C.  M.  Doughty,  speaking  of  his 
hospitable  host  Maatuk,  observes  that  '  if  the 
camels  came  home  he  milked  a  great  bowlful  for 
the  stranger,  saying,  it  was  his  sadaka,  or  meri- 
torious human  kindness,  for  God's  sake.'t  As  the 
context  indicates  (see  v.6  :  '  he  who  sows  generously 
will  reap  a  generous  harvest '),  St  Paul  thinks  of 
SiKCLioavv-rj  here  in  the  sense  of  an  action  (or  rather, 
a  character  in  action)  £  which  is  pleasing  to  God, 
because  it  harmonizes  with  the  Divine  nature  ; 
bountiful,  generous  actions  done  to  others  will 
enrich  a  man  with  God's  bounty  as  nothing  else 
will.  St.  Paul  would  have  been  the  last  to  teach 
any  doctrine  of  charity  as  a  merit,  on  which  one 
could  base  some  claim  to  God's  approval.  But  he 
is  free  to  recognize  that  such  spontaneous  expres- 
sions of  kindness  and  mercy  between  man  and  man 
are  inspired  and  rewarded  by  God. 

(b)  The  other  general  sense  is  reflected  in  67-  14. 
In  the  former  passage  St.  Paul,  speaking  of  his 
methods  in  the  Christian  propaganda,  claims  that 
he  employs  'the  weapons  of  integrity  for  attack 
or  for  defence,'  where  5i/caio<rw7?,  as  the  preceding 
words  indicate  ('the  holy  Spirit,  unaffected  love, 
true  words,  the  power  of  God  '),  is  opposed  to  foul 
play,  misrepresentation,  and  rancour  ;  in  evangeliz- 
ing and  in  controversy,  even  when  controversy  is 
personal,  he  professes  to  be  clean  and  honest.  The 
second  reference  opposes  diKaiovvvr]  to  iniquity  or 
unregulated  conduct,  almost  as  goodness  to  wicked- 
ness :  '  What  have  righteousness  and  iniquity  in 
common,  or  how  can  light  associate  with  darkness  ? ' 
'  Morality '  would  be  inadequate  here,  for  what 
St.  Paul  has  in  mind  is  the  religious  life,  but  it 
is  the  religious  life  as  expressed  in  conduct ;  he  is 
certainly  not  using  SiKaioo-uvri  in  the  technical  sense 
in  which  he  employs  it  elsewhere.  '  Conduct  is 
the  word  of  common  life,'  says  Matthew  Arnold, 
'  morality  is  the  word  of  philosophical  disquisition, 
righteousness  is  the  word  of  religion'  (Literature 
and  Dogma,  ed.  London,  1883,  p.  16).  It  is  in  this 
sense,  or  in  the  allied  sense  of  integrity,  that  it 
occurs  in  the  Pastoral  Epistles  §  (e.g.  1  Ti  611, 
2  Ti  2^  316  48),  as  well  as  m  Eph  424  5s  614.  Simi- 
larly, the  technical  usage  in  Philippians  is  accom- 
panied by  the  non-technical  expression  in  I11, 
where  the  Apostle  prays  that  the  life  of  these 
Christians  may  be  '  covered  with  that  harvest  of 
righteousness  which  Jesus  Christ  produces  to  the 
glory  and  praise  of  God.'  This  is  equivalent  to 
'the  harvest  of  the  Spirit'  (Gal  52'2),  the  good 
character  produced  by  the  influence  of  Christ  or 
of  the  Spirit. 

We  have,  indeed,  no  exact  equivalent  in  English 

*  Quoted  in  S.  Schechter's  Some  Aspects  of  Rabbinic  Theology, 
London,  1909,  p.  202  f. 

t  Arabia  Deserta,  2  vols.,  London,  1888,  ii.  278. 

}  Of.  the  splendid  description  of  Sixaioa-uvT)  in  Job  2914f-,  as 
social  justice  and  goodness.  The  mere  fact  that  npis  often 
came  to  be  rendered  by  eAeTj/utxrvn)  in  later  Judaism  shows 
that  &iKaio<rvyii  as  a  social  virtue  was  far  removed  from  our 
modern  associations  of  '  righteousness.' 

§  In  Tit  35-7  God  saves  us  in  sheer  pity,  '  not  for  anything  we 
had  done  tv  Sucaioa-vtT},'  and  justifies  us  (the  only  reference  to 
justification  in  the  Pastorals)  by  His  grace. 


372 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


for  what  SiKaioaOvrj  meant  to  a  Greek  or  to  a  primi- 
tive Christian,  especially  if  he  had  been  born  in 
Judaism.  '  Righteousness '  is  too  formal  and  ab- 
stract in  its  associations  for  a  modern  mind ; 
'  justice,'  again,  is  too  narrow  and,  like  '  integrity' 
and  '  morality,'  it  is  insufficiently  charged  with 
religious  feeling.  The  technical  Pauline  content 
of  the  term  especially  spills  over  when  it  is 
emptied  into  any  of  these  modern  words.  They 
occasionally  reproduce  the  sense  of  the  Greek  word 
in  non-technical  passages,  but  even  in  its  restricted 
sense  of  political  virtue,  as  applied  to  the  man 
who  obeys  the  law  or  who  is  a  good  citizen  of 
the  State,  the  term  had  impressed  Aristotle,  four 
centuries  earlier,  with  its  variety  of  meaning  (Xic. 
Eth.  V.  i.  7),*  and  when  it  passed  into  the  vocabu- 
lary of  Judaism  and  of  early  Christianity  its  range 
became  still  wider,  stretching  from  'justice  '  across 
a  broad  field  of  meaning  to  'piety'  or  'goodness.' 
It  may  sound  like  a  confession  of  defeat  to  say 
that  we  cannot  reproduce  the  word  precisely  in 
English.  But  it  is  something  gained,  at  any  rate, 
to  realize  that  the  conception,  even  in  St.  Paul,  is 
not  stereotyped,  and  that  the  Apostle  uses  it  in 
more  senses  than  one.  Much  of  the  investigation 
into  the  Pauline  usage  has  been  vitiated  by  the 
assumption  that  the  term  invariably  represented  a 
single,  well-defined  idea  in  the  writer's  mind.  St. 
Paul  was  not  the  slave  of  words,  even  of  a  great 
religious  word  like  SIKO.LO<T^VTJ.  If  his  arguments 
on  righteousness  are  sometimes  puzzling,  it  is  rather 
because  he  overtaxed  this  term  and  its  family  ;  he 
forced  them  to  serve  a  variety  of  purposes,  some 
of  which  were  not  obviously  relevant  to  their 
original  object  and  contemporary  employment. 

Like  Jesus,  though  more  often,  he  uses  'right- 
eousness' for  the  religious  ideal,  the  relation  to 
God  in  which  all  devout  persons  seek  to  stand. 
Thus,  in  Ro  930'32  he  writes  :  '  Gentiles  who  never 
aimed  at  righteousness  have  attained  it — that  is, 
righteousness  by  faith  ;  whereas  Israel  who  did 
aim  at  the  law  of  righteousness  [i.e.  at  some  code 
or  rule  which  would  lead  to  righteousness]  has 
failed  to  reach  that  law.  And  why?  Simply 
because  Israel  has  relied  not  on  faith  but  on  what 
they  could  do.'  Similarly  in  the  next  section 
(103'11):  'They  would  not  surrender  to  the  right- 
eousness of  God  [i.e.  to  the  righteousness  which 
alone  God  will  have  and  give],  because  they  were 
ignorant  of  his  righteousness  [their  zeal  was  not 
according  to  knowledge,  v.2]  and  therefore  essayed 
to  set  up  a  righteousness  of  their  own.  Now  Christ 
is  an  end  to  law,  so  as  to  let  every  believer  (em- 
phatic, as  opposed  to  the  man  who  relies  on  what 
he  can  do  in  the  matter  of  obedience  to  law)  have 
righteousness.  Moses  writes  of  law-righteousness  : 
anyone  who  can  perform  it  shall  live  by  it.t  But 
here  is  what  faith-righteousness  says :  Confess 
with  your  mouth  that  Jesus  is  Lord,  believe  in 
your  heart  that  God  raised  him  from  the  dead,:}: 
and  you  will  be  saved ;  for  with  his  heart  man 
believes  and  is  justified,  with  his  mouth  he  con- 
fesses and  is  saved.  No  one  who  believes  in  him, 
the  Scripture  says,  will  ever  be  disappointed.' 

These  passages  bring  out  two  features  of  St. 
Paul's  conception  :  (1)  the  contrast  between  God's 

*  He  regards  Soeaiotrvvr)  as  (a)  complete  virtue,  in  the  general 
sense  of  obedience  to  law,  and  (6)  as  a  special  part  of  virtue, 
viz.  fairness  or  equity. 

t  The  original  implies  that  this  is  quite  possible  (Lv  18s  ;  cf. 
Bar  4if- :  '  this  is  the  book  of  the  commandments  of  God,  and 
the  law  that  endureth  for  ever ;  all  they  that  hold  it  fast  are  to 
live,  but  such  as  leave  it  shall  die '),  but  the  present  writer  trans- 
lates as  above  in  order  to  suggest  St.  Paul's  meaning,  viz.  that 
it  had  been  proved  impossible. 

1  This  cardinal  note  of  saving  faith,  viz.  belief  in  Jesus  as 
the  Risen  Lord,  was  what  St.  Paul  found  already  adumbrated  in 
the  faith  of  Abraham  (Ro  4"-  2-»).  In  the  OT,  as  in  the  NT, 
faith  is  elicited  by,  and  directed  towards,  '  a  God  who  makes 
the  dead  live.' 


righteousness  and  the  religion  which  men  make 
sincerely,  and  passionately  for  themselves,  and 
present  as  their  own  to  God  ('a  righteousness  of 
their  own '  here  is  equivalent  to  '  a  legal  righteous- 
ness of  my  own  '  in  Ph  39) ;  and  (2)  the  remarkable 
substitution  of  Christ  for  the  Torah  as  the  means 
of  establishing  a  right  relation  to  God,  involving 
so  supreme  and  novel  a  conception  of  faith  that 
St.  Paul  speaks  of  devotion  to  the  Torah  as  though 
it  really  did  not  make  faith  count  at  all.*  But, 
over  and  above  these  characteristics,  it  is  notice- 
able that,  probably  owing  to  the  particular  argu- 
ment he  has  in  hand,  he  retains  the  classical  term 
'  righteousness '  for  the  great  end  which  men 
sought  by  right  and  wrong  ways  of  religious 
discipline. 

Even  in  more  general  passages,  '  righteousness ' 
is  the  direct  opposite  to  '  sin  '  (cf.  Ac  1310, 2  Co  llls). 
Thus  in  Ro  613,  '  you  must  not  let  sin  have  your 
members  for  the  service  of  vice  ;  you  must  dedicate 
yourselves  to  God  as  men  who  have  been  brought 
from  death  to  life,  dedicating  your  members  to 
God  for  the  service  of  righteousness '  (and  similarly 
in  vv.18'20).  The  expression  in  Ro  810is  less  obvious. 
When  St.  Paul  says  that  '  the  human  spirit  is  alive 
dia  diKaioffijvriv,'  does  he  mean,  as  in  ch.  6,  'for  the 
sake  of  righteousness'  (i.e.  to  practise  righteousness), 
or  'as  the  result  of  righteousness  '  (i.e.  of  the  new, 
vital  relation  to  God  which  the  Divine  righteousness 
has  created  through  Christ — the  thought  of  517'*)? 
Probably  the  latter  is  uppermost  in  his  mind.  In 
Ro  1417,  however,  we  have  the  term  used  in  what 
is  apparently  a  more  restricted  sense  :  '  the  reign 
of  God  is  not  a  matter  of  eating  and  drinking  ;  it 
means  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Spirit.'  As  peace  is  defined  immediately  to  mean 
harmony  and  good  feeling  between  members  of  the 
Church  (v.IS)),  the  likelihood  is  that  righteousness 
denotes  primarily  either  integrity  or  just  dealing  as 
an  expression  of  the  Christian  spirit  (so  Clem.  Rom. 
Ixii.  2),  the  very  opposite  of  '  injuring  your  brother  ' 
(v.15).  The  larger  interpretation  of  the  three  terms 
is  not,  of  course,  to  be  ruled  out,  especially  as  all 
three  have  been  already  conjoined  in  51,  and  as 
the  distinctively  religious  basis  would  never  be 
far  from  St.  Paul's  mind.  But  the  context  (v.18, 
'  he  who  serves  Christ  on  these  lines ')  suggests 
that  the  stress  falls  upon  what  may  be  called,  for 
the  sake  of  convenience,  though  inaccurately,  the 
'  ethical '  bearings  of  righteousness  and  peace  at  any 
rate.  (It  is  quite  unlikely,  however,  that  St.  Paul 
had  in  mind  the  saying  of  Mt  G33,  '  Seek  God's 
reign  and  his  righteousness.')  Matthesv  Arnold 
has  somewhere  described  this  verse  as  one  of  the 
texts  in  shadow,  which  ought  to  be  brought  into 
prominence  to  correct  materialistic,  popular  views 
about  the  Kingdom  of  God.  But  this  was  not  St. 
Paul's  point,  even  on  the  '  ethical '  interpretation 
of  his  words  ;  he  was  not  opposing  conduct  to  super- 
naturalism  in  thus  defining  the  nature  of  the 
reign. 

In  the  cognate  sense  of  justice,  i.e.  of  the  moral  goodness 
which  makes  an  authority  act  fairly  and  impartially,  Sucaiotrvvr) 
for  the  Greeks  was  not  only  a  human  but  a  divine  virtue.  There 
is  a  remarkable  passage  in  Plutarch's  Life  of  Aristides  (6)  which 
brings  out  this  usage  of  the  term.  Plutarch  observes  that  the 
justice  of  Aristides  was  what  impressed  his  contemporaries 
most,  and  won  for  him  'that  most  royal  and  divine  title  of  "  the 
Just." '  He  then  proceeds  to  moralize  upon  the  disinclination  of 
men  to  imitate  and  reproduce  this  quality  of  the  divine  nature. 
The  quality  of  incorruption  (afflapo-ia.)  and  eternity  (TO  atStov) 
they  envy  and  felicitate  God  on  possessing  ;  the  quality  of 
power  (TO  xvpiov  xal  TO  OVVO.TOV)  they  dreard  and  fear  ;  they  love 
and  honour  and  revere  the  deity  for  his  Sucaioa-vvri,  and  yet, 
Plutarch  sadly  reflects,  the  first  of  these  three  emotions,  the 
passion  for  immortality  ('  of  which  our  nature  is  not  capable '),  is 
the  strongest,  while  the  divine  dpe'n;,  i.e.  justice,  which  alone 
of  the  divine  excellences  is  within  our  reach,  commands  least 
interest. 


*  E.g.   Gal  S23-25,  where  the  coming  of  faith,  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ,  marks  an  epoch  after  the  regime  of  the  Law. 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


373 


Plutarch  is  thinking  specially  of  men  in  authority,  and  his 
language  illustrates  the  use  of  the  term  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  (I9),  where  the  writer  quotes  Ps  45  as  a  description  of 
the  Messianic  King,*  '  Thou  hast  loved  justice  and  hated  lawless- 
ness,' and  later  on  (72)  recalls  the  meaning  of  Melchizedek's 
name  as  '  king  of  justice." 

After  St.  Paul,  the  idea  of  righteousness  ceases 
to  occupy  any  special  position  in  the  apostolic 
literature ;  the  term  either  echoes  his  technical 
usage,  though  this  is  rare,  or  is  employed  in  one 
or  other  of  its  general  meanings.  The  sole  occur- 
rence in  the  Fourth  Gospel  (168'10)  is  remarkable, 
because  it  gives  a  turn  to  the  word  which  is  un- 
familiar even  to  St.  Paul.  One  of  the  three  con- 
verging lines  along  which  the  Spirit,  acting  through 
the  Church,  confounds  and  condemns  the  unbeliev- 
ing world  is  the  witness  to  the  Resurrection,  which 
proves  that  Christ  was  not  a  blasphemous  Messi- 
anic pretender,  as  the  Jews  held,  but  innocent, 
just,  acting  according  to  the  Divine  will.  '  He  will 
convince  men  of  righteousness,  because  I  go  to  the 
Father  and  you  see  me  no  more.'  The  overcoming 
of  death  by  Jesus,  which  is  testified  by  the  presence 
of  His  alter  ego,  the  Spirit,  in  the  Church,  is  a  con- 
vincing proof  that  He  was  '  right '  in  His  claims,  and 
that  Christians  who  believed  in  Him,  not  the  Jews 
who  murdered  Him,  were  'righteous,'  i.e.  fulfilling 
the  Divine  will.  The  obscure  line  from  the 
primitive  hymn  quoted  in  1  Ti  318,  '  he  was  vindi- 
cated by  the  Spirit'  (tdiKa.ua6i)  ev  irveviJ.a.rC),  probably 
is  an  allusion  to  this  point  of  view.f  It  is  singular 
that  this  is  the  only  t  NT  application  of  the  OT 
sense  of  the  phrase,  which  meant  the  open  vindica- 
tion of  Israel,  by  some  signal  act  of  Divine  favour, 
before  the  nations  who  had  been  scoffers  and  per- 
secutors. 

The  justification  of  Jesus  came  up,  however,  not  long  after- 
wards in  a  different  form.  Trypho  told  Justin  (Dial.  67)  that 
if  Christians  could  prove  from  Scripture  that  Jesus  really  was 
the  Messiah,  it  would  be  better  to  argue  that  He  deserved 
this  honour  on  account  of  His  dutiful  obedience  to  the  rites  and 
regulations  of  the  Law  than  that  He  owed  it  to  a  legendary 
virgin-birth.  Justin's  reply  is  that  Jesus  was  circumcised  and 
obedient  to  the  other  ordinances  of  the  Mosaic  code,  but  '  not 
as  if  he  were  justified  thereby.' 

Justin's  position  is  practically  that  of  Mt  315 ;  Jesus  fulfils 
every  religious  requirement  (nourav  SiKaioa-vtnjv)  of  the  Law,  but 
only  as  that  is  part  of  His  obedience  to  the  Father.  It  is  notice- 
able, in  this  connexion,  that  St.  Paul  never  speaks  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  '  righteous,'  nor  of  His  righteousness,  although  this 
was  a  familiar  predicate  of  Messiah  not  only  in  the  OT  but 
in  the  later  Judaism,  especially  in  the  Enochic  Parables, 
where  righteousness  is  one  of  the  leading  characteristics  of 
Messiah  as  well  as  of  the  saints.  Messiah  as  Son  of  Man  is 
'  born  to  righteousness '  (Ixxi.  14)  and  possesses  it  as  an  essen- 
tial quality  of  His  nature  ;  it  is  primarily  the  virtue  of  a  con- 
queror, who  establishes  the  right  and  vindicates  the  faithful  by 
overthrowing  the  strong  anti-Divine  powers  of  earth  ;  but  it  is 
beginning  to  be  more  than  the  equipment  of  the  Divine  cham- 
pion or  law-giver,  and  (cf.  Test.  Judah,  xxiv.  1)  it  is  associated 
with  sinlessness  as  well  as  with  wisdom  or  knowledge.  Even 
when  St.  Paul  speaks  in  terms  of  this  militant  Messianism  (e.g. 
2  Th  1-2),  he  refrains  from  calling  Jesus  '  The  Righteous  One.'  § 
Otherwise,  he  describes  Him  as  '  born  under  the  law '  and  as 
serving  the  Jews  on  earth  in  fulfilment  of  God's  promises  ;  in 
Ph  26f-  he  does  not  suggest  that  the  obedience  of  Jesus  under 
the  Law  amounted  in  any  sense  to '  justification,'  or  even  to  the 
maturing  of  character  outlined  in  He  58f-  His  large  use  of 
'  righteousness '  did  not  include  any  reference  to  the  sinlessness 
which  he  presupposed  in  the  Son  of  God. 

The  crisis  of  the  Pauline  struggle  with  the  Law 
is  so  far  behind  that  the  author  of  1  John  feels  at 

*  Similarly,  in  the  only  reference  to  a  Divine  5t«aio<rvnj  in 
Revelation  (1911),  the  Messiah  discharges  the  two-fold  function 
of  a  Semitic  king  —  he  'rules  and  makes  war  justly'  (ev 
&iKa.io<ruvri).  God  is  '  righteous '  in  the  Apocalypse  (e.g.  153 
ItjS.  7  192),'  jn  the  OT  sense  of  vindicating  the  saints  and  punish- 
ing the  wicked  persecutors. 

t  This  does  not  corroborate  the  hypothesis  that  St.  Paul  re- 
garded Jesus  as  Himself  justified  by  His  resurrection,  i.e.  that 
the  latter  proved  Him  to  be  vindicated  as  sinless  by  God,  so 
that  Christians  who  identify  themselves  with  Him  by  faith  show 
and  appropriate  the  same  justification.  Had  St.  Paul  con- 
ceived the  matter  thus,  he  would  have  spoken  of  Christians 
being  'justified  with  Christ.'  But  he  never  uses  this  phrase. 

1  Unless  we  group  with  it  1  P  S23. 

§  St.  Luke  makes  him  use  the  term  in  Ac  2214  ;  otherwise,  it  is 
confined  to  Stephen  (Ac  752),  Peter  (1  P  318),  and  John  (1  Jn  2'). 


liberty  (cf.  Rev  22H)  to  use  a  legal  phrase  like  'do- 
ing righteousness'  (cf.  Pss.-Sol.  ix.  9  :  'he  who  does 
righteousness  is  treasuring  up  life  for  himself  with 
the  Lord  ').  Its  associations  were  as  old  as  the  Greek 
Bible,  and  evidently  it  could  no  longer  be  misunder- 
stood (cf.  Clem.  Rom.  xxxi.  2,  etc.).  Thus  in  2™ 
and  37  the  'doing  of  righteousness'  is  a  synonym 
for  the  '  doing  of  God's  will ';  *  it  is  at  once  the 
expression  and  the  evidence  of  regeneration,  and 
consequently  the  antithesis  to  '  committing  sin.' 
It  is  possible  that  the  stringent  tone  of  these 
sayings  about  the  ethical  bearing  of  '  righteous- 
ness' was  called  out  by  some  antinomian  move- 
ment which  disparaged  mere  morality  in  the 
interests  of  a  Gnostic  superiority,  or  by  a  local 
abuse  of  the  Pauline  teaching.  Certainly  the 
latter  is  the  case  in  the  Epistle  of  James,  e.g.  223. 
The  idea  that  belief  justified  by  itself  would  not 
have  been  suggested,  so  far  as  we  know,  by  any 
Jewish  type  of  piety.  The  formalism  t  against 
which  the  writer  feels  it  necessary  to  warn  his 
readers  arose  from  an  exaggeration  and  misappre- 
hension of  the  Pauline  antithesis  +  between  faith 
and  works — an  antithesis  which  was  coined  by  St. 
Paul.  Hence  'faith'  in  St.  James  is  closer  to  a 
confession  of  monotheism  (cf.  219)  than  to  the 
Pauline  conception.  This  is  not  affected  by  the 
reference  in  2'.  St.  James  can  conceive  the  exist- 
ence of  a  faith  which  is  devoid  of  any  practical 
element,  requiring  the  breath  of  '  works  to  vitalize 
it :  '  As  the  body  without  the  breath  of  life  is  dead, 
so  faith  is  dead  without  works '  (2s6).  From  the 
Pauline  standpoint,  the  reverse  would  be  more 
true  :  it  is  faith  that  vitalizes  works.  But 
'  works '  are  moral  actions  for  St.  James,  not  legal 
observances.  The  entire  omission  of  any  reference 
to  the  Law  in  this  section  of  his  Epistle  is  signifi- 
cant. It  corroborates  the  impression  that  justifica- 
tion means  for  him  God's  recognition  of  moral 
conduct,  not  the  free  forgiveness  of  sins,  which 
according  to  St.  Paul  made  any  Christian  char- 
acter and  conduct  possible.  The  only  allusion  to 
SLKaioffvvr)  is  in  the  OT  quotation  (21*3),  from  which 
he  draws  the  inference  that  Abraham's  righteous- 
ness rested  not  on  his  faith  alone  but  on  his  act  of 
practical  obedience  in  being  prepared  to  sacrifice 
Isaac.  When  he  says  elsewhere  that  '  human 
anger  does  not  promote  divine  righteousness'  (I*), 
i.e.  the  religion  of  which  God  approves,  and  that 
'  peacemakers  reap  righteousness '  (318)  as  the 
harvest  of  their  quiet  efforts  in  the  Church,  he  is 
illustrating  the  wrong  and  the  right  ways  of  pro- 
moting the  religious  life  ;  SiKaioffvvr)  is  employed  in 
its  familiar  and  normal  sense  to  denote  the  devout 
life  of  goodness  as  that  is  lived  under  the  standard 
and  scrutiny  of  God  (cf.  Ac  1038  :  '  he  who  rever- 
ences God  and  lives  a  good  life — tpya£6/j.fvos  diKaio- 
avvj)v — in  any  nation  is  welcomed  by  him  '),  and 
the  writer  urges'that  wrangling  and  angry  contro- 
versy are  not  a  soil  which  can  be  expected  to 
foster  the  growth  of  spiritual  religion  (diKatoa-ivri= 
'  cet  etat  normal  auquel  Dieu  prend  plaisir  et  auquel 
le  chretien  doit  tendre '  [E.  Reuss,  Les  Epitres 
catholiques,  Paris,  1878,  p.  139]).  The  second  of 
these  phrases  is  paralleled  by  the  expression  in 
He  12",  where  those  who  are  trained  by  the  discip- 
line of  God  '  reap  the  fruit  of  it  afterwards  in  the 
peace  of  an  upright  life'  (Kapirbv  elprjviKov  .  .  . 
diKa.io<Tvvr)s)  ;  here  diKaioffwrj  includes  participation 
in  the  holiness  of  God's  nature  (v.10)  as  the  char- 

*  When  Mt  721  is  quoted  in  2  Clem.  iv.  2,  '  righteousness'  is 
similarly  substituted  for  '  the  will  of  my  Father  in  heaven. ' 

t  Thus  Clem.  Rom.  xxx.  3  can  even  say,  '  we  are  justified  by 
deeds  («pyon)  not  words.' 

J  For  a  different  view,  cf.  B.  Bartmann's paper  on  'St.  Paulus 
und  St.  Jacobus  iiber  die  Rechtfertigung '  in  Biblische  Studien, 
ii.  [Freiburg  i.  B.,  1897]  30  f.,  146  f.,  and  S.  Harbent's  discussion 
in  J.  M.  A.  Vacant  and  E.  Mangenot's  Dictionnaire  de  theologie 
catholique,  Hi.  [19131  70  f. 


374 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


acteristic  of  personal  religion,  and  the  peace  is 
primarily  harmony  with  His  purpose,  an  absence  of 
friction  and  fretting,  although  the  further  thought 
of  harmony  within  the  community  is  soon  developed 
(v.14).  Neither  here  nor  elsewhere  in  Hebrews  do 
we  find  SiKaiocruvi)  used  outside  the  non-technical 
range  of  meaning.  In  11s3  'wrought  righteous- 
ness'means  'administered  justice,'  and  in  o13  the 
term  is  not  far  from  what  a  modern  would  call 
moral  truth,*  as  the  context  proves  (v.14).  Simi- 
larly in  Ac  24s5  :  when  St.  Paul  made  Felix  uneasy 
by  preaching  '  about  diKaiocrvvrj  and  self-mastery 
and  the  future  judgment,'  it  was  not  the  SiKtuoavvr) 
of  Ro  I17  but  the  morality  demanded  by  God  (cf. 
Ro23'-).  The  only  exception  is  the  isolated  echo 
or  adaptation  of  the  Pauline  phraseology  in  He  II7, 
where  Noah  is  said  to  have  inherited  '  the  right- 
eousness that  follows  faith  '  (rffi  Kara,  irlffnv  5ucaio- 
ffvvijs).  Noah  is  passed  over  by  St.  Paul,  but  Philo 
had  already  noted  that  he  was  the  first  man  to  be 
called  SiKtuos  in  the  OT,  and  although  the  writer  of 
Hebrews  carries  back  this  title  of  honour  to  Abel 
(v.4),  he  signalizes  the  faith  of  Noah  as  the  reason 
why  he  obtained  the  position  of  S/KCUOS  before  God. 
The  non-technical  use  of  Pauline  language  here 
tallies  with  the  fact  that  the  writer  does  not 
work  elsewhere  with  the  Pauline  categories  of 
faith  and  justification.  Noah  had  faith,  acted 
on  it,  and  thus  was  entitled  to  the  position  of 
5k<nos.  The  idea  is  closer  to  St.  James  than  to 
St.  Paul. 

In  Rev  198  the  white-linen  in  which  the  Bride  of 
Messiah  is  allowed  toarray  herself  for  the  marriage 
is  defined  as  '  the  righteous  conduct  (diKaiu/j.ara)  of 
the  saints,'  i.e.  of  the  faithful  who  are  personified 
as  the  Bride.  The  plural  is  curious  ;  it  recalls  the 
plural  use  of  diKaiofftivai,  e.g.  in  (the  Greek  of)  Sir 
4410  and  Pss.-Sol.  ix.  6  (cf.  2  Es  I35),  as  acts  of 
righteousness  (charity).  But  St.  Paul  uses  the 
singular  in  Ro  51S  of  a  righteous  act,  and  the  plural 
actually  occurs  in  Bar  219,  the  famous  protest 
against  the  doctrine  of  the  zecuth  of  the  Fathers 
(see  below).  The  absence  of  the  doctrine  of  justi- 
fication by  faith  from  the  Apocalypse  made  it  less 
difficult  for  the  writer  to  adopt  such  language 
without  fear  of  being  misunderstood.  He  em- 
phasizes as  usual  that  moral  purity  and  activity 
are  the  conditions  of  future  bliss,  but  no  one  who 
read  his  pages  could  suspect  him  of  reducing  the 
religious  life  to  moralism.  The  figure  of  speech  is 
as  old  as  Job  2914,  Is  6110,  Pss.-Sol.  xi.  8,  and  Sir 
278,  but  the  words  of  Bar  52f-  ('O  Jerusalem  .  .  . 
cast  round  thee  the  tunic  of  the  righteousness  that 
is  from  God  ')  are  a  specially  apt  parallel.  The 
last-named  passage,  which  predicts  that  in  the 
Messianic  Age  Jerusalem's  name  is  to  be  '  the 
peace  of  righteousness,'  illustrates  the  original 
background  of  allusions  like  He  1211 ;  vindicated 
Israel,  triumphantly  justified  by  God  over  her 
persecutors,  will  enjoy  peace.  It  was  a  short  step 
to  the  moralization  of  this,  and  to  its  application 
to  the  religious  experience  of  SiKOAOffiivrj  in  the 
present. 

In  1  Peter,  the  just  judgment  of  God  brings  out 
the  thought  of  the  moral  order  as  a  warning  against 
careless  conduct  on  the  part  of  Christians  (I17)  and 
as  a  consolation  for  the  innocent  who  may  have 
to  suffer  unjustly,  like  Jesus  (2-3) ;  but  the  term 
'  righteousness  '  t  is  employed  only  in  its  general, 
non-technical  sense  (224  314),  as  repeatedly  in  the 
Apostolic  Fathers  (e.g.  Barn.  iv.  12,  etc.).  The 

*  The  present  writer  prefers  this  interpretation  of  Aoyos 
Sii«uocruV>j«  to  the  interpretation  of  von  Soden  ('  richtiger  Rede ') 
and  Reuss  (' 1'enseignement  complet'),  though  the  latter  can 
also  support  itself  on  Greek  usage. 

t  In  Ac  17ai,  the  only  place  where  it  occurs  in  St.  Paul's 
speeches,  it  is  in  a  quotation  from  the  Psalter  (Ps  98)_'  he  has 
fixed  a  day  on  which  he  urill  judge  the  world  jtistly  (ev  &iKcu.o<rvvri) 
by  a  man  whom  he  has  destined  for  this1  (i.e.  Jesus). 


same  is  the  case  *  in  2  P  25  and  313  (apocalyptic 
sense),  but  in  I1  it  denotes  the  'equity'  of  God  in 
granting  the  same  privilege  and  quality  of  faith  to 
Gentiles  as  to  Jewish  believers,  or  to  ordinary 
Christians  as  to  apostles.  Justin  Martyr  (Dial. 
93  f.)  quotes  Gn  156  for  the  same  purpose  as  St. 
Paul  does  in  Rp  49f- — to  prove  that  Abraham's  faith 
was  prior  to  his  circumcision — and  concludes  that 
God  cannot  be  shown  to  have  acted  capriciously  or 
unfairly  in  history,  since  the  condition  for  right- 
eousness has  been  the  same  (as  Clem.  Rom.  xxxii. 
3  f . )  from  the  first.  But,  when  he  comes  to  define 
righteousness,  he  echoes  the  definition  of  Jesus 
rather  than  that  of  St.  Paul,  quotes  Mt  22s7,  and 
adds  :  '  since  all  righteousness  is  divided  into  the 
two  branches  of  love  to  God  and  love  to  one's 
neighbour,  whoever  loves  God  with  all  his  heart, 
and  with  all  his  strength,  and  his  neighbour  as 
himself,  is  truly  a  righteous  man.'  This  is  pre- 
cisely the  definition  of  the  commandment  of  SIKCUO- 
trvvri  given  by  Polycarp  (ad  Phil.  iii.  2). 

The  language  of  the  Odes  of  Solomon  recalls 
partly  the  OT  and  partly  the  NT,  though  it  never 
quotes  from  the  latter.  The  Divine  righteousness 
succours  the  elect  (viii.  22)  and  their  righteous 
cause  triumphs  over  spiritual  evil  (viii.  6f.);  in 
this  OT  sense,  righteousness  can  be  spoken  of  as 
man's  as  well  as  God's.  It  is  even  personified,  like 
Victory,  and  represented  as  conferring  the  ever- 
lasting crown  of  truth  upon  the  pious  (ix.  7-10). 
The  allusion  in  xxix.  5  is  obscure  ;  if  verse  6  ('  For 
I  believed  in  the  Lord's  messiah  .  .  .')  is  a  (Chris- 
tian) interpolation,  then  the  words  '  He  brought 
me  up  out  of  the  depths  of  Sheol :  and  from  the 
mouth  of  death  He  drew  me  :  and  thou  didst  lay 
my  enemies  low,  and  He  justified  me  by  His  grace ' 
might  denote,  as  in  viii.  6,  the  vindication  of  the 
Christian  or  of  Messiah  (cf.  above,  p.'  373),  but 
probably  the  Ode  is  a  unity  and  refers  to  the  ex- 
perience of  spiritual  victory  (see  Rendel  Harris's 
ed.,  Cambridge,  1911,  p.  61,  and  E.  A.  Abbott's 
Light  on  the  Gospel  from  an  Ancient  Poet,  do., 
1912,  p.  247  f.),  like  the  still  more  obscure  refer- 
ence to  justification  in  xxxi.  5.  The  singer,  in 
x  vii.  2,  is  '  justified  in  my  Lord,'  i.e.  freed  from  the 
bondage  of  vanity  and  error ;  the  expression  is 
Pauline  but  not  the  content,  and  in  xxv.  10  the 
more  congenial  OT  significance  recurs  (' I  became 
holy  by  thy  righteousness  ;  and  all  my  adversaries 
were  afraid  of  me  ...  and  I  was  justified  by  His 
gentleness'),  righteousness  being  the  saving 
strength  of  God  exerted  on  behalf  of  His  own. 
One  of  the  repealed  sources  of  ambiguity  in  the 
interpretation  of  /the  Odes  is  the  uncertainty  as  to 
who  is  the  speaker — the  soul  of  man,  Truth,  or  the 
Christ.  In  xli.  13  Christ  is  distinctly  described, 
however,  as  'exalted  by  His  own  righteousness,' 
and  the  Divine  title  of  '  The  Righteous  One '  occurs 
in  connexion  with  the  Crucifixion  in  xlii.  3  (though 
not  in  Frankenberg's  reconstruction  of  the  text), 
but  it  is  not  so  clear  whose  Heart  pours  out  '  as  it 
were  a  gushing  stream  of  righteousness'  (xxxvi.  7). 
In  the  only  ethical  allusion  (xx.  3),  the  OT  colour- 
ing leaves  it  uncertain  whether  the  hymn-writer, 
in  saying  that  '  the  sacrifice  of  the  Lord  is  right- 
eousness, and  purity  of  heart  and  lips,'  meant  by 
'  righteousness' works  of  mercy  and  charity  (see 
above,  p.  371),  or,  in  the  more  general  sense,  good- 
ness inspired  by  the  Golden  Rule. 

Ignatius  quotes  Mt  315  in  Smyrn.  i.  1,  but  the 
term  and  the  idea  have  no  place  in  his  theology,  t 
Polycarp  uses  the  word  more  frequently  ;  he  quotes 
Mt  510  in  ad  Phil.  2  and  2  Co  67  in  iv.  1,  he  employs 

*  Noah  is  'the  herald  of  righteousness'  (25),  as  in  the  Jewish 
tradition  of  Jubilees  (vii.  20  f.)  and  Sibylline  Oracles  (cf.  p.  4S3) 
e.g.  he  preaches  to  his  wicked  contemporaries. 

t  The  phrase  in  ad  PhU.  viii.  2  ('  that  I  may  be  justified  by 
your  prayers ')  seems  to  refer  to  martyrdom. 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


375 


diKcuofftivrj  to  bring  out  the  general  idea  of  Christian 
goodness  (iii.  1,  3,  ix.  If.),  he  echoes  St.  Paul  in 
speaking  of  Christ  as  'our  righteousness'  (viii.  1  : 
'  let  us  hold  fast  by  our  hope  and  the  pledge  of  our 
righteousness,  that  is,  of  Christ  Jesus  who  bore 
our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  who  did  no 
sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth,  who 
endured  all  things  for  our  sakes,  that  we  might 
live  in  him'),  and  once  speaks  of  God's  righteous- 
ness, though  not  in  the  Pauline  sense  (v.'2 :  'like- 
wise the  deacons  must  be  blameless  before  his 
righteousness,*  as  servants  of  God  and  Christ,  not 
of  men ').  God's  righteousness  here  probably  means 
His  searching  presence,  before  which  Christians 
must  eschew  sin,  just  as  in  En.  ci.  1-9  it  denotes 
the  Presence  which  ought  to  inspire  fear  and 
reverence  in  men  ('  Observe  the  heaven,  ye  children 
of  heaven,  and  every  work  of  the  Most  High,  and 
fear  ye  him  and  work  no  evil  in  his  presence.  If 
he  sends  his  anger  upon  you  because  of  your  deeds, 
ye  cannot  petition  him  ;  for  ye  spake  proud  and 
insolent  words  against  his  righteousness  :  therefore 
ye  shall  have  no  peace.  And  see  ye  not  the  sailors 
of  the  ships,  how  their  ships  are  tossed  to  and  fro 
by  the  waves,  and  are  shaken  by  the  winds,  and 
are  in  sore  trouble?  .  .  .  Do  not  the  sailors  of  the 
ships  fear  the  sea  ?  Yet  sinners  fear  not  the  Most 
High!').  On  the  other  hand,  St.  Paul's  very 
language  is  echoed,  and  his  ideas  reproduced,  in 
the  Epistle  to  Diognetus,  9 — one  of  the  passages  in 
the  so-called  Apostolic  Fathers  which  send  the 
surge  of  genuine  religious  feeling  straight  into  the 
mind  of  a  modern  reader.  '  So,  having  himself 
planned  everything  together  with  his  Son,  he  per- 
mitted us  during  the  time  before  to  be  swept  along 
by  disorderly  impulses  just  as  we  chose,  carried 
away  by  pleasures  and  passions — not  at  all  because 
he  delighted  in  our  sins,  but  because  he  was  forbear- 
ing [dvexoptvos ;  cf.  dvoxH  in  Ro  3"6 :  below,  p.  388], 
not  because  he  approved  of  that  period  of  iniquity, 
but  because  he  was  fashioning  [8rj/j.tovpywi>]  this 
present  period  of  righteousness  in  order  that  we, 
whose  very  actions  then  proved  us  unworthy  of 
life,  may  now  be  [made?  counted?]  worthy  of  it 
by  God's  goodness,  and  may  be  enabled  by  God's 
power  to  enter  the  Kingdom  of  God  after  we  had 
made  it  plain  that  by  ourselves  we  could  not. 
When  our  iniquity  was  full,  and  when  it  had  be- 
come perfectly  plain  that  the  recompense  of  punish- 
ment and  death  was  awaiting  it  [this  corresponds 
to  the  Pauline  philosophy  of  history  in  Gal  44, 
Ro  56 ;  see  below,  p.  389],  and  when  the  time  came 
which  in  God's  purpose  was  to  manifest  his  good- 
ness and  power  (O  the  surpassing  kindness  and 
love  of  God  !),  instead  of  hating  us,  rejecting  us, 
or  bearing  malice  against  us,  he  was  long-suffering, 
he  bore  with  us,  he  took  our  sins  upon  himself  in 
pity,  and  gave  his  own  Son  to  be  a  ransom  for  us, 
the  holy  for  the  wicked,  the  innocent  for  the  evil, 
the  just  for  the  unjust,  the  incorruptible  for  the 
corruptible,  the  immortal  for  the  mortal.  What 
else  but  his  righteousness  could  cover  our  sins? 
By  whom,  save  only  by  the  Son  of  God,  could  we 
be  justified  [diKaiwdfjvai :  either  'made  just*  or 
'  acquitted  '],  wicked  and  impious  as  we  were  ?  Oh 
sweet  exchange  !  O  inscrutable  creation  [d-rjfju- 
ovpylaJ] !  O  benefits  unlocked  for  !  That  the  wick- 
edness of  many  should  be  hidden  by  \tv~\  a  single 
righteous  One,  that  the  righteousness  of  One  should 
make  many  wicked  righteous  [SiKaiuffy  as  above] ! ' 
The  use  of  SiKaiovvvr)  in  this  fine  outburst  of  faith 
recalls  both  senses  of  the  term.  On  the  one  hand, 
it  denotes  generally  the  Christian  religion,  and 
this  is  repeated  at  the  close  of  the  next  chapter, 
where  the  writer  tells  Diognetus  that,  when  he  sees 
what  the  real  fire  of  hell  is  like,  he  will  count 

*  Cf.   En.  liii.   7,  '  before   his   righteousness '  (i.e.  hii  holy 
presence). 


Christian  martyrs  blessed  who  'endure  the  tem- 
porary fire  for  the  sake  of  righteousness.'  On  the 
other  hand,  we  find  the  term  used  specifically  in  a 
Christological  sense.  The  latter  usage  reaches 
back  to  St.  Paul,  and  to  it  we  may  now  turn,  i.e. 
to  SiKaioffwri,  as  something  more  than  a  particular 
virtue  or  grace  of  the  Christian  life,  or  even  than 
a  generic  term  for  Christian  goodness. 
2.  Technical  Pauline  use  of  the  term.  — 

The  small  group  of  words  connected  with  righteousness  in  the 
specific  sense  of  the  term  is  as  follows:  Siicaiocriinj  or  'right- 
eousness' is  the  state  of  those  who  are  Sdcaioi  ('just')*  because 
they  have  been  'justified'  (the  verb  is  Sucaiovv,  -ovation.)  by 
God,  and  their  acquittal  or  justification  is  Siicatcoo-ts.  The  de- 
claration of  this  verdict  is  sometimes  taken  to  be  the  meaning 
of  SixaiiafLa,  but  in  Ro  516  it  is  probably  equivalent  to  Sucaiiuai.?, 
and  in  Ro  518  it  means  the  'act  of  redress'  which  makes  ac- 
quittal possible.  The  latter  sense  develops  the  Greek  i; 
which,  according  to  Aristotle  (A'ic.  Eth.  v.  vii.  7),  employed 
6i;caioTrpdyT)/xa  as  the  opposite  of  a£tK7J/za  and  reserved  dmaiui^a. 
for  the  rectification  of  an  unjust  action  (TO  tTravopSia^a  TOV 
o.&iKrifjui.TO';). 

The  phrase  'righteousness  of  God'  occurs  in  2  Co  521,  Ro  I17 
35.  21-22  (twice)  3»f-  (twice)  103  and  Ph  3»  (Siicaioffvn)  eic  Beov). 
The  phrase  'righteousness  of  faith'  occurs  in  Ro  411-13  930 
(8i*caio<rvVTj  e«  irtarfuf)  106  (6ucaio<rvvi7  «  iritrreut)  and  Ph  39 
(6t»taio<7-u>'T)  eiri  rfj  jri'orei).  The  former  is  an  OT  expression, 
although  some  of  the  LXX  translators  seem  to  have  avoided  it 
as  far  as  possible.  St.  Paul  stamps  it  afresh,  and  he  coins  the 
cognate  expression,  'righteousness  of  faith.'  In  neither  case 
is  there  any  subtle  difference  of  meaning  suggested  by  the 
addition  of  e<c  ;  it  merely  emphasizes  the  fact  implied  in  the 
simple  genitive,  that  the  Succuoo-ui'i}  originates  with  God.  The 
life  He  possesses,  He  imparts  to  men,  and  therefore  Si<caio<n.;»Tj 
may  be  said  to  be  '  His  '  in  either  sense.  Whether  we  start  from 
the  idea  of  SuciuocrvvTi  in  itself  or  from  that  of  faith,  it  is  plain 
that  St.  Paul  could  have  neither  thought  nor  spoken  of  any 
stich  standing  or  relationship  except  as  one  of  experience,  a 
position  of  life  resting  on  the  attitude  of  God  to  sinful  men  in 
Jesus  Christ. 

Instead  of  discussing  seriatim  the  succession  of  conflicting 
views  of  righteousness  in  St.  Paul's  theology,  we  shall  prefix 
some  characteristic  definitions  and  descriptions,  in  order  to 
indicate  the  main  outlines  of  debate,  and  the  various  attempts 
which  have  been  made  to  extricate  a  meaning  from  the  laby- 
rinth of  this  problem. 

(i.)  '  This  SiKaKxrvvy  8eoi>  ...  is  ...  the  adequate  relation 
founded  in  God's  own  nature,  in  which,  as  the  idea  of  religion 
requires,  man  has  to  stand  towards  God  '  (F.  C.  Baur,  I'aulits, 
Enif.  tr.,  vol.  ii.  p.  130).  It  is  'the  way  opened  up  by  God  for 
this  purpose'  (ib.  footnote). 

(ii.)  'The  true  relation  between  God  and  man,  which,  being 
ordained  by  God,  presents  itself  to  the  consciousness  of  man  as 
a  new  religious  principle,  as  a  new  regulator  of  his  religious 
behaviour,  and  to  which  man  has  to  submit  himself,  by  allowing 
his  attitude  towards  God  to  be  determined  by  this  divinely 
ordained  principle  '  (O.  Pfleiderer,  Paulinism,  Eng.  tr.,  London, 
1877,  vol.  i.  p.  175). 

(iii.)  'The  highest  religious-ethical  ideal,  the  realization  of 
which  every  religion  must  ultimately  strive  after,  because  it  is 
only  in  consequence  of  its  realization  that  man  knows  himself 
to  be  standing  in  that  right  relation  to  God  which  guarantees 
his  salvation  '  (B.  Weiss,  Lehrbuch  der  bibtischen  T/ieoloyie  des 
XT,  Eng.  tr.,  vol.  i.  p.  317  n.). 

(iv.)  '  Righteousness  is  nothing  else  than  moral  goodness  re- 
garded in  its  intrinsic  worth  or  acceptableness  .  .  .  viewed 
relatively  to  God's  judgment  or  approval  of  it'  (J.  H.  Newman, 
Lectures  on  the  Doctrine  of  Justification*,  London,  1874,  p.  107). 

(v.)  'This  righteousness  which  comes  from  God  by  faith  is  rot 
a  more  or  less  relative  perfection  which  God  realizes  in  man, 
but  consists  in  this,  that  God,  as  the  consequence  of  faith,  re- 
places man  in  normal  touch  (rapport  normal)  with  himself 
(Gogue'l,  L'Ap6tre  Paul  et  Jesus-Christ,  p.  29). 

(vi.)  'This  righteousness  obtained  by  man  through  Christ  is 
designated  the  righteousness  of  God,  not  merely  to  denote  that 
it  is  valid  in  His  sight,  or  that  He  recognizes  it  as  equivalent  to 
the  fulfilment  of  the  law  .  .  .  but  to  show  that  this  righteous- 
ness is  produced  and  constituted  by  God  as  a  state  which  He 
Himself  can  alone  impart  '(C.  von  Weizsacker,  Apostolic  Age, 
i.2  [London,  1897]  167). 

(vii.)  '  This  righteousness  exists  already  in  God  as  an  attribute 
and  active  force  ;  it  is  transferred  to  man,  and  realized  in  him 
by  the  action  of  Divine  grace.'  It  '  is  more  than  a  simple  ac- 
quittal of  the  guilty  ;  it  is  an  actual  power  (SiW^us  eeou),  which 
enters  into  the  world  and  is  organically  developed  there,  —  like 
the  power  of  sin,  but  in  opposition  to  it  '  (A.  Sabatier,  The 
Apuatle  Paul,  Eng.  tr.,  pp.  298,  299). 

(viii.)  '  Paul's  starting-point,  it  cannot  be  too  often  repeated,  is 
the  idea  of  righteousness  '  ;  '  the  righteousness  of  God  ;  a  sense 
of  conformity  with  the  divine  moral  order,  the  will  of  God,  a 
sense  of  harmony  with  this  order,  of  acceptance  with  God  ' 
(Matthew  Arnold,  St.  Paul  and  Protestantism,  London,  1887, 
pp.  44,  41  f.). 

(ix.)  '  The  righteousness  of  faith  is  the  divine  righteousness 


*  But  St.  Paul  prefers  to  call  them  Si 
i'xaiot.     He  does  not  even  call  Abraham 


rather  than 


376 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


which  a  man  receives  when  he  receives  Christ.  It  is  not  a  mere 
declaration  by  God  that  the  sinner  is  justified  or  forgiven  for 
his  past  sins  and  accounted  righteous  without  regard  to  his 
actual  character  ;  it  is  not  a  mere  status  into  which  he  is  intro- 
duced by  such  declaration,  but  it  is  at  bottom  the  real  right- 
eousness or  the  righteous  nature  which  is  bestowed  upon  the 
believer  by  God '  (A.  C.  McGiffert,  History  of  Christianity  in 
the  Apostolic  Age,  Edinburgh,  1897,  p.  142  f.). 

(x.)  'Righteousness  is  an  objective  condition  of  mankind 
transferred  into  this  condition  by  an  act  of  God  ...  an  objec- 
tive righteousness  which  by  the  grace  of  God  is  imputed  to  the 
man  who  believes  in  God's  grace  in  the  cross  of  Christ,  although 
he  is  actually  still  sinful'  (C.  Holsten,  Das  Evangelium  des 
Paulus,  vol.  ii.  p.  65). 

(xi.)  'God's  righteousness  is  not  only  judicial  righteousness 
but  also  the  righteous  attitude  of  God,  corresponding  to  his 
nature,  which  in  virtue  of  his  faithfulness  to  his  promise  is 
made  accessible  to  men  in  the  gospel,  so  that  they  too  share  in 
his  righteousness'  (P.  Feine,  Theologie  des  AT2,  p.  343 f.). 

(xii.)  'There  are  two  great  facts  which  correspond  to  the 
doctrine  of  righteousness  by  faith,  which  is  also  the  doctrine  of 
the  universality  of  the  Gospel :  first,  the  vision  which  the 
Apostle  saw  on  the  way  to  Damascus  ;  secondly,  the  actual 
conversion  of  the  Gentiles  by  the  preaching  of  the  Apostle. 
Righteousness  by  faith,  admission  of  Gentiles,  even  the  rejec- 
tion and  restoration  of  the  Jews,  are — himself  under  so  many 
different  points  of  view '  (B.  Jowett,  The  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  to 
the  Thessalonians,  Galatians,  and  Romans,  London,  1894,  ii. 
258). 

(xiii.)  '  It  is  unbiblical,  then,  to  assume  that  between  God's 
grace  or  love  and  His  righteousness  there  is  an  opposition,  which 
in  its  bearing  upon  the  sinful  race  of  men  would  lead  to  a  con- 
tradiction, only  to  be  solved  through  the  interference  of  Christ. 
The  righteousness  of  inexorable  retribution,  which  would  be  ex- 
pressed in  the  sentence  Fiat  justitia,  pereat  mundus,  is  not  in 
itself  a  religious  conception,  nor  is  it  the  meaning  of  the  right- 
eousness which  in  the  sources  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
is  ascribed  to  God '  (A.  Ritschl,  Die  christliche  Lehre  von  der 
Rechtfertigung  und  Versohnung,  Bonn,  18S2-83,  Eng.  tr.,  ii. 
[1900]' p.  473). 

(xiv.) '  The  Pauline  conception  of  righteousness  is  not  juristic 
but  ethical,  and  he  does  not  recognise  as  proceeding  from  God's 
nature  of  holy  love  any  contradiction  of  righteousness  and 
grace  which  must  be  removed  by  a  satisfaction  of  the  former ' 
(W.  Beyschlag,  AT  Theologie,  Eng.  tr.,  vol.  ii.  p.  137). 

(xv.) 'The  righteousness  of  God  ...  its  intrinsic  meaning  is 
God's  own  eternal  righteousness,  revealed  in  Christ  for  recon- 
ciling the  world  to  himself,  rather  than  (as  commonly  inter- 
preted) the  forensic  righteousness  (so-called)  imputed  to  man" 
(J.  Barmby,  on  Ro  I17,  in  Pulpit  Commentary,  London,  1890). 

(xvi.)  '  I  know  that  by  the  righteousness  of  God  is  sometimes 
meant  that  of  which  God  is  the  author,  and  which  he  bestows 
upon  us  ;  but  here  the  only  thing  meant  is,  that  being  sup- 
ported by  the  expiation  of  Christ  we  are  able  to  stand  at  the 
tribunal  of  God'  (Calvin,  on  2  Co  521). 

This  catena  is  representative  so  far,  that  it  illustrates  the 
two-fold  tendency,  since  Baur,  to  re-state  the  older  Reformed 
idea  of  an  objective  righteousness,  and  on  the  other  hand  to 
moralize  the  conception.  But  the  more  recent  movements  of 
criticism  (see  Literature)  have  been  specially  swayed  by  an 
emphasis  on  the  eschatological  element  and  an  attempt  to  estab- 
lish some  organic  connexion  between  the  Pauline  and  the  OT 
conceptions.  Cremer's  monograph  is  of  special  value,  in  both 
directions,  forits  independent  re-statementon  the  lines  of  Ritschl. 

3.  Technical  Pauline  use  of  the  term  'God's 
righteousness.' — (a)  Origin  and  meaning. — The 
phrase  '  God's  righteousness '  or  '  a  righteousness 
of  God '  is  one  which  St.  Paul  has  charged  with  a 
special  meaning.  The  Greek  words  SiKauxntivT)  Oeou 
are  sometimes  employed  in  another  sense — e.g.,  as 
we  shall  see,  in  Ro  S25,  where  they  denote  His 
justice  or  moral  equity,  and  in  34*-,  where  they 
similarly  express  the  thought  of  His  justice  or 
faithfulness  to  His  word.*  But  in  a  central  group 
of  passages  they  bear  a  technical  meaning.  One 
set  of  passages  within  this  group  connects  the 
Divine  righteousness  closely  with  the  Person  of 
Christ  (1  Co  I30,  2  Co  521,  Ro  3'22-  26) ;  another  set 
presents  the  thought  in  a  less  definite  connexion 
(Ro  I17  103).  What  is  common  to  all,  however,  is 
the  presupposition  that  this  righteousness,  this 

*  In  relation  to  the  special  problem  (resumed  afterwards  in 
9-11)  of  God's  attitude  towards  Israel.  The  rejection  of  Christ 
by  individual  Israelites  means  their  rejection  by  God,  but  not 
any  refusal  of  God  to  fulfil  His  word  and  obligations  to  Israel  as 
a  whole.  Again,  no  one  (Jew)  has  the  right  to  plead  that 
because  his  wrong-doing  serves  to  bring  out  the  Divine  con- 
sistency and  faithfulness,  it  is  unfair  of  God  to  punish  him  (cf. 
A.  Robertson  in  The  Thinker,  iii.  [1893]  429  f.).  Here  the 
Divine  TTIO-TIS,  Suceucxrwj),  and  oA.7)0eia  are  all  practically  synony- 
mous. The  quotation  in  3*  is  the  nearest  approach,  in  St. 
Paul's  Epistles,  to  the  idea  of  God  being  justified,  which  is  so 
characteristic  of  the  Psalms  of  Solomon  (e.g.  ix.  3),  where  the 
saints  humbly  acknowledge  that  He  is  just,  even  as  He  chastises 
them. 


state  of  acceptance  with  God,  this  right  relation- 
ship between  the  righteous  God  and  sinful  men,  is 
brought  about  by  God.  It  is  not  the  goal  of  a 
laborious  quest  of  man  for  God.  The  initiative  is 
with  Him.  That  is  what  the  genitive  signifies. 
He  wills,  He  creates,  He  bestows,  this  bliss.  '  It 
is  all  the  doing  of  God '  (2  Co  518).  When  St.  Paul 
speaks  of  righteousness  as  '  God's,'  in  opposition 
to  a  righteousness  which  is  man's  ('their  own,' 
'  my  own,'  see  below),  he  has  the  same  religious 
interest  as  the  Johannine  theology  in  speaking  of 
the  new  birth.  The  origin  of  the  Christian  life 
lies  in  the  will  of  God  as  a  will  of  life  for  man. 
'  The  righteousness  which  consists  not  in  what  we 
do  but  in  what  we  are,  is  the  righteousness  of 
faith,'  and  what  we  are,  we  are  by  the  grace  of 
God.  It  is  He  who  sets  us  in  this  new,  vital 
relationship,  by  pardoning  us  for  Christ's  sake. 

P.  Wernle,  who  laments  St.  Paul's  doctrine  of  justification  by 
faith  as  '  one  of  his  most  disastrous  creations '  (Beginnings  of 
Christianity,  Eng.  tr.,  London  and  New  York,  1903-04,  i.  309), 
admits  that  its  misleading  husk  contains  the  great  and  profound 
thought  that  'God  is  our  Father,  who  freely  gives  to  us 
whether  we  deserve  it  or  not,  and  that  we  men,  just  as  we  are, 
are  His  children,  living  by  His  love.'  Jowett's  essay  on  '  Right- 
eousness by  Faith '  (The  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Thess.,  Gal. 
and  Jfiom.S,  ii.  247-272)  is  not  one  of  his  strongest  pieces,  but  it 
equally  penetrates  to  this  thought  as  one  of  the  ethical  contri- 
butions of  the  doctrine  to  the  religious  life.  In  Exp,  8th  ser.,  iv. 
[1912]  252-262,  J.  Oman  emphasizes  the  same  aspect.  It  is  one 
of  the  points  at  which  St.  Paul's  subordination  of  the  /SacriAei'a 
or  malcuth  doctrine  to  that  of  the  zecuth  turns  out  to  be  a  real 
parallel  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  who  subordinated  the  zecuth 
idea  to  that  of  the  malcuth.  St.  Paul's  category  is  closer  to  the 
Rabbinic  standpoint,  but  the  conception  of  God  as  the  gracious 
Giver  breaks  through  until  it  answers  to  that  of  the  Father,  in 
the  teaching  of  Jesus,  who  takes  the  initiative  by  sending  the 
Son  and  setting  up  the  Kingdom  for  men  on  earth.  For  some 
other  aspects  of  this  parallel,  see  W.  Sanday's  article  on  '  St. 
Paul's  Equivalent  for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,'  in  JThSt  i. 
[1899-1900] 481-491. 

It  is  this  interest  that  made  the  legal  phrase- 
ology about  faith  being  '  reckoned  as  righteousness ' 
by  God  so  attractive  to  St.  Paul.  The  status  of 
being  right  with  God  was  something  which  men 
owed  to  Him,  not  to  themselves ;  it  depended  on 
His  verdict,  on  His  gracious  assurance  that  He  was 
prepared  to  treat  them  as  'righteous.'  But  in 
several  ways  the  Apostle  shows  that  the  status  was 
more  than  a  legal  fiction.  In  itself,  '  the  idea  of 
righteousness  as  dependent  on  a  divine  judgment 
(3a;n)  could  only  have  arisen  on  the  basis  of  legal- 
ism,  while  at  the  same  time  it  points  beyond  it' 
(Skinner,  ICC,  'Genesis,'  Edinburgh,  1910,  on  Gn 
156).*  It  points  beyond  legal  ism  in  St.  Paul  from 
various  aspects.  The  God  who  thus  reckons  men 
righteous  is  a  Giver,  not  a  Judge,  not  even  a  Law- 
giver. The  basis  for  His  reckoning  is  a  Divine 
self-sacrifice,  due  to  Divine  love  for  men,  the  death 
of  Christ,  God's  Son,  who  breaks  the  power  of  sin 
and  death  in  the  flesh  for  the  doomed  race  of  men. 
And  the  reckoning  is  interpreted  as  equivalent  to 
forgiveness,  a  blissful  experience  (Ro  45'-).  To  be- 
treated  as  '  righteous '  is  to  be  pardoned  and  recon- 
ciled. The  status  is  a  relationship  to  God  which 
means  life,  as  opposed  to  the  condemnation  and 
death  which  are  the  fate  of  sin,  i.e.  of  those  who 
refuse  this  reconciliation  and  therefore  have  their 
trespasses  still  counted  against  them  (2  Co  519  :  '  In 
Christ  God  reconciled  the  world  to  himself,  instead 
of  counting  men's  trespasses  against  them ').  Just 
as  sin  means  to  fall  short  of  the  Divine  glory 
(Ro  S23),  so  to  receive  God's  righteousness  is  to 
participate  in  that  glory — and  glory,  in  this  con- 
nexion, t  is  associated  (cf.  2  Co  36-46)  with  life. 
The  terminology  of  'righteousness'  and  'justify' 

*  Barnabas  (xiii.  7)  quotes  this  verse  as  itAvos  7r«rrev'<ras  f.Tt(hi\ 
els  SiKaiotrvvTiv. 

t  The  conception  of  '  glory '  as  the  immortal,  sinless  life 
enjoyed  by  Adam  and  Eve  in  Paradise,  and  to  be  enjoyed  by 
the  faithful,  underlies  the  Pauline  usage  of  the  term  ;  cf.  H. 
A.  A.  Kennedy,  St.  Paul's  Conceptions  of  the  Last  Things, 
London,  1904,  pp.  92  f.,  301  f. 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


377 


was  not  quite  so  well  suited  to  bring  out  this  posi- 
tive, personal  relation  to  God  as  some  other  phrases 
and  conceptions*  which  St.  Paul  employs,  but 
even  here  he  reveals  now  and  then  the  deeper 
religious  interests  to  which  the  juridical  concep- 
tion pointed.  Thus,  while  the  old  debate  whether 
righteousness,  in  the  phrase  '  righteousness  of  God,' 
meant  an  attribute  of  God  or  some  quality  which 
He  imparted,  whether  'God'  was  subjective  or 
objective — while  this  was  largely  a  philological 
rather  than  a  real  issue,  and  while  diKaiovv  or 
'justify'  certainly  denotes  (as  its  opposite,  Kara- 
Kpiveiv,  indicates)  'to  consider  or  pronounce  right- 
eous,' not  'to  make  righteous,' t  nevertheless 
when  St.  Paul  could  write  to  the  Christians  of 
Corinth,  '  Some  of  you  were  once  like  that '  (im- 
moral, vicious,  criminal),  '  but  you  washed  your- 
selves clean  at  baptism,  you  were  consecrated,  you 
were  justified  (tdiKaiwdri)  in  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ^  and  in  the  Spirit  of  our  God' 
(1  Co  6n),  when  he  could  speak  of  Christ  being 
made  '  our  righteousness '  by  God,  or  of  our  becom- 
ing 'God's  righteousness  in  him,'  it  is  plain  that 
the  juridical  sense  of  a  change  in  the  position  of 
men  towards  God  is  shading  oft'  into  that  of  a 
change  in  the  character  of  men,§  and  that  the 
'righteousness'  in  question  is  not  simply  formal 
and  forensic  but  real.  It  is  a  status,  but  a  status 
'  in  Christ ' — which  makes  all  the  difference  in  the 
world.  Justification  is  not  followed  by  sanctifica- 
tion,  in  the  technical  sense,  but  accompanied  by 
'  consecration ' ;  it  is  a  transformation  in  the  atti- 
tude of  God  to  sinners,  which  not  only  frees  them 
from  the  power  and  penalties  of  sin  but  makes 
them  God's  very  own  people — not  righteous  as  He 
is  righteous,  for  (as  Haring  admits)  that  is  an  un- 
Pauline  and  (cf.  1  Jn  37)  almost  an  unbiblical  turn 
of  thought,  but  in  possession  of  His  eternal  life 
through  Jesus  Christ.  The  objective  righteousness 
which  He  has  realized  and  revealed  through  the 
sacrificial  death  of  His  Son  implies  a  subjective 
righteousness,  in  men,  and  the  decisiveness  with 
which  St.  Paul  states  the  former  as  fundamental  to 
the  gospel  must  not  be  allowed  to  obliterate  the 
fact  that  he  recognized  the  latter,  even  in  his  use 
of  juridical  formulae  which  lent  themselves  specifi- 
cally to  the  prior  truth. 

What  does  obscure  this  occasionally  is  the  undue 
emphasis  laid  on  the  retributive  or  penal  element 
in  God's  '  righteousness '  as  the  Apostle  employs  that 
form  of  expression.  But  this  is  merely  one  ele- 
ment. The  acquittal,  for  example,  which  is  the 
result  of  Christ  s  death  for  men  (Ro  518),  is  opposed 
to  doom  or  the  condemnation  of  death,  i.e.  exclusion 
from  the  presence  of  God,  and  it  therefore  looks  to 
'  life,'  || '  glory,'  or  '  salvation.'  It  is  not  enough  to 

*  E.g. '  consecration '  or  <xyiao>i<k,  which  also  meant  primarily 
a  religious  relation  to  God  in  which  men  stood  as  ayiot,  but 
readily  suggested  (e.g.  1  Th  43f-)  the  moral  implication  of  such 
a  position  (p.  387). 

t  The  latter  view  is  still  held  by  some,  on  exegetical  grounds  (cf . 
McGiffert's  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  p.  143  f. ; 
E.  P.  Gould  in  AJTh  i.  [1897]  149-158)  or  for  more  theological 
reasons  (cf. ,  e.g.,  R.  C.  Moberly's  Atonement  and  Personality, 
London,  1901,  p.  335  f.,  and  J.  Drummond  in  HJ  i.  [1902]  83  f., 
272 ff.)-  But,  while  the  protest  against  an  extravagant  inter- 
pretation of  St.  Paul's  language  is  justified,  the  'forensic' 
element  is  too  fundamental  to  be  ignored  (cf.,  e.g.,  VV.  A.  Stevens 
in  AJTh  i.  443-450)  in  favour  of  a  'factitive'  sense  for  &LK*.IOVI> 
(F.  W.  Mozley  in  Exp,  7th  ser.,  x.  [1910]  481-503).  Much  of  the 
strife  and  confusion  arises  from  the  tendency  either  to  ex- 
aggerate or  to  ignore  the  distinction  between  a  religious 
relation  to  God  and  a  moral  state,  which  Orientals  did  not  find 
it  difficult  to  understand. 

J  There  is  a  verbal  parallel,  at  any  rate,  in  the  Pharisaic  En. 
xlviii.  7,  where  the  righteous  are  said  to  have  'hated  and 
despised  this  world  of  unrighteousness,  and  have  hated  all  its 
works  and  ways  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  Spirits :  for  in  his 
name  they  are  saved.' 

§  Cf.  J.  Weiss's  notes  on  these  passages  in  1  Corinthians9 
(Meyer's  Koinmentar,  Gottingen,  1910,  pp.  41  f.,  155). 

II  How  naturally  St.  Paul  assumed  this  may  be  seen  in  his 
remark  (Gal  3'-1),  '  had  there  been  any  law  which  had  the  power 


say  that  these  are  further  stages  in  the  process  initi- 
ated by  the  justifying  verdict ;  they  are  implicit  in 
it.  St.  Paul  often  speaks  of  the  latter  by  itself,  no 
doubt,  concentrating  attention  upon  the  Divine  act 
of  grace  which  inaugurates  the  new  standing  of 
men,  but  we  are  drawing  distinctions  which  he 
never  drew  when  we  confine  this  initial  stage  to  the 
forgiveness  of  sins,  as  if  that  were  merely  or  mainly 
a  negative  boon,  or  to  a  verdict  which  does  not 
carry  with  it  the  instant  admission  of  the  believing 
man  to  the  life  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  Take 
his  own  explanation,  e.g.,  of  what  is  meant  by 
having  'faith  counted  as  righteousness.'  To  us 
that  is  apt  to  sound  formal  and  forensic.  There  is 
a  ring  of  unreality  about  it,  in  modern  English. 
But  just  as  to  have  one's  trespasses  '  counted 
against'  one  (2  Co  519)  means  the  definite  exclusion 
of  the  sinner  from  God  and  his  relegation  to  doom 
and  death,  so  he  who  has  his  faith  '  counted  as 
righteousness'  (Ro  4sf-)  is  thereby  admitted  to  the 
inward  experience  of  forgiveness,  i.e.  to  a  positive 
and  real  relationship  with  God.  It  is  not  simply 
God  opening  the  door  of  the  prison,  though  it  is 
that ;  it  is  God  bringing  us  out  into  the  sunlight 
beside  Himself.  That  is  what  'righteousness' 
means,  as  His  free  gift  through  Jesus  Christ. 
Similarly — to  look  at  the  same  truth  from  another 
angle — the  faith  which  justifies  at  the  outset  can- 
not be  regarded  as  apart  from  some  experience  of 
the  Spirit.  Faith  and  revelation  correspond  to  each 
other,  and  both  are  conditioned  by  the  Spirit.  The 
Galatian  Christians,  who  had  the  Crucified  Christ 
placarded  before  the  eyes  of  their  mind  when  St. 
Paul  preached  the  gospel,  began  with  the  Spirit 
(Gal  3lf<).  Their  belief  in  the  gospel  message  of  the 
death  of  Christ  started  with  an  experience  of  the 
Spirit.  Justification  by  faith  cannot,  therefore,  be 
regarded  as  a  preliminary  stage  which  has  a  more 
or  less  negative  character.  The  faith  which  medi- 
ates it  for  the  sinner  is  God's  action  upon  him,  and 
initiates  him  into  the  new  standing  of  grace  ;  it  is 
his  reception  into  that  ideal  relation  between  God 
and  His  people  which  St.  Paul  describes  from  one 
point  of  view  as  '  righteousness.'  It  is  called 
'  righteousness '  because  that  denotes  the  saving, 
gracious  relation  between  the  two  parties,  and  it  is 
called  '  God's  righteousness '  not  only  because  He, 
and  He  alone,  has  the  right  to  create  it,  upon  the 
ground  of  Christ's  death,  in  view  of  human  sin,  but 
because  it  is  His  will  of  love  to  establish  it.  This 
being  so,  it  means  life  with  God,  life  in  Jesus 
Christ  His  Son.  The  antithesis  to  diKatovvvri  is 
0dva.Tos  (Ro  521  61S),  and  it  is  impossible  to  overvalue 
the  significance  of  this.  It  would  be  un-Pauline  to 
say  that  nothing  remains  to  be  done  ;  the  justified 
man  has  a  great  deal  to  do  for  God,  and  God  has  a 
great  deal  still  to  do  for  him  and  with  him.  But 
it  would  be  still  more  un-Pauline  to  say  that  any- 
thing remained  to  be  done,  even  by  God,  in  order 
to  fill  this  relationship  with  intimate  fellowship 
and  an  experience  of  the  Spirit.  '  As  we  are  justi- 
fied by  faith,  let  us  enjoy  the  peace  we  have  with 
God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  through  whom 
we  have  got  our  access  into  this  grace  where  we 
have  our  standing.  .  .  .  God's  love  floods  our  hearts 
through  the  Holy  Spirit  given  to  us'  (Ro  5lff-).  These 
are  the  words  or  a  man  to  whom  justification  was 
not  a  pale,  formal  preliminary,  but  a  real  experi- 
ence which  transformed  the  relations  between  him- 
self and  God,  and  in  so  doing  transformed  his  own 
life  into  a  shining  light  which  was  to  shine  more 
and  more  unto  the  perfect  Day. 

It  is  imperative,  at  the  outset,  to  realize  this  vital 
character  of  the  Divine  righteousness  in  Paulinism. 

of  producing  life,  righteousness  would  have  been  really  due  to 
law.'  But  it  is  written  over  all  his  letters.  Ai/ccu'cocrtf  means 
£<uo7roi'7)<Ti5,  and  this  comes  out  (<?.</.  in  Col  213f-)  even  where  the 
fiiKaioo-vcT)  idea  is  replaced  by  another. 


378 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


But  it  is  easy  to  misinterpret  it.  '  Righteous- 
ness '  and  '  righteous '  are  already  OT  terras  for 
the  action  and  character  of  God,  and  the  suggestion 
has  been  made  *  that  St.  Paul  employs  them  as 
the  psalmists  and  prophets  did,  that  by  '  righteous- 
ness '  in  God,  e.g.,  he  means  not  inexorable  retribu- 
tion but  the  self-consistent  and  undeviating  action 
of  God  on  behalf  of  the  salvation  of  His  community, 
and  that  he  posits  no  opposition  between  grace  and 
righteousness,!  the  two  being  for  him  as  for  the 
OT  essentially  identical.  As  '  righteous,'  God 
champions  the  interests  and  vindicates  the  character 
of  His  own  people  against  threats  and  accusations. 
Probably  this  is  the  sense  in  which  the  Johannine 
theology  occasionally  applies  the  term  '  righteous  ' 
to  God,  e.g.  in  Jn  1728and  1  Jn  I9,  where  it  denotes, 
not  any  rigorousness,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the 
gracious  loyalty  of  God  to  His  people.  J  But  it  is 
less  easy  to  agree  that  such  a  meaning  covers  the 
entire  range  of  the  special  usage  in  St.  Paul.  Its 
reality  for  OT  religion  is  veiled  from  the  reader 
by  the  misleading  associations  of  '  righteousness ' 
in  English.  In  Deutero-Isaiah,  particularly,  the 
Divine  'righteousness'  and  salvation  are  closely 
associated  :  '  There  is  no  God  beside  me — a  God 
who  is  righteous  and  saving'  (4521) ;  '  I  bring  near 
my  righteousness,  it  shall  not  be  far  off,  and  my 
salvation  shall  not  tarry '  (4613) ;  '  My  righteousness 
is  near,  my  salvation  is  gone  forth  .  .  .  my  salva- 
tion shall  be  for  ever,  and  my  righteousness  shall 
not  be  abolished '  (515*6).  '  Righteousness '  here 
means  active  aid ;  if  there  is  any  punishing  to 
be  done,  it  is  not  Israel  but  her  enemies  that 
are  punished.  But  what  of  St.  Paul's  position  ? 
'These  passages,'  it  is  said,  'seem  to  have  made  a 
deep  impression  upon  St.  Paul.'§  Perhaps  they 
did.  But  we  have  no  evidence  for  it.  He  never 
quotes  any  of  them,  never  even  alludes  to  them — a 
fresh  proof,  according  to  Holtzmann,  of  the  slighter 
emphasis  laid  by  St.  Paul  the  ex-Pharisee,  as 
compared  with  Jesus,  on  this  great  prophetic  sec- 
tion of  the  OT.  The  truth  is,  that  the  sharp  factor 
of  human  sin  reset  for  St.  Paul  the  older  idea  of 
righteousness  as  a  Divine  characteristic.  In  the 
OT,  it  denotes  God's  '  consistent  adherence  to  his 
revealed  line  of  action,  which  involves  deliverance 
to  faithful  or  at  least  repentant  Israel,  and  destruc- 
tion to  those  who  thwart  his  all-wise  purposes' 
(T.  K.  Cheyne,  The  Prophecies  of  Isaiah6,  London, 
1889,  ii.  29,  note  on  Is  515).  He  vindicates  His  own 
people  openly ;  if  He  did  not,  He  would  be  unjust. 
But  in  the  central  passages  of  St.  Paul,  the  two 
parties  are  God  and  sinners.  St.  Paul's  problem 
starts  from  the  time  '  when  we  are  still  enemies.'  || 
It  is  no  longer  a  people  who  are  faulty  but  still  in 
touch  with  Him  and  requiring  vindication  before 
the  hostile  world ;  it  is  humanity,  people  who  even 
as  Jews  have  no  claim  on  God.  Those  who  need 
God's  righteousness  are  not  wronged  but  wrong. IT 
When  St.  Paul  is  at  the  heart  of  his  argument  on 
sin,  it  is  not  to  God's  righteousness  as  loyalty  and 
faithfulness  that  he  appeals  ;  his  gospel  is  addressed 

*  By  Ritschl  in  Die  christliche  Lehre  von  der  Rechtfertigung 
und  VersohnungV,  Eng.  tr.,  ii.  473  f.,  and  after  him,  on  independ- 
ent lines,  by  Cremer,  Sabatier,  and  O.  Bruston  (Revue  de  Theo- 
logie,  ix.  [1900]  299 1.  ;  ZNTW  vii.  [1906]  77 f.)  especially. 

t  In  Gn  1919  ('  thou  hast  magnified  thy  mercy,  which  thou 
hast  shewed  unto  me  in  saving  my  life '),  Ex  347  ('  keeping  mercy 
for  thousands'),  and  other  passages,  the  usage  of  SucauxrvvTr]  by 
some  LXX  translators  is  significant. 

J  With  1  Jn  I9  compare  Wordsworth's  apostrophe  : 
'  The  best  of  what  we  do  and  are, 
Just  God,  forgive ! ' 
(Memorials  of  a  Tour  in  Scotland,  iii.  65  f .). 

§  Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  '  Romans '  «,  Edinburgh,  1902,  p.  35. 

II  I.e.  exposed  to  the  Divine  wrath.  In  Ro  510  ('  when  we 
were  enemies ')  it  is  God's  hostility  to  us,  not  ours  to  Him, 
that  is  meant  by  exfpoi'  (as  in  Ro  II28). 

If  It  is  a  different  matter  when  St.  Paul  appeals  to  God's 
moral  equity  (2  Th  I6f-)  in  punishing  the  persecutors  of  the 
loyal  Church.  This  is  a  further  stage,  not  the  initial  stage  of 
making  it  possible  for  such  a  church  to  exist  at  all. 


to  men  who  need  to  be  delivered  not  from  their 
enemies  but  from  themselves,  to  men  who  are 
enemies  of  God,  alienated  from  Him,  by  their  dis- 
obedience ;  and  it  is  a  gospel,  not  because  it  reveals 
the  Divine  righteousness  as  a  spontaneous  force 
diffusing  itself  among  men,  or  as  a  vindication  such 
as  is  contemplated  even  in  Ps  73,  but  because  it 
reveals  that  righteousness  as  God  in  Christ  reconcil- 
ing unfaithful  men  to  Himself  and  enabling  them, 
when  they  have  nothing  to  say  for  themselves  (Ro 
319),  to  be  right  with  Him.  Kitschl's  interpreta- 
tion is  correct  in  protesting  against  any  exclusively 
punitive  view  of  the  Divine  righteousness,  which 
would  oppose  it  to  grace,  and  in  bringing  out  the 
positive,  life-giving  element  in  the  Pauline  concep- 
tion. But  it  fails  by  transferring  language  from 
the  OT  situation  to  a  situation  which  differed 
materially  and  formally. 

For  several  reasons,  it  is  difficult  to  trace  the 
precise  lines  of  this  difference,  but  the  broad  fact 
emerges  from  the  apocalyptic  literature  and  even 
from  the  sources  of  contemporary  Rabbinic  the- 
ology, that  an  alteration  had  taken  place  during 
the  1st  cent.  B.C. 

There  are  signs  that  during  the  period  of  the 
later  Judaism  the  old  confidence  in  God's  righteous- 
ness as  His  loyalty  to  Israel's  interests  and  His 
gracious  intervention  on  their  behalf  had  begun  to 
wane  in  certain  circles,  and  that  the  rise  of  indi- 
vidualism and  the  deepening  sense  of  personal  sin 
as  more  or  less  connected  with  racial  guilt  tended 
to  suggest  condemnation  and  punishment  when 
'  righteousness '  was  spoken  of  as  an  attribute  of 
God  (cf.  W.  Bousset's  Die  Religion  des  Judentums 
im  neutest.  Zeitalter*,  Berlin,  1906,  pp.  358  ft'., 
435  ff.).*  The  Divine  righteousness  became  more 
forensic  and  distributive.  The  pious  no  longer 
appealed  to  it  with  the  same  naive  confidence. 
They  dreaded  it,  as  their  conscience  was  troubled 
by  transgression.  Touching  appeals  to  God's  mercy 
and  compassion  fill  the  religious  literature  of  the 
period ;  the  pious  plead  their  weakness,  acknow- 
ledge that  He  is  just  in  punishing  them  for  their 
offences,  and  beseech  His  gracious  favour  on  various 
grounds,  but  not  usually  on  the  score  that  He  is  a 
'  righteous '  God  in  the  sense  of  primitive  Israel,  t 
It  is  possible  to  over-estimate  the  extent  of  this 
change  of  mood,  but  not  to  deny  its  reality.  And 
unless  we  are  prepared  to  take  the  short  and  easy 
method  of  excluding  the  apocalyptic  literature 
from  a  historical  appreciation  of  Jewish  popular 
piety  during  the  NT  period,  we  must  take  this  factor 
into  account  in  estimating  the  contemporary  sig- 
nificance of  a  term  like  '  righteousness '  for  St.  Paul 
and  his  age.  As  he  found  it  and  used  it  for  his 
special  dialectic  on  justification,  it  bore  traces  of 
the  later  as  well  as  of  the  earlier  connotation  ; 
neither  exactly  corresponded  to  the  significance 
which  he  attached  to  it,  but  the  change  of  meaning 
through  which  the  term  had  passed  helped  to  mould 
it  for  his  purpose.  He  did  not  regard  God's 
righteousness  as  a  dread  attribute  which  had  to 
be  supplemented  by  His  grace,  but  he  was  still 
further  from  the  older  view  that  the  Divine 
righteousness  could  be  counted  upon  to  succour  and 
deliver  the  faithful  people.  The  contemporary 
expression  of  this  reliance  assumed  a  certain  right 
on  the  part  of  the  pious,  which  was  more  or  less 
modestly  urged,  to  receive  the  benefits  of  God's 
justitia  distributiva,  on  the  score  either  of  what 
they  were  able  to  do  in  the  way  of  keeping  the  Law, 

*  Also  H.  Cremer's  Die  paulin.  Rechtfertigungslehre,  p.  95  f., 
though  he  fails  to  differentiate  the  prophetic  current  from  the 
'legal,'  which  made  faith,  i.e.  adherence  to  the  true  cultus  and 
doctrine  of  the  Torah,  the  basis  for  Israel's  assurance  of  favour. 

t  The  devout  confidence  in  the  Divine  Siicaioa-vvri  as  protect- 
ing favour  and  guidance  is  voiced,  however,  in  the  combination 
of  '  mercy  and  righteousness '  (Jub.  xxxi.  24-25  and  Bar  59) 
most  expressively. 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


379 


or  of  their  reverence  for  the  Lawgiver.  Even  in 
the  apocalyptic  eschatology,  a  certain  moral  recti- 
tude, as  compared  with  the  Gentiles,  is  assumed. 
Only  thus  did  the  justitia  distributiva  become 
justitia  salutifera.*  This  is  what  was  anathema  to 
St.  Paul  ;  it  is  the  position  that  he  attacks  in  his 
criticism  of  righteousness  hy  works.  As  against 
the  tendency  to  make  repentance  and  amendment 
deserve  forgiving  grace, f  he  revived  the  phrase 
about  'justifying,'  which  had  ceased  to  be  used 
commonly  of  men,  and  he  turned  it  into  the  utterly 
un-Jewish  J  expression,  '  justify  the  ungodly,' 
pleading  that  God  was  '  righteous'  in  treating  men 
so,  because  the  death  of  Christ  enabled  Him  at  once 
to  punish  sin  justly  and  to  'justify'  sinners,  i.e. 
freely  to  forgive  them  as  a  gracious  God.  In  the 
Cross  of  Christ,  God  shows  that  He  has  the  right 
as  well  as  the  will  to  pardon  the  ungodly.  The 
Atonement  is,  therefore,  not  a  compromise  between 
righteousness  and  love  in  God,  unless  'righteous- 
ness '  is  taken  in  its  narrower  sense.  St.  Paul  recog- 
nized its  broader  sense,  and  usually  expressed  the 
punitive  element  otherwise,  e.g.  by  the  conception 
of  the  Divine  anger,  just  as  he  sometimes  expresses 
the  action  of  the  Divine  righteousness  by  the  more 
positive  term  '  grace,'  and  its  effect  by  the  warmer 
term  'reconciliation.' 

Two  features  in  the  current  Rabbinic  view  of  righteousness 
are  conspicuous  by  their  absence  from  St.  Paul's  re-statement. 
(1)  One  is  the  combination  of  God's  gracious  favour  with  His 
judicial  verdict  on  a  man's  record,  the  beautiful  idea  that  when 
a  man's  good  and  bad  actions  left  his  status  doubtful  before  the 
justitia  distributiva  of  the  Lord,  He  threw  His  mercy  into  the 
scales.  Contemporary  Judaism  must  not  be  dismissed  off-hand 
as  a  merely  legal,  bargaining  religion.  The  religious  conscious- 
ness was  far  too  large  for  any  theory  of  personal  righteousness 
simply  on  the  score  of  works,  and  demanded  this  recognition  of 
a  God  who  was  at  liberty  to  favour  and  forgive,  in  doubtful 
oases,  a  God  whose  mercy  did  not  require  any  prompting  §  to 
season  His  justice.  But  St.  Paul  did  not  conceive  of  God's 
righteousness  in  such  a  way  that  it  required  His  grace  to  temper 
it  for  sinful  man.  Neither  could  his  view  of  justification  as  a 
synthetic  verdict,  on  what  man  is,  not  on  what  he  does,  admit 
the  allied  notion  that  a  man's  faith  might  be  taken  generously 
as  the  guarantee,  supplement,  or  equivalent  of  righteousness. 
The  remark  in  the  Mechilta  on  Ex  1228  is  characteristic :  '  Have 
they  fulfilled  the  Passover  command  already?  No,  but  from 
the  instant  that  they  undertook  to  perform  it,  God  reckons  it 
to  them  as  if  they  had  fulfilled  it."  It  is  erroneous  to  under- 
stand St.  Paul  as  valuing  faith  thus  in  justification,  although 
ethical  interests  have  led  some  interpreters  to  this  conclusion. 
What  faith  means  in  this  connexion  for  the  Apostle  is  not  any 
intention  which  God,  who  takes  the  will  for  the  deed,  may  be 
pleased  in  His  mercy  to  accept.  The  Pauline  view  of  righteous- 
ness, no  less  than  the  cognate  view  of  faith,  rendered  it  im- 
possible for  such  a  conception  to  enter  into  his  theology.  (2) 
The  other  element  ignored  by  St.  Paul  is  akin  to  this.  It  was 
occasionally  felt  that  the  Divine  mercy  at  the  Judgment  might 
be  set  in  motion  by  the  intercession  of  the  righteous — an  ex- 
tension of  the  principle  of  solidarity,  by  which  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  living  saints  was  considered  to  have  merits  availing 
for  the  erring  members  of  the  nation.  But  the  idea  that  the 
righteous  could  intercede  on  behalf  of  the  ungodly  at  the  Last 
Judgment  is  entirely  ignored  by  St.  Paul,||  and  expressly  re- 
pudiated not  long  afterwards  by  the  author  of  U  Ezr.  (vii.  102- 
105) :  '  And  I  answered  and  said  :  If  I  have  found  favour  in  thy 
sight,  show  this  also  to  thy  servant — whether  at  the  day  of 
Judgment  the  righteous  shall  be  able  to  intercede  for  the  un- 
godly or  to  entreat  the  Most  High  on  their  behalf,  fathers  for 
sons,  sons  for  parents,  brothers  for  brothers,  kinsfolk  for  their 
nearest,  friends  for  their  dearest.  And  He  answered  and  said  : 
.  .  .  None  shall  pray  for  another  on  that  day,  neither  shall 
one  lay  a  burden  on  another ;  for  then  everyone  shall  bear  his 
own  righteousness  or  unrighteousness '  (cf.  G.  H.  Box's  note  in 


*  Cf.  Sokolowski's  Die  Begriffe  von  Geist  und  Leben  bei 
Pauhis,  p.  173  f . 

t  See,  e.g.,  Jub.  v.  17  :  '  If  they  [i.e.  the  children  of  Israel]  turn 
to  Him  in  righteousness,  He  will  forgive  all  their  transgressions 
and  pardon  all  their  sins.  It  is  written  and  ordained  that  He 
will  show  mercy  to  all  who  turn  from  all  their  guilt  once  each 
year  '  [i.e.  at  the  Day  of  Atonement]. 

t  A  Jew  would  have  quite  agreed  that  God  Jixaiot  TOV  acre/Si} 
if  SLKO.IOL  meant,  as  it  seems  occasionally  to  have  meant  in  Attic 
prose,  'punishes.'  What  St.  Paul  means  by  'the  ungodly'  is, 
of  course,  the  man  who,  in  spite  of  his  sins,  has  a  desire  for  God 
and  the  godly  lift'. 

§  Sometimes  it  is  the  prayers  of  the  righteous  which  are  able 
to  make  His  mercy  overpower  His  anger  (e.g.  T.  S.  Succah,  14o, 
Berachoth,  ~u). 

II  The  nearest  approach  to  it  is  the  passing  allusion  (in  Ro  1128) 
to  Israel  as  '  beloved  (by  God)  for  the  sake  of  the  fathers.' 


his  edition  of  The  Ezra-Apocalypse,  London,  1912,  pp.  153-156). 
In  the  contemporary  Apocalypse  of  Baruch,  which  Charles 
describes  as  'a  good  representative  of  the  Judaism  against 
which  the  Pauline  dialectic  was  directed '  (Apocrypha  and  Pseud- 
epigrapha  of  the  OT,  Oxford,  1913,  vol.  ii.  p.  470),  a  similar 
view  is  urged  (Ixxxv.  12) :  '  When  the  Most  High  will  bring  to 
pass  all  these  things,  there  shall  be  there  no  ...  place  of  sup- 
plication for  offences,  no  intercession  of  the  fathers,  no  prayer 
of  the  prophets,  no  help  of  the  righteous'  (see,  further,  Charles's 
note  on  Slavonic  Enoch,  liii.  1  [ib.  p.  462]).  The  2nd  cent. 
Testament  of  Abraham  (cf.  M.  R.  James,  in  TS  ii.  2  [1892]) 
contains  a  ^uxoorao-i'a,  or  weighing  of  souls  by  angels,  which  is 
singular  in  Jewish  apocalyptic  ;  but  even  more  singular  is  the 
fact  that  one  poor  soul  whose  fate  literally  hangs  in  the  balance, 
since  his  sins  and  good  deeds  (<Mttuo04v«t)  happen  to  be  exactly 
equal,  is  saved  by  the  intercession  of  Abraham  and  Michael. 
It  has  to  obtain  one  more  Sntaio<ruv7i  in  order  to  be  saved. 
Abraham  proposes  to  Michael  to  try  what  prayer  to  God  will 
do,  and  '  when  they  rose  from  prayer,  they  did  not  see  the  soul 
standing  there.  Then  said  Abraham  to  the  angel,  "Where  is 
the  soul  thou  wast  holding  in  the  midst?"  and  the  angel  said, 
"  It  has  been  saved  by  thy  righteous  prayer." '  The  absence  of 
any  allusion  to  this,  in  St.  Paul,  is  the  more  striking  as  he  was 
familiar  with  the  ideas  of  imputed  righteousness  and  imputed 
sin  in  current  Judaism. 

(b)  The  eschatological  background. — The  primary 
conception  of  righteousness  in  the  earlier  prophetic 
literature  naturally  pointed  to  the  end,  when  God 
would  make  the  issues  clear  by  establishing  the 
triumph  of  His  cause  and  people  over  the  ungodly. 
The  final  world-judgment  would  be  the  vindicating 
of  Israel  by  her  righteous,  loyal  Lord,  who  then 
would  do  justice  to  His  own  in  the  sight  of  pagans. 
This  prevails  through  the  later  Judaism  as  well. 
The  idea  of  a  present  justification,  especially  for 
individuals,  is  not  absent,  as  we  can  see  from  1  K 
332  (<  Hear  thou  in  heaven  and  judge  thy  servants, 
condemning  the  wicked  and  justifying  the  right- 
eous, to  give  him  according  to  his  righteousness'), 
or  from  the  background  of  an  allusion  like  that 
in  Lk  1814  (cf.  Jub.  xxx.  17  f.).  But  the  specific 
interest  of  the  righteousness-craving  was  focused 
on  the  Last  Day,  the  impending  crisis  when  the 
Lord  would  intervene  in  favour  of  His  folk  and 
exhibit  openly  their  right  position,  which  for  the 
time  being  had  been  obscured.  This  predominates 
not  only  in  the  OT,  where  righteousness  is  a 
Messianic  boon  (e.g.  Is  II4,  Jer  236  3316,  Bar  52) 
promised  by  God,  but  in  the  apocalyptic  piety.* 
Even  where  the  Law  is  prominent,  the  reward  of 
loyalty  to  the  Commandments  is  steadily  regarded 
as  life,  to  be  conferred  at  the  close  of  this  world- 
age,  when  the  lawless  pagan  powers  will  be  anni- 
hilated or  reduced  to  abject  submission.  To  get 
a  footing  in  the  Messianic  order,  to  ensure  '  life '  or 
righteousness  in  the  world  to  come,  the.  essential 
condition  was  to  keep  the  Commandments,  for  the 
reign  which  God  was  to  set  up  would  be  over  the 
dutiful  and  law-abiding. 

When  we  pass  into  the  Pauline  view  of  right- 
eousness, this  eschatological  background  is  still 
behind  both  the  terminology  and  the  cardinal 
ideas,  however  radically  the  latter  are  modified  by 
the  faith  that  Jesus  had  inaugurated  the  first  stage 
of  the  Messianic  order  on  earth.  The  imminent 
return  of  the  Christ  will  complete  this  saving  work. 
And,  meantime,  what  are  the  factors  in  the  situa- 
tion which  make  this  return  so  decisive  ?  Primarily, 
we  may  say,  the  traditional  conception  holds  true. 
It  is  still  sin  which  furnishes  the  need  for  right- 
eousness and  the  occasion  for  justification,  and  sin, 
as  irapdpacris  or  a.fj.dprrjfj.0.  or  irapdirTUfui  or  a.fj.apTia  or 
ddixia,  is  conditioned  by  the  Law ;  it  disqualifies 
for  the  status  of  blessing  and  reward,  to  be  assigned 
at  the  end  for  obedience.  The  terminology  retains 
its  OT  associations.  Righteousness  implies  a 
standard  of  character  and  conduct  which  is  ap- 

*  It  reappears  in  the  liturgy  of  the  Shemoneh  Esreh  (10-11)  : 
'  Sound  the  great  horn  for  our  freedom  ;  lift  up  the  ensign  to 
gather  our  exiles,  and  gather  us  from  the  four  corners  of  the 
earth  .  .  .  reign  thou  over  us,  O  Lord,  thou  alone,  in  loving- 
kindness  and  tender  mercy,  and  justify  us  in  Judgment '  (see, 
on  this  point,  J.  Koberle's  Sunde  und  Gnade  im  relig.  Leben  de» 
Volkes  Israel,  Munich,  1905,  p.  639  f.). 


380 


KIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


pointed  by  God.  '  The  ideas  of  right  and  wrong 
among  the  Hebrews  are  forensic  ideas  ;  that  is,  the 
Hebrew  always  thinks  of  the  right  and  the  wrong 
as  if  they  were  to  be  settled  before  a  judge. 
Righteousness  is  to  the  Hebrew  not  so  much  a 
moral  quality  as  a  legal  status.  ...  In  primitive 
society  the  functions  of  judge  and  lawgiver  are  not 
separated,  and  reverence  for  law  has  its  basis  in 
personal  respect  for  the  judge.  So  the  just  con- 
sistent will  of  Jehovah  is  the  law  of  Israel,  and  it 
is  a  law  which  as  King  of  Israel  He  Himself  is 
continually  administering'  (W.  R.  Smith,  The 
Prophets  of  Israel,  London,  1895,  p.  71  f.).  The 
repeated  violations  of  the  Law,  which  the  weakness 
of  the  flesh  produces,  result,  according  to  St.  Paul, 
in  a  state  of  guilt  which  calls  out  righteousness  as 
the  punitive  duty  of  the  Lawgiver.  He  speaks  of 
this  less  often  than  of  sin,  but  the  outcome  is  the 
punishment  of  death  as  the  supreme  expression  of 
the  Divine  wratli  for  wilful  transgressions  of  the 
Divine  Law.  The  Law  works  out  in  wrath  (Ro  415) ; 
the  thunderclouds  of  doom  are  ready  to  break  over 
those  who  take  that  path.  In  one  place,  he  attri- 
butes moral  perversity  (Ro  I24'-)  to  the  working  of 
the  Divine  wrath.  But  this  is  merely  one  expres- 
sion of  it,  and  (23>  5f>)  the  strefes  falls  on  the  eschato- 
logical  visitation  of  God's  wrath.  The  6py/i  of  God, 
like  its  opposite,  ffurrjpia,  is  for  St.  Paul  *  originally 
and  especially  eschatological  (cf.  1  Th  I10,  Ro  59) ; 
it  is  an  accompaniment  of  the  Day  of  Judgment, 
the  punishment  of  those  who  wilfully  disobey  God.  f 
To  St.  Paul  the  history  of  the  world  is  a  drama  of 
disobedience,  and  the  fifth  act  of  the  tragedy  is 
being  played  out ;  the  death  and  resurrection  of 
Jesus  Christ  prove  that  the  final  scenes  are  immi- 
nent. Accordingly,  the  primitive  Christian  escha- 
tology  viewed  justification  as  the  anticipation  of 
salvation  at  the  end,  the  guarantee  that  he  who  is 
justified  will  be  right  with  God  at  the  Final  Judg- 
ment. The  decision  of  God  will  be  in  his  favour. 
He  will  be  inside,  not  outside,  the  Messianic  realm 
of  bliss  and  life.  '  By  faith  we  wait  in  the  Spirit 
for  the  righteousness  we  hope  for'  (Gal  55),t  i-e- 
the  final  acceptance  and  freedom  (1  Co  I8,  Ro  S33) 
from  condemnation.  But  God's  wrath  is  not  ex- 
clusively eschatological  for  St.  Paul,  neither  is 
His  righteousness.  As  in  Judaism  §  already,  so, 
and  much  more  so,  in  St.  Paul,  justification  ceases 
to  be  a  mere  hope.  It  is  not  simply  the  assurance 
of  being  acquitted  at  the  end,  but  becomes  a 
present,  definite  attitude  of  the  soul  towards  God. 
Here  and  now  there  is  a  valid  status  before  God. 
St.  'Paul's  word  is,  '  We  are  justified,'  not  '  We 
shall  be  justified.'  God's  righteousness  is  a  revela- 

*  Like  John  the  Baptist  (Mt  37  =  Lk  37),  hut  unlike  Jesus ;  in 
the  Synoptic  record  of  His  teaching,  it  is  introduced  by  St.  Luke 
only  once  (21'^),  while  Mt  2421  and  Mk  1319  simply  speak  of 
eAtyts. 

t  This  is  reiterated  in  Ro  25f-,  and  St.  Paul  puts  the  reverse 
side  in  213-K>.  'To  be  just  before  God,"  or  acquitted,  or 
delivered  from  His  wrath,  is  the  supreme  boon  of  the  Messianic 
order.  Christ  has  already  inaugurated  this  order  by  His  death 
and  resurrection,  and  He  is  sure  to  complete  it  at  His  return, 
when  the  Day  of  Judgment  will  decide  the  fate  of  men.  The 
conditions  of  that  decision  are  stated  by  St.  Paul,  but  he  denies 
that  believing  men  need  have  any  fear  of  the  result ;  their 
present  relation  to  God  through  Christ,  in  the  new  order,  en- 
ables them  to  anticipate  the  future  with  confidence  (Eo  5if-  831f-). 
We  can  feel  the  alteration  of  emphasis  from  the  contemporary 
Jewish  faith,  which  drew  its  passion  for  law-righteousness 
largely  from  its  interest  in  the  future  final  hope  of  glory  and 
recompense. 

J  Contrast  the  contemporary  Apoc.  Bar.  xiv.  12  ('  the  right 
ecus  justly  hope  for  the  end  .  .  .  because  they  have  with  thee 
a  store  of  works  treasured '). 

§  Particularly,  though  by  no  means  exclusively,  in  apocalyptic 
circles,  where  the  heavenly  powers  and  realities  were  believed 
to  be  already  moving  in  human  life,  instead  of  remaining  hidden 
in  heaven  until  the  epoch  of  consummation.  The  fact  of  Christ's 
death  and  resurrection  having  recently  taken  place  increased 
the  Christian  tendency  to  realize  that  the  new  age  had  already 
begun  in  the  existence  of  the  Church  whose  experiences  of 
justification  and  fellowship  rested  on  Christ's  sufferings  and 
risen  glory. 


tion  in  the  present  order,  a  reality  of  experience 
here  and  now.  In  Ro  I17,  e.g.,  it  is  not  wholly 
eschatological  any  more  than  wrath  is ;  the  term 
salvation '  tends  to  retain  its  predominantly  es- 
chatological meaning,  but  'righteousness'  increas- 
ingly bears  upon  the  immediate  position  of  the  soul 
towards  God,  largely  because  it  was  so  definitely 
associated  with  forgiveness.  The  eschatological 
hope  usually  came  to  be  expressed  by  St.  Paul  in 
other  terms  ;  '  righteousness '  was  so  bound  up  with 
the  sacrifice  of  Christ  and  the  present  fellowship 
into  which  faith  ushered  the  Christian,  that  it 
gradually  became  concentrated  upon  the  experience 
and  standing  of  the  believing  man.  It  is  needless 
to  multiply  proofs  of  this  obvious  Pauline  position. 
A  sentence  like  that  in  Ro  59  clinches  the  matter  : 
'Much  more,  then,  now  that  we  are  justified  by 
his  blood,  shall  we  be  saved  by  him  from  wrath.' 
The  present  experience  of  God's  righteousness  (I17) 
becomes  the  ground  of  assurance  that  we  are  freed 
from  condemnation  and  that  we  shall  not  be 
exposed  to  the  final  doom  of  His  wrath  (I18,  1  Th  59) 
which  is  imminent  and  eschatological.  The  es- 
chatological background  to  St.  Paul's  theory  of 
righteousness*  and  justification  is  real  (cf.,  e.g., 
Ro  213- 16),  but  it  may  be  exaggerated,  as  it  is  by 
those  who  fail  to  see  that  justification,  like  vioOeffla, 
the  alternative  conception,  deepens  into  a  present 
moral  and  spiritual  experience,  involving  a  career 
as  well  as  a  hope,  or  rather  a  hope  which  implies 
a  career  of  goodness.  Because  the  Christian  is 
sure  of  final  acquittal,  he  is  to  live  up  to  it.  Or, 
to  put  it  in  an  antithesis :  he  is  not  to  be  saved 
because  he  is  good,  he  is  to  be  good  because  he  is 
justified.  It  is  a  short  interval  till  the  final  crisis 
arrives,  but  the  Christian  can  await  the  Judgment 
with  confidence,  on  the  strength  of  his  justification 
by  faith  and  (Ro  13llf-)  readiness  for  salvation. 

(i.)  This  is  exaggerated  by  Wernle's  thesis  t  that 
St.  Paul  never  thought  about  the  problem  of  sin  in 
the  Christian,  or  at  least,  very  seldom,  since  the 
hope  of  the  immediate  End  was  so  vivid  that  it 
left  no  place  for  any  ethical  transformation  of  the 
believer  ;  the  Christian  who  is  justified  is  thereby 
guaranteed  all  the  bliss  that  belongs  to  the 
Messianic  community  of  the  aluv  ^\\uv,  but  St. 
Paul  does  not  leave  either  time  or  need  for  dealing 
with  defects  of  character  in  the  brief  interval 
before  the  End.  Sin  belongs  to  this  present  world, 
whereas  the  Christian  life  is^  the  beginning  of  the 
new  age,  and  therefore  is  sinless.  Such  an  un- 
qualified estimate  of  the  eschatology  implies  that 
faith  does  not  possess  any  distinctive  ethical  force 
or  regenerating  energy.  It  is  true  that  St.  Paul 
did  say  something  about  'faith  working  by  love,' 
and  Wernle  (op.  cit.  p.  85)  is  troubled  by  this 
remark  (Gal  56).  However,  he  reflects  that  it 
must  be  an  obiter  dictum  !  After  all,  we  must 
remember  that  it  does  not  occur  in  Romans  !  The 
content  of  faith,  in  Paulinism,  is  not  to  be  evapo- 
rated into  adherence  to  the  Messianic  community, 
however ;  Paulinism  was  not  a  religion  of  sheer 
eschatological  enthusiasm,  which  refused  to_  see 
facts  that  contradicted  its  theory;  and  it  is  a 
mistake  to  regard  the  doctrine  of  righteousness  as 
little  more  than  a  piece  of  mission-propaganda, 
which  had  no  significance  for  the  life  of  Christians 
in  the  Church. 

(ii.)  Nor  is  it  possible  to  regard  righteousness  in 
St.  Paul's  theology  as  the  state  which  qualifies 
for  the  final  salvation,  the  condition  God  appoints 
and  will  accept  (E.  J.  W.  Williams,  St.  Paul's 

*  Sketched,  e.g.,  by  Kolbing,  K.  Miiller,  Titius,  and  Shailer 
Mathews  (see  Literature). 

t  In  Der  Christ  und  die  Siinde  bei  Paulus,  Freiburg  i.  B., 
97  pp.  22  f.,  92  f.,  100  f.     He  is  right  in  emphasizing  the  fact 


1897 


and 


that  'justification  is  the  first  boon  of  the  Messianic  age, 
signifies  reception  into  the  community  of  the  true  worship  and 
the  true  hope '  (p.  93). 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


381 


Doctrine  of  Justification,  London,  1912) ;  this 
theory  is  open  to  the  same  objection,  that  it 
ignores  the  ethical  substratum  of  the  soteriology 
and  eschatology.  God  might  no  doubt  be  con- 
sidered free,  as  we  shall  see  in  a  moment,  to  lay 
down  a  fresh  qualification  for  acceptance,  viz. 
faith.  He  might  replace  the  PO/UOJ  fpyuv  by  the 
vbnos  irlffrews,  althougn  that  would  not  explain  St. 
Paul's  full  attitude  to  the  Law.  Also,  the  primary 
idea  of  justification  was  the  status  of  a  man  before 
God,  not  his  ethical  character.  Granted.  But  in 
Paulinism  we  cannot  distinguish  rigidly  between 
a  man's  standing  and  his  heart ;  and  faith,  the 
faith  which  justifies,  is  more  than  a  special  method 
of  enabling  men  to  get  out  of  their  inherited  status 
of  original  guilt  and  become  qualified  for  the  final 
salvation.  Such  a  theory  fails  to  fit  St.  Paul's 
deep  sayings  about  the  present  position  of  the 
believing  man.  We  cannot,  e.g.,  translate  the 
opening  words  of  Ho  5  as  if  they  meant,  '  Being 
therefore  made  eligible  from  faith,  we  are  to  have 
peace  before  God.'  It  is  not  untrue  to  say  that, 
when  St.  Paul  regards  God  as  pronouncing  a  man 
righteous  on  the  score  of  faith,  he  assumes  that 
He  is  not  pronouncing  the  verdict  of  a  judge»but 
laying  down  a  legal  principle,  as  He  is  entitled  to 
do  ;  yet  this  is  not  all  the  truth.  The  faith  in 
question  cannot  be  left  as  a  mere  attitude  of  mind, 
unrelated  to  the  moral  self  ;  and  the  experience  of 
the  justified  man  is  more  than  an  assurance  of 
being  qualified  for  some  future  position  of  bliss. 
St.  Paul's  conception  of  Christ's  victory  over  sin, 
death,  and  the  Law,  in  the  flesh,  gave  a  fresh 
content  to  the  idea  of  '  righteousness '  alike  in  God 
and  in  human  nature,  and  at  the  same  time  it 
reset  the  idea  of  faith. 

We  must  now  attempt  to  define  this  content 
more  closely. 

(c)  Apologetic  and  controversial  setting. — '  Right- 
eousness '  was  a  term  common  to  Jew  and  Christian. 
What  differentiated  the  two,  according  to  St.  Paul, 
was  the  method  of  attaining  this  religious  position 
of  acceptance  with  God  which  ensured  acquittal 
and  bliss  at  the  end.  St.  Paul's  motto  was,  '  right- 
eousness by  faith,'  and  he  defined  his  meaning  con- 
troversially by  way  of  contrast ;  '  by  faith '  meant 
'  not  by  the  Law,'  '  not  by  works.' 

The  controversy  was  not  simply  with  Jews,  but 
with  Jewish  Christians  as  well.  Many  in  the 
primitive  Church  had  not  thought  out  tneir  rela- 
tion to  the  Jewish  Law ;  they  were  not  alive  to 
the  full  consequences  involved  by  their  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ.  They  were  content  to  rest  in  a 
Messianic  conception  of  the  Lord,  as  if  His  forgive- 
ness availed  for  such  sins  as  their  obedience  to  the 
Law  failed  to  cover.  His  pardon  was  a  welcome 
and  necessary  supplement ;  still,  it  was  a  supple- 
ment. The  Law  and  Christ  were  two  saving 
principles.  In  a  word,  their  position  might  be 
summed  up  thus  :  justification  by  the  Law  plus 
Jesus  Christ.  This  seemed  to  offer  an  indispens- 
able guarantee  for  morality  and  to  preserve  contin- 
uity. It  was  only  under  the  logic  of  facts,  like  the 
conversion  of  Gentiles,  and  the  stress  of  St.  Paul's 
arguments,  that  they  admitted  that  obedience  to 
the  Law  was  not  essential  to  salvation.  The  ad- 
mission was  hard  to  make,  but  it  had  to  be  made 
for  the  sake  of  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  for  them- 
selves. We  have  this  put  strongly  in  Galatians, 
the  fighting  line  of  Paulinism  against  the  Jewish 
Christian  propaganda  of  the  early  Church.  Thus, 
in  215'-,  the  Apostle  starts  for  the  sake  of  argument 
from  the  same  premisses  as  St.  Peter  and  the 
Jewish  Christians  ('since  we  know  a  man  is  justi- 
fied by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  not  by  doing 
what  the  Law  commands,  we  ourselves  have 
believed  in  Jesus  Christ '),  but  he  draws  a  con- 
clusion from  these  premisses  which  they  did  not 


draw,  when  he  adds.  '  so  as  to  get  justified  by  faith 
in  Christ  and  not  by  doing  what  the  Law  com- 
mands, for  by  doing  what  the  Law  commands  no 
person  shall  be  justified.'  This  is  St.  Paul's  infer- 
ence. It  was  he,  not  they,  who  made  an  antithesis 
between  Christ  and  the  Law.  Instead  of  holding 
to  righteousness  by  the  Law  plus  *  Christ,  the 
Apostle  laid  down  the  thesis  :  either  Christ  or  the 
Law.  Justification  from,  not  by,  the  Law.  As 
he  put  it  to  them  bluntly,  'You  are  for  justifica- 
tion by  the  Law  ?  Then  you  are  done  with  Christ, 
you  have  deserted  grace '  (Gal  54). 

The  further  development  of  this  thought  belongs 
to  the  discussion  of  the  Law.  All  that  we  require 
to  note  at  this  point,  for  our  immediate  purpose,  is 
that  St.  Paul  treats  the  Law  as  a  whole,  instead  of 
distinguishing,  as  we  might  expect  him  to  do  for 
the  sake  of  lucidity  and  logic,  between  the  ethical 
and  the  ceremonial  sections.  In  Romans  it  is 
possible  to  feel  that  the  ethical  is  uppermost  in  his 
mind,  in  Galatians  the  ceremonial.  Yet  even  in 
the  disparaging  references  of  the  latter  Epistle,  he 
has  room  for  the  great  saying,  that  the  entire  Law 
is  summed  up  in  the  single  command  to  '  love  your 
neighbour  as  yourself '  (514).  The  fact  is,  he  invari- 
ably regards  the  Law  as  the  supposed  way  to  life, 
from  the  Jewish  standpoint,  and  argues  that  life 
comes  by  another  way,  by  faith  in  Christ.  Justi- 
fication means  life,  and  justification  is  based  on  the 
death  and  resurrection  of  Christ,  which  superseded 
the  Law  as  a  revelation  of  God's  mind  and  will  for 
sinful  men.  Besides,  he  actually  adds,  in  pre- 
Christian  Judaism  the  Law  did  not  lead  to  life  ;  it 
stirred  up  evil  in  a  man,  and  reduced  the  earnest 
to  despair.  Above  all,  it  never  elicited  faith. 
Doing,  not  trust,  was  its  watchword. 

This  criticism  of  the  works  of  the  Law  has  been 
itself  subjected  to  criticism.  Was  the  antithesis 
fair  to  Jewish  piety?  it  has  been  asked.  Did  not 
St.  Paul,  in  the  stress  of  controversy,  exaggerate 
the  position  of  his  opponents  ?  When  he  criticized 
them  for  the  place  they  assigned  to  '  works  of  the 
Law,'  what  place  did  he  leave  for  works,  or,  as  we 
should  say,  for  ethics,  in  his  own  system  ?  Does 
not  his  own  appeal,  in  non-controversial  moments 
and  for  practical  needs,  to  the  Divine  judgment  on 
works  indicate  that  he  was  not  really  so  far  from 
the  Jewish  Christian  position  as  his  controversial 
passages  would  seem  to  claim  ?  If  it  is  true  that 
the  Pharisees  almost  deified  the  Law,  is  it  not  the 
case  that  Paul  as  nearly  caricatured  it  ? 

So  far  as  these  criticisms  are  relevant  to  the 
special  topic  of  righteousness  in  the  Pauline  system, 
they  must  be  considered  from  the  historical  point 
of  view,  that  what  St.  Paul  encountered  was  not 
the  OT  type  of  devotion  to  the  Law  and  righteous- 
ness such  as  is  presented  in  the  119th  Psalm,  but  a 
Pharisaic  type  of  piety  in  which  he  had  himself 
been  trained.  We  can  see  now  that  he  was  really 
reviving  the  prophetic  spirit  of  protest  against  an 
undue  emphasis  on  the  external,  which  had  the 
unhealthy  effect  of  fostering  self -righteousness, 
and  reviving  it  on  a  higher  level.  He  insists,  with 
uncompromising  rigour,  e.g.,  on  the  paramount 
significance  of  faith,  not  as  one  means  of  pleasing 
God  but  as  the  means,  the  source  and  centre  of  true 
righteousness.  In  this,  he  opposes  Jewish  legalism, 
as  Jesus  did.  '  With  Paul  as  with  Jesus,  faith  is 

*  In  Ac  1339  St.  Luke  appears  to  attribute  this  idea  to  St. 
Paul.  'Remission  of  sins  is  proclaimed  to  you  through  him, 
and  hy  him  everyone  who  believes  is  absolved  from  all  that  the 
Law  of  Moses  never  could  absolve  you  from  (Siica.uaOriva.i).'  But 
the  language  does  not  make  it  quite  clear  that  St.  Luke  thought 
justification  by  faith  came  in  to  remedy  the  defective  pardon  of 
the  Law.  At  any  rate  it  is  not  so  clear  as  the  narrower  identi- 
fication of  justification  with  dc£e<rts  afnapnuiv.  St.  Paul,  on 
occasion,  could  speak  of  a  man  being  '  absolved  from  sin ' 
(Ro  6",  SfSiKaiiarai  airb  TFJS  a/uapri'as),  but  he  is  speaking  of  a 
dead  man  in  a  contemporary  mode  of  thinking,  and  using  this 
rather  as  an  illustration. 


382 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


the  decisive  thing.  St.  Paul  has  found  the  same  God 
as  Jesus  :  he  has  learnt  that  God  is  far  greater  and 
His  demands  far  more  searching  and  lofty  than  the 
Jew  believed.'*  The  controversy  between  Jesus 
and  the  legalism  of  the  Pharisees  is  practically 
reproduced  in  the  criticisms  passed  by  St.  Paul, 
the  quondam  Pharisee,  upon  the  doctrine  of  right- 
eousness by  works.  The  religious  interest  is  the 
same.  Faith  is  conditioned  by  the  character  of  the 
God  who  is  revealed  to  the  soul ;  and  our  God,  says 
St.  Paul  after  Jesus,  though  he  says  it  in  his  own 
way,  is  One  who  gives  Himself  freely  to  man  in 
his  utter  need.  The  primary  thought  of  right- 
eousness is  for  him  not  task  but  gift.  St.  Paul's 
technical  phraseology  must  not  be  allowed  to 
obscure  the  relation  of  his  teaching  at  this  point 
to  the  teaching  of  Jesus  upon  the  Father  who 
freely  gives  to  His  children,  and  gives  them  life 
with  Himself.  The  Apostle's  phrase,  '  righteous- 
ness by  faith,'  aims  at  the  same  idea  of  life  im- 
parted freely  by  God,  for  justification  is  not  a 
formal  verdict  or  declaration — that  would  not  alter 
a  man's  nature  or  create  a  new  personality.  Justi- 
fication is  to  treat  as  right  or  just,  no  doubt.  But 
this  is  for  St.  Paul  the  action  not  of  a  judge  but  of 
a  Father,  and  everything  depends  on  the  character 
and  purpose  of  Him  who  determines  to  treat  thus 
the  erring  penitent.  How  is  it  right  ?  When  is  it 
wise  ?  To  Jesus,  the  character  of  the  Father  is  a 
sufficient  answer  by  itself.  So  it  is  to  St.  Paul  ; 
only,  he  looks  through  the  Cross  to  God's  char- 
acter, and  also  interprets  the  Cross  through  God's 
character,  since  the  Cross  is  the  supreme  revealing 
action  of  God.  The  Cross  proves  that  God  is  a  God 
of  love,  a  God  who  will  have  mercy  even  on  the 
ungodly  ;  it  also  proves  that  He  does  not  condone 
sin.  The  sinner  can  trust  the  love  of  it,  and  yet 
be  sure  this  mercy  is  not  dealing  lightly  with  his 
sin.  Hence  faith  arises,  the  faith  that  justifies. 
The  words  differ,  but  the  spirit  is  akin  to  the 
interest  which  tinderlay  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
about  the  conditions  which  evoked  trust  in  God. 

We  may  wonder  (i.)  why  he  did  not,  like  the 
author  of  Hebrews,  employ  the  sacrificial  sections 
of  the  Law  to  illustrate  the  death  of  Christ  as  the 
means  of  establishing  this  righteousness  with  God  ; 
(ii. )  why  he  did  not  conceive  the  Law  as  a  prepara- 
tory stage  for  Christianity  or  the  new  law  of  right- 
eousness, as  a  later  age  did;  (iii.)  why  he  never 
reckoned  with  the  Jewish  f  doctrine  of  the  merits 
of  the  Fathers  availing  to  supplement  the  demerits 
of  living  Israel ;  and  (iv. )  why  he  was  not  driven,  as 
Marcion  after  him,  to  deny  outright  the  validity 
of  the  Law  as  a  Divine  institution.  Probably  he 
was  too  much  of  a  Pharisee,  with  too  strong  a 
sense  of  the  purpose  of  God  in  history  and  in 
Israel,  to  break  so  radically  with  the  past.  His 
attitude  towards  the  Law  as  a  means  of  righteous- 
ness is  thoroughly  characteristic  of  his  Pharisaic 
antecedents  and  his  individual  experience.  To 
him,  the  Law  is  everything  or  nothing.  He  sees 
it  as  a  rival  to  Christ  and  strikes  at  it  in  unqualified 
antitheses.  From  what  he  saw  of  Judaism  and  of 
Jewish  Christianity,  he  considered  it  was  essential 
to  prove  that  the  Law  not  only  could  not  justify, 
but  was  never  intended  to  justify,  by  faith. 

*  H.  Weinel,  Biblische  Theologie  des  Neuen  Testaments2, 
p.  281. 

t  E.g.  in  the  contemporary  Apocalypse  of  Baruch,  where  the 
works  of  the  righteous  avail  for  other  generations  (xiv.  7,  Ixxxiv. 
10 :  '  Pray  diligently  with  your  whole  heart  that  the  Mighty  One 
may  be  reconciled  to  you,  and  that  He  may  not  reckon  the  multi- 
tude of  your  sins,  but  remember  the  rectitude  of  your  fathers '). 
This  quantitative  doctrine  of  the •  zecuth  of  the  fathers,  i.e.  their 
righteousness  as  availing  for  their  descendants,  implied  that  by 
the  grace  of  God  their  meritorious  goodness  was  allowed  to 
count  in  favour  of  those  who  were  defective  in  piety,  instead  of 
the  latter  being  judged  strictly  on  their  own  merits  (cf.  E.  G. 
Hirsch  in  JE  x.  423,  and  Schechter,  Some  Aspects  of  Rabbinic 
Theology,  ch.  xii.). 


According  to  his  analysis  of  the  tendencies  of  the 
contemporary  legalism — and  there  is  no  historical 
reason  to  doubt  that  his  analysis  was  substantially 
accurate — the  practical  outcome  of  devotion  to  the 
Law,  as  glorified  by  Pharisaic  piety,  really  resulted 
in  an  endeavour  to  attain  righteousness  by  one's 
own  moral  record.  This  had  broken  down  in  his 
own  case,  and  he  argued  from  that  to  a  general 
proposition.  It  was  important  to  do  this,  for  '  when 
he  looked  at  the  Jews  who  retained  their  unbelief 
in  face  of  the  gospel,  he  was  convinced  .  .  .  [that] 
it  was  not  imperfection,  but  the  effort  to  reach 
righteousness  that  kept  them  away  from  the 
gospel.'  *  His  criticism  of  the  Law  was  not  a  clever, 
one-sided  jeu  d'esprit  of  dialectic  ;  it  was  evangel- 
istic as  well  as  apologetic,  an  attempt  to  save 
others  from  the  impasse  into  which  he  had  himself 
once  strayed  in  sheer  sincerity  of  purpose.  The 
repudiation  of  the  Law  as  a  method  of  attaining 
righteousness  sprang  from  the  fact  that  in  his  own 
experience  he  had  felt  what  he  regarded  as  the 
fundamental  error  of  Pharisaism.  Hence  it  is 
possible  for  J.  Weiss  to  say  (Paul  and  Jesus,  Eng. 
tr.,  London,  1909,  pp.  82-84)  that  St.  Paul  'saw 
more  deeply  into  the  nature  of  Pharisaism  and 
rejected  it  more  absolutely  than  even  Jesus  Him- 
self. Jesus  constantly  referred  to  the  inconsistency 
between  outward  behaviour  and  inward  motive  ; 
the  formalism  and  unreality  of  this  pietism  aroused 
His  anger.  Paul,  on  the  basis  of  his  personal 
experience  and  by  means  of  his  entirely  religious 
nature,  realised  that  Judaism  was  distorted  as  a 
system  and  that  its  attitude  towards  religion  was 
from  the  outset  perverted  ;  he  regarded  as  chimeri- 
cal the  theory  that  by  means  of  works  men  could 
force  God  to  deal  out  reward  and  salvation  in  ful- 
filment of  a  contractual  obligation  ;  moreover,  this 
attitude  towards  God,  which  seemed  to  regard 
Him  as  a  contracting  party  with  rights  and  claims 
not  superior  to  those  of  man,  was  recognised  by 
Paul  as  impious  and  as  a  blasphemous  misrepre- 
sentation of  the  position  of  man,  in  view  of  his 
entire  dependence  upon  God.  The  irreligious 
aberrations  of  Pharisaism  consisted  in  this  "  boast- 
ing before  God,"  as  Paul  calls  it,  or  as  we  may 
paraphrase  it,  "  in  self-glorification  upon  the 
ground  of  past  achievement,  in  making  demands 
of  God  "  ;  this  mad  "  going  up  to  heaven  "  to  bring 
salvation  down  from  thence,  and  this  unseemly 
"  reckoning  "  with  God  which  is  entirely  character- 
istic of  all  Jewish  thought, t  are  the  by-products 
of  a  pietism  which,  like  heathenism,  professed  to 
exert  compulsion  upon  God ;  heathen  magic, 
sacrifice  and  prayer,  was  here  replaced  by  the 
practice  of  righteousness  to  which  God  was  unable 
to  refuse  reward.  Paul  himself  had  shared  this 
passionate  zeal  for  the  law,  this  painful  tpydfcffdat, 
.  .  .  ;  it  was  this  experience  which  enabled  Paul 
not  merely  to  conquer  certain  outposts  of  Judaism, 
but  to  show  that  the  system  must  be  rejected  as 
absolutely  incompatible  with  the  gospel.' 

The  negative  propositions  about  righteousness 
not  being  by  the  works  of  the  Law  are  therefore  the 
reverse  side  of  St.  Paul's  positive  conviction  that 
justification  did  originate  by  faith.  They  repre- 
sent him  coming  to  terms  with  Judaism,  stating 
his  new  faith  as  against  its  old  rival.  His  repudia- 
tion of  legalism  finds  its  strength  in  his  personal 
conviction  of  God's  grace  in  Christ.  He  does  not 
set  up,  it  has  to  be  noted,  any  antithesis  between 
faith  and  works,  i.e.  moral  actions.  Only,  the 
latter  are  regarded  as  the  outcome  of  faith,  and 
denied  any  place  in  winning  a  state  of  acceptance 
with  God.  The  opposite  of  his  doctrine  of  right- 

*  Weizsacker,  Apostolic  Age%,  i.  156. 

t  These  expressions  are  too  strong  ;  the  evidence  of  Rabbinic 
religion  must  be  allowed  to  modify  them,  though  not  to  disprove 
their  essential  truth. 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


383 


eousness  by  faith  is  the  popular  Rabbinic  conception 
of  zecnth  or  satisfaction,*  according  to  which  any- 
one who  kept  the  coimnamls  of  the  Law  was  in  a 
state  of  zecuth  or  '  grace,'  and  being  thus  '  right- 
eous'might  claim  the  Divine  reward  of  justifica- 
tion. Such  a  man  is  right  with  God,  because  he 
has  made  himself  right,  satisfying  God's  demands, 
especially  by  the  study  of  the  Torah,  by  almsgiving, 
charity,  and  the  like.  He  can  even  swell  his  credit, 
and  do  so  of  his  own  initiative.  It  is  this  sort  of 
self-made  morality,  with  its  tendency  to  self-right- 
eousness, that  St.  Paul  antagonizes  in  his  polemic 
against  the  works  of  the  Law  as  a  basis  for  right- 
eousness. 

Without  entering  into  details  on  St.  Paul's  con- 
ception of  faith,  or  of  justification  as  compared 
with  contemporary  Jewish  views  (e.g.  in  the 
Apocalypse  of  Baruch),  we  may  notice  two  items 
of  importance,  (i.)  One  is  the  triple  repudiation 
of  'works'  in  the  earliest  allusion  to  justification 
(Gal  216).  There  is  a  curious  misinterpretation  of 
this  verse,  which  takes  edv  /«?  with  <;'£  tpywv,  as  if 
St.  Paul  wrote,  'a  man  is  not  justified  by  the 
works  of  the  law  unless  he  believes  in  Jesus  Christ.' 
Newman,  e.g.,  adopted  this  view  for  dogmatic 
reasons  in  his  Lectures  on  Justification  (3rd  ed.,  p. 
279).  He  pleads  ingeniously  that '  it  does  not  follow 
that  works  done  in  faith  do  not  justify,  because 
works  done  without  faith  do  not  justify.'  But 
it  does  follow,  according  to  St.  Paul.  Newman's 
position  is  the  very  position  of  the  Jewish  Chris- 
tians, which  St.  Paul  regarded  as  ambiguous  and 
compromising  to  the  gospel,  viz.  that  if  a  man 
does  believe,  his  moral  obedience  and  actions  co- 
operate in  his  justification.  '  We  know,'  says  the 
Apostle,  '  that  a  man  is  justified  simply  by  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ  and  not  by  doing  what  the  law 
commands.'  He  explicitly  seeks  to  lift  and  free 
Christianity  from  the  Jewish  Christian  combina- 
tion of  faith  and  works  which  re-appears  in  New- 
man's theory. 

(ii.)  In  the  second  place,  we  notice  that  as  soon 
as  he  speaks  of  righteousness,  he  brings  in  faith 
(Ro  I17) ;  from  first  to  last — this  seems  to  be  the 
meaning  t  of  CK  irlo-Teus  eh  irianv — the  saving  revela- 
tion of  God  is  conditioned  by  faith.  Faith  is  for 
man  its  source  and  sphere.  It  is  not  a  faith  which 
is  itself  a  '  work,'  on  which  a  man  might  plume 
himself.  It  is  not  iroiovcra  but  dicoijovffa  (Ro  1014), 
elicited  by  the  revelation  of  God's  grace  in  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  (cf.  Gal  3lf- 5,  Ro  10",  1  Co 
24'-).  The  faith  which  justifies  is  called  out  by 
this  overpowering  disclosure  of  God  in  the  Person 
and  sacrifice  of  Christ.  The  Cross,  with  the  love 
of  God  in  it,  exhibits  God's  righteousness  and 
elicits  faith  in  man,  the  faith  of  which  St.  Paul  says, 
'a  man  who  instead  of  "working"  believes  in  him 
who  justifies  the  ungodly,  has  his  faith  counted  as 
righteousness'  (Ro  45).  Obviously  it  is  not  a  meri- 
torious action,  any  more  than  it  is  a  legal  condi- 
tion for  a  legal  acquittal.  At  the  same  time,  it  is 
not  an  empty  state,  this  faith  stirred  in  the  soul. 
The  contrast  of  'not  by  works'  and  'by  faith,'  in 
the  dialectic  of  '  righteousness,'  does  not  imply 
that  a  man  believes  in  Christ  by  putting  out  of 
life  henceforth  all  moral  energy.  '  Works  of  the 
law'  mean  for  St.  Paul  that  a  man, is  constantly 
thinking  of  himself,  urging  himself  on,  putting 
moral  pressure  on  himself,  striving  to  please  God 
on  his  own  resources,  and  inevitably  taking  some 
credit  to  himself ;  '  by  faith '  means  that  a  man 
turns  from  his  moral  or  immoral  self  to  God, 
meeting  Him  who  comes  triumphing  over  weak- 

*  Cf.  W.  O.  E.  Oesterley  and  G.  H.  Box,  The  Religion  and 
Worship  of  the  Synagogue",  London,  1911,  p.  274  ff. 

t  Not  '  ex  fide  legis  in  fidem  evangelii,'  nor  '  from  weak  faith 
(;o  strong  faith,'  nor  '  from  the  faith  of  the  preacher  to  the  faith 
of  the  hearer,'  nor  '  from  belief  in  the  gospel-message  to  per- 
sonal trust  in  Christ. ' 


ness  and  sin  in  Jesus  Christ,  daring  to  trust  him- 
self to  Him  who  has  successfully  invaded  sin  and 
death  in  their  headquarters  in  the  flesh,  ready  to 
live  by  this  faith,  because  it  identifies  him  with 
the  power  and  inspiration  of  the  Lord.  This  is, 
according  to  St.  Paul,  the  way  to  be  right  with 
God  ;  and  it  means  a  right  life,  for  the  end  of  such 
a  Divine  righteousness  is  to  create  spiritual  person- 
alities, and  the  faith  which  appropriates  it  is  not 
so  much  an  act  as  a  reception  of  Christ  or  an 
abandonment  of  oneself  to  Him.  Hence,  e.g., 
the  explanation  that  even  Abraham's  faith  im- 
plied a  reverence  for  the  power  of  God  and  a 
willingness  to  act  upon  His  word  (Ro  417'-).  Hence 
also  the  association  of  faith  with  obedience  (Ro 
I5  617£-  1021),  i.e.  submission  to  the  gracious  will  of 
God  which  meets  us  in  the  gospel,  a  willingness, 
at  any  cost  of  pride  and  prejudice,  to  take  His 
road  to  life  ;  you  must '  give  in  '  to  God's  terms,  he 
declares  (Ro  103).  How  hard  that  was,  especially 
for  a  man  of  moral  character,  he  himself  knew 
well — how  hard,  and  yet  how  glad  and  fruitful, 
once  the  surrender  was  made. 

There  are  two  considerations  which  have  to  be  weighed  in 
estimating  the  Justice  of  St.  Paul's  verdict  on  contemporary 
Judaism.  One  is,  that  he  was  diagnosing  Pharisaism  on  the 
spot — and  not  across  nineteen  centuries,  from  a  restricted  survey 
of  the  earlier  OT  and  the  later  Rabbinism.  The  other  is,  that 
he  was  diagnosing  the  symptoms  of  a  disease  from  which  he 
had  himself  suffered.  Scattered  statements  can  be  disinterred 
from  Rabbinic  literature  to  prove  that  faith  was  not  ignored  by 
all  the  leaders  of  contemporary  Israel,  that  many  were  con- 
scious of  the  need  of  Divine  grace  in  order  to  obey  the  Torah, 
that  they  found  a  true  religious  joy  in  practising  this  obedience, 
that  they  were  not  invariably  pluming  themselves  upon  their 
merits,  and  that  the  Torah  meant  for  them  more  than  a  code  of 
legal  enactments.  No  historical  critic  has  any  interest  in 
minimizing  such  data.  Nor  has  he  any  hesitation  in  allow- 
ing for  the  deflecting  influence  of  controversy  upon  St.  Paul's 
mind  ;  St.  Paul  was  apt  to  be  unconciliatory  at  times,  and  this 
idiosyncrasy  would  be  fostered  by  the  inevitable  tendency  of 
dialectic  to  state  a  case  without  qualification,  in  order  to  be 
impressive  and  telling.  But  that  he  knew  what  he  was  talking 
about  when  he  analyzed  the  practical  effects  and  the  underlying 
spirit  of  the  Pharisaic  conception  of  righteousness,  that  his  re- 
ligious genius  enabled  him  to  detect  and  expose  the  cardinal 
issues  which  were  bound  up  with  the  problem  of  the  Jewish 
Law  in  relation  to  Christian  faith,  there  is  no  sound  reason  to 
doubt.  History  and  religious  experience  have  justified  the 
sense  of  exultation,  the  thrill,  the  delight  of  breaking  out  into 
the  open  air,  which  throbs  through  his  words  on  the  liberty  of 
the  believing  man — and  this  liberty  is  only  another  aspect  of  his 
'  righteousness  by  faith '  conception. 

The  conception  of  righteousness,  in  this  specific 
sense,  is  bound  up  with  the  Pauline  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith  ;  in  fact,  it  enters  into  the 
Apostle's  thought  upon  the  Person  of  Christ,  sin, 
the  Law,  election,  and  eschatology.  What  it  con- 
veys, however,  is  largely  a  generalization  of  his 
own  experience.  'Righteousness'  is  one  of  the 
classical  terms  of  OT  and  contemporary  Jewish 
piety,  but  St.  Paul  has  stamped  it  with  an  original 
meaning,  due  to  his  sense  of  the  inadequacy  of 
moral  obedience  to  the  Law,  his  profound  con- 
sciousness of  sin,  and  his  experience  of  the  forgive- 
ness and  fellowship  which  faith  in  Christ  opened 
up  to  him.  Further,  his  use  of  the  term  is  not 
only  personal  but  polemical.  He  turns  against 
legalism  with  weapons  drawn  from  its  own 
armoury,  and  the  paradoxical  element  in  some  of 
his  phrases  and  arguments  is  best  explained  by 
the  fact  that  these  are  employed  by  him  to  de- 
fend a  religious  position  very  different  from  their 
original  object  and  setting.  It  is  probably  for  this 
reason  also  that  the  discussion  of  righteousness  by 
faith  is  absent  from  the  Thessalonian  Epistles. 
When  he  wrote  these  letters,  he  had  already  been 
through  the  crisis  depicted  in  Galatians.  But  the 
theme  was  primarily  of  apologetic  interest  to  him, 
and  at  Thessalonica  the  controversy  with  Jewish 
Christians  and  Jews  was  not  raised  on  this  issue. 
The  argument  about  righteousness  was  a  particular 
expression  of  his  views  on  the  absolute  grace  and 
goodness  of  God  in  Christ,  but  these  views  could 


384 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


be  otherwise  expressed.  Consequently  \ve  find 
that  in  the  earliest  Epistles,  as  in  the  later,  the 
'righteousness'  argument  falls  into  the  back- 
ground, and  even  in  the  main  Epistles  it  hardly 
ever  appears  except  in  controversial  passages — the 
principal  exceptions  being  1  Co  6U  and  Ro  831f-. 
When  St.  Paul  was  not  developing  his  doctrine  in 
opposition  to  Jewish  tendencies,  within  or  without 
the  Church,  he  generally  chose  other  terms  and 
methods.  This  does  not  imply  that  the  funda- 
mental thought  in  his  conception  of  righteousness 
is  secondary.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  from  that 
central  conception  that  his  views  on  other  matters 
ray  out.  His  doctrine  of  sin,  e.g.,  is  really  elicited 
by  his  deeper  interest  in  righteousness,  and  the 
former  is  developed  in  connexion  with  the  latter. 
At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  realized  that  the 
doctrine  of  righteousness  or  justification  by  faith, 
in  what  we  may  call  its  fighting  aspect,  does  not 
cover  the  entire  range  of  St.  Paul's  theology,  and 
that  the  terms  belonging  to  this  particular  aspect 
could  be  translated  into  other  equivalents  for  the 
underlying  religious  experience.  Thus,  the  con- 
ception of  righteousness  is  closely  allied  to  that  of 
life.  Only,  whereas  in  the  latter  idea  St.  Paul 
seems  to  be  developing  tendencies  characteristic  of 
Hellenistic  Judaism,  whereas  his  conceptions  of 
'  the  bliss  to  be '  are  tinged  and  shaped  by  Greek 
thoughts  which  had  filtered  into  the  Jewish  mind, 
in  'righteousness'  and  'justification,'  despite 
Reitzenstein's  plea,  we  must  hold  that  the  Apostle 
is  on  a  Palestinian  basis,  even  when  he  is  con- 
structing there  a  fresh,  Christian  synthesis.  His 
argument  on  righteousness  is  neither  that  of  the 
OT  nor  that  of  the  mysticism  reproduced  in  the 
later  Poimandres  literature.  Its  specific  elements 
are  due  to  a  new  religious  experience,  and  its 
specific  terminology  is  best  illustrated  from  the 
Messianic  categories  of  Palestinian  Judaism. 

In  Die  hellenistischen  Mysterienreligionen  (Leipzig,  1910, 
pp.  100-104),  R.  Reitzenstein  argues  that  the  use  of  5iKaioC0-0ac. 
in  the  Hermetic  religious  literature  on  the  re-birth  of  the 
initiated  points  to  a  Hellenistic  usage  which  ought  to  deter- 
mine the  sense  of  the  term  in  Ro  830  as  '  made  sinless  (in 
nature).'  The  verb  denotes  the  deliverance  of  a  person  from 
the  SVVO.IJLIS  of  a&LKia.  by  the  Divine  powers  which  'deify'  him 
(t8i.Kai.<o9r)fj.fv,  Si  TtKvov,  afiticias  an-ovcr^s).  It  is  by  no  means 
certain,  however,  that  these  ideas  represent  a  pre-Christian 
type  of  mystical  piety  on  Egyptian  lines.  Furthermore,  as 
Reitzenstein  admits,  Siiuuoovini  is  not  prominent  as  a  Divine 
fivi/ofuf ,  and  it  seems  hazardous  to  infer  that  originally  it  must 
have  played  a  more  important  r61e,  since  the  parent  Egyptian 
religion  expected  a  verdict  of  acquittal  for  the  pious  dead.  It 
is  interesting  to  find  fiucatovo-eai  losing  its  forensic  sense  and 
denoting  freedom  from  aSiicia,  but  the  origin  of  this  type  of 
mystical  religion  is  as  yet  too  unexamined  to  permit  the  con- 
clusion that  we  have  here  the  clue  to  St.  Paul's  use  of  the  term, 
e.g.  in  1  Co  6H,  or  to  his  conception  of  the  Divine  SiKaioo-vn) 
entering  a  human  personality  as  a  power  to  expel  unrighteous- 
ness. This  may  be  due  to  the  influence  of  Christian  language 
on  a  later  Gnostic  religious  mysticism.  Even  if  it  is  not,  the 
juristic  associations  of  5t<cato<n/'w),  as  of  vtoflecria,  define  the 
central  thought  of  St.  Paul,  without  any  need  of  conjecturing 
the  influence  of  the  Hermetic  mysticism.  '  Righteousness,'  like 
vioOe<rCa,  was  capable  of  suggesting  a  state  or  relation  to  God  as 
well  as  the  initial  act  which  created  that  state,  and  St.  Paul's 
faith-mysticism  would  do  the  rest. 

What  is  St.  Paul's  religious  interest  in  this  sharp 
distinction  between  faith  and  works  as  the  rival 
bases  for  righteousness  ?  Why  does  he  distinguish 
the  one  from  the  other  as  true  and  false?  The 
answer  depends  on  an  analysis  of  what  he  meant 
by  faith  in  this  connexion. 

(i. )  At  the  close  of  his  argument  about  justi- 
fication in  Ro  S27  he  asks,  '  Then  what  becomes  of 
our  boasting  (17  Katfx7?<m)  ?  It  is  ruled  out  ab- 
solutely. On  what  principle  ?  On  the  principle 
of  doing  deeds  (ruv  tpyuv)  ?  No,  on  the  principle 
of  faith.'  'Boasting'  means  relying  on  one's 
personal  merits,  the  Pharisaic  self-consciousness 
which  feels  that  it  is  able  to  bring  God  something 
which  deserves  favourable  consideration.  We  may 
call  it '  Pharisaic,'  not  because  it  was  characteristic 


of  all  Pharisees  in  St.  Paul's  day,  nor  because  it 
was  confined  to  them,  but  because  the  Pharisaic 
type  of  theology,  as  St.  Paul  knew  it  from  personal 
experience  and  observation,  tended  to  develop  a 
religious  self  -  consciousness,  a  self  -  satisfaction 
which  was  inclined,  on  the  score  of  moral  qualities 
and  achievements,  to  treat  with  God  and  even 
claim  His  favour  as  more  or  less  a  due.  Such  a 
mood,  no  doubt,  involved  faith  of  a  kind,  faith  in 
a  Divine  recompense  which  was  just  in  its  awards. 
But  this  was  not  the  faith  of  St.  Paul.  Nor  was 
his  '  faith '  the  faith  which  itself  amounted  to 
a  meritorious  'work,'  on  which  a  man  might 
secretly  or  openly  plume  himself  as  if  it  entitled 
him  to  some  credit  with  God,  for  his  confidence, 
his  insight,  his  dutifulness,  his  loyal  venture  of 
the  soul.*  It  was  to  avoid  any  such  misconception 
that  St.  Paul  defined  faith  as  the  opposite  of 
works,  and  not  as  a  work  or  action  of  which  man 
was  the  author  and  on  which  he  could  pride  him- 
self. There  was  a  place  for  Kayxi^'s  in  the  Chris- 
tian order,  but  it  was  not  on  faith  as  an  achieve- 
ment ;  hence  the  paradoxical  use  of  the  term  in 
Ro  51*11 :  'As  we  are  justified  by  faith,  .  .  .  we 
triumph  (Kavx^fJ-fda)  in  the  hope  of  God's  glory  ;t 
not  only  so,  but  we  triumph  in  our  troubles  .  .  . 
not  only  so,  but  we  triumph  in  God  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  now  enjoy  our. 
reconciliation.'  Or  again,  in  the  proud  humility 
of  Ph  33  :  '  We  are  the  true  circumcision,  we  who 
worship  God  in  the  spirit,  we  who  pride  ourselves 
(Kavx^fJ-foi)  on  Christ  Jesus.'  There  is  a  legitimate 
sense,  St.  Paul  would  say,  in  which  we  Christians 
can  speak  of  'boasting'  or  'pride,'  but  what 
evokes  it  is  the  sheer  grace  and  generosity  of  God 
in  Jesus  Christ — the  very  revelation  of  Himself 
which  elicits  faith.  The  Pharisaic  boasting  went 
back  to  the  conception  of  faith  as  a  meritorious 
work,  as,  e.g.,  in  the  Midrash  on  Gn  156,  which 
interpreted  the  words  thus  :  '  Abraham  believed 
God,  and  it  was  reckoned  to  him  as  a  righteous- 
ness,' a  meritorious  work.  St.  Paul  took  faith  as 
the  vital  spring  of  life,  set  in  motion  by  God 
Himself.  When  he  substituted  faith  for  works  as 
the  basis  of  righteousness,  it  might  seem  as  though 
he  only  meant  to  make  faith  the  supreme  'work.' 
On  the  strict  Pharisaic  doctrine  of  the  Divine 
sovereignty,  which  St.  Paul  shared  (Ro  9-11),  God 
could  do  as  He  pleased.  He  was  not  bound  to  obedi- 
ence to  the  Law  as  the  condition  of  righteousness ; 
conceivably  (see  above,  p.  379),  He  might  make 
faith  that  condition.  But  St.  Paul  did  not  under- 
stand God  as  exempt  from  moral  consistency  (cf. 
Ro  34f')«  He  did  not  adduce  faith  as  selected 
arbitrarily  by  God  to  be  the  essential  qualification 
for  righteousness.  On  his  view,  it  was  organic  to 
the  entire  order  of  the  Christian  religion  from  the 
first,  and  drawn  out  fully  by  the  gracious  revela- 
tion in  Jesus  Christ.  Faith  is  always  the  correla- 
tive to  revelation,  and  saving  faith  is  the  response 
of  the  entire  personality  to  God's  reconciling  love 
in  Jesus  Christ.  The  initiative  is  with  God. 
Faith,  therefore,  is  not  belief  or  even  fidelity,  in 
the  primary  sense  of  the  term  ;  it  is  not  an  act  or 

*  Cf .  the  point  of  Jn  1518 :  '  You  did  not  choose  me,  it  was  I 
who  chose  you.' 

t  A  characteristically  Jewish  expression.  But  St.  Paul's  basis 
is  not  that  of  contemporary  Judaism.  '  Full  recompense  does 
not  come  until  the  future  world.  .  .  .  Then  Israel,  both  as  a 
nation  and  as  individuals,  will  be  rewarded  for  its  loyal  fulfil- 
ment of  the  Law  by  a  life  of  untroubled  bliss.  Good  works, 
like  reverence  for  father  and  mother,  beneficence,  peace-making 
among  one's  neighbours,  and  above  all  study  of  the  Law,  are 
comparable  therefore  to  a  capital  sum,  whose  interest  is  already 
enjoyed  in  the  present  life,  while  the  principal  itself  remains 
for  the  future  life.  This  hope  of  a  future  recompense  was 
the  main  impetus  to  zeal  for  the  Law.  In  fact,  the  entire 
religious  life  of  the  Jewish  people  during  our  period  moved 
round  the  two  poles  :  fulfilment  of  the  Law  and  hope  of  future 
glory '  (Schiirer's  GJV  ii.4  [Leipzig,  1907],  p.  547 f.  ;  cf.  Eng.  tr., 
ii.  [Edinburgh,  1885]  ii.  92  f.). 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


385 


quality  of  the  soul,  but  the  yielding  of  the  whole 
nature  to  God's  appeal  and  otter  in  the  gospel. 
There  must  be  no  thought  of  credit  in  this  initial 
surrender,  St.  Paul  insists.  Genuine  trust  clears 
every  trace  of  such  a  mood  out  of  the  soul.  '  In 
the  work  of  man's  salvation  an  unconditioned 
initiative  belongs  to  God,  and  all  that  is  required 
of  man  is  the  unreserved  abandonment  of  himself 
to  what  God  has  done.  That  is  faith  in  the  sense 
of  St.  Paul.'*  But  there  is  a  tendency  in  human 
nature,  not  simply  in  Pharisaism,  to  evade  or 
modify  this  unqualified  demand  ;  it  is  a  tendency 
which  may  be  due,  in  part,  to  conscientious  feeling 
and  ethical  principle,  but  none  the  less  it  is  out  of 
place.  St.  Paul  felt  this  strongly,  and  it  is  from 
his  sense  of  the  religious  principle  involved,  not 
simply  owing  to  the  exigencies  of  theological  con- 
troversy, that  he  sharply  reiterates  the  antithesis 
between  faith  and  works.  For  him  there  was 
only  one  way  to  be  right  with  God,  and  the  only 
assurance  of  being  on  that  way  was  the  sense  of 
having  risen  above  the  mists  of  religious  self-satis- 
faction. 

(ii.)  One  special  temptation  of  the  Pharisaic  /cai/x- 
770-1$  was  particularism,  and  therefore  faith  also 
swept  away  the  system  of  ideas  which  gave  the 
Jew  or  Jewish  proselyte  an  exclusive  or  pre- 
eminent claim  on  God's  favour.  In  this  aspect, 
too,  faith  was  not  arbitrary.  It  was  bound  up  for 
St.  Paul  with  the  universal  scope  of  the  gospel. 
Thus,  in  Romans  for  example,  immediately  after 
the  words  on  Kat>x77<r's  which  have  just  been  quoted, 
he  adds:  'We  hold  a  man  is  justified  by  faith 
apart  from  deeds  of  the  Law  altogether.  Or,  is 
God  only  the  God  of  Jews?  Is  he  not  the  God  of 
Gentiles  as  well  ?  Surely  he  is.  Well  then,  there 
is  one  God,  a  God  who  will  justify  the  uncircum- 
cised  as  they  believe  and  the  uncircumcised 
on  the  score  of  faith'  (328'30).  The  argument 
is  that  God  as  One  is  the  same  for  all,  and  faith  is 
the  one,  common  method  of  being  right  with  Him. 
To  have  faith,  you  do  not  need  to  have  the  Law  or 
to  be  a  Jew  (circumcised).  'I  have  not  found  so 
great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel,'  said  Jesus  once  of  a- 
pagan.  St.  Paul  generalizes  the  same  conviction. 
He  had  the  palpable  fact  before  him,  that  Gentiles 
could  be  and  were  being  saved  apart  from  the 
Law.  If  a  man  can  be  right  with  God  apart  from 
the  Law,  then  faith  is  universal  ;  or,  vice  versa,  as 
faith  is  a  universal  instinct,  it  implies  a  universal 
range  for  the  faith  of  the  gospel.  In  Romans  and 
Galatians,  through  the  abstruse,  winding  argu- 
ments upon  righteousness,  two  thoughts  are  con- 
stantly before  St.  Paul's  mind  :  one  is  that  Christi- 
anity is  a  religion  of  grace  which  evokes  faith,  the 
other  is  that  it  is  a  religion  for  mankind.  These 
are  cognate  thoughts,  and  Gal  3,  e.,7.,t  is  a  series 
of  curious  illustrations  and  exegetical  arguments 
on  both.  Thus,  after  contrasting  the  Law  and 
faith,  he  suddenly  goes  off  in  325  :  '  faith  has  come, 
and  we  are  wards  no  longer  ;  you  are  all  sons  of 
God  by  your  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.  .  .  .  There  is  no 
room  for  Jew  or  Greek,  there  is  no  room  for  slave 
or  freeman,  there  is  no  room  for  male  or  female : 
you  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus.'  Faith  at  once 
suggests  to  him  the  catholicity  and  humanity  of 
the  new  religious  order.  It  supersedes  exclusive- 
ness.  Christianity  as  the  redemptive  religion, 
basing  righteousness  on  faith,  transcends  the 
divisions  of  race  and  class  and  sex  which  contem- 
porary religions,  especially  Judaism,  recognized. 
This  is  what  Jowett+  meant  when  he  declared 
that  '  the  whole  doctrine  of  righteousness  by  faith 
may  be  said  to  be  based  in  a  certain  sense  on  fact, 

*  Denney,  Exp,  6th  ser.,  iv.  90. 

t  Cf.  the  present  writer's  Paul  and  Paulinixm,  London,  1910, 
p.  55  f. 

t  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Thees.,  Gal.  and  Rom.,  i.  148. 
VOL.  II. — 25 


on  two  great  facts  especially — the  conversion  of 
the  Apostle  himself,  and  the  conversion  of  the 
Gentiles.'  Again  we  see  the  specifically  religious 
interest  which  underlay  the  Apostle's  antithesis 
between  faith  and  works.  It  is  not  a  piece  of 
scholasticism,  but  the  interpretation  of  God's  acts 
in  history  and  experience,  an  interpretation  which 
was  meant  to  be  as  uncompromising  as  the  facts  on 
which  it  rested  were  decisive. 

Observe,  St.  Paul's  argument  is  not  '  Have  faith  like  Abraham." 
That  would  leave  out  Christ.  He  argues  '  You  are  all  sons  of 
God  by  your  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.'*  It  in  not  by  imitating 
Abraham's  intuition  of  trust,  but  by  faith  in  God  as  revealed  in 
Christ  His  Son,  that  you  are  members  of  His  household.  With 
Christ,  faith  receives  for  the  first  time  its  proper  and  full 
object — the  adequate,  absolute  revelation  of  the  Divine  purpose 
for  men.  St.  Paul  does  not  even  call  on  Christians  to  have 
faith  like  Christ,  to  believe  in  God  as  Jesus  believed.  '  Faith 
such  as  Jesus  had '  is  not  a  Pauline  conception.  It  is  surely 
impossible  to  interpret  the  phrase  TTI'O-TIS  'lyo-ov  as  if  it  meant 
'the  faith  of  Jesus ' ;  what  it  does  mean  is  faith  in  the  gracious 
will  of  God  manifested  in  Christ,  a  faith  which  transforms  the 
personality  into  His  Spirit  '  The  life  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I 
live  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God  who  loved  me  and  gave  up  him- 
self for  me'  (Gal  220).  This  is  almost  the  nearest  approach  (yet 
cf .  Ro  S22,  Gal  216)  which  St.  Paul  makes  to  speaking  of  Trto-Teiieiv 
Xp«rT<S,  as  he  speaks  of  Trio-reveif  0eu>.  For  him,  Christ  '  is  the 
object  of  faith  so  far,  that  in  him,  especially  iti  his  death  and 
resurrection,  the  favourable  will  of  God,  which  is  the  real 
object  of  religious  trust,  has  been  revealed."  t  This  revelation 
was  not  made  by  a  legal  act ;  it  was  shown  in  devotion  to  the 
point  of  death,  and  consequently  it  can  elicit  devotion  from 
the  heart  which  seeks  and  finds  in  it  union  with  the  object  of 
its  trust  and  love. 

(d)  God's  righteousness  and  human  sin. — As  the 
righteousness  of  God  means  a  status  of  man  before 
Him,  or  rather  a  relationship  between  Him  and 
man,  which  He  brings  into  being  through  the  sacri- 
ficial death  of  Christ,  and  which  becomes  a  reality 
of  experience  for  man  as  he  believes,  St.  Paul  can 
speak  of  it  as  he  could  not  if  it  were  merely  an 
attribute  J  of  God's  nature.  He  can  say  that  it  is 
due  to  'faith  in  Jesus  Christ'  (Ro  3-'2),  or  that  it 
originates  with  God  and  rests  on  faith  (Ph  39). 
The  believing  man  possesses  it  as  the  gift  of  life  to 
him.  These  two  sides  of  the  truth  are  always 
present  to  the  mind  of  St.  Paul,  but  one  is  some- 
times more  prominent  than  the  other,  and  he  freely 
passes  from  the  one  to  the  other.  It  is  necessary  to 
recollect  this,  as  we  go  on  to  analyze  the  Apostle's 
main  statements  upon  the  relationship  in  question. 

Righteousness,  on  the  Pharisaic  lines  of  piety, 
meant  an  (WO/JLOS  fliwo-is,  fidelity  to  the  Divine 
Torah  as  embodying  the  standard  set  by  God  for 
His  people  ;  in  other  words,  all  that  God  requires 
from  man  in  relation  to  Himself  and  to  other  men. 
It  is  a  matter  of  life  and  death.  To  be  saved,  a 
man  must  be  righteous ;  and  he  alone  is  righteous 
who  conforms  to  this  Law.  And  God  ?  His 
righteousness  consists  in  fidelity  to  His  own  Law, 
as  the  highest  norm  of  life.  He  is  righteous  as 
He  rewards  and  praises  those  who  keep  that  Law, 
which  as  Judge  or  Ruler  He  is  bound  to  uphold. 
Now  this  was  an  aspect  which,  in  the  strict  sense 
of  the  term,  St.  Paul  naturally  left  out  of  account, 
since  he  held  that  no  one,  however  much  care  and 
passion  he  devoted  to  legal  obedience,  could 
possibly  attain  a  position  which  entitled  him  to 

*  In  this  particular  passage  (Gal  S26)  it  is  possible  to  take  Sia. 
TTJ«  wurretos  by  itself,  and  render,  'you  are  all  sons  of  God 
in  Christ  Jesus,  by  your  faith ' ;  but  this  is  less  probable,  and 
even  if  it  were  taken  thus,  there  are  many  other  passages  where 
the  above-noted  principle  is  implied  (e.g.  Ro  423f-). 

t  O.  Pfleiderer,  Paulinism,  Eng.  tr.,  2  vols.,  London,  1877, 
i.  163. 

J  The  Plutonic  habit  of  regarding  certain  attributes  of  God's 
nature  as  semi-personified,  and  therefore  capable  of  being  ap- 
propriated by  man,  might  form  a  precedent  for  the  view  that  St. 
Paul  considered  God's  righteousness  as  emanating  from  Himself 
and  yet  entering  into  human  experience  upon  certain  condi- 
tions. But  this  is  not  supported  by  his  language.  He  does 
objectify  or  personify  sin  and  death  and  wrath,  but  Ro  I17  is 
too  slender  a  basis  for  the  idea  that  righteousness  is  similarly 
conceived  as  a  Divine  power  operating  in  history.  The  per- 
sonification in  2  Co  o21  is  irrelevant  to  such  a  notion  (see 
below). 


386 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


such  praise  and  reward.*  Sin  intervened  so  power- 
fully and  disastrously  that  St.  Paul  was  forced 
to  fix  his  mind  upon  the  other  side  of  the 
Divine  righteousness,  viz.  the  punishment  of  dis- 
obedience. It  was  axiomatic  for  him  as  for  the 
Judaism  of  his  age,  though  in  different  degrees, 
that  the  just  God  could  not  leave  sin  unpunished 
He  must  maintain  the  rights  of  the  Law  when  it 
was  violated.  The  Divine  Law,  like  human  law, 
involved  the  praise  of  those  who  kept  it  and  also 
the  punislnnent  of  transgressors.  The  old  maxim 
held  good  :  '  judex  damnatur  ubi  nocens  absolvitur. " 
It  was  essential  that  God  should  prove  Himseli 
'just'  in  this  restricted  sense  of  'righteous,'  by 
taking  account  of  evil  and  transgression.  But 
this  punitive  attitude,  which  St.  Paul  describes  as 
the  anger  of  God,  did  not  exhaust  His  mind  towards 
a  humanity  which  deserved  nothing  else.  There  is 
the  way  of  expiation  or  atonement,  which  enable: 
God  to  acquit  the  sinner  without  condoning  the  sin. 
No  sacrifice  that  men  can  otter  has  this  atoning 
power ;  St.  Paul  never  troubles  to  argue  that  the 
ceremonial  sacrifices,  or  even  the  sacrifice  on  the 
Day  of  Atonement,  on  which  probabty  pious  Jews 
relied  for  the  completion  of  pardon,  did  not  avail 
for  this  purpose.  The  sacrifice  is  offered  by  God 
Himself ;  in  modern  terminology,  it  is  a  Divine 
self-sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  sinful  men  ;  the  Cross 
of  Christ  reveals  the  heart  of  God  in  its  righteous- 
ness (or  grace)  and  also  reveals  his  condemnation 
of  sin.  Through  the  blood  of  the  Cross  God's 
righteousness  is  revealed  fully  as  the  saving  power 
of  His  love  for  men.  It  represents  His  grace — and 
grace  for  St.  Paul  means  the  power  as  well  as  the 
disposition  of  God's  love  to  sinners — but,  as  5t/ccuo- 
fftvij  connoted  justice  in  the  narrower  sense,  St. 
Paul  could  use  the  term  upon  occasion  to  bring  out 
that  punislnnent  of  sin  which  was  essential  to  His 
nature  and  relations  to  men,  or,  as  a  modern 
might  say,  to  the  moral  order. 

The  revelation  of  Divine  goodness  or  righteous- 
ness in  the  gospel  is  therefore  thrown  into  relief 
against  the  revelation  of  Divine  anger  which  is 
the  only  alternative  for  those  who  will  not  have 
faith  to  see  God's  meaning  and  purpose  in  the 
gospel  of  Christ.  This  is  the  point  of  Ro  I16f-  ('  the 
gospel  is  God's  saving  power  [dvi>a/j.is  Oeov  e/y  ffurijp- 
lav]  for  everyone  who  has  faith  .  .  .  God's  diicaio- 
crtii>T)  is  revealed  in  it  by  faith  and  for  faitli ').  It  is 
apt  to  be  distorted  for  modern  readers,  who  inevit- 
ably associate  righteousness  with  an  austere,  retri- 
butive exercise  of  judicial  power.  But  St.  Paul 
here  distinctly  connotes  it  with  saving  power  and 
opposes  it  to  the  Divine  wrath,  in  a  way  that 
reminds  us  of  the  Psalmist's  phrase  (Ps  982) : 
'The  Lord  hath  made  known  his  salvation  (rrjv 
ffiOT-ijpiav  avTov)  :  his  righteousness  (TTJV  SiKaioavvyv 
airroO)  hath  he  openly  shewed  in  the  sight  of  the 
nations.'  The  Apostle,  as  often,  objectifies  his 
thoughts.  By  the  words  'a  righteousness  of  God 
is  revealed '  he  means  that  God  is  revealed  as  a 
God  who  justifies,  as  a  God  who,  Himself  right- 
eous, seeks  to  have  men  righteous  before  Him 
(cf.  S28). 

'  Light  is  light  which  radiates, 
Blood  is  blood  which  circulates, 
Life  is  life  which  generates ' 

(Emerson,  Threnody,  242  ff.). 

God  as  righteous  is  the  living  God,  not  one  who 
stands  aloof  from  sinful  men,  leaving  the  race  to 
itself,  except  to  brood  over  its  heightening  impiety 
with  the  anger  of  outraged  justice  that  ends  in 

*  Unlike  his  contemporary,  the  author  of  the  Apocalypse  of 
Baruch,  who  (li.  3  f.)  describes  in  glowing  language  the  glory  of 
•  those  who  have  now  been  justified  in  My  law  .  .  .  those  who 
aave  been  saved  by  their  works,  and  to  whom  the  law  has  been 
low  a  hope.'  Some  lines  of  the  description  ('they  shall  be 
Ranged  into  every  form  they  desire,  from  beauty  into  loveli- 
ness, and  from  light  into  the  splendour  of  glory  ')  recall  2  Co  418. 


punishment  and  death.  The  supreme  obstacle  to 
His  life  generating  life  in  men  is  sin,  the  sin  which 
has  assumed  such  tyrannical  power  over  humanity. 
But  in  the  gospel  He  removes  this  obstacle,  or 
rather,  breaks  this  hostile  power,  by  the  sacrificial 
deatli  of  Christ,  His  Son,  so  that  His  righteousness 
or  vital  energy  can  now  come  into  play. 

When  the  Apostle  eventually  describes  this  in 
more  detail  (in  Ro  321'26),  he  still  speaks  of  the 
Divine  righteousness  being  manifested,  but,  by  a 
natural  turn  of  thought  and  expression,  he  also 
uses  diKaiocnjvr)  in  v.281-  in  the  narrower  sense  of 
'  justice '  as  opposed  to  laxity.  The  atoning  death 
of  Christ  is  put  forward  as  a  proof  that  He  did 
recognize  the  doom  with  which  sin  had  to  be 
punished,  and  therefore  that  His  righteousness 
bestowed  on  believing  men  is  consonant  with  moral 
justice.  If  St.  Paul  could  use  ducaiocrvvr]  already  in 
a  restricted  sense  in  v.5  of  this  chapter,  the  present 
writer  sees  no  reason  why  he  should  not  employ  it 
in  this  particular  sense  in  v.25f-,  especially  as  it  was 
a  sense  which  was  innate  in  the  term.  Whenever 
'  righteousness '  was  associated  with  the  thought  of 
sin,  its  aspect  of  justice  naturally  tended  to  become 
prominent ;  the  sombre  punitive  element  came  to 
the  front,  as  in  the  case  of  the  verb  diKauovv  (see 
above). 

The  use  of  a  word  in  different  senses  in  the  same  context  may 
be  illustrated  from  the  very  next  paragraph  (Ro  S2™-),  where 
St.  Paul  employs  vo/j.os  in  the  special  sense  of  principle  (v.2?)  and 
then  (v.2»)  as  'Law'  (see  above,  p.  3S4).  The  Psalter  of 
Solomon  furnishes  another  case  of  SiKauoovvr)  being  used  in  two 
or  three  different  senses  close  together : 
'  The  works  of  mercy  (SiKaioo-vvau)  of  thy  saints  are  before 

thee  .  .  . 

O  God,  our  actions  are  in  our  own  choice  and  power,  to  do 
right  (TroiTJo-ai.  SiKaioo~vvriv)  or  wrong  in  the  works  of  oar 
hands. 

In  thy  righteousness  (ev  rfj  SiKaiocrvvri  <rou)  thou  visitest  the 
sons  of  men '  (ix.  6-8). 

Before  going  further  into  this  passage,  however, 
we  must-turn  to  the  prior  allusion  in  2  Co  o21,  one  of 
the  most  startling  personifications  in  the  Pauline 
literature.  '  For  our  sakes  he  made  him  to  be  sin 
who  himself  knew  nothing  of  sin,  so  that  in  him  we 
might  become  the  righteousness  of  God.'  When  did 
God  '  make  Christ  sin '  ?  *  At  the  Incarnation,  when 
the  pre-existent  Son  of  God  was  made  to  wear  the 
flesh  of  sinful  man?  This  is  Holsten's  view.  He 
regards  St.  Paul  as  holding  that  the  flesh  was 
essentially  sinful,  and  consequently  that  Christ's 
human  birth  might  be  said  to  imply  that  He  took 
sin  upon  Him  by  entering  our  sinful  state.  This 
view  of  the  flesh,  however,  is  untenable,  and  the 
fact  which  St.  Paul  has  in  mind  is  the  Death 
pre-eminently.  Whether  'sin '  means  'sin-offering' 
is  not  quite  so  clear.  It  is  no  argument  against 
such  an  interpretation  that  it  involves  a  double 
sense  of  '  sin '  in  the  same  verse,  for  the  compressed, 
rapid  style  of  the  Apostle  here  might  admit  of 
that.  But  the  parallelism  of  '  sin '  and  '  righteous- 
ness '  tells  against  it  strongly.  It  is  a  daring 
expression,  though  not  unexampled.  God,  St. 
Paul  seems  to  mean,  treated  Christ  as  a  sinner, 
let  Him  suffer  death  (the  normal  consequence  of 
human  sin)  in  the  interests  of  men,  that  we  might 
become  righteous  t  by  our  union  with  Him. 
'  Righteous '  here  obviously  means  more  than 
acquitted  ;  to  become  righteous  in  Christ,  righteous 
before  God,  is  to  enjoy  not  simply  freedom  from 
guilt  but  a  positive  relation  to  God.  How  this 
takes  place,  St.  Paul  does  not  state  in  the  verse 
before  us ;  his  words  must  be  read  in  the  light  of 
his  other  references  to  the  virtue  of  Christ's  sacri- 

*  The  expression  is  even  stronger  ,than  the  similar  phrase  in 

al  318 :    '  Christ  ransomed  us  from  the  curse  of  the  law  by 

>ecoming  accursed  (xardpa)  for  us :  for  it  is  written,  Cursed 

'fTrncarapaTos)  is  everyone  who  hangs  on   a  gibbet.'    St.  Paul 

eaves  out  the  LXX  inrb  OeoG  after  cn-KcarapaTOS. 

t  In  En.  Ixii.  3  ('  righteousness  is  judged  before  him'),  '  right- 
eousness '  similarly  means  '  the  righteous.' 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


387 


fice  as  the  death  of  One  who,  as  sinless,  did  not 
deserve  to  die,  and  whose  death  therefore  availed 
for  the  guilty.  God  thus  reconciles  men  to  Him- 
self, and  it  is  an  act  of  love.  This  death  of  the 
One  for  all  (v.141-)  means  that  'all  have  died,  and 
that  he  died  for  all  in  order  to  have  the  living 
live  no  longer  for  themselves  but  for  him  who  died 
and  rose  again  for  them.'  It  is  in  the  light  of 
such  words  that  we  can  interpret  what  St.  Paul 
intended  by  this  antithesis  of  v.21.  The  identifica- 
tion of  Himself  with  sinful  men  is  the  clue  to  the 
meaning  of  Christ's  death  ;  it  is  an  expression  of 
His  love,  just  as  from  another  side  it  shows  God's 
treatment  of  Him  as  bound  up  with  sinners,  so  as 
to  die  for  them.  The  result  is  that  sinners  are 
freed  from  the  death  which  is  their  due,  and  raised 
to  a  position  which  is  denned  as  devotion  to  Christ 
or  as  'righteousness.'  that  is,  life  shared  with  God, 
tlie  life  to  which  Christ  Himself  rose  and  into 
which  He  raises  His  people.  Instead  of  being  con- 
demned to  death,  they  are  now  freed  from  con- 
demnation and  made  'right'  with  God  ;  i.e.  they 
are  reconciled  (v.18f-),  they  are  made  a  new  crea- 
tion (v.17),  which  has  a  moral  purpose  in  it.  This 
purpose  is  elsewhere  described  as  '  consecration ' 
(ayia.crn.6s),  e.g.  in  1  Co  6n,  where  justification  is 
associated  with  consecration,  as  a  real  and  true 
relation  to  the  living  God.  In  reconciliation  or 
justification  there  is  an  implicit  purpose  of  'holi- 
ness '  or  consecration,  in  this  sense  of  belonging  to 
God,  and  of  caring  to  belong  to  Him,  as  members 
of  His  own  community.*  But  the  sharp  point  of 
the  paradox  in  2  Co  521  lies  in  the  phrase  about 
the  act  of  God  which  makes  the  Christian  standing 
a  reality.  At  first  sight,  the  parallel  indeed  seems 
unreal.  Christ  was  not  really  a  sinner,  in  His 
death  for  sin.  Is  our  '  righteousness '  of  the  same 
kind  ?  Is  it  only  an  estimate  ?  We  may  reply, 
with  Sabatier  (The  Apostle  Paul,  Eng.  tr.,  p.  330), 
'  Redemption  consists  precisely  in  this,  that  God 
sees  in  Christ  that  which  is  in  us, — namely,  sin  ; 
and  in  us  that  which  is  in  Christ, — namely,  right- 
eousness. No  doubt  this  is  a  logical  contradiction  ; 
but  it  is  the  Divine  contradiction  of  love.  The 
logic  of  the  heart  triumphs  over  that  of  the  intel- 
lect.' We  may  also  perhaps  add  this  moralizing 
consideration.  When  Christ  by  the  will  of  God 
identified  Himself  with  sinful  men,  His  sympathy 
with  them  only  intensified  His  holiness  and 
goodness  ;  the  more  He  came  into  contact  with 
sin,  the  stronger  did  His  holy  love  become.  So, 
as  we  identity  ourselves  with  Him,  we  come  to 
share  His  mind  towards  our  sin  ;  we  learn  to  con- 
demn it  and  to  side  with  God  against  ourselves. 
When  we  are  brought  to  cry,  '  Who  shall  deliver 
7ne  from  this  body  of  death  ? '  we  become  God's. 
It  is  through  the  death  of  Christ  that  we  truly 
learn  our  hopeless  position  as  sinners,  and  the  hope 
enshrined  in  His  sacrifice.  What  St.  Paul  else- 
where describes  as  '  by  faith,'  he  expresses  here  by 
the  phrase  'in  him.'  The  vicarious  death  of 
Christ  implies  that  God  subjected  Him  to  real 
suffering  for  our  sakes,  to  the  last  extremity  of 
desertion  and  death,  and  when  we  identify  our- 
selves with  Him,  when  we  trust  Him  with  ourselves, 
God  subjects  us  to  as  real  an  experience  of  recon- 
ciliation. Christ's  experience  of  agony  and  desola- 
tion at  the  end  was  real  in  its  bitterness ;  He  was 
not  going  through  a  painful  official  formality 
when  He  suffered.  So  our  experience  of  union  with 
God  is  a  real  bliss,  a  direct,  personal  relation  to 
Himself.  What  is  common  to  both  is  the  intense 
and  growing  reaction  against  sin  which  Christ's 
sacrifice  produces  in  us.  What  differentiates 
Christ  and  men  is  that  our  characters  are  trans- 

*  The  term  (ayiaa-^At)  quite  naturally  included  the  further 
idea  of  the  life  which  answered  to  this  position  (of.  1  Th  53*-), 
just  as  &<.KauQ<rvvj)  did  (p.  377). 


formed  by  the  creative  act  of  One  whose  character 
required  no  change. 

The  importance  of  taking  2  Co  521  at  this  stage 
in  an  analysis  is  two-fold  :  it  is  a  fresh  corrobora- 
tion  of  the  truth  that  '  God's  righteousness '  is  a 
positive,  personal  relation  to  Himself  ;  and  also  of 
the  vital  connexion  between  this  righteousness  and 
the  Person  of  Jesus  Christ.  We  are  hardly  sur- 
prised to  discover  that  the  close  association  of 
righteousness  with  a  personal  experience  of 
Christ  *  emerges  in  the  last  autobiographical  refer- 
ence, in  Ph  3B-U.  St.  Paul  summarizes  his  Phari- 
saic prerogatives,  a  passionate  and  positive  ortho- 
doxy, '  immaculate  according  to  the  standard  of 
legal  righteousness,' t  zeal,  high  character,  and  all 
the  rest,  all  the  KepSij  which  he  and  others  thought 
contributed  materially  to  salvation.  '  I  parted 
with  them  gladly,'  he  confesses,  '  for  the  sake  of 
intimacy  with  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord.'  And  I 
gained  far  more.  It  was  for  the  sake  of  '  gaining 
Christ  and  being  found  (when  I  die)  in  him,  posses- 
sing no  legal  righteousness  of  my  own  (i.e.  no 
religious  standing  which  a  man  thinks  he  can 
secure  by  scrupulous  obedience  to  the  moral  code 
of  the  Law)  but  the  righteousness  of  faith  in 
Christ,  the  Divine  righteousness  that  rests  on 
faith.'  There  is  only  a  verbal  difference  between 
this  last  description  and  the  more  personally  tinged 
expression  '  knowing  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord ' — 
where  'knowing'  means  practical  reverence  and 
intimacy.!  Whether  St.  Paul  speaks  of  'right- 
eousness by  faith,'  or  of  Christ  being  made  right- 
eousness for  us,  or  of  our  being  made  righteousness 
in  Him,  the  same  inspiring  conviction  breaks 
through  the  somewhat  legal  and  technical  phraseo- 
logy, viz.  that  while  the  reconciliation  is  a  reality 
apart  from  our  experience  of  it,  it  becomes  a  reality 
for  us  only  through  our  personal  surrender  to  the 
personal  will  of  love  which  reaches  us  in  the  Cross 
and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ. 

From  these  earlier  and  later  allusions,  we  may 
now  turn  back  to  the  references  in  Romans.  The 
conception  of  righteousness  is  commonly  studied 
first  of  all  in  Ro  1-8,  where  it  is  discussed  for  its 
own  sake,§  rather  than  in  Galatians,  where  the 
leading  thought  is  the  freedom  of  Christians,  and 
justification  comes  in  to  illustrate  the  main 
theme.  So  far,  the  method  is  legitimate.  But 
this  concentration  of  interest  on  Romans  has  had  its 
draw  backs  and  dangers.  One  thing,  e.g.,  which 
has  thrown  investigators  off  the  track  repeatedly 
has  been  the  circumstance  that  the  earliest  allu- 
sion to  righteousness  in  the  Epistle  appears  to 
introduce  it  in  rather  an  abstract  sense.  '  I  am 
proud  of  the  gospel ;  it  is  God's  saving  power  (i.e. 
it  is  a  thoroughly  effective  plan  of  ensuring  the 
Messianic  ffUT-qpla,  which  no  one  need  be  ashamed 
of  trusting  and  serving)  for  everyone  who  has 
faith,  for  the  Jew  first  and  for  the  Greek  as  well. 
God's  righteousness  is  revealed  in  it  by  faith  and 
for  faith — as  it  is  written,  Now  by  faith  shall  the 
righteous  live'  (Ro  I16'-).  Even  here,  the  impres- 
sion of  abstractness  is  superficial.  St.  Paul  is 

*  The  lack  of  any  reference  to  the  Messianic  promise  in  Jer  236 
(Israel's  name  is  to  be  '  The  Lord  our  righteousness ')  is  surpris- 
ing. Zahn  explains  it  (Der  Brief  des  Apostels  Paulus  an  die 
Rimer,  Leipzig,  1910,  p.  84)  by  the  fact  of  the  LXX  mistranslation 
'Icoo-e'Seic,  but  thinks  that  a  writer  like  St.  Paul,  who  knew  the 
Hebrew  original,  cannot  fail  to  have  been  influenced  by  the 
striking  expression. 

t  St.  Paul  belonged  to  the  Luther  and  Bunyan  class — not  to 
those  who,  like  Augustine,  broke  through  to  Christ  out  of  a 
vicious  life. 

t  Cf.  Wis  153 :  '  to  know  Thee  is  complete  righteousness,  and 
to  know  Thy  power  is  the  root  of  immortality.' 

§  W.  G.  Rutherford,  in  his  translation  of  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to 
the  Romans,  London,  1900,  arranges  the  entire  Epistle,  apart 
from  its  preface  (11-17)  and  epilogue  (IS^-IC27),  under  the  cate- 
gory of  '  righteousness ' :  righteousness  created  by  faith  (118-521), 
righteousness  realized  in  faith  (61-817),  righteousness  triumphant 
(818-39),  faith  the  only  source  of  righteousness  (91-1136),  righteous- 
ness as  affecting  conduct  (12J-1513). 


388 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


speaking  of  the  gospel,  and  that  is  God's  personal, 
direct  message  and  gift  to  the  faith  of  men, 
inseparable  from  Jesus  Christ.  Still,  the  very 
absence  of  any  direct  reference  to  Christ  has  led 
some  critics  at  the  start  to  isolate  righteousness 
and  consequently  to  misunderstand  it  either  by 
treating  it  as  a  Divine  quality  which  operates 
more  or  less  independently  of  the  Person  of  Christ, 
or  by  regarding  the  entire  topic  as  a  religious  piece 
of  forensic  controversy.  But  even  the  context 
itself  implies  that  justification,  i.e.  the  process  by 
means  of  which  one  becomes  right  with  God,  is 
not  a  cold  ante-chamber  through  which  the  Chris- 
tian is  ushered  into  the  warm  atmosphere  of 
personal  intimacy  beyond.  It  is  not  a  chamber  or 
hall  of  justice ;  it  is  the  household  of  the  living 
God.  The  righteousness  which  is  revealed  and 
conveyed  is  not  simply  acquittal,  but  life  in  the 
fullest  sense  of  the  term.  '  By  faith  shall  the 
righteous  live.'  The  righteousness  which  comes 
by  faith  is  not  a  preliminary  stage,  at  which  a  man 
is  pardoned  for  his  sins  and  let  off ;  it  is  a  living, 
personal  experience  of  God  revealed  in  Christ. 
The  righteousness  revealed  in  the  gospel  is  not  the 
issuing  of  a  pardon  or  the  proclamation  of  an 
amnesty,  but  a  relation  of  acceptance  with  God,  in 
fellowship  with  Jesus  Christ,  which  depends  on 
faith  as  the  personal  surrender  of  a  man's  entire 
nature  to  the  Divine  will  of  reconciliation. 

This  is  fundamental  to  Paulinism,  and  one  of  the 
simplest  ways  to  grasp  the  truth  of  it  is  to  note 
how  the  Apostle  twice  over  uses  '  righteousness '  in 
a  personal  sense,  as  applied  to  Christ.  '  This,'  he 
argues  in  1  Co  I30,  '  is  the  God  to  whom  you 
owe  your  being  in  Christ  Jesus,  whom  God  has 
made  our  "Wisdom"  (<ro0ia),  that  is,  our  right- 
eousness and  consecration  and  redemption.'* 
Christ  as  the  Divine  Wisdom  is  further  denned  as 
righteousness  and  consecration  and  redemption  for 
us.  The  Christian  '  Sophia '  is  not  a  vague, 
shadowy,  speculative  idea  or  seon  ;  it  is  embodied 
in  Christ's  personal  relation  to  the  sin  and  need  of 
men,  whom  He  has  brought  into  intimate  relation 
with  God.  Again,  in  the  more  difficult  passage  in 
2  Co  521,  God  is  said  to  have  treated  Christ  as  a 
sinner  for  our  sakes,  to  have  allowed  Him  to  suffer 
what  sinful  men  suffer,  dying  the  accursed  death 
of  the  Cross  (Gal  313).  '  For  our  sakes  he  made 
him  to  be  sin  who  knew  nothing  of  sin  (i.e.  because 
he  knew  nothing  of  sin  as  a  personal  experience), 
so  that  in  him  we  might  become  the  righteousness 
of  God  '  (i.e.  Divinely  righteous).  St.  Paul  may 
personify  righteousness  in  Ho  I17  and  elsewhere, 
but  it  is  more  important  to  observe  how  readily 
he  identifies  it  with  the  personal  relations  of 
Christ  to  men  and  of  men  to  God.  Nothing  proves 
more  clearly  how  far  he  was  from  regarding  it  as 
an  abstract,  official  relationship  between  the  sinner 
and  the  Saviour,  which  led  to  some  further  and 
closer  fellowship. 

In  the  light  of  all  this,  we  can  at  last  read 
the  central  passage  in  Ro  320f-  :  '  On  the  score  of 
obedience  to  law,  no  person  will  be  acquitted  in  his 
sight.  What  the  Law  imparts  is  not  acquittal  but 
only  the  consciousness  of  sin  [tviyvwffts,  St.  Paul's 
favourite  word  for  a  full  recognition,  a  sight  of  the 
real  meaning,  of  anything  or  any  person].  But  now 
[harking  back  to  I17]  we  have  a  righteousness 
of  God  disclosed  apart  from  law  altogether  [i.e. 
entirely  apart  from  any  human  achievement  of 
obedience  to  law,  as  above] ;  it  is  attested  by  the 
Law  and  the  prophets  [i.e.  '  apart  from  law '  does 
not  mean  that  the  revelation  has  no  continuity 
with  the  OT],  but  it  is  a  righteousness  of  God 
which  comes  by  believing  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  it 
is  meant  for  all  who  have  faith.  No  distinctions 
are  drawn  [the  religious  interest  of  Catholicism, 

*  an-oAvrpw  or?  here  is  as  little  eschatological  as  in  Ro  324. 


already  noted ;  cf.  p.  385].  All  have  sinned,  all 
come  short  of  the  glory  of  God,  but  they  are  justi- 
fied for  nothing  by  his  grace  through  the  ransom 
provided  in  Christ  Jesus  [all  this  was  in  his  mind 
when  he  spoke  of  God's  righteousness  being  revealed 
in  the  gospel,  I16f-],  whom  God  put  forward  as  the 
means  of  propitiation  (IXaa-rripiov)  by  his  blood,  to 
be  received  by  faith.'  Later  on,  he  will  explain 
how  God  condemned  sin  through  His  Son  (83),  but 
here  he  goes  on  to  note  that,  while  this  '  righteous- 
ness of  God '  is  made  available  for  believing  men 
apart  from  the  Law  altogether,  the  fact  that  it 
rests  on  the  Divine  self-sacrifice  in  the  death  of 
Christ  is  enough  to  prove  that  God  is  not  taking  sin 
lightly  or  failing  to  visit  transgressions  with  their 
moral  due.  He  has  in  mind  a  criticism  of  his  doc- 
trine of  righteousness.  It  had  been  objected — or 
he  anticipated  the  objection — that  the  Law,  with 
its  sacrificial  rites  and  stress  on  repentance,  at 
least  took  moral  evil  seriously;  St.  Paul  might 
deride  it  and  criticize  it,  but  surely  it  was  not  open 
to  the  charge  of  laxity  like  his  own  theory,  which 
asserted  that  a  sinner  could  be  restored  to  God  by 
faith  and  nothing  more.  The  Apostle  replies  by 
claiming  actually  that  the  very  reverse  is  true. 
God's  new  means  of  providing  righteousness  shows 
that  He  is  dealing  with  sin  more  rigorously  than 
He  ever  did  under  the  old  system  of  the  Law  ;  the 
sacrifice  oi  Christ,  His  Son,  exhibits  His  uncom- 
promising attitude  towards  sin,  which  hitherto  had 
not  been  displayed  to  the  full.  When  the  gospel 
bids  men  seek  righteousness  outside  the  code  and 
ritual  of  the  Jewish  Law,  it  is  not  suggesting  that 
God  is  now  pleased  to  be  satisfied  with  an  inferior 
type  of  righteousness,  or  that  He  is  prepared  to 
annul  sin  without  more  ado.  To  drive  this  point 
home,  St.  Paul  now  uses  diKaiofftivrj  in  its  narrower 
sense.  In  v.21t  it  denotes  the  general  redeeming 
purpose  of  God,  as  in  I17,  but  in  v.28'-  the  meaning 
is  closer  to  that  of  v.s,  i.e.  the  moral  integrity  of 
God,  which  in  presence  of  deliberate  sin  implies  the 
reaction  of  His  inviolable  justice.  In  order  to 
realize  His  righteousness  for  sinful  men,  God  had  to 
vindicate  His  character  of  'justice.'  Hence  the 
two-fold  purpose  of  Christ's  sacrificial  death.  It 
was  '  to  demonstrate  the  justice  of  God  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  sins  previously  committed  during  the 
time  of  God's  forbearance  *  had  been  passed  over  ; 
it  was  to  demonstrate  his  justice  at  the  present 
epoch  (in  contrast  to  the  past,  when  it  had  not  been 
so  exhibited),  showing  that  God  is  just  himself  and 
that  he  justifies  man  on  the  score  of  faith  in  Jesus.' 
Whether  i\a<TTripiov  means  propitiatory  gift  or 
sacrifice,  it  is  offered  by  God  Himself,  not  by  men  ; 
and  this  sacrifice  of  Christ  was  necessary  for  the 
realization  of  God's  righteousness  or  redeeming 
purpose.  It  is  fairly  clear  from  the  context,  and 
this  interpretation  is  supported  by  other  data,  that 
the  words  '  by  his  blood '  refer  to  the  historical 
Crucifixion.  It  is  the  sacrificial  death  of  Christ, 
not  blood-fellowship  with  the  Risen  Christ,  which 
the  Apostle  has  primarily  in  mind,  t  What  enables 

*  Not  in  the  previous  life  of  people  who  are  now  saved,  but 
in  the  sense  of  Ac  1730,  although  the  eschatological  horizon  is 
more  distinct  there  than  here. 

t  It  is  true  that  justification  implies  the  Resurrection  (Ro  S25), 
but  the  relation  of  the  justified  to  God  depends  on  one  who 
'  was  dead  and  is  alive  again  '  as  their  Lord.  In  view  of  a 
passage  like  59f-,  it  is  beside  the  point  to  lay  stress,  as  Lipsius 
does,  on  the  absence  of  any  reference  to  the  Cross  here.  The 
recent  popularity  of  this  blood-fellowship  interpretation  (cf., 
e.g.,  G.  A.  Deissmann  in  EBi  iii.  3034-3035  ;  A.  Schettler,  Die 
paulinische  Farmel  '  Durch  Christus,'  Tubingen,  1907,  p.  5 ; 
and  Otto  Schmitz,  Die  Opferanschauung  des  spHteren  Juden- 
tums,  do.,  1910,  p.  223  f.)  is  probably  due  to  a  right  reaction 
against  the  idea  of  righteousness  as  a  purely  forensic  status, 
depending  on  the  death  of  Christ,  but  it  is  not  necessary  from 
an  exegetical  point  of  view,  and  it  tends  to  miss  the  truth  that 
the  relationship  of  righteousness  implies  a  communion  with 
God  through  Christ  in  which  the  sacrificial  power  of  His  death 
is  the  effective  thing  (cf.  A.  Juncker,  Die  Ethik  des  Apoxtel» 
Paulus,  Halle,  1904,  p.  121  f.). 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


389 


God  to  justify  sinners,  what  justifies  Him  in  justi- 
fying them,  is  the  l\a<TTr)piov  of  Christ.  It  is 
through  this  sacrificial  death  that  God's  moral 
character  as  dlicaios  becomes,  in  relation  to  human 
sin,  the  attitude  and  action  of  a  dtKai&v.  Till 
Christ  and  outside  of  Christ  there  is  no  righteous- 
ness for  men. 

This  is  the  vital  point  at  which  the  conception  of 
righteousness  crosses  the  conception  of  atonement 
in  St.  Paul's  theology.  Without  trespassing  on  the 
province  of  the  articles  JUSTIFICATION  and  ATONE- 
MENT, we  may  point  out  that  in  the  present  pas- 
sage St.  Paul  distinctly  regards  the  sacrificial  death 
of  Christ  as  the  explicit  sentence  of  God  on  human 
sin.  This  is  why  he  speaks  of  the  past,  and  in 
so  doing  uses  SiKawcrtivT)  in  v.28'-  in  the  specific  sense 
of  'justice.'  -In  the  death  of  Christ  as  the  one 
adequate  ottering  for  sin,  God  now  shows  His  real 
mind  towards  sin  and  sinners  as  punitive  and  judi- 
cial ;  He  condemns  sin,  and  thus  cannot  be  sus- 
pected of  any  indifference  to  it.  Men,  arguing 
from  the  long  past  when  He  forbore  to  exhibit  any 
such  weighty  reprobation  as  the  death  of  Christ 
now  conveyed,  might  impugn  His  justice,  as  if  He 
were  indifferent  to  moral  interests.  But  the 
terrible  expression  of  His  real  attitude  in  the  death 
of  Christ  removed  any  such  suspicion  ;  it  revealed 
for  the  first  time  and  finally  His  true  verdict  on  sin. 
If  He  had  forborne  to  show  this  until  now,  that 
was  because  He  sent  Christ,  as  St.  Paul  elsewhere 
argues,*  at  the  proper  moment  in  the  world's 
history,  not  because  of  any  failure  to  conserve  the 
interests  of  justice.  St.  Paul  would  have  admitted 
that  sins  had  been  visited  by  God's  anger  in  the 
past ;  this  is  the  thought  of  Ro  I18'-  ('  God's  anger 
is  revealed  from  heaven  against  all  the  impiety  and 
wickedness  of  men').  The  mere  fact  of  death 
(Ro  512'-)  showed  that  sin  had  consequences  for 
sinners.  But  until  the  death  of  Christ  on  the 
Cross  the  full  exhibition  of  God's  condemnation  of 
sin  could  not  be  made  ;  and  it  had  to  be  made,  not 
only  in  view  of  the  previous  forbearance  or  abey- 
ance of  judgment,  by  which  God  had  spared  the 
Jews,  instead  of  punishing  them  by  extinction,  but 
in  order  to  realize  the  new  righteousness.  That 
new  righteousness  or  state  of  acceptance  with  God 
involved  a  recognition  of  the  just  connexion  between 
sin  and  death  ('God  himself  is  just'),  and  at  the 
same  time  of  a  gracious  power  triumphing  over 
both  ('all  are  justified  for  nothing  by  his  grace 
through  the  ransom  provided  in  Christ  Jesus,' 
'  he  justifies  man  on  the  score  of  faith  in  Jesus '). 
This  demonstration  was  furnished  in  the  death  of 
Christ,  the  Divine  Being  who  died  on  the  Cross 
neither  as  a  sinner  nor  as  a  sinless  individual  but 
as  God's  Son,  the  innocent  for  the  guilty,  reversing 
the  fatal  consequences  of  Adam's  transgression 
and  inaugurating  a  new  relationship  between  God 
and  His  people,  on  the  basis  of  faith  in  Himself. 
When  St.  Paul  describes  this  death  as  a  ransom, 
he  is  thinking  pre-eminently  of  its  positive  results 
in  the  creation  of  fellowship  rather  than  of  its 
negative  side.  The  uppermost  idea  is  the  restora- 
tion to  God  of  those  who  belong  to  Him,  not  of  what 
they  are  ransomed  from,  nor  of  the  particular  price 
paid.  It  is  God  who  provides  this  sacrifice,  as  it 
is  God  who  desires  the  restoration.  Obviously,  the 
new  content  of  the  religion  is  larger  than  the  old 
sacrificial  metaphors  employed  to  state  it,  but 
iXaffrripiov  does  carry  sacrificial  meaning.  Here  as 
elsewhere  the  fundamental  thing  in  righteousness 
is  the  positive  relation  of  life  to  which  those  who 
believe  in  Christ  are  admitted,  their  new  standing 
before  God  ('  We  are  justified  by  faith  .  .  .through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  we  have  got  access  to  this 
grace  where  we  have  our  standing ').  It  is  not 

*  '  In  due  time*  (Ro  58),  '  when  rb  jrX^pcofia  TOU  \povov  came ' 
(Gal  4-»). 


exhausted  in  the  assurance  that  they  are  now  con- 
sidered far  from  blame  and  no  longer  liable  to 
punishment.  Whether  '  the  righteousness  of  God ' 
means  God  bringing  men  to  Himself  or  the  rela- 
tion in  which  they  stand  to  Him  when  they  are 
thus  brought  home — and  both  meanings  naturally 
emerge,  and  emerge  together,  in  St.  Paul's  lan- 
guage— the  cardinal  idea  is  the  same ;  it  would 
be  scholastic  to  imagine  that  he  thought  of  this 
righteousness  either  as  a  preliminary  action  of 
God,  clearing  away  the  obstacles  in  order  to  let 
the  Spirit  have  full  play,  or  as  a  state  which 
required  to  be  vivified  by  a  second  act  of  grace. 
Here  the  contrast  between  the  Law  and  the  ran- 
som is  enough  to  explode  any  such  misinterpreta- 
tion. The  IXacr-rfipiov  enables  God  to  do  what  the 
Law  could  never  do,  and  if  the  Law  meant  any- 
thing it  meant  the  maintenance  of  living  com- 
munion between  God  and  men. 

Such  were  the  presuppositions  underneath  the 
first  allusion  to  the  Divine  righteousness  in  Romans 
(I17),  for  the  gospel  in  which  it  is  disclosed  has 
been  already  described  in  vv.2'6  as  a  gospel  of  re- 
demption through  Jesus  Christ,  God's  Son.  God's 
anger  is  revealed  from  heaven  against  human  sin, 
and  the  counterpart  is  the  revelation  of  His  right- 
eousness, for  the  moral  situation  is  such  that  man 
cannot  put  himself  right  with  God.  This  revelation 
of  His  righteousness  is  inaugurated  by  the  sacrificial 
death  and  resurrection  of  Christ ;  it  is  not  a  revela- 
tion which  has  been  in  existence  from  the  beginning, 
the  revelation  of  a  Divine  attribute  which  con- 
stantly unfolds  itself  in  human  history  and  has 
acquired  a  heightened  expression  through  Christ. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  punitive,  for  the 
attitude  of  God  to  sin  is  described  as  'anger.' 
What  is  denoted  by  '  righteousness '  is  saving 
power,  as  defined  more  fully  elsewhere.*  The 
main  difference  between  the  use  of  the  phrase  SIKOUO- 
fftvii  Oeov  here  and  in  most  of  the  other  passages  is 
that  the  emphasis  falls  upon  diKatocrvi>r)  in  this 
passage,  not  on  6eov.  The  contrast  is  between 
'  righteousness '  and  '  anger.'  Human  sin  leaves  no 
alternative  but  for  God  to  show  His  moral  dis- 
pleasure in  punishment,  but  He  freely  and  gra- 
ciously reveals  through  Christ  how  sinners  can  be 
right  with  Him.  His  righteousness  is  the  new 
hope  for  men  who  have  brought  upon  themselves 
His  anger. 

We  may  ask,  Why  is  not  love  the  antithesis  to 
anger?  It  really  is,  in  St.  Paul's  view.  The  en- 
tire justification  of  men  is  due  to  God's  love. 
'Therefore,  as  we  are  justified  by  faith,  let  us 
enjoy  our  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  .  .  .  since  God's  love  floods  our  hearts.  .  .  . 
God  proves  his  love  for  us  by  this,  that  Christ  died 
for  us  when  we  were  still  sinners'  (Ro  51-5).  St. 
Paul  never  distinguishes,  as  moderns  have  often 
done,  between  love  and  righteousness  in  God.  In- 
cidentally, as  we  have  already  seen,  he  recognizes 
a  sense  in  which  '  righteous'  is  less  than  '  loving' 
as  applied  to  men,  but  God  is  never  '  righteous '  to 
him  in  this  sense  of  the  term.  Probably  the 
reason  why  he  prefers  to  speak  of  God's  righteous- 
ness rather  than  of  His  love,  in  this  connexion,  is 
either  because  he  cherishes  the  old  classical  term, 
or  because  he  was  dealing  with  a  controversial 
topic  in  its  own  vocabulary,  or  because  he  desired 
to  emphasize  the  moral  quality  and  aim  of  God's 
nature  and  dealings  with  men.  This  may  be  why 
he  uses  '  righteousness '  here,  just  as  elsewhere  he 
chooses  to  speak  of  grace,  which  is  only  the  Divine 
love  in  action  upon  the  sin  of  men.  '  Righteous- 
ness '  is  God's  nature  revealed  in  its  special  purpose 
of  dealing  with  the  desperate  situation  of  man's 
sin  and  guilt ;  the  Johannine  theology  uses  '  love ' 
outright  in  this  connexion,  but  St.  Paul  generally 

*  E.g.  in  3&  (God  'just  himself  and  the  justifier  of '  men). 


390 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


prefers  the  term  '  grace '  as  an  equivalent  for  this 
purpose  in  its  personal  action  upon  sinners  who 
yield,  and  '  anger'  for  the  relation  of  God  to  wilful 
disobedience  and  rebellion.  It  is  characteristic  of 
his  Jewish  training  that  he  employs  a  term  like 
'  righteousness '  to  express  not  only  what  was 
fundamentally  a  religious  relation  between  God 
and  man,  but  also  the  moral  issues  of  that  relation. 
The  persistence  with  which  he  rules  out  any  human 
element  which  might  compromise  the  absolute 
grace  of  God  in  justifying  sinners  becomes  all  the 
more  significant  when  we  find  that  he  did  not 
hesitate  still  to  use  this  very  term  '  righteousness ' 
as  one  of  the  words  for  the  ethical  outcome  or 
aspect  of  justification.  To  this  we  may  now  pass. 
(e)  God's  righteousness  and  the.  new  life. — The 
problem  of  the  nexus  between  this  faith-righteous- 
ness and  the  moral  life  of  the  Christian,  between 
the  free  forgiveness  which  cuts  away  '  works '  as 
establishing  any  claim  on  God  and  the  strong 
ethical  interests  of  the  Pauline  gospel,  is  un- 
usually difficult,  but  it  has  sometimes  been  made 
needlessly  difficult  by  dogmatic  handling.  For 
example,  some  of  the  Reformed  theologians,  in  a 
laudable  effort  to  oppose  the  Roman  theory  of 
merits,  occasionally  tended  to  reduce  faith  to  a 
barren  assent,  which  emptied  it  of  ethical  content, 
making  it  either  (a)  a  mere  organ  for  receiving 
the  initial  blessing  of  forgiveness,  i.e.  assent  to  a 
doctrine  of  salvation,  or  (b)  too  much  a  matter  of 
subjective  feeling.  Luther  himself,  in  his  sheer 
anxiety  to  safeguard  tbe  interests  of  saving  faith, 
now  and  then  allowed  himself  to  say  paradoxical 
things  which  suggested  that  there  could  be  justify- 
ing faith  apart  from  love.  Luther  is  certainly  a 
better  exegete  of  St.  Paul  at  this  point,  in  the 
main,  than  the  tradition  derived  from  Augustine. 
Augustine  tended  to  regard  human  faith  as  worth- 
less until  it  was  infused  and  vitalized  by  Divine 
grace,  and  he  seems  now  and  then  to  read  St.  Paul 
as  if  God's  grace  revived  faith  and  made  it  ethically 
valid  by  means  of  the  sacraments.  The  spirit  of 
Luther's  fundamental  interpretation  is  at  any  rate 
more  true  to  the  Apostle's  teaching.  At  the  same 
time,  the  problem  of  the  relation  between  right- 
eousness by  faith  and  the  conduct  of  the  Christian 
really  does  belong  to  the  problem  of  justification 
(q.v.),  for  St.  Paul,  as  we  have  seen  (above,  p.  372), 
does  not  scruple  to  speak  of  the  Christian  life  as 
'  righteousness '  in  the  non-technical  as  well  as  in 
the  technical  sense  of  the  term.  The  vexed  prob- 
lem of  the  relation  between  righteousness  by 
faith  and  the  judgment  on  works  (which  includes 
Christians)  might  be  supposed  to  lie,  strictly  speak- 
ing, outside  our  subject ;  for  while  St.  Panl  regards 
justifying  faitli  as  in  no  essential  respect  different 
from  the  faitli  which  underlies  the  entire  course  of 
the  Christian  experience,  he  generally  employs 
other  methods  of  statement  (the  '  fruit  of  the 
Spirit,'  etc.)  to  elucidate  the  general  conduct  of 
the  Christian.  The  terminology  of  righteousness 
by  faith  did  not  rule  his  whole  theology.  Yet, 
whatever  explanation  may  be  adopted  of  the  nexus 
between  the  so-called  forensic  and  ethical  sides  of 
his  theology,  the  term  '  righteousness '  is  not  always 
dropped  when  he  proceeds  to  state  the  latter. 
This  is  clear,  e.g.,  in  Ro  613'22,  where  he  reiterates 
the  thought  that  Christians  must  dedicate  them- 
selves to  'the  service  of  righteousness.'  Life  is  a 
service,  however  you  take  it,  he  implies.*  In  fact, 
apologizing  for  the  oxymoron,  he  calls  the  new  life 
a  '  slavery  to  righteousness '  !  '  Set  free  from  sin, 
you  have  passed  into  the  service  of  righteousness ' 

*  As  Jesus  did  in  Mt  C24:  'you  cannot  serve  two  masters, 
but  you  must  serve  one,  either  God  or  mammon.'  In  the  next 
chapter  (Ro  74),  St.  Paul  puts  the  same  thought  from  another 
point  of  view  :  '  you  must  belong  to  Someone,  either  to  the  Law 
or  to  Christ.' 


(t8ov\wd-r)Tf,  v.18).  Sin  is  a  slavery,  so  is 
You  once  knew  the  former  ;  now  take  the  latter. 
Here  the  position  of  SIKCUOCTWIJ,  which  is  absolutely 
due  to  God's  grace,  as  he  has  just  been  arguing  in 
the  previous  chapter,  becomes  not  only  a  memory 
and  a  hope  but  an  obligation  upon  those  who  are 
justified,  the  nexus  being  the  Person  of  Christ  with 
which  our  faith  identifies  us,  since  Christ  has 
broken  the  hold  of  sin  over  us  and  opened  up 
to  us  the  sphere  and  the  capacity  of  the  Divine 
life.* 

This  nexus  is  not  a  mere  play  on  the  different 
senses  of  SiKaioyvvij.  The  forensic  metaphors  used 
by  St.  Paul  in  connexion  with  righteousness  in  the 
technical  sense  render  it  all  the  more  imperative 
to  grasp  the  larger  thought  for  which  he  is  seeking 
a  somewhat  controversial  expression.  When  a 
sinner  is  pronounced  righteous  or  justified,  as  we 
have  seen,  this  does  not  correspond  to  the  cool 
verdict  of  acquittal  passed  by  some  outside 
authority  ;  it  is  the  gracious  dealing  of  a  loving 
God,  whose  end  is  life  for  the  sinner.  The  clearest 
statement  of  this  truth  is  in  the  long  passage  of 
Ro  516f-  :  '  While  the  sentence  ensuing  on  a  single 
sin  resulted  in  doom,  the  free  gift  ensuing  on 
many  trespasses  issues  in  acquittal '  (but  acquittal 
is  not  the  last  word).  '  For  if  the  trespass  of  one 
man  allowed  death  to  reign  through  that  one  man, 
much  more  shall  those  who  receive  the  overflowing 
grace  and  free  gift  of  righteousness  reign  in  life 
through  One,  through  Jesus  Christ.'  The  StKalu/j.a 
or  acquittal  carries  life  with  it.  Hence  the 
Apostle  sums  up :  '  Well  then,  as  one  man's 
trespass  issued  in  doom  for  all,  so  one  man's  act  of 
redress  issues  in  acquittal  and  life  (els  diKaiwcriv 
fa;??*)  for  all ;  just  as  one  man's  disobedience  made 
all  the  rest  sinners,  so  one  man's  obedience  will 
make  all  the  rest  righteous  .  .  .  sin  increased,  but 
grace  surpassed  it  far,  so  that  while  sin  had  reigned 
the  reign  of  death,  grace  might  also  reign  with  a 
righteousness  that  ends  in  life  eternal  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.'  It  is  passages  like  this 
which  suggest  that  the  Pauline  doctrine  of  right- 
eousness by  faith  finds  its  equivalent  in  the  Johan- 
nine  doctrine  of  fellowship  with  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  life  in  both  cases  being  the  central  thought. 
The  door  into  this  fellowship  opens  from  within, 
and  similarly  the  righteousness  which  issues  in  life 
is  steadily  regarded  as  a  free  gift  of  God  ;  you  can- 
not pay  for  it,  or  work  for  it,  you  have  only  to 
accept  the  reconciliation.  The  life  comes  through 
a  Divine  self-sacrifice.  When  St.  Paul  is  using  his 
most  juridical  language,  he  never  forgets  to  bring 
this  out,  and  the  very  fact  that  his  line  of  argu- 
ment in  this  section  does  not  lead  him  to  develop 
the  human  faith  which  receives  the  gift  enables 
him  to  lay  all  the  more  stress  upon  the  Divine 
generosity  which  provided  it  for  needy  man.t 
'  The  gift,'  '  the  free  gift,'  '  for  nothing' — it  is  as  if 
he  could  not  say  enough  to  convince  his  readers  of 

*  It  is  the  vira.Kori  of  Christ  (S1^)  which  realizes  the  new  order 
of  reconciliation  and  SiKoioerwi)  for  men,  who  in  turn  have  to 
give  in  (see  above),  by  an  act  of  obedience,  to  these  gracious 
terms  of  God  for  their  redemption.  But  the  human  viraicoTJ  is 
not  exhausted  by  this  surrender  to  God  in  Christ ;  it  has  to  be 
worked  out  in  His  service  and  spirit  (Ro  612f-)-  Cf .  W.  Schlatter'e 
Glaube  und  Gehorsam,  Giitersloh,  1901. 

t  Of.  what  R.  W.  Dale  once  said  about  Maurice  (Life  of  R.  W. 
Dale,  London,  1898,  p.  541) :  '  What  he  wanted  was  to  be  con- 
scious that  he  deserved  all  the  love  and  trust  that  came  to  him. 
I  am  more  and  more  clear  about  this,  that  we  must  be  content 
to  know  that  the  best  things  come  to  us  both  from  man  and 
God  without  our  deserving  them.  We  are  under  grace,  not 
under  law.  Not  until  we  have  beaten  down  our  pride  and  self- 
assertion  so  as  to  be  able  to  take  everything  from  earth  and 
heaven  just  as  a  child  takes  everything,  without  raising  the 
question,  Do  I  deserve  this  or  not  ?  or  rather  with  the  habitual 
conviction  that  we  deserve  nothing  and  are  content  that  it 
should  be  so,  do  we  get  into  right  relations  either  with  our 
Father  in  heaven  or  with  the  brothers  and  sisters  about  us. 
That  principle  is  capable  of  a  most  fatal  misconception,  but  in 
its  truth  it  is  one  of  the  secrets  of  righteousness  and  joy.' 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


391 


God's  character  and  motives  in  the  work  of  recon- 
ciliation. 

Yet  even  when  he  considers  human  faith  in  this 
connexion,  it  only  serves  to  emphasize  the  truth 
that  the  new  relation  of  righteousness  cannot  rest 
on  any  pact  between  a  man  and  his  God.  Faith 
is  not  the  contribution  which  the  sinner  makes. 
There  were  religious  conceptions  of  righteousness 
which  gave  a  place  to  faith  alongside  works,  but 
St.  Paul  would  not  hear  of  such  an  admixture  as 
we  meet,  e.g.,  in  the  apocalypse  of  4  Ezra.  'A 
worker  has  his  wage  counted  to  him  as  a  due,  not 
as  a  favour ;  but  a  man  who  instead  of  working 
believes  in  him  who  justifies  the  ungodly  has  his 
faith  counted  as  righteousness'  (Ro  44).  Every- 
thing turns  upon  faith,  he  adds  (416),  for  the  new 
righteousness  is  a  gift  or,  historically  regarded,  a 
promise  ;  these  are  the  terms  on  which  it  is  ottered. 

In  the  light  of  this,  it  is  not  difficult  to  under- 
stand why,  after  urging  Christians  to  '  serve  right- 
eousness' (in  613f>),  he  instinctively  varies  the  phrase : 
'  now  that  you  are  set  free  from  sin,  now  that  you 
have  passed  into  the  service  of  God '  (this  is  another 
way  of  stating  what  he  means  by  justification  or 
the  possession  of  '  God's  righteousness '),  '  your  gain 
is  consecration  (ayiaff/j.6s),  and  the  end  of  that  is  life 
eternal.  Sin's  wage  is  death,  but  God's  gift  is  life 
eternal  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.'  The  life  which 
the  practice  of  diKaiocrvvi]  produces  is  ultimately  a 
Divine  gift.  Even  in  this  sphere,  where  the  human 
will  is  active,  where  a  man  is  bidden  co-operate 
with  all  his  powers,  the  notion  of  merit  is  carefully 
excluded.  A  man  gets  something  out  of  the  service 
of  sin,  and  he  has  himself  to  thank  for  it !  He  also 
gets  something  out  of  the  service  of  righteousness 
(i.e.  out  of  his  devotion  to  the  character  which  God 
approves),  but  he  has  God  to  thank  for  this.  The 
fact  that  St.  Paul  uses  ditccnoffuvri  in  this  definite 
sense  of  character,  so  soon  after  he  has  just  used  it 
to  denote  a  religious  standing  or  relationship  to 
God,  is  noticeable ;  it  confirms  our  interpretation 
of  the  latter  as  implying  a  positive  experience  of 
life,  and  it  illustrates  at  the  same  time  the  common 
basis  of  both  in  the  grace  of  God,  mediated  through 
Jesus  Christ.  Not  only  justification  but  the  service 
of  diKaiofftivrj  depends  upon  man's  relation  to  Him, 
since  the  latter  means  a  life  lived  for  Him  (2  Co  521) 
or  in  Him  (Ro  611).  In  both  senses  of  the  term, 
diKaioffvvri  means  life  (Ro  5'-1  6s3),  and  whether  this 
life  is  viewed  as  a  standing  before  God  or  a  calling 
it  is  equally  dependent  upon  Him.  St.  Paul  could 
have  conceived  acquittal  apart  from  moral  renewal 
as  little  as  he  could  have  conceived  moral  renewal 
apart  from  acquittal  (Sokolowski,  Die  Begrijfe  von 
Geist  und  Leben  bei  Paul  us,  p.  14) ;  the  one  involved 
the  other,  and,  as  both  implied  the  mediation  of 
life  through  Jesus  Christ,  the  intrusion  of  merit  or 
self-righteousness  was  definitely  eliminated.  In 
Ph  39f-  we  have  both  aspects  and  senses  of  dticaio- 
fftivi]  held  together ;  the  gift  is  a  task,  and  the 
very  task  is  itself  a  gift,  depending  for  its  inspira- 
tion as  well  as  for  its  reward  upon. the  Lord.  In 
Ro  615f-,  the  conception  of  faith,  which  elsewhere 
reveals  the  nexus  between  the  so-called  forensic 
and  ethical  sides  of  righteousness,  is  conspicuous 
by  its  absence,  but  the  second  half  of  the  chapter 
rests  on  the  thought  of  the  first  half,  viz.  the 
identification  of  the  Christian  with  Christ  in  His 
new  life  of  power  over  the  flesh  and  sin,  and  there- 
fore the  Apostle's  language  about  the  duty  of 
devotion  to  8tKa.io<rvvi)  as  the  religious  ideal  could 
not  be  misunderstood,  as  if  it  implied  that  in  this 
career  of  goodness  a  man  was  somehow  less  depend- 
ent upon  God  than  in  the  initial  crisis  of  justifica- 
tion. The  juridical  associations  of  '  righteousness ' 
and  'justify'  made  it  more  easy  for  the  Apostle  to 
bring  out  the  absolute  indebtedness  of  man  to  God 
for  forgiveness  and  fellowship  at  the  outset  of  the 


Christian  experience.  They  did  not  suggest  so 
naturally  the  same  exclusion  of  merit  in  the  state- 
ment of  the  new  career  of  SiKouoavvr)  ;  in  fact,  their 
terminology  did  not  lend  itself  so  readily  *  to  the 
expression  of  this  positive  and  living  content  in 
justification  at  all,  for  we  cannot  assume  that  he 
ever  used  the  verb  'justify'  (apart  from  the  quota- 
tion in  34)  of  God  in  any  sense  except  that  of  pro- 
nouncing a  verdict.  But  when  believers  were 
'counted  righteous,'  because  they  believed  in  Christ 
who  had  died  for  their  sins,  this  involved  their 
possession  by  God  ;  they  were  now  His,  for  His 
own  purposes,  and  His  purpose  was  life.  Through 
their  organic  union  with  Christ,  this  life  is  repro- 
duced in  their  experience,  and  consummated.  '  He 
glorifies  those  whom  he  has  justified  '  (Ro  830). 
Probably  it  was  to  avoid  any  possible  misapprehen- 
sion that  St.  Paul  never  spoke  of  God  'making' 
men  righteous  ;  he  reserved  6iKaiovi>  strictly  for 
the  verdict  of  acquittal,  which  altered  once  and  for 
all  the  standing  of  the  sinner  before  his  God.  In- 
stead of  using  the  same  term  for  the  process  of 
making  the  justified  man  '  righteous  '  in  the  moral 
sense  of  the  term,  he  employed  other  words  (e.g. 
Ro  74)  and  metaphors.  Nevertheless  the  acquittal 
was  a  creative  act,  and  even  '  righteousness  '  is 
used  in  connexion,  e.g.,  with  life,  which  shows  what 
was  in  the  writer's  mind.  Allusions  like  those  in 
2  Co  515  and  Ro  810  (whatever  view  is  taken  of 
this  clause  ;  cf.  above,  p.  372)  indicate  what  he 
regarded  as  implicit  in  the  initial  verdict  of  '  justi- 
fied,' and  what  prompted  him  for  once  to  employ 
SiKaioffvv-rj  as  he  does  in  Ro  613'-. 

Finally,  a  word  upon  the  idea  of  rewards  and 
punishments  being  meted  out  to  Christians  at  the 
end.  Bunyan  pointed  out  that  the  village  of 
Morality  lay  off  the  straight,  safe  road  to  the 
Celestial  City  ;  he  also  recalled  how  Mr.  Honest  in 
his  lifetime  had  appointed  '  one  Good-conscience  ' 
to  help  him  over  the  River  of  Death,  and  how  '  the 
last  words  of  Mr.  Honest  were,  Grace  reigns.'  So 
with  St.  Paul.  He  warns  the  Christian  off  '  works 
of  the  law'  (Mr.  Legality  is  the  leading  inhabitant 
of  the  village  of  Morality  !),  and  also  warns  him 
not  to  meet  the  end  without  a  good  conscience, 
without  a  moral  record  which  will  bear  the  most 
searching  scrutiny.  For  such  a  scrutiny  awaits 
even  the  justified,  even  those  '  for  whom  there  is 
now  no  condemnation  '  ;  they  will  be  taken  to 
account  before  the  Divine  tribunal  for  what  they 
have  made  of  their  life.  The  emphasis  set  by  St. 
Paul  on  the  moral  transformation  of  the  believing 
man  is  shown  by  this  striking  fact  that  he  retains 
the  conception  of  judgment  being  passed  on  the 
works  even  of  Christians  at  the  end,  although 
logically  it  seems  incompatible  with  the  truth  that 
Christians  were  already  free  from  doom  and  assured 
of  salvation.  Various  explanations  of  this  have 
been  ottered.  The  Apostle's  stress  upon  recompense 
is  excused  as  a  remnant  of  his  traditional  Pharisaic 
theology,  which  he  did  not  reconcile  with  his 
evangelical  principle  of  justification  by  faith  ;  the 
two  are  left  side  by  side  as  parallel  lines,  religious 
and  ethical  ;  or,  the  doctrine  of  judgment  on  works 
is  taken  to  refer  to  the  degrees  of  glory  in  which 
Christians  are  to  stand,  all  being  saved  as  believers 
in  Christ,  but  with  varying  records.  The  latter 
view  t  is  ingenious,  but  it  has  to  be  read  into  St. 


*  St.  Paul  did  not  quote  Ps  IIS1^-  as  Clement  of  Rome  did 
(xlviii.  2-4),  to  show  that  'of  the  numerous  gates  which  are 
opened,  this  in  righteousness  is  the  gate  in  Christ,  whereby  blessed 
are  all  they  that  enter  and  make  straight  their  paths  in  holiness 
and  righteousness.'  In  view  of  Gal  6s  it  is  literally,  but  no  more 
than  literally,  correct  to  say  (with  Lightfoot  on  Ro  621)  that  St. 
Paul  '  never  uses  <eop7rds  of  the  results  of  evil-doing,  but  always 
substitutes  ipya-'  Still  he  does  tend  to  confine  this  organic 
metaphor  to  the  new  life  in  the  spirit  ;  he  avoids  speaking  of 
icapn-bs  SLKOLOOVVIIS  (cf.  Pr  11»>,  LXX)  except  in  Ph  1". 

t  It  is  argued  by  E.  Kiihl  in  Rechtfertigiiny  aufGntnd  Glaub- 
ens  und  Gericht  nach  den  Werkcn  bei  Paulus,  Konigsberg,  1904. 


392 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


RIGHTEOUSNESS 


Paul's  language  in  order  to  explain  all  the  facts. 
Others  point  out  that  the  equivalence  of  reward 
and  service  is  not  mechanical  or  juridical,  and  that 
the  deeds  which  come  up  for  scrutiny  at  the  end 
are  the  '  fruit  of  the  Spirit.'  In  any  case,  St.  Paul 
never  regarded  justifying  faith  as  either  morally 
indifferent  or  guaranteeing  mechanically  a  good 
life.  He  retains  judgment  on  the  works  of  the 
Christian*  as  a  justified  man,  on  account  of  his 
strong  sense  of  ethical  responsibility.  There  may 
be  a  formal  contradiction,  but  the  significant  thing 
is  that  both  in  2  Co  59f-  ('  I  am  eager  to  satisfy  him, 
whether  in  the  body  or  away  from  it ;  for  we  have 
all  to  appear  before  the  tribunal  of  Christ,  each  to 
be  requited  for  what  he  has  done  with  his  body, 
well  or  ill')  and  in  Ph  39f-,  where  the  possession  of 
the  Divine  righteousness  at  the  end  does  not  exclude 
personal  effort  in  the  present.t  the  Apostle's  religi- 
ous experience  is  larger  than  the  logical  inferences 
of  the  strict  righteousness-doctrine.  To  be  justi- 
fied by  faith  was  God's  gift.  But  it  was  more  than 
a  gift;  it  was  a  vocation,  a  career — Aufgabe  as 
well  as  Gabe.  Because  it  was  the  gift  of  a  new 
relationship,  the  recipient  had  to  work  from  it  or 
with  it  scrupulously  :  '  Work  strenuously  at  your 
salvation,  for  it  is  God  who  in  his  goodwill  enables 
you  to  will  this  and  to  achieve  it '  (Ph  212).  My 
aim,  he  adds,  is  '  to  see  if  I  too  can  attain  the 
resurrection  from  the  dead'  (Ph  311),  that  being 
part  and  parcel  of  the  Divine  righteousness  which 
depended  on  faith.  Baur  takes  this  last  clause 
and  writes  opposite  it,  '  If  there  be  anything  that 
our  apostle  could  not  possibly  have  written  it  is 
that  dubious  eforws  Kara.vr-f)cfu  ets  rty  4£a.va,o-Ta.aiv  rijv 
£K  vfKpwv,  where  his  whole  fellowship  with  Christ 
is  put  in  question. '  St.  Paul  could  not  have  written 
it,  unless  he  had  been  more  than  a  Paulinist — a 
Paulinist  of  Baur's  type.  But  he  was  a  great 
Christian.  He  could  conceive  it  possible  that  even 
he  might  be  a  reprobate,  and  he  wished  his  churches 
to  feel  the  same  wholesome  fear  of  themselves.  He 
knew  there  was  such  a  thing  as  receiving  the  grace 
of  God  in  vain.  Nothing  would  have  been  more 
out  of  keeping  with  his  doctrine  of  assurance  than 
a  Christianized  Pharisaism  which  counted  lightly 
on  final  acceptance.  £  It  is  not  a  proof  of  the 
unauthenticity  of  Philippians  that  he  introduces 
this  remarkable  allusion  to  the  subjective  aspect 
of  righteousness.  On  paper  the  collocation  of  this 
with  the  assurance  or  acquittal  on  the  score  of 
faith  may  seem  heterogeneous,  just  as  the  cognate 
association  of  justification  by  faith  with  judgment 
to  be  passed  on  the  conduct  of  Christians  may 
appear  an  antinomy.  But,  while  we  learn  to  know 
St.  Paul  first  on  paper,  the  clue  to  the  real  St.  Paul 
lies  in  the  spiritual  and  ethical  attitude  towards 
the  realities  of  God  and  human  life,  which  can  and 
must  hold  together  in  the  Christian  consciousness 
things  which  logically  amount  to  a  paradox. 

The  judgment  on  works,  i.e.  on  the  behaviour  of  Christians 
as  justified  men  as  well  as  on  outsiders,  implies  the  recompense 
of  good  conduct  and  service  as  well  as  the  retribution  upon  evil. 
The  good  life  is  crowned,  at  the  end  (2  Ti  4»).  This  was  some- 
times expressed  by  St.  Paul  as  receiving  God's  '  praise,'  e.g.  in 
1  Co  45  (almost  in  the  sense  of  approval),  where  each  faithful 
servant  gets  his  proportionate  meed  of  praise  from  God,  when 


»  It  is  impossible  (in  face  of  Ro  2«f.  and  2  Co  510)  to  hold  that 
he  kept  it  for  outsiders. 

t  Titius  (Der  Paulinismus,  pp.  203-205)  traces  in  Ph  39f.  a 
weakening  of  the  definitive  character  of  justification,  although 
he  interprets  Gal  217  of  the  constant  task  which  falls  to  the 
Christian — the  task  of  maintaining  his  position  as  a  justified 
man.  Gal  217  is  a  difficult  link  in  a  difficult  chain  of  argument, 
but  it  probably  means  that  even  Jews  who  sought  righteousness 
on  Christ's  terms  had  to  confess  they  were  sinners ;  they  could 
not  bring  forward  any  racial  privilege  which  would  exempt 
them  from  the  verdict  that '  all  have  sinned '  (Ro  S23). 

t  Cf.  Pascal's  saying :  'au  lieu  de  dire,  "  s'il  n'y  avait  point  en 
Dieu  de  misericorde,  il  faudrait  faire  toutes  sortes  d'efforts  pour 
la  vertu,"  il  faut  dire,  au  contraire,  que  c'est  parce  qu'il  y  a  en 
Dieu  de  la  misericorde,  qu'il  faut  faire  toutes  sortes  d'efforts ' 
(Penstes,  ed.  E.  Havet,  Paris,  1866,  vol.  ii.  p.  103). 


the  final  scrutiny  upon  the  records  of  service  takes  place  (cf. 
Ro  229).  This  shows  that  the  equivalence  of  reward  and  service 
is  not  a  mechanical  equivalence  or  even  a  purely  juridical 
verdict,  but,  as  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  a  gracious  act  of  God. 
This  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the  deeds  for  which  men  are 
rewarded  are  done  under  the  inspiring  Spirit ;  they  are  the 
outcome  of  a  process  (Gal  S22  6s),  and  the  very  process  is  more 
than  a  human  achievement.  The  Pauline  doctrine  thus  differs 
from  the  Jewish  conception  of  the  judgment,*  which  tended  to 
fix  a  man's  fate  by  the  tally  of  meritorious  actions  which  he 
could  produce  at  the  end,  one  of  these  being  faith  or  fidelity. 
To  St.  Paul,  faith  is  the  principle  which  inspires  the  whole 
process  of  conduct.! 

The  religious  interest  in  this  reward  of  service  and  conduct 
is  expressed  in  the  original  form  of  the  prayer  in  the  Te  Deum : 
'  We  believe  that  thou  shalt  come  to  be  our  judge.  We  there- 
fore pray  thee,  help  thy  servants,  whom  thou  hast  redeemed 
with  thy  precious  blood  ;  make  them  to  be  rewarded  (not 
'numbered'— the  true  reading  is  ' munerari,' not  'numerari') 
with  thy  saints  in  glory  everlasting.'  The  tone  of  this  petition 
recalls  the  spirit  of  St.  Paul's  emphasis  on  judgment  or  praise 
for  the  Christian  at  the  end.  He  employs  terms  which  literally 
are  incompatible  with  hie  original  view  of  justification,  but  he 
employs  them  in  such  a  way  as  to  urge  ethical  responsibility 
without  compromising  the  grace  of  God  or  affording  any 
ground  for  the  unhealthy  KaOx^o"'!  which  it  was  his  relentless 
aim  to  eradicate  from  righteousness  at  any  stage  and  in  any 
form  of  the  religious  experience. 

LITERATURE. — The  linguistic  data  are  stated  fully  in  H. 
Cremer's  Bibl.-Theol.  Lexicon  of  NT  Greek,  Eng.  tr.,  Edin- 
burgh, 1878,  pp.  183-200,  and  J.  Morison's  monograph,  A 
Critical  Exposition  of  the  Third  Chapter  of  Romans,  London, 
1866,  p.  165,  etc.,  by  J.  Massie  in  Exp,  1st  ser.,  viii.  [1880] 
257-269,  and  in  P.  Feme's  Theologie  des  Xeuen  Testaments2, 
Leipzig,  1911,  p.  338  f.  The  most  notable  of  the  special  articles 
and  monographs  in  recent  years  are :  G.  A.  Fricke's  Der 
paulinische  Grundbegriff  der  Siicaiocrvyri  Oeov,  do.,  1888;  an 
essay  by  H.  Beck  in  Neue  Jahrbucher  fur  deutsche  Theologie, 
iv.  [1895]  249-261 ;  and  a  pamphlet  by  T.  Ha'ring  on  '  Aucaioav'i'ij 
SeoC  bei  Paulus,'  Tubingen,  1896 ;  G.  Schnedermann's  mono- 
graph on  Der  israelitische  Hintergrund  in  der  Lehre  des 
Apostels  Paulus  von  der  Gottesgerechtigkeit  aus  Glauben,  Leip- 
zig, 1895  ;  J.  Barmby,  in  Exp,  5th  ser.,  iv.  [1896]  124-139 ;  H. 
Cremer's  Die  paulinische  Rechtfertigungslehre  im  Zusammen- 
hang  ihrer  geschicht.lichen  Voraussetzungen"2;  Giitersloh,  1900 ;  J. 
Denney,  in  Exp,  6th  ser.,  iii.  [1901]  433 f.,  iv.  [1901]  81  ff.,  299 ff.; 
W.  Liitgert's  monograph  on  Die  Lehre  von  der  Rechtfertigung 
durch  dm  Glauben,  Berlin,  1903 ;  K.  Miiller,  Beobachtungen 
zur  paulinischen  Rechtfertigungslehre,  Leipzig,  1905 ;  J.  H. 
Gerretsen,  Rechtvaardigmaking  bij  Paulus  in  verband  met  de 
prediging  van  Christus  in  de  Synoptici,  Nijmvegen,  1905  ;  E. 
Tobac,  Le  Probleme  de  la  justification  dans  saint  Paul,  Paris, 
1908 ;  and  B.  F.  Westcott's  St.  Paul  and  Justification, 
London,  1913,  in  addition  to  those  mentioned  in  the  course  of 
this  article. 

The  subject  is  discussed  by  all  the  editors  of  Romans,  and  in 
treatises  on  NT  Theology  and  on  Paulinism,  among  which  the 
following  are  particularly  valuable  :  F.  C.  Baur's  Paulus,  Eng. 
tr.,  2  vols.,  London,  1873-75,  vol.  ii.  pp.  134-168;  E.  Reuss, 
Hist,  de  la  theologie  chretienne  au  sfecle  apostolique3,  Strass- 
burg,  1864,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1872-74,  vol.  ii.  pp.  20 f.,  171  f. ;  C. 
Holsten,  Das  Evangelium  des  Paulus,  i.  [Berlin,  1880]  67  f.,  ii. 
[do.,  1898]  64  f. ;  E.  Mene'goz,  Le  Peche  et  la  redemption 
d'apres  saint  Paul,  Paris,  1882,  p.  160  f. ;  B.  Weiss,  Biblical 
Theology  of  the  NT,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1888,  vol.  i.  p.  315 ff. ; 
A.  Sabatier,  The  Apostle  Paul,  Eng.  tr.,  do.,  1891,  p.  297  ff. ; 
G.  B.  Stevens,  The  Pauline  Theology,  do.,  1892,  pp.  40 f., 
249  f. ;  A.  B.  Bruce,  St.  Paul's  Conception  of  Christianity, 
Edinburgh,  1894,  pp.  114  f.,  147  f.  ;  J.  Bovon,  Theologie  du 
nouveau  Testament*,  Lausanne  and  Paris,  1902-05,  ii.  134-202  ; 
A.  Seeberg,  Der  Tod  Christi,  Leipzig,  1895,  p.  188  f. ;  W. 
Beyschlag,  Neutestamentliche  Theologie,  Halle,  1891-92,  Eng. 
tr.,  2  vols.,  Edinburgh,  1895,  vol.  ii.  pp.  94  f.,  179  f.  ;  A.  Titius, 
Der  Paulinismus  unter  dem  Gesichtspunkt  der  Seligkeit, 
Tubingen,  1900,  pp.  153-218  ;  H.  St.  John  Thackeray,  The 
Relation  of  St.  Paul  to  Contemporary  Jewish  Thought,  London, 
1900,  pp.  80-97 ;  J.  Denney,  The  Death  of  Christ,  do., 
1902,  p.  163  f. ;  Emil  Sokolowski,  Die  £egriffe  von  Geist  und 
Leben  bei  Paulus,  Gottingen,  1903,  pp.  5f.,  67 f.,  168 f.;  M. 
Gog-uel,  L'Ap6tre  Paul  et  Jesus-Christ,  Paris,  1904,  p.  294  f. ; 
Shailer  Mathews,  The  Messianic  Hope  in  the  NT,  Chicago, 
1905,  p.  193  ff.  ;  W.  P.  DuBose,  The  Gospel  according  to  St. 
Paul,  New  York,  1907,  p.  69  f. ;  Otto  Pfleiderer,  Das  Urchris- 
tenthum?,  Berlin,  1902,  Eng.  tr.,  Primitive  Christianity,  4  vols., 
London,  1906-11,  vol.  i.  p.  344  f.  ;  E.  D.  Burton,  in  Biblical 
Ideas  of  Atonement,  Chicago,  1909,  p.157  f.  ;  H.  J.  Holtzmann, 
Lehrbuch  der  neutest.  Theologie^,  2  vols.,  Tubingen,  1911,  ii. 
131  f. ;  A.  Garvie,  Studies  of  Paul  and  his  Gospel,  London 
and  New  York,  1911,  p.  153  f. ;  E.  von  Dobschiitz,  '  Die 


*  But  it  is  only  fair  to  recall  sayings  like  that  of  Rabbi  Akiba 
(Pirke  Aboth,  iii.  19) :  '  The  world  is  judged  by  goodness,  and 
[yet]  all  is  according  to  the  [amount  of]  work.' 

t  From  one  point  of  view,  he  could  say  (2  Th  I5f-)  that  God 
considered  it  only  right  (Sixaiov  napa.  8e<?)  to  reward  Christian 
suffering  with  rest  and  relief  hereafter  ;  from  another,  he  could 
suggest  that  the  closing  as  well  as  the  opening  act  of  the  Chris- 
tian experience  was  one  of  God's  grace  (see  above,  p.  376). 
There  is  no  real  discrepancy  between  the  two  aspects. 


RING 


ROADS  AND  TRAVEL 


393 


Rechtfertigtmg  bei  Paulus,  eine  Rechtfertigung  Paulus,'  SE 
[1912]  38  f.  ;  G.  P.  Wetter,  Der  Vergeltungsgedanke  bei 
Paulus,  Gottingen,  1912,  p.  161  f.  ;  A.  de  Boysson,  La  Loi  et 
la  f(ri,  Paris,  1912,  p.  225  f.;  H.  Weinel,  BMische  Theologie 
den  NT*,  Tubingen,  1913,  p.  272  f.  ;  J.  G.  Simpson,  art. 
•  Justification,  'ERE  vii.  615-619;  J.  Weiss,  Das  Urchristen- 
turn,  Gottingen,  1914,  p.  384  f.  JAMES  MOFFATT. 

RING.—  Rings  on  the  fingers  were  among  the 
ornaments  worn  by  Jews,  both  by  men  (Gn  3818-  M 
4142,  Lk  1522)  and  by  women  (Is  321).  A  warning 
against  the  wearing  of  rings  by  Christians  is  given 
in  Apost.  Const,  i.  3.  That  it  was  needed  we  can 
see  from  the  fact  that  in  Ja  22  the  Christian  con- 
gregations are  warned  against  paying  undue  re- 
spect to  the  man  who  conies  into  their  assembly 
'  with  a  gold  ring'  (lit.  'golden-ringed'  ;  his  hands 
might  be  adorned  with  a  number  of  rings). 
Clement  of  Alexandria,  while  forbidding  to  Chris- 
tians such  ornaments  as  are  mere  luxuries,  makes 
an  exception  of  the  ring  because  of  its  use  for  the 
purpose  of  sealing. 


RIYER  (TTOTanh,  Ac  1613,  2  Co  II28,  Rev  810  914 
1215  164-  12  221-  2  ;  the  references  to  rivers  in  the 
Gospels  are  even  fewer  [cf.  Mt  72S,  Mk  I8,  Lk  fr18, 
Jn  7s8]).  —  The  Jordan  is  the  only  river  in  Palestine 
proper,  worthy  of  the  name.  It  is  rightly  called 
the  Jordan,  wnich  probably  means  '  the  Descender,' 
as  it  falls  some  2,000  ft.  in  a  distance  of  100  miles. 
Among  the  other  streams  and  mountain  torrents 
in  Palestine  there  are  the  Kishon,  which  drains 
Galilee  westward  ;  the  Yarmuk  and  the  Jabbok, 
which  carry  the  waters  of  Bashan  and  Gilead  into 
the  Jordan  ;  the  Leontes  and  Orontes,  which  rise 
in  Ccele-Syria  and  drain  the  great  basin  between 
Lebanon  and  Anti-Lebanon  ;  and  the  Euphrates, 
greatest  of  all,  forming  the  boundary  of  Palestine 
on  the  N.E. 

The  rivers  mentioned  in  apostolic  history  carry 
us  beyond  Palestine.  Certain  references  to  rivers, 
indeed,  are  but  figures  of  speech.  That  alluded  to 
in  Ac  1613  is  best  identified  with  the  Gangitis,  a 
tributary  of  the  Strymon  near  Philippi.  On  its 
banks  St.  Paul  and  his  companions  found  a  place 
of  prayer,  with  a  small  building  possibly  in  con- 
nexion with  it.  According  to  Josephus  (Ant.  XIV. 
x.  23),  the  decree  of  Halicarnassus  allowed  the 
Jews  '  to  make  their  places  of  prayer  by  the  sea- 
shore, according  to  the  custom  of  their  fathers.' 
Tertullian  (ad  Nat.  i.  13)  also,  about  A.D.  200, 
mentions  '  prayers  on  the  shore  '  as  characteristic 
of  the  Jews  (cf.  Ac  21s).  The  Jews  in  Philippi  at 
that  time  were  probably  too  few  in  number  to 
possess  a  synagogue.  This  '  place  of  prayer,'  being 
situated  by  a  river,  was  convenient  for  ceremonial 
washings.  In  another  passage  (2  Co  II26),  St.  Paul, 
in  illustration  of  his  unflinching  Christian  endur- 
ance, recounts  the  perils  he  had  suffered  in  his 
missionary  journeys  from  swollen  and  turbulent 
'rivers,'  which  had  been  treacherous  to  ford  or 
swim.  Doubtless  he  had  had  many  hazardous 
experiences  of  this  character.  When  the  rivers  of 
Asia  Minor  and  Palestine  are  in  flood,  to  ford  them 
is  little  less  than  a  tragedy.  The  rains  and  melt- 
ing snows  keep  most  of  them  bridgeless. 

Two  references  in  the  Book  of  Revelation  are  of 
similar  import  and  may  be  considered  together. 
In  the  first  (810),  when  the  third  angel  sounds, 
there  falls  from  heaven  a  great  star,  burning  as  a 
torch,  upon  the  third  part  of  the  '  rivers  '  and  upon 
the  fountains  of  waters.  The  star  is  called  '  worm- 
wood,' a  bitter  drug,  typical  of  Divine  punishment, 
and  regarded  as  a  mortal  poison.  In  the  second 
passage  (164),  the  third  angel  pours  out  his  bowl 
into  the  '  rivers  '  and  fountains  of  waters,  and  they 
become  blood.  In  consequence,  there  is  no  more 
drinking  water.  All  nature  is  in  convulsion,  the 
special  object  of  the  Apostle  being  to  announce  the 


doom  of  Rome  and  of  the  worshippers    of    the 
Emperor. 

There  are  three  other  passages  in  the  Apocalypse 
which  may  very  appropriately  be  discussed  by 
themselves.  In  the  first  (Rev  914),  the  sixth  angel 
with  the  trumpet  is  bidden  to  loose  the  four  angels 
that  are  bound  at  '  the  great  river  Euphrates,'  that 
they  may  lead  forth  a  mighty  army  to  the  sad 
disaster  of  Rome.  The  Euphrates,  which  in  the 
olden  time  had  been  the  ideal  eastern  boundary 
of  Israel's  territory,  is  here  conceived  of  as  the 
frontier  between  Rome  and  her  enemies  the 
Parthians.  In  a  parallel  passage  (1612)  the  sixth 
angel  pours  out  his  bowl  on  the  Euphrates,  and  its 
waters  are  dried  up  that  the  way  may  be  ready  for 
the  kings  (of  Parthia)  to  cross  over  (cf.  II1'2- 16). 
Both  predictions  have  to  do  with  the  Roman 
Empire  and  its  fate.  In  the  remaining  passage 
(121*)  the  dragon  casts  water  out  of  his  mouth  '  as 
a  river'  that  the  Imperial  mistress  (Rome)  may  be 
carried  away  as  by  a  deluge.  In  all  these  passages 
the  Seer  is  attempting  to  picture  the  marvellous 
deliverance  of  God's  people  from  their  Roman 
enemies.  For  the  Roman  armies  under  Nero 
threatened  to  sweep  away  Christianity  in  the 
wreck  of  the  Jewish  nation. 

The  most  beautiful  reference  to  '  rivers '  in  the 
whole  Bible  is  yet  to  be  discussed.  It  is  found  in 
Rev  22U  2,  '  And  he  shewed  me  a  river  of  water 
of  life,  bright  as  crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the 
throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb,  in  the  midst  of 
the  street  thereof.  And  on  this  side  of  the  river 
arid  on  that  was  the  tree  of  life,  bearing  twelve 
manner  of  fruits,  yielding  its  fruit  every  month  ; 
and  the  leaves  of  the  tree  were  for  the  healing  of 
the  nations.'  To  the  Seer  of  Patmos,  the  New 
Jerusalem  would  not  be  complete  without  the 
river  of  water  of  life.  The  original  Paradise 
(Gn  210)  possessed  a  river,  and  Paradise  Regained 
must  possess  one  too.  Rivers,  in  the  East  especi- 
ally, have  the  power  to  turn  a  wilderness  into  a 
garden  of  beauty  and  fertility;  hence  the  river 
is  here  an  apt  symbol  of  life.  Its  waters  are 
'  living  waters '  (Jer  213)  and  healing  (Ezk  471~ia), 
making  '  glad  the  city  of  God '  (Ps  464).  In 
EzekieT  the  life-giving  stream  issued  from  the 
Temple ;  now,  inasmuch  as  the  city  is  all  temple, 
the  river's  ultimate  source  is  from  the  presence  of 
the  king.  The  river  and  the  street  run  side  by 
side  through  the  city,  as  the  Barada  and  the 
street  upon  its  left  bank  do  to-day  in  the  city  of 
Damascus.  Trees  of  life  are  placed  in  rows  on 
either  side  of  the  intervening  space.  Both  river 
and  trees  are  within  reach  of  every  one.  The 
river  is  no  longer  a  mere  boundary  (Nu  34s)  or  a 
highway  for  navigation  (Is  182),  nor  are  its  banks 
even  a  place  of  prayer  (Ac  1613) ;  it  is  rather  a 
source  of  spiritual  irrigation  to  immortals.  Thus 
John  uses  the  realistic  though  archaic  language  of 
Jewish  piety  to  delineate  the  bliss  of  the  Redeemed 
in  a  future  state.  In  his  picture  the  river  becomes 
the  symbol  of  the  spiritual  happiness  of  the 
followers  of  the  Lamb ;  thus  heaven  is  to  possess 
all  that  Judaism  had  ever  claimed  or  craved. 

GEORGE  L.  ROBINSON. 

ROADS  AND  TRAVEL — The  beginnings  of 
travel  as  of  so  many  other  human  institutions  are 
hidden  in  obscurity.  No  doubt  the  search  for  food 
or  better  accommodation  was  a  primary  motive  in 
early  times.  Soon  would  supervene  that  love  of 
gain  which  was  eventually  to  send  the  merchant 
princes  of  Rome  on  long  sea-journeys  to  the  bounds 
of  the  Empire  and  beyond. 

So  Horace,  Carm.  i.  xxxi.  11  ff. : 
'Mereator  .  .  . 

Iiis  earns  ipsis  ;  quippe  ter  et  quater 
Anno  reuisens  aequor  Atlanticum 
Impune.' 


394 


EOADS  AND  TRAVEL 


ROADS  AND  TRAVEL 


A  later  motive  still  would  be  curiosity,  the 
desire  to  obtain  knowledge.  We  learn,  for  instance, 
that  Germanicus,  the  adopted  son  of  the  Emperor 
Tiberius,  turned  aside  from  his  official  journey  to 
visit  Egypt  cognoscendce  antiquitatis  (Tac.  Ann. 
ii.  59,  etc. ).  Indeed,  Egypt  was  as  much  a  show 
place  in  ancient  times  as  it  is  now.  Pliny  the 
Younger  tells  us  that  in  his  day  (about  A.D.  100) 
people  would  take  the  longest  journeys  to  see 
wonderful  sights,  while  blind  to  the  equally 
wonderful  at  their  own  doors.  Journeys  were  also 
undertaken  in  those  days  for  purposes  of  health. 
The  inhabitants  of  low-lying  coast  towns  resorted 
to  the  villages  on  the  uplands  in  the  hot  season. 
There  are  multitudes  of  references  in  the  Latin 
authors  to  the  holiday-resorts  near  Rome,  such  as 
Prseneste,  Tibur,  Tusculurn,  to  which  in  the  height 
of  summer  the  jaded  Roman  resorted.  Many 
journeys  were  made  in  pursuit  of  military  or  other 
official  duty.  There  were,  however,  nearer  analo- 
gies to  the  tours  of  apostles  than  those  mentioned  : 
for  long,  teachers  of  philosophy  and  rhetoric  had 
been  wanderers  from  place  to  place,  and  the 
ancients  were  also  familiar  with  the  wandering 
priests  of  various  religious  cults.  Between  these 
two  classes  stand  the  apostles  like  Paul. 

1.  Conveyances. — In  ancient  times  we  hear  very 
little    of    walking,   except    for    short     distances. 
Dispatch  runners,  however,   are  sometimes   men- 
tioned as  covering  distances  in  an  incredibly  short 
space  of  time.     Nor  do  we  hear  much  of  riding, 
except  in  the  cavalry  divisions  of  the  army  and  in 
the  formal  reviews  of   the  equestrian  order,  etc. 
Driving  was  the  favourite  method  of  locomotion  on 
land.     It   was  not  permitted    within   the  city  of 
Rome  itself.     The  streets  were  narrow,  and  any 
one  who  wished  to  be  carried  in  the  city  had  to  be 
conveyed  in  a  sedan-chair  (lectica).     On  reaching 
a  gate  of  the  city  the  traveller  entered  the  carriage 
which   would    be   found  waiting.     It  is  a  curious 
fact  about  Roman  conveyances  that  nearly  all  the 
Latin  words  for  them  are  borrowed  from  the  Celtic 
language  of  the  Gauls.     It  would  seem,  therefore, 
that  most  types  of  conveyance  were  obtained  by 
the  Romans  from  the  Gauls.     The  favourite  was 
the  two-horsed  carriage.     Such  it  was,  doubtless, 
that  St.  Paul  took  when  wearied  by  his  final  long 
journey   towards  Jerusalem    (firiffKevaffdfj.ei'oi,    Ac 
2115,  means,  '  having  equipped  [saddled]  horses  ' ; 
cf.    Ramsay,    St.    Paul    the    Traveller,    p.    302). 
From   the  mention  of  this  detail  here  and   here 
only,  it  may  be  inferred  that  his  usual  method  was 
the  healthiest,  safest,  and  surest,  namely,  walking. 

2.  Roads. — (1)  Construction. — The   Roman  sys- 
tem of  roads  has  never  been  surpassed.     Some  ac- 
count, therefore,  of  the  method  of  their  construction 
is  of  interest.     Perhaps  the  most  detailed  descrip- 
tion that  has  survived  is  that  of   Statius,  in  his 
Siluce  (iv.    3),  describing    the   Via  Domitiana,    a 
road  which  the  Emperor  Domitian  caused  to  be 
made  between  Sinuessa  and  Puteoli  on  the  west 
coast  of  Italy.     The  problem   there  was  of  some 
difficulty,  as  the  engineers  had  to  deal  with  rivers, 
marshes,  hills,  and  forests.     The  poet  describes  how 
on  the  old  track  the  traveller  was  jolted,  how  the 
wheels  stuck  in   the  ground  while   the  pole  was 
high  in  air,  how  the  populace  had  all  the  terrors  of 
a  sea-voyage  on  land,  added  to  the  discomfort  of 
the  painfully  slow   progress.     The  journey   that 
once  took   a  whole  day  now  takes  '  scarcely  two 
hours '  !     First   the   track  was  marked   out,  then 
balks  were  cut   through,   and   the  earth,  was  re- 
moved to  a  considerable  depth  all  the  way  along. 
The   bed  thus  obtained  was  then   filled  up  with 
fresh  material.     This  consisted  of  layers  of  sand 
and  stones  of  various  sizes.     The  stones  were  kept 
in  position  partly  by  means  of  dowels  connecting 
one   with   another,    partly  by   the  use  of  wedge- 


shaped  stones  driven  into  interstices  at  the  sides  of 
the  road.  The  building  of  the  road  involved  ex- 
tensive labour  of  various  kinds.  Hills  had  to  be 
stripped  of  their  trees,  stones  and  beams  had 
to  be  planed,  pools  had  to  be  drained,  the  courses 
of  streams  to  be  diverted,  bridges  to  be  constructed, 
etc.  Our  own  country  provides  many  examples 
of  Roman  roads,  some  in  excellent  preservation. 
Sometimes  one  may  have  the  chance  of  seeing  a 
Roman  road  in  section,  for  instance  that  between 
Alcester  and  Dorchester  (Oxon.)  in  a  quarry  on 
Shotover  Hill.  The  upper  surface  of  the  best 
roads  consisted  commonly  of  square  blocks  of 
basalt  (saxum  silex)  placed  angularly,  with  the 
corners  pointing  towards  the  sides  and  the  direction 
of  the  road.  Such  blocks  may  be  seen  in  position 
on  the  Appian  Way  near  Terracina,  at  Tusculum 
as  one  ascends  the  hill,  and  also  at  Ostia,  where 
the  recent  excavations  have  produced  marvellous 
results. 

(2)  Upkeep. — The  upkeep  of  the  roads  was  natur- 
ally a  matter   of  the   greatest  importance.     The 
thoroughness  of  the  initial  construction  was  such 
that   the  ordinary  upkeep   was  not   so   serious  a 
matter  as  it  would  otherwise  have  been.     Land- 
slides and  other  accidents  must  have  been  compara- 
tively rare,  but  everyone  knows  that  even  a  good 
road,  like  a  good  house,  requires  careful  watching, 
if  it  is  to  be  kept  in  perfect  condition.     During  the 
Empire  such   duties  were    entrusted    to    definite 
officials.     Augustus  in  27  B.C.   took  in  hand  the 
repair  of  the  roads  of  Italy.    In  20  B.C.  he  appointed 
curatores  uiarum,  who  appear  to  have  had  a  general 
oversight  of  the  roads  of  Italy.     In  Claudius'  time 
we  hear  of  curatores  of  particular  roads,  men  who 
had  already   held   the  praetorship.      Curatores  of 
equestrian  rank  are  seldom  found,  and  had  charge 
only   of  the   second-class  roads.      The  praetorian 
curatores    had    under    them    subcuratores.       The 
Italian  roads  seem  for  the  most  part  to  have  been 
supported  out  of  the  public  treasury,  though  the 
local  authorities  and  the  Imperial  treasury  had  a 
share  in   the  cost  of  the  upkeep.     We    hear  of 
tabularii,    Imperial  officials  concerned   with   dis- 
bursements for  this  purpose  (cf.  Hirschfeld  in  the 
Literature).     The  streets  of  Rome  itself  were  under 
the  charge  of  another  department. 

(3)  Purpose. — The  original  purpose  with  which 
the   Roman  roads  were  made  was   military,  not 
commercial.     It  was  not  so  much  the  army  that 
followed  in    the  wake  of    trade,   as    trade    that 
followed  the  army.     As  soon  as  a  particular  district 
had   been   garrisoned  by  the   Romans,   it  was   a 
necessary  part  of  the  scheme  of  defence  and  sub- 
jection that  the  garrison  should  be  connected  with 
Rome  by  a  road  or  series  of  roads,  along  which, 
in  the  event  of  a  rising  (tumultus)  of  the  enemy, 
an  army  could  be  brought  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
But  though  military  in  their  origin,  such  was  the 
effectiveness  of  the  pax  Romano,  that  for  the  most 
part  these  roads  were  used  for  political  and  com- 
mercial purposes,  or  for  those  of  general  travel. 

Perhaps  the  most  important  use  to  which  the 
roads  were  put  in  Imperial  times  was  the  service 
of  the  Imperial  post.  This  was  established  by 
Augustus,  perhaps  on  some  Eastern  model,  for  the 
effective  dispatch  of  business.  By  the  arrangement 
entered  into  between  Augustus  and  the  Senate, 
half  the  provinces  were  under  the  control  of  the 
Emperor,  and  he  had  his  financial  agents  (pro- 
curatores)  in  the  other  half.  Centralization  of 
government  was  a  feature  of  the  Roman  Empire 
from  the  first,  and  in  the  exaggerated  form  which 
it  attained  in  the  4th  cent.  A.D.  was  one  of  the 
causes,  probably  the  chief  cause,  of  its  disintegra- 
tion. The  Roman  Emperors  were  as  a  class  hard- 
working men  who  took  administration  seriously. 
Pliny  the  Younger  tells  that  his  uncle,  the  Elder 


EOADS  AND  TRAVEL 


KOADS  AND  TRAVEL 


395 


Pliny,  used  to  help  the  Emperor  Vespasian  with 
his  correspondence  before  dawn  (Ep.  iii.  5),  it  being 
the  Roman  practice  to  gain  time  by  getting  up 
early  rather  than  by  sitting  up  late.  It  is  obvious, 
therefore,  that  the  land  and  sea  routes  were  both 
in  constant  use  by  Imperial  dispatch-carriers.  For 
this  purpose  the  roads  were  all  provided  with 
mansiones  or  stopping-places,  where  the  Imperial 
dispatch-carriers  could  obtain  relays  of  horses  and 
thus  reach  their  destination  as  early  as  possible. 
The  Imperial  post  was  strictly  reserved  for  Imperial 
purposes.  Even  governors  of  provinces  were  un- 
able to  use  the  service  for  their  own  ends  unless 
they  had  received  a  diploma  or  passport  from  the 
Emperor  himself  entitling  them  to  do  so  (Pliny, 
Ep.  ad  Traianum,  45,  with  Hardy's  note  [London, 
1889]). 

(4)  Milestones. — The  roads  were  provided  with  a 
system  of  milestones.     The  Roman  mile  was  one 
thousand  passus,  and  by  a  passus  was  meant  a 
double-step,  after  which  the  feet  were  in  the  same 
relative  position  as  at  the  first.     As  this  measure 
was  estimated  at  about  4 '85  English  ft.,  a  Roman 
mile  was  430  English  ft.  shorter  than  an  English 
mile.     All  milestones  in  Italy  were  measured  from 
the  miliarium  aureum,  set  up  in   the  Forum  at 
Rome   by  Augustus.      Placed   at  every  thousand 
passus,    they  measured   about  6    ft.   high   on  an 
average,  and  were  cylindrical  in  shape,  often  with 
a  square  base  belonging  to  the  same  block  (as  some- 
times also  in  modern  England).     The  stone  was 
inscribed  with  the  name,  titles,  and  year  (of  office) 
of    the   reigning  Emperor.      Thousands  of   these 
stones  have  been  discovered,  and  every  year  adds 
to  the  number.     In  the  provinces  systems  of  mile- 
stones counted  from  various  important  centres  have 
been  found. 

(5)  Inns.  —  Inns    provided    accommodation    for 
travellers.     From  all  accounts  these  seem  to  have 
been  not  only  very  humble  in  character,  but  also 
brothels  at  the  same  time.    This  is  no  doubt  partly 
the  reason  why  Cicero  and  other  travellers  in  Re- 
publican times  spent  the  nights  of  a  journey  either 
in  their  own  country-houses  or  in  those  of  their 
friends,  as  far  as  possible.     Certainly  it  explains 
the  apostolic  insistence  on  hospitality  (Ro  1213,  He 
132,   1   Ti  32,  Tit   I8,   1  P  4fl).      By   'hospitality' 
((/xXofevia,  lit.   'love  of  strangers  [foreigners]')  in 
such  passages  is  intended  the  entertainment,  not  of 
fellow-citizens,  but  of  strangers  from  a  distance. 
The  inns  were  no  fit  places  for  persons  whose  lives 
were  dedicated   to   chastity  and  all  holy  living. 
From  the  scanty  references  to  them  in  literature 
one  can  see  that  they  were  avoided  by  all  respect- 
able persons,  as  were  the  cook-shops  of  the  cities 
('dignitoso  homini  popinam  ingredi  notabile  est,' 
pseudo- Augustine,    Qucestiones    Veteris    et    Noid 
Testamenti  CXXVII.  no.  102,  §  5,  ed.  Souter,  Vienna 
and  Leipzig,  1908). 

(6)  Perils  of  the  road. — From  what  has  been  said 
it  will  be  gathered  that  the   roads  were  on  the 
whole  safe,  and  this  was  indeed  the  case.      The 
pax  Romana  told   against  brigandage  as  it  told 
against  revolt.     But  there  were  certain  districts 
where   brigandage  was  a  real   menace  ;    one  was 
the  Isaurian  mountains  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Pisidian  Antioch  and  Lystra.     Nothing  is  said  in 
the  Book  of  Acts  about  this,  but  the  general  refer- 
ence in  2  Co  II26  serves  to  fill  out  the  Acts  narrative 
(cf .  Pelag.  on  2  Co  1 123'25 :    '  haec  in  Actibus  non 
omnia  repperiuntur,  quia  nee  in  Epistulis  omnia 
qua?  ibi  scripta  sunt  continentur').     Ramsay  has 
suggested  (Church  in  the  Roman  Empire3,  London, 
1894,  p.  24)  that  'perils  of  robbers'  refers  to  the 

¥"  mrney   from    Perga    in   Pamphylia    across    Mt. 
aurus  to  Pisidian  Antioch  and  back  again.    That 
brigands  played  a  considerable  part  in  the  life  of 
the  time  is  shown  not  only  by  the  story  of  the  Good 


Samaritan,  but  also  by  the  frequent  references  to 
brigands  as  well  as  pirates  in  the  Greek  romances 
of  the  Early  Empire. 

(7)  Chief  road-systems. — We  may  now  proceed 
to  enumerate  the  chief  road-systems  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  or  rather  those  of  which  the  apostles  seem 
to  have  had  some  experience.  The  reader  who  de- 
sires a  full,  or  approximately  full,  list  will  have  to 
consult  the  works  enumerated  in  the  Literature. 
For  our  purpose,  Britain,  Germany,  Spain,  North 
Africa,  Moesia,  and  Thrace  may  be  left  out  of 
account.  The  remaining  countries  we  shall  take 
in  order. 

(a)  In  Italy  the  Via  Appia,  'longarum  regina 
uiamm'  (Stat.  Siluw,  ii.  2,  12),  deserves  mention  as 
the  oldest  of  the  great  Roman  roads,  built  by  the 
censor  Appius  Claudius  Caecus  in  312  B.C.  It  left 
Rome  by  the  Porta  Capena  in  the  south,  and  passed 
by  Aricia,  Tres  Tabernae  (Ac  2815),  and  Forum  Appi 
(2815)  to  Tarracina  (Anxur)  (modern  Terracina),  the 
white  clift's  of  which  are  often  referred  to  by  ancient 
authors.  Up  to  this  point  the  road  is  perfectly 
straight,  having  been  built  over  the  marshland  of 
the  Campagna.  Much  of  this  land  is  now  drained, 
but  with  as  yet  poor  results  to  agriculture.  The 
building  of  the  road  over  this  country  was  a  great 
engineering  feat  for  those  days.  After  Tarracina 
its  course  is  inland  by  Fundi  to  Formiae,  the  fabled 
home  of  the  Laestrygonian  cannibals  in  the  Odyssey, 
then  to  Minturnse  (Menturnas),  where  the  great 
Gaius  Marius  hid  among  the  reeds  in  his  days  of 
adversity,  then  by  Suessa  Aurunca  to  Sinuessa, 
where  it  again  reaches  the  sea.  Turning  inland 
again,  it  makes  its  way  to  Casilinum  and  then  to 
Capua.  It  was  here  that  St.  Paul  reached  it  by 
a  road  which  ran  between  Capua  and  Puteoli  (Ac 
2813).  A  generation  after  his  time  Domitian  built 
the  road  called  after  him  Via  Domitiana,  direct 
from  Puteoli  to  Sinuessa,  which  saved  the  detour 
necessary  before  that  time.  After  Capua  the  Via 
Appia  takes  its  final  inland  course,  which  eventually 
ends  in  Brundisium  (Brindisi)  on  the  other  side  of 
the  peninsula.  The  intervening  chief  stations  are 
Calatia,  Caudium,  Beneventum,  ^Eclanum,  Ven- 
usia,  near  which  Horace  was  born,  and  Tarentum, 
where  the  sea  is  at  last  reached.  The  terminus 
Brundisium  is  attained  by  a  straight  road  across 
the  '  heel  of  the  boot.'  The  classic  description  of  a 
journey  on  this  road  by  the  poet  Horace  and  his 
friends  (Sat.  i.  5)  will  be  referred  to  below.  The 
importance  of  this  Via  Appia  cannot  be  over-rated. 
By  it  almost  every  person  who  travelled  between 
Rome  and  the  East  by  sea  had  to  go  for  part  of 
his  journey,  whether  he  took  ship  at  Puteoli  on  the 
west  coast,  or  at  Brundisium  on  the  east.  Such  a 
traveller  could  avoid  it  only  by  travelling  north- 
wards and  taking  the  overland  route  (the  Via 
E<inatia)  to  Macedonia  and  Thrace,  or  else  by 
following  the  Via  Ostiensis,  and  taking  ship  at 
Ostia  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber. 

Other  Italian  routes  had  their  importance  also. 
Perhaps  the  greatest  of  them  was  the  North  Road, 
called  the  Via  Flaminia,  which  enters  modern  Rome 
by  the  Porta  del  Popolo,  below  the  Pincian  gardens 
in  the  N.,  and  corresponds  in  its  Roman  part  to  the 
modern  Corso  Umbcrto  Primo,  the  Bond  Street  of 
Rome.  The  Via  Flaminia  went  by  Falerii,  Ocri- 
culum  (modern  Otricoli,  where  the  famous  bust  of 
Jupiter  was  found),  Narnia,  Interamna  (where  the 
Emperor  Tacitus  was  born),  Nuceria,  to  Fanum 
Fortunae,  where  it  reaches  the  Adriatic,  then  along 
the  coast  through  Pisaurum  to  Ariminum  (modern 
Rimini),  its  terminus.  From  Ariminum  the  Via 
^Emilia  started,  and  went  by  Bononia  (modern 
Bologna),  Mutina  (modern  Modena),  Parma,  Pla- 
centia  (modern  Piacenza),  to  Mediolanium  (modern 
Milano).  A  fourth  road  in  Italy  was  a  branch  of 
Via  Appia  from  Capua  by  Forum  Populi  and  Thurii 


396 


ROADS  AND  TRAVEL 


ROADS  AND  TRAVEL 


to  Ad  Columnara,  whence  the  crossing  to  Messana 
(modern  Messina)  in  Sicily  was  easy.  A  fifth,  the 
Via  Aurelia,  ran  along  the  west  coast  to  Centum 
Cellae  (modern  Civita  Vecchia),  Pisa,  Luna  (famous 
for  Carrara  marble)  to  Geneva. 

(b)  Routes  in  Gaul  may  be  briefly  referred  to. 
After  reaching  Milan  the  traveller  had  a  choice  of 
various  Alpine  roads,  built  by  Augustus  and  his 
successors.    For  Gaul  he  would  probably  take  that 
by  Susa  and  the  Mont  Genevre.    By  this  route  the 
journey  to  Arelate  (modern  Aries)  was  only  395 
Roman   miles.      Another    road    led    by  Augusta 
Praetoria  (Aosta)   and   the  Little  St.   Bernard   to 
Vienna  (modern  Vienne,  much  less  important  than 
its  ancient  counterpart),  and  Lugudunum  (modern 
Lyons)  and  through  Genava  (modern  Geneva)  and 
Vesontio    (modern    Besan9on)    to    Argentoratum 
(Strasbourg,   Strassburg).      There   were    also  im- 
portant roads  linking  up  the  chief  cities  in  Western 
Gaul.      Gesoriacum   (Boulogne-sur-Mer)   was    the 
point  from  which  crossings  were  made  to  Rutupiae 
(Richborough)  on  the  British  coast. 

(c)  For  Pannonia  and  Dalmatia  (2  Ti  410)  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Adriatic  the  traveller  went  from 
Bononia  (Bologna)  to  Patauium  (Padova)  and  thence 
to  Aquileia,  if  he  desired  a  land  route.    The  journey 
presupposed  in  2  Ti  410  would  be  undertaken  across 
the   Adriatic  from   Brundisium    to   Dyrrhachium 
(Durazzo),  as  also  the  journey  to  Nicopolis  (Tit  312). 

(d)  The  student  of  the  Apostolic  Age  is  more 
nearly  concerned  with  the  routes  in  the  eastern 
provinces.    In  the  province  of  Syria  and  neighbour- 
ing districts  there  were  several  well-marked  routes. 
Taking  Jerusalem  as  a  centre,  we  may  indicate 
several  roads.     There  was  the  road  'going  down 
from  Jerusalem  to  Gaza '  (Ac  8-6)  in  a  south-westerly 
direction.    It  passed  over  ground  which  in  apostolic 
times  was  very  sparsely  populated  (Ac  S26).    It  was 
doubtless  by  a  branch  road  going  oft'  to  the  right 
that   Philip   found   his  way  to  Azotus  (Ashdod) 
(Ac  840).     The  eunuch  of  the  Candace  would  con- 
tinue his  way  to  Gaza,  and  then  by  the  coast-road 
into     Egypt,    thence    southwards    to    Abyssinia. 
Philip  proceeded  from  Azotus  through  Joppa  and 
Antipatris  to  Caesarea  (Ac  840)  on  the  coast.     The 
part    between   Caesarea    and   Antipatris   was   the 
same  as  that  gone  over  by  St.   Paul  on  several 
occasions  (Ac  930  1822  218  23s3  ;  cf.  153- 30),  passing 
through  Lydda,  where  St.   Peter  had  been  in  the 
early  days  also  (Ac  9).     The  shortest  route  from 
Jerusalem  to  Damascus  was  to  cross  the  Jordan 
and  go  via  Gerasa.     From  Damascus  there  was 
a  road  passing  through  Caesarea  Paneas  to  Tyre, 
and  another  to  Sidon. 

(e)  The  land-journeys  of  St.  Pft\il  in  the  peninsula 
of  Asia  Minor  have  been  finally  fixed  by  the  re- 
searches of  W.  M.  Ramsay.     We  are  not  informed 
as  to  the  way  in  which  Barnabas  and  Saul  jour- 
neyed from  Antioch  to  Jerusalem  (Ac   II30),  but 
there  is  little  doubt  that  Saul  was  fetched  from 
Tarsus  to  Antioch  (Ac  II25)  by  the  coast-road  pass- 
ing within  the  bend  between  Asia  Minor  and  the 
province  of  Syria.      It   was   probably  along    the 
southern  coast  of  the  island  of  Cyprus  that  Bar- 
nabas and  Saul  journeyed  between  Salamis  and 
Paphos.    Reaching  land  at  Attaleia  in  the  province 
of  Pamphylia  they  sailed  up  the  river  Cestrus  as 
far  as   Perga.     From  there  they  took  the   road 
northwards  by  Adada  to  '  Pisidian '  Antioch  (de- 
scribed best  in  Ramsay,  Church,  in  Roman  Empire*, 
p.  16  ft'.  ;  cf.  also  The  Cities  of  St.  Paul,  London, 
1907,   p.    247  If.,  Athenceum  for  12th  Aug.    1911, 
P.  192 f.,  '  Iconium  and  Antioch'  in  Exp.,  8th  ser., 
li.  [1911]  149ft'.).     Then  for  part  of  the  route  they 
retraced  their  steps  and  journeyed  eastwards  to 
Iconium,   then   S.S.W.   to  Lystra,   then   S.E.   to 
Derbe.    The  '  Imperial  Road,'  however,  mentioned 
in  the  Acta  Pauli  in  connexion  with  the  Thecla 


legend,  passed  direct  from  Pisidian  Antioch  to 
Lystra,  and  did  not  touch  Iconium  (Ramsay's  dis- 
covery, told  in  Studies  in  the  History  and  Art  of  the 
Eastern  Provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire  [Aberdeen 
Univ.  Studies,  no.  20  (1906)],  pp.  241-243).  This 
road  '  passed  about  seven  or  eight  miles  south-west 
of  Iconium '  (Ramsay).  The  return  route  taken 
by  St.  Paul  and  Barnabas  from  Derbe  to  Attaleia 
(Ac  1421'25)  was  the  same  as  the  outgoing. 

The  second  journey  (1541)  was,  as  far  as  Tarsus, 
by  the  same  route  as  St.  Paul  had  taken  when  he 
was  first  brought  to  Antioch  (Ac  II25).  We  may 
conjecture  that  one  of  the  '  churches '  referred  to 
in  Ac  1551,  and  nowhere  else,  was  at  Issos  ;  for  Issos 
was  on  this  route.  On  leaving  Tarsus  St.  Paul  and 
Silas  no  doubt  struck  straight  to  the  north  by  the 
historic  road,  which  becomes  the  pass  through  the 
Taurus  mountains  known  as  the  Cilician  Gates 
(this  route  has  been  graphically  described  with 
illustrations  by  Lady  Ramsay  in  Travel,  vol. 
ii.  no.  23  [1898]  494-498).  On  reaching  the 
northern  side  of  this  great  mountain  range  the 
travellers  went  by  Podandos,  Loulon,  Halala  (the 
later  Colonia  Faustiniana,  Faustinopolis),  Kybistra, 
and  Laranda  to  Derbe.  From  Derbe  they  travelled 
by  their  old  route  to  Lystra,  Iconium,  and  '  Pisi- 
dian' Antioch.  Between  Iconium  and  Antioch 
they  would  pass  through  Vasada  and  Misthia. 
After  Antioch  they  followed  a  direction  new  to 
them.  It  is  probable  that  the  direction  taken  was 
west  to  Lysias,  then  northward  through  Nakoleia 
to  Dorylaion  on  the  Tembrogios.  There  they  were 
/card  Mwnai'  (opposite  Mysia),  and  from  there  a 
road  went  N.N.W.  to  Nictea  in  Bithynia,  which 
was  the  province  that  they  desired  to  visit. 
Dorylaion  was  a  parting  of  the  ways.  '  The  spirit 
of  Jesus  suffered  them  not '  to  go  to  Bithynia. 
They  therefore  took  the  other  turning,  went  west- 
wards along  the  left  bank  of  the  river  Rhyndakos, 
through  Artemeia,  across  the  river  Granikos,  and 
then  S.W.  to  Troas  (Ac  168). 

On  arriving  at  Neapolis,  the  port  of  Philippi  in 
Macedonia,  they  made  their  way  by  the  Via 
Egnatia  to  Philippi  itself  (Ac  1612).  From  there 
they  travelled  along  the  Via  Egnatia  to  Amphi- 
polis,  Apollonia,  and  Thessalonica.  This  important 
road  went  from  Apollonia  and  Dyrrhachium  on 
the  Adriatic  Sea  to  the  river  Hebrus  beside  Kypsela. 
If  the  name  be  derived  from  the  town  of  Gnathia  or 
Egnatia  in  Apulia  (Italy),  as  is  generally  believed, 
then  it  is  clear  that  from  early  times  it  must  have 
been  regarded  as  the  overland  route  from  South 
Italy  to  the  East.  Even  before  the  days  of  Roman 
pre-eminence  it  was  evidently  an  important  trade- 
route  between  the  Adriatic  and  the  ^Egean  and 
Black  seas.  In  Cicero's  time  it  was  regarded 
primarily  as  a  military  road  (for  its  direction  see 
below).  From  Thessalonica  St.  Paul  and  Silas 
were  spirited  away  to  Bercea.  From  there  St. 
Paul  was  hurried  to  the  sea-coast,  probably  to  the 
nearest  harbour,  as  matters  were  urgent  (1714). 
From  Athens  (H^-IS1)  he  went,  by  sea  no  doubt, 
to  Corinth,  and  from  there  by  the  short  land 
journey  to  the  southern  port  of  Corinth,  Cenchrese 
(1818).  Luke  sketches  the  sea-journeys  that  fol- 
lowed, Cenchre;e  to  Ephesus,  Ephesus  to  Csesarea, 
with  great  rapidity  (IS19"42).  In  1823  the  same 
journey  is  implied  as  is  described  in  1541  16'~6.  191 
takes  St.  Paul  through  a  district  where  he  had 
never  journeyed  before.  IS^has  brought  him  as 
far  as  Pisidian  Antioch,  and  then  he  is  said  to  have 
crossed  TO.  avtarepiKa  yu^pjj  and  thus  reached  Ephesus 
(191).  W.  M.  Ramsay  has  clearly  explained  what 
is  meant  by  this  phrase  '  the  higher-lying  parts.' 
There  was  a  well-recognized,  important,  and  ancient 
route  to  Ephesus  by  Apollonia,  Apamea-Celseme, 
the  Lycus  valley,  Colossae,  Laodicea,  the  Maeander 
valley,  Antioch,  and  Tralles.  St.  Paul  purposely 


ROADS  AND  TRAVEL 


ROADS  AND  TRAVEL 


397 


avoided  this  route,  probably  because  of  fatigue, 
and  thus  never  visited  either  Colossae  or  Laodicea 
(cf.  Col.,  passim).  He  chose  the  higher-lying, 
quieter,  and  healthier  route  over  the  hills,  where 
the  traffic  was  light.  The  unimportant  places  he 
passed  through — Lysias,  Metropolis,  Seiblia,  Diony- 
sopolis,  Teira,  etc. — are  never  mentioned  in  sacred 
story.  What  route  was  taken  by  him  from  Ephesus 
to  Macedonia  (201'2)  must  remain  uncertain,  but  it 
is  probable  that  he  coasted  northwards  to  Troas 
and  then  repeated  the  journey  of  16llff-.  Whether 
he  took  the  sea-journey  to  Athens  on  this  occasion 
also  from  the  unknown  port  near  Bercea  is  un- 
certain ;  but  to  Athens  and  Corinth  he  went.  He 
then  returned  through  Macedonia,  no  doubt  by 
his  former  route,  and  once  more  back  to  Troas 
(Ac  203'6).  A  coasting  voyage  followed  to  Tyre 
(213)  and  Ptolemais  (v.7)  and  Csesarea  (v.8).  From 
Caesarea  he  went  by  the  old  land-route  to  Jeru- 
salem. It  is  specially  mentioned  that  horses  were 
hired  for  this  stage  (v.15)  :  St.  Paul  was  weary  in 
body  and  spirit,  and  knew  the  importance  of  arriv- 
ing in  Jerusalem  as  fresh  as  possible. 

(/)  We  have  thus  followed  all  the  land-routes 
along  which  St.  Paul  is  known  to  have  travelled. 
Before  going  on  to  refer  to  sea-routes,  it  will  not  be 
without  interest  to  give  some  account  of  one  or  two 
land  journeys  by  others  recorded  in  ancient  litera- 
ture. 

From  Cicero's  letters  we  are  able  to  reconstruct 
some  of  his  itineraries  in  the  middle  of  the  1st 
cent.  B.C.  In  58  B.C.  he  was  exiled  from  Rome. 
He  journeyed  south  by  the  Appian  Way,  as  far  as 
Capua,  and  then  took  the  road  to  the  right  referred 
to  above,  as  far  as  Vibo  Valentia  in  the  country  of 
the  Bruttii.  From  there  he  found  his  way  to 
Brundisium,  from  which  he  crossed  the  Adriatic  to 
Dyrrhachium  (Att.  iii.  8).  From  there  he  reached 
Thessalonica  on  22nd  May,  having  gone  east  by 
the  Egnatian  Way  referred  to  above.  The  complete 
course  of  the  Via  Egnatia  was  as  follows  :  Dyr- 
rhachium, Clodiana  (where  the  branch  from  Apol- 
loniamet  it),  Scam  pa,  Lychnidus,  Scirtiana,  Nicaea, 
Heraclea,  Cellae,  Edessa,  Pella  (where  Alexander 
the  Great  was  born),  Thessalonica,  Apollonia, 
Amphipolis,  Philippi,  Neapolis,  Porsulae,  Brendice, 
Tempyra,  Doriscus,  Dyme,  Cypsela,  Syracellae, 
Apri,  Bisanthe,  Heraeum,  Perinthus,  Selymbria, 
Melantia,  Byzantium  (later  Constantinople).  Cicero 
returned  by  the  same  way  by  which  he  had  come. 

The  journey  he  took  to  his  province  Cilicia  in 
51  B.C.  may  also  be  followed  with  interest.  He  left 
Rome  in  the  beginning  of  May  and  arrived  at  his 
villa  at  Arpinum  (his  birthplace),  among  the  hills, 
about  the  3rd  May.  From  there  he  went  by  the 
Arcanum  of  his  brother  to  Aquinum  (afterwards  the 
birthplace  of  Juvenal),  and  reached  Minturnae  on 
the  5th.  He  then  went  by  the  Appian  Way  to  his 
villa  at  Cumse,  and  from  there  by  Puteoli  to  his 
villa  at  Pompeii,  reached  at  latest  on  the  9th.  The 
10th  and  llth  May  were  spent  at  the  villa  of  a 
friend  at  Trebula,  from  which  he  went  to  Bene- 
ventum  (llth  May,  evening),  Venusia  (night  of 
14th  spent  there),  Tarentuin  (arrived  18th  May, 
departed  21st May),  Brundisium  (arrived  22nd  May, 
departed  10th  or  llth  June).  The  whole  journey 
from  Beneventum  to  Brundisium  was  of  course  on 
the  Appian  Way.  From  Brundisium  he  crossed 
the  sea,  and  we  hear  of  him  at  Corcyra  (12th  June), 
the  Sybota  Islands  (13th  June),  and  Actium  (14th 
June).  We  next  hear  of  him  at  Athens  (arrived 
25th  June,  left  6th  July).  On  6th  July  he  sailed 
from  the  Piraeus,  the  harbour  of  Athens,  to  Zoster, 
from  there  on  8th  July  to  Ceos,  on  9th  July  to 
Gyaros,  on  the  10th  to  Syros,  on  the  llth  to  Delos. 
He  then  went  by  Samos  to  Ephesus  (arrived  22nd 
July,  departed  26th  July).  On  the  26th  July  he 
began  his  inland  journey.  His  province,  named 


Cilicia,  comprised  a  very  large  territory,  indeed  the 
whole  of  what  was  afterwards  Southern  Galatia,  as 
well  as  Lycia,  Pamphylia,  Cilicia  (proper),  etc. 
He  proceeded  along  the  great  road  already  men- 
tioned, and  reached  Tralles  (27th  July),  Laodicea 
(arrived  31st  July,  departed  3rd  August,  early). 
Laodicea  was  the  first  city  of  the  province  on  the 
west.  Henceforth  it  was  an  official  progress  that 
he  made.  Neither  the  rate  of  his  progress  from 
place  to  place  nor  the  actual  time  he  stayed  in 
each  place  can  be  fixed  with  certainty.  The  dates 
given  by  O.  E.  Schmidt  (Der  Briefwechsel  des  M. 
Tullius  Cicero,  Leipzig,  1893,  p.  78)  are  not  reli- 
able (Ramsay  in  Exp.,  8th  ser.,  ii.  [1911]  149 If., 
repeated  in  The  First  Christian  Century,  Lon- 
don, 1911,  p.  145  ff.).  The  best  account  is  by  L. 
W.  Hunter  (aided  by  W.  M.  Ramsay)  in  JRS  iii. 
[1914]  74  ff.  It  is  probable  that  he  travelled  at 
the  rate  of  about  21  or  22  English  miles  a  day,  and 
certain  that  he  stayed  a.t  Apameia  (for  which  he 
must  have  diverged  from  the  main  road)  and  Philo- 
melion,  about  three  to  five  days  in  each.  At  Lao- 
dicea Combusta  he  left  the  great  road  and  took  the 
branch  to  the  right  for  Iconium  (reached  23rd 
August).  There  he  spent  a  considerable  time 
getting  his  army  together.  From  Iconium  he 
marched  towards  Cybistra,  but,  on  learning  that 
his  predecessor  Appius  Claudius  was  at  Iconium, 
he  returned  there,  only  to  find  that  he  had  gone. 
He  resumed  his  journey  (3rd  Sept.)  to  Cybistra 
(reached  19th  or  20th  Sept.)  and  pitched  his  camp 
there.  Leaving  Cybistra  on  22nd  Sept.,  he  crossed 
the  Taurus  range  on  24th  Sept.  by  the  Cilician 
Gates,  and  on  5th  Oct.  reached  Tarsus.  Two  days 
later  he  began  his  march  to  the  Amanus  range, 
and  on  8th  Oct.  encamped  at  Mopsuestia.  A 
later  camp  was  at  Epiphanea,  whence  Cicero  on  the 
evening  of  12th  Oct.  made  the  ascent  of  the 
Amanus  mountains,  and  next  day  defeated  the 
enemy  and  was  hailed  as  Imperator  by  his  troops. 
He  descended  to  Issus,  and  was  encamped  till  18th 
Oct.  near  Alexander's  Altars.  He  then  marched 
to  Pindenissus,  began  its  siege  on  21st  Oct.,  and 
captured  it  on  17th  December.  About  the  end  of 
December  he  reached  Tarsus  again.  He  left  Tarsus 
on  5th  Jan.  50  and  returned  to  Laodicea,  no  doubt 
by  the  same  route  as  before  (with  the  exception 
perhaps  of  the  detour  to  Syunada),  reaching  it  on 
llth  February.  There  he  remained  almost  three 
months.  On  7th  May  he  returned  to  Tarsus  by 
the  old  route  (Apameia,  etc.),  and  he  arrived  there 
on  5th  June.  From  there  he  marched  eastwards, 
making  a  demonstration  in  force,  and  returned  to 
Tarsus  not  later  than  17th  July.  On  30th  July  he 
left  Tarsus,  and,  as  it  was  the  hot  season,  very 
probably  by  sea.  We  next  hear  of  him  at  Side  in 
Pamphylia,  which  suggests  that  he  had  got  there 
by  coasting.  He  left  Side  on  4th  Aug.  and  arrived 
at  Rhodes  about  10th  August.  He  wished  to  cross 
the  ^Egean  before  the  season  of  the  trade-winds 
(27th  Aug.),  but  was  compelled,  on  account  of  the 
unseaworthiness  of  his  ship,  to  cast  anchor  at 
Ephesus.  There  he  remained  the  whole  of  Sep- 
tember. He  left  Ephesus  on  1st  Oct.  and  landed 
on  the  14th  at  the  Piraeus.  From  Athens  he  took 
a  land-journey  across  the  Isthmus  and  then  along 
the  north  of  the  Peloponnese  to  Patrae  (modern 
Patras).  He  embarked  there  on  3rd  Nov.  and  on 
the  next  day  reached  Alyzia  in  Acarnania.  Early 
on  6th  Nov.  he  sailed  from  there  and  travelled  to 
Leucas  (6th  Nov.),  Actium  (7th  and  8th  Nov.), 
Corcyra(9thto  16th  Nov.),  Cassiope  in  Corcyra(16th 
to  22nd  Nov.),  across  the  Adriatic  to  Hydruntum 
(23rd  Nov.)  and  to  Brundisium  (24th  Nov.),  having 
been  absent  from  Italy  seventeen  and  a  half  months. 
Leaving  Brundisium  on  the  27th,  he  proceeded  to 
JEculanum,  Trebula  (9th  Dec.),  Suessula,  Naples, 
Pompeii  (10th  Dec.  to  12th  or  13th  Dec.),  Cumse, 


398 


EOADS  AND  TRAVEL 


EOADS  AND  TEAVEL 


For miae  (16th  Dec.),  Lavernium  (25th  Dec.),  back 
to  Formite  (25th  Dec.  to  1st  Jan.  49).  The  outbreak 
of  the  civil  war  and  Cicero's  desire  for  a  triumph 
alike  kept  him  outside  Rome  (a  general  gave  up  his 
claim  to  a  triumph  if  he  entered  the  city  walls). 
Cicero's  further  movements  at  this  time  were 
Tarracina  (1st  Jan.),  Pomptinum  (2nd  Jan.),  Alba 
(3rd  Jan.),  outside  Rome  (4th  Jan.).  Between  8th 
and  llth  Jan.  Cicero  was  given  charge  of  the  dis- 
trict of  Capua  in  the  interest  of  the  Senate.  On 
the  18th  before  dawn  he  left  Rome  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Antium,  the  route  being  by  the  Appian 
Way  for  the  first  stage.  He  was  at  Formise  from 
about  20th  to  22nd  January.  His  later  movements 
were  to  Minturnaj  (22nd  to  24th  Jan.),  Gales  (24th 
Jan.),  Capua  (25th  to  28th  Jan.),  back  to  Gales  and 
Formife  (29th  Jan.  to  3rd  Feb.),  then  again  to 
Capua  (4th  to  7th  Feb.),  Cales  (7th  Feb.),  and  again 
to  Formiie  (8th  to  17th  Feb.).  On  17th  Feb.  he 
journeyed  to  Cales,  and  on  the  19th  back  to  Formise, 
where  he  remained  till  27th  March,  on  which  day 
he  went  to  his  villa  at  Arpinum  among  the  hills. 
On  3rd  April  he  arrived  at  his  brother's  Laterium 
(Arcanum).  After  7th  April  he  journeyed  to  the 
coast :  on  13th  April  at  latest  he  was  at  Cumae. 
On  12th  May  he  went  to  Pompeii,  but  on  the 
morning  of  the  next  day  returned  to  Cumae,  where 
he  remained  till,  soon  after  19th  May,  he  moved  to 
Formiae.  On  7th  June  he  left  Italy  by  sea  for  the 
East,  probably  for  the  villa  of  Atticus  in  Epirus, 
where  he  in  all  likelihood  spent  the  summer.  Be- 
fore the  end  of  the  year  49  he  joined  Pompey's 
camp  at  Dyrrhachium.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
follow  him  further,  but  it  has  been  instructive  to 
trace  Cicero's  movements  through  his  letters  during 
these  three  important  years.  It  is  safe  to  say  that 
of  no  other  man's  movements  before  the  19th  cent, 
do  we  know  as  much  in  detail  as  of  Cicero's. 

Early  in  the  year  37  B.C.  a  journey  was  taken 
from  Rome  to  Brundisium  for  political  purposes. 
The  poet  Horace  and  others  were  in  the  retinue  of 
the  diplomatists.  In  Sat.  i.  5  Horace  gives  an 
account  of  the  journey.  It  is  true  that  he  modelled 
the  satire  on  an  earlier  one  of  the  old  satirist 
Lucilius  on  a  similar  topic,  but  this  fact  in  no  way 
interferes  with  the  interest  of  the  account.  The 
journey  need  not  have  occupied  more  than  nine 
days  (Ovid,  Ep.  ex  Ponto,  IV.  v.  5-8),  but  this  party, 
moving  leisurely,  took  thirteen  days.  The  itinerary, 
according  to  the  latest  reconstruction  (in  Paul  Le- 
jay's  edition  of  the  Satires,  Paris,  1911,  p.  146),  was 
as  follows : 

First  clay .    .    .    Rome  to  Arioia  :  over  16  Roman  miles. 

Second  day  .     .    Aricia  to  Forum  Appi :      „     27      „          ,, 
Night  of  second 

to  third  day   .     On  the  canal :  „     16      „          „ 

Third  day     .'    .    To  Tarracina :  ,,       3     „          „ 

Fourth  day  .     .    (1)  Tarracina  to  Fundi :    „     13     „          „ 

„         .    .    (2)  Fundi  to  Formise :       „     13     „         „ 

Fifth  day .    .     .    Formiae    to    Bridge    of 

Campania :  ,,     27     „          „ 

Sixth  day     .    .    (1)  Bridge  of  Campania 

to  Capua :  ,,     17      „          „ 

„  .    .    (2)  Capua  to  Caudium :     „     21     „          „ 

Seventh  day     .    (1)  Caudium   to    Bene- 

ventum :  „    11     „         „ 

„         .    .    (2)  Beneventum  to  Tri- 

victim  :  „     25     ,,          „ 

Eighth  day  .     .    Trivicum     to    Asculum 

Apulum :  ,,    24     „         „ 

Ninth  day     .    .    Asoulum  Apulum  to  Can- 

usium  :  ,,    35     ,,         „ 

Tenth  day     .     .    Canusium  to  Rubi :  „     23     „          „ 

Eleventh  day    .    Rubi  to  Barium :  „     23     „          „ 

Twelfth  day .     .     Barium  to  Gnatia :  „     37      ,,          ,, 

Thirteenth  day.    Gnatia  to  Brundisium :      „     39     „          ,, 

3.  Sea-Routes. — We  have  seen  from  the  experi- 
ences of  Cicero  and  other  travellers  that  land- 
journeys  could  be  performed  with  a  safety  and  a 
certainty  that  are  truly  astonishing.  There  was  a 
similar  security  about  journeys  over  the  Mediter- 
ranean. The  Mediterranean  was  practically  closed 
to  traffic  in  the  five  winter  months,  November  to 


March.  Also  coasting  voyages  were,  where  possible, 
preferred  to  voyages  right  across  the  sea.  These 
facts,  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  small  size  of 
the  vessels,  account  for  the  safety  of  ancient  navi- 
gation. Greek  sailors  steered  by  the  Great  Bear, 
and  Phoenicians  by  the  Lesser  Bear  (Lucan,  Bell. 
Civ.  iii.  219),  but  it  was  a  common  custom  to  put 
in  to  harbour  at  night  and  sleep  on  shore.  Examples 
of  both  kinds  of  voyages  are  to  be  found  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

The  best  plan  to  follow  in  describing  the  principal 
sea-routes  of  the  Mediterranean  will  be  to  select 
several  examples,  all  from  the  1st  cent.  A.D.,  of  sea- 
journeys  that  were  actually  taken.  Philo  the  Jew, 
in  his  in  Flaccum,  v.  (ed.  Mangey,  ii.  p.  521),  de- 
scribes most  graphically  the  journey  of  Herod 
Agrippa  from  Rome  to  Syria,  when  he  went  to  take 
over  the  kingdom  conferred  upon  him  by  Gaius  in 
A.D.  40.  '  As  he  was  about  to  set  out,  Gaius  coun- 
selled him  to  avoid  the  direct  voyage  from  Brun- 
disium to  Syria,  as  it  was  long  and  wearisome,  and 
to  wait  for  the  periodic  winds  and  take  the  short 
route  via  Alexandria.  He  said  that  the  merchant 
vessels  from  that  port  were  quick  sailers,  and 
that  the  steersmen  were  most  skilled,  being  like 
charioteers  driving  horses  trained  to  contests,  and 
taking  an  unswerving  course  straight  to  the  goal. 
And  he  obeyed,  as  he  was  at  once  his  overlord  and 
the  advice  he  gave  him  seemed  to  be  to  his  advan- 
tage. So,  travelling  down  to  Puteoli,  and  seeing 
Alexandrian  ships  at  anchor,  all  in  trim  for  setting 
sail,  he  went  on  board  with  his  family,  had  a  good 
voyage,  and  a  few  days  later  arrived  in  sight  of 
port,  unexpected  and  undetected '  (cf.  ch.  xiii. 
[Mangey,  ii.  p.  533]  for  another  voyage  from 
Puteoli  to  Alexandria,  which  also  took  only  a  few 
days  [6X1701  ij^pai]).  The  same  voyage  was  taken 
by  M.  Maecius  Celer,  sent  by  the  Emperor  Domitian 
as  a  legatus  legionis  to  command  a  legion  in  the 
province  of  Syria  about  A.D.  92  (Stat.  Siluce,  iii.  2). 
A  straight  course  between  Puteoli  and  Alexandria 
was  from  May  to  September  the  regular  course  for 
the  corn-ships  which  brought  corn  from  Egypt  to 
Italy.  The  ships  kept  to  the  south  of  Crete. 
Pliny  speaks  of  a  record  passage  of  nine  days,  and 
it  is  mentioned  that  the  accession  of  the  Emperor 
Galba  was  known  at  Alexandria  within  27  days 
(Companion  to  Latin  Studies,  p.  427).  Only  fav- 
oured persons  were  allowed  to  travel  by  these  ships. 
The  corn-fleet  flew  a  special  topsail.  When  the 
appearance  of  this  sail  in  the  offing  warned  the 
people  of  Puteoli  that  the  great  corn-fleet  was 
approaching,  a  general  holiday  was  immediately 
proclaimed  (Seneca,  Ep.  77,  §  1). 

In  the  winter  the  open  sea  was  avoided.  The 
ships  sailed  across  from  Alexandria  to  Myra,  and 
thence,  keeping  to  the  northerly  side  of  the  Medi- 
terranean as  much  as  possible,  made  their  way  to 
Italy.  According  to  the  Bezan  text  (Ac  211),  St. 
Paul  found  at  Myra  a  ship  to  which  he  transferred 
on  his  last  journey  to  Syria.  Myra  was  a  harbour 
of  the  greatest  importance  for  the  Levant  traffic, 
and  from  there  vessels  sailed  straight  across  to 
Syrian  ports  as  well  as  to  Alexandria.  St.  Paul's 
ship,  being  a  large  one,  probably  cut  straight  across 
the  Levant  from  Myra  to  Tyre,  past  the  west  pro- 
montory of  Cyprus.  From  Tyre  it  coasted  to 
Ptolemais  and  to  Caesarea  (vv.7-  8).  The  last  voy- 
age, to  Rome,  began  at  Caesarea.  There  St.  Paul 
and  his  company  embarked  on  a  ship  going  to 
Adramyttium  in  N.W.  Asia  Minor  and  calling  at 
several  ports  on  the  way.  They  went  by  Sidon 
(273),  past  the  east  coast  of  Cyprus  (because  of  con- 
trary winds),  and  along  the  coast  of  Cilicia  and 
Pamphylia  to  Myra  in  Lycia  (v.B).  There  they  left 
the  Adramyttian  ship  and  trans-shipped  to  an 
Alexandrian  vessel  (with  figure-head  '  Castor  and 
Pollux ')  bound  for  Italy.  By  slow  coasting,  in  the 


ROADS  AND  TRAVEL 


ROBBERS  OF  CHURCHES        399 


teeth  of  a  west  wind,  they  passed  Patara  and  Rhodes 
and  came  opposite  Knidos,  and  from  there  made  for 
the  east  end  of  Crete  and  the  promontory  Salmone. 
Thence  they  coasted  along  the  southern  side  of  the 
island,  arriving  at  Fair  Havens,  near  the  city 
Lasea,  about  the  middle  of  the  south  coast. 
They  had  already  suffered  the  penalty  of  those 
who  dared  to  voyage  in  winter,  and  there  was  a 
movement  in  favour  of  passing  the  winter  in  the 
harbour  of  Phoenix  farther  on.  A  strong  east  wind, 
however,  got  hold  of  the  ship,  which  was  driven 
relentlessly  before  it,  and  they  passed  south  of  the 
little  island  of  Clauda  (Cauda).  As  the  wind's 
force  was  unabated,  they  undergirded,  furled  sail, 
and  threw  overboard  some  of  the  cargo,  and  then 
the  tackle.  On  the  fourteenth  day  after  leaving 
Fair  Havens  they  landed  at  Malta  (Ac  2T27  281). 
From  Malta  they  sailed  to  Syracuse,  tacked  between 
Sicily  and  Italy,  and  eventually  reached  Puteoli. 
See,  further,  art.  SHIP. 

St.  Paul  had  of  course  taken  many  voyages 
before  this  eventful  one.  Not  all,  or  at  least  not 
all  their  details,  are  recorded  in  Acts.  For  he  men- 
tions (2  Co  II28)  that  he  had  been  thrice  wrecked 
and  had  passed  a  night  and  a  day  on  a  raft.  This 
happened  earlier  in  his  life  than  the  last  voyage. 
Some  of  his  shorter  voyages  have  been  referred  to 
earlier  in  this  article.  One  of  the  most  constant 
voyages  taken  in  ancient  times  was  that  across  the 
jEgean  between  Corinth  and  Ephesus.  This  was 
one  stage  on  a  great  Oriental  trade-route :  from 
Brundisium  to  Patrse  and  then  to  Lechajum,  the 
northern  port  of  Corinth,  then  over  the  Isthmus  of 
Corinth  on  the  6\/c6s,  which  carried  those  vessels 
bodily  to  the  other  (southern)  harbour  Cenchreae 
(Ac  1818).  The  journey  straight  across  the  ^Egean 
brought  one  to  Ephesus.  Thence  there  was  a  great 
land  trade-route  to  the  Far  East.  The  ease  and 
regularity  of  this  crossing  of  the  Mge&n  must  be 
remembered  in  arguments  about  the  number  of  the 
Apostle's  visits  to  Corinth.  Cicero's  slow  voyage 
in  the  JEgean  from  the  Pirseus  to  Ephesus,  referred 
to  above,  is  a  contrast  to  the  direct  route  Corinth- 
Ephesus. 

We  are  indebted  to  Philo  for  a  reference  to 
another  JKge&n  trip  (in  Flacc.  xviii.,  xix.  [ed. 
Mangey,  ii.  pp.  538-541]).  L.  Avillius  Flaccus, 
prefect  of  Egypt  from  A.D.  32  to  37,  was,  during 
the  latter  part  of  his  period  of  government,  guilty 
of  such  injustice,  especially  against  the  Jews,  that 
he  was  removed  to  Italy,  and  tried  in  Rome.  His 
property  was  confiscated,  and  he  was  banished  to 
the  yEgean  island  of  Andros.  Soon  after  (in  38 
probably),  he  was  there,  by  the  Emperor's  order, 
put  to  death.  Philo  describes  his  journey.  He 
was  taken  from  Rome  by  the  Appian  Way  to 
Brundisium,  whence  he  sailed  across  the  Adriatic 
and  up  the  Gulf  of  Corinth  to  Lechseum,  the 
northern  port  of  Corinth,  crossed  to  Cenchrese  the 
other  port,  and  sailed  from  there  to  the  Piraeus. 
The  boat  was  small,  and  the  wind  blew  strong, 
and  he  suffered  greatly  on  this  part  of  his  journey. 
He  then  coasted  along  Attica  as  far  as  the  pro- 
montory of  Sunium.  Rounding  Sunium,  he  passed 
tlu>  small  islands  of  Helene,  Kianos(?),  and  Kythnos, 
'  and  the  others  that  lie  in  a  row,'  eventually 
reaching  the  larger  island  Andros.  He  had  been 
destined  for  the  bleak  island  of  Gyaros,  much  used 
as  a  place  of  deportation  (cf.  Juvenal,  Sat.  I.  i.  73, 
with  Mayor's  note  [4London,  1886]),  but  a  friend 
had  interceded  for  him,  and  he  was  sent  to  Andros 
instead. 

The  large  use  of  the  Gulf  of  Corinth  in  ancient 
times  ought  to  be  mentioned.  The  project  of  a 
canal  through  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth  was  often 
mooted,  but  never  completed.  The  voyage  round 
the  south  of  Greece  was  greatly  dreaded,  on  account 
of  the  danger  of  being  wrecked  on  Cape  Malea. 


So  much  was  this  the  case  that  Malea  became  a 
proverb  for  extreme  danger,  and  anyone  who  had 
rounded  it  was  a  sort  of  hero  in  his  own  eyes  and 
those  of  everyone  else.  Pliny  the  Younger  de- 
scribes to  the  Emperor  Trajan  (Ep.  15  [26])  how 
he  had  gone  to  Ephesus  to  take  up  the  government 
of  his  province  (about  A.D.  111-113)  \nrtp  MaMa?, 
and  Flavius  Zeuxis,  a  merchant  of  Hierapolis  in 
Phrygia,  records  on  his  tombstone  that  he  had 
sailed  seventy-two  times  past  Malea  from  Asia  to 
Italy.  Pliny's  ultimate  destination  was  Bithynia- 
Poutus,  and  his  plan  was  to  reach  his  province 
from  Ephesus,  partly  by  the  help  of  coasting 
vessels,  and  partly  by  the  use  of  carriages  (loc.  cit.) 
— the  reasons  he  gives  are  the  periodic  winds  and 
the  heat  respectively.  He  could  under  ordinary 
circumstances  have  done  the  whole  of  the  rest  of 
his  journey  either  by  land  or  by  sea. 

The  chief  lesson  to  be  derived  from  a  study  of 
ancient  navigation  is  that,  small  as  the  vessels 
were,  and  primitive  as  were  the  methods  of  navi- 
gation, the  ancients  made  a  marvellously  skilful 
use  of  such  facilities  as  they  had.  The  Mediter- 
ranean was  crowded  with  craft  of  all  kinds.  There 
were  recognized  routes  for  particular  journeys,  as 
in  modern  times.  Sailings  were  as  regular,  rela- 
tively, as  in  our  own  day.  The  sea  was  for  the 
most  part  free  from  piracy  in  the  Apostolic  Age. 
In  the  matter  of  sea-voyaging  as  in  the  conditions 
of  land-travelling,  in  the  universality  of  the  Greek 
speech,  and  in  the  pacific  attitude  of  the  Govern- 
ment, the  1st  cent,  was  fitted,  as  no  succeeding 
century  has  been,  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel 
in  Mediterranean  lands,  which  were  at  that  time 
pre-eminent  in  the  world. 

LITERATURE. — On  ancient  travel  generally  :  L.  Friedlander, 
Roman  Life  and  Manners  under  the  Early  Empire,  Kng.  tr.  of 
7th  ed.,  i.  [London,  190s]  chs.  vi.  and  vii.,  pp.  268-4^8  (notes  in 
vol.  iv.  [1912])  (an  8th  ed.  of  the  original  has  been  begun  [Leipzig, 
1910]) ;  C.  A.  J.  Skeel,  Travel  in  tlie  First  Century  after  Christ, 
Cambridge,  1901 ;  W.  M.  Ramsay, '  Roads  and  Travel  (in  NT),' 
in  UDB  v.  (of  peculiar  value,  as  coming  from  one  who  has  had 
unequalled  experience  as  a  traveller  in  the  lands  specially  con- 
cerned), St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  London,  1895,  and  other  works  ; 
on  the  officials  in  charge  of  roads  and  on  the  Imperial  post : 
O.  Hirschfeld,  Die  kaiserlichen  Verwallunflgbeamten  bis  auf 
Diocletian'^,  Berlin,  1905,  pp.  190-204,  205-211,  258-264,  etc.  ; 
there  is  an  excellent  survey  of  roads  and  sea-routes  (with  map) 
in  H.  Stuart  Jones,  Companion  to  Roman  History,  Oxford, 
1912,  pp.  40-51  (on  p.  51,  other  literature) ;  cf.  also  F.  H. 
Marshall  and  R.  C.  Bosanquet  in  A  Companion  to  Latin 
Studies,  ed.  Sandys,  Cambridge,  1910,  pp.  208-210,  421-435  (also 
with  bibliography);  Pauly-Wissowa,  artt.  'Cursus  Publicus,' 
'  Egnatia  Via  ' ;  an  interesting  map  of  the  Pauline  world  (viti- 
ated, in  the  eyes  of  the  present  writer,  by  its  support  of  the 
North-Galatian  view),  in  A.  Deissmann,  St.  Paul :  a  Stud}/  in 
Social  and  Religious  History,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1912 ;  James 
Smith,  Voyage  and  Shipwreck  of  St.  Paul*,  do.,  1880;  on 
ancient  ships  :  Cecil  Torr,  Ancient  Ships,  Cambridge,  1894 ; 
W.  W.  Tarn  in  JUS  xxv.  [1905]  137,  204.  A.  SOUTEK. 

ROBBERS  OF  CHURCHES.— This  is  the  AV 

rendering  of  the  word  Iep6o-v\oi  used  by  the  town- 
clerk  of  Ephesus  on  the  occasion  of  the  riot  described 
in  Ac  19.  '  For  ye  have  brought  hither  these  men, 
which  are  neither  robbers  of  churches,  nor  yet  blas- 
phemers of  your  goddess '  (Ac  1937).  The  term 
'churches'  according  to  the  Elizabethan  usage 
could  be  applied  to  pagan  temples.  The  RV  sub- 
stitutes the  word  '  temples '  for  '  churches,'  but  this 
is  also  a  mis-translation,  and  there  is  strong  evidence 
in  favour  of  Ramsay's  view  that  the  passage  should 
be  translated  thus — 'guilty  neither  in  act  nor  in 
language  of  disrespect  to  the  established  religion 
of  the  city.'  The  term  Iep6a-v\os  could  now  apply  to 
any  person  guilty  of  any  form  of  action  disrespect- 
ful to  the  established  worship. 

Instances  of  the  narrower,  more  literal  meaning 
of  the  term  occur  in  Ro  2'J2  and  in  2  Mac  442.  In 
the  former  passage  St.  Paul  asks :  'Thou  that 
abhorrest  idols,  dost  thou  rob  temples?'  'Dost 
thou  rob  temples,  and  so,  for  the  sake  of  gain,  come 
in  contact  with  abominations  without  misgiving  ? ' 


400 


ROBBERY 


ROCK 


(Cf.  Denney,  EOT, '  Romans,'  London,  1900,  p.  600.) 
In  the  latter  passage,  the  term  '  church-robber  '  is 
applied  to  Lysimachus,  brother  of  Menelaus  the  high 
priest,  who  was  killed  in  a  riot  (170  B.C.).  He  and 
his  brother  had  committed  sacrilege  by  stealing  the 
sacred  vessels,  and  this  conduct  provoked  the  dis- 
turbance. '  Thus  many  of  them  they  wounded, 
and  some  they  struck  to  the  ground,  and  all  of  them 
they  forced  to  flee  :  but  as  for  the  church-robber 
himself  him  they  killed  beside  the  treasury.' 

LITERATURE. — W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  Lon- 
don, 189.i,  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  do.,  1893  ;  J.  T. 
'Wood,  Discoveries  at  Ephesus,  do.,  1876.  R.  STRONG. 

ROBBERY.— When  St.  Paul  enumerates  in  his 
Second  Letter  to  the  Corinthian  Church  the 
dangers  through  which  he  has  passed  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  his  missionary  labours  he  includes  Kivdvvois 
\rjffrCiv,  'perils  of  robbers'  (II26).  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that,  while  this  peril  may  have  existed 
on  many  of  the  routes  in  Asia  Minor,  it  existed  in 
a  special  degree  on  that  through  the  Taurus 
mountains  by  which  St.  Paul  reached  Antioch. 
However  valuable  for  health  reasons  the  journey 
to  the  higher  land  may  have  been,  it  involved 
positive  dangers,  'perils  of  rivers'  not  less  than 
'  perils  of  robbers.'  While  the  Roman  authorities 
had  set  themselves  the  task  of  suppressing  brigan- 
dage, and  visited  upon  brigands  the  stern  punish- 
ment of  crucifixion,  it  was  obviously  impossible  to 
make  that  suppression  complete,  especially  in 
mountainous  or  relatively  obscure  districts.  Aug- 
ustus discovered  how  hopeless  was  the  task  of 
rooting  out  the  brigands  of  the  Pisidian  mountains. 
Travellers  who  could  afford  it  usually  adopted  the 
wise  precaution  of  having  an  escort. 

Epigraphic  study,  associated  chiefly  with  the 
names  of  Sterrett  and  Ramsay,  has  served  to  give 
interesting  evidence  of  the  insecurity  which  pre- 
vailed amid  the  Taurus  heights.  Patrokles  and 
Douda,  for  example,  set  up  an  epitaph  in  memory 
of  their  son  Sousou,  a  policeman  who  was  slain  by 
robbers,  while  there  is  evidence  also  for  the  exist- 
ence of  an  official — the  stationarius — who  had  to 
lend  assistance  in  the  capture  of  runaway  slaves, 
a  class  from  which  the  ranks  of  the  mountain 
robbers  might  be  most  easily  recruited. 

Emphatic  statements  respecting  the  prevalence 
of  robbers  during  the  stormy  period  preceding  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem,  and  an  account  of  the  measures 
adopted  by  Felix  in  consequence,  may  be  found  in 
Josephus — '  as  to  the  number  of  the  robbers  he 
caused  to  be  crucified,  and  of  those  who  were 
caught  among  them,  and  whom  he  brought  to 
punishment,  they  were  a  multitude  not  to  be 
enumerated '  (BJ  II.  xiii.  2). 

LITERATURE. — C.  A.  J.  Skeel,  Travel  in  the  First  Century 
after  Christ,  Cambridge,  1901 ;  J.  R.  S.  Sterrett,  Epiyraphic 
Journey  in  Asia  Minor,  Boston,  1888;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  The 
Church  in  the  Roman  Empire,  London,  1893,  p.  23  f.  art. 
'  Roads  and  Travel  (in  NT)'  in  BDBv.  R.  STRONG. 

ROBE.— See  CLOTHES. 

ROCK  (Trtrpa,  Ro  9s3,  1  P  2s,  1  Co  104,  Rev  615-  16  ; 
cf.  Ac  2729,  Jude  12).— Of  the  physical  features  of 
Palestine,  rocks  form  a  conspicuous  part.  Rock 
walls  and  escarpments,  deep  gorges  and  desolate 
crags,  caves,  fastnesses,  and  mighty  boulders,  are 
common  in  many  portions  of  the  country.  Allu- 
sions to  them  on  the  part  of  the  biblical  writers 
were,  therefore,  inevitable.  Symbolically  they 
stood  for  solid  foundations  (Mt  724),  for  confession 
of  the  Deity  of  Christ  (1618),  and  for  Christ  Himself 
(1  Co  104).  Among  the  rocks  mentioned  in  Scrip- 
ture are  Sela  (Jg  I86,  RV),  Oreb  (T25),  Etam  (158), 
and  Rimmon  (2048).  Precipitation  from  a  rock 
was  one  form  of  execution  (2  Ch  2512 ;  cf.  Lk  429). 


Of  the  four  principal  references  to  rocks  in 
apostolic  history,  those  in  Ro  9s3  and  in  1  P  28  may 
appropriately  be  considered  together.  Both  St. 
Paul  and  St.  Peter  quote  and  combine  the  same 
two  prophetic  passages  (Is  814  2816),  adapting  the 
LXX  version  of  them  so  as  to  show  that  Israel  had 
failed  to  attain  unto  God's  true  law  of  righteous- 
ness, because  they  sought  it  not  by  faith  but  by 
works.  Because  they  had  not  apprehended  the 
wisdom  of  God's  salvation  in  Jesus  Christ,  St.  Paul 
declares  that  he  had  become  unto  them  '  a  stone 
of  stumbling  and  a  rock  of  offence.'  St.  Peter 
probably  had  St.  Paul's  statement  (Ro  9s3)  before 
him  when  he  wrote,  for  his  use  of  the  two  passages 
from  Isaiah  is  practically  the  same.  He  tells  his 
readers  that  they  are  stumbling  through  disobedi- 
ence, and  failing  to  obey  what  they  must  recognize 
is  true.  Instead  of  availing  themselves  of  the 
blessing  of  the  gospel  offered  them,  they  are 
refusing  to  submit  to  its  influence,  and  so  come 
into  collision  with  the  power  and  authority  of 
Christ.  Both  apostles  boldly  apply  to  Christ 
what  is  spoken  by  the  prophet  of  Jahweh,  and 
they  point  to  the  prophet's  words  as  a  prediction 
of  their  own  people's  spiritual  blindness  and  conse- 
quent failure.  As  Jahweh  is  a  firm  foundation  to 
those  who  trust  in  Him,  so  is  Jesus  ;  but  to  those 
who  disbelieve,  both  He  and  His  Son  may  be  a 
stone  of  stumbling  and  a  rock  of  offence. 

A  more  difficult  passage  is  that  contained  in 
1  Co  104,  'And  did  all  drink  the  same  spiritual 
drink :  for  they  drank  of  a  spiritual  rock  that 
followed  them :  and  the  rock  was  Christ '  (tirivov 
yap  £K  TrvfVfJLaTiKrjs  d/coXoutfowriys  irtrpas,  i]  St  irtrpa.  ?/i> 
6  Xpiorck).  There  is  a  Rabbinical  legend,  which  can 
be  traced  back  as  far  as  the  1st  cent.  A.D.,  to  the 
effect  that  the  rock  of  Rephidim  (Ex  IT6 ;  cf. 
Nu  202ff-),  'globular,  like  a  bee-hive,'  rolled  after 
the  camp  in  Israel's  wanderings,  and  supplied  them 
with  water.  But  in  the  face  of  Nu  215,  which 
must  have  been  known  to  the  Apostle,  it  is 
scarcely  likely  that  St.  Paul  believed  this. 
Rather  he  adapted  it,  stating  explicitly  that 
the  rock  which  followed  them  was  a  'spiritual,' 
i.e.  a  supernatural,  rock,  and  that  Christ  was 
a  rock.  The  manna  was  literally  '  food  from 
heaven'  to  him  (1  Co  103 ;  cf.  Ps  7S24),  and  so 
were  the  water  and  the  rock  (Ps  7815ff-) ;  and  both 
the  water  and  the  manna  were  a  foreshadowing 
of  the  Christian  sacraments  of  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper  (1  Co  10'-- 16).  St.  Paul's  argument 
is  briefly  this :  '  all '  ate  of  the  same  spiritual 
food  (v.8),  and  '  all '  drank  of  the  same  spiritual 
drink  (v.4) — the  manna  and  the  water  being  in- 
tended to  sustain  the  spirit  as  well  as  the  body — 
but  only  two  (Caleb  and  Joshua)  recognized  the 
spiritual  presence  of  Christ,  who  in  His  pre-existent 
state  was  ever  with  Israel  in  their  gathering  of  the 
manna  and  beside  every  cliff'  which  Moses  struck. 
Philo  had  already  identified  the  rock  of  Dt  815 
witli  the  Wisdom  of  God,  and  the  rock  of  Dt  3213 
with  His  Wisdom  and  Word  ;  hence  it  was  easy 
for  St.  Paul  to  take  another  step  and  identify  the 
smitten  rock  with  Christ,  the  Rock  spiritual.  A 
parallel  to  this  mode  of  interpretation  may  be 
found  in  He  II26,  where  the  Apostle  represents 
Moses  as  '  accounting  the  reproach  of  Christ 
greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of  Egypt.'  See 
also  art.  METAPHOR. 

In  a  passage  in  Acts  (27s9),  St.  Paul  and  his  ship 
companions  are  described  as  fearful  of  being  driven 
ashore  on  '  rocky  ground '  (rpaxe'is  rdiroi.,  literally 
'  rough  places ').  While  a  different  expression  is 
used  here  in  the  Greek,  the  reference  is  evidently 
to  rocks,  upon  which  it  would  be  hazardous  to  let 
their  vessel  strike.  In  Jude12,  also,  a  kindred 
xpression  (o-n-tXdSes)  is  used,  in  a  similar  but 
metaphorical  way.  '  These  are  they  who  are  hidden 


ROD 


ROMAN  EMPIKE 


401 


rocks  in  your  love-feasts,'  etc.  The  RV  translates 
<7iri\d5fs  by  '  spots,"  and  this  has  the  support  not 
only  of  the  Vuig.  macula,  but  also  of  the  parallel 
passage  in  2  P  213.  Hidden,  or  sunken,  rocks  is  an 
eminently  appropriate  metaphor  by  which  to  de- 
scribe the  ungodly  character  of  those  who,  like 
Balaam  and  Korah,  were  inclined  to  mar  the 
fellowship  of  Christian  believers. 

The  only  other  passage  remaining  to  be  discussed 
is  that  contained  in  Rev  615- 16,  in  which  the  Seer 
pictures  the  struggle  of  the  Church,  and  of  God's 
judgment  upon  her  enemies.  At  the  opening  of 
the  sixth  seal,  the  wicked  are  depicted  as  terrorized 
by  an  earthquake,  and  as  hiding  in  the  caves  and 
rocks  of  the  mountains,  to  escape  the  wrath  of  the 
Lamb.  It  is  the  dreadful  Day  of  the  Lord  which  is 
about  to  come.  Panic  seizes  troubled  consciences. 
The  end  is  near.  The  wicked,  even  the  rich  and 
the  mighty,  princes  and  captains,  bondmen  and 
freemen,  hide  themselves,  calling  to  the  mountains 
and  rocks  to  fall  on  them  and  hide  them  from  the 
face  of  Him  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  and  from 
the  wrath  of  the  Lamb  (cf.  Is  219,  Hos  10", 
Lk  2330).  GEORGE  L.  ROBINSON. 

ROD.  —  1.  An  instrument  of  punishment  OP 
correction. — The  term  denotes  an  instrument  of 
punishment  or  correction. 

(a)  In  his  enumeration  of  the  hardships    and 
sufferings  endured  by  him  in   the  course  of  his 
apostolic    labours,    St.    Paul    employs    the    verb 
pafidifriv,    'to  beat   with    rods,'  to  describe    the 
punishment  to  which  he  was  subjected  on  three 
occasions  by  Roman  magistrates (2  Co  II26).     '  The 
rods '  was  the  customary  expression  for  Roman 
scourging.     In  the  one  instance  recorded  in  the 
Acts,   the  scourging  was  inflicted    by  the  lictors 
(pa/S5oOxot,  tr.   '  sergeants '  in   AV  and    RV,   lit. 
'rod-holders')  by    order  of    the  duumviri  (162Sf> 
331 38).     It  was  the  duty  of  the  lictors  to  carry  the 
fasces,  consisting  of  rods  bound  in  the  form  of  a 
bundle,  with  an  axe  in  the  middle  which  projected 
from  them.     These,  usually  made  of  birch,  were 
the  instruments  with  which  St.  Paul  and  Silas  were 
cruelly  maltreated  at  Philippi. 

(b)  The  term  is  used  figuratively  in  1  Co  421  to 
denote  the  stern  treatment  called  for  in  the  event 
of  continued  recalcitrancy  on  the  part  of  Church 
members,    chastisement    with    the    rod    being    a 
familiar  method  of  enforcing  obedience  and  sub- 
mission to  parental  authority  (cf.  v.wf-). 

2.  The  symbol  of  sovereignty. — The  'rod'  or 
sceptre  is  also  used  as  the  symbol  of  sovereignty 
(He  I8  ;  cf.  Ps  45"  1102).  Quotations  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse (12s  1918)  from  Ps  29,  which  represents  the 
theocratic  king  as  ruling  (woifj.ave'is,  LXX)  the 
nations  with  a  rod  of  iron,  are  applied  to  the 
mediatorial  reign  of  Christ,  in  which  His  servants 
also  share  (2Mt).  The  rod  of  empire,  regarded  as 
a  shepherd's  staff,  is  transformed  into  an  instru- 
ment of  penal  authority  which  subdues  or  crushes 
all  opposition  (cf.  1  Co  15241-). 

W.  S.  MONTGOMERY. 

ROLL.— See  SCROLL. 

ROMAN  EMPIRE. — The  purpose  of  this  article 
is  to  sketch  the  growth  of  the  Roman  Empire  from 
its  small  beginnings  down  to  about  the  middle  of 
the  1st  cent.  A.D.  The  Empire  did  not  stop  growing 
at  that  date,  but  its  later  history  hardly  belongs 
to  a  Dictionary  of  the  Apostolic  Church. 

1.  Origins. — Rome,  according  to  the  opinion  now 
commonly  held,  began  with  a  settlement  on  the 
Palatine  Hill  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Tiber,  some 
twenty  miles  from  its  mouth.  This  settlement 
occupied  what  was  afterwards  spoken  of  as  Roma 
Quadrata,  '  Square  Rome,'  from  the  shape  of  the 
outline  of  the  walls.  It  was  a  community  of 
VOL.  ii.— 26 


shepherds,  who,  along  with  their  wives,  families, 
and  property,  were  protected  from  an  enemy  by 
the  strong  walls  surrounding  the  town.  Hill  towns 
are  still  a  feature  of  Italy.  Other  hills  in  the 
neighbourhood  seem  to  have  been  occupied  by 
similar  communities,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  these  communities  found  it  advisable  to  make 
an  alliance  with  one  another  against  their  common 
enemies.  Such  an  alliance  had  a  religious  sanction, 
and  we  find  in  early  times  a  festival  of  the 
Septimontium  in  existence,  the  seven  mountains 
being  the  Capitolinus,  Palatinus,  Aventinus, 
Caelius,  Oppius,  Cispius,  Fagutal  (the  three  last 
spurs  of  the  afterwards  named  Mons  Esquilinus). 
(The  later  list  of  the  [proverbial]  'seven  hills 'is 
not  precisely  the  same,  out  consists  of  the  first  four 
followed  by  the  Mons  Esquilinus,  the  Collis 
Viminalis,  and  the  Collis  Quirinalis ;  this  list  is 
purely  geographical,  and  has  no  religious  signifi- 
cance. )  The  result  of  an  attack  on  these  combined 
communities  by  the  hardier  Sabines  from  the  hills 
to  the  north  and  east  appears  to  have  been  the 
defeat  of  the  Romans,  and  the  absorption  within 
the  population  of  a  strong  Sabine  element.  This 
fresh  element  led  to  the  strengthening  of  the 
power  of  the  united  peoples.  A  further  absorption 
seems  to  have  taken  place  as  the  result  of  struggles 
with  their  northern  neighbours  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tiber,  the  mysterious  Etruscans,  who  were  believed 
to  have  come  from  Lydia  in  Asia  Minor  through 
Thrace  to  Italy.  The  presence  of  certain  Etrurian 
customs  as  well  as  the  ancient  '  Etrurian  street ' 
( Vicus  Tuscus)  in  Rome  proves  their  influence  on 
the  young  city. 

2.  Rome  under  the  kings. — During  this  early 
period  Rome  was  undoubtedly  governed  by  kings, 
who  were  heads  of  the  army  and  of  religion  as 
well  as  of  civil  affairs.     We  cannot,  however,  trust 
all  the  details  given  by  ancient  historians  of  the 
events  which   occurred   during  the  regal  period. 
The  broad  outline  may  be  trusted.     The  later  kings 
were  of  Etrurian  stock,  and  are  a  sign  that  this 
element  in  the  population  had  become  dominant. 
The  meeting-place  of  the  various  hill  communities 
which  combined  to  make  Rome  was  naturally  the 
hollow  between  the  hills,  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  the  Palatine  and  the  Capitoline.     As  this  place 
was  liable  to  be  inundated  by  the  Tiber,  a  splendid 
scheme  of  drainage  was  carried  out  in  the  Cloaca 
Maxima,   which  survives  in  part  to  the  present 
day.     Towards  the  end  of  the  regal  period  Rome 
joined  the  other  cities  of  Latium  in  a  league,  in 
which  she  was  destined  to  become  the  predominant 
partner.     The  meetings  of  the  league  were  held  on 
the  Alban   Mount.      But  for  this  league   Rome 
could  never  have  conquered  Italy.     The  existence 
of  the  league  made  it  possible  gradually  to  do  so. 
First  the  tribes  nearer  at  hand  like  the  Volscians 
were  conquered. 

3.  Rome  under  the  praetors. — After  the  expul- 
sion of  the  last  king,   Rome  was  governed  by 
two  rulers,  with  the  name  '  generals '   (prcetores, 
changed  in  367  B.c.  to  consules,  '  men  who  consult 
[the  Senate]').     Much  of  the  history  of  this  early 
period  consists  of  dissensions  between  the  patricians 
(the  ruling  class)  and  the  plebeians  (the  dependent 
class).     Some  modern  historians  think  that  these 
two  classes  represented  different  tribes.      In  any 
case,  the  dissensions  almost  destroyed  the  com- 
munity.    Had  it  not  been  for  Rome's  lucky  star, 
thegrowing  community  would  have  been  strangled. 
The  constitution  of  the  Republic  was  in  fact  being 
slowly  hammered  out  by  these  quarrels. 

The  invasion  and  burning  of  Rome  by  a  northern 
Celtic  race,  the  Gauls,  in  390  B.C.  mark  the  begin- 
ning of  authentic  Roman  history.  The  Romans 
bought  temporary  peace  from  them,  but  were  tor- 
mented for  a  number  of  years  by  their  incursions. 


402 


ROMAN  EMPIEE 


ROMAN  EMPIRE 


The  lower  classes  suffered  deep  distress  at  this 
time,  with  which  legislation  endeavoured,  not  un- 
successfully, to  cope.  In  the  year  287  B.C.  the 
struggle  between  the  orders  finally  ceased.  They 
were  now  practically  on  terms  of  equality.  From 
this  hour  dates  the  beginning  of  Rome's  power  to 
deal  with  foreign  affairs. 

4.  Samnite   Wars.  —  But  we  are  anticipating. 
The   period   367   to    290    B.C.  was    one    of    great 
struggle.     The  Romans  were  now  united  at  Rome 
and  had  secured  the   predominance  in  the  Latin 
league,  when  they  were  called   upon  to  fight  the 
most  dangerous  enemy  they  had  yet  had  to  deal 
with.      The  long  contest  was   for  supremacy   in 
Italy.     The  Samnites  inhabited  the  central  area 
of  Italy,  the  Appenines,  but  frequently  over-ran 
the  rich  plains  at  their  feet.     The  war  began  by 
their    attack    on    the    Sidicini,   a  neutral  people 
between    Campania    and    Samnium.      Campania 
supported    the     Sidicini     and    Rome    supported 
Campania.     The  Romans  were  victorious  in  this 
first  war  (343-341)  at  Mt.  Gaurus,  but  concluded 
peace  with  the  Samnites  because  of  internal  dissen- 
sions and  difficulties  near  home.     This  war  was 
followed   by  war  with   the    Latins  (340-338),   in 
which  the   Samnites  fought  on  the  Roman  side. 
The   contest  was  to  decide  whether  the   Latins 
should  be  subjects  of  Rome  or  not.     It  was  fought 
in   Campania,   and  by  338  B.C.   the  Romans  had 
proved  complete  victors.     In  that  year  the  league 
was   dissolved,    and    special    arrangements    were 
made  with  individual  parties  to  the  old  league. 
Assistance  lent  by  the  Samnites  to  Greek  cities  in 
Campania  was  the  occasion  of  the  second  Samnite 
war  (326-304).      During  the  first  five   years  the 
Romans  were  for  the  most  part  successful.     This 
period  was  followed  by  a  one  year's  truce,  which 
was  broken  before  its  end.     In  321  the  two  Roman 
consuls  sustained    a    disgraceful    defeat    at    the 
Caudine  Forks,  a  pass  in  Campania,  and  the  army 
had   to   pass  under  the  yoke.     For  several  years 
afterwards  fortune  favoured  the  Samnites,  but  in 
314  the  consuls  scored  a  decisive  victory.     This 
was  followed   by  others,   interrupted  only  by  an 
Etruscan  war  in  311.     In  304  the  Samnites  asked 
for  peace,  which   was    granted,    and    they  were 
admitted  to  alliance  with  Rome.     About  300  the 
Roman  power  seemed  established  in  central  Italy. 
In  the  third  and  last  Samnite  war  (298-290),  how- 
ever, Rome  had  to  face  a  coalition  of  Etruscans, 
Senonian  Gauls,  Umbrians,  and  Samnites.     In  295 
the  desperate  battle  of  Sentinum  was  fought,  which 
resulted  in  a  victory  for  Rome.     The  Samnites, 
however,   continued  to  struggle  on,  until  in   290 
they  finally  gave  up  the  contest.     Rome's  mastery 
in  Italy  was  now  assured,  though  it  took  about  a 
quarter  of  a  century  more  to  subdue  the  whole 
peninsula. 

5.  Conquest  of  Greek  cities  of  South  Italy. — 
The  next  stage  in  Rome's  career  of  battle  was 
carried  out  in  connexion  with  the  Greek  cities  in 
the  south  of  Italy.    The  people  of  Tarentum  called 
in  the  assistance  of  a  Greek  filibuster,  Pyrrhus  of 
Epirus,  who  gave  the  Romans  trouble  from  281  to 
275   B.C.,  in  which  year  he  returned   to   Greece 
finally   defeated.     In   272    Tarentum    fell.     Soon 
after,  every  nation  in  Italy   south  of  the  44th 
parallel    of    latitude  owned    Rome's    supremacy. 
She  was  now  the  first  power  of  the  Western  world, 
and  one  of  the  first  powers  of  the  ancient  world. 
But  empire  was  not  her  intention.     She  gave  the 
cities  of    Italy  self-government,    and    as   far  as 
possible  incorporated  them  with  the  Roman  State. 
The  free  inhabitants  of   Italy  consisted   now   of 
(a)  Roman  citizens,  residents  in  Roman  territory 
and  in  colonice,  and  individuals  in  municipia  on 
whom    citizenship    had    been   conferred ;    (b)    in- 
liabitants  of   municipia  (certain   country  towns) 


who  had  the  citizenship  of  Rome  (i.e.  the  right  of 
trading  and  intermarriage)  but  not  the  right  of 
voting  or  of  holding  office  ;  (c)  socii  (allies),  divided 
into  two  classes — (i.)  Latini,  who  stood  in  a  rela- 
tion to  Rome  like  that  of  the  parties  to  the  old 
Latin  league,  and  had  the  capacity  for  acquiring 
Roman  citizenship,  by  going  to  Rome  or  (later)  by 
holding  a  magistracy  in  their  own  towns  ;  (ii.)  the 
free  and  allied  cities,  comprising  all  the  rest  of 
Italy,  which  had  a  military  alliance  with  Rome, 
regulated  either  by  fcedus  (formal  treaty)  or  by 
lex  data  (a  charter). 

6.  First  and  Second  Punic  Wars.— The  signal 
career  of  Rome  in  extra-Italian  conquest  begins 
with  the  First  Punic  War  (264-241  B.C.).  At  this 
period  Carthage,  in  the  Tunis  district,  was  mistress 
of  the  western  Mediterranean.  Rome  was  not  as 
yet  a  naval  power,  but  amongst  her  new  Greek 
subjects  (or  allies)  in  southern  Italy  there  were 
many  traders  by  sea,  and  these  had  to  be  protected. 
Carthage  had  by  means  of  mercenary  troops  con- 
quered Sardinia  and  Corsica,  and  now  aimed  at 
the  possession  of  Sicily.  The  western  part,  having 
been  already  planted  with  colonies  from  her  parent 
city  of  Tyre,  fell  an  easy  prey  to  her,  but  the  rest 
of  the  island  was  studded  with  Greek  cities,  which 
were  not  prepared  to  give  up  their  free  constitu- 
tions for  the  oligarchical  tyranny  of  Semitic  bar- 
barians. The  city  of  Messana  (modern  Messina) 
in  the  N.E.  part  of  Sicily  was  the  immediate  cause 
of  the  outbreak  of  war  between  the  Romans  and 
the  Carthaginians.  Messana  was  at  the  time  in 
the  possession  of  Italian  mercenaries,  called 
Mamertini,  who  had  conquered  and  taken  posses- 
sion of  the  city  some  time  before.  They  grew  great 
enough  to  menace  the  power  of  Hiero,  the  Greek 
king  of  Syracuse.  He  shut  them  up  in  their  city, 
and  they  appealed  for  help  to  Rome.  If  Rome  had 
refused,  they  would  have  appealed  to  Carthage. 
This  fact  determined  the  Roman  people — for  the 
Senate  hesitated  greatly,  knowing  the  responsi- 
bility this  fresh  step  would  entail — to  give  the 
support  the  Mamertini  sought.  The  Cartha- 
ginians must  not  be  allowed  to  occupy  a  place  so 
close  to  Italy.  But  the  delay  had  allowed  the 
admission  of  a  Carthaginian  garrison,  by  whose 
means  peace  had  been  concluded  with  Hiero.  The 
Romans  could  thus  have  retired  altogether  from 
the  situation,  had  not  a  Roman  legate  persuaded 
the  Mamertini  to  expel  the  Carthaginian  garrison. 
Hiero  and  the  Carthaginians  next  proceeded,to  lay 
siege  to  Messana,  and  the  Romans  declared  war 
against  them  (264).  The  contest,  with  breaks,  was 
fated  to  last  for  about  one  hundred  and  twrenty 
years.  Rome  had  to  build  a  fleet.  She  was  for 
the  most  part  victorious  throughout  the  first  war, 
but  Regulus,  who  had  invaded  Africa,  the  territory 
of  the  Carthaginians,  was  defeated  and  taken 
captive.  The  battles  in  this  war  were  for  the 
most  part  naval,  and  a  final  naval  victory  in  242 
made  it  possible  to  reduce  the  Carthaginian  strong- 
holds in  Sicily  (241).  By  the  terms  of  the  peace 
Carthage  had  to  evacuate  Sicily  and  the  neighbour- 
ing islands.  Thus  was  the  first  Roman  '  province' 
formed  (see  under  PROVINCE). 

The  Second  Punic  War  did  not  begin  till  218. 
It  differed  from  the  first  chiefly  in  two  respects. 
In  the  interval  Carthage  had  conquered  Spain  and 
thus  had  a  new  base  of  operations,  and  the  second 
war  was  fought  on  land.  In  238  the  Carthaginians 
had  had  to  fight  their  own  rebellious  mercenary 
troops,  and  Rome  took  advantage  of  this  state  of 
affairs  to  demand  Sardinia  and  Corsica,  which  were 
made  into  a  second  province.  This  is  probably 
the  only  instance  of  unjustifiable  acquisition  of 
territory  in  Rome's  long  history.  Illyrian  and 
Gallic  wars  occupied  the  rest  of  the  interval. 
North  Italy  had  been  thus  opened  up  (the  Via 


ROMAN  EMPIRE 


ROMAN  EMPIRE 


403 


Flaminia  had  been  built  from  Rome  to  Ariminum 
in  220  B.C.).  Hannibal  in  218  left  New  Carthage 
and  crossed  the  Rhone  and  the  Alps.  He  defeated 
the  Romans  successively  at  the  Ticinus  and  Trebia 
(Dec.  218)  in  North  Italy,  at  the  Trasimene  lake 
in  Etruria  (217),  and  at  Cannae  in  Apulia  (216). 
The  fidelity  of  Rome's  most  important  allies  in 
Italy,  the  inability  of  Hannibal's  army  to  conduct 
successful  siege  operations,  and  other  factors  pre- 
served Rome  at  this  crisis.  The  further  stages  of  the 
war  may  be  compared  with  the  later  phases  of  the 
South  African  War.  The  Roman  army  was  broken 
up  into  many  small  portions,  leading  strategic 
points  were  well  garrisoned,  and  flying  columns 
were  dispatched  over  Italy.  Capua,  Tarentum, 
and  Syracuse  (in  Sicily)  were  in  turn  lost  and 
recovered.  A  Roman  attempt  to  divert  Hannibal's 
attention  by  attacking  Spain  was  attended  with 
disaster,  but  Hasdrubal,  who  came  from  Spain  to 
join  his  brother  Hannibal,  was  signally  defeated  by 
the  Romans  at  the  Metaurus  (207).  Hannibal 
then  retired  to  the  very  south  of  Italy.  Mean- 
time the  youthful  P.  Scipio  had  conquered  a  great 
part  of  Spain.  On  obtaining  the  province  of  Sicily 
(205  B.C.)  he  crossed  over  into  Africa.  Hannibal, 
who  had  been  recalled  in  consequence,  was  de- 
feated by  Scipio  at  the  battle  of  Zama  (202). 
By  the  treaty  of  next  year  the  war  was  brought 
to  an  end,  and  Carthage  lost  all  her  foreign  pos- 
sessions. 

7.  Macedonian  Wars. — The  possession  of  Sicily, 
Sardinia  and  Corsica,  and  Spain  (or  rather  the 
Spains,  for  the  Romans  always  distinguished 
between  Hither  and  Further  Spain),  the  last  of 
which  was  made  into  two  provinces  in  197,  made 
the  Romans  the  greatest  power  in  the  ancient 
world.  Philip,  king  of  Macedonia,  had  been  an 
ally  of  Hannibal.  His  attack  on  the  two  towns 
Oricum  and  Apollonia  on  the  Illyrian  side  of  the 
Adriatic,  which  had  recently  come  into  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Romans,  drew  Rome  into  the  vortex  of 
Eastern  politics.  The  Romans  at  the  close  of  the 
First  Macedonian  War  (214-205)  made  peace  with 
Philip,  so  that  they  might  be  left  free  to  deal  with 
Africa.  The  Second  Macedonian  War  was  declared 
in  200,  and  was  brought  to  a  successful  end  by  the 
battle  of  Cynoscephalse  (197).  In  the  following 
year  Greece  was  declared  free  from  the  yoke  of 
Macedon.  Discontent  among  Rome's  Greek  allies 
led  to  war  with  the  Seleucid  king  Antiochus,  ally 
of  Hannibal  and  Philip,  who  crossed  to  Greece  by 
invitation.  Having  been  defeated  by  the  Romans 
at  Thermopylae  (191),  he  returned  to  Asia  and  was 
there  defeated  again,  at  Magnesia  (190).  He  was 
compelled  to  give  up  all  his  Asia  Minor  dominions 
north  of  Mt.  Taurus.  Soon  after,  the  Galatians 
(Celts)  of  Central  Asia  Minor  were  defeated,  and 
Asia  was  organized  (188).  The  Romans  did  not 
take  over  Asia  at  this  time,  but  strengthened  the 
power  of  the  king  of  Pergamum  and  that  of  the 
State  of  Rhodes,  to  keep  Antiochus  out.  About 
the  same  period  the  Gauls  in  the  north  of  Italy 
had  to  be  subdued,  and  from  this  time  (191) 
Cisalpine  G-iul  was  a  Roman  province.  After  the 
Ligurian  War  Roman  influence  reached  as  far  as 
the  Alps  instead  of  the  Apennines. 

Rome's  protectorate  over  the  East  did  not  yet 
pass  unquestioned.  Perseus,  son  of  Philip  and  his 
successor  as  king  of  Macedon,  had  been  making 
preparations  against  Rome.  The  Third  Mace- 
donian War  ended  with  victory  for  the  Romans 
at  Pydna  (168).  The  Macedonian  monarchy  was 
finally  overthrown,  but  Rome,  following  her  usual 
policy  in  the  East,  did  not  annex  the  country 
but  divided  it  into  four  districts,  each  under  an 
oligarchical  council.  Stirrings  and  dissensions  in 
Greece  and  Macedonia  led  in  146  to  the  destruction 
of  Corinth  by  Mummius,  and  the  constitution  of 


the  first  eastern  province,  Achsea,  which  comprised 
both  countries. 

8.  Third  Punic  War. — In  the  same  year  the 
Third  and  last  Punic  War  resulted  in  the  siege  and 
destruction  of  Carthage  and  the  formation  of  the 
province  of  Africa,  consisting  of  her  former  terri- 
tory.    The  province  of  Asia  was  constituted  on  the 
death  of  Attains,  king  of  Pergamum,  in  133  B.C., 
having  been  left  by  his  will  to  the  Roman  people 
(129),      About   121   B.C.   Gallia  Narbonensis  was 
made  a  province,  on  the  conquest  of  the  southern 
portion  of  Transalpine   Gaul,    between   the   Alps 
and  the  Pyrenees.     It  must  not  be  supposed  that 
there  was  complete  peace  in  all  these  territories 
from   the  moment  they  were   formally  annexed. 
Many   of  Rome's  wars,  which  have  to  be  passed 
over  without   mention   in  this  article,  were  con- 
nected with  the  consolidation  of  a  power  already 
defined. 

9.  The  Social  War. — A  most  important  event 
was  the  Social  War  (90-89  B.C.),  the  result  of  which 
was  that  the  territory  of  the  city-State  Rome  now 
stretched   from  a   point  a  little  to  the  north  of 
Florence  as  far  as  the  extreme  south  of  Italy.     All 
freeborn  persons  within  that  area  were  now  cives 
Homani,  with  all  that  that  implied. 

10.  Mithradatic  Wars. — Soon  after,  the  Romans 
had  to  meet  one  of  the  direst  enemies  in  all  their 
long  history,  Mithradates  (120-63),  king  of  Pontus, 
south  of  the  Black  Sea.     His  father  by  favour  of 
the  Romans  had  been  given  Phrygia  also,  but  this 
the  Romans  took  from  the  son  in  his  minority. 
The  war  between  Mithradates  and  the   Romans 
was  due  to  the  former's  aggressions  and  his  inter- 
ference with  the  kingdoms  protected  by  the  Romans. 
He  kept  the  whole  of  the  Near  East  in  a  ferment. 
The  first  stage  (88-84)  was  concluded  by  a  peace, 
according  to  the  terms  of  which  Mithradates  agreed 
to  give  up  his  conquests.    The  Second  Mithradatic 
AVar  was  entirely  due  to  the  aggression  of  a  Roman 
general  Murena  (83),  and  was  with  some  difficulty 
concluded  by  a  peace  in  the  next  year.     Mithra- 
dates now  seriously  trained  his  army  to  meet  the 
Roman  style  of  warfare.     The  Third  and  last  Wai- 
was  begun   in   75  B.C.,  when  King  Nicomedes  of 
Bithynia  left  his  country  by  will  to  the  Roman 
people,  and  Bithynia  was  in  consequence  declared 
a  Roman  province.    Mithradates  supported  a  claim- 
ant  to  the  throne,  and  the  war  began.     Roman 
armies  sustained  defeats.     Tigranes,  king  of  Ar- 
menia, joined  Mithradates,  and  the  combined  forces 
needed   the  best  generalship  the  Romans  had  to 
cope  with  them.     Lucullus  distinguished  himself 
greatly,  but   the   result  was  fruitless,  and  in  66 
Lucullus  had  to  make  way  for  Pompey,  who  had 
just  defeated  the  Cilician  pirates.     Pompey  suc- 
ceeded in  defeating  Mithradates  and  in  conquering 
Armenia.    He  reduced  Pontus  and  thereafter  Syria 
(64)  to  the  state  of  Roman  provinces.     There  was 
now  a  chain  of  Roman  provinces  from  the  Black 
Sea  to  the  Euphrates,  but  client  States  were  re- 
tained along  the  frontier. 

11.  Acquisition  of  Gaul. — The  next  stage  in  the 
growth  of  the  Roman  Empire  is  the  acquisition 
of    Gaul,   which  corresponds  roughly   to  modern 
France,  by  the  generalship  of  Gaius  Julius  Caesar 
(58-49  B.C.).     Cassar  was  one  of  the  three   most 
powerful  men  in  the  State,  but  was  without  means, 
and  was  anxious  to  obtain  a  command  which  would 
enable  him  to  emulate  Poinpey's  achievements  in 
the  East  and  eventually  obtain  supreme  power.    By 
the  arrangement  of  the  coalition  in  60  he  obtained 
the  provinces  of  Cisalpine  Gaul  and  Illyricum  for 
five  years  (58-54).     Transalpine  Gaul  was  shortly 
afterwards  added.    The  details  of  Caesar's  stubborn 
campaigns  need  not  be  here  entered  into.    In  addi- 
tion to  conquering  the  whole  of  Transalpine  Gaul 
(except  Gallia  Narbonensis,  already  a  Roma«   pro- 


404 


ROMAN  EMPIRE 


ROMAN  LAW  IN  THE  NT 


vince),  he  twice  crossed  the  Rhine  and  twice  entered 
Britain.  His  period  of  command  was  extended 
for  a  further  five  years.  His  conquests  secured 
Rome  a  northern  frontier  and  saved  the  Empire  for 
centuries. 

12.  Civil  War. — In  49  B.C.  civil  war  broke  out, 
and  for  a  number  of  years  there  could  be  no  thought 
of  extending  the  Empire.     During  the  civil  war, 
the  eastern  provinces,  roughly  speaking,  were  on 
Pompey's  side  and  the  western  on  Caesar's  ;  later, 
Antony  held  most  of  the  east  against  Octavian. 

13.  Rome  under  the  Emperors. — In  31  B.C.  Egypt 
was  acquired  by  Octavian,  and  henceforward  the 
Roman  Emperors  reigned  there  as  kings.     About 
the  same  time  Octavian  re-organized  the  eastern 
provinces.    On  16th  Jan.  27  B.C.  the  provinces  were 
apportioned  between  the  Senate  and  Augustus  (see 
PROVINCE).      Though  the  greater  part  of  Spain 
had  long  been  part  of  the  provincial  system,  the 
hardy  tribes  of  the  north-west,  the  Cantabri  and 
Astures,   had  never  been  subdued.     Between  26 
and  20  B.C.  Augustus  and  Agrippa  succeeded  in 
quelling  them,  and  a  new  province,  Lusitania,  was 
formed.     On  the  death  of  the  client-king  Amyntas 
in  25  B.  c.  all  the  northern  and  western  part  of  his 
kingdom  was  taken  over  and  made  into  the  province 
Galatia.     The  boundaries  of  this  province  changed 
with  the  changing  sphere  of  duty  which  covered 
all  the  central  part  of  Asia  Minor.     It  retained  its 
importance   down   to   A.D.    72,   when   Cappadocia 
became  a  consular  province  with  an  army,  whereas 
in  A.D.   17  it  had   been  created  merely  a  procu- 
ratorial   province.      Augustus    spent    21-19    B.C. 
regulating  the  East,  and  in  16-13  visited  Gaul. 
There  he  aimed  at  fixing  the  north-west  frontier 
of  the  Empire.     His  first  intention  was  to  fix  the 
limit  at  the  Elbe  and  the  Danube.     The  tribes  of 
the  Tyrol,  the  Rhaeti,  Vindelici,  and  Norici  were 
conquered  in  15,  and  the  Alpine  tribes  in  14-13. 
After  a  number  of  campaigns  the  dream  of  an  Elbe 
frontier  had  to  be  given  up,  and  the  Rhine  was 
reluctantly  substituted.     The  Rhine-Danube  fron- 
tier is  much  longer  than  the  other,  and  was  there- 
fore much  more  difficult  and  expensive  to  defend. 
The  reign  of  Tiberius  (A.D.  14-37)  saw  the  annexa- 
tion of  Cappadocia,  as  has  been  said.     Gaius  (Cali- 
gula) (37-41)  pursued  a  somewhat  retrograde  policy. 
He  restored  to  Antiochus  of  Commagene  the  realm 
which  Tiberius  had   taken  from   his  father.     A 
similar  policy  was  pursued  in  Palestine.    In  Thrace 
the  former  kingdom  of  Cotys  was  given  to  his  son 
Rhosmetalces,  and  further  territory  in  Thrace  was 
added  to  it.     To  Polemo  was  gifted  Pontus  Pole- 
moniacus,  and  to  Cotys,  younger  brother  of  Rhce- 
metalces,  lesser  Armenia.     Mauretania  was  taken 
over  and  afterwards  (under  Claudius)  divided  into 
two  provinces,  named  Caesariensis  and  Tingitana. 
In  Africa  the  legion  was  taken  from  the  senatorial 
proconsul  and  put  under  the  command  of  a  special 
legatus.     Under  Claudius  (41-54)  many  important 
administrative  changes  were  made  in  the  provinces. 
In  Germany  and  Pannonia  the  extensive  operations 
resulted  in  no  addition  to  the  Empire,  but  Thrace 
was  at  last  made  a  province  under  a  procurator  in 
46.     Lycia  was  united  to  Pamphylia  as  a  province 
under  one  governor  in  43.    Macedonia  and  Achaia, 
which  under  Tiberius  had  been  governed  by  an 
Imperial  legatus,  were  restored  to  the  Senate  as 
two  separate  provinces.     In  44  Judaea,  which  had 
been  for  a  time  under  the  rule  of  Herod  Agrippa, 
was  put  under  a  procurator. 

The  most  interesting  event  of  Claudius*  reign  is, 
however,  the  annexation  of  Britain.  Britain  had 
been  invaded  twice  by  Julius  Caesar,  but  had  never 
been  conquered,  still  less  annexed.  It  was  reserved 
for  Claudius  to  make  the  southern  half  of  England 
into  the  province  Britannia,  which  he  visited  in 
person.  The  Roman  forces  numbered  between 


40,000  and  70,000  and  were  under  the  command  of 
A.  Plautius  Silvanus.  The  first  objective  seems  to 
have  been  Essex  and  Hertford  ;  Carnal  odunum 
(Colchester),  the  capital  of  the  Trinovantes,  was 
taken  and  made  the  capital  of  the  new  province. 
Plautius,  the  conqueror  of  the  province,  remained 
till  47  as  legatus  Augusti  pro  prcetore.  During 
this  period  the  Romans  penetrated  at  least  as  far 
as  Somersetshire.  At  the  end  of  Plautius'  com- 
mand the  country  comprised  within  a  line  drawn 
from  Bath  through  Silchester,  as  far  as  London, 
with  a  loop  enclosing  Colchester,  was  Roman. 
Plautius'  successor,  P.  Ostorius  Scapula  (47-52) 
conquered  the  Iceni  and  drew  a  line  of  forts  across 
the  country  from  Gloucester  to  Colchester.  His 
greatest  achievements  were  along  the  Welsh  border. 
A  fresh  advance  was  made  under  Nero  (54-68),  when 
Suetonius  Paulinus  was  appointed  governor  (59). 
His  first  two  years  were  probably  spent  in  subduing 
North  Wales.  An  insurrection  meantime  broke 
out  among  the  Iceni  in  the  East.  On  the  death 
of  their  king  their  territory  had  been  added  to  the 
province.  A  rising  of  the  Iceni  and  Trinovantes, 
who  massacred  70,000  Romans  and  their  allies, 
recalled  Suetonius  to  the  East.  He  took  a  terrible 
vengeance.  The  after  history  of  the  province  is 
full  of  interest,  but  cannot  be  pursued  here.  For 
the  Armenian  wars  of  Nero  see  under  NERO.  His 
reign  saw  the  addition  of  two  provinces  to  the 
Roman  Empire,  Pontus  Polemoniacus  and  Alpes 
Cottice. 

LITERATURE. — The  best  large  history  is  T.  Mommsen,  Rom- 
ische  Geschichte,  vols.  i.-iii.  (Republic),  vol.  v.  (Provinces  under 
Empire),  lasted.,  1904,  Eng.  tr.  in  7  volumes (5  vols.  '  Republic,' 
best  ed.,  1894;  2  vols.  'Provinces,'  best  ed.,  1909);  the  best 
small  histories  are  H.  F.  Pelham,  Outlines  of  Roman  History*, 
1903  ;  and  J.  B.  Bury,  A  History  of  the  Roman  Empire?,  1896; 
on  a  smaller  scale  still,  but  very  good,  are  W.  Smith,  A  Smaller 
History  of  Rome,  new  ed.,  1898  ;  M.  A.  Hamilton,  A  Junior 
History  of  Rome  to  the  Death  of  Caesar,  1910.  There  are  maps 
of  '  Imperium  Romanum*  in  Kiepert's  Atlan  Antiqutis  (no. 
12),  1885,  Perthes'  Atlas  Antiquus,  1895;  Murray's  Handy 
Classical  Maps;  Smith,  op.  cit.,  p.  344  ;  Bury,  op.  cit.,  pp.  83, 
103.  There  is  a  handy  list  of  Roman  provinces  with  details  in 
Companion  to  Latin  Studies,  ed.  Sandys,  1910,  pp.  401-409.  On 
the  fascinating  subject  of  the  Roman  northern  frontier  the  best 
account  in  English  is  E.  G.  Hardy,  Studies  in  Roman  History, 
2nd  ser.,  1909,  pp.  1-129 ;  further  details  in  German  and 
Austrian  journals  specially  devoted  to  the  subject.  On  Britain 
see  F.  J.  Haverfield,  Romanization  of  Roman  Britain3,  1915, 
and,  for  details  of  individual  sites,  his  contributions  to  the 
Victoria  County  History,  1900  S.  ;  on  Roman  London  his  classic 
art.  in  JRS  i.  [1911-12].  A.  SOUTER. 

ROMAN  LAW  IN  THE  NT.— The  student  of 
Christian  origins  cannot  neglect  the  influence 
which  the  law  of  the  Roman  Empire  had  on  the 
infant  Church.  The  marvellous  talent  of  the 
Roman  authorities  for  organization,  and  especially 
their  wise  adaptability,  which  saved  them  from 
enforcing  a  rigid  uniformity  in  legal  details  in  all 
the  countries  which  they  conquered,  were  to  a 
large  degree  instrumental,  under  Divine  provi- 
dence, in  furthering  Christianity  throughout  the 
Empire.  Though  the  Emperors  and  their  officials 
became,  at  a  comparatively  late  date  (see  below,  4) 
persecutors,  yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
Roman  system  of  law  and  organization  was  a  most 
powerful  help  to  the  apostles  in  preaching  the 
gospel.  In  this  article  we  may  trace  the  various 
direct  and  indirect  allusions  to  that  system  in  the 
Christian  literature  of  the  apostolic  period. 

1.  Administrators  of  the  law. — The  greater  part 
of  the  Roman  world  was  divided  into  provinces, 
which  were  either  senatorial,  i.e.  under  the  rule  of 
the  Roman  Senate,  or  imperatorial,  i.e.  under  the 
direct  rule  of  the  Emperor.  The  older  and  settled 
provinces  usually  came  under  the  former  head,  and 
those  in  which  there  was  danger  from  external 
enemies  usually  under  the  latter  ;  but  there  were 
not  infrequent  exchanges  between  Emperor  and 
Senate,  and  a  province  might  be  at  one  date  sena- 


ROMAN  LAW  IN  THE  NT 


ROMAN  LAW  IN  THE  NT       405 


torial  and  at  another  imperatorial.  It  is  therefore 
a  good  test  of  accuracy  in  a  historical  writer  to 
examine  whether  he  names  the  Roman  governor 
rightly  in  any  given  incident  (see  below). 

(a)  Senatorial  provinces. — Such  a  province  was 
governed  by  a  proconsul  (avdviraros,  Ac  137f>  12  1938  ; 
cf.    1812,    dvOvirarevovTos).     St.    Luke    rightly   calls 
Sergius  Paulus  in   Cyprus  a  proconsul  (137),  for 
shortly  before  St.  Paul  visited  the  island  it  became 
a  senatorial  province,  though  it  ceased  soon  after- 
wards to  be   such.     An   inscription  found   in   N. 
Cyprus  by  Cesnola  has  '  in  the  proconsulship  of 
Paulus'  (Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller  and  the 
Roman  Citizen,  p.  74,  who  quotes  D.  G.  Hogarth, 
Devia  Cypria,  London,   1889,  p.   114).     St.  Luke 
also  rightly  speaks  of  Gallic  as  proconsul  of  Achaia 
(1812).      This    province    had   gone   through    many 
changes  :  having  been  at  one  time  a  separate  pro- 
vince, at  other  times  joined  to  Macedonia,  it  had 
from  A.D.  15  been  a  joint  imperatorial  province, 
but  in  A.D.  44,  before  St.  Paul  came  to  Corinth, 
had  again  been  disjoined  from  Macedonia  and  had 
become    senatorial   (Ramsay,   HDB    i.   23).     The 
senatorial  provinces  mentioned   in   the   NT   are : 
Macedonia  (senatorial  after  the  time  of  Claudius) ; 
Achaia ;  Asia  (the  western  part  of  Asia  Minor) ; 
Bithynia-Pontus,  a  united  province  in  NT  times 
(part  of  ancient  Pontus  was  joined  to  Galatia,  part 
given  to  the  Polemonian  kingdom  ;  see  below,  c) ; 
Cyprus   (see  above) ;    Crete-Cyrene,   a  joint  pro- 
vince.    In  Ac  1938  the  plural  avQuwaToi  is  used  ;  the 
meaning  is  not  that  there  were  more  than  one  pro- 
consul at  Ephesus  at  a  time,  or  that  the  proconsul's 
counsellors  were  called  by  this  name  (a  conjecture 
for  which  there  is  no  evidence),   but  that  '  there 
are  such  things  as  proconsuls.' 

(b)  Imperatorial  provinces. — Such  a  province  was 
ordinarily  governed  by  &  propraetor  (in  full,  legatus 
Augusti  pro  prcetore  ;  in  Greek,  AvTiffTpdr-rryos  or 
irpfcrpfVT-ris).      Neither  of    these   Greek    names    is 
found  in  the   NT,   but  several  imperatorial  pro- 
vinces are  there  named  :   Syria-Cilicia-Phenice,  a 
joint  province;*  Galatia;  Illyricum  (*IXX«puttfr),t 
N.W.  of  Macedonia  and  W.   of  the  provinces  of 
Moesia  Superior  and  Thracia,  which  are  not  re- 
ferred to  in  the  NT,  and  do  not  contain  any  of 
the  places  there  mentioned  ;  Pamphylia  ;  Lycia. 
(The  last  two  were  joined  together  in  A.D.   74  : 
Lycia  is  mentioned  in  Ac  27s  as  a  separate  pro- 
vince [cf.  1  Mac  1523] ;  Patara  [Ac  211]  was  within  it. ) 

Some  imperatorial  provinces  were  governed  by 
procurators,  such  as  Judaea  (when  it  was  not  a  de- 
pendent kingdom)  and  Cappadocia,  though  Judaea 
was  not  perhaps  strictly  a  'province ' ;  the  governor 
of  Egypt  was  called  a  prefect.  Both  these  names 
are  used  in  other  senses.  A  procurator  (tirirpoiros 
or  SioiKTjrifc,  in  the  NT  more  loosely  i)yf/j.ui>,  Mt  272, 
Ac  2324  241  2630,  etc.,  and  so  Josephus,  Ant.  XVIII. 
iii.  1,  though  this  word  is  used  generally  of  Roman 
governors  £  as  contrasted  with  semi-independent 

*  Syria  and  Cilicia  are  joined  in  Gal  I21 :  ra  <cAi'ju.<""a  rijt 
Svpi'as  »c<ii  TTJS  KiAiKi'a?,  tr.  in  AV  and  RV  '  the  regions  of  Syria 
and  Cilicia.'  St.  Paul's  habit  of  using  the  Roman  names  for 
provinces  is  here  illustrated,  for  Ac  9^°  says  that  he  was  sent 
from  Jerusalem  'to  Tarsus,'  i.e.  to  Cilicia.  Ramsay  (Gal.,  p. 
277  ff.)  would  with  N*  omit  the  second  -rijs  in  Gal  121  ;  as  Light- 
foot  says  (Gal.6,  London,  1876,  in  toe.),  '  the  words  ra  xAiVo/ra 
seem  to  show  that  "  Syria  and  Cilicia "  are  here  mentioned 
under  one  general  expression,  and  not  as  two  distinct  dis- 
tricts,' though  he  seems  to  be  in  error  in  saying  that  they 
were  at  the  time  under  a  separate  administration.  For  the 
meaning  of  «cAt/uara  see  Ramsay,  toe.  cit. 

t  The  usual  Greek  name  of  this  province  is  "lAAvpt?  or  "lAAvpi'a, 
but  St.  Paul  as  a  Roman  citizen  uses  a  Latin  form  in  Ro  1519, 
as  does  the  historian  Dio  Cassias  twice  (Ramsay,  Gat.,  p.  276  f.). 
This  province  is  also  called  Dalmatia  in  2  Ti  410,  this  name 
(which  had  previously  been  given  to  South  Illyricum  only) 
taking  the  place  of  the  other  during  St.  Paul's  lifetime  (Ramsay, 
16.). 

{  In  Lk  22  the  verb  i^ytfMV*«H  is  used  of  Quirinius'  office  in 
Syria,  in  31  of  Pilate's  procuratorship  ;  in  31  rjyenovia  is  used  of 
the  '  reign '  of  Tiberius. 


•kings'  in  Mk  13"  and  Mt  1018,  Lk  2112;  cf.  1  P 
214)  was  of  a  rank  inferior  to  that  of  a  propraetor. 
He  was  in  most  respects  vested  with  full  power, 
but  was  in  some  degree  in  a  subordinate  relation 
to  a  neighbouring  governor ;  thus,  Judsea  was 
more  or  less  under  Syria,  Cappadocia  under 
Galatia. 

(c)  Subject  kingdoms,  etc. — In   addition  to  the 
Roman  provinces,  there  were  in  apostolic  times  a 
considerable  number  of    semi-independent    king- 
doms, and  also  of  petty  princedoms  or  '  tetrarchies ' 
— this  word  having  lost  its  original  meaning  of 
'  rule  over  a  fourth  part.'     Of  the  former  class  we 
notice  the  dominions  of  Herod  the  Great  and  of  his 
grandson  Herod  Agrippa  I.  (who  died  A.D.  44,  Ac 
12-3) ;  these  were  kings  of  all  Palestine.     Another 
such  kingdom  was  that  of  Polemo  (IIoX^wv)  to  the 
east  of  Pontus;  this  kingdom  existed  up  to  A.D. 
63 ;    one    of    the    Polemos    married    Berenice   or 
Bernice  (Ac  2513),     A  third    such   kingdom   was 
Lycaonia  Antiochi  (between  Galatia  and  Cilicia), 
which  is  indirectly  alluded  to  in  Ac  1823,  where  St. 
Paul  is  said  to  have  gone  through  TT?J>  TaXariKiiv 
Xupav  KO.I  $pvytav,  i.e.  he  visited  first  that  part  of 
Lycaonia  which  was  not  part  of  the  subject  king- 
dom but  was  incorporated  in  the  province  Galatia, 
and    then    he    went    through    Phrygia    or    'the 
Phrygian '  [region]  (ct.  166,  rrjv  $pvyiai>  Kal  FaXari/cV 
Xwpav,   which    by  the    grammatical    construction 
must  mean  '  the  region  which  was  both  Phrygian 
and  Galatic,'   i.e.    that    part    of    Phrygia  which 
was  incorporated    in    the    province  Galatia ;    cf. 
Ramsay,   St.   Paul,  p.  210).     Herod  Agrippa  II. 
was  king  (or  tetrarch)  of  Chalcis  in  Ccele-Syria 
(the  Lebanon),  and  afterwards  of  Northern  Pales- 
tine ;  in  Ac  2513  he  is  called  'Agrippa  the  king,' 
and    the    word    'king'    is    emphasized    in    these 
chapters  ;  he  died  A.D.  100.     Herod  Antipas  was 
also  popularly  called  '  king '  (Mk  G25,  Mt  149),  but 
he  was  really  tetrarch  (Mt  141)  of  Galilee  (Lk  31, 
TeTpaapxovvTos)  and  Peraea  (Jos.  Ant.  XVII.  viii.  1). 
Archelaus  succeeded  his  father  Herod  the  Great  in 
Judaea  and   Samaria  as  '  ethnarch,'  without  the 
title  of  king,  though  St.  Matthew  uses  the  verb 
pcurtXeveiv  of  him  (222).    Herod  Philip  was  tetrarch  of 
Ituraea  and  Trachonitis,  and  Lysanias  of  Abilene 
(Lk  31).    The  existence  of  these  kings  and  tetrarchs 
was  due  to  the  wise  tolerance  of  the  Romans,  and 
it  paved  the  way  for  direct  Roman  rule,  and  in- 
directly for  the  spread  of  Christianity. 

Against  the  decisions  of  both  governors  and 
kings  there  lay  an  appeal  to  the  Emperor.  That 
of  St.  Paul  is  recorded  in  Ac  25llf-  (cf.  2819),  but  it 
is  disputed  whether  it  was  from  the  Sanhedrin  to 
the  Roman  tribunal  or  from  Festus  to  Csesar. 
The  latter  view  seems  best  to  suit  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case.  The  appeal  need  not  neces- 
sarily have  been  granted ;  but  as  we  see  from 
Agrippa's  remark  in  2632,  once  it  was  allowed,  the 
prisoner  coiild  not  be  released. 

(d)  In  1931  the  Asiarchs,  officials  in  the  province 
of  Asia,  are  mentioned.     But  the  Asiarch  was  not, 
strictly  speaking,  an  administrator  of  the  law.     In 
the  provinces  there  were  organized  associations  of 
cities,  having  to  a  great  extent  a  religious  char- 
acter, though  having  also  some  relation  to  the  law. 
Such   an   association   was   called    '  commune '   (ri> 
Koivdv).     Each   '  commune '  was  presided  over  by 
an  officer  named  after  the  province  ;  thus  he  was 
called  Asiarch  in  Asia,  Galatiarch  in  Galatia,  etc. 
He  was  president  of  the  games,  and  had  an  un- 
defined   influence    in    civil    affairs.      The    plural 
'  Asiarchs  'in  1931  perhaps  implies  that  past  holders 
of  the  office  retained  the  title.     For  these  offices 
see  the  Martyrdom  ofPolycarp,  xii.,  and  Lightfoot, 
The  Apostolic  Fathers,  pt.  ii.,  '  Ignatius'2,  London, 
1889,  iii.  404  tT. 

2.  Administration  of  the  law.    The  Romans  diJ 


406       KOMAN  LAW  IN  THE  NT 


EOMAN  LAW  IN  THE  NT 


not  enforce  a  rigid  uniformity  of  law  throughout 
the  Empire.  When  they  conquered  a  country  and 
incorporated  it  as  a  Roman  province,  they  found 
in  many  cases  an  excellent  system  of  law  in  force, 
and  they  retained  much  of  it.  This  was  especially 
the  case  in  Greek  cities,  and  above  all  in  Asia 
Minor,  where  the  people  were  particularly  tena- 
cious of  old  customs.  Just  as  the  Romans 'did  not 
force  the  Latin  language  on  Greek  countries,  but 
recognized  the  Greek  language  and  made  use  of  it. 
reserving  Latin  for  State  occasions,  so  they  used 
much  of  pre-existing  Greek  law  and  custom.  Thus 
at  Ephesus,  a  'free'  city,  we  find,  in  addition  to 
the  Roman  proconsulship,  a  Greek  constitution. 
There  was  a  senate  (pov\i?i),  and  also  the  popular 
assembly  (dittos,  1930;  also  called  tKK\rj<rla,  vv.82-41) 
which  met  regularly  three  times  a  month  and 
(when  required)  in  extraordinary  session  ;  and  this 
popular  assembly  had  its  clerk  (ypa/j.fj.aTefa),  a  very 
important  official,  whose  influence  over  it  was 
great,  as  this  chapter  shows  (vv.35-41).  Inscriptions 
of  Roman  date  in  Greek  cities  show  the  continu- 
ance of  Greek  institutions  (for  these  statements 
see  Rackham,  Acts,  p.  362  ff.,  and  Ramsay,  St. 
Paul,  p.  131  ff.,  Gal.,  pp.  132  ff.,  181  f.).  At  Athens, 
also  a  '  free '  city,  we  find  a  Greek  institution,  the 
court  of  the  Areopagus  (1719-  **),  the  members  of 
which  were  called  '  Areopagites'  (v.34).  This, 
however,  was  not  a  court  of  law,  and  St.  Paul  was 
not  on  his  trial  before  it  on  a  criminal  charge.  It 
was  rather  a  University  court,  '  in  the  midst  of ' 
which  (v.22)  the  Apostle  made  his  defence  as  a 
teacher.  The  scene  has  been  taken  by  F.  C. 
Conybeare  (HDB  i.  144)  and  others,  with  the  AV 
text  in  v.22  (but  not  AVm),  to  have  been  on  Mars' 
Hill  outside  the  city,  whence  the  court  derived  its 
name,  but  Ramsay  with  more  probability  (St. 
Paul,  p.  244  f . )  places  it  in  the  city  itself,  in  or 
near  the  Agora  or  market-place.  '  In  the  midst  of 
Mars'  Hill '  as  a  topographical  expression  would 
hardly  be  possible. 

In  non-Greek  countries  which  passed  under 
Roman  rule,  Roman  law  and  organization  were 
more  speedily  adopted,  as  there  was  less  of  previous 
civilization  to  withstand  them.  But  in  Palestine, 
as  in  the  Hellenized  districts,  local  law  survived  to 
a  considerable  extent,  even  when  Roman  procura- 
tors had  displaced  native  kings.  Power  was  left 
to  the  Sanhedrin  in  Judaea,  and,  though  that  body 
had  no  jurisdiction  in  Galilee  and  Samaria,  local 
synagogues  outside  Judfea  were  allowed  by  the 
civil  authorities  to  exercise  a  good  deal  of  authority 
over  their  members  (C.  Bigg,  ICC,  '  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Jude,'  Edinburgh,  1901,  p.  25).  The  Sanhedrin 
could  not  inflict  capital  punishment  without  leave 
of  the  procurator  (Jn  1831),  but  the  latter  often 
applied  Jewish  law,  and  this  seerns  to  be  the 
meaning  of  Festus'  proposal  to  send  St.  Paul  to 
Jerusalem,  to  be  tried  in  his  presence  indeed,  but 
by  Jewish  law  (Ac  259).  The  sentence  would  be 
the  procurator's,  and  the  appeal  would  be  from 
him  to  the  Emperor  (see  above,  1  (c)).  The  stoning 
of  Stephen  was  no  doubt  an  illegal  murder  (Ac  758), 
and  other  deaths  of  Christians  would  fall  under 
the  same  head  (5s3  224  2610) ;  but  the  Sanhedrin 
could  arrest  persons,  and  inflict  imprisonment  and 
flogging  (518-  *>  22*  2610  ;  cf.  2  Co  II24'-,  Mt  S22).  In 
92  2612  the  synagogue  at  Damascus  is  requested  by 
the  Sanhedrin  to  exercise  its  powers  (cf.  2219,  Mk 
139).  In  the  semi-independent  kingdoms  Roman 
law  found  its  way  less  speedily,  and  only  as  the 
local  kings  deemed  it  practicable  to  spread  Western 
ideas.  The  position  of  Herod  the  Great  in  this 
respect  is  well  drawn  by  Ramsay  ( Was  Christ  born 
at  Bethlehem?,  London,  1898,  ch.  ix.),  who  suggests 
that  the  king  was  allowed  to  carry  out  the  enrol- 
ment which  took  place  at  the  time  of  our  Lord's 
birth  in  such  a  way  as  to  conciliate  Jewish  pre- 


judices, by  giving  it  a  tribal  character  which  it  did 
not  possess  in  the  other  parts  of  the  Empire. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Romans  founded  colonies 
in  various  parts  of  the  Empire,  chiefly  for  military 
reasons  ;  their  inhabitants  were  Roman  citizens, 
and  Roman  law  was  observed  in  them  more  strictly ; 
the  city  officials  were  named  in  Roman  fashion 
duoviri,  qucestores,  cediles,  prcetores  (the  magis- 
trates in  Greek  cities  were  called  arpar-qyoL  or 
dpxovres,  and  in  Ac  1620-  22-  Mf-  St.  Luke  gives  the 
former  as  the  translation  of  '  praetores  '  at  PhiHppi, 
a  Roman  colony).  In  colonies  there  was  no  Senate 
(/SoiAij),  but  there  were  decuriones  (Ramsay,  Gal., 

Sp.  117,  182);  the  language  used  in  the  municipal 
eeds  is  shown  by  inscriptions  to  have  been  Latin 
(ib.).  The  colonies  mentioned  in  the  NT  are  : 
Antioch  of  Pisidia  (Ac  1314),  Lystra  (146),  Philippi 
(1612,  where  alone  of  NT  passages  KoXuvia  is  found), 
Corinth  (181),  Ptolemais  (217).  Iconium  (1351)  did 
not  become  a  colony  till  Hadrian's  time  (Ramsay, 
Gal.,  pp.  123,  218).  Here  it  may  be  remembered 
that  Roman  law  gave  special  privileges  to 
'citizens.'  Citizenship  (TroXtre/a,  2228)  was  not 
conferred  on  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  Empire  till 
A.D.  212.  Even  the  inhabitants  of  'free'  cities 
were  not  Roman  citizens,  or  '  Romans,'  as  citizens 
proudly  and  tersely  called  themselves  (1621  2225ff>) ; 
but  citizenship  might  be  acquired  by  purchase,  in 
the  corrupt  times  of  the  Emperor  Claudius,  though 
at  a  high  price  (2228),  or  by  birth,  as  in  St.  Paul's 
Case  (ib.).  The  law  protected  citizens  from  flog- 
ging, and  St.  Paul  asserts  this  right  in  1637  22215 ;  it 
exempted  Jews  who  were  also  Roman  citizens  from 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Sanhedrin  and  of  the 
synagogues,  though  St.  Paul  did  not  always  assert 
his  exemption  (2  Co  II24'-),  and  it  gave  them  an 
appeal  from  a  death  sentence  by  a  provincial 
governor  (HDBiv.  292).  In  Ac  1637  22^  the  word 
d/cctTciKpiTos  ( '  uncondemned  ')  does  not  imply  that  the 
Apostle  could  have  been  flogged  after  trial,  which  is 
not  the  case  ;  the  want  of  trial  merely  suggests  the 
possible  excuse  of  ignorance  which  the  officials 
might- have  urged  :  St.  Paul  says  that  they  ought 
to  have  investigated.  Ramsay  (St.  Paul,  p.  225) 
suggests  that  the  Apostle  spoke  in  Latin  and  used 
the  phrase  re  incognita  ('without  investigating 
our  case '),  and  that  St.  Luke  rendered  it  loosely  by 

CLKCLTaKplTOS. 

3.  Illustrations  in  the  NT  drawn  from  Roman 
or  Roman-Greek  law. — The  following  illustrations 
have  been  gathered  from  Galatians  by  Ramsay, 
though  his  conclusions  have  not  in  all  cases  been 
universally  accepted.  In  particular,  his  deductions 
from  a  Roman-Syrian  law-book  of  the  5th  cent,  of 
our  era  have  been  objected  to,  because  of  its  date. 
But  the  deductions  agree  well  with  the  NT,  and 
it  is  highly  probable  that  the  law-book,  which  is  of 
the  nature  of  a  compilation,  re-echoes  in  a  large 
degree  the  old  Seleucid  law. 

(a)  Roman  and  Greek  ivills. — The  Greek  will 
once  properly  executed  and  recorded — the  record- 
ing took  place  in  the  testator's  lifetime — was  irre- 
vocable, and  so  it  is  in  Gal  315,  where  St.  Paul 
applies  the  custom  to  the  Jewish  covenant  or 
testament,  while  at  that  time  a  Roman  will  was 
revocable  by  the  testator,  for  it  was  a  secret  docu- 
ment and  was  not  recorded  (Lightfoot  denies  that 
a  will  is  intended  in  Gal  315,  and  translates  '  cove- 
nant ').  In  He  916f-  the  will  is  of  the  Roman  kind  ; 
it  can  take  effect  only  after  the  death  of  the  tes- 
tator. The  inference  is  that  among  those  to  whom 
Galatians  is  addressed  the  Romans  left  the  older 
local  (Greek)  law  on  the  subject  untouched,  and 
that  the  persons  addressed  therefore  lived  in  a 
district  that  was  highly  Hellenized ;  while  the 
persons  addressed  in  Hebrews  (Jewish  Christians 
in  Palestine,  or  possibly  in  Rome?)  had  received 
Roman  law  in  this  respect  (Ramsay,  Gal.,  pp. 


ROMAN  LAW  IN  THE  NT 


ROMAN  LAW  IN  THE  NT       407 


350  ff.,  364  ff.).     See  also  ADOPTION,  §  2;  HEIR, 
§2. 

(b)  Law  as  to  coming  of  age. — Here,  again,  Greek 
and   Roman   law  differed.     In  Gal   42  the  father 
names  the  date  at  which  the  heir  comes  of  age. 
In  Roman  law  a  child  was  under  a  '  tutor '  till  he 
was  14  years  old,  when  he  could  make  a  will  and 
dispose  of  his  own  property ;  then  under  a  '  curator,' 
who  managed  the  property,  till  he  was  25.     The 
distinction  was  not   known  at  Athens,  but  it  is 
found  in  provincial  Greek  cities.     In  42  the  '  tutor' 
(^jrirpoTTos)   and  the  '  curator '  (otVoi^yuos)  are   both 
mentioned.     But  though   in   this  respect  Galatia 
followed  Rome,  it  did  not  do  so  in  the  other  respect, 
for  the  father  is  said  to  appoint  (i.e.  by  will)  the 
term    during    which    these    officers  should    have 
authority  over  his  son  (Ramsay,  Gal.,  p.  391  ff.). 
See  HEIR,  §  2. 

(c)  Law  as  to  the  position  of  children. — In  this 
matter  the  Greek  and  the  Roman  law  agreed,  but 
they  differed  from  the  Hebrew  law.     A  son  of  the 
master  of   the  house  by  a  slave  mother  was,  by 
Greek  and  Roman  law  alike,  a  slave  ;  but,  accord- 
ing to  Hebrew  law,  the  status  of  the  father  en- 
nobled the  child,  who  was   free.     Thus  Dan  and 
Asher  were  not  slaves,  though  their  mothers  were. 
Hence  the  illustration  of  Gal  4al'31  about  the  two 
sons  of  Abraham,   the  son  of   Hagar  being  born 
'  unto   bondage,'  would   appeal  to  the  Galatians, 
who  lived  under  Roman-Greek  law,  while  it  would 
not  appeal  in  the  same  way  to  one  who  was  brought 
up  without  reference  to  that  law  (Ramsay,  Gal.,  p. 
434). 

4.  Attitude  of  the  law  to  the  Christian  Church. 
— The  Roman  law  recognized  Judaism,  though  it 
was  not  the  State  religion,  as  a  religio  licita  ;  it 
was  tolerated,  and  no  one  could  be  punished  for 
being  a  Jew.  But  no  religion  which  was  not 
recognized  by  the  State  was  lawful,  and  as  Christi- 
anity had  never  been  so  recognized  it  was  from 
that  fact  a  religio  illicita.  It  has,  however,  been 
disputed  when  the  Roman  law  in  this  respect  was 
first  actively  put  into  force.  Many  writers,  espe- 
cially in  Germany,  treat  Trajan  as  the  first  real 
persecutor,  maintaining  that  before  his  time  Chris- 
tianity was  confused  with  Judaism,  and  that  Nero 
and  Domitian  were  merely  capricious  persecutors 
of  individuals.  A  damaging  indictment  of  this 
view  is  made  by  Lightfoot  (op.  cit.  i.  1-17).  There 
is  no  doubt  that  at  the  very  first  Christians  were 
looked  upon  merely  as  Jews  (e.g.  Ac  1620).  At 
Corinth  Gallic  treats  the  question  before  him  as 
one  of  Jewish  law  (18IS).  St.  Paul  could  hardly 
have  held  his  favourable  view  of  the  State  organ- 
ization and  of  its  power  for  furthering  the  gospel 
had  it  been  otherwise.  But  it  seems  highly  prob- 
able, if  not  certain,  that  at  least  from  the  time  of 
Nero  Christianity  was  looked  upon  as  a  distinct 
sect,  and  therefore  as  illegal.  Tacitus  (Ann.  xv. 
44)  clearly  treats  it  as  having  been  a  distinct 
religion  in  the  time  of  Nero ;  he  mentions  its 
followers  as  '  those  whom  the  common  people  used 
to  call  Christians  ' — the  use  of  the  imperfect '  appel- 
labat '  shows  that  he  is  not,  as  has  been  alleged, 
projecting  the  ideas  of  his  own  time  into  that  of 
the  middle  of  the  1st  cent,  (he  himself  was  born  c. 
A.D.  55).  Suetonius,  who  was  a  few  years  younger 
than  Tacitus,  calls  Christianity  'a  novel  and 
malignant  superstition'  (Nero,  16).  Even  had 
there  been  confusion  between  the  two  religions 
in  Nero's  time,  by  the  time  of  Domitian,  when 
Emperor- worship  was  enthusiastically  pressed,  and 
the  Imperial  policy  thus  became  directly  antagon- 
istic to  Christianity,  there  could  be  no  possibility 
of  confusing  the  two.  The  Jews  themselves  were 
active  in  making  the  distinction  manifest  to  the 
authorities.  In  Ac  1933  the  Jews  put  forward 
Alexander  for  this  very  purpose.  And  it  is  incon- 


ceivable that  they  would  allow  a  confusion  so  in- 
jurious to  themselves  to  continue.  It  was  not 
necessary  that  a  distinct  edict  against  Christianity 
should  have  been  put  out,  and  it  is  quite  possible 
that  no  such  edict  was  issued  until  Trajan's  time  ; 
the  very  fact  that  Christianity  had  never  been 
recognized  by  the  State  made  it  unlawful.  Nor  is 
this  argument  weakened  by  the  fact  that  there  was 
not  a  continuous  persecution  of  the  Christians  on 
the  part  of  the  Roman  authorities  in  the  1st 
century.  The  law  was  there,  though  it  was  not 
always  enforced.  The  same  thing  happened  in  the 
2nd  and  3rd  centuries,  and  there  is  no  dispute 
that  Christianity  was  then  regarded  as  an  unlaw- 
ful religion.  The  Church  benefited  by  more  than 
one  interregnum  of  peace. 

Light  is  thrown  on  the  attitude  of  the  law  to 
Christianity  by  1  P  212- 20  414.  Here  St.  Peter 
alludes  to  Christians  being  accused  of  crimes  (21-, 
a  verse  which  recalls  the  infamous  offences  imputed 
to  them  in  later  days,  the  '  Thyestean  banquets ' 
and  '  (Edipodean  intercourse' — i.e.  cannibalism 
and  incest ;  cf.  the  letter  of  the  martyrs  of  Vienne 
and  Lyons  given  in  Eus.  HE  v.  1,  and  Justin, 
Apol.  i.  26,  etc.),  and  also  to  their  suffering  when 
they  do  well  (220),  and  '  for  the  name  (ev  ovofj-an)  of 
Christ'  (414).  Bigg  (Com.  on  212),  who  upholds  an 
early  date  for  the  Epistle,  maintains  that  this  does 
not  show  that  the  State  had  as  yet  systematically 
declared  against  the  Church  ;  Ramsay  (The  Church 
in  the  Roman  Empire,  pp.  245ff.,290ff.)  thinks 
that  these  passages  show  that  the  Epistle  belongs 
to  the  latter  part  of  the  1st  century.  In  either 
case  Christianity  is  represented  as  an  unlawful 
religion,  and  Christians  suffer  'for  the  name'  (i.e. 
for  being  Christians,  without  any  moral  crime 
being  attributed  to  them).  Thus  at  least  before 
the  time  of  Domitian  all  confusion  with  Judaism 
must  have  ceased.  The  same  thing  may  be 
gathered  from  the  Apocalypse,  which  (at  any  rate 
in  its  present  form)  is  probably  of  the  time  of  that 
Emperor. 

It  is  agreed  by  all  that  the  law  in  the  time  of 
Trajan  regarded  Christianity  per  se  as  unlawful. 
In  his  letter  to  Pliny  the  Emperor  says  that  Chris- 
tians are  not  to  be  sought  out,  but  that  if  they  are 
accused  and  convicted  they  are  to  be  punished, 
though  not  if  they  apostatize  (see  the  text  in 
Lightfoot,  'Ignatius'2,  i.  53 f.).  But  there  is  no 
trace  whatever  of  a  new  policy  having  been  insti- 
tuted by  Trajan. 

The  law  condemned  secret  societies,  and  this  was 
perhaps  the  chief  cause  of  Trajan's  attitude  to 
Christianity.  He  was  energetic  in  suppressing 
clubs  and  gilds ;  whether  religious  or  not,  and 
whether  in  themselves  innocent  or  not,  he  con- 
sidered them  dangerous  as  being  liable  to  be  used 
for  political  purposes  (see  the  examples  collected 
by  Lightfoot,  op.  cit.,  p.  18  ff'. ).  The  meetings  of  the 
Christians  for  Eucharist  and  Agape  would  at  once 
rouse  his  antagonism.  Pliny,  in  his  letter  to 
Trajan  (Ep.  96),  therefore  reports  the  assemblies 
of  the  Christians  '  on  a  fixed  day  before  light,'  but 
emphasizes  their  innocent  character :  at  the  first 
meeting  (i.e.  the  Eucharist)  they  bound  them- 
selves by  an  oath  (sacramento)  not  to  do  wrong ; 
at  the  second  (i.e.  the  Agape,  held  later  in  the 
day)  they  met  to  take  food,  '  promiscuum  tamen  et 
innoxium';  but  the  latter  assembly  was  discon- 
tinued after  Pliny's  edict,  because  he  had  forbidden 
gild  meetings  (hetcerias)  according  to  Trajan's 
command.  Pliny  apparently  considered  that  the 
Christians  were  no  longer  a  gild,  because  they  gave 
up  their  common  meal  ;  he  probably  did  not  under- 
stand the  nature  of  the  Eucharist  (there  seems  to 
be  some  confusion  about  his  use  of  the  word  sacra- 
mentum),  or  at  any  rate  he  did  not  consider  that 
it  came  under  this  head. 


408     EOMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


LITERATURE. — W.  M.  Ramsay,  A  Historical  Commentary  on 
St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  London,  1899,  St.  Paul  the 
Traveller  and  the  Roman  Citizen,  do.,  1895,  The  Church  in  the 
Roman  Empire  before  A.n.  17U,  do.,  1893;  E.  Hicks,  Traces  of 
Greek  Philosophy  and  Roman  Law  in  the  NT,  do.,  1896  ;  W.  E. 
Ball,  St.  Paul,  and  the  Roman  Law,  Edinburgh,  1901 ;  R.  B. 
Rackham,  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles'*  (Westminster  Comment- 
aries), London,  1901.  On  the  attitude  of  Koman  law  to  the 
Church  see  H.  B.  Swete,  The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John"*,  do.,  1907 ; 
C.  Bigg-,  The  Epistles  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Jude  (ICC),  Edin- 
burgh, 1901 ;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  The  Apostolic  Fathers,  pt.  ii., 
'  Ignatius  '2,  London,  1889,  i.  A.  J.  MACLEAN. 


ROMANS,   EPISTLE    TO    THE.— 1.    Date  and 

destination. — The  Epistle  is  usually  supposed  to 
have  been  written  to  Rome  (17>  15)  from  Corinth 
during  the  visit  of  Ac  2021-,  i.e.  towards  the  close 
of  the  third  missionary  journey.  The  year  will 
depend  upon  the  general  scheme  of  chronology 
adopted  for  St.  Paul's  life  ;  c.  A.D.  58  is  the  usual 
date.  The  grounds  on  which  this  view  is  based  are  : 

(1)  The  reference  to  the  collection  for  the  saints 
(15™-).     This  is  prominent  in  1  and  2  Cor.  (1  Co 
161,  2  Co  83),  which  belong  to  the  same  period  of 
St.  Paul's  life,  and  is  mentioned  incidentally  in 
Ac  2417  as  forming  part  of  the  purpose  of  the  final 
visit  to  Jerusalem.     According  to  Ro  15  the  collec- 
tion is  nearing  completion,  and  St.  Paul  is  about 
to  start  for  Jerusalem  ;  this  points  precisely  to  the 
circumstances  of  Ac  20. 

(2)  Ac  1921  shows  that  the  Apostle  had  in  mind 
at  this  time  a  visit  to  Rome,  which  again  corre- 
sponds exactly  to  the  indications  afforded  by  Ro 
15231T-  ;  cf.  I10. 

(3)  Timothy  and  Sosipater  (1621)  were  with  St. 
Paul  at  this  period  (Ac  204).     The  fact  that  the 
other  travelling  companions  of  Ac  20  do  not  happen 
to  be  mentioned  creates  no  difficulty  ;  they  may 
have  had  no  connexion  with  Rome,  or  they  may 
not  yet  have  joined  St.  Paul. 

(4)  Phcebe,    a    'deaconess'    of    Cenchreae,    the 
port  of  Corinth,  is  prominently  mentioned  (161); 
possibly  she  is  the  bearer  of  the  Epistle. 

(5)  Gaius  is  the  Apostle's  host  (1623),  and  we 
hear  also  of  a  Gaius  at  Corinth,  evidently  in  close 
personal  relation  to  St.  Paul,  since  he  was  one  of 
the  few  baptized  by  him  (1  Co  I14). 

(6)  We  hear  of  Erastus,  chamberlain  of  the  city 
(1623) ;  in  2  Ti  420  we  read  that  an  Erastus  was  left 
at  Corinth,  which  may  thus  have  been  his  home. 

Some  of  these  indications  are  slight ;  (3)  cannot 
be  pressed,  and  the  force  of  the  references  to  Gaius 
and  Erastus  is  weakened  by  the  frequency  of  the 
names.  But  the  first  two  cross-correspondences 
are  very  strong,  and  the  data  fit  in  so  exactly  with 
what  we  know  of  St.  Paul's  movements  at  this 
period  that  the  commonly  accepted  placing  of  the 
Epistle  might  be  regarded  as  indisputable,  if  it 
were  not  that  it  rests  upon  an  assumption  which 
may  be  questioned,  as  taking  for  granted  its 
integrity.  The  indications  come  from  the  last 
two  chapters  ;  did  these  form  part  of  the  original 
Epistle  ?  In  particular,  even  if  ch.  15  is  accepted, 
can  we  safely  use  ch.  16  ? 

2.  Integrity.  —  There  are  here  two  distinct, 
though  possibly  related,  problems  to  be  considered  : 
(a)  the  original  destination  of  ch.  16,  (b)  the  exist- 
ence of  a  short  recension  of  the  Epistle. 

(a)  Was  ch.  16  originally  addressed  to  Rome  ? — 
We  are  at  once  struck  by  the  fact  that  though  St. 
Paul  has  never  visited  Rome,  and  in  the  body  of 
the  Epistle  betrays  no  detailed  acquaintance  with 
local  conditions,  yet  according  to  163'16  he  seems  to 
have  a  large  number  of  friends  there.  '  Indeed  the 
list  of  persons  greeted  is  longer  than  in  any  other 
Epistle,  and  personal  details  are  mentioned  freely 
in  a  way  which  suggests  a  considerable  knowledge 
of  the  work  of  the  church.  It  is  therefore  widely 
held  that  vv.1'23  (the  concluding  doxology  offers  a 
separate  problem  which  will  be  considered  under 


(b))  would  be  more  in  place  if  addressed  to  some 
church  where  St.  Paul  had  made  a  long  stay. 
Ephesus  best  satisfies  the  conditions  at  this  period, 
and  indeed  two  features  point  to  it  directly. 

(1)  In  v.5b  we  find  a  greeting  to  Epaenetus,  who  is 
called  '  the  firstfruits  of  Asia.'  *    Of  course  he  may 
have  moved  to  Rome,  and  St.  Paul  may  be  com- 
mending him  to  his  new  home,  but  the  words  are 
more  naturally    explained    as    addressed    to   the 
church  of  which  Epsenetus  is  the  oldest  member ; 
and  in  '  Asia '  St.  Paul  first  preached  at  Ephesus. 

(2)  Of  greater  significance  is   the   reference  to 
Prisca  and  Aquila  (' Salute  Prisca  and  Aquila  .  .  . 
and  the  church  in  their  house,'  163'-).     We  learn 
from   Acts  that    they  had  come   from   Rome  to 
Corinth,  where  they  had  met  St.  Paul ;  thence  they 
accompanied  him  to  Ephesus  (Ac  18)  and  remained 
there.     In  1  Co  1619,  written  from  that  city  shortly 
before  the  date  usually  assigned  to  Romans,  they 
are  there  still,  and  St.  Paul  sends  a  greeting  from 
them  and  from  the  church  in  their  house  ;  similarly 
in  2  Ti  419  he  sends  greetings  to  them,  again  at 
Ephesus.     Hence  Ephesus  evidently  became  their 
home.     It  is  of  course  possible  that  at  the  time 
when    Romans   was    written    they    might    have 
returned    temporarily    to    Rome    to    settle    their 
business  aft'airs  ;  their  expulsion  perhaps  left  them 
but   little   time   to   put   them  in  order ;   but   the 
strange  thing  is  that  when   they  were  in   Rome 
only  for  a  short  visit  their-  house  should  there,  as 
well  as  at  Ephesus,  be  the  meeting-place  of  the 
local  church. 

These  facts,  then,  suggest  that  the  verses  are 
really  a  fragment  of  a  letter  addressed  to  Ephesus. 
It  may  be  added  that  the  sudden  outburst  in  v.17ff- 
is  certainly  surprising  if  meant  for  Rome ;  it  is 
severe  and  emphatic  in  tone,  and  suggests  that  St. 
Paul  is  speaking  of  an  existing  danger,  not  of 
something  which  may  happen,  and  yet  the  body  of 
the  Epistle  gives  no  hint  of  the  presence  there  of 
false  teachers  of  this  type  (see  §  4). 

On  the  other  side  the  attempt  is  made  to  rebut 
these  arguments  by  considerations  derived  from 
inscriptions  and  from  archaeological  evidence.t  It 
is  pointed  out  that  most  of  the  names  in  this 
chapter  can  be  paralleled  from  inscriptions  found 
in  Rome  ;  it  is  not  suggested  that  these  refer  to 
the  actual  people  mentioned  by  St.  Paul,  but  that 
'  such  a  combination  of  names — Greek,  Jewish,  and 
Latin — could  as  a  matter  of  fact  be  found  only  in 
the  mixed  population  which  formed  the  lower  and 
middle  classes  of  Rome'  (Sanday-Headlam,  p. 
xciv).  We  have,  however,  to  allow  for  the  fact 
that  the  corpus  of  Roman  inscriptions  has  been 
greater  than  those  of  other  places.  As  inscrip- 
tions, e.g.  from  Asia  Minor,  are  studied  and  cata- 
logued, more  and  more  of  the  names  of  this  chapter 
are  found  in  them  too,  so  that  the  argument  is 
somewhat  precarious.^  Again,  much  stress  cannot 
be  laid  on  the  attempts  to  trace  on  antiquarian 
grounds  evidence  of  an  early  connexion  of  Prisca 
and  Aquila  with  Rome.  It  is  possible  that  the 
households  of  Aristobulus  and  Narcissus  (vv.10-  n) 
may  refer  to  the  slaves  of  the  Imperial  household 
inherited  from  Aristobulus,  the  grandson  of  Herod 
the  Great,  and  to  those  of  the  Narcissus  who  was 

*  AV  '  firstfruits  of  Achaia  '  rests  on  poor  MSS  evidence,  and 
is  contradicted  by  1  Co  1615,  where  Stephanas  is  so  described. 

t  See  the  discussions  in  Lightfoot,  Philippians*,  London, 
1878  (detached  note  on  '  Caesar's  Household,'  p.  171  ff.),  Sanday- 
Headlam,  ICC,  '  Romans '»,  pp.  xcivff.,  418 ff.,  with  criticisms 
in  K.  l^ake,  Earlier  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  London,  1911,  p.  330  ff. 

J  'To  describe  the  personal  names  in  Rom.  xvi.  as  specifically 
Roman  on  the  strength  of  inscriptions  found  in  the  city  of  Rome 
is  about  as  safe  as  to  describe  Wilhelm,  Friedrich,  Luise  as 
specifically  Berlin  names  because  they  are  found  on  Berlin 
tombstones.  The  names  referred  to  are  found  swarming  in 
inscriptions,  papyri,  and  ostraca  all  over  the  Mediterranean 
world '  (Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Ancient  East,  Eng.  tr., 
London,  1911,  p.  278,  n.  1).  Similarly  G.  Milligan,  The  Hew 
Testament  Documents,  do.,  1913,  p.  183,  n.  1. 


ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE      409 


executed  by  Agrippina,  but  again  the  names  are 
common,  and,  as  Lake  points  out,  we  should  ex- 
pect ol  itapKiffffiavol  instead  of  oi  Nap/c^o-ou,  words 
ending  in  -ani  being  usually  transliterated.  The 
most  that  can  be  said  is  that  while  these  expres- 
sions suit  Rome,  they  do  not  positively  demand  it. 

Our  conclusion  may  be  that,  though  it  is  not 
impossible  that  this  section  may  be  an  integral 
part  of  the  Epistle,  it  is  more  probable  that  it  was 
addressed  to  a  church  St.  Paul  had  visited,  and 
that  the  indications  point  to  Ephesus.  No  doubt 
this  conclusion  would  be  more  readily  accepted  if 
it  were  possible  to  give  a  reasonable  explanation  of 
the  way  in  which  the  chapter  came  to  oe  attached 
to  this  particular  Epistle  ;  a  suggestion  will  be 
made  when  we  come  to  deal  with  the  next  problem. 
Meanwhile  it  need  only  be  added  that  those  who 
regard  the  verses  as  misplaced  often  see  in  them  a 
letter,*  or  part  of  a  letter,  commending  Phoebe 
(see  v.1)  to  Ephesus  (Kenan,  etc.).  Giffordf  and 
others  suggest  that  it  may  have  been  written  to 
Rome  after  St.  Paul's  first  imprisonment  there  ; 
this  would  explain  the  large  circle  of  acquaintances 
(but  not  the  references  to  Aquila  and  Prisca,  or 
Epsenetus),  and  it  might  easily  become  attached 
to  the  earlier  letter.  It  should  be  clearly  under- 
stood that  very  few  critics  question  the  Pauline 
authorship  of  the  chapter  ;  the  doubt  is  whether  it 
is  in  its  right  place. 

(b)  The  short  recension. — This  problem  is  not  a 
little  complicated,  and  its  study  requires  some 
knowledge  of  the  principles  of  NT  criticism.  It 
will  be  best  to  state  the  facts  before  proceeding  to 
discuss  the  solutions  which  have  been  offered. 

(1)  Evidence  that  a  recension  of  the  Epistle  ex- 
isted which  omitted  chs.  15,  16.  —  It  should  be 
understood  that  no  extant  MS  omits  these  chs.  ; 
the  evidence  is  indirect.  (a)  In  the  breves  or 
chapter-headings  £  of  the  Codex  Amiatinus  of  the 
Vulgate  (a  system  found  in  many  other  MSS)  the 
50th  'chapter'  clearly  describes  Ro  141*'23,  and  the 
51st,  and  last,  the  doxology  (1629"27},  the  remainder 
of  15  and  16  being  omitted.  In  the  same  way  the 
breves  of  Codex  Fuldensis  point  to  a  similar  text, 
without  the  doxology,  while  the  concordance,  or 
harmony,  of  the  Pauline  Epistles  found  in  the 
Codex  Morbacensis  unmistakably  implies  the  use 
of  the  Amiatine  breves  based  on  the  short  recension. 

(/3)  Neither  Cyprian,  Tertullian,  nor-  Irenaeus 
quotes  from  the  last  two  chs.  ;§  'the  argument 
from  silence,'  often  so  dangerous,  is  here  signifi- 
cant, (i.)  We  should  expect  Cyprian  in  his  Testi- 
monia  to  use  Ro  1617  under  the  headings  which 
refer  to  the  duty  of  avoiding  heretics  ;  (ii. )  Tertul- 
lian (adv.  Marc.  v.  14)  quotes  1410  as  occurring  in 
clausula,  i.e.  in  the  closing  section,  of  the  Epistle, 
while  he  does  not  use  against  Marcion  any  of  the 
obvious  passages  from  15-16,  or  accuse  him  of 
having  cut  them  out  of  the  Epistle. 

(7)  Origen  does  in  fact  say  that  Marcion 
'removed'  (abstulit)  the  final  doxology  and  'cut 
away '  (dissecuit)  ||  the  last  two  chapters.  This 
agrees  with  the  evidence  from  Tertullian  just 
quoted,  though,  as  we  have  said,  he  does  not 

*  According  to  Deissmann  (Light  from  the  Ancient' East,  p. 
226),  '  there  is  no  lack  of  analogies  for  a  letter  of  recommenda- 
tion plunging  at  once  in  medias  res  and  beginning  with  "I 
commend."'  He  suggests  that  the  short  letter  to  Ephesus 
followed  that  to  Romans  in  the  letter-book  (a  book  containing 
copies  of  letters  sent  or  received)  of  Tertius,  St.  Paul's  amanu- 
ensis. 

t  For  this  and  other  theories  see  Moffatt,  LNT,  p.  138. 

J  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  'chapters'  or  sections 
referred  to  are  not  our  present  chapters. 

§  According  to  Moffatt  (p.  140),  Clement  of  Alexandria  and 
Origen  are  the  only  Ante-Nicene  Fathers  who  do  so. 

II  On  the  whole,  it  is  not  probable  that  this  means  merely 
'separated  off'  or  'cut  about.'  Hort  tries  to  explain  away 
Origen's  evidence,  but  he  has  not  been  generally  followed  ;  see 
Sanday-Headlam,  p.  xc ;  Lightfoot,  Biblical  Essays,  London, 
1893,  p.  287  ff.  (including  a  paper  by  Hort). 


accuse  Marcion  of  tampering  with  the  text ;  their 
copies  apparently  agreed. 

(5)  In  the  group  of  MSS  DEFG,  which  seem  to 
come  from  a  common  ancestor,  it  is  argued  that 
the  text  of  the  last  two  chs.  is  so  different  from 
that  of  the  rest  of  the  Epistle  that  somewhere  in 
the  line  of  transmission  there  must  have  come  a 
MS  containing  only  1-14,  which  was  supplemented 
from  some  other  source  for  chs.  15-16.  It  is 
probable  that  this  archetype  also  omitted  the 
doxology.  * 

(2)  The  position  of  the  final  doxology. — It  should 
be    carefully  noted    that    there   is    no  break    in 
thought    between    chs.    14    and    15  (our    present 
chapter  divisions  are  late  and  do  not  always  corre- 
spond to  breaks  in  the  sense),  and  the  chs.  as  they 
stand  offer  a  reasonably  connected   sequence   of 
thought,  except  for  the  fact  that  there  seem  to  be 
several  distinct  endings — 1533,  1620-28-27.     But  when 
we  come  to  examine  the  textual  phenomena  the 
case  is  even  more  complicated.     In  some  MSS  and 
Fathers  (Chrysostom,  Theodoret,  etc.),  represent- 
ing the  Antiochene  text,   the  last  three  verses, 
which  it  will  be  convenient  to  refer  to  as   '  the 
doxology,'  are  found  at  the  close  of  ch.  14  ;  Origen 
also  knew  of  codices  in  which  this  was  the  case. 
A  few  authorities,  including  A,  have  it  both  there 
and  at  the  end.     FGg  and  a  few  other  authorities 
omit  the  doxology  altogether,  as  we  know  was  the 
case  with  Marcion.     The  variation  in  the  position 
of   'the   Grace'   (1620),  which  is  inserted  in  some 
MSS  after  1623  and  in  TR  by  a  natural  conflation 
in  both  places,  is  additional  evidence  of  the  exist- 
ence of  copies  which  did  not  end  with  the  dox- 
ology. 

It  will  be  understood  that  the  evidence  for  the 
doxology  after  1423  is  also  evidence  for  the  exist- 
ence of  a  short  recension,  since  the  doxology  cannot 
have  stood  originally  between  1423  and  151,  making 
a  complete  break  in  the  sense.  Its  position  there 
can  only  imply  that  the  Epistle  ended,  or  was 
supposed  to  end,  at  that  point. 

(3)  Omission  of  the  address  to  Rome. — There  is 
evidence  that  the  text  used  by  Origen  and  Ambrosi- 
aster  omitted  tv  'Pti/t??  ('in  Rome')  in   I7-16,  and 
read  4v  ayairri  ('in  love'),  which  is  actually  the 
reading  of  G.t     It  should  be  remarked  that  these 
authorities  coincide  with  part  of  the  evidence  for 
the  short  recension,  a  point  which  may  or  may 
not  be  significant. 

We  have,  then,  these  three  textual  phenomena — 
the  existence  of  a  short  recension  of  the  Epistle ; 
the  displacement,  or  omission,  of  the  doxology  ;  and 
the  omission  of  the  words  '  in  Rome ' — together 
with  the  doubt  attaching  to  the  original  destina- 
tion of  1623,  though  it  is  not  yet  clear  how  far  they 
are  all  connected.  The  primary  problem  is  to  ex- 
plain the  short  recension  and  the  displacement  of 
the  doxology,  which  do  undoubtedly  stand  in  close 
relation  to  one  another.  Any  solution  must 
account  for  the  fact,  to  which  attention  has 
already  been  called,  of  the  close  connexion  of 
thought  between  14'23  and  151.  How  then  did  the 
Epistle  come  to  be  truncated  at  this  point,  and  the 
doxology  to  be  inserted  there  ?  This  consideration 
seems  fatal  to  views  such  as  those  which  regard 
chs.  15-16  as  altogether  unauthentic  (Baur),  or  as 
belonging  to  a  different  recension  of  the  Epistle 
made  by  St.  Paul  himself  (Renan,  Lightfoot, 
Lake).  It  is  very  difficult  to  believe  that  it  ever 
ended  with  1423,  with  or  without  the  doxology. 

The  most  popular  explanation,  therefore,  is  that 
adopted  tentatively  by  Sanday-Headlam,  following 

*  Lake,  Earlier  Epistles,  p.  341 ;  Sanday-Headlam,  p.  xcviii. 

t  For  details  see  Lake,  op.  cit.,  p.  346,  who  supplements 
Sanday-Headlam,  ad  loc.,  by  calling  attention  to  the  fact,  dis- 
covered only  in  1897,  that  the  scholiast  of  cod.  47  was  really 
using  Origen.  Lightfoot  (Biblical  Essays,  p.  287)  points  out 
that  Rufinus'  Latin  text  of  Origen  also  implies  the  omission. 


410      ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


Gifford.  They  suppose  the  short  recension,  with  the 
consequent  confusion  of  text,  to  be  due  to  Marcion. 
They  point  out  truly  enough  that  the  opening 
verses  of  ch.  15  contradict  his  teaching  entirely, 
and  that  he  could  not  possibly  have  admitted  them. 
He  therefore  cut  them  out,  as  Origen  apparently 
says,  and  it  is  supposed  that  this  influenced  later 
orthodox  practice.  '  When  in  adapting  the  text 
for  the  purposes  of  church  use  it  was  thought 
advisable  to  omit  the  last  portions  as  too  personal 
and  not  sufficiently  edifying,  it  was  natural  to 
make  the  division  at  a  place  where  in  a  current 
edition  the  break  had  already  been  made.'  *  The 
doxology  was  afterwards  replaced  at  the  end  of 
ch.  14,  while  Marcion  is  also  supposed  to  be  respon- 
sible for  the  omission  of  the  words  '  in  Rome,' 
which  he  struck  out  as  an  unimportant  local 
allusion. 

The  theory  has,  however,  been  criticized  by 
Lake.f  It  implies  that  Marcion  had  a  greater 
influence  than  is  altogether  probable  on  the  forma- 
tion of  the  canon  of  the  Pauline  Epistles  and  on 
the  text  of  the  NT  ;  von  Soden's  estimate  of  the 
extent  of  this  influence  has  not  been  generally 
accepted.  Further,  Tertullian  seems  to  have  used 
the  short  recension,  and  his  corpus  was  independent 
of  Marcion's  ;  this  fact  and  the  widespread  nature 
of  the  evidence  for  the  omission  of  the  last  two 
chs.  suggest  that  catholic  collections  of  the 
Epistles,  containing  only  the  short  recension, 
existed  before  Marcion.  The  charge  that  he  cut 
the  chs.  out  may  only  mean  that  they  did  not  in 
fact  stand  in  the  copies  he  used. 

As  to  his  supposed  responsibility  for  the  omission 
of  the  reference  to  Rome,  Lake  points  out  that  it 
is  clear  from  the  recently  discovered  Marcionite 
prologues  that  he  did  in  fact  describe  the  Epistle 
as  '  to  the  Romans  '  in  the  usual  way. 

To  these  criticisms  we  may  add  others  which  are 
no  less  damaging.  What  evidence  is  there  of  any 
serious  manipulation  of  the  Epistles  in  order  to  fit 
them  for  ecclesiastical  use?  There  is,  e.g.,  no 
trace  of  the  omission  of  1  Co  16,  \vhich  is  equally 
local  and  personal.  And  if  this  was  done  in  the 
case  of  Romans,  how  came  the  doxology  to  be 
re-inserted?  It  can  have  come  only  from  a  MS 
which  had  the  complete  ending,  and  in  that  case 
surely  151"13,  which  is  in  every  way  suited  for 
public  reading,  would  have  been  restored  at  the 
same  time. 

Lake  himself  has  a  fresh  theory.  He  suggests 
that  the  original  Epistle  consisted  of  chs.  1-14, 
with  or  without  the  doxology,  and  without  the 
mention  of  Rome ;  this  was  sent  as  a  circular 
letter,  dealing  with  the  Judaistic  propaganda,  to 
churches  St.  Paul  had  never  visited,  and  belongs 
to  the  same  period  as  Galatians.  The  latter  Lake 
regards  as  the  earliest  of  the  Pauline  Epistles, 
written  before  the  Council  of  Ac  15.  Later  on 
St.  Paul  sent  a  copy  of  the  letter  to  Rome,  adding 
ch.  15,  and  ch.  16,  if  it  really  belongs  to  the  Epistle. 
It  is  obvious  to  compare  the  relation  of  Ephesians, 
also  regarded  as  a  circular  letter,  to  Colossians, 
written  at  the  same  time  and  closely  resembling  it. 
The  theory  has  the  advantage  of  accounting  for 
the  partial  identity  of  the  witnesses  for  the  omis- 
sion of  the  last  two  chs.  and  of  the  reference  to 
Rome,  and  it  is  also  attractive  to  those  who,  like 
the  present  writer,  agree  that  Galatians  is  the 
earliest  Pauline  Epistle,  since  it  accounts  for  the 
similarity  of  style  and  language  between  it  and 
Romans,  but  it  still  seems  to  fail  at  the  crucial 
point.  It  does  not  explain  the  break  after  1423, 
since  it  is  very  difficult  to  believe  that  the  Epistle 
ever  ended  there,  whether  with  or  without  the 
doxology,  which  Lake  indeed  is  inclined  to  regard 

*  Sanrtay-Headlam,  p.  xcvii. 
t  Earlier  Epistles,  p.  350  ft. 


as  unauthentic.  The  close  is  too  abrupt,  and  151'13 
does  not  read  as  an  afterthought.  Further,  ch.  1, 
even  without  the  reference  to  Rome,  gives  the 
impression  of  being  addressed  to  a  particular 
church  ;  it  is  more  definite  in  tone  than  Ephesians. 

The  present  writer  is  inclined  to  suggest  a  fresh 
theory,  based  on  a  hint  given  by  Lake  himself. 
He  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  the  Mura- 
torian  Canon  Romans  stood  last  of  the  Epistles  to 
the  Churches,  and  that  it  was  also  last  in  Tertul- 
lian's,  Cyprian's,  and  Origen's  collections.  We 
may  remark  that,  being  the  longest  and  most  im- 
portant of  the  Epistles,  it  might  equally  well  stand 
first,  as  in  our  own  canon,  or  last,  as  in  these, 
there  being  no  attempt  at  chronological  order  in 
either.  There  is  also  good  ground  for  regarding 
the  doxology  as  not  genuine.  Its  length  and  its 
position  at  the  close  of  the  Epistle  are  without 
parallel  in  the  letters  of  St.  Paul,  and  the  language 
is  to  some  extent  un-Pauline  (see  Moffatt,  p.  135). 
No  doubt  this  would  not  be  sufficient  to  justify 
our  rejecting  it  if  there  were  no  other  grounds  for 
suspicion.  But  the  fact  of  a  passage  being  found 
in  different  places  in  our  MSS  always  suggests  the 
possibility  that  it  is  a  later  addition  (cf.  the  '  Peri- 
cope  '  in  Jn  753ff>),  so  the  internal  and  the  external 
lines  of  evidence  here  confirm  one  another.  As 
Lake  points  out,  it  is  a  habit  of  scribes  to  add 
doxologies  at  the  close  of  books  or  collections  of 
books  (cf.  the  doxology  at  the  end  of  each  book  of 
the  Pss. )  ;  this  doxology  may  therefore  have  been 
inserted  to  mark  the  close  of  the  Pauline  corpus. 
We  may,  however,  go  further,  and  find  here  the 
key  to  the  whole  problem.  (1)  The  Epistle  may 
have  originally  ended  with  1533  ;  the  short  prayer  is 
quite  in  keeping  with  St.  Paul's  practice.  (2)  The 
last  page  of  the  MS  or  roll  was  lost,  leaving  only 
chs.  1-14  (cf.  the  lost  ending  of  Mk.).  (3)  To  this, 
standing  at  the  end  of  a  collection  of  Pauline 
letters,  the  doxology  was  added.  (4)  The  lost 
conclusion  was  then  copied  in  from  some  other 
source,  and  ch.  16,  a  genuine  fragment  of  the 
Pauline  correspondence,  was  also  added  as  a  sort 
of  postscript  to  the  corpus.  (5)  It  was  realized  that 
the  doxology  was  out  of  place,  and  it  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  end,  whether  regarded  by  now  as  an 
integral  part  of  the  Epistle  or  not.  If  the  process 
seems  complicated,  it  will  be  seen  that  each  step, 
with  the  exception  of  (1)  and  the  first  part  of  (4),  is 
in  fact  represented  by  some  part  of  our  evidence  ; 
the  variations  are  themselves  so  many  that  any 
theory  which  is  to  account  for  them  must  be  some- 
what complex.  It  may  be  added  that  the  theory 
can  in  fact  be  presented  in  a  simpler  form  if  we 
regard  ch.  16  as  an  integral  part  of  the  Epistle. 
We  need  only  suppose,  then,  that  the  last  two  chs. 
were  lost,  the  doxology  added  after  ch.  14,  and 
then  transferred  to  the  end  of  ch.  16  when  the 
missing  chs.  had  been  replaced. 

It  is  true  that  this  hypothesis  offers  no  explana- 
tion of  the  omission  of  the  words  '  in  Rome.'  But, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  attempts  of  Sanday-Headlam 
and  Lake  to  bring  them  into  connexion  with  the 
short  recension  are  not  very  successful ;  it  only 
remains,  therefore,  to  regard  this  as  a  primitive 
textual  error,  or  perhaps  as  a  deliberate  omission 
made  in  order  to  'catholicize'  the  Epistle. 

Since  the  discussion  of  these  textual  phenomena 
has  been  of  necessity  somewhat  long,  it  may  be 
well  to  point  out  their  bearing  on  the  general 
view  of  the  date  and  destination  of  the  Epistle. 
Roughly  speaking,  they  leave  it  unchanged  on  any 
theory  which  regards  ch.  15  as  genuine,  whether 
belonging  to  a  first  or  to  a  second  edition.  Rome 
remains  as  the  destination,  and  the  closing  period 
of  the  third  missionary  journey  as  the  date.  The 
rejection  of  ch.  16  only  removes  the  reference  to 
Corinth  as  the  place  of  writing.  It  must,  however, 


ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE     411 


be  remembered  that  if  Lake's  view  that  the  Epistle 
\vas  not  originally  intended  for  Rome  be  accepted, 
the  reference  of  the  details  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  Roman  Church  will  fall  to 
the  ground. 

3.  Authenticity. — The  Pauline  authorship  of  the 
Epistle  is  practically  undisputed,  except    by   the 
Dutch  School.     But  since  their  views  have  found 
no  foothold  even  among  the  most  advanced  critics, 
it  does  not  seem  necessary  to  discuss  them  here. 
The  curious  English  reader  may  find  them  stated 
by   W.   C.    von    Manen  in    EBi,    s.v.    '  Romans 
(Epistle),'  with  a  refutation  in  the  same  Encyclo- 
paedia by  P.  W.  Schmiedel,  s.v.   'Galatians';  see 
also   R.   J.    Knowling,    Witness  of  the    Epistles, 
London,    1892,   p.    133  ff.,  Testimony  of  St.   Paul 
to   Christ,  do.,  1905,  p.  34 ff.,  and   Lake,  Earlier 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  p.  421  ff.     The  external  evi- 
dence for  Romans  is  in  fact  peculiarly  strong.     It 
begins  with  1  Peter,  and  perhaps  with   Hebrews 
and  James  (see  §  9),  and  clear  traces,  though  with- 
out definite  quotation,  are  found  in   Clement  of 
Rome,  Ignatius,  Polycarp,  and  Justin  Martyr  (see 
full  quotations  and  references  in  Sanday-Headlam, 
p.  Ixxix  ff. ;  Moffatt,  p.  148).    Marcion  (c.  A.D.  140) 
is  the  first  to  mention  the  Epistle  by  name  ;  from 
the  time  of  Irenaeus  onwards  we  have  numerous 
direct  quotations.     In   the   Muratorian  Canon  it 
stands  the    last    of    the    seven    Epistles    to    the 
Churches. 

4.  Purpose  of  the  Epistle. — It   seems  obvious 
at  first  sight  to  look  for  the  object  of  the  Epistle 
in     circumstances     connected     with    the    Roman 
Church.     Most  of  St.  Paul's  letters  are  in   fact 
pieces  d'occasion,  called  forth  by  special  difficulties 
or  dangers  arising  in   churches  in    which   he   is 
interested ;  the  Epistles   to  Galatia  and   Corinth 
are     the     outstanding    examples.       Accordingly, 
attempts   have   been   made  (Baur,  etc.)   to  recon- 
struct from  hints  afforded  by  the  Epistle  the  con- 
ditions of  the  Christian  community  in  Rome,  and 
the   relations  existing    between    its  Jewish    and 
Gentile  elements  ;  the  'strong'  and  the  '  weak'  of 
chs.  14,  15  are  identified  with  parties  supposed  to 
have  arisen    there ;    and   from   these  features  so 
discovered   the    main    purpose  of    the   Epistle  is 
deduced.     It  will  not  be  denied  that  this  method 
is  justifiable  in  certain  cases,  but  it  is  questionable 
whether  it  gives  us  the  right  point  of  view  from 
which  to   approach   this  particular  Epistle.     For 
Romans  is  distinguished  from  the  other  Epistles 
just  named  by  two  important  features,     (a)  It  is 
addressed  to  a  church   which   St.    Paul   has  not 
founded,  or  even  visited.     He  must  therefore  have 
been  dependent  upon  reports  received  from  others 
for    any   knowledge  of    its  difficulties  or  of  the 
various  influences  at  work.     No  doubt  such  reports 
were  available  (?Prisca),   but  (b)  the  Epistle  it- 
self does  not  suggest  that  it  was  written  in  view 
of  them.     There  is  no  hint  in  it  *  that  St.  Paul's 
purpose  is  to  counteract  errors  or  divisions  which 
he  has  reason  to  believe    have    actually    arisen. 
Indeed,  he  seems  to  safeguard  himself  from  being 
supposed   to  do  so   (1514),  and   suggests   that   his 
object  is  the  imparting  of  a  spiritual  gift  (I11  151S). 
He  does  not  insist  on  his  authority  as  an  apostle 
except  in  the  opening  section.     What  he  does  insist 
on  is  his  desire  and  frustrated   attempts  to  visit 
Rome  (I13  1522tf-)-     It  would  appear,  therefore,  that 
the  letter  is  intended  partly  to  take  the  place  of  this 
visit,  and   partly  to  prepare  the  way  for  it,  if  it 
should   be   possible  in  the  future.     Remembering 
the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  written,  we 
can  hardly  doubt  that  the  writer  was  acutely  con- 
scious  that  the  visit  might  in   fact  never    take 
place.     Already  we  have  hints  of  the  premonitions 
as  to  the  result  of  the  journey  to  Jerusalem  (1531), 

*  Except  161?,  on  which  see  }  a  (a). 


which  soon  became  still  more  defined  (Ac  2022 
2110ff-).  St.  Paul  realized  the  outstanding  import- 
ance of  Rome  and  a  church  there  both  at  the 
moment  and  still  more  for  the  future.  He  may 
well  have  felt  that  in  case  he  should  never  be  able 
to  go  there  himself  he  would  wish  that  church  to 
have  some  permanent  record  of  his  teaching.  The 
Epistle  is  not  a  formal  compendium  of  Paulinism, 
but  it  is  the  longest  and  most  carefully  thought-out 
\statement  of  his  views  on  certain  points,  and  we 
•may  conjecture  that,  though  addressed  to  Rome, 
St.  Paul  had  in  mind  the  possibility  of  its  pene- 
trating to  other  churches.*  In  other  words,  the 
letter  does  not  arise  primarily  from  a  desire  to  meet 
a  particular  situation  in  the  Roman  Church  ;  it 
arises  from  the  wish  to  put  it  and  others  in  posses- 
sion of  his  views  in  some  more  or  less  permanent 
form.  Apart  from  the  few  personal  references,  it 
might  have  been  equally  well  written  to  any 
church,  and  we  can  draw  few  conclusions  from  it 
as  to  the  circumstances  of  the  Roman  Church  in 
particular.  The  Epistle,  however,  remains  of  the 
greatest  value  as  affording  material  for  the  recon- 
struction of  the  thought  and  conditions  of  Apos- 
tolic Christianity.  It  tells  us  the  kind  of  questions 
St.  Paul  found  men  asking  generally,  the  difficul- 
ties they  felt,  and  the  forms  of  error  to  which 
they  were  exposed.  For  the  particular  examples 
he  had  in  mind  we  should  probably  look  to  the 
churches  he  knew,  or  even  to  the  church  in  which 
he  happened  to  be  writing,  rather  than  to  Rome. 

In  the  light  of  these  considerations  we  may 
examine  two  questions  which  have  bulked  large  in 
discussions  of  the  Epistle. 

(a)  Was  St.  Paul  writing  to  Jews  or  to  Gentiles  ? — 
Certain  passages  imply  clearly  that  he  has  Gentiles 
in  mind ;  e.g.  1M-,  '  Among  all  the  nations  [i.e. 
Gentiles,  ZOveffw]  .  .  .  among  whom  are  ye  also ' ; 
v.13,  'That  I  might  have  some  fruit  in  you  also, 
even  as  in  the  rest  of  the  Gentiles'  ;  II13,  '  I  speak 
to  you  that  are  Gentiles.'  But  the  curious  thing 
is  that  there  are  other  sections  in  which  the 
writer  seems  to  associate  his  readers  no  less  de- 
cisively with  himself  as  fellow- Jews — 41, '  Abraham, 
our  forefather  according  to  the  flesh ' ;  76,  '  We 
have  been  discharged  from  the  law ' ;  910,  '  Our 
father  Isaac.'  Further,  the  general  argument  of 
the  Epistle  presupposes  acquaintance  with  Jewish 
Scriptures  and  ways  of  thought,  and  is  addressed 
to  Jewish  as  much  as  to  Gentile  Christians.  In 
Galatians,  on  the  contrary,  St.  Paul  addresses  his 
readers  as  those  who  have  not  been  under  the  Law, 
though  in  1  Co  101,  written  to  a  Gentile  church,  he 
speaks  of  '  our  fathers.'  The  obvious  conclusion  is 
that  in  Romans  he  has  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  in 
mind,  and  the  combination  is  made  easier  when  we 
remember  that  many  of  the  latter  approached 
Christianity  by  way  of  the  Synagogue,  while  some 
would  even  have  been  proselytes.  A.  Robertson, 
(HDB  iv.  298b)  suggests  that  these  predominated 
and  '  gave  the  tone  to  the  community,'  sc.  of  the 
Christian  Church  in  Rome.  If,  however,  what  has 
been  said  above  holds  good,  we  shall  be  cautious 
about  drawing  from  the  Epistle  conclusions  as  to 
the  composition  of  the  Roman  Church.  Baur, 
followed  by  Mangold  and  others,  argues  that  it 
was  predominantly  Jewish  and  a  stronghold  of 
Judaistic  Christianity.  In  this,  however,  he  has 
not  been  generally  followed,  and  a  priori  con- 
siderations confirm  what  we  gather  from  our 
sources  as  to  the  origin  of  the  Roman  Church, 
leading  us  to  suppose  that  it  contained  both 
elements.  The  Epistle  implies  that  the  relation 
between  Jew  and  Gentile  Christians  would  be 
likely  to  arise  in  that  church,  but  it  does  not 

*  Note,  however,  that  it  is  not '  a  circular  letter '  (see  §  a  (6)) ; 
the  references  to  Rome  in  both  ch.  1  and  ch.  15  are  quite  definite 
so  far  as  they  go. 


412      ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


KOMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


suggest  that  it  was  a  burning  question,  as  in 
Galatia,  or  that  Judaistic  teaching  had  already 
obtained  a  strong  footing  there. 

(b)  What  teaching    is    St.   Paul  combating  in 
chs.  14,  15  ? — In  other  words,  who  are  '  the  weak ' 
and  '  the  strong '  ?     In  these  chs.  St.  Paul  discusses 
questions  as  to  food  and  the  observance  of  days. 
'  One  man  hath  faith  to  eat  all  things  :  but  he  that 
is  weak  eateth  herbs '(142);  'One  man  esteemeth 
one  day  above  another :  another  esteemeth  every 
day  alike '  (v.5) ;  '  It  is  good  not  to  eat  flesh,  nor  to 
drink   wine,   nor   to    do    anything    whereby    thy 
brother   stumbleth '   (v.21) ;   'We  that  are   strong 
ought  to  bear  the  infirmities  of  the  weak'  (151). 
Here  again  it  has  been  assumed  that  the  reference 
is  to  definite  parties  or  sects  existing  in  Rome,  and 
the  attempt  has  been  made  to  identify  them  on  this 
basis.      It  is  suggested   that    the    ascetics    were 
Judaizers  (Origen,  etc.),  but  the  obvious  difficulty 
arises  that  the  reference  is  not  to  scruples  about 
eating  things  ottered  to  idols  as  at  Corinth,*  but 
to  abstinence    from    meat  and   wine    altogether, 
which  was  in  no  way  characteristic  of  the  party  of 
the  circumcision.     More  probable  is  the  view  that 
Essene  t  practices  are  referred  to  (Liddon,  Light- 
foot,   Gittbrd),  or  vegetarian  ascetics  of  the  type 
mentioned  by  Seneca ;   Baur  suggests  Ebionites, 
who  seem,  however,  to  belong  to  a  later  period. 
Any  of  these  ideas  may  have  been  in  St.  Paul's 
mind,   but   the  point  is  that  it  is  by  no  means 
certain  that   he   was  referring   to  any  particular 
sect  in  Rome  ;  he  mentions  abstinence  from  meat 
as  '  a  typical  instance  of  excessive  scrupulousness ' 
(Sanday-Headlam,  p.  402).     We  conclude  that  the 
whole   passage  is  probably  due  not  to  anything 
which  St.  Paul  has  heard  of  as  going  on  in  Rome, 
but  to  tendencies  which  he  has  found  at  work  in 
the  churches  he  knows,  and  particularly  in  Corinth, 
where  he  is  perhaps  writing.^    The  passage  is  not 
an  answer  to  a  question  or  a  report,  but  he  knows 
that  errors  which  have  arisen   in   the  Church  at 
large  are  sure  to  be  represented  sooner  or  later  in 
Rome. 

In  the  light  of  these  considerations  we  may  also 
answer  the  question  as  to 

(c)  How  far  Romans  is  a  true  letter. — Deissmann 
(Light  from  the  Ancient  East,  p.   225),  arguing 
on  the  basis  of  the  recently  discovered  papyri  and 
the   light  thrown  by  them  on   the  language  and 
methods  of  NT  writers,  has  gone  very  far  in  the 
denial  of  any  literary  character  to  the  Epistles  ;  § 
'  The  letters  of  Paul  are  not  literary  ;  they  are  real 
letters,   not  epistles ;   they  were  written  by  Paul 
not  for    the    public    and    posterity,   but   for   the 
persons  to  whom  they  are  addressed.     Almost  all 
the  mistakes  that  have  ever   been   made  in   the 
study  of  St.  Paul's  life  and  work  have  arisen  from 
neglect  of  the  fact  that  his  writings  are  non-literary 
and   letter-like   in    character.'      He   admits    that 
Romans  is  at  first  sight  least  like  a  letter,  but  lie 
still  persists  in  including  it  in  his  category  :  '  Here 
also,   therefore,  if   we  would  understand  its  true 
significance,  we  must  banish  all  thought  of  things 
literary'  (p.  231).     No  doubt  the  warning  is  valu- 
able against  exaggerations  ;  no  one  of  the  Epistles, 
not  even  Romans,  is  a  theological  treatise  in  which 
the  epistolary  form  is  adopted  as  a  mere  literary 
device  ;   in  their  interpretation  we  must  always 
allow  for  the  personal  factor  and  also  for  the 
special  circumstances  in  which  they  were  produced. 

*  It  is  in  fact  doubtful  whether  these  Corinthian  '  Puritans ' 
were  Judaizers  at  all,  at  any  rate  of  the  ordinary  type  ;  see 
Lake,  Earlier  EpiMes,  p.  219  ff. 

t  It  is  not,  however,  quite  certain  that  these  practised  vege- 
tarianism ;  see  Lietzmann,  Com.  ad  toe.,  for  the  various  traces 
of  this  type  of  asceticism  in  different  quarters. 

1  For  scrupulousness  as  to  days  see  Gal  410  and  Col  216,  where 
meat  and  drink  are  also  mentioned  ;  for  these  cf.  1  Ti  43. 

§  Cf.  also  the  same  writer's  Paulus,  Tubingen,  1911,  p.  4ff., 
Eng.  tr.,  London,  1912,  p.  9ff. 


At  the  same  time  Deissmann  has  carried  his  thesis 
too  far.  We  may  quote  on  the  other  side  one  who 
is  equally  qualified  to  speak  from  the  point  of  view 
of  the  new  discoveries  :  '  The  letters  of  St.  Paul 
may  not  be  epistles,  if  by  that  we  are  to  under- 
stand literary  compositions  written  without  any 
thought  of  a  particular  body  of  readers.  At  the 
same  time,  in  view  of  the  tone  of  authority  adopted 
by  their  author,  and  the  general  principles  with 
which  they  deal,  they  are  equally  far  removed 
from  the  unstudied  expression  of  personal  feeling, 
which  we  associate  with  the  idea  of  a  true  letter. 
And  if  we  are  to  describe  them  as  letters  at  all,  it 
is  well  to  define  the  term  still  further  by  the 
addition  of  some  such  distinguishing  epithet  as 
"  missionary  "  or  "  pastoral."  It  is  not  merely  St. 
Paul  the  man,  but  St.  Paul  the  spiritual  teacher 
and  guide  who  speaks  in  them  throughout* 
(Milligan,  The  New  Testament  Documents,  London, 
1913,  p.  95). 

If  this  applies  generally,  it  applies  with  special 
force  to  Romans,  which  has  in  it  something  both  of 
the  manifesto  and  of  the  homily. 

5.  The  primitive  Roman  Church. — The  bearing 
of  the  Epistle  on  the  composition  of  the  Roman 
Church  and  its  supposed  parties  has  already  been 
discussed  (§  4).  It  remains  to  put  together  what 
we  can  gather  as  to  the  character  of  the  community 
addressed  by  St.  Paul.  Since  the  time  of  Pompey 
(63  B.C.)  there  had  been  considerable  settlements  of 
Jews  in  Rome,  and  Latin  literature  is  full  of 
references  to  them,  mostly  of  an  unfavourable 
character  (see  quotations  in  Sanday-Headlam,  p. 
xixff.).  We  may  therefore  safely  assume  that 
there  would  also  be  in  Rome  large  numbers  of  those 
proselytes  and  '  God-fearers,'  attracted  by  the 
monotheism  and  ethical  teaching  of  the  Synagogue, 
from  whom  St.  Paul  and  early  Christian  mission- 
aries in  general  drew  many  of  their  converts. 
The  importance  of  the  Jewish  community  also  im- 
plies frequent  direct  contact  between  Rome  and 
Jerusalem  (cf.  the  connexion  of  the  Herods  with  the 
Imperial  Court).  There  was  a  synagogue  of  Roman 
libertini  at  Jerusalem  (Ac  69),  and  strangers  from 
Rome,  'Jews  and  proselytes,'  are  mentioned 
among  the  first  hearers  of  the  gospel  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  (2'°).  It  is  not  unreasonable  to  trace 
the  first  beginnings  of  Christianity  in  Rome  to  this 
fact.  But  possibly  more  important  was  the  con- 
stant intercourse  between  such  cities  as  Ephesus 
and  Corinth  and  the  capital.  A  Christian  church 
would  be  founded  there  almost  imperceptibly,  ow- 
ing to  the  visits  and  migrations  of  converts,  each  of 
whom,  after  the  manner  of  the  first  generations  of 
Christianity,  became  a  centre  of  missionary  effort. 
There  is  at  any  rate  no  evidence  of  any  definite 
propaganda  in  Rome  on  the  part  of  Peter  or  any 
other  of  the  apostles  before  the  period  of  our 
Epistle.  The  stories  of  an  early  preaching  of 
Peter  (q.v.)  in  the  capital  are  comparatively  late 
and  unsupported.  Our  oldest  authorities  speak 
only  of  his  martyrdom  there  at  a  later  date.  The 
evidence  of  Romans  itself  is  certainly  against  any 
idea  that  he  had  visited  Rome  before  the  writing 
of  the  Epistle.  -  It  is  true  that  the  interpretation 
of  1520  is  not  undisputed,  Lake  and  others  seeing 
in  the  '  hindrance '  the  fact  that  the  church  had 
actually  been  founded  by  another — presumably  St. 
Peter.  But  a  careful  reading  of  the  passage  shows 
that  v.22,  'wherefore  I  was  hindered  these  many 
times  from  coming  to  you,'  refers  to  the  urgent 
necessity  under  which  St.  Paul  had  lain  of  preach- 
ing in  other  districts  first,  not  to  the  objection  of 
intruding  on  another's  foundation.  He  clearly 
implies  that  the  '  hindrance '  has  now  been  removed  ; 
he  has,  in  fact,  '  no  more  any  further  place  in  these 
regions' ;  i.e.  he  has  done  his  work.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  objection  that  Rome  was  another  man's 


ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


KOMASS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE     413 


foundation  would  be  valid  permanently,  and  it  is 
most  improbable  that  in  these  circumstances 
St.  Paul  would  even  have  written  to  the  Roman 
Church,  at  any  rate  without  making  the  least 
reference  to  St.  Peter's  work  and  position  there. 
There  would  not,  however,  be  the  same  objection 
to  writing  to  or  visiting  a  community  in  which 
Christianity  had  simply  sprung  up,  as  it  were,  of 
itself. 

The  remark  of  Suetonius  (Claud.  25)  that 
Claudius  '  Judseos,  impulsore  Chresto  assidue 
tunmltuantes,  Roma  expulit'  (confirmed  by  Ac 
182)  may  well  be  an  indication  of  the  existence  of 
Christianity  in  Rome  c.  A.D.  52.*  It  is  true  that 
'  Chrestus '  may  be  the  name  of  an  actual  indi- 
vidual (it  was  a  common  slave  name),  but  more 
probably  it  represents  '  Christus,'  in  which  case  we 
have  a  hint  either  of  some  Messianic  disturbance 
of  a  general  character  or  else,  more  specifically,  of 
troubles  arising  between  Jews  and  Christians 
owing  to  the  preaching  of  Jesus  as  Christ.  The 
Roman  historian  might  easily  suppose  from  hear- 
ing the  name  that  Christus,  or  Chrestus,  was  the 
actual  ringleader.  It  may  be  that  the  reminder 
in  Ro  13lff>  of  the  duty  of  proper  submission  to  the 
civil  power  has  a  special  reference  to  this  event ; 
Christians  are  to  hold  aloof  from  every  type  of 
lawless  action,  and  from  anything  which  might 
lead,  however  unintentionally,  to  collision  with 
those  responsible  for  law  and  order.  Lake,  however 
(Earlier  Epistles,  p.  392  ff.),  suggests  that  the 
passage  is  more  general  and  refers  to  the  danger 
of  being  mixed  up  in  the  agitations  and  abortive 
rebellions  of  the  Zealots.  It  is  at  any  rate  im- 
portant as  reflecting  the  Pauline  and  Lucan  atti- 
tude to  the  Imperial  power,  in  strong  contrast  to 
the  hostility  of  the  Apocalypse.  And,  written  to 
Rome,  it  might  have  a  considerable  apologetic 
value  if  a  copy  of  the  Epistle  chanced  to  come 
into  the  hands  of  anyone  connected  with  the 
Court. 

We  may  now  consider  what  light  is  thrown  by 
the  Epistle  on  the  circumstances  of  the  Roman 
Church.  It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  it 
is  precarious  to  argue  too  definitely  from  it  to  the 
conditions  supposed  to  exist  at  Rome,  and  we  must 
bear  in  mind  that  the  destination  of  ch.  16,  with 
its  personal  references,  is  doubtful.  But,  whether 
this  ch.  refers  to  Rome  or  to  Ephesus,  it  is 
equally  valuable  as  giving  some  indication  of  the 
wide  spread  of  Christianity  at  this  period  among 
different  classes  and  races.  Slaves  and  freedmen 
are  largely,  but  not  exclusively,  represented.  If 
Narcissus  is  the  freedman  of  Claudius,  and  Aristo- 
bulus  (v.10)  the  grandson  of  Herod  the  Great  (see 
§  2  («)),  it  is  interesting  to  find  that  Christianity 
had  reached  their  households,  i.e.  their  slaves  and 
entourage.  But  if  these  identifications  be  rejected, 
we  then  probably  have  the  names  of  prominent 
and  presumably  more  or  less  wealthy  members  of 
the  church.  The  ch.  also  suggests  that  the  com- 
munity is  organized  in  groups  and  household 
churches,  and  this  harmonizes  with  other  indica- 
tions afforded  by  the  Epistle  which,  in  common 
with  others  of  the  same  period,  has  no  reference  to 
a  developed  ministry.  We  hear  only  generally  of 
men  who  prophesy,  teach,  exhort,  and  rule  (12*ff>), 
mentioned  in  a  way  which  leaves  it  doubtful 
whether  permanent  officials  are  intended.  Such 
a  stage  of  development  would  be  very  natural  in 
Rome,  if  the  church  had  not  been  founded  by  any 
leading  missionary  but  had  grown  up  more  or  less 
haphazard.  In  ch.  16  the  importance  of  the  work 
of  women  is  noticeable ;  Mary,  Tryphsena  and 
Tryphosa,  and  Persis  are  mentioned ;  Prisca  is 
prominent,  and  Phcebe  is  the  servant  or  deaconess 

*  Under  Nero  (A.D.  54)  the  Jews  again  exerted  considerable 
influence  in  the  capital. 


of  the  church  at  Cenchreae  ;  it  is,  how- 
ever, questionable  whether  a  definite  official  is 
meant. 

Of  the  sacraments,  baptism  is  taken  for  granted, 
but  there  is  no  reference  to  the  Eucharist.  Though 
prophecy  and,  in  St.  Paul's  own  case,  miracles  are 
mentioned,  we  do  not  hear  of  the  startling  gifts  so 
prominent  at  Corinth.  Disputes  as  to  the  relative 
value  of  charismata  seem  to  lie  in  the  background 
of  123ff>,  but  this  may  only  be  a  reflexion  of  St. 
Paul's  general  experience,  and  need  not  imply  the 
actual  existence  of  such  quarrels  in  Rome  in  par- 
ticular. The  whole  picture  of  church  life  in  chs. 
12,  13  is  markedly  sober  and  practical ;  the 
Christian  has  his  trials  (8,  1212),  but  definite 
persecution  is  excluded  by  134.  The  importance 
of  hospitality  in  the  primitive  Church  is  well 
known  ;  the  duty  would  be  specially  urgent  in 
Rome,  whither  so  many  travellers  came  (1213). 

6.  The  bearing  of  the  Epistle  on  the  personal 
history  of  St.  Paul. — Romans  is  primarily  im- 
portant as  marking  a  definite  stage  in  the  develop- 
ment of  Christian  doctrine,  and  it  has  compara- 
tively little  to  offer  with  regard  to  the  external 
history  of  St.  Paul's  life.  There  are,  however,  a 
few  scattered  indications  which  it  may  be  well  to 
group  together.  Its  chief  interest  is  with  regard 
to  the  form  his  teaching  had  come  to  take  ;  we 
find  but  few  of  those  intimate  personal  touches  in 
which  1  and  2  Cor.  are  so  rich.  Ch.  7  is  no 
doubt  autobiographical  in  the  sense  that  it  is 
based  on  personal  experience,  probably  of  struggles 
before  conversion.  At  the  same  time  the  'I' 
seems  to  be  typical  of  the  divided  soul  in  general 
and  not  to  refer  to  St.  Paul  specifically.  The 
passionate  outbursts  in  9lff>  10l  throw  a  strong 
light  on  St.  Paul's  burning  patriotism.  It  has 
been  remarked  that  if  he  had  not  spent  himself  in 
the  service  of  Jesus  he  would  have  shed  his  blood 
with  other  natives  of  Tarsus  on  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem  in  A.D.  70.  As  has  been  pointed  out 
(§  1),  the  Epistle  touches  the  narrative  of  Acts  at 
two  points. 

(1)  It  emphasizes   St.   Paul's  strong  desire  to 
visit  Rome  (cf.  Ac  1921).     Without  any  unworthy 
flattery  it  helps  us  to  realize  the  importance  he 
attached  to  that  city  and  to  its  church,  an  import- 
ance natural  to  a  Roman  citizen  who  worked  along 
the  great  roads  and  concentrated  on   the  great 
towns  of  the  Empire,  and  who  understood  to  the 
full  the  opportunity  afforded  by  the  Pax  Romana 
for  the  spread  of  Christianity.     The  Epistle  under- 
lines   this    particular    feature    in    the    Apostle's 
missionary  policy.     Whether  the  journey  to  Spain 
of  which  he  speaks  (Ro  1528)  ever  took  place  must 
remain  doubtful,  though  it  may  be  covered  by  the 
expression  of  Clement  of  Rome  (Ep.  ad  Cor.  i.  5) 
that  he  reached  'the  western  limit  of  the  world.' 
The  Muratorian  Fragment  also  speaks  of  a  visit  to 
Spain,  but  on  that  we  can  lay  little  stress. 

The  phrase  'even  unto  Illyricum'  (1519)  is  diffi- 
cult. It  seems  that  it  does  not  imply  an  extension 
of  St.  Paul's  missionary  activity  to  the  east  coasts 
of  the  Adriatic,  of  which  there  is  no  hint  in  Acts, 
but  merely  that  when  he  was  in  Macedonia  he 
found  himself  on  the  border  of  Illyricum ;  this, 
when  he  wrote,  formed  the  western  limit  of  his 
preaching. 

(2)  The  other  important  point  of  contact  is  the 
reference  to  the  collection  for  the  saints  (15Mff-), 
which  appears  as  the  main  motive  for  the  visit  to 
Jerusalem.     We  see  from  the  Epistle  St.  Paul's 
anxiety  as  to  his  reception   and  his  keen  desire 
that    the    gift    should    be    favourably    received. 
Romans  itself  is  in  a  sense  an  eirenicon  between 
Jew   and   Gentile,  both  within   and  without  the 
Church  (see  esp.  chs.   11-13),  and  the  purpose  of 
the  Epistle  is  therefore  in  harmony  with  that  of 


414      KOMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


the  visit  to  Jerusalem,  showing  that  at  this  period 
St.  Paul  was  taking  particular  pains  both  to  secure 
unity  within  the  Church  and,  if  it  were  possible, 
to  win  over  the  nation  as  a  whole.* 

We  should  not  pass  over  the  incidental  reference 
in  1519  to  St.  Paul's  power  of  working  miracles. 
It  is  not  known  what  event  is  referred  to  in  164 ;  it 
can  hardly  be  the  riot  of  Ac  19-3. 

7.  Analysis. — (rt)  Introduction  (I1"17). 

I1"7.  Extended  greeting. 

I8'17.  Congratulations  and  personal  notes,  leading 
up  to  statement  of  the  writer's  Gentile  apostleship 
and  the  theme  of  the  Epistle — '  the  righteous  shall 
live  by  faith.' 

(b)  Righteousness  (!18-5). 

j is-32  Even  the  Gentiles  might  have  known  God, 
but  they  have  not ;  sin  has  followed  ignorance,  and 
God's  anger  is  just. 

21'11.  God's  judgment  is  universal  and  is  only 
delayed  in  mercy  (n.b.  vv.9-11,  taking  up  the 
thought  of  I16  and  emphasizing  the  similarity 
between  Jew  and  Gentile). 

212-16  Not  the  possession  of  the  Law  but  the 
doing  of  it  is  the  crucial  question  from  the  point  of 
view  of  God's  judgment. 

217'29.  Do  the  Jews  keep  the  Law?  Certainly 
not.  This  suggests  that  we  must  look  deeper  to 
discover  the  true  Jew  and  the  true  circumcision, 
which  turn  out  to  be  spiritual. 

31"8.  Preliminary  objections.  What  is  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  Jew  (the  answer  is  not  given  till 
chs.  9-11)?  Man's  disobedience  does  not  invali- 
date God's  promises,  nor  may  this  fact  be  made  an 
excuse  for  sin. 

39-20  Universal  sinfulness  proved  by  an  appeal 
to  Scripture,  as  it  has  already  been  proved  by  the 
appeal  to  experience. 

321-31  God's  real  method  of  salvation  is  by  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  connected  with  His  death. 
This  faith  brings  full  forgiveness  of  sin  and  justi- 
fication ;  it  excludes  all  idea  of  personal  merit 
and  is  essentially  universal. 

41'28.  The  principle  considered  in  relation  to 
Abraham.  He  was  justified  by  his  faith,  not  by 
his  actions,  and  that  before  the  institution  of 
circumcision.  Nor  did  the  promise  come  through 
the  Law.  His  faith  was  shown  by  his  acceptance 
of  the  promise  of  a  son.  These  facts  make  him 
the  father  of  all  believers,  of  whatever  race 

(W.11-  12.  16.  23ff.\ 

51'21.  The  results  of  this  new  righteousness  by 
faith.  It  carries  with  it  the  assurance  of  present 
free  access  to  God  and  the  hope  of  final  salvation, 
guaranteed  by  the  love  of  God  displayed  in  the 
death  of  Christ.  The  work  of  Christ  stands  in 
strong  contrast  with  the  effects  of  Adam's  fall 
(vv.12-21). 

(c)  Sanctification  (chs.  6-8). 

61*14.  Our  baptism  is  a  death  unto  sin  ;  it  there- 
fore implies  a  constant  conflict  against  evil  (some 
interpret  this  passage  as  implying  that  theoretic- 
ally at  least  the  Christian  cannot  sin ;  see  §  8). 

615-76.  This  truth  illustrated  by  the  double 
metaphors  of  emancipation  from  slavery  and  of 
marriage. 

77-24  \Vhat,  then,  is  the  position  of  the  Law  ?  It 
brings  the  occasion  and  the  possibility  of  sin, 
though  not  itself  sinful.  To  it  is  due  the  inward 
struggle  in  the  self  between  good  and  evil  ('  flesh '), 
from  which  we  are  delivered  by  Christ  (this  section 
apparently  refers  not  to  the  experience  of  the 
Christian  but  to  that  of  the  unregenerate  man). 

81'17.  The  work  of  the  Spirit,  bringing  deliver- 
ince  from  the  'flesh'  (vv.1-9),  the  guarantee  of 

*  On  this  point,  which  has  an  important  bearing  on  the  re- 
iability  of  the  view  of  St.  Paul's  character  and  policy  presented 
n  Acts,  see  A.  Harnack,  Date  of  the  Acts  and  of  the  Synoptic 
rospels,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1911,  pp.  64,  72  ff. 


bodily  resurrection  (vv.11-18),  of  sonship  and  final 
glory. 

gia-39  The  sorrows  and  yearnings  of  creation 
point  forward  to  a  future  deliverance  (vv.18-26).  In 
our  present  weakness  we  are  sustained  by  the 
Spirit,  and  the  certainty  of  God's  final  purpose 
for  us,  a  purpose  which  nothing  can  hinder. 

(d)  The  problem  of  the  rejection  of  Israel  (chs. 
9-11). 

91'5.  The  problem  stated  in  its  personal  and 
general  bearings. 

96-13  frorn  the  first  there  was  a  progressive 
selection  and  rejection ;  the  promise  was  not  to 
all  the  actual  descendants  of  Abraham. 

914-29.  The  principles  of  this  selection  rest  on  the 
will  of  God  as  Creator  (Pharaoh,  and  the  metaphor 
of  the  potter) ;  against  these  the  creature  has  no 
right  of  complaint.  The  OT  shows  that  God's 
choice  was  to  embrace  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews 
(vv.24-29). 

O^-IO21.  Israel  chose  the  wrong  way  of  attaining 
righteousness  (g^-lO3),  yet  its  attainment  was  near 
and  easy.  The  universal  preaching  of  the  gospel  has 
brought  to  Israel  both  opportunity  and  warning. 

ll1'10.  But  after  all  the  true  Israel  has  always 
been  a  remnant,  or  small  fraction,  of  the  whole. 

ll ii-36  Their  very  fall  has  the  purpose  of  open- 
ing the  way  to  the  admission  of  the  Gentiles. 
Yet  they  too  must  beware  of  presuming  on  their 
position  (the  olive  tree) ;  the  rejection  of  the  Jew 
is  only  temporary,  till  the  final  purpose  is  worked 
out.  This  is  one  of  mercy  to  all,  based  on  the 
methods  of  God's  working,  which  are  unfathomable 
by  man. 

(e)  Practical  exhortations  (chs.  12-1518). 
12-13.    Miscellaneous    exhortations,     centring 

round  the  idea  of  peace  and  unity,  including 
sections  on  the  right  use  of  spiritual  gifts  and  the 
attitude  to  the  civil  power. 

14-157.  The  practical  problem  of  the  relation  of 
the  weak  brother  to  the  strong  within  the  Church. 

158'13.  Both  Jew  and  Gentile  have  their  place  in 
the  purpose  of  God  (the  return  to  this  topic  is 
apparently  dictated  by  the  need  of  insisting  on 
unity). 

(/)  Conclusion  (1514-end). 

1514'33.  Personal  explanations ;  motive  of  the 
Epistle ;  visits  to  Rome  and  Jerusalem,  and  the 
collection  for  the  saints. 

161'16.*  Greetings  to  various  friends. 

1617'20.  A  warning  against  false  teachers. 

Ig2i-2s    Greetings  sent  by  St.  Paul's  companions. 

1523-27    Doxology. 

8.  The  argument  of  the  Epistle.— The  problem 
to  be  solved  is  the  method  by  which  man  may 
attain  righteousness.  The  underlying  idea  in  this 
is  not  merely  salvation,  regarded  as  something 
external — the  winning  of  certain  privileges  and 
the  escape  from  punishment.  It  is  an  inner  state 
of  the  man,  bringing  him  into  a  right  relation  to 
God.  No  doubt  in  virtue  of  this  he  will  escape  the 
wrath  of  God's  righteous  judgment  (2s  59),  but 
this  is  not  the  primary  thought.  St.  Paul's 
answer  may  be  best  understood  if  we  approach  it 
from  the  point  of  view  of  his  own  spiritual  experi- 
ence.! In  this  we  can  trace  three  main  elements. 

(a)  There  is  the  consciousness  of  his  own  sin  and 
impotence ;  the  Law  had  not  helped  him  in  the 
past  to  attain  the  righteousness  he  desired  ;  it  had 
only  brought  the  sense  of  failure  and  of  guilt,  and 

*  On  the  question  whether  this  ch.  in  fact  forms  part  of  the 
Epistle  see  §  2  (a). 

t  Attempts  have  been  made,  e.g.  by  Schweitzer  (Geschichte  der 
paulinischen  Forschung,  Tubingen,  1911,  p.  192),  to  deny  the 
influence  of  St.  Paul's  experience,  and  in  particular  of  his  con- 
version, on  his  thought.  It  is  true  he  does  not  make  many 
direct  references  to  this,  but  it  is  impossible  to  read  such  an 
Epistle  as  Romans  sympathetically  without  realizing  that  the 
experience  of  himself  and  his  converts  is  always  in  the  back- 
ground. 


ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE      415 


this  experience  was  general   both  with  Jew  and 
with  Gentile  (2.  77ff-  83). 

(b)  On  his  surrender  to  Christ  at  his  conversion 
he  became  conscious  of  an  entire  breach  with  the 
past  and  of  a  completely  new  point  of  view.     The 
death  and  resurrection  of  Christ  have  introduced  a 
new  factor  into  the  relation  between  God  and  man 
(324ff.  425  58ff.  gsztf.^     xhe  starting-point  is  now  what 
He  has  done,  not  what  man  can  succeed  in  doing 
for  himself.     But   this  work  of  Christ  does   not 
remain  something  external  to  the  believer  ;  trans- 
actional  theories  of  the  Atonement  and  unethical 
views  of  salvation  have  always  been  based  on  the 
isolation  of    the   work,   generally   the    death,   of 
Christ,  regarded  as  a  past  event  which  the  believer 
has  only  to  accept.     To  St.  Paul  the  Christian  is 
identified  with  Christ  and   shares  in  His  death, 
burial,   and  resurrection   (6.   81Mg) ;   this  truth  is 
absolutely    central    in    his    teaching.     The   term 
which  he  applies  to  this  identification  of  the  self 
with  Christ  is  '  faith.'     It  is  well  known  that  to 
him  faith  is  not   the  intellectual  acceptance  of  a 
creed,  but  a  personal  surrender  to  a  new  power ; 
the  believer  is  a  new  creature  ;  he  is  in  Christ  and 
Christ  in  him  (see  Sanday-Headlam,  pp.  102,  162) ; 
faith  is  inseparable  from  the  mystical  union.     The 
external  method  by  which  the  union  is  effected  is 
baptism.      With   regard    to   this  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  to  St.  Paul  and  to  the  first  Chris- 
tians in  general  baptism  was  always   the  accom- 
paniment of  a  definite  conversion  and  change  of 
life,  by  which  the  convert  died  in  a  very  real  sense 
to  the  old  past,  turning  his  back  not  only  on  its 
sins,  but  on  its  religious  beliefs  and  practices,  its 
habits  of  life,  and  very  often  on  its  friendships  and 
social  ties.     The  primary  result  of  this  new  ex- 
perience is  a  sense  of  forgiveness  or  justification 
(S24,  etc.);  the  believer,  having  died  to  the  sinful 
past,  can  now  be  '  treated  as  righteous '  before  God  ; 
he  starts  afresh*  (see,  further,  JUSTIFICATION). 

(c)  The  third  element  is  the  sense  of  new  power 
which  comes  from   the  union  with  Christ.     This 
may   be  described  as   sanctification   through  the 
Spirit,  or  as  a  present  sharing  of  the  resurrection 
of  Christ  (64-  "  74  810)  ;  it  is  very  difficult  to  trace 
any  real  or  final  distinction  between  the  Spirit  and 
Christ  (cf.  the  interchange  of  terms  in  Ho  8).     That 
the  sense  of  the  possession  of  the  Spirit  is  primarily 
based  on  experience  comes  out  most  clearly  in  the 
question  of  Gal  32,  which  is  the  starting-point  of 
St.  Paul's  argument,  '  Received  ye  the  Spirit  by 
the  works  of  the  law,  or  by  the  hearing  of  faith  ?  ' 
It  is  common  ground  that  a  new  force  has  come 
into  the  convert's  life  ;  the  only  question  is  whether 
it  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  gospel  or  to  the  Law.    This 
new  power,  then,  is  inseparably  connected  with  the 
conversion  experiences  and  with  faith,  though  it 
does  mark  a  development  which  for  certain  pur- 
poses may  be  distinguished  from  them  ;  i.e.  sancti- 
fication is  not  the  same  as  justification ;  it  is  the 
fruit  which  grows  from  this  root.     But  the  close- 
ness of  the  connexion  avoids  all  danger  of  the 
unethical  conclusions  which  some  were  ready  to 
draw  from  St.  Paul's  teaching  (Ho  61).     The  life  of 
righteousness  must  follow  ;  in  a  certain  sense  it  is 
unthinkable  that  the  Christian  can  continue  in 
sin,t  and  practical  moral  injunctions  fill  the  latter 

*  It  may  be  noted  that  under  the  pressure  of  this  vivid  ex- 
perience St.  Paul  sometimes  goes  very  far  in  the  sharpness  with 
which  ne  draws  the  line  between  the  regenerate  and  the  un- 
regenerate  man  ;  he  hardly  regards  the  new  life  as  the  quicken- 
ing of  a  spark  which  already  burns,  however  feebly,  in  all  men  ; 
it  is  an  entirely  new  thing  ab  extra.  It  is  true  that  in  Ro  7  he 
represents  the  flesh  and  the  spirit  as  already  in  conflict  before 
conversion,  but  at  other  times  the  natural  man  would  seem  to 
be  abandoned  to  '  the  flesh  '  (84ff-)-  From  such  a  point  of  view 
it  must  be  either  one  or  the  other ;  they  cease  to  be  two 
tendencies  at  work  in  every  one.  See  FLESH. 

t  It  has  sometimes  been  argued,  on  the  basis  of  expressions 
in  Ro  6  and  8,  as  well  as  in  other  Epistles,  that  St.  Paul 


part  of  the  Epistle.  But  the  stress  is  not  on  works 
as  the  starting-point ;  St.  Paul  always  goes  deeper 
down  to  the  power  and  motive  from  which  they 
will  inevitably  spring. 

It  is  in  the  light  of  these  doctrines  that  we  may 
best  understand  St.  Paul's  attitude  to  what  is 
superficially  the  central  problem  of  the  Epistle, 
viz.  the  relation  between  Jew  and  Gentile.  It  is 
obvious  that  considerations  such  as  a  man's  physical 
descent  and  his  obedience  to  external  requirements 
such  as  circumcision  and  a  ceremonial  Law,  or 
indeed  any  law,  considered  as  such,  become  irrele- 
vant. Experience  was  in  fact  proving  daily  that 
the  new  life  was  open  to  the  Gentile  at  least  as 
freely  as  to  the  Jew.  But  at  once  there  arose  a 
difficulty.  It  requires  some  effort  of  sympathetic 
imagination  to  enter  into  the  feelings  of  a  Jew 
brought  up  to  regard  his  people  as  the  favourites 
of  God,  and  the  Law  as  the  Divine  means  by  which 
life  was  to  be  won.  No  doubt  he  might  hope  for 
the  Gentiles  to  be  converted  to  Judaism,  but  if 
they  could  obtain  all  the  privileges  of  the  Messianic 
kingdom  without  this,  what  became  of  his  Scrip- 
tures with  their  promises  to  the  children  of 
Abraham?  Why  had  God  chosen  them  or  given 
the  Law  at  all  ?  St.  Paul,  as  a  Jew,  was  bound  to 
meet  the  objectors  on  their  own  ground  ;  he  appeals 
to  the  Scriptures  themselves,  to  the  story  of 
Abraham  justified  by  faith  before  the  giving  of 
circumcision  or  the  Law  (ch.  4),  and  to  the  purpose 
of  the  Law  as  revealing  sin.  He  argues  on  the 
analogies  of  slavery  and  marriage  that  its  sway  is 
abolished  by  the  death  to  the  old  self  (71),  and, 
more  effectively,  he  shows  its  practical  failure 
(v.7ff-).  It  is  well  to  admit  frankly  that  St.  Paul's 
arguments  do  not  always  appeal  to  us  so  directly 
on  these  points  ;  he  is  arguing  as  a  Rabbi  brought 
up  to  use  a  certain  method  of  interpretation,  which 
is  not  our  own  to-day.  The  real  proof  of  the  truth 
of  his  position  lies  in  the  appeal  to  spiritual  experi- 
ence and  history,  and  that  is  even  stronger  than 
when  he  wrote.  The  supreme  value  of  the  Epistle 
is  to  be  found  in  the  imperishable  passages,  such 
as  chs.  6-8,  in  which  the  facts  of  the  spiritual  life 
are  described  in  language  which  must  remain 
classical  for  all  time. 

There  still,  however,  remained  the  problem  of 
God's  choice  of  the  Jews  and  their  apparent 
abandonment.  Under  this  new  method  of  salva- 
tion, which  has  been  proved  from  the  Scriptures 
themselves  to  be  the  right  one,  what  is  the  mean- 
ing of  the  past  history  of  Israel  and  what  is  to  be 
its  fate  in  the  future  ?  Chs.  9-11  deal  specifically 
with  these  difficulties,*  resuming  the  question  of 
31.  In  them  St.  Paul  shows  that  there  had  always 
been  a  principle  of  selection  and  rejection  in  God's 
dealings  with  His  people,  a  principle  resting  on 
His  inscrutable  will  (ch.  9).  And  in  fact  the  Jews 
were  themselves  to  blame ;  they  had  adopted  a 
wrong  method  of  seeking  righteousness,  in  spite  of 
the  teaching  of  their  own  Moses,  and  when  the 
Messiah  came  they  rejected  Him,  though  they  had 
full  opportunity  of  hearing  the  message  (ch.  10). 

expected  the  Christian  to  be  actually  sinless,  an  idea  of  which 
we  have  traces  in  1  Jn.  and  in  Hennas.  Observation  of  life  in 
the  early  Christian  communities  must  have  at  once  made  it 
difficult  to  hold  any  such  theory,  and  it  is  contradicted  by  the 
whole  tone  of  the  exhortations  of  the  Epistles.  The  expressions 
which  suggest  it  belong  to  the  sharp  dichotomy  between  the 
regenerate  and  unregenerate  already  noticed  ;  they  are  part  of 
the  theory  of  the  Christian  life,  unhappily  at  once  negatived 
by  experience.  St.  Paul  found,  in  fact,  that  it  took  more  to  kill 
the  '  old  Adam '  than  he  had  expected ;  the  crucifixion  of  the 
flesh  and  the  old  self  was  a  gradual  process,  not  something 
completed  at  a  definite  moment.  This  truth  has  an  important 
bearing  on  the  difficulty  which  arises  from  the  slow  working  of 
the  leaven  of  Christianity. 

*  Baur  regarded  these  as  the  central  portion  of  the  Epistle, 
for  the  sake  of  which  all  the  rest  was  written  ;  this,  however,  is 
to  go  too  far,  though  it  is  probable  that  they  are  not  an  after- 
thought or  an  appendix,  as  the  modern  reader  is  sometimes 
inclined  to  think. 


416      ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


ROMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


Finally,  so  far  as  the  future  is  concerned,  God's 
casting  off  of  His  people  is  only  temporary  ;  it  is  a 
stage  in  the  conversion  of  the  Gentile  world,  and 
in  the  end  both  Jew  and  Gentile  will  be  united  in 
Christ.  This  again  rests  on  the  unfathomable 
purpose  of  God.  The  chs.  are  among  the  most 
difficult  of  the  Pauline  Epistles  (2  P  316).  In  9loff- 
St.  Paul  states  the  Divine  sovereignty  in  a  way 
that  seems  to  leave  little  room  for  free-will.  The 
difficulty  is  eased,  but  not  removed,  by  the  re- 
minder that  he  is  dealing  with  nations  and  not 
with  individuals.  The  only  real  answer  is  that  in 
ch.  10,  as  elsewhere  in  his  Epistles,  especially  in 
his  ethical  teaching,  he  insists  no  less  strongly  on 
human  responsibility  and  the  power  of  choice.  He 
is  dealing  with  one  of  the  ultimate  problems  of 
thought,  and  for  the  moment,  after  his  manner, 
isolates  a  single  element.  It  is  a  mistake  to  look 
in  his  teaching  for  any  detailed  theory  on  the 
problems  of  metaphysics  ;  nor  does  he  ever  answer 
the  question  as  to  the  final  fate  of  the  heathen  or 
of  '  vessels  prepared  for  destruction.'  It  must  be 
admitted,  however,  that  the  principle  of  the  appeal 
to  the  absolute  rights  and  unchallengeable  will  of 
God  as  Creator  has  its  dangers.  It  cannot  hold 
good  as  against  those  questionings  which  come 
from  man's  moral  sense  of  justice,  since,  if  all  that 
is  best  in  our  human  instincts  of  truth  and  good- 
ness does  not  rest  in  the  end  on  corresponding 
elements  in  the  Divine  nature,  we  have  no  means 
of  knowing  God  at  all  and  no  criterion  of  right 
and  wrong. 

It  may  be  added  that  considerable  light  is 
thrown  on  St.  Paul's  argument  here  and  through- 
out the  Epistle  by  a  study  of  contemporary  Jewish 
literature  and  especially  of  4  Ezra.  There  is  no 
question  of  any  direct  connexion,  but  we  see  in 
such  a  book  how  the  problems  with  which  St.  Paul 
deals  were  the  problems  which  occupied  the  minds 
of  other  thoughtful  Jews,  particularly  after  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem.  We  find  the  same  questions  as 
to  the  choice  and  apparent  rejection  of  Israel,  the 
power  of  sin  and  its  relation  to  the  Law  (4  Ezr. 
iii.,  iv.,v.  23  ft'.).  There  is  the  same  emphasis  on 
Adam's  sin  and  its  effects  on  his  descendants  (iii. 
7,  vii.  11),  and  the  same  contrast  between  the 
choice  of  Jacob  and  the  rejection  of  Esau  (iii.  16). 
Stress  is  laid  on  man's  universal  sinfulness  (vii.  46) 
and  the  general  absence  of  'good  works'  (viii.  31), 
while  in  ix.  7  works  and  faith  are  coupled  as  alter- 
native means  of  salvation.  The  solution  of  the 
problem  is  based  both  on  the  inscrutability  of  God's 
ways  and  on  trust  in  '  the  goal  of  the  love  that  I 
have  declared  unto  my  people'  (v.  40,  viii.  47  ff. ), 
a  two-fold  doctrine  found  in  similar  contexts  in  St. 
Paul  ;  cf.  Ro  914ff-  ll33*-  8Mff-.  The  greatest  con- 
trast with  St.  Paul's  teaching — assuming,  of  course, 
the  absence  of  the  Christian  solution — is  to  be  found 
in  the  narrow  nationalism  of  the  writer.  The 
world  has  been  created  for  Israel's  sake ;  the 
nations  are  but  spittle  and  a  drop  on  a  bucket 
(vi.  55  ft". );  the  writer  can  even  rejoice  over  the 
fewness  of  the  saved  (vii.  60ft'.),  and  the  supremacy 
of  the  Law  remains  unchallenged  (iii.  19  ff.,  ix. 
31  ff.)  ;  it  '  perishes  not  but  abides  in  its  glory,'  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  it  is  unable  to  save  the  sinner 
who  transgresses  it ;  his  fate  can  only  be  acquiesced 
in  as  deserved. 

A  further  question,  which  can  only  be  raised 
here,  is  how  far,  side  by  side  with  such  Jewish 
influences,  we  may  trace  the  influence,  possibly 
unconscious,  of  Greek  and  Oriental  pagan  thought. 
Christianity,  when  it  passed  from  Jerusalem  to 
Antioch,  and  then  into  the  Graeco-Roman  world, 
found  itself  in  an  atmosphere  seething  with  a  variety 
of  religious  ideas  ;  particularly  important  are  those 
connected  with  Astral  Stoicism  and  the  mystery- 
religions.  Many  of  its  converts  must  have  come 


from  such  systems.  They  found  in  the  new  religion 
the  redemption,  the  new  birth,  the  union  with  the 
Godhead,  and  the  hope  of  immortality  they  had 
sought  elsewhere  in  vain.  We  should  expect  a 
priori  that  the  language  and  mode  of  thought  to 
which  they  had  been  accustomed  would  leave  some 
mark  on  Christianity.*  With  regard  to  Romans, 
the  question  arises  specially  in  relation  to  ch.  6 
(see,  e.g.,  Lietzmann,  ad  loc.;  Reitzenstein,  Die 
hellenistischen  Mysterienreligionen,  Leipzig,  1910, 
p.  100 ft'.),  but  it  can  be  answered  only  when  con- 
sidered in  its  bearings  on  the  whole  development  of 
Pauline  theology  and  early  Christian  thought.  It 
is  still  sub  judice,  and  hasty  answers  are  to  be  de- 
precated, but  the  student  should  bear  it  in  mind 
as  one  of  the  factors  which  may  have  to  be  taken 
very  seriously  into  account. 

9.  Literary  relationships. — (a)  Other  Pauline 
Epistles. — Romans  stands  in  the  same  group  as 
Gal.  and  1  and  2  Cor.,  the  four  being  known  as  the 
Hauptbriefe,  or  central  letters  of  the  Pauline 
corpus.^  It  is  connected  with  them  in  style, 
language,  and  thought,  and  with  1  and  2  Cor.  in 
date  also,  being  written  shortly  after  them.  Many 
would  add  that  it  is  also  related  in  date  to  Gal., 
though  the  present  writer  believes  that  the  latter 
is  in  fact  the  earliest  extant  Pauline  Epistle, 
having  been  written  before  the  Council  of  Ac  15. 
A  discussion  of  the  question  would  be  out  of  place 
here  ;  the  only  point  with  which  we  are  concerned 
is  that  Romans  is  certainly  later  than  Galatians.J 
The  two  deal  with  the  same  subject — the  relation 
of  the  gospel  to  the  Law,  and  the  position  of  the 
Gentile  Christian  in  the  Church.  The  parallel  is 
worked  out  in  detail  by  Lightfoot  (Galatians*, 
London,  1876,  p.  45  ff.) ;  cf.  especially  Gal  36"10  and 
Ro43"1B  ;  in  fact,  most  of  Gal  3  may  be  paralleled  in 
Romans.  Lightfoot  on  the  strength  of  this  puts 
the  writing  of  Gal.  a  few  months  before  that  of 
Romans.  This  conclusion,  however,  is  notnecessary, 
since  it  is  quite  possible  for  a  writer  to  repeat  him- 
self very  closely  on  the  same  subject  after  the 
lapse  of  several  years,  if  his  views  were  fairly  formed 
at  the  earlier  date.  The  important  point  is  the 
difference  between  the  two  Epistles,  which  Light- 
foot  himself  fully  admits :  '  The  Epistle  to  the 
Galatians  stands  in  relation  to  the  Roman  letter 
as  the  rough  model  to  the  finished  statue ;  or 
rather,  if  I  may  press  the  metaphor  without  mis- 
apprehension, it  is  the  first  study  of  a  single  figure, 
which  is  worked  into  a  group  in  the  latter  writing ' 
(ib.  p.  49).  And  this  difference  is  generally  ad- 
mitted. Gal.  is  definitely  controversial,  written 
red-hot  to  convince  waverers  and  recover  back- 
sliders in  the  midst  of  a  pressing  crisis.  Romans 
is  not  indeed  an  academic  treatise,  but  it  is  the 
calm  and  studied  statement  of  a  position  reached 
during  years  of  debate.  It  is  worth  noting 
that  some  of  the  arguments  of  Gal.  which  are 
most  after  the  Rabbinical  manner  and  are  least 
convincing  are  in  fact  dropped  in  Romans,  e.g. 
the  allegory  of  Hagar,  and  the  argument  derived 
from  the  singular  of  '  seed '  (Gal  316).  In  Ro  4lsff- 

•  A  good  example  of  the  influence  of  terms  (though  in  this 
case  the  idea  behind  them  is  rejected,  not  accepted)  may  be 
found  in  the  difficult  '  height '  and  '  depth '  of  Ro  838.  Lietz- 
mann points  out  that  vi//<o/u.a  and  jSa0o«  are  technical  astrological 
expressions  for  the  ascension  and  declination  of  a  star.  Re- 
membering how  fate  and  the  stars  were  connected  in  the  re- 
ligious ideas  of  the  day,  we  may  develop  this  hint  and  sug- 
gest that  St.  Paul  implies  that  among  the  forces  conquered 
by  Christ  is  that  tyranny  of  fate,  astrologically  conceived, 
which  must  so  often  have  made  life  a  burden.  Similarly,  the 
'powers'  (iuvojueis)  which  immediately  precede  (separated, 
be  it  noted,  from  the  angels)  may  be  the  supposed  influences 
of  the  stars. 

t  See  Sanday-Headlam,  p.  Iviii,  for  list  of  words  peculiar  to 
the  four.' 

I  Clemen,  however,  with  a  special  chronology  of  his  own, 
puts  it  earlier  (Chronologie  der  paulinischen  Briefe,  Halle, 
1893). 


KOMANS,  EPISTLE  TO  THE 


ROME 


417 


the  '  seed  '  is  interpreted  in  the  natural  way  of 
Abraham's  descendants  in  general.  A  comparison 
of  the  two  Epistles  by  no  means  excludes  the 
possibility  of  some  considerable  interval  between 
them. 

(b)  Other  books  of  the  NT.—  (I)  The  Epistle  of 
St.  James.  —  Here  again  we  have  certain  resem- 
blances in  language  (Sanday-Headlam,  p.  Ixxvii), 
accompanied,  however,  by  an  apparent  contradic- 
tion in  teaching.  Both  quote  Gn  15B  ('  Abraham 
believed  God,'  etc.  ;  Ja  2-3,  Ko  43,  etc.),  but  draw 
from  it  opposite  conclusions,  St.  James  arguing  that 
Abraham  was  justified  by  works  and  not  by  faith. 
There  are  really  two  distinct  questions.  (i.)  Is 
there  any  direct  literary  relation  between  the  two  ? 
The  date  of  James  is  most  uncertain  ;  it  may  be 
one  of  the  earliest  or  one  of  the  latest  of  the  books 
of  the  NT,  and,  therefore,  if  there  is  indebtedness, 
it  would  be  very  difficult  to  say  which  of  the  two 
was  the  borrower.  But  in  fact  the  general  parallels 
in  language  are  not  sufficient  to  prove  that  either 
had  the  other's  work  before  him.  They  are  mostly 
commonplaces  of  Jewish  and  Christian  teaching, 
and,  if  any  further  explanation  were  required,  it 
might  —  on  the  supposition  of  the  apostolic  author- 
ship of  James  —  be  found  in  personal  intercourse 
between  the  two  writers.  The  common  quotation 
seems  at  first  sight  more  significant,  but  it  ceases 
to  be  so  when  we  remember  that  this  text  was 
frequently  used  in  Jewish  discussions  (Lightfoot, 
Gftlatians5,  p.  158  ff.  ;  Sanday-Headlam,  p.  104). 
Of  course  if  St.  James  be  placed  late  the  case  is 
then  somewhat  altered,  and  it  becomes  possible  that 
the  writer  knew  Romans  and  was  attempting  to 
answer  either  it  or  exaggerated  deductions  drawn 
from  St.  Paul's  teaching. 

Apart,  however,  from  the  question  whether 
either  writer  is  intending  to  controvert  the  other  or 
not,  it  is  important  to  ask  (ii.)  how  far  the  two 
points  of  view  are  really  exclusive.  It  at  once 
becomes  obvious  when  we  look  below  the  surface 
that  the  two  mean  different  things  by  faith.*  St. 
Paul  with  his  conception  of  faith  could  never  have 
said  that  the  devils  believe  and  tremble.  St.  James 
is  on  the  level  of  the  plain  matter-of-fact  man,  in- 
sisting on  conduct,  not  on  profession.  St.  Paul  goes 
deeper  down  to  the  springs  of  conduct.  The  two  do 
represent  different  points  of  view,  but  they  are  not 
necessarily  contradictory.  St.  Paul  would  prob- 
ably have  accepted  all  that  St.  James  said,  grant- 
ing his  use  of  the  terms,  but  would  have  argued 
that  it  did  not  go  to  the  root  of  the  matter.  St. 
James  would  probably  have  been  quite  ready  to 
agree  with  St.  Paul,  when  he  had  explained  what 
he  meant,  with  the  mental  reservation  that  he  was 
not  quite  sure  that  he  understood  him.  There 
is  certainly  room  for  both  within  the  Church's 
canon. 

(2)  1  Peter.  —  Here  the  literary  relationship  is 
far  stronger  and  indeed  almost  indisputable.  The 
parallel  passages  may  be  seen  in  Sanday-Headlam, 
p.  Ixxiv  ff.  Their  conclusion  is  as  follows  :  '  Al- 
though equal  stress  cannot  be  laid  on  all  these 
passages  the  resemblance  is  too  great  and  too  con- 
stant to  be  merely  accidental.  In  1  P  2s  we  have 
a  quotation  from  the  O.T.  with  the  same  variations 
from  the  LXX  that  we  find  in  Ro  933.  Not  only 
do  we  find  the  same  thoughts,  such  as  the  meta- 
phorical use  of  the  idea  of  sacrifice  (Ro  121,  1  P  2s), 
and  the  same  rare  words,  such  as  <rvo-xr)na-ri£fffdai, 
s,^  but  in  one  passage  (Ro  131'7,  1  P  213'1 


we  have  what  must  be  accepted  as  conclusive  evi- 
dence, the  same  ideas  occurring  in  the  same  order.' 
And  their  verdict  that  1  Peter  is  the  borrower  must 
be  accepted  on  every  ground.  We  are  not  here 
concerned  with  the  possible  bearing  of  this  fact  on 

*  See  Sanday-Headlam,  p.  102  S. 
t  See  Ro  122,  1  P  1"  ;  Ro  129,  i  p  122. 
VOL.  II.  —  27 


the  question  of  the  authorship  of  that  Epistle  ; 
we  need  only  point  out  that  it  makes  it  probably 
the  earliest  external  witness  to  the  existence  of 
Romans. 

(3)  It  may  be  added  that  there  are  fairly  close 
resemblances  between  Ro  417'21  and  He  II"-1*' a, 
and  between  Ro  1219  and  He  1030,  where  Dt  32s5  is 
quoted  with  the  same  variations  from  the  LXX. 
Jude'-4f<  is  also  of  the  same  type  as  the  doxology 
of  Ro  IB25*  ;  on  this  see  §  2  (6). 

(c)  Writings  outside  the  Nl\ — (1)  Wisdom. — Here 
we  pass  to  a  book  which  undoubtedly  influenced 
St.  Paul.  The  main  parallels  are  found  in  Ro  I20-** 
(the  attack  on  idolatry),  which  is  closely  similar  to 
various  passages  in  Wis  13  and  14,  and  in  Ro  919"23, 
for  .which  cf.  Wis  II21  1210-  12- a>  157.  In  each  case 
the  passages  will  be  found  in  full  in  parallel  columns 
in  Sanday-Headlam  (pp.  51,  267).  On  the  other 
hand,  the  contrast  between  Ro  2  and  Wis  15iff-  is 
most  instructive.  In  the  latter  passage  the  writer 
boasts  of  the  freedom  of  the  Jew  from  idolatry  ; 
St.  Paul's  words  gain  in  force  if  read  as  a  retort  to 
this.  Further,  while  Wisdom  distinguishes  be- 
tween the  principles  and  motives  of  God's  chastise- 
ment of  Jews  and  heathen,  very  much  to  the 
favour  of  the  former,  St.  Paul  teaches  that  both 
are  ultimately  on  the  same  level. 

(2)  Testaments  of  the  Tivelve  Patriarchs. — Here 
again  a  long  list  of  parallel  passages  will  be  found 
in  Sanday-Headlam,  p.  Lxxxii  f.,  and  also  in  R.  H. 
Charles's  ed.  of  the  Testaments,  London,  1908,  p. 
Ixxv  ff.  To  take  a  single  example,  we  may  com- 
pare with  Ro  12'-1  Test.  Benj.  iv.  '6,  '  By  doing  good 
he  overcometh  evil'  (oDros  r6  dyadbv  TTOLUV  VIK<J.  r6 
Ka.Kbv).  Sanday-Headlam  suppose  the  Testaments 
to  be  the  borrower,  but  they  are  now  very  gener- 
ally assigned  to  an  earlier  date  (Charles,  c.  100  B.C. ), 
and  we  may  accept  Charles's  verdict,  '  It  will  be 
clear  that  St.  Paul  was  thoroughly  familiar  with 
the  Greek  Translation  of  the  Testaments,'  with  the 
conclusion  that  his  Epistles  are  sometimes  depend- 
ent on  that  version.  It  need  only  be  remarked 
that  the  parallels  in  Romans  do  not  stand  alone. 

LITERATURE.  —  For  literature  dealing  with  the  Pauline 
Epistles  and  theology  in  general,  see  under  PAUL.  The  litera- 
ture on  Romans  itself  is  very  large  :  reference  may  be  made  to 
art.  'Romans,'  HDB  iv.  306;  to  the  list  of  Commentaries  in 
Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  'Romans '5,  Edinburgh,  1902,  p. 
xcviiiff.;  and  to  J.  Moffatt,  LXT,  London,  1911, p.  130.  Among 
the  best  for  general  purposes  may  be  mentioned  E.  H.  Gifford, 
Speaker's  Commentary,  iii.,  London,  1881 ;  C.  J.  Vaughan,  St. 
Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans^,  do.,  1870;  B.  Jowett,  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul  to  the  Thess.,  Gal.,  and  Ro7nJ,  do.,  1894  ;  J.  B. 
Lightfoot,  Notes  on  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  (covering  Ro  1-7),  do., 
1895;  F.  Godet,  Commentary  on  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
Romans,  Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1881-82;  J.  Denney,  EGT, 
'  Romans,'  London,  1900 ;  and,  above  all,  Sanday-Headlam, 
ICC. 

Of  German  Commentaries  the  best  are  perhaps  Meyer- 
Weiss,  Der  Brief  an  die  Romer^,  Gottingen,  1899 ;  A.  Jiilicher, 
in  Schriften  des  NT,  do.,  1907;  H.  Lietzmann,  in  Handbuch 
zwn  NT,  Tubingen,  1910  (valuable  for  quotations  from  con- 
temporary literature). 

Of  studies  we  may  mention  H.  P.  Liddon,  Explanatory 
Analysis  of  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  London,  1893;  F. 
J.  A.  Hort,  Prolegomena  toSt.  Paul's  Epistles  to  the  Romans  and 
Ephesians,  do.,  1895 ;  H.  C.  G.  Moule,  Expositor's  Bible, 
'  Romans,'  do.,  1894  ;  C.  Gore,  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
2  vols.,  do.,  1899-1900. 

Reference  may  also  be  made  to  the  artt.  in  the  Bible  Diction- 
aries. Literature  on  special  points  has  been  indicated  in  the 
course  of  the  article.  C.  W.  EMMET. 

ROME. — Any  attempt  to  describe  Rome  in  the 
middle  of  the  1st  cent,  could  be  made  only  by  one 
alike  endowed  with  sympathetic  imagination  and 
equipped  with  minute  erudition.  Such  an  attempt 
has  been  made,  not  altogether  unsuccessfully,  by 
F.  W.  Farrar  in  his  Darkness  and  Dawn  (London, 
1891),  as  well  as  by  other  writers.  In  this  article 
it  has  seemed  best  to  mention  one  or  two  points  in 
which  Rome  of  that  period  differed  from  a  moderr. 
great  city,  and  to  follow  this  up  by  giving  sonu 
account  of  certain  important  buildings  of  the  earlj 


118 


ROME 


ROME 


Empire,  whether  they  actually  date  from  the  later 
Republic  or  not.  The  writer  has  not  rigidly  ex- 
3luded  those  that  belong  to  a  period  somewhat 
later  than  Nero,  but  he  has  as  far  as  possible  con- 
fined his  attention  throughout  to  buildings  of 
which  actual  remains  exist.  He  has  been  indebted 
to  standard  works  mentioned  in  the  Literature,  but 
has  himself  seen  everything  which  he  describes. 

The  population  of  Rome  at  the  time  St.  Paul 
reached  it,  about  A.D.  60,  may  be  estimated  roughly 
at  from  1,500,000  to  2,000,000,  of  which  a  very 
large  proportion  were  slaves.  The  streets  of  the 
city  were  for  the  most  part  narrow,  and  no  vehicles 
were  allowed  inside  the  city  walls  except  the 
wagons  necessary  for  building  purposes.  The  tra- 
veller who  did  not  walk  was  conveyed  in  a  sedan  chair 
or  on  horseback  to  one  of  the  city  gates,  where  his 
carriage  was  awaiting  him.  The  public  buildings 
were  magnificent,  but  many  of  the  dwelling- 
houses,  three  or  more  stories  high,  were  in  a  state 
of  dangerous  disrepair.  Crassus,  the  great  financier 
of  the  1st  cent.  B.C.,  owned  much  of  this  property, 
and  derived  a  large  fortune  from  it.  Martial  and 
Juvenal,  towards  the  end  of  the  1st  and  the  begin- 
ning of  the  2nd  cent.  A.D.,  describe  the  perils  to 
the  pedestrian  from  falling  tiles,  etc.  The  dangers 
to  the  health  of  slum  dwellers  were  to  some  extent 
obviated  by  the  open-air  life  commonly  led,  by  the 
porticoes  which  gave  protection  from  sun  and  rain, 
by  the  theatre,  amphitheatre,  circus,  etc.  There 
was  no  proper  lighting  of  the  streets  at  night. 
Active  life  was  supposed  to  end  at  sunset,  and 
those  who  were  abroad  after  dark  were  accom- 
panied by  torch-bearers,  as  the  Londoners  of  the 
18th  cent,  by  link-boys.  Not  till  the  time  of 
Augustus  was  there  any  police  in  Rome,  but  the 
riots  of  the  1st  cent.  B.C.  had  shown  the  necessity, 
and  Augustus  divided  the  city  into  wards  (regiones), 
and  established  an  excellent  police  system,  of 
which  arcluBological  remains  have  been  found. 

Palatine  Hill. — There  is  a  general  consensus  of 
opinion  that  the  original  Rome,  Roma  Quadrata 
('Square  Rome'),  was  on  the  Palatine  Hill  only — 
the  hill  of  Pales,  the  shepherds'  god.  It  is  with 
the  S.W.  angle  that  the  earliest  legends  of  Rome 
are  mostly  associated.  It  was  there  that  the 
basket  was  found  containing  the  twins  Romulus 
and  Remus,  after  it  had  been  washed  ashore  by 
the  Tiber.  There  also  was  the  lair  of  the  she- 
wolf  that  suckled  the  twins,  etc.  The  Palatine 
Hill  is  kept  for  the  most  part  sacred  from  modern 
buildings,  and  is  almost  entirely  covered  by  ruins 
of  buildings  belonging  to  various  epochs.  Excava- 
tion is  still  going  on,  but  seemingly  no  attempt  is 
made  to  check  the  growth  of  vegetation.  In  the 
Republican  period  the  Palatine  became  a  fashion- 
able residential  quarter.  Here  was  the  house  of 
Cicero.  On  his  exile  in  58  B.C.  the  house  was  de- 
stroyed and  the  site  confiscated,  but  in  the  next 
year  it  was  restored  to  him.  The  Emperor 
Augustus  was  born  near  the  N.E.  corner,  and 
various  rooms  of  a  house  belonging  to  his  wife 
Livia  are  still  shown  on  the  hill,  with  the  frescoes 
on  the  inside  walls.  Under  the  Empire  practically 
the  whole  of  the  hill  was  converted  into  a  huge 
Imperial  residence.  The  process  was  begun  by 
Augustus,  who  acquired  a  valuable  property  which 
had  once  belonged  to  the  orator  Hortensius,  and 
added  to  it  by  the  purchase  of  adjoining  properties. 
There  the  Imperial  palace  was  built.  Fire  and 
destruction  worked  upon  this  and  other  buildings, 
and  we  cannot  with  certainty  identify  remains  on 
the  hill  as  belonging  to  buildings  of  a  particular 
date.  What  one  sees  is  great  masses  of  brick- 
work, with  arched  roofs.  The  bricks  are  square, 
and  very  thin  as  compared  with  those  of  to-day. 
The  surviving  edifices  impress  one  greatly  by  their 
size  and  strength,  but  by  nothing  else.  The  whole 


looks  excessively  shabby.  The  explanation  is  that 
what  we  are  now  looking  on  is  only  the  inner  core 
of  the  building  proper.  In  the  heyday  of  their 
existence  all  these  shabby  brick  buildings  were 
encased  in  marble.  The  marble,  in  the  course  of 
ages,  has  been  stripped  off,  partly  in  the  interests 
of  the  decoration  of  Christian  churches,  and  partly 
to  be  pounded  down  and  made  into  lime.  There 
is  a  well-known  saying  of  Augustus  that  he  found 
Rome  built  of  brick  and  left  it  made  of  marble. 
On  seeing  these  ruins  it  occurred  to  the  present 
writer  that  what  was  meant  by  this  saying  was 
simply  that  he  had  covered  brick  buildings  with 
marble.  The  Imperial  palace  on  the  Palatine  was 
successively  altered  or  enlarged,  as  the  tastes  or 
requirements  of  successive  Emperors  demanded. 
One  most  important  building  must  be  mentioned 
before  we  leave  this  hillj  or  mountain,  as  the 
Romans  called  it  (see  ROMAN  EMPIRE),  namely, 
the  temple  and  precinct  of  Apollo  on  the  N.E.  part  of 
the  hill.  The  decoration  of  the  temple  was  magni- 
ficent. In  a  double  colonnade  connected  with  it 
were  statues  of  each  of  the  fifty  fabled  daughters 
of  Danaus,  and  there  also  were  the  Imperial 
libraries  of  Greek  and  Roman  literature,  one  of 
the  earliest  public  libraries  in  Italy,  splendidly 
equipped  by  Augustus  not  only  with  manuscript 
books  but  also  with  busts  of  the  great  authors. 

Capitol. — In  modern  times  the  Capitoline  Hill 
is  disfigured  on  the  southern  side  by  a  hideous 
barrack-like  erection  with  a  campanile,  called  the 
Campidoglio,  and  on  the  other  peak,  the  Arx,  there 
is  being  erected  an  enormous  monument  to  com- 
memorate united  Italy.  The  great  ornament  of 
the  Capitoline  in  ancient  times  was  the  temple  of 
Jupiter,  Best  and  Greatest  (the  god  whom  the 
Latin  allies  worshipped  on  the  Alban  Mount), 
together  with  Juno  and  Minerva.  It  was  to  this 
great  temple  that  all  the  triumphal  processions  of 
Rome  made  their  way.  It  was  approached  immedi- 
ately by  the  Cliuus  Capitolinus,  '  Capitoline  slope,' 
from  the  Forum.  The  temple  measured  about 
204  ft.  by  188  ft.  At  the  angle  of  the  hill  nearest 
the  Tiber  was  the  Tarpeian  Rock,  from  which 
criminals  were  hurled.  The  sheer  cliff  may  be 
seen  from  various  points.  One  of  the  most  promi- 
nent ancient  features  on  the  Capitoline  Hill  to-day 
is  the  equestrian  statue  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  placed 
there  in  1538,  probably  under  the  direction  of 
Michael  Angelo,  who  was  commissioned  to  lay  out 
this  site  in  as  worthy  a  manner  as  possible.  The 
statue  owes  its  preservation  to  the  belief  that  it 
was  supposed  to  represent  the  earliest  Christian 
Emperor,  whereas,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  Marcus  was 
one  of  the  greatest  persecutors  of  the  Church.  It 
is  the  only  equestrian  statue  of  an  Emperor  that 
has  survived.  The  Arx  was  in  ancient  times  for 
the  most  part  not  built  on  :  it  was  from  the  ground 
there  that  heralds  got  the  sacred  plants  which 
played  a  part  in  the  conclusion  of  treaties  with 
foreign  powers.  The  plant  (uerbena  sagmina) 
symbolized  the  soil  of  Rome.  The  temple  of  luno 
Moneta  was  on  this  height ;  it  was  the  seat  of  the 
Mint. 

Forum. — Both  these  hills  flank  the  Forum,  to 
which  most  of  our  space  must  be  devoted.  Stand- 
ing near  the  Cliuus  Capitolinus,  one  looks  straight 
down  the  Forum,  and  there  must  have  been  a 
lovely  view  of  the  Alban  mountains  in  the  distance, 
before  the  enormous  Flavian  amphitheatre,  com- 
monly called  the  Colosseum,  shut  it  off.  We  must 
try  to  touch  briefly  on  each  of  the  more  important 
buildings  of  which  there  are  traces  in  the  Forum. 
Like  the  Palatine,  it  is  shut  off' from  modern  intru- 
sions. The  Foruin  was  the  centre  of  the  throbbing 
life  of  the  ancient  city — the  life  social,  commercial, 
legal,  and  political.  Occupying  a  central  position 
in  the  hollow  surrounded  by  the  various  heights,  it 


EOME 


ROME 


419 


was  the  natural  meeting-place  of  the  communities 
on  the  hills  above,  and  this  it  continued  to  be  as 
long  as  ancient  Rome  lasted.  It  was  flanked  by 
all  sorts  of  shops,  those  of  the  money-changers  or 
bankers  included.  Military  processions  passed 
through  it.  The  people  were  addressed  there. 
Funeral  processions  stopped  there  for  the  funeral 
oration  to  be  pronounced.  In  the  adjoining  build- 
ings law-cases  were  tried.  An  enumeration  of  the 
buildings,  proceeding  from  N.  to  S.,  will  serve  to 
give  some  notion  of  the  comprehensiveness  of  the 
life  of  the  Forum. 

The  Tabularium  or  Record  Office  was  situated 
at  the  foot  of  the  Capitol,  and  was  built  in  78  B.C. 
Its  lower  courses,  on  which  mediaeval  work  is  now 
superimposed,  are  the  most  splendid  specimens  of 
Republican  masonry  surviving. 

In  front  of  this  was  the  Temple  of  Vespasian 
and  Titus,  erected  in  A.D.  80.  Three  columns  are 
still  standing.  There  is  also  a  richly  decorated 
frieze  and  cornice.  An  inscription  records  that 
the  temple  was  restored  by  Septimius  Severus  and 
Caracalla. 

To  the  left  of  this  was  the  Temple  of  Concord. 
This  temple  with  concrete  foundations,  built  by 
M.  Furius  Camillus  in  366  B.C.,  was  restored  by 
Opimius  in  121  B.C.,  and  again  rebuilt  by  Tiberius 
in  A.D.  7-10.  Only  the  threshold  is  preserved,  but 
some  parts  of  the  columns  are  to  be  found  in 
museums. 

Beyond  this  are  the  remains  of  the  Mamertine 
Prison,  where  the  Catilinarian  conspirators  Len- 
tulus  and  Cethegus  were  strangled  by  order  of  the 
consul  Cicero.  The  tradition  that  St.  Paul  was 
confined  there  is  valueless. 

To  return  to  the  other  side,  we  come  to  the 
Temple  of  Saturn.  Of  this  great  temple  the  lofty 
sub-structures  are  preserved.  The  eight  columns 
of  red  and  grey  granite  belong  to  a  late  restoration. 
This  restoration  was  irregular  and  carelessly 
carried  out.  The  temple  was  originally  built  about 
500  B.C.  In  its  vaults  was  stored  the  public 
treasure  of  Rome.  Julius  Csesar,  after  crossing 
the  Rubicon  and  thus  declaring  civil  war,  forced 
his  way  in  and  seized  £300,000  of  coined  money, 
as  well  as  15,000  gold  and  30,000  silver  ingots. 

Right  over  on  the  other  side  is  the  Arch  of 
Severus.  This  was  built  in  A.D.  203  as  a  memorial  of 
the  victorious  campaigns  of  the  Emperor  Septimius 
Severus  in  the  East.  In  ancient  times  it  was 
reached  by  steps,  being  above  the  level  of  the 
Forum,  and  now  that  the  ground  has  been  cleared 
away,  that  is  again  true.  The  middle  archway  is 
40  ft.  4  ins.  in  height  and  22  ft.  11  ins.  wide ;  the 
side  archways  are  exactly  as  high  as  the  large  one 
is  wide,  but  they  are  only  9  ft.  10  ins.  wide.  There 
are  four  columns  on  each  facade  standing  on  high 
bases.  The  bas-reliefs  are  the  most  interesting 
part.  Some  represent  legionary  soldiers  leading 
prisoners  from  the  East  in  chains.  Another  figures 
Rome  receiving  the  homage  of  conquered  Oriental 
peoples.  The  great  majority  depict  detailed  scenes 
of  the  various  stages  of  war. 

In  front  of  this  arch  lie  some  of  the  most  antique 
remains  yet  discovered  in  Rome — the  Lapis  Niger, 
etc.  At  this  place  there  was  probably  a  grave  or 
an  ill-omened  place  of  some  sort.  The  most  in- 
teresting part  is  a  rectangular  column  covered  with 
inscriptions  on  all  four  faces.  The  writing  goes 
from  the  top  down  and  from  the  bottom  up.  The 
letters  show  a  great  resemblance  to  those  of  the 
Greek  alphabet,  from  which  the  Latin  alphabet  is 
admittedly  derived.  The  date  is  not  later  than 
the  5th  cent.  B.C.  The  sense  cannot  be  made  out. 
All  we  can  say  is  that  there  is  mention  of  a  rex,  of 
iouxmenla,  '  beasts  of  burden,'  and  of  a  kalator, 
'  public  servant ' ;  the  words  sakros  esed  ( =sacer  sit, 
'let  so-and-so  be  sacred')  occur  also.  It  is  prob- 


ably a  portion  of  a  religious  law  that  we  have 
here. 

Beyond  the  Black  Stone  lies  all  that  remains  of 
the  C'omitium,  the  voting-place  of  the  Republic. 

Beyond  this  again  lies  the  Church  of  S.  Adriano, 
which  corresponds  to  the  main  room  of  the  Senate 
House  of  the  Empire.  It  was  constructed  by 
Julius  Caesar.  The  situation  of  the  smaller  com- 
mittee room  is  also  known.  The  level  of  the 
ground  round  about  has  been  gradually  raised  in 
the  period  intervening  between  the  original  date 
of  the  building  and  the  present  day. 

If  we  turn  back  again  to  get  to  the  other  side  we 
come  to  the  remains  of  three  large  oblong  erections 
parallel  with  one  another,  all  much  larger  than 
any  with  which  we  have  yet  had  to  do.  The  first 
is  the  Basilica  ^Emilia.  It  is  only  recently  that 
this  has  been  thoroughly  excavated.  The  original 
building  on  this  site  goes  back  to  the  year  179  B.C., 
when  its  construction  was  completed  by  two  censors. 
Lucius  ./Emilius  Paullus,  the  conqueror  of  Perseus 
of  Macedon,  seems  to  have  decorated  it,  as  an  in- 
scription in  his  honour  has  lately  been  found  among 
the  ruins.  The  building  was  restored  by  another 
^Emilius,  consul  in  78  B.C.  A  coin  of  61  B.C. 
shows  the  building  as  a  two-storied  portico.  In 
54  B.C.  it  was  again  restored  by  yet  another 
^Emilius — it  was  a  sort  of  monument  of  this 
family — with  Julius  Caesar's  approval  and  at  his 
expense.  The  building  was  restored  again  after  a 
fire  in  14  B.C.  at  the  expense  of  the  Emperor 
Augustus.  The  next  restoration  took  place  in 
A.D.  22  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius.  Of  the  Re- 
publican building  only  foundations  remain.  The 
entrance  opens  into  six  rooms  which  served  for 
banking  business,  etc.  A  staircase  led  to  the 
upper  story,  which  was  similarly  arranged.  The 
main  room  was  95  ft.  wide  and  about  228  ft.  long. 
The  galleries  above  the  side  aisles  were  supported 
by  columns.  A  considerable  number  of  these  have 
been  found  lying  among  the  other  ruins,  in  all 
cases  broken,  but  in  some  cases  more  so  than  in 
others.  These  are  like  Peterhead  granite,  and 
form  part  of  the  5th  cent,  reconstruction,  which 
was  very  thorough. 

Next  comes  the  Forum  Romanum  proper — an 
open  space.  At  the  end  nearest  to  the  site  of  the 
later  Arch  of  Severus  stood  the  Rostra  of  the  Re- 
public. This  was  a  raised  platform  decorated  with 
the  prows  of  ships  captured  in  the  First  Cartha- 
ginian War  in  260  B.C.,  under  Duillius  :  hence  the 
name.  From  this  platform  many  a  historic  speech, 
many  a  funeral  oration,  including  that  of  Mark 
Antony  on  Julius  Csesar,  was  delivered.  Another 
interesting  feature  of  the  Forum,  of  which  only  the 
basis  now  survives,  was  a  bronze  equestrian  statue 
of  the  Emperor  Domitian,  raised  towards  the  end 
of  the  1st  cent.  A.D.  and  described  in  detail  by 
Statius  in  the  first  of  his  miscellaneous  poems 
called  Siluce. 

Leaving  the  Forum  proper,  we  cross  the  Sacra 
Via  (the  poet  Horace  [Sat.  i.  ix.  1]  by  the  require- 
ments of  his  metre  said  uia  sacra,  but  to  the 
ordinary  Roman  it  would  have  been  as  absurd  to 
say  Via  Sacra  as  to  say  '  Street  Oxford '  or  '  Street 
Princes'  to-day).  This  Sacred  Way  was  one  of 
the  oldest  streets  in  Rome.  Its  exact  course 
through  the  Forum  is  uncertain,  but  it  would 
appear  that  it  passed  between  the  Forum  proper 
and  the  Basilica  I  alia,  that  it  then  went  N.E.  and 
ran  along  the  east  side  of  the  Forum,  turning  south- 
wards eventually  and  passing  under  what  is  now 
the  Arch  of  Titus.  It  was  the  thoroughfare  through 
the  Forum,  and  was  connected  with  almost  every 
movement  of  importance,  sacred  and  secular, 
throughout  the  whole  of  Roman  history. 

Crossing  it,  we  come  to  what  was  by  far  the 
largest  edifice  in  the  Forum,  the  Basilica  lulia. 


420 


EOME 


ROME 


Nothing  but  the  pavement  and  the  basis  of  some 
of  the  columns  now  remains.  It  was  begun  in  the 
year  54  B.C.  and  was  dedicated,  though  not  yet 
finished,  by  the  dictator  Julius  Caesar  on  the  day 
of  the  celebration  of  the  victory  over  hisPompeian 
enemies  at  Thapsus  in  46  B.C.  Augustus  com- 
pleted it.  On  its  destruction  by  fire,  he  built  a 
much  larger  building,  which  retained  the  original 
name.  It  consisted  of  three  parts — a  vestibule  on 
the  Sacra  Via  side,  the  main  hall  with  the  galleries 
surrounding  it,  and  the  separated  rooms  situated 
behind  it.  The  main  hall,  used  as  a  law-court, 
etc.,  was  328  ft.  long  and  118  ft.  wide  (central 
nave  271  ft.  by  59  ft.).  Thirty-six  pillars  of  brick 
covered  with  marble  surrounded  the  central  nave, 
and  into  this  nave  the  galleries  in  the  upper  story 
opened.  The  roof  above  the  central  nave  Avas  con- 
structed with  a  clerestory.  Much  timber  was  used 
in  making  the  roof.  Four  tribunals  could  try 
cases  at  once  in  this  large  hall,  so  that  there  must 
have  been  partitions  between  them.  It  is  on  re- 
cord that  an  orator  with  a  specially  powerful  voice 
who  was  pleading  before  one  tribunal  received 
applause  from  the  crowds  attending  in  all  four 
courts.  Such  buildings  have  a  special  interest  for 
us,  as  it  was  on  them  that  one  at  least  of  the 
earliest  types  of  Christian  church  was  modelled, 
and  from  them  that  it  received  the  name  Basilica, 
which  is  still  current. 

Crossing  the  Vicus  Tuscus  or  Etrurian  Street, 
which  went  at  right  angles  to  the  Sacra  Via,  we 
come  to  the  great  Temple  of  Castor  or  the  Castors. 
The  three  columns  which  still  stand  are  at  once 
one  of  the  most  conspicuous  and  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  monuments  remaining  in  the  Forum. 
The  temple  itself  was  one  of  the  most  ancient  of 
Roman  foundations,  going  back  to  about  500  B.C. 
The  legend  of  the  help  given  by  the  twin-brother 
gods  to  the  Romans  when  in  straits  at  the  battle 
of  Regillus  is  familiar  to  all.  The  temple  was  the 
repayment  of  a  vow.  Frequently  reconstructed  as 
it  was,  the  remains  we  now  know  date  from  the 
beginning  of  the  2nd  cent.  A.D.  under  Trajan  and 
Hadrian.  It  is  quite  a  steep  climb  to  get  to  the 
floor  of  the  temple.  This  is  of  black  and  white 
mosaic  laid  in  Tiberius'  time,  and  covered  a  century 
later  with  slabs  of  variegated  marble.  The  testing 
of  weights  and  measures  was  carried  on  in  this 
temple. 

We  come  next  to  the  Lacus  luturnce.  At  the 
foot  of  the  Palatine  the  goddess  who  presided  over 

ped 

appears  in  Virgil's  JKneid  as 
the  sister  of  Turnus,  the  king  of  the  Rutulians. 
The  pool  is  about  6£  ft.  deep  and  about  16  ft.  9 
ins.  square.  It  is  fed  by  two  springs.  Various 
ornaments  and  other  interesting  objects  have  been 
dug  out  there. 

In  this  neighbourhood  are  three  (or  rather  two) 
connected  buildings,  all  belonging  to  the  same  cult, 
that  of  Vesta.  They  are  respectively  the  circular 
JEdes  Vestce  and  the  Atrium  Vestce,  with  the 
Domus  Virginum  Vestalium.  The  worship  of 
Vesta  was  the  worship  of  fire  and  the  hearth. 
Fire  is  to  the  house  a  continual  necessity,  whether 
for  the  cooking  of  food  or  for  the  external  warmth 
of  the  body,  and  it  has  for  the  city's  house  the 
same  importance  as  for  the  private  house.  Just 
as  there  were  a  fire  and  a  hearth  in  every  private 
house,  so  there  were  a  fire  and  a  hearth  in  the 
central  part  of  every  Latin  town,  belonging  to  the 
people  itself.  In  the  primitive  community  it  was 
important  that  there  should  be  a  central  fire  be- 
longing equally  to  all  the  citizens,  where  fire  could 
be  obtained  for  their  houses,  if  tlieir  own  fire  had 
gone  out.  It  must  never  be  allowed  to  go  out. 
Six  noble  ladies  in  Rome,  vowed  to  single  life, 
were  appointed  to  guard  this  fire.  Their  connexion 


the  springs  which  bubble  forth  there  was  worshipp 
as  Juturna,  she  who  appears  in  Virgil's  &neid 


with  the  town  religion,  as  well  as  their  high  birtn, 
made  them  a  power  in  Rome,  and  they  were  uni- 
versally respected.  The  importance  of  this  cult  is 
reflected  in  the  ruins  surviving  in  the  Forum.  The 
Temple  of  Vesta  was  round,  a  less  common  shape 
than  the  square  or  rectangular,  and  the  founda- 
tions alone  survive.  It  stood  upon  a  circular  sub- 
structure 46  ft.  in  diameter  and  was  ornamented 
by  pilasters.  The  entrance  faced  exactly  east. 
The  altar  was  not  quite  in  the  middle.  The  other 
two  buildings  ought  strictly  to  be  regarded  as  one, 
the  central  Atrium  Vestce,  which  was  very  large, 
being  flanked  on  both  sides  by  the  living-rooms 
of  the  Vestals'  house.  This  house  was  roomy  and 
splendid,  but  shut  in  like  a  cloister.  The  central 
part  of  the  Atrium  seems  to  have  been  laid  out  as 
a  garden.  There  is  much  of  interest  about  this 
place  that  must  be  passed  over. 

Right  at  the  other  side  is  the  Temple  of  the  god 
Antoninus  and  the  goddess  Faustina.  On  the  death 
of  the  Empress  Faustina  in  A.D.  141,  the  Senate, 
at  the  instance  of  her  husband,  who  had  been 
passionately  devoted  to  her,  elevated  her  among 
the  gods,  and  vowed  her  a  temple,  the  construction 
of  which  was  begun  almost  at  once.  The  name  of 
Antoninus  himself  was  added  to  that  of  his  wife  at 
his  own  death.  The  vestibule  of  the  temple  has 
six  unfluted  columns  of  Eubcean  marble,  55  ft. 
9  ins.  high  and  4  ft.  9  ins.  in  diameter.  The  shafts 
of  the  columns  have  numerous  inscriptions  on  them. 
A  church  was  built  into  this  temple  before  the  12th 
century. 

At  the  southern  end  of  the  Forum,  on  higher 
ground  at  the  top  of  the  Sacra  Via,  stands  the 
Arch  of  Titus.  This  noble  structure  was  decreed 
by  the  Senate  and  people  to  the  Emperor  Titus 
after  the  triumphant  end  of  the  war  with  Judaea 
and  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  in  A.D.  70,  but 
was  not  completed  till  after  the  end  of  his  reign 
(A.D.  81).  Piers  at  the  sides,  having  been  seriously 
injured  in  the  course  of  repeated  misuse  of  the 
building  in  the  Middle  Ages,  were  skilfully  re- 
newed in  1821.  The  chief  features  of  the  arch  are 
the  numerous  reliefs  with  which  it  is  adorned.  One 
shows  the  Emperor  in  a  chariot  crowned  by  the 
goddess  of  Victory.  Here  also  are  the  lictors 
carrying  the  bundles  of  rods.  The  most  notable 
relief  represents  a  section  of  the  triumphal  pro- 
cession, where  the  treasures  of  the  Temple  at 
Jerusalem  are  being  carried  on  litters ;  on  the 
first  the  table  of  the  shew  bread  and  the  trumpets 
of  the  year  of  Jubilee,  on  the  second  the  seven- 
branched  candlestick. 

Such  is  a  cursory  review  of  the  most  notable 
surviving  ruins  in  the  Forum,  belonging  to  the 
period  of  the  Republic  and  the  early  Empire.  The 
area  is  about  430  by  110  yards.  If  the  grandeur 
of  the  ruins  impresses  one,  the  impression  of  decay, 
perhaps  even  shabbiness,  is  also  vivid.  But  the 
setting  in  which  the  remains  appear  adds  glory  to 
them.  Vegetation  is  not  seriously  interfered  with, 
and  in  early  April  one  may  see  growing  wild 
there  clover,  vetch,  cranesbill,  geranium,  violet, 
pink,  cyclamen,  periwinkle,  borage,  blue  anemone, 
wallflower,  birdsfoot  trefoil,  etc.  On  some  of  the 
ruined  walls  you  will  find,  five  weeks  before  English 
time,  the  wistaria,  surely  the  most  exquisitely 
delicate  of  all  creepers.  In  the  warm  period  of  the 
day  the  lizards  scurry  hither  and  thither.  Above, 
on  the  Palatine,  wild  mignonette  abounds. 

Beyond  the  Forum  to  the  south  is  the  Flavian 
Amphitheatre  (commonly  called  the  Colosseum). 
It  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful  ruined  structures 
in  the  world.  In  this  vast  edifice,  where  many  a 
victim  bestial  and  human  was  '  butchered  to  make 
a  Roman  holiday,'  there  was  room  for  very  many 
thousands  of  spectators.  The  building  is  a  beauti- 
ful oval  in  shape.  It  is  upwards  of  180  ft.  in 


ROME 


RUFUS 


421 


height  and  one-third  of  a  mile  in  circumference. 
The  exterior  is  ornamented  by  three  styles  of 
columns — the  Doric  on  the  lowest  range,  the  Ionic 
in  the  middle,  and  the  Corinthian  above.  The 
inside  sloping  part,  where  stone  seats  rose  in  tiers, 
was  built  by  the  most  skilful  use  of  the  arch. 
Beneath  the  arena  there  is  a  vast  number  of  rooms, 
and  certain  of  these  may  have  been  used  to  house 
the  victims  till  they  were  required  for  exhibition. 
The  nearest  modern  analogy  to  the  Roman  amphi- 
theatre is  the  Spanish  bull-ring  (plaza  de  toros) 
built  on  the  same  model.  In  both,  the  system  of 
entrances  and  exits  to  the  various  parts  of  the 
house  is  admirably  efficient.  In  both  the  sunlight 
has  to  be  reckoned  with,  and  on  occasion  in  Rome 
a  silk  awning  was  drawn  over  the  top.  Towards 
the  end  of  the  1st  cent,  of  the  Empire,  tickets 
(nomismata)  were  often  showered  upon  the  populace 
from  above  (Stat.  Siluce,  i.  6  ;  Martial,  passim). 
Each  ticket  bore  on  it  the  indication  of  a  prize 
which  the  lucky  catcher  obtained  on  presenting  it 
at  an  office  in  the  city. 

Law-courts. — Leaving  this  quarter  of  the  city, 
we  can  now  return  to  the  northern  end  of  the 
Forum.  As  the  volume  of  legal  business  increased 
with  the  settled  state  of  the  Empire,  now  free 
from  the  curse  of  civil  war,  additional  law-courts 
became  necessary,  and  Emperors  vied  with  one 
another  in  building  them.  North  of  the  northern 
end  of  the  Forum  proper  was  built  the  Julian 
Forum,  north  of  that  the  Augustan,  and  west  of 
that  the  huge  square  forum  of  Trajan  with  double 
apses,  bounded  on  its  west  side  by  the  Basilica 
Ulpia.  Yet  this  does  not  exhaust  the  number  of 
these  buildings.  Behind  the  place"  where  the 
temple  of  Antoninus  and  Faustina  afterwards  stood, 
was  Vespasian's  Forum  with  the  Temple  of  Peace. 
To  connect  this  with  the  Augustan  Forum  just 
mentioned,  Nerva  built  one  which  was  called  after 
him,  but  also  called  '  Transitorium '  (the  connecting 
Forum).  Of  all  this  wonderful  group  of  glorious 
buildings  very  little  remains. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  Augustan  Forum  was 
the  Temple  of  Mara  Ultor.  The  three  columns  and 
architrave  of  this  building,  vowed  by  Augustus  on 
the  battle-field  of  Philippi  and  dedicated  in  2  B.C., 
are  all  that  remain  to  show  how  splendid  a  struc- 
ture it  was.  The  only  portion  of  the  Forum 
Transitorium  that  remains  visible  is  a  fragment  of 
the  eastern  enclosing  wall  of  the  forum  with  two 
columns  belonging  to  the  colonnade  half  buried  in 
the  ground.  The  cornice  and  attic  of  the  wall 
project  above  and  behind  these  columns.  On  the 
attic  is  a  figure  of  Minerva  in  relief.  Trajan,  in 
order  to  build  his  forum,  had  to  cut  away  the  S.  W. 
spur  which  connects  the  Quirinal  Hill  with  the 
Capitoline  Mount.  The  earth  was  carted  away 
and  used  to  cover  up  an  old  cemetery. 

Of  all  Trajan's  magnificent  buildings  nothing 
remains  uncovered  but  the  central  portion — about 
half  the  area— of  the  Basilica  Ulpia,  with  the 
Column  of  Trajan  in  a  rectangular  court  at  the 
further  side  of  the  Basilica.  The  column,  which 
had  a  statue  of  Trajan  on  the  top,  is  over  100  ft. 
high,  and  is  said  to  be  exactly  the  height  of  the 
spur  of  the  hill  which  was  cut  away.  It  is  notable 
as  having  a  series  of  reliefs  arranged  spirally  from 
the  basis  to  the  capital— namely,  twenty-three 
blocks  of  Parian  marble.  The  Senate  and  people 
of  Rome  erected  the  column  in  the  year  113.  The 
reliefs  are  of  immense  interest  as  depicting  many 
scenes  in  the  wars  carried  on  by  Trajan  against 
the  Dacians.  This  people  lived  in  modern  Transyl- 
vania and  also  south  of  the  Carpathians  in  Wal- 
lachia  and  part  of  Roumania.  In  the  time  of  the 
Flavian  Emperors  they  became  a  serious  menace 
to  the  Empire.  By  Trajan's  time  their  king  had 
established  a  great  military  power.  The  second 


of  Trajan's  wars  with  them  resulted  in  the  con- 
quest of  Dacia  (105-106)  and  the  reduction  of  it 
to  the  status  of  a  Roman  province.  The  reliefs  are 
a  contemporary  historical  document  of  value  un- 
surpassed in  the  whole  of  Roman  history.  Apart 
from  its  historical  value,  the  monument  has  been 
described  as  '  the  most  important  example  of  an 
attempt  to  create  a  purely  Roman  art  filled  with 
the  Roman  spirit.' 

Of  further  ancient  monuments  one  must  simply 
select  one  or  two  for  mention.  Near  the  Tiber  the 
vaulted  channel  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima  (Great 
Drain)  can  be  observed.  This  construction  first 
made  habitable  the  marshy  ground  of  the  Forum 
and  the  land  between  the  Capitoline  and  the  Pala- 
tine. Near  this  is  a  circular  building,  once  per- 
haps the  Temple  of  Mater  Matuta,  now  the  Church 
of  S.  Maria  del  Sole.  The  superstructure  is  solid 
marble,  and  had  a  peristyle  of  twenty  Corinthian 
columns,  of  which  one  is  now  lost.  Some  consider- 
able distance  N.  of  this,  in  what  was  once  the 
Campus  Martius,  is  the  Pantheon,  the  most  com- 
plete and  the  most  impressive  surviving  monument 
of  the  earliest  Imperial  period.  The  original 
building,  erected  in  27  B.C.,  was  burned  in  A.D.  80, 
restored  by  Domitian,  struck  by  lightning  and 
again  burned  in  110,  and  finally  restored  by  Hadrian 
(120-124).  It  is  his  building  we  now  see.  It  is  a 
huge  rotunda  of  the  simplest  proportions.  The 
height  of  the  cupola  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
drum  upon  which  it  rests,  and  the  total  height  of 
the  building  is  therefore  the  same  as  the  diameter 
of  the  pavement.  The  dome  is  not  solid  concrete 
throughout.  There  are  the  beginnings  of  an  ar- 
ticulated system  of  supports  between  which  the 
weight  is  distributed.  On  either  side  of  the  vesti- 
bule are  niches  in  which  colossal  statues  of  Agrippa 
(the  builder)  and  Augustus  once  stood.  The  one 
opening  in  the  roof  admits  sufficient  light.  The 
building,  originally  erected  to  all  the  divine  pro- 
tectors of  the  Julian  house,  has  since  A.D.  609  been 
used  mostly  as  a  church.  What  the  Church,  the 
great  destroyer-  of  Roman  pagan  buildings,  did  not 
ruin,  it  modified  and  used  for  its  own  purposes. 

LITERATURE.  —  The  most  minute  works  on  the  topography  of 
ancient  Rome  are  H.  Jordan  and  C.  Huelsen,  fopographie 
der  Stadt  Horn,  2  vols.,  Berlin,  1871-1907  ;  p.  Richter,  Topo- 
graphie  der  Stadt  Rom-  (in  Iwan  von  Miiller's  Handbuch), 
Munich,  1901.  The  best  work  on  the  Forum  is  C.  Huelsen, 
The  Roman  Forum,  Eng.  tr.,  Rome,  1906,  21909  (cf.  his  /  piu 
recenti  scan  nel  Foro  Romano,  Rome,  1910).  Other  works 
of  value  and  interest  are  T.  Ashby,  in  A  Companion  to  Latin 
Studies,  ed.  Sandys,  Cambridge,  1910,  pp.  36-47,  and  W. 
Ramsay  and  R.  A.  Lanciani,  A  Manual  of  Roman  Antiqui- 
,  London,  1894  (especially  as  introductions)  ;  H.  S.  Jones, 


.     .  , 

Classical  Rome,  do.,  1910,  and  the  fascinating  works  by  R.  A. 
Lanciani,  Ancient  Rome  in  the  Light  of  Recent  Discoveries,  do., 
1889,  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome,  do.,  1892,  and  Ruins  and 
Excavations  of  Ancient  Rome,  do.,  1897.  The  most  convenient 
and  up-to-date  maps  are  in  H.  Kiepert  and  C.  Huelsen, 
Formce  Urbis  Romce  Antiquae:  accedit  Nomenclator  Topo- 
graphicus,  Berlin,  1896,  21912.  A.  SOUTER. 

RUDDER.-  See  SHIP. 
RUDIMENTS.—  See  ELEMENTS. 

RUFUS  (*Po00os,  a  common  Latin  name).  —  1.  In 
Mk  1521  Rufus  is  named  as  the  son  of  Simon  the 
Cyrenian,  who  was  compelled  to  carry  the  Cross  of 
Jesus  to  the  place  of  crucifixion  (cf.  Mt  2732,  Lk 
2S26).  Another  son,  Alexander,  is  mentioned,  and, 
as  the  name  of  Rufus  comes  second,  he  was  prob- 
ably the  younger  of  the  two.  St.  Mark  gives  no 
further  information  with  regard  to  them,  and  it 
would  seem  that  they  must  have  been  known  to 
the  readers  for  whom  he  intended  his  Gospel.  If, 
as  is  generally  held,  he  wrote  in  Rome  for  Roman 
Christians,  Alexander  and  Rufus  may  have  been 
at  the  time  resident  in  the  city  and  prominent 
members  of  the  Church.  Simon  was  evidently  a 


422 


RULER 


SABBATH 


Hellenistic  Jew  (cf.  Ac  210  69  131),  who  gave  his 
sons  Gentile  names. 

2.  In  Ro  1613  a  certain  Rufus  is  saluted  by  St. 
Paul.  If  we  admit  the  Roman  destination  of  these 
salutations  it  is  natural  to  wish  to  identify  1  and 
2,  but  the  name  is  so  common  that  there  are  no 
real  grounds  for  doing  so.  Rufus  is  described  as 
'the  chosen  in  the  Lord'  (rbv  IK\€KTOV  iv  Kvpi^),  a 
phrase  applicable  to  every  Christian  (Col  312,  etc. ), 
but  perhaps  peculiarly  appropriate  in  his  case  on 
account  of  '  special  circumstances,  in  which  a  strik- 
ing intervention  of  the  Divine  grace  had  been  re- 
cognised, by  which  his  conversion  was  effected '  (C. 
von  Weizsacker,  Apostolic  Age,  Eng.  tr.2,  i.  [1897] 
395).  Possibly,  however,  the  meaning  is  rather 
'eminent  as  a  Christian'  (Sanday-Headlam,  ICC, 
'Romans'8,  1900,  p.  427),  i.e.  distinguished  among 
his  fellow-Christians  in  character  and  usefulness. 
The  only  other  Christians  so  described  in  the  NT  are 
'  the  elect  lady '  and  her  sister  in  2  Jn  I13.  Coupled 
with  Rufus  in  the  salutation  is  '  his  mother  and 
mine '  (rty  /mrjTtpa  avrov  Ka.1  f/j.ov).  The  allusion  has 
generally  been  supposed  to  mean  that  '  this  name- 
less woman  had  done  a  mother's  part,  somehow 
and  somewhere,  to  the  motherless  Missionary '  (H. 
C.  G.  Moule,  Expositor's  Bible,  'Romans,'  1894,  p. 
429)  and  that  he  felt  towards  her  ever  afterwards 
as  a  son.  The  Apostle  had  not  visited  Rome  before 
writing  his  Epistle  to  the  Roman  Christians.  If, 
therefore,  we  regard  Ro  16  as  an  integral  part  of 
'  Romans,'  we  shall  place  this  mother  and  her  son 
elsewhere  at  the  time  when  she  showed  kindness  to 
St.  Paul,  and  imagine  that  later  they  became 
residents  in  Rome.  It  is  perhaps  easier  to  believe 
that  Ephesus  was  the  scene  of  the  woman's  hospi- 
tality and  care,  and  that  the  greeting  is  directed  to 
Rufus  and  his  mother  in  that  city. 

T.  B.  ALLWORTHY. 

RULER. — 'The  ruler  of  the  temple'  occurs  in 
Ac  41  AVm,  but  is  more  correctly  represented  by 
'  the  captain  of  the  temple '  (AV  and  RV).  He  was 
a  priest,  second  in  command  to  the  high  priest  him- 


self, and  had  under  him  the  officers  who  commanded 
the  Temple  police.  His  duty  was  to  superintend  the 
priests  andLevites  who  guarded  the  Temple  and  its 
precincts.  The  word  '  ruler,'  however,  generally 
represents  &px&v  or  some  derived  word,  and  the 
general  idea  behind  Apx^v  is  that  of  a  magistrate  of 
a  city,  whereas  ijytfj.uiv  suggests  rather  a  governor  of 
a  country  (see  GOVERNMENT).  In  317  45-8  1327 
&PXOVTSS  is  used  of  the  Jews  in  authority  who  had 
Jesus  put  to  death,  and  therefore  includes  the  high 
priests  (cf.  R.  J.  Knowling  in  EGT,  'Acts,'  1900, 
on  45).  In  426  1™-  **  (referred  to  Moses  in  Egypt)  23* 
the  word  occurs  in  quotations  from  the  LXX.  In 
Ro  133  magistrates  (and  possibly  also  governors  and 
the  Emperor)  are  referred  to.  In  Ac  1315  rulers  of 
the  synagogue  are  mentioned  at  Pisidian  Antioch. 
In  Asia  Minor  there  is  evidence  that  the  title  was 
one  of  honour,  and  therefore  could  be  held  by  more 
than  one  person  simultaneously ;  there  is  a  case 
known  of  even  a  woman  bearing  this  title  at 
Smyrna.  In  Corinth,  however  (1817),  the  normal 
practice  of  having  one  ruler  of  the  synagogue  with 
real  power  appears  to  have  been  maintained.  In 
145  the  leading  men  among  the  Jews  at  Iconium 
are  intended,  probably  including  the  honorary 
rulers  of  the  synagogue.  In  1619  Luke  first  uses 
the  general  term  dpxovres,  and  then  the  specific 
ffrpaT-rjyol  for  the  two  leading  Roman  magistrates 
of  the  colonia  Philippi  (see  under  PRAETOR).  In 
178,  again,  it  is  the  leading  magistrates  of  Thessa- 
lonica,  the  iroXmipxat,  to  whom  reference  is  made 
(see  under  MAGISTRATE).  In  Eph  612  '  the  rulers 
of  the  darkness  of  this  world'  (AV)  might  be  more 
exactly  rendered  '  the  world-rulers  of  this  darkness ' 
(RV).  The  reference  here  is  to  spiritual  powers  of 
evil  to  which  this  world  is  really  in  bondage,  while 
all  the  time  it  falsely  asserts  its  independence  of 
the  only  true  God.  This  world  is  the  realm  of 
darkness  of  these  powers.  References  to  such 
powers  under  various  names  are  frequent  in  the 
NT  where  they  are  part  of  the  heritage  from  later 
Judaism.  A.  SOUTER. 


S 


SABAOTH.— « Lord  of  Sabaoth'  (i.e.  'Lord  of 
Hosts,'  niKj?  .tin;)  is  a  common  title  for  Jahweh  in 
the  prophets,  with  the  exception  of  Hosea  and 
Ezekiel.  The  appellation  may  not  have  originated 
with  them,  but  they  invested  it  with  a  deeper 
significance.  What  was  the  original  meaning  of 
the  title  is  still  a  subject  of  dispute.  Some  take 
the  '  Hosts '  in  question  as  the  armies  of  Israel 
which  Jahweh  leads  on  to  victory  (Jg  414),  while 
others  find  an  allusion  to  the  stars,  the  host  of 
heaven,  or  to  the  armies  of  angels  (but  it  is  con- 
tended that  in  the  plural  nix^s  is  used  only  of 
earthly  warriors).  Whatever  the  original  mean- 
ing of  the  phrase,  it  came  afterwards  to  denote 
the  all-controlling  power  of  God,  as  represented 
by  the  rendering  of  the  LXX  Kijpios  TravroKpartap  • 
cf.  2  Co  618  (also  Ki/ptos  rwv  dvvd/j.f<av).  Sometimes, 
however,  the  LXX  renders  Ki/ptos  2a/3aii0  as  in  Is  I9, 
which  is  reproduced  verbatim  from  the  LXX  in 
Ro  9s9.  The  only  other  instance  of  the  use  of  the 
phrase  in  the  NT  is  Ja  54,  where  God  is  so  named 
to  suggest  the  awful  majesty  of  the  great  Judge 
who  will  avenge  the  oppression  of  the  poor.  There 
are  several  instances  in  Rev.  of  the  title  made 
familiar  by  the  LXX,  Kupios  6  6ei>s  6  va.vTOKp6.Twp, 
'  Lord  God  Almighty.' 

G.  WAUCHOPE  STEWART. 


SABBATH.— 1.  The  Jewish  Sabbath  in  apostolic 
days. — For  the  whole  subject  in  its  most  general 
aspect  readers  are  referred  to  the  various  Encyclo- 

Ssedias  and  Dictionaries  wherein  the  Sabbath  is 
iscussed.    It  is  enough  if  here  we  briefly  set  forth 
what  were  its  chief  features  as  a  Jewish  festival 
in  the  days  of  the  early  Church. 

In  common  with  other  ancient  institutions  of 
a  similar  kind,  the  Sabbath  had  undergone  great 
modifications  with  the  passing  centuries,  although 
preserving  the  essential  character  of  one  day  in 
seven,  observed  mainly  by  a  cessation  of  daily 
business  and  work.  Shabbdth  (whatever  may  be 
said  of  an  Assyrian  Sabbatum  in  support  of  a 
theory  which  gives  a  Babylonian  origin  to  the 
institution)  is  undoubtedly  connected  with  the 
verb  shabhath,  '  to  cease,'  '  to  desist  from ' ;  and 
cessation  from  labour  was  its  most  conspicuous 
and  primitive  characteristic  (Ex  209f-  =  Dt  512ff-, 
Ex  2312  3421). 

The  Sabbath  with  which  the  NT  makes  us 
familiar  is  specially  the  product  of  post-Exilic 
times.  There  is  a  paucity  of  reference  to  the 
Sabbath  in  pre-Exilic  days  which  is  most  striking. 
Yet  the  two  or  three  references  that  occur  (2  K 
4s3,  Am  85)  mention  it  as  a  well-established  and 
familiar  institution,  and  Amos  in  particular  makes 


SABBATH 


SABBATH 


423 


it  clear  that  cessation  from  business  was  a  special 
feature  of  the  day.  But  after  the  Exile  greater 
prominence  is  given  to  it  (Is  56-- 4-6  5813t).  Neh 
1315-22  gives  us  a  picture  of  vigorous  Sabbath- 
reform.  Its  observance  is  not  by  any  means 
introduced  as  a  new  thing.  Rather  it  is  the  re- 
establishment,  with  new  rigour,  of  an  institution 
which  had  been  allowed  to  lapse  into  a  variety  of 
abuses  or  even  actual  neglect  (see  La  2s).  We 
must  also  include  in  these  post- Exilic  references 
such  passages  as  Jer  H1"--7  and  Ezk  20,  with  their 
glowing  promises  attached  to  Sabbath  observance 
and  solemn  warnings  against  its  profanation. 
These  utterances  indicate  that  rehabilitation  of  the 
Sabbath  which  increasingly  characterized  Judaism 
as  it  emerged  purified  and  refined  from  the  fires  of 
the  Exile. 

It  is  clear  that  in  the  time  of  our  Lord  the 
observance  of  the  Sabbath  was  one  direct  occa- 
sion of  an  open  breach  between  Him  and  the 
religious  authorities  of  His  day.  The  well-known 
and  remarkable  logion  found  in  cod.  D  (Lk  610), 
if  it  is  to  be  relied  upon,  particularly  illustrates  the 
difference  in  standpoint  so  far  as  work  was  con- 
cerned. As  for  special  religious  services  associated 
with  the  Sabbath,  the  synagogue  was  the  particular 
scene  of  these  devotions.  The  importance  of  the 
synagogue  as  a  centre  of  Jewish  life  became  greater 
and  greater  as  the  central  sanctuary  of  the  Temple 
declined  and  ultimately  perished.  In  the  Diaspora 
it  was  inevitable  that  this  should  be  the  course  of 
development.  So  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  the 
synagogue  is  the  main  scene  of  the  first  appeal  of 
Christian  preachers  to  the  Jews,  and  the  Sabbath 
was  the  special  day  on  which  they  carried  on  their 
propaganda.  How  rich  the  day  was,  e.g.,  in  oppor- 
tunity for  St.  Paul  from  the  first  we  see  from 
Ac  1314- «  141  1613 172 184,  etc. 

Moreover,  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  by 
cessation  from  labour  was  one  outstanding  peculi- 
arity of  the  Jews  which  most  forcibly  struck  the 
heathen  observer.  It  is  one  special  mark  of  the 
Jew  as  we  meet  him  in  the  generally  unfriendly 
pages  of  Roman  authors.  Seneca,  e.g.,  is  repre- 
sented by  St.  Augustine  as  ignorantly  condemning 
the  Sabbath- keeping  of  the  Jews  :  '  quod  per  illos 
singulos  septem  interpositos  dies  septimam  fere 
partem  aetatis  suse  perdant  vacando  et  multa  in 
tempore  urgentia  non  agendo  laedantur'  (de  Civ. 
Dei,  vi.  11).  For  other  references  see  Tac.  Hist. 
v.  4 ;  Hor.  Sat.  I.  ix.  69 ;  Juv.  Sat.  xiv.  96-106. 

This  shows  indubitably  how  well  Sabbath  was 
kept  by  the  Jews.  Not  only  so ;  they  suffered 
considerable  hardship  in  adhering  to  a  custom  that 
was  wholly  disregarded  by  the  world  in  general. 
At  an  earlier  period,  indeed,  we  read  of  certain 
Jews  who  perished  rather  than  violate  the  Sabbath 
by  fighting  on  that  day  (1  Mac  2s4'38).  This  led 
in  those  troublous  times  to  a  relaxation  of  the  law, 
so  that  fighting  on  the  defensive  was  permissible. 
Ultimately  the  Romans  were  obliged  to  release 
the  Jews  from  military  service,  and  that,  among 
other  things,  on  account  of  the  great  inconveniences 
attendant  on  Sabbath  observance  (Jos.  A  nt.  xiv.  10). 

Beside  this  we  have  the  enormous  importance 
attached  to  the  Sabbath  by  tradition  and  instruc- 
tion amongst  the  Jews  themselves.  The  reference 
to  the  'Sabbath  day's  journey'  (656s  <ra.ppd.Tov,  Ac 
I12)  reminds  us  of  the  glosses  and  refinements  (and, 
we  may  also  say,  absurdities)  to  which,  as  time 
went  on,  the  Sabbatic  law  was  subjected  at  the 
hands  of  the  Rabbis.  Even  this  limit  of  lawful 
travel  was  open  to  various  interpretations  accord- 
ing as  the  2000  ells  (the  distance  allowed)  were  to 
be  reckoned  in  a  straight  line  in  one  direction  or 
as  the  radius  of  a  circle.  In  at  least  one  tractate 
of  the  Talmud  (Shabbath)  minute  directions  were 
treasured  up  as  to  what  might  and  what  might 


not  be  done  on  the  Sabbath  day.  It  may  seem 
as  if  the  day  were  thus  made  burdensome  to  the 
community,  but,  if  we  are  to  believe  the  testimony 
of  Jewish  writers  who  are  worthy  of  all  esteem,  it 
was  not  so  in  reality.  The  Sabbath  was  a  joyous 
day  of  rest  from  toil  and  business,  of  happy  social 
intercourse,  of  assembly  in  the  synagogue  for  wor- 
ship. Josephus  clearly  though  indirectly  makes 
reference  to  this  in  c.  Apion.  i.  22  (cf.  also  Ant. 
XVI.  ii.  3).  But  we  need  not  go  beyond  the  very 
definite  allusion  to  the  synagogue  observance  as 
an  established  practice  in  Ac  1521.  Abstention 
from  the  thirty-nine  kinds  of  work  specified  by 
the  Talmudists  as  forbidden  (the  number  is  evi- 
dently artificial,  and  probably  not  unconnected 
with  'forty  stripes  save  one,'  2  Co  II24)  was  by  no 
means  the  whole  of  Sabbath  observance. 

A  passing  notice  may  be  taken  of  the  emphasis 
which  Philo,  in  his  characteristic  way,  puts  upon 
the  Sabbath  as  a  positive  season  to  be  devoted  to 
'  philosophizing,'  to  contemplation  of  the  works 
of  God,  to  moral  and  spiritual  examination  and 
renewal  (de  Decalogo,  20).  It  is  also  a  day  speci- 
ally appropriate  for  instruction.  Again,  the  author 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  in  a  vein  not  unlike 
Philo's,  handles  the  Sabbath  with  an  extension  of 
the  idea  to  the  hereafter.  How  popular  and  deep- 
rooted  this  use  has  become  the  whole  devotional 
language  of  the  Church  bears  witness.  '  There 
remaineth  therefore  a  Sabbath  rest  (a  Sabbath- 
keeping,  ffappan.ffij.6s)  to  the  people  of  God '  (He  49). 
But  in  the  Talmud,  too,  Sabbath  is  a  foretaste 
of  the  world  to  come.  See  also  Ep.  Barn.  15  for 
further  mystical  treatment. 

2.  The  observance  of  Sabbath  in  the  early 
Church.  —  As  far  as  we  can  see,  there  was  no 
thought  on  the  part  of  the  first  '  disciples'  of  ever 
discontinuing  an  observance  to  which  as  Jews 
they  had  been  accustomed  all  their  lives.  Whilst 
Jesus  was  in  direct  conflict  with  the  religious 
authorities  as  regards  their  interpretation  of  the 
Sabbath  and  its  laws,  we  hear  no  word  of  any 
complaint  of  His  primitive  followers  on  that  score. 
What  mainly  marked  them  off  from  their  fello\v- 
Jews  was  their  testimony  and  declaration  that 
'Jesus  was  the  Christ'  (Ac  542  173  185).  This  was 
divisive  and  revolutionary  enough,  it  is  true  ;  but 
they  seem  to  have  thought  that  the  old  faith  could 
live  with  the  new,  or  at  least  that  old  habits  and 
customs  which  did  not  appear  to  clash  with  their 
loyalty  to  Jesus  could  still  be  maintained. 

The  inclusion  of  the  Gentiles  within  the  scope  of 
the  gospel  brought  with  it  inevitable  complications 
— this  among  the  rest :  How  far  were  the  religious 
customs  of  the  Jews  to  be  considered  as  binding 
upon  them  ?  St.  Paul,  who  was  certainly  revolu- 
tionary and  advanced  in  his  teaching  in  comparison 
with  the  Church  at  Jerusalem,  was  even  openly 
taxed  with  advising  Jews  who  lived  amongst  Gen- 
tiles to  abandon  Moses  and  '  the  customs '  (see  Ac 
2117ff-).  Was  that  of  Sabbath  observance  one  of 
them  Probably  such  teaching  as  we  find  in 
Ro  14  might  give  rise  to  this  charge,  though  there 
he  does  not  prohibit  or  even  dissuade,  but  simply 
pleads  for  liberty  of  judgment.  At  the  same  time 
he  certainly  disapproved  of  all  attempts  to  make 
the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  and  other  peculiarly 
Jewish  customs  binding  on  Gentile  converts  to  the 
faith  (Col  2'6). 

Where  Jews  continued  to  form  the  main  per- 
sonnel of  Christian  communities,  Sabbath  observ- 
ance still  lived  on.  Yet,  just  as  surely  the  setting 
apart  of  'the  first 'day  of  the  week'  as  the  Lord's 
Day  grew  up  alongside  as  something  distinctively 
Christian.  Traces  of  this  are  clear  even  in  apostolic 
times  (see  art.  LORD'S  DAY).  The  two  existed  side 
by  side,  alike  yet  different.  In  the  Apostolic 
Constitutions,  which  reflect  in  this  as  in  some  other 


424 


SABBATH 


SACKCLOTH 


respects  the  usages  of  earlier  times,  we  find  more 
than  one  reference  to  the  Sabbath  and  the  Lord's 
Day  together  as  days  equally  to  be  observed  (ii.  59, 
vii.  23,  viii.  33).  A  stray  papyrus-leaf  discovered 
in  middle  Egypt  in  1911,  which  appears  to  be  a 
portion  of  a  prayer-book  that  must  have  been 
familiar  in  Eastern  Christian  circles,  probably  in 
the  2nd  cent.,  bears  unexpected  witness  to  this 
early  custom.  It  contains  what  is  called  a  ffappariicri 
evx'ri,  whose  liturgical  phraseology  is  easily  and 
closely  paralleled  in  NT  and  early  Christian 
literature,  and  follows  immediately  upon  what 
appear  to  be  the  closing  words  of  a  prayer  for 
Friday  (see  Neutestamentliche  Studien  fur  G. 
Heinrici,  Leipzig,  1914,  no.  6  :  '  Zwei  altchristliche 
Gebete'). 

As  time  went  on,  however,  a  considerable  differ- 
ence showed  itself  between  the  Eastern  and  Western 
Churches  in  their  attitude  towards  the  Sabbath. 
Both  continued  to  keep  it ;  but  among-  the  former 
it  was  accounted  &  festival,  with  the  sole  exception 
of  the  'great  Sabbath,'  i.e.  that  which  immedi- 
ately preceded  Easter  Day  (see  Apost.  Const,  vii. 
23),  whilst  among  the  latter  it  was  very  generally 
observed  as  a  fast.  This  is  unimportant ;  the 
main  point  is  that  the  ancient  Jewish  institution 
was  carried  over  into  the  Christian  Church,  and 
lived  on  in  some  form  or  other.  Even  to  this 
day  in  the  liturgical  names  for  the  days  of  the 
week,  in  both  the  Roman  and  the  Greek  Church, 
Saturday  is  known  by  its  Jewish  name,  sabbatum, 
o-dpparov.  But  it  is  now  at  most  merely  a  prelude 
and  preparation  for  the  dies  dominica  ;  and  a  faint 
hint  at  such  relation  is  found  in  the  fact  that, 
where  liturgical  uses  are  followed,  the  collect  for 
the  following  day  is  said  on  Saturday  evening. 

How  at  length  the  Sabbath  as  an  institution 
ceased  to  be  maintained  and  gave  place  to  the 
Lord's  Day  as  its  Christian  substitute  may  be 
briefly  conjectured.  As  Christian  became  more 
and  7nore  distinct  from  Jew,  this  and  other  things 
would  naturally  follow.  The  early  propagation  of 
the  faith  among  Gentiles,  as  Christianity  realized 
its  world-wide  mission,  would  necessarily  tend  in 
the  same  direction.  In  En.  ad  Magn.,  attributed 
to  Ignatius,  we  meet  with  an  early  admonition, 
emphasizing  the  distinction :  '  Let  us,  therefore, 
no  longer  keep  Sabbath  after  the  Jewish  manner 
floi/ScuVcws)  and  rejoice  in  days  of  idleness.  .  .  .  But 
let  every  one  of  you  keep  Sabbath  after  a  spiritual 
manner,  rejoicing  in  meditation  on  the  law '  (ch.  9). 
In  the  nature  of  things,  the  two  days  could  not 
continue  to  be  equally  observed  in  the  Christian 
Church.  The  Sabbath  must  needs  give  place"  to 
the  Lord's  Day :  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  to 
the  first.  The  legislation  of  Constantino  (A.r>.  321), 
which  recognized  Sunday  as  a  feast  day,  must  have 
been  no  small  factor  in  the  case ;  though,  again, 
that  would  not  have  been  enacted  if  the  custom 
of  keeping  the  Lord's  Day  had  not  already  been 
predominant  among  Christians.  As  a  concession 
to  paganism,  it  may  be  noticed  that  the  studied 
name  given  to  the  day  (dies  solis)  '  afforded  the 
possibility  of  its  universal  encouragement,  without 
thus  appearing  to  enforce  directly  an  ecclesiastical 
celebration '  (W.  Moeller,  History  of  the  Christian 
Church,  Eng.  tr.,  i.,  London,  1892,  p.  298). 

Nevertheless,  great  confusion  has  continued  to 
exist  in  the  Christian  Church  as  to  the  keeping  of 
the  weekly  festival.  This  inevitably  resulted  from 
transferring  the  sanctions  and  some  of  the  features 
of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  to  the  Lord's  Day,  and  from 
the  incorporation  of  the  unaltered  Decalogue  as 
a  norm  in  Christian  ethics.  The  Fourth  Com- 
mandment was  still  held  to  be  binding ;  only 
Sunday  was  tacitly  substituted  for  '  the  seventh 
day.'  The  confusion  probably  still  exists,  very 
much  helped  by  the  long-established  custom  of 


speaking  of  the  Lord's  Day  as  'the  Christian 
Sabbath '  or  even  simply  '  the  Sabbath '  or  '  the 
Sabbath  Day.'  But  there  is  a  clear  distinction 
between  the  two  ;  and  for  Christians  the  Lord's 
Day  is  paramount.  Great  as  the  authority  of  the 
Sabbath  is,  the  authority  of  the  Lord's  Day  for  all 
who  accept  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord  is  equally 
great  or  even  greater. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  practice  of  Sabbath- 
keeping  among  Christians  has  been  made  to  rest 
on  different  grounds  and  has  been  differently  inter- 
preted, though  the  views  may  ultimately  be  classi- 
fied as  two,  the  Sabbatical  and  the  Dominical. 
Some  supporters  of  the  former  have  argued  even 
that  the  seventh  day  is  the  true  Sabbath  and  ought 
still  to  be  observed  by  Christians  (see  a  curious 
work  by  Francis  Bampfield  written  to  show  that 
the  seventh-day  Sabbath  is  the  desirable  day  and 
according  to  'an  unchangeable  Law  of  well- 
establisht  Order  both  in  the  Revealed  Word  and 
in  Created  Nature'  [Judgment  for  the  Observa- 
tion of  the  Jewish  or  Seventh-Day  Sabbath,  London, 
1672]).  And  representatives  of  tnis  view  still  exist : 
e.g.  the  Seventh  Day  Adventists,  an  American  sect 
— not,  be  it  noticed,  with  a  desire  to  return  to 

Edmitive  practice  and  observe  both  Sabbath  and 
ord's  Day,  but  to  observe  the  seventh  day  alone. 
The  Jews  have  long  suffered  special  disabilities  in 
Christian  countries  in  this  respect,  but  this  has 
not  availed  to  cause  them  to  abandon  Sabbath- 
keeping.  And  we  have  Sunday.  We  must  dis- 
criminate between  the  day  as  a  day  of  rest  from 
labour  (one  day  in  seven)  and  as  a  day  of  joyful 
worship  and  of  religious  activities.  The  sanctions 
for  the  former  are  deep-seated  in  human  nature 
itself.  It  is  simple  wisdom  to  guard  such  a  space 
of  liberty  from  the  encroachments  of  labour,  and 
to  make  it,  in  George  Herbert's  words,  'The 
couch  of  time,  care's  balm  and  bay'  (Sunday, 
line  5).  And  all  enlightened  Christians  will  con- 
tinue to  make  the  worthiest  use  of  the  day  so  set 
apart. 

LITERATURE. — J.  A.  Hessey,  Sunday :  its  Origin,  History, 
and  Present  Obligation5,  London,  1889  ;  W.  Lotz,  Historia 
Sabbati :  Qucestionum  de  historia  sabbati  libri  duo,  Leipzig, 
1883  ;  J.  Meinhold,  Sabbat  und  Woche  im  Alien  Testament 
(= Forschungen  zur  Religion  und  Liter atur  des  Alten  und 
Neuen  Testaments,  v.),  Gottingen,  1905 ;  J.  Bingham,  An- 
tiquities of  the  Christian  Church,  bk.  xx.  (=  Works,  Oxford, 
1855,  vol.  vii.) ;  R.  Baxter,  A  Christian  Directory,  pt.  ii.  ch. 
xviii.  (=  Works,  ed.  W.  Orme,  23  vols.,  London,  1830,  vol.  iv. 
p.  240),  The  Divine  Appointment  of  the  Lord's  Day  (ib,  vol. 
xiii.);  E.  Schiirer,  UJP  ii.  ii.  [Edinburgh,  1885];  L. 
Duchesne,  Origines  du  culte  Chretien,  Paris,  1889  ;  C.  H.  Toy, 
JBL,  'The  Earliest  Form  of  the  Sabbath,'  xviii.  [1899]  190 ff. ; 
Eight  Studies  on  the  Lord's  Day  (anon.),  Cambridge,  1884 ; 
also  artt.  '  Sabbath,'  in  HDB  (S.  R.  Driver),  EBi  (Robertson 
Smith,  K.  Marti,  T.  K.  Cheyne),  JE  (J.  H.  Greenstone); 
artt.  'Festivals  and  Fasts  (Hebrew)'  (F.  H.  Woods),  and 
'Festivals  and  Fasts  (Christian)'  (J.  G.  Carleton),  in  ERE. 

J.  S.  CLEMENS. 

SACKCLOTH  (ff&KKos ;  from  py,  which  was  intro- 
duced, probably  through  the  Phoenicians,  into  all 
the  languages  of  Europe ;  the  root  is  perhaps 
Egyptian  —  Coptic  sok).  —  Sackcloth  meant  pro- 
perly a  coarse  black  fabric  woven  from  goats'  or 
camels'  hair,  and  then  an  article  of  clothing  made 
of  that  material  and  worn  ( 1 )  by  prophets  ;  (2)  by 
mourners,  penitents,  and  suppliants  ;  and  (3)  by 
slaves  and  captives.  This  garment,  which  was 
originally,  and  remained  pre-eminently,  a  sacred 
covering,  was  a  mere  loin-cloth,  probably  resem- 
bling the  ihram  of  the  Muslim  pilgrims  to  Mecca,  of 
whom  C.  M.  Doughty  says  :  '  they  enter  the  town 
like  bathing  men — none  is  excused  '  ( Wanderings 
in  Arabia,  1908,  ii.  263).  The  prophet  Elijah  is 
described  as  '  a  man  with  a  garment  of  hair  '  (2  K  I8 
RVm).  Isaiah  too  wore,  at  least  for  a  time,  sack- 
cloth upon  his  loins  (Is  202)  ;  and  '  a  hairy  garment ' 
became  the  characteristic  dress  of  the  prophets 
(Zee  1314).  The  raiment  (tvdvpa)  of  the  Baptist  was 


SACRAMENTS 


SACRAMENTS 


425 


made  of  camel's  hair  (Mt  34),  i.e.  of  sackcloth.  The 
dark  colour  and  tragic  associations  of  sackcloth 
suggested  to  the  prophet  of  the  Revelation,  as  it 
had  already  done  to  Deutero-Isaiah,  a  figure  for  a 
solar  eclipse  which  seemed  to  portend  a  Divine 
judgment — '  the  sun  became  black  as  sackcloth  of 
hair  '  (Rev612  ;  cf.  Is  503).  Before  the  Final  Judg- 
ment two  witnesses — apparently  Enoch  and  Elijah 
are  meant — are  to  come  and  prophesy,  vepi^f^X^^voi. 
ffdKKovs,  'clothed  in  sackcloth'  (Rev  11s),  a  symbol 
of  the  need  of  humiliation  and  repentance.  See 
also  art.  MOURNING. 

LITERATURE.—  See  artt.  '  Sackcloth '  in  HDB  (A.  R.  S. 
Kennedy)  and  EBi  (S.  A.  Cook).  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SACRAMENTS.— Neither  in  the  NT  nor  in  the 
other  Christian  writings  of  the  1st  cent,  is  there 
any  trace  of  the  use  of  a  common  name  to  desig- 
nate those  observances  which  were  afterwards 
classified  more  or  less  comprehensively  as  sacra- 
ments. The  word  sacramentum  (see  W.  Warde 
Fowler,  The  Religious  Experience  of  the  Roman 
People,  London,  1911,  p.  464  f.,  and  notes  28-33), 
as  applied  to  denominate  such  rites,  occurs  first  in 
the  famous  letter  (x.  97)  of  the  Younger  Pliny  to 
the  Emperor  Trajan  (c.  A.D.  112)  ;  but  its  employ- 
ment in  that  letter  may  be  merely  accidental.  In 
Christian  usage  the  term  makes  its  earliest  appear- 
ance in  the  Old  Latin  version  and  in  Tertullian, 
and  there  stands  as  a  rendering  of  fj-wrripiov,  and 
as  synonymous  with  mysterium.  The  word  fj.vff- 
rripiov  did  not  acquire  its  special  reference  to  the 
Christian  sacraments  until  later  than  this  period. 
In  the  NT  it  is  never  applied  to  institutions  or 
observances,  the  nearest  approach  to  such  a  signi- 
ficance being  in  Eph  532,  where  St.  Paul  asserts 
regarding  marriage,  rb  /j.va-r^piov  TOVTO  /dya  eariv. 
An  approximation  to  subsequent  usage  may  perhaps 
be  detected  in  Ignatius ;  but  even  of  the  phrase 
'deacons  of  the  mysteries  of  Jesus  Christ"  (Trail. 
ii.  3)  Lightfoot  says  that  a  restriction  of  its  refer- 
ence to  the  Eucharist  '  would  be  an  anachronism.' 

The  absence  of  any  common  name  for  the  sacra- 
ments indicates  the  absence  in  this  period  of  any 
defined  sacramental  concept.  It  is  true  that  ideas 
as  well  as  things  must  be  already  in  existence 
before  they  receive  a  name  ;  but  it  is  also  true  that 
prior  to  their  designation  ideas  remain  uncrystal- 
lized.  The  kindred  nature  of  the  ecclesiastical  rites 
known  as  mysteries  and  sacraments — their  kindred 
nature  as  belonging  to  the  externals  of  Christian 
practice — must  obviously  have  been  perceived  from 
the  first.  Harnack,  indeed,  places  the  grouping 
together  of  Baptism  and  the  Eucharist  as  among 
'  a  series  of  the  most  important  Christian  customs 
and  ideas'  whose  origin  is  involved  in  obscurity 
and  '  in  all  probability  will  never  be  cleared  up ' 
(History  of  Dogma,  Eng.  tr.,  7  vols.,  London,  1894- 
99,  i.  132 f.).  Nevertheless,  the  affinity  of  these 
two  principal  sacraments  appears  to  have  been 
recognized  from  the  earliest  times.  They  are 
mentioned  in  conjunction  as  of  the  same  order  by 
the  Didache  (vii.  1,  ix.  1,  5),  and  by  Ignatius 
(Smyrn.  viii.  1,  2,  '  where  the  &ydirr)  must  include 
the  eucharist'  [Lightfoot]).  Both  are  referred  to 
by  implication  in  a  manner  exactly  analogous  in 
the  parallel  discourses  of  the  Fourth  Gospel  on  the 
New  Birth  and  the  Bread  of  Life  ( Jn  3  and  6).  An 
allusion  to  both  may  possibly  underlie  Jn  1934, 
1  Co  1213,  He  1022,  1  Jn  56"8.  Their  connexion  in 
the  mind  of  St.  Paul,  when  he  conjoins  the  type  of 
Baptism  '  in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea '  with  the 
type  of  the  Eucharist  in  the  '  spiritual  meat '  and 
'spiritual  drink'  of  the  wilderness  (1  Co  101"*), 
scarcely  admits  of  question.  And  the  primal 
picture  of  the  life  of  the  Christian  community 
given  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  (241-  ^  *)  exhibits 
these  sacraments  as  united  together  in  primitive 


observance.  In  one  of  the  passages  cited  above 
(1  Co  101'4)  there  is  evidence,  moreover,  not  only  of 
the  association  of  Baptism  and  the  Eucharist  in 
the  mind  of  the  Apostle  himself,  but  also  of  the 
existence  of  a  general  sacramental  idea  in  the 
minds  of  those  to  whom  he  writes ;  for  the  argu- 
ment developed  in  the  succeeding  verses  (vv.5'12) 
seems  to  lose  point  unless  it  be  directed  against  an 
improper  and  unethical  application  of  certain  views 
then  prevailing  as  to  the  character  and  virtue  pos- 
sessed by  these  two  sacraments  in  common. 

The  absence  of  any  defined  sacramental  concept 
is  naturally  accompanied  by  the  absence  of  any 
formulated  doctrine  of  the  sacraments  in  general. 
This  does  not  mean,  of  course,  that  instruction  as 
to  the  institution,  purpose,  and  significance  of 
individual  sacraments  was  at  any  time  neglected 
in  the  Apostolic  Church.  It  is  inconceivable  that  . 
such  instruction  did  not  invariably  find  a  place  in 
the  elementary  teaching  (Ac  242  1826  194)  imparted 
to  every  believer  concerning  the  first  principles  of 
the  doctrine  of  Christ  (He  61- 2).  The  sacramental 
references  in  the  Didache,  Hernias,  Barnabas, 
Ignatius,  Clement  of  Rome,  all  assume  that  their 
readers  are  familiar  with  the  doctrine  of  Baptism 
and  the  Eucharist.  The  allusive  nature  of  the 
references  to  Baptism  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles  plainly 
infers  that  those  addressed  had  been  carefully 
grounded  in  the  relative  doctrine.  The  same  may 
be  said  regarding  the  reference  to  the  Eucharist  in 
1  Co  1016>  n  ;  while  the  one  example  afforded  of 
direct  instruction  upon  the  subject  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  (1  Co  II17'34)  expressly  adverts  to  instruc- 
tion previously  given  (v.23)  as  well  as  to  supplement- 
ary instruction  to  be  administered  on  a  future 
occasion  (v.34).  But,  in  accordance  with  the  educa- 
tive order  which  rules  in  the  history  of  the  Church 
— truth  and  life  first,  explanations  afterwards— the 
elaboration  of  sacramental  doctrine  belongs  to  a 
later  period  than  that  of  the  1st  century.  '  Cyril 
[Catechetical  Lectures]  is  the  first  church-teacher 
who  treats  of  baptism,  the  oil,  and  the  Eucharist, 
in  their  logical  sequence,  and  in  accordance  with 
general  principles  '  (Harnack,  iv.  293). 

In  these  circumstances  any  discussion  of  the 
abstract  subject  of  sacraments  in  connexion  with 
the  Apostolic  Church  has  little  primary  material 
to  deal  with.  It  must  presuppose  the  whole  special 
study  of  particular  sacramental  observances  ;  and 
it  must  confine  itself  almost  exclusively  to  the 
general  inferences  to  be  drawn  from  that  study. 
At  the  outset  some  definition  of  the  more  exact 
significance  in  which  the  term  'sacrament'  is  used 
requires  to  be  taken  for  granted  ;  and  for  this 
purpose  the  definition  provided  by  the  Shorter  Cate- 
chism (Q.  92)  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  will  be 
found  to  offer  certain  advantages.  It  is  distin- 
guished by  extreme  precision  of  statement.  It 
postulates,  as  essential  to  the  nature  of  a  Christian 
sacrament,  not  only  (1)  the  outward  and  sensible 
sign,  and  (2)  the  inward  and  spiritual  grace  thereby 
'  represented,  sealed,  and  applied  to  believers,'  but 
also  another  constituent,  one  of  great  importance 
in  differentiating  the  sacramental  from  the  magical, 
namely,  (3)  the  institution  and  command  of  Christ, 
which  con  joins  the  inward  and  spiritual  grace  w:th 
the  outward  and  sensible  sign,  and  imposes  upon 
participators  the  attitude  of  religipus  obedience. 
And  it  concentrates  attention  upon  the  two  par- 
ticular observances,  which,  in  virtue  of  their  special 
history,  sanction,  and  rank,  have  always  occupied 
a  position  apart  from  all  others.  If  not  the  only 
Christian  sacraments,  Baptism  and  the  Eucharist 
are  at  any  rate  by  universal  consent  the  Christian 
sacraments  par  excellence  ;  and  with  the  witness 
which  may  be  adduced  regarding  them  the  apos- 
tolic authority  of  the  whole  system  of  sacramental 
practice  and  doctrine  stands  or  falls.  At  the  same 


126 


SACKAMENTS 


SACRAMENTS 


time  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  are  other 
sind  cognate  rites  rooted  in  the  soil  of  this  period — 
shrism,  laying  on  of  hands,  benediction,  offices  of 
common  worship — which  partake  of  a  sacramental 
character,  and  cannot  be  left  altogether  out  of 
account.  (See  separate  articles,  BAPTISM,  EUCHA- 
RIST, ANOINTING,  ORDINATION,  etc.) 

Whatever  inferences  may  be  drawn  from  a  study 
of  the  sacraments  in  this  period  will  be  found  to 
have  an  important  bearing  upon  other  and  larger 
fields.  One  lesson  taught  by  the  science  of  com- 
parative theology  is  that  the  ceremonial  associated 
with  any  form  of  religion  furnishes  an  illuminating 
index  to  the  origins  and  contents  of  that  religion. 
Our  whole  view  of  the  nature  of  Christianity  and 
of  the  history  of  the  Church  must  be  affected 
by  the  conclusions  to  which  we  come  regarding 
sacramental  practice  and  theory  in  the  Apostolic 
Age ;  and  these  conclusions,  in  consequence,  are 
themselves  peculiarly  liable  to  be  biased  by  theo- 
logical and  ecclesiastical  prepossessions.  The  sub- 
ject, therefore,  is  one  which  requires  the  exercise 
of  candid  and  dispassionate  judgment.  It  may 
be  dealt  with  under  two  heads  :  (1)  inferences  as  to 
sacramental  observance,  and  (2)  inferences  as  to 
sacramental  doctrine. 

1.  Inferences  as  to  sacramental  observance.— 
(a)  The  observance  of  sacramental  rites  was  primitive 
and  universal  in  the  Apostolic  Church.  All  the 
evidence  available  goes  to  establish  this  conclusion. 
There  is  no  trace  of  a  period  anterior  to  the  practice 
of  sacramental  rites  ;  no  record  of  the  subsequent 
introduction  of  such  a  practice  ;  no  vestige  of  any 
controversy,  like  that  concerning  circumcision, 
upon  the  question  of  obligation  or  propriety. 
Direct  references  to  sacramental  rites  may  not 
be  very  numerous  in  the  NT  ;  in  the  case  of  the 
Eucharist  they  are  admittedly  scanty.  But  the 
references  which  do  occur  are  of  a  sort  which  may 
be  said  to  offer  their  actual  infrequencyas  additional 
constructive  proof,  and  to  leave  no  manner  of 
doubt  that  sacramental  rites  were  from  the  first 
an  integral  part  of  the  Christian  '  way,'  that  baptism 
was  invariably  enjoined  upon  converts  to  the  faith, 
and  that  the  '  breaking  of  bread,1  which  at  least 
comprised  the  Eucharist  in  its  germinal  form, 
was  one  (Ac  206- 7,  1  Co  II20)  if  not  absolutely  the 
chief  purpose  of  Christian  gatherings  for  worship. 
The  only  questions  concerning  the  origin  of  Chris- 
tian baptism,  as  an  observance,  relate  to  its  con- 
nexion with  and  differentiation  from  antecedent 
kindred  Jewish  rites.  Certainty  as  to  the  original 
form  of  the  Eucharist  is  to  some  extent  obscured  by 
speculations  with  regard  to  the  supposed  primitive 
custom  of  the  Christian  Agape.  But  the  prevalence 
of  that  custom  in  the  Apostolic  Church,  a  circum- 
stance too  generally  taken  for  granted,  is  itself 
both  hypothetical  and  supported  only  by  somewhat 
meagre  and  equivocal  evidence  (P.  Batiffol,  Etudes 
d'histoire  et  ae  theologie  positive*,  Paris,  1904,  pp. 
283-325).  The  term  '  breaking  of  bread '  in  Ac  &*• « 
207  may  refer  to  the  Agape  as  well  as  to  the  Lord's 
Supper ;  its  reference  to  the  latter,  however,  is  not 
less  obvious,  but,  on  the  contrary,  more  obvious, 
than  its  reference  to  the  former.  The  attempt 
to  maintain  that  St.  Paul  or  any  other  teacher 
engrafted  a  commemorative  or  sacramental  signi- 
ficance upon  a  custom  which  before  was  predomin- 
antly social  and  but  vaguely  religious  credits 
innovation  with  a  facility,  speed,  and  completeness 
of  accomplishment  which  are  to  the  highest  degree 
improbable. 

Kecent  research  has  thrown  interesting  light 
upon  the  environment  of  pagan  ideas  and  practice 
amid  which  the  Gentile  Churches  were  planted ; 
but  its  results  do  not  substantiate  the  hypo- 
thesis that  Christian  sacraments  owe  either  in- 
ception or  character  to  this  source.  The  lineage 


of  these  sacraments  is  manifestly  Jewish.  Apos- 
tolic history  exhibits  no  trace  of  any  real  nexus 
between  them  and  the  Hellenic  mysteries ;  and 
their  subsequent  conflict  with  the  mysteries  of 
Isis  and  Mithra  belongs  to  a  phase  of  development 
posterior  to  the  age  of  origins.  Such  general 
resemblances  as  their  comparison  with  the  mystery 
rites  has  discovered  may  be  sufficient  to  furnish 
what  Farnell  has  called  '  adjacent  anthropology ' 
with  illustrations  of  certain  laws  in  the  evolution 
of  religion  from  the  human  side.  But  these  paral- 
lels, while  remote  and  indecisive  in  themselves, 
are  also  accompanied  by  contrasts  much  too  pro- 
nounced and  significant  to  afford  solid  ground  for 
any  theories  of  definite  borrowing  or  suggestion.  It 
is  true,  indeed,  that,  at  a  later  date,  recognized 
analogies  led  to  a  deliberate  adaptation  of  the 
mystery  terminology ;  and  the  very  name  sacra- 
mentum,  which  seems  to  have  been  used  of  initia- 
tion into  the  third  grade — the  grade  of  miles — in 
the  Mithraic  cult,  may  itself  have  found  entrance 
into  the  Church  by  this  avenue  (F.  Cumont,  Textes 
et  monuments  figures  relatifs  aux  mysteres  de 
Mithra,  2  vols.,  Brussels,  1895-99,  ii.  318,  n.  11). 
It  is  true  also  that,  still  later,  there  set  in  a  marked 
tendency  to  imitate  or  compete  with  the  accessories 
of  mystery  ceremonial.  But  the  utmost  influence 
upon  the  sacraments  with  which  these  pagan  rites 
can  be  credited  in  the  Apostolic  Age  is  that  of 
having  provided  the  sacramental  vocabulary  with 
perhaps  one  or  two  convenient  words  then  in 
current  use  and  of  having  prepared  the  way, 
through  familiarity  with  symbolic  worship  and  its 
circle  of  ideas,  for  the  reception  of  sacramental 
observances  and  teaching  among  Gentile  Chris- 
tians. To  attribute  to  the  mysteries  any  influence 
more  germinal  than  this  is  to  mistake  the  soil  for 
the  seed.  Although  the  conclusion  that  the  observ- 
ance of  sacramental  rites  was  primitive  and  uni- 
versal may  appear  to  be  elementary,  important 
consequences  follow  from  it.  If  such  rites  obtained 
from  the  first,  the  conception  of  primitive  Chris- 
tianity as  a  formless  spiritual  impulse,  a  mere 
community  of  religious  experience  which  after- 
wards developed  its  own  constitutional  order  and 
embodied  its  worship  in  appropriate  ceremonies,  is 
not  tenable.  Primitive  Christianity  was  undoubt- 
edly charismatic.  It  bore  witness  to  the  presence 
and  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  dividing  to  every 
man  severally  as  He  willed.  But  the  sacraments 
attest  that  primitive  Christianity  was  ceremonial 
as  well  as  charismatic.  And  such  ceremonies  carry 
with  them  the  implication  of  some  measure  of 
corporate  form,  of  common  regulations,  and  of  recog- 
nized administrative  rule.  The  co-existence,  more- 
over, of  ceremonial  side  by  side  with  charismatic 
life,  especially  with  a  charismatic  life  so  universal 
and  powerful  as  was  manifested  at  the  first,  affords 
a  proof  of  the  vigour  and  stability  of  the  ceremonies 
themselves.  Such  a  combination  could  not  have 
been  maintained  unless  these  ceremonies  had  been 
regarded  either  as  of  indispensable  value,  or  as 
ordained  by  incontestable  authority,  or,  which  was 
in  fact  the  case,  as  possessing  both  of  these  sanc- 
tions in  the  fullest  measure. 

(b)  The  observance  of  sacramental  rites  was  re- 
garded as  of  indispensable  value  in  the  Apostolic 
Church.  For  the  earlier  half  of  the  2nd  cent,  and 
for  the  closing  years  of  the  1st  this  assertion  will 
hardly  be  challenged.  Evidence  as  to  the  high 
place  assigned  to  Baptism  and  the  Eucharist  in 
the  Didache,  to  Baptism  in  Hernias  and  Barnabas, 
to  the  Eucharist  in  Ignatius,  and  to  the  eucharistic 
service  in  Clement  of  Rome,  is  decisive  and  leaves 
no  room  for  doubt.  For  NT  times  the  conclusive- 
ness  of  the  evidence  has  been  disputed.  The  mere 
prevalence,  however,  of  these  sacramental  observ- 
ances from  the  first  itself  affords  strong  presump- 


SACRAMENTS 


SACRAMENTS 


427 


tion  as  to  the  exceptional  reverence  in  which  they 
were  held.  In  the  case  of  a  religion  old  enough  to 
possess  traditional  customs  one  can  imagine  rites 
of  universal  currency  which,  having  become  thus 
consuetudinary,  are  regarded  as  of  but  ceremonial 
significance.  It  is  impossible  to  imagine  such 
formalism  in  the  case  of  a  religion  still  in  its 
infancy,  of  a  religion  so  spiritual,  moreover,  and 
so  intolerant  of  unreality  as  that  of  Christ.  These 
rites  must  have  been  esteemed  as  primary,  or  they 
would  not  have  been  universally  observed.  That 
Baptism,  for  instance,  was  treated  as  indispensable 
is  plain.  Even  one  converted  by  a  heavenly  vision 
(Ac  918  2216),  even  those  upon  whuru  the  Holy  Ghost 
had  already  fallen  (1048),  were  required  to  receive  it, 
while  of  those  whose  understanding  and  experience 
of  the  faith  were  discovered  to  be  essentially  defec- 
tive (191'7)  the  crucial  question  at  once  asked  by 
the  Apostle  was — '  Into  what  then  were  ye  bap- 
tized T  To  Baptism  St.  Paul  habitually  appeals  as 
to  a  fact  of  cardinal  religious  importance  (Ko  61"14, 
1  Co  611  1213,  Gal  S26- 27,  Col  2n-  ™,  Tit  38) ;  and  he 
includes  it  among  a  series  of  solemn  witnesses  to 
the  unity  which  the  Christian  calling  demands  in 
a  concatenation  of  ideas  the  most  exalted  conceiv- 
able (Eph  44-  5-  6).  Regarding  the  Eucharist,  again, 
it  may  be  affirmed  with  confidence  that  St.  Paul 
could  never  have  expressed  himself  as  he  did  in 
1  Co  II17-34  had  he  reckoned  its  value  to  be 
secondary,  or  its  sacredness  to  be  negligible,  or 
its  obligation  to  be  anything  less  than  imperative 
upon  all  members  of  the  Church.  Support  has 
been  claimed  upon  various  grounds  for  the  conten- 
tion that  sacramental  observance  is  '  not  central '  in 
the  NT.  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  in  the  Acts 
and  writings  of  the  apostles  the  space  devoted  to 
sacramental  subjects  is  extremely  exiguous,  that 
in  many  whole  books  neither  one  sacrament  nor 
the  other  is  mentioned,  that  such  references  as  do 
occur  are  for  the  most  part  incidental.  But  it 
may  be  replied  that  the  books  of  the  NT  do  not 
purport  to  be  comprehensive ;  that  they  are 
occasional  or  specific  in  their  character ;  that  not 
one  of  them  is,  or  professes  to  contain,  a  systematic 
manual  of  first  principles  ;  that  all  of  them  assume 
the  concurrent  operation  of  evangelistic  preaching 
and  oral  instruction  ;  that,  when  read  as  addressed 
to  churches  in  which  sacramental  observance  was 
invariable  and  presupposed,  they  are  at  once 
perceived  to  be  really  interwoven  with  manifold 
allusions  to  the  sacramental  life  unobserved  before. 
The  argument  ex  silentio  is  proverbially  a  perilous 
argument.  It  becomes  convincing  only  when 
accompanied,  as  in  this  case  it  is  not,  by  inde- 
pendent proof  that  silence  must  infer  either  ignor- 
ance or  disregard.  It  may  often  with  equal,  if 
not  greater,  propriety  be  used  to  establish  the 
very  contrary  of  that  which  it  has  been  cited  to 
make  good.  Lake's  remark  applies  most  perti- 
nently in  this  connexion:  'It  is  impossible  to 
over-estimate  the  importance  of  realizing  that,  if 
we  want  to  discover  the  central  points  of  Christian 
doctrine,  we  must  look  not  at  those  to  which  St. 
P.iul  devotes  pages  of  argument,  but  at  those 
which  he  treats  as  the  premises  accepted  equally 
by  all  Christians'  (The  Earlier  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul,  London,  1911,  p.  233  n.).  It  is  not  really 
paradoxical  to  maintain  that  the  NT  writers  say 
little  about  sacramental  observance  just  because 
sacramental  observance  was  in  their  eyes  a  first 
principle.  The  emphasis  laid  in  the  NT  upon  the 
saving  grace  of  faith  is  another  reason  adduced  to 
depreciate  the  primitive  importance  of  the  sacra- 
ments. But  saving  graces  and  the  means  of  grace 
are  never  placed  in  contrast  in  apostolic  doctrine. 
The  antithesis  is  gratuitous  and  imaginary.  The 
relation  between  faith  and  sacrament  remains 
exactly  analogous  to  that  which  the  Gospels  repre- 


sent as  existing  between  faith  and  the  instrument- 
ality used  by  our  Lord  in  the  performance  of  His 
miracles.  The  faith  involved  in  saci-amental 
obedience  is  faith,  not  in  outward  rites,  but  in 
Him  by  whom  these  rites  were  appointed,  whose 
instruments  they  also  are.  One  particular  passage 
(1  Co  I12'17)  is  frequently  quoted  as  an  indication 
that  St.  Paul  disparaged  Baptism  as  compared 
with  preaching.  Careful  examination  of  the 
purpose  of  that  passage  leads  to  a  conclusion 
entirely  different.  Had  St.  Paul  not  recognized 
the  primary  importance  of  Baptism  as  the  sacra- 
ment of  initiation  into  the  Church,  had  he  not 
supposed  that  his  administration  of  it  was  more 
liable  than  his  preaching  to  encourage  the  party 
watchword — '  I  am  of  Paul,'  he  would  not  have 
adverted  to  his  apostolic  practice  in  this  connexion. 
He  thanks  God  that  he  baptized  few  of  the 
Corinthians  himself,  just  because  he  knows  the 
supreme  incorporating  significjince  of  that  ordin- 
ance, and  perceives  the  misinterpretation  which 
party-spirit  might  have  put  upon  any  special  dili- 
gence shown  by  him  as  a  minister  of  the  actual 
rite  of  Baptism — '  lest  any  man  should  say  that  ye 
were  baptized  into  my  name'  (1  Co  I18). 

(c)  The  observance  of  sacramental  rites  based 
itself  in  the  Apostolic  Church  upon  the  authority  of 
Christ's  institution.  The  question  which  concerns 
us  here  is  not  that  as  to  the  origin  of  these  rites. 
The  sacraments  meet  us  upon  the  very  threshold 
of  the  Apostolic  Church  ;  and  the  discussion  of 
their  institution  and  of  their  relation  to  con- 
temporary Jewish  customs  belongs  to  the  province 
of  Gospel  study.  What  we  are  here  concerned 
with  is  the  authority  which  secured  or  sanctioned 
their  observance  in  the  Church.  Only  one  such 
authority — that  of  the  apostles — can  in  the  first 
instance  be  imagined.  Whether  that  authority 
was  official  or  not,  it  must  still  have  been  effective. 
The  apostles  were  believed  to  know  the  mind  of 
Christ.  They  were  the  companions  of  His  minis- 
try. They  were  the  witnesses  of  His  resurrection. 
Without  their  injunction  or  approval  sacramental 
observance  could  not  have  been  introduced.  But 
their  authority  was  not  original.  It  was  deriva- 
tive. They  were  dir6a-ro\ot  of  Christ  (Clem.  Rom. 
Ep.  ad  Cor.  i.  42).  The  things  which  they  taught 
the  Church  to  observe  were  the  things  which  Christ 
commanded  (Mt  2820).  Hence  the  sacraments  must 
have  been  supposed  to  possess  the  authority  of  our 
Lord  Himself ;  and  this  is  the  belief  upon  which 
sacramental  observance  was  established.  Apart 
altogether  from  historical  criticism  of  their  con- 
tents, the  Gospels  bear  testimony  to  the  convictions 
which  held  sway  in  the  Apostolic  Church.  St. 
Matthew's  recora  (2816"20),  whatever  view  be  taken 
as  to  the  textually  unassailable  Trinitarian  for- 
mula, proves  that  the  Christian  observance  of 
Baptism  was  referred  directly  to  the  appointment 
of  our  Lord  ;  and  this  conclusion  is  confirmed  both 
by  the  description  of  baptism  as  '  in  (eirl,  et'j,  tv) 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  ^  (Ac  2s8  816  1048,  etc.),  and 
by  the  distinction  insisted  upon  between  Christian 
baptism  and  the  baptism  of  John  (Ac  182S  193'5, 
He  62).  The  combined  witness  of  the  Synoptists 
leaves  no  doubt  that  our  Lord's  own  institution 
was  believed  to  be  the  origin  of  the  Eucharist. 
Lk  2219b- 20  may  be  indebted  in  some  way  to  1  Co 
II24-26;  but  there  is  no  ground  for  the  conjecture 
that  St.  Paul's  account  diverges  at  this  point  from 
the  tradition  of  the  Church  at  Jerusalem  ;  while 
his  own  emphatic  declaration — 'I  received  of  the 
Lord  that  which  also  I  delivered  unto  you '  (v.23) — 
whether  referring  to  a  special  revelation  or  not, 
indicates  clearly  the  supreme  authority  consist- 
ently presupposed  as  the  foundation  of  sacramental 
observance.  More  than  the  bare  command  of 
Christ  was  contemplated  as  investing  the  sacra- 


428 


SACRAMENTS 


SACRAMENTS 


ments  with  their  authority.  It  was  His  command, 
surrounded  in  either  case  with  circumstances  of 
incomparable  solemnity.  If  St.  Matthew  repre- 
sents the  belief  of  the  primitive  Church,  Baptism 
was  conceived  of  as  an  ordinance  of  the  Risen 
Lord,  delivered  by  Him  on  an  occasion  of  tran- 
scending importance,  decreed  in  the  same  breath 
with  a  claim  to  universal  authority  in  heaven  and 
on  earth,  associated  with  an  imperial  charge  to 
make  disciples  of  all  the  nations,  and  accompanied 
by  a  promise  of  His  unfailing  presence  all  the 
numbered  days  until  the  completion  of  the  age. 
If  the  Synoptists  and  1  Co  II23'26  1016- 17  represent 
the  belief  of  the  primitive  Church,  the  Eucharist 
was  conceived  of  as  an  ordinance  appointed  by  the 
Lord  upon  the  eve  of  His  sacrifice  and  in  anticipa- 
tion of  it,  upon  an  occasion  of  unique  and  con- 
summating intimacy  of  self-revelation  to  His 
disciples,  an  occasion  overshadowed,  indeed,  by 
the  approaching  betrayal  and  crucifixion,  and 
therefore  filled  to  overflowing  with  recollections 
inexpressibly  moving  and  poignant,  but  con- 
secrated also  as  the  inauguration  of  the  present 
communion  of  His  body  and  blood,  and  radiant 
with  the  assurance  which  it  contained  of  the 
impending  triumph  of  His  Kingdom.  The  sacra- 
ments, thus  regarded  as  '  holy  ordinances  insti- 
tuted by  Christ,'  afford  an  indication  that  the  idea 
of  positive  ordinance,  side  by  side  with  and  counter- 
balancing the  idea  of  individual  charismatic  free- 
dom, was  part  of  the  essence  of  Christianity  from 
the  first.  For  the  new  '  \vay,'  Christ  had  appointed 
beforehand  certain  definite  rites  which  all  life 
quickened  by  the  Holy  Spirit  should  observe. 
And  the  extraordinary  solemnity  of  circumstance 
with  which  their  appointment  had  been  empha- 
sized secured  for  these  observances,  even  apart 
from  discernment  of  their  meaning  or  experience 
of  their  virtue,  and  without  the  original  aid  of  any 
formulated  sacramental  theory,  the  homage  of 
unquestioning  practice.  The  sacraments  of  Christ 
may  be  said  to  resemble  the  words  of  Christ  in 
this,  that,  while  filled  by  Him  with  manifold  grace 
and  truth,  the  wealth  of  their  contents  would  not 
be  appropriated  otherwise  than  gradually,  and  at 
the  lirst,  in  consequence,  their  reception  rested  for 
its  assurance  chiefly  upon  the  strength  of  that 
sovereign  authority  to  which  they  owed  their 
promulgation.  In  the  apostolic  belief  that  they 
were  holy  ordinances  instituted  by  the  Founder 
and  King  and  Head  of  the  Church  we  find  the  one 
sufficient  explanation  of  their  earliest  prevalence. 
The  faith  of  apostolic  times  saw  the  authority  of 
our  Lord's  Person  standing  as  fountain-head  at  the 
beginnings  of  sacramental  observance ;  and,  were 
it  not  for  the  demand  made  upon  faith  by  the 
miracles  of  Pentecost  and  the  Resurrection,  the 
credibility  of  this  historic  witness  to  the  actual 
institution  of  the  sacraments  by  Christ  would  never 
in  all  probability  have  been  seriously  challenged. 

2.  Inferences  as  to  sacramental  doctrine. — (a) 
As  ritual  acts  of  faith  and  obedience  towards  God, 
the  sacraments  possessed  the  character  of  worship 
from  the  first.  True  sacraments  are  always 
capable  of  consideration  under  two  aspects :  a 
Godward  aspect  and  a  manward  aspect.  In  the 
former  they  appear  as  acts  of  worship  ;  in  the 
latter  they  appear  as  means  of  grace.  There  is, 
indeed,  a  third  aspect  in  which  they  are  sometimes 
considered — that  in  which  they  become  cognizable 
as  forms  of  public  or  mutual  self-expression.  The 
last,  however,  is  really  an  incidental  accompani- 
ment of  the  first,  and  quite  subordinate  to  it. 
Only  when  the  devotional  life  of  the  Church  grows 
cold  are  the  sacraments  much  thought  of  in  this 
light.  In  the  Apostolic  Church  they  were  not 
contemplated  as  formal  means  by  which  either  the 
corporate  religious  consciousness  or  the  decisions 


and  experiences  of  personal  religion  received  ex- 
pression. That  they  did  express  such  conscious- 
ness— the  consciousness  of  blessings  enjoyed,  of 
the  reality  of  '  the  re-birth  which  is  typified  by 
the  Church's  sacrament  of  initiation '  and  of  '  the 
participation  in  the  Divine  Life  which  is  dramatised 
in  its  sacrament  of  communion'  (E.  Underbill,  The 
Mystic  Way,  London,  1913,  p.  33  f.) — may  be  in  a 
sense  true ;  but  this  was  not  regarded  as  their 
purpose.  The  decisions  and  experiences  of  personal 
religion,  indeed,  could  not  fail  to  be  shown  forth  or 
implied  in  the  sacraments.  Inasmuch  as  these 
observances  were  distinctive  and  elementary  acts 
of  Christian  faith  and  love  they  became  at  once 
prominent  tokens  of  the  Christian  profession  ;  and 
to  this  circumstance,  no  doubt,  they  owe  in  some 
measure  their  investment  with  the  designation 
sacramenta.  In  the  case  of  the  initiatory  rite,  the 
rupture  with  the  past  (Ro  62,  Eph  420'22,  Col  3", 
etc. )  and  '  the  good  confession  in  the  sight  of 
many  witnesses'  (1  Ti  612)  and  the  new  habit  of 
life  (Ro  64-6,  Eph  423-  24,  Col  3'°,  etc.)  were  circum- 
stances so  arresting  that  Baptism  must  always  in 
those  days  have  worn  the  complexion  of  an  open 
avowal.  In  the  case  of  the  Eucharist,  that  rite 
which  postulated  devotion  to  Him  whose  memorial 
it  was,  in  which  also  declared  fellowship  with  the 
one  Body  wras  time  after  time  renewed,  participa- 
tion became  not  only  a  badge  of  continued  fidelity 
and  an  example  in  perseverance  calculated  to 
encourage  others  (He  1024-  25,  where  it  is  surely 
natural  to  understand  as  included  a  reference  to 
the  eucharistic  service),  but,  at  a  later  date,  a 
criterion  as  well  by  which  adherence  to  sound 
doctrine  (Ignatius,  Smyrn.  vi.)  might  be  tested. 
Nevertheless,  as  an  observance  of  personal  faith, 
neither  Baptism  nor  the  Eucharist  was  an  act  of 
self-expression  otherwise  than  incidentally.  Both, 
primarily,  were  solemn  acts  of  worship  performed 
towards  God.  But  both  did  not  fulfil  this  character 
in  the  same  way.  The  germ  of  a  future  classifica- 
tion of  rites  into  sacraments  singular  and  sacra- 
ments capable  of  repetition  is  already  latent  in 
their  divergent  types.  Baptism  is  worship  in  the 
form  of  definitive  self-surrender  to  God  in  Christ, 
accompanied  with  repentance  and  acknowledgment 
of  faith.  It  is  the  dedication  of  a  living  sacrifice, 
the  acceptance  of  office  in  a  holy  priesthood,  the 
response  to  a  calling  of  God  to  become  the  '  lively 
stones'  of  'a  spiritual  house,' and,  indeed,  to  be 
a  temple  bodily  through  the  indwelling  presence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  The  Eucharist,  on  the  other  hand, 
as  the  distinctive  Christian  form  of  stated  common 
worship,  was  to  be  taken  part  in  continually.  By 
it  the  worship  of  the  Church  was  differentiated 
from  the  worship  of  the  synagogue  ;  and  it  became 
at  an  early  date  the  central  act  of  the  whole 
Christian  cultus.  This  aspect  of  the  observance 
connected  itself  from  the  first  with  the  ottering 
of  the  thanksgiving  in  accordance  with  our  Lord's 
example  ;  and  the  rapid  specialization  of  the  name 
evxapiffria,  applied  therefore  to  the  sacrament  re- 
garded as  worship,  may  be  traced  from  St.  Paul 
(1  Co  1416)  through  St.  Clement  of  Rome  (Ep.  ad 
Cor.  i.  41  [see  Liglitfoot])  to  its  precise  and  settled 
use  in  Ignatius  (Eph.  xiii.  1,  Philad.  iv.  1,  Smyrn. 
vi.,  viii.  1)  and  in  the  Didache  (ix.  1,  5).  The 
Eucharist  was  the  culminating  point  of  Christian 
worship.  Elements  of  service — '  lections,  chants, 
homilies,  and  prayers' — might  be  and  were  bor- 
rowed from  the  Jewish  liturgy  (L.  Duchesne, 
Christian  Worship,  Eng.  tr.4,  London,  1912,  p. 
47  f . ).  But  '  the  eucharistic  celebration  .  .  .  was 
the  new  and  vivifying  principle,  the  centre  round 
which  these  adopted  elements  ranged  themselves ' 
(J.  B.  Liglitfoot,  Apostolic  Fathers,  pt.  i.,  'St. 
Clement  of  Rome,'  London,  1890,  i.  393). 
(b)  In  their  aspect  as  means  of  grace  the  sacra- 


SACRAMENTS 


SACRAMENTS 


429 


ments  were  regarded  as  symbolical  but  not  merely 
symbolical,  as  effectual  but  not  magical,  as  both 
sealing  and  applying  the  spiritual  benefits  which 
they  outwardly  represented  but  in  a  way  not  yet 
strictly  defined  nor  yet  explained  in  terms  of  rela- 
tive doctrine.  The  sacraments  were  looked  upon 
not  only  as  human  acts  but  also  as  Divine  instru- 
ments. The  grace  of  God  wrought  through  them, 
and  wrought  oy  means  of  symbols.  The  method 
of  instruction  by  parable  habitually  employed  by 
our  Lord  on  earth  had  already  taught  His  disciples 
to  view  external  nature  as  a  shadow  of  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven,  and  had  encouraged  the  conviction  that 
'  everything,  in  being  what  it  is,  is  symbolic  of 
something  more '  (R.  L.  Nettleship,  quoted  by 
W.  R.  Inge,  Christian  Mysticism,  London,  1899, 
p.  250).  '  God  omnipresent  was  so  much  in  all 
their  [the  early  Fathers']  thoughts,  that  what 
to  others  would  have  been  mere  symbols,  were  to 
them  designed  expressions  of  His  truth,  providen- 
tial intimations  of  His  will.  In  this  sense,  the 
whole  world,  to  them,  was  full  of  sacraments ' 
(R.  Hooker,  Works2,  ed.  J.  Keble,  Oxford,  1841, 
vol.  i.  p.  xcii).  In  harmony  with  our  Lord's 
didactic  method,  and  as  a  continuation  of  it,  the 
sacraments  instituted  by  Him  took  their  place  in 
the  Church  as  permanent  and  embodied  parables 
of  the  Kingdom.  Symbolism  was  inherent  in  the 
use  made  by  them  of  'sensible  signs.'  Their  ele- 
ments and  their  actions  were  filled  with  ideas  both 
obvious  and  more  recondite.  The  water,  the  bread, 
and  the  wine,  and  the  whole  ritual  associated  with 
them  spoke  eloquently  of  invisible  things  and 
spiritual  processes.  Illustrations  of  a  tendency  to 
pass  even  beyond  the  similitudes  primarily  sug- 
gested, and  to  elaborate  particular  details  of  the 
imagery  for  purposes  of  doctrine,  may  be  found  not 
onl y  in  the  age  succeeding  the  apostles  (the  Didache, 
Hernias,  Barnabas,  Ignatius),  but  already  in  the 
apostles'  writings  themselves  (1  P  320-21,  Ro  64,  Col 
2^,  1  Co  1017,  etc. ).  Care,  however,  must  be  taken 
not  to  read  the  modern  acceptance  of  the  term 
'  symbolical '  into  the  primitive  view  of  the  sacra- 
ments. According  to  modern  habits  of  thought, 
symbols  which  speak  outwardly  to  the  senses 
operate  upon  the  soul  exclusively  through  the 
association  of  ideas.  They  make  their  address  to 
the  intellect,  and  only  through  the  intellect  influ- 
ence the  affections  and  the  will.  They  are  nothing 
more,  in  fact,  than  a  language  of  signs.  That  this 
was  not  how  the  Apostolic  Age  regarded  them, 
that  they  were  always  looked  upon  as  having  more 
than  mere  intellectual  potency,  research  into  the 
contemporary  forms  of  popular  religion  claims  to 
have  established.  Harnack,  who  both  in  History 
of  Dogma  and  in  Expansion  of  Christianity  in  the 
FirstThree  Centuries (Eng.  tr.,2vols., London,  1904) 
repeatedly  emphasizes  the  assertion  that  the  symbol 
was  uniformly  contemplated  as  possessing  a  vital 
and  not  only  a  figurative  significance,  thus  repre- 
sents the  primitive  view,  at  least  in  the  field  of 
Gentile  Christianity  :  '  Although  Christian  worship 
is  to  be  a  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  these  sacra- 
ments [Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper]  are  sacred 
transactions  which  operate  on  life.  .  .  .  No  doubt, 
the  elements  of  water,  bread,  and  wine,  are  symbols, 
and  the  scene  of  operations  is  not  laid  in  externals  ; 
still,  the  symbols  do  actually  convey  to  the  soul  all 
that  they  signify.  Each  symbol  has  a  mysterious 
but  real  connection  with  the  fact  which  it  signifies ' 
Expansion  of  Christianity,  i.  286).  Lake  goes  so  far 
as  to  express  the  opinion  that  '  this  position  [the 
purely  symbolical  view  of  the  sacraments]  has  re- 
ceived its  death-blow  from  the  modern  study  of  the 
history  of  religions'  (The  Earlier  Epistles  of  St. 
Paul,  p.  389).  Gentile  Christians  in  contact  with 
the  pagan  mysteries,  and  habituated  to  the  concep- 
tion that  symbols  carry  with  them  vital  effects, 


would  not,  unless  expressly  taught  to  do  so,  divest 
the  sacraments  of  that  deeper  than  emblematic 
significance  which  they  naturally  assumed  them  to 
contain  ;  while  for  Jewish  Christians  a  merely 
emblematic  interpretation  of  the  sacramental 
symbols  would  have  appeared  to  attribute  to  these 
symbols  the  very  character  which  stamped  the 
legal  worship,  now  abrogated  because  fulfilled  in 
Christ,  witli  imperfection — the  character,  namely, 
of  '  a  shadow  of  the  good  things  to  come,  not  the 
very  image  of  the  things'  (He  101  85,  Col  2"). 
When  we  find  the  Didache  prescribing  careful 
ceremonial  in  relation  to  Baptism  (vii.)  and  apply- 
ing to  the  Eucharist  the  Dominical  word  '  Give  not 
that  which  is  holy  to  the  dogs  '  (ix.  5),  and  Ignatius 
speaking  of  our  Lord  purifying  the  water  by  His 
suffering  (Eph.  xviii.  2)  and  exhorting  '  Let  your 
baptism  remain  as  your  arms,'  i.e.  as  your  shield 
(Polyc.  vi.  2),  and  describing  the  Eucharist  as  '  the 
medicine  of  immortality,  the  antidote  that  we 
should  not  die '  (Eph.  xx.  2),  we  feel  that  we  are  in 
a  region  of  sacraftiiental  ideas  lying  quite  beyond 
the  superficial  theory  of  symbols.  But  we  are 
really  in  the  same  region  before  we  leave  the 
canonical  books.  Those  who  contend  that  the 
purely  symbolical  is  the  only  view  of  the  sacra- 
ments entertained  by  NT  writers  cannot  make 
good  their  contention  except  by  denying  a  plain 
sacramental  reference  to  Jn  3  and  6,  and  by  em- 
ploying ingenious  exposition  to  empty  one  after 
another  the  entire  series  of  express  NT  references 
to  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  of  any  other 
than  a  figurative  implication.  But  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  the  first  readers  of  the  Fourth 
Gospel  would  perceive  in  Jn  3  a  direct  allusion  to 
Christian  Baptism  and  in  Jn  6  a  direct  allusion  to 
the  Eucharist ;  and,  while  all  the  express  NT  refer- 
ences to  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  are  quite 
compatible  with  higher  than  figurative  conceptions 
of  the  sacraments,  in  the  case  of  a  number  of 
them  (e.g.  Ro  61'14,  1  Co  101'13-  16-  17  II17'34  1213, 
Gal  S26-  *  Eph  45  526,  Col  211- 12,  Tit  35,  1  P  320-  -1, 
He  6l>  2)  the  straightforward  interpretation  is  one 
clearly  involving  that  higher  sacramental  concep- 
tion, to  which  also  the  consensus  of  the  whole 
series  points  and  testifies. 

The  sacraments,  while  regarded  as  more  than 
empty  symbols,  while  looked  upon  as  really  effec- 
tual, and  tending  to  combine  with  the  nature  of 
dramatic  TrapafioXai  the  nature  also  of  o^/ueta  (in 
the  sense  of  the  Fourth  Gospel)  permanent  in  the 
Church,  were  not,  however,  thought  of  as  having 
any  kind  of  magical  affinity.  The  precise  mean- 
ing of  the  word  '  magic '  is  difficult  to  define  ;  and 
in  this  connexion  its  elasticity  has  led  to  a  con- 
troversial use  much  to  be  deprecated.  The  charac- 
terization of  sacramental  theory  as  magical  too 
often  takes  the  place  of  serious  argument.  But 
the  spiritually  effectual  and  the  magical  are  not 
synonymous  terms.  The  really  salient  feature  of 
magic,  which  '  has  been  ingeniously  defined  as  the 
strategy  of  animism'  (F.  Cumont,  Les  Eeligions 
orientales  dans  le  paganisme  romain,  Paris,  1906, 
p.  224),  may  be  recognized  in  its  claim  to  possess 
the  secret  of  commanding  unseen  powers.  From 
the  sacraments  this  feature  is  excluded  by  the 
institutional  authority  which  they  assert.  The 
sacraments  obey  ;  they  do  not  command.  They 
operate  not  of  necessity,  but  through  the  uncon- 
strained agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  chooses 
them  as  His  instruments.  Their  virtue  resides  not 
in  material  elements  or  ritual  actions,  but  in  the 
covenant  of  promise  attached  to  their  faithful  ob- 
servance. To  magic,  unless  the  name  be  stretched 
beyond  its  legitimate  connotation,  the  sacraments 
of  the  Apostolic  Church  have  no  more  substantial 
resemblance  than  prayer  has  to  incantation.  It  is 
beyond  doubt  that  in  the  world  which  Christianity 


430 


SACRAMENTS 


SACRAMENTS 


entered  the  practice  of  magic  and  the  circle  of  ideas 
associated  with  it  were  familiar.  But  the  stories 
of  Simon  Magus  (Ac  S5'24),  of  Elymas  the  sorcerer 
(136'12),  of  the  damsel  possessed  of  a  spirit  of 
divination  (16I6~18),  of  the  magicians  of  Ephesus 
(1913'19),  as  well  as  the  condemnations  of  idolatry 
and  sorcery  contained  in  the  Epistles  (Gal  520,  1  P 
43,  1  Co  1014,  Col  35 ;  cf.  Rev  920- 21  1823),  illustrate 
the  attitude  of  antagonism  which  the  Church 
assumed  towards  magic  from  the  first.  Nor  was 
this  antagonism  that  of  rivalry.  Christianity  was 
in  no  true  sense  a  mystery-religion.  Its  sacra- 
mental system  differea  fundamentally  from  that 
of  the  mystery  rites  (but  see  J.  E.  Harrison's 
derivation  of  ^tcrr-ris,  Prolegomena  to  the  Study  of 
Greek  Religion,  Cambridge,  1903,  p.  153  f. ).  Ex- 
cept when  forced  into  seclusion  as  a  religio  illicita, 
it  worked  openly.  It  knew  of  no  magical  secrets 
to  be  kept  from  all  but  the  initiated.  It  knew 
only  of  life-giving  secrets  to  be  declared.  In  the 
Apostolic  Church  no  trace  exists  of  the  disciplina 
arcani ;  and  even  when,  at  a  later  date,  that 
disciplina  was  introduced,  it  was  introduced  in 
connexion  with  the  institution  of  the  catechumen- 
ate,  and  was  employed  as  a  method  of  education, 
as  a  device  of  rhetoric,  as  an  expedient  for  the 
promotion  of  reverence,  and.  not  as  implying  any 
esoteric  cult  (see  Batiffol,  Etudes  d'histoire  et  de 
theologie  positive,  pp.  1-41).  It  is  perhaps  only 
fair  to  add  that,  in  the  opinion  of  some  competent 
scholars,  the  mysteries  themselves,  in  their  ulti- 
mate forms,  and  as  understood  by  cultivated 
votaries,  seem  to  have  outgrown  their  original 
magic,  and  to  have  approximated,  at  least,  to  a 
sacramental  character.  The  Christian  polemic 
directed  against  them  in  the  early  centuries  implies 
alleged  resemblances.  '  In  the  sacraments  of 
Mithra,  Tertullian  and  other  Apologists  perceived 
a  diabolic  parody  of  the  usages  of  the  Church ' 
(S.  Dill,  Roman  Society  from  Nero  to  Marcus 
Aurdius,  London,  1904,  p.  613).  Modern  apology 
will  incline  rather  to  interpret  such  resemblances 
as  disclosing  in  the  sacramental  system  of  the 
faitli  a  Divine  adaptation  to  the  experienced 
requirements  of  human  nature,  a  Divine  response 
to  the  longing  of  the  human  heart  for  assured 
cleansing,  for  help  in  the  pursuit  of  holiness,  and 
for  the  promise  of  eternal  life.  That  which  the 
more  refined  mystery  conceptions  sought  after, 
the  sacraments  actually  supplied.  It  may  well  be 
that,  not  only  in  the  syncretistic  philosophies  of 
the  Roman  Empire,  but  also  in  its  'conflict  of 
religions,'  the  Spirit  of  Truth  was  secretly  at  work, 
opening  many  doors  of  prepared  receptiveness  for 
the  mysteries  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  From 
any  alliance  with  magic  the  Christian  sacraments, 
at  any  rate,  were  safeguarded  from  the  first 
by  the  personal  relation  which  they  involved  as 
between  members  of  the  Church  and  the  Person  of 
her  living  and  exalted  Head,  by  the  predominant 
emphasis  laid  upon  the  grace  of  Christian  faith  as 
an  indispensable  condition  of  every  spiritual  bless- 
ing, and  by  the  intensely  ethical  requirements 
which  were  invariably  associated  with  their 
observance. 

The  effect  ascribed  to  the  sacraments  was  partly 
of  the  nature  of  Divine  assurance  and  promise. 
They  operated  so  as  to  establish  or  confirm  a  new 
relationship  of  privilege  which  contained  in  posse 
a  dower  of  future  blessings — grace  to  be  realized 
in  this  age  and  the  hope  of  the  world  to  come. 
The  specific  use  of  the  word  a-<j>payis  to  designate 
the  initiatory  rites — a  use  common  in  post-apostolic 
times — does  not  yet  appear  as  conventional.  But 
the  idea — more  probably  connected  with  Jewish 
revelation  than  with  mystery  conceptions  —  is 
already  found  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles  (2  Co  I21-22, 
Eph  I13  430).  Baptism  is  the  outward  sign  of  the 


Divine  calling  and  election.  By  it  those  sealed 
are  marked  by  God  as  His.  They  are  enrolled  in 
'a  nation  from  the  midst  of  nations.'  They  are 
made  members  of  the  Body  of  Christ.  And  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  accompanying  their  initia- 
tion is  a  gift  of  '  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,'  the 
'earnest'  (dppafiwv)  of  an  'inheritance.'  The 
Lord's  Supper,  again,  is  a  seal  of  the  New  Covenant 
in  Christ's  blood,  an  assurance  of  eternal  life  now, 
an  anticipation  of  the  Parousia,  a  promise  of 
resurrection,  a  pledge  of  the  Messianic  triumph,  a 
foretaste  of  the  great  Supper  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  (Mt2628-29,  Mk  1424- 25,  Lk  2220- 16-18,  Jn  654, 
1  Co  II26;  also  Mt  221'13,  Lk  1415'24).  But  the 
actual  bestowal  of  the  blessings  represented  by  the 
sacraments  was  also  regarded  as  an  effect  of  their 
observance.  They  operated  respectively  as  verit- 
able means  of  their  own  distinctive  grace.  And 
they  accomplished  this  not  through  any  natural 
psychological  process — an  explanation  which  really 
reverts  to  the  theory  of  empty  symbols — but  by  the 
power  of  the  Hoty  Ghost.  They  acted  not  upon 
intellect  only,  but  upon  the  person,  upon  life. 
Baptism  was  the  actual  occasion  of  those  effects 
which  it  represented — of  the  forgiveness  of  sin 
(Ac  2s8  2216,  Eph  526,  Tit  35),  of  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  (Ac  238,  1  Co  1213),  of  the  dying  and  burial 
with  Christ  (Ro  63-  4,  Col  212),  and  of  regeneration 
(Jn  3s,  Tit  35).  The  Eucharist  was  the  actual 
occasion  of  the  communication  and  communion  of 
the  body  of  Christ  and  of  the  blood  of  Christ 
(1  Co  1016)  and  of  all  that  was  represented  by  the 
ministration  and  reception  of  the  bread  and  wine 
in  the  sacrament  (see  also  Jn  G53'58,  and  Ignatius, 
Rom.  vii.  3,  Philad.  iv.  1,  Smyrn.  vi. ).  How  the 
sacraments  become  thus  effectual ;  what  relation 
exists  between  the  elements  and  that  which  is 
bestowed  through  them  ;  in  particular,  what  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ  precisely  signify,  and 
how  such  sacred  realities  ought  to  be  conceived  of 
as  related  to  the  consecrated  bread  and  wine — these 
are  questions  which  do  not  expressly  emerge  in 
this  period.  But,  although  no  theory  of  sacra- 
mental grace  is  formulated  as  yet,  the  materials 
for  its  future  construction  are  already  provided. 
Among  the  prolegomena  of  sacramental  theory, 
the  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation  must  always  hold 
the  place  of  supreme  importance.  That  doctrine, 
not  so  much  in  its  bearing  upon  the  earthly  life  of 
our  Lord  as  in  its  bearing  upon  His  heavenly  state 
and  ministry,  and  in  the  conclusions  to  be  drawn 
from  it  as  to  the  perpetuity  of  the  human  nature 
assumed,  as  to  the  permanent  relation  of  that 
human  nature  to  His  Divinity,  as  to  its  glorifica- 
tion, as  to  its  endowment  with  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  full  measure,  and  as  to  its  potential 
omnipresence,  constitutes  the  very  basis  of  the 
whole  sacramental  fabric.  And  not  only  was  that 
doctrine,  uncodified  as  yet  in  creeds,  and  waiting 
still  to  be  followed  into  its  consequences,  funda- 
mental in  the  faith  and  teaching  of  the  Apostolic 
Church,  but  certain  aspects  of  it,  which,  as 
challenged  by  Docetic  tendencies,  receive  marked 
prominence  in  the  Johannine  writings  (Jn  I14, 
1  Jn  42,  2  Jn  7)  and  prominence  at  least  not  less 
marked  in  the  Epistles  of  Ignatius,  are  the  very 
aspects  which  look  in  the  direction  of  sacramental 
theology,  and  in  the  light  of  which  sacramental 
theology  was  afterwards  developed  (e.g.  see  Justin 
Martyr,  Apol.  i.  66,  and  J.  H.  Srawley's  comment, 
The  Early  History  of  the  Liturgy,  Cambridge, 
1913,  p.  35).  In  one  place,  indeed,  in  which 
Ignatius  refers  to  Docetic  separatists  in  such  terms 
as  to  suggest  that  the  Eucharist  implies  the  reality 
of  Christ's  flesh  (Smyrn.  vi.),  the  doctrine  of  the 
Incarnation  and  the  doctrine  of  the  Eucharist  are 
brought  into  a  closeness  of  contact  which  illus- 
trates the  derivation  of  the  sacramental  principle 


SACRAMENTS 


SACRIFICE 


431 


from  the  contents  of  the  truth  that  '  the  Word 
became  Flesh  and  dwelt  among  us.'  In  the  two 
natures  united  in  our  Lord's  Person,  the  two  parts 
of  the  sacrament,  its  outward  sign  and  its  invisible 
grace,  found  their  analogy.  Our  Lord's  bodily 
presence  was  in  fact  the  compendium  of  all  sacra- 
ments ;  and  all  sacraments  were  the  virtual  exten- 
sion of  our  Lord's  bodily  presence  and  activity. 
Of  doctrine  such  as  this  the  foundation  had  been 
laid  already  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  and  the  material 
provided.  But  it  was  left  to  subsequent  centuries 
of  constructive  faith  and  devout  reflexion  to  rear 
upon  that  foundation  and  with  that  material  the 
doctrinal  edifice  of  the  sacramental  system. 

(c)  Although  eitlier  sacrament  was  regarded  as 
the  specific  means  of  Us  own  appropriate  grace,  both 
had  a  common  reference  to  the  whole  way  of  salva- 
tion in  Christ ;  and,  while  the  complexity  of  this 
reference  permitted  certain  aspects  of  it  to  receive 
peculiar  prominence  from  time  to  time,  there  is  no 
sufficient  ground  for  the  assumption  that  all  were 
not  equally  implied  in  the  nature,  of  the  institutions 
from  the  first.  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper 
had  each  its  own  distinctive  purpose  in  the  economy 
of  grace.  But  they  possessed  in  common  similar 
general  relations  to  the  entire  scheme  of  redemp- 
tion. Both  were  means  towards  the  fulfilment  of 
the  mystical  union  with  Christ.  Both  had  respect 
to  the  sacrifice  offered  by  Him  on  the  Cross.  Both 
were  inseparably  connected  with  the  cardinal  fact  of 
the  Resurrection.  Both  looked  up  to  a  Prince  and 
a  Saviour  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted.  Both 
were  dependent  for  their  vitality  upon  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  forth  from  Him.  Both 
had  in  view  the  constitution  and  service  of  the 
body  corporate  and  the  communion  of  saints.  Both 
belonged  to  a  new  and  spiritual  order  which  bore 
witness  to  the  one  hope  of  the  coming  and  kingdom 
of  the  Christ  of  God.  Their  common  outlook  was 
thus  not  in  one  direction  only  but  in  many — an 
outlook  so  comprehensive  that  it  is  strictly  accurate 
to  describe  the  blessings  represented,  sealed,  and 
applied  by  them  as  being  nothing  less  than  '  Christ 
and  the  benefits  of  the  New  Covenant'  (Shorter 
Catechism,  Q.  92).  This  manifoldness  of  the  sacra- 
mental outlook  is,  indeed,  made  evident  in  the 
facility  with  which  each  succeeding  modern  hypo- 
thesis as  to  what  was  'central'  in  primitive 
Christianity  can  claim  the  witness  of  the  sacra- 
ments for  its  support.  If,  e.g.,  the  gospel  of  the 
Kingdom  was  mainly  eschatological  in  its  contents, 
there  is  no  difficulty  in  showing  that  the  sacra- 
ments looked  forward  to  a  Kingdom  yet  to  come,  of 
which  they  were  the  seals.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  gospel  of  the  Kingdom  was  mainly  spiritual  in 
its  contents,  it  is  equally  easy  to  demonstrate  that 
the  sacraments  as  means  of  grace  find  their  purpose 
in  a  Kingdom  of  God  realizing  itself  gradually 
here  and  now.  It  may  quite  well  be  that  at 
different  periods,  in  different  Churches,  and  by 
different  teachers,  particular  aspects  of  the  sacra- 
ments —  whether  the  personal  aspect  or  the 
corporate,  the  commemorative,  the  mystical,  the 
ethical,  or  the  prophetic — may  have  been  given 
superior  prominence.  The  Pauline  theology  may 
have  laid  more  stress  upon  their  relation  to 
Christ's  death,  and  the  Johannine  upon  their  rela- 
tion to  Christ's  life ;  but  it  is  not  necessary  to 
assume  that  only  one  aspect  can  be  primitive,  that 
all  others  were  superinduced  and  represent  de- 
flexions from  the  original  ordinance.  It  seems  to 
be  more  reasonable  to  attribute  the  real  variety  of 
meaning  and  purpose  which  may  be  assigned  to 
the  sacraments  to  the  intrinsic  wealth  of  the  sacra- 
ments themselves.  If  they  were,  as  the  Apostolic 
Church  believed,  the  very  institution  of  Christ 
Himself,  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that  they 
exhibit  the  same  many-sidedness  of  significance 


which  characterized  all  the  words  which  Christ 
spoke  and  the  same  many-sidedness  of  effect  which 
characterized  all  the  works  which  He  performed. 
As  'holy  ordinances  instituted  by  Christ'  they 
combine  simplicity  with  mysterious  depth  ;  and 
from  many  sparkling  facets,  with  iridescent  doc- 
trine, they  reflect  the  light. 

LITERATURE. — In  addition  to  books  cited  above  see  Literature 
appended  to  artt.  BAPTISM,  EUCHARIST,  ESCIIATOLOQY  ;  artt. 
SACRAMENTS,  BAPTISM,  EUCHARIST,  SYMBOL,  MAGIC,  MYSTKRY  in 
other  Dictionaries  and  Encyclopaedias ;  A.  V.  G.  Allen,  Chris- 
tian Institutions,  Edinburgh,  1898;  P.  Batiffol,  Primitive 
Catholicism,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1914 ;  W.  Beyschlag,  NT 
Theology,  Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1895 ;  C.  Clemen,  Primitive 
Christianity  and  its  Non-Jewish  Sources  (the  introduction  to 
which  contains  an  extensive  bibliography),  do.,  1912;  L.  R. 
Farnell,  The  Evolution  of  Religion,  London,  1905,  '  Sacrificial 
Communion  in  Greek  Religion,'  11J  ii.  [1903-04]  306  ft*.  ;  Percy 
Gardner,  Origin  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  London,  1893,  Exploratio 
Evangelica,  do.,  1899,  The  Growth  of  Christianity,  do.,  1907 ; 
T.  R.  Glover,  The  Conflict  of  Religions  in  the  Early  Roman 
Empire,  do.,  1909  ;  E.  Hatch,  Influence  of  Greek  Ideas  and 
Usages  upon  the  Christian  Church,  do.,  1890  ;  J.  R.  Illingworth, 
Divine.  Immanence,  do.,  1898  ;  F.  B.  Jevons,  An  Introduction 
to  the  Study  of  Comparative  Religion,  New  York,  1908 ;  H.  A. 
A.  Kennedy,  St.  Paul  and  the  Mystery-Religions,  do.,  1913 ; 
A.  Loisy,  'The  Christian  Mystery,'  IdJ  x.  [1911-12]  45 ff. ;  Lux 
MundiW,  ed.  C.  Gore,  London,  1890,  pp.  401-433;  A.  C. 
McGiffert,  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age, 
Edinburgh,  1897 ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Bearing  of  Recent 
Discovery  on  the  Trustworthiness  of  the  NT,  London,  1915  ; 
W.  Sanday,  The  Life  of  Christ  in  Recent  Research,  Oxford, 

1907.  ROGER  S.  KIRKPATRICK. 

SACRIFICE. — 1.  Sources. — The  sacrificial  ideas 
found  in  the  teaching  of  the  Apostolic  Church  cast 
their  roots  so  deeply  in  the  soil  of  OT  ideas  and 
practice  that  careful  reference  to  the  sacrificial 
system  inherited  by  apostolic  writers  from  Jewish 
sources  is  essential.  Even  more  closely  than  in 
other  subjects,  the  apostolic  literature  assumes 
the  genetic  connexion  of  Christianity  with  Judaism 
in  its  doctrine  of  sacrifice.  The  OT  thought- world 
is  everywhere  regarded  as  the  basis  for  expound- 
ing the  ultimate  and  more  spiritual  exhibitions  of 
the  sacrificial  principle  characteristic  of  apostolic 
interpretation.  To  make  accurately  and  sympa- 
thetically the  fine  adjustments  necessary  between 
these  transformed  and  spiritualized  sacrificial 
values  and  their  pre-Christian  forms  is  of  first 
importance.  This  task  is  the  more  difficult  be- 
cause the  Jewish  sources  are  themselves  in  turn 
inherited  from  primitive  Semitic  usages  of  which 
the  meaning  and  origin  are  at  present  under  in- 
vestigation and  the  subject  of  keen  discussion. 
Possibly  reminiscences  of  each  of  the  main  theories 
advocated  respecting  the  origin  of  sacrifice  may  "be 
traced  in  the  terms  that  illustrate  apostolic  teach- 
ing—e.g.  the  Gift  theory  (Ph  418),  the  Homage 
theory  (Ro  121),  the  Common  Meal  theory  (1  Co 
10U~22) ;  the  Expiatory  theory  is  too  obvious  to 
need  references.  The  one  constant  element  in 
primitive  sacrifice  persisting  to  apostolic  times 
that  modern  research,  both  anthropological  and 
psychological,  seems  to  warrant  is  that  sacrifice 
appears  to  have  pleased  the  object  of  worship  and 
secured  the  favour  of  the  deity — i.e.,  it  was  'pro- 
pitiatory '  in  the  broadest  sense.  The  most  reliable 
expert  opinion  of  different  schools  of  anthropo- 
logists regards  sacrifice  as  devised  by  man  as  an 
institution  by  which  he  might  indicate  and  satisfy 
the  instincts  of  his  religious  nature,  and  therefore 
only  indirectly  Divine  in  its  origin.  Sacrifice  thus 
originated  in  primitive  childlike  ideas  of  God,  and 
developed,  through  the  primary  religious  instinct 
of  pleasing  Him  by  giving  or  sharing  a  meal  with 
Him,  into  later  rites  regarded  as  of  expiatory  value 
as  the  moral  consciousness  of  the  race  deepened. 
Some  such  long  course  of  development  lies  behind 
the  appearance  of  sacrifice  in  the  OT. 

(a)  Early  Israel. — Here  sacrifice  is  regarded  as 
a  familiar  custom  at  the  beginning  of  human 
history  ;  it  originated  in  the  first  family  ;  it  was 


432 


SACRIFICE 


SACRIFICE 


patriarchal.  It  meets  us  early  in  the  OT  as  the 
comparatively  complete  and  elaborated  cultus 
mirrored  in  the  J  document,  but  no  light  is  thrown 
upon  its  origin.  Its  chief  occasions  were  times  of 
meeting  with  God  ;  it  marked  the  intimate  relation- 
ship between  the  god  and  his  worshippers  ;  the 
prevailing  conception  of  its  significance  was  that  it 
was  a  present  to  God  in  sign  of  homage,  thanks- 
giving, desire  for  communion  or  Divine  gifts.  The 
indications  here  of  the  stricter  motive  of  expia- 
tion are  very  slight,  although  awe  of  the.  Divine 
Presence  finds  early  and  constant  expression  ;  and 
there  is  little  doubt  that  Israel  in  all  ages  believed 
in  the  effectiveness  of  sacrifice  to  preserve  or 
restore  the  favour  of  Jaliweh.  In  view  of  apostolic 
teaching  the  early  significance  of  the  Covenant 
Sacrifice  should  be  noted.  Its  specific  object  was 
to  make  a  covenant  sure  and  binding  by  the  inter- 
change of  blood  between  the  parties  to  it ;  half  the 
animal  victim's  blood  was  poured  upon  the  altar 
for  God  and  half  sprinkled  upon  the  people  (cf. 
Ex  24B-8,  He  86ff-  915'22).  The  religious  efficacy  of 
sacrifice  was  interpreted  according  to  the  degree 
of  ethical  and  spiritual  enlightenment  of  the 
offerers.  The  popular  idea  of  a  union  cemented  by 
blood  in  its  physical  and  literal  character  was  be- 
ginning to  be  challenged  in  the  early  monarchy  ; 
the  higher  theology  of  the  age  was  already  exclud- 
ing the  idea  of  God  as  a  fellow-guest,  and  offerings 
were  regarded  as  worthless  without  obedience  (cf. 
1  S  1522).  God  was  disposed  favourably  by  sacri- 
fices, but  we  are  not  able  to  say  in  what  manner 
they  were  supposed  to  influence  Him.  Neither 
these  nor  the  older  Semitic  sacrifices  were  strictly 
expiatory,  as  has  often  been  assumed  ;  even  where 
the  animal  may  have  been  regarded  as  the  offerer's 
substitute,  it  may  not  necessarily  have  been  as 
expiation  for  sin.  Human  sacrifices  were  unques- 
tionably olfered  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  Hebrew 
transition  from  the  prehistoric  to  the  historic  de- 
velopment of  the  doctrine.  They  were  common 
in  Palestinian  religion. 

(b)  Prophetic  teaching. — Before  touching  upon 
the  priestly  or  Levitical  sacrificial  system,  from 
which  it  is  evident  apostolic  teaching  chiefly  drew 
its  thought-forms  and  its  sacrificial  terminology, 
reference  must  be  made  to  the  attitude  taken 
towards  sacrifice  by  the  OT  prophets,  especially 
by  those  of  the  8th  century.  From  these  the 
primitive  Christian  Church  drew  much  of  the  sub- 
stance of  its  teaching  on  sacrifice  as  it  came  to  be 
interpreted  in  ethical  and  spiritual  values.  These 
two  types — prophetic  and  priestly — dominate  the 
structure  of  our  OT  sources  ;  they  existed  side  by 
side  and  acted  and  reacted  upon  each  other.  If 
not  distinctly  rival  systems  in  the  religious  thought 
and  practice  of  Israel,  they  represent  different 
ideals  concerning  that  which  is  an  acceptable  offer- 
ing to  the  Lord.  To  recognize  that  both  of  them 
deeply  influenced  apostolic  views  of  sacrifice  is 
important.  It  is  not  probable  that  the  prophets 
actually  proposed  the  abolition  of  sacrifice,  as 
some  scholars  have  maintained.  They  assumed 
its  legitimacy ;  they  denied  its  necessity.  Their 
protest  was  against  the  exaggerated  importance  of 
sacrifice  (cf.  Am  S25,  Jer  72"')  ;  it  was  not  essential 
to  forgiveness.  The  Levitical  cultus  provided 
sacrifice  as  the  chief  vehicle  of  God's  grace ;  for- 
giveness is  mediated  through  it.  The  insistent 
iterance  of  the  prophetic  word  is  that  sacrifice  is 
not  essential  ;  God  requires  obedience,  not  sacrifice. 
Because  He  is  a  righteous  God,  He  can  accept 
nothing  in  place  of  righteousness.  Righteousness 
is  fundamental  religion  (Mic  6B~8) ;  without  it  sacri- 
fice was  an  insult  to  God  ;  He  was  weary  of  it ;  it 
provoked  Him.  Whilst  they  did  not  demand  a 
religion  without  a  cultus,  i.e.  a  purely  spiritual 
worship,  the  prophets  denied  that  sacrifice  in  itself 


has  efficacy  with  God,  and  that  He  has  appointed 
it  as  essential  to  the  ministry  of  His  grace.  In 
thus  setting  character  before  cultus  the  Psalmists 
join  the  prophets,  emphasizing  at  the  same  time 
the  abiding  value  in  the  sight  of  God  of  penitential 
feeling  (cf.  Ps  406'9  5116'-)-  With  the  great  prophet 
of  the  Exile  there  rises  also  the  commanding  figure 
of  the  Suffering  Servant  of  the  Lord.  Out  of  His 
personal  afflictions  for  His  people  grows  the  vision 
of  a  voluntary  and  personal  sacrificial  offering  of 
Himself.  This  transcends  in  its  perfect  ethical 
and  spiritual  value  all  lower  ideas  associated  with 
the  ottering  of  animal  victims  (Is  53).  The  extent 
to  which  this  presentation  of  the  Suffering  Servant 
and  the  prophetic  attitude  of  bare  tolerance 
towards  the  sacrificial  system  influenced  the  apos- 
tolic teaching  on  sacrifice  has  not  been  fully 
appreciated. 

(c)  Levitical.  —  Historically  this  followed  the 
prophetic  period  referred  to.  It  did  not  precede 
it,  as  was  formerly  thought.  The  elaboration  of 
the  Levitical  Code  and  the  bewildering  details  of 
the  priestly  legislation  respecting  sacrifice  led  to 
the  depreciation  of  the  prophetic  criticism  of  it. 
Levitical  conceptions  became  characteristic  of  the 
Judaism  with  which  early  Christianity  had  such 
intimate  and  vital  connexion.  The  transition  from 
the  ethical  ideals  of  the  prophets  to  the  ceremonial 
ritual  of  the  Levitical  system  carries  us  into  a 
different  world  of  sacrificial  ideas ;  in  many  re- 
spects the  change  marks  reaction ;  ethically  it  is 
on  a  lower  plane,  though  it  may  possibly  as  a  hard 
shell  have  preserved  for  future  generations  the 
kernel  of  the  prophetic  teaching  regarding  sacri- 
fice. Its  marvellous  completeness  provided  a  basis 
for  typological  analogy.  It  was  almost  inevit- 
able, in  the  circumstances  in  which  Christianity 
arose,  that  the  primitive  Church  should  exten- 
sively use  this  as  a  vehicle  for  teaching  its  doctrine 
of  redemption.  We  need  not  refuse  to  see  in  the 
rich  detail  of  Jewish  sacrifices  an  unconscious 
illustrative  preparation  for  apostolic  forms  of 
teaching.  Yet  it  is  difficult  to  hold  that  this 
whole  ceremonial  system  was  instituted  with  a 
conscious  reference  to,  or  binding  authority  for, 
the  spiritual  teaching  of  the  sacrificial  principle  in 
Christianity,  in  which  the  Jewish  sacrificial  system 
was  at  once  fulfilled  and  abrogated.  The  chief 
feature  of  the  Levitical  system,  as  distinguished 
from  the  sacrifices  of  the  earlier  cultus  in  Israel, 
was  the  greater  importance  attached  to  piacular 
or  expiatory  sacrifices — the  guilt-,  sin-,  and  trespass- 
offerings.  This  resulted  from  the  deepened  sense 
of  sin  which  had  developed  during  the  Exile. 
Originally  not  more  important  than  other  offer- 
ings, the  sin-offering  now  becomes  the  sacrifice 
par  excellence.  Eventually  this  type  of  sacrifice 
appears  to  have  overshadowed  the  other  great  type 
represented  by  the  peace-offerings,  which  assumed 
that  the  covenant  relations  with  Jahweh  were 
undisturbed.  It  was  the  expiatory  type  that 
constituted  the  daily  sacrifice— the  continual  burnt- 
ottering — up  to  apostolic  times ;  it  was  regarded 
as  most  perfectly  embodying,  through  its  vicariou* 
character,  the  sacrificial  idea ;  it  was  not  con- 
nected with  any  particular  transgression,  but  was 
maintained  as  the  appropriate  means  of  a  sinful 
people's  approach  to  a  Holy  God.  Essential 
features  in  it  were  the  shedding  and  sprinkling  of 
blood  and  the  conveyance  of  the  sacrifice  entire  to 
God  and  His  ministers ;  it  was  also  accompanied 
by  the  imposition  of  hands.  The  utmost  import- 
ance was  attached  in  this  type  of  sacrifice  to  the 
disposition  of  the  victim's  blood  :  the  blood  was 
God's  ;  it  belonged  to  Him  of  right;  .a  mysterious 
potency  inhered  in  it ;  the  life  was  in  it  (cf. 
Lv  1711) ;  safety  for  the  individual  and  the  nation 
lay  in  such  sacrifices  of  blood.  It  is  of  great  im« 


SACRIFICE 


SACRIFICE 


433 


portance,  however,  in  view  of  apostolic  conceptions 
to  note  that  such  sacrifices — the  highest  in  value 
the  Levitical  system  provided — availed  only  for 
sins  of  ignorance,  for  unwitting  transgression  of 
holy  things  and  for  the  removal  of  physical  un- 
cleanness,  which  was  regarded  as  implying  moral 
as  well  as  ceremonial  disability  in  drawing  near  to 
God  (Nu  1530).  For  wilful  sins — 'sins  with  a  high 
hand  ' — no  reconciling  sacrifice  was  provided  in 
Israel ;  the  penalty  of  such  sins  was  death — '  that 
soul  was  cut  off  from  Israel.'  But  even  such  sins 
were  not  beyond  the  reach  of  forgiveness.  That 
such  sinners  might  through  confession  and  true 
penitence  approach  God,  and  through  His  grace, 
apart  from  sacrifice,  meet  with  His  mercy  was  the 
evangelical  proclamation  of  the  prophets.  It  was 
held,  however,  by  later  Jewish  interpreters  that 
the  '  scapegoat '  on  the  great  Day  of  Atonement 
expiated  the  sins  of  all  Israelites  who  had  not 
deliberately  put  themselves  outside  its  effects  by 
forsaking  the  religion  of  their  people ;  and  this 
expiation  w.as  applied  so  as  to  include  sins  the 
penalty  of  which  was  '  to  be  cut  off  from  his 
people,'  or  death  (cf.  EBi  iv.  4219,  4224). 

(d)  Later  Jewish. — The  whole  question  of  the 
expiatory  value  of  Jewish  sacrifices  generally  is 
keenly  debated  amongst  modern  scholars.  The 
theory  of  the  penal  substitution  of  the  life  of 
the  animal  victim  in  place  of  the  life  of  the 
offerer,  which  was  formerly  regarded  as  almost  an 
axiomatic  principle  of  interpretation,  now  meets 
with  cogent  criticism.  Whilst  this  theory  is  still 
held  on  the  ground  of  evidence  direct  and  indirect 
in  biblical  and  post-biblical  ideas  or  usage,  it  must 
be  said  that  probably  the  majority  of  modern 
scholars  regard  it  as  no  longer  tenable.  Much 
in  the  discussion  of  these  opposing  positions 
turns  upon  the  confidence  which  should  be  placed 
upon  the  theories  of  sacrifice  prevalent  in  later 
Judaism.  If  the  date  and  adequacy  of  the  valu- 
able materials  collected  from  later  Jewish  sources, 
belonging  to  the  time  when  the  institution  of  the 
Synagogue  was  growing  up  side  by  side  with  the 
sacrificial  worship  of  the  Temple,  could  be  depended 
upon,  they  woukt  afford  data  of  the  highest  import- 
ance in  seeking  to  interpret  the  ideas  of  the 
apostolic  literature,  whose  writers  had  been  taught 
in  the  synagogue  or  in  the  Rabbinical  schools. 
The  present  difficulty,  however,  of  gathering  the 
old  Jewish  theory  of  sacrifice  from  these  sources 
may  be  illustrated  by  the  contrary  judgments  of 
two  scholars  who  have  had  access  to  them.  Holtz- 
mann  sums  up  the  result  thus :  '  Everything 
pressed  towards  the  assumption  that  the  offering 
of  a  life,  substituted  for  sinners  according  to  God's 
appointment,  cancelled  the  death  penalty  which 
they  had  incurred,  and  that  consequently  the 
offered  blood  of  the  sacrificial  victims  expiated  sin 
as  a  surrogate  for  the  life  of  the  guilty '  (Neutest. 
Theol.  i.  68,  quoted  by  W.  P.  Paterson,  art.  '  Sacri- 
fice '  in  HDB  iv.  342b ;  cf.  Stevens,  Theol.  of  the 
NT,  p.  409).  G.  F.  Moore  holds  an  opposite 
opinion  :  '  The  theory  that  the  victim's  life  is  put 
in  place  of  the  owner's  is  nowhere  hinted  at, 
perhaps  because  the  Jewish  doctors  understood 
better  than  our  theologians  what  sin  offerings  and 
trespass  offerings  were,  and  what  they  were  for ' 
(EBi  iv.  4226).  Such  a  measure  of  disagreement 
need  not,  however,  lead  to  the  position  assumed  by 
other  scholars  that  no  theory  underlay  the  prac- 
tice of  sacrifice  in  Israel :  '  A  precise  answer  to  the 
question  how  the  sacrificial  worship  influenced 
God  men  were  unable  to  give.  When  in  the  blood 
of  the  Sin-offering  the  tie  between  God  and  His 
people  was  renewed,  what  was  felt  was  the  weird 
influence  of  the  incomprehensible '(Smend,  Alttest. 
Religionsgesch. ,  p.  324).  Apostolic  writers  held 
that  there  is  a  simple  answer  given  in  Lv  1711  to  the 
VOL.  n. — 28 


question  how  sacrifice  expiates — 'it  is  the  blood 
that  maketh  atonement.'  '  According  to  the  law, 
I  may  almost  say,  all  things  are  cleansed  with 
blood,  and  apart  from  shedding  of  blood  there  is 
no  remission'  (He  922).  Two  other  important 
tendencies  of  the  later  Jewish  period  also  passed 
as  influential  principles  for  sacrificial  interpreta- 
tion into  the  apostolic  teaching :  (a)  the  strong 
tendency  to  recognize  the  sufferings,  and  especially 
the  death,  of  righteous  men  as  atoning  for  the  sins 
of  other  men.  For  instance,  the  merits  of  Abraham 
served  to  cover  the  sins  of  his  posterity  ;  such  ex- 
piatory value  of  suttering  is  also  applied  to  the 
sufferings  of  Moses,  Ezekiel,  and  Jeremiah,  and  to 
the  passion  of  the  martyrs ;  it  was  also  pre-eminently 
illustrated  in  the  career  of  the  Suffering  Servant  of 
Is  53.  These  sufferings  constituted  a  ground  of 
forgiveness  of  sin  in  Israel ;  they  are  expressly 
compared,  in  point  of  efficacy,  to  the  Day  of 
Atonement  (Pesiqta,  1746).  These  tendencies 
probably  influenced  profoundly  the  sacrificial 
theory  of  the  age ;  for  it  was  a  transition  easily 
made  from  the  vicarious  death  of  the  righteous  to 
the  belief  in  substitution  of  animal  victims,  or 
possibly  by  a  fortiori  reasoning  from  the  value  of 
thesubstitutionary  death  of  the  animal  victim  to  that 
of  the  righteous  saint  (cf.  2  Mac  737,  4  Mac  6™). 
(b)  Whilst  the  sacrificial  ceremonies  were  most 
scrupulously  observed  and  with  great  pomp  and 
solemnity,  a  process  was  going  on  which  was 
loosening  the  hold  of  sacrifice  upon  the  Jewish 
religion.  A  reluctant  admission  was  beginning  to 
be  made — which  ultimately  found  its  logical  and 
historical  completion  in  apostolic  Christianity — 
that  it  was  not  a  full  expression  of  the  relation  of 
His  people  to  God,  and  was  not  wholly  essential 
for  their  communion  with  Him.  Sacrificial  worship 
was  being  gradually  co-ordinated  with  that  of  the 
synagogue.  Owing  to  the  renewed  authority  of 
the  teaching  of  the  prophets,  and  the  widening 
distance  from  the  Temple  services  of  the  multiplied 
congregations  of  the  Dispersion,  knowledge  of  the 
Law  and  the  ethical  value  of  good  deeds  became 
recognized  forms  of  religious  activity  which  were 
regarded  as  directly  well-pleasing  to  God ;  the 
Rabbi  and  the  scribe  became  at  least  comple- 
mentary authorities,  often  indeed  competitors 
with  the  priest  and  the  Levite.  The  destruction 
of  the  Second  Temple  within  the  Apostolic  Age  so 
quickened  the  rapidity  with  which  traditional 
authority  became  superior  to  sacrificial  that  it 
was  officially  taught  that  the  study  of  the  Law  waa 
more  valuable  in  the  sight  of  God  than  the  con- 
tinual burnt-oflering  (Megilla,  36,  166,  Pesiqta, 
606).  The  fact  that  within  the  Apostolic  Age  the 
abolition  of  sacrifice  as  a  national  mode  of  worship 
in  Jewish  religion  had  become,  through  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem,  a  necessity  may  well  be  helpful 
in  defining  the  attitude  of  apostolic  writers  to- 
wards sacrifice. 

For  careful  information  on  the  origin  and  theory  of  sacrifice 
the  reader  should  consult  the  very  full  article  '  Sacrifice '  by  W. 
P.  Paterson  in  HDB,  which  favours  the  substitutionary  theory, 
and  that  in  EBi  by  G.  F.  Moore,  which  opposes  it ;  also 
Smend's  discussion  of  the  development  of  the  sacrificial  system 
in  Israel  in  his  Alttest.  JReligionsgeschichte  ;  G.  B.  Stevens  out- 
lines the  sacrificial  system  in  Christian  Doctrine  of  Salvation, 
pt.  i.  ch.  i. 

2.  Modifications  of  the  inherited  sacrificial 
system  presented  in  apostolic  teaching  and  in  the 
practice  of  the  Apostolic  Church. — The  best  method 
of  expounding  the  apostolic  views  of  sacrifice  is  to 
notice  in  what  directions  and  to  what  extent  the 
writers  in  the  primitive  Church  modified  the  sacri- 
ficial ideas  they  carried  with  them  in  their  passage 
from  Judaism  to  Christianity.  These  were  the 
ideas  from  which  controversies  and  party  divisions 
in  the  Apostolic  Church  largely  sprang.  Jewish 
and  Gentile  Christians  possessed  a  different  herit- 


434 


SACRIFICE 


SACRIFICE 


age  of  sacrificial  practices  ;  the  apostolic  literature 
has  reference  to  both,  but  the  references  to  the 
Jewish  immeasurably  preponderate.  The  starting- 
point  for  the  apostolic  modifications  is  found  in  the 
Synoptic  account  of  the  attitude  of  Jesus  towards 
the  current  sacrificial  system,  (a)  He  recognized 
the  authority  of  the  sacrificial  law  as  practised  in 
His  time  by  observing  it,  keeping  the  Passover  and 
other  feasts,  worshipping  in  the  Temple,  where 
sacrifice  was  the  central  act ;  by  commending  its 
observance  to  others,  e.g.  the  law  of  the  leper  in 
the  day  of  his  cleansing  (Mt  84 ;  cf.  Mk  I44),  (b) 
He  constantly  favoured  the  prophetic  rather  than 
the  priestly  view  of  sacrifice.  He  quoted  Hos  68 
'  I  desire  mercy  and  not  sacrifice '  (Mt  913  127),  and 
commended  the  judgment  that  love  is  more  than 
all  burnt-offering  (Mk  1233) ;  He  declared  that 
sacrifice  is  worthless  with  unrepented  sin  (Mt  S23). 
(c)  He  referred  to  His  own  death  as  sacrificial, 
comparing  it  especially  with  the  Covenant  sacrifice 
with  which  the  Mosaic  system  was  instituted,  '  My 
blood  of  the  new  covenant,  which  is  shed  for  many 
unto  remission  of  sins '  (Mt  2628,  Lk  2220 ;  cf.  1  Co 
II25).  If  we  may  take  the  '  new '  of  the  Lucan  and 
Pauline  versions  as  our  Lord's,  we  may  draw  the 
inference  that  in  the  establishing  of  the  '  new'  the 
'old'  Covenant  was  abrogated,  and  with  it  the 
sacrifices  that  had  initiated  it  and  given  it  historical 
continuity  in  Israel.  How  long  it  was  after  the 
institution  of  the  New  Covenant  before  the  Apos- 
tolic Church  appreciated  all  its  implications  it 
is  not  easy  to  determine.  The  Petrine  attitude, 
which  favoured  a  policy  of  continuity  or  at  least 
compromise  towards  important  parts  of  the  Jewish 
sacrificial  cultus,  is  exhibited  in  early,  strenu- 
ous conflicts  of  judgment  recorded  in  the  Apostolic 
Church.  St.  Paul  quickly  seized  the  central  prin- 
ciple in  the  changed  situation  which  was  to  mark 
the  development  of  Christian  thought  and  usage  in 
reference  to  the  Jewish  sacrificial  system,  but  he 
succeeded  only  gradually  in  applying  it.  The  full 
inferences  of  the  abrogation  of  the  ancient  sacri- 
fices are  first  drawn  by  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews.  The  use  made  by  the  apostolic  wit- 
nesses of  the  elaborate  and  technical  terminology 
of  the  Jewish  sacrificial  system  must  be  briefly 
reviewed.  The  'proof-text'  method  of  working 
over  this  material  in  fragmentary  textual  corre- 
spondences and  coincidences  between  the  old  and 
new  is  not  satisfactory,  and  has  yielded  place  to 
the  co-ordinated  testimonies  of  typical  apostolic 
teachers.  The  differences  and  signs  of  developing 
doctrine  in  this  group  of  writers  must  be  separately 
considered  as  constituting  together — 

3.  The  apostolic  teaching.— The  records  of  the 
apostolic  preaching  in  the  Acts  reveal  the  primary 
fact  that  '  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according  to  the 
scriptures'  (1  Co  153)  was  an  article  of  common 
tradition  in  the  Apostolic  Church.  The  death  of 
Christ  appears  to  have  been  regarded  at  a  very 
early  period  as  expiatory ;  the  idea  of  expiation 
was  closely  associated  with  that  of  sacrifice  ;  it 
was  natural,  therefore,  that  the  death  of  Christ 
should  be  looked  upon  as  a  sacrifice  and  spoken  of 
under  sacrificial  figures.  This  sacrificial  interpreta- 
tion of  His  death  is  embedded  in  subsequent  types 
of  apostolic  teaching  (A.  Ritschl,  Rechtfertigung 
und  Versohnung,  Bonn,  1870-74,  ii.  161  ;  A.  Cave, 
Scriptural  Doctrine  of  Sacrifice,  p.  280  ff.).  No 
direct  mention  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  is  made 
by  James  or  Jude ;  but  their  silence  may  be  ac- 
counted for  by  the  fact  that  the  subject  was 
foreign  to  the  purpose  for  which  they  wrote. 

(a)  Petrine. — In  the  Epistles  of  Peter  the  sacri- 
ficial references  are  clear  and  interesting  ;  '  sprink- 
ling of  the  blood  of  Jesus'  (1  Pi2;  cf.  Ex  248)  ; 
'  ye  were  redeemed  .  .  .  with  precious  blood,  as  of 
a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without  spot,  even  the 


blood  of  Christ'  (I18);  cf.  also  Is  537ff-  with  its 
clear  echo  in  1  P  221"25,  where  the  sacrificial  idea  of 
vicarious  suffering  is  too  obvious  to  need  comment. 
The  characteristic  feature  of  the  Petrine  references 
is  their  close  sympathy  with  OT  ideas  and  usage. 

(b)  Pauline. — In  the  Pauline  references  the  con- 
trast between  the  Jewish  and   Christian   aspects 
of  sacrifice  is  more  pronounced.     St.  Paul's  direct 
references  to  Levitical  sacrifice  are  not  numerous. 
Their  scarcity,  however,  does  not  warrant  Brace's 
suggestion  that  his  ideas  were  coloured  more  by 
the  analogy  of  human  sacrifice,  with  which  Greek 
and  Roman  story  makes  us  familiar,  than  by  that 
of  the  Levitical  system  (cf.  St.  Paul's  Conception 
of  Christianity,  Edinburgh,  1894,  p.  169).     Whilst 
St.  Paul  does  allude  to  pagan  ideas  of  communion 
through  sacrifice  (1  Co  10'8-  28),  he  was  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  minutiae  of  the  Levitical  system 
and  even  definitely  associated  himself  with  its  ob- 
servance (Ac  2 128  24n>  17f>),   though   some  find  it 
difficult  to  believe  that  his  action  in  the  Temple 
could  have  been  so  contrary  to  his  clearly  expressed 
precept  (cf.  Gal  49).     It  should  also  be 'noted  that 
St.  Paul,  unlike  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews,  does 
not  explicitly  declare  that  the  sacrifices  of  the  Law 
came  to  an  end  with  the  death  of  Christ.     Whilst 
it  cannot  be  denied  that  St.  Paul  clearly  regards 
the  death  of  Christ  as  substitutionary,  he  expounds 
this  conception  so  much  less  in  terms  of  the  sacrifi- 
cial system  than  might  have  been  expected  from 
him  that  it  has  been  possible  for  some  expositors 
to  maintain  with  some  plausibility  that  he  did  not 
regard  Christ's  death  as  a  sacrifice  (cf.  Pfleiderer, 
Der  Paulinismusr,  Leipzig,  1890,  p.  144).     This  is 
an  exaggerated  position  ;  for  in  addition  to  many 
traces  of  sacrificial  ideas  which  he  used  as  sugges- 
tive illustrations  of  the  meaning  of  Christ's  death, 
he  speaks  definitely  of  the  Death  as  a  sacrifice, 

'  He  gave  himself  up  for  us,  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice 
to  God  for  an  odour  of  a  sweet  smell'  (Eph  52) ; 
'  Our  passover  also  hath  been  sacrificed,  even 
Christ  (1  Co  57).  References  to  the  blood  of 
Christ  as  the  ground  of  the  benefits  conferred  by 
His  death  (Ro  S25  59,  1  Co  1016,  Eph  213)  are  not 
satisfied  by  regarding  the  '  blood  as  merely  an 
allusion  to  His  violent  death  ;  it  seems  clear  from 
the  tenor  of  St.  Paul's  teaching  that  he  means 
'sacrificial  blood'  (cf.  Ro  832,  Gal  220,  Col  I20, 
Eph  I7).  It  may  be  maintained,  however,  that  if 
he  '  has  not  especially  brought  out  this  idea  [the 
interpretation  of  Christ's  death]  in  connection 
with  his  allusions  to  sacrifice,  he  has  done  so  in 
other  ways,  and  the  inference  that  this  was  his 
conception  of  Christ's  death,  viewed  as  a  sacrifice, 
is  quite  inevitable '  (Stevens,  Christian  Doctrine  of 
Salvation,  p.  63). 

(c)  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. — Unlike  St.  Paul  the 
writer  to  the  Hebrews  presents  his  doctrine  of  salva- 
tion wholly  in  terms  of  sacrifice,  and  thus  provides 
the  classical  treatment  of  the  significance  of  sacrifice 
for  apostolic  thought.     His  argument  is  developed 
in  a  running  comparison  between  the  sacrifices  of 
the  Levitical  ritual   and  the  perfect  offering  pre- 
sented by  Christ  in  the  sacrifice  of  Himself.     The 
sacrificial    institutions    associated    with   the   Old 
Covenant  are  set  forth  as  types  and  shadows  of  the 
heavenly  and  eternal  reality  in  which   the  New 
Covenant  is  established   in  the  blood  of  Christ. 
The  key- word  of  the  Epistle  and  of  the  comparison 
it  elaborates  is  '  better.'     The  Son  whose  humanity 
is  perfect,  the  Mediator  of  the  new  and  better 
covenant,  is  the  true  High  Priest  (see  art.  PRIEST) 
(cf.   8"'13  915ff>)-     His  constitutive    function    is    to 
offer    sacrifice    (83).     Christ   offers  Himself;    the 
nature  and  effect  of  this  perfect  sacrifice  are  con- 
trasted with  the  sacrifices  of  the  Law  (8-1018) ;  the 
contrast  culminates  in   the   parallel   between  the 
action  of  the  high  priest  in  the  Holy  of  Holies  on 


SACRIFICE 


435 


the  Day  of  Atonement  (Ex  244'8)  and  Christ  enter- 
ing the  heavenly  places  '  through  his  own  blood ' 
(91)ff-)-  The  superiority  of  Christ's  sacrifice  is 
everywhere  impressively  developed.  It  was  also 
an  offering  in  close  dependence  upon  the  love  of 
God  :  by  the  grace  of  God  Christ  tasted  death  for 
every  man  (29) ;  it  was  never  spoken  of  as  '  recon- 
ciling God.' 

Three  main  truths  emerge  from  the  comparison, 
(i.)  The  Levitical  sacrifices  cannot  take  away  sin  ; 
they  serve  rather  to  bring  to  rnind  the  sin  they 
cannot  expiate  (103).  At  its  best  the  Levitical 
system  contemplated  the  removal  of  ceremonial 
faults  only,  sins  of  ignorance  and  infirmity  (104>  u) ; 
it  effected  a  purification  of  the  body  only.  The 
pathetic  failure  of  the  whole  sacrificial  system 
touches  all  the  writer's  thought ;  it  was  morally 
ineffective  because  it  belonged  to  the  lower,  sensible 
world  (911  II3),  'the  visible  order'  of  Philo  and 
the  Alexandrian  thinkers.  The  absoluteness  and 
finality  of  Christ's  sacrifice  is  demonstrated  by 
relating  it  to  the  heavenly  and  eternal  realm  of 
reality  (8U-  91- 24  101)— the  realm  which  Philo,  in 
the  spirit  of  Plato's  doctrine  of  archetypal  ideas, 
calls  '  the  intelligible  world.'  Christ  has  entered 
with  His  sacrifice  into  heaven  itself  (9-4)  and 
obtained  eternal  salvation  for  us  (T27  912- 15  10l°), 
having  '  through  the  eternal  Spirit  offered  himself 
without  blemish  unto  God'  (914).  It  was  an  offer- 
ing, on  our  behalf  and  as  our  representative,  of  a 
pure  and  spotless  life.  The  solidarity  of  Christ 
with  mankind  is  confidently  stated  :  '  Both  he  that 
sanctifieth  and  they  that  are  sanctified  are  all  of 
one  ;  for  which  cause  he  is  not  ashamed  to  call 
them  brethren '  (2U).  The  Levitical  sacrifices  were 
perpetually  repeated,  just  because  they  had  no 
real  efficacy  either  objective  or  subjective  (96  103f-)  ; 
Christ's  sacrifice  is  made  once  for  all,  '  perfecting 
for  ever  them  that  are  sanctified'  (T27  912-  ^  =* 
1012. 14)  Christ's  sacrifice  purged  the  conscience  to 
serve  the  living  God  (914  1022),  thus  dealing  witli 
sin  ethically  and  in  its  deepest  seat  instead  of  with 
its  accidental  expressions  which  marked  the  limits 
of  efficacy  in  ceremonial  sacrifices  (99  103).  The 
sacrifices  of  the  Law  opened  no  way  of  spiritual 
access  to  the  holy  presence  of  God  (98) ;  by  the 
blood  of  Jesus  a  new  and  living  way  was  dedicated 
by  which  men  could  draw  near  to  Him  with 
spiritual  confidence  (1019f-).  Everywhere  the 
writer  insists  upon  the  truth  that  only  by  better 
sacrifices  than  those  of  the  Levitical  system  could 
the  heavenly  places  and  the  spiritual  realities  be 
cleansed  and  consecrated  (T25  918-21-24);  insuffi- 
ciency marks  all  material  elements  and  outward 
aspects  of  sacrifice  ;  indeed,  the  whole  point  of  the 
exposition  turns  upon  contrast,  not  upon  congruity. 
The  interpretation  of  the  Epistle  which  is  fre- 
quently met  with,  that  because  its  author  expounds 
the  Christian  salvation  in  the  terminology  of  sacri- 
fice its  meaning  is  therefore  to  be  determined 
throughout  by  reading  it  in  the  light  of  the 
Levitical  system,  misses  entirely  the  main  motive 
of  the  writer,  which  is  to  mark  the  radical  differ- 
ence between  the  Christian  and  the  Levitical  con- 
ception of  sacrifice.  The  most  important  fact  to 
be  observed  is  that  the  author,  constrained  by  the 
estimate  of  the  Christian  values  of  sacrifice, 
ethicizes  the  whole  meaning  of  sacrifice,  and 
ascribes  to  Christ's  offering  of  Himself  a  wholly 
different  nature  from  that  which  belongs  to  the 
Levitical  oblations. 

This  is  specially  seen  in  the  way  in  which  the 
writer  deals  with  (ii. )  the  value  of  the  material  of 
Christ's  sacrifice — His  blood.  In  the  Levitical 
system  the  manipulation  of  the  blood  was  of 
supreme  importance.  Nothing  was  cleansed  with- 
out its  use  (921f-).  The  vital  moment  in  the  cul- 
mination of  the  sacrifices  of  the  Day  of  Atonement 


was  the  entering  of  the  Holy  of  Holies  by  the 
high  priest,  bearing  with  him  sacrificial  blood  (97). 
Christ's  sacrificial  act  was  accomplished  also  when 
He  entered  into  the  heavenly  place  '  through  his 
own  blood'  (9llff-)  'to  make  propitiation  for  the 
sins  of  the  people '  (217) ;  '  he  offered  a  sacrifice  for 
sins  once  for  all,  when  he  offered  up  himself 
(T27  ;  cf.  g28- M).  It  is  clear  that  the  writer  makes 
distinct  use  of  the  conception  of  substitution.  But 
it  is  important  to  notice  the  evidence  that  some- 
thing deeper  than  the  literal  substitution  and  the 
idea  of  legal  transfer  of  sin  which  had  gained 
currency  in  the  later  Jewish  period  was  in  the 
writer's  mind.  The  value  of  Christ's  offering  i.s 
ethical ;  it  resides  in.  His  will ;  His  blood  is  pre- 
sented not  simply  as  the  evidence  of  His  death, 
but  as  the  offering  of  His  life.  It  is  life,  not  death, 
which  is  the  essence  of  all  true  sacrifice.  Even  in 
the  Levitical  system  the  blood  constitutes  the 
sacrifice,  because  'the  blood  is  the  life'(Lv  1711). 
Christ's  offering  of  Himself  includes  more  than  His 
dying  ;  it  is  the  willing  offering  of  His  life  in  the 
perfection  of  ceaseless  filial  obedience  to  the  will 
of  God.  The  writer  of  this  Epistle  emphasizes 
this :  '  Sacrifices  and  offerings  and  whole  burnt 
offerings  and  sacrifices  for  sin  thou  wouldest  not, 
neither  hadst  pleasure  therein  (the  which  are 
offered  according  to  the  law),  then  hath  he  said, 
Lo,  I  am  come  to  do  thy  will.  He  taketh  away 
the  first,  that  he  may  establish  the  second.  By 
which  will  we  have  been  sanctified  through  the 
offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once  for  all ' 
(108ff<).  This  offering  with  which  God  was  well 
pleased  brought  humanity  into  a  new  relation  to 
God.  It  was  a  positive  ethical  and  religious 
valuation  of  Christ's  sacrifice  that  went  beyond  its 
value  as  merely  legal  substitution. 

(iii. )  The  doctrine  of  the  New  Covenant.  The  first 
Covenant  was  not  dedicated  without  blood  (918;  cf. 
Ex  248-  8) ;  sacrificial  blood  was  for  Israel  essenti- 
ally '  the  blood  of  the  covenant'  (920 ;  cf.  Mt  262b). 
The  sacrifices  of  the  Mosaic  Covenant  were  the  sign 
of  the  establishment  of  the  Law ;  the  New  Cove- 
nant in  Christ's  blood  was  the  sign  of  its  fulfilment, 
and  therefore  'unto  remission  of  sins'  (Mt  262S ; 
cf.  Jn  6s3-?1,  1  Jn  I7).  The  blood  divided  by 
sprinkling  between  the  parties  to  the  covenant 
was  the  seal  of  the  friendship  it  established  or 
restored.  It  was  under  the  shelter  of  this  covenant 
relation  that  the  whole  system  of  Levitical  sacrifices 
was  instituted  ;  they  availed  only  for  those  within 
its  bonds.  This  conditioned  its  permanence ;  it 
could  not  abide.  It  was  the  prophetic  attitude 
towards  sacrifice  that  initiated  the  conception  of 
the  necessity  of  a  New  Covenant  which  should  be 
ethical  and  spiritual  and  therefore  permanent  and 
universal.  Jeremiah's  prophecy  of  the  New  Cove- 
nant (Jer  3131)  is  the  principal  link  between  the 
sacrifices  of  the  Law  and  Christ's  fulfilment  and 
consequent  abolition  of  them.  '  This  is  a  covenant 
under  which  God  lays  His  laws  upon  the  hearts  of 
men  and  inscribes  them  upon  their  minds,  and 
undertakes  no  longer  to  remember  their  sins  and 
iniquities  (1016ff-  88ff-)-  'Now  where  remission  of 
these  is,  there  is  no  more  offering  for  sin'  (1018). 
A  real  remission  makes  all  other  sacrifices  useless. 
The  sacrifice  of  Christ,  '  the  mediator  of  a  new 
covenant'  (915)  by  which  such  a  new  covenant  is 
established,  is  the  '  one  offering  by  which  he  hath 
perfected  for  ever  them  that  are  sanctified'  (1014). 
The  prophetic  idea  of  the  value  of  the  sacrificial 
sufferings  of  the  Righteous  Servant  is  thus  restored 
in  close  association  with  the  use  of  sacrificial  ideas 
which  were  the  current  coin  of  Jewish  thought. 
Henceforth  there  was  no  longer  room  for  the  sacri- 
fices of  the  Law  (1018).  The  only  sacrifice  that 
retained  its  permanence  for  the  future  was  '  a 
sacrifice  of  praise  to  God  continually,  that  is,  the 


436 


SACRIFICE 


SACRIFICE 


fruit  of  lips  which  make  confession  to  his  name' 
(1318). 

(d)  Johannine. — These  writings  probably  repre- 
sent apostolic  views  on  sacrifice  towards  trie  close 
of  the  Apostolic  Age  and^  therefore  later  than  the 
sources  hitherto  considered.  It  is  a  question  for 
discussion,  however,  whether  the  ideas  they  suggest 
represent  a  development  of  the  apostolic  thought 
upon  this  subject  or  whether  they  simply  reproduce 
the  common  positions  to  which  the  Church  had  be- 
come accustomed  as  traditional  interpretations. 
That  so  little  is  said  of  sacrifice  itself  and  so  much 
of  the  abiding  ethical  and  spiritual  results  that 
Christian  thought  had  learned  to  connect  with  the 
sacrificial  death  of  Christ  seems  to  favour  the 
opinion  that  the  apostolic  conception  had  by  this 
time  become  more  completely  separated  from  the 
Jewish  and  more  perfectly  expressed  in  purely 
ethical  applications  ;  the  mystical  rather  than  the 
legal  aspect  of  sacrifices  prevails.  But  direct  sacri- 
ficial terms  appear  at  times  in  the  Gospels,  Epistles, 
and  Apocalypse,  and  probably  quite  as  frequently, 
proportionately,  as  in  the  Pauline  writings,  (i.) 
The  references  to  '  the  Lamb  of  God '  ( Jn  I29)  pre- 
dominate. The  great  saying  of  John  the  Baptist, 
whether  critically  valid  or  not,  is  a  good  illustration 
of  the  Johannine  type  of  reference.  This  sacrificial 
symbol  is  definitely  applied  to  Jesus.  Whether 
the  reference  is  to  the  Paschal  Lamb  or  to  the 
prophetic  sacrificial  ideal  of  the  Suffering  Servant 
(Is  53")  is  not  certain.  But  there  is  no  doubt  of 
the  expiatory  value  attached  to  the  symbol ;  for 
the  Lamb  '  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world '  (I29 ; 
cf.  1  P  I19).  Jesus  takes  away  sin  by  the  sacrificial 
method.  Symbol  and  expiatory  idea  occur  again 
several  times  in  the  Apocalypse,  where  '  the  Lamb' 
is  combined  with  references  to  the  sacrificial  blood  ; 
'  a  Lamb  standing,  as  though  it  had  been  slain ' 
(Rev  56- 12) ;  those  who  have  'washed  their  robes, 
and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb ' 
(714) ;  '  they  overcame  because  of  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb '  (1211).  Salvation  is  ascribed  unto  '  our  God 
which  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb' 
(710).  These  references  indicate  how  easily  and 
naturally  sacrificial  ideas  were  associated  with  the 
work  or  Christ  and  especially  with  its  results. 
Although  textual  difficulties  attach  to  '  the  Lamb 
that  hath  been  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the 
world'  (138),  it  may  illustrate  how  influentially  the 
sacrificial  idea  applied  to  Christ  persisted  in  apos- 
tolic thought,  (li.)  The  references  of  Jesus  to '  eat- 
ing my  flesh,  and  drinking  my  blood,'  in  Jn  6  are 
sacrificial ;  they  are  interesting  as  references  in 
apostolic  times  to  sacrifice  as  the  sharing  in  a 
common  meal  with  a  view  to  enriching  human  life 
by  communion.  Here  such  ideas,  though  presented 
in  sacrificial  symbolism,  are  intensely  ethical  and 
spiritualin  value,  (iii. )  Illustrations  of  the  elevation 
of  the  sacrificial  idea  to  the  sublime  acts  of  ethical 
self-sacrifice  by  which  Christ  accomplished  His  re- 
demptive mission  may  be  traced  in  the  references 
to  the  laying  down  of  His  life  in  vicarious  surrender ; 
'the  lifting  up'  (Jn  314  1232'-),  'the  good  shepherd' 
(Jn  10"),  'the  prophecy  of  Caiaphas'  (II50),  'the 
corn  of  wheat '  (1223ff-).  (iv.)  And  in  Jn  1719  the  work 
of  Christ  is  paralleled,  as  in  Hebrews,  by  that  of  the 
high  priest  on  the  Day  of  Atonement  by  the  use  of 
a  word  of  sacrificial  associations,  (v.)  In  the  First 
Epistle  of  John  words  and  ideas  with  direct  sacri- 
ficial implications  are  frequently  observed  ;  '  the 
blood  of  Jesus  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin ' 
( I7) ;  '  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins '  (22  316  410) ; 
'  he  was  manifested  to  take  away  sins '  (3B) ;  with 
these  may  be  read  the  distinctive  saying  of  the 
Apocalypse,  '  Unto  him  that  loveth  us,  and  loosed 
us  from  our  sins  by  his  blood'  (Rev  Is).  The  con- 
tribution these  sayings  make  to  the  interpretation 
of  the  apostolic  thought  respecting  sacrifice  is  that 


they    everywhere    appear    as    familiar    Christian 

Ehrases,  which  suggest  how  surely  the  transition 
ad  been  accomplished  in  the  early  Church  from 
the  legal  and  preparatory  conception  of  sacrifice  to 
the  permanent  Christian  view  which  was  ethical 
and  spiritual. 

(e)  Sub-apostolic. — In  this  period  the  sacrificial 
ideas  met  with  in  the  Apostolic  Age  continued 
with  but  little  change  ;  the  tendency,  judging  from 
post-apostolic  development,  was,  if  anything,  to- 
wards more  ceremonial  and  material  views  of  sacri- 
fice as  applied  to  illustrate  or  interpret  the  death 
of  Christ.  The  Epistle  ascribed  to  Barnabas  deals 
with  the  subject  in  its  relation  to  the  sacrifices  of 
the  Jewish  Temple,  which  are  considered  to  have 
been  abolished  in  order  that  '  the  new  law  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  is  without  the  yoke  of 
necessity,  might  have  a  human  oblation '  (h. ). 

4.  Conclusions. — Sacrifice  was  taken  over  by  the 
Apostolic  Church  as  a  living  institution  in  Judaism  ; 
the  value  of  it  as  a  fundamental  principle  of  re- 
ligious worship  was  recognized ;  the  retrospect  of 
its  history  given  by  the  apostolic  writers  is  reverent 
and  appreciative ;  it  was  educative.  For  a  time 
there  appears  to  have  been  hesitation  as  to  how 
far  its  practice  should  continue  in  the  Christian  en- 
vironment ;  the  primitive  Jewish  Christians  made 
use  of  it  by  worshipping  in  the  Temple  at  Jeru- 
salem, and  in  the  observance  of  ritual  associated 
with  the  sacrificial  system  elsewhere  within  the 
Christian  communities.  Others  with  a  quicker 
spiritual  instinct  reached  the  conviction  that  as 
Christ  was  the  only  perfect  sacrifice,  the  material 
and  historical  sacrifices  were  of  relative  value  only, 
and  transient.  Vehement  controversy  arose  when 
the  Judaizing  party  in  the  Church  sought  to  lay 
upon  Gentile  believers  the  burden  of  the  ceremonial 
law  of  Israel.  The  sharp  contentions  of  the  Petrine 
and  Pauline  schools  (Ac  1539),  the  Council  at  Jeru- 
salem (Ac  15),  the  teaching  of  the  Pauline  Epistles, 
particularly  Galatians,  and  ultimately  the  masterly 
argument  of  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 
are  witnesses  to  hesitations  and  tendencies  of 
thought  in  apostolic  times.  Sympathy  with  the 
ancient  ritual  of  sacrifice  and  sanction  for  its 
practice  appear  to  have  accompanied  the  emergence 
of  Christianity  as  a  separate  institution  from  the 
Judaism  in  which  it  had  its  rise.  Whilst  the  great 
principle  that  in  Christ  all  preparatory  sacrificial 
institutions  were  fulfilled  found  early  acceptance, 
it  was  only  slowly  that  its  many-sided  implications 
were  fully  acknowledged. 

(a)  Retention  of  the  Jewish  sacrificial  system  as 
symbolic. — Even  when  the  sacrificial  system  as  a 
living  institution  had  passed  into  a  condition  of 
obsolescence  in  the  Apostolic  Church,  it  remained 
permanently  influential  as  an  organized  system  of 
illustrations  for  interpreting  the  spiritual  realities 
of  the  work  of  Christ ;  it  became  a  system  of  types 
and  symbols  which  were  of  service  for  the  teacher 
and  preacher.  Whilst  the  apostles  deliberately 
set  aside  the  belief  in  the  efficacy  of  Jewish  sacri- 
fices, it  is  evident  not  only  that  they  could  express 
the  work  of  Christ  in  no  better  terms  than  those 
associated  with  sacrificial  ritual,  but  that  they 
found  in  these  terms  some  real  meaning  when 
applied  to  the  shedding  of  His  blood  for  the  re- 
mission of  sins.  Consequently  sacrificial  termino- 
logy came  into  easy  and  common  usage,  and  became 
in  fact  the  most  comprehensible  and  almost  neces- 
sary medium  for  the  thought-forms  which  set  forth 
the  inward  and  abiding  realities  of  the  Christian 
redemption.  The  evidence  for  this  abounds,  as  we 
have  seen,  in  the  apostolic  literature.  How  close 
the  symbol  moved  towards  the  reality  in  the  apos- 
tolic teaching  respecting  the  significance  of  the 
death  of  Christ,  how  far,  that  is,  His  death  was 
truly  a  sacrifice,  involves  questions  that  run  up 


SACRIFICE 


SACRIFICE 


437 


into  the  problems  of  the  grounds  on  which  the 
efficacy  of  His  death  was  ultimately  based  (see 
ATONEMENT).  So  far,  however,  as  its  efficacy  is 
based  on  the  meaning  of  sacrifice  in  the  OT,  the 
divergent  positions  held  as  satisfying  the  terms  of 
apostolic  teaching  may  be  broadly  represented  on 
the  one  hand  by  writers  who  hold  that  sacrifice  in 
the  OT  was  substitutionary  in  the  sense  of  pro- 
viding satisfaction  for  sin,  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
by  writers  who  maintain  that  such  a  view  '  rests 
upon  profound  misunderstandings  of  the  nature  of 
the  OT  sacrifices,  and  entirely  ignores  Jewish  con- 
ceptions of  the  effect  and  operation  of  sacrifice' 
(EBi  iv.  4232).  The  kindred  question  arising  from 
the  apostolic  use  of  sacrificial  symbols,  as  to  how 
far  Christ's  death  was  truly  a  sacrifice,  or  merely 
illustrated  by  sacrificial  language,  also  leads  to 
opposing  replies.  On  the  one  hand,  it  is  held  that 
'  Old  Testament  conceptions  will  always  be  sugges- 
tive and  historically  instructive  for  the  study  of 
Christian  teaching,  but  a  direct  source  of  such 
teaching  they  cannot  be.  Christianity  rises  high 
above  that  national  and  ritualistic  religion  on  whose 
soil  it  took  its  rise'  (Stevens,  Christian  Doctrine  of 
Salvation,  p.  2 ;  cf.  W.  R.  Smith,  Prophets  of 
Israel,  Edinburgh,  1882,  p.  6).  On  the  other  hand, 
W.  P.  Paterson  writes  :  '  Nor  for  the  apostolic  age 
was  the  description  of  Christ's  death  as  a  sacrifice 
of  the  nature  of  a  mere  illustration.  The  apostles 
held  it  to  be  a  sacrifice  in  the  most  literal  sense  of 
the  word '  (HDB  iv.  343  f . ).  One  fact  stands  clearly 
out.  The  thought-forms  of  the  Apostolic  Church 
have  survived,  and  are  living  and  apparently  neces- 
sary thought-forms  for  modern  Christian  thinkers. 
The  whole  problem  of  symbolism  or  typology  in 
Christian  teaching  will  probably  receive  greater 
attention  in  the  near  future.  This  will  be  necessary 
in  order  to  show  how  far  the  detailed  correspond- 
ences between  the  precise  elements  of  Jewish  ritual 
and  Christian  ideas  of  sacrifice  so  freely  set  forth 
in  the  apostolic  writings  afford  justification  or 
otherwise  for  the  exegetical  methods  subsequently 
adopted  by  Christian  expositors.  It  is  in  effect 
the  question  whether  the  minutiae  of  sacrificial 
ritual  in  the  ancient  economy  should  be  elaborated 
by  them  with  increasing  ingenuity  as  providentially 
supplied  for  literal  application  as  a  means  of  legiti- 
mately interpreting  the  sacrificial  work  of  Christ, 
or  whether  the  whole  Levitical  system  should  be 
broadly  expounded  as  preparatory  because  illus- 
trating the  sacrificial  principle,  itself  eternal  in  all 
true  religion,  as  generally  predictive  of  its  final 
and  highest  expression  in  Christ.  The  latter  alter- 
native would  have  the  advantage  of  co-ordinating 
the  predictive  element  in  sacrificial  typology  with 
the  same  element  in  prophecy,  and  applying  to  it 
the  methods  of  interpretation  which  modern  critical 
scholarship  has  used  with  success  in  exhibiting  the 
preparatio  evangelica  in  Messianic  prophecies  as 
Christ  fulfils  them.  (These  positions  are  discussed 
in  Cave,  Scriptural  Doctrine  of  Sacrifice,  pp.  131- 
173  ;  HDB  iv.  348  ;  Stevens,  Christian  Doctrine  of 
Salvation,  p.  2  ff.  ;  A.  S.  Peake,  The  Bible,  London, 
1913,  pp.  347-361.)  Another  feature  of  the  reten- 
tion by  the  apostolic  writers  of  the  sacrificial 
symbols  is  their  effective  application  to  the  beautiful 
ethical  ritual  that  was  to  become  characteristic  of 
the  worship  and  service  of  the  Christian  life. 
Everything  in  Christianity,  in  both  its  Godward 
and  its  manward  activities,  is  regarded  as  essentially 
sacrificial  in  spirit.  Christ's  sacrifice  of  Himself 
was  not  only  tne  fulfilment  of  all  preceding  types  ; 
it  was  itself  a  type  ;  it  was  typical  of  the  presenta- 
tion to  God  as  an  offering  well  pleasing  to  Him, 
'  an  odour  of  a  sweet  smell,'  of  the  whole  body, 
soul,  and  spirit  of  Christian  manhood  (Ro  1516, 
Jude24).  The  heart  of  apostolic  teaching  was  that 
every  Christian  was  crucified  with  Christ ;  he  died 


with  Him  (Ro  64ff-).  But  he  had  also  his  own  cross 
upon  which,  as  upon  an  altar,  the  oblation  of  his 
own  life  was  offered ;  he  also  was  a  '  priest  unto 
God,'  and  it  was  essential  that  he  should  have 
somewhat  to  offer.  Hence  the  offering  of  his  body 
(Ro  121),  his  prayers  and  his  thanksgivings  (He 
131S),  his  good  deeds  (1316),  his  gifts  of  charity  (Ph 
418),  his  entire  service  for  others  (Ph  217),  were 
spoken  of  as  sacrifices  after  the  manner  of  Christ's 
offering  of  Himself.  Such  sacrifices  were  acceptable 
to  God  and  were  a  means  of  blessing  for  men.  St. 
Paul  is  bold  enough  to  say  that  his  sufferings  on 
behalf  of  others  were  means  whereby  he  could  '  fill 
up  what  is  lacking  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ  in 
my  flesh  on  behalf  of  his  body,  which  is  the  church ' 
(Col  I24).  This  saying  probably  reflects  in  the 
Christian  atmosphere  the  later  Jewish  idea  of  the 
value  of  '  the  sufferings  of  the  saints.'  Its  applica- 
tions in  subsequent  Christian  thought  are  too  subtle 
and  historically  too  far-reaching  for  reference  here. 
These  and  the  association  of  the  Eucharist  with 
sacrificial  values  lie  far  beyond  the  limits  of  apos- 
tolic thought  both  exegetically  and  historically  (cf. 
T.  M.  Lindsay,  The  Church  and  the  Ministry  in 
the  Early  Centuries,  London,  1902,  p.  307  ;  J.  B. 
Lightfoot,  'The  Christian  Ministry,'  in  Philip- 
plans6,  London,  1881,  pp.  261,  264  f. 

(b)  Fulfilment  in  the    death    of   Christ.  —  The 
dominant  and,   with   the  slight  exception  of  the 
secondaiy  applications  referred  to,  the  sole  concern 
of  the  apostolic  mind  was  to  relate  the  sacrificial 
ideas  of  the  past  to  the  supreme  fulfilment  of  their 
meaning  in  the  deatli  of  Christ.     There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  death  of  Christ  was  very  early 
regarded  in  this  light ;  it  corresponded  to  these 
ideas  as  antitype  to  type.     Not  only  was  the  whole 
sacrificial  worship  thought  of  as  in  a  general  sense 
typical  of  Christ's  perfect  offering  of  Himself,  but 
the  correspondence  between   His  death  and   the 
different  elements  of  the  Levitical  system  is  indi- 
cated ;  e.g.  covenant  sacrifice  (He  915) ;   Passover 
sacrifice  (1  Co  57)  ;   peace  offering  (Eph  52) ;   sin 
offering  (Ro  8s,  He  1311,  1  P  318) ;  sacrifices  of  the 
Day  of  Atonement  (He  912ff>).     The  ritual  acts  of 
the  Jewish  system   are  also   regarded  as  having 
been  repeated  in   the  history  of  Christ's  dying ; 
e.g.  the  slaying  of  the  spotless  lamb  (Rev  5®  138), 
the  sprinkling  of  blood  in  the  sin  offering  (He  913ff-), 
and  in  the  covenant  sacrifice  (1  P  P) ;  the  destruc- 
tion of    the  victim  without  the  gate  (He   131S). 
Moreover,    spiritual     results    are    attributed    so 
definitely  to  the  fulfilment  in  Christ's  death  of  all 
the  suggestions  conveyed  historically  and  typically 
by  the  ineffective  ottering  continually  of  animal 
sacrifices  that  this  event  must  inevitably  issue  in — 

(c)  The   abrogation  of  sacrifice. — In   their   pre- 
Christian  days  the  apostolic  writers  had  believed  in 
the  efficiency  of  the  Jewish  sacrificial  system  ;  now 
they  regarded  its  oblations  as  of  value  chiefly  be- 
cause of  the  witness  of  these  to  their  own  inade- 
quacy.    The  reality  of  the  inward  experience  that 
they  had  'redemption  in  his  blood,'  access  in  wor- 
ship into  '  the  holiest  of  all '  through  the  blood  of 
Jesus,  reduced  their  need  of  the  older  sacrifices  to  a 
vanishing  point.     Whilst  it  may  be  an  open  ques- 
tion whether  the  sacrificial  systems  of  either  the 
Jewish  or  the  Graeco-Roman  religion  could  have 
maintained  their  place  as  permanent  institutions 
in  presence  of  the  growing  refinement  of  taste  and 
the  more  elevated  ideas  of  God,  made  familiar  in 
the  Platonic  or  Stoic  systems  of  thought  current 
in  the  Apostolic  Age,  yet  the  sure  joys  of  forgive- 
ness of  sin,  the  newness  of  life  and  the  privileges 
of  direct  communion  with  God  in  Christ  ultimately 
made  it  axiomatic  for  apostolic  teaching  that  all 
other  sacrifices,  Jewish  or  pagan,  were  abolished 
in  Christ.    His  sacrifice  was  effective  because  it  be- 
longed to  a  different  world — the  world  of  heavenly 


438 


SACRILEGE 


SADDUCEES 


and  eternal  realities — from  that  of  the  temporary, 
carnal,  and  ineffectual  offering  of  material  gifts. 
This  transition  to  ethical  and  final  values  in  sacri- 
fice was  accompanied  in  apostolic  thought  by  a — 

(d)  Return  to  prophetic  ideas  of  sacrifice. — These 
made  the  real  value  of  sacrifice  to  depend  upon 
personal  relations  between  God  and  man,  and  upon 
its  voluntary  quality.  This  return  was,  as  we 
have  seen,  mediated  chiefly  by  means  of  the  in- 
fluence of  the  great  prophetic  figure  of  the  Suffering 
Servant  of  Is  53  (cf.  Ac  832  313-  26  427f-  *>,  He  928, 
1  P  221'25).  It  cannot  be  without  significance 
for  the  modern  mind  that  sacrificial  categories 
derived  from  the  Levitical  order  were  unable  to 
express  fully  for  the  apostolic  mind  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  sacrificial  death  of  Christ.  These  were 
obsolescent  and  needed  the  complement  and  inter- 
pretation of  the  prophetic  ideas  whose  value  was 
permanent.  In  the  recognition  of  sacrifice  as 
essentially  ethical  and  spiritual  the  apostolic 
writers  so  far  anticipated  the  findings  of  modern 
criticism  that  prophecy,  not  ceremonial  legalism, 
represented  the  high-water  mark  of  the  religious 
ideas  of  Israel.  Without  implying  its  priority  in 
time  they  assumed  its  priority  in  value ;  it  was 
the  decline  of  prophetism  and  the  ascendancy  of 
ritualism  which  had  brought  on  that  night  of 
legalism  in  later  Jewish  religion  in  which  the 
formalism  of  priest,  Pharisee,  and  scribe,  to  which 
apostolic  teaching  was  antithetical,  had  developed. 
The  exposition  of  the  apostolic  meaning  of  sacrifice 
has  suffered  many  things,  even  at  the  hands  of 
Christian  teachers,  because  the  animal  victims  and 
not  the  human  servant,  law  and  not  prophecy, 
have  given  it  significance ;  the  OT  system  of 
ritual  sacrifice  has  been  so  fully  discussed  that  the 
figures  of  Jeremiah,  the  suffering  Remnant,  and 
the  Servant  of  the  Lord,  the  human  forerunners 
of  Christ  in  sacrificial  obedience,  have  failed  in 
emphasis  (cf.  G.  A.  Smith,  Modern  Criticism  and 
the  Preaching  of  the  OT,  London,  1901,  p.  170  ff.). 

LITERATURE. — A.  A.  Sykes,  Essay  on  the  Nature  of  Sacrifice, 
London,  1748  ;  W.  Magee,  Scriptural  Doctrines  of  Atonement 
and  Sacrifice,  do.,  1812;  J.  Davison,  Origin  and  Intent  of 
Primitive  Sacrifice,  do.,  1825;  P.  Fairbairn,  The  Typology  of 
Scripture,  Edinburgh,  1845-47 ;  A.  Cave,  Scriptural  Doctrine 
of  Sacrifice  and  Atonement,  new  and  revised  ed.,  do.,  1890; 
J.  F.  D.  Maurice,  Doctrine  of  Sacrifice,  new  ed.,  London, 
J879 ;  H.  C.  Trumbull,  The  Blood  Covenant  and  its  Sear- 
ings on  Scripture,  New  York,  1885 ;  A.  Scott,  Sacrifice : 
its  Prophecy  and  Fulfilment,  London,  1894 ;  W.  Sanday, 
Different  Conceptions  of  Priesthood  and  Sacrifice,  do.,  1900; 
G.  B.  Stevens,  The  Christian  Doctrine  of  Salvation,  Edinburgh, 
1905,  pt.  i.,  chs.  i.,  ii.,  v.,  vii.,  Theology  of  the  NT,  do.,  1899,  pts. 
iii.,  v.  ;  G.  Milligan,  Theology  of  the.  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  do., 
1899  ;  T.  V.  Tymms,  Christian  Idea  of  Atonement,  London, 
1904,  lects.  v.,  vii.  ;  C.  von  Weizsacker,  The  Apostolic  Age2, 
do.,  1897  ;  W.  H.  Ward,  '  The  NT  Doctrine  of  the  Relation  of 
Christ's  Death  to  the  OT  Sacrificial  System,'  in  Bibl.  Sac.  Ixiv. 
[1894]  246  ff.;  art. '  Sacrifice '  in  EBi  by  G.  F.  Moore,  and  in 
HDB  by  W.  P.  Paterson  (both  valuable)  ;  Comm.  on  Hebrews 
by  B.  F.  Westcott,  London,  1889,  F.  Delitzsch,  Eng.  tr., 
Edinburgh,  1878-80,  A.  B.  Davidson,  do.,  1882,  A.  B.  Bruce, 
do.,  1899  ;  R.  W.  Dale,  The  Jewish  Temple  and  the  Christian 
Church^,  London,  1880 ;  H.  J.  Holtzmann,  Lehrbuch  der 
neutest.  Theologie,  Freiburg  i.  B.,  1896-97.  For  more  general 
reference  to  sacrifice  :  J.  H.  Kurtz,  Der  alttest.  Opfercultus 
Mitau,  1862,  Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1863;  J.  Wellhausen, 
Prolegomena  zur  Geschichte  Israels,  Berlin,  1883,  Eng.  tr.  with 
additions,  Edinburgh,  1885  ;  W.  R.  Smith,  Rel.  Sem.,  new  ed., 
London,  1894,  pp.  213-440 ;  R.  Smend,  Lehrbuch  der  alttest. 
ReligionsgeschichteV,  Freiburg  i.  B.,  1899;  H.  Schultz,  Alttest. 
Theologie*,  Gottingen,  1888,  Eng.  tr.2,  Edinburgh,  1898,  '  The 
Significance  of  Sacrifice  in  the  Old  Testament,'  in  AJTh  iv. 
[1900]  257  ff.  ;  E.  B.  Tylor,  Primitive  Culture*,  London,  1891 ; 
F.  B  Jevons,  An  Introduction  to  the  History  of  Religion^,  do., 
1904,  chs.  xi.,  xii. ;  D.  G.  Brinton,  Religions  of  Primitive 
Peoples,  New  York,  1897 ;  J.  G.  Frazer,  The  Golden  Bough"*, 
London,  1900 ;  J.  Donaldson,  Expiatory  and  Substitutionary 
Sacrifices  of  the  Greeks,  Edinburgh,  1875. 

FREDERIC  PLATT. 
SACRILEGE.— See  ROBBERS  OF  CHURCHES. 

SADDUCEES.— The  Sadducees  were  a  Jewish 
sect  or  party  best  known  by  their  opposition  to  the 
Pharisees. 


1.  Sources. — Our  knowledge  of  the  Sadducees, 
such  as  it  is,  is  derived  from  the  following  sources  : 
(a)  Gospels  and  Acts  ;  (b)  Josephus  ;  (c)  Rabbinical 
writings,  mainly  Mishna,  Tosefta,  Sifre,  Sifra,  and 
Mechilta  (these  are  all  of  comparatively  late  date, 
but  their  value  is  unquestionable  as  embodying 
earlier  traditions.     They  record  various  disputes 
that  took  place  between  Pharisees  and  Sadducees) ; 
(d)  Zadokite  fragments  (these  are  two  fragments 
discovered  quite  recently  in  the  Cairo  Genizah. 
They  deal  with  the  beliefs  and  practices  of  a  sect 
that  lived  in  Damascus  probably  tv.ro  centuries  B.C., 
and  was  clearly  Sadducean).     Some  references  to 
Sadducees  are  found  in  various  Church  Fathers,  but 
they  have  no  independent  value.     It  has  to  be 
remarked  of  the  evidence  of  Josephus  that  it  almost 
seems  that  part  of  what  he  had  to  say  regarding 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees  has  been  lost.     In  Ant. 
XIII.  v.  9,  XVIII.  i.  2,  he  refers  to  BJ  ii.,  but  there 
we  find  only  a  scanty  reference  to  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees,  while  his  notice  of  the  Essenes  is  full. 
Further,  the  tendency  of  Josephus  to  bring  Jewish 
parties  into  line  with  Greek  schools  of  philosophy 
detracts  somewhat  from  the  value  of  his  account. 

2.  The  name. — The    explanation  of  the  name 
'  Sadducee '   has  long  been  a  puzzle.     Only   two 
views  need  to  be  mentioned,     (a)  It  has  long  been 
held  that  the  name  is  derived  from  a  certain  priest 
Zadok.     The  difficulty  has  been   to  identify  the 
Zadok  in  question.     A  linguistic  difficulty  lias  also 
been  urged,  to  account  for  the  form  Zaddukim  from 
Zadok.     This,  however,  disappears  when  we  find 
that  in  the  LXX  and  in  Josephus  the  name  is  spelt 
Zaddok.     (b)  The  view  in  EBi  supported  by  EBr11 
(see  art.  '  Sadducees ')  is  that  the  word  represents 
the   Persian  zandik.     In   modern  Persian  zandik 
means  a  Zoroastrian,  hence  an  infidel.     It  is  argued 
that,  just  as  the  Greek  ttriKovpos  was  used  by  Jews 
as  =  '  infidel,'   the    Persian  zandik  was    probably 
applied  to  this  sect,  who,  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
Pharisees  were  little  better  than  infidels,  and  who 
further  supported  the  introduction  of  foreign  cus- 
toms.    Further,  in  the  Arabic  NT  '  Sadducee '  is 
translated  zandakiya.     It  must  be  admitted  that 
this  view  is  ingenious.     Its  difficulties  are  obvious, 
a  chief  one  being  that  we  cannot  argue  safely  from 
modern  Persian  to  an  ante-Christian  usage.     Be- 
sides, if  we  are  to  admit  that  the  Zadokite  frag- 
ments are  Sadducean  in  character  and  origin — and 
this  cannot  easily  be  denied — it  is  beyond  doubt 
that  in  this  case  the  old  and  widely  held  opinion 
is   correct.      (For  full   discussion   see  W.    O.    E. 
Oesterley,  The  Books  of  the  Apocrypha,  their  Origin, 
Teaching,  and  Contents,  London,  1914,  p.  132  f.) 

3.  Opposition  to  the  Pharisees. — That  the  two 
parties  were  hostile  is  known  to  all.     How  precisely 
and  concisely  the  difference  is  to  be  defined  is  a 
problem  of  great  difficulty.     Our  knowledge  of  the 
Sadducees  in  particular  is  not  extensive,   and  a 
large  portion  of  it  comes  from  sources  that  certainly 
were   not  sympathetic.     Geiger's   view  that    the 
Sadducees  were  aristocratic  while  the   Pharisees 
were  democratic  is  true  so  far,  but  does  not  bring 
out  the   fact  that  their  differences  were  notably 
theological  or  give  any  explanation  of  those  di- 
vergences.    J.  R.  Hanne's  view  that  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees  carried  on  the  old  conflict  of  prophetism 
and  priestism  is  attractive,  but  according  to  the 
NT  it  is  the  Pharisees  who  are  blinded  and  en- 
slaved  by   that   ceremonialism    and    externalism 
against  which  prophetism  protested.    Wellhausen's 
view  that  the  Pharisees  were  essentially  those  de- 
voted to  the  Law  on  religious  grounds  while  the 
Sadducees  were   essentially  a  political   party  has 
really  little  evidence   in   its  favour,  and  all  our 
authorities  agree  in   representing  the  differences 
between  the  two  parties  as  to  a  great  extent  doc- 
trinal.    (For  reference  to  those  views  see  A.  Hil- 


SADDUCEKS 


SADDUCEES 


439 


Eenfeld,  Die  Ketzergeschichte  des  Urchristentums, 
eipzig,  1884,  p.  86  f.)    Instead  of  attempting  the 
ambitious  task  of  expressing  the  differences  in  any 
one  phrase,  we  shall  do  better  simply  to  set  down 
what  is  known  of  them  as  they  existed. 

(a)  Standard  of  faith  and  practice. — The  funda- 
mental difference  between  Pharisees  and  Sadducees 
was  that  relating  to  the  supreme  arbiter  of  all  dis- 
putes.   What  is  the  standard  ?  What  the  final  court 
of  appeal  ?    The  Sadducees  held  that  it  was  con- 
tained only  in  the  written  Law.     The  Pharisees 
held  that  the  oral  traditions  were  as  authoritative 
at  least  as  the  written  Law. 

'The  Pharisees  have  delivered  to  the  people  from  the  tradi- 
tion of  the  fathers  all  manner  of  ordinances  not  contained  in  the 
laws  of  Moses  ;  for  which  reason  the  sect  of  the  Sadducees 
reject  these  ordinances ;  for  they  affirm  that  only  such  laws 
ought  to  be  observed  as  are  written,  while  those  which  are 
orally  delivered  from  the  tradition  of  the  fathers  are  not  bind- 
ing. And  concerning  these  things  great  questionings  have 
ansen  among  them '  (Jos.  Ant.  xm.  x.  6). 

All  other  sources  fully  bear  out  the  accuracy  of 
this  statement,  which  in  a  sense  is  the  most  im- 
portant that  we  have.  In  its  light  everything  else 
must  be  read  and  where  necessary  corrected.  It 
explains  the  negations  or  Agnosticism  of  the  Sad- 
ducean  creed  :  no  doctrine  that  was  not  clearly 
taught  in  the  written  Law  possessed  for  them  valid- 
ity or  certainty.  It  explains  why  they  were  more 
rigid  than  the  Pharisees  in  enforcing  the  penal  law 
(Ant.  XIV.  iv.  2  f. ).  It  would  be  misleading  to  call 
the  Sadducees  the  Protestants  of  Judaism,  but 
there  is  some  similarity  between  their  divergence 
from  the  Pharisees  and  the  divergence  of  Protest- 
ants from  Roman  Catholics  on  the  question  of 
authority.  In  both  cases  we  have  an  appeal  to  the 
written  Word  alone,  as  against  an  appeal  to  the 
Word  plus  traditions,  precedents,  and  ecclesiastical 
judgments.  For  the  latter  the  Pharisees  claimed 
the  same  sort  of  infallibility  as  the  Roman  Church 
attaches  to  ex  cathedra  pronouncements  by  the 
pope. 

How  did  this  conflict  eventuate?  In  reality 
there  was  a  clear  victory  for  neither.  Pharisaism 
and  Sadduceeism  in  their  long  discussions  affected 
each  other.  On  the  one  hand,  the  complexities  of 
life  convinced  the  Sadducees  that  cases  had  to  be 
met  for  which  there  was  no  definite  guidance  in  the 
written  Word,  and  popular  feeling  compelled  them 
to  fall  in  with  the  procedure  of  the  Pharisees  (Ant. 
XVIII.  i.  4).  Still,  we  may  take  it,  they  strove  to 
make  all  new  regulations  in  harmony  with  the 
Word.  On  the  other  hand,  their  insistence  on  the 
supreme  authority  of  the  Word  led  to  an  intensive 
study  of  the  Word  by  the  Pharisees,  who  were 
concerned  to  show,  just  as  a  Roman  Catholic  is, 
that  the  oral  tradition  was  really  based  upon  the 
Word.  Hence  the  Pharisees  won,  but  only  by 
doing  full  justice  to  the  Sadducean  position. 

'  The  Pharisees  won  the  day  ultimately,  for  they  were  able  to 
show  by  subtle  exegesis  that  the  oral  tradition  was  based  upon 
the  written  Law.  But,  and  this  is  the  great  point,  the  Sad- 
dueaean  principle  was  thus  victorious;  as  a  party  they  went 
under;  but  the  Pharisees,  by  adopting  the  Sadducaean  prin- 
ciple that  nothing  is  binding  that  cannot  be  shown  to  be  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  written  Law,  implicitly  acknowledged  that  the 
Sadducees  had  been  right  all  along'  (Oesterley,  op.  cit.,  p.  143). 

(b)  Providence.  —  According  to  Josephus,   the 
Sadducees  did  not  believe  in  Providence. 

While  the  Pharisees,  he  tells  us,  hold  that  some  things  in  the 
world  happen  by  the  will  of  Providence,  and  that  other  things 
lie  in  the  power  of  men,  '  the  Sadducees  take  away  Providence, 
and  say  there  is  no  such  thing,  and  that  the  events  of  human 
affairs  are  not  at  its  disposal ;  but  they  suppose  that  all  our 
actions  are  in  our  own  power'  (A nt.  mi.  v.  9).  '  The  Sadducees 
take  away  Providence  entirely,  and  suppose  that  God  is  not 
concerned  in  our  doing  or  not  doing  what  is  evil ;  and  they  say 
that  to  act  what  is  good,  or  what  is  evil,  is  at  men's  own  choice, 
and  that  the  one  or  the  other  belongs  so  to  every  one,  that  they 
may  act  as  they  please '  (BJ  n.  viii.  14). 

We  cannot  admit  that  this  is  an  accurate  ac- 
count of  Sadducean-  belief.  Josephus  is  here 


straining  the  position  of  the  Sadducees  into  corre- 
spondence with  the  Epicureans  and  sceptical  indi- 
vidualists of  Greece.  If  the  Sadducees  were  the 
stalwart  supporters  of  the  written  Word,  they 
could  not  have  held  such  a  view  of  God  and  the 
world.  Further,  if  Josephus  is  accurate  here, 
passages  such  as  Mt  37  161,  Ac  5m-  become  unin- 
telligible. There  it  is  implied  that  Sadducees  be- 
lieve in  wrath  to  come,  in  signs  from  heaven,  in 
the  danger  of  fighting  against  God.  Again,  while 
Rabbinical  writings  contain  no  evidence  of  any 
dispute  with  the  Pharisees  on  this  topic — a  silence 
which  is  very  significant — the  Zadokite  fragments 
show  the  Sadducean  doctrine  of  God  to  be  in  har- 
mony with  OT  teaching  (see  Oesterley,  op.  cit., 
p.  145 f.).  We  conclude  that  on  this  topic  there 
was  no  essential  difference  between  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees.  It  follows  that  the  popular  idea  of 
Sadducees  as  irreligious  and  rationalist  is  as  base- 
less as  the  idea  that  all  Pharisees  were  whited 
sepulchres. 

(c)  The  future  life. — It  is  clear  that  the  Sadducees 
did  not  believe  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body 
(Ac  238).     Did  they   believe  in   the   immortality 
of  the   soul?    According  to  Josephus,   they   did 
not. 

'  They  take  away  the  belief  of  the  immortal  duration  of  the 
soul  and  the  punishments  and  rewards  in  Hades '  (BJ  n.  viii. 
14). 

Oesterley  tries  to  show  that  in  this  point  also 
Josephus  is  untrustworthy.  Josephus,  he  holds 
rightly  enough,  does  not  separate  the  questions  of 
resurrection  and  immortality,  and  represents  for 
his  Greek  readers,  to  whom  resurrection  was  an 
unfamiliar  idea,  the  denial  of  the  one  as  a  denial  of 
the  other.  This  is  not  improbable  in  itself,  but  it 
is  difficult  to  explain  away  the  agreement  on  this 
point  between  Josephus  and  Ac  238,  '  The  Sadducees 
say  that  there  is  no  resurrection,  neither  angel,  nor 
spirit. '  Oesterley  very  properly  connects  this  usage 
of  '  angel '  with  Ac  1215,  '  It  is  his  angel.'  And  he 
argues  that  what  is  meant  is  that  Sadducees  did 
not  believe  that  the  departed  become  angels  or 
spirits  (op.  cit.,  p.  147  f. ).  It  is  not  obvious  how  he 
can  conclude  that  probably  the  Sadducees  believed 
in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  after  admitting 
that  they  did  not  believe  in  resurrection  or  in 
the  departed  becoming  spirits.  Probably  on  this 
point  the  Sadducees  took  Agnostic  ground.  Their 
supreme  standard  being  the  written  Law,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  see  what  else  they  could  have  done. 

(d)  Attitude  to  foreign  influences.  —  In  strong 
contrast  to  the  Pharisees  (see  art.  PHARISEES),  the 
Sadducees  were  sympathetic  to  foreign,  especially 
Hellenistic,  culture.      This  contrast  between  the 
two  parties  is  surprising.      The  Sadducees  stood 
for  the  old  truth  against  the  innovations  of  the 
Pharisees.     The  latter  were  the  party  of  progress. 
Yet  it  was  the  conservative  Sadducee  who  embraced 
foreign  culture  with  enthusiasm,  and  the  progres- 
sive  Pharisee  who  bitterly  opposed  it.      In   the 
history  of  the  conflicts  of  political  and  ecclesiastical 
parties  it  is  no  unusual  thing  to  find  the  opponents 
apparently  exchanging    r61es.      Often   no   better 
explanation  can  be  given  than  that  suggested  by 
Oesterley  in  this  case,  '  the  innate  illogic  of  human 
nature'  (op.  cit.,  p.  155). 

(e)  The  Messiah.  —  The    Sadducees    held   that 
Aaron  and  his  family  were  the  chosen  of  God  from 
whom  Messiah  should  proceed. 

(/)  The  calendar. — Into  this  complicated  subject 
we  have  no  occasion  to  enter.  It  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  endless  disputes  were  carried  on  between 
the  two  parties  as  to  the  correct  dates  of  the  feasts, 
arising  from  the  fact  that  while  the  Pharisees 
reckoned  by  a  lunar  year,  the  Sadducees  computed 
a  solar  year  (see  Oesterley,  op.  cit.,  p.  150 f.). 

4.  Position  and  influence.  —  In  our  period  the 


440 


SADDUCEES 


SAINT 


Sadducees  were  in  the  position  of  an  aristocracy. 
'This  doctrine  is  received  but  by  a  few,  yet  by 
those  still  of  the  greatest  dignity '  (Jos.  Ant.  xvm. 
i.  4).  Practically  they  may  be  identified  with  the 
Temple  high-priestly  caste,  though  there  were 
priests  who  were  not  Sadducees,  and  no  doubt 
Sadducees  who  were  not  priests.  The  majority  of 
the  Temple  officials  and  their  relatives  constituted 
the  main  portion  of  the  sect  of  the  Sadducees  (cf. 
W.  Bousset,  Die  Religion  des  Judentiims  im  neu- 
testamentlichen  Zeitdlter,  Berlin,  1903,  p.  164  f.). 
The  high  priest  and  the  whole  Temple  cultus  still 
possessed  considerable  influence.  But  their  power 
was  waning.  Various  movements  tended  to  diminish 
it.  Essenes  rejected  the  Temple  rites  almost 
entirely.  Several  late  Jewish  works  speak  depre- 
catingly  of  the  present  Temple  compared  with  the 
former.  The  real  religious  leader  was  no  longer 
the  priest  but  the  scribe.  The  facts  that  the 
Sadducees  were  harsh  in  punishing,  and  that  the 
upkeep  of  the  Temple  was  so  expensive,  tended  to 
make  the  people  favour  the  party  who  opposed  the 
Sadducees  (cf.  Bousset,  op.  cit.,  p.  87?.).  With 
the  destruction  of  the  Temple  Sadduceeism  dis- 
appeared. 

As  to  the  character  of  the  sect  our  knowledge  is 
too  limited  to  enable  any  just  estimate  to  be  made. 
According  to  Josephus,  they  did  not  agree  too  well 
among  themselves. 

'  The  behaviour  of  the  Sadducees  one  towards  another  is  in 
some  degree  wild,  and  their  conversation  with  those  that  are  of 
their  own  party  is  as  barbarous  as  if  they  were  strangers  to 
them '  (BJ  11.  viii.  14). 

Their  unpatriotic  conduct  in  Maccabsean  times 
cannot  be  palliated,  and  there  is  reason  to  fear 
that  worldliness  and  an  eye  to  the  main  chance 
dulled  the  purity  of  their  devotion  to  the  Law. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  important  to  remember 
that  the  common  notion  that  they  were  mere 
politicians  and  irreligious  has  absolutely  no  founda- 
tion in  the  authentic  evidence  we  possess. 

5.  Attitude  to  Christianity. — Jesus  Himself  re- 
ferred very  seldom  to  the  Sadducees ;  His  polemic 
was  directed  against  the  Pharisees.  In  His  protest 
against  their  making  void  the  Law  by  their  tradi- 
tions He  was  at  one  with  the  Sadducees.  Yet  it 
was  from  the  Sadducees  that  the  most  bitter  per- 
secution of  Judsean  Christianity  arose.  We  know 
the  part  played  by  the  Sadducean  Sanhedrin  in 
the  trial  of  Jesus.  They  continued  to  persecute 
His  disciples  (Ac  4lff-  517  23lff<).  Josephus  informs 
us  that  they  were  responsible  for  the  death  of 
James,  the  brother  of  the  Lord  (Ant.  XX.  ix.  1). 
There  can  be  little  doubt  as  to  the  reason  for  this 
persecution.  It  began  when  Jesus  interfered  with 
the  prerogatives  of  the  Sanhedrin  by  expelling  the 
money-changers  from  the  Temple-court.  Signifi- 
cant also  is  the  stress  laid  upon  His  alleged  threat 
to  destroy  the  Temple.  In  the  rise  of  a  party 
adhering  to  Jesus  they  feared  political  consequences 
(Jn  Il47ff-)-  They  were  in  power,  and  they  meant 
to  keep  it,  and  anything  that  threatened  to  be  a 
danger  to  their  power  or  to  the  Temple  cultus  with 
which  their  power  was  bound  up  they  strove  to 
destroy.  That  any  Sadducees  became  Christian 
we  are  not  told.  Many  of  the  priests  believed 
(Ac  67),  but  that  is  indecisive,  as  many  priests 
were  not  Sadducees.  But  one  of  the  disciples  was 
'  known  unto  the  high  priest'  (Jn  1815) ;  a  consider- 
able degree  of  intimacy  is  implied  in  this  state- 
ment, and  it  is  very  improbable  that  a  friend  of 
the  high  priest  would  be  anything  but  a  Sadducee. 
There  is  a  possibility,  then,  that  the  author  of  the 
Fourth  Gospel  was  once  a  Sadducee.  One  would 
like  to  think  that  the  two  greatest  of  NT  writers 
were  of  Pharisee  and  Sadducee  origin  respectively. 
Both  sects  had  their  good  points,  and  both  their 
grave  errors.  Christianity  conserved  what  was 


good  in  both,  and  offered  a  higher  unity  in  which 
their  differences  were  transcended. 
LITERATURE.— See  under  PHARISEES. 

W.  D.  NlVEN. 

SAIL,  SAILOR.— See  SHIP. 

SAINT.  — 'Saint'  in  the  NT  is  the  English 
equivalent  of  S-yios,  '  holy,'  as  applied  to  the  indi- 
vidual. It  is  important  to  recall  the  fundamental 
idea  of  'holy,' which  is  primarily  a  religious  and 
not  an  ethical  idea  (see  art.  HOLINESS).  The  man, 
thing,  or  place  that  is  holy  belongs  to  God,  and 
is  therefore  '  separate '  from  what  is  profane  or 
common  property.  What  belongs  to  God  partakes 
of  the  Divine  character  ;  therefore  the  ethical  con- 
tent of  '  saint '  is  determined  by  the  character 
attributed  to  the  Divinity  to  whom  the  '  saint ' 
belongs,  and  by  the  nature  of  the  existing  bond. 
Everywhere  in  the  NT  God  is  One  whose  heart, 
purpose,  and  power  towards  men  are  revealed  as 
redeeming  love  in  Jesus  Christ.  The  '  saint '  is  a 
'believer  (TTWTOS)  in  Christ  Jesus'  (Eph  I1,  Col  I2), 
i.e.  one  who  has  accepted  the  gospel  of  love  which 
constitutes  the  essential  significance  of  His  life, 
death,  and  resurrection,  along  with  its  correspond- 
ing ethical  obligations.  In  other  words,  '  saint ' 
is  the  NT  equivalent  of  'Christian.' 

1.  The  saint  is  one  on  whose  whole  life  God  has 
an  irresistible  claim,  which  is  humbly  acknow- 
ledged by  the  individual  concerned.     This  claim 
receives  its  most  striking  admission  in  such  utter- 
ances as  '  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave 
himself  up  for  me '  (Gal  220) ;  '  ye  are  not  your 
own  ;  for  ye  were  bought  with  a  price'  (1  Co  620) ; 
'beloved  of  God,   called    to    be  saints'   (Ro   I7). 
Under  various  metaphors,  this  new  and  compelling 
relationship  of  the   'saint'  to  God  is  expressed. 
Regarded  as  a  criminal  on  trial,  he  is  'justified' 
or  '  acquitted '  (yet  as  an  act  of  grace,  and  not  with 
a  verdict  of  '  not  guilty,'  Ro  58) ;  as  an  enemy  he 
is  '  reconciled  ' ;  as  a  debtor  he  is  '  forgiven  ' ;  as  a 
slave  he  is  either  'redeemed'  or  admitted  to  the 
status  of  'son'  in  the  household  of  God  (cf.  A. 
Deissmann,  St.  Paul,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1913,  p. 
145).     In  other  words,  the  saint  is  '  called '  by  God, 
in  the  sense  of  receiving  not  an  invitation,  but 
rather  a  royal  summons,  expressed  in  the  free  gift 
of  an  overwhelming  love.     The  NT  does  not  look 
on   '  sainthood '   as  an  adventure  which   may  be 
presumption,  a  kind  of  life  for  which  volunteers 
are  asked,  a  warfare  at  our  own  charges,  for  which 
some  are  constitutionally  or  temperamentally  or 
by  virtue  of  circumstances  unfitted.      It  is  not 
what  we  are,  or  feel  ourselves  to  be,  or  what  we 
have  been,  that  determines  our  right  to  call  our- 
selves '  saints.'     Our  '  calling '  rests  on  the  truth  of 
the  character  and  purpose  of  God  revealed  in  Jesus 
Christ.     The  ethical  bearings  of  this  claim  upon 
men  properly  belong  to  the  art.  SANCTIFICATION. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say  here  that  the  'saint'  is  one 
who  is  immediately  and  obediently  responsive  to 
the   Spirit  of  God,  the  spirit  of  sonship  (Ro  81B). 
He  is  one  who  is,  from  the  ideal  point  of  view, 
no  longer  subject  to  any  external  rule  or  '  law ' ; 
from  whom  no  tracts  of  the  world's  life  are  fenced 
off  by  any  arbitrary  or  conventional  requirement ; 
whose  only  'constraint'  is  the  'love  of  Christ,' 
especially  as  revealed  in  His  Cross  (2  Co  514) ;  in 
other  words,  one  who'   possesses  the  kingdom '  (Dn 
T22),  accepts  the  rule  of  God,  and  suffers  it  to  bring 
forth  its  own  fruits  in  character  and  moral  attitude. 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  immanent  principle  of  the 
new  life  (Ro  814'-). 

2.  It  should  be  noted  that  in  the  Bible  the  term 
'saint'  is  never  applied   to  individuals  as  such. 
The  word  is  always  '  saints.'    Only  twice  is  it  used 
in   the  singular,   as  applied    to   persons  (Ph  421, 
Rev  22n),  where,  however,  the  '  saint '  is  regarded 


SAINT 


SALMONS 


441 


as  a  member  of  a  community.  Jesus  alone  in  the 
NT  is  called  6  ayios  TOV  Oeov  (e.g.  Mk  I24).  This  is 
important  as  establishing  a  link  between  the  OT 
and  the  NT  conceptions.  In  the  OT  '  saints '  are 
members  of  the  true  Israel,  at  first  of  the  nation, 
and  latterly  of  the  pious  remnant.  In  the  NT 
'  church '  and  '  saints '  are  used  interchangeably  in 
the  greetings  of  letters :  the  former  in  Thessa- 
lonians,  Corinthians,  Galatians,  Philemon ;  the 
latter  in  Ephesians,  Philippians,  and  Colossians. 
Just  as  in  the  OT  the  covenant  is  made  with  the 
nation,  or  with  Abraham  as  representing  the 
nation  yet  to  be,  so  with  the  NT  the  Church  or 
community  of  believers  is  the  recipient  of  the 
'new  covenant  in  my  blood.'  This  is  not  equiva- 
lent to  putting  the  Church  first,  and  the  individual 
experiences  of  its  members  last.  It  simply  means 
that  the  present  experience  and  future  realization 
of  '  salvation '  by  the  individual  was  to  the  first 
Christians  or  'saints'  inconceivable,  except  in  so 
far  as  it  involved  a  mutual  relationship  with  others 
in  the  sight  of  God.  Saintliness  is  an  impossibility 
unless  it  contains  as  its  essence  an  experience  of 
God's  love  common  to  all  which  finds  expression  in 
common  worship,  and  certain  corresponding  mutual 
obligations  of  loving  thought  and  ministry  towards 
others.  The  members  of  the  Church  have  been 
individually  justified,  reconciled,  forgiven,  and 
have  entered  upon  a  new  relationship  of  trust  and 
freedom  with  God  ;  but  the  spirit  that  has  accom- 
plished this  can  have  no  free  course  in  the  develop- 
ment of  individual  life  and  character,  except  in  so  far 
as  it  expresses  itself  in  a  community  where  Christ 
is  head  of  every  man  (1  Co  II3).  'We,  who  are 
many,  are  one  body  in  Christ,  and  severally 
members  one  of  another '  (Ho  12s).  The  saints  in 
the  NT  as  in  the  OT  receive  a  '  kingdom  '  (Dn  7s7), 
a  social  gift  too  great  for  one  pair  of  hands  to 
hold,  or  for  one  single  mind  to  conceive.  We  must 
comprehend  'with  all  saints'  (Eph  318)  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  love  of  God.  No  Christian  apart  from 
others  can  perfectly  fulfil  the  moral  and  spiritual 
ideal,  or  attain  to  '  eternal  life.'  A  more  common 
description  in  the  NT  of  the  kingdom  which  is 
the  possession  of  the  saints  is  'inheritance'  (see 
art.  HEIR).  Christians  are  '  heirs '  of  eternal  life 
(Tit  37),  and  also  of  the  'kingdom'  (1  Co  69- 10 
1550).  The  mutual  relationship  that  exists  as 
binding  the  members  of  the  Church  together  is 
increasingly  based  in  the  NT  on  the  response  to  cer- 
tain moral  obligations,  which  are  directly  involved 
in  the  experience  of  salvation  (Eph  55,  Col  I12). 

It  will  thus  become  readily  apparent  that  with 
the  new  conception  of  God  revealed  in  the  Cross  of 
Christ  these  two  aspects  of  NT  sainthood  issue  in 
the  result  that  moral  obligation  in  the  Christian 
life  is  not  merely  reinforced,  but  deepened  and 
enriched.  The  enervating  sense  of  impossibility, 
and  the  facile  acceptance  of  a  two-fold  standard  of 
living,  so  interwoven  with  the  popular  use  of  the 
word  '  saint,'  are  really  the  still  persistent  product 
of  the  monastic  ideal,  and  are  seen  to  be,  what 
they  really  are,  a  fundamental  denial  of  the 
Christian  faith,  which  is  essentially  the  acceptance 
of  a  filial  relationship  to  God.  The  moral  activi- 
ties of  the  saint  are  rooted  in  a  '  patience'  which 
obeys  the  voice  of  illumined  conscience,  and 
humbly  believes  in  Jesus  at  all  costs  (Rev  1412;  cf. 
Col  I10). 

LITERATCBB. — H.  J.  Holtzmann,  LehrbttehderNTTheologie^, 
2  vols.,  Tubingen,  1911  (passim) ;  P.  Feine,  Theologie  des  NT, 
Leipzig,  1910  (passim);  art.  'Saint'  in  EDS;  R.  Law,  The 
2Vs««  of  Life,  Edinburgh,  1909,  p.  90  f. ;  J.  Denney,  The  Way 
Everlasting,  London,  1911,  p.  113  ff. ;  F.  Paget,  Studies  in  the 
Christian  Character,  do.,  1895,  p.  55  ff.  ;  H.  F.  Amiel,  Journal 
Intime6,  Geneva,  1887,  tr.  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward,  London, 
1898,  p.  147 ;  J.  H.  Newman,  Parochial  and  Plain  Sermons 
(Selection),  do.,  1868,  pp.  260 ff.,  277  ff. 

'  R.  H.  STRACHAN. 


SAL  AMIS  CZa\a/j.U). — Salamis,  the  most  import- 
ant city  of  ancient  Cyprus,  was  the  first  place 
visited  "by  St.  Paul  and  Barnabas  in  their  first 
missionary  journey  (Ac  135).  Situated  at  the 
eastern  extremity  of  the  island,  about  equidistant 
from  Cilicia  in  the  north  and  Syria  in  the  east,  it 
was  the  emporium  of  the  wide  and  fertile  plain  of 
Salaminia,  which  stretched  inward  between  two 
mountain  ranges  as  far  as  Nicosia,  the  present  capi- 
tal of  Cyprus.  Once  a  centre  of  Mycenzean  civiliza- 
tion, and  afterwards  colonized  by  the  Greeks, 
Salamis  became  the  arena  of  a  long  conflict  between 
an  Eastern  and  a  Western  culture,  Phoenicia  and 
Hellas  here  contending  with  and  profoundly  in- 
fluencing one  another. 

The  city  possessed  a  fine  harbour,  near  which 
the  Athenians  defeated  the  Phoenicians,  the  allies 
of  Persia,  in  449  B.C.  The  same  waters  witnessed 
the  greatest  sea-fight  of  ancient  times,  in  which 
Demetrius  the  son  of  Antigonus  achieved  in  306  B.C. 
a  brilliant  victory  over  Ptolemy  Soter  and  thus 
wrested  the  island  from  him.  But  after  a  few  years 
Cyprus  was  again  in  the  possession  of  the  Egyptian 
king,  and  it  was  probably  during  his  reign  that 
Jews  began  to  settle  in  the  island,  to  which  a 
letter  is  said  to  have  been  sent  by  the  Roman  Senate 
on  behalf  of  this  people  about  139  B.C.  (1  Mac  1523). 
Their  numbers  were  doubtless  greatly  increased  in 
the  time  of  Herod  the  Great,  when  '  Caesar  made 
him  a  present  of  half  the  copper  mines  in  Cyprus, 
and  committed  the  care  of  the  other  half  to  him ' 
(Jos.  Ant.  XVI.  iv.  5).  Many  Jews  must  have  made 
their  home  in  Salamis,  where  Barnabas  (himself  a 
Cypriote,  Ac  4s6)  and  St.  Paul  found  synagogues, 
in  which  they  'proclaimed  the  word  of  God '  (Ac  135). 
The  historian  has  recorded  no  incidents  or  results 
of  this  visit.  After  the  '  sharp  contention  '  of  St. 
Paul  and  Barnabas  at  the  beginning  of  the  second 
missionary  tour,  the  latter  went  back  to  labour  in 
his  native  island,  taking  his  cousin  Mark  with  him 
(1539).  .During  a  widespread  insurrection  in  the 
reign  of  Hadrian  (A.D.  117),  the  Jews  of  Salamis, 
grown  numerous  and  wealthy,  rose  and  massacred 
their  fellow-citizens,  and  the  once  populous  city 
became  almost  a  desert.  '  Hadrian,  afterwards 
Emperor,  landed  on  the  island,  and  marched  to  the 
assistance  of  the  few  inhabitants  who  had  been 
able  to  act  on  the  defensive.  He  defeated  the  Jews, 
expelled  them  from  the  island,  to  whose  beautiful 
coasts  no  Jew  was  ever  after  permitted  to  approach. 
If  one  were  accidentally  wrecked  on  the  inhospit- 
able shore,  he  was  instantly  put  to  death'  (H.  H. 
Milman,  Hist,  of  the  Jews*,  London,  1866,  ii.  421). 
Devastated  by  earthquakes  in  the  time  of  Con- 
stantius  and  Constantine,  Salamis  was  restored  by 
Constantius  II.  and  named  Constantia.  Epiphanius, 
the  writer  on  the  heretical  sects,  was  its  archbishop 
A.D.  367-402.  The  story  that  Barnabas  suffered 
martyrdom  there  is  a  late  legend.  His  relics,  with 
a  copy  of  the  First  Gospel,  were  '  discovered  '  in 
A.D.  477,  and  the  Emperor  Zeno  consequently  made 
the  Cyprian  Church  independent  of  the  patriarchate 
of  Antioch.  The  site  of  the  ancient  city  is  now 
covered  by  sandhills,  its  place  being  taken  by 
Famagusta,  2£  miles  S.,  where  there  is  a  good 
natural  harbour. 

LITERATURE. — Conybcare-Howson,  The  Life  and  Epistles  of 
St.  Paul,  new  ed.,  1877,  i.  169 ff.  ;  T.  Lewin,  The  Life  and 
Epiatles  of  St.  Paul*,  1875  ;  J.  A.  R.  Munro  and  H.  A.  Tubbs, 
in  JHS  xii.  [1891]  59  ff.,  298  ff.  JAMES  STRAH AN. 

SALEM.— See  JERUSALEM,  MELCHIZEDEK. 

SALMONE  (2.a.\nd>vi)-  Strabo  usually  writes  2o/«i- 
viov,  sometimes  2a\ntLviov  ;  Pliny,  Sammoniwm). — 
Salmone  is  a  promontory  in  the  east  of  Crete  (Ac 
277).  It  is  uncertain  whether  the  modern  Cape 
Sidero,  in  the  extreme  N.E.,  or  Cape  Plaka,  about 


442 


SALT 


SALUTATIONS 


7  miles  farther  S.,  was  so  named.  The  map  of 
Crete  in  EBru  gives  the  latter.  It  has  been  sur- 
mised that  the  ancient  usage  itself  varied.  On 
passing  Cnidos,  the  S.E.  corner  of  Asia  Minor,  St. 
Paul's  Alexandrian  ship  was  beaten  out  of  her 
course,  which  would  have  taken  her  straight  to 
Cythera,  north  of  Crete,  and  obliged  to  bear  S.W. 
by  S.  till  she  came  over  against  (/card)  Salmone, 
from  which  point  she  could  work  slowly  westward 
under  the  lee  of  the  island.  The  season  was 
autumn,  during  which  the  Etesian  (north-west) 
winds  blow  in  the  JEgean  for  forty  days,  beginning 
at  the  rise  of  the  dog-star  (Herodotus,  vi.  140,  vii. 
168) ;  '  perflant  his  diebus,  quos  Etesias  vocant ' 
(Pliny,  HN  ii.  47).  Aristotle  describes  them  as 
fjii^tv  <?xc"'Tes  T&"  T€  &lrt>  TT?S  &PKTOV  <pepofUv<av  Kal 
£e(pvptav  (de  Mundo,  iv.  15). 

LITERATURE. — J.  Smith,  The  Voyage  and  Shipwreck  of  St. 
Paul*,  1880,  pp.  74-81 ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller 
and  the  Roman  Citizen,  1895,  p.  320  f. ;  Conybeare-Howson, 
St.  Paul,  new  ed.,  1877,  ii.  392  f.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SALT  (fiXs ;  also  SXaj,  a  form  which  is  rare  except 
in  LXX  and  NT ;  adj.  <i\wc6s). — This  condiment  of 
food  was  in  general  use  among  the  civilized  nations 
of  antiquity.  From  the  religious  significance  which 
it  had  for  the  primitive  mind,  and  especially  its 
association  with  sacrificial  meals,  it  became — and 
still  is  throughout  the  East — a  symbol  of  guest- 
friendship  and  fidelity ;  from  its  purifying  and 
antiseptic  properties,  an  image  of  the  power  of 
good  men  to  preserve  the  moral  soundness  of  society 
(Mt  513) ;  and  from  its  piquancy,  a  suggestion  of  the 
relish  which  wit  and  wisdom  give  to  talk  which 
would  otherwise  be  insipid.  St.  Paul  exhorts  the 
Colossians  to  let  their  speech  be  'seasoned  with 
salt '  (a\ari  ripTv/dvos,  Col  46),  and  the  salt  which  he 
had  in  mind  possessed  finer  properties  than  the  o\ej 
and  sal  of  Greek  and  Latin  writers. 

Attic  '  salt '  was  Attic  wit.  Pliny  (HN  xxxi.  7)  says  :  '  The 
higher  enjoyments  of  life  could  not  exist  without  the  use  of 
salt :  indeed,  so  highly  necessary  is  this  condiment  to  mankind, 
that  the  pleasures  of  the  mind  can  be  expressed  by  no  better 
term  than  the  word  salt  (sales),  such  being  the  name  given  to 
all  effusions  of  wit.'  The  meaning  of  the  word  is  usually  in- 
dicated by  the  context  in  which  it  occurs  :  '  Sale  vero  et  facetiis 
Caesar  .  .  .  vicit  omnes '  (Cic.  de  Offlc.  I.  xxxvii.  133) ;  '  facetiarum 
quidam  lepos  quo,  tanquam  sale,  perspergatur  omnis  oratio* 
(Cic.  de  Orat.  i.  34) ;  '  sal  niger,'  i.e.  biting  wit,  sarcasm  (Hor. 
Ep.  n.  ii.  60). 

St.  Paul  was  of  course  familiar  with  this  classical 
'  salt,'  which  at  its  best  was  intellectual  acuteness 
and  sparkling  wit,  but  which  easily  degenerated 
into  evrpaireXia  (Eph  54).  There  was  no  lack  of  it 
in  his  university  town  of  Tarsus.  But  as  a  Chris- 
tian he  takes  the  word — like  x<Vts>  o.ydvri  and  many 
another  term — and  gives  it  a  new  and  better  con- 
notation. He  eliminates  from  it  the  bitterness  of 
sarcasm  and  adds  to  it  the  essential  grace  of  Chris- 
tianity. Without  making  it  less  intellectual,  he 
makes  it  more  spiritual.  As  a  lover  of  good  talk, 
he  is  far  from  deprecating  what  is  stimulating  and 
pungent.  He  desiderates  all  the  old  readiness  '  to 
answer  each  one'  (Col  46b),  but  the  answer  will 
no  longer  be  the  repartee  which  seeks  a  brilliant 
personal  victory ;  it  will  be  the  response  of  the 
heart  that  loves  still  more  than  of  the  mind  that 
glitters.  If  the  new  meaning  of  the  metaphor  is 
to  be  determined  by  the  context  in  which  it  is 
employed — '  walk  in  wisdom,'  'let  your  speech  be 
always  with  grace ' — salt  becomes  the  symbol  of  a 
rare  combination  of  virtues.  A  spiritual  wisdom 
and  Christian  grace,  at  once  quickening  the  gifts 
of  Nature  and  hallowing  the  charms  of  culture, 
are  to  replace  pagan  wit  as  the  savour  of  that 
human  intercourse  which  is  the  feast  of  reason  and 
the  flow  of  souls. 

LITERATURE. — Grimm-Thayer,  Greek-English  Lexicon  of  the 
NTV,  1890,  s.v.  £Aos;  artt.  'Salt'  in  HDB  and  EBi;  J.  B. 


Lightfoot,    St.    Paul's    Epistles    to    the    Colossians    and    to 
Philemon*,  1879.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SALUTATIONS.— Salutations  are  friendly  greet- 
ings, literary  and  otherwise,  which  Christianity 
took  over  from  the  social  life  of  antiquity,  but 
filled  with  a  new  content  of  Divine  love  and  made 
a  symbol  of  a  common  brotherhood  in  Christ.  Of 
literary  greetings  those  in  Ho  163'16  are  the  most 
striking  and  the  most  puzzling.  Here  are  twenty- 
five  persons  and  four  house-societies,  each  appar- 
ently well  known  to  St.  Paul,  and  characterized  by 
him  with  a  particularity  as  brief  as  it  is  discrimin- 
ating. This  by  one  who  had  never  been  in  Rome 
is  quite  impossible,  it  is  said.  Jiilicher  says  :  '  One 
must  presuppose  a  kind  of  popular  emigration  from 
the  Pauline  congregations  in  the  East  to  Rome,  in 
order  to  find  so  many  friends  of  the  apostle  in 
Rome.'  *  But  there  was  a  constant  movement  to 
Rome  from  all  over  the  Empire,  as  well  as  a  return- 
ing tide,  and  the  Apostle  with  his  rare  knowledge 
of  societies  in  Asia  and  Europe  could  easily  have 
a  score  of  personal  friends  in  the  capital,  as  well 
as  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Church  there. 
David  Schulz  sought  the  solution  in  Ephesus,  to 
which  Church  these  words  were  directed.!  Spitta 
claims  that  the  Epistle  to  Rome  is  really  two 
Epistles,  the  second  being  written  from  Spain  later, 
after  St.  Paul  knew  the  Romans  from  residence.^: 
But  this  presupposes  a  second  imprisonment — a 
point  in  dispute — and  it  is  not  wise  to  assume  it 
unless  necessary.  The  Ada  Pauli  (ed.  C.  Schmidt, 
Heidelberg,  1905)  connects  the  death  of  St.  Paul 
with  the  imprisonment  of  which  we  know.  But 
in  every  city  in  which  St.  Paul  worked  there  were 
Jews  and  Christians  personally  known  to  him  who 
were  now  in  Rome;  cf.  Juv.  Sat.  iii.  62  ff.,  and 
Strabo,  xiv.  p.  675  (ed.  Amsterdam,  1707,  p.  993), 
where  he  speaks  of  the  city  '  full  of  Tarseans  and 
Alexandrians.' 

K.  Erbes,  in  a  suggestive  article,  thinks  that,  as  St.  Paul's 
journey  to  Rome  was  well  known  in  the  city,  many  disciples 
met  him  at  Forum  Appii  or  Tres  Tabernae,  and  gave  him  full 
particulars  concerning  the  Roman  congregation.  Even  before, 
brethren  in  Rome  in  deep  sympathy  had  written  to  him,  so 
that  he  was  familiar  with  disciples  there.  In  the  Peter-Paul 
Acts(z&.  R.  A.  Lipsius,  Leipzig,  1891,  p.  180  f.),  it  is  said  that 
St.  Paul  received  in  Malta  a  friendly  letter  from  Rome  by  two 
messengers,  and  this  occurs  in  the  oldest  part  of  these  Acts. 
The  greetings  in  Ro  16  may  be  a  historical  reminder  of  this 
letter.  Christians  also  may  have  gone  ahead  to  Rome  from  St. 
Paul's  various  Churches  to  help  and  plead  for  him.  How  much 
Christians  did  in  this  way  for  lesser  men  we  know  from  Lucian, 
de  Morte  Peregrini,  13,  and  Ignatius,  ad  Smyrn.  10,  and  Erbes 

fives  interesting  parallels  between  the  Epistles  of  Ignatius  and 
t.  Paul.  The  Greek  names  in  these  greetings — there  are  also 
Latin — confirm  what  we  know  from  other  sources,  that  most  of 
the  members  in  Rome  were  Greek.  In  the  Bulletino  dell'  Insti- 
tute di  Cprrispondema  archeologica,  Rome,  1881,  p.  131  ff.,  H. 
Dessau  gives  eighty-one  names  in  families  in  Ostia  in  which  NT 
ones  often  recur.  It  can  easily  be  proved  by  inscriptions  in  the 
time  of  Claudius  and  Nero  that  all  the  names  in  Ro  16  were 
Roman  names.  Erbes  thinks  that  these  were  actual  salutations 
sent  to  Rome  by  the  Apostle,  occasioned  perhaps  by  these 
embassies  and  letters  ;  and  that  this  beautiful  message  covering 
with  renown  these  humble  and  faithful  workers  might  not  be 
lost,  they  inserted  it  in  the  most  appropriate  place  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans.  § 

The  religious  interest,  however,  so  predominates 
in  the  NT  that  salutations  like  those  in  Ro  16  are 
rare.  They  are  swallowed  up  in  the  ever-recurring 
prayer  (in  which,  perhaps,  greeting  also  is  not 
wanting)  that  the  grace  of  God  or  of  Christ  may 
be  with  the  Christians.  And  the  community  or 
brotherhood  seems  to  supersede  the  personal 
element.  'The  churches  of  Asia  salute  you' 

•  Einleilung  in  das  NT?,  Tubingen,  1906,  p.  95,  Eng.  tr., 
An  Introduction  to  the  NT,  London,  1904,  p.  109  f. 

t  SK,  1829,  p.  609  f. 

J  Untersuchungen  iiber  den  Brief  des  Paulus  an  die  Romer 
(  =  Zur  Geschichte  und  Litteratur  des  Urchristentums,  vol.  iii. 
pt.  i.),  Gottingen,  1901,  esp.  pp.  76,  82-91. 

5  '  Zeit  und  Ziele  der  Griisse  Rom.  163-16,'  in  ZNTW  x.  [1909] 
128-147. 


SALUTATIONS 


SALUTATIONS 


443 


(1  Co  1619);  'All  the  brethren  salute  you'  (v.20). 
If  Aquila  and  Prisca  salute,  '  the  church  that  is  in 
their  house,'  the  society  usually  meeting  in  their 
triclinium  or  dining-room  is  immediately  brought 
in  (v.19).  Again,  'All  the  saints  salute  you'  (2 
Co  1313),  where  the  word  'saints'  is  to  be  inter- 
preted as  equivalent — without  losing  its  religious 
significance — to  our  word  'members.'  This  uni- 
versality of  Christian  interest,  or  inclusiveness  of 
brotherhood,  appears  often  :  '  Salute  every  saint  in 
Christ  Jesus'  (Ph  421);  'The  brethren  which  are 
with  me  salute  you'(v.21),  where  all  the  Christians 
who  were  wont  to  assemble  in  prison  or  in  his  hired 
rooms  (Ac  2830)  to  console  St.  Paul,  or  were  actually 
present  when  he  dictated  this  letter,  join  in  his 
salutation  ;  '  All  the  saints  salute  you,  especially 
they  that  are  of  Cesar's  household'  (Ph  4"),  where 
we  are  reminded  of  what  recent  research  in  inscrip- 
tions has  shown,  not  to  speak  of  the  literary 
evidence — that  converts,  and  some  of  them  of 
high  rank,  were  in  the  Imperial  Court,  besides  many 
in  the  city  of  the  highest  circles.*  Sometimes  St. 
Paul  is  so  anxious  to  bring  home  to  the  societies 
his  loving  greetings  that  he  takes  the  pen  from  the 
amanuensis  and  adds  these  in  his  own  hand  (1  Co 
1621,  Col  418).  In  the  form  '  All  that  are  with  me 
salute  thee '  (Tit  31S)  there  is  nothing  unusual,  as 
the  same  appears  in  the  papyri.t  The  Christian 
note,  of  course,  is  peculiar  :  '  Salute  them  that 
love  us  in  faith'  (ib.).  In  the  midst  of  other 
associations,  in  and  for  Christian  society  alone  St. 
Paul  lived  and  worked.  On  account  of  a  danger 
of  a  false  Judaizing,  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  brings  in  the  Christian  leaders  in  a 
unique  way.  The  democracy  of  Christianity  is 
seen  both  in  the  inscriptions  or  opening  words  of 
the  Epistles  and  in  the  greetings  at  the  close, 
where  mention  of  ministers  or  officers  is  generally 
absent,  in  a  way  impossible  after  A.D.  80  or  later. 
But  in  Hebrews  we  have  :  '  Salute  all  them  that 
have  the  rule  over  you  [better,  '  all  your  leaders,' 
rryoviitvowi],  and  all  the  saints'  (1324).  The  author 
is  determined,  as  in  desperation  over  theological 
and  other  (v.4)  dangers  (cf.  the  Epistles  of  Ignatius), 
to  refer  the  believers  again  (see  v.7)  to  their  guides 
and  other  helpers,  of  whose  correctness  he  is  con- 
vinced. Even  their  salutations  must  first  be  given 
to  them.  The  personal  touch  is  in  2  Jn12  and 
more  remotely  in  3  Jn14.  James,  2  Peter,  1  John, 
and  Jude  omit  greetings  at  the  end. 

Of  greetings  in  practice,  the  kiss,  well  known  in 
Oriental  lands,  is  urged  five  times,  besides  being 
mentioned  in  Ac  2037 — '  Salute  one  another  with  a 
holy  kiss'  (1  Co  1620,  2  Co  1312,  Ko  1616,  1  Th  5* 
['all  the  brethren'],  and  1  P  514  ['Salute  one 
another  with  a  kiss  of  love ']).  The  thought  at  the 
back  of  it  in  ancient  folklore  was  the  communion 
of  soul  with  soul,  or  the  forming  of  a  covenant,  for 
the  soul  flows  out  of  the  nose  or  mouth.  This 
significance  held  long  in  magic.  When  the  sorcerer 
attempts  to  awaken  the  dead  by  a  kiss,  he  will 

Sour  his  own  soul  into  him  (cf.  2  K  4s4),  as 
ahweh  makes  man  a  living  soul  by  breathing 
(Gn  27).J  In  ancient  Rome  the  kiss  was  a  sign  of 
family  relationship,  so  that  there  developed  a 
formal  law  of  the  kiss  (ius  osculi)  between  relatives, 
going  as  far  as  those  between  whom  marriage  was 
forbidden.  It  was  also  a  sign  of  peace  or  agree- 
ment. The  salutation  by  the  kiss  was  taken  over 
under  Christianity  as  a  matter  of  course,  but,  like 
everything  else,  purified  and  sanctified.  Refer- 
ences in  the  NT  presuppose  an  assembly  for  wor- 
ship, where  the  Epistles  are  read,  the  kiss  being 

*  See  A.  Harnack,  The  Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christi- 
anity in  the  First  Three  Centuries,  Eng.  tr.2,  2  vols.,  London, 
1908,  Index,  s.v.  'Rome.' 

t  J.  A.  Robinaon,  St.  PauFs  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians, 
London,  1903,  p.  280. 

t  H.  Gressmann,  in  RGG  iii.  [Tubingen,  1911]  1908. 


not  yet  perhaps  a  formal  part  of  the  service,  but 
a  general  practice  on  the  ground  of  brotherly  love 
in  religious  communion.  Whether  in  NT  times 
the  kiss  was  promiscuous  between  the  sexes  can- 
not be  answered  certainly,  though  it  is  risky  to 
argue  from  later  custom  that  it  was.*  The  separa- 
tion of  the  sexes  in  the  assemblies,  the  strict  sub- 
ordination of  women  amounting  to  a  depreciation 
on  the  part  of  St.  Paul  (1  Ti  29'18),  and  general 
customs  among  both  Jews  and  Greeks,  make  it 
exceedingly  unlikely  that  the  kiss  was  given 
promiscuously.  If  so,  it  was,  as  Cabrol  says,  a 
sign  of  the  purity  of  morals  among  Christians. 
But  later,  in  the  2nd  and  3rd  centuries,  with  the 
growth  of  larger  freedom  and  self-confidence,  the 
kiss  became  more  general.  It  has  been  argued, 
though  on  slight  grounds,  that  it  was  a  custom  in 
the  Jewish  synagogues.! 

R.  Seeberg  thinks,  from  the  ancient  custom  of  the  kiss  in  the 
Lord's  Supper  service,  and  from  the  passages  on  the  kiss  in  the 
Epistles,  that  the  Epistles  especially  (not  so  much  the  Gospels) 
were  read  in  the  evening  service,  to  which  in  the  early  Church 
the  Supper  was  limited,  and  that  the  kiss  as  a  part  of  the 
worship  took  place  after  that  reading.  '  So  the  writer  of  the 
Epistles  reckons  that  his  Epistle  will  be  read  in  that  evening 
service,  in  which  worship  and  sociability  flow  together,  so  that 
he  tries  to  prepare  hearts  for  the  reception  of  the  Lord,  whom 
the3r  await  in  the  Supper.'  Besides,  in  1  Co  1622,  after  the  kiss 
of  v.20  comes  the  Marana  tha  ('The  Lord  is  coming'  [not, 
Maran  atha,  '  The  Lord  has  come '])  and  the  benediction,  and 
we  know  from  the  Didache  that  the  Marana  tha  was  an  element 
of  the  oldest  liturgy  of  the  Supper ;  consequently  St.  Paul  in 
this  passage  connects  an  exhortation  to  the  kiss  with  the 
Supper  liturgy.  He  therefore  expects  that  his  Epistle  will  be 
read  immediately  before  the  Supper.  The  Lord's  Supper  kiss 
at  the  end  of  different  NT  Epistles  proves  that  these  Epistles 
are  intended  to  be  read  in  the  evening  public  worship.}  This  is 
an  ingenious  and  suggestive  interpretation.  Unfortunately,  we 
have  not  sufficient  light  to  estimate  it. 

As  we  go  into  the  post- Apostolic  Age,  we  find 
the  kiss  a  secure  part  of  public  worship.  '  When 
we  have  ceased  from  prayer,  we  salute  one  another 
with  a  kiss.  There  is  then  brought  to  the  pre- 
siding brother  bread  and  a  cup  of  wine'  (Justin 
Martyr,  Apol.  i.  65).  Athenagoras  quotes  an 
extra-canonical  Scripture  warning  against  an  abuse 
of  the  kiss,  saying  that  '  the  kiss,  or  rather  the 
salutation,  should  be  given  with  the  greatest  care ; 
since,  if  there  be  mixed  with  it  the  least  defilement 
of  thought,  it  excludes  us  from  eternal  life  '  (Legat. 
32).  Clement  of  Alexandria  also  recognizes  abuses 
which  crept  in,  and  refers  to  the  resounding  kisses 
in  church  which  made  suspicions  and  evil  reports 
among  the  heathen,  and  claims  that  the  kiss  must 
be  '  mystic'  (Peed.  iii.  11).  Tertullian  presupposes 
omission  of  the  kiss  when  fasting,  but  declaims 
against  the  omission  (except  on  Good  Friday), 
believing  that  the  kiss  of  brotherhood  is  a  part  of 
every  true  prayer  (de  Orat.  18).  On  the  other 
hand,  he  refers  to  the  embarrassment  the  custom 
causes  in  the  case  of  an  unbelieving  husband  who 
is  unwilling  for  his  wife  '  to  meet  any  one  of  the 
brethren  to  exchange  a  kiss'  (ad  Uxor.  ii.  4). 
Origen  refers  the  custom  of  the  kiss  after  prayer 
to  Ko  1616  and  other  Scripture,  and  says  that  the 
kiss  must  be  holy,  chaste,  and  sincere,  an  expres- 
sion of  peace  and  simplicity  (ad  Rom.  x.  33  [Migne, 
PG  xiv.  1283]).  The  Apostolic  Constitutions  (viii. 
11)  insisted  on  order  in  this  part  of  the  service; 
the  clergy  to  kiss  the  bishop,  the  laity  the  men, 
the  women  the  women,  going  back  in  this  last 
particular  to  the  probable  use  of  the  Apostolic 
Church. 

LITERATURE. — Besides  the  books  mentioned  in  the  footnotes 
see  J.  E.  Frame,  ICC, '  Thessalonians,'  Edinburgh,  1912,  p.  216  ; 
A.  Robertson  and  A.  Plummer,  ib.  '  1  Corinthians,' do.,  1911, 
p.  399  ;  G.  Wohlenberg,  De.r  erste  und  zweite  Thessalonicher- 


*  As  do  E.  Venables  in  DC  A  ii.  902  f .,  F.  Cabrol  in  Dictwnnaire 
d'archiologie  chretienne,  Paris,  1903  ff.,  ii.  117  f.,  and  A.  E. 
Crawley  in  ERE  vii.  740  f. 

t  F.  C.  Conybeare,  in  Exp,  4th  ser.,  ix,  [1894]  460-462. 

i  '  Kuss  und  Kanon '  in  Aus  Religion  und  OeschiehU,  i. 
[Leipzig,  1906]  118-122. 


444      SALVATION,  SAVE,  SAVIOUR 


SALVATION,  SAVE,  SAVIOUR 


brief,  Leipzig,  1903,  p.  122 ;  K.  Leimbach,  in  Zeitschrift  fur 
die  hist.  Theol.  xli.  [Gotha,  1871]  430-435  ;  V.  Schultze,  art. 
•  Friedenskuss '  in  PRE*  yi.  274  f. ;  C.  Kriegr,  in  F.  X.  Kraus, 
Realencyklopadie  der  christlichen  Altertiimer,  2  vols.,  Freiburg 
L  B.,  1881-85,  i.  542-544,  where  older  literature  is  given,  and 
where  reference  to  ZWT  should  be  vol.  xx.  (not  vol.  xl.)  p.  108  ; 
T.  K.  Cheyne,  in  EBi,  s.v.  'Salutations.' 

J.  ALFRED  FAULKNER. 

SALVATION,  SAVE,  SAVIOUR.— 1.  Words  refer- 
ring to  salvation  i  n  the  NT  outside  the  Gospels 

(for  Gospels  see  DCG  ii.  552-557,  571-573).—  <rufrii> 
('  to  save  ')  is  generally  used  for  spiritual  deliver- 
ance. The  exceptions  in  the  Acts  are49  149,  where 
it  is  used  for  healing  from  bodily  infirmity,  and 
2720.  s\>  where  it  is  used  for  deliverance  from  ship- 
wreck. In  the  other  passages  in  the  Acts  (240-  47 
412  u14  151. 11  jew.  si)  it  js  use(j  to  denote  spiritual 
deliverance.  The  link  between  the  two  meanings 
may  be  seen  in  the  quotation  from  Jl  35  (Heb. ; 
2s2  Eng. )  cited  in  Ac  2" ;  cf.  Ro  101S.  ffwfav  refers 
to  the  deliverance  from  Egypt  in  Jude8;  to  de- 
liverance from  death  in  He  5*  ;  to  spiritual  deliver- 
ance in  Ro  59-  10  824  Q27  109- 1S  II14-  •  1  Co  I18- 21  315 
55  716  922  1033  152;  2  Co  21B,  Eph  25-  8,  1  Th  216,  2  Th 
210,  1  Ti  I18  24- ls  416,  2  Ti  1*  418,  Tit  38,  He  72B,  Ja 
121214  412  520,  1  P  321418,  Jude23.  In  Ja  518  ('the 
prayer  of  faith  shall  save  him  that  is  sick ')  ff&fav 
is  interpreted  of  bodily  healing  by  many  commen- 
tators ;  but  the  general  context  of  a  chapter  which 
as  a  whole  relates  to  what  is  spiritual,  the  im- 
mediate context  associating  forgiveness  of  sins 
with  the  particular  command  ('and,  if  he  have 
committed  sins,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him'),  and 
the  use  of  the  word  '  healed '  in  the  next  verse  to 
denote  healing  from  sin,  concur  to  indicate  that 
here  also  the  word,  as  usually  in  the  Epistles, 
means  spiritual  deliverance.  Any  difficulty  in 
understanding  tycipw  in  '  the  Lord  shall  raise  him 
up '  of  spiritual  succour  is  less  than  that  of  ex- 
plaining '  the  prayer  of  faith  shall  save '  of  bodily 
healing  in  this  context. 

ffwrrjp  ('saviour'),  used  in  the  Gospels  for  God 
(Lk  I47)  and  Christ  (Lk  2n,  Jn  442),  similarly  in  the 
Acts  and  the  Epistles  refers  to  God  in  1  Ti  I1  23 
410,  Tit  1s  210  34,  Jude25;  and  to  Christ  in  Ac531 
1323,  Eph  S23  ('the  saviour  of  the  body'),  Ph  320, 
2  Ti  I10,  Tit  I4  213  36,  2  P  I1-  "  220  32- 18,  1  Jn  414. 

ffur-ripia.  ('salvation'),  used  in  the  Gospels  for 
spiritual  deliverance  in  general,  but  connected 
with  the  idea  of  salvation  through  the  Messiah 
(Lk  I89-  "• ""  199,  Jn  422),  occurs  for  the  deliverance 
from  Egypt  in  Ac  T28,  for  deliverance  from  death 
in  shipwreck  in  Ac  27s4,  for  the  deliverance  of 
Noah  in  He  II7.  It  is  used  for  spiritual  deliverance 
in  Ac  412  1326-  47  16",  Ro  I16  101- 10  II11  13U,  2  Co  I6 
627'°,  Eph  I18,  Ph  I19-28  212,  1  Th  S8-9,  2  Th  213, 
2  Ti  210  315,  He  I14  2s- 10  59  69  Qw,  1  P  1s-  9- 10  22,  2  P  315, 
Jude3.  Eleven  (Ro  101  13",  Ph  I19  212, 1  Th  5s-9, 
2  Ti  210,  He  I14  59  O28,  1  P  1s  22)  of  these  instances 
refer  to  the  future  and  ultimate  salvation  ;  the 
other  instances  refer,  at  any  rate  partly,  to  the 
salvation  in  this  life.  In  Rev  710  ('Salvation  unto 
our  God  which  sitteth  on  the  throne,  and  unto 
the  Lamb')  1210  ('  Now  is  come  the  salvation,  and 
the  power,  and  the  kingdom  of  our  God,  and  the 
authority  of  his  Christ ')  191  ( '  Salvation,  and  glory, 
and  power,  belong  to  our  God '),  there  is  a  special 
way  of  using  the  word. 

fftar-fipiov  ('salvation'),  used  in  the  Gospels  for 
spiritual  deliverance  through  the  Incarnation  (Lk 
2*°  3s),  occurs  in  St.  Paul's  speech  in  Ac  2S28  for 
spiritual  deliverance  through  the  Incarnation,  and 
in  Eph  617  for  spiritual  deliverance,  the  future 
being  largely  in  view.  In  Lk  230  36,  Ac  2S28  it  is 
from  Is  40s  5210  (LXX) ;  in  Eph  617  it  is  from  Is 
5917  (LXX). 

<ruTi?ipios  ('bringing  salvation')  occurs  in  Tit  2n 
for  spiritual  deliverance  through  the  Incarnation. 

2.  Connexion  of  NT  words  with  OT  words.— 


The  analogous  words  in  the  OT  are  used  for  ex- 
ternal deliverance,  for  a  combination  of  external 
and  spiritual  deliverance,  and  very  rarely  for 
spiritual  deliverance  simply.  The  new  feature  in 
the  NT  is  the  frequent  application  to  spiritual 
deliverance  simply  and  to  the  supreme  spiritual 
deliverance  through  the  Incarnation.  In  the  OT 
the  verb  yv",  (ydshd),  meaning  etymologically 
'width,'  'spaciousness,'  'freedom  from  constraint,' 
usually  denotes  external  deliverance  ;  see,  e.g.,  Dt 
204,  Jg  331,  1  S  1027,  Ps  28",  Hos  I7 ;  it  denotes 
spiritual  deliverance  in  Ezk  3G29  S723.  The  noun 
nyw\  (yeshudh)  is  used  for  external  deliverance  in, 
e.g.,  Ex  1413,  1  S  1445,  Ps  38,  Jon  29,  for  the  cognate 
sense  of  welfare  or  prosperity  in  Job  3015,  and  for 
a  combination  of  external  and  spiritual  deliverance 
in,  e.g.,  Is  122-  s  4517  496  516-  8  527- 10  561,  Ps  672 
982,  though  possibly  some  of  these  are  instances 
of  spiritual  deliverance  simply.  The  noun  n^»;n 
(teshudh)  is  used  for  external  deliverance  in,  e.g., 
Jg  1518,  1  S  II9-  13,  Ps  3739,  and  for  a  combination 
of  external  and  spiritual  deliverance  in  Is  4517  4613, 
Ps  4010- 16  5114,  though  possibly  in  some  of  these 
instances  for  spiritual  deliverance  simply.  The 
noun  jfip  (yeshd)  is  used  for  external  deliverance 
in,  e.g.,  Hab  318,  Ps  125  182- 3S>-  «,  for  the  cognate 
sense  of  preserved  security  in  Job  54-  n,  and  for  a 
combination  of  external  and  spiritual  deliverance 
in,  e.g.,  Mic  77,  Hab  318,  Ps  245  255  5112,  though 
possibly  Ps  51 12  may  refer  to  spiritual  deliverance 
simply.  The  noun  njflpo  (moshd'ah)  occurs  in  Ps 
6820  only  ;  it  there  denotes,  at  any  rate  chiefly, 
external  deliverance.  (For  the  use  of  the  Hebrew 
words  see  S.  R.  Driver,  Notes  on  the  Hebrew  Text 
of  the  Books  of  Samuel,  1890,  pp.  90,  91  [21913,  pp. 
118,  119];  The  Parallel  Psalter*,  1904,  pp.  455, 
456.) 

3.  Idea  of  salvation. — A  characteristic  thought 
of  the  NT  is  that  salvation  is  past,  present,  and 
future.  This  may  be  seen  with  regard  both  to  the 
actual  words  relating  to  salvation  and  to  different 
expressions  of  the  idea.  Christians  are  spoken 
of  as  those  who  have  been  saved,  and  who  are  in 
possession  of  a  salvation  which  they  can  use  or 
neglect :  '  By  grace  have  ye  been  saved,' '  By  grace 
have  ye  been  saved  through  faith '  (Eph  25-  8) ; 
'According  to  his  mercy  he  saved  us'  (Tit  38) ; 
'  How  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglect  so  great  salva- 
tion?'(He  23).  Yet  salvation  is  also  future.  As 
a  helmet  '  the  hope  of  salvation '  is  to  be  '  put  on ' 
( 1  Th  58).  '  Now  is  salvation  nearer  to  us  than 
when  we  first  believed '  (Ro  13n).  Those  who  now 
have  been  justified  by  Christ's  blood  have  yet  to 
be  saved  through  Him  from  the  wrath  (59) ;  and 
those  who  have  been  reconciled  to  God  through 
Christ's  death  have  yet  to  be  saved  by  His  life 
(510).  Christians  are  bidden  to  work  out  their 
salvation  with  fear  and  trembling  (Ph  212) ;  salva- 
tion is  said  to  be  ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last 
time  (1  P  I8),  although  it  is  now  received  by  a 
foretaste  (I9).  Christians  are  at  some  future  time 
to  inherit  salvation  (He  I14).  While  Christ  has 
been  once  for  all  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many, 
He  has  yet  to  appear  for  salvation  to  those  who 
wait  for  Him  (g28).  The  same  three  aspects — a 
past  gift,  a  present  possession,  a  future  inheritance 
— are  to  be  traced  also  in  regard  to  eternal  life, 
redemption,  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,  phrases  which  afford  different 
expressions  of  the  idea  of  salvation.  In  the  Fourth 
Gospel  eternal  life  is  the  present  possession  of  the 
believer  (3s6  5s4  647  6s4  1280  172).  This  is  indicated 
not  only  by  the  use  of  the  present  tense,  but  also 
by  that  which  is  asserted  about  eternal  life.  To 
believe,  to  hear  the  word,  to  eat  the  flesh  of  the 
Son  of  Man,  to  drink  His  blood,  to  be  growing  in 
the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  Jesus  Christ,  are 
all  acts  and  conditions  possible  and  realized  in  the 


SALVATION,  SAVE,  SAVIOUK 


SALVATION,  SAVE,  SAVIOUK     445 


present  life.  But  the  present  possession  is  also  a 
step  towards  future  attainment.  This  is  hinted 
at  in  640-  M,  and  more  distinctly  shown  in  414-  x 
ga?  1225.  Similarly  in  1  Jn.  the  present  character 
of  eternal  life  is  indicated  in  31S  511- 12- 13-  M ;  the 
futurity  of  it  is  suggested  in  22S,  and  a  link  be- 
tween the  two  is  hinted  at  in  I2.  In  the  rest  of 
the  NT  the  idea  of  what  is  future  preponderates. 
Ac  1346-  «,  Ro  622- 23,  1  Ti  I16  612  are  ambiguous  ;  in 
Mt  1916  (Mk  1017,  Lk  1818),  Mt  1929  2S46,  Mk  1030, 
Lk  1025  1830,  Ko  27,  Tit  I2  37,  Jude21  the  phrase 
refers  to  the  future.  '  Redemption '  is  used  in  Lk 
168  238  an(j  '  redeem  '  in  Lk  242'  for  the  redemption 
to  be  accomplished  by  the  Messiah,  and  '  redemp- 
tion '  is  used  in  Lk  2128  for  that  which  is  to  ac- 
company the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man  after  our 
Lord's  earthly  ministry  '  with  power  and  great 
glory.'  In  the  Epistles  redemption  denotes  a  past 
work  in  Ro  324,  He  912-  15,  1  P  I18 ;  a  present  pos- 
session in  1  Co  I30,  Eph  I7,  Col  I14  ;  a  future  gift  in 
Ro  8-3,  Eph  I14  4*°.  In  Tit  214  the  word  is  ambig- 
uous. He  1 133  is  irrelevant.  The  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  spoken  of  as  past,  present,  and  to  come. 
It  has  already  been  received  in  1  Co  1213,  Gal  46, 
Ja  45,  1  Jn  324.  It  is  a  present  possession  in  1  Co 
318  619,  Eph  218.  It  is  a  future  inheritance  in  Ro 
S23,  2  Co  I22  55,  Eph  I14.  Similarly,  the  Kingdom 
of  Heaven  or  of  God,  which  is  the  sphere  in  which 
salvation  and  redemption  and  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  are  received,  is  spoken  of  sometimes  as  now 
existing,  sometimes  as  to  be  established  in  the 
future.  In  Ro  1416-  17,  1  Co  419- »,  Col  I13  411  it  is 
viewed  as  present ;  in  1  Co  69-  10  1550,  Gal  521,  Eph 
55,  2  Th  1s,  2  P  I11,  Rev  II15  1210  it  is  regarded  as 
future.  In  the  Gospels  the  present  character  is 
indicated  in  Mt  32  417  107  II11- la  1228  13,  Mk  I15,  Lk 
92.27.  so.  62  jo11 ;  signs  of  its  future  character  are  in 
Mt  721  1341'43  188- »  1928  2534  26**,  Mk  g43'47  1425,  Lk 
1328.  29  19ii  2isi  2218-  *>•  8°.  There  is  thus  a  consist- 
ent view  throughout  the  NT  in  accordance  with 
which  salvation  is  regarded  sometimes  as  already 
accomplished,  sometimes  as  a  present  state,  some- 
times as  an  inheritance  to  be  received  in  the  future. 
In  regard  to  the  salvation  thus  represented  in 
the  NT  as  an  abiding  and  growing  possession  the 
following  points  may  be  noticed. 

(a)  The  deliverance  which  gives  admission  to  the 
state  of  salvation  is  everywhere  regarded  as  ac- 
complished by  Christ.  In  Ac  221'88  '  the  Lord '  of 
whom  Joel  (35  Heb.  ;  232  Eng.)  declared  that  through 
calling  on  His  name  there  should  be  salvation  is 
identified  with  Christ.  In  St.  Peter's  speech  in 
Ac  412  it  is  said  that  '  in  none  other '  than  '  Jesus 
Christ  of  Nazareth ' '  is  there  salvation  ;  for  neither 
is  there  any  other  name  under  heaven  that  is  given 
among  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved.'  In  the 
speech  of  St.  Peter  and  the  apostles  in  531  it  is  said 
that  Jesus  '  did  God  exalt  with  his  right  hand  to 
be  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour,  for  to  give  repentance 
to  Israel,  and  remission  of  sins.'  In  St.  Peter's 
speech  at  the  Council  of  Jerusalem  in  15n  belief 
is  expressed  '  that  through  the  grace  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  we  [Jews]  shall  be  saved,  even  as 
they  [Gentiles].'  'Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  gave 
himself  for  our  sins,  that  he  might  deliver  us  out 
of  this  present  evil  world '  (Gal  I4).  '  In  Christ 
Jesus  '  the  Gentiles  '  that  once  were  far  off  are  made 
nigh  by  the  blood  of  Christ ' ;  and  His  work  of 
peace  was  such  as  to  'reconcile  them  both  [Jews  and 
Gentiles]  in  one  body  unto  God  through  the  cross ' 
(Eph  213"18).  '  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall 
fashion  anew  the  body  of  our  humiliation,  that  it 
may  be  conformed  to  the  body  of  his  glory'  is  'a 
saviour '  (Ph  321).  '  Our  Saviour  Christ  Jesus  .  .  . 
abolished  death,  and  brought  life  and  incorruption 
to  light  through  the  gospel '  (2  Ti  I10).  He  is  de- 
scribed as  '  our  Saviour '  (Tit  I4  213  36),  as  '  the 
author  of  'salvation'  (He  210),  and  'Saviour' 


(2  P  I1- »  220  32- 18),  and  as  '  the  Saviour  of  the 
world '(1  Jn414). 

(b)  The  means  of  the  deliverance  was  notably 
Christ's  passion    and    death.     According   to    St. 
Peter's  speech  in  Ac  213  it  was  '  by  the  determinate 
counsel  and   foreknowledge  of  God '  that  Christ 
was  '  delivered  up,'  a  fact  implying  the  purpose 
accomplished   by    His    death.     According  to   St. 
Paul's  speech  at  Ephesus  (Ac  2028)  Christ '  purchased 
with  his  own  blood'  'the  church  of  God.'     'The 
word  of  the  cross  is  '  '  the  power  of  God '  '  unto  us 
which  are  being  saved  '  (1  Co  I18).     '  Christ  cruci- 
fied '  is  '  unto  them  that  are  called,  both  Jews  and 
Greeks,'  '  the  power  of  God,  and  the  wisdom  of 
God'  (I23-24).     It  was  part  of  His  work  that  'by 
the  grace  of  God  he  should  taste  death  for  every 
man '  (He  29).      That  '  he  became  unto  all  them 
that  obey  him  the  author  of  eternal  salvation  '  is 
mentioned  in  close  connexion  with  His  sufferings 
(58- 9).     '  With  precious  blood,  as  of  a  lamb  witli- 
out  blemish  and  without  spot,  even  the  blood  of 
Christ,'  were  men   'redeemed'  (1  P  I18- )9).     He 
'  loosed  us  from  our  sins  by  his  blood '  (Rev  I8). 
To  Him  described  as  the  Lamb  it  is  said,  '  Thou 
wast  slain,  and  didst  purchase  unto  God  with  thy 
blood  men  of  every  tribe,  and  tongue,  and  people, 
and  nation '  (59).     '  They  which  come  out  of  the 
great  tribulation  .  .  .  washed    their  robes,   and 
made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  '  (714). 

(c)  The  deliverance  thus  accomplished  was  from 
sin.     In  the  speeches  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  in 
the  Acts,  and  in  the  words  addressed  to  St.  Paul 
at  his  conversion  by  Christ,  the  work  of  Christ  is 
constantly  associated  with  remission  of  sins  (Ac 

038  319  531  1043  1338  2618  ;    Cf.  Rev  I5). 

(d )  The  deliverance  was  also  from  the  penalties  of 
sin.     '  Being  now  justified  by  his  blood,  we  shall  be 
saved  from  the  wrath  of  God  through  him  '  (Ro  59). 
He  '  abolished  death '  (2  Ti  I10).     It  was  a  purpose 
of  His  incarnation  that  '  through  death  he  might 
bring  to  nought  him  that  had  the  power  of  death, 
that  is,  the  devil ;  and  might  deliver  all  them  who 
through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime  subject 
to  bondage '( He  214-15). 

(e)  The  reception  of  the  deliverance  is  made  pos- 
sible by  faith.     '  A  man  is  justified  by  faith  apart 
from  the  works  of  the  law '  (Ro  S28  ;  cf.  51).     '  A 
man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law  save 
through   faith   in  Jesus  Christ'   (Gal  216).      'By 
grace  have  ye  been  saved  through  faith '  (Eph  2s). 

(f )  The  faith  which  enables  the  Christian  to  lay 
hold  on  the  deliverance  includes  life  and  action. 
In  the  teaching  of  St.  Paul  that  which  '  availeth ' 
is  '  faith  working  through  love '  (Gal  56),  and  '  faith ' 
in  St.  Paul's  writings  habitually  means  more  than 
mere  intellectual   belief  and  includes  the  moral 
attitude  of  surrender  to  God.     St.  James  differen- 
tiates the  faith  which  has  not  works,  and  doth  not 
profit,  and  is  dead,  and  is  like  the  belief  of  the 
demons,  and  is  barren  (214'20),  from  the  faith  which 
is  needed  in  prayer  that  is  to  be  effectual  and  which 
makes  those  who  have  it  rich  (I6  25  51S). 

(g)  The  salvation  is  far  more  than  deliverance. 
It  affords  not  only  escape  from  the  penalties  of  sin 
and  from  sin  itself,  but  also  admission   to  union 
with  Christ,  so  that  the  saved  are  enabled  to  parti- 
cipate in  His  risen   and  ascended   life.     '  All  we 
who  were  baptized  into  Christ  Jesus  were  baptized 
into  his  death.     We  were  buried   therefore  with 
him  through   baptism   into    death :   that  like  as 
Christ  was  raised  from  the  dead  through  the  glory 
of  the  Father,  so  we  also  might  walk  in  newness 
of  life ' ;  '  If  we  died  with  Christ,  we  believe  that 
we  shall  also  live  with  him ' ;   '  Reckon  ye  also 
yourselves  to  be  dead  unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God 
in  Christ  Jesus'  (Ro  63f- 8-  ").     'The  cup  of  bless- 
ing which  we  bless,  is  it  not  a  communion  of  the 
blood  of  Christ  ?    The  bread  which  we  break,  is  it 


446     SALVATION,  SAVE,  SAVIOUR 


SALVATION,  SAVE,  SAVIOUR 


not  a  communion  of  the  body  of  Christ?'  (1  Co 
1016) ;  '  In  one  Spirit  were  we  all  baptized  into  one 
body' ;  '  Ye  are  the  body  of  Christ,  and  severally 
members  thereof  (1213- 27).  'Ye  are  all  sons  of 
God,  through  faith,  in  Christ  Jesus.  For  as  many  of 
you  as  were  baptized  into  Christ  did  put  on  Christ. 
.  .  .  Ye  all  are  one  man  in  Christ  Jesus'  (Gal 
3*7.  28)  « That  Christ  may  dwell  in  your  hearts 
through  faith '  (Eph  317).  '  Having  been  buried 
with  him  in  baptism,  wherein  ye  were  also  raised 
with  him  through  faith  in  the  working  of  God' 
(Col  212).  '  If  then  ye  were  raised  together  with 
Christ' ;  '  ye  died,  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ 
in  God'  (31-3).  Thus  the  life  of  salvation  which 
the  Christian  lives  is  a  life  in  which  he  lias  been 
brought  into  Christ,  is  alive  in  Christ,  partakes  of 
Christ's  body  and  blood,  is  united  in  Christ  to 
other  Christians,  and  has  Christ  dwelling  in  his 
heart. 

(h)  So  far  as  the  possibility  of  receiving  is  con- 
cerned the  life  of  salvation  is  open  to  all  men,  since 
'  the  living  God  ...  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  speci- 
ally of  them  that  believe'  (1  Ti  410),  though  this 
must  not  be  pushed  to  a  denial  of  the  correlative 
NT  truth  that  there  are  possibilities  of  rejection 
and  that  there  is  eternal  punishment  as  well  as 
eternal  life. 

(i)  The  power  of  the  salvation  in  some  sense 
extends  beyond  man  so  as  to  affect  the  universe. 
'  All  things '  are  eventually  to  be  '  subjected  unto ' 
'the  Son'  (1  Co  1528) ;  it  is  the  purpose  of  the 
Father  '  to  sum  up  all  things  in  Christ,  the  things 
in  the  heavens,  and  the  things  upon  the  earth' 
(Eph  I10),  and  that  'in  him  should  all  the  fulness 
dwell ;  and  through  him  to  reconcile  all  things 
unto  himself,  having  made  peace  through  the 
blood  of  his  cross ;  through  him  .  .  .  whether  things 
upon  the  earth,  or  things  in  the  heavens'  (Col 

}19.  20\ 

4.  First-century  writers  outside  the  NT. — The 

documents  to  be  considered  are  the  Teaching  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles,  the  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  and  the 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  of  St.  Clement  of  Rome. 
The  general  features  of  teaching  about  salvation 
expressed  in  these  books  are  the  same  as  those 
found  in  the  NT. 

(a)  The  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  contains 
remarkably  little  on  the  subject.     The  NT  doctrine 
that  good  works  are  a  necessary  part  of  the  life  of 
salvation  receives  the  particular  expression,  remi- 
niscent of  the  deutero-canonical  books  of  the  OT 
(Sir  1722;  »  2912- 13  4024,  To  47'11  128-  9  1410-  «),  that 
almsgiving  affords  a  ransom  for  sin  :  '  Be  not  thou 
found  holding  out  thy  hands  to  receive,  bxit  draw- 
ing them  in  as  to  giving  [cf.  Sir  431].     If  thou  hast 
ought  passing  through  thy  hands,  thou  shalt  give  a 
ransom  for  thy  sins.     Thou  shalt  not  hesitate  to 
give,  neither  shalt  thou  murmur  when  giving ;  for 
thou  shalt  know  who  is  the  good  paymaster  of  thy 
reward '  (iv.  5-7).     The  description  of  the  Eucharist 
as  a  'sacrifice'  (xiv.  1,  3)  may  imply  that  it  was 
regarded  by  the  writer  of  the  Teaching  as  a  means 
of  appropriating  the  redemption  accomplished  by 
Christ. 

(b)  The  Epistle   of  Barnabas   supplies    more. 
Salvation  is  possessed  by  Christians  in  the  present 
time  as  being  a  mark  of  that  life  which  has  been 
bestowed  and  can  be  lost  (ii.  10).     It  is  also  future, 
since  it  is  hoped  for  (i.  3)  and  desired  (xvi.  10)  and 
the  complete  hallowing  has  yet   to  come  (xv.  7). 
It  is  the  work  of  God  as  being  '  He  who  redeemed ' 
(xix.    2).     It  includes  deliverance    '  from    death ' 
(ib.  2).     It  could  not  have  been  if  the  Son  of  God 
'  had  not  come  in  the  flesh '  (v.  10).    The  remission 
of  sins  and  sanctification  needed  for  it  are  through 
the  blood  of  Christ  (v.  1) ;  His  sufferings  were  '  for 
our  sake,'   and   '  He   suffered  in  order  that   His 
wound  might  give  us  life '  (vii.  2) ;  '  He  offered  the 


vessel  of  his  spirit  as  a  saciifice  on  behalf  of  our 
sins'  (vii.  3),  'His  flesh  on  behalf  of  the  sins  of 
His  'new  people'  (vii.  5) ;  'the  cross'  has  'grace' 
(ix.  8).  Remission  is  applied  by  means  of  baptism 
(xi.  1,  8,  11).  Salvation  is  gained  through  hope  on 
Christ  (xii.  3,  7).  Souls  may  be  saved  by  words 
spoken  by  Christians  (xix.  10).  For  the  possession 
of  salvation  there  is  need  of  righteousness  and 
endurance  (iv.  9-14,  vii.  11,  viii.  6,  xix.  10);  and 
in  a  phrase  resembling  that  in  the  Teaching  quoted 
above  it  is  said,  '  thou  shalt  work  with  thy  hands 
for  a  ransom  for  thy  sins '  (xix.  10).  Through  the 
remission  of  sins  are  gained  renewal  and  regenera- 
tion, re-creation  and  Divine  indwelling :  '  Since  then 
He  renewed  us  in  the  remission  of  sins,  He  made 
us  another  type  so  as  to  have  the  soul  of  children, 
as  if  He  were  re-creating  us'  (vi.  11) ;  'Receiving 
the  remission  of  sins  and  hoping  on  the  Name  we 
became  new,  being  created  afresh  from  the  begin- 
ning. Wherefore  God  really  dwells  in  our  habita- 
tion within  us.  How?  The  word  of  His  faith, 
the  calling  of  His  promise,  the  wisdom  of  the 
ordinances,  the  commandments  of  the  teaching, 
He  Himself  prophesying  in  us,  He  Himself  dwell- 
ing in  us,  opening  to  those  who  had  been  in 
bondage  to  death  the  door  of  the  shrine,  which  is 
the  mouth,  giving  us  repentance  leads  to  the  in- 
corruptible shrine.  For  he  who  desires  to  be  saved 
looks  not  to  the  man  but  to  Him  who  dwells  and 
speaks  in  him '  (xvi.  8-10). 

(c)  The  Epistle  of  St.  Clement  of  Home  emphasizes 
strongly  the  work  of  our  Lord  as  the  Saviour. 
Christians  are  described  as  having  been  'called 
and  sanctified  by  the  will  of  God  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ'  (prcef.);  and  blessedness  is  said  to 
be  '  upon  those  who  have  been  chosen  by  God 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord'  (1.  7).  Christians 
have  '  taken  refuge  in '  God's  '  mercies  through  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ'  (xx.  11).  Those  who  are  saved 
are  '  saved  through  Jesus  Christ '  (Iviii.  2).  Jesus 
Christ  is  '  the  High-priest  of  our  offerings,  the 
Guardian  and  Helper  of  our  weakness,'  'the  Way 
in  which  we  found  our  salvation'  (xxxvi.  1,  2),  the 
'  Gate  of  the  Lord,'  through  which  '  the  righteous 
shall  enter'  (xlviii.  3  ;  cf.  Ps  11819-  20).  '  The  blood 
of  Christ '  '  is  precious  to  his  Father  because  it 
was  poured  out  for  the  sake  of  our  salvation  and 
won  for  the  whole  world  the  grace  of  repentance ' 
(vii.  4).  '  Through  the  blood  of  the  Lord '  is  '  re- 
demption for  all  those  who  believe  and  hope  in 
God'  (xii.  7).  His  '  blood  was  given  on  our  behalf 
(xxi.  6).  '  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  gave  His  blood 
on  our  behalf  by  the  will  of  God,  and  His  flesh  on 
behalf  of  our  flesh,  and  His  soul  on  behalf  of  our 
souls '  (xlix.  6).  Christians  are  said  to  be  '  justified 
by  works  and  not  by  words'  (xxx.  3).  Preserving 
the  other  side  of  the  NT  antithesis,  the  writer 
says  also  :  '  We,  having  been  called  in  Christ  Jesus 
through  His  will,  are  justified  not  through  our- 
selves nor  through  our  wisdom  or  understanding 
or  piety  or  works  which  we  wrought  in  holiness 
of  heart,  but  through  faith,  through  which  the 
Almighty  God  justified  all  men  who  have  been 
from  the  beginning '  (xxxii.  4).  The  work  of  salva- 
tion includes  the  body  (xxx vii.  5,  xxxviii.  1).  God 
is  the  Saviour  of  those  who  are  in  despair  (lix.  3  ; 
cf.  Jth  9n),  and  of  those  who  are  in  tribulation  (lix. 
4).  Faithful  Christians  have  'conflict  day  and 
night  for  all  the  brotherhood,  that  the  number  of 
the  elect  may  be  saved '  (ii.  4). 

5.  Relation  of  Christian  teaching  to  the  pagan 
mysteries. — The  theories  underlying  the  pagan 
mysteries  bear  some  resemblance  to  Christian 
teaching,  since  they  contain  the  idea  of  deliverance 
through  a  process  of  regeneration,  and  through 
participation  in  a  Divine  life  which  is  operative  for 
the  future  as  well  as  for  the  present.  They  differ 
greatly  because  Christian  teaching  represents  our 


SAMARIA 


SAMAEIA 


447 


Lord  as  a  historical  Person  who  accomplishes  and 
gives  salvation,  while  the  great  figures  in  the 
pagan  mysteries,  e.g.  Osiris  and  Attis,  are  mytho- 
logical personifications,  and  also  because  the  ethical 
element,  always  prominent  in  Christianity,  has  no 
real  counterpart  in  the  religion  of  the  mysteries. 

LITERATURE. — A.  Tholuck,  Lehre  von  der  Siinde  und  von  der 
Versohnung,  1823;  H.  N.  Oxenham,  The  Catholic  Doctrine  of 
the  Atonement,  1865  ;  M.  d'Aubigne,  L'e.xpiation  de  la  croix, 
1868  ;  A.  Ritschl,  Lehre  von  der  Rechtfertigung  und  Versohn- 
ung, 1870-74  (Eng.  tr.,  1900);  R.  W.  Dale,  The  Doctrine  of 
the  Atonement,  1875  ;  H.  S.  Holland,  Logic  and  Life  (Sermons 
vi.-ix.),  1882  ;  E.  Men£goz,  Le  peche  et  la  redemption  d'apres 
St.  Paul,  1882  ;  G.  Thomasius,  Christi  Person  und  Werk, 
1886-88 ;  B.  F.  Westcott,  The  Victory  of  the~Cross,  1888 ;  W. 
P.  DuBose,  The  Soteriology  of  the  NT,  1892  ;  A.  Titius,  Die 
NT  Lehre  von  der  Seligkeit,  1895-1900  ;  R.  C.  Moberly,  Atone- 
ment and  Personality,  1901 ;  G.  A.  F.  Ecklin,  Erlosung  und 
Versohnung,  1903 ;  A.  Ritter,  Christus  der  Erloser,  1903 ;  J. 
Riviere,  Le  Dogmt  de  la  redemption,  1905 ;  R.  Herrmann, 


[1911]  45-64  ;  F.  von  Hiigel,  Eternal  Life,  1912 ;  H.  A.  A. 
Kennedy,  St.  Paul  and  the  Mystery -Religions,  1913,  pp.  199- 
228,  298,  299  ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Bearing  of  Recent  Dis- 
covery on  the  Trustworthiness  of  the  NT,  1915,  pp.  173-198. 

DARWELL  STONE. 

SAMARIA  CZapdpeia  [T  WH  -fa],  from  jinpr).—  1. 
The  kingdom  or  district.— Samaria  originally  de- 
noted the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  but  the 
term  was  early  applied  to  the  kingdom  itself,  and 
in  this  sense  'the  king  of  Samaria,'  'the  cities  of 
Samaria,'  'the  mountains  of  Samaria'  are  familiar 
expressions  in  the  OT  writings.  After  the  over- 
'  throw  of  the  monarchy,  the  name  was  still  attached 
to  the  old  territory,  whether  under  the  government 
of  Assyrians,  Persians,  Greeks,  Hasmonaeans,  or 
Romans.  The  boundary  of  Samaria  on  the  N.  was 
the  southern  edge  of  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon,  on  the 
W.  the  eastern  fringe  of  Sharon,  and  on  the  E.  the 
Jordan.  On  the  S.  the  frontier  was  very  mutable  : 
Josephus  names  '  the  Acrabbene  toparchy '  and  '  the 
village  Anuath,  which  is  also  named  Borceos,'  as 
the  boundaries  in  his  time,  and  these  terms  have 
been  identified  with  Akrabbeh  and  Burkit,  about 
6  miles  S.  of  Shechem.  The  Wady  Farah  on  the 
E.  of  the  watershed,  and  the  Wady  Ishar,  called 
lower  down  Wady  Deir  Ballut  and  Wady  Auja,  on 
the  western  side,  may  be  regarded  as  the  dividing 
lines,  which  in  our  Lord's  time  were  religious  rather 
than  political.  Ginea  (the  modern  Jenin)  is  given 
as  the  most  northerly  town  (BJ  III.  iii.  4),  and 
Antipatris  was  just  beyond  the  S.W.  border  (Talm. 
Bab.  Gittin,  76a). 

Josephus'  statement  (loc.  cit:)  that  Samaria  'is 
entirely  of  the  same  nature  with  Judaea '  is  inac- 
curate ;  for,  while  Judaea  was  a  single  massive 
table-land,  with  natural  barriers  which  rendered 
it  austerely  solitary  and  inaccessible,  Samaria  con- 
sisted of  groups  of  mountains  separated  by  fertile 
valleys,  meadows,  and  plains,  while  it  was  so  ex- 
posed on  its  frontiers  that  neither  could  artificial 
fortresses  protect  it  from  hostile  invasions  nor 
spiritual  barriers  defend  it  from  the  subtler  in- 
fluences of  environment.  The  physical  difference 
between  the  two  countries,  however,  does  not  ex- 
plain that  most  bitter  quarrel  in  history  which 
came  to  a  head  some  time  before  the  Christian  era 
began.  It  was  after  all  a  quarrel  between  brethren, 
the  old  tribal  and  national  feud  of  Judah  and 
Ephraim  being  accentuated  and  perpetuated  as  a 
religious  controversy.  The  Jewish  contention  that 
the  Samaritans  were  at  once  foreigners  and  heretics 
was  on  both  counts  an  exaggeration.  The  Assyrian 
conqueror  Shalmaneser  (2  K  1724),  or,  according  to 
the  inscriptions,  his  successor  Sargon,  deported 
from  Samaria  only  the  most  influential  families, 
which  would  have  been  those  most  likely  to  give 
trouble — 27,000  persons  in  all — leaving  the  humbler 
classes  in  the  cities,  as  well  as  whole  minor  towns 
and  villages,  undisturbed.  The  number  of  Assyrian 


colonists  then  and  afterwards  (Ezr  42)  introduced 
into  the  country  was  no  doubt  small  in  proportion 
to  the  entire  population.  Only  the  most  rigid 
Jewish  exclusiveness  could  refuse  to  the  Samaritans 
as  a  whole  the  right  to  the  sacred  name  and  tradi- 
tions of  Israel,  and  so  to  an  equal  share  in  the 
worship  of  Jahweh.  Josephus,  whose  Jewish  bias 
is  obvious,  presents  the  case  against  the  Samaritans, 
or,  as  he  frequently  calls  them,  from  the  Assyrian 
origin  of  a  fraction  of  them,  the  Cuthseans  (2  K 
1724).  He  alleges  that  the  rival  worship  on  Mt. 
Gerizim  was  begun  by  a  renegade  Jewish  priest 
— Manasseh  the  high  priest's  brother — who  had 
married  a  Cuthaean  satrap's  daughter  (Ant.  XI.  vii. 
2,  viii.  2) ;  and  that  when  Antiochus  Epiphanes  de- 
secrated the  Temple  in  Jerusalem,  the  Samaritans 
denied  '  that  the  temple  on  Mt.  Gerizim  belonged 
to  Almighty  God,'  and  petitioned  '  Antiochus,  the 
god  Epiphanes,'  to  permit  them  to  name  it  '  the 
temple  of  Jupiter  Hellenius'  (ib.  XII.  v.  5).  Josephus 
therefore  glories  in  the  Maccabsean  zeal  which  '  sub- 
dued the  nation  of  the  Cuthaeans,  who  dwelt  round 
about  that  temple  which  was  built  in  imitation  of 
the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,'  'demolished  the  city 
[of  Samaria]  and  made  slaves  of  its  inhabitants' 
(BJ  I.  ii.  6,  7).  He  asserts  that  in  his  own  time  the 
Samaritans  still  continued  to  distress  the  Jews, 
'cutting  off  parts  of  their  land  and  carrying  off 
slaves'  (Ant.  XII.  iv.  1) ;  that  on  one  occasion  they 
'  came  privately  into  Jerusalem  and  threw  about 
dead  bodies  in  the  cloisters'  (ib.  XVIII.  ii.  2) ;  that 
they  harassed  the  Galilaeans  on  their  way  to  Jeru- 
salem and  '  killed  a  great  many  of  them '  (ib.  XX. 
vi.  1) ;  that  in  the  days  of  Jewish  prosperity  they 
called  themselves  '  kindred,'  but  at  other  times 
declared  that  they  were  '  no  way  related  to  them, 
and  that  the  Jews  had  '  no  right  to  expect  any 
kindness  or  marks  of  kindred  from  them,'  who 
were  'sojourners  that  came  from  other  countries' 
(ib.  IX.  xiv.  3).  That  there  is  some  measure  of 
truth  in  these  allegations  is  quite  probable,  but 
there  has  unfortunately  been  no  advocate  for  the 
defence,  no  historian  who  has  eloquently  presented 
the  facts  from  the  Samaritan  point  of  view.  The 
despised  heretics  have,  however,  found  one  Defender 
who  has  adjusted  the  balance.  Jesus  not  only  re- 
buked the  fiery  zeal  of  His  disciples — in  this  respect 
thorough  Jews — against  the  hated  race  (Lk  9s1'56), 
but  made  one  Samaritan  a  pattern  to  all  the  world 
of  neighbourly  love  (1030'37)  and  another — 'this 
alien'  (dXXc^ej/ifc)— of  gratitude  to  God  (1711'19). 

The  Pentecostal  Church,  thrilled  by  the  Spirit  of 
the  Risen  Christ,  is  said  to  have  awakened  early 
to  her  duty  to  Samaria.  The  dispersion  which 
followed  the  death  of  Stephen  brought  many 
preachers  'to  the  regions  of  ...  Samaria'  (Ac  81-  4). 
While  Philip,  and  afterwards  Peter  and  John,  prob- 
ably laboured  in  the  city  of  Samaria — now  called 
Sebaste— itself  (85),  others  evangelized  in  'many 
villages  of  the  Samaritans'  (8M),  and  their  efforts 
were  not  without  success.  The  church  in  Samaria, 
enjoying,  like  those  in  Judaja  and  Galilee,  a  time 
of  peace,  was  built  up  and  multiplied  (JF).  St. 
Paul  and  Barnabas,  going  up  to  Jerusalem  at  the 
end  of  their  first  missionary  tour,  gave  a  com- 
plete account  (tKBnjyoijfji.ei'oi)  of  the  conversion  of  the 
Gentiles  as  they  went  through  Samaria  (153).  But 
from  this  moment  Samaria  passes  out  of  view. 
After  Christ's  own  work  there — if  Jn  4s9'42  is  a 
reflexion  of  facts— and  the  primitive  mission  of  His 
apostles,  history  has  nothing  more  to  say  of  the 
evangelization  of  Samaria.  In  the  Roman  wars 
the  Samaritans  made  common  cause  with  the  Jews 
and  endured  great  sufferings.  Gathered  on  the 
top  of  Gerizim,  a  company  of  them  preferred  death 
to  surrender,  and  11,600  are  said  to  have  been  cut 
to  pieces  by  Vespasian's  fifth  legion  (BJ  III.  vii. 
32).  In  later  times  they  seem  to  have  become  as 


448 


SAMARIA 


SAMOTHKACE 


fanatical  as  the  Jews,  and  under  the  Byzantine 
Emperors  Zeno  and  Justinian  they  were  punished 
for  their  cruelty  to  the  Christian  Church.  In  the 
Middle  Ages  there  were  colonies  of  them  in  Nablus, 
Csesarea,  Damascus,  and  Cairo.  They  are  now 
reduced  to  a  little  community — '  forty  families,'  it 
is  always  said — who  still  sacrifice  on  Mt.  Gerizim, 
'the  oldest  and  the  smallest  sect  in  the  world' 
(A.  P.  Stanley,  Sinai  and  Palestine,  p.  240). 

2.  The  city. — The  city  of  Samaria,  rather  than 
the  territory,  appears  to  be  meant  in  Ac  85-9-14, 
the  best  MSS  having  the  article  before  ir6\iv  TTJS 
Sdyitapfas  in  85,  and  the  genitive  being  probably  that 
of  apposition.  This  is  the  view  of  Weiss,  Wendt, 
Blass,  Knowling,  and  others,  and,  if  they  are  right, 
the  character  of  the  city  chosen  by  Philip  for  a 
Christian  mission  is  a  matter  of  interest.  The 
royal  city  of  Omri  occupied  a  strong  position  on  a 
round  and  isolated  hill  in  a  broad  and  fertile  vale, 
about  6  miles  N.W.  of  Shechem,  commanding  a 
splendid  view  (as  its  name  Shomron,  i.e.  'Wart- 
burg*  or  'Watch  Tower,'  would  indicate)  across 
the  Plain  of  Sharon  to  the  Western  Sea,  23  miles 
distant.  Already  partly  paganized  (2  K  1724)  after 
its  capture  by  the  Assyrians  (722  B.C.),  it  began 
to  be  Hellenized  by  Alexander  the  Great  (331). 
He  avenged  the  cruel  death  of  Andromachus,  his 
governor  in  Ccele-Syria,  by  killing  many  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Samaria,  deporting  others  to  Shechem, 
and  substituting  Macedonian  colonists,  who  con- 
tinued to  occupy  the  city  till  the  time  of  John 
Hyrcanus.  It  was  'a  very  strong  city '  (Jos.  Ant. 
XIII.  x.  2)  in  the  time  of  this  victorious  Maccabaean 
prince  and  high  priest,  whose  sons  destroyed  it 
after  a  year's  siege,  and  took  possession  of  the 
whole  district  for  the  Jews  (BJ  I.  ii.  7).  Being 
afterwards  separated  from  Judaea  by  Pompey,  and 
made  a  free  city  (Ant.  xiv.  iv.  4,{,BJ  I.  vii.  7), 
it  was  rebuilt  by  Gabinius  (Ant.  XIV.  v.  3,  BJ  I. 
viii.  4).  Its  second  period  of  royal  splendour  began 
when  Augustus  presented  it  to  Herod  the  Great, 
who  made  it  an  impregnable  fortress  with  a  wall 
2£  miles  in  circumference,  built  in  it  a  magnificent 
temple  to  Divus  Caesar,  adorned  it  with  public 
buildings,  colonnades  and  gateways,  settled  in  it 
thousands  of  his  veterans  along  with  people  from 
the  neighbourhood,  and  renamed  it  '  Sebaste ' 
(  =  Augusta)  in  honour  of  his  Imperial  patron  (Ant. 
XV.  vii.  3,  viii.  5,  BJ  I.  xx.  3,  xxi.  2 ;  Strabo,  XVI. 
ii.  34).  That  the  populace  was  now  non-Jewish — 
«  chiefly  heathen '  (Schiirer,  HJP  II.  i.  126),  '  half 
Greek,  half  Samaritan'  (G.  A.  Smith,  HGHL1, 
p.  348) — is  proved  by  their  taking  the  side  of  the 
Romans,  first  in  the  conflicts  that  followed  the 
death  of  Herod,  and  again  in  the  great  war  which 
sealed  the  fate  of  the  Jewish  nation. 
If  this  was  the  city  which  Philip  went  to  evan- 

felize,  and  in  which  he  was  joined  by  Peter  and 
ohn  (Ac  814),  it  is  probable  that  their  gospel  was 
heard  chiefly,  if  not  solely,  by  members  of  the 
Samaritan  race,  whose  faith  did  not  essentially 
differ  from  that  of  the  Jews  by  whom  they  were 
counted  heretical.  The  time  was  not  yet  come  for 
'  turning  unto  the  Gentiles ' ;  that  was  first  done 
in  the  purely  Gentile  city  of  Antioch.  But  the 
apostles  obeyed  their  marching  orders :  beginning 
at  Jerusalem,  they  went  to  Judaea,  Samaria,  and 
the  ends  of  the  earth  (Ac  I8). 

Herod's  Hellenistic  city,  which  he  stained  with 
the  blood  of  his  own  family  (Jos.  BJ  I.  xxvii.  6), 
was  re-created  as  a  Roman  colony  under  Septimius 
Severus ;  but  when  the  need  for  a  fortified  '  Watch- 
tower  '  was  past,  the  tide  of  prosperity  returned  to 
the  ancient  town  of  Shechem  (re-named  Neapolis, 
now  Nablus),  and  Samaria  fell  into  decay. 

Eusebius,  in  the  4th  cent.,  describes  it  as  Se/JeMrnfv,  rqv  vvv 
TroAi'xvTji/  rrjs  n<iAatcrTiV>)v  (Onom.  292).  A  bishop  of  Samaria 
attended  the  Council  of  Nicjea  (A.D.  326),  and  another  that  of 


Jerusalem  (A.D.  536).  A  baseless  tradition  made  It  the  scene  of 
the  death  of  John  the  Baptist,  and  a  church  of  the  12th  cent, 
stands  over  his  supposed  tomb.  A  small  village  retains  the 
Imperial  name — Sebustiyeh— and  some  of  Herod's  pillars  are  still 
standing.  Excavations  carried  on  by  Harvard  University  since 
1908  have  resulted  in  many  remarkable  discoveries. 

LITERATDRB.  —  W.  M.  Thomson,  The  Land  and  the  Book, 
1910,  p.  462  f. ;  A.  P.  Stanley,  Sinai  and  Palestine,  new  ed., 
1887,  pp.  240-246  ;  E.  Schurer,  HJP,  1886-91,  ii.  i.  123-127  ;  G. 
A.  Smith,  HGHL1,  1900,  pp.  345-350 ;  D.  G.  Lyon,  '  Hebrew 
Ostraca  from  Samaria,'  in  Harvard  Theological  Review,  iv.  [1911] 
136  ft. ;  S.  R.  Driver,  "The  Discoveries  at  Samaria,'  in  PEFSt 

xiiii.  [1911]  79  ff.  JAMES  STRAH AN. 

SAMOS  (2d/tos). — Samos  is  one  of  the  fairest  and 
most  fertile  islands  of  the  ^Kgean,  27  miles  long 
from  E.  to  W.  and  14  miles  at  its  greatest  breadth, 
separated  from  the  mainland  by  the  strait  of  Mycale 
(the  Little  Boghaz),  seven  stadia  in  width,  in  which 
the  Greek  fleet  gained  a  great  victory  over  the 
Persians  in  479  B.C.  The  island  attained  its  highest 
prosperity  in  the  days  of  Polycrates,  and  held  for 
a  time  the  naval  supremacy  of  the  ^Egean.  It 
was  the  birthplace  of  Pythagoras,  and  a  Samian 
mariner,  'not  without  divine  direction  '  (Herod,  iv. 
152),  was  the  first  to  sail  beyond  the  Pillars  of  Her- 
cules. Its  chief  city,  also  called  Samos,  was  a  libera 
civitas  in  St.  Pauls  time.  Situated  in  the  S.E.  of 
the  island,  it  had  the  largest  temple  Herodotus 
ever  saw  (iii.  60),  and  disputed  with  Smyrna  and 
Ephesus  the  title  '  first  city  of  Ionia.'  There  were 
many  Jews  in  the  island  (1  Mac  1523),  which  was 
visited  by  Herod  in  A.D.  14  (Jos.  Ant.  xvi.  ii.  2). 

In  a  voyage  down  the  ^Cgean  the  ship  in  which 
St.  Paul  was  sailing  left  Chios  on  a  Wednesday 
morning,  '  struck  across  to  Samos ' — here  probably 
the  island  is  meant — and  rounded  either  the  west 
or  the  east  extremity.  The  RV  rendering, '  touched 
at  Sarnos,'  conveys  the  idea  of  a  stoppage,  which 
is  not  implied  in  the  Greek  (irapepd\o(j.ft>  els  "26.iJ.ov, 
Ac  201B).  Probably  the  attempt  was  made  to 
get  as  far  as  Miletus  the  same  day,  but  when 
Trogyllium,  a  promontory  5  miles  E.  of  the  city  of 
Samos,  was  reached,  the  ^Egean  N.  wind  appa- 
rently died  away,  as  it  generally  does  in  the  late 
afternoon  throughout  the  summer  months,  and  the 
passage  had  to  be  completed  next  day  with  the  aid 
of  the  fresh  breeze  that  springs  up  in  the  early 
morning.  The  clause  in  the  Bezan  text  regarding 
Trogyllium,  which  is.found  in  the  AV  but  relegated 
to  the  margin  of  the  RV,  was  in  all  probability 
omitted  by  the  scribes  of  the  great  uncials  under 
the  mistaken  notion  that  a  night  had  been  spent  at 
the  city  of  Samos,  and  that  a  second  anchorage 
only  5  miles  farther  east  was  out  of  the  question. 

LITERATURE.— Strabo,  xiv.  i.  12-18  ;  H.  F.  Tozer,  The  Islands 
of  the  jfigean,  1890 ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller 
and  the  Roman  Citizen,  1895,  p.  293  f . 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SAMOTHRACE  (?,a/j.o6p<iKn,  the  'Thracian  Samos,' 
in  Homer  Sd/ios  QprjiKii] ;  still  called  Samothraki). — 
Samothrace  is  an  island  about  30  miles  S.  of  the 
coast  of  Thrace,  8  miles  in  length  and  6  miles  in 
breadth,  rising  to  a  height  of  5240  ft.  above  the  sea. 
Next  to  Pharos,  it  is  the  most  conspicuous  natural 
feature  in  the  northern  ^Egean.  According  to 
Homer,  Poseidon  took  his  stand  on  its  summit  to 
survey  '  all  Ida,  the  city  of  Priam,  and  the  ships 
of  the  Greeks'  (II.  xiii.  12 f.).  Samos  is  probably 
a  Semitic  (Phoenician)  word,  from  the  root  shamnh, 
'  to  be  high'  (see  W.  Leaf,  Iliad,  1902,  ii.  4).  The 
island,  which  always  enjoyed  autonomy  on  account 
of  its  sacred  traditions,  was  celebrated  for  the 
mysterious  worship  of  the  Cabeiri  (Herod,  ii.  51), 
which  was  still  in  full  vogue  when  St.  Paul  passed 
and  repassed  the  island. 

The  Apostle  and  his  companions,  sailing  from 
Troas,  '  made  a  straight  course,'  running  before 
the  wind  (ev6vSpov.riffa/j.ev,  Ac  16U),  to  Samothrace, 
where  they  cast  anchor,  and  next  day  reached 


SAMSON 


SANCTIFICATIOX 


449 


Neapolis.  In  less  favourable  conditions,  when 
tacking  was  required,  the  passage  in  the  opposite 
direction  took  five  days  (Ac  206).  Samothrace  was 
quite  harbourless  —  Pliny,  in  enumerating  the 
JEge&n  islands,  calls  it  importuosissima  omnium 
(HN  iv.  23)  —  but  it  had  several  good  anchorages. 

See,  further,  H.    F.   Tozer,  The  Islands  of  the 
jEgean,  1890,  pp.  310-354.         JAMES  STRAHAN. 


SAMSON  (Za/xt/'wc).  —  Samson  was  the  popular 
hero  of  the  tribe  of  Dan  who  began  to  deliver 
Israel  from  the  Philistines,  the  Nazirite  whose 
secret  of  strength  lay  in  his  hair,  the  blinded  giant 
who  prayed  for  power  to  avenge  himself  and  his 
country  in  the  hour  of  his  death  (Jg  13-16).  He 
finds  a  place  in  the  great  Roll  of  Faith  contained 
in  He  11.  Much  has  been  written  in  recent  years 
regarding  the  legendary  elements  of  the  story  of 
Samson  and  the  possibility  of  its  being  a  solar  myth, 
but  such  ideas  were  naturally  far  from  the  mind 
of  the  anonymous  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews. 

LITERATURE.—  For  solar  myth  theory  see  Commentaries  on 
Judges  by  G.  F.  Moore  (ICC,  1895)  and  K.  Budde  (Das  Buck 
der  Richier,  1897);  J.  G.  Frazer,  The  Golden  Bough*,  1900,  iii. 
390ff.  ;  A.  Jeremias,  The  OT  in  the  Light  of  the  Ancient  East, 
Eng.  tr.,  2  vols.,  1911,  ii.  169  ft.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SAMUEL  (Za/xowjX).  —  Samuel  is  named  in  the 
roll  of  the  OT  heroes  who  lived  and  died  in  faith 
(He  II32).  His  unique  position  in  the  history  of 
Israel  is  indicated  by  two  phrases  in  Acts  —  '  all  the 
prophets  from  Samuel  '  (S24),  and  God  '  gave  them 
judges  until  Samuel  the  prophet'  (1320).  He  is 
regarded  as  the  last  of  the  Judges  and  the  first  of 
the  Prophets.  In  one  stratum  —  the  earliest  —  of 
the  two  books  which  bear  his  name  he  is  the  '  seer  ' 
of  a  small  town  ;  in  another  he  is  the  '  judge  '  who 
rules  over  the  whole  people  ;  in  a  third  he  is  the 
'  prophet  '  who  speaks  like  an  Amos  or  a  Hosea. 
But  the  difficult  critical  problems  raised  by  the 
composite  story  of  his  life  and  achievements  (see 
artt.  '  Samuel  '  in  HDB  and  EBi)  have  no  bearing 
upon  the  NT  passages  in  which  he  is  mentioned. 
Tnat  he  played  a  highly  important  r61e,  religious 
and  political,  as  representative  of  Jahweh  and  as 
king-maker,  at  a  turning-point  in  Hebrew  history 
is  a  fact  which  criticism  leaves  unshaken. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SANCTIFICATION.—  The  meaning  of  07^007x65  in 
the  NT  is  in  conflict  with  its  etymological  form. 
The  word  (as  also  the  verb  dyidfa)  etymological  ]y 
suggests  a  process,  a  gradual  advance  in  moral 
attainment,  an  ethical  emphasis.  In  the  NT 
generally,  however,  the  word  expresses  a  state,  a 
position  of  religious  attainment,  a  religious 
emphasis.  To  '  sanctify  '  is  to  '  make  holy,'  and 
the  word  '  holy  '  essentially  implies  a  certain 
relationship  to  God  (see  artt.  SAINT,  HOLINESS). 
Perfection  of  moral  character  is  a  derivative  but 
necessary  result  of  holiness,  and  not,  strictly 
speaking,  holiness  itself.  The  'saint'  develops  a 
certain  type  of  character  in  accordance  with  certain 
inward  moral  demands  that  are  essential  to  the 
preservation  of  the  '  holy  '  relation  to  God.  In  the 
NT  this  God  is  the  God  and  Father  of  Jesus 
Christ.  61710$  being  '  that  which  belongs  to  God,' 
'  sanctify  '  means  '  to  make  to  belong  to  God,'  '  to 
dedicate  '  to  God.  The  precise  kind  of  relation- 
ship between  God  and  the  object  '  sanctified  '  is 
determined  by  the  nature  and  situation  of  the 
object.  Thus  in  Hebrews,  where  the  religious 
problem  is  focused  in  the  question  of  providing  a 
valid  worship  for  those  debarred  from  the  Temple 
services,  the  '  people  '  are  '  sanctified  '  through  the 
blood  of  Christ,  and  thereby  enabled  to  become  a 
'  worshipping  '  people,  standing  in  the  relation  of 
'  worshippers  '  to  God,  inasmuch  as  the  sacrifice  of 

VOL.  II.  —  29 


Jesus  was  offered  'outside  the  gate,'  i.e.  outside 
the  sacred  enclosure  of  the  Holy  City  (He  1312). 
On  the  other  hand,  the  barrier  to  the  holy  relation- 
ship may  be  a  moral  one,  as  in  1  Co  69"11.  It  is 
the  removal  of  this  barrier  of  guilt,  or  alienation 
from  God,  through  the  death  of  Jesus,  that  is 
emphasized  in  the  striking  words,  Kal  raurd  rivey 
fire'  ciXXd  direhoijo'a.ffffe,  dXXd  rjyidffOijTf,  ctXXa  fSmaubQijTe 
tv  T(f>  6t>6fJia.Ti  TOV  Kvpiov  '\rfffov  XpiffTov  Kal  tv  rip 
irvfvfj.a.Ti  TOV  6fov  i)tJ.£>v.  dir  (\ovffacr6c  refers  to  Chris- 
tian baptism,  as  implying  penitence  and  faith  on 
the  part  of  the  worshipper.  The  conjunction  of 
rfyidffOrjTe  and  fdiKaitbOijTt,  and  above  all  the  order 
in  which  they  are  mentioned,  show  that  in  Chris- 
tian experience  no  real  distinction  in  time  can  be 
drawn  between  justification  and  sanctifi cation  (cf. 
He  1010,  where  •fiyiair/j.^voi  clearly  has  affinity  with 
Pauline  justification).  When  the  NT — St.  Paul  in 
particular — speaks  of  justification  and  sanctifica- 
tion,  it  really  speaks  of  justified  and  sanctified  men 
and  women,  and  has  little  concern  with  the  theologi- 
cal abstraction.  Justification  and  sanctification  are 
both  '  works  of  God's  free  grace '  (Shorter  Catechism, 
1648).  In  both,  God  is  the  determining  agent. 
The  man  who  is  'justified'  knows  that  God  is  not 
an  enemy,  but  a  friend.  The  'sanctified'  man 
knows  also  that  he  is  now  in  a  new  relationship  to 
God  as  son  or  child,  and  that  in  answer  to  the  par- 
doning grace  in  justification  a  certain  subjective 
attitude  on  his  part  must  bring  forth  fruit  in  moral 
life.  He  must  walk  worthily  of  his  vocation  or 
standing  before  God.  A  good  analogy  with  sancti- 
fication is  patriotism,  which  is  a  social  and  political 
condition  of  individual  life,  in  whose  creation  the 
individual  has,  strictly  speaking,  no  part ;  which 
also  carries  with  it  certain  practical  duties  that  can 
be  refused  only  at  the  cost  of  disloyalty  to  the 
State.  Thus  we  are  called  on  to  '  render  unto  God 
the  things  that  are  God's,'  as  to  '  Csesar  the  things 
that  are  Caesar's.'  In  other  words,  just  as  we  are 
born  members  of  a  certain  family,  and  citizens  of 
a  particular  State,  so  as  Christians  we  are  '  born 
again '  in  Christian  baptism  into  an  obedience  to 
the  rule  or  Kingdom  of  God,  and  a  responsibility 
for  all  the  corresponding  social  duties  that  ought 
to  be  maintained  as  between  man  and  man.  The 
Christian  is  'a  new  creation  in  Christ'  (2  Co  517). 
He  lives  in  a  new  world,  where  there  stands  out 
sharply  a  distinction  between  things  permanent 
and  things  transient,  things  seen  and  things 
unseen  ;  where  a  new  moral  valuation  is  at  work  ; 
where  the  humblest  and  most  despised  individual 
claims  a  new,  loving  interest  as  one  for  whom 
Christ  died.  In  the  experience  of  '  conversion '  or 
'  regeneration,'  symbolized  in  Christian  baptism, 
lies  the  root-idea  of  sanctification.  The  '  saint ' 
belongs  to  God,  and  therefore  thinks  of  things 
and  men  as  God  thinks  of  them.  The  determining 
agent  in  sanctification  everywhere,  both  in  exjperi- 
ence  and  in  the  conduct  that  follows  from  it,  is 
God,  as  revealed  in  the  Cross  and  resurrection  of 
Jesus  Christ.  It  is  quite  true  that,  as  we  shall 
see  later,  sanctification  is  not  incompatible  with 
moral  effort  and  daily  renewal ;  indeed  it  implies 
them  (2  Co  410,  Col  39f-,  Epli  4-2ff-).  Yet  in  the  act  of 
sanctification,  God  has  already  exerted  all  His 
power,  and  the  development  of  the  Christian 
character  is  but  the  development  of  power  already 
present  in  the  individual  'saint.'  God  gives  man 
a  part  in  His  own  holiness,  taking  him  out  of  the 
sphere  of  ungodliness,  '  the  authority  of  darkness,' 
and  translating  him  into  the  sphere  of  His  own 
purity,  '  the  kingdom  of  the  son  of  his  love ' 
(Col  11S). 

For  the  sake  of  convenience,  the  NT  doctrine  of 
sanctification  may  be  treated  under  two  aspects : 

(1)  sanctification   as  a  correlate  of  justification; 

(2)  sanctification  and  the  Christian  ethic.     It  is 


450 


SANCTIFICATION 


8ANCTHTCATION 


to  be  noted  that  these  are  but  two  aspects  of  the 
doctrine.  Essentially,  and  especially  in  the  minds 
of  the  NT  writers,  they  are  the  same.  Neither 
the  question  of  a  non-ethical  religion  nor  that  of  a 
non-religious  ethic  would  have  entered  into  the 
minds  of  NT  writers,  save  to  be  set  aside.  Re- 
conciliation to  God  and  love  to  men,  which  con- 
stitute the  perfected  experience  of  Sanctification, 
in  the  two  directions  of  religion  and  practical  con- 
duct, are  both  regarded  ds  issuing  from  the  same 
source,  viz.  the  redemptive  work  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  human  response  to  it  of  faith  which 
worketh  by  love  (Si  dydirrjs  ^vepyov^vt],  Gal  56). 
Sanctification  on  the  human  side  is  faith  at  work. 

1.  Sanctification  as  a  correlate  of  justification. 
— Faith  is  a  judgment  of  the  whole  personality 
that  God  means  what  He  said  and  did  in  the  life, 
death,  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  is 
justification  in  the  Pauline  sense.  Faith  is  also 
unswerving  daily  fidelity  to  such  a  judgment,  to 
believe  that  God  equally  means  us  to  become  what 
we  are  when  He  raised  Jesus  from  the  dead. 
This  '  is  the  will  of  God,  even  your  Sanctification ' 
(1  Th  43).  Justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace  with 
God.  Our  life  is  to  be  lived  in  the  sphere  of  this 
gracious  act  of  God  ;  we  are  reconciled  to  God 
through  the  death  of  His  Son,  and,  being  reconciled, 
are  saved  by  the  life  of  Christ  (Ro  511).  Too  much 
stress  cannot  be  laid  on  the  fact  that  in  the  NT 
doctrines  both  of  justification  and  of  sanctifica- 
tion  the  relationship  is  between  living  persons, 
and  not  between  moral  forces  that  germinate  in  a 
dead  past.  The  Christian  message  is  a  gospel 
from  a  living  Christ  to  living  men.  It  requires  to 
be  daily  uttered,  and  daily  received. 

The  experience  of  guilt  enters  into  the  conception 
both  of  Sanctification  and  of  justification.  Justifi- 
cation includes  the  idea  of  the  willingness  of  God  to 
remove  it,  and  of  its  actual  removal  in  an  objective 
sense.  It  is  the  faith  that  God  has,  at  infinite 
cost  to  Himself,  taken  back  His  erring  child  to 
His  heart.  There  is  always,  however,  a  certain 
barrier  to  a  complete  response  to  this  gracious  act 
of  God.  Justification  must  be  experienced  not 
only  as  a  sense  of  sonship,  but  as  an  actual  force 
at  work  in  our  lives.  As  such,  it  is  Sanctification. 
The  sense  of  guilt  is  the  result  not  only  of  a 
judgment  of  God,  but  of  an  answering  judgment 
of  man.  Guilt  may  be  a  barrier  not  only  to  the 
faith  that  God  can  justify  us,  but  also  to  the  faith 
that  He  can  effect  any  change  in  us.  In  the  OT 
all  sin  was  ultimately  regarded  as  an  offence 
against  God  (Ps  514),  even  when  it  meant  only 
failure  to  comply  with  national  custom,  which 
was  practically  religion,  associated  as  it  was  with 
Divine  sanction.  With  the  enrichment  of  the 
moral  sense,  the  increasing  moralization  of  the 
idea  of  God,  and  the  growth  of  individual  responsi- 
bility which  culminated  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus, 
guilt  became  in  the  NT  that  condition  of  heart  and 
life  produced  by  offences,  conscious  or  unconscious, 
against  the  love  of  God.  It  is  a  burden  which 
must  be  removed,  a  barrier  to  be  broken  down,  if 
Sanctification  is  to  be  realized  in  the  individual 
experience,  and  man  is  to  be  at  peace  with  God. 
All  the  NT  writers  are  agreed  in  this,  that  they 
attribute  the  removal  of  guilt  to  the  atoning  death 
of  Jesus,  who  is  our  'Sanctification'  (1  Co  I30). 
They  are  agreed  that  the  agent  in  Sanctification  is 
the  Holy  Spirit,  but  present  certain  differences  in 
their  application  and  statement  of  the  doctrine. 

(1)  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. — We  may  take 
the  writer  of  this  Epistle  first,  as  his  forms  of 
thought  have  a  closer  connexion  with  the  OT  than 
either  the  Pauline  or  the  Johannine.  In  Hebrews 
the  ideas  of  purification,  Sanctification,  and  per- 
fection (reXeioxris)  are  in  close  affinity  to  one 
another.  Through  the  death  of  Christ  the  wor- 


shipper has  the  individual  experiences  of  forgive- 
ness, freedom  from  guilt,  purification  of  conscience. 
Thus  the  '  new  and  living  way '  to  God  is  open, 
and  the  believer's  will  is  bound  to  serve  the  living 
God  (He  1022).  While  St.  Paul  develops  his  dpctrine 
of  Sanctification  in  opposition  on  the  one  hand  to 
antinomian  teaching,  and  on  the  other  to  Jewish 
legalism,  the  doctrine  of  Hebrews  is  rather  de- 
veloped in  opposition  to  a  ritualistic  spirit  of 
dependence  on  the  ancient  rites  of  cleansing  from 
sin.  His  readers  have  difficulty  in  emancipating 
themselves,  in  their  condition  of  excommunication, 
from  the  local  and  ceremonial  associations  of  the 
ancient  worship  which  mingled  with  their  former 
religious  habits.  It  is  the  business  of  this  writer 
to  exhibit  the  ineffectiveness  of  the  ancient  sacri- 
fices to  take  away  sin.  His  God  is  '  a  consuming 
fire'  (1229) ;  the  word  of  God  is  'sharper  than  any 
two-edged  sword,'  penetrating  to  the  inmost  re- 
cesses of  the  human  conscience  (412).  Such  a  far- 
reaching  and  comprehensive  burden  of  guilt  can 
be  removed  only  through  a  perfect  sacrifice,  the 
sacrifice  of  Him  who  is  both  priest  and  victim. 
His  death  is  the  new  and  living  way.  He  is  the 
great  High  Priest  who  alone  has  passed  '  through 
the  heavens,'  the  tractless  regions  that  intervene 
between  man  and  God.  He  and  His  worshippers 
are  united,  through  their  faith,  in  the  bond  of 
perfect  human  sympathy.  He  sanctifies  them,  and 
presents  them  to  God.  The  sanctifier  and  the 
sanctified  are  sons  of  the  one  Father  (211).  The 
sacrifice  of  Jesus,  therefore,  in  virtue  of  this 
essential  unity,  realized  in  the  Incarnation,  is 
effective  for  the  purification  of  the  human  con- 
science, and  in  making  men  fit  to  stand  in  the 
presence  of  the  Holy  God.  How  the  sacrifice  of 
Jesus  is  thus  effective  does  not  enter  into  the  mind 
of  the  writer.  He  simply  applies  the  principle, 
accepted  and  experienced  in  the  case  of  the  OT 
sacrifices,  to  the  death  of  Christ.  For  him,  as  for  St. 
Paul,  Jesus  is  alive  in  this  particular  relationship, 
in  the  midst  of  His  Church,  leader  of  their  praise, 
prototype  of  their  faith,  united  to  them  by  ties  of 
flesh  and  blood.  According  to  the  demands  of  the 
Old  Covenant,  the  relationship  with  God  implied 
in  '  holiness '  was  restored  by  the  blood  of  bulls 
and  goats,  but  the  demands  of  the  New  Covenant 
are  infinitely  more  exacting.  The  sphere  in  which 
the  new  relationship  of  sanctity  is  realized  is  no 
longer  the  earthly  tabernacle  or  temple,  but  a 
sphere  in  which  the  worship  is  spiritual,  and  the 
relationship  real.  The  OT  worship  took  place 
amid  the  'patterns'  of  heavenly  things.  The  NT 
worshipper  is  introduced  to  the  '  heavenly  things 
themselves'  (O23^).  The  Incarnate  Son,  by  His 
eternal  sacrifice,  has  lifted  humanity  into  the  very 
presence  of  God  Himself  ;  and  in  the  white  light  of 
that  environment,  with  all  its  moral  demands,  the 
Christian  life  must  be  lived.  The  thought  is 
nearly  akin  to  Jn  424.  We  must  pursue  this  holi- 
ness or  Sanctification  (ayiafffji.6^),  without  which  no 
man  shall  see  the  Lord  (He  1214).  These  words 
indicate  the  direct  passage  of  the  writer's  thought 
from  the  religious  to  the  ethical,  which  will  be 
dealt  with  later. 

(2)  The  Pauline  writings.  —  The  doctrine  of 
Sanctification  in  St.  Paul  represents  a  somewhat 
earlier  stage  in  apostolic  thought.  Both  in  St. 
Paul  and  in  Hebrews  the  death  of  Jesus  is  that 
which  establishes  the  new  relationship  between 
God  and  man  (Eph  213- 14).  The  unsanctified  man 
is  in  a  state  of  enmity  towards  God,  and  sanctifica- 
tion  means  peace  with  God.  The  mind  of  St.  Paul 
always  tends  to  isolate  the  Cross  as  an  act  of 
redemption.  Both  Hebrews  and  St.  Paul  teach 
that  God  sent  His  pre-existent  Son  in  the  flesh 
(Ro  83,  He  105),  but  in  St.  Paul  the  Incarnation 
took  place  in  order  that  on  the  Cross  a  curse  might 


SAXCTIFICATION 


SAKCTIFICATION 


451 


be  pronounced  upon  sin.  In  both,  Jesus  is  our 
representative,  but  in  St.  Paul  He  is  regarded  as 
dying  the  death  that  we  deserved  to  die.  Sin 
exhausted  its  power  in  His  crucifixion,  and  was  set 
aside  as  a  beaten  enemy  in  the  supreme  demonstra- 
tion of  the  power  of  God  in  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus.  God  '  highly  exalted '  Him,  and  raised 
Him  to  His  right  hand.  The  epithet  'Lord' 
(fci/pioj)  is  Paul's  most  characteristic  description  of 
the  llisen  Jesus.  It  carries  with  it  the  notion  of 
authority  rather  than  of  sympathy,  although  the 
latter  is  by  no  means  absent.  The  barrier  of  guilt 
is  constituted  for  Paul  by  inability  to  keep  the  law 
of  God,  understood  as  a  moral  demand  quite  as 
penetrating  and  comprehensive  as  in  Hebrews. 
This  moral  inability  presupposes  a  certain  '  law ' 
warring  in  his  members  against  the  '  law '  of  God. 
If  we  substitute  '  authority '  for  '  law '  in  St.  Paul, 
much  of  the  difficulty  constituted  by  his  apparently 
ambiguous  use  of  the  term  v6/j.os  disappears. 
Through  the  death  of  Jesus  Paul  is  delivered  from 
the  '  authority '  of  sin,  which  is  broken,  and  is 
made  subject  to  the  '  constraint '  or  '  authority  '  of 
the  love  of  God  manifested  in  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Kvpios.  The  acceptance  by  faith  of  this '  authority ' 
of  Jesus  Christ,  in  response  to  His  grace  and  love, 
is  the  condition  of  being  '  in  Christ,'  which  is  the 
characteristic  Pauline  phrase  for  the  state  of 
sanctih'cation.  It  is  a  relationship  to  God  of  '  son- 
ship,'  of  perfect  freedom.  'The  authority  of  the 
Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  made  me  free  from 
the  authority  of  sin  and  of  death'  (Ro  82).  The 
Spirit  that  sanctifies  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts, 
and  we  cry,  '  Abba,  Father.'  This  authority  that 
so  speaks  in  Jesus  Christ  is  the  authority  and  the 
power  of  the  Creator.  Even  Nature  shall  yet  be 
on  our  side.  Ro  8ltfff-  is  not  mere  poetry.  It  is  the 
utterance  of  a  heart  that  looks  out  on  a  world  both 
of  men  and  of  things  that  is  in  its  misery  far  from 
God,  and  can  yet  see  in  it  all  the  birth-pangs  of 
a  new  creation  (vv.20- 21).  Amid  the  worst  that 
men  or  things  can  accomplish,  it  is  impossible  to 
annul  God's  loving  choice  of  the  believer  in  Christ 
Jesus  (vv.35'39). 

(3)  The  Johannine  writings.  —  Much  of  the 
relevant  matter  in  this  connexion  falls  more  pro- 
perly to  be  treated  under  the  art.  HOLY  SPIRIT. 
Here,  however,  it  may  be  pointed  out  that  the 
Johannine  conception  of  sanctih'cation  has  a  strong 
affinity  with  the  thought  of  Hebrews.  In  Jn  103® 
Jesus  in  His  earthly  life  is  said  to  be  sanctified  by 
the  Father,  i.e.  set  apart  for  the  holy  purpose  of 
the  redemption  of  men,  and  in  1719  Jesus  sanctifies 
Himself  in  death  for  the  sake  of  His  disciples,  who 
are  also  '  sanctified  in  the  truth '  by  virtue  of  their 
abiding  '  in  Him.'  As  in  Hebrews,  the  unity  of 
Jesus  and  His  disciples  (not  His  immediate 
followers  only)  is  a  corollary  of  the  Incarnation, 
but  the  bond  is  not  conceivea  of  in  terms  of  human 
sympathy  so  much  as  in  a  certain  semi-physical 
sense,  due  no  doubt  to  the  atmosphere  of  Hellenistic 
thought  that  surrounds  the  Johannine  writings. 
The  self-sanctification  or  consecration  of  Jesus, 
however,  in  Jn  1719  is  the  same  as  in  He  1010.  He 
is  both  Priest  and  Victim.  In  the  OT  when  God 
'  sanctifies '  Himself  or  His  '  great  name '  (Ezk  36s5) 
it  is  equivalent  to  a  display  of  His  saving  power 
on  behalf  of  Israel  as  against  their  enemies.  In 
Johannine  thought  the  Cross  is  the  supreme  mani- 
festation not  only  of  Divine  love,  but  of  Divine 
power  (Jn  1231-  32).  The  Risen  and  Crucified  Jesus 
'draws  all  men  unto  himself.'  This  is  really  the 
same  as  to  '  sanctify '  them.  In  accordance  also 
with  Johannine  thought,  sometimes  the  Spirit,  the 
alter  ego  of  Jesus,  sometimes  the  Glorified  Jesus,  is 
the  sanctifying  agent.  In  experience  both  are  the 
same  ;  Jesus  is  our  Life.  Believers  abide  in  Him. 
They  carry  within  them  a  xplfffta.  (1  Jn  220)  or 


(39).  What  in  St.  Paul  is  called  '  adoption : 
corresponds  in  St.  John  to  '  sanctification '  (1  Jn  31). 
The  work  of  the  Spirit  is  to  beget  '  sons  (riicva)  oi 
God.' 

2.  Sanctification  and  the  Christian  ethic. — It  is 
extremely  important  that  the  NT  teaching  on  the 
previous  aspect  of  sanctification  should  be  em- 
phasized, in  order  that  the  inalienable  connexion 
between  the  Christian  religion  and  Christian 
morality  should  be  preserved.  In  other  words, 
the  NT  teaches  everywhere  that  what  a  man 
believes  has  an  all-determining  effect  on  what  he 
is  and  what  he  does.  Every  act  of  faith  is  in  the 
NT  an  ethical  force.  The  passages  which  contain 
ethical  precepts  (including  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount)  cannot  be  understood  apart  from  the 
doctrinal  teaching.  All  is  e'/c  irlareus  eis  wiyriv. 
'  This  is  the  victory  that  hath  overcome  the  world, 
even  our  faith'  (1  Jn  54). 

Is  there,  then,  such  a  thing  as  progressive 
sanctification  ?  Strictly  speaking,  the  word  ayiao-- 
/J.QS,  as  we  have  seen,  contains  no  such  idea.  It 
expresses  a  state  of  holiness,  not  a  process  of  be- 
coming holy.  Any  other  interpretation  would 
negative  the  NT  idea  of  holiness  itself.  The 
primitive  idea  of  holiness,  indeed,  still  persists. 
The  NT  has  deepened  and  moralized  it,  but  has 
rejected  decisively  one  aspect  of  it,  viz.  that  there 
can  be  degrees  or  grades  of  holiness  from  the 
Divine  point  of  view.  The  savage  may  take 
liberties  with  a  certain  tree  or  other  natural  object, 
and  finds  to  his  cost  that  he  has  unwittingly 
violated  a  holy  place.  He  has  interfered  with  the 
property  of  the  god,  and  is  taught  by  the  conse- 
quences that  a  certain  attitude  and  conduct  are 
necessary  if  he  is  to  continue  to  live  in  safety  and 
security.  The  god  has  decreed,  'Certain  things 
are  mine,'  and  there  are  degrees  by  which  one 
thing,  place,  or  person  is  holier  than  another,  with 
corresponding  grades  of  penalties.  In  the  NT 
things  and  places  are  seldom  called  holy  except  in 
a  traditional  sense.  Only  persons  are  holy,  and 
no  man  has  the  right  to  say  to  another,  '  Stand 
thou  on  one  side,  for  I  am  holier  than  thou.'  An 
equal  degree  of  guilt  belongs  to  every  violation  of 
what  is  God's.  '  If  any  man  destroyeth  the  temple 
of  God,  him  shall  God  destroy  .  .  .  which  temple 
ye  are'  (1  Co  317).  On  the  one  hand,  through  the 
influence  of  the  prophets,  first  the  nation  and 
then  the  individual  (as  in  Jeremiah)  are  regarded 
as  'holy'  in  the  eyes  of  Jahweh,  who,  unlike 
other  gods,  has  more  than  a  mere  proprietary 
interest  in  '  His  own.'  On  the  other  hand,  through 
the  influence  of  the  priestly  caste,  Jahweh's 
service  became  more  and  more  a  matter  of  correct 
ritual  and  observance  of  certain  rules,  and  the 
result  is  a  Holy  God  afar  off  whose  name  dare  not 
be  mentioned,  and  who  lives  in  a  state  of  moral 
neutrality.  The  incarnation  of  Jesus  Christ 
realized  in  perfection  the  prophetic  teaching,  and 
for  ever  made  men  aware  that  God  is  the  Father, 
whose  holiness  is  also  love,  and  who  reasserts  His 
claim  on  each  individual  soul  by  an  act  of  redemp- 
tion. '  We  are  bought  with  a  price.'  NT 
'  holiness '  is  therefore  a  state  of  belonging  to  God, 
which  depends  not  on  a  mere  Divine  fiat,  but  upon 
an  act  of  salvation  at  the  greatest  possible  cost 
to  the  Father.  What  God  has  once  hallowed  is 
always  holy.  We  are  holy  by  Divine  choice,  and 
there  can  be  no  degrees  either  in  the  Divine  offer 
or  in  the  human  acceptance  of  salvation. 

This  condition,  therefore,  of  absolute  holiness 
demands  on  our  part  both  faitli  and  conduct.  A 
certain  '  walk '  is  demanded  of  us,  if  we  are  to 
maintain  and  affirm  the  new  friendship  with  God. 
'  Our  citizenship  is  in  heaven '  (Ph  320),  or,  as 
Moffatt  translates  it,  '  we  are  a  colony  of  heaven  ' 
(The  NT:  a  New  Translation3,  London,  1914),  with 


452 


SAXCTIFICATION 


SANCTIFICATIQN 


all  the  obligations  of  loyalty  and  sacrifice  that 
the  mother-country  lays  upon  us.  In  the  NT  the 
mother-country  is  just  the  Father's  heart  and 
the  Father's  presence.  Our  moral  progress  is  not 
a  growth  into  holiness  out  of  a  state  of  comparative 
unholiness.  That  would  be  to  negative  the  Chris- 
tian gospel.  Rather  it  is  a  growth  in  holiness. 
The  act  that  makes  us  holy  is  done-once  and  for 
all. 

On  the  ethical  side,  sanctification  reveals  itself 
chiefly  as  the  basis  of  moral  freedom.  Freedom, 
creativeness,  originality  are  the  marks  of  the  moral 
teaching  of  Jesus,  and  they  are  the  marks  of 
all  true  imitatio  Christi.  The  Japanese  artist, 
Yoshio  Markino,  has  the  following  sentences : 
'  Don't  imitate  my  art.  Don't  watch  my  haiid  or 
brush.  Only  feel  what  I  am  feeling.  Communicate 
your  spirits  to  the  nature  and  find  out  everything 
yourselves.  Judge  your  art  with  your  own  eyes, 
and  judge  your  music  with  your  ears'  (When  I  was 
a  Child,  London,  1912,  p.  253).  The  expression  is 
at  times  quaint,  but  the  words  are  not  only  true 
in  art,  but  supremely  true  of  Christian  ethics. 
Growth  in  holiness  in  the  NT  sense  is  to  be  free 
from  all  merely  legal  compulsion  and  to  know  only 
one  constraint,  the  love  of  Christ  (2  Co  514ff-)-  We 
live  no  longer  unto  ourselves,  or  under  the  Law, 
but  unto  Him  who  for  our  sakes  died  and  rose 
again.  We  have  not  even  yet  fully  realized  the 
extraordinary  daring  of  the  conception  of  Chris- 
tian freedom  developed  by  St.  Paul,  largely  as  the 
result  of  his  own  experience  of  a  legalistic  morality. 
There  is  not  a  word  in  the  recorded  teaching  of 
Jesus  that  can  be  construed  into  the  position  that 
the  Mosaic  Law  was  temporary.  Yet  this  may  be 
said  to  be  the  pivot  of  St.  Paul's  whole  position.  The 
liberty  wherewith  Christ  has  made  us  free  is  not 
only  a  religious  but  an  ethical  liberty,  not  merely 
the  removal  of  guilt  but  the  setting  free  of  the 
will.  Only  one  who  knew  what  sanctification  is 
could  have  been  bold  enough  to  preach  it.  It  is 
neither  more  nor  less  than  the  doctrine  that  all 
legal  statutes  are  out  of  place  in  the  Christian  life. 
Our  norm  is  neither  the  teaching  nor  the  example 
of  Jesus  by  themselves,  but  the  experience  of  His 
work,  and  of  His  risen  life.  We  have  as  much 
right  to  examine  the  precepts  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  under  the  illumination  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
the  Sanctifier  as  any  of  the  ethical  passages  in  St. 
Paul  or  St.  John.  The  extent  of  our  obedience  to 
them  is  determined  not  by  the  statutory  form  of 
the  precepts  themselves,  but  by  communion  with 
the  living  mind  of  Him  who  uttered  them.  Nor  is 
this  illumination  a  mere  isolated  inner  light.  It 
springs  from  the  communion  of  '  saints,'  a  word 
always  used  in  the  plural  in  the  NT  (see  art.  SAINT). 
Christ  in  us,  and  dwelling  in  His  Church  by  His 
Holy  Spirit,  has  a  right  to  be  His  own  commentator 
and  interpreter.  To  the  sanctified  man,  who 
understands  that  the  God  who  will  not  let  him  go 
is  Love  and  Holiness  and  Justice,  either  precepts 
or  principles  by  themselves,  no  matter  from  what 
source,  are  as  flowers  broken  oft'  at  the  root. 
'  Precepts  wither  if  they  are  alone,'  says  even 
Seneca  (Ep.  xcv.  59). 

This  is  dangerous  doctrine,  but  all  great  doc- 
trines are  dangerous.  Freewill,  by  the  teaching 
of  Scripture  itself,  was  a  very  dangerous  ex- 
periment. It  is  not  surprising  that  St.  Paul's 
principle  of  freedom  should  not  only  have  occa- 
sioned abuse,  but  also  excited  grave  doubts  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  were  morally  in  earnest.  The 
existence  of  abuse  is  suggested  in  the  question, 
'  Shall  we  sin  that  grace  may  abound  ? ' ;  but,  in 
the  fact  that  the  question  is  a  quotation,  it  is 
equally  suggested  that  he  had  to  develop  his 
doctrine  of  sanctification,  as  he  does  in  Ro  6,  also 
in  opposition  to  those  who  were  seriously  concerned 


about  the  interests  of  morality.  It  is  impossible 
to  escape  the  feeling  that  the  return  of  the  Gala- 
tians  to  the  observance  of  days,  months,  seasons, 
years,  and  to  the  moral  precepts  involved  in  it, 
was  really  for  safety,  and  as  a  result  of  moral 
earnestness.  They  might  have  said,  equally  with 
Festus,  '  Paul,  thou  art  rnad.' 

If,  then,  the  Pauline  doctrine  of  sanctification 
is  developed  in  opposition  both  to  the  morally  lax 
and  to  the  morally  earnest,  it  is  of  deep  interest 
to  note  the  lines  of  his  answer.  It  is  typical  of  the 
NT  ethic  generally.  He  deals  with  the  subject 
more  than  once — Ro  6  is  perhaps  the  fullest  answer 
he  gives. 

(1)  He  refuses  to  think  in  terms  of  abstractions 
or  mere  forces.      His  opponents  were  talking  of 
'  sin '  and  '  grace '  as  though  they  wrere  impersonal 
principles.     To  him,  '  sin '  is  a  personal  power,  the 
arch-demon  ;  '  grace '  is  the  grace  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ.     He  reminds  them  that  they 
are  baptized   '  into   Christ  Jesus '  (Ro  63) ;   with 
Him  they  died,  and  with  Him  they  rise  again. 
'  If  we  died  with  Christ,  we  believe  that  we  shall 
also  live  with  him '  (v.8).     '  Even  so  reckon  ye  also 
yourselves  to  be  dead  unto   sin,   but  alive  unto 
God  in  Christ  Jesus'  (v.11).     In  short,  the  ethical 
motive   is   an    enriched   and   reinforced   form    of 
noblesse  oblige.     The  noblesse  is  not  only  a  state 
of  ennoblement  that  carries  with  it  duties,   but 
One  to  whom  we  stand  in  deepest  indebtedness  for 
pardon  and  life,  in  whose  fellowship  we  are  raised 
to  high  rank  and  high  responsibility.     We  sit  in 
heavenly  places  with  Christ  Jesus.     Sin  against 
grace  is  now  the  sin  of   those  who  have  been 
adopted  into  the  family  of  God.     Our  motive  is  a 
sense  not  only  of  honour,  but  above  all  of  gratitude. 
The  old  bad  habit  of  obedience  to  sin  persists,  but 
not  in  that  direction  urges  our  loyalty.     Sanctifi- 
cation means  the  growth   of  grateful  loyalty  to 
Christ.     We  die  to  sin,  and  live  to  Christ.     For- 
giveness is  needed  and  sought  for  unwilling  obedi- 
ence to  an  evil  power  that  has  now  no  dominion 
or  authority  over  us.     And  at  this  point  we  may 
glance  at  the  attitude  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Law.     At 
one  moment  he  seems  utterly  to  depreciate  it,  at 
another  he  says  that  the  Law  is  good,  and  holy, 
and  righteous.      It  is  an  illustration  of  his  idea 
of  progress  in  sanctification.      Obedience  to  law 
is  good  for  those  to  whom  God  says  only  '  Thou 
shalt '  or  '  Thou  shalt  not ' ;  for  '  law '  to  St.  Paul  is 
not  what  we  would  understand  by  '  natural '  or 
'  spiritual  order '  of  things.     He  can  speak  of  the 
law  of  sin  and  the  law  of   death,  as  well  as  of 
the  law  of  God.      '  Law '  is  God  speaking  in  an 
authoritative  voice,  and  while  his  use  of  it  is  not 
confined  to  the  Mosaic  Law,  yet  he  regards  the 
Mosaic  Law  as  the  most  definite  embodiment  of 
the  Divine  authority.    For  the  Christian,  for  those 
that  are  '  sanctified,'  the  '  law '  of  sin  and  death  is 
done  away  altogether,  and  obedience  to  the  law 
of  God  is  merged  in  a  higher  and  nobler  loyalty 
to  the  God  and  Father  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  above 
all  in  a  sense  of  supreme  indebtedness.     We  are 
'  servants '  of  God,  but  our  reward  cannot  be  called 
'  wages.'    It  is  a  '  free  gift '  (Ro  G23).    The  progress 
is  in  the  idea  of  God. 

(2)  St.  Paul  everywhere  recognizes  the  need  of 
strenuous  moral  effort  on  our  part.     In  this  re- 
gard, he  is  not  alone  among  the  NT  writers.     We 
find  it  equally  in  the   Epistle  to  the  Hebrews : 
'  Follow  (pursue)  peace  with  all  men,  and  holiness 
(ayia.<T/jL6s),  without  which  no  man   shall   see   the 
Lord '  (1214).     '  Work  out  your  own  salvation  with 
fear  and  trembling'  (Ph  212).     In  what  does  the 
effort  primarily  consist?    It  is  in  what  might  be 
called  a  persistent  daily  reaffirmation  of  the  act  of 
consecration :  '  Present  your  members  as  servants 
to  righteousness  unto  sanctification '  (Ro  619).    Here 


SANCTIFICATION 


SANCTUARY 


453 


again  we  shall  misunderstand  the  meaning  of  eh 
ayiaff/j.6v  unless  we  remember  that  St.  Paul  is  not 
really  expressing  his  thought  in  abstract  nouns 
like  'righteousness,'  '  sanctification.'  These  are 
really  personifications,  like  'sin'  or  'lawlessness.' 
'  Sanctification '  here  is  really  the  timeless  act  of 
God,  which  is  gradually  realized  in  time.  There 
is  a  moment,  as  we  shall  see  later,  when  we  are 
'wholly'  sanctified,  when  God  has  been  able  to 
work  His  complete  will  in  us,  and  to  this  end  (els 
a.yiaff/j.6v)  we  must  co-operate  by  renewed  acts  of 
consecration.  The  ritualistic  idea  is  still  in  the 
background.  In  the  OT,  as  the  idea  of  sacrifice 
became  spiritualized,  '  the  sacrifices  of  God  are  a 
broken  spirit,'  and  in  the  NT  God  is  satisfied  with 
no  less  than  a  constant  and  persistent  ottering  of 
the  whole  personality — the  <rtD/ua  including  the  life- 
principle.  '  Present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice, 
holy,  acceptable  to  God,  which  is  your  reasonable 
service'  (\o-yiK77  \arpda,  Ro  121 ;  cf.  R.  Reitzenstein, 
Die  hellenistischen  Mysterienreligionen,  Berlin, 
1910,  pp.  24,  91,  155). 

Human  co-operation,  then,  in  the  work  of  sancti- 
fication is  strongly  emphasized,  if  '  the  fruits  of 
the  Spirit '  are  to  be  brought  forth  in  human 
character.  It  is  no  doubt  to  St.  Paul  that  we  first 
owe  the  idea  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  factor  not 
only  in  the  Christian  as  a  member  of  the  com- 
munity (a  saint  among  saints),  but  in  the  individual 
Christian  in  his  daily  thought  and  life.  We  are 
exhorted  to  '  walk  by  the  Spirit'  (Gal  516).  It  has 
often  been  shown  that  St.  Paul  rescued  the  con- 
ception of  '  spiritual  gifts '  as  confined  to  extra- 
ordinary manifestations  such  as  took  place  at 
Pentecost,  or  are  associated  with  ordinary  meet- 
ings for  worship  in  the  Apostolic  Church,  and 
enabled  these  gifts  to  include  the  ethical  require- 
ments of  daily  life  (1  Co  12-14).  1  Co  13  is  not 
merely  a  song  in  praise  of  love  ;  it  is  a  landmark 
in  the  history  of  the  Christian  ethic.  The  Spirit 
is  a  gift  not  only  of  emotion,  but  of  motion,  and 
furnishes  the  driving  power  for  the  ministry 
which  includes  all  other  ministries,  the  ministry 
of  love.  It  is,  in  Bengel's  phrase,  '  via  maxime 
vialis,'  a  way  that  all  may  tread,  in  which  even 
men  incapable  by  temperament  of  great  emotional 
disturbance  may  walk  secure  (cf.  Denney,  The 
Way  Everlasting,  London,  1911,  p.  152 ff.).  'It 
shall  be  called  The  way  of  holiness  ;  .  .  .  the  way- 
faring men,  yea  fools,  shall  not  err  therein'  (Is 
35"). 

This  ethical  reference  of  the  work  of  the  Spirit 
is  emphasized  equally  in  nearly  all  the  NT  writers. 
We  need  mention  only  passages  like  He  1210,  where 
suffering  is  regarded  as  a  Divine  discipline,  and 
intended  to  issue  in  participation  in  the  Divine 
holiness:  1  P  11M>,  'Ye  shall  be  holy;  for  I  am 
holy';  2  P  I4ff>,  and  especially  v.9,  where  ethical 
failure  is  said  to  be  due  to  'short-sightedness,' 
imperfect  vision  of  the  '  cleansing  from  old  sins.' 
In  Rev  2211,  6  tiyios  ayiaffOrrrw  tri  should  probably 
be  translated  '  Let  the  saint  still  act  as  a  saint ' 
on  the  analogy  of  the  preceding  clauses. 

(3)  In  the  NT  sanctification  is  not  equivalent  to 
moral  perfection.  'Holy  and  blameless'  (fyto>Mos) 
is  an  expression  St.  Paul  uses  elsewhere  (Eph  I4 
S27,  Col  I2-).  He  also  speaks  in  1  Th  &*  of  his 
readers  being  'sanctified  wholly.'  It  is  evident 
that  '  blamelessness '  is  not  regarded  as  equivalent 
to  holiness,  and  it  is  also  noticeable  that  in  the 
Thessalonians  passage  this  condition  of  complete 
sanctification  ensues  at  the  Parousia  (cf.  1  Th  313). 
No  doubt  the  controversy  as  to  'progressive 
sanctification '  would  have  seemed  to  St.  Paul 
unreal.  We  fall  into  the  habit,  of  necessity,  of 
drawing  distinctions  which  never  occurred  to  the 
NT  writers.  It  is  easily  seen  that  there  was  no  real 
place  for  the  idea  of  moral  progress  in  our  sense  of 


the  word,  so  long  as  the  Parousia  was  regarded  as 
imminent.  There  can  be  little  doubt,  however, 
that  the  end  became  for  him  less  near  as  time 
went  on,  and  the  idea  of  sanctification  became 
more  and  more  associated  with  moral  progress,  as 
a  fruit  of  the  Spirit's  continuous  wonting.  The 
Risen  Christ,  whom  one  day  he  hopes  to  see  face  to 
face,  manifests  Himself  more  and  more  as  a  present 
spiritual  power  in  the  man  himself.  The  mind 
removes  Him  to  a  farther  distance,  but  the  heart 
draws  Him  nearer.  '  Christ  in  you,  the  hope  of 
glory'  (Col  I27)  breathes  the  sense  of  moral  im- 
perfection, and  at  the  same  time  the  sense  that 
'  Christ  .  .  .  carries  the  man  who  clings  to  Him 
in  faith  through  all  the  great  crises  which  came 
to  Him,  on  the  path  of  His  perfecting '  (H.  A.  A. 
Kennedy,  EOT,  '  Philippians,'  London,  1903,  p. 
455b.  See  also  the  exposition  of  Ph  3W"  by  R. 
Rainy,  Expositor's  Bible,  'Philippians,'  1893, 
pp.  199-256).  More  and  more,  as  St.  Paul's  ex- 
perience deepens,  the  work  of  the  Spirit  in  sancti- 
tication  is  identified  with  the  work  of  the  Risen 
Christ.  The  sense  of  present  fellowship  with  Him 
becomes  more  real,  and  has  its  corresponding 
ethical  effect.  '  Now  the  Lord  is  the  Spirit :  and 
where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty. 
But  we  all,  with  unveiled  face  beholding  as  in  a 
mirror  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are  changed  into  the 
same  image  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  from  the 
Lord  the  Spirit'  (2  Co  317'18).  There  are  certain 
exegetical  difficulties  connected  with  this  passage 
which  cannot  be  dealt  with  here.  The  AV  render- 
ing '  beholding  as  in  a  mirror '  has  been  adopted, 
as  best  suiting  the  thought.  'Glory'  is  just  that 
type  of  character  and  life  which  is  fully  manifested 
in  Jesus,  risen  and  reigning,  and  St.  Paul's  present 
communion  with  the  Saviour  is  the  source  of  a 
daily  moral  progress.  The  thought  is  much  the 
same  as  in  1  Jn  31"3.  This  cannot  fairly,  either  in 
St.  John  or  in  St.  Paul,  be  called  mysticism.  The 
'  beholding'  is  not  immediate,  but '  as  in  a  mirror,' 
which,  however  obscure  as  an  image,  at  least 
indicates  a  medium  of  communion,  probably  the 
Christian  Church  ;  and  St.  John  speaks  of  a  '  hope ' 
which  purifies,  and  of  a  moment  yet  to  be  realized 
when  '  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is.'  The  Hellenic 
idea  of  metamorphosis  is  clearly  present,  but  to 
what  extent  it  colours  St.  Paul's  thought  is  disput- 
able. The  idea  that  the  risen  body  of  Jesus  is  a 
kind  of  semi-physical  light  substance  which  mingles 
witli  ours  in  this  communion  is  certainly  not  present 
in  Paul's  thought,  notwithstanding  that  he  may 
have  robbed  Hellenic  mysticism  of  a  word  (/tera/Ltop- 
<f>ov/j.f6a. ;  cf.  P.  Kolbing,  Die  geistige  Eimvirkung 
der  Person  Jesu  auf  Paulus,  Gb'ttingen,  1906,  p. 
104  f.).  The  conception  is,  in  any  case,  that  pro- 
gress is  from  within  outwards  (Ro  122,  Eph  423), 
and  the  forces  that  prevent  the  influx  of  the  new 
life  are  broken  and  overcome  one  by  one  (Ro  813, 
1  Th  310  41,  2  Co  910  1015  1618,  Ph  I9- M,  Col  I10- "). 

LITERATURE. — Besides  the  works  mentioned  in  the  art.  see 
Literature  under  SAINT  ;  J.  Denney,  EGT,  '  Romans,'  London, 
1900  (esp.  chs.  6-8);  Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  'Romans '5, 
Edinburgh,  1902 ;  J.  A.  Beet,  Holiness,  London,  1880 ;  see 
also  J.  Vernon  Bartlet,  art  'Sanctification,'  in  HDB,  and  the 
Literature  there  appended.  R.  H.  STRACHAN. 

SANCTUARY.— This  term  is  used  by  AV  and  RV 

(1)  in  He  91  for  TO  &yiov,  which  denotes  the  sacred  tent 
in  both  its  parts,  as  is  implied  by  the  synonymous 
ffKTjvfi,    'tabernacle,'  in  the  following  verse;   and 

(2)  in  He  82  for  TO.  &yta,  the  heavenly  sanctuary  or 
holy  of   holies   (RVm  'holy   things').     The  word 
represents  &yta  in  He  92  (RV  'the  Holy  place'), 
where  the  omission  of  the  article,  in  contrast  to 
the  invariable  LXX  usage  (Lv  104,  Nu  322,  etc.), 
serves  to  emphasize  the  holiness  (M.  Dods  in  EOT, 
'  Hebrews,'  1910,  in  loco).     In   this  passage   &yia 
stands  in  express  contrast  to  &yta  aylcav  (9s),  '  the 


454 


SANDAL 


SANHEDRIN 


Holiest  of  all'  (AV),  'the  Holy  of  holies'  (RV). 
But  the  simple  rd  kyia  frequently  denotes  'the 
Holiest,'  and  is  so  translated  by  the  AV  in  He  98 
1019,  though  elsewhere  (9-5  13")  'the  holy  place,' 
which  is  the  RV  rendering  in  all  these  passages. 
This  usage  is  justified  by  Lv  162,  etc.,  where  enp, 
LXX  rt>  ayiov,  denotes  the  holy  place  within  the 
veil  ;  Vulg.  sanctuarium  quod  est  intra  velum.  It 
is  now  recognized  by  all  scholars  that  the  central 
sanctuary  and  elaborate  ritual  of  the  desert  wander- 
ings are  not  historical  realities  but  products  of 
religious  idealism,  based  in  all  essential  features 
upon  the  architectural  plan  and  sacerdotal  rubric 
of  the  Second  Temple.  But  the  argument  of  the 
writer  of  Hebrews  is  scarcely  affected  by  the 
change  from  the  traditional  to  the  critical  view. 
Whether  the  earthly  sanctuary,  which  he  at  once 
magnifies  and  depreciates,  was  the  creation  of 
Moses  or  of  Ezekiel  and  Ezra,  it  has  now  had  its 
day  and  must  cease  to  be,  since  the  true  high 
priest  has  passed  into  the  heavenly  sanctuary,  and 
become  the  minister  of  the  true  tabernacle,  which 
the  Lord  pitched,  not  man  (He  91-  2). 
LITERATURB. — Artt.  '  Tabernacle '  and  '  Temple '  in  H DB  and 

EBi.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SANDAL.— See  SHOE. 

SANHEDRIN.— 1.  The  name.— Sanhedrin  (prjnjD, 
pi.  ni'TTOp ;  Targumic  also  JT]JD,  pi.  Nrrri;p,  Heb.- 
Aram.  form  of  crwtSpiov,  'council,'  specifically 
'  court  of  justice '  [so  LXX  Pr  22'°  2626  3123,  Pi.-Sol. 
iv.  1  ;  Josephus,  Ant.  XIV.  v.  4])  is  the  name  of  the 
high  court  of  justice  and  supreme  council,  specifi- 
cally at  Jerusalem  (Sank.  iv.  3 ;  S6td,  ix.  18), 
called  also  '  Sanhedrin  of  Seventy-one '  (Sheb.  ii.  2), 
'  the  Great  Sanhedrin '  (Sank.  i.  6  ;  Midd.  v.  4)  in 
contradistinction  to  'the  Little  Sanhedrin  of 
Twenty-three,'  the  Beth  Din  shel  shib'im  we  ehdd, 
'the  court  of  justice  of  seventy-one'  (Sank.  i.  5; 
T6s.  Sank.  iii.  4)  and  most  frequently  Beth  Din 
hag-gad6l  shebyerushdlaim,  '  the  high  court  of 
justice  of  Jerusalem '  (S6ta,  i.  4  ;  Gitt.  vi.  7  ;  Sank. 
xi.  4),  also  Beth  Din  hag-gaddl  shebhlishkath  hag- 
gdzith,  '  the  great  court  of  justice  which  has  its 
sessions  in  the  hall  of  hewn  stones '  (Si/re  Dt.  154  ; 
Sanh.  xi.  2).  The  older  name  is  yepov<rla,  '  senate ' 
(Jos.  Ant.  XII.  iii.  3 ;  2  Mac  I10  4"  II27,  1  Mac  12«, 
Jth  48,  and  elsewhere  ;  also  simply  '  the  elders  '  or 
'  the  elders  of  the  people  '  (1  Mac  I33  II23  1235  1420) ; 
cf.  Zikne  'amJcd  beth  Yisrdel  in  the  ancient  eighteen 
benedictions  for  the  Sanhedrin,  zdken,  'elder,' 
being  the  name  of  the  single  member  of  the 
Sanhedrin  =  <rijve5pos  (Jos.  Ant.  XIV.  ix.  4).  Another 
name  for  the  Sanhedrin  (possibly  the  Jerusalemic 
and  not  national  Council  of  Justice)  is  /SovX??  (Jos. 
BJ  II.  xv.  6,  xvi.  2,  xvii.  1,  v.  xiii.  1),  whence  Jos. 
ib.  II.  xvii.  1 ;  Mk  1543  /3oiAei/7-7?s  =  D't?<n>?3  (J.  Levy, 
Neuhebr.  u.  chald.  Worterbuch  iiber  die  Talmudim 
u.  Midraschim,  1876-89,  i.  199  f.).  On  Maccabaean 
coins  the  Sanhedrin  is  called  heber  hd-yehudim, 
'representative  assembly  of  the  Jews'  (F.  W. 
Madden,  History  of  Jewish  Coinage,  1864,  p.  58 ; 
A.  Geiger,  Urschriften  und  Vbersetzungen  der 
Bibel,  1857,  p.  121  ;  J.  Wellhausen,  Die  Pharisder 
und  die  Sadducder,  1874,  pp.  29,  34). 

2.  Origin  and  history.— The  institution  is  based 
on  Dt  178'11  (Sifre  and  Sanh.  2a)  and  the  seventy 
elders  on  Nu  II16  (Sifre).  The  Talmudic  sources 
ascribe  it  to  Moses ;  also  that  of  '  the  Little 
Sanhedrin  of  Twenty-three '  for  each  tribe  after 
Dt  1618  (Sanh.  166,  Jer.  Sanh.  i.  19c  ;  cf.  S6td,  446  ; 
Targ.  Jer.  Nu  254-  7  7s5  98,  Ex  2130  322bf-,  Lv  2412) ; 
and  speak  of  its  existence  under  Joshua,  Jabez, 
Jerubbaal,  Boaz,  Jephthah,  Samuel,,  David,  and 
Solomon,  and  until  the  time  of  the  captivity  by 
Nebuchadnezzar  (Bdbd  bathrd,  1216  ;  Y6md,  80a  ; 
Mak.  236  ;  Koh.  R.  18 ;  Targ.  Ru  311  41,  1  Ch  4I2512 


18",  Ps  691  801;  M.K.  26a ;  Bdbd  Kammd,  61a; 
Yeb.  lla  ;  Ber.  36-4a  ;  Sanh.  166,  107 or- ;  Targ.  Est. 
I2;  Jer.  Sanh.  i.  186).  Again,  during  the  Second 
Temple,  after  the  men  of  the  Great  Synagogue 
from  Ezra  to  Simon  the  Just  II.  had  occupied  the 
place  of  the  Sanhedrin,  Talmudic  tradition  holds 
that  it  was  re-organized  under  the  zilgguth  (duum- 
viri [Abvth,  i.  4-11  ;  Hag.  ii.  2;  Peak,  ii.  6;  Yad, 
ii.  16 ;  Jer.  S6td,  ix.  24a])  and  continued  in  power 
under  such  form  until  the  destruction  of  theTemple, 
when  it  was  transferred  to  Jabneh,  to  Usha,  to 
Sepphoris,  and,  finally,  to  Tiberias  (R6shhash.  316). 
This  whole  view,  however,  bears  the  imprint  of 
the  schoolhouse,  and  forms  part  of  the  Pharisaic 
system  which  in  support  of  the  Oral  Law  postu- 
lated an  unbroken  chain  of  tradition  without  any 
interference  by  any  priestly — that  is,  Sadducean — 
authority.  In  this  sense  Jose  ben  Halaphtha,  the 
great  2nd  cent,  authority  for  Talmudic  historio- 
graphy, says  (Tds.  Sanh.  vii.  1  ;  Hag.  ii.  9) :  'In 
former  times  there  were  no  dissensions  in  Israel. 
Every  legal  question  that  could  not  be  decided  in 
any  city  was  submitted  to  the  Sanhedrin  of  23 
on  the  Temple  hill,  and  if  not  decided  there,  to 
the  Little  Sanhedrin  of  23  in  the  Temple  rampart, 
and  if  not  decided  there  either,  brought  for  final 
decision  before  the  Great  Sanhedrin  in  the  hall  of 
hewn  stones  which  was  in  session  from  morning  to 
evening,  never  allowing  fewer  than  23  of  its  members 
to  be  present  for  the  discussion  of  the  subject  in 
the  Temple  schoolhouse.  Thus  the  Haldkah  was 
fixed  and  developed  in  Israel.  Dissensions  arose 
when  the  disciples  of  Hillel  and  Sliammai  increased 
in  number  and  failed  to  acquire  through  personal 
contact  with  their  master  the  necessary  knowledge 
and  thus  the  doctrine  was  divided  into  many 
doctrines.'  As  a  matter  of  fact,  pre-Exilic  history 
presents  nowhere  a  trace  of  an  institution  like  the 
Sanhedrin.  The  seventy  elders  invested  with 
spiritual  powers  (Nu  ll1^24'-,  Ex  241- 9 ;  cf.  'jp'yx 
^-J^'i?  [Ex  24n]  with  "?$*;;  [Xu  II25])  point  to  the 
existence  of  some  sort  of  representative  body  of 
the  nation  (cf.  Ezr  811  with  Ex  316  1812,  Dt  21",  1  K 
81  128  207,  2  K  231),  but  they  form  no  judiciary  like 
the  Sanhedrin.  The  story  in  2  Ch  1912  of  a  high 
court  of  justice  established  by  king  Jehoshaphat, 
after  Dt  178'1,  consisting  of  Levites,  priests,  and 
heads  of  the  families,  with  two  chief  members — the 
high  priest  to  decide  the  religious,  the  governor  of 
Judah  to  decide  the  monarchical,  matters — cannot 
be  adduced  as  proof  of  the  Mosaic  origin  of  the 
Sanhedrin,  as  does  D.  Hoffmann  (Der  oberste  Ge- 
richtshof,  pp.  6,  20),  but  is,  like  all  the  Chronicler's 
stories,  a  reflexion  of  the  views  of  the  post-Exilic 
writer.  In  fact,  it  indicates,  as  pointed  out  by 
Wellhausen  (Prolegomena  zur  Geschichte  Israels*, 
1886,  p.  199),  the  existence  of  the  Sanhedrin  in  his 
time,  i.e.  in  the  4th  century.  As  to  the  duumviri 
see  below. 

The  first  positive  record  of  the  Sanhedrin,  under 
the  name  of  Gerousia,  appears  in  the  decree  of 
Antiochus  the  Great  about  200  (Jos.  Ant.  XII.  iii. 
33).  This  was  an  aristocratic  body  of  elders  of  the 
nation  with  the  high  priest  at  its  head,  which  had 
charge  of  the  government  of  the  Jewish  people 
under  Persian  and  then  under  Ptolemaic  and 
Seleucidaean  rule  ;  nor  was  it  different  under  Roman 
rule  (ib.  IV.  viii.  17,  XI.  iv.  8,  XX.  x.  ;  1  Mac  126  1336 
1420,  2  Mac  I10  4"14  II27).  The  name  Synhedrion 
(Aramaized  Sanhedrin),  which  denotes  chiefly  a 
court  of  justice,  came  into  popular  use  under 
Ptolemaic  rule  ;  and,  as  its  Hebrew  equivalent,  the 
name  Heber  hd-Yehudim  appears  on  Hasmonsean 
coins,  which  read :  '  Johanan  the  high  priest,  the 
head,  and  the  Council  (representative)  of  the  Jews ' 
(Madden,  op.  cit.,  p.  58 ;  Wellhausen,  Phar.  und 
Sadd.,  pp.  29,  34,  Israelit.  und  jud.  Geschichte*, 
p.  281).  A  Sanhedrin  of  the  Hasmonseans  is 


SANHEDRIN 


SAXHEDRIN 


455 


mentioned  in  Sank.  82a,  Abdcla  Zdrd,  36&,  which 
is  probably  identical  with  the  Pharisaic  Sanhedrin 
(called  kenishtfi,  'assembly,'  Meg.  Tddnith,  x.), 
whose  triumph  over  the  Sadducean  Sanhedrin  in 
the  reign  of  queen  Alexandra  Salome  and  under 
the  leadership  of  Simon  b.  Shetah  was  celebrated 
as  a  festival.  The  Sanhedrin  seems  to  have  played 
a  political  role  in  the  quarrel  between  Alexandra's 
two  sons,  when  Gabinius,  the  Roman  governor  of 
Syria  in  57  B.C.,  diminished  its  power  by  dividing 
the  country  into  five  districts  and  placing  a  Sanhe- 
drin in  Sepphoris  and  Jericho  alongside  of  that  at 
Jerusalem  (Jos.  Ant.  XIV.  v.  4).  Soon  afterwards, 
however,  the  Sanhedrin  at  Jerusalem  was  in  full 
power  again  when  sitting  in  judgment  upon  young 
Herod  (ib.  XIV.  ix.  4),  but  forty-five  of  its  members 
fell  victims  to  the  terrible  revenge  of  the  tyrant. 
Thus  he  rose  to  power,  and  a  new  Sanhedrin  was 
chosen  by  him  of  servile  men  who  passed  sentences 
of  death  at  his  command  (ib.  XV.  i.  2,  vi.  2). 

Under  the  Roman  procurators  when  Judtea  was 
shorn  of  all  her  sovereignty  and  independence,  the 
Sanh'edrin  still  continued  to  represent  the  supreme 
power  and  authority  of  the  Jewish  people  (Mt  2659 
and  Ac  415  521  612  2230  231  2420).  In  the  war  against 
Rome  it  directed  and  organized  the  struggle,  and 
when  towards  the  last  the  Zealots  took  hold  of  the 
city  of  Jerusalem,  they  appointed  their  own  Sanhe- 
drin in  place  of  the  old  to  have  a  semblance  of 
authority  for  their  atrocious  acts  (Jos.  BJll.  xv.  6, 
xvi.  1  ft'.,  iv.  v.  4).  It  must  be  noticed,  however, 
that  Josephus  uses  the  term  fiov\T)  in  BJ  and  KOIV 6v 
in  Vita,  12,  13,  38,  etc.,  instead  of  Sanhedrin,  prob- 
ably because  the  latter  had  become  more  what  he 
calls  ( Vita,  12) '  the  Sanhedrin  of  the  Jerusalemites,' 
i.e.  a  city  Senate.  With  the  downfall  of  the  State, 
the  Sanhedrin  as  a  national  or  political  institution 
ceiised  to  exist  (Sotd,  ix.  11  ;  Ekdh  R.  v.  16),  but 
under  the  leadership  of  Johanan  b.  Zakkai,  Hillel's 
great  disciple,  the  new  Sanhedrin  was  soon  after- 
wards organized  at  Jabneh  ( Jamnia),  of  an  entirely 
scholastic  character,  consisting  only  of  teachers  of 
the  Law  ;  and  the  form  the  new  Sanhedrin  assumed 
under  his  successor  Gamaliel  II.,  who  took  the  title 
of  Nasi  as  the  lineal  descendant  of  Hillel,  offered 
to  the  Talmudic  tradition  many  of  the  features 
ascribed  to  the  ancient  Sanhedrin. 

3.  The  presidency  of  the  Sanhedrin. — The  chief 
difficulty  for  the  historian  lies  in  the  irreconcilable 
conflict  between  the  Talmudic  traditions  and  the 
above  quoted  historical  records  in  Josephus  and  the 
NT  concerning  the  presidency  of  the  Sanhedrin. 
According  to  the  latter,  the  authenticity  of  which 
cannot  be  questioned,  the  high  priest,  as  the 
political  head  of  the  nation,  was  the  president. 
The  former  assign  to  the  high  priest  no  place  in  the 
Sanhedrin  (Sank.  ii.  1,  'The  high  priest  can  neither 
bring  a  case  before  the  Sanhedrin  nor  be  judged  by 
them ' ;  cf.  Y6md,  Is,  according  to  which  he  receives 
his  mandates  from  the  Sanhedrin),  and  instead 
have  masters  of  the  Pharisean  schools  placed 
regularly  at  its  head.  Two  such  masters  known 
under  the  name  of  zuggdth  (  =  duumviri),  one  with 
the  title  of  Nasi  (prince),  the  other  with  that  of 
Ab  Beth  Din  ('  father  of  the  court  of  justice '),  are 
recorded  to  have  presided  over  the  Sanhedrin  from 
about  the  middle  of  the  2nd  to  the  middle  of  the 
1st  cent.  B.C.  (Hag.  ii.  2  ;  cf.  Aboth,  i.  4-12  ;  Peak,  ii. 
6  ;  Yad,  ii.  16;  Jer.  Sotd,  ix.  24a) :  Jose  b.  Joezer  of 
Zereda  (a  relative  of  Alkimos  the  high  priest)  (Ber. 
R.  65,  18),  and  most  probably  identical  with  the 
Hasidsean  leader  Razis  (?)  (2  Mac  1437  '  an  elder 
and  father  of  the  Jews')  and  Jose  b.  Johanan — the 
first  duumvirate  ;  Joshua  b.  Perahya  and  Nittai  of 
Arbela — the  second  ;  Simon  b.  Shetah  (contempo- 
rary of  Alexander  Jannseus  and  relative  of  queen 
Alexandra)  (H.  Graetz,  Geschichte  der  Juden,  iii.4 
[1888]  137  ;  E.  Schiirer,  G«7Fii.4421),  and  Judah  b. 


Tabbai — the  third  ;  Shemaiah  ( =  Sameas,  Jos. 
Ant.  XIV.  ix.  4)  and  Abtalion  (  =  Ptolion,  ib.  XV. 
i.  1)— the  fifth.  According  to  Sheb.  15«,  Hillel's 
successor  as  Nasi  was  his  son  Simon,  and  he  was 
followed  by  his  son  Gamaliel  I.,  and  he  again  by 
his  own  son  Simon,  the  last  president  of  the  Sanhe- 
drin before  the  destruction  of  the  Temple.  The  un- 
trustworthiness  of  these  traditions,  however,  is 
shown  first  of  all  by  the  confusion  in  the  sources, 
some  of  which  place  Judah  b.  Tabbai  above  Simon 
b.  Shetah,  and  Shammai  above  Hillel  (Ifag.  ii.  2, 
166 ;  cf.  Sheb.  Ha),  and  then  by  the  significant 
fact  that  nowhere  else  are  these  men  spoken  of  as 
Nasi,  Hillel  being  simply  called  'the  elder '  = 
senator  (Suk.  53«  and  elsewhere),  but  above  all  by 
the  direct  mention  of  Sameas  and  Ptolion  (Jos. 
Ant.  XIV.  ix.  4,  XV.  i.  1),  of  Gamaliel  I.  (Ac  S34) 
and  Simon  b.  Gamaliel  (Jos.  Vita,  38),  as  '  certain 
members  of  the  Sanhedrin  belonging  to  the  Phari- 
sean party,'  while  in  each  case  the  high  priest 
appears  as  chief  of  the  Sanhedrin.  It  is,  therefore, 
impossible  to  escape  the  conclusion  that  the  condi- 
tions existing  under  Gamaliel  II.  at  the  close  of 
the  1st  cent,  were  transferred  to  former  times, 
and  so  the  title  of  Nasi  (ethnarch)  held  by  the 
Hillelites  down  to  the  4th  cent.  (Orig.  Epp.  ad 
Africanum,  quoted  in  Schiirer,  GJV  ii.4  248, 
n.  28)  was  claimed  for  Hillel,  the  ancestor  believed 
to  be  of  Davidic  descent  (Jos.  Vita,  38 ;  Ber.  R. 
xlix.  10  ;  Sank.  5a) ;  and,  finally,  the  whole  system 
of  the  duumvirate  was  carried  back  to  the  begin- 
ning of  Pharisaism. 

4.  The  title  Ab  Beth  Din  and  the  duumvirate. 
— It  is  nevertheless  unwarranted  to  dismiss  as 
fictitious,  as  Schiirer,  Wellhausen,  and  Kuenen  do, 
the  whole  tradition  concerning  the  leadership  of 
the  so-called  Nesiim  and  the  duumvirate.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  important  innovations  (tekkd- 
noth)  ascribed  to  such  masters  as  Jose  b.  Joezer, 
Simon  b.  Shetah,  Hillel,  and  Gamaliel  I.  (cf.  Graetz, 
Geschichte  der  Juden,  iii.  and  iv.  [see  Index],  and 
Jelski,  Die  innere  Einrichtung  des  grossen  Syn- 
edrions  zu  Jerusalem,  pp.  43-81)  could  have  been 
brought  about  only  under  a  Pharisean  leadership 
of  greater  authority  on  the  Law  than  was  the  high 
priest,  who  as  a  rule  lacked  both  learning  and 
piety.  Apart  from  this,  however,  the  tradition  of 
a  duumvirate  is  corroborated  by  Josephus  in  a 
remarkable  passage  which  failed  to  receive  the 
attention  its  importance  deserves.  In  giving  an 
exposition  of  the  Mosaic  constitution,  in  all  prob- 
ability taken  from  an  older  Pharisaic  source,  he 
writes  (Ant.  IV.  viii.  14):  'Each  city  shall  have 
for  its  magistrates  seven  men  known  for  their 
practice  of  virtue  and  zeal  for  righteousness,  and 
to  each  magistracy  two  men  of  the  tribe  of  Levi 
shall  be  assigned  as  assistants  [secretaries].  These 
elected  as  judges  shall  be  held  in  the  utmost  esteem. 
.  .  .  For  the  power  to  judge  corneth  from  God. 
.  .  .  But  if  these  judges  do  not  know  how  to 
decide  on  matters  submitted  to  them  .  .  .  they 
shall  send  the  undecided  case  to  the  holy  city, 
and  there  shall  the  high  priest  and  the  prophet 
and  the  Senate  come  together  and  give  the  final 
decision.' 

It  is  plain  that  these  rules  must  have  been  taken 
from  the  practice  of  the  time  and  regarded  as 
ancient  traditional  law.  Now  there  is  a  trace  of 
seven  judges  instead  of  the  Talmudic  three  in  each 
city  court  (Sanh.  i.  1),  found  in  the  seven  city 
aldermen  (t6be  hd  'tr  [Meg.  26a  ;  cf.  Jer.  Meg.  iii. 
1,  74a  ;  T6s.  Meg.  iii.  1],  probably  heber  hd  'tr 
[Bik.  iii.  12  ;  T6s.  Peah,  iv.  16  ;  Sheb.  vii.  9]).  And 
the  seven  judges  recur  in  Jos.  Ant.  IV.  viii.  38 
with  reference  to  Ex  227'8,  Elohim  being  taken  as 
judges  (cf.  Targ.  and  Mek.  to  the  passage).  As 
governor  of  Galilee,  Josephus  appointed  seven 
judges  for  each  town  and  a  Sanhedrin  of  seventy 


456 


SAXHEDRIK 


SANHEDRIN 


for  the  whole  province  (Jos.  BJ  n.  xx.  5).  For 
the  high  court  at  Jerusalem,  however,  a  duum- 
virate, consisting  of  the  high  priest  and  the 
prophet,  is  ordained,  and  neither  Kuenen  (Gesa/n/n. 
Abhandlungen,  p.  66)  nor  Wellhausen  (Phar.  und 
Sadd.,  p.  26)  nor  Hoffmann  (Der  oberste  Gerichts- 
hof,  p.  25)  nor  Biichler  (Das  Synedrion  in  Jerus., 
p.  62)  explains  the  mention  of  the  prophet  here 
satisfactorily.  The  fact  is  that  the  Law  (Dt  179>  12) 
mentions  alongside  of  the  priest  also  'the  judge,' 
implying  thereby  a  man  of  judicial  competence 
and  authority,  and  thus  suggests  a  sort  of  duum- 
virate such  as  the  Chronicler  (2  Ch  1911)  has.  It  is 
easy  to  see  how,  in  view  of  the  decline  of  the 
Sadducean  priesthood,  the  necessity  arose  of  having 
as  the  spiritual  head  of  the  Sanhedrin  a  Pharisean 
scribe  who  was  to  be  consulted  in  all  difficult 
questions.  Such  a  scribe  could  well  be  called 
prophet,  as  the  one  filled  with  the  Divine  spirit  of 
wisdom  (Dt  349  ;  cf.  Jos.  Ant.  IV.  viii.  46,  BJ  II. 
viii.  12 ;  Wis  T27 ;  Didache,  x.  7  ;  see  also  Hor.  i.  4, 
mujla),  while  as  the  patriarch  he  received  the  title 
'Ab  Beth  Din'  (cf.  Jg  1710  1819,  2  K  212,  and  the 
title  '  Aboth '  for  the  ancient  sages).  It  is  especi- 
ally noteworthy  that  Jose  b.  Joezer,  the  first  of  the 
duumviri,  was  called  'the  father  of  the  Jews' 
(2  Mac  1437).  The  duumvirate  was,  no  doubt,  the 
result  of  a  compromise  between  Sadducean  priest- 
hood and  the  Pharisean  scribes,  the  Ab  Beth  Din 
being  for  the  Pharisees  the  actual  president, 
whereas  the  Sadducean  high  priest  was  consigned 
to  oblivion,  wherefore  a  later  tradition  referred 
the  duumvirate  to  the  leaders  of  the  two  Pharisean 
schools  of  each  generation,  giving  to  the  foremost 
one  the  title  of  Nasi  (cf .  JE,  art.  '  Nasi ').  It  is  not 
as  president,  but  as  the  patriarch,  that  Gamaliel  I. 
speaks  with  authority  (Ac  534). 

5.  Composition  and  meeting-place  of  the  San- 
hedrin.—The  Great  Sanhedrin  consisted  of  seventy- 
one  members,  the  seventy  elders  and  the  Nasi 
or  president  (Sank.  i.  5 ;  cf.  BJ  II.  xx.  5  and  IV. 
v.  4).  When  Gamaliel  II.  and  Eleazar  b.  Azariah 
alternated  as  presidents,  they  counted  seventy- two 
(Yad,  ii.  5;  Zeb.  i.  3). 

The  Little  Sanhedrin  in  the  provinces  (Sank.  i. 
166)  and  in  Jerusalem,  one  at  the  entrance  'to 
the  Temple  hill,  the  other  at  the  entrance  to  the 
Temple  Court  or  the  Rampart  (Sank.  xi.  1  ;  T6s. 
Sank.  ix.  1  ;  Sifre  Dt.  152)  consisted,  according  to 
the  Talmudic  tradition,  of  twenty-three.  Of  the 
former,  one  is  mentioned  as  the  /3ou\?}  of  Tiberias 
(Josephus,  Vita,  12),  whereas  the  Great  Sanhedrin 
is  referred  to  as  the  Sanhedrin  of  Jerusalem. 
Possibly  the  Great  Sanhedrin  of  seventy-one  was 
composed  of  the  two  Little  Sanhedrins,  the  one  on 
the  Temple  hill,  which  may  be  identified  with  the 
Senate  of  Jerusalem  (Jos.  Ant.  xx.  i.  2,  BJ  n.  xv. 
6,  xvi.  2),  and  the  other  before  the  Temple  court, 
probably  the  one  concerned  with  the  Temple 
practice  and  the  priestly  legitimacy  (Ant.  XX.  ix. 
6),  and  the  main  body  or  the  high  court,  also  con- 
sisting of  twenty-three  (T6s.  Sank.  ix.  1),  that  is, 
3  x  23  =  69,  besides  the  patriarch  of  the  court  and 
the  president  or  Nasi.  This  would  also  account 
for  tne  forty-five  slain  by  king  Herod,  if  it  may 
be  assumed  that  the  Senate  of  Jerusalem  sided  with 
him  (Ant.  XV.  i.  2). 

As  to  the  elements  constituting  the  Sanhedrin, 
the  ruling  priests  representing  the  Sadducean  party 
were,  according  to  Josephus  (BJ  II.  xiv.  8,  xv.  2f., 
xvii.  2ft'.,  V.  i.  5)  and  the  NT  (Mt  2659  2741  and 
elsewhere),  dominant  in  influence,  and  the  patri- 
cians, called  '  the  men  of  power '  (dwaroi)  in 
Josephus  (locc.  citt.),  formed  the  bulk  of  the  San- 
hedrin, until  king  Herod  replaced  them  bjViomines 
novi,  whereas  the  Pharisees,  who  rose  to  power 
under  Alexandra  Salome,  were  but  few  in  number 
(Jos.  Ant.  XIII.  xv.  5 ;  Mk  1083  ;  only  the  later 


Gospels  mention  the  Pharisees).  Only  those  were 
admitted  into  the  Sanhedrin  who  were  of  pure 
blood,  so  as  to  be  able  to  intermarry  with  the 
priestly  families  (Sank.  iv.  2).  Little  historic 
value  can  be  attached  to  Jose  b.  Halaphtha's 
statement  (T6s.  Sank.  ix.  1)  that  the  Sanhedrin 
selected  for  each  city  court, the  one  found  to  be 
wise,  humble,  sin-fearing,  of  blameless  character, 
and  popular  as  judge,  and  then  had  him  promoted  to 
membership,  first  of  the  two  Little  Sanhedrins  in 
Jerusalem,  and  finally  to  the  Great  Sanhedrin  in 
the  hall  of  hewn  stones.  The  same  holds  good  of 
the  description  in  Sank.  iv.  3-4,  T6s.  Sank.  viii. 
1-2,  according  to  which  'the  Sanhedrin  sat  in  a 
semi-circle,  the  Nasi  in  the  centre  and  the  two 
secretaries  standing  at  both  sides,  while  the 
disciples  sat  before  them  in  three  rows  according 
to  their  rank  ;  and  when  a  vacancy  arose,  the  new 
member  was  chosen  from  the  first  row,  and  his 
place  again  filled  by  one  in  the  second  row  and  so 
forth.'  This  seems  to  be  a  picture  taken  from  the 
Sanhedrin  of  Jabneh.  Likewise  academic  are  the 
prerequisites  of  the  Sanhedrin  given  in  Sifre 
Nu.  92  :  '  They  must  be  wise,  courageous,  high- 
principled  (not '  strong'  as  Bacher  has)  and  humble.' 
R.  Johanan  of  the  3rd  cent.  (Sank,  lib)  says  : 
'They  must  also  be  of  high  stature,  of  pleasing 
appearance  and  of  advanced  age,  conversant  with 
the  art  of  magic  and  the  seventy  spoken  languages,' 
to  which  Judah  han-Nasl  is  said  to  have  added 
'  the  dialectic  power  by  which  Levitically  unclean 
things  can  be  proven  to  be  clean.' 

There  is,  however,  no  cause  for  questioning  the 
correctness  of  the  tradition  that  the  meeting-place 
of  the  Great  Sanhedrin  was  in  the  hall  of  hewn 
stones,  the  lishkath  hag-gdzith  on  the  south  side  of 
the  great  court  in  which  the  priests  held  their 
daily  morning  service  and  where  other  priestly 
functions  were  performed  (Midd.  v.  4;  Tdmld,  ii., 
iv. ).  Schiirer's  identification  of  lishkath  hag-gazith 
with  the  Senate  assembly  house  (fiov\ri)  near  the 
Xystos  (Jos.  BJ  V.  iv.  2,  VI.  vi.  3)  cannot  be 
accepted  in  the  face  of  these  traditions,  which 
prove  that  the  lishkah  (always  the  name  of  a 
Temple  cell)  must  have  been  within  the  Temple 
area. 

The  Senate  house  near  the  Xystos  in  Josephus 
may  refer,  as  Bacher  thinks,  to  the  time  of  the 
removal  of  the  Sanhedrin  to  the  city  during  the 
siege  (Rdsh  hash.  31).  Besides  this  there  was  a 
special  hall  assigned  to  the  high  priest  and  the 
foremost  men  of  the  Sanhedrin  called  lishkath 
Parhedrin  (irdpfdpoi),  '  the  men  of  the  front  rank,' 
also  called  lishkath  buleutin,  i.e.  'senators'  hall' 
(Ydma,  I.  i.  86). 

6.  Functions  of  the  Sanhedrin. — According  to 
the  Mishna  (Sanh.  i.  4),  capital  punishment  was 
pronounced  and  executed  by  the  Little  Sanhedrin 
of  twenty-three  in  the  various  provinces  or  tribes, 
but  the  tribunal  of  seventy-one  in  the  Temple  of 
Jerusalem  was  the  only  body  vested  with  power 
and  authority  (1)  to  pronounce  a  verdict  in  a 
process  affecting  a  tribe,  a  false  prophet,  or  the 
high  priest ;  (2)  to  declare  war  against  a  nation  not 
belonging  to  ancient  Canaan  or  Amalek  ;  (3)  to 
extend  the  character  of  holiness  to  additional 
parts  of  the  Temple,  or  of  Jerusalem ;  (4)  to 
appoint  Sanhedrin  over  the  tribes  ;  (5)  to  execute 
judgment  against  a  city  that  had  lapsed  into 
idolatry.  All  these  points,  derived  directly  or 
indirectly  from  Scripture  ( Jg  21,  Dt  13"- 13ff-  ;  Sanh. 
16a  f.),  refer  to  a  time  when  the  twelve  tribes  still 
had  their  existence,  and  are  consequently  theoreti- 
cal rather  than  real  life  issues.  Nor  can  it  be 
taken  as  an  actual  practice  of  the  Sanhedrin  when 
it  is  charged  with  the  burning  of  the  red  heifer 
(Nu  19),  or  the  breaking  of  the  neck  of  the  heifer 
to  atone  for  a  murder  the  perpetrator  of  which 


SANHEDRIX 


SARDIS 


457 


cannot  be  found  (Dt  211'-).  the  final  judgment  of  a 
rebellious  elder  (Dt  1712),  the  bringing  of  a  guilt 
offering  in  the  case  of  an  unintentional  sin  com- 
mitted by  the  whole  congregation  of  Israel  (Lv  413), 
the  installation  of  a  king  or  of  a  high  priest  (T6s. 
Sank.  iii.  4),  the  ordeal  of  a  woman  suspected  of 
adultery  (Sold,  i.  4 ;  cf.  Philo,  ed  Mangey,  ii.  308), 
or  the  fixing  of  the  calendar  each  new  moon  (R6th 
hash.  ii.  5,  9).  It  may  be  taken  for  certain,  how- 
ever, that  the  three  branches  of  the  government, 
the  political,  the  religious,  and  the  judicial  ad- 
ministration, were  centralized  in  the  Sanhedrin  ; 
yet  at  the  same  time  these  three  different  functions 
were  assigned  to  three  separate  bodies.  Hence 
mention  is  made  of  a  Sanhedrin  of  the  judges 
(Jos.  Ant.  XX.  ix.  1),  a  Beth  Din  of  the  priests 
(Ket.  i.  5  ;  T6s.  Sank.  iv.  4),  which  had  in  charge 
also  the  investigation  of  the  legitimacy  of  the 
priesthood  (T6s.  Sank.  vii.  1),  and  the  Sanhedrin  of 
the  Jerusalemites  (Jos.  Vita,  12),  i.e.  the  Senate  of 
Jerusalem,  to  which  the  political  administration  of 
the  country  was  entrusted.  Possibly  the  name  TO 
Kotv6v,  '  the  common  administration,'  used  almost 
exclusively  in  Vita  (12,  13,  38,  etc.),  refers  to  this 
centralization.  Hoffmann  (op.  cit.,  p.  46)  refers 
the  name  to  the  democratic  government  estab- 
lished by  the  Zealots  ( Vita,  39),  and  compares  the 
Talnmdic  'eddh  ('  congregation ')  with  the  San- 
hedrin (Sank.  IQa).  In  all  matters  of  great  im- 
portance, or  in  cases  when  the  lower  courts  could 
come  to  no  decision,  the  Qreat  Sanhedrin,  com- 
posed of  three  departments  (3x23  =  69),  together 
with  the  president  and  the  patriarch  (Nasl  and  Ab 
Beth  Din),  and  forming  the  supreme  tribunal  '  from 
which  the  law  went  forth  to  all  Israel '  (Sank. 
xi.  2  ;  Jos.  Ant.  IV.  viii.  14  ;  Philo,  ed.  Mangey,  ii. 
367),  gave  its  decision,  which  was  final  and  inviol- 
able, and  wilful  opposition  to  which  on  the  part  of 
an  elder  or  judge  was  punished  with  death.  It 
held  its  sessions  in  day-time  only,  and  only  on 
week-days,  not  on  Sabbath  and  holidays  (T6s.  Sanh. 
vii.  1 ;  Beza,  v.  2 ;  Philo,  ed.  Mangey,  i.  450). 
Cases  of  capital  punishment  were  not  taken  up  on 
the  eve  of  Sabbath  or  of  holy  days,  because  the 
sentence  was  always  to  be  given  on  the  follow- 
ing day  (Sank.  iv.  1).  The  attendance  of  at  least 
twenty-three  members  was  required  for  cases  of 
capital  punishment,  and  unless  the  full  number  of 
seventy-one  were  present,  a  majority  of  one  could 
not  decide  the  condemnation.  Talmudic  tradition, 
however,  states  that  forty  years  (which  is  a  round 
number)  before  the  destruction  of  the  Temple  the 
right  of  jurisdiction  in  cases  of  capital  punishment 
was  taken  from  Israel  (Jer.  Sank.  i.  18a ;  Bab. 
Shab.  156).  This  agrees  with  Jos.  Ant.  XX.  ix.  1, 
Jn  1831,  and  the  whole  procedure  of  the  Crucifixion. 
Otherwise  the  conflicting  Gospel  stories  concerning 
the  condemnation  and  crucifixion  of  Jesus  show, 
to  say  the  least,  irregularities  for  which  only  the 
high  priests  (cf.  Jos.  Ant.  XVIII.  iii.  3,  'the  fore- 
most men ')  were  responsible. 

As  regards  the  death  penalty  on  sacrilegious 
intruders  on  the  Temple  ground,  this  was,  as  the 
inscription  indicates  (see  T.  Mommsen,  Romische 
Geschichte,  v.2  [1885]  513),  a  law  against  the  Zealots 
sanctioned  by  the  people  and  the  Roman  govern- 
ment (see  art.  'Zealots'  in  JE  xii.  641b),  and  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  Sanhedrin,  as  Schiirer 
thinks  (GJVii*  260  f.). 

Characteristic  of  later  times  is  the  academic 
view  of  the  2nd  cent,  masters  of  the  Mishna  (Mak. 

1.  10) :    '  A  Sanhedrin  that  passes  a  sentence   of 
death  once  within    7    years,   others    say,    every 
70  years,  and  still  others,  only  once,  deserves  the 
epithet  murderous.'     The  Mishnaic  rules  of  pro- 
cedure in  cases  of  capital  punishment  (Sanh.  iv. 

2,  5)  may  accordingly  oe  regarded  as  of  academic 
rather  than  historical  value.     The  Sanhedrin  had 


--  jurisdiction  over  the  Jews  throughout  the  world 
far  as  their  religious  life  was  concerned  (Rdsh 


its  _  „._______ 

as  far  as  their  religious  life  was  concerned  (Rdsh 
hash.  i.  3  f .  ;  cf.  W.  Bousset,  Religion  des  Juden- 
turns,  1903,  p.  83).  As  a  religious  tribunal  it  out- 
lasted the  Temple  and  State  of  Judaea,  existing  in 
the  shape  of  a  body  of  academicians  down  to  the 
5th  cent,  when  its  name  was  transferred  to  the 
seventy  members  of  the  academy  of  Babylonia 
called  Kallah  ('  the  circle'). 

LITERATURE.— E.  Schurcr,  GJV  ii.*  [1907]  237-267,  where  the 
entire  literature  is  given  ;  H.  L.  Strack,  art.  '  Svnedriimi ' 
in  PR&  xix.  ;  W.  Bacher,  art. '  Sanhedrin '  in  HDB.  Especi- 
ally to  be  mentioned  are  A.  Kuenen,  'Uber  die  Zusammen- 
setzung  des  Sanhedrin'  (in  Gesamm.  Abhandl.  zur  bibl.  Wfssen- 
schaft,  tr.  K.  Budde,  1894,  pp.  49-81);  I.  Jelski,  Die  innere 
Einrichtung  des  grossen  Synedrions  zu  Jerusalem,  1894 ; 
D.  Hoffmann,  'Der  oberste  Gerichtshof  in  der  Stadt  des 
Heiligtums,'  in  Programm  des  Rabbinerseminars  zu  Berlin, 
1877-78  (only  apologetic  in  character) ;  A.  Biichler,  Das 
Synedrion  in  Jerusalem  und  das  grosse  Beth  Din  in  der 
Quaderkammer  des  jerusalemischen  Tempels,  1902  (valuable 
for  its  large  material  on  the  subject,  but  unsound  in  its 
argumentation  and  its  historical  conclusions). 

K.  KOHLER. 

8APPHIRA — See  ANANIAS. 

SAPPHIRE  (ffdir<t>ftpos,  from  TBP). — Sapphire  is 
the  second  foundation  stone  of  the  New  Jerusalem 
(Rev  2119),  an  idea  probably  suggested  by  Is  54n. 
Doubtless  the  lapis  lazuli  is  meant  (so  Rev  2119 
RVm).  According  to  Theophrastus  (Lap.  23)  the 
sapphire  is  'as  it  were  spotted  with  gold  dust' 
(ticrirep  x/>woircurTos),  and  Pliny  (HN  xxxvii.  38) 
alludes  to  its  '  aureus  pulvis,'  and  again  (39),  '  in 
iis  [sapphiris]  enim  aurum  punctis  conlucet 
cseruleis.'  This  description  does  not  suit  the  stone 
now  called  sapphire,  but  is  fully  applicable  to  the 
lapis  lazuli,  which  '  frequently  contains  dissemin- 
ated particles  of  iron-pyrites  of  gold-like  appear- 
ance '  (EBr11  xvi.  199).  In  Ex  2410  the  LXX  says 
that  under  God's  feet  is  ucrel  tpyov  ir\ivdov  aawtfrflpov 
— a  fine  simile  for  the  star-gemmed  azure  sky  (cf. 
Ezk  I26).  The  modern  sapphire  is  probably  the 
ancient  vdKivBos,  or  '  jacinth'  (q.v.). 

LITERATURE. — C.  W.  King-,  The  Natural  History  of  Precious 
Stones  and  Gems,  1865,  pp.  27a-277 ;  J.  H.  Middleton,  The 
Engraved  Gems  of  Classical  Times,  1891. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SARAH  (Zappa). — (1)  Sarah  has  a  place  in  the 
Roll  of  Faith  (He  11").  By  faith  even  she  herself 
(ical  avrri)  won  the  title  to  this  great  honour.  The 
meaning  of  avrr/  is  doubtful  :  it  may  be  expanded 
into  '  though  she  was  the  weaker  vessel '  (vas 
infirmius,  Bengel) ;  or, '  though  she  was  barren  '  (D 
adds  the  gloss  a-reipa) ;  or,  'though  she  had  been  so 
incredulous.'  She  received  strength  for  conception 
(e/s  KarafioXriv  ffirtpfMros),  believing,  even  when  she 
was  beyond  the  proper  time  of  life  (irapa  Katpov 
i7\tit/as),  that  God  could  by  a  miracle  give  her  a 
child.  Motherhood  after  long  childlessness  is  a 
recurrent  theme  in  Bible  narratives :  Rebekah, 
Rachel,  the  mother  of  Samson,  of  Samuel,  of  John 
Baptist  had  each  a  happiness  like  Sarah's.  (2)  St. 
Peter  (1  P  36)  praises  the  holy  women  of  the  olden 
time,  who  trusted  in  God  and  were  in  subjection 
to  their  husbands,  '  as  Sarah  obeyed  Abraham, 
calling  him  lord.'  Her  reverential  use  of  this  term 
in  reference  to  her  husband  occurs  but  once  (Gn  1812), 
and  would  in  itself  be  an  insufficient  ground  for 
making  her  a  pattern  of  wifely  obedience,  especi- 
ally as  words  of  quite  another  import  stand  re- 
corded against  her  (16s).  But  the  Apostle  evidently 
felt  that  the  dutiful  word  was  weighted  with  the 
love  and  loyalty  of  a  lifetime. 

LITERATURE.— A.  Whyte,  Bible  Characters :  Adam  to  Achan, 
1890  ;  R.  F.  Horton,  Women  of  the  OT,  1897. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SARDIS  (2<f/>6Vis,  Lat.  Sardes  or  Sardis ;  the 
sing,  form  2<£/>Sts  is  found  in  Ptolemy). — Sardis, 
the  capital  of  the  kingdom  of  Lydia,  was  one  of  the 


458 


SAKDIS 


SAUL 


most  ancient  and  renowned  cities  of  Asia  Minor. 
Built  on  a  strong  hill  projecting,  with  smooth  and 
steep  flanks,  from  the  northern  side  of  Mt.  Tmolus, 
it  commanded  the  wide  and  fertile  plain  through 
which  the  Hermus,  about  3  miles  N.,  flowed 
westward  to  the  yEgean  Sea.  On  three  sides 
it  was  deemed  inaccessible,  the  only  approach 
being  the  neck  of  land  which  joined  the  hill  to 
the  Tmolus  range.  It  was  thus  an  ideal  capital 
in  days  of  primitive  warfare  between  Lydia  and 
Phrygia.  In  later  times  a  second  city  was  built 
around  the  foot  of  the  hill,  1500  ft.  lower  than  the 
acropolis. 

In  Sardis  the  kings  of  Lydia,  whom  the  Greeks 
counted  'barbarians'  (Herod,  i.  6),  reigned  in 
Oriental  splendour  and  luxury.  But  centuries  of 
material  prosperity  made  the  Lydian  character  soft 
and  voluptuous,  and  the  fall  of  Croesus,  whom 
Solon  warned  in  vain  of  the  fickleness  of  fortune, 
became  to  the  Greeks  the  supreme  illustration  of 
the  danger  of  careless  security. 

When  Cyrus,  king  of  Persia,  besieged  the  city 
(549  B.C.),  and  offered  a  reward  to  the  soldier  who 
should  first  mount  the  wall,  '  a  Mardian  named 
Hyrceades  endeavoured  to  climb  up  on  that  part 
of  the  citadel  where  no  guard  was  stationed,  because 
there  did  not  appear  to  be  any  danger  that  it  would 
be  taken  on  that  part,  for  on  that  side  the  citadel 
was  precipitous  and  impracticable.  .  .  .  Having 
seen  a  Lydian  come  down  this  precipice  the  day 
before,  for  a  helmet  that  had  rolled  doAvn,  and 
cany  it  up  again,  he  noticed  it  carefully,  and  re- 
flected on  it  in  his  mind  ;  he  thereupon  ascended  the 
same  way,  followed  by  divers  Persians  ;  and  when 
great  numbers  had  gone  up,  Sardis  was  thus  taken 
and  the  town  plundered  '  (Herod,  i.  84).  The  same 
daring  exploit  was  performed  by  the  Cretan  Lago- 
ras,  who  scaled  the  heights  and  captured  the  cita- 
del for  Antiochus  the  Great  (218  B.C.).  After  the 
defeat  of  Antiochus  at  Magnesia  (190  B.C.),  Sardis 
was  gifted  by  the  Romans  to  the  kings  of  Pergamos. 
From  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great  it  had  en- 
joyed the  constitution  of  a  self-governing  city  of 
the  Greek  type,  and  under  the  Romans  it  became 
the  head  of  a  conventus  juridicus  in  the  Hermus 
valley.  It  still  amassed  wealth,  but  its  ancient 
power  and  prestige  were  gone.  The  once  brave, 
warlike,  victorious  Sardians  had  long  been  despised 
as  '  tender-footed  Lydians,'  who  could  only  '  play 
on  the  cithara,  strike  the  guitar,  and  sell  by  retail ' 
(Herod,  i.  55,  155).  Living  on  the  traditions  of  a 
splendid  past,  Sardis  sank  into  a  second-rate  pro- 
vincial town.  It  seemed  to  have  no  power  of 
material  or  moral  self-recovery.  In  A.D.  17  it  was 
destroyed  by  an  earthquake,  and  rebuilt  with  the 
aid  of  Imperial  funds. 

The  delineation  which  the  Apocalypse  gives  of 
the  Church  of  Sardis  is  singularly  like  that  which 
history  gives  of  the  city.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to 
imagine  that  the  writer  was  unconscious  of  the 
resemblance  when  he  added  touch  after  touch  to  his 
picture,  and  the  parallel  could  not  but  strike  every 
intelligent  reader.  In  the  time  of  Domitian  the 
Christian  community  needed  to  be  told  humiliating 
truths  regarding  itself.  Years  of  evangelism  had 
not  delivered  it  from  the  spirit  of  the  city  which 
boasted  her  great  name  and  fame,  while  she  lapped 
herself  in  soft  Lydian  airs  and  closed  her  eyes  to  the 
dangers  of  overweening  self-confidence.  Within  a 
single  generation  the  Church  is  repeating  the  city's 
history  of  a  thousand  years.  (1)  It  has  a  name  to 
live  and  is  dead  (Rev  3*).  It  is  now  only  apparently 
what  it  once  was  really — a  living  Church.  The 
youthful  vitality  is  spent,  its  spiritual  renown  has 
become  a  nominis  umbra.  Religiously  as  well  as 
politically  decadent,  Sardis  seemed  incapable  of 
reanimation.  Ramsay  characterizes  it  as  '  the  city 
of  death.'  (2)  The  Church,  like  the  city,  has  '  ful- 


filled '  none  of  its  works.  Beginning  with  great 
ambitions,  high  hopes,  and  noble  endeavours,  it 
has  lacked  the  grace  of  perseverance,  and  so  has 
realized  nothing.  After  a  springtime  rich  in  pro- 
mise, how  meagre  the  harvest !  (3)  The  Church  is 
warned  that  it  must  watch,  if  it  is  not  to  be  sur- 
prised as  by  a  thief  in  the  night  (3s).  To  any  public- 
spirited  Sardian  that  was  '  the  most  unkindest 
cut  of  all,'  for  in  the  critical  times  of  history  Sardis 
had  always  been  caught  napping.  (4)  It  is  implied, 
though  not  directly  asserted,  that  the  Church  of 
Sardis  had  defiled  its  garments  with  the  immorality 
of  the  soft  and  dissolute  city  which  had  been  the  age- 
long worshipper  of  Cybele,  when  it  ought  by  this 
time  to  be  like  an  urbs  Candida,  wearing  the  white 
robes  of  purity  and  victory.  No  one  of  the  Seven 
Churches  of  the  province  or  Asia,  not  even  Laodicea, 
is  so  severely  rebuked  as  Sardis.  All  the  more 
warm  and  tender  are  the  words  of  praise  addressed 
to  the  few  who  have  kept  themselves  unspotted 
'  even  in  Sardis.'  Their  virtue  has  a  peculiar  grace 
because  it  blooms  in  such  an  atmosphere,  and  the 
reward  of  their  purity  will  be  fellowship  with  the 
perfectly  pure — God  and  His  holy  angels. 

LITERATURE. — W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Letters  to  the  Seven 
Churches  of  Asia,  1904,  p.  354  f.  ;  C.  Wilson,  in  Murray's 
Handbook  to  Asia  Minor,  1895.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SARDIUS  (ffdpSiov,  a  much  better  attested  form 
in  Rev  4s  than  the  TR  ardpdios  —  Vulg.  'sardinus'). 
— The  writer  of  the  Apocalypse  compares  Him  that 
sits  upon  the  throne  of  heaven  to  a  sardius  (Rev  43, 
AV  ' sardine  stone').  The  sixth  foundation  of  the 
wall  of  the  New  Jerusalem  is  a  sardius  (2120).  This 
stone  is  doubtless  the  modern  orange-red  or  golden 
'sard,'  which  is  a  translucent  quartz  coloured  with 
iron,  nearly  allied  with  the  clearer  and  lighter- 
tinted  carnelian.  The  Greeks  commonly  connected 
the  word  with  Sardis,  where  the  stone  was  said  to 
have  been  first  found  ;  but  it  may  be  related  to  the 
Persian  zerd,  '  yellow.'  Pliny  says  that  the  sardius 
of  Babylonia  was  more  highly  prized  than  that 
of  Sardis  (HN  xxxvii.  7).  This  stone  was  more 
frequently  engraved  than  any  other.  It  was  used 
for  Assyrian  cylinder  seals,  Egyptian  scarabs,  and 
early  Greek  and  Etruscan  gems. 

LITERATURE. — C.  W.  King,  The  Natural  History  of  Precious 
Stones  and  Gems,  1865,  pp.  278-286. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SARDONYX  (<rapS6t>v£).  —  The  sardonyx  is  the 
fifth  foundation  of  the  New  Jerusalem  (Rev  2120). 
This  stone  is  a  beautiful  variety  of  onyx,  consist- 
ing, as  the  name  implies,  of  a  layer  of  sard  (or  of 
carnelian)  with  one  of  white  chalcedony,  or  pre- 
senting several  alternating  layers  of  these  minerals. 
The  finest  kind  known  to  ancient  writers — now 
called  the  '  Oriental  sardonyx' — had  at  least  three 
strata — a  black  base,  an  intermediate  band  of  white 
chalcedony,  and  a  superficial  layer  of  red  or  brown. 
The  black  was  regarded  as  typifying  humility,  the 
white  chastity,  and  the  red  modesty  or  martyrdom. 
The  sardonyx  was  frequently  used  for  seals  and 
cameos.  The  best  kind  was  obtained  from  India 
or  Arabia.  Imitations  are  made  by  cementing 
together  stones  of  the  required  colours,  or  by 
placing  a  sard  or  carnelian,  coated  with  sodium 
carbonate,  on  a  red-hot  iron  and  so  producing  a 
white  layer.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SATAN.— See  DEVIL. 

SAUL  (SaoriX). — Saul  the  son  of  Kish,  of  the  tribe 
of  Benjamin,  is  mentioned  in  St.  Paul's  address  at 
Pisidian  Antioch  as  the  first  king  whom  God  gave 
to  Israel.  After  he  had  reigned  40  years,  God 
removed  him,  and  raised  up  David  to  be  king  over 
Israel,  a  man  after  His  heart  (Ac  1321-  22).  Saul  of 
Tarsus  could  not  fail  to  be  profoundly  interested  in 


SAVIOUE 


SCORPION 


459 


the  career  of  the  great  king  whose  name  he  bore 
and  to  whose  tribe  he  belonged.  The  story  of  the 
hero  who  was  called  against  his  will  to  the  throne, 
and  who  lived  and  died  fighting  for  the  liberty  of 
his  country,  has  all  the  elements  of  high  tragedy. 
By  separating  the  later  from  the  earlier  and  more 
authentic  narrative  contained  in  1  Sam.,  historical 
criticism  enables  the  reader  to  understand  more 
fully  and  to  appraise  more  highly  the  real  services 
of  this  protagonist  who  turned  the  tide  of  Philistine 
conquest  into  defeat  and  paved  the  way  for  the 
still  greater  king  who  consolidated  the  Hebrew 
monarchy.  For  a  fine  psychological  study  of  his 
character,  see  A.  B.  Davidson,  The  Called  of  God, 
1902,  p.  143  tf.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SAVIOUR.— See  SALVATION  ;  CHRIST,  CHRISTO- 
LOGY. 

SCARLET.— See  COLOURS. 
SCEYA.— See  EXORCISM. 

SCHISM. — This  word  occurs  only  once  in  the 
NT,  viz.  in  1  Co  1225.  St.  Paul,  in  writing  to  the 
Corinthians  on  spiritual  gifts,  teaches  them  that 
one  member  of  the  Church  should  not  look  down 
upon  another  because  he  has  not  the  same  spiritual 
gift.  All  members  are  necessary  to  the  perfection 
of  the  Body  of  Christ.  He  illustrates  this  from 
the  analogy  of  the  human  body,  showing  that  even 
the  smallest  member  is  necessary  to  its  perfection 
and  that  '  there  should  be  no  schism  in  the  body.' 
In  this  passage  a-xiaiua.  has  its  simple  meaning  of 
'  rent '  or  '  division.'  The  Gr.  word  occurs  in  other 
passages,  where  it  is  tr.  '  divisions.'  The  later 
ecclesiastical  use  of  '  schism '  does  not  occur  in  the 
NT.  See  HERESY,  DIVISIONS. 

MORLEY  STEVENSON. 

SCHOOL.— See  EDUCATION,  TYRANNUS. 

SCHOOLMASTER.— This  is  the  AV  rendering  of 
ircu5a7wy6s  in  Gal  324f<  (1  Co  415,  '  instructor '),  but 
in  the  RV  it  has  given  place  to  'tutor'  (q.v.)  in 
both  passages.  The  latter  rendering  is  scarcely 
less  inadequate  than  the  former.  The  iratScryuryos 
is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  ira.Ldov6fj.os,  who  is 
one  of  the  official  guardians  of  public  instruction  in 
a  Greek  city,  and  from  the  iraidevrris,  the  educator 
who  trains  the  youth  and  corrects  his  foolishness 
(Ro  220),  and  from  the  SiSdo-KaXos,  the  teacher  who 
actually  imparts  instruction  (Ac  131,  1  Co  1228,  and 
elsewhere).  His  office  in  the  old  Greek  system  of 
education  was  to  accompany  the  children  of  the 
family  to  and  from  their  schools,  the  school  of  the 
music-master  and  the  school  of  the  physical  trainer. 
He  carried  the  books  and  instruments,  the  lyre  and 
writing  materials  of  his  pupils.  He  was  responsible 
for  their  guardianship  and  protection  out  of  school 
hours,  and  was  expected  to  protect  them,  not  only 
from  danger  to  life  and  limb,  but  also  from  the 
perils  of  evil  companionship.  His  pupils  remained 
under  his  charge  till  they  reached  the  age  of 
puberty,  when  they  were  supposed  to  be  able  to 
care  for  themselves.  His  status  was  that  of  a  slave 
for  the  most  part,  but  the  most  respected  and  trust- 
worthy of  the  household  ;  and  care  was  taken  that 
he  should  be  correct  in  his  language  and  should 
not  tell  stories  to  his  charges  likely  to  corrupt  or 
deprave  their  morals.  He  appears  frequently  on 
the  Greek  stage  both  in  tragedy  and  in  comedy. 
Only  on  rare  occasions  was  he  admitted  to  the 
presence  of  his  master's  daughters.  Among  the 
Romans  the  pcedagogus  attended  on  girls  as  well 
as  boys,  but  Roman  girls  were  allowed  to  appear 
out  of  doors  as  Greek  girls  were  not.  He  also  gave 
home  instruction  to  the  child,  and  as  he  was  a 
Greek-speaking  slave,  he  taught  him  Greek,  which 


in  the  days  of  the  Empire  was  thought  a  good 
foundation  for  learning.  The  Roman  pcedagogi, 
however,  under  the  degeneration  of  pagan  manners 
in  the  Empire,  soon  got  a  bad  name. 

In  the  Galatian  reference  St.  Paul  represents  the 
Law  as  exercising  a  severe  but  salutary  moral 
influence  calculated  to  make  those  who  were  under 
it  feel  the  need  of  something  better,  and  to  bring 
them  to  Christ.  As  Lightfoot  says  (Galatians,  ad 
loc.),  'as  well  in  his  inferior  rank,  as  in  his  recog- 
nised duty  of  enforcing  discipline,  the  pcedagogus 
was  a  fit  emblem  of  the  Mosaic  law.  But  the 
context  of  the  passage,  dwelling  upon  the  close 
tutelage  and  supervision  of  an  exacting  Law, 
points  not  only  to  the  satisfaction,  but  also  to  the 
liberty  and  devotion  as  of  sons,  to  be  found  in 
Christ. 

The  Fathers  liked  to  think  of  Christ  Himself, 
the  Incarnate  Word,  as  the  iraidayuyos.  One  of  the 
works  of  Clement  of  Alexandria  is  so  designated. 
The  iraidayuybs  is  '  God  in  the  form  of  man  un- 
defiled,  minister  to  the  Father's  will,  the  unsullied 
image  of  God '  (i.  2).  He  is  6  vdvra  <f>i\dvdpuTros, 
the  True  Friend  of  Man  (i.  1),  and  He  trains  His 
children  both  by  chastisement  and  by  love  to  beauty 
of  character. 

LITERATURE. — W.  M.  Ramsay,  Historical  Commentary  on 
Galatians,  1899,  p.  381  ff.  ;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Galatians^,  1876, 
p.  148  f.  ;  W.  Smith,  Dictionary  of  Greek  arid  Roman  Antiqui- 
ties^, 1875,  art.  '  Pcedagogus.'  THOMAS  NlCOL. 

SCIENCE.  —  The  word  'science'  (yvwo-is)  occurs 
only  once  in  the  NT,  in  1  Ti  6'-"°,  and  then  only  in  the 
AV.  The  Revisers  use  the  word  '  knowledge,'  and 
this  gives  its  real  meaning.  The  knowledge  which 
the  Apostle  has  in  view  and  here  condemns  was  a 
mystical  interpretation  of  the  OT,  and  particularly 
its  legal  parts.  But  the  age  of  science,  as  this 
word  is  now  understood,  had  not  then  arrived ; 
and  the  word  in  its  modern  significance  is  nowhere 
found  in  NT  writings.  J.  W.  LlGHTLEY. 

SCORPION  (o-Kopirlos).—  The  only  books  in  the 
NT  in  which  reference  is  made  to  the  scorpion  are 
the  Gospel  according  to  St.  Luke  and  the  Apoca- 
lypse. Scorpions  are  mentioned  three  times  in  the 
apocalyptic  vision  of  the  Fifth  Trumpet  or  the 
First  Woe  (Rev  9s-  6>  10),  and  on  each  occasion  they 
form  part  of  the  description  of  the  locusts  them- 
selves or  of  their  mission.  These  locusts  have  the 
power  of  scorpions  while  their  tails  also  resemble 
that  of  a  scorpion  and  are  similarly  armed  with 
stings.  The  sting  of  the  scorpion  was  proverbial 
(cf.  1  K  1211-  14,  2  Ch  10"- 14,  E/k  2»,  Lk  1019),  but 
is  seldom  fatal.  The  mission  of  the  locusts  is  thus 
not  to  slay,  but  to  inflict  pain  worse  than  death 
itself. 

Scorpions  belong  to  the  Arachnidce  or  spider 
family.  They  are  common  in  all  warm  climates, 
and  are  especially  ubiquitous  in  the  wilderness  of 
Sinai  (cf.  Dt  815).  During  the  cold  weather  they 
lie  dormant,  but  when  it  becomes  hot  they  emerge 
from  their  hiding-places  and  make  their  way  even 
into  houses.  More  than  eight  species  have  been 
noted  in  Palestine.  They  vary  in  size  and  colour  ; 
the  largest  and  most  dangerous  species  is  black, 
and  measures  about  6  ins.  in  length.  Others  are 
yellow,  white,  black,  or  reddish,  while  others  again 
are  striped.  The  females  carry  their  young  on 
their  backs  until  they  are  old  enough  to  provide 
for  themselves.  They  swarm  in  every  part  of  the 
country  and  have  a  particular  partiality  for  ruins 
(cf.  Ezk  2s),  where  they  secrete  themselves  in  the 
chinks  of  the  walls,  as  well  as  under  the  loose  stones. 
The  scorpion  resembles  a  lobster  in  shape,  only  it 
has  a  jointed  tail,  which,  when  running,  it  holds 
over  its  back  in  a  threatening  attitude.  The  tail 
has  a  venomous  sting,  and  the  reptile  always 


460 


SCOURGING 


SCRIPTURE 


attacks  with  its  tail  in  this  position,  with  the 
result  that  it  sometimes  strikes  it  own  head  and 
commits  suicide  thereby.  It  is  carnivorous  and 
feeds  chiefly  on  beetles  and  locusts,  and  this  fact 
adds  to  the  hideousness  and  the  formidability  of 
the  apocalyptic  locusts,  whose  very  tails  are  com- 
pared to  the  scorpions  which  normally  feed  on 
them.  See,  further,  LOCUST. 

LITERATURE.— H.  B.  Tristram,  The  Natural  History  of  the 
Bible™,  London,  1911,  pp.  301-303;  W.  M.  Thomson,  The 
Land  and  the  Book,  new  ed.,  do.,  1910,  pp.  224-225,  do.,  ed. 
1881-86,  vol.  ii.,  'Central  Palestine  and  Phoenicia,'  pp.  478-480; 
C.  Geikie,  The  Holy  Land  and  the  Bible,  do.,  1903,  pp.  356-357  ; 
SDB,  p.  832  ;  HDB  iv.  419  ;  EBi  iv.  4317-4319 ;  H.  B.  Swete, 
The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John%,  London,  1907,  pp.  115,  116,  119. 

P.  S.  P.  HANDCOCK. 

SCOURGING. — Among  both  Jews  and  Romans 
the  common  mode  of  corporal  punishment  to 
which  offenders  were  subjected  was  that  of 
scourging. 

1.  Jewish   scourging. — The  supreme  Sanhedrin 
at  Jerusalem  and  the  local  Sanhedrins  connected 
with   all   the    synagogues   were  in    the   habit  of 
punishing  by  scourging  secondary  misdemeanours, 
civil  and  ecclesiastical.     Their  authority  for  the 
infliction   was  derived   from   the  statute    of    the 
Mosaic  Law  (Dt  251'3)  which   ordained   that  the 
misdemeanant  should  receive  a  number  of  stripes 
not  exceeding  forty.      To  ensure  that  the  legal 
limit  was  not  exceeded,  the  number  was  restricted 
in  practice  to  thirty-nine  for  one  offence.     These 
were  administered  with  a  scourge   composed   of 
leather  strands,  the  usual  executioner  being  the 
Chazzan,  or  attendant,  of  the  synagogue  (Lk  420). 

Among  the  sufferings  which  he  heroically 
endured,  St.  Paul  records  his  subjection  to  this 
form  of  severe  maltreatment  on  five  different  occa- 
sions, not  one  of  which  is  mentioned  in  the  Acts 
(2  Co  II24).  Jesus  warned  His  disciples  to  expect 
the  same  sort  of  persecution  at  the  hands  of  the 
Jewish  authorities  (Mt  1017),  a  forewarning  which 
was  soon  verified.  The  beating  (dtpfiv)  which  the 
apostles  received  on  the  occasion  of  their  second 
collision  with  the  Sanhedrin  was  that  with  stripes 
(Ac  540).  During  the  period  of  his  career  as  perse- 
cutor, St.  Paul  searched  out  the  members  of  every 
synagogue  suspected  of  being  believers,  and  en- 
deavoured to  secure  their  retractation  by  the  use 
of  the  same  drastic  method  (2219 ;  cf.  26n). 

2.  Roman  scourging. — (a)   Roman   scourging  is 
distinguished  from  Jewish  in  2  Co  H24f<  by  the  fact 
that  the  former  was  inflicted  with  rods  (epafidlo-0r]i>). 
St.    Paul   suffered   this  mode  of    punishment  on 
three  occasions.      Only  one  of  these  inflictions, 
that  shared  by  Silas,  is  recorded  in  the  Acts  (162-). 
In  carrying  out  the  orders  of  the  Roman  magis- 
trates, the  lictors  would  seem  to  have  executed 
their  task  with  merciless  rigour  (v.23).     According 
to  the  Porcian  Law  (300  B.C.),  scourging  was  for- 
bidden in  the  case  of  Roman  citizens,  this  particular 
penalty  being  reserved  for  slaves  and  foreigners  ; 
and  to  make  matters  worse,  the  magistrates  acted 
also  ultra  vires  by  failing  to  investigate  the  case 
fully   (v.37).      (b)   In   the  absence  of    lictors,    the 
flagellation  was  inflicted  with  a  different  instru- 
ment, consisting  of  a  '  knout '  or  '  cat '  with  '  lashes 
of   knotted   cord,  or  even  wire,  which  might  be 
loaded  with  knuckle  bones  or  other  cruel  aggrava- 
tions.'     This    dreadful    weapon    was    sometimes 
employed   for  extorting  confession  from   persons 
accused   of   crime.      The   chiliarch   who   had   St. 
Paul  under  arrest  ordered  the  whip  ((J.&<TTI!-)  to  be 
used  for  this  purpose.     Arrangements  for  subject- 
ing the  Apostle  to  the  terrible  ordeal  had  been 
completed  by  the  centurion,  but  he  escaped  it  by 
a  successful  assertion  of  his  rights  as  a  Roman 
citizen  (2224'28). 

3.  Among  the  heroes  of  faith  mentioned  in  He  11 
some  had  trial  of  scourgings  (v.36),  the  reference 


being  to  tortures  inflicted  by  Jewish  or  heathen 
persecutors  (2  Mac  71). 

LITERATURE. — For  mode  of  scourging  and  other  details,  see 
artt.  'Flagrum'  in  Smith's  DGRAS,  London,  1901,  'Scourge* 
in  HDB  and  DCG,  '  Stripes  'in  JE ;  F.  W.  Farrar,  The  Life 
and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  do.,  1897,  pp.  715-717;  T.  Keim, 
History  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Eng.  tr.,  6  vols.,  do.,  1873-83, 

vi.  lie  f.  w.  S.  MONTGOMERY. 

SCRIBE. — Judaism  was  a  religious  system  which 
regulated  the  lives  of  its  adherents  in  the  minutest 
particulars.  The  necessary  regulations  were  con- 
tained partly  in  a  written  Law,  partly  in  a  mass 
of  oral  tradition  and  authoritative  precedents. 
Hence  a  class  was  needful  who  should  make  it 
their  business  to  preserve  and  expound  these. 
This  class  was  the  scribes. 

1.  Functions. — (a)  Their  primary  function  has 
just  been  indicated.     It  involved  the  making  of 
accurate  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  laborious 
memorizing  of  tradition,     (b)  In  the  synagogue  a 
scribe  acted  as  the  expounder  of  Scripture  to  the 
people,     (c)  The  scribe  was  a  lawyer  who  had  to 
decide  all  legal  disputes,     (d)  To  meet  new  cases 
for  which  there  was  no  regulation  written  or  oral, 
and  no  precedent  to  guide,  he  had  to  determine 
what   the  law  should    be.      Hence    the  mass  of 
traditions  and  precedents  assumed  overwhelming 
proportions,     (e)  The  education  of  the  young  in 
schools  was  the  charge  of  the  scribe.     As  the  Law 
was  regulative  of  all  human  activities,  the  know- 
ledge of    the  scribe  was    encyclopaedic.      In   his 
person  were  combined  the  offices  now  distributed 
among  clergymen,  doctors,  lawyers,  and  teachers. 

2.  Training. — The   period  of   training  for  such 
a  profession  was  naturally  long.      When  it  was 
finished  and  he  had  been   called  to  a  particular 
post,  the  scribe  was  ordained,  and   received  the 
title  Rabbi  (see  DOCTOR). 

3.  Schools. — Scribes  were  divided  into  various 
schools.       While    doubtless    the    majority    were 
Pharisees,  the .  Sadducees  had  their   scribes   also 
(implied  in  Ac  239).     Further,  the  Pharisee  scribes 
were  divided  into  two  great  schools,  the  followers 
of  Hillel  and  of  Shammai.     It  was  only  on  points 
of  detail,  and  on  no  fundamental  principle,  that 
they  divided.    On  the  whole,  the  school  of  Shammai 
was  the  more  rigid. 

4.  Influence. — The  influence  of  the  scribes  was 
naturally     very    great,    and    they    were    highly 
esteemed      After    the    fall    of    Jerusalem,    they 
became  more  important  than  ever.     Temple  and 
priesthood  disappeared.      The  synagogue  became 
the  sole  centre  of  Jewish  religious  and  national 
life,  and  the  scribe  the  most  important  official  (see 
under  PHARISEES). 

5.  Relation  to  the  early  Church.— In  the  early 
history  of  Christianity  we  have  only  three  refer- 
ences to  the  scribes.     (1)  Gamaliel,  a  scribe  and 
the  teacher  of  St.  Paul  (Ac  22s),  on  the  occasion  of 
the  trial  of  St.  Peter  and  his  associates  counselled 
toleration,  and  his  advice  was  accepted  (534fft)-     (2) 
When   St.   Paul  was  on   his   trial,  the  Pharisaic 
scribes  repeated  Gamaliel's  advice  (239).     (3)  On  the 
other  hand,  612  mentions  scribes  among  those  who 
proceeded  against  Stephen.     Probably  we  should 
regard  them  as  Sadducees.     But  in  nearly  all  cases 
of  Jews  rising  against  Christians,  especially  out- 
side Jerusalem,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  scribes, 
the  recognized  leaders  of    the  people,   were  the 
instigators. 

LITERATURE.— Artt.  'Scribe'  in  HDB,  DCG,  EBi,  JE;  E. 
Schiirer,  HJP  n.  i.  [Edinburgh,  1885]  312  ff.  ;  W.  Bousset, 
Die  Religion  des  Jvdentums  im  w.utest.  Zeitalter,  Berlin,  1903, 
p.  139  ff.  ;  W.  O.  E.  Oesterley,  The  Books  of  the  Apocrypha, 
their  Origin,  Teaching  and  Contents,  London,  1914,  p.  113  ff. 

W.  D.  NlVEN. 

SCRIPTURE.— 1.  Terras.— The  general  designa- 
tion for  '  Scripture '  is  -ypatpri  or  plur.  ypa<j>ai,  the 


SCRIPTURE 


SCRIPTURE 


461 


former  occurring  some  30  times  in  the  NT  (Gospels 
14,  Acts  3,  Paul  9,  Catholic  Epistles  5),  the  latter 
about  20  times  (Gospels  10,  Acts  4,  Paul  5,  Catholic 
Epistles  2).  The  terms  are  almost  invariably  pre- 
ceded by  the  definite  article,  the  only  exceptions 
being  in  Jn  1937,  2  Ti  31B,  where  the  article  before 
ypa.(f>7)  is  replaced  by  tr^pa  and  iracra  respectively, 
1  P  28,  2  P  I20,  where  ypa.(f>^  has  become  a  real 
proper  name,  and  Ro  I2  1629,  where  the  Scriptures 
are  more  explicitly  characterized  as  ypa.<pai  #710.1 
and  ypaipai  irpotf>i)TLKal,  '  holy  Scriptures '  and  '  pro- 
phetic Scriptures.'  In  one  text,  2  Ti  318,  another 
designation  is  used,  viz.  lepd  ypdnnara,  '  sacred 
writings '  (a  direct  translation  of  the  Hebrew 
phrase  Enpn  '3^15),  which  we  find  also  in  Philo  and 
Josephus. 

2.  Connotation  of  terms.  —  Both  ypa<f>^  and 
ypdfj.fj.0.  are  derived  from  the  verb  ypd<f>w,  '  draw,' 
'  inscribe,'  or  '  write,'  and  thus  suggest  writing  in 
the  most  general  sense.  Classical  Greek  shows 
the  transition  in  each  case  from  the  rudimentary 
conception  of  written  characters,  or  the  art  of 
alphabetic  writing,  to  the  higher  thought  of  real 
literature.  In  the  NT  ypdfj./j.a  alone  shows  any- 
such  variety  of  meaning.  Here  the  word  is  applied, 
not  merely  to  the  '  letter '  of  the  Law  as  contrasted 
with  the  living,  life-giving  spirit  (Ro  227ff-,  2  Co  36f-), 
but  in  its  plural  form  ypd/j./j.ara  to  the  elements  of 
penmanship  (Gal  611),  literature  as  a  subject  of 
study  (Jn  715,  Ac  2624),  and  documents  of  various 
kinds,  such  as  the  debtors'  bills  reduced  by  the 
unjust  steward  (Lk  166f-),  letters  of  commendation 
or  the  reverse  (Ac  2821),  the  writings  of  Moses  (Jn 
547),  as  well  as  the  Sacred  Scriptures  (in  the  phrase 
cited  from  2  Ti  318).  The  parallel  term  ypa.<t>-ft  is 
used  only  in  the  last  sense.  The  question  has 
been  widely  canvassed  whether  the  singular  ypa$T) 
applies  to  the  Scriptures  as  a  unified  whole,  or  to 
some  single  section  or  '  passage '  of  Scripture.  In 
his  famous  note  on  Gal  322  Lightfoot  lays  down  the 
principle  that  '  the  singular  ypatp-f)  in  the  NT 
always  means  a  particular  passage  of  Scripture,' 
though  in  a  subsequent  comment  on  Ro  4s,  while 
insisting  that  St.  Paul's  practice  '  is  absolute  and 
uniform,'  he  admits  a  doubt  as  to  St.  John's  usage. 
On  the  other  hand,  War  field  maintains  that  the 
prevailing  classical  application  of  ypatp^  to  entire 
documents,  carrying  with  it  '  a  general  implication 
of  completeness,'  extends  also  to  the  NT, — that  '  in 
its  more  common  reference '  the  term  '  designates 
the  OT,  to  which  it  is  applied  in  its  completeness 
as  a  unitary  whole '  (DCG  ii.  586).  In  the  present 
writer's  judgment  the  former  contention  vindicates 
itself,  even  in  the  Fourth  Gospel  and  in  the  crucial 
text  Gal  S22  (the  Apostle  having  in  inind  the  pass- 
ages of  Scripture  adduced  either  in  218  310  or  in 
the  longer  argument  of  Ro  39fr>).  The  only  clear 
instances  of  ypa&ri  applied  to  the  Scriptures  as  a 
whole  appear  to  be  found  in  1  P  26  and  2  P  I20, 
where  the  word  is  already  a  proper  name,  the  full 
development  of  the  personifying  tendency  observ- 
able in  Gal  38.  As  regards  the  significance  of  the 
plural  ypa<f>ai  there  is  general  agreement.  Where 
the  term  is  qualified  by  the  adjectives  &yiai  and 
irpotj)T}TU(a.i  (cf.  above),  the  reference  is  to  the 
character,  not  the  scope,  of  the  Scriptures.  In  2  P 
3'6  al  \onral  ypa.<pai  are  most  probably  to  be  under- 
stood of  apostolic  writings.  But  the  technical 
Ehrase  ai  ypa^ai  undoubtedly  denotes  the  body  of 
criptural  writings  as  an  organic  unity,  with  a 
spirit  and  character  of  its  own. 

3.  Authority  of  Scripture.— The  peculiar  quality 
of  the  Scriptures  is  indicated  by  the  three  defining 
adjectives,  dyiat,  iepal,  and  TrpotprjriKat,  the  notions 
of  'holiness'  and  '  sacredness'  bringing  the  Books 
into  direct  relationship  with  God,  and  that  of 
1  prophecy '  leading  forward  to  the  revelation  of 
the  mystery  of  God  in  Christ.  The  high  Jewish 


theory  of  the  inspiration  of  Scripture  is  fully 
accepted  in  the  NT.  The  term  6t6irvevffTos,  'God 
inspired '  (cf.  Heb.  ehpn  rm?),  applied  to  Scripture 
in  all  its  parts  (iraaa  ypu^y),  is  found  indeed  only 
in  2  Ti  31B ;  but  the  theory  underlies  the  whole 
attitude  of  the  NT  writers  to  the  older  revelation. 
'  No  prophecy  ever  came  by  the  will  of  man  :  but 
men  spake  from  God,  being  moved  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  *  (2  P  I21).  Thus  the  words  of  Moses,  David, 
Isaiah,  and  the  other  prophets  may  be  attributed 
directly  to  God  (Ro  925,  He  I5ff-  55f-),  or  the  Holy 
Spirit  (Ac  I16,  He  37ff-  101Bff-),  or  God  speaking 
through  the  Holy  Spirit  (Ac  42M-,  He  4Sfr-  88ff-),  or 
even  the  Messiah  (He  212'-  105ff-).  As  the  'living 
oracles'  of  God,  then,  the  Scriptures  are  the  final 
norm  alike  of  faith  and  of  conduct.  The  true  ser- 
vant of  God  believes  '  all  things  which  are  according 
to  the  law,  and  which  are  written  in  the  prophets' 
(Ac  2414),  and  sets  an  example  to  others  not,  even 
in  their  estimate  of  the  apostles,  to  go  '  beyond  the 
things  which  are  written'  (1  Co  4B).  The  appeal 
to  '  what  is  written '  (KaO&s  ytypairrai  or  yeypa/j.fj.tvov 
ecrriv,  the  Christian  rendering  of  the  Rabbinic 
formula  "ipKS'f  or  3'n?7!)  is  decisive,  not  merely  in 
clinching  a  theological  argument  (esp.  in  Romans 
and  Galatians),  but  in  interpreting  the  mission  and 
person  of  Christ,  and  the  significance  of  His  death, 
resurrection,  and  ascension  (Ac  22sff-,  1  Co  154,  He 
2fiff-),  with  the  subsequent  outpouring  of  the  Spirit, 
the  persecution  of  the  Church,  the  rejection  of  the 
Jews  and  mission  to  the  Gentiles,  the  resurrection 
of  the  body,  and  the  final  salvation  (Ac  I16ff-,  Ro 
224  83«  QZS«.}  j  Co  psf.  1545ff.>  etc  ^  and  equally  as 

the  authoritative  guide  to  Christian  conduct  (cf. 
Ac  235,  Ro  1219,  1  Co  99,  2  Co  413  617f-  81S,  Eph  6*-, 

1  P  I16  3loff-) ;  for  '  whatsoever  things  were  written 
aforetime  were  written    for    our    learning,    that 
through   patience    and    through    comfort  of    the 
scriptures  we  might  have  hope '  (Ro  154),  while  the 
very  quality  of  their   'inspiration'  is   tested  by 
their  helpfulness   '  for  teaching,   for  reproof,    for 
correction,  for  discipline  which  is  in  righteousness ' 
(2  Ti  316).     It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  the 
new  spirit  of  Christianity  can  move  freely  within 
the  limits  of  the  older  Scriptures  only  by  a  frequent 
straining,  and  even    '  wresting,'  of  their  natural 
sense  (see  art.  OLD  TESTAMENT). 

4.  Extent  of  Scripture.— The  canon  of  the  NT 
writers  was  that  inherited  from  the  Jewish  Church, 
and  thus  corresponded  to  our  OT.  There  is  fre- 
quent reference  to  the  canonical  groups  of  the 
•Law 'and  the  'Prophets.'  Of  the  Hagiographa, 
the  Books  of  Psalms,  Proverbs,  and  Job  (in  1  Co 
319)  are  explicitly  cited  as  Scripture,  while  a  phrase 
from  EC  720  is  introduced  in  the  remarkable  con- 
flate of  OT  texts  in  Ro  310ff-,  with  the  formula  KaOus 
ytypairrai.  Though  the  remaining  books  are  passed 
over  in  silence,  there  is  no  real  reason  to  doubt 
that  the  writers  knew  and  recognized  the  full 
Jewish  canon.  In  the  NT,  too,  there  is  no  such 
sense  of  the  inferiority  of  the  Hagiographa  as 
haunted  the  Jewish  Rabbis.  The  whole  book  is  of 
God,  and  bears  witness  to  Him  and  His  salvation. 
In  addition  to  OT  texts  there  are  numerous  allu- 
sions to  apocryphal  literature,  such  as  the  Wis- 
dom of  Ben  Sira,  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  1  and 

2  Maccabees,  the  Book  of  Enoch,  the  Testaments 
of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs,  and  the  Assumption  of 
Moses  (see  art.  QUOTATIONS).     It  is  remarkable, 
however,   that    the  usual    formula  of  Scriptural 
quotation  is  nowhere  attached  to  apocryphal  texts, 
the  only  approach  to  such  canonical  recognition 
being  found    in  the   'prophesying'  of  Enoch  in 
Jude  14.     Though  the  NT  writers  follow  the  LXX, 
they  apparently  regard  the  Palestinian  canon  as 
alone  authoritative  in  the  full  sense  of  the  term. 
Naturally  their  own  writings  have  not  yet  attained 
to  the  dignity  of  Scripture  ;  but  a  true  feeling  for 


462 


SCROLL  (ROLL) 


SCYTHIAN 


the  spiritual  value  of  apostolic  letters  is  already 
evident  in  2  P  315f-,  and  the  application  to  these 
writings  of  the  technical  term  ypa<f>al  shows  how 
easy  and  inevitable  was  the  extension  of  the  Canon 
to  cover  both  the  OT  and  the  NT. 

LITERATURE.  —  On  the  usage  and  significance  of  the  terms,  cf. 
the  NT  Dictionaries  and  Commentaries,  esp.  J.  B.  Ligfhtfoot, 
Galatians,  1890,  p.  147  f.  ;  F.  J.  A.  Hort,  The  First  Epistle  of 
St.  Peter,  I.  l-II.  17,  1898,  p.  114  ff.  ;  B.  F.  Westcott,  Hebrews, 
1889,  p.  474  S.  ;  also  D.  M.  Turpie,  The  New  Testament  View 
of  the  Old,  1872  ;  G.  A.  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  Eng.  tr., 
1901,  pp.  112ff.,  249f.  ;  B.  B.  Warfield,  art.  'Scripture,'  in 
DCG  ii.  584  ff.,  with  literature.  On  the  formation  of  the  Canon 
see  F.  Buhl,  Kanon  und  Text  des  AT,  1891  (Eng.  tr.,  1892); 
G.  Wildeboer,  [let  outstaan  van  den  Kanon  des  Ouden 
VerbondsJ;  1908  (Germ,  tr.,  1891,  Eng.  tr.,  1895);  H.  E.  Ryle, 
The  Canon  of  the  OT,  1892;  K.  Budde,  art.  'Canon  (OT),'  in 
EBi;  F.  H.  Woods,  art.  '  OT  Canon,'  in  HDB.  On  Jewish 
theories  of  Inspiration,  cf.  F.  Weber,  Jiid.  Theologie,  1897, 
p.  80S.,  and  E.  Schiirer,  GJV*  ii.  [1907]  363  ff.  (HJP  H.  L 

[1885]  306  ff.).  A.  R.  GORDON. 


SCROLL  (ROLL)  [pipXlov,  IBD].  —  So  long  as  writ- 
ing material  was  manufactured  from  the  papyrus 
plant,  the  usual  form  of  a  book  was  that  of  the 
volumen  or  roll,  wound  round  a  stick  or  sticks. 
The  modern  form  of  book,  called  in  Latin  codex, 
did  not  come  into  use  till  the  3rd  cent,  of  our  era, 
when  parchment  (•jrepya.fj.rji'ri,  from  Pergamos,  where 
it  originated)  began  to  supersede  papyrus.  Ac- 
cording to  Pliny  (HN  xiii.  11  f.),  the  standard  roll 
(scapus)  consisted  of  20  sheets  (shedm  or  plagulce) 
joined  together  with  paste.  Rolls,  however,  were 
often  much  longer  ;  the  longest  Egyptian  one 
known  measures  144  ft.  To  this  day  the  Scriptures 
are  always  read  in  the  synagogue  from  rolls,  never 
from  a  codex.  One  of  the  most  impressive  eschato- 
logical  metaphors  was  suggested  by  the  idea  of  the 
once  familiar  piftKiov  —  '  and  the  heaven  was  re- 
moved as  a  scroll  when  it  is  rolled  up  '  (ws  J3ij3\iov 
e\iffo-6fj.evov,  Rev  614  ||  Is  344,  '  et  ccelium  recessit 
sicut  liber  involutus'  [Vulg.])  ;  'a  unique  simile, 
reminding  us  of  the  later  Stoic  conception  of  the 
sky  as  a  fiij3\os  deov,  of  which  heavenly  bodies  are 
the  o"rotx«a  or  characters'  (T.  K.  Cheyne,  The 
Prophecies  of  Isaiah4,  1886,  i.  195). 

LITERATURE.  —  A.  W.  Pollard,  art.  'Book'  in  EBrii;  artt. 
'  Writing  '  in  HDB  (F.  G.  Kenyon)  and  EBi  (A.  A.  Bevan). 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SCYTHIAN  (Zintfijj).  —  The  Scythians  were  a 
barbarous  nomadic  tribe  of  Indo-Germanic  origin 
living  in  the  region  between  the  Caucasus  Moun- 
tains and  the  Caspian  Sea.  The  Greek  colonists 
who  settled  on  the  northern  shores  of  the  Black 
Sea  in  the  7th  cent.  B.C.  found  the  South  Russian 
steppe  in  their  possession.  Their  name  '  Scythians  ' 
is  first  found  in  Hesiod  (Strabo,  VII.  iii.  7.  8),  while 
Herodotus  (iv.  1-82,  97-142)  gives  a  great  deal  of 
information  regarding  the  people,  although  the 
fact  that  the  Greeks  soon  came  to  extend  the  name 
'  Scythian  '  to  all  the  nations  to  the  north  and 
north-east  of  the  Black  Sea  makes  some  of  the 
statements  of  Greek  writers  regarding  them 
questionable. 

The  Scythians  proper  were  a  purely  nomadic 
race  living  on  the  South  Russian  steppe  the  usual 
life  of  nomads,  moving  from  place  to  place  as  the 
needs  of  their  flocks  demanded.  Herodotus  (iv. 
46,  114,  121)  tells  us  that  the  men  rode  on  horse- 
back while  the  women  were  conveyed  in  wagons 
drawn  by  oxen.  They  lived  on  boiled  flesh,  mares' 
milk,  and  cheese.  Like  most  barbarians,  they 
existed  in  a  condition  of  filth,  never  washing  them- 
selves, and  the  women  daubed  themselves  with 
paste  containing  the  dust  of  fragrant  woods  and 
removing  it  the  second  day  (iv.  75).  Hippocrates 
(ed.  Littre,  ii.  72)  informs  us  that  they  were  not  a 
very  hardy  race,  suffering  greatly  from  dysentery 
and  rheumatism,  and  being  soft  and  flabby  in 
body. 

The  cruelty  of  the  whole  race  and  the  despotism 


of  their  kings  were  notorious  in  the  ancient  world. 
When  the  king  put  a  man  to  death  all  the  male 
relations  of  the  unfortunate  victim  were  slain  as 
well,  for  fear  of  blood  revenge.  When  engaged  in 
battle,  the  Scythian  warrior  drank  the  blood  of 
the  first  of  the  foe  he  slew,  using  the  skull  as  a 
drinking  cup.  No  one  was  allowed  to  share  in  the 
booty  who  did  not  bring  the  head  of  a  foeman  to 
the  king.  The  scalps  of  those  slain  in  battle  were 
tanned  and  hung  on  the  bridle  of  the  warrior  (Herod, 
iv.  64  f . ).  The  eyes  of  those  taken  captive  and  held 
as  slaves  were  put  out.  The  kings  were  invested 
with  absolute  despotic  powers.  On  their  death  a 
vast  multitude  of  slaves  and  even  free-born  servants 
were  slain  and  buried  in  great  funeral  mounds 
along  with  horses  and  vessels  of  gold  and  silver. 

The  Scythians  first  come  into  history  in  con- 
nexion with  their  invasion  of  Asia  and  particularly 
of  Media  in  the  7th  cent.  B.C.  At  this  time  there 
took  place  one  of  those  great  movements  among 
the  uncivilized  peoples  of  the  north  which  the 
Germans  call  a  Volkerwanderung.  Pressed  on  by 
Asiatic  tribes,  the  Scythians  seem  to  have  driven 
the  Cimmerians  into  Asia  Minor  and  invaded  Media. 
Herodotus  speaks  (i.  103-105)  of  a  great  victory  of 
the  Scythians  over  Cyaxares  and  the  Medes  which 
compelled  the  latter  to  raise  the  siege  of  Nineveh. 
Thereafter  the  victorious  hordes  overran  all  Asia, 
plundering  at  will  for  thirty  years,  from  634-604 
B.C.,  till  the  Medes  again  under  Cyaxares  destroyed 
most  of  them  after  making  them  drunk  at  a 
banquet  (i.  106).  He  also  tells  (i.  105)  of  king 
Psammetichus,  who  died  611  B.C.,  buying  off  these 
northern  invaders  who  had  come  as  far  south  as 
Philistia.  The  panic  of  these  invading  hordes 
reached  Palestine,  and  several  times  the  land  seems 
to  have  been  threatened  and  actually  overrun  with 
marauding  bands.  The  reports  of  warriors  fight- 
ing on  horseback  with  bow  and  arrows,  and  drink- 
ing the  blood  of  the  slain,  were  fitted  to  appeal  to 
the  imagination  of  the  Hebrew  prophets,  who 
thought  of  the  messengers  of  God's  wrath  on  a 
sinful  nation.  Jeremiah's  description  of  '  the  evil 
coming  from  the  north'  (I13  46  515ff-  6')  and  of  the 
mighty  nation  of  riders  and  bowmen,  as  well  as 
Zephaniah's  picture  of  the  Day  of  the  Lord,  was 
probably  suggested  by  the  Scythian  invasion  and 
the  terror  it  inspired.  The  memory  of  this  invasion 
was  perpetuated  in  the  name  Scythopolis,  which 
was  given  to  the  old  town  Beth-shean  (SKt/flwp  TroXis, 
Jth  310 ;  cf.  2Kv6wjro\{iTai,  2  Mac  1230),  which  was 
probably  taken,  and,  as  Pliny  (HN  v.  16)  and  G. 
Syncellus  (Chronographia,  ed.  P.  J.  Goar,  Venice, 
1729,  p.  171)  state,  rebuilt  by  the  remnant  of  the 
Scythians  who  remained  after  the  main  body  was 
bought  off  by  the  king  of  Egypt. 

To  the  Jews  the  name  '  Scythian '  became 
synonymous  with  'barbarian.'  Just  as  terrors 
which  are  only  partially  known  assume  gigantic 
proportions,  so  these  Scythians,  by  their  rapid 
descent  on  Palestine,  their  unwonted  appearance, 
their  savage  cruelty,  and  their  short  sojourn,  im- 
pressed the  imagination.  They  became  the  symbol 
of  savagery,  inhumanity,  barbarity,  treachery, 
cruelty,  and  perhaps  under  the  names  Gog  and 
Magog  (q.v.)  became  types  of  the  evil  world-powers 
opposed  to  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Thus  Josephus 
(Ant.  I.  vi.  1)  identifies  Gog  and  Magog  of  Ezk 
38. 39  with  the  Scythians.  When  the  apostle 
Paul  is  speaking  of  the  absolute  way  in  which  the 
gospel  of  Christ  abolishes  all  racial  distinctions, 
lie  mentions  in  the  list  '  Greek  and  Jew  .  .  . 
barbarian,  Scythian' (Col  3n),  where  undoubtedly 
'Scythian 'is  referred  to  as  being  universally  re- 
garded as  the  lowest  in  the  scale  of  humanity,  the 
most  savage  of  barbarians — '  Scythae  barbaris  bar- 
bariores'  (Bengel)  (cf.  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Colossians2, 
1879,  p.  216).  Even  Scythians,  the  Apostle  main- 


SEA 


463 


tains,  can  be  renewed  unto  the  knowledge  of  Jesus 
Christ  and  become  one  in  Him  along  with  members 
of  other  races.  Justin  Martyr,  the  apologist  (Dial. 
28),  in  extolling  Christianity,  refers  to  its  having 
room  for  Scythians  and  Persians,  the  ferocity  of 
the  former  and  the  licentiousness  of  the  latter 
being  notorious,  while  the  pseudo-Lucian  (Philo- 
patris,  17)  satirizes  Christianity  for  suggesting 
that  Scythians  should  have  any  place  in  heaven. 
The  opponents  of  Christianity,  such  as  Celsus  and 
the  pseudo-Lucian,  could  not  understand  a  religion 
which  had  a  place  for  those  so  low  in  the  scale  of 
humanity  as  the  Scythians.  The  Apostle,  on  the 
other  hand,  gloried  in  a  religion  which  could  re- 
deem and  elevate  the  most  degraded. 

LITERATURE.— Herodotus,  iv.  1-82,  97-142  ;  Hippocrates,  de 
Aere,  aquis  et  locis,  xvii.-xxii.,  ed.  P.  51.  E.  Littre,  10  vols., 
Paris,  1839-61,  ii.  66-82 ;  J.  C.  Zeuss,  Die  Deutschen  und  die 
Nac/tbarstamme,  1837 ;  K.  Neumann,  Die  Hellenen  im 
Skythenlande,  1855  ;  G.  Grote,  History  of  Greece,  10  vols.,  new 
ed.,  1S88;  H.  Ewald,  Geschichte  des  Volkes  Israel,  iii.3  [1866] 
742-748;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Colosslans",  1879,  p.  216;  artt. 
'Scythians'  in  HDB  arid  EBi,  and  art.  'Scythia'  in  EBr*. 

W.  F.  BOYD. 

SEA  (tfdXaovct). — The  term  is  employed  in  apos- 
tolic history  to  designate  (1)  a  large  body  of  water 
or  collection  of  waters ;  (2)  the  Red  Sea ;  (3)  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  ;  (4)  with  717  and  oupavos,  the 
whole  created  universe;  and  (5)  the  'sea  of  glass' 
before  the  throne  of  God. 

1.  A  large  body  of  water  or  collection  of  waters 
(Ac  2730-38-  ^l4')  284,  Ro  O27,  2  Co  II-6,  He  II1-,  Ja  I6, 
Jude13,  Rev  71'3  8s- 9  102-6-8  1212  131  163  1817- 19- 21 
208.  is  211 .  cf_  AC  27s,  irtXayos ;  Ja  37,  ewfXtos).—  In 
the  first  of  these  passages,  the  sailors  with  Paul  on 
his  memorable  voyage  to  Rome,  pretending  that 
additional  anchors  from  the  prow  of  the  vessel 
would  help  to  steady  the  ship,  and  that  they  must 
go  off  in  a  boat  to  carry  them  out  to  cables'  length 
rather  than  drop  them  over  the  prow,  '  lowered  the 
boat  into  the  sea'  (Ac  2730).  But  he  saw  through 
their  scheme  and  warned  the  centurion.  Later 
they  cast  the  cargo  of  wheat  into  the  sea  (v.38) ; 
and  again  they  loosened  the  cables  of  the  anchors 
and  let  them  fall  off  into  the  sea  (v.40).  Then, 
chancing  on  a  sand  bank  between  two  seas,  in  the 
narrow  channel  leading  into  St.  Paul's  Bay,  be- 
tween the  little  island  of  Salmonetta  and  the 
mainland  of  Melita,  they  ran  the  vessel  aground 
(v.41).  Going  on  shore,  the  barbarians,  seeing  a 
viper  clinging  to  Paul's  hand,  regarded  him  as  a 
murderer,  whom,  though  he  had  escaped  from  the 
sea,  the  goddess  Justice  would  not  suffer  to  live 
(284). 

Paul  was  thrice  shipwrecked.  He  also  suffered 
other  'perils  in  the  sea'  (2  Co  II26);  but  he  does 
not  pause  to  specify  them.  In  writing  to  the 
Romans  he  again  alludes  to  the  'sea.'  Quoting 
Is  1022,  he  says  that  though  Israel  be  as  numerous 
'  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,'  yet  it  is  not  the  unbelieving 
many  but  the  faithful  few  who  are  the  object  of 
God's  care.  Only  the  remnant  shall  be  saved  (Ro 
O27).  A  similar  reference  is  found  in  He  II12,  in 
which  the  writer  emphasized  how  faith  on 
Abraham's  part  brought  life  out  of  death,  giving 
him  posterity  '  as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  sea 
shore  innumerable.'  On  the  other  hand,  another 
writer  describes  the  doubter  as  'like  the  surge  of 
the  sea'  (ZoiKev  K\vdwi>i,  ddXda-ffrjs,  Ja  I6),  driven  by 
the  wind  and  tossed.  The  instability  of  a  billow 
changing  rapidly  from  moment  to  moment  furnishes 
a  wonderfully  apt  symbol  of  the  mind  that  cannot 
steady  itself  in  belief.  Jude  uses  a  similar  figure 
when  he  describes  the  ungodly  and  libertines  as 
'  wild  waves  of  the  sea '  (KV/J.O.TO.  dypia  da\da-a-tjs,  v.13), 
foaming  out  their  own  lawlessness  and  shame  (cf. 
Is  5720). 

John  likewise,  in  the  Apocalypse,  often  uses  the 
term  in  its  natural  sense.  Thus,  no  hurt  is  to 


befall  the  earth  or  the  sea  until  the  servants  of 
God  are  sealed  in  their  foreheads ;  no  physical 
convulsions  are  to  take  place  until  the  saints  of 
God  are  secured  (Rev  71"3).  On  the  other  hand, 
judgment  is  imminent.  Pausing  in  the  process  of 
unrolling  judgment  and  consolation,  the  Seer  be- 
holds a  strong  angel  standing  like  a  colossus  astride 
the  earth  and  sea,  holding  in  his  hand  an  open 
book  (102>  B<  8).  He  hears  woes  pronounced  upon  the 
earth  and  sea  (1212).  A  monster  dragon  comes  up 
out  of  the  sea,  as  the  father  of  cruelty  and  blas- 
phemy (131;  cf.  Dn  72ff-).  When  the  second  angel 
sounds,  one  third  of  the  creatures  which  are  in  the 
sea  die  (8*1  9) ;  when  the  same  angel  pours  out  his 
bowl  into  the  sea,  it  becomes  blood  and  every 
living  thing  dies  (163).  At  the  fall  of  Babylon  (i.e. 
Rome)  mariners  on  every  hand  take  up  a  lamenta- 
tion because  of  her  commercial  loss  to  the  world  of 
trade  (1817- 19-  21) ;  while  in  the  final  issue  of  events, 
after  the  millennium  and  after  Satan  has  been 
loosed  to  deceive  the  nations,  '  the  number  of  whom 
is  as  the  sand  of  the  sea,'  and  after  he  is  cast 
into  the  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone,  and  the  dead 
are  summoned  to  judgment,  then,  we  read,  'the 
sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in  it' — in  its 
great  maw — to  be  judged  every  man  according  to 
his  works  (208- 13).  But  when  heaven  is  described 
and  the  abode  of  the  blessed  is  portrayed,  and  a 
new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  are  created,  the  Seer 
is  careful  to  say,  'and  the  sea  is  no  more'  (211). 
This  passage  is  a  most  instructive  witness  to  the 
estimate  of  the  sea  among  the  ancient  Hebrews. 
They  had  a  universal  horror  of  it.  To  them  it  was 
a  synonym  of  turbulence,  estrangement,  hostility, 
fickleness,  isolation,  and  separation.  It  was  the 
home  of  storms  and  tempests  and  vague  terrors. 
As  a  great  monster  enemy  it  devoured  men  ;  yea, 
the  sea  was  the  prolific  mother  of  monsters. 
Naturaily  the  sea,  therefore,  could  have  no  place 
in  an  ideal  universe.  According  to  Plutarch,  the 
ancient  Egyptians  regarded  the  sea  as  no  part  of 
nature,  but  an  alien  element  full  of  destruction 
and  disease.  The  priests  of  Isis  are  said  to  have 
shunned  it  as  impure  and  unsocial  for  swallowing 
up  the  sacred  Nile.  One  favourite  tradition  made 
the  sea  disappear  in  the  final  conflagration  of  the 
world.  But  John  ignores  this  view,  and  regards 
the  sea  rather  as  no  longer  existent.  God's  dread 
opponent,  the  dragon,  he  practically  says,  shall  dis- 
appear from  the  abode  of  the  redeemed  ;  and  the 
powers  hostile  to  God,  whether  men  or  demons, 
shall  be  brought  to  naught. 

2.  The  Red  Sea  (Ac  7s6,  1  Co  101- 2,  He  II29).— In 
some  respects  this  is  the  most  remarkable  body 
of  water  on  the  globe.  It  is  subject  to  extreme 
evaporation  ;  and,  though  no  rivers  empty  into  it, 
it  is  never  exhausted.  It  is  1350  miles  long,  and 
205  miles  broad  at  its  widest  part.  There  are  three 
references  to  it  in  apostolic  history :  (a)  Stephen 
in  his  memorable  apology  speaks  of  Moses  thus : 
'  This  man  led  them  forth,  having  wrought  wonders 
and  signs  in  Egypt,  and  in  the  Red  sea,  and  in 
the  wilderness  forty  years '  (Ac  I36).  His  argument 
is  that,  as  Moses'  Divine  appointment  was  attested 
by  signs  and  wonders,  so  signs  and  wonders  formed 
part  of  the  credentials  of  Christ,  (b)  Paul  also, 
in  writing  to  the  Corinthians,  says,  '  For  I  would 
not,  brethren,  have  you  ignorant,  how  that  our 
fathers  were  all  under  the  cloud,  and  all  passed 
through  the  sea  ;  and  were  all  baptized  unto  Moses 
in  the  cloud  and  in  the  sea'  (1  Co  101- 2).  The 
Apostle's  point  is  that  ancient  Israel  started  well ; 
all  were  protected  and  guided  by  the  cloud  ;  all 
were  safely  brought  through  the  sea ;  all  were 
sealed  as  by  a  baptism  into  trustful  allegiance 
to  Moses  as  their  deliverer  ;  yet  in  the  end  all  ex- 
cept two  failed  to  enter  Canaan.  Those  who  sang 
victory  at  the  crossing  of  the  Red  Sea  never  reached 


464 


SEA 


SEA  OF  GLASS 


the  promised  land,  (c)  A  different  use  is  made  of 
the  same  fact  in  He  II29.  The  author  here  em- 
phasizes how  faitli  finds  a  path  in  life.  '  By  faith 
they  passed  through  the  Red  sea  as  by  dry  land  : 
which  the  Egyptians  assaying  to  do  were  swallowed 
up.'  What  the  writer  means  to  teach  is,  that 
Israel's  passage  through  the  Red  Sea  was  due  to 
the  discovery  of  faith.  It  was  not  a  path  which 
anyone  could  find.  Indeed,  to  the  Egyptians  who 
had  no  faith,  it  became  a  sea.  Hence  it  is  an 
example  of  the  wonder-working  power  of  faith. 

3.  The  Mediterranean  Sea  (Ac  106-32  1714).— The 
Mediterranean  was  to  the  Hebrews  '  the  great  sea ' 
(Nu  346).     It  was  probably  the  largest  expanse  of 
water  with  which  they  were  familiar ;  it  was  like 
a  mighty  mirror  flashing   the  glories  of  the  sun. 
Two  passages  are  in  point  here,  though  one  refers 
more  particularly  to   the  yEgean.     (a)  The  first 
recounts  how   Cornelius  sent  to  Joppa  to  fetch 
Peter,   who  lodged    with   one    Simon,   a  tanner, 
'  whose  house  is  by  the  sea  side '  (Ac  106- 32).     The 
sea  here  alluded  to  is  obviously  the  Mediterranean. 
Simon's  house,  which  doubtless  was  a  very  humble 
abode,  was  by  the  sea  because  there  he  would  have 
easy  access  to  water  ;  and  it  was  outside  the  city, 
at  least  50  cubits,  because  tanning  was  held  to  be 
an  '  unclean '  employment,  bringing  one  constantly 
into  contact  with  dead  animals,     (b)  The  other 
passage   tells  how   the   brethren  of    Bercea    sent 
forth  Paul,  whose  safety  was  in  jeopardy,  '  to  go 
as  far  as  to  the  sea'  (Ac  1714).     The  main  road 
from  Macedonia  to  Thessaly  bent  about  the  base 
of  Mt.  Olympus  close  along  the  sea.      Whether 
St.  Paul,  on  arriving  at  the  coast,  changed  his 
plan,  and,  instead  of  taking  ship  for  Athens  at 
Methone  or  Pydna,  went  on  foot,  it  is  impossible 
to  say. 

4.  With  YYJ  and   ovpavos,  the    whole  created 
universe  (Ac  424  1415,  Rev  513  10"  147).— For  ex- 
ample, in  Ac  424ff>,  after  the  healing  of  the  lame 
man,  Peter  and  John,  who  had  been  accused  and 
brought  before  the  elders,  and  charged  and  even 
threatened  by  them  not  to  speak  any  more  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  prayed,  '  O  Lord,  thou  that  didst 
make  the  heaven  and  the  earth  and  the  sea  and 
all  that  in  them  is  ...  grant  unto  thy  servants 
to  speak  thy  word  with  all  boldness '  (v.24-  a).     The 
opening  words  were  probably  not  altogether  un- 
familiar to  them,  as  they  seem  to  have  belonged 
to  the  earliest   known   psalm  of  thanksgiving  in 
the  Christian   Church   (cf.  Is  3716-  20).     In  similar 
language,  Barnabas  and  Paul  remonstrated  with 
the  men  of  Lystra,  saying,  '  We  also  are  men  of 
like  passions  with  you,  and  bring  you  good  tidings, 
that  ye  should  turn  from  these  vain  things  unto 
the  living  God,  who  made  the  heaven  and  the  earth 
and  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is'  (Ac  1415). 
The  Lystrans  are  thus  introduced  by  the  apostles 
to  the  true  and  living  God.     In  Rev  147  there  is  a 
striking  parallel  to  their  summons,  the  implication 
being  that  the  God  who  creates  has  a  right  also  to 
judge  His  creatures.     In  513,  also,  by  a  sweep  of 
prophetic  imagination,  even  sea-monsters  join  with 
departed  spirits  in   a  doxology  of  praise  to  the 
Lamb;  while  in  106  the  thought  of  God's  creator- 
ship,  of  earth  and   heaven  and  sea,  prepares  the 
way  for  the  announcement  that  the  God  of  creation 
and  providence  is  also  a  God  of  judgment. 

5.  The  apocalyptic   sea   of  glass  before  the 
throne  of  God  (Rev  46  152).— The  first  passage  (46) 
reminds  one  of    the   '  molten  sea '  in   Solomon's 
Temple  (1  K  723-88).     In  fancy  the  Rabbis  com- 
pared the  shining  floor  of  the  Temple  to  crystal. 
To  John  heaven  is  a  sort  of  glorified  Temple,  and 
the  crystal  pavement  is  a  kind  of  sea.     The  figure 
greatly   enhances  the  splendour  of    the   picture. 
The  Apostle  was  probably  attempting  to  portray 
the  ether  with  all  its  clearness  and  calm,  shimmer- 


ing yet  motionless.  In  the  other  and  only  remain- 
ing passage  (152)  he  beholds  'a  glassy  sea  mingled 
with  fire.  On  its  shores  the  redeemed  stand,  as 
the  children  of  Israel  did  on  the  shores  of  the  Red 
Sea,  victorious,  singing  the  song  of  Moses  and  of 
the  Lamb.  See,  further,  next  article. 

GEORGE  L.  ROBINSON. 

SEA  OF  GLASS.—  In  the  literature  of  the  Apos- 
tolic Age  the  conception  of  the  Sea  of  Glass  occurs 
only  in  Rev  46  152.  In  the  former  passage,  the  Sea 
of  Glass  like  crystal  (ffdXcurffa  va\ivrj  buola.  KpvffrdXXif) 
forms  a  part  of  the  surroundings  of  the  throne  in 
heaven.  In  the  latter  passage  the  position  of  the 
Sea  is  not  mentioned,  but  is  no  doubt  understood  to 
be  the  same,  and  the  Sea  itself  is  further  described 
as  'mingled  with  fire'  (/j.f/j.iy/j.4vi)i>  irvpi).  The  mar- 
tyrs are  seen  standing  upon  it,  singing  the  song  of 
Moses  and  of  the  Lamb. 

It  is  easier  to  trace  back  into  the  OT  the  origin 
of  the  symbolism  of  the  Apocalypse,  and  to  collect 
parallels  from  the  religious  literature  of  other 
nations,  than  to  interpret  the  precise  meaning  of 
this  particular  symbol  in  the  mind  of  the  author  of 
the  Apocalypse.  We  shall  in  this  article  endea- 
vour to  collect  the  various  parallels  and  possible 
sources  of  this  conception,  afterwards  attempting 
to  classify  them,  in  order  to  show  the  various 
streams  of  thought  that  have  combined  to  yield 
this  climax  of  apocalyptic  symbolism.  Finally,  an 
attempt  will  be  made  to  interpret  its  meaning  in 
the  Apocalypse. 

1.  Sources  of  the  symbol.  —  It  may  be  remarked 
that  all  the  parallels  collected  below  are  not  of 
necessity  to  be  regarded  as  sources  of  this  particu- 
lar conception,  but  they  all  offer  possible  links  of 
connexion  with  it. 

(a)  We  have,  first,  the  conception,  at  once  mytho- 
logical and  cosmological,  of  the  upper  sea,  the 
waters  in  the  heavens,  separated  by  the  firmament 
from  the  waters  below  (Gn  I6'7).  This  is 


directly  connected  with  the  Babylonian  chaos- 
myth  of  the  conquest  of  the  chaos-dragon  Tiamat 
by  Marduk.  Moreover,  in  the  Babylonian  cosmo- 
gony the  heavenly  universe  is  divided  into  three 
parts  corresponding  to  those  of  the  earthly  universe, 
the  third  and  lowest  division  being  the  heavenly 
ocean  (cf.  A.  Jeremias,  The  OT  in  the  Light  of  the 
Ancient  East,  Eng.  tr.,  2  vois.,  London,  1911,  i. 
6ff.).  See£  En.  xxvii.  1-3. 

(b)  In  the  theophany  in  Ex  2410  a  pavement  of 
sapphire  is  described  as  being  under  the  feet  of  God. 

(c)  In  the  apocalyptic   vision  of  Ezekiel,  upon 
which  the  symbolism  of  Rev  4  is  most  directly 
based,  a  firmament  like  the  colour  of  the  terrible 
crystal  is  stretched  over  the  heads  of  the  four 
living  creatures,  and  upon  it  is  placed  the  throne 
like  sapphire  stone  (Ezk  I22-26). 

(d)  In  the  vision  of  the  Ancient  of  Days  in 
Dn  79"10  a  fiery  stream  issues  from  the  throne. 

(e)  In  1  En.  xiv.  10-17,  in  the  similar  vision  of 
the  house  and  of  the  throne  of  God,  the  floor  of  the 
first  house  is  of  crystal  and  that  of  the  second  house 
is  of  fire,  also  from  underneath  the  throne  come 
streams  of  flaming  fire  (cf.  also  Ixxi.  6). 

(/)  In  Test.  Lev.  ii.  7  a  hanging  sea  divides  the 
first  heaven  from  the  second  in  the  later  recension  ; 
in  the  earliest  form  of  the  document  the  hanging 
sea  is  in  the  first  heaven. 

(g)  Finally,  an  interesting  passage  from  the  Bun* 
dahis  may  be  quoted  (SEE  v.  125  f.)  :  '  Afterwards, 
the  fire  and  halo  melt  the  metal  of  Shatvalr6,  in 
the  hills  and  mountains,  and  it  remains  on  this 
earth  like  a  river.  Then  all  men  will  pass  into 
that  melted  metal  and  become  pure  '  (cf.  Sib.  Orac. 
iii.  84  f.,  ii.  285  f.).  The  list  might  be  enlarged, 
but  these  passages  are  representative  both  of  the 
distribution  of  the  conception  and  of  the  different 
forms  which  it  assumed. 


SEA  OF  GLASS 


SEAL 


465 


2.  Classification   of   motives    underlying   the 
symbol. — (a)  We  find  the  cosmological  significance 
of  the  heavenly  sea.     The  celestial  universe  is  the 
counterpart  of  the  earthly.     The  Zodiac,  the  abode 
of  the  gods,  rises  above  and  upon  the  heavenly  sea. 
Later  the  sea  itself  and  the  solid  firmament  con- 
ceived of  as  supporting  it  seem  to  unite  in  the 
symbol,   and  we    have  the    throne  resting  upon 
a  crystalline   sapphire    foundation   or   pavement. 
There  may  also  enter  into  the  symbol  some  element 
of  the  myth  of  the  conquest  of  Tiamat.     The  sea 
stretched  out  calm  and  glassy  before  the  throne 
may  in  part  symbolize  the  victory  of  the  divinity 
over  the  element  of  chaos. 

(b)  There  is  the  eschatological  element.     In  the 
period   view    of    history    based    on    astronomical 
observations  and  characteristic  of  Babylonian  re- 
ligion, the  world   was  to  be  destroyed  by  a  fire- 
flood  at  the  close  of  the  age  which  was  ushered  in 
by  the  water-flood.     This  idea  is  present  also  in 
the  Avesta  and  in  most  early  religions.     Hence 
the  sea  of  glass  mingled  with  fire  may  contain  a 
trace  of  this  conception.     From  the  throne  pro- 
ceeded not  only  the  heavenly  river  of  water  of  life, 
clear  as  crystal,  but  also  the  fire-stream  of  judg- 
ment.    The  martyrs  also  standing  upon  the  fiery 
sea  suggest  the    symbolism  of    purification   and 
triumph  (cf.  the  idea  in  the  passage  quoted  above 
from  the  BundahiS,  where  the  righteous  walking 
through  the  fire-flood  are  unharmed  by  it). 

(c)  It  is  possible  to  find  links  with  the  Jewish 
ritual  system.     Before  the  approach  to  the  holy 
place  stood  the  brazen  sea,  whose  form  and  decora- 
tion suggest  remoter  links  with  Babylonian  cosmo- 
logy.    In  the  priestly  system,  whatever  the  past 
significance  of  the  laver,  it  certainly  stood  for  the 
necessity  of  purification  for  entry  into  the  presence 
of  God. 

(d)  There  may  enter  into  the  form  of  the  imagery 
details  taken  from  the  local  surroundings  of  the 
vision.     It  has  been  suggested  that  much  of  the 
form  of  early  eschatological  schemes  is  due  to  the 
local  characteristics  (cf.  Gressmann,  Der  Ursprung 
der  israelitisch-judischen  Eschutologie,  p.  31  ff. ).     H. 
B.  Swete  (The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John*,  London, 
1907,  p.  70)  suggests  that  the  ^Egean  Sea,  fired 
by  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun,  has  yielded  the 
form  of  the  splendid  imagery  of  this  vision.     While 
this  may  be  so,  yet  all  the  elements  of  the  vision 
and  their  ensemble  are  an  inheritance  from  the 
past. 

3.  Interpretation. — The  central  motive  in  the 
Seer's  vision  is  certainly  the  relation  between  heaven 
and  earth.     The  apparently  confused  and  disorderly 
sequence  of  events  on  earth  is  really  being  ordered 
and  determined  by  what  takes  place  in  heaven. 
Hence  the  Seer's  first  vision,  as  he  gazes  through 
the  open  door,  is  the  throne,  the  centre  and  source 
of  all  the  subsequent  action  of  the  book.     The 
history  of  the  world  for  him  is  dominated  by  that 
throne.     The  description  of  scenery  surrounding 
the  throne  gathers  up  all  the  symbolism  of  the 
past,  the  cosmological,  eschatological,  and  ritual 
elements,  coloured,  it  may  be,  by  the  local  scenery 
of  Patmos.     Before  the  throne  the  Sea,  the  emblem 
of  chaos  and  destruction,  lies  calm  and  motionless, 
petrified  and  clear,  the  symbol  of  the  throne's  vic- 
tory over  the  opposing  forces  of  darkness  and  dis- 
order.    As  the  approach  to  the  throne  it  symbolizes 
the  holiness  required  of  those  who  draw  near.     As 
the  final   tribulation   draws  to  a  close,  that  sea 
mingled  with   fire  symbolizes   the  source  of  the 
throne's  judgment  on  the  earth  below.     The  mar- 
tyrs, having  passed  through  those  judgments,  stand 
triumphant  on  it  and  sing  the  song  of  the  new 
Exodus.     Finally   it   becomes  the   source  of    the 
healing  and  purifying  streams  for  the  redeemed 
earth. 

VOL.  ii. — 30 


LITERATURE. — H.  Gressmann,  Der  Ursprung  der  israelitisch- 
judischen  Eschatologie,  Gottingen,  1905 ;  R.  H.  Charles, 
Eschat  ology ,  Hebrew,  Jewish,  and  Chrintian,  London,  1899, 
The  Apocrypha  and  Pseude.pigrapha  of  the  OT,  Oxford,  1913  ; 
H.  B.  Swete,  The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John%,  London,  1907  ;  C 
Clemen,  Primitive  Christianity  and  its  Non-Jeu-iah  Sources, 
Edinburgh,  1912.  S.  H.  HOOKE. 

SEAL  (ff<f>payis,  vb.  ff<f>paylfa). — A  seal  is  (1)  the 
graven  implement  with  which  an  impression  is 
made  on  wax,  clay,  or  other  soft  substance ;  and 
(2)  the  impression  itself.  The  use  of  seals  can  be 
traced  back  almost  to  the  dawn  of  civilization. 
The  scarab  seal  was  peculiar  to  Egypt  and  the 
cylinder  to  Babylonia.  Having  a  distinctive  char- 
acter, requiring  to  be  always  at  hand  for  use,  and 
being  a  highly-prized  and  carefully-guarded  pos- 
session, the  seal  naturally  became  a  means  of  per- 
sonal adornment.  Seal  and  staff' were  the  insignia 
of  a  man  of  rank  among  the  Israelites  as  among 
the  Babylonians  (Herodotus,  i.  195).  A  cord  was 
passed  through  the  seal,  which  was  worn  either 
as  a  necklace  or  as  a  bracelet  (Gn  3818,  Ca  86,  Jer 
22M).  In  later  times  the  signet-ring  came  into  use 
among  the  Jews.  The  ring  displayed  by  the  rich 
worshipper  (x/>i/<ro5aK7-tf\ios)  in  the  early  Christian 
assembly  (Ja  22)  was  probably  of  this  description. 
Signet-rings  were  largely  in  use  among  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  and  many  of  these  have  .been  pre- 
served. 

The  seal  was  used  at  all  times  for  the  purpose  of 
safeguarding  valuable  possessions  :  wine  jars  were 
stopped  and  sealed,  letters  written  and  sealed,  rolls 
folded  and  sealed,  doors  closed  and  sealed.  Hor- 
ace associates  locks  and  seals — claves  et  sigilla  (Ep. 
I.  xx.  3).  Property,  security,  secrecy,  finality  are 
the  ideas  suggested  by  the  act  of  solemnly  attach- 
ing one's  seal  to  anything. 

The  figurative  uses  of  the  term  are  numerous, 
(a)  Circumcision  is  regarded  by  St.  Paul  as  the 
seal  of  a  righteousness  which  existed  before  the 
rite  was  instituted  (Ro  4n).  The  same  figure  of 
speech  was  frequently  used,  though  somewhat 
differently  interpreted,  by  the  Rabbis.  '  Ye  shall 
not  eat  of  the  passover  unless  the  seal  of  Abraham 
be  in  your  flesh '  (Shemoth  liabba,  19).  Many 
parallels  are  given  by  J.  J.  Wetstein,  Novum  Testa- 
mentum  Grcecum,  1752,  ad  loc.  (b)  Vindicating 
his  apostleship,  St.  Paul  points  to  his  converts  as 
the  seal  which  Christ  Himself  has  affixed  to  his 
work  (1  Co  92).  Can  his  opponents  dispute  a  claim 
so  clearly  and  authoritatively  attested?  (c)  Be- 
lievers are  sealed  with  the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise 
(Eph  I18).  They  gave  themselves  to  Christ  at  their 
conversion,  and  the  Spirit  marked  them  as  Christ's 
peculium,  consecrated  to  His  service  and  destined 
for  His  eternal  Kingdom.  Sealed  unto  the  day  of 
redemption  (430),  they  receive  in  time  an  earnest 
of  what  they  are  to  be  in  eternity  (2  Co  I22).  On 
all  such  believers,  who  are  God's  firm  foundation, 
there  is  impressed  the  seal,  '  The  Lord  knoweth 
them  that  are  his '  (2  Ti  2").  It  is  often  said  that 
the  Scriptural  seal  with  which  Christians  are  sealed 
is  baptism,  a  natural  enough  interpretation,  seeing 
that  baptism  early  took  the  place  of  circumcision, 
which  was  expressly  called  a  seal.  J.  H.  Bernard 
(EGT,  '2  Corinthians,'  1903)  argues  that  the 
aorists  in  2  Co  I22  (ff^paynrdufvos,  Sotfs) '  point  to  acts 
completed  at  a  definite  moment  in  the  past ;  and 
this  can  only  mean  the  moment  of  baptism.'  But 
why  not  the  hour  of  conscious  regeneration  or  per- 
sonal consecration  ?  Lightfoot,  Hatch,  and  Har- 
nack  question  whether  any  apostle  ever  transferred 
the  metaphor  of  the  seal  to  baptism  (see  Sanday- 
Headlam,  ICC,  '  Romans  '<>,  1902,  p.  107)  (d)  When 
St.  Paul  speaks  of  sealing  the  contribution  (icotvuvta) 
of  the  Gentiles  (Ro  1526<  28)  to  the  poor  saints  at 
Jerusalem,  he  means,  not  that  he  needs,  as  a  good 
steward,  literally  to  seal  and  secure  the  collection 


466 


SECOND  ADAM 


SELEUCIA 


which  has  been  made  for  them,  but  that  he  figura- 
tively sets  his  seal  (cf.  Jn  333)  to  the  offering  of 
material  things  which  is  the  'fruit'  of  their  spiritual 
gifts  to  the  Gentile  world.  He  uses  language  of 
great  dignity  and  solemnity,  for  he  knows  that 
money,  tyhich  is  sometimes  mere  filthy  lucre  (Tit 
I11),  comes  to  have  almost  a  sacramental  value 
when  it  is  the  outward  and  visible  sign  or  seal  of 
an  inward  and  spiritual  love,  (e)  The  apocalyptic 
roll  of  destiny,  containing  the  Divine  counsel  re- 
garding the  order  of  events  which  is  to  usher  in 
the  end,  is  sealed  with  seven  seals.  No  angel  is 
able  to  open  them,  but  they  are  opened  one  after 
the  other  by  Christ  (Rev  5.  6).  Roman  wills  re- 
quired to  be  attested  with  seven  seals,  and  T. 
Zahn  (Introduction  to  the  NT,  3  vols.,  1909,  iii.  394, 
following  E.  Huschke,  Das  Buchmitsieben  Siegeln, 
1860  ;  cf.  E.  Hicks,  Traces  of  Greek  Philosophy 
and  Roman  Law  in  the  NT,  1896,  pp.  157,  158) 
holds  that  the  roll  (/3i/3XiW)  is  here  a  testamentum. 
As  he  confesses,  omne  simile  claiidicat ;  but  this 
one  would  halt  too  badly,  since  God  the  Testator 
cannot  die,  and  the  fiijSKlov  is  a  book  of  doom  rather 
than  a  will  bequeathing  a  heritage.  And  the 
Roman  parallel  is  unnecessary,  for  the  use  of  seals 
was  as  familiar  to  the  Jews  as  to  the  Romans, 
and  seven  was  the  Jewish  sacred  number.  (/) 
According  to  the  writer  of  the  Revelation,  the 
servants  of  God  are  sealed  on  their  foreheads  with 
the  seal  of  the  living  God ;  12,000  of  every  tribe 
of  Israel  are  sealed.  Those  who  have  not  the 
seal  are  exposed  to  great  danger  (Rev  I3-4-  B~8  94). 
(g)  Satan  is  to  be  cast  into  the  abyss,  which  will 
be  shut  and  sealed  upon  him  (203).  (h)  The  roll 
of  the  apocalypse  is  not  to  be  sealed  (2210),  be- 
cause its  contents — unlike  those  of  Daniel  (124>  9) 
— are  not  intended  for  a  distant  age,  but  are  for 
use  at  the  present  juncture  and  in  the  immediate 
future. 

LITERATURE. — Art.  '  Gem '  in  EBrU  ;  art.  '  Seal,  Sealing,'  in 
HDB  ;  C.  W.  King,  Antique  Gems  and  Rings,  2  vols.,  1872. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SECOND  ADAM.— See  ADAM  ;  CHRIST,  CHRIST- 
OLOGY. 

SECOND  ADVENT.— See  PAROUSIA. 
SECT.— See  HERESY. 

SECUNDUS  (Se/coOvSoj  TR],  S^owSos  [WH, 
Blass]). — Secundus  was  a  Macedonian  Christian 
belonging  to  the  church  of  Thessalonica,  by  which 
he  and  Aristarchus  were  deputed  to  convey  to  Jeru- 
salem the  contributions  of  the  Thessalonians  on 
behalf  of  the  poor  brethren  of  the  mother  church. 
He  accompanied  St.  Paul  on  his  last  journey  to 
Jerusalem  (Ac  204).  The  Apostle  on  this  occasion 
intended  to  sail  from  Corinth,  but  the  discovery 
of  a  plot  at  the  last  moment  caused  him  to  sail  for 
Macedonia,  where  he  may  have  met  the  deputies 
of  the  churches  of  Thessalonica  and  Bercea.  It 
is  more  probable,  however,  that  they  had  been 
previously  instructed  to  join  the  Apostle  at  Troas, 
where  we  find  them  along  with  deputies  from  Asia 
(Ac  20s).  It  is  uncertain  whether  Secundus  re- 
mained in  Syria  after  St.  Paul's  arrest  or  returned 
to  Thessalonica.  He  is  never  again  mentioned  in 
the  NT,  but  the  name  occurs  in  the  well-known 
inscription  of  Thessalonica  (CIG  ii.  1967),  which 
gives  a  list  of  politarchs. 

LITERATURE.— W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller*,  1897, 
p.  287 ;  R.  J.  Knowling  in  EOT  ii.  [1900]  422 ;  also  artt.  in 
HDB  and  EBi.  W.  F.  BOYD. 

SECURITY.— It  is  only  in  Ac  179  that  the  word 
concerns  us  at  present :  '  And  when  they  had 
taken  security  from  Jason  and  the  rest,  they  let 
them  go.'  The  idiom  is  Xa/J<Wes  rb  IKO.V(>V  and  is 


a  translation  of  the  Latin  satis  accipere.  Cf.  rb 
iKavbv  iroLTJirai  in  Mk  1515,  which  occurs  '  as  early  as 
Polybius'(J.  H.  Moulton,^!  Grammar  of  NT  Greek, 
vol.  i. ,  'Prolegomena,'  1908,  p.  20  f . ).  It  is  natural  to 
meet  a  Latin  legal  term  in  this  Roman  court ;  the 
politarchs  of  Thessalonica  may  even  have  used  the 
Latin  instead  of  the  KOU>JI-  The  security  demanded 
might  be  in  the  form  either  of  money  or  of  sponsors 
for  good  behaviour.  It  is  not  clear  what  is  meant 
by  saying  that  the  politarchs  'let  them  go.'  It 
is  uncertain  also  whether  the  security  was  for 
the  '  good  behaviour '  of  Jason  and  the  rest,  for 
the  production  of  St.  Paul  and  Silas  before  the 
politarchs,  or  for  the  '  good  behaviour'  of  St.  Paul 
and  Silas  (cf.  R.  J.  Knowling,  EGT,  '  Acts,'  1900,  in 
loco).  F.  Blass  (Acta  Apostolorum,  1895,  in  loco) 
considers  the  phrase  a  commercial,  not  a  legal, 
term.  In  any  case,  '  the  brethren  immediately 
sent  away  Paul  and  Silas  by  night  unto  Bercea' 
(Ac  1710).  The  haste  and  the  cover  of  darkness 
indicate  the  urgency  of  the  predicament,  which 
concerned,  apparently,  the  welfare  not  merely  of 
St.  Paul  and  Silas,  but  also  of  Jason  and  the  rest, 
because  of  '  the  security '  given  to  the  politarchs. 
It  is  not  open  to  make  a  charge  of  cowardice  here 
against  either  Jason  or  St.  Paul.  It  was  a  prac- 
tical question  of  how  to  meet  an  emergency  due  to 
jealousy  and  prejudice.  A.  T.  ROBERTSON. 

SEED. — The  early  Christians  used  'seed'  in  its 
natural  sense,  of  that  which  contains  the  germ- 
cell  (1)  of  plants  (tnrtpiM,  Mt  1324-27-  S2-  S7'-,  Mk  431, 
1  Co  1538,  2  Co  910 ;  ffir6pos,  Mk  426f-,  Lk  85-  u),  and 
(2)  of  man  (tnrfpua,  He  11";  <77ropd,  1  P  I23). 
Metaphorically,  '  seed '  (airtpiM)  was  used  (1)  of  the 
nucleus  of  the  Jewish  race  left  from  the  Captivity 
(Ro  929) ;  (2)  of  offspring  in  general,  either  (a) 
taken  literally  (Mt  2224f-,  Mk  1219-22,  Lk  I55  20-8, 
Jn  742  833-37,  Ac  326  7M-  1323,  Ro  1s  41S  97  II1,  2  Co 
II22,  2  Ti  28,  He  216  II18,  Rev  12"),  or  (b)  figura- 
tively, as  when  believers  were  called  Abraham's 
seed  because  they  emulated  his  faith  (Ro  416- 18  98, 
Gal  316-19-29);  and,  finally,  (3)  of  the  generating 
power  of  God  acting  through  His  Word  (cf.  1  P  I23) 
and  His  Spirit  (1  Jn  39).  St.  Paul  argued  in 
Rabbinical  fashion  from  the  distinction  between 
'seed'  and  'seeds'  (Gal  31Gff-)«  Since  the  singular 
stood  in  Gn  1315'-  and  177S  he  concluded  that  the 
promise  made  to  Abraham  pointed  to  Christ  as  an 
individual  and  not  collectively  to  Jews.  For  this 
and  similar  examples  of  artificial  exegesis  in  the 
NT,  see  INTERPRETATION.  S.  J.  CASE. 

SELEUCIA  (2eXeik«a). — Seleucia  was  the  sea- 
port of  Antioch  and  the  maritime  stronghold  of  the 
Macedonian  monarchy  in  Syria.  It  lay  5  miles  to 
the  north  of  the  mouth  of  the  Orontes,  on  the 
southern  skirts  of  Mt.  Pieria,  whence  it  was  called 
SeXevjceta  i]  tv  Uiepta,  in  distinction  from  the  many 
other  foundations  of  the  same  name.  It  was  one 
of  the  cities  which  formed  the  Syrian  Tetrapolis, 
the  others  being  Antioch,  Apameia,  and  Laodicea. 
'  They  were  called  sisters  from  the  concord  which 
existed  between  them.  They  were  founded  by 
Seleucns  Nicator.  The  largest  bore  the  name  of 
his  father,  and  the  strongest  his  own.  Of  the 
others,  Apameia  had  its  name  from  his  wife  Apama, 
and  Laodicea  from  his  mother'  (Strabo,  xvi. 
ii.  4). 

Seleucia  overlooked  a  bay  '  not  unlike  the  Bay 
of  Naples  and  scarcely  less  beautiful '  (G.  L.  Bell, 
Syria,  the  Desert  and  the  Sown,  1908,  p.  329).  It 
was  built  partly  at  the  foot  and  partly  on  the  top 
of  precipitous  cliffs,  the  lower  and  the  upper  city 
being  connected  by  a  cutting  through  the  solid 
rock  1100  yards  long.  Strongly  protected  by 
nature  and  by  fortifications,  Seleucia  was  regarded 
as  the  key  of  Syria  (Polybius,  v.  58).  Ptolemy 


SELE-DKNIAL 


SELF-DENIAL 


467 


Euergetes  seized  it  in  246  B.C.,  and  Antiochus  III. 
(the  Great)  achieved  renown  by  recapturing  it  in  220. 
Ptolemy  Philometor  took  it  in  146  B.C.  and  '  put 
on  himself  the  diadem  of  Asia'  (1  Mac  II8-13),  but 
after  his  death  the  city  had  to  be  restored  to  the 
Seleucids  (ib.  l&  19).  When  Syria  came  under  the 
sway  of  the  liomans,  they  made  Seleucia  a  free  city 
— '  Seleucia  libera,  Pieria  appellata'  (Pliny,  HN  V. 
xviii.  21). 

Seleucia  had  great  importance  as  an  emporium 
of  Levantine  commerce.  The  Orontes  was  navig- 
able as  far  as  Antioch  (Strabo,  XVI.  ii.  7),  but  only 
for  smaller  craft,  while  the  harbour  of  Seleucia 
received  the  largest  transport  ships  of  Egypt, 
Phoenicia,  Cyprus,  Asia  Minor,  Greece,  and  Italy. 
From  this  seaport  St.  Paul  and  Barnabas  sailed  on 
their  first  missionary  journey  (Ac  134),  and  at  the 
end  of  the  adventure  they  'sailed  to  Antioch' 
(1426),  landing  probably  at  Seleucia. 

The  remains  of  Seleucia — citadel,  amphitheatre, 
temples,  etc.  —  are  numerous  and  impressive. 
'Some  day  there  will  be  much  to  disclose  here, 
but  excavation  will  be  exceedingly  costly  owing  to 
the  deep  silt'  (G.  L.  Bell,  op.  cit.,  p.  334). 

LITERATURE. — E.  R.  Bevan,  The  House  of  Seleucus,  2  vols., 

1902,  i.  208  ff.  ;   Murray's  Handbook  to  Syria  and  Palestine, 

1903,  p.  390  f. ;  C.  Baedeker,  Palestine  and  Syria*,  1906,  p. 

358  f.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SELF-DENIAL. — Jesus  emphasized  the  necessity 
of  self-denial  (eavrbv  airapvelcrOai,  Mk  834ff>)  and  the 
taking  up  of  the  cross  if  outward  following  was 
to  become  real  discipleship.  Self-denial  looks 
primarily  to  the  initial  struggle  by  which  the 
disciple  cuts  himself  adrift  from  his  former  way 
of  living,  renouncing  parents,  wife,  possessions, 
hating  life  itself  when  these  stand  in  the  way 
(Mt  1037f-,  Lk  1426'-).  Taking  up  the  cross  looks 
rather  to  the  acceptance  of  the  stern  conditions 
and  dread  possibilities  of  the  new  life  itself.  By 
the  former  the  individual  tears  himself  out  of  the 
old  conditions,  by  the  latter  he  shoulders  the 
burdens  of  the  new  and  as  yet  untried  service. 
The  difference  between  the  two  may  be  illustrated 
from  the  experience  of  the  man  who  volunteers  to 
serve  his  country  in  war.  He  has  first  to  wrench 
himself  from  the  glad  associations  of  home,  and 
then  to  take  his  post  of  hardship,  danger,  and 
perhaps  death  in  the  ranks  and  on  the  field  of 
battle.  Both  are  acts  of  will  characterized  by 
immediacy  and  decisiveness  (aor.  Mk  834,  Lk  923, 
Mt  1624) ;  but  Luke's  addition  of  '  daily '  is  psycho- 
logically true.  The  original  choice  has  to  be 
constantly  re-affirmed  if  the  acolyte  is  not  to 
become  an  apostate. 

The  best  commentary  on  these  two  ideas  is 
found  in  Ph  34"14,  where  St.  Paul  describes  both 
his  own  self-denial  and  his  taking  up  of  the  cross. 
What  things  were  gain  to  him  these  he  counted 
loss  for  Christ,  i.e.  he  gave  up  friends,  privileges, 
earthly  prospects — in  reality  his  old  self — and  he 
accepted  to  the  full  the  conditions  of  the  new 
service  (cf.  Ac  916),  the  fellowship  of  Christ's 
sufferings  and  conformity  to  His  death.  Similar 
is  the  thought  in  Gal  219'-.  The  Apostle  speaks  of 
what  he  calls  his  own  death,  his  own  crucifixion, 
and  Christ  now  living  in  him. 

Thus,  although  the  evangelic  phrase  tavrov  dirap- 
vt'ivOai  is  not  found  in  the  apostolic  literature, 
the  idea  underlies  the  whole  apostolic  view  of  the 
Christian  life. 

(a)  The  idea  was  primarily  used  in  the  martyr 
sense  of  willingness  to  sutler  death  or  persecution 
for  Jesus'  sake.  Death  and  persecution  in  them- 
selves have  no  spiritual  value  (1  Co  133,  1  P  41S), 
but  to  deny  the  '  name'  or  the  '  faith  '  (Rev  213  38) 
in  order  to  escape  them  is  to  renounce  Christ. 
'  Whoever  denies  himself  to  be  a  Christian  and 


makes  that  plain  by  his  actions,  i.e.  by  wor- 
shipping our  gods,  .  .  .  shall  gain  forgiveness' 
(Trajan's  letter  to  Pliny,  Ep.  xcvii.  [xcviii.],  in 
E.  G.  Hardy's  ed.  of  Pliny,  Epp.  ad  Traianum, 
London,  1889,  p.  217).  To  do  that  is  the  very 
opposite  of  Christian  self-denial  in  this  martyr 
sense.  The  Apocalypse  is  a  warning  against 
'cowardice'  (Rev  21*),  and  an  encouragement  to 
be  faithful  unto  death  (210).  The  Christian  was  in 
constant  danger  of  a  violent  death  for  Christ's 
sake  (Ro  S38,  2  Co  410,  Ph  310,  Col  I24,  1  Co  1531, 
2  Ti  211'13).  This  ^/rpwo-is,  or  dying  to  the  world, 
was,  however,  the  sure  foretaste  of  eternal  life. 
'  God  cannot  deny  himself,'  and  this  Divine  moral 
consistency  ensures  future  glory  to  those  who  deny 
Him  not,  as  it  ensures  shame  to  those  who  do  (2  Ti 
211-13).  Some  explain  2  Ti  211  of  the  Christian's 
death  with  Christ  in  conversion  (J.  Moffatt,  in 
EOT,  London,  1910),  and  1  Co  1531  of  'the  utter 
self-denial  with  which  he  [St.  Paul]  devoted  him- 
self to  the  work  of  preaching  Christ'  (T.  C. 
Edwards,  1  Corinthians*,  London,  1885,  p.  425) ; 
but  both  passages  can  be  as  well  explained  as 
referring  to  the  danger  of  violent  death  and  per- 
secution for  Christ's  sake.  Christian  self-denial 
in  this  sense  is  the  assertion  of  Christ's  uncon- 
ditional Lordship  and  the  repudiation  of  all  other 
claims  (like  the  Ki/pios  Kalaap  claim)  to  determine 
Christian  conduct. 

(b)  Self-denial  describes  also  the  initial  stage  of 
the  Christian   life  when   by  faith  the  individual 
wholly  yields  himself  to  Christ.     When  St.  Paul 
said  :  '  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?'  (Ac 
96),  that  is  self-denial.     Man  apart  from  God  is 
selfish,    controlled    from    below.       '  Horno    extra 
Deum  quserit  pabulum  in   creatura  material!  vel 
per  voluptatem  vel  per  avaritiam '  (Bengel,  on  Ro 
I29).     While  the  6  l<rw  avepwiros  (Ro  7" ;  cf.  1  P  34) 
or  the  vovs  acknowledges  the  higher  law  of  God,  in 
actual  experience  the  self  is  enslaved.     To  obtain 
freedom  total  self-denial  is  required.     This  is  done 
by  an  act  of  faith  in  Christ.     The  old  sinful  self 
dies  with  Christ  (Gal  22uf-,  Ro  66,  Col  220).     This 
self-denial   is    typified    by    baptism.     It  is    'the 
crucifixion  of  personal  desire  and   pretension  in 
order    to    the    reception    of    communicated    life' 
(T.    H.    Green,    Works6,   London,    1906,   iii.    194). 
The  death  of  Christ  is  the  objective  condition  of 
this  initial  act  of  self-denial.     The  identification 
of  the  personality  with  Christ  is  possible  because 
Christ  first  identified  Himself  with  us.     This  is 
the  Divine  moment  in  Christian  self-denial,  and 
this  is  what  distinguishes  it  from  the  Platonic  or 
Hegelian.     Plato  speaks  of  the  '  inner  man  '  (Rep. 
ix.  589 A.  ;  cf.  Plotinus,  Enn.  i.  1.  10),  or  the  'god 
within.'     This  was  also  a  favourite  Stoic  concep- 
tion.    To  the  Stoics  self-denial  was  due  to  the 
inherent  native  energy  of  this  Divine  element,  just 
as  to  the  Hegelian  it  is  a  process  immanent  in 
humanity  as  such.     Such  a  view  takes  no  account 
of  guilt  as  an  infringement  of  the  Divine  law,  and 
as  something  which  man  per  se  cannot  remove.     It 
is  superficial   also  in  its  analysis  of  the  actual 
moral  weakness  of  man.     By  faith  the  Christian  is 
united  with  Christ  in  His  death  and  so  guilt  is 
removed.     Deatli  cancels  all  claims  (Ro  67"14),  and 
the  result  is  a  new  man  (vtos,  KO.IVOS  &V&PUTTOS,  Col 
310,  Eph  424,  Gal  615).     Christian  self-denial  is  not 
thus  simply  a  bare  moral  act — it  is  redemptively 
conditioned — nor  is  it  an  end  in  itself,  nor  self- 
destruction  as  it  seems  to  be  in  Buddhism.     Its 
object  is  self-renewal,  self-re-creation  in  Christ. 

(c)  This  leads  to  another  self-denial,  which  is  the 
gradual  life-long  process  of  sanctification  negatively 
viewed,  just  as  the  former  self-denial  'which  is  its 
root'  is  'the  one  decisive  ideal  act'  taking  place 
at  conversion  (Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  'Romans'6, 
Edinburgh,  1902,  p.  158).     We  must  not  separate 


468 


SELF-DENIAL 


SELF-EXAMINATION 


the  two  and  make  the  one  forensic  and  the  other 
ethical.  '  Paul  never  presents  Christ's  death  as  a 
substitution  for  ours  in  the  sense  that  we  need  not 
die  as  well'  (Green,  iii.  194).  It  is  equally  true 
— and  this  is  what  Green  does  not  sufficiently 
emphasize — that  he  never  thinks  of  our  dying  as 
possible  apart  from  the  prior  substitutionary  death 
of  Christ  for  us.  The  modern  tendency  is  to  over- 
emphasize in  St.  Paul's  teaching  what  Green 
neglects.  J.  Weiss  (Paul  and  Jesus,  Eng.  tr., 
London,  1909),  e.g.,  makes  it  a  radical  dis- 
tinction between  St.  Paul  and  Jesus  that  for 
St.  Paul  the  ethical  content  of  the  new  life  is  an 
effect  of  Divine  acts,  while  for  Jesus  it  is  an  effect 
of  man's  own  ethical  endeavour.  But  to  St.  Paul 
it  is  an  act  both  of  will  and  of  Divine  working  at 
one  and  the  same  time  (Ph  212<  1S). 

The  self  to  be  denied  is  the  sinful  self  and  its 
works.  The  phrases  used  for  this  self-denial  are 
to  'put  off'  (airoriOeo-Bai),  'to  cleanse'  (icaOaplffiv), 
'  to  slay '  (davarovv)  the  flesh  and  its  works.  The 
new  life  of  the  Christian  in  virtue  of  his  faith  and 
of  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God,  it  is  a  walk  in  the  Spirit,  it  is  Christ 
in  us  and  we  in  Him.  Hence  it  is  inconsistent 
that  the  fruits  of  this  new  life  should  spring  from 
the  flesh.  The  Christian  life  is  not  a  life  of  moral 
indifferentism,  rb  d8ia<p6pus  frjv  (Clem.  Alex.  Strom. 
iii.  5.  40),  as  some  of  the  early  sects  held.  It  is  be- 
cause this  moral  indifferentism  was  associated  with 
intellectual  error  concerning  Christ  that  John, 
Jude,  Peter,  and  Paul  (Col.  and  Pastorals)  oppose 
Christian  self-denial  to  intellectual  error  and  to 
moral  delinquency.  Self-denial  in  this  sense  is 
the  personal  regaining,  through  conflict,  of  all  the 
personality  and  of  society  for  God.  It  is  the 
gradual  realization  of  all  that  is  involved  in  our 
dying  with  Christ  in  conversion  and  our  rising 
with  Him  to  newness  of  life. 

(d)  But  Christian  self-denial  rises  to  even  higher 
heights.  The  Christian  life  is  one  of  self-denial  in 
the  sense  that  the  life  of  Jesus  was  also  one  of 
supreme  self-denial.  His  life  was  one  of  complete 
obedience  to  His  Father's  will  (He  58  ;  cf.  Mk  1436). 
It  was  a  life  of  self-emptying  for  the  sake  of 
redemption  (Ph  27),  and  the  Christian  is  under  law 
to  Christ  (ft^o/ios  Xpurrov,  1  Co  921).  The  law  of 
Christ  is  tliat  each  one  must  bear  the  burdens  of 
others  (Gal  62).  The  Christian  law  of  self-denial 
is  thus  that  we  serve  one  another  through  love 
(Gal  513).  The  example  of  Christ  constrains  us  to 
renounce  privileges,  liberties,  ease,  even  life  itself, 
for  the  sake  of  bringing  blessing  to  others — '  we 
ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren '  (1  Jn 
31B).  How  far  this  may  go  we  can  judge  from  Ro 
93fp,  a  '  spark  from  the  fire  of  Christ's  substitu- 
tionary love'  (Dorner,  quoted  in  EGT,  London, 
1900,  in  loc.).  It  is  in  this  light  that  we  must 
view  the  giving  up  of  property  by  Barnabas  and 
others.  This  self-denial  is  not  consciously  directed 
against  sin  as  described  above  (c),  but  is  rather 
the  out-flowings  of  Christ's  love  in  the  heart. 
St.  Paul  connects  the  example  of  Jesus  often 
with  this  self-denial,  and  this  example  is  not 
simply  a  human  example  but  that  of  One  who, 
though  He  was  rich,  for  our  sakes  became  poor ; 
of  One  who,  though  He  was  Divtine,  yet  became 
obedient  unto  death,  the  death  of  the  Cross.  The 
Christian  life  of  self-denial  is  motived  by  love. 
This  is  the  immanent  principle  which  is  present  all 
along  and  which  unifies  in  one  Christian  experience 
all  these  forms  of  self-denial.  Without  this  all  is 
worthless  (1  Co  133).  It  was  in  Christ  that  this 
love  dawned  on  men.  It  is  the  love  of  Christ  shed 
abroad  in  our  hearts. 

LITERATURE.— W.  F.  Ad.eney,  art.  '  Self -Surrender '  in  HDB 
iv. ;  W.  L.  Walker,  The  Spirit  and  the  Incarnation,  Edin- 
burgh, 1899,  Index,  s.v.  '  Self-Renunciation ' ;  J.  Kostlin, 


Christttche  Ethik,  Berlin,  1888-89,  p.  119;  A.  Harnack,  The 
Mission  and  Expansion  of  Christianity  in  the  First  Three 
Centuries,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1904,  vol.  i.  bk.  i.  ch.  iii. ;  T.  H. 
Green,  Prolegomena  to  Ethics*,  Oxford,  1899,  bk.  iii.  ch.  v. ; 
see  also  various  Commentaries  on  passages  quoted. 

DONALD  MACKENZIE. 

SELF-EXAMINATION In  two  passages  of  the 

NT  (1  Co  II28  and  2  Co  135)  the  duty  of  self- 
examination  is  expressly  inculcated.  In  the 
former  the  verb  used  is  SoKt/idfw  ;  in  the  latter 
Treipdfa  is  combined  with  8oKi/j.dfa.  Both  these 
words  are  more  appropriate  to  the  act  of  intro- 
spection than  the  more  general  terms  signifying 
investigation,  like  dverdfa  or  dvaicpLvu  :  for  the 
object  of  self-knowledge  in  the  Christian  is  to 
discover  his  relationship  with  the  Good.  '  Self- 
examination  is  often  a  direct  result  of  a  new 
awakening  to  a  sense  of  the  moral  imperative  such 
as  we  have  already  described  as  conversion  ;  but  it 
may  be  carried  on  by  men  periodically,  without 
any  such  reawakening '  ( J.  S.  Mackenzie,  Manual 
of  Ethics*,  London,  1900,  p.  378). 

For  the  purpose  of  self-examination  8oKi/j.dfa 
carries  with  it  the  suggestion  that  the  scrutiny 
will  end  in  acceptance  or  approval,  while  ireipdfa 
more  commonly  indicates  a  test  which  will  issue  in 
the  disclosure  of  what  is  defective  and  evil.  But 
this  distinction  is  not  always  obvious,  nor  can  it 
always  be  pressed,  for  in  2  Co  13s  St.  Paul  uses 
both  words  together :  '  Try  yourselves  (ir«/>dfere) 
if  you  are  in  the  faith  ;  prove  yourselves  (5oKifj,d- 
fere) ' ;  and  he  proceeds, '  or  do  you  not  see  when  you 
look  at  yourselves  (tiriyiixliffKeTe,  '  know  ye  not  as 
to  your  own  selves,'  RV)  that  Jesus  Christ  is  in 
you  ?  unless  it  should  be  that  you  fail  in  the  test ' 
(a56Ki/j.oi).  The  passage  is  so  rendered  by  A. 
Menzies  (Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  London, 
1912,  p.  103),  who  explains  that  '  the  examination 
enjoined  must  lead  to  one  of  two  results :  either 
the  convert  must  conclude  that  what  is  required 
of  him  is  too  much  ;  then  he  does  not  stand  the 
test,  he  is  not  fit  for  the  kingdom ;  Jesus  Christ  is 
not  so  much  a  part  of  his  life  that  he  must  give 
up  everything  in  order  to  be  with  Him  ;  or  he  will 
conclude,  on  putting  the  necessary  questions  to 
himself,  that  Jesus  Christ  is  in  him  and  must 
dominate  his  whole  life  and  action.'  Thus,  the 
Apostle  throws  his  converts  back  upon  the  test  of 
their  own  heart-experience  so  as  to  produce  a  com- 
plete severance  from  pagan  vices,  and  further  so 
that  he  himself,  who  has  to  condemn  these  vices, 
will  be  approved  as  having  done  his  duty  and  will 
be  found  to  be  undeserving  of  the  censure  that  has 
been  poured  on  him. 

In  1  Co  ll28-29  the  exhortation  is  concerned  with 
the  Lord's  Supper :  by  self-scrutiny  the  believer 
may  be  saved  from  eating  and  drinking  judgment 
(Kptfia)  to  himself.  The  Communion  had  been 
allowed  to  degenerate  into  an  ordinary  feast  in- 
stead of  being  a  means  of  sanctifying  grace.  The 
Apostle  urges  upon  the  Christians  the  duty  of  self- 
examination  on  the  ground  that  a  right  estimate 
of  themselves  is  necessary  for  a  right  estimate  of 
the  Lord's  'body,'  i.e.  the  spiritual  significance  of 
His  glorified  humanity. 

Generally  speaking,  St.  Paul  appears  to  com- 
mend self-examination  not  so  much  with  a  view  to 
the  disclosure  of  personal  weakness  as  in  order 
to  provide  a  stimulus  to  the  spiritual  life,  an 
intelligent  realization  of  what  the  faith  claims 
from  the  Christian,  ethical  obedience  and  a  clear 
apprehension  of  duty.  The  fact  of  unworthiness 
in  motive  and  life  is  already  detected  even  if  not 
generally  admitted  by  the  believer  :  self-examina- 
tion will  bring  it  home  to  the  conscience  and  show 
the  necessity  for  aiming  at  the  higher  spiritual 
ideal  in  thought  and  action. 

The  duty  of  self-examination  is  not  so  familiar  a 
feature  in  the  early  literature  of  Christian  experience 


SENATE 


SEPULCHRE 


469 


as  it  was  afterwards  to  become  under  monasticism 
and  in  the  writings  of  mystics  in  all  ages.  Among 
the  mediajval  mystics  the  purification  of  self  as 
the  result  of  the  painful  descent  into  the  '  cell 
of  self-knowledge'  is  a  well-marked  stage  in  the 
ascent  to  the  uncreated  good  (E.  Underbill,  Jlyxti- 
ci.y»t2,  London,  1911,  P.  240  ff.).  The  apostolic 
Christian  is  urged  to  follow  his  Lord's  example 
(1  Ti  2«,  1  P  221),  and  to  look  away  to  Jesus  (He  122) 
rather  than  to  engage  in '  the  exercises  of  self- 
scrutiny.  One  seeks  in  vain  among  the  mystic 
Johannine  writings  for  any  such  incentives  to 
self-examination  as  were  afterwards  to  be  adduced 
by  St.  Catherine  of  Siena  :  '  If  thou  wilt  arrive  at 
a  perfect  knowledge  of  Me,  ,the  Eternal  Truth, 
thou  shouldst  never  go  outside  the  knowledge  of 
thyself  (cf.  E.  Underbill,  op.  cit.,  p.  241) ;  or  by 
Thomas  &  Kempis,  hu  mills  tui  cognitio  certior  via 
est  ad  Deum,  quam  profunda  sciential  inquisitio 
(de  Imit.  Christi,  i.  3.  4).  Self-examination  is  a 
conspicuous  element  in  all  forms  of  pietism  :  it 
passed  into  evangelical  Christianity  ;  and  chiefly 
in  the  mystical  autobiographies  of  Quakerism,  like 
the  diaries  of  T.  Ellwood  and  J.  Woolman,  and  in 
the  hymnology  of  early  Methodism  we  discover  it  to 
be  a  recognized  exercise  of  the  soul. 

The  NT  gives  no  encouragement  to  a  morbid  or 
excessive  self-scrutiny,  as  an  end  in  itself.  Intro- 
spection is  implied  in  1  Jn  320,  but  only  to  issue  in 
the  encouraging  declaration  that  '  God  is  greater 
than  our  heart ' :  and  in  Gal  61  (aKoirdv  fffavr6v)  we 
are  reminded  that  the  inspection  of  our  own 
hearts  tends  to  stimulate  charitableness  towards 
the  erring.  On  the  other  hand,  Apostolic  Christi- 
anity lends  no  weight  to  the  modern  tendency  to 
rule  introspection  altogether  out  of  the  religious 
life. 

LITERATURE. — In  addition  to  the  works  cited  above,  see  R.  C. 
Trench,  Synonyms  of  the  XT*,  London,  1880,  p.  278  ff. 

R.  MARTIN  POPE. 
SENATE.— See  SANHEDRIN. 

SENTENCE. — In  the  NT  this  word  is  used  only 
three  times:  (1)  as  indicating  a  judicial  sentence 
(eirixpivu,  Lk  23M ;  see  TRIAL-AT-LAW)  ;  (2)  as 
giving  a  decision  or  judgment  on  a  matter  sub- 
mitted for  settlement  (/C/HCOJ)  :  '  My  sentence  (KV 
'judgement')  is,  that  we  trouble  not  them,  which 
from  among  the  Gentiles  are  turned  to  God '  (Ac 
15'1J) ;  (3)  as  a  conclusion  come  to,  or  an  answer 
given  to  a  question  put  in  certain  circumstances 
(diroKpi^a) :  '  But  we  had  the  sentence  of  death  in 
ourselves'  (2  Co  I9  AV  ;  RV,  'Yea,  we  ourselves 
have  had  the  answer  [RVm  'sentence']  of  death 
within  ourselves').  The  word  is  of  very  frequent 
use  in  Acts  and  the  Epistles  in  the  sense  of  express- 
ing a  personal  judgment  or  decision,  or  of  holding 
an  opinion  (Ac  26",  1  Co  2s,  etc.).  JOHN  REID. 

SEPULCHRE. — Three  Greek  words  are  employed 
in  the  NT  to  express  the  idea  of  tomb  or  burial- 
place  :  (1)  nvrjfia,  Ac  229  716,  Rev  II9  ;  cf.  Lk  S27  -2353 
241,  Mk  o3-6;  (2)  fu>weiov,  Ac  1329 ;  cf.  Mt  23-" 
07112.  so  .  (3)  rd^os,  Rev  313  ;  cf.  Mt  2327-  »  2761-  •*•  " 
281 ;  the  Hebrew  equivalent  of  all  three  being  133. 
The  word  '  grave,'  though  found  eight  times  in  the 
AV,  is  not  regarded  by  the  Revisers  as  an  adequate 
English  equivalent. 

1.  Ancient  burial  customs. — The  Hebrews  uni- 
versally disposed  of  their  dead  by  burial  ;  other- 
wise they  felt  the  soul  of  the  deceased  in  Sheol 
would  not  find  rest.  The  aboriginal  cave-dwellers 
in  Canaan,  however,  seem  to  have  disposed  of  their 
dead  by  cremation  (cf.  R.  A.  S.  Macalister,  Bible 
Side-Lights  from  the  Mound  of  Gezer,  1906,  p. 
48 ff.).  Burning  was  resorted  to  by  the  Hebrews 
only  in  the  case  of  those  who  had  committed 
crime  (Gn  38M,  Lv  2014).  They  used  spices  in  pre- 


paring the  body  for  burial,  but  they  did  not 
embalm.  There  was  not  the  same  incentive  for  it 
as  prevailed  in  Egypt,  where  other-worldliness  was 
so  emphatically  illustrated  by  temple  and  pyramid. 
Still,  to  the  later  Jews  as  well  as  to  the  Egyptians 
the  tomb  was  '  the  house  of  the  living.'  Swift 
burial  was  necessary  because  of  the  climate,  and 
as  a  rule  took  place  on  the  same  day  as  the  person 
died.  Stones  were  placed  over  a  grave,  not  only 
to  mark  the  site,  but  to  prevent  jackals  and  other 
beasts  from  disturbing  the  body  (cf.  2  S  1817).  In 
the  case  of  a  criminal  the  heap  of  stones  over  his 
grave  kept  on  growing,  as  every  passer-by  felt 
compelled  to  express  his  contempt  for  him  by  add- 
ing new  stones  to  the  heap.  Ancient  tombs  are 
still  very  numerous  in  Petra,  which  is  indeed  '  the 
city  of  tombs.'  Of  the  750  (more  or  less)  sepulchres 
extant  there,  some  date  back  as  far  as  the  6th 
cent.  B.C.,  or  even  earlier,  probably  belonging  to 
the  ancient  Edomites  who  once  inhabited  those 
parts.  Others,  perhaps  the  great  majority,  are 
those  of  the  Nabatseans,  or  early  Arabs,  who 
flourished  in  Petra  from  350  B.C.  till  A.D.  100. 
These  tombs,  which  are  of  varied  styles  and  types, 
are  all  cut  in  the  sides  of  the  massive  sandstone 
mountains.  One  is  filled  with  columbaria  for 
receiving  the  ashes  of  the  dead.  As  a  necropolis 
Petra  is  worthy  of  special  study. 

2.  Ancient  types  of  sepulchre.  —  Like  their 
neighbours,  the  Hebrews  through  their  sepulchres 
gave  expression  to  their  belief  in  immortality. 
The  limestone  rocks  of  Canaan  yielded  to  their 
desire  for  a  permanent  place  of  abode.  And  yet, 
though  they  must  have  been  perfectly  familiar 
with  the  Babylonian  and  Egyptian  custom  of 
building  costly  mausolea,  the  Hebrews  insisted  on 
simplicity.  No  elaborate  or  extravagant  sepul- 
chres were  ever  erected  by  them.  They  regarded 
such  monuments  as  tending  towards  ancestor-wor- 
ship, and  they  studiously  avoided  all  kinds  of 
idolatry.  In  preparing  sepulchres  for  the  dead 
they  aimed  at  safety  and  endurance  rather  than 
elaborateness  and  ornamentation.  Men  of  position 
sometimes  prepared  their  sepulchres  while  yet 
alive ;  but,  though  the  Phoenicians  were  their 
models,  they  seldom  used  a  sarcophagus.  The 
practice  of  raising  monuments  over  their  tombs 
was  first  inaugurated  by  Simon  the  Maccabee 
(1  Mac  1327ff-).  Through  the  influence  of  the 
Greeks,  the  Hebrews  began  to  build  separate  tomb- 
chambers.  These  varied  in  style  as  follows  : 

(1)  The  simplest  type  of  Jewish  sepulchre 'was  a 
sunken  receptacle  for  a  single  body,  hewn  in  the 
rock.      Oftentimes  caves   were  appropriated   and 
used    by    them    to    save    labour    and    expense. 
Abraham,  for  example,  buried  Sarah  in  the  cave 
of  Machpelah  (Gn  239-  ").      A  slab  of  stone  was 
prepared  to  cover  tightly  the  rectangular  depres- 
sion.    This  was  whitewashed  annually,  to  guard 
against  ceremonial  defilement  (Mt  23'-17  ;  cf.  Lk  II44). 
Ancient  tombs  of  this  kind  are  very  common  in 
Palestine    still.       Some    have    been    found    with 
shafts,    as    at    Tell    el-Judeideh    (cf.    Bliss    and 
Macalister,  PJSF  Excavations,  1898-1900,  p.  199 ff.). 

(2)  Chambers  with    rectangular    recesses    called 
kokim,  or  loculi,  for  receiving  the  body.     These 
were  usually  secured  by  means  of  slabs  which  were 
plastered  and  ceiled.     Some  were  cut  in  the  face 
of  the  rock  lengthwise.     They  are  known  as  shelf- 
tombs  ;  others  were  cut  at  right  angles  to  the  sur- 
face of  the  wall,  to  a  depth  of  5  or  6  ft.,  the  body 
being  laid  in  with  the  feet  towards  the  opening. 
The  recesses  were  usually  low,  almost  on  a  level 
witli  the  floor  of  the  chamber.     It  was  probably  in 
a  shelf -tomb  that  our  Lord  was  buried  (Mt  2760, 
Mk  1546,  Lk  2353,  Jn  2012).     Over  the  shelf,  ledge, 
or  trough,   as   the    case   might    be,   arches  were 
usually  cut.     This  kokim  kind  of  sepulchre  was 


470 


SEPCJLCHKE 


SEPULCHKE 


the  family  type.  Sometimes  double  chambers  were 
made,  with  a  rock-cut  passage-way  leading  from 
one  into  the  other.  The  so-called  '  Tombs  of  the 
Kings '  and  '  Tombs  of  the  Prophets '  at  Jerusalem 
are  of  this  type.  The  Greeks  built  such  sepulchres 
from  200  B.C.  onwards.  A  heavy  stone  door 
swinging  in  a  socket,  or  a  large  rolling  stone-disk, 
protected  the  entrance  against  robbers  and  other 
wilful  violators  (Mt  2760,  Jn  II38).  Curses  were 
often  invoked  on  those  who  would  disturb  the 
dead  (cf.  the  inscription  on  Shakespeare's  tomb  at 
Stratford-on-Avon,  '  And  curs'd  be  he  who  moves 
my  bones ').  No  outsider  was  allowed  to  bury  in 
a  private  family  sepulchre,  because  such  tombs 
were  holy  ground.  If  unused  and  empty,  they 
might  be,  indeed  often  were,  occupied  by  outcasts 
and  homeless  ones  who  took  refuge  in  them  (Mk 
52).  Chamber-tombs  frequently  had  porches,  vesti- 
bules, or  antechambers.  Even  the  single  tomb 
might  have  its  antechamber  as  well  as  its  chamber 
proper.  C.  M.  Doughty  describes  sepulchres  of 
this  type  as  existing  in  Arabia  (Travels  in  Arabia 
Deserta,  1888,  i.  108). 

(3)  Tombs  built  of  stones.  Masonry  tombs  are 
all  of  later  date.  Some  of  them,  however,  carry 
us  as  far  back  as  the  Greek  Age.  Certain  very 
interesting  antique  examples  still  exist  at  Kadesh- 
Naphtali,  Tell  Hum,  Malal,  Teiasir,  and  'Ain  el- 
B'anieh.  The  one  probably  best  known  to  the 
student  of  the  Bible  is  the  so-called  Tomb  of 
Rachel  at  the  fork  of  the  road  leading  to  Beth- 
lehem. At  Palmyra  the  most  remarkable  masonry 
tombs  are  to  be  seen.  They  are  known  as  '  sepul- 
chral towers.'  One  stands  59  ft.  high  and  contains 
a  tomb-chamber  27  by  20  ft.  in  size.  Other  tombs 
built  of  masonry  are  to  be  found  at  Rabbath 
Ammon,  and  formerly  at  Modin,  the  home  of  the 
Maccabees.  In  certain  cases  limestone  sarcophagi, 
ornamented  and  highly  polished,  received  the  dead. 
Not  infrequently  such  tombs  are  revered  by  the 
Arabs  as  sacred,  being  regarded  as  the  sepulchres 
of  saints  and  heroes.  The  Arabs  make  pilgrim- 
ages to  them,  call  them  makams,  and  carefully 
guard  them  against  all  possible  profanation. 
Religious  services  are  frequently  held  at  them, 
and  votive  offerings  are  repeatedly  brought  and 
placed  on  the  walls  under  the  saint's  protection. 
Clothing,  implements  of  agriculture,  and  other 
such  peasant  belongings  are  considered  perfectly 
safe  when  deposited  by  a  saint's  tomb;  for,  if  they 
are  injured  or  stolen,  the  act  incurs  the  saint's 
wrath.  Even  the  Jews  perpetuate  the  memory  of 
certain  celebrated  Rabbis  by  honouring  their  tombs 
through  the  building  of  synagogues  over  them, 
which  in  turn  have  become  centres  of  pilgrimage  ; 
that  of  the  celebrated  Talmudist  Rabbi  Meir, 
near  Tiberias,  is  an  illustrious  example. 

3.  NT  passages. — There  are  but  five  passages  in 
apostolic  history  which  speak  of  tombs  or  sepul- 
chres: (1)  Ac  229,  in  which  Peter  says,  'Brethren, 
I  may  say  unto  you  freely  of  the  patriarch  David, 
that  he  both  died  and  was  buried,  and  his  tomb 
(r6  fj.vfj/j.0.  avrov)  is  with  us  unto  this  day.'  The 
Apostle's  argument  is  that,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  David  was  a  patriarch  and  the  founder  of  a 
royal  family  or  clan,  and  wrote  Ps  1610  ('  For  thou 
wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  Sheol,'  etc.),  he  never- 
theless himself  came  to  the  grave  and  was  buried  ; 
therefore,  he  must  have  had  in  mind  One  greater 
than  himself.  According  to  1  K  210,  David  was 
buried  'in  the  city  of  David.'  Nehemiah  (316) 
mentions  'the  sepulchres  of  David.'  To  buy  off 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  Hyrcanus  opened  one  of  the 
chambers  of  David's  sepulchre  and  took  out  3000 
talents ;  Herod  the  Great  rifled  another  in  the 
time  of  Hadrian  (cf.  Josephus,  Ant.  vil.  xv.  3, 
xin.  viii.  4).  David's  tomb  is  said  to  have  fallen 
into  ruins.  Its  site  was  probably  within  the  city 


walls.  F.  de  Saulcy  erroneously  identifies  it  with  the 
'Tombs  of  the  Kings,5  which  are  of  Roman  origin 
(Journey  round  the  Dead  Sea,  new  ed.,  1854,  ii. 
lllff.).  Jerome,  writing  in  the  4th  cent.  A.D.  to 
Marcella,  expresses  a  hope  that  they  might  pray 
together  in  the  mausoleum  of  David  (Ep.  xlvi. ). 

(2)  Ac  716,  '  And  they  [the  fathers]  were  carried 
over  unto  Shechem,  and  laid  in  the  tomb  (iv  ry 
/j.vnij.aTi)  that  Abraham  bought  for  a  price  in  silver 
of  the  sons  of  Hamor  in  Shechem.'    Stephen  here 
seems  to  have  confused  OT  statements  with  ancient 
Jewish   tradition.     According  to  Gn  5013,   Jacob 
was  buried  in  Hebron  ;  and,  according  to  Jos  2432, 
Joseph  was  buried  in  Shechem.    Jewish  tradition 
adds  much  to  these  facts :  e.g.  Josephus  (Ant.  II. 
viii.   2)   regards  all  the  patriarchs  as  buried   in 
Hebron.     The  Book  of  Jubilees  (ch.  46)  speculates 
about  the  bones  of  Joseph's  brethren,  declaring 
that    they    were    buried    in    Shechem.      This   is 
possible.     There  is  nothing  to  prevent  our  suppos- 
ing that  the  bodies  of  all  twelve  of  the  sons  of 
Jacob   were    removed    to    the    Promised    Land. 
Shechem  was  more  central  than  Hebron.     It  was 
there  that  Abram  first  settled  when  he  came  into 
Canaan  ;  there  he  built  an  altar  to  Jahweh  (Gn 
126-  7) ;  and  it  is  only  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
he  also  purchased  the  ground  on  which  it  stood ; 
otherwise  it  would  have  been  exposed  to  desecra- 
tion and  destruction.     '  The  purchase  of  the  ground 
on  which  an  altar  stood  would  therefore  seem  to 
follow  as  a  kind  of  corollary  from  the  erection  of 
an   altar  on   that  ground '  (cf.   R.  J.   Knowling, 
EGT,  'Acts,'  1900,  in  loc.).    This  does  not  pre- 
clude the  possibility  of  Jacob's  purchase  of  the 
field  of  Shechem  from  the  sons  of  Hamor  (Gn  3319, 
Jos    2432).      Stephen,   accordingly,    only   enlarges 
upon  the  statements  of  the  OT  in  keeping  with 
both  tradition  and  possibility.     To-day  the  tomb 
of  Joseph  is  shown  a  few  hundred  yards  to  the 
N.  of  Jacob's  well,  and  the  same  distance  almost 
due  E.  from  Shechem.      Tradition  fixed  upon  this 
location,  as  early  as  the  4th  cent.  A.D.,  as  the  place 
where  Joseph  was  buried.      The  present  tomb, 
which  was  restored  in  1868,  has  the  usual  appear- 
ance of  a  Muslim  wSli.     On  the  other  hand,  the 
Hardm,  or  sacred  area,  which  encloses  the  Cave 
of  Machpelah  in  Hebron  marks  the  place  where 
Abraham  and  Sarah,  Isaac  and  Rebekah,  Jacob 
and  Leah  were  buried.     Few  Europeans  can  boast 
of  having  been  permitted  to  enter  it ;  the  present 
writer  had  this  privilege  in  April  1914. 

(3)  Ac  1329,  'And  when  they  had  fulfilled  all 
things  that  were  written  of  him,  they  took  him 
down  from  the  tree  and  laid  him  in  a  tomb'  (eis 
fj.vrnj.eiov).    St.  Paul  here  treats  of  Christ's  burial 
with  a  freedom  analogous  to  that  of  St.  Peter 
when  speaking  of  David's  (Ac  229).     The  motive  of 
both  was  the  same,  namely,  to  prove  the  reality  of 
the  death,  and,  therefore,  of  the  resurrection  from 
the  dead.     Unlike  Enoch  and  Elijah,  Christ  had 
died  and  been  actually  buried ;  hence  His  death 
was  a  reality,  and  because  He  had  risen  from  the 
tomb  His  resurrection  was  an  indisputable   fact. 
But  did  the  Jews  bury  Jesus  ?    The  Gospel  of  Peter 
says  that  they  did  (21-24).     And  surely  Joseph  of 
Arimathaea  and   Nicodemus  were  both  Jews  and 
members  of  the  Sanhedrin.     Where  is  His  tomb  to 
be  located?    Certain  authorities  are  unwilling  to 
commit  themselves ;  but  the  present  writer  is  free 
to  acknowledge  that  the  traditional  place,  marked 
as  it  is  by  the  Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre, 
despite  all  that  is  repulsive  and  idolatrous  about 
it,    best   satisfies    him   as   the   approximate   site. 
Eusebius  (Onom.,  ed.  P.  de  Lagarde,  1870,  pp.  229, 
248)  favours  this  opinion  (cf.  H.  Gutlie,  art.  '  Holy 
Sepulcher,'  in  Schaft'-Herzog,  v.  [1909]  328-331). 

(4)  Ro  313,  'Their  throat  is  an  open  sepulchre' 

These  words  are  quoted  from  the  LXX 


SERGIUS  PAULUS 


SERJEANTS,  LICTOES 


471 


version  of  Pa  510.  The  Psalmist  is  describing 
enemies  whose  false  and  treacherous  language 
threatened  ruin  to  Israel.  Just  as  a  grave 
stands  yawning  to  receive  the  corpse,  and  gives 
forth  foul  and  pestilent  vapours,  so  the  throat  of 
the  wicked  is  open  to  besmirch  by  slander  and 
malice  some  one's  fair  name.  The  modern  custom 
of  secreting  tomb  cavities  and  re-opening  them  to 
make  fresh  interments  affords  a  partial  illustra- 
tion of  what  the  Apostle  means. 

(5)  Rev  II9,  'And  from  among  the  peoples  and 
tribes  and  tongues  and  nations  do  men  look  upon 
their  dead  bodies  three  days  and  a  half,  and  sutler 
not  their  dead  bodies  to  be  laid  in  a  tomb'  (ds 
Hvrjtta).  The  picture  drawn  here  by  John  is  that  of 
a  degenerate  Church  refusing  to  allow  the  bodies 
of  its  true  witnesses  the  rite  of  burial.  To  the 
apostles,  such  a  spirit  was  paralleled  only  by  pagan 
malice.  For  the  enemies  of  the  Church  to  be  will- 
ing not  only  to  see  the  bodies  of  the  faithful  lie 
exposed  in  the  open  way,  but  to  invite  the  world 
to  the  spectacle,  and  to  celebrate  the  event  with 
holiday  joy  and  the  exchange  of  gifts  (v.10),  was 
the  climax  of  insolence  and  contumely. 

LITERATURE. — Compare  the  art*.  'Burial,'  'Tomb,'  'Grave,' 
'Sepulchre,'  in  the  various  Dictionaries  of  the  Bible  and  Re- 
ligious Encyclopaedias ;  also  R.  A.  S.  Macalister,  PEFSt  xxxiv. 
[1902],  xli.  [1909] ;  F.  J.  Bliss  and  R.  A.  S.  Macalister,  Exca- 
vations in  Palestine  during  the  years  1898-1900  (PEF,  1902); 
J.  P.  Peters  and  H.  Thiersch,  Painted  Tombs  in  the  Necro- 
polis of  Marissa  (PEF,  1905);  R.  E.  Briinnow  and  A.  v. 
Domaszewski,  Die  Provincia  Arabia,  i.  and  ii.  [1904-05] ;  G. 
Dalman,  Petra  und  seine  Felxheiligtumer,  1908  ;  E.  Robinson, 
Biblical  Researches^,  1856  ;  K.  Mommert,  Golgotha  und  das 
heiliije  Grab  zu  Jerusalem,  19<X> ;  Baedeker-Benzinger,  Pales- 
tine and  Syria,  1912 ;  Zeitschrift  des  deutschen  Palaestina- 
Vereins,  1878  ff. ;  Hittheilungen  und  Nachrichten  des  deutschen 
Palaestina-Vereins,  1895 ff. ;  RB,  1882 ff. 

GEORGE  L.  ROBINSON. 

SERGIUS  PAULUS.  — Sergius  Paulus  is  men- 
tioned in  Ac  134'12,  where  he  is  described  as  the 
proconsul  in  Cyprus,  '  a  man  of  understanding '  who 
'  called  unto  him  Barnabas  and  Saul,  and  sought  to 
hear  the  word  of  God.'  With  Sergius  Paulus  was 
Elymas  the  sorcerer  who  sought  '  to  turn  aside 
the  proconsul  from  the  faith.'  St.  Paul's  power 
brought  blindness  upon  Elymas.  '  Then  the  pro- 
consul, when  he  saw  what  was  done,  believed, 
being  astonished  at  the  teaching  of  the  Lord.' 

The  Sergii  were  a  Roman  patrician  gens  who 
furnished  more  than  one  consul.  Two  possible 
references  to  Sergius  Paulus  occur  outside  the 
NT.  A  Sergius  Paulus  is  mentioned  in  the  Index 
of  Authors  to  Pliny's  Natural  History,  as  an 
authority  on  bks.  ii.  and  xviii.,  which  give  special 
information  about  Cyprus.  A  Greek  inscription 
from  the  N.  coast  of  Cyprus  is  dated  '  in  the  pro- 
consulship  of  Paulus,'  who  is  probably  the  same 
governor. 

NT  references,  though  incidental  (for  the  interest 
of  the  story  centres  in  the  duel  between  St.  Paul 
and  Elymas),  describe  a  triumph  for  the  Christian 
preachers.  It  was  customary  for  a  high  Roman 
official  to  have  in  his  train  of  comites  not  only 
personal  friends  and  attaches,  but  also  'pro- 
vincials, men  of  letters  or  of  scientific  knowledge 
or  of  tastes  and  habits  that  rendered  them  agree- 
able or  useful  to  the  great  man '  (W.  M.  Ramsay, 
St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  p.  77).  Sergius  Paulus  is 
described  as  awerbs — a  man  of  understanding,  or  of 
keen  intelligence.  This  description  does  not  favour 
the  idea  that  he  was  weakly  under  the  influence  of 
a  mountebank.  Elymas  was  evidently  a  powerful 
exponent  of  a  subtle  theosophical  system  ;  and  as 
a  man  of  unusual  intelligence,  with  a  religious 
bent,  the  governor  encouraged  the  presence  and 
enjoyed  the  company  of  such  scientists  and  philo- 
sophers. For  the  same  reason  he  sent  for  Barnabas 
and  St.  Paul,  when  news  reached  him  of  their 
work  in  Cyprus.  These  travelling  teachers  were 
summoned  to  Court.  The  governor  listened  to 


their  message  with  such  evident  pleasure  and  ap- 
proval that  the  jealousy  of  Elymas  was  roused,  and 
lie  tried  to  dissuade  his  patron  from  hearing  them. 
But  St.  Paul's  challenge  reduced  Elymas  to  im- 
potent blindness.  Sergius  Paulus  had  been  im- 
pressed already  by  the  missionaries'  exposition  of 
Christianity.  He  was  '  astonished  at  the  teaching 
of  the  Lord.'  His  astonishment  is  said  to  have  been 
due  not  to  the  miracle  but  to  the  teaching  (C.  v. 
Weizsacker  is  wrong,  therefore,  in  ascribing  the 
conversion  of  Sergius  Paulus  to  '  the  Apostle 
striking  his  favourite,  the  Magian  Barjesus,  blind' 
[Apostolic  Age,  i.  1 11  ;  and  cf.  274]).  The  Christian 
message  made  a  deep  impression  on  this  '  man  of 
understanding1 ;  and,  when  he  saw  the  issue  of  the 
conflict  between  the  two  champions,  '  he  believed.' 
The  governor  of  Cyprus  was  a  notable  convert. 
Renan  and  others  have  regarded  the  conversion 
of  a  Roman  proconsul  as  incredible.  It  has  to  be 
said  that  we  know  nothing  more  of  his  Christian 
life— whether  he  professed  Christianity  openly  by 
baptism,  and  used  his  influence  to  further  the 
religion,  or  whether  he  relapsed.  Possibly  the 
word  tiriffrevcrev  is  used  here  to  describe  something 
less  than  full  Christian  faith;  cf.  81S,  'Simon  be- 
lieved' (though  Simon  became  a  pervert),  and  Jn 
1242,  '  the  rulers  believed  .  .  .  but  did  not  confess,' 
and  especially  Jn  208.  Anyhow,  the  unembellished 
statement  is  entirely  in  favour  of  its  historical  in- 
tegrity :  Sergius  Paulus  did  make  some  profession 
of  faith  which  sent  the  apostles  on  their  way  re- 
joicing in  the  Christian  victory.  We  are  not  told 
whether  this  man's  heart  v  is  the  good  soil  in 
which  the  seed  bears  fruit,  or  the  shallow  soil  in 
which  the  shoot  is  scorched,  or  the  preoccupied 
soil  in  which  the  growing  corn  is  choked.  We  are 
told  only  that  the  seed  took  root  and  sprang  up. 

Probably  this  proconsul's  favourable  reception 
of  St.  Paul's  preaching  was  one  of  the  earliest 
suggestions  to  the  Apostle  that  the  dominant 
power  of  Rome  might  be  an  asset  for  Christianity 
rather  than  a  hostile  influence.  It  is  possible, 
also,  that  it  encouraged  St.  Paul  and  Barnabas  to 
develop  a  more  extended  missionary  campaign  on 
the  mainland  than  was  originally  intended ;  and 
this  may  have  been  one  reason  for  John  Mark's 
withdrawal  from  the  party. 

LITER ATURE.—G.  G.  Findlay,  art.  '  Paul  the  Apostle,'  in  HDB 
iii.  704  ;  A.  C.  Headlam,  art.  '  Paulus,  Sergius,'*.,  p.  731 ;  W. 
M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller  and  the  Roman  Citizen, 
London,  1895,  pp.  7&-S8,  The  Bearing  of  Recent  Discovery  on 
the  Trustworthiness  of  the  XT,  do.,  1915;  R.  J.  Knowlingr, 
EOT,  '  Acts,'  1900,  in  loc.  For  meaning  of  '  believed '  cf.  B.  F. 
Westcott,  The  Gospel  according  to  St.  John,  2  vols.,  London, 
1908,  ii.  290 ;  B.  B.  Warfield,  art.  '  Faith,'  in  BDB  i.  829. 

J.  E.  ROBERTS. 

SERJEANTS,  LICTORS.  —  These  officials  are 
mentioned  only  in  Ac  16M-  "^  as  taking  a  message 
from  the  praetors  of  Philippi  (see  under  art. 
PRAETOR)  to  St.  Paul  and  Silas,  and  conveying 
back  to  the  magistrates  their  reply.  The  name 
in  Greek  means  '  rod-carriers,'  and  is  the  official 
equivalent  of  the  Latin  lictores((  beadles').  These 
men  were  taken  from  the  lowest  class  of  the  people 
or  from  the  class  of  freedmen  to  act  as  attendants 
upon  the  leading  magistrates  in  Rome.  A  dictator 
was  allowed  24,  a  consul  12,  and  a.prcetor  6.  Each 
carried  a  bundle  of  rods  with  an  axe  included,  as 
symbols  of  the  power  of  punishment  and  of  life 
and  death  possessed  by  the  higher  magistrates. 
They  marched  in  single  file  in  front  of  the  magis- 
trate and  cleared  a  space  for  him  through  the 
crowd.  They  had  to  see  that  proper  respect  was 
paid  to  the  magistrate,  and  had  also  to  carry  out 
the  punishment  ordered  by  him.  A  minor  offender 
(not  a  citizen)  was  bound  hand  and  foot  and  beaten 
with  the  rods ;  a  more  serious  offender  was  beheaded 
by  the  axe.  This  power  during  the  Republic  was 
held  by  generals  commanding-in-chief  in  the  field, 


472 


SERPENT 


SHADOW 


but  the  insignia  had  to  be  dropped  before  they 
passed  within  the  city  gates,  unless  they  had  been 
awarded  the  dignity  of  a  triumph.  Within  the 
city  a  citizen  had  always  the  right  of  appeal 
against  a  death  sentence  of  a  magistrate  (see 
J.  S.  Reid  in  JRS  i.  [1911]  68-99).  The  constitu- 
tion of  Rome  was  copied  in  colonies,  which  were  in 
theory  parts  of  Rome  itself.  Just  as  Rome  had 
prcetores  and  lictores,  so  had  the  colonies,  even 
where  the  chief  magistrates  did  not  bear  that 
name.  Philippi  was  a  colonia,  and  the  two  chief 
magistrates  there  had  their  lictores.  But  in  all 
probability  they  had  no  such  powers  as  their 
originals  in  Rome  had.  Their  bundles  of  rods 
were  mostly  ornamental,  and  so  was  the  axe,  if 
indeed  there  was  an  axe  at  all.  These  magistrates 
were  proud  of  the  forms  of  the  parent  city,  even  if 
the  power  possessed  by  them  was  merely  a  shadow. 
The  Acts  narrative  shows  that  it  was  in  their  power 
to  scourge  recalcitrant  subjects  of  the  Empire,  but 
not  Roman  citizens,  when  known  to  be  such.  St. 
Paul  and  Silas  could  indeed  have  successfully  ap- 
pealed against  the  treatment  which  they  received. 

A.  SOUTER. 

SERPENT  (8<f>is).—  Apart  from  the  Gospels,  the 
only  occurrences  of  the  word  '  serpent '  in  the  NT 
are  in  the  Epistles  to  the  Corinthians  (1  Co  10s* , 
2  Co  II3)  and  in  the  Apocalypse  (Rev  919  129-14- 16 
202).  In  1  Co  109  the  writer  exhorts  his  readers 
not  to  tempt  Christ  sorely  as  the  Israelites  did, 
with  the  result  that  they  were  allowed  to  perish 
from  time  to  time  (dirtLXXvvTo)  by  the  inflammatory 
bites  of  serpents.  In  the  second  passage  (2  Co  1 P) 
he  expressed  the  fear  lest,  as  the  serpent  beguiled 
Eve  .through  his  subtlety,  so  the  minds  of  the 
Corinthian  converts  should  be  corrupted  from  the 
simplicity  and  single-mindedness  of  Christ.  In 
both  cases  the  tempter  is  Satan,  and  in  both  cases 
his  nefarious  work  is  accomplished  by  subtlety  and 
deception,  but  in  Genesis  his  agent  is  the  serpent, 
while  here  the  'ministers'  of  Satan  (v.1B)  are  the 
Judaizers  (v.13).  In  Rev  129  the  Devil  appears  in 
his  time-honoured  r61e  as  a  serpent,  and  he  is 
identified  both  with  the  great  Dragon  and  with 
the  person  called  '  Satan '  in  the  later  books  of  the 
OT  and  in  Jewish  literature.  The  name  '  Satan ' 
was  familiar  to  the  later  Jews,  and  occurs  fourteen 
times  (6  o-aravas)  in  the  Gospels,  twice  in  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  ten  times  in  the  Pauline  Epistles, 
and  eight  times  in  the  Apocalypse.  The  earth  was 
no  new  sphere  for  the  exercise  of  his  devilish  activi- 
ties, but  henceforth  his  scope  was  to  be  confined 
thereto,  and  this  limitation  of  his  powers  seems 
only  to  have  intensified  his  animosity  and  desire 
for  revenge.  A  torrent  of  water  issued  from  his 
mouth  (v. 15)  Avhich  was  designed  to  sweep  away  the 
Woman,  but  this  malicious  attempt  recoiled  on  the 
Devil's  own  head,  and  the  destructive  flood  was 
swallowed  up  by  the  earth  which  was  his  own 
domain.  The  purpose  to  which  the  Roman  Emperors 
set  themselves  was  to  eradicate  and  stamp  out  the 
very  name  of  Christianity  as  well  as  the  memory 
of  the  Founder  of  that  religion.  The  futility  and 
complete  failure  of  the  attempt  are  too  obvious  to 
admit  of  comment.  In  Rev  202  the  Devil  is  again 
identified  with  the  great  Dragon  and  Satan.  The 
Dragon  has  from  the  outset  (132-4)  been  the  real 
instigator  and  author  of  the  revolt  led  by  the  Beast 
and  the  False  Prophet,  but  hitherto  he  has  escaped 
justice.  Now,  however,  he  is  seized  and  bound  for 
a  period  of  a  thousand  years.  The  period  of  his 
imprisonment  is  indeed  limited,  but  its  length  forms 
a  striking  contrast  to  the  short  duration  of  heathen- 
ism— a  thousand  two  hundred  and  threescore  days 
(Rev  l!3ff-)- 

In  Rev  919  the  tails  of  the  horses  in  the  vision  are 
likened  to  serpents,  just  as  the  tails  of  the  locusts 
in  9s  are  compared  to  scorpions.  The  power  of 


these  horses  resides  in  their  mouth  and  in  their 
tails.  The  tails  are  incongruously  said  to  have 
heads,  but  the  incongruity  is  perhaps  atoned  for 
by  the  additional  horror  thereby  imparted  to  these 
superhuman  animals. 

Serpents  are  very  common  in  Palestine  and  in 
the  wilderness  of  Sinai ;  over  thirty  species  are 
known,  the  majority  of  which  are,  however,  harm- 
less. Most  of  the  innocuous  serpents  belong  to  the 
genera  A  blabes  and  Zamanis  of  the  Colubrine  family. 
Many  of  these  are  brilliantly  coloured ;  they  are 
well  proportioned  and  slender,  with  a  gradually 
tapering  tail,  and  they  live  exclusively  on  land. 
The  majority  are  of  rather  small  size,  but  some  are 
very  large.  A  species  very  frequently  found  in  the 
marshes  and  lakes  is  the  Tropidonotus  hydrus.  A 
few  species  of  harmless  sand-snakes  have  also  been 
found,  of  which  the  Eryx  jaculus  is  the  most 
common. 

The  poisonous  snakes  of  the  country  are  the 
following :  the  cobra  (Naja  haje),  and  four 
viperine  snakes,  two  true  vipers,  the  Vipera  eu- 
phratica  and  the  Vipera  ammodytes,  the  Daboia 
xanthina,  and  the  Echis  arenicola,  a  dangerous 
reptile  which  is  very  frequently  encountered  in  the 
hotter  and  drier  parts  of  the  country.  With  the 
exception  of  the  Daboia  xanthina,  they  all  belong 
to  the  Mediterranean  and  North  African  fauna,  or 
are  closely  allied  thereto.  The  Daboia  xanthina 
is  a  beautifully  marked  yellow  serpent  and  the 
largest  of  the  vipers  in  Palestine,  as  well  as  one  of 
the  most  dangerous.  The  Naja  haje,  or  Egyptian 
cobra,  is  of  rare  occurrence.  It  is  the  species 
especially  popular  with  snake-charmers.  Another 
very  deadly  serpent  is  the  Cerastes  hasselquistii,  or 
'horned  serpent.'  It  lies  in  ambush  in  depressions 
in  the  way  (cf.  Gn  4917)  and  attacks  the  wayfarer. 
It  is  12  or  18  ins.  long,  and  of  a  sandy  colour 
with  brown  or  blackish  spots.  See,  further,  ASP, 
VIPER. 

LITERATURE. — H.  B.  Tristram,  Survey  of  Western  Palestine, 
London,  1884,  p.  140  f.,  The  Natural  History  of  the  Bible™,  do., 
1911,  pp.  269-277  ;  W.  M.  Thomson,  The  Land  and  the  Book, 
3  vols.,  do.,  1881-86,  vol.  i.  'South  Palestine  and  Jerusalem,' 
pp.  188-189;  J.  C.  Geikie,  The  Holy  Land  and  the  Bible,  do., 
1903,  pp.  88-90  ;  SDR,  p.  837  ;  HDB  iv.  459-460  ;  EBi  iv.  4391- 
4397 ;  H.  B.  Swete,  The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John?,  London, 
1907,  pp.  124,  154,  159,  260 ;  The  Speaker's  Commentary,  do., 
1881,  vol.  iii.  pp.  310-311,  457-458. 

P.  S.  P.  HANDCOCK. 
SERVANT.— See  MINISTRY,  SLAVE. 

SESSION  (OF  CHRIST).— See  ASCENSION. 
SEVEN.— See  NUMBERS. 
SEVEN,  THE.— See  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT. 
SEVENTY.— See  NUMBERS. 

SHADOW  (o-Kid).  —  1.  Healing  property  of 
shadow.  —  The  shadow  of  St.  Peter  had  the 
property  of  healing  the  sick  (Ac  51S).  Similarly, 
articles  of  clothing  touched  by  St.  Paul  caused 
disease  and  evil  spirits  to  depart  from  the  afflicted 
(Ac  1912),  just  as  those  who  touched  the  border  of 
Christ's  garment  were  healed  (Mk  6s6,  Lk  S44). 
Even  the  name  of  Jesus  was  effectual  in  some 
cases  (Ac  36  410).  The  therapeutic  power  of  sugges- 
tion in  all  such  instances  is  recognized  by  modern 
psychology. 

2.  The  metaphysical  use  of  the  term  '  shadow.' 
— This  use  occurs  in  Hebrews  (85 101),  affording  an 
interesting  link  with  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians, 
where  St.  Paul  declares  that  the  Jewish  cere- 
monial observances  were  but  '  a  shadow  of  the 
things  to  come  (<ma  TUV  fj.e\\6vTwt>)  ;  but  the  body 
is  Christ's  '  (Col  217).  Here  '  shadow '  is  contrasted 
with  '  body,'  or  substantial  reality.  The  '  things 
to  come '  are  the  Christian  dispensation,  which  from 


SHAMBLES 


SHECHEM 


473 


the  Jewish  standpoint,  was  yet  in  the  future. 
Christianity  embodies  the  Divine  reality,  whereas 
Mosaism  was  only  a  '  shadow '  cast  temporarily 
into  human  history  by  the  '  body,'  the  eternal  fact 
of  the  heavenly  Christ  yet  to  be  revealed.  The 
interpretation  of  Calvin,  that  '  shadow '  means  the 
sketch  of  which  Christianity  is  the  finished  picture, 
is  unlikely  when  the  occurrence  and  significance 
of  the  term  in  Hebrews  are  taken  into  considera- 
tion. The  fundamental  conception  of  this  Epistle 
is  the  Alexandrian  one  that  there  are  two  worlds 
or  orders  of  things,  a  higher  and  a  lower — the  one 
heavenly,  eternal,  and  real ;  the  other  earthly, 
temporal,  and  merely  phenomenal.  The  material, 
sensible  world  is  not  the  real,  but  only  the 
shadowy  copy  of  the  heavenly  pattern.  This 
conception  the  writer  of  Hebrews  takes  up  and 
fills  with  a  religious  content.  The  Mosaic  Law,  so 
reverenced  by  the  Jews,  has  only  '  a  shadow  of  the 
good  things  to  come,  not  the  very  image  of  the 
things '  (101).  Here  '  shadow  '  (ffKid)  is  contrasted 
with  'image'  (emetic).  Judaism  is  the  'shadow,' 
Christianity  is  the  'very  image'  of  the  good 
things.  Tlie  Christian  religion  gives  us  possession 
of  the  reality  only  dimly  foreshadowed  in  the 
Jewish  system.  The  Law  is  a  shadow,  inseparable 
indeed  from  the  eternal  image ;  but  in  comparison 
with  that  reality,  it  is  only  a  dim  flickering  and 
transient  outline,  lacking  the  abiding  substanti- 
ality and  content  of  that  which  cast  it.  Further- 
more, the  priests  of  the  Levitical  system  only 
'serve  a  copy  (vir65(iyfM)  and  shadow  (<md)  of  the 
heavenly  things '  (8B).  The  tabernacle  itself  was 
made  by  Moses  only  according  to  the  '  pattern '  (rfarov) 
of  the  heavenly  original,  the  'true  tabernacle' 
pitched  by  God  (v.2).  Like  every  other  part  of  the 
Levitical  system,  the  tabernacle  was  only  a  '  copy,' 
the  '  pattern '  (rvirov)  of  which  exists  eternally  in 
heaven.  This  use  of  the  term  '  shadow '  in  contrast 
with  'image'  is  more  than  an  illustration  taken 
from  art.  It  may  well  be  that,  but  it  seems  rather 
an  explanation  of  Christian  truth  by  means  of  the 
categories  of  Platonic  and  Philonic  philosophy. 
Plato's  famous  allegory  of  the  Cave  (Rep.  vii.  514), 
wherein  men  are  described  as  seeing  on  the  wall  of 
the  den  but  the  shadows  of  real  objects  passing 
outside,  illustrates  his  theory  of  Ideas.  The  rela- 
tion of  eternal  realities  (archetypal  Ideas)  to  visible 
things  is  like  the  relation  between  substantial 
bodies  and  their  transient  shadows.  This  theory 
was  taken  up  by  the  Alexandrian  philosophy,  and 
the  OT  is  explained  by  Philo  in  terms  of  this 
Hellenistic  speculation.  The  writer  of  Hebrews, 
who  shows  many  signs  of  Alexandrian  influence, 
uses  throughout  his  Epistle  this  Philonic  form  of 
thought  to  show  the  superiority  of  Christianity 
over  Judaism.  Judaism  is  but  a '  shadow,'  Christi- 
anity is  the  very  '  image  '  embodying  and  express- 
ing God's  eternal  purpose  concerning  mankind. 

M.  SCOTT  FLETCHER. 
SHAMBLES.— See  ARTS. 

SHAME  ((1)  alcrxvvij,  vbs.  cdtrxtiveaBat,  firaicrxv- 
vevOai,  KaTaiffxvvfGffQ-i  »  (2)  ^vrpoTrri,  tvrptireiv ;  (3) 
cu'Suj). — (1)  The  dread  of  outward  shame,  alrxyv-ri, 
as  opposed  to  86fa,  'glory,'  not  only  restrains  men 
from  base  actions,  but  sometimes  deters  them  from 
the  noblest  and  best  deeds.  In  the  Apostolic  Age 
•  it  was  scarcely  possible  to  be  a  Christian  without 
facing  ignominy.  As  Christ  could  not  save  the 
world  without  despising  the  shame  of  the  Cross  (He 
122),  so  every  Christian  had  to  bear  a  cross  of 
shame.  He  needed  fortitude  not  to  be  ashamed  of 
the  gospel  (Ro  I16),  of  his  hope  (5s),  of  his  faith 
(9s3  10U),  of  his  trials  (Ph  I20),  of  his  suffering  as  a 
Christian  (1  P  416).  Timothy  was  exhorted  not  to 
be  ashamed  of  the  testimony  of  the  Lord,  or  of 
St.  Paul  his  prisoner  (2  Ti  I8),  and  Onesiphorus  was 


praised  for  not  being  ashamed  of  St.  Paul's  chain 
(I16).  Those  who  were  not  ashamed  of  Christ  had 
their  reward  in  the  assurance  that  He  was  not 
ashamed  to  call  them  His  brethren  (He  211),  that 
God  was  not  ashamed  to  be  called  their  God  (II16), 
and  that  they  would  not  be  ashamed  before  Christ 
at  His  second  coming  (1  Jn  228).  True  Christians 
renounced  the  hidden  things  of  shame  (TO.  KpinrrA 
rrjs  altrxw-ris,  2  Co  42),  and  inconsistent  Christians 
were  warned  that  the  shame  of  their  nakedness 
would  be  exposed  (Rev  318),  while  hypocrites  con- 
tinued to  foam  out  their  own  shameful  deeds  (at 
alffxvvai,  Jude  13). 

(2)  Ivrptireiv  riva  is  lit.  '  to  turn  a  man  upon  him- 
self,' and  so  to  shame  him.     In  1  Cor.,  which  re- 
flects the  writer's  quickly  changing  feelings  and 
attitudes,  St.  Paul  tells  his  readers  that  he  does  not 
write  to  shame  them  (OUK  Ivrptiruv  v/ji.3.s,  4U),  and 
again  that  he  does  write  to  move  them  to  shame 
(irpbs  evrpoTT-riv,  6B  1534).     The  Pastoral  Letters  teach 
that  the  disobedient  Christian  is  to  be  avoided, 
that  he  may  be  ashamed  (2  Th  314),  and  that  the 
servant  of  Christ  is  to  behave  irreproachably,  that 
his  opponent  may  be  ashamed  (evrpairy,  Tit  28). 

(3)  Al5us  (tr.  '  shamefastness    in  1  Ti  29,  '  rever- 
ence' in  the  inferior  text  of  He  1228)  is  a  nobler 
word  than  alffxyvi),  denoting  a  higher  motive  —  a 
sensitive  shrinking  from  what  is  either  unworthy 
of  oneself  or  dishonouring  to  God.     It  occurs  twice 
in  the  Iliad  —  aidw  dfod'  tvl  Ovpy  (xv.  561),  and  taxe 
yap  cu'Sws  (ib.  657)  :  in  the  first  case  Pope  renders  it 
by  '  honest  shame,'  and  in  the  second  by  '  manly 
shame.'    As  to  'shamefastness,'  which  is  read  in 
the  RV  instead  of  '  shamefacedness  '  in  the  A  V, 
see  R.  C.  Trench,  Synonyms  of  the  NT6,   1876, 
p.  67,  and  art.  '  Shamefacedness   in  HDB. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SHARON  (6  Zapwy,  fn?n,  'the  level').—  Sharon 
was  the  ancient  name  of  the  undulating  Maritime 
Plain  which  extended  from  Mt.  Carmel  to  some 
distance  beyond  Jall'a  —  perhaps  to  the  Nahr  Rubin 
and  the  low  hills  to  the  S.  of  Ramleh—  where  it 
merged  in  the  Philistian  Plain.  It  was  admired  by 
prophets  and  poets  for  the  richness  of  its  vegeta- 
tion and  the  beauty  of  its  wild  flowers  —  '  the  ex- 
cellency of  Sharon'  (Is  352),  'the  rose  of  Sharon' 
(Ca  21).  From  the  groves  of  oak  which  at  one 
time  covered  a  great  part  of  its  surface,  especially 
in  the  north,  it  was  also  called  6  8pvft.6s  (LXX,  Is 
339  352  6510;  Jos.  BJ  I.  xiii.  2)  or  oi  Spv^ol  (Ant. 
XIV.  xiii.  3).  Strabo  (XVI.  ii.  27)  says  that  in  his 
time  there  was  next  to  Carmel  '  a  large  forest  ' 
(6pv/j.b?  M^yas  Tts).  The  only  part  of  Sharon  which 
is  alluded  to  in  the  NT  is  the  southern  end,  lying 
around  Lydda  (now  Lydd),  where  the  fields  and 
orchards  were  exceedingly  well-  watered  and  fertile 
and  the  population  was  dense.  Here  the  presence 
of  St.  Peter  in  the  early  Apostolic  Age  —  though  his 
visit  was  only  brief,  as  he  was  urgently  summoned 
away  to  Joppa  —  is  said  to  have  given  rise  to  a 
widespread  spiritual  movement  :  '  all  that  dwelt 
at  Lydda  and  in  Sharon  turned  to  the  Lord  '  (Ac 
9s5).  The  AV  renders  'at  Lydda  and  Sharon,' 
apparently  mistaking  'Sharon'  for  a  town  or 
village  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lydda.  The  use 
of  the  article  with  the  Greek  and  the  Hebrew 
noun  proves  that  a  whole  district  —  '  the  level 


country'  (from  T^;)  —  is  meant.  The  only  known 
village  of  Sarona  is  in  the  N.E.  of  Mt.  Tabor, 
probably  represented  by  the  Saronas  which  Euse- 
bius  (Onom.  296.  6)  says  was  the  name  given  to 
the  district  between  Tabor  and  Tiberias. 

LITERATURE.—  G.  A.  Smith,  HGHL,  1900,  p.  147  ff.  ;  D.  F. 
Buhl,  GAP.  1896,  p.  103  f.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SHAVING.—  See  HAIR,  NAZIRITES. 
SHECHEM.—  In  St.  Stephen's  address  we  read 


474 


SHEPHEED 


SHIP 


that  Jacob  and  the  fathers  were  carried  over  unto 
Shechem  and  laid  in  the  sepulchre  that  Abraham 
bought  of  the  sons  of  Hamor  in  Shechem  (Ac  716). 
There  is  here  a  combining  of  two  separate  tradi- 
tions. Jacob  was  buried  at  Machpelah  (Gn  5013), 
which  Abraham  bought  from  the  sons  of  Heth  (23). 
Jacob  himself  bought  ground  from  the  children  of 
Hamor,  and  in  it  Joseph  was  buried  (Jos  2432). 
This  ground  was  in  Shechem.  Here  Jacob  estab- 
lished his  residence  for  some  time,  and  his  people 
entered  into  the  closest  relations  with  the  natives. 
A  well,  said  to  have  been  dug  by  his  orders,  was 
in  existence  in  Christ's  day,  and  here  at  Jacob's 
well  our  Lord  had  His  famous  interview  with  the 
Samaritan  woman  (Jn  4).  Shechem  became  famous 
as  a  Levite  city,  and  a  city  of  refuge,  and  still 
later  as  the  capital  of  the  ten  tribes  under  Jero- 
boam. It  became  a  city  of  the  Samaritans.  Its 
situation  was  between  Mount  Gerizim  and  Mount 
Ebal,  and  it  lay  on  the  Roman  road  from  Jerusalem 
to  Galilee. 

LITKRATOKK.— C.  W.  Wilson,  art.  'Shechem,'  in  HDB ;  G. 
A.  Smith,  HUHL,  1900,  pp.  120,  332 ;  R.  J.  Knowling,  EGT, 
'  Acts,'  1900,  ad  toe.  J.  W.  DUNCAN. 

SHEPHERD.— The  name  'shepherd'  is  taken 
from  the  occupation  of  the  Hebrews  as  a  pastoral 
tribe  (Gn  137  3036  372  478,  Ex  31,  1  S  1734)  and 
applied  to  God  as  the  one  who  feeds  and  provides 
for  His  people  (Gn  4818  4924,  Is  40",  Ps  231  957 
100s  ;  cf.  Ezk  3411'31)  and  to  the  rulers  of  the  nation 
(Nu  2717,  2  S  77,  1  K  2217,  Jer  2s  315  231'4,  Ezk  342'10, 
Zee  103  l!3ff-  135).  The  idea  expressed  in  most  of 
these  passages  is  that  the  care  of  Israel,  as  '  the 
flock  of  His  pasture,'  is  given  by  the  Lord  in  charge 
of  the  rulers  who  are  held  to  account  for  the  wel- 
fare of  every  member  of  the  same.  Especially 
Ezk  34  rebukes  these  '  shepherds '  for  their  neg- 
lect of  their  charge,  and  ends  up  (v.231")  with  the 
prophecy  that  in  the  end  one  shepherd,  like  unto 
David  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  will  tend  them 
as  prince.  To  this  Messianic  passage  reference  is 
made  in  Jn  1011'16,  where  Jesus  is  represented  as 
saying  :  '  I  am  the  good  shepherd  ;  .  .  .  and  I  lay 
down  my  life  for  the  sheep.  And  other  sheep  I 
have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold :  .  .  .  and  they 
shall  become  one  flock,  one  shepherd ' ;  cf.  He  1320, 
1  P  228  54.  To  His  office  as  Shepherd  Jesus  refers 
in  Mt  1524 ;  cf.  Jer  506.  Moses  also  is  represented  in 
Ex.  R.  22'3  as  the  good  shepherd  to  whom  the  Lord 
said  :  '  Since  thou  takest  such  care  of  the  lambs 
of  thy  flock,  be  thou  the  shepherd  of  My  flocks.' 
The  same  is  said  there  also  of  David  when  chosen 
by  the  Lord  to  be  king.  Concerning  the  identifica- 
tion of  Christ  as  the  Good  Shepherd  with  Orpheus 
on  ancient  Christian  pain  tings  see  F.  Piper,  Mytho- 
logie  und  Symbolik  der  christl.  Kunst,  Weimar, 
1847-51,  i.  126 ;  J.  P.  Lundy,  Monumental  Chris- 
tianity, New  York,  1876,  pp.  187-196 ;  also  R. 
Reitzenstein,  Poimandres,  Leipzig,  1904,  11-13, 
32  f.,  113.  But  the  title  'shepherd 'or  'pastor 'is 
given  in  the  NT  to  all  the  heads  of  the  Church, 
to  the  apostle  Peter  (Jn  2117 ;  cf.  Mt  106-16)  and  to 
the  elders  of  the  Church  (Ac  2028,  1  P  52)  as  having 
charge  of  the  '  sheep  of  Christ,'  '  the  flock  of  God.' 
The  name  UoLntjv  ('  pastor'  or  'shepherd')  is  used 
in  the  sense  of  'overseer,'  episcopus  (Eph  41), 
wherefore  Jesus  is  also  called  the  'arch-shepherd,' 
dpxiTrolfjLrjv  (IP  54).  This  conception  (cf.  Philo,  ed. 
Mangey,  i.  196)  of  spiritual  rulers  as  shepherds 
rests  on  the  original  Jewish  Didascalia  (preserved 
in  the  so-called  Apostolic  Constitutions,  ii.  6,  10, 
15.  4,  18.  7-18,  19.  1-3,  20.  3-5,  9,  11),  where  the 
above-quoted  passages  from  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel 
are  interpreted  in  a  spiritual  sense  as  referring  to 
the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  overseer  of 
the  Church,  viz.  that  he  has  to  look  after  the 
spiritual  health  of  each  member  of  the  flock,  keep 


them  in  a  sound  state  of  perfect  faith,  strengthen 
those  weakened  by  doubt,  bind  up  those  bruised 
by  the  remorse  of  sin,  and  bring  back  those  that 
have  gone  astray,  while  expelling  those  that  may 
affect  the  moral  or  spiritual  well-being  of  the 
flock  by  evil  conduct  or  evil  doctrine  (see  art. 
'  Didascalia '  in  JE).  The  name  '  shepherd '  or 
'  pastor  '  became  henceforth  the  title  of  the  bishop 
(Ignat.  ad  Phil.  ii.  1,  ad  Rom.  ix.  1  ;  Iren.  iv.  33  ; 
Cyprian,  Ep.  viii.  [ii.],  'Cleri  Romani  ad  clerum 
Carthaginensem ' ;  Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  i.  26),  and 
later  on  in  Protestant  Christianity  of  the  minister 
of  the  Church  in  general.  In  Enoch  Ixxxix.  59, 
xc.  25,  the  name  '  shepherd '  is  given  to  the  70 
angels  ruling  the  70  nations  of  the  earth  (see  R. 
H.  Charles,  ad  loc.,  and  F.  Spitta,  Zur  Geschichte 
und  Litteratur  des  Urchristentums,  Gottingen, 
1901,  ii.  367  tf.),  also  to  the  angel  in  Hermas,  Hand. 
iv.  22,  Sim.  vi.  3.  2.  In  ancient  Babylonia  the 
chief  stars  bore  the  name  of  '  Shepherds  of  Heaven.' 

K.    KOHLER. 

SHEWBREAD. — In  the  holy  place  of  the  temple 
or  tabernacle  was  the  shewbread  (He  92),  lit. 
'  the  setting  forth  of  the  loaves '  (^  irp6de<Tts  r&v 
dpruv  ;  Vulg.  propositio  panum).  In  the  LXX 
rendering  of  Ex  4023  the  loaves  are  called  Aproi  TTJS 
•n-podfofus ;  other  names  were  '  the  continual  bread,' 
'  the  presence- bread,' '  holy  bread.'  Every  Sabbath 
day  the  shewbread,  unleavened  ( Josephus,  Ant.  in. 
vi.  6),  and  fresh  from  the  oven,  was  placed,  in  two 
piles  of  six  loaves  each,  on  a  table  of  cedar- wood,  in 
front  of  the  entrance  to  '  the  most  holy  place,'  and 
the  stale  bread  was  eaten  within  the  sacred  pre- 
cincts. Instructions  as  to  the  composition,  setting 
forth,  and  consumption  of  the  bread  are  given  in 
Lv  245'9.  The  ritual  is  attested  from  an  early  date 
(1  S  216),  and  was  no  doubt  a  survival  from  a  primi- 
tive cultus  in  which  the  shewbread  was  regarded 
as  the  food  of  the  deity,  like  the  lectisternia  of 
the  Romans  ;  but  this  idea  was  '  too  crude  to  sub- 
sist without  modification  beyond  the  savage  state 
of  society '  (W.  R.  Smith,  RS2,  1894,  p.  229),  and, 
when  more  spiritual  thoughts  of  the  Divine  nature 
prevailed,  the  shewbread  was  retained  merely  eis 
dvd/j.vr)<riv  (Lv  247) — i.e.  as  a  reminder  of  man's  de- 
pendence upon  God  for  the  gift  of  daily  bread. 
Among  the  spoils  displayed  at  the  triumph  of 
Vespasian  and  Titus,  '  those  that  were  taken  in 
the  temple  of  Jerusalem  made  the  greatest  figure 
of  them  all :  that  is,  the  golden  table,  of  the  weight 
of  many  talents ;  the  golden  candlestick  also ' 
(Josephus,  BJ  VII.  v.  5),  both  of  which  are  repre- 
sented on  the  well-known  Arch  of  Titus. 

LITERATURE. — Grimm-Thayer,  s.v.  irp60e<ri*  ;  A.  Edersheim, 
The  Temple,  its  Ministry  and  Services,  n.d.,  p.  181  S. ;  A.  R.  S. 
Kennedy,  art.  '  Shewbread '  in  HDB. 

-  JAMES  STRAHAN. 
SHIELD.— See  ARMOUR. 

SHIP  (paDj,  occurring  in  Ac  2741  only,  '  a  vessel 
of  considerable  size ' ;  cf.  irXowv,  '  ship,  boat,  sailing 
vessel,'  Ac  2013-  **  212-  »•  6  272ff-  2811,  Ja  34,  Rev  89 
1817- 19,  and  frequently  in  the  Gospels ;  cf.  also 
Tr\oidpio»,  '  a  little  boat,'  Mk  39  436,  Jn  218,  and  ^ 
ffKd<j>f),  'a  skiff,'  used  of  the  small  life-boat  which 
was  towed  astern  the  larger  vessel  on  which  St. 
Paul  sailed  from  Palestine  to  Italy,  Ac  2716-  *•  S2). 
— The  ancient  Hebrews  were  not  given  to  sea- 
faring, Solomon  (1  K59  g26'28  1022)  and  Jehoshaphat 
(1  K2248-49)  being  the  only  important  exceptions. 
They  preferred  agricultural  and  pastoral  life. 
Besides,  Canaan  had  no  good  harbours,  and 
almost  the  entire  coast  remained  permanently  in 
the  possession  of  others,  the  Phosnicians  holding 
all  north  of  Mt.  Carmel,  and  the  Philistines  most 
of  that  to  the  south.  Simon  the  Hasmonaean  (c. 
145  B.C.)  was  the  first  to  make  a  harbour.  'He 
took  Joppa  for  a  haven,  and  made  it  an  entrance 


SHIP 


SHIP 


475 


for  the  isles  of  the  sea'  (1  Mac  148).  According  to 
Josephus  (BJ  I.  xxi.  5,  Ant.  XV.  ix.  6),  Herod  the 
Great  added  a  second  harbour  at  Caesarea.  As 
early  as  400  B.C.  the  Greeks  demonstrated  their 
ability  to  construct  large  ships.  Dionysius  I.  of 
Syracuse  built  ships  with  four  ranks  of  oarsmen 
(Pliny,  HN  vii.  57  ;  Diod.  Sic.  xiv.  41,  42).  In 
the  days  of  St.  Paul  the  Romans  controlled  the 
commerce  of  the  Mediterranean. 

It  is  to  St.  Luke  that  we  owe  the  most  vivid  as 
well  as  the  most  accurate  account  of  sea-voyaging 
which  has  come  down  to  us  from  antiquity. 
Experts  in  naval  science  agree  that  it  is  without  a 
parallel  (cf.  J.  Smith,  The  Voyage  and  Shipwreck 
of  St.  Paul4).  Luke  must  have  possessed  a  genuine 
Greek  love  for  things  nautical.  The  wealth  of 
detail  contained  in  Ac  27  and  28  regarding  St. 
Paul's  experiences  from  Caesarea  to  Puteoli,  which 
covered  a  period  of  six  months  (Sept.  A.D.  58  to 
March  59),  is  invaluable.  But  long  prior  to  this 
most  eventful  voyage,  St.  Paul  had  become 
experienced  in  nautical  aft'airs.  Writing  to  the 
Corinthians,  he  says,  '  Thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck, 
a  night  and  a  day  have  I  been  in  the  deep  '  (2  Co 
II25),  clinging  perhaps  to  some  floating  plank  or 
other  timber  of  a  wrecked  vessel  (cf.  Ac  2744). 

In  the  voyage  to  Italy  St.  Paul  and  his  fellow- 
prisoners  were  carried  in  three  different  vessels  : 
(1)  In  a  ship  of  Adramyttium  (a  town  near  Troas 
in  Mysia),  probably  a  coasting  vessel  which  was 
returning  home  for  the  winter  (272).  The  cen- 
turion's plan  probably  was,  originally,  to  take  the 
prisoners  all  the  way  to  Mysia,  and  from  there 
cross  over  and  join  the  Egnatian  Way,  which  ran 
overland  from  Byzantium  through  Philippi  to 
Dyrrachium,  thence  crossing  to  Italy.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  they  sailed  by  this  vessel  only  from 
Caesarea  to  Myra  in  Lycia.  (2)  In  a  corn-ship  of 
Alexandria  bound  for  Italy,  from  Myra  to  Melita, 
one  of  the  great  fleet  of  merchant  ships  which 
assisted  in  feeding  Rome  (276).  This  was  the 
vessel  which  was  wrecked.  (3)  In  a  second  corn- 
ship  of  Alexandria,  which  brought  them  from 
Melita  to  Puteoli  (28"). 

The  following  points  in  connexion  with  these 
ships  are  especially  noteworthy  : 

1.  Size  of  ships.  —  While  we  are  not  informed  as 
to  their  exact  dimensions,  we  do  know  that  they 
were  capable  of  carrying  not  only  a  considerable 
cargo  of  wheat  but  also  276  souls  all  told  (though 
the  Vatican  MS  reads  but  76),  and  that  when  one 
was  wrecked  another  took  all  these  persons  on 
board  (2737-  M  2811).  It  has  been  estimated  that  the 
capacity  of  such  vessels  must  have  ranged  from  500 
to  1000  tons.  This  is  corroborated  by  what  we 
know  in  general  about  Roman  merchant  vessels. 
That,  for  example,  on  which  Josephus  was  wrecked, 
he  tells  us,  carried  '  about  six  hundred  '  (  Vita,  3). 
Lucian  (IlXotov  I)  Evxal)  also  describes  a  vessel 
which  was  driven  by  a  storm  into  the  port  of 
Athens,  which  measured  the  equivalent  of  180  ft. 
in  length  by  45  ft.  in  breadth,  having  an  approxi- 
mate tonnage  of  1200.  And,  according  to  Athenaeus 
(v.  37),  the  war  galley  of  Ptolemy  Philopator 
measured  420  by  57  ft.  (cf.  J.  Smith,  Voyage  and 
Shipwreck*,  pp.  187  ff.,  234  ff.). 

2.  The  officers.  —  (a)  The  sailing-master,  steers- 
pilot (/cvfiepvriTris,  2711  ;  cf.  Rev  1817  ;  in  the 


AV  of  Ja  34  called  '  the  governor,'  6  tiiB&vwv)  ;  and 
(b)  the  ship-owner,  ship-master,  captain  (vawcXiypos)  ; 
he  it  was  who  hired  out  his  vessel,  wholly  or  in 
part,  for  purposes  of  transportation,  probably  also 
receiving  the  fares. 

3.  The  sailors,  called  vavrai,  seamen,  shipmen, 
crew.  —  It  was  their  keen  ears  that  detected  the 
sounds  of  the  breakers  when  they  were  nearing 
land  (Ac  27"-  »). 

4.  The  sails  (<r/ccCoy,  translated  '  gear,'  2717  ;  the 


same  word  is  used  in  10"  of  the  great  sheet  which 
Peter  saw  in  a  vision  ;  cf.  dprl/j.wva,  translated 
'foresail,'  2740).  —  Roman  ships  usually  bore  but 
one  large  square  sail,  on  which  for  the  most  part 
they  depended  to  propel  the  vessel.  Pliny  says 
there  was  also  a  sail  at  the  stern,  but  this  J. 
Smith  regards  as  exceptional  (Pliny,  Procem.  xix.  ; 
Smith,  Voyage  and  Shipivreck*,  p.  192).  This  large 
mainsail  was  fastened  to  a  long  yard.  It  was 
furled  by  being  drawn  up  to  the  yard.  It  was 
reefed  in  time  of  storm  (cf.  2718).  From  a  drawing, 
preserved  at  Pompeii,  of  a  vessel  dating  from  the 
time  of  the  apostles,  it  is  evident  that  Roman  sails 
were  sewn  across  both  vertically  and  horizontally 
by  bands  of  rope  to  check  any  rent  from  extending 
beyond  the  square  in  which  it  occurred.  They 
were  made  of  costly  material  —  byssus,  or  shesh  — 
and  sometimes  bore  designs,  which  were  woven  into 
them.  The  ships  of  Antony  and  Cleopatra  carried 
purple  sails.  Tyrian  sails  were  richly  embroidered. 
As  St.  Paul  was  a  tent-maker,  he  probably  under- 
stood sail-making  also,  and  may  have  more  than 
once  crossed  the  Mediterranean,  earning  his  passage 
by  plying  his  trade.  In  times  of  storm  a  vessel 
could  not  safely  carry  the  large  mainsail,  or  even 
the  yard-arm  ;  hence  these  were  lowered  on  the 
deck,  and  a  small  storm-sail  or  '  foresail  '  (aprfyuv) 
was  hoisted  to  take  their  place.  This  was  what  was 
actually  done  on  St.  Paul's  ship  just  before  running 
aground  (2740).  Some,  however,  following  Breusing, 
interpret  the  '  gear  '  which  was  '  lowered  '  (2717)  to 
mean  that  cables  with  weights  attached  were 
lowered  into  the  sea  to  retard  the  vessel  in  its  pro- 
gress to  inevitable  destruction  (so  Blass,  Goerne, 
Knabenbauer,  and,  to  a  modified  extent,  also 
Wendt). 

5.  The  masts.  —  Nothing  is  said  of  masts  in  the 
account  except  by  implication.     There  must  have 
been  a  large  mainmast,  and  probably  a  foremast 
also  at  the  bow.    They  were  made  of  strong  wood, 
possibly  of  cedar  (cf.  Ezk  27B).     There  is  no  proof 
that  these  Roman   corn-ships  bore  a  mizzenmast 
or  aftermost  mast,  though  doubtless  the  Romans 
at  this  time  possessed  three-masted  vessels. 

6.  The  anchor   (AyKvpa,  2729-  ^  *°).  —  Four   are 
specially  mentioned  in  272fl,  but  others  were  doubt- 
less   carried,  for    use    at    both    bow    and   stern. 
Originally,  the  ancients  used  large  stones,  but  in 
Roman  times  they  made  anchors  of  iron.     They 
consisted  of  a  main  stock    with  two   teeth-like 
extremities,     not    always    '  without    flukes  '    (cf. 
Roschach  in  Daremberg-Saglio's  Dictionnaire  des 
Antiquitts,  1873-75,  p.  267).     Anchors  were  needed 
to  prevent  a  vessel  from  being  cast  on  the  rocks. 
Those  on  the  ill-fated  vessel  with  St.  Paul  were 
finally  cast  off  into  the  sea  and  abandoned  (2740). 
A  singularly  beautiful  figurative  use  is  made  of 
the  expression  in  He  61",  in  which  the  Apostle 
speaks  of  hope  as  'an  anchor  of  the  soul'  (see 
ANCHOR). 

7.  The  rodder  (injWXio»,  2740;  cf.  Ja  34).—  The 
Greek  word  comes    from    a  root  meaning  '  the 
blade  of  an  oar  '  ;  hence  a  rudder  was  primarily  a 
broad  float  oar  or  paddle.     It  was  probably  hung 
by  straps  or  ropes  from  the  after  part  of  the  ship, 
and  was  managed  by  the  steersman  or  master  of 
the  vessel  (Kvf3epvriTr)s).    When  not  in  use,  as  for 
example  in  harbour,  it  was  made  fast  either  to  the 
side  of  the  ship  or  on  deck.     When  a  vessel  was 
on  the  verge  ot  running  aground,  the  rudder  was 
loosed  to  carry  the  ship  up  the  beach  (2740).     Of 
the  rudder,  also,  a  striking  figurative  use  is  made 
by  the  apostle  James  in  speaking  of  the  tongue  ; 
he  says  that,  as  a  little  rudder  can  turn  about  a 
great  ship,  so  the  tongue  can  control  the  whole 
nature  of  man  (34- 

'  They  used  helps,  undergirding 
{nrofavvuvrfs  rt>  irXoiov).  — 


8.  Helps  (2717,  ' 
the  ship,'  fioijdelais 


476 


SHIP 


SHOE,  SAXDAL 


These  were  cables  for  undergirding  and  strengthen- 
ing the  hull  especially  in  bad  weather,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  ship's  timbers  from  yielding  under 
strain.  The  vessels  of  the  Romans  were  so  loosely 
built  that  they  had  to  be  frapped.  This  was  done 
either  lengthwise  round  the  ship  from  stem  to 
stern  above  the  water-line  (as  Breusing  and  Torr 
are  disposed  to  think)  or  transversely,  amidship 
under  the  keel,  encircling  the  vessel  (as  Balmer, 
J.  Smith,  and  others).  The  verb  '  undergirding ' 
favours  the  latter  view,  though  both  processes 
may  have  been  in  vogue. 

9.  Tackling  (a-Ktur/,  2719). — A  comprehensive  term 
including  all  the  ship's  necessary   furniture,  its 
fittings  and  equipment,  everything  movable  lying 
on  deck  or  anywhere  about,  not  in  actual  use — 
these  were  cast  overboard  the  third  day. 

10.  The  little  boat  (ij  <™d<M,  2716-  »• 32).— Every 
large  merchant  ship   probably  had  one  or   more 
such    skiffs   to    serve  as    life-boats.     They   were 
usually   towed    behind.      That    attached    to    St. 
Paul's  ship   was    dragging  water-logged    astern, 
until,  under  the  lee  of  Cauda,  it  was  taken  up  for 
greater  security  (2716).     When  the  sailors  felt  that 
danger  was  imminent,  they  began  to  lower  it  in 
order  to  escape  to  land  (2730),  but  St.  Paul  promptly 
detected  their  scheme  and  reported  them  to  the 
centurion,  whereupon  it  was  cut  loose  and  dropped 
overboard  (2732). 

11.  Ropes  (ffxoivia,  2732).— These  held  the  little 
life-boat,  but,  being  cut,  the  boat  was  allowed  to 
fall  off  into  the  sea.     No  incident  in  the  voyage 
shows  so  well  the  faith  which  the  soldiers  had  in 
St.  Paul. 

12.  Sign  (•jrapd.atifj.oi',  2811).  —  Roman  ships  bore 
individual  ensigns.     That  on  which  St.  Paul  left 
Melita    bore     the     sign     '  Dioscuri,'     the    Twin 
Brothers,   referring    to    the    heroes    Castor    and 
Pollux,  the  twin  sons  of  Zeus,  who  were  generally 
regarded  as    protectors  of    voyagers.      In  Greek 
mythology  they  were  the  heroes  of  many  adven- 
tures, and  were  worshipped  as  divinities,  particu- 
larly by  Dorians  and  at  Rome.     To  them,  as  the 
patron  deities  of  the  seamen,  this  third  ship  was 
dedicated.      Why   the    ensign   of  this  particular 
vessel  should  be  given  is  not  clear,  but  perhaps  it 
was  because  of  the  captain's  courage  in  starting  in 
winter  (February  ?)  on  so  perilous  a  voyage — Melita 
to  Puteoli.     Sometimes  eyes  also  were  painted  or 
sculptured  on  the  prows  of  vessels  (cf.  2715,  O.VT- 
o(p8a\/j.etv,  lit.  'to  look  at  the  wind  eye  to  eye'). 
The  hull,  too,  was  often   painted  and  decorated, 
the  ornament  on  the  stern-post  being  commonly  a 
swan  or  a  goose-head.     From  the  hull  (irpvuva,  2729) 
rose  the  flagstaff  which  carried  the  pennant. 

13.  Speed,  winds,  currents,  direction,   etc. — A 
vessel's  rate  of  sailing  depended  much  upon   the 
wind.     The    voyage  from    Troas  to  Philippi   St. 
Paul  made  on  one  occasion  apparently  in  two  days 
(16n>  12),  whereas  on  another  it  required  five  (20*). 
With  a  fair  wind,  Roman  ships  ordinarily  averaged, 
it  is  reckoned,  seven  knots  an  hour.     Being  rigged 
like  modern  Chinese  junks,  they  were  peculiarly 
well  fitted  to  make  good  speed  before  the  wind. 
When  the  winds  were  unfavourable,  ships  could  be 
made  to  sail  '  within  seven  points  of  the  wind '  ; 
for  example,  St.  Paul's  vessel  maintained  a  N.W.W. 
course  from  Cauda  to  Melita  in  spite  of  an  E.  N.  E. 
Euraquilo,  or  north-easter  (2714).     Roman  sailors 
knew  also  how  to  make  use  of  the  currents  of  the 
Mediterranean.     Thus,  the  ship  of  Adramyttium 
sailed    northward    from    Sidon  under  the  lee  of 
Cyprus    against    winds  that  were  contrary  (274), 
probably   helped   somewhat    by  a    coast  current 
which  flows  in  that  direction.     In  a  very  severe 
storm,  sailors  made  their  ships  '  lie  to,'  the  object 
being,  not  to  make  progress,  but  to  ride  out  the 
gale,  as  under  the  lee  of  Cauda  (2714~17).     But  with 


vessels  of  only  moderate  size,  rigged  with  sails  un- 
equally distributed  over  the  deck,  and  having  at 
best  very  imperfect  charts,  and  with  no  compass, 
shipwrecks  were  of  common  occurrence.  Sailing 
was  avoided  as  much  as  possible  in  the  winter 
season  because  the  heavens  were  then  frequently 
clouded  and  it  was  impossible  to  take  observations 
(2720  28n).  Plumb-lines  were  carried  for  purposes 
of  sounding  (2728),  and  possibly  other  instruments, 
such  as  windlasses  ;  but  the  science  of  navigation 
in  apostolic  times  was  still  in  its  infancy. 

Most  remarkable  is  the  fact  that  before  setting 
out  to  sea  it  was  customary  even  among  the  Greeks 
and  Romans  to  supplicate  the  protecting  deities 
for  a  prosperous  voyage  (cf.  Wis  141,  Jon  I8). 

LITERATURE. — J.  Smith,  The  Voyage  and  Shipwreck  of  St. 
Paul*,  1880;  A.  Breusing,  Die  Nautik  der  Alien,  1886;  J. 
Vars,  L'Art  nautique  dans  I'antiquite  et  specialement  en 
Greee,  d'apres  A.  Breusing,  1887  ;  H.  Balmer,  Die  Romfahrt  des 
A  poxtels  Paulus  und  die  Seefahrtskunde  im  rom.  Kaiserzeitalter, 
1905  ;  Cecil  Torr,  Ancient  Ships,  1894  ;  A.  Bockh,  Urkunden 
uber  das  Seewe&en  des  attischen  Utaates,  1840  ;  H.  Guthe,  art. 
'  Ships  and  Navigation '  in  Standard  Bible,  Dictionary,  1909  ; 
M.  A.  Canney,  art.  'Ship'  in  EBi  iv. ;  F.  H.  Woods,  art. 
'  Ships  and  Boats '  in  SDB  ;  art.  '  Ship '  in  Piercy'g  Illustrated 
Bible  Dictionary,  1908  ;  P.  Watts,  art.  'Ship'  in  EBrU  xxiv. ; 
R.  M.  Blomfield,  art.  'Ships  and  Boats'  in  HDB  v. 

GEORGE  L.  ROBINSON. 

SHOE,  SANDAL.— With  one  exception  the  re- 
ferences to  shoes  or  sandals  are  all  found  in  the 
Book  of  Acts.  Two  of  these  are  quotations,  one 
from  Ex  35  (Ac  I33),  and  the  other  from  the  Gospels, 
Mt  3",  Mk  I7,  Lk  316,  and  Jn  I27  (Ac  1325).  The 
latter  gives  scope  for  comparison,  and  raises  a 
certain  problem,  which  is  discussed  in  EBi,  s.v. 
'  Shoes.'  Verbal  differences  are  not  sufficient  to 
throw  any  light  upon  the  kind  of  foot-covering 
worn.  The  two  words  found,  viroStf/MTa.  and  <rav- 
Sd\ia,  do  not  appear  to  be  distinctive,  the  one  of 
'  shoes'  and  the  other  of  ' sandals.'  The  former  is 
found  in  all  the  passages  cited  above,  while  the 
latter  appears  only  in  Ac  128,  conjoined  with  the 
verb  from  which  vwodrifj.aTa  is  derived. 

Although  linguistic  aids  fail  us,  we  may  safely 
infer  that  both  sandals  and  shoes  were  in  common 
use  during  apostolic  times.  For  the  most  part 
they  were  made  by  craftsmen,  working  with 
leather  chiefly,  although  wood,  cork,  etc.,  were 
also  employed.  Simple  and  ornate  forms  were 
forthcoming.  Sandals  of  the  plain  kind  were  mere 
coverings  for  the  soles  of  the  feet  to  save  them 
from  injury,  especially  during  a  journey.  They 
were  attached  by  thongs  arranged  in  a  variety  of 
ways.  In  the  more  ornate  forms  sandals  had  an 
attachment  at  the  toes,  at  the  heels,  and  along  the 
sides,  not  necessarily  all  found  together.  So  long 
as  the  toes  were  in  any  measure  visible  the  foot- 
covering  might  be  said  to  be  a  pair  of  sandals. 
When  the  various  attachments  to  the  sole  were 
closed  in  above,  the  transition  to  shoes  was  com- 
plete. The  thong  or  latchet  would  appear  to  have 
been  as  necessary  to  shoes  as  to  sandals.  An  excep- 
tion to  this  would  be  the  '  slipper,'  best  suited  for 
indoor  wear,  being  easy  to  put  on  and  off.  Another 
distinctive  feature  of  shoes,  as  opposed  to  slippers, 
was  the  heel-covering.  Boots  in  various  forms 
were  also  known,  but  the  descriptions  are  not  very 
definite. 

On  the  ground  of  Eph  61S  we  are  perhaps  justi- 
fied in  referring  to  the  Roman  caliga,  the  foot- 
equipment  of  the  common  soldier  at  this  time. 
It  is  usually  taken  to  be  a  sandal  of  the  strong 
order,  with  nails  to  prevent  slipping,  but,  accord- 
ing to  another  view,  it  was  really  a  shoe  fitting 
closely  to  the  foot  above.  Such  foot-gear  is  sup- 
posed to  be  referred  to  in  Josenhus,  BJ  VI.  i.  8, 
in  which  instance  the  nails  failed  in  their  purpose. 

The  practice  of  walking  barefoot  seems  to 
have  been  restricted  to  slaves  and  the  poorer 
classes;  with  others  it  was  the  custom  only  on 


SHRINES 


SIBYLLINE  OEACLES 


477 


certain  occasions  (e.g.  mourning).  Indoors  it  was 
usual  to  lay  aside  the  shoes  or  sandals  that  had 
been  worn  abroad,  and  to  go  barefoot,  and  so  when 
reclining  at  meals  (cf.  Jn  134- 8).  In  the  Temple 
ceremonial  also  shoes  were  discarded.  As  appears 
from  Ac  128,  sandals  were  laid  aside  during  sleep. 

From  1351  we  may  infer  that  St.  Paul  and  Barnabas 
had  foot-wear  of  some  sort,  the  symbolical  action 
pointing  to  the  dust  which  had  collected  underfoot. 
By  detachment  of  the  shoes  this  could  be  shaken 
out,  and,  assuming  that  the  action  is  to  be  literally 
taken,  it  accords  with  the  wearing  of  shoes  rather 
than  of  sandals.  W.  CRUICKSHANK. 

SHRINES.— See  DIANA. 

SIBYLLINE  ORACLES.— At  the  close  of  the  5th 
(6th  ?)  cent.  Gospel  (cf.  vol.  i.  p.  489)  which  is  en- 
titled The  History  of  Joseph  the  Carpenter,  the 
Saviour  predicts  that  Antichrist  will  murder  four 
persons  and  shed  their  blood  like  water,  in  revenge 
for  their  exposure  of  his  evil  policy.  The  apostles 
ask  who  these  four  persons  are,  and  the  Lord 
replies,  '  They  are  Enoch,  Elijah,  Schila,  and 
Tabitha.'  'Schila'  has  puzzled  editors  of  this 
Arabic  document.  It  is  commonly  taken  as  a 
man's  name,  and  he  has  been  identified  with  the 
NT  'Silas,'  although  there  is  no  obvious  reason 
either  in  the  NT  or  in  later  tradition  why  Silas 
should  be  in  such  exalted  company.  E.  Nestle 
(ZNTW  xi.  [1910]  240)  suggests  that  he  was  the 
son  of  the  widow  of  Nain  ;  but  this  is  pure  con- 
jecture, and  Nestle's  companion  idea  that '  Tabitha ' 
represents  the  daughter  of  Jairus  (Mk  o41,  raXfiOd 
Koufj.)  is  a  precarious  support.  Tabitha  is  certainly 
the  woman  of  Joppa  (Ac  986*41)  whom  St.  Peter 
raised  from  the  dead.  In  the  Coptic  Apocalypse 
of  Elijah  she  encounters  Antichrist,  and  in  a  frag- 
ment of  some  Sahidic  apocalypse,  quoted  by  Crum 
(ZNTWxii.  [1911]  352),  she  is  ranked  with  Enoch 
and  Elijah  as  having  entered  heaven  in  the  body. 
Crum  further  solves  the  problem  of  'Schila'  by 
noting  that  when  the  Arabic  noun  is  pointed 
differently  it  becomes  equivalent  to  'Sibylla,'  who 
is  elsewhere  associated  with  Enoch.  This  yields 
an  excellent  sense  for  the  passage,  two  men  being 
followed  by  two  women. 

But  what  is  the  Sibyl,  a  pagan  figure,  doing  in 
this  Christian  connexion  ?  How  did  she  come  to 
fill  so  strange  a  r61e  ?  The  answer  to  these  ques- 
tions is  the  subject  of  the  present  article. 

The  etymology  of  the  word  '  Sibyl '  is  a  disputed  point,  (a) 
The  oldest  derivation  is  the  attractive  one  given  by  Varro 
(quoted  in  Lact.  Dlv.  Iiist.  i.  6),  that  the  term  is  a  generic  title 
for  prophetesses,  which  comes  from  the  Doric  or  jEolic  <TIOS  = 
6(6?,  and  0oAAa  (j3ovAAa)  =  £ouAij,  i.e.  '  the  counsel  of  God.'  (6) 
J.  P.  Postgate(4JPA  iii.  [lss'2]  333-334),  unable  to  accept  (o), 
since  cn.6?  is  Lacpnian,  not  /Eolic,  and  since  the  loss  of  an 
accented  syllable  is  unlikely,  prefers  the  roots  cri/S-vAo-ya  (the 
feminine  suffix)='the  wise  (little)  woman,'  the  suffix  -vAo  being 
used  in  a  diminutive  sense,  and  <rt/3-  being  connected  with  sap, 
'to  be  wise.'  (c)  The  idea  of  wisdom  is  brought  in  by  those 
philologists,  like  Max  Miiller  (Lectures  on  the  Science  of  Lan- 
guage, new  ed.,  London,  1882,  vol.  i.  p.  109),  who  connect  <ri/J 
with  a  primitive  Italian  aabvs  or  sabius,  '  wise ' ;  but  there  is  no 
trace  of  this  Italian  term  as  the  origin  of  the  diminutive,  and 
'  Sibulla '  does  not  seem  to  occur  in  any  Italian  dialect,  (d)  E. 
Hofmann  (see  below)  accepts  the  first  part  of  (a),  but  makes 
the  word  a  composite  from  erios  and  iAAoos  =  iAaos  (lAem?), 
meaning  'God-appeasing,' or  'God-reconciling,' with  reference 
to  the  aim  of  the  primitive  Sibylline  oracles.  Others  find  the 
thought  of  age  dominant,  and  (e),  like  S.  Krauss,  derive  it  from 
sib-il,  'the  ancient  of  God,' sib  or sib  =  ' old, 'and  -iA  as  in  Ba/3v- 
Aioi/,  for  which  the  inscriptions  furnish  the  form  '  Bab-il'  (Byzanti- 
nische  Zeitschrift,  xi.  [1902]  122),  or  (/),  like  H.  Lewy  in 
Philologus,  Ivii.  [1898]  350 f.,  connect  o-i'/SuAAa  with  the  Semitic 
(Aramaic)  root  of  sabeta,  '  grandmother,'  although  this  leaves 
the  reduplication  of  the  |3  unexplained.  None  of  these,  or  of 
the  other  ancient  and  modern  etymologies  which  have  been 
proposed,  is  satisfactory.  St'jStAAa  occurs  as  a  woman's  name 
in  an  Attic  inscription  from  the  4th  cent.  B.C.,  but,  while  this 
suggests  that  Sibyl  may  have  been  a  proper  name  to  begin 
with,  it  is  insufficient  to  prove  that  Sibyl  was  a  Greek  term, 
not  an  Oriental.  Eventually  the  name  was  applied  to  any 
woman  of  prophetic  gifts,  according  to  Servius  (on  y£n.  iii. 


445:    'Sibylla  .  .  .  dicitur  omnis  puella  cuius  pectus  numen 

recipit ')  and  Suidas  (evl  ovo^an  at  07jAei'<u  /uaimies  uvofJ.a.<r8-i]<raLV 
Zi/3i>'AAai).  But  originally  it  was  restricted  to  a  small  class  of 
prophetesses,  whom  we  may  call : 

1.  The  classical  Sibyl(s).— Towards  the  end  of 
the  6th,  or  about  the  beginning  of  the  5th,  cent. 
B.C.,  the  foundation  of  the  Canitoline  temple  in 
Rome  was  associated  with  the  influence  of  Sibylline 
utterances  and  the  infusion  of  Greek  rites  (Grcecus 
ritus)  into  Roman  religion.  The  origin  of  these 
was  Eastern.  During  the  6th  cent.  '  Greece  was 
not  only  full  of  Orphism  and  Pythagoreanism,  but 
of  floating  oracular  dicta  believed  to  emanate  from 
a  mystic  female  figure,  a  weird  figure  of  whom  it 
is  hard  to  say  how  far  she  was  human  or  divine ; 
and  of  whose  origin  we  know  nothing,  except  that 
her  original  home  was,  as  we  might  expect,  Asia 
Minor'  (W.  Warde  Fowler,  The  Religious  Experi- 
ence of  the  Roman  People,  London,  1911,  p.  257). 
This  was  the  Sibyl.  Like  the  Pythia,  she  was 
a  woman,  considered  to  be  inspired  by  Apollo. 
Subsequently,  she  was  supposed  to  be  extremely 
old,  on  the  principle,  probably,  that  long  experience 
added  to  her  prophetic  capacities.  As  time  went 
on,  her  personality  multiplied ;  in  the  4th  cent. 
B.C.  Heraclides  Ponticus,  the  historian,  knew  of 
three,  and  Varro  reckoned  as  many  as  ten  *  Sibyls. 
Primitive  tradition  located  the  original  Sibyl  at 
Erythrae,  but  the  most  famous  Sibyl  resided  at 
CuniBe,  the  old  Greek  settlement  in  Campania, 
though  it  is  probable  that  the  Sibylline  oracles 
which  came  to  Rome  from  Cumse  had  reached 
the  latter  city  from  Erythraj.t  The  Roman 
collection,  which  legend  linked  to  the  reign  of 
Tarquinius  Superbus,  perished  in  the  Capitol  fire 
of  83  B.C.  But  they  had  become  too  important  for 
the  purposes  of  religion  to  be  lost,  and  a  commis- 
sion of  three  State  officials  replaced  them  by  a 
fresh  collection  of  a  thousand  verses,  gathered 
from  Erythrse,  Samos,  Ilium,  Africa,  Sicily,  and 
elsewhere.  Instructions  were  given  that  only 
genuine  productions  were  to  be  admitted  to  this 
new  edition  of  the  libri  Sibyllini  or  libri  fatales.+ 
But  such  precautions  as  were  taken  do  not  seem  to 
have  been  more  than  partially  successful.  Oracles 
of  this  kind  absorbed  forgeries  of  a  more  or  less 
political  aim,  and  the  authorized  collection  had  to 
be  purged  from  time  to  time.  In  13  B.C.  Augustus 
included  this  among  his  religious  reforms,  and 
Tiberius  had  to  prevent  an  anonymous  Sibylline 
book  from  being  added  to  the  list ;  the  Emperor 
showed  himself  more  sceptical  than  the  quindecim- 
uiri  sacris  faciundis,%  who  were  officially  re- 
sponsible for  the  interpretation  of  the  oracles  and 
for  the  application  of  their  mysterious  commands 
to  the  national  life.  In  times  of  disaster  and  mis- 
fortune, or  when  prodigies  occurred,  the  Romans 
turned  to  this  sacred  collection.  Whatever  mea- 
sures it  dictated — fasts,  feasts,  expiations,  or  the 
like — were  carried  out  with  trembling,  anxious 
care,  as  during  the  panic  roused  by  Hannibal's 
campaign  in  Northern  Italy.  The  Sibylline  collec- 
tion met,  or  was  skilfully  manipulated  to  meet, 

*  The  variant  tradition  of  nine  reached  Shakespeare.  The 
Bastard  in  King  Henry  VI.  (pt.  i.  act  i.  scene  ii.  lines  55-57), 
describing  Joan  of  Arc,  says  : 

'  The  spirit  of  deep  prophecy  she  hath, 
Exceeding  the  nine  sibyls  of  old  Rome  : 
What's  past  and  what's  to  come  she  can  descry." 

t  Cf.  Emmanuel  Hofmann's  paper  on  '  Die  tarquinischen 
Sibyllen-biicher'  in  Rheinisches  Museum  fur  PhUologie,  new 
ser.,  1.  [1895]  90-113. 

J  According  to  some  recent  critics,  e.g.  F.  Hampers  (in 
Ili*t»r.  Zeitschrift,  1908,  p.  2.V2  f.),  the  new  harvest  of  Sibyllina 
included  some  Jewish  Alexandrian  productions,  which  in- 
fluenced Vergil.  See,  further,  J.  B.  Mayor's  paper  in  the  Exp. 
7th  ser.  iii.  [1907]  289 ff. 

§  When  his  patron's  son  was  elected  to  this  board  of  officials, 
Tihullus  (ii.  5)  wrote  a  poem  for  the  occasion,  in  which  he 
invokes  Phrebus  Apollo,  under  whose  guidance  'the  Sibyl  haa 
never  played  the  Romans  false,  singing  Fate's  secrete  in  hexa 
meters'  (is  f.). 


478 


SIBYLLINE  ORACLES 


SIBYLLINE  OKACLES 


the  popular  appetite  for  appeasing  the  super- 
natural, which  prodigies  and  defeats  created  from 
time  to  time.  These  Roman  oracles  originally 
were  not  so  much  predictions  of  woes  to  come,  like 
apocalyptic  tracts,  as  explanations  of  what  was 
required  to  avert  the  anger  of  the  gods  and  ward 
oft'  evil  to  the  State  on  earth.  They  were  not 
'vaticinia'  but  '  remedia  Sibyllina,'  as  Pliny  puts 
it  (H2f  xi.  35).  They  were  also  esoteric  literature  ; 
the  consent  of  the  Senate  was  required  before  a 
line  of  their  contents  could  be  divulged  to  the 
general  public.  This  put  considerable  power  into 
the  hands  of  the  officials  who  had  charge  of  them, 
especially  as  the  obscurity  of  their  contents  made 
the  sense  of  certain  passages  conveniently  ambigu- 
ous, and  it  is  not  surprising  to  find  that,  as  time 
went  on,  their  reputation  suffered  in  the  same  way 
as  the  Greek  oracles  ;  the  Roman,  like  the  Greek, 
Sibyllina  might  '  philippize ';  genuine  lines  might 
be  interpreted  for  private  ends,  if  a  political  leader 
could  influence  the  expositors,  and  forged  lines 
could  be  surreptitiously  introduced.  Still,  for  two 
centuries  at  least,  these  oracles  had  a  singular 
power  over  the  religious  hopes  and  fears  of  the 
people.  An  odd  story  like  that  preserved  by 
Petronius  *  in  the  1st  cent.  A.  D.  must  not  be  allowed 
to  count  unduly  against  the  esteem  which  was 
still  felt  for  the  oracles.  But  their  influence  was 
upon  the  wane.  Thus,  in  A.D.  270,  when  the 
Alemanni  invaded  Italy,  the  Senate  hesitated  to 
consult  the  Sibyllina,  and  Aurelian  had  to  incite 
them  (Vopiscus,  Vita  Aureliani,  20) ;  the  Emperor 
taunted  them  with  behaving  as  if  they  were  in  a 
Christian  church — a  significant  indication  of  the 
changed  attitude  towards  these  oracles !  Their 
use  lingered  down  to  the  age  of  Julian.  Then 
the  Christian  reaction  proved  fatal  to  them,  and 
Stilicho  is  said  to  have  burned  the  entire  official 
collection  at  the  beginning  of  the  5th  century. 
His  action  was  bitterly  resented,  as  we  can  see 
from  the  indignant  verses  of  Rutilius  Numantianus, 
but  the  protest  did  not  affect  the  fact ;  Stilicho's 
action  had  made  it  impossible  for  the  authorities 
to  appeal  in  future  to  this  ancient  relic  of  pagan 
divination. t 

Besides  the  official  collection,  however,  Sibylline 
oracles  passed  current  in  large  numbers  among  the 
people.  Lactantius,  who  has  preserved  several 
important  data  on  the  subject,  declares  that  only 
the  Cumsean  Sibyl's  oracles,  amounting  to  three 
books,  were  kept  secret,t  while  the  writings  of  the 
other  Sibyls  for  the  most  part  circulated  freely. 
It  is  true,  as  we  have  seen,  that  the  very  diffusion 
of  such  verses  led  to  the  partial  discrediting  of  the 
entire  literature  as  a  religious  authority  of  im- 
partial value,  but  long  before  this  shadow  fell  upon 
the  Sibyllina  at  Rome  the  Hellenistic  Jews  of 
Alexandria  had  taken  advantage  of  the  current 
Sibylline  verse  as  a  literary  genre  and  started  a 
new,  ingenious  development  of  the  method. 

2.  The  Jewish  Sibylline  oracles. — We  come  upon 
Jewish  Sibylline  oracles  before  we  hear  of  a  Jewish 
Sibyl.  The  latter  is  first  mentioned  by  Alexander 
Polyhistor,  the  Greek  author  of  Xa\5al'/cd,  in  the  1st 
cent.  B.C.,  who  quotes  what  is  apparently  an  oracle 
still  extant  in  Sib.  Orac.  iii.  97  ft'.  It  is  necessary 
to  say  '  apparently,'  for  serious  doubts  have  been 
thrown  recently  upon  Alexander's  indebtedness  to 

*  His  drunken  hero,  Trimalchio  (Satyricon,  48),  alleges,  '  I 
once  saw  with  my  own  eyes  the  Sibyl  hanging  in  a  cage  at 
Cumae,  and  when  the  boys  called  to  her,  "  Sibyl,  what  do  you 
want?  "  she  replied,  "  I  want  to  die."  * 

t  On  the  whole  subject,  see  G.  Wissowa,  Religion  und  Kultus 
der  Romer,  Munich,  1902,  pp.  462-475,  and  W.  Buchholz's  article 
in  Roscher,  pp.  790-813,  with  the  penetrating  discussion  in  A. 
Bouche-Leclercq's  Histoire  de  la  divination  dans  I'antiquiti, 
4  vols.,  Paris,  1879-S1,  ii.  199  f. 

t  Justin  {Apol.  i.  44)  denounces  this  as  a  device  of  evil 
demons,  to  prevent  men  from  reading  evidence  for  the  truth 
of  God  1 


a  Jewish  source  ;  both  Geffcken  *  and  Bousset  t 
prefer  to  find  traces  of  a  Babylonian  (Greek)  Sibyl- 
line oracle,  and  Schiirer's  criticism  of  this  theory 
does  not  succeed  in  ruling  it  out  of  court.  The 
exact  relations  between  the  Jewish  Sibyl  and  the 
Chaldaean  have  not  yet  been  cleared  up.  Pau- 
sanias  vouches  for  four  Sibyls,  the  Erythraean  Hero- 
phile,  the  Cumaean  Demo,  a  Libyan  prophetess, 
and  '  subsequent  to  Demo,  an  oracular  woman 
among  the  Hebrews,  named  Sabbe ;  Berosus  is 
said  to  have  been  the  father,  Erymanthes  the 
mother,  of  Sabbe.  Some  call  her  the  Babylonian, 
others  the  Egyptian  Sibyl '  (x.  12).  A  later  variant 
for 'Sabbe'  is  'Sambethe,'  which  is  variously  ex- 
plained. But  among  these  uncertainties  the  fact 
shines  clear,  that  by  the  2nd  cent.  B.C.  the  literary 
method  of  the  Sibylline  oracles  had  been  exploited 
by  one  or  more  Jewish  authors  at  Alexandria,  in 
the  interests  of  religious  apologetic  and  propa- 
ganda. Like  the  older  Philo,  Theodotus,  and 
possibly  the  author  of  the  pseudo-Phocylidsean 
verses,  the  Jews  who  composed  these  Sibylline 
oracles  of  their  own  could  write  Greek  hexameters.^ 
They  chose  this  pagan  form  in  order  not  only  to 
convey  threats  of  doom  against  persecuting  powers 
like  Assyria  and  Rome,  but  also  to  win  a  hearing 
among  outside  circles  for  their  own  monotheism 
and  moralism.  Why  should  not  the  Sibyl,  this 
recognized  exponent  of  Divine  things,  voice  the 
true  inspiration  of  Israel  as  well  as  the  secondary 
revelation  of  the  nations  ?  Why  should  not  this 
authoritative  channel  convey  the  living  water  of 
Jewish  truth,  or  rather  of  truth  as  only  the  Jews 
knew  it?  And  so  this  form  of  pseudonymous 
literature  came  into  vogue.§ 

But  the  vogue  did  not  last  very  long.  The  same 
fate  befell  the  Sibylline  oracles  of  Judaism  that 
befell  the  apocalypses  ;  their  popularity  with  the 
early  Christian  Church  appears  to  have  thrown 
them  out  of  favour  with  the  officials  of  Rabbinic 
Judaism. ||  The  Church  appropriated  them,  ap- 
pealed to  them,  edited  them  in  her  own  interests, 
composed  fresh  ones,  and,  in  general,  treated  the 
Jewish  Sibylline  oracles  much  as  the  Alexandrian 
Jews  had  treated  the  pagan  ones.  It  is  true  that 
the  composition  of  Jewish  Sibyllines  continued 
sporadically  till  the  reign  of  Marcus  Aurelius  at 
any  rate,  and  even  later.  But  the  extant  collection 
is  due  to  Christians,  and  one  of  the  intricate 
problems  of  this  literature  is  to  determine  how 
far  Christians  have  edited  sources  which  were 
originally  Jewish.  As  in  the  case  of  the  apoca- 
lypses, the  criteria  are  far  from  being  satisfactory. 
The  Sibylline  oracles  are  a  conglomerate  of  docu- 
ments, ranging  from  the  2nd  cent.  B.C.  to  the 
middle  of  the  7th  cent.  A.D.  Some  sections  (e.g. 
the  earliest,  in  bk.  iii.)  are  evidently  Jewish,  others 
as  evidently  Christian  ;  but  large  passages  seem  to 
show  no  distinct  soil  in  one  or  the  other  religion. 
Some  of  them  are  not  definitely  pre-Christian,  and 
even  those  that  are  to  be  dated  in  the  Christian 
era  may  be  Jewish  compositions  worked  over  by  a 
Christian  hand. 

*  In  his  '  Komposition  und  Entstehungszeit  der  Oracula  Sibyl- 
lina '  (TV  xxiii.  1  [1902]  2  f.). 

t  In  an  essay  in  E.  Preuschen's  ZNTW  iii.  [1902]  23-49. 

j  '  The  language  of  prophecy  naturally  assumes  a  metrical  or 
rhythmical  form,  partly  as  an  aid  to  the  memory,  partly, 
perhaps,  as  a  means  of  giving  to  the  words  uttered  the  effect  of 
a  more  solemn  intonation '  (W.  Y.  Sellar,  Roman  Poets  of  the 
Republic,  Oxford,  1905,  p.  34) ;  cf.  ERE  iv.  798*. 

§  Cf.  A.  Hilgenfeld's  Judische  Apokalyptik,  Jens,  1857,  p. 
51  f. ;  Ewald's  Abhandlung  uber  Entstehung,  fnhalt,  und  Werth 
der  sibyUinischen  Biicher,  Gottingen,  1858 ;  B.  W.  Badt's  essay 
De  oraculis  sibyllinis  a  Judaeis  compositis,  Breslau,  1869  ;  and 
J.  Lieger*s  Die  judische  Sibylle,  griechizch  und  deutsch  init 
erkldrenden  Anmerkungen,  Vienna,  1908 ;  in  addition  to  the 
prefaces  of  critical  editors  like  Alexandre  and  Friedlieb.  The 
bulk  of  bk.  iii.  goes  back  to  the  2nd  cent.  B.C.  ;  nuclei  seem  to 
gather  round  170  B.C.  and  140  B.C. 

[|  Even  Josephus  only  once  refers  to  the  Sibyllina,  to  the 
oracle  of  iii.  97  f.  about  the  tower  of  Babel  (Ant.  L  4). 


SIBYLLINE  ORACLES 


SIBYLLINE  ORACLES 


479 


An  instance  of  the  difficulty  of  deciding  whether 
a  passage  of  the  Sibyllina  was  written  by  a  Jew  or 
by  a  Christian  is  afforded  by  the  first  of  the  frag- 
ments which  Theophilus  of  Antioch  has  preserved 
(adAutol.  ii.  36): 

4  O  mortal  men  of  flesh,  mere  things  of  nought, 
How  quick  your  pride,  regardless  of  life's  end  ! 
Have  ye  no  fear  of  God,  who  knows  each  thought, 
Who  sees  all,  rules  all,*  who  doth  all  transcend, 
Nourishing  all  he  made,  and  in  all  men 
Sets  the  sweet  t  Spirit  to  direct  their  waya? 
One  God  there  is,  Lord  above  mortal  ken, 
Unborn,  alone  in  power,  from  mortal  gaze 
Hidden  himself,  who  yet  beholdeth  all. 
The  immortal  God  no  eye  of  flesh  can  view, 
Who  dwells  above,  the  heavenly  God,  the  true ; 
For  mortal  nerves  will  weakly  flinch  and  fall 
Even  before  the  sun's  refulgent  ball.  J 
Ah,  worship  him  who  o'er  the  world  holds  sway, 
Unborn,  eternal,  self-created  Being, 
Sustaining  Lord,  who  in  our  common  day  § 
Assigns  to  mortals  each  the  power  of  seeing.  | 
Bitterly  for  ill  error  shall  ye  pay, 
For  all  forsaking  of  his  altars  true, 
For  hecatombs  and  offerings  ye  lay 
On  altars  of  dead  idols  as  their  due. 
Besotted,  proud,  ye  left  the  straight  highway 
To  wander  blindly  among  thorns  :  ah,  cease, 
Cease,  oh  ye  foolish  men,  to  roam  astray, 
From  darkness  and  black  night  seek  ye  release, 
Lay  hold  upon  the  Light.U  unerring,  clear, 
For  all  to  mark  his  presence  now  and  here. 
Turn  not  for  ever  to  the  murky  night : 
When  lo  the  sun's  sweet  rays  are  shining  bright  1 
Be  wise  of  heart,  be  wise  and  understand  : 
There  is  one  God,  who  sends  upon  the  land 
The  rain,  the  wind,  the  lightning  and  the  might 
Of  earthquake,  famine,  pestilence,  and  woe, 
Sad  woe  that  weighs  the  heart,  the  haH,  the  snow,— 
All,**  all  are  his,  who  reigns  over  his  own, 
Sovereign  of  heaven  and  earth  himself  alone.' 

A  passage  like  this  breathes  so  much  of  the 
monotheistic  moralism  which  was  common  to 
Orphism,  Judaism,  and  Christianity  that  we  have 
no  definite  criteria  for  assigning  it  to  either  a 
Jewish  or  a  Christian  Sibyllinist ;  either  might 
have  written  it,  subordinating  his  dogmatic  idio- 
syncrasies to  the  need  of  preserving  the  dramatic 
probabilities  of  the  situation.  The  spirit  of  the 
piece  is  deliberately  neutral.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  with  regard  to  a  passage  like 
this  from  bk.  iii.  263  ff.,  which  describes  the  for- 
tunes of  the  twelve  tribes  : 

•  To  them  alone  a  hundred  fold  the  field 
Bears  harvest,  and  God's  measures  ample  yield. 
Yet  even  they  shall  fare  amiss,  even  they 
Shall  suffer  pestilence.    Thou, ft  far  away 
From  thy  fair  shrine  shalt  flee,  for  'tis  thy  fate 
To  leave  thy  sacred  soil  all  desolate  ; 
Borne  to  Assyria,  thou  shalt  there  behold 
Thy  wives  and  children  into  slavery  sold, 
And  greedy  hands  despoiling  all  thy  gold. 
Thou  shalt  fill  every  country,  every  sea, 
And  at  thy  customs  all  shall  angry  be.lt 
But  thy  land  shall  be  empty,  down  shall  fall 
The  great  God's  shrine  and  altar,  the  long  wall, 


*  TOV  firivKoirov  vyjav,  almost  in  the  sense  of  Wis  I8  (=»«cru- 
tator)  or  1  P  225  ('  overseer '). 

t  As  below  (p.  485)  in  bk.  vi.  Blass  prefers  to  render,  'who 
set  the  sweet  breath  of  life  in  everything,  and  made  man 
director  of  all  things.' 

J  This  ancient  argument  is  applied  in  the  Epistle  of  Barnabat 
(v.  9  f . )  to  the  Incarnation  specifically  : '  He  manifested  Himself  as 
God's  Son.  For,  had  He  not  come  in  the  flesh,  how  could  men 
ever  have  been  saved  by  beholding  Hun,  since  they  are  unable 
to  gaze  directly  at  the  rays  of  the  sun,  which  is  destined  to 
perish  and  is  the  work  of  His  hands  ? ' 

§  fv  4>ai  Kotv<a,  a  frequent  phrase  in  the  Sibyllina. 

ii  i.e.,  apparently,  of  recognizing  Himself.  But  xpirriptov  is 
difficult  in  this  sense.  To  take  it  as  meaning  that  God  con- 
stantly judges  men  in  the  present,  not  simply  in  the  future,  is 
a  possible,  though  less  probable,  alternative. 

If  If  this  alludes  to  Christ,  the  authorship  is  plain.  To  take  it 
as  a  reference  to  the  sun  is  possible,  but  less  likely.  The  same 
difficulty  emerges  in  the  interpretation  of  iii.  95  f. 

**  Literally, '  why  detail  each  one  by  one  ? ' — a  common  phrase 
of  the  Sibyl,  in  breaking  off  a  list. 

tt  Suddenly  apostrophizing  the  Jewish  people. 

il  The  well-known  anti-Semitic  prejudice  which  echoes 
through  Latin  literature.  See  H.  Strong's  paragraphs  in  HJ 
xiii.  [1915]  306 f.  ;  he  points  out  how,  e.g.,  the  Jewish  objection 
to  pork  must  have  irritated  Romans,  as  pork  was  their  favourite 
animal  food. 


Since  God  immortal  thou  would'st  not  obey, 
But  from  his  holy  law  didst  swerve  and  stray, 
Since  wretched  idols  were  thy  heart's  desire, 
Careless  in  reverence  for  the  immortal  Sire 
Of  gods  and  men,  who  worship  doth  require. 
Wherefore  thy  wondrous  shrine,  thy  fruitful  land 
For  seventy  years  *  untouched  by  thee  shall  stand. 
Tet  at  the  end  shall  bliss  and  glory  great 
Be  thine,  as  God  has  ordered :  only  wait  .  .  .' 

We  have  thus  three  strata  in  the  medley  of  the 
extant  Sibyllina  :  (1)  the  pagan  (Greek  or  Baby- 
lonian) oracles,  which  came  into  the  hands  of  Jews 
and  eventually  of  Christians.  It  is  one  of  the 
many  services  rendered  to  the  criticism  of  the 
oracles  by  Geffcken,  their  latest  editor,  that  he 
has  distinguished  more  fully  than  any  of  his  pre- 
decessors the  presence  of  such  outside  sources 
throughout  the  collection ;  even  although  the 
evidence  is  occasionally  unsatisfactory,  there  can 
be  little  doubt  that  the  later  Jewish  and  Christian 
Sibyllinists  made  more  use  of  these  surviving  frag- 
ments than  scholars  formerly  were  disposed  to 
admit ;  t  (2)  the  Jewish  Sibyllines,  rising  in  Alex- 
andria not  long  after  the  invasion  of  Egypt  by 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  in  171-169  B.C.  The  literary 
method  was  to  imitate  J  the  pagan  oracles,  for  the 
purpose  of  persuading  or  threatening  the  Gentiles, 
but  occasionally  fragments  of  them  were  incor- 
porated as  the  nucleus  of  a  fresh  composition,  and 
more  or  less  edited  for  their  new  setting  ;  (3)  the 
Christian  Sibyllines,  which  followed  the  same  path 
in  dealing  with  their  predecessors.  Fresh  oracles 
were  composed,  old  ones  were  recast  and  Christian- 
ized. It  was  the  Jewish  composers  who  gave  the 
lead  to  Christian  in  this  literary  method,  as  in  the 
apocalyptic  department  of  pseudepigrapha,  and 
the  production  of  occasional  Jewish  oracles  went 
on  side  by  side  with  the  Christian  activity,  even 
after  the  Pharisaic  reaction  and  re-organization  of 
Judaism  had  eschewed  the  Sibyllines.  But  we 
must  now  turn  to  the  third  of  the  strata.  It  is 
the  most  important  for  our  present  purpose,  not 
simply  because  it  is  Christian,  but  because  the  final 
editing  of  the  oracles,  as  we  have  them,  was  the 
work  of  Christians.  § 

3.  The  Christian  Sibyl.— In  the  early  Christian 
literature  we  hear  of  the  Sibyl  before  we  hear 
of  Sibylline  oracles.  The  so-called  allusions  in 
Clement  of  Rome  are  dubious,  but  Hermas  (Vis. 
II.  iv.)  mentions  her.  Justin  (Apol.  i.  20)  quotes 
her,  along  with  Hystaspes,  to  prove  that  the  world 
would  be  destroyed  by  fire,  and  the  author  of 
pseudo- Justin's  Cohortatio  ad  Grcecos  (16),  not 
earlier  than  the  end  of  the  2nd  or  the  beginning  of 
the  3rd  cent.,  not  only  quotes  her  as  a  primeval 
witness  to  monotheism,  but  (37)  describes  her 
shrine  at  Cumae  :  '  You  will  also  be  able  easily  to 
learn  the  right  religion,  to  some  extent,  from  the 
ancient  Sibyl,  who,  under  a  powerful  inspiration, 
teaches  you  by  her  oracles  what  seems  closely  akin 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  prophets.  She  is  said  to 
have  come  from  Babylon,  her  father  being  Berosus, 
who  wrote  the  history  of  Chaldaea  ;  after  crossing 
over,  somehow,  to  Campania,  she  uttered  her 
oracles  in  a  town  called  Cumae,  six  miles  from 
Baiae,  the  site  of  the  hot  springs  of  Campania. 

»  From  Jer  25U. 

t  See  below,  p.  486.  In  viii.  361,  373,  two  lines  are  quoted 
from  a  Delphic  oracle  which  happens  to  be  preserved  by  Hero- 
dotus (i.  47).  Hermas  (see  below)  hears  terrible  news  from  his 
Sibyl,  followed  by  gentle,  gracious  promises,  and  Rendel  Harris 
(The  Homeric  Centones,  London,  1898,  p.  15  f.)  conjectures  that 
the  former  were  '  an  intimation  of  the  impending  ruin  of  Rome, 
something  like  what  we  find  hi  the  eighth  book  of  the  Sibylline 
Oracles.'  But  this  would  be  Jewish.  The  couplet  in  iv.  97-98 
is  indubitably  pagan  ;  Strabo  quotes  it  as  such. 

t  'The  pseudo-oracular,'  as  F.  W.  H.  Myers  puts  it,  'is  a 
style  which  has  in  all  ages  been  cultivated  with  success' 
(Hellenicat,  London,  1898,  p.  411). 

§  A  good  statement  of  the  problem  is  to  be  found  in  Har- 
nack's  Geschichte  der  altchristlichen  Litteratur,  i.  i.  [Leipzig, 
1893]  861  ff.,  u.  i.  [do.,  1897]  581  f.,  ii.  [do.,  1904]  184 f. 


480 


SIBYLLINE  OEACLES 


SIBYLLINE  OEACLES 


When  I  was  in  that  town,  I  saw  a  spot  where  I 
was  shown  a  huge  basilica  cut  out  of  a  single  block 
— an  extraordinary  and  most  marvellous  object. 
According  to  those  who  had  the  local  tradition 
from  their  fathers,  it  was  there  that  she  used  to 
put  forth  her  oracles.  In  the  middle  of  the 
basilica  I  was  shown  three  openings  cut  out  of  the 
same  block,  in  which,  when  tilled  with  water,  she 
was  said  to  have  bathed  ;  after  which  she  would 
resume  her  robe,  retire  to  the  inner  shrine  of  the 
basilica  (still  cut  out  of  the  same  block),  and  in  the 
middle  of  the  chamber,  seated  on  a  high  platform 
and  throne,  put  forth  her  oracles."  He  then 
argues  that  Plato  must  have  had  this  Sibyl  in  his 
mind  when  he  described  in  the  Phcedrus  (244B) 
and  the  Meno  (99C)  the  phenomena  of  prophetic 
frenzy  or  rapture,  since  the  Sibyl  did  not  recollect 
afterwards  what  she  had  said  during  her  uncon- 
scious ecstasies.*  This  Christian  author  also 
shares  the  view  of  Pausanias  (see  above)  about  the 
parentage  of  the  Sibyl  ;  but  for  our  immediate 
purpose  it  is  more  relevant  to  note  his  appeal  to 
her  teaching  on  morality  and  monotheism.  The 
appeal  is  by  no  means  characteristic  of  him  alone. 
It  represents  a  widespread  attitude,  and  from  it 
there  developed  a  Christian  Sibylline  literature. 
Christians,  especially  Christian  apologists  of  the 
2nd  cent,  like  Theophilus  of  Antioch  and  Clement 
of  Alexandria,  were  content  to  upbraid  the  de- 
generate and  immoral  paganism  of  the  age  by 
holding  up  the  purer  conceptions  of  the  ancient 
Sibyl,  but  others  were  attracted  to  the  predictions 
and  threats  of  the  Sibylline  prophecies,  which 
seemed  so  analogous  to  the  apocalyptic  tracts  of 
the  Church.  It  was  the  latter  interest  that  first 
started  the  independent  composition  of  Sibylline 
verses  by  Christians,  probably  on  quite  a  small 
scale.  Celsus,  e.g.,  taunts  Christians  on  two 
grounds,  in  this  connexion  ;  they  were  '  Sibyllists,' 
he  urged,  with  their  belief  in  the  existence  of  a 
prophetic  Sibyl  and  their  appeal  to  her  oracular 
authority  (Orig.  c.  Cels.  v.  61),  and  they  dared  to 
interpolate  these  ancient  sources  with  impious 
lines  of  their  own  (vii.  53  :  vvv  5£  ira.pfyypd<t>fiv  plv 
fls  TO.  tKeivrjs  iroXXi  Kal  /SXdcr^Tj/oia  elKrj  dvvacrOe).  It 
was  not  difficult  to  slip  in  a  Christian  line  or  alter 
a  phrase,  any  more  than  in  the  case  of  the  apoca- 
lypses of  Judaism.  Then  came  the  full-blown 
production  of  such  oracles  by  writers  of  the  Church, 
partly  to  justify  the  ways  of  Providence,  partly  to 
enforce  Christian  predictions  and  threats,  partly 
even  to  disseminate  Christian  doctrines.  Once  the 
fabrication  of  Sibyllina  started,  it  went  on  from 
modest  interpretations  of  a  line  or  two  to  fresh 
pieces.  The  sustaining  force  in  the  composition  of 
such  oracles  was  drawn  from  the  popular  passion, 
in  several  Christian  circles,  for  their  pagan  and 
Jewish  prototypes.  The  ingenuity  of  Sibylline 
composers  and  the  credulity  of  many  simple  Chris- 
tians combined  to  produce  our  present  collection. 

One  remarkable  proof  of  the  prestige  gained  by 
the  Sibylline  oracles  of  paganism  in  certain  corners 
of  the  Church  during  the  2nd  cent,  is  afforded  by 
an  incidental  allusion  in  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
which  proves  that  some  Pauline  apocryphon  claimed 
the  authority  of  the  Apostle  for  the  Divine  testi- 
mony of  these  primeval  predictions.  In  the  sixth 
book  of  the  Stromata  (ch.  5),  arguing  that  the 
Greeks  had  some  knowledge  of  the  true  God, 
Clement  declares : 

'From  the  Hellenic  discipline  and  also  from  the  legal  [i.e. 
the  Jewish]  discipline,  those  who  accept  faith  are  gathered 
into  the  one  race  of  the  saved  People— not  that  the  three 
peoples  are  separated  chronologically,  but  that  they  are  dis- 
ciplined in  different  covenants  of  the  one  Lord  [and  instructed?] 
by  the  word  of  the  one  Lord.  As  it  was  God's  will  to  save  the 

*  In  the  Sibylline  oracles,  the  Sibyl  is  passive  or  reluctant 
under  the  influence  of  inspiration.  This  tallied  with  some 
Jewish  and  Christian  conceptions  of  prophetic  inspiration. 


Jews  by  giving  them  prophets,  so  he  raised  up  the  most  notable 
of  the  Greeks  themselves  to  be  prophets  in  their  own  tongue, 
as  they  were  able  to  receive  the  divine  bounty,  and  thus  separ- 
ated them  from  the  vulgar  crowd.  This  will  be  clear  from  The 
Preaching  of  Peter  and  also  from  the  words  of  the  Apostle 
Paul :  "Take  the  Greek  books,  read  the  Sibyl,  see  how  the  unity 
of  God  and  the  course  of  the  future  are  shown  there.  Take  and 
read  Ilystaspes,  and  you  will  find  the  Son  of  God  far  more  lumin- 
ously and  plainly  described,  and  how  many  kings  will  array 
themselves  against  the  Christ,  hating  him  and  those  who  bear 
his  name,  his  faithful  ones,  his  patience  and  his  coming." ' 

Unfortunately  Clement  does  not  name  this  Pauline 
document,  and  nothing  corresponding  to  his  quota- 
tion has  turned  up  yet  in  any  surviving  fragments 
of  the  Acta  Pauli.  But  the  Alexandrian  apolo- 
gist's attitude  brings  out  one  distinctive  feature 
in  the  Christian  Sibyllina.  For  all  their  common 
appeal  to  the  pagan  Sibyl  or  Sibyls,  there  was  one 
difference  between  the  procedure  of  the  Jewish 
Sibyllinists  and  the  Christian.  The  former  often 
took  pains  to  construct  a  Sibyl  of  their  own  ;  she 
spoke  Greek,  and  spoke  to  Greeks,  but  she  was 
of  Hebrew  birth.  She  repudiates  her  sisters 
of  Erythrse  and  Cumae.  '  Mortals  throughout 
Hellas  will  call  me  foreign,  sprung  from  Ery tliras, 
and  shameless ;  some  will  say  I  am  the  Sibyl 
whose  mother  was  Circe  and  whose  father  was 
Gnostos,  a  raving  maniac.  But  when  all  these 
things  corne  to  pass,  then  you  will  remember  me, 
and  none  will  then  call  me  mad,  but  the  prophetess 
of  mighty  God '  (iii.  813-818  ;  cf.  iv.  1-23).  The 
Sibyl,  like  Cassandra,  has  to  prophesy  to  an 
incredulous  generation.  But  she  is  of  Hebrew 
origin,  or  at  any  rate  of  Babylonian.  Traditions 
vary  on  her  birth  ;  in  some  quarters  she  appears  to 
have  been  connected  with  Noah  (iii.  827,  '  I  Avas 
his  daughter-in-law'),  but  it  was  at  any  rate 
essential  to  safeguard  the  origin  of  one  who  not 
only  denounced  idolatry  but  glorified  the  Jewish 
people,  and  there  was  a  tendency  to  identify  her, 
in  one  or  other  of  her  Oriental  forms,  with  Hebrew 
story.  The  Christian  Sibyllinists,  on  the  other 
hand,  took  over  the  pagan  Sibyl  or  Sibyls.  Their 
theory  of  Divine  inspiration  working  in  the  past 
outside  Israel — an  outcome  of  the  finer  conception 
of  the  Logos,  as  held  by  the  apologists — enabled 
them  to  dispense  with  the  construction  of  a  new 
figure.  It  would  have  been  much  more  difficult 
for  them,  in  any  case,  to  produce  a  Sibyl  for  them- 
selves than  it  had  been  for  the  Hellenistic  Jews  of 
an  earlier  age.*  The  Christian  Sibyl  is  therefore 
a  voice  rather  than  a  figure  ;  she  is  rarely  so 
dramatic  and  definite  as  the  Jewish  Sibyl,  except 
when  she  is  made  to  repent  of  her  pagan  vices  (see 
below). 

The  only  exception  to  this  may  be  found  in  the 
pages  of  that  second-rate  Bunyan  of  the  2nd  cent., 
Hernias.  He  makes  his  hero  receive  a  book  of 
revelations  from  an  old  woman,  whom  he  takes  to 
be  the  Sibyl.  But  he  is  told  in  a  vision  that  it  is 
the  Church  ;  the  Church  is  old,  because  she  was 
created  first  of  all  things  (  Vis.  i.-ii.).  This  would 
be  all  the  more  dramatic  if  the  setting  of  the 
vision  were  Cumse.f  Whether  Hennas  added 
this  graphic  touch  or  not,  he  certainly  took  over 
the  figure  of  the  aged  Sibyl  and  re-shaped  it  as  the 
Church,  in  order  to  suggest  a  medium  for  moral 
precepts  and  eschatological  predictions.  It  is  one 
of  the  daring  touches  in  this  religious  romance, 
but  later  writers  of  the  Church  went  on  another 
line  when  they  appropriated  the  Sibyl.  They 

*  The  traits  remained  the  same  :  (a)  the  Sibyl  was  a  woman  ; 
(6)  her  inspiration  was  ecstatic  and  frenzied ;  (c)  she  spoke  in 
hexameters,  the  ordinary  metrical  mould  for  religious  oracles 
(Plutarch,  De.  Pyth.  Orao.  9,  says  she  was  nourished  by  the 
Muses  on  Helicon) ;  and  (rf)  she  was  very  old.  The  last  point 
was  sharpened  for  Jews  and  Christians.  If  the  Sibyl  was  already 
in  the  far  past,  when  Heracleitus  heard  of  her  towards  the  end 
of  the  6th  cent.  B.C.,  how  much  more  remote  she  would  be  to 
Hellenistic  Judaism  and  early  Christianity  1 

t  'I  was  on  my  way,'  says  Hermas,  eis  icw^tas  (MSS);  most 
editors  alter  this  to  ei?  Kovjuas. 


SIBYLLINE  OKACLES 


SIBYLLINE  OKACLES 


481 


preferred  to  leave  her  in  the  far  mists  of  Greek 
antiquity  as  an  incontrovertible  witness  to  God's 
presence  and  purpose  among  the  nations  of  pre- 
Christian  paganism.  From  that  coign  of  vantage 
she  pours  out  reproof  and  threatening.  She  has 
little  or  no  dramatic  role  of  an  independent  kind, 
till  we  turn  aside  to  some  corners  of  Egyptian 
Christianity,*  where,  as  we  saw  at  the  beginning 
of  this  article,  apocalyptic  fantasy  set  her  among 
the  final  opponents  of  Antichrist,  among  the  four 
witnesses  to  Christ  who  herald  His  overthrow  of 
death  and  evil.  A  conception  of  this  kind  could 
arise  only  in  a  popular  Christianity  which  was  face 
to  face  with  sterner  exigencies  than  those  of  the 
age  of  Hennas  ;  but  it  represented  the  normal 
Christian  attitude  to  the  Sibyl  as  little  as  did 
Hernias.  What  the  Church  valued  primarily  in 
the  Sibyl  was  her  rhapsodies,  not  any  actions  or 
sufferings.  She  was  a  voice  in  the  wilderness,  and 
it  was  to  the  oracles  which  she  was  supposed  to 
have  voiced  that  Christians  turned  for  confirmation 
of  their  hopes  and  belief.s. 

A  number  of  prominent  early  Christian  Fathers 
ignore  the  Sibyl,  but  none  of  those  who  mention 
or  quote  her  feel  any  need  of  defending  this  pro- 
cedure. The  ordinary  assumption  is  that  she  is 
a  reliable  prophetess  of  the  truth,  and  that  her 
predictions  of  Christ  and  Christianity  are  as 
authentic  in  their  own  way  as  the  prophecies  of 
the  OT.  Tertullianf  voices  the  general  opinion 
when  he  calls  her  '  ueri  uera  nates.'  The  first 
indication  of  any  real  £  scepticism  on  the  part  of 
Christians  occurs  in  the  4th  cent,  oration  of  Con- 
stantine,  ad  Sanct.  coetum  (18  f. ).  Though  the 
speaker  quotes  the  Sibylline  oracles  as  a  telling 
proof,  from  paganism,  of  the  Divine  origin  and 
nature  of  Christ,  he  feels  obliged  to  give  reasons 
for  the  faith  that  is  in  him  :  the  reasons  are  weaker 
than  the  faith,  but  the  significant  thing  is  that 
evidently  he  could  not  count  upon  an  unquestion- 
ing acceptance  of  the  oracles  as  inspired  by  God  in 
pre-Christian  Greece.  He  argues  in  this  way  : 

'The  Erythraean  Sibyl,  who  declares  that  she  lived  in  the 
sixth  generation  after  the  flood,  §  was  a  priestess  of  Apollo  ; 
she  wore  the  sacred  fillet  in  imitation  of  him  whom  she  served, 
and  guarded  the  tripod  round  which  the  serpent  coiled ;  she 
answered  those  who  consulted  her,  as  her  parents  in  their 
folly  had  devoted  her  to  this  service — a  service  which  produced 
not  solemn  results  but  unseemly  passions,  such  as  are  told  of 
Daphne.  However,  she  once  swept  into  the  shrine  of  that 
obnoxious  superstition  and,  really  filled  this  time  with  the 
Divine  inspiration,  foretold  in  words  the  Divine  plan  for  the 
future,  plainly  disclosing  the  story  of  the  descent  of  Jesus  by 
the  initial  letters  of  the  lines — which  form  an  acrostic."  He 
proceeds  to  quote  the  acrostic  (see  below),  adding  :  '  Obviously 
a  divine  impulse  inspired  the  maiden  to  foretell  this.  For  my 
part,  I  consider  her  blessed  who  was  thus  chosen  by  the  Saviour 
to  be  a  prophetess  of  his  gracious  thought  for  us.  But  many 
people  are  sceptical  ;  they  allow  that  the  Erythnean  Sibyl  was 
a  seer,  but  they  suspect  that  it  was  someone  belonging  to  our 
religion,  not  unacquainted  with  the  art  of  poetry,  who  composed 
these  lines;  they  think  they  are  a  forgery  and  that  they  are 
alleged  to  be  oracles  of  the  Sibyl  because  they  contain  salutary 
moral  precepts  which  curb  sensuous  indulgence  and  promote  a 
sober,  orderly  life.  It  is  impossible,  however,  to  mistake  the 
real  facts  of  the  case,  for  our  own  members  have  been  at  pains 
to  calculate  the  time  with  care,  so  that  no  one  need  suspect  this 
poem  was  written  after  the  arrival  and  the  condemnation  (uddoSov 
icai  Kpiaiv)  of  Christ  or  that  the  current  view  of  their  previous 
composition  by  the  Sibyl  is  inaccurate.' 


*  Vergil,  of  course,  had  already  begun  to  set  the  Cumaean 
Sibyl  in  motion.  She  is  more  to  him  than  a  seer  who  is  con- 
sulted. She  conducts  .(Eneas  to  the  world  of  the  dead,  just  as 
she  does  in  Ovid. 

t  Ad  Jfationes,  ii.  12 :  '  Ante  enim  Sibylla  quam  otnnis  littera- 
tura  exstitit.  Ilia  scilicet  Sibylla,  ueri  uera  uates,  et  cuius 
uocabula  daemoniorurn  uatibus  induistis.  Ea  senario  uersu  in 
hunc  sensum  de  Saturni  prosapia  et  rebus  eius  exponit.'  The 
description  recurs  in  the  passage  inserted  by  Codex  Fuldensisin 
Apol.  19,  but  the  authenticity  of  the  addition  is  doubtful  (cf. 
R.  Heinze's  Tertulliang  Apologeticum,  Leipzig,  1910,  p.  385  f.). 

J  Origen's  answer  to  Celsus  is  weak,  and  he  never  uses  the 
Sibyl  in  his  proofs  of  revelation.  But  he  does  not  pronounce 
against  the  Sibyllina.  Lactantius  (Div.  fnst.  iv.  15.  26)  takes 
much  the  same  line  of  defence  as  Constantirie. 

§  In  bk.  i.  283  f.  the  Sibyl  distinctly  says  she  belonged  to  the 
sixth  generation  after  Adam  ! 
VOL.  II. — 31 


He  then  appeals  to  the  evidence  of  Cicero  in  the 
de  Divin.  ii.  54 — a  singularly  maladroit  appeal, 
for  Cicero  did  not  translate  this  acrostic*  into 
Latin,  and  in  fact  used  the  acrostic  form  of  the 
Sibylline  verses  to  disprove  the  assertion  that  the 
Sibyl  spoke  in  ecstatic  frenzy  ;  acrostics,  as  he 
observed,  are  not  the  product  of  a  frenzied  intellect, 
pouring  out  impromptu  inspiration.  Eusebius,  or 
whoever  wrote  this  speech  for  the  Emperor,  felt, 
however,  that  the  Sibyllina  afforded  too  telling  a 
proof  of  Christianity  to  be  surrendered.  The  un- 
critical spirit  prevailed  over  the  doubts  of  more 
intelligent  Christians  and  the  ridicule  poured  by 
pagans  on  this  manufactured  product.  The  Sibyl- 
lina were  read,  and  they  continued  to  be  written. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  will  be  gathered 
that  no  Sibylline  oracles  of  Christian  origin  are 
contemporary  with  the  Apostolic  Age.  We  do 
not  possess  any  definite  evidence  as  to  the  period 
when  such  compositions  began  to  appear  in  Chris- 
tian circles,  apart  from  the  insertion  of  lines  here 
and  there  in  extant  Jewish  oracles,  which  preceded 
independent  Sibylline  composition.  But  it  can 
hardly  have  been  much,  if  at  all,  earlier  than  the 
end  of  the  2nd  cent,  that  the  Church's  interest  in 
the  Sibyl  became  creative.  All  the  sections  which 
are  specifically  Christian,  in  the  present  collection, 
are  quite  post-apostolic  ;  some  may  be  earlier  than 
the  3rd  cent.,  but  none  has  a  sure  claim  to  be 
reckoned  as  belonging  to  the  2nd  century.  The 
result  is  that  we  are  left  with  the  paradox  that 
those  Sibylline  oracles  which,  strictly  speaking,  are 
relevant  to  this  Dictionary  are  all  of  Jewish  origin, 
i.e.  the  familiar  oracles  embedded  in  books  iii.-v. 
especially,  illustrating  the  apocalyptic  and  eschato- 
logical  traditions  t  which  operated  in  some  circles 
of  contemporary  piety.  These  Jewish  oracles  the 
present  writer  does  not  propose  to  discuss.  They 
are  accessible,  and  for  the  most  part  intelligible, 
thanks  to  the  research  which  for  over  a  century 
has  been  devoted  to  this  branch  of  our  subject.^: 
It  is  the  rest  of  the  Sibyllines  which  are  unfamiliar 
to  the  ordinary  student,  even  of  Church  history  ; 
they  are  not  easily  accessible,  and  they  are  by  no 
means  clear,  but  they  represent  so  curious  and 
baffling  a  phase  of  early  Christian  literature  and 
popular  feeling,  on  its  romantic  side,  that  it  will 
be  of  some  service  even  to  call  attention  to  the 
problems  which  they  still  contain,  and  to  the 
phenomena  of  their  origin.  In  surveying  these 
Sibyllina  we  enter  a  by-way  of  early  Christian 
literature,  but  it  is  a  by-way  which,  like  that  of 
the  uncanonical  gospels,  though  never  to  the  same 
extent,  wras  once  thronged  and  popular. 

In  Geffcken's  standard  edition  of  the  text  (see 
Literature),  apart  from  a  prose  prologue  and  some 
brief,  scattered  fragments,  the  extant  collection 
contains  fourteen  books.  Nothing  from  the  ninth 
and  tenth  has  been  preserved,  but  the  other  twelve 
amount  to  4146  lines  (400,  347,  829,  192,  531,  28, 
162,  500,  324,  299,  173,  361),  and  there  are  some 
obvious  lacunae  in  the  text.  The  present  form  of 
the  collection  probably  goes  back  in  the  main  to 
the  anonymous  Byzantine  Greek  who  wrote  the 

*  The  Sibylline  oracle  he  mentions  advised  the  Romans  '  eum 
quern  re  vera  regem  habebamus,  appellandum  quoque  esse  regem, 
si  salui  esse  vellemus.'  The  Parthians  could  be  conquered  only 
by  a  '  king."  Therefore,  as  this  adroit  partisan  of  Caesar  put  it 
in  his  oracle,  let  that  title  be  given  to  Caesar. 

t  E.g.  the  belief  in  Aero  rcdu'irus  or  at  any  rate  redux,  which 
echoes  through  bks.  iv.,  v.,  and  viii.,  and  which  sounds  behind 
the  Apocalypse  of  John. 

J  Besides  the  translations  mentioned  in  the  Literature  (below), 
the  English  reader  will  find  critical  discussions  in  S.  Krauss'a 
article  (JE\\.  319-323),  W.  J.  Deane's  Pseiuiepiyrapha,  London, 
1891,  pp.  276-344,  Bousset's  article  in  the  Eng.  tr.  of  Herzog 
(vol.  x.  pp.  396-400),  J.  H.  Lupton's  art.  in  Smith's  DCB  iv. 
644-649,  a  paper  by  S.  A.  Hirsch  in  theJQK  ii.  [1890]  406-429,  and 
— for  the  religious  ideas — James  Drummond's  Philo  Judceus,  2 
vols.,  London,  1888,  i.  167  ft,  and  R.  H.  Charles,  in  EBi  i.  245- 
250. 


482 


SIBYLLINE  OKACLES 


SIBYLLINE  ORACLES 


prologue  some  time  in  the  course  of  the  6th  century. 
This  prologue  is  a  rough  piece  of  work.  It  repeats 
some  current  legends  about  the  Sibyl  and  Sibylline 
oracles,  but  its  structure  is  loose.  This  may  be 
due  to  later  interpolations,  or  the  text  may  have 
suffered  at  the  hands  of  scribes.  Even  so,  however, 
it  shows  more  goodwill  than  critical  ability  in  the 
writer.  He  is  a  simple,  credulous  Christian,  who 
undertakes  the  literary  task  of  collecting  and 
arranging  the  Sibyllina  because  he  desires  to  aid 
Christian  piety.  The  contents  of  the  prologue  are 
as  follows  : 

'  If  toil  spent  on  reading  Greek  books  yields  rich  profit  to 
those  who  labour  at  it,  inasmuch  as  it  has  the  power  of  making 
scholars  of  those  who  toil  thus,  it  is  far  more  fitting  for  the 
rightminded  to  devote  themselves  at  all  times  to  the  divine 
scriptures,  inasmuch  as  they  treat  of  God  and  of  what  issues  in 
spiritual  profit ;  this  yields  a  twofold  gain,  for  people  can  there- 
by profit  themselves  and  also  those  whom  they  come  across. 
Hence  it  was  that  I  myself  resolved  to  take  the  oracles  which 
are  called  Sibylline,  and  which  are  to  be  found  here  and  there, 
read  in  confusion  and  indistinctly  understood,  and  to  publish 
them  in  connected  and  orderly  form,  so  that  they  may  be 
readily  grasped  by  the  reader  and  yield  him  their  profit  (for 
they  contain  no  small  amount  of  what  is  essential  and  useful), 
thus  rendering  the  study  of  them  at  once  more  rich  and  varied. 
For  they  impart  clear  information  about  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Spirit,  the  divine  and  life-imparting  trinity,  as  well  as 
about  the  incarnation  of  our  Lord  and  God  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  about  his  birth  from  a  pure  virgin,  about  the  cures  per- 
formed by  him,  likewise  about  his  life-giving  Passion  and  his 
resurrection  from  the  dead  on  the  third  day,  about  the  judgment 
to  come  and  the  recompense  for  what  we  all  have  done  in  this 
life.  Besides,  they  treat  clearly  of  what  is  disclosed  in  the 
writings  of  Moses  and  the  books  of  the  prophets  about  the 
creation  of  the  world,  the  formation  of  man,  the  expulsion  from 
paradise,  and  the  re-forming ;  *  they  foretell  what  has  taken 
place,  and  perhaps  what  is  to  take  place,  in  various  ways.  In  a 
word,  they  can  be  of  no  small  service  to  those  who  come  across 
them. 

"  Sibyl "  is  a  Roman  term,  meaning  prophetess  or  seer  ;  hence 
female  seers  were  called  by  this  single  name.  There  were 
Sibyls,  as  many  writers  tell  us,  in  different  ages  and  localities, 
to  the  number  of  ten ;  first,  the  Chaldaean  or  Persian,  whose 
proper  name  was  Sambethe,  belonging  to  the  race  of  the  most 
blessed  Noah,  and  said  to  have  foretold  the  events  connected 
with  Alexander  the  Macedonian  ;  she  is  mentioned  by  Nicanor 
the  biographer  of  Alexander.  Second,  the  Libyan  sibyl,  men- 
tioned by  Euripides  in  the  prologue  to  the  Lamia.  Third,  the 
Delphic,  born  at  Delphi,  of  whom  Chrysippus  speaks  in  his  book 
upon  the  deity  (divination?).  Fourth,  the  Italian  sibyl  of 
Cimmeria  in  Italy,  the  mother  of  Evander,  who  founded  the 
shrine  of  Pan  in  Borne  called  the  Lupercal.  Fifth,  the  Ery- 
thraean sibyl,  who  predicted  the  Trojan  war ;  Apollodorus  the 
Erythraean  vouches  for  her.  Sixth,  the  Samian  sibyl,  whose 
proper  name  was  Phyto  ;  Eratosthenes  has  written  of  her. 
Seventh,  the  Cumaaan  sibyl  called  Amalthea  and  also  Herophile, 
by  some  Taraxandra  ;  Vergil  [JEn.  vi.  36]  calls  the  Oumsean 
sibyl  Deiphobe,  the  daughter  of  Glaucus.  Eighth,  the  Helles- 
pontine  sibyl,  born  at  the  village  of  Marpesstis  near  the  town  of 
Gergition,  in  the  district  of  the  Troad,  during  the  days  of  Solon 
and  Cyrus,  as  Heraclides  Ponticus  writes.  Ninth,  the  Phrygian, 
and  tenth,  the  Tiburtine  sibyl,  called  Albunea.t 

The  story  goes  that  the  Cumaean  sibyl  brought  nine  books  of 
her  own  oracles  to  Tarquinius  Priscus,  who  was  then  king  of 
the  Roman  State,  asking  three  hundred  pounds  for  them.  As 
she  was  treated  with  contempt  and  not  even  asked  what  their 
contents  were,  she  committed  three  of  them  to  the  flames.  On 
her  next  visit  to  the  king,  she  brought  the  six  books  and  de- 
manded the  same  price  for  them,  but  was  treated  with  disdain, 
and  burned  other  three.  Following  this  up  with  a  third  visit, 
she  brought  the  remaining  three  and  asked  the  same  price  for 
them,  declaring  that  if  she  did  not  get  it  she  would  burn  them 
also.  Then  the  king — so  the  story  goes — read  them,  and  in 
astonishment  gave  her  a  hundred  pounds  for  them  and  de- 
manded the  rest  of  the  books ;  she  reported  that  she  had  none 
equivalent  to  what  had  been  burnt  and  that  no  such  oracles 
were  attainable  apart  from  ecstasy,  but  that  certain  persons  in 
various  towns  and  localities  had  received  oracles  which  they 
judged  essential  and  profitable,  and  that  a  collection  of  these 
should  be  made.  This  was  done  speedily.  What  God  had 
given  in  secret  did  not  escape  notice.  The  books  of  all  the 
sibyls  were  deposited  in  the  Capitol  in  ancient  Rome,  those  of 
the  sibyl  of  Cumaa  being  kept  secret  and  not  communicated  to  the 
people,  as  they  announced  rather  specifically  and  distinctly  what 
was  to  happen  in  Italy ;  the  other  books  were  made  known  to 
all.  The  predictions  of  the  Erythraean  sibyl  have  the  local  name 
prefixed  to  them,  whereas  the  others  have  no  indication  of  their 
origin,  but  lie  mixed  up  together. 

Now  Firmianus,!  a  philosopher  of  no  small  repute  and  a 

*  avaTrAaaecos,  the '  new '  creation  in  contrast  to  jrAdo-ecoy,  which 
has  just  been  used. 

t  This  paragraph  is  practically  a  reproduction  of  Varro's 
account,  which  Lactantius  (£>*'«.  Inst.  i.  6)  had  preserved. 

t  He  means,  of  course,  the  great  Christian  apologist,  L. 
Cselius  Firmianus  Lactantius.  Some  idea  of  our  author's 


priest  of  the  aforesaid  Capitol,  opened  his  eyes  to  Christ,  our 
eternal  light,  and  in  his  writings  set  forth  what  had  been  said 
by  the  sibyls  about  the  unspeakable  Glory,  and  thereby  refuted 
with  effect  the  folly  of  the  Greek  error.  His  powerful  explana- 
tion was  in  the  Ausonian  tongue,  whereas  the  Sibylline  verses 
were  in  the  Greek  language.  Lest  this  should  be  deemed  in- 
credible, I  shall  bring  forward  the  following  evidence  from  the 
man  who  has  just  been  mentioned.*  (Since  the  Sibyllines 
current  among  us  are  despised  as  common  by  those  who  under- 
stand Greek  topics — what  is  uncommon  being  only  counted  of 
any  value — and  since  people  are  the  slower  to  believe  in  them 
as  the  lines  do  not  all  observe  the  accurate  laws  of  metre,  this 
latter  is  not  the  fault  of  the  prophetess  but  of  those  who  took 
them  down,  either  because  they  could  not  keep  up  with  the 
rush  of  what  was  said,  or  because  they  were  uneducated  ;  t  as 
for  the  prophetess,  her  memory  of  what  she  had  said  ceased 
with  the  period  of  ecstasy.  This  was  what  Plato  J  had  in  mind 
when  he  wrote  that  many  important  things  were  accomplished 
by  those  who  did  not  know  what  they  were  saying.)  "  So  I  shall 
quote  as  much  as  possible  from  the  oracles  brought  to  Rome  by 
the  envoys.  The  following  was  written  of  the  supreme  God  : 

One  God,  who  rules  alone,  almighty,  uncreated  .  .  . 

One  God  there  is  alone,  high  over  all,  who  made 

the  heaven,  the  sun  and  stars  and  moon, 

the  fruitful  earth,  the  swellings  of  the  sea ; 

he  only  is  Creator  God,  all-strong, 

he  fixed  our  mould  of  being,  and  'twas  he 

blended  the  nature  of  each  human  life." 

Which  means  either  that  when  human  beings  come  together, 
they  become  one  flesh  with  the  Father,  or  that  he  fashioned  man 
and  the  world  under  heaven  out  of  the  four  elements  which  are 
opposed  to  one  another.' 

There  is  a  close  affinity  between  this  prologue 
and  a  '  theosophy'  of  the  5th  cent.  (474-491),  which 
originally  contained  seven  books  '  on  the  orthodox 
faith,'  employing  the  Sibylline  oracles  amongst 
other  pagan  sources  to  illustrate  Christian  doctrine. 
In  a  fragment  recently  discovered  by  Karl  Mras 
('Eine  neuentdeckte  Sibyllen-Theosophie,'  Wiener 
Studien,  xxviii.  [1906]  43-83),  the  author  appears 
to  have  drawn  his  quotation  from  Lactantius  in 
part,  but  he  had  not  our  extant  Sibylline  collection 
before  him,  and  Mras  conjectures  that  the  author 
of  our  prologue  borrowed  from  this  '  theosophy.' 
There  is  nothing  in  the  prologue  to  contradict  this 
view ;  it  is  a  dishevelled  piece  of  writing,  and 
neither  original  nor  reliable.  However  the  com- 
piler made  up  his  collection,  its  condition  does  not 
increase  our  respect  for  his  literary  capacities.  What 
his  ideas  of  connexion  and  order  may  have  been, 
we  have  no  means  of  telling.  The  arrangement  of 
the  following  oracles  is  not  chronological — possibly 
we  have  no  right  to  expect  that — but  it  is  not  even 
topical.  The  least  unsatisfactory  method  of  deal- 
ing with  the  materials  will  be  to  survey  rapidly 
each  book  in  the  sequence  of  the  collection. 

Bks.  i.  and  ii.  form  a  unity,  but  they  are  not  by 
any  means  the  earliest  part  of  the  collection,  and 
it  is  almost  certain  that  they  represent  a  Jewish 
basis  overlaid  by  Christian  additions  at  several 
points.  They  appear  to  have  been  unknown  to 
early  Christian  writers  ;  the  first  echo  occurs  in  the 
Oratio  ad  sanct.  coetum(18=Sib.  i.  283  f.),  which  is 
attributed  to  Constantine.  This  does  not  militate 
against  H.  Dechent's  view  §  that  the  Jewish  piece 

historical  knowledge  may  be  inferred  from  his  remark  that 
Lactantius  had  been  a  pagan  priest  of  the  Capitoline  temple  ! 

*  The  loose  quotation  from  Lactantius  (Div.  Inst.  i.  6)  does 
not  begin  till  after  the  passage  in  brackets,  which  our  author 
seems  to  have  reproduced  freely  by  an  error  of  memory  from 
the  Cohortatio  ad  Grcecos. 

t  This  is  the  Christian's  attempt  to  ans_wer  the  educated 
Roman's  objection  to  the  obscurity  and  irregularity  of  the 
Christian  Sibyllina.  So  far  from  being  a  mark  of  weakness,  this 
really  proves  their  authenticity  and  inspired  origin  ! 

1  See  above,  p.  480.  Both  passages  expound  the  validity  of 
rapture  as  a  means  of  divination  and  insight,  but  the  Sibyl  is 
only  mentioned  in  the  Phcedrus,  where  Socrates  contends  that 
'  the  greatest  blessings  come  to  us  by  way  of  madness  (juapia; )  if 
only  it  is  bestowed  by  heaven.  Why,  the  prophetess  at  Delphi 
and  the  priestesses  atDodona  have  done  many  a  noble  service  to 
Hellas,  both  to  individuals  and  to  the  public,  by  their  madness, 
whereas  they  have  done  little  or  nothing  in  their  sober  senses. 
And  further,  we  should  only  be  elaborating  what  is  known  to 
everybody,  if  we  were  to  speak  of  the  Sibyl  and  all  the  rest,  who 
by  the  exercise  of  inspired  divination  have  set  many  people 
right  for  what  lay  before  them,  by  disclosing  to  them  much  of 
the  future.' 

§  In  his  monograph,  Ueber  das  erste,  zweite  und  elfU  Such 
der  gibyllinischen  Weissagungen,  Frankfort,  1873. 


SIBYLLINE  ORACLES 


SIBYLLINE  OKACLES 


483 


which  he  disentangles  from  i.  1-323,  ii.  6-33,  154- 
178,  185-189,  193-241,  253-311,  314-325  (327)  was 
composed  before  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  but  it  does 
tell  against  any  early  date  *  for  the  Christian  edit- 
ing. In  bk.  i.  the  Sibyl  describes  the  Creation  and 
the  Flood,  and  then,  in  genuinely  prophetic  style, 
carries  the  story  down  to  the  rebellion  of  the  Titans 
(1-323),  when  suddenly  the  birth,  ministry,  death, 
and  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  the  punishment  of 
the  disobedient  Hebrews,  are  described  ;  the  book 
ends  with  a  prediction  of  the  capture  of  the  Temple 
at  Jerusalem  and  the  dispersion  of  the  Jews  under 
the  wrath  of  God  for  having  maltreated  His  Son. 
Several  passages  in  this  Christian  section  are 
almost  verbally  identical  with  lines  of  the  eighth 
book,  and  it  is  still  a  vexed  question  which  book 
borrowed  from  the  other. 

In  the  Jewish  oracle,  which,  like  nearly  all  the 
Sibyllina,  is  a  mine  of  odd  lore  about  contemporary 
traditions  and  legends,  the  most  interesting  feature 
is  the  detailed  description  of  Noah  as  a  '  preacher 
of  righteousness '  (2  P  2s)  to  his  scornful  generation 
(147  ff.).  He  preaches  a  short,  good  sermon.  God 
reveals  to  him  the  impending  fate  of  mankind,  if 
they  persist  in  their  evil  ways,  and  bids  him  appeal 
to  them  for  the  last  time.  Noah  does  so,  but  is 
scoffed  at.  He  renews  his  warning,  and,  instead  of 
being  couched  in  any  threatening  tones,f  it  is 
charged  with  a  singular  pathos.  He  tells  them, 
e.g.,  how  he  will  lament  and  weep  in  the  ark,  if 
things  come  to  the  worst  and  God  has  to  destroy 
them  and  the  world.  As  is  usual  in  the  Sibyllina, 
the  biblical  thread  is  strung  with  variegated  chips 
of  legend  and  romantic  mythology,  but  it  is  not  so 
thickly  strung  as  to  become  invisible.  There  is  a 
simplicity  and  directness  in  this  popular  poetry  on 
the  biblical  narrative  which  is  superior  to  the  pro- 
saic paraphrase  of  Josephus.  The  Christian  section 
is  of  less  merit,  either  from  a  religious  or  from  a 
literary  point  of  view.  It  is  a  florid  cento  from 
the  NT,  with  a  vehement  animus  against  the  Jews. 
A  fair  specimen  of  the  author's  outlook  may  be 
found  in  the  description  of  Christ,  '  the  son  of  the 
immortal  God,'  in  332  f .  : 

'  He  shall  fulfil,  he  shall  not  destroy,  God's  law, 
bringing  the  original  pattern,  and  shall  teach  all  things. 
To  him  shall  the  priests  J  bring  offerings  of  gold,  myrrh  and 

incense.  .  .  . 

But  when  a  voice  sounds  through  the  desert, 
bidding  all  mortals  loudly 

to  make  straight  paths  and  cast  evils  from  their  heart 
and  be  enlightened  by  baptism  in  the  waters,}  every  one, 
that  being  born  from  above  they  no  more 
may  swerve  from  the  right  in  the  least —  ... 
then  mortals  shall  have  a  sign  suddenly, 
when  the  Fair  Stone  comes  guarded  from  Egypt's  land,  I 
whereat  the  people  of  the  Hebrews  will  stumble, 
but  the  nations  will  muster  under  his  guidance. 

Then  follows  a  note  of  His  miracles  similar  to  that 
of  bk.  viii.  (see  below). 

The  second  book  is  predominantly  eschato- 
logical,  as  might  be  expected,  since  the  Sibyl  now 
comes  to  the  closing  generations  of  mankind.  One 
of  the  characteristics  of  this  literature  is  its  stress 
upon  a  purpose  in  history ;  sin  is  to  be  punished 

*  According  to  Bousset,  the  Christian  editor  of  bk.  viii.,  the 
author  of  iii.  63-92,  and  the  editor  of  i.-ii.  all  wrote  in  the  3rd 
cent.,  under  Odenathus.  This  would  follow  necessarily,  if  the 
widow  of  iii.  77  f.  were  Zenobia,  not  Cleopatra,  and  if  the  As- 
syrian whom  the  twelve  tribes  return  from  the  East  to  punish 
(ii.  167  f.)  were  Odenathus.  Bleek  relegated  i.-ii.  to  the  5th  cent, 
(middle),  Ewald  to  the  4th,  Alexandre  to  the  3rd,  and  Friedlieb 
to  the  2nd. 

t  Such  as,  e.g.,  we  hear  in  the  oracle  of  iii.  55 f.,  where  the 
bitter  irony  of  denunciation  overpowers  the  speaker.  '  Woe  is 
me,  alas  !  when  shall  that  Day  arrive,  the  judgment  of  the  im- 
mortal God,  the  great  King?  Meantime,  o  ye  cities,  get  founded, 
get  all  adorned  with  temples,  race-courses,  market-places, 
statues  of  gold  and  silver,  and  stone,  so  that  ye  may  come  to 
the  bitter  Day  !  For  come  it  will,  whenever  the  smell  of  brim- 
stone pervades  all  men;' 

J  Mt  211.  §  Mauri.  *<oTi£«o-0ai ;  cf.  below  (p.  487). 

II  Cf.  Mt  2i«,  1  P  27f- 


by  God,  amid  sore  suffering,  and  the  punishment 
implies  not  only  the  overthrow  of  impious  States 
on  earth,  but  a  final  judgment  of  God,  to  which 
all  leads  up.  The  second  book  starts  with  a  brief, 
gloomy  description  of  the  woes  that  vex  earth  in 
the  tenth  generation,  when  Rome  is  shattered  by 
a  visitation  from  heaven.  Then  earth  is  peaceful 
and  fruitful  for  the  pious,  free  from  the  curse  of 
private  property  and  Imperial  tyranny.  At  this 
point,  the  Sibyl  linist  dramatically  describes  the 
contest  for  the  virtuous  rewards  of  immortality, 
over  which  Christ  presides  (34 f.) — a  section  which 
is  further  marked  by  the  incorporation  of  a  long 
moralistic  *  passage  (56-148)  from  pseudo-Phocy- 
lides.  The  oracle  then  returns  to  the  woeful  last 
days,  the  misfortunes  of  the  Jews,  and  the  Last 
Judgment.  The  Christian  accretions  are  probably 
from  various  hands,  but  none  of  them  necessarily 
implies  an  early  date.  Lines  163 f.  may  be  a  quota- 
tion from  the  Gospel  of  the  Egyptians  (cf.  vol.  i.  p. 
495),  but  what  Clement  (Strom,  iii.  6.  45)  cites  from 
the  latter  is  only  a  parallel  to  the  Sibylline  allusion. 
The  reference  to  the  intercession  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  (312)  is  not  so  primitive  as  the  remarks  of 
Irenseus  (v.  19),  and  the  earliest  parallel  to  the 
divine  lists  of  struggle  for  the  prizes  of  bliss  occurs 
in  Tertullian's  treatise  Ad  Mart.  3.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  period  of  the  fragments  that 
constitute  the  nucleus  of  the  book,  the  Christian 
touches  need  not  be  assigned  to  a  date  much,  if  at 
all,  earlier  than  the  end  of  the  2nd  cent.,  and  they 
may  well  be  later.  No  early  Father  quotes  from 
them.  They  are  marked  by  a  weird,  grim  power, 
if  we  can  speak  of  '  power  in  connexion  with  the 
Christian  Sibyllina  at  all,  either  in  edification  or 
in  literary  quality.  The  apocalyptic  element  is 
strong,  coloured  by  tinges  familiar  (e.g.  165  f.  = 
Mt2424f>)  to  us  from  current  apocalyptic  treatises, 
but  often  with  an  individuality  of  its  own. 

It  is  in  this  book  (15 f.)  that  we  first  meet  the 
famous  Sibylline  doctrine  of  the  ten  ages  of  the 
world  (cf.  ERE  i.  200,  and  A.  Rzach's  paper  in 
Wiener  Studien,  xxxiv.  [1912]  114-122),  which  had 
been  current  in  the  pagan  Sibyllina  already  (cf. 
Servius  on  Verg.  Eclog.  iv.  4).  It  recurs  in  iii. 
108  f.,  in  a  separate  form,  the  tenth  generation  being 
the  generation  of  the  Titans  which  is  reckoned  as 
the  tenth  from  the  Flood  (the  passage  quoted  by 
Tertullian,  see  above,  p.  481).  But  here  and  in 
viii.  199  f.  it  is  eschatological,  the  tenth  generation 
being  the  last.  In  iv.  47-87  the  tenth  generation 
seems  to  mark  the  downfall  of  the  Persian  Empire 
at  the  hands  of  Alexander,  and  the  generations 
are  reckoned  from  the  Flood,  whereas  in  i.  1-198, 
which  appears  to  be  the  prelude  to  ii.  15  f.,  the 
generations  are  reckoned  from  Adam,  the  fifth 
generation  being  that  of  the  Giants. 

One  of  the  most  characteristic  passages  is  the 
eschatological  delineation  in  238  f. : 

'  When  Sabaoth,  Adonai,  thundering  on  high 
raises  the  dead,  setting  a  term  to  their  fates, 
and  seats  himself  on  the  heavenly  throne  and  places  the  great 

pillars,  t 

then  Christ  the  immortal  shall  come  in  a  cloud 
to  the  Immortal,  with  mighty  angelic  retinue, 
seating  himself  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Great,  and  judging 

from  the  throne 
the  life  of  the  pious  and  the  ways  of  the  impious. 


*  Note,  e.g.,  the  denunciation  (111-118)  of  the  love  of  money, 
as  elsewhere  in  iii.  235  f.,  viii.  18  f.  Rapacity  is  one  of  the  car- 
dinal sins  with  which  these  Eastern  provincials  charge  the  Roman 
Empire  (iii.  350 f.,  viii.  18  f.,  96  f.)  ;  the  Sibyl  reflects  the  resent- 
ment felt  by  the  popular  mind  at  the  taxes  levied  by  Rome,  as  well 
as  the  ordinary  ethical  protest  against  avarice  and  luxury.  The 
general  ethics  are  discussed  with  reference  to  the  Didache  by 
Rendel  Harris  in  The  Teaching  of  the  Apostles^,  London,  1887,  p. 
40  f.,  and  by  A.  Dieterich  in  his  Nekyia,  Leipzig,  1893,  p.  193  f. 

t  Taking  KLOVO.  as  generic.  But  this  feature  is  unexampled 
and  unintelligible.  Did  the  Sibyllinist  mean  'the  whipping- 
post '  of  a  Roman  place  of  trial  ? 


484 


SIBYLLINE  OEACLES 


SIBYLLINE  OEACLES 


Moses,  the  great  friend  of  the  Most  High,  shall  also  come, 

clothed  in  flesh,  and  Abraham  the  great, 

Isaac  and  Jacob,  Joshua,  Daniel  and  Elijah, 

Habakkuk,  Jonah,  and  those  whom  the  Hebrews  slew. 

All  the  Hebrews  after  Jeremiah  who  come  for  judgment  before 

the  throne  shall  he  slay, 

that  they  may  receive  due  recompense  and  punishment 
for  what  each  did  in  this  mortal  life. 
Then  shall  all  pass  through  the  fiery  stream, 
through  the  unquenchable  fire  :  the  just 
shall  all  be  saved,  but  the  impious  shall  perish  to  all  eternity, 
as  many  as  have  formerly  wrought  evil, 
committed  murder  or  been  accomplices  therein, 
all  liars,  thieves,  deceivers,  foul  adulterers, 
parasites,  intriguers,  sowers  of  slander, 
wicked,  violent,  lawless,  and  idolatrous  persons, 
all  who  have  forsaken  the  great  immortal  God, 
who  have  turned  blasphemers,  persecutors  of  the  pious, 
destroyers  of  the  faithful,  scorners  of  just  men, 
all  who  with  crafty  and  shameless  double-face 
as  presbyters  and  honoured  deacons  *  look  on  .  .  .' 

There  is  a  lacuna  in  the  text  at  this  point,  after 
which  the  grim  list  of  crimes  is  continued,  with 
their  fitting  punishment.  In  313 f.,  the  bliss  of 
heaven  is  portrayed  as  follows : 

'  But  as  for  those  others  who  cared  for  justice  and  good  deeds, 
for  piety  and  righteous  thoughts, 
angels  shall  bear  them  up  through  the  fiery  stream 
to  light  and  life  without  a  care, 
where  is  the  immortal  path  of  the  great  God, 
where  are  the  three  fountains  of  wine,  honey  and  milk. 
There  shall  earth  be  alike  for  all,  undivided 
by  walls  and  barriers,  then  of  its  own  accord 
it  will  bear  richer  fruits,  possessions  shall  be  in  common 
and  wealth  no  monopoly.! 
No  poor  shall  be  there,  no  rich  man,  no  tyrant, 
no  slave,  neither  great  nor  small  any  more, 
no  kings,  no  rulers,  all  shall  be  alike  in  fellowship. 
None  shall  ever  say  again,  "  Night  has  come"  or  "  Morning," 
or  "  Yesterday,"  none  worries  over  length  of  days, 
over  spring,  over  summer,  over  winter,  over  autumn, 
over  marriage,  over  death,  over  buying,  over  selling, 
over  sunset,  over  sunrise  :  it  shall  be  one  long  day.' 

The  last  words  literally  run,  'and  He  shall  make 
one  long  day.'  But,  in  order  to  avoid  the  appear- 
ance of  describing  a  selfish  bliss,  the  Sibyllinist 
proceeds  to  the  following  remarkable  doctrine  : 

'  And  another  thing  will  the  almighty,  immortal  God  bestow  on 

them  :  t 
when  the  pious  ask  immortal  God,  he  will  grant  them  to  save 

men 
from  the  fierce  fire  and  eternal  torment :  this  also  he  will  dc 

(for  them). 

He  will  take  the  men  again  from  the  tireless  fire 
and  for  the  sake  of  his  own  people  will  transport  them 
to  another  life,  immortal,  undying, 
in  the  Elysian  plain,  where  he  has  the  great  waters 
of  the  deep-bosomed  lake,  perennial  Acherusia." 

At  the  thought  of  this  the  Sibyl  breaks  into  a 
pathetic  prayer  for  herself  : 

'  Alas,  woe  is  me  for  that  day, 
when  I  am  punished  for  all  my  ill  deeds, 
I  who  cared  nought  for  marriage  §  or  sound  reason, 
but  in' the  house  of  my  wealthy  man 
shut  out  the  needy,  and  deliberately 


*  Even  Christian  officials  are  among  the  condemned,  as  in  the 
Dantesque  vision  of  the  4th  cent.  Apocalypse  of  Paul  (ed.  Tisch- 
endorf,  Leipzig,  1866,  p.  34  f.),  where  the  Apostle  sees  a  presby- 
ter, a  bishop,  and  a  deacon  successively  tormented  for  their 
ecclesiastical  misdeeds. 

t  A  point  reiterated  by  the  Sibyllina  (e.g.  iii.  247,  '  Heaven 
fashioned  the  earth  to  be  common  to  all')— one  of  several  drawn 
from  Stoic  ethics. 

{  The  denial  that  the  punishment  of  hell  is  eternal  tallies  with 
Origen's  doctrine,  and  an  indignant  scribe  or  editor  has 
appended  a  protest,  which  has  been  preserved  in  some  MSS. 
'Obviously  a  lie,' he  remarks,  'for  the  fire  of  punishment  will 
never  leave  the  condemned,  though  personally  I  could  wish  it 
were  so,  scarred  as  I  am  with  such  sore  wounds  of  sin,  that  need 
all  the  greater  Mercy.  Origen  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  chatter- 
ing as  though  there  were  any  limit  to  punishment." 

§  The  traditional  Sibyl  is  unmarried,  though  there  is  one 
strange  exception  in  the  Sibyl  whom  Pausanias  mentions 
(x.  12);  she  was  called  Herophile  or  Artemis,  she  sang  at 
Delphi  about  the  rape  of  Helen  and  the  Trojan  war,  and  '  she 
was  the  wedded  wife  of  Apollo,  and  his  daughter,  and  his  sister.' 
Perhaps  here  as  in  vii.  153  (see  below,  p.  486)  she  confesses  to 
having  sinned  sexually  instead  of  marrying.  Only,  she  seems  to 
be  married  here,  unless  'in  the  house  of  my  wealthy  man' 
means  residence  in  the  shrine  of  Apollo.  The  two  versions  of 
her  past  life  differ  slightly. 


wrought  unlawful  deeds  aforetime  !   Saviour,  do  thou  save  me 

from  my  tormentors, 

a  shameless  woman,  who  has  done  immodestly. 
Lo,  I  beseech  thee,  let  me  cease  a  little  from  my  song, 
O  hoi}'  giver  of  manna,  king  of  a  great  kingdom.' 

The  long  third  book,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
almost  entirely  a  Jewish  compilation,  with  oracles 
dating  from  the  2nd  and  the  1st  centuries  B.C. 
Originally  it  had  1034  verses  instead  of  the  extant 
829.  No  book  of  our  collection  is  so  important  for 
the  study  of  this  Jewish  propaganda  in  its  eschato- 
logical  aspects,  and  none  presents  such  difficulties 
to  the  literary  analyst.  It  is  plain  that  a  Christian 
has  threaded  in  lines  here  and  there,  e.g.  776  (if 
viov  is  read  for  vaov  or  olnov — vibv  y&p  Ka\tov<ri  fiporoi 
Heyd\oio  Oeoio]  ;  it  is  by  no  means  so  plain  that 
longer  sections  like  46-62  and  63-92  are  of  Christian 
origin,  although  the  latter,  with  its  striking  de- 
scription of  Beliar  (Simon  Magus?)  who  comes  from 
Sebaste  (Samaria?)  and  of  the  catastrophes  at  the 
end  of  the  world,  does  not  have  a  Jewish  ring 
about  it.  Apart  from  the  possible  exception  of 
these  passages,  the  motley  oracles  of  the  book  are 
all  pre-Christian;  this  is  almost  the  sole  result 
which  stands  out  clearly  amid  the  various  literary 
analyses.  The  fourth  book  is  distinctly  Jewish,  and 
is  commonly  dated  c.  A.D.  80,  since  the  eruption 
of  Vesuvius  in  A.D.  79  (130-136)  is  regarded  as  a 
punishment  for  the  Roman  treatment  of  Judaea, 
and  is  to  be  followed  by  an  Eastern  attack  on 
Rome,  headed  by  Nero,  from  beyond  the  Euphrates. 
It  is  a  short,  heterogeneous  book,  and  is  quoted  by 
Justin  and  Clement  of  Alexandria,  as  well  as  by 
Lactantius.  Its  antipathy  (27  ft'.)  to  any  visible 
temple  and  to  material  sacrifices  has  been  taken 
by  some  critics  to  mark  a  type  of  Judaism  different 
from  that  of  bks.  iii.  and  v. — either  Essenism  or 
some  '  allied  though  independent '  phase  (cf.  Light- 
foot's  Colossians  and  Philemon,  new  ed.,  London, 
1879,  p.  96  f. ) ;  but  these  allusions  may  be  to  pagan 
cults,  and  even  the  stress  laid  on  grace  before  food 
(24  f.)  does  not  stamp  the  oracle  as  Essenic.  The 
fifth  book  is  larger  and  stretches  further  down, 
though  the  contents  are  still  predominantly 
Jewish,  and  even  Egyptian,  to  judge  from  the 
curious  reference  of  approval  to  the  temple  of 
Onias  (501-511).  It  is  a  medley  of  denunciations, 
woes,  and  predictions,  the  latest  of  which  are  not 
earlier  than  Hadrian's  reign  (46  ff.)  and  possibly* 
as  late  as  that  of  Marcus  Aurelius.  But  these 
Jewish  oracles  of  the  first  two  Christian  centuries 
owe  their  present  form  to  some  Christian  editor  of 
the  latter  century.  The  first  Christian  to  quote 
from  them  is  Clement  of  Alexandria.  Here  and 
there,  but  not  often,  we  can  detect  a  Christian 
patch,  as  at  256-259  : 

'  But  then  shall  a  unique  Man  come  from  heaven, 
who  spreads  out  his  hands  on  the  Wood  t  of  rich  fruit, 
the  best  of  the  Hebrews,  who  one  day  shall  stay  J  the  sun, 
with  fair  words  issuing  from  pure  lips.' 

Another  touch,  which  possibly  is  late,  is  the 
abrupt  (293  ff. )  prediction  of  ruin  for  the  temple  of 
Artemis  at  Ephesus,  which  is  to  be  overwhelmed 
by  an  earthquake  and  to  sink  into  the  sea,  to  the 
bitter  grief  of  the  Ephesians. 

Substantially,  however,  these  three  books  are 
Jewish  in  texture.  At  their  best,  they  voice  the 

*  If  line  51,  which  speaks  of  Hadrian's  three  successors, 
belongs  to  the  previous  oracle  (1-50),  and  is  not  an  interpolation. 

t  I.e.  the  Cross  (see  below,  on  bk.  vi.)  ;  Ignatius  (ad  Smyrn. 
1.  2)  had  already  called  Christians  '  the  fruit '  of  the  Cross. 

J  The  meaning  is  obscure,  partly  because  the  reading  varies. 
K.  Buresch  and  Geffcken  read  o-njaei  for  the  <TTfj<re(v)  of  the 
MSS  ;  either  the  miracle  of  Joshua  is  to  be  repeated  in  the  last 
days  (cf .  Lact.  Div.  Inst.  vii.  26.  2  :  '  et  statuet  deus  solem ') 
or  Jesus  is  in  some  way  identified  with  Joshua  (owing  to  the 
Greek  equivalent  'IrjtroOs  ;  cf.  He  48).  Hirsch,  however,  recalls 
the  Midrash  Tanhumah  on  Ex  1718,  according  to  which  Moses 
stopped  the  sun  and  moon  when  he  stretched  out  his  hands  at 
the  battle  with  the  Amalekites.  This  would  tally  with  the 
Sibylline  point  of  view  in  viii.  251  (see  below). 


SIBYLLINE  ORACLES 


SIBYLLINE  ORACLES 


485 


highest  propaganda  of  Hellenistic  Judaism  between 
the  2nd  cent.  B.C.  and  the  2nd  cent.  A.D.,  when 
many,  in  Egypt  especially,  were  conscious  of  their 
vocation  (ct'.,  e.g.,  iii.  195,  ol  irdvTeffffi  Pporolffi  fiiov 
K0.6o5f]yol  &roi'Tat  =  Ro  21U,  bSyybv  Tv<f>\ui>)  to  be  a 
source  of  light  and  leading  to  the  Gentiles.  These 
primitive  Sibyllina  of  Judaism  are  neither  cosmo- 
politan nor  proselytizing  ;  this  is  one  of  their  dis- 
tinctive features.  They  are  '  national  and  nomistic,' 
as  Krauss  observes,  '  in  so  far  as  they  are  Jewish. 
Even  the  Messianic  time  is  inconceivable  without 
the  Temple,  sacrificial  worship,  and  the  Law. 
Despite  this,  the  pagan  Greeks  are  nowhere  urged 
to  observe  the  Law  ;  they  are  asked  merely  to  lead 
moral  lives  and  to  recognize  the  one  God. 
Although  the  Sibyl  addresses  all  peoples,  the 
Syrians,  Britons,  Gauls,  and  the  nations  of  the 
Isles,  she  especially  exhorts  the  people  of  Hellas, 
knowing  that  it  will  be  well  with  all  the  human 
race  if  this  people  with  its  grand  culture  will  com- 
bine its  own  virtues  with  the  pure  religion  of 
Judaism '  (JE  xi.  320b).  The  latter  conviction 
underlay  the  Hellenistic  propaganda.  It  was 
Greece  which  had  been  primarily  responsible  for 
the  development  of  idolatry  in  trie  great  Roman 
world,  and  Greece  must  regain  her  lost  monotheism 
if  the  mass  of  men  were  to  abandon  polytheism 
and  return  to  the  original  worship  of  the  one  God. 
The  conversion  of  Greece  (cf.  iii.  545  tf.)  was  the 
hope  of  these  Sibyllinists.  Hence  the  aptness  of 
their  appeal  through  the  stammering,  inspired  lips 
of  a  Sibyl  who  spoke  from  the  far  mists  of  pre- 
Homeric  antiquity.  The  appeal,  it  must  be 
remembered,  was  not  to  the  'intellectuals.'  The 
Sibyllina  were  popular  literature,  not  esoteric 
essays.  They  were  couched  in  the  language  of 
impressive,  popular  address,  midway  between  the 
hymn  and  the  apocalypse,*  and  like  the  latter 
aimed  their  shafts  at  the  common  heart  of  men. 
Naturally,  the  shafts  were  winged  with  threats  as 
well  as  with  promises  and  argument.  And  de- 
nunciations of  idolatry  and  polytheism  as  naturally 
led  to  eschatological  predictions.  If  the  average 
apocalypse  could  be  called  a  tract  for  bad  times, 
the  Sibylline  oracle  was  usually  a  tract  for  bad 
people,  for  nations  who  had  deliberately  devoted 
themselves  to  idolatry  and  vice,  or  outraged  the 
Jewish  people.  The  last  words  of  bk.  v.  are  :  '  the 
heaven  remained  starless.'  And  that  is  character- 
istic of  the  oracles.  These  Sibyllinists  wrote  on 
the  sound  principle  that  some  people  really  need 
not  argument  but  suffering,  if  they  are  ever  to 
be  brought  to  their  senses.  A  starless  sky  hangs 
over  them.  In  the  Jewish  Sibyllina  (cf.  P.  Volz, 
Jiutische  Eschatologie,  Tubingen,  1903,  pp.  46-50, 
etc.)  particularly,  though  by  no  means  exclusively, 
impatient  threats  of  doom  abound  ;  sometimes  it 
is  linal,  though  sometimes  it  is  intended  to  act  as 
a  salutary  historical  reminder  of  the  pains  and 
penalties  which  are  incurred  by  all  who  defy  the 
laws  of  Israel's  God.t  The  Sibyl  will  reason  with 
Hellas,  e.g.,  but  she  will  also  shower  threats  of 
calamity  on  her.  Her  oracles  are  charged  with 
lightning  as  well  as  with  light.  It  is  this  pre- 
occupation with  a  moralistic  view  of  history  which 
repeatedly  tends  to  make  the  interest  of  the 

*  M.  Friedliinder  exaggerates  the  significance  of  the  Sibyllina 
for  apocalyptic  prophecy , but  there  was  a  distinct  affinity  between 
both  forms  of  Jewish  propaganda  (Die  religiiisen  Bewegungen 
inni'i-halb  des  Judentums  im  Zeitalter  Jesu,  Berlin,  1905, 
p.  -J^f.). 

t  E.g.  in  v.  276 f.,  and  especially  in  iv.  152  f.,  when  impiety, 
bloodshed,  and  vice  are  rampant,  men  know  'that  God  is  no 
longer  gentle  and  gracious,  hut  gnashing  his  teeth  in  anger  and 
destroying  the  whole  race  of  men  together  with  a  huge  conflagra- 
tion. O  wretched  mortals,  do  not  drive  God  to  all  sorts  of 
wrath,  but  give  up  swords,  shrieks,  murder,  and  violence,  wash 
your  whole  body  in  ever-running  streams,  stretch  your  hands 
to  heaven,  ask  pardon  for  your  past  deeds  ;  God  will  grant 
repentance.' 


Sibyllina  eschatological  even  when  they  are  more 
hopeful  about  the  heathen  ;  for  in  contrast  to  the 
misery  of  pagans  the  Messianic  bliss  of  Israel  is 
depicted,  partly  to  encourage  the  disconsolate  Jews 
of  the  period,  but  partly  also  to  act  as  a  tempting 
promise  to  outsiders  (e.g.  v.  492  f.).  It  is  to  the 
God  who  can  bestow  such  happiness,  not  to  vain 
idols,  that  worship  ought  to  be  paid.  Thus,  in  iii. 
624 f.,  after  depicting  the  prosperity  of  Israel  on 
the  new  earth — i.e.  the  new  order  of  things  under 
the  later  Maccabees — the  oracle  proceeds  to  bid  the 
deceitful  man  turn  and  make  intercession  to  God, 
offering  him  sacrifices  and  honouring  him  with 
good  behaviour:  'it  may  be  that  the  immortal 
God  will  have  mercy  on  thee.'  But  in  most  cases 
the  oracles  are  oppressed  by  the  sense  that  things 
have  gone  too  far.  Their  environment  was  dark. 
What  the  Sibyl  generally  has  in  mind,  it  must  be 
repeated,  is  not  so  much  the  philosophers  of  Hellas 
as  the  practical  propaganda  which  followed  in  the 
wake  of  the  Seleucid  kings  (e.g.  iii.  732 f.),  with  its 
contemptuous  indifference  to  all  that  a  Jew  valued 
in  monotheism  and  even  in  morals.  This  is  one  of 
the  main  threads  running  through  the  woof  of  these 
three  Jewish  books  of  Sibyllina,  the  desire  to  warn 
at  any  rate  and  win  if  possible  contemporary 
Hellenism.  As  the  latter  hope  waned,  the  Sibyl's 
testimony  hardened  into  denunciation  and  doom. 

In  the  sixth  book  we  are  back  on  Christian 
ground,  more  thoroughly  Christian  than  any  we 
have  yet  crossed.  At  the  same  time,  there  is 
not  a  single  allusion  to  the  Sibyl.  The  book  is 
simply  a  short  hymn,  which  has  been  taken  to 
represent  a  theology  akin  to  some  of  the  uncanoni- 
cal  gospels  and  to  have  originated  in  more  or  less 
heretical  circles  of  the  2nd  cent.  Church.  '  Hereti- 
cal,' in  this  connexion,  is  a  question-begging 
epithet,  however,  as  Harnack  points  out ;  '  eccen- 
tric '  would  suit  the  contents  better.  The  piece 
need  not  be  earlier  than  the  3rd  cent.,  though 
2nd  cent,  parallels  are  not  awanting.  The  only 
help  in  determining  its  relative  date  is  furnished  by 
the  fact  that  it  is  quoted  by  Lactantius,  but  there 
are  no  historical  references  to  enable  us  to  say  how 
much  earlier  than  the  beginning  of  the  4th  cent, 
its  composition  is  to  be  placed.  It  is  the  briefest 
of  the  extant  Sibylline  books,  and  may  therefore 
be  translated  in  full.  The  present  writer  appends 
a  fairly  literal  version,  in  order  to  bring  out  the 
peculiar  theology  of  the  piece  : 

'  I  hail  from  the  heart  the  Immortal's  great  Son,  renowned  in 

song, 
who  was  granted  the  throne  to  possess,  by  the  Father  most 

High, 

ere  yet  he  was  bora  ;  whereupon  in  the  flesh  granted  him 
he  appeared  and  bathed  in  the  streams  of  the  river  of  Jordan 
that  moves  with  grey  tread  on  as  it  rolls  its  waters. 
Avoiding  the  fire,*  he  first  shall  behold  the  sweet  Spirit 
of  God,  borne  on  the  white  shining  wings  of  the  Dove. 
A  Blossom  pure  shall  bloom,  and  springs  shall  gush  ; 
to  men  shall  he  show  the  Ways,  shall  show  the  paths  of  heaven, 
and  give  to  all  instruction  in  tales  of  wisdom. 
He  shall  come  for  judgment  and  smite  the  disobedient  People, 
extolling  the  praiseworthy  race  of  the  Father  in  heaven. 
He  shall  tread  on  the  waves,  shall  free  mankind  from  diseases, 
shall  cause  the  dead  to  arise,  shall  banish  many  a  sorrow  : 
from  a  single  wallet  t  shall  bread  in  abundance  issue  for  men, 
when  David's  house  puts  forth  its  Plant ;  and  in  his  hand 
the  whole  world  lies,  the  earth,  the  sky,  the  sea. 
He  shall  flash  upon  the  earth,  as  when  at  his  first  appearance 
they  two  saw  hiiu.J  who  had  been  born  each  from  the  side  of 

the  other. 

And  this  shall  be  when  earth  rejoices  in  hope  of  the  Child. 
But  for  thee  alone,  O  land  of  Sodom,  §  evil  woes  are  in  store  ; 
for  thou,  thou  didst  not  know  thy  God,  insensate  one, 
when  he  came  to  be  seen  of  men  ;  nay,  with  thorns  for  a  crown 
thou  crownedst  him,  and  for  his  drink  despitefully 
didst  mix  the  dreadful  gall — hence  come  thine  evil  woes. 

*  The  tradition  which  appears  in  some  of  the  uncanonical 
gospels  (see  vol.  i.  p.  494). 

t  Mt  1419.  Lactantius  seems  to  have  read  JTTJPTJS,  but  the  MSS 
reading  pifns  ('  root')  would  connect  with  the  following  line  and 
yield  a  good,  though  slightly  different,  sense. 

J  Adam  and  Eve.  §  Cf.  Eev  118 


486 


SIBYLLINE  ORACLES 


SIBYLLINE  OKACLES 


O  cross,*  most  blessed  wood,  on  which  God  was  stretched  out, 
earth  shall  no  longer  hold  thee,  thou  shalt  see  heaven  thy 

home, 
when  God's  bright  Light  flashes  forth  afresh.' 

The  text  of  bk.  vii.  is  broken  at  several  places, 
and  the  contents  are  miscellaneous,  but  the  bulk 
seems  to  be  of  Jewish  Christian  origin  ;  there  are 
Gnostic  touches  (e.g.  in  139  ft'.),  which  indicate  a 
soil  in  the  2nd  or  3rd  cent,  similar  to  that  of  bk. 
vi.  The  book,  however,  is  such  a  conglomerate  of 
fragments  that  it  defies  any  general  estimate.  A 
brief  woe  on  Rhodes,  Delos,  Cyprus,  and  Sicily  is 
abruptly  followed  by  a  reference  to  Noah,  and  a 
prediction  of  the  final  deluge,  as  follows  (9-23) :  t 

'  The  earth  shall  float,  the  hills  shall  float,  the  very  air  (heaven) 

shall  float, 
all  things  shall  be  water,  and  by  water  shall  all  things  be 

destroyed ; 

the  winds  shall  be  stayed,  and  a  second  age  shall  begin. 
O  Phrygia,  thou  shalt  first  emerge  from  the  top  of  the  water, 
thou  first  shalt  impiously  deny  thy  God, 
delighting  thyself  in  idols  dumb,  in  idols  that  shall  be  thy 

ruin, 

O  wretched  one,  when  many  years  have  run  their  course. 
The  luckless  Ethiopians,  who  suffer  piteous  pangs, 
shall  be  struck  down  by  the  sword,  as  they  stoop  and  bend. 
Fair  Egypt,  ever  blessed  with  corn, 
watered  by  the  seven  flowing  streams  of  the  Nile, 
shall  be  ruined  by  strife  and  faction  ;  whereupon,  in  despair, 
men  shall  drive  out  Apis — no  god  for  men  ! 
Woe  to  thee,  Laodicea.J  who  never  hast  God  beheld, 
thou  shalt  be  beguiled,  thou  proud  one  ;  the  Lycus  will  flood 

thee  over.' 

The  following  fragments  are  Messianic  (24  f . ), 
historical  denunciations  §  (40  f.),  and  woes  on  Troy, 
Colophon,  Corinth,  and  Tyre,  as  well  as  on  Ccele- 
Syria  (64  f. )  for  its  indifference  to  the  Logos- 
Messiah  (line  84  echoing  the  thought  of  the  fire  at 
Christ's  baptism,  in  vi.  6).  Then  comes  a  group  of 
oracles,  apparently  taken  from  some  older  collec- 
tion, against  Sardinia,  Celtiberia,  Mygdonia, 
Rome,  Syria,  and  Thebes  (96-117).  The  terrors 
which  precede  the  Messianic  Age  are  described 
(118-149),  with  a  brief  picture  of  the  new  order  of 
things  on  lines  familiar  to  us  from  apocalyptic 
traditions  preserved  in  Papias,  and  Irenteus,  and 
elsewhere.  Lactantius  quotes  (Div.  Inst.  vii.  16. 
13)  from  this  fragment  ( 123).  It  may  be  conjectured 
with  some  certainty  that  here  as  elsewhere  the 
short,  pithy  oracles  of  doom  and  warning  addressed 
to  places  in  which  neither  a  Jewish  nor  a  Christian 
Sibyllinist  would  feel  any  direct  interest  origin- 
ally belonged  to  some  collection  of  pagan  pro- 
phecies. Often  they  stand  in  an  extremely  loose 
connexion  with  each  other,  or  with  their  general 
context.  We  may  suppose  that  they  were  retained, 
partly  to  lend  vraisemblance  tothe  new  composition, 
partly  for  the  sake  of  some  local  importance  which 
is  lost  to  us. || 

The  close  of  the  book  is  singular  (150f.),  for, 

*  One  of  the  first  allusions  to  the  cult  of  the  Cross,  in  its 
legendary  development  (cf.  ERE  iv.  328).  Sozomen  remembers 
to  quote  this  line  in  his  5th  cent,  history  (ii.  1),  when  telling 
the  romantic  story  of  liow  Queen  Helena  found  the  genuine 
Cross  of  Jesus  at  Jerusalem.  He  protests  against  any  sceptical 
surprise,  on  the  ground  that  '  even  among  the  Greeks  this 
Sibylline  view  was  admitted  :  "  O  most  blessed  wood,  on  which 
God  was  stretched  out."  Our  most  ardent  opponents  would 
not  deny  this,  so  that  the  wood  of  the  Cross  and  the  reverence 
paid  to  it  are  clearly  proved  to  have  been  foreshadowed.' 

t  9-13  are  almost  verbally  equivalent  to  i.  193-196. 

}  Laodicea  is  frequently  doomed  in  the  Sibyllina — usually  to 
destruction  by  an  earthquake  (e.g.  iii.  471-472,  iv.  107-108, 
v.  290-291,  xii.  280-281),  however. 

§  The  habit  of  threatening  and  denouncing  grew  as  the 
Sibyllina  went  on.  Ths  severe  tone  had  been  characteristic 
of  the  pagan  Sibyl,  and,  as  Bouche-Leclercq  observes  (op.  cit., 
p.  202),  it  sounded  still  more  loudly  in  the  Jewish  oracles.  '  La 
Sibylle  .  .  .  ne  sait  guere  menacer  sans  maudire.' 

I!  Zosimus,  the  Greek  historian  of  the  5th  cent.,  preserves  a 
fragment  of  37  lines  (ii.  5)  which  give  directions  for  the  proper 
celebration  of  the  '  ludi  seculares.'  This  was  a  pagan  oracle 
which  Christians  would  naturally  ignore,  and  it  is  therefore 
absent  from  our  collection.  It  is  "possibly  the  sort  of  'Sibvllini 
versus '  mentioned  by  Horace  in  his  Carmen  Seculare  (pt.  iv. 
line  5). 


after  describing  the  bliss  of  men  upon  the  new 
earth,  the  Sibyl  utters  an  apologia  and  plea  for 
herself  as  a  pagan,  which  goes  beyond  the  similar 
cry  in  bk.  ii.  (see  above,  p.  484).  She  confesses 
that  she  has  sinned  both  wilfully  and  carelessly, 
and  has  despised  marriage  (i.e.  as  the  context  here 
seems  to  imply,  '  indulged  in  sexual  vice  ').  For  all 
this,  she  is  to  die,  and  burn  in  hell-fire,  when  men 
on  earth  have  stoned  and  buried  her.  But  appar- 
ently— for  the  text  is  mangled  and  dim — she  hopes 
for  deliverance,  when  God  instructs  her  and  raises 
her  to  life  in  heaven.  We  have  here  the  Christian 
Sibyllinist  conscious  of  the  drawbacks  attaching  to 
his  pagan  mouth  piece,  and  endeavouring  to  adjust 
her  character  to  the  new  setting.  It  is  not  enough 
to  put  predictions  and  statements  of  Christian 
doctrine  in  the  mouth  of  a  pagan  Sibyl  of  the  far 
past ;  she  must  be  made  to  repent  of  her  errors  and 
be  Christianized  at  the  end. 

The  miscellaneous  contents  of  bk.  viii.,  from 
which  Lactantius  has  quoted  largely,  are  distin- 
guished by  an  unusual  antipathy  to  the  tyranny 
and  avarice  *  of  the  Roman  Empire.  The  ordinary 
view  is  that  1-216  are  in  the  main  Jewish,  the  rest 
Christian.  A  general  blend  of  woes,  Messianic 
prophecies,  incongruous  separate  oracles,  and 
historical  allusions  characterizes  the  former.  The 
denunciation  of  Rome  in  1-138  and  the  prediction 
of  her  downfall  must  be  dated  not  earlier  than  the 
burial  of  Hadrian  (52-64)  in  A.D.  139.  The  bitter- 
ness of  the  allusions  to  Hadrian,  which  contrasts 
so  remarkably  with  the  tone  of  bks.  v.  and  xii.  to 
that  Emperor,  points  to  a  Jew  rather  than  to  a 
Christian  as  the  author  of  the  piece ;  and  if  the 
piece  is  homogeneous,  in  spite  of  some  lacunae  in 
the  extant  text,  it  must  have  originally  beeft  the 
work  of  a  provincial  t  Jew,  exasperated  by  Had- 
rian's suppression  of  the  Palestinian  rebellion,  and 
by  the  'Judaicus  fiscus,'  as  that  unpopular  tax 
was  levied  and  collected.  Lines  139-216  are  hetero- 
geneous, partly  taken  from  earlier  books  (e.g. 
169  f.  from  iii.  49  f.),  but  never  betraying  any  de- 
cisive trace  of  Christian  authorship.  J 

The  case  is  altered  when  we  pass  from  line  216 
to  217  ;  then  and  thenceforth  we  are  on  Christian 
soil  of  the  3rd  century.  Indeed  four  MSS  print 
217-500  as  part  of  a  'ninth'  book  ;  they  have  no 
relation  to  the  fragments  of  the  preceding  oracle, 
and  it  is  owing  to  a  blunder  of  the  first  editor,  in 
all  likelihood,  or  of  some  scribe,  that  these  two 
disparate  sections  have  been  yoked  together.  § 
The  outstanding  feature  of  this  part  of  the  book  is 
the  famous  opening  acrostic  on  the  name  of 
IHCOYC  XPEICTOC  0EOY  YIOC  CHTHP, 
which,  in  a  Latin  translation,  is  actually  cited  by 
Augustine  (in  the  Civ.  Dei,  xviii.  23)  as  a  genuine 
prophecy  of  Christ  which  had  fallen  from  the  lips 
of  the  Erythraean  Sibyl.  In  Constantine's  Orat. 
ad  sanctorum  coetum  (18)  the  acrostic  is  quoted 
with  the  addition  ||  of  CTAYPOC,  and  this  is  the 
form  in  the  Sibylline  oracles.  It  is  next  to  impos- 
sible to  reproduce,  without  extreme  awkwardness, 
in  a  translation  the  artificial  structure  of  the  lines, 

*  As  in  iv.  145  f .  ('  to  Asia  there  shall  come  the  great  wealth 
which  Rome  once  stole  and  placed  in  her  rich  treasury ;  twice 
as  much,  aye  and  more,  shall  she  restore  to  Asia ')  and  even  in 
iii.  350 f.  ('For  all  the  money  received  by  Rome  from  tributary 
Asia,  Asia  shall  receive  three  times  as  much  from  Rome,  and 
pay  back  to  her  the  horrid  insolence ').  We  may  overhear  the 
same  note  in  Commodian's  Carmen  Apologetieum,  889  f .  ('  tolla- 
tur  imperium,  quod  fuit  inique  repletum,  quod  pertributa  mala 
diu  macerabat  omnes'). 

t  Yet  the  (Cumaean  ?)  Sibyl  seems  to  be  prophesying  in  Rome 

(Kara.  rrro\iv,  3). 

t  The  end  of  Rome  is  predicted  (189  f.)  for  A.D.  195,  in  con- 
nexion with  the  return  of  Nero  from  the  East. 

§  Alexandre  assigned  viii.  217  f.  and  the  introductory  Theo- 
philus  fragments  to  a  Christian  who  wrote  in  the  first  quarter  of 
the  2nd  century. 

II  The  addition  is  superfluous  when  a  double  acrostic  is  made 
out  of  the  initial  letters  of  each  word, i.e.  IX0YC,  'Fish,'  the 
favourite  early  Christian  symbol. 


SIBYLLINE  ORACLES 


SIBYLLINE  ORACLES 


487 


but  the  following  version  is  an  attempt  to  preserve 
the  acrostic  feature  which  is  the  outstanding  char- 
acteristic of  the  Greek  original.  The  present  writer 
has  rhymed  the  translation,  in  order  to  make  it 
less  prosaic  : 

'  Judgment  is  come,  the  earth  shall  sweat  in  fear ; 
Eternal,  the  King  leaves  the  heavenly  sphere, 
Sentence  to  pass  on  all  the  world  of  men. 
On  God  the  just  and  unjust  shall  look  then, 
Uplifted  'mid  his  saints,  when  time  is  done  ; 
Souls,  mortal  souls,  he  judges  from  his  throne, 
Changing  to  dry  land  and  to  thorns  the  wide 
Round  earth,  till  men  their  idols*  fling  aside. 
Earth,  sky  and  sea  the  flame  shall  burn,  and  dash 
Into  the  gates  of  Hell  with  shattering  crash ; 
Saints  in  the  flesh  shall  shine  in  liberty, 
The  lawless  fire  devours  eternally. 
Of  secret  deeds  the  tale  shall  then  be  told, 
Since  God  the  heart's  dim  corners  shall  unfold. 
Then  shall  all  wail  and  gnash  their  teeth,  at  strange 
Eclipse  of  sun,  dropping  of  stars,  and  change 
Of  heaven,  the  moonlight  lost,  while  here  below 
Up  rise  the  valleys,  down  the  mountains  go  ; 
Under  the  sky  no  lofty  peak  shall  soar 
Inhuman,  hill  and  plain  shall  be  no  more, 
Or  sea  to  fare  upon  ;  the  scorched  land, 
Springs,  rippling  rivers,  perish  by  the  brand. 
Sounding  from  heaven,  the  trumpet  peals  a  blast 
Of  wrath  and  woe  upon  the  evil  cast, 
The  earth  is  opened  and  hell's  pit  laid  bare. 
Each  and  all  stand  before  God's  royal  chair. 
Rivers  of  fiery  sulphur  t  flood  the  air. 
Sign  of  all  this,  a  vivid  seal,  shall  be 
The  cross  among  the  faithful  joyfully, 
A  hindrance  to  the  world,  but  life  and  light 
Unending  J  to  elect  souls  washed  aright ; 
Rod  of  the  shepherd,  shall  it  rule  in  iron  might. 
Our  God  is  shown  in  the  acrostic  thus, 
Saviour,  immortal  King,  who  died  for  us. 

This  acrostic  was  composed  partly  to  lend  an  air 
of  authenticity  to  the  Christian  Sibyllina.  The 
pagan  tradition  §  was  that  the  Sybil  had  spoken 
her  oracle  in  acrostic  form.  When  sceptics  doubted 
the  genuineness  of  the  Christian  oracles,  it  was 
useful  to  be  able  to  point  to  a  specimen  of  the 
acrostic  which  told  in  favour  of  Christian  doctrine. 
But  its  inherent  popularity  led  to  translations  into 
Latin,  even  before  Augustine's  day. 

The  remainder  of  the  oracle  is  a  chaos  of  queer 
fragments.  The  acrostic  is  immediately  followed 
by  the  remark  that  the  Crucified  Christ  was  typi- 
fied by  the  outstretched  arms  of  Moses  at  the 
victory  over  Amalek  (251  f . ),  an  idea  which  had 
been  propounded  by  the  author  of  Barnabas  (xii.  2) 
and  by  Justin  Martyr  (Dial.  90).  The  advent  of 
Christ  (256  f.)  shades  off  into  a  comparison  between 
the  creation  and  the  end,  but  in  270  ff.  the  life  and 
Passion  of  Christ  are  described  afresh.  One  of  the 
romantic  touches  in  the  picture  of  the  Risen  Lord 
is  the  symbolism  of  the  four  wounds  in  His  hands 
and  feet  (318 f.),  which  He  shows  to  the  faithful 
(cf.  Jn  2020'-);  these  are  explained  to  mean  the 
four  quarters  of  the  earth — north,  south,  east,  and 
west  having  to  bear  witness  against  the  cruelty  of 
man.  The  next  fragment  depicts  the  entry  of 
Christ  into  Jerusalem  (323  ff.).  Then  a  break 
occurs,  ushering  in  a  dramatic  sketch  of  the  Last 
Day,  the  burning  of  the  world,  and  the  horrible 
woes  of  men  (337-358).  Through  the  lips  of  the 
Sibyl  (359  ff. )  God  now  teaches  His  true  nature, 
the  vanity  of  idols,  and  the  superfluousness  of 
sacrifice  (390),  the  two  ways  set  before  men  (399  f.), 
and  the  pains  and  rewards  which  they  may  expect. 
This  long  homiletic  section  is  almost  unique  in  the 
Christian  Sibyllina.  It  ends  abruptly,  and  the 
next  paragraph  (429 f.)  treats  of  the  Divine  provi- 
dence and  man's  relation  to  his  Creator  and  Judge. 
The  text  is  badly  preserved,  but  we  can  trace  a 
form  of  Logos  theology  behind  the  doctrine.  In 

*  Literally  '  their  idols  and  all  their  wealth." 

t  A  cataract  of  fire  and  brimstone  pours  through  the  Sibyllina 
from  iii.  54  f.  onwards  (cf.  EHE  \.  390). 

t  Literally,  '  enlightening  of  the  elect  with  water  from  twelve 
springs'  (i.e.  the  twelve  apostles?).  Orthodox  baptism  (cf. 
above,  p.  4S3). 

§  Dion.  Hal.  iv.  62  quotes  Varro  to  this  effect. 


456 f.,  the  oracle  becomes  clearer;  the  Virgin- 
birth  at  Bethlehem  is  described.  Suddenly,  how- 
ever, the  scene  changes,  and  the  closing  verses 
(480  ff. )  are  a  moralistic  homily  to  Christians  upon 
humility,  love  to  God  and  man,  reverence,  worship, 
and  the  like — wholesome  doctrine,  but  quite  out  of 
keeping  with  any  Sibylline  setting.  The  preacher 
has  overpowered  the  poet,  and  the  passion  for 
edifying  has  proved  too  strong  for  the  writer's 
sense  of  dramatic  fitness. 

The  passage  on  Christ's  advent  (256  f. )  deserves 
to  be  quoted.  It  was  a  favourite  of  Lactantius : 

'  For  he  shall  not  enter  the  world  *  in  glory,  but  as  a  mortal 

man, 
pitiable,  without  honour  and  comeliness,  to  give  hope  to  the 

pitiable, 
to  give  comeliness  to  mortal  flesh  and  heavenly  faith  to  the 

unbelieving, 
to  fashion  man  who  in  the  beginning  had  been  formed  by  God's 

holy  hands, 
but  whom  the  serpent  had  craftily  seduced  to  the  doom  of 

death, 

to  gain  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil, 
till  he  deserted  God  and  worshipped  mortal  beings. 
The  Almighty  at  the  beginning  took  him  as  his  counsellor, 
saying,  "  Let  us  both,  my  son,  mould  mortal  race  after  our 

likeness : 

I  shall  devote  my  hands,  and  thou  the  Word,  to  our  form, 
that  together  we  may  make  the  product." 
Mindful,  then,  of  this  design  he  shall  enter  the  world, 
bringing  the  original  pattern  into  the  holy  virgin, 
baptizing  with  water  by  the  hands  of  presbyters, 
doing  all  things  by  his  Word,  healing  every  disease. 
With  his  word  he  shall  check  the  winds,  smooth  the  raging 

sea, 
walking  on  it  with  the  feet  of  peace  and  in  faith.' 

It  is  from  this  eighth  book  (337  f . ),  as  Augustine  t 
used  it  to  show  that  the  Sibyl  was  a  pre-Christian 
witness  to  the  truth  of  Christian  prophecy,  that 
the  famous  mediaeval  hymn  drew  its  inspiration 
for  the  lines  : 

1  Dies  ine,  dies  ilia, 
Soluet  sseclum  in  fauilla, 
Teste  Dauid  cum  Sibylla.' 

The  final  destruction  of  the  world  by  fire  is  proved 
not  only  by  the  psalter  but  by  the  Sibylline 
oracles ;  £  they  were  enlisted  in  the  service  of 
Christian  eschatology.  The  God  who  had  spoken 
of  this  crisis  by  David  had  spoken  of  it  also  by 
this  pagan  prophetess.  Another  echo  of  the  oracle 
is  to  be  heard  in  the  5th  (6th  ?)  cent,  composition, 
Qucestiones  et  responsa  ad  orthodoxos  (74  ...  'if 
the  end  of  the  present  order  of  things  is  the  judg- 
ment of  the  impious  by  fire,  as  the  scriptures  of 
prophets  and  apostles  declare,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  Sibyl '),  which  was  erroneously  attributed  to 
Justin  Martyr.  We  can  understand,  from  this 
widespread  feeling  in  a  later  age,  how  Michael 
Angelo  neither  felt  nor  excited  any  sense  of  incon- 
gruity in  painting  Sibyls  along  with  OT  prophets 
on  the  roof  of  the  Sixtine  Chapel.  Giotto  had 
already  done  this  in  the  Campanile  at  Florence. 
Here  as  elsewhere  art  naively  expressed  the  popular 
theology  of  the  age. 

The  following  books  are  political  rather  than 
religious  ;  this  distinguishes  them  from  most  of 
the  other  Sibylline  oracles,  whether  Jewish  or 
Christian,  but  it  is  a  return  to  the  primitive  func- 
tion and  temper  of  the  classical  Sibyl.  The 
eleventh  book  is  a  rambling,  fanciful  series  of 
oracles,  in  which  the  Sibyl,  as  in  bk.  v.,  is  con- 
cerned mainly  with  the  fortunes  of  Egypt  down  to 
the  period  of  Cleopatra  ;§  Egypt's  subjugation  by 

*  Mendelssohn  happily  conjectures  muriv  for  the  irrelevant 
KpiffLv  of  the  MSS,  here  and  in  269. 

t  According  to  Augustine,  the  Sibyl  and  Job  are  the  two  pre- 
Christian  personalities  who  can  be  reckoned  as  classical  ex- 
amples of  membership  in  God's  City  (xviii.  23  and  47). 

t  The  earlier  Sibylline  proofs  (e.g.  in  iv.  193  f.)  were  hi  the 
mind  of  Justin  when  he  wrote  (Apol.  i.  20)  that  'the  Sibyl  and 
Hystaspes  certify  that  corruptible  things  are  to  be  dissolved  by 
fire '  (cf.  Mayor's  note  on  2  P  S>). 

§  The  '  monstrous  regiment  of  women '  is  for  the  Sibyllines  an 
invariable  prelude  of  disaster  ;  the  idea  is  historically  applied  to 


488 


SIBYLLINE  ORACLES 


SIBYLLINE  OEACLES 


the  Romans  is  God's  punishment  for  her  treatment 
of  Israel  (307  ft". ).  She  starts  from  the  Flood  and 
the  Tower  of  Babel,  surveys  the  ancient  monarchies, 
and  ends,  as  she  begins,  with  Egypt.  The  stand- 
point is  Jewish,  but  this  does  not  necessarily 
imply  that  the  author  was  a  Jew,  although  it  must 
be  admitted  that  there  are  no  distinctively  Chris- 
tian touches  in  the  oracles.  They  are  practically 
devoid  of  religious  interest.  The  Sibyl  takes 
occasion  to  repeat  (163f. ;  see  bk.  iii.  419-426)  *  her 
charge  against  Homer,  after  telling  the  fate  of 
Troy: 

'  And  again  there  shall  be  a  wise  old  man  of  song, 
whom  all  dub  wisest  among  men. 
Plainly  shall  he  set  down  things  quite  unspeakable, 
having  gained  possession  of  my  words,  my  measures,  and  my 

verses ; 

he  first  shall  unfold  my  books 
and  then  hide  them,  and  show  them  to  men  no  more.' 

The  pre-Homeric  Sibyl  thus  claims  to  have 
furnished  Homer  with  the  materials  for  his  epic, 
which  he  took  over  without  acknowledgment  and 
then  suppressed.  This  is  intended,  of  course,  to 
account  for  two  features  in  the  Sibylline  oracles, 
the  fact  of  their  late  publication  and  the  hexa- 
meter metre.  The  former  fact  was  explained  on 
the  same  lines  as  the  late  publication  of  apocalypses 
which  professed  to  have  been  written  by  men  of 
the  far  past  ;  they  remained  unknown  for  long, 
because  they  had  been  hidden  purposely  either  by 
the  author  or  by  others,  for  various  reasons.  The 
Sibyllinist  does  not  hesitate  to  blacken  Homer's 
character,  in  order  to  establish  the  good  faith  of 
the  Sibyl  herself.  Otherwise,  the  only  feature  of 
interest  in  the  book  is  the  repeated  use  made  of  the 
third  book.  The  very  asseveration  of  her  veracity 
as  an  interpreter  of  the  Divine  counsel,  with  which 
she  closes  as  she  opens  the  oracle,  echoes  the  open- 
ing lines  of  the  third  book.  Only,  she  feels  t  that 
her  predictions  are  to  be  ridiculed  and  her  warnings 
ignored  (314  f.).  So  she  will  retire  £  to  the  shrine 
of  Apollo,  where  she  is  regarded  as  a  true,  ecstatic 
prophetess.  The  time  will  come  when  the  hearers 
of  this  present  oracle  will  have  to  admit  that  she 
was  no  deceiver. 

The  data  for  calculating  the  date  of  the  piece 
are  exceptionally  few  and  vague.  There  is  an 
apparent  reference  to  the  extent  of  the  Roman 
Empire  in  lines  160-161  ;  but  the  reading  varies, 
and,  while  one  critic  deduces  from  the  language! 
that  the  author  wrote  between  A.D.  115  and  118, 
another  is  equally  confident  that  the  Sibyllinist 
must  have  survived  the  overthrow  of  the  Parthian 
kingdom  in  A.D.  226.  All  that  is  certain  is  that 
the  terminus  a  quo  for  the  composition  of  the  main 
part  of  the  book  is  the  overthrow  of  Cleopatra  by 
the  Romans. 

Berenice  m.  in  81  B.C.  (xi.  245 f.),  and  then  to  Cleopatra  (cf.  viii. 
199  f.,  iii.  75  f.).  Bousset  (Antichrist  Legend,  London,  1896, 
p.  99 f.)  sees  behind  this  a  conception  of  the  marine  anti-divine 
monster  as  feminine. 

*  In  a  private  communication,  Professor  Walter  Scott  points 
out  that  these  passages  from  bks.  iii.  and  xi.  probably  imply 
that  this  author  knew  the  pagan  oracles  of  the  Trojan  War 
to  which  Pausanias  alludes  (see  above,  p.  478).  The  com- 
plaint of  the  Sibyl  against  Homer  belonged  to  pagan  tradition  ; 
it  was  not  invented  by  Jews  or  Christians.  Varro  (as  reported 
by  Lactantius,  Div.  Inst.  i.  6.  9)  tells  that  the  Erythraean  Sibyl 
'  Graiis  Ilium  petentibus  vaticinatam  et  perituram  esse  Troiam 
et  Homerum  mendacia  scriptnrum.' 

t  This  Cassandra-like  touch  goes  back  to  the  pagan  tradition. 

J  Sibyls  were  not  always  stationary.  Some  would  wander 
abroad,  like  the  Babylonian  (iii.  809  f.)  or  the  Erythraean.  This 
reflects  either  a  primitive  tradition  that  the  Sibyls  roamed  on 
their  mission  to  the  discerning  on  earth  or  an  astiological 
explanation  of  the  widespread  traces  of  Sibylline  oracles. 

§  The  Sibyl's  trick  of  punning  continues,  e.g.,  in  236  (KOI  rdre 
iuefi<£«'<r0w  Me'/x</H«).  She  had  caught  it  from  the  pagan  oracles 
of  her  tribe,  e.g.  the  famous  (iii.  363-364) 

corcu  KCU  2ajuo;  a^/xos,  icrelrau,  aJTjAo?, 

Kai  'Paijlil)  pV/011). 

But  the  OT  instances  paved  the  way  for  its  usage  among  Hellen- 
istic Judaists. 


Since  Lightfoot  wrote  (Apostolic  Fathers,  pt.  ii.8 
[London,  1889]:  'Ignatius  and  Polycarp,'  vol.  i. 
p.  542 f.),  it  has  been  customary  to  accept  bks. 
xi.-xiv.  as  a  continuous  prophecy,  which  sum- 
marizes the  history  of  the  world  from  the  Flood 
down  to  the  end  of  the  3rd  cent.  A.D.  at  the  earliest. 
But  even  so,  it  is  not  a  unity.  The  contents  have 
been  increased  and  altered  from  time  to  time  by 
successive  hands,  and  data  of  style  and  language 
place  bks.  xii.  and  xiii.  by  themselves  as  superior 
to  the  other  two.  Unfortunately,  even  in  the  case 
of  the  latter,  the  text  is  extremely  corrupt,  and 
the  historical  allusions  *  are  often  ambiguous. 

While  the  eleventh  book  kept  the  fortunes  of 
the  Egyptian  Empire  in  the  foreground,  the  twelfth 
book  chronicles  '  the  woeful  time  of  the  sons  of 
Latium'  (like  v.  1-11,  from  which  xii.  1-11  ia 
verbally  taken).  Our  Sibyl  sketches  rapidly  and 
incoherently  the  course  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
with  repeated  indifference  to  the  facts  of  history. 
The  date  of  the  book  is  fixed  by  the  death  of 
Alexander  Severus,  with  which  the  oracles  end. 
It  must  have  been  written  during  the  first  half  of 
the  3rd  century.  Otherwise  there  is  little  definite 
information  about  the  author.  Geficken,  who  has 
devoted  special  attention  to  this  book,  finds  Chris- 
tian additions  in  28-34  (the  prophecy  of  Christ's 
birth)  and  232,  which  have  a  Jewish  source,  written 
not  so  much  by  an  ardent  Jew  t  as  by  one  who  was 
above  all  things  an  Eastern  provincial,  with  ill- 
concealed  admiration  for  the  Imperial  system.  £ 
But  it  is  a  dull  book.  The  Sibyl  at  the  close  begs 
for  relief  from  the  strain  of  rhapsody,  on  the  ground 
that  '  her  soul  within  is  weary  of  the  divine  mea- 
sures, prophesying  of  royal  reigns.'  The  reader  is 
also  weary,  long  before  the  Sibyl.  Short  chronicles 
of  long  historical  periods  are  apt  to  be  dull,  even 
in  prose.  When  they  are  written  in  verse  by  a 
third-rate  poet  who  covers  three  centuries  in  less 
than  three  hundred  lines,  they  are  even  less  relevant 
to  poetry  and  religion  than  to  history. 

The  thirteenth  book  covers  an  exceptionally 
short  period,  only  a  quarter  of  a  century,  from 
A.D.  241  to  265.  It  is  the  wail  of  a  Christian  who 
has  a  passionate  abhorrence  of  the  persecuting 
Emperor,  Decius,§  and  a  brooding  sense  of  pity 
for  the  calamities  of  the  Empire.  The  book  illus- 
trates what  Gibbon  (Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  i.4  [London,  1906])  describes  as  a  period 
which  was  '  one  uninterrupted  series  of  confusion 
and  calamity,'  and  one  of  the  few  redeeming  points, 
in  the  mind  of  the  Sibyllinist,  seems  to  be  the 
appearance  of  Odenathus  (147  f. ),  the  powerful 
senator  of  Palmyra,  whose  services  in  the  field 
compelled  the  thanks  and  recognition  of  the 
Romans.  Otherwise,  the  survey  of  the  Sibyl  em- 
braces little  except  disgrace  and  defeat  for  the 
Empire.  For  once,  the  woes  are  not  open  to  the 
suspicion  of  professional  colouring.  The  historian 
is  obliged  to  write  that  '  during  that  calamitous 
period,  every  instant  of  'time  was  marked,  every 

*  It  is  almost  refreshing  to  come  across  (in  xii.  196  f.)  a  refer- 
ence to  the  legend  of  the  thundering  legion,  in  the  survey  of 
the  campaigns  of  Marcus  Aurelius.  The  divine  miracle  ia 
attributed  to  the  pious  deserts  of  the  Emperor. 

t  The  favourable  opinion  of  Hadrian  (163-176)  tells  against 
this.  How  could  any  Jew,  writing  after  Bar  Cochba's  revolt, 
describe  the  Emperor  thus  ?  (The  similar  praise  in  v.  46  f.  was 
written  originally  before  that,  since  line  51,  which  implies  a 
later  period,  must  be  an  interpolated  addition  to  the  oracle.) 
Yet,  even  so,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  either  a  Jew  or  a 
Christian  of  any  definite  belief  could  commend  the  Emperor's 
interest  in  the  pagan  mysteries  (169-170).  A  similar  difficulty 
is  raised  by  the  curiously  negative  description  of  the  dead  in 
viii.  107  f. ;  but  the  mood  of  Ecclesiastes  cannot  be  supposed  to 
have  died  out  among  thinkers  of  Jewish  birth. 

{  Even  in  the  Christian  passage  (33-34),  it  is  pointed  out  that 
'  the  strength  of  Eome  is  to  increase  with  him '  (i.e.  Christ). 
The  author  will  not  hear  of  the  charge  that  his  religion  was 
either  a  foe  or  a  source  of  weakness  to  the  Empire. 

§  That  is,  if  Wilamowitz  ia  right  in  his  attractive  conjecture 
S'aS  Tnnruv  (87). 


SIBYLLINE  ORACLES 


489 


province  of  the  Roman  world  was  afflicted,  by 
barbarous  invaders  and  military  tyrants,  and  the 
ruined  empire  seemed  to  approach  the  last  and 
fatal  moment  of  its  dissolution'  (p.  237).  The 
Sibyllinist  reflects  this  period.  If  the  lights  are 
low  in  his  oracle,  it  is  because  they  were  burning 
low  when  it  was  written.* 

The  book  is  short  and  heterogeneous.  The  Sibyl 
is  moved  (1-6)  to  narrate  the  tumultuous  wars  of 
the  East,  in  which  Rome  was  involved  (8f.). 
Suddenly  she  interpolates  (64-73)  a  stern  word  to 
Bostra,  which  echoes  the  oracle  in  iii.  57  f.  ;  the 
Arabian  capital  is  denounced  especially  on  the 
score  of  its  passion  for  astrological  pursuits.  Other 
prophecies  follow,  against  Alexandria  and  Cappa- 
docia  particularly,  but  the  Sibyl  presently  conies 
back  to  the  disastrous  fortunes  of  Rome  (103f.) 
and  her  downfall  at  the  hands  of  the  Easterns  ;  it 
will  be  a  time  when  the  living  will  envy  the  dead, 
when  they  say  '  death  is  good,  yet  death  will  fly 
from  them'  (118-119;  cf.  Rev  9g).  Then  we  hear 
of  the  dismal  plight  of  Syria  (119 f.),  and  a  series 
of  woes  on  various  Eastern  cities  and  provinces 
follows.  Persia  and  Rome  are  the  protagonists. 
So  much  is  plain  amid  the  symbolic  expressions 
and  the  grandiloquent  language  of  the  oracle,  but 
the  habit  of  describing  kings  and  rulers  as  wild 
beasts  or  of  referring  to  them  by  a  numerical 
equivalent  for  the  first  letter  of  their  names  f  does 
not  promote  lucidity,  and  even  when  we  know  the 
period  which  is  under  review  it  is  far  from  easy  to 
make  sense  of  several  details  in  the  Sibyl's  predic- 
tions. Obscurity  may  be  impressive  in  pseudo- 
oracular  literature,  but  the  impression  made  is 
slight.  The  leading  interest  of  the  book's  oracles 
is  for  students  of  Roman  history  at  this  dark 
period  in  the  Empire's  course ;  the  book  has  no 
religious  significance,  and  there  is  nothing  in  its 
paragraphs  which  is  worth  quoting. 

It  is  a  question,  says  Gett'cken,  whether  bk.  xi. 
or  bk.  xiv.  is  the  worst  of  the  Sibylline  oracles. 
The  latter  is  at  any  rate  later,  written  by  a  Jew 
who  probably  lived  in  Egypt.  It  opens  with  a 
lament  and  warning  on  the  passion  for  power  and 
tyranny  (1-11),  and  then  passes  into  an  enigmatic, 
confused  series  of  Eastern  chronicles,  under  the 
disguise  of  prophecy,  of  Roman  generals  and 
Emperors  who  are  hardly  to  be  identified,  closing 
(280-283)  with  a  prediction  that  the  race  of  Latin 
Emperors  is  to  be  replaced  by  a  permanent  (d<rd- 
\evros ;  cf .  He  1227)  generation  whose  reign  is  the 
reign  of  God.  The  rest  of  the  book  is  an  oracle 
on  Egypt  (284-361),  which  is  almost  unintelligible. 
It  is  not  possible  here  to  do  more  than  call  atten- 
tion to  two  attempts  to  bring  order  out  of  chaos  in 
this  conglomerate  of  oracles.  The  first  is  by  A. 
Wirth  ( Wiener  Studien,  xiv.  35  f.),  who  ingeniously 
traces  the  Roman  Emperors  from  Caesar  to  the 
close  of  the  3rd  century.  One  of  the  chief  diffi- 
culties in  identifying  them  is  that  the  Sibyllinist 
as  usual  never  names  them ;  he  gives  each  a 
number,  which  is  intended  to  mark  the  initial 
letter  of  his  name,  each  letter  of  the  Greek  alphabet 

*  In  46-49  the  Sibyl  predicts  that  Alexandria  will  supply 
Rome  with  corn  for  as  many  years  as  her  name  stands  for  (i.e. 
RoMfc  =  94S).  Professor  Scott  (see  Literature  below)  points  out 
a  remarkable  coincidence  in  connexion  with  this.  Chosroes  the 
Persian  leader  conquered  in  Egypt  in  A.D.  617.  Now  948  years 
reckoned  back  from  this  date  brings  us  to  332  B.C.,  the  year  in 
which  Alexandria  was  founded.  If  this  was  in  the  Sibyllinist's 
mind,  he  must  have  written  this  fragment  after  617  (Scott 
thinks  he  was  the  man  who  also  wrote  xiv.  284  f.,  which 
describes  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by  the  Persians),  and  the 
fragment  was  inserted  in  bk.  viii.  at  this  point,  because  in  the 
preceding  lines  (38-45)  it  is  prophesied  that,  so  long  as  Alex- 
andria exported  corn  to  Rome,  the  Persians  never  would 
conquer  that  city.  The  original  Sibyllinist  of  the  7th  cent.,  of 
course,  expected,  on  the  strength  of  this  prophecy,  that  the 
Persians  would  succeed  in  conquering  Rome. 

t  An  even  more  exasperating  trick  is  to  hint  at  the  first 
letters),  by  way  of  assurance.  E.g.  the  Sibyllinist  in  xi.  23-24, 
wishing  to  describe  Pharaoh,  reminds  the  reader  of '  Phasgana ' ! 


being  valued  numerically  as  on  the  well-known 
principles  of  the  cryptic  Gematria  which  apoca- 
lyptic had  found  so  useful.*  Thus,  according  to 
AVirth,  the  man  of  'eighty'  (in  227)  is  Probus. 
Wirth  rightly  sees  that  the  book  cannot  be  earlier 
than  the  3ra  cent.  A.D.,  but  this  hypothesis  re- 
quires several  data  to  be  forced,  and  it  involves 
some  fanciful  reconstruction  alike  of  the  text  and 
of  the  history.  Ewald,  long  ago,  had  felt  that  the 
oracle  reflected  a  much  later  period,  in  the  7th 
cent.,  and  this  position  has  been  worked  out  afresh 
by  W.  Scott  in  an  elaborate,  ingenious  series  of 
papers  in  The  Classical  Quarterly,  ix.  [1915]  144- 
166,  207-228.  He  attempts  skilfully  to  illustrate 
the  details  of  the  oracle  from  the  struggle  between 
Rome  and  Persia  for  Egypt  during  the  first  half  of 
the  7th  century.  According  to  this  interpretation, 
the  Sibyl  sympathizes  strongly  with  the  opponents 
of  Rome ;  the  two  campaigns  of  the  Persians  in 
A.D.  614-617  and  of  the  Arabs  in  639-641,  especially 
the  latter,  lie  behind  the  Egyptian  oracle  of  this 
book,  which  regards  the  Roman  re-occupation 
between  the  two  conquests  from  the  East  as  an 
unwelcome  and  oppressive  epoch.  Every  defeat 
of  the  Romans,  in  the  struggle  that  swayed  over 
the  possession  of  Alexandria,  is  hailed  as  Divine 
vengeance  on  the  Empire  for  what  the  Jews  of 
Egypt  had  suffered.  This  interpretation  t  resets 
Ewald's  general  view  in  the  light  of  recent  research 
upon  the  Arab  conquest  of  Egypt,  and,  so  far  as 
sense  can  be  made  out  of  an  oracle  which  is  often 
little  better  than  gibberish,  it  clears  up  more  ob- 
scurities than  the  rival  theories,  which  do  not  go 
further  down  than  the  3rd  or  4th  century.  On 
this  hypothesis,  of  course,  the  fourteenth  book 
must  have  been  added  to  the  collection  after  the 
prologue  was  written.  This  is  not  improbable,  in 
the  nature  of  the  case,  and  it  is  not  even  out  of 
keeping  with  the  extant  condition  of  the  text,  for 
the  fourteenth  book  ends  abruptly,  whereas  the 
thirteenth  closes  with  the  refrain  of  the  eleventh, 
the  Sibyl  pleading  exhaustion  and  begging  for  a 
cessation  or  her  poetic  and  prophetic  rhapsody. 

Our  gratitude  to  the  unknown  Byzantine  Chris- 
tian who  put  the  Sibi/llina  together  in  this  collec- 
tion is  tempered  by  the  impression  of  carelessness, 
ignorance,  and  caprice  which  mark  his  editorial 
efforts.  It  is  true  that  he  did  his  work  for  the 
purpose  of  edifying  pious  Christians,  and  not  for 
the  benefit  of  critical  students.  It  is  also  true  that 
the  roughnesses  and  obscurities  of  the  text  may  be 
partly  set  down  to  later  scribes.  But  it  was  the 
editor  who  must  have  cut  up  oracles  ruthlessly  in 
order  to  make  them  fit ;  he  must  have  omitted 
sections  and  thus  broken  the  continuity  of  many 
passages,  and  evidently  he  knew  little  or  nothing 
about  the  origin  and  sense  of  several  of  the  oracles 
which  he  collected.  The  result  is  chaos  frequently. 
The  materials  are  often  obscure  in  themselves,  and 
their  setting  rarely  makes  them  more  intelligible. 
Oracles  lie  side  by  side  which  differ  utterly  in  aim 
and  date.  Fragments  from  various  centuries  are 
scattered  over  the  entire  collection,  and  even  the 
so-called  '  books '  are  hardly  ever  homogeneous. 
At  the  same  time,  under  this  incongruity  and  con- 
fusion of  the  Sibyllina  there  is  a  certain  unity  not 
only  of  form  but  of  spirit,  (a)  The  formal  unity  is 
more  than  the  adherence  to  the  hexameter.  As 
Rzach's  appendix  to  his  edition  of  the  Sibi/llina 
(pp.  240-314)  shows,  every  Sibyllinist  made  a  more 

•This  goes  back  to  the  Sibyllinist  of  bk.  v.,  where  (12 f.) 
Augustus  is  the  man  '  who  has  the  first  of  letters '  (A),  Nero  the 
man  whose  initial  letter  is  fifty  (N  =  50),  and  so  forth. 

t  The  difficulty  raised  by  the  abrupt  allusion  in  812  to  an 
army  of  Sicilians  is  solved,  according  to  Scott,  by  reading  i'ex 
KtAiKup  for  £T)  liKcAoif,  and  assuming  that  Heraclius  started 
his  expedition  against  Egypt  in  626-627  from  Cilicia,  where  he 
had  won  a  footing  in  625.  Wirth  prefers  to  think  of  the  slave- 
wars  in  Sicily  towards  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Qallienus,  and 
Alexandre  conjectured  Sjcvdwr. 


490 


SIBYLLINE  OEACLES 


SICKLE 


or  less  serious  attempt  to  echo  Homer.  The 
Homeric  phrases  and  tags  are  not  confined  to  the 
earliest  books.  They  appear  in  oracles  from  the 
3rd  and  6th  Christian  centuries.  To  some  extent, 
they  are  probably  indirect,  but  the  use  of  Homeric 
phraseology  as  well  as  metre  was  evidently  a  con- 
vention.* The  history  of  literature  shows  that 
true  poetry  need  not  be  stifled  by  the  conventional 
forms  of  its  age  ;  but  whenever  the  genuine  breath 
of  inspiration  begins  to  ebb  conventions  are  borne 
less  lightly,  and  it  is  only  in  one  or  two  books  of 
the  Sibyllina  that  the  Homeric  conventions  are 
almost  forgotten  by  the  reader  in  the  sheer  interest 
of  the  oracles.  It  should  be  recollected,  however, 
that  their  interest  would  be  greater  for  their  original 
public,  just  because  they  were  circulated  as  separ- 
ate pieces.  A  modern  reader  has  the  collected  mass 
before  him,  and  the  juxtaposition  of  good,  poor, 
and  indifferent  prevents  him  from  appreciating 
the  occasional  flashes  of  genuine  pathos  and 
stern  power  which  lighten  up  the  surrounding 
mists. 

(b)  To  a  certain  extent,  also,  there  is  a  general 
point  of  view,  which  survives  in  spite  of  the  differ- 
ent historical  and  religious  situations.  The  cos- 
mology is  fairly  uniform  in  outline  if  not  in  details, 
and  even  the  theology,  apart  from  the  definitely 
Christian  touches,!  has  a  character  of  its  own. 
This  is  particularly  true  of  the  eschatology,  for, 
although  one  oracle  will  be  more  Messianic  (in  the 
personal  sense  of  the  term)  than  another,  although 
the  Jewish  sections  tend  to  view  the  consummation 
as  a  prolonged  reign  of  the  holy  nation  on  earth, 
while  the  Christian  Sibyllinists  lay  more  stress  on 
the  catastrophe  of  the  Last  Judgment,  yet  these 
and  other  variations  do  not  obliterate  the  large 
common  features  which  the  Sibyllina  shared  with 
apocalyptic — calculations  about  the  near  end,  the 
conditions  of  the  Judgment,  the  expectation  of 
Nero's  return,  and  so  forth.  Here,  as  in  the  the- 
ology, there  must  have  been  a  tradition,  partly  akin 
to  Orphism  and  Stoicism,  to  Avhich  every  Sibyl- 
linist  felt  bound  to  conform  in  the  main,  however 
well-marked  his  idiosyncrasies  might  be.  It  is  the 
same  in  the  political  aspect.  One  oracle  will  favour 
Hadrian,  for  example,  more  than  another,  but  it  is 
impossible  as  a  rule  to  mistake  the  unswerving 
antipathy  to  Rome  in  the  later  Sibyllina,  where  it 
succeeds  to  the  rdle  of  Syria  in  the  earlier.  Jew 
and  Christian  were  generally  at  one  on  this  point, 
when  they  composed  Sibyllina.  Their  reasons 
might  vary,  and  there  might  be  differences  in  the 
degree  of  their  bitterness,  but  the  Roman  Empire 
stood  out  as  the  last  enemy  to  be  conquered  by,  or 
rather  for,  the  just.  The  rivalry  of  East  and  West, 
which  characterized  ancient  history,  was  to  be 
decided  in  favour  of  the  East.  This  again  was  a 
feature  which  the  Sibyllina  shared  with  their  allied 
literary  product,  the  apocalypses.  Upon  the  whole, 
we  may  contend  that,  while  those  who  endeavour 
to  identify  the  historical  situations  of  the  various 
Sibylline  oracles  are  right  in  feeling  that  the  ars 
nesciendi  forms  an  unusually  important  part  of  the 
investigator's  equipment,  nevertheless,  standing 
back  from  the  details,  we  are  able  to  gain  a  fairly 
broad  and  accurate  impression  of  their  general 
spirit  and  characteristics. t 

The  amazing  developments  of  the  Sibylline  myth 
in  Byzantine  and  mediaeval  literature  do  not  con- 
cern us  here,  as  they  were  practically  independent 
of  our  Sibylline  collection  and  subsequent  to  it.  It 

*  It  was  an  instance  of  what  Rendel  Harris  (The  Homeric 
Centones,  p.  3)  calls  '  the  multiform  witchcraft  of  Homer  over 
the  human  race.'  He  shows  (p.  13  f.)  how  the  Sibyllina  took 
Homer  more  seriously  than  the  Centones. 

t  Which  are  moulded,  as  a  rule,  on  a  type  of  their  own. 

J  The  Swedish  scholar,  E.  Fehr,  has  published  an  excellent 
monograph  on  these  characteristics  (Studio,  in  Oracula 
Sibyllina,  Upsala,  1893). 


was  the  9th  cent.  Byzantine  chronicler,  Georgios 
Monachos  (Hamartolos),  for  example,  who  appar- 
ently started  the  idea  that  the  biblical  queen  of 
Sheba  could  be  converted  into  a  Sibyl  (see  the 
essay  by  S.  Krauss  in  the  Byzantinische  Zeitschrift, 
xi.  120-131),  a  notion  which  proved  the  germ  of 
some  curious  growths  in  mediaeval  legend.  The 
companion  tradition  of  the  Tiburtine  Sibyl  (cf. 
ERE  i.  580a)  does  appear  to  run  back  to  the  4th 
century.  Like  the  exploitation  of  Vergil's  eclogue 
as  a  Messianic  prophecy,*  it  was  one  of  several 
streams  which  flowed  from  almost  the  same  soil  as 
our  Sibylline  oracles,  but  the  latter  went  their  own 
way,  and,  if  we  are  able  to  follow  that  way,  even 
dimly,  it  is  thanks  to  the  Byzantine  Christian 
who,  in  the  6th  cent.,  cut  the  rough  channel  along 
which  they  have  flowed  down  to  us  through  the 
ramifications  of  early  and  mediaeval  oracular  litera- 
ture. 

LITERATURE.— An  ample  bibliography  will  be  found  in 
Schurer's  GJV  iii.4  [Leipzig,  1909]  555-592,  though  he  does  not 
mention  some  of  the  English  contributions,  like  W.  Whiston's 
A  Vindication  of  Sibylline  Oracles  (London,  1715)  and  J. 
Floyer's  similar  volume,  The  Sibylline  Oracles,  translated  from, 
the  best  Greek  Copies  (London,  1713).  The  authenticity  of  the 
oracles  formed  a  topic  of  discussion  among  the  English  Deists 
of  the  18th  cent.,  in  connexion  with  prophecy,  but  the  debate 
led  to  no  critical  advance,  owing  principally  to  the  defective 
spirit  of  historical  criticism  and  to  the  corrupt  state  of  the  text 
The  latter  difficulty  was  eased  by  Angelo  Mai's  discoveries  of 
fresh  material  and  MSS  at  Milan  and  Rome  (1817,  1828),  on  the 
basis  of  which  the  first  modern  edition  was  published  by  a 
French  scholar,  C.  Alexandre,  Oracula  Sibyllina,  Paris,  1841- 
1856 ;  the  second  edition  of  this  standard  work  (1869)  is  not 
quite  so  full  as  the  first.  Almost  simultaneously  J.  H.  Friedlieb 
issued  a  short  edition  (Diesibyllinischen  Weissagunqen,  Leipzig, 
1852),  with  a  German  metrical  version.  Alexandre's  version 
had  been  in  Latin.  A.  Rzach's  edition  of  the  text  (Oracula 
Sibyllina,  Vienna,  1891)  is  only  one  of  a  long  series  of  contribu- 
tions which  he  has  made  to  the  historical  and  textual  criticism 
of  this  literature.  Lastly,  J.  Geffcken  edited  the  oracles  criti- 
cally for  Die  griechischen  christlichen  Schriftsteller  der  ersten 
drei  Jahrhunderte,  Leipzig,  1902.  Geffcken's  edition  is  not  final, 
but  it  forms  an  indispensable  basis  for  study.  The  Jewish 
oracles  in  bks.  iii.-v.,  together  with  the  fragments,  are  trans- 
lated into  German  by  F.  Blass  in  E.  Kautzsch's  Apokryphen 
und  Paeudepigraphen  des  AT,  Tubingen,  1900,  ii.  177-217,  and 
translated  into  English  by  H.  C.  O.  Lanchester  in  Charles's 
Apocrypha  and  Pseudepigrapha  of  the  Old  Testament,  Oxford, 
1913,  ii.  368-406.  A  German  version  of  Christian  oracles  in  bks. 
i.-v.  and  vi.-viii.,  etc.,  is  published  by  Geffcken  in  E.  Hennecke's 
Neutestamentliche  Apokryphen,  Tubingen,  1904,  but  there  is  no 
modern  English  version  of  them,  even  of  selected  passages. 
The  blank  verse  translation  by  M.  S.  Terry,  New  York,  1890, 
the  present  writer  has  not  been  able  to  see.  In  addition  to  the 
authorities  cited  throughout  the  course  of  the  article,  he  is 
specially  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  Professor  Walter  Scott, 
formerly  of  Merton  College,  Oxford,  and  Toronto  University, 
who  has  placed  at  his  disposal  unpublished  materials  relating  to 
bks.  iv.  and  viii.  JAMES  MOFFATT. 

SICARII.— See  ASSASSINS. 

SICKLE  (Sptiravov).—  In  the  NT  the  sickle  is  re- 
ferred to  only  in  St.  Mark's  Gospel  (Mk  42!))  and 
in  the  Apocalypse  (Rev  1414'19).  In  the  latter 
passage  the  victorious  Christ  comes  with  a  sharp 
sickle  in  His  hand  to  gather  in  the  fruits  of  His 
triumph.  For  the  simile  cf.  Jl  313,  Jer  5133.  In 
the  earliest  times  sickles  were  made  of  flint.  They 
had  only  one  cutting  edge,  which  was  generally 
slightly  concave  and  serrated.  As  a  rule  the  back 
edge  was  quite  thick.  The  bone  or  wooden  handle 
in  which  they  were  set  followed  approximately  the 
curve  of  the  flint  edges.  The  flints  projected  from 
the  hafts  about  half  an  inch  or  less.  Flint  sickles 
continued  to  be  used  throughout  the  Bronze  Age. 
The  reason  probably  was  that  they  were  on  the  one 
hand  comparatively  inexpensive,  and  on  the  other 
hand  quite  as  efficacious  as  sickles  made  of  bronze. 
It  was  not  until  iron  came  into  general  use  in  the 

*  This  lies  side  by  side  with  the  proof  from  the  Sibylline 
oracles,  in  Constantine's  Oral,  ad  sanct.  coetum  (19).  Rendel 
Harris  (HDB  v.  67  f.)  thinks  that  the  Vergilian  element  in  bk. 
xi.,  to  which  Dechent  had  already  called  attention,  the  refer, 
ences  to  j^neas  and  the  claim  of  priority  to  Homer,  must  mark 
the  period  of  Constantine  as  the  date  when  the  problem  of  the 
Christian  Sibyl's  relation  to  Homer  became  acute. 


SICKNESS 


SIDON 


491 


Fourth  Semitic  period  that  flint  sickles  were  en- 
tirely superseded.  Iron  sickles  are  confined  to  the 
Fourth  Semitic  and  the  Hellenistic  periods.  The 
breadth  of  the  blade  varies  from  f  to  2£  ins.,  the 
commonest  breadth  being  from  about  1  to  ij  in. 
The  handle  sometimes  consisted  of  two  hafting 
plates  secured  by  thongs  or  metal  pins  ;  occasion- 
ally, however,  the  butt-end  of  the  sickle  was 
tanged,  while  socketed  sickles  also  sometimes 
occur.  See,  further,  HARVEST. 

LITERATURE. — R.  A.  S.  Macalister,  The  Excavation  of  Gezer, 
3  vols.,  London,  1912,  i.  335,  342,  ii.  32-34,  124,  127;  F.  J. 
Bliss,  A  Mound  of  Many  Cities,  do.,  1894,  pp.  105,  107  (with 
fig.  210),  108,  123;  H.  Vincent,  Canaan,  d'apres  I'exploration 
rf.ce.nte,  Paris,  1907,  p.  388  f . ;  C.  Steuernagel,  Tell  el-mutesellim, 
Leipzig,  1908,  plate  xxvii. ;  H.  B.  Swete,  The  Apocalypse  of  St. 
John'*,  London,  1907,  pp.  188-191 ;  SDB,  pp.  852-853  ;  P.  S.  P. 
Handcock,  The  Archaeology  of  the  Holy  Land,  London,  1916, 
pp.  148-149,  188,  208.  P.  S.  P.  HANDCOCK. 

SICKNESS. — Outside  of  the  Gospels  little  atten- 
tion is  paid  to  sickness  in  the  apostolic  writings. 
This  is  very  noticeable  if  one  compares  these 
writings  with  the  OT  or  even  the  Gospels.  Only 
five  particular  kinds  of  disease  are  specified : 
palsy  (Ac  87  9s3)  ;  impotence  (Ac  32) ;  a  digestive 
trouble  (wvKvai  dffdfveiai,  1  Ti  523) ;  dysentery  (Ac 
288) ;  abdominal  disease  associated  with  worms 
(Ac  12-lff-).  In  addition  we  have  those  suffering 
from  nervous  disorders  (Ac  516  ;  cf.  also  1616'18  1912). 
Individuals  are,  in  general  terms,  'sick'  (Dorcas 
[Ac  9s7],  Epaphroditus  [Fh  226-27],  and  Trophimus 
[2  Ti  4*°]),  yet  no  symptoms  are  mentioned  by 
which  the  nature  of  the  illness  may  be  defined. 

The  terms  in  which  other  references  to  sickness 
appear  are  extremely  indefinite  :  dffQevris  (cf.  Ac  4B), 
aeetveia.  (Ac  289),  d<r6evtu  (Ja  514),  dSwaros  (Ac  148), 
Kd/tvu  (Ja  515),  appuffros  (1  Co  II30).  The  meaning 
here  may  be  only  lack  of  strength,  or  it  may  be  an 
infirmity  caused  by  sickness.  In  all  these  cases  of 
specific  diseases  the  trouble  is  described  popularly 
by  its  leading  symptoms,  with  the  exception 
possibly  of  the  ailment  of  Publius'  father. 

The  only  attempt  to  account  for  the  cause  of 
any  sickness  alluded  to  is  by  St.  Paul  in  his 
advice  to  the  Corinthians  concerning  the  Lord's 
Supper.  He  there  intimates  that  sickness  and  even 
death  are  a  Divine  judgment  on  their  flagrant 
abuse  of  the  Eucharist.  One  may  compare  this 
with  the  theory  of  the  supernatural  cause  of  disease 
in  Hebrew  and  Greek  circles.  A  connexion  between 
sickness  and  disease  is  suggested  by  Jesus  in  Jn  514. 
Two  other  implications  as  to  the  cause  of  abnormal 
conditions  are  contained  in  the  Acts,  both  associ- 
ated with  nervous  derangement,  yet  without  any 
conscious  diagnosis  or  effort  to  account  for  the 
fact.  In  accord  with  the  notions  of  the  time,  evil 
spirits  are  reported  as  going  out  from  those  whom 
they  had  possessed  (Ac  1912),  a  particular  instance 
of  which  is  in  161(i'18.  Because  the  spirit  Python 
possessed  the  damsel  she  became  a  ventriloquist- 
soothsayer.  The  demon  was  cast  out  by  a  word 
from  St.  Paul  and  the  maid  restored  to  mental 
equilibrium. 

The  treatment  of  sickness  in  the  Apostolic 
Church,  so  far  as  suggested  by  the  NT,  is  medicinal, 
therapeutic,  psychotherapeutic,  and  miraculous. 
The  practice  of  anointing  with  oil  (Ja  514 ;  cf  Mk 
613)  is  not  indeed  without  a  magical  association — 
'  in  the  name  of  the  Lord ' — but  its  long  history 
connects  it  with  a  healing  virtue ;  wine  also  pos- 
sesses medicinal  properties  ( 1  Ti  S23).  The  medicines 
used  on  the  island  of  Malta  are  not  specified,  nor 
are  the  results  of  their  use  stated.  The  thera- 
peutic treatment  of  disease  certainly  underlies  St. 
Paul's  advice  to  the  Corinthians.  Psychotherapy 
is  to  be  appealed  to  with  reference  to  the  healing 
of  nervous  disorders  (cf .  1  Co  1228-  *°,  '  gifts  of  heal- 
ing ').  The  cases  of  cure  which  are  not  otherwise 


accounted  for    are  regarded  by    the  apostles  as 
miraculous  (cf.  Ac  416  940). 

LITERATURE. — J.  R.  Bennett,  The  Diseases  of  the  BAle?,  1896 ; 
T.  H.  Wright,  art.  '  Disease,'  in  DCG  ;  A.  Macalister,  art. 
'Medicine,'  in  HDD  ;  see  also  Literature  under  PHYSICIAN. 

C.  A.  BECKWITH. 

SIDON  CZiSuv,  ethnic  SiSiivtot).  —  Sidon,  called 
'  Great  Zidon '  (Jos  1 18),  was  one  of  the  maritime 
cities  of  Phoenicia,  about  25  miles  N.  of  Tyre,  its 
'  rival  in  magnitude,  fame,  and  antiquity '  (Strabo, 
XVI.  ii.  22).  After  the  coming  of  Alexander  the 
Great,  whom  Sidon  rapturously  welcomed  and 
Tyre  frantically  opposed,  the  two  cities  shared  the 
same  political  fortunes,  being  for  two  centuries 
bones  of  contention  between  the  Greek  kings  of 
Syria  in  the  north  and  Egypt  in  the  south.  So 
long,  however,  as  their  civic  autonomy  was  secure, 
their  factories  busy,  their  overseas  traffic  prosper- 
ous, the  quarrels  of  their  alternate  overlords  did 
not  greatly  trouble  them.  And,  while  their  wealth 
was  apparently  almost  as  great  as  ever,  they  added 
a  new  interest  to  life  by  learning  the  language  and 
assimilating  the  culture  of  Greece.  They  were 
not  now  a  mere  race  of  merchant  princes  or  pedlars, 
wholly  absorbed  in  getting  and  spending.  Strabo 
says  that  in  his  time — the  beginning  of  our  era — 
the  Sidonians  not  only  '  cultivate  science  and  study 
astronomy  and  arithmetic,  to  which  they  are  led 
by  the  application  of  numbers  and  night  sailing, 
each  of  which  concerns  the  merchant  and  seaman,' 
but  there  are  '  distinguished  philosophers,  natives 
of  Sidon,  as  Boethus,  with  whom  I  studied  the 
philosophy  of  Aristotle,  and  Diodotus  his  brother ' 
(XVI.  ii.  24). 

The  two  sister  cities  now  consistently  advocated 
a  policy  of  peace  with  all  their  neighbours.  Not 
possessing  a  fraction  of  the  army  and  navy  with 
which  they  once  defied  empires,  they  could  no 
longer  assert  themselves  even  when  they  were  in 
the  right.  When  Herod  Agrippa  was  '  highly  dis- 
pleased with  the  Tyrians  and  Sidonians'  (Ac  12-°), 
they  indulged  in  no  useless  heroics.  Raising  no 
question  as  to  whether  the  king's  displeasure  \\  ;is 
just  or  not,  and  facing  the  plain  fact  that  '  their 
country  was  fed  from  the  king's  country,'  they 
looked  about  for  a  friend  at  Court  and  humbly 
asked  for  peace.  If  there  was  any  thought  of 
peace  with  honour,  it  was  suppressed.  Depend- 
ents could  not  afford  to  be  angry,  and  the  king 
could  do  no  wrong.  To  this  had  great  Sidon  and 
proud  Tyre  now  come. 

No  details  are  given  of  our  Lord's  visit  to  Sidon, 
though  it  is  definitely  stated  that  He  came  through 
it,  or  at  least  its  surrounding  territory  (reading  did 
not  Kai  in  Mk  731,  with  the  best  MSS),  on  His  way 
to  Decapolis,  which  He  probably  reached  by  the 
highway  over  the  Lebanon  to  Damascus  (see  H. 
J.  Holtzmann,  Die  Synoptiker3,  1901  [Hand- 
kommentar  zum  NT],  and  A.  B.  Bruce,  EGT, 
'Mark,'  1897,  in  loc.).  Nothing  is  known  of  the 
actual  introduction  of  Christianity  into  Sidon. 
One  of  its  bishops  attended  the  Council  of  Nicaea 
in  A.  p.  325. 

'Sidonian'  was  originally  an  ethnic  name  like 
4  Hittite,'  Sidon  and  Heth  being  named  together  as 
sons  of  Canaan  in  Gn  1015.  In  Homer  '  Sidonia '  is 
equivalent  to  Phoenicia  and'  Sidonian  'to  Phoenician. 
In  the  Latin  poets,  too,  when  the  adjective  qualifies 
such  words  as  '  Dido '  (Virg.  jEn.  xi.  74),  '  nautse,' 
'  rates,'  '  murex,'  '  vestis,'  '  chlamys,'  it  means 
Phoenician.  The  modern  town,  called  by  the  Arabs 
Saida,  has  about  15,000  inhabitants.  Some  very 
remarkable  sarcophagi  have  been  found  in  the 
necropolis  to  the  S.E.  of  the  town. 

LITERATURE. — E.  Robinson,  Biblical  Researches  in  Palestine2, 
3  vols.,  1856,  ii.  478  ff.  ;  O.  Hamdy-Bey  and  T.  Reinach,  La 
Secropolf  royale  de  Sidon,  1892-96 ;  C.  Baedeker,  Palestine 
and  Syria*,  1894.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 


492 


SIGN- 


OK  SILVANUS 


SIGN. — The  word  o-^eloj'  ('sign')  is  used  (1)  of 
the  autographic  part  of  a  letter,  the  mark  of 
authenticity— 2  Th  317  (EV  '  token  ') ;  (2)  as  mean- 
ing a  '  symbol ' — Ko  4U  (the  '  sign  of  circumcision,' 
i.e.  circumcision  as  a  sign  of  the  covenant)  ;  (3) 
as  an  'indication' — Mt  2648  (Judas'  kiss),  Lk  212 
(to  the  Shepherds)  2**  (the  child  Jesus  set  for  a 
sign) ;  (4)  hence  for  some  wonderful  indication — 
Mt  24s- 30,  Mk  134  (of  Christ's  Corning),  Mt  16'-  4, 
MkS11,  'Mk'  1617-20,  Lk  II16-29  (to  show  Christ's 
power),  Mt  163  (signs  of  the  times)  164  (sign  of 
Jonah),  1  Co  1422  (tongues  and  prophesying  as  a 
sign  of  the  power  of  Christianity)  ;  and  therefore 
for  a  '  miracle '  or  wonderful  deed  which  has  in- 
struction as  its  object.  The  '  signs  in  heaven  '  of 
Rev  121-  3  151  are  a  connecting  link  between  these 
two  shades  of  meaning.  The  usual  sense  of  a-r]/j.fiov 
in  the  NT  is  a  'miracle,'  especially  in  the  plural 
(see  art.  MIRACLE). 

In  the  EV  the  word  '  sign '  is  used  in  two  places 
where  a-rjfj.eloi'  does  not  occur.  In  Lk  I62  '  they 
made  signs'  renders  frtvevov,  a  verb  used  in  Pr  613 
1010  (LXX)  of  winking  with  the  eye.  In  Ac  2811  '  a 
ship  whose  sign  was  the  Dioscuri '  renders  n-Xofy 
ira/pacr?7/uy  AioffKovpois,  where  irapo.a-fifj.if  is  either  an 
adjective  (  =  ' marked')  or  else,  less  probably,  a 
substantive  with  AiotrKovpois  in  apposition  (but  in 
that  case  it  means  a  ship'si/?a<7  in  classical  Greek  ; 
see  Liddell  and  Scott,  s.v.}.  A.  J.  MACLEAN. 

SILAS  or  SILYANUS.— The  companion  of  Paul 
on  his  second  missionary  journey.  The  shorter 
(Greek)  form  of  the  name  is  peculiar  to  Acts,  the 
longer  (Latin)  form  appears  four  times  in  the 
Epistles.  Its  derivation  is  uncertain,  but  may  be 
either  of  two  Hebrew  roots,  rbv  or  httv,  which  would 
give  respectively  the  meanings  of  '  sent '  and  '  asked 
for.'  The  fact  that  Josephus  mentions  four  Jews 
of  the  name  of  Silas  points  to  its  Semitic  origin. 

The  first  appearance  of  Silas  in  Acts  is  at  the 
close  of  the  Council  of  Jerusalem,  when  he  and 
Judas  surnamed  Barsabbas,  described  as  chief  men 
among  the  brethren,  are  chosen  to  accompany 
Paul  and  Barnabas  to  Antioch,  with  a  letter  notify- 
ing the  decision.  Being  prophets,  they  not  only 
deliver  the  letter  but  remain  for  a  time  at  Antioch, 
exhorting  and  confirming  the  brethren,  and  then 
return  to  Jerusalem.  Shortly  afterwards,  the 
rupture  between  Paul  and  Barnabas  takes  place, 
and  Silas  is  selected  by  Paul  as  his  new  associate, 
and  starts  with  him  on  his  second  missionary 
journey  (1522'41).  As  this  implies  the  presence  of 
Silas  again  at  Antioch,  it  may  be  supposed  that 
Paul  has  sent  for  him  to  Jerusalem,  or  that  he  has 
returned  of  his  own  accord  after  reporting  to  the 
primitive  Church  the  fulfilment  of  his  original 
mission  ;  1534  (AV,  'it  pleased  Silas  to  abide  there 
still '),  which  appears  with  variations  in  some 
ancient  MSS,  is  generally  regarded  as  a  gloss.  On 
the  subsequent  journey  Silas  is  not  mentioned  till 
Philippi  is  reached,  when  his  name  becomes  associ- 
ated with  that  of  Paul  in  all  the  circumstances  of 
the  imprisonment,  the  conversion  of  the  jailer,  and 
the  official  release.  Incidentally,  like  Paul,  he  is 
credited  with  the  possession  of  the  Roman  citizen- 
ship (1618"40).  Thereafter,  he  shares  the  work  and 
troubles  of  the  Apostle  at  Thessalonica,  and  pro- 
ceeds thence  with  him  to  Beroea,  Avhere  he  and 
Timothy  are  left,  when  Paul  retires  before  his 
Jewish  opponents  (171"14).  From  Athens  a  message 
is  sent  by  Paul,  instructing  them  to  come  to  him 
with  all  speed  (1715),  but  he  has  left  that  city  and 
arrived  at  Corinth  before  they  rejoin  him  (185). 
At  this  point  the  name  of  Silas  disappears  from  the 
story. 

The  references  to  Silvanus  in  the  Epistles  accord 
with  the  account  of  Paul's  companion  in  Acts  and 
confirm  the  theory  of  their  identification.  In  both 


Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians,  probably  written  at 
Corinth,  he  appears  as  joint-author  with  Paul  and 
Timothy,  and  unites  in  their  fnendly  greetings 
(1  Th  I1,  2  Th  I1).  In  2  Co  lla  he  is  again  mentioned 
with  them  as  a  co-worker  in  the  gospel  at  Corinth. 
The  inference  is  that  he  was  the  same  person  as 
Silas,  whom  Acts  represents  as  the  companion 
of  Paul  and  Timothy  both  at  Thessalonica  and  at 
Corinth.  The  final  reference — 1  P  512  ('  by  Silvanus, 
a  faithful  brother  unto  you,  as  I  suppose,  I  have 
written  briefly ') —only  shows  that  in  later  years 
he  was  associated  with  the  author  of  that  Epistle, 
and  assisted  him  in  its  production.  One  passage, 
when  compared  with  Acts,  may  be  supposed  to 
present  a  difficulty,  if  it  is  presumed  that  Silas  and 
Timothy  were  inseparable  from  the  time  when 
they  parted  with  Paul  at  Beroja  till  they  rejoined 
him  at  Corinth.  1  Th  31'5  conveys  the  impression 
that  Timothy  had  been  with  Paul  in  Athens,  and 
had  been  sent  thence  to  Thessalonica  to  comfort 
the  Church  there  and  bring  news  of  its  condition. 
It  is  possible  that  Timothy  paid  a  visit  to  Athens 
which  has  not  been  recorded  in  Acts,  but  it  is  un- 
necessary to  infer  that  Silas  accompanied  him,  and 
that  consequently  there  is  a  lacuna  in  Acts,  so  far 
as  he  is  concerned. 

Notwithstanding  the  corrobpration of  the  notices 
in  the  Epistles,  the  identification  of  Silas  with  Sil- 
vanus has  not  passed  without  question.  On  the 
ground  of  an  alleged  tendency  in  Acts  to  connect 
Paul  as  closely  as  possible  with  the  Church  of 
Jerusalem,  Weizsacker  suggests  that,  in  the  ac- 
count of  the  second  missionary  journey,  Silas  has 
been  substituted  for  Silvanus,  the  actual  companion 
of  Paul.  As  a  member  of  the  primitive  Church 
and  its  agent  in  conveying  the  decree  regarding 
circumcision  to  Antioch,  Silas  would  be  a  pledge 
of  relationship  between  Paul  and  Jerusalem  on  the 
second  journey,  as  Barnabas  had  been  on  the  first  ; 
and  so  he  would  be  regarded  by  the  author  of  Acts 
as  a  more  appropriate  associate  for  the  Apostle. 
For  this  theory,  however,  the  reasons  adduced 
have  not  been  found  convincing,  even  by  those  who 
admit  the  supposed  tendency  in  Acts.  Scarcely 
more  success  has  attended  the  various  critical 
attempts  to  identify  Silas  or  Silvanus  with  other 
friends  and  fellow-labourers  of  Paul,  such  as  Luke 
(Van  Vloten)  and  Titus  (Marcker  and  Seufert). 
Of  the  theories  advanced  in  this  connexion  perhaps 
the  least  probable  is  that  which  finds  two  Silases 
in  Acts — one  the  messenger  of  the  Jerusalem  Church 
to  Antioch  (1522"32),  the  other  the  companion  of  Paul 
on  his  second  journey  (IS^-IS8) — and  identifies  the 
latter  with  both  Silvanus  and  Titus  (Zimmer). 

To  Silas  has  been  attributed  a  share,  more  or  less 
independent,  in  the  writing  of  several  Epistles. 
Thus  it  has  been  suggested  that  some  passages  of 
1  Cor.  (I16  316f-  1520'34  1613-ls)  are  interpolations  by 
him,  and  that  he  wrote  the  apocalyptic  portions  of 
the  Epistles  to  the  Thessalonians  (R.  Scott).  Even 
the  whole  of  1  and  2  Thess.  has  been  supposed  to 
be  the  work  of  the  Silvanus  mentioned  in  1  P  512. 
Silas  (Silvanus)  is  also  one  of  the  authors  to  whom 
Hebrews  has  been  ascribed  ;  but  there  is  no 
traditional  support  for  this  view,  and  too  little  is 
known  of  him  to  furnish  a  compelling  argument. 
As  in  the  case  of  Barnabas,  his  connexion  with 
the  Jerusalem  Church  tells  rather  against  his 
authorship  of  such  an  Epistle  as  Hebrews.  There 
is  good  reason,  however,  for  associating  the  name 
of  Silas,  with  1  Peter,  and  the  part  borne  by  him 
in  the  production  of  that  Epistle  is  obtaining  in- 
creasing recognition.  According  to  512,  he  was  at 
least  the  amanuensis  by  whose  hand  it  was  written  ; 
but,  if  the  Petrine  origin  be  accepted,  various  con- 
siderations, such  as  the  Pauline  cast  of  the  Epistle 
and  its  correct  Greek,  suggest  that  both  matter  and 
style  were  largely  influenced  by  him.  Som  e  scholars. 


SILK 


SIMON  MAGUS 


493 


indeed,  suppose  that  Peter  entrusted  its  composi- 
tion entirely  to  Silas,  and  contented  himself  with 
revising  and  approving  it.  Others  go  further,  and 
think  that  Silas  may  have  written  it  independently, 
after  the  death  of  the  Apostle. 

LITERATURE. — Works  on  Paul  and  the  Apostolic  Age  generally, 
esp.  A.  C.  McGiffert,  History  of  the  Apostolic  Aye,  Edinburgh, 
1897,  and  C.  v.  Weizsacker,  Das  apostnlitche  Zeitalter,  Frei- 
burg i.  B.,  1886  (Eng.  tr.,  2  vols.,  London,  1894-95) ;  Van 
Vlpten,  'Lucas  und  Silas.'in  ZW  Tx.  [1867],  xiv.  [1871] ;  Marcker, 
'Titus  Silvanus,"  in  Gymnasialprorjramm,  1864  ;  Seufert,  in 
ZWT  xxviii.  [1885];  Zimmer,  in  ZKWL  ii.  [1S81] ;  R.  Scott, 
The  Pauline  Epistles,  Edinburgh,  1909 ;  J.  Weiss,  SK  Ixv. 
[1892]  253;  J.  Moffatt,  LNT,  Edinburgh,  1911,  pp.  80 f.,  296, 
331  f.,  439.  D.  FREW. 

SILK. — Silk,  the  fibrous  substance  produced  by 
the  mulberry  silk-moth  of  China,  is  mentioned 
(Rev  1812)  as  part  of  the  costly  merchandise  of 
'Babylon'  (Imperial  Rome).  The  Chinese  name 
of  the  silk-worm  is  si,  Korean  soi ;  to  the  Greeks 
it  became  known  as  a-fjp,  the  people  supplying  it 
being  the  Zrjpes,  and  the  fibre  itself  O-T/PIKOC,  whence 
Lat.  sericum,  Fr.  soie,  Ger.  Seide,  Eng.  silk.  The 
silk-worm  is  first  mentioned  in  Western  literature 
by  Aristotle  (de  Anim.  Hist.  v.  19).  The  silken 
textures  of  the  East  began  to  be  imported  into 
Italy  in  the  early  days  of  the  Empire.  At  first 
they  fetched  fabulous  prices,  and  their  use  by  men 
was  deemed  an  unpardonable  extravagance.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  Senate,  in  the  time  of  Tiberius, 
'  much  was  said  against  the  luxury  of  the  city  by 
Quintus  Haterius,  a  man  of  consular  rank,  and  by 
Octavius  Fronto,  formerly  praetor ;  and  a  law  was 
passed  "  against  using  vessels  of  solid  gold  in 
serving  up  repasts,  and  against  men  disgracing 
themselves  with  silken  garments'"  (Tac.  Ann.  ii. 
33).  The  trade,  however,  grew.  Elagabalus  was 
the  first  Emperor  who  wore  robes  of  silk.  Aurelian 
complained  that  a  pound  of  it  cost  12  ounces  of  gold. 
Under  Justinian  the  Western  world  at  last  received 
from  China  a  supply  of  silk-worms'  eggs  (E. 
Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  iv. 
[1902],  ch.  xl.  §  3).  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SILYANUS.-See  SILAS. 

SILVER  (apyvpos,  dpytipiov,  Lat.  argentum ;  from 
dpyds,  'shining'). — Silver  is  one  of  the  precious 
or  'noble'  metals,  used  from  the  earliest  times  as 
a  means  of  exchange  and  adornment.  With  the 
exception  of  gold,  it  is  the  most  malleable  and 
ductile  of  all  substances.  Gold  was  '  estimated  at 
thirteen  times  the  value  of  silver'  (Herod.  Hi.  95), 
but  the  proportion  varied  considerably  at  different 
periods. 

1.  Articles  of  silver  are  mentioned  among  the 
costly  wares  sold  in  the  market  of  the  apocalyptic 
Babylon — Imperial    Rome     (Rev    1812).     As    this 
metal   has  a  perfect  metallic  lustre  and  takes  a 
very  high  polish,  it  was  often  used  for  mirrors. 
The  aquila,  or  standard  of  the  Roman  legion,  was 
of  silver  (Cic.  in  Cat.  I.  ix.  24).     '  Milites  argentati ' 
were  soldiers  whose  shields  were  covered  or  plated 
with  silver  (Livy,  ix.  40).     In  a  great  house  there 
were  many  '  vasa  argentea '  (2  Ti  220,  Vulg.  ;  cf. 
Hor.  Sat.  ii.  7.  72 f.).     Rome's  principal  supply  of 
silver  came  from  southern  Spain.     The  Maccabees 
heard  what  the  conquering  race  'did  in  the  land  of 
Spain,  that  they  might'become  masters  of  the  mines 
of  silver  and  gold  which  were  there'  (1  Mac  S3). 
Strabo  (III.  ii.  10),  quoting  Polybius,  says  that  40,000 
men  were  regularly  employed  in  the  silver  mines  of 
New  Carthage  (Carthagena),  which  yielded  daily  to 
the  Roman  people  a  revenue  of  25,000  drachmae. 

2.  As  silver  was  the  everyday  medium  of  ex- 
change in  the  ancient  world,  the  Gr.  dpytipiov,  like 
the  Heb.   *\C3,  frequently  denoted  money  (cf.   Fr. 
argent).     When  Simon  the  Magian  offered  Peter 
money  (xp^/J-ara)  for  the  power  to  work  miracles  by 


the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Apostle  answered,  in  horror 
of  this  '  simony,'  or  trafficking  in  sacred  things, 
'Thy  money  (dpytipiov,  RV  'silver')  perish  with 
thee.'  Xenophon  (Cyrop.  III.  i.  33)  has  the  phrase 
et'j  dpyupiov  \oyio-6tvra,  '  calculated  in  our  money,' 
and  dpyupiov  Ko.do.p6v  (Theocritus,  xv.  36)  meant 
'  hard  cash.' 

3.  The  magical  books  which  were  publicly  burned 
in  Ephesus  during  St.  Paul's  great  mission  there 
were  priced  at  50,000  [pieces]  of  silver  (dpyvpiov 
/j.vpid8as  Tr^vre,  Ac  1919).  The  coin  understood  is 
the  drachma  or  denarius.  When  Rome  became 
mistress  of  the  Hellenic  world,  she  allowed  the 
Attic  coinage  to  be  continued  along  with  her  own 
monetary  system.  Since  the  dpaxfj-~n  and  the 
denarius  were  practically  equal  in  value,  they  be- 
came convertible  terms.  As  the  denarius-drachma 
(translated  '  shilling '  in  the  American  RV)  was 
about  9|d.,  the  books  destroyed  were  worth  nearly 
£2000.  Many  silver  shrines,  or  miniatures  of  the 
temple  of  Diana,  were  made  and  sold  in  the  same 
city.  A  gild  of  silversmiths  (dpyvpoKoirot,  cf.  LXX 
Jg  174,  Jer  6-9),  of  which  Demetrius  was  probably 
the  president  during  the  last  year  of  St.  Paul's 
residence  at  Ephesus,  made  their  living  largely  by 
this  lucrative  business. 

.4.  In  depicting  the  fate  of  rich  men,  James  (5s) 
says  that  their  gold  and  silver  are  '  rusted ' 
(Karlurai).  This  is  not  strictly  accurate,  as  both 
of  these  metals  have  the  property  of  resisting 
corrosion  ;  but  silver  is  readily  blackened  or  tar- 
nished in  an  atmosphere  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen. 

LITERATURE. — Art.  'Argentum 'in  W.  Smith,  Dictionary  of 
Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities,  1848 ;  W.  Jacob,  Inquiry  into 
Production  and  Consumption  of  the  Precious  Metals,  1831. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 
SIMEON.— See  PETER,  TRIBES. 

SIMON  (the  tanner). — A  dweller  in  the  town 
of  Joppa  or  Jaffa ;  in  his  house  St.  Peter  lodged 
during  his  sojourn  there  after  the  raising  of  Dorcas 
(see  art.  DORCAS),  and  from  it  he  was  summoned 
to  visit  the  Roman  centurion  Cornelius  (Ac  9J3 
108>  17t  32).  The  fact  that  Simon's  occupation  was 
that  of  a  tanner  has  given  rise  to  several  interest- 
ing suggestions  with  regard  to  the  Apostle's  state 
of  mind  at  this  period.  The  trade  of  Simon,  owing 
to  his  constant  contact  with  dead  bodies,  was  re- 
garded by  the  Jews  as  unclean  (cf.  Edersheim, 
Jewish  Social  Life,  1908,  p.  158).  The  Apostle's 
scruples  as  to  ceremonial  uncleanness  were  not  so 
pronounced  as  to  prevent  him  from  lodging  with 
Simon,  and  perhaps  his  contact  with  the  tanner, 
probably  a  Christian  believer,  may  have  helped  to 
prepare  his  mind  for  receiving  the  message  of 
Cornelius.  We  may  admit  that  the  reference  to 
the  tanner  is  meant  to  introduce  the  '  universalism ' 
of  the  following  chapter  without  in  any  way  sug- 
gesting that  the  passage  is  unhistorical  (cf.  Know- 
ling,  EOT,  'Acts,'  1900,  in  loco). 

W.  F.  BOYD. 

SIMON  MAGUS.  — 1.  The  NT  account.  — Ac 
S9"24  gives  the  story  of  'a  certain  man,  Simon  by 
name,' who  'used  sorcery,  and  amazed  the  people  of 
Samaria,  giving  out  that  himself  was  some  great 
one  (\tywv  itval  TWO.  tavrbv  fj-^yav) :  to  whom  they  all 
gave  heed,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  saying, 
This  man  is  that  power  of  God  which  is  called 
Great  (i]  8tiva.fj.is  rov  6eov  77  KaXov/M^vr)  /jLeyd\i)).  ,  .  . 
But  when  they  believed  Philip  preaching  good 
tidings  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God  and  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  were  baptized,  both 
men  and  women.  And  Simon,  also  himself  be- 
lieved :  and  being  baptized,  he  continued  with 
Philip ;  and  beholding  signs  and  great  miracles 
wrought,  he  was  amazed.'  The  news  of  the 
movement  in  Samaria  brought  Peter  and  John 
from  Jerusalem,  and  through  their  prayers  and  the 


494 


SIMON  MAGUS 


SIMOX  MAGUS 


laying  on  of  their  hands,  the  believers  received 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Seeing  this,  Simon  offered  the 
apostles  money,  saying,  '  Give  me  also  this  power, 
that  on  whomsoever  I  lay  my  hands,  he  may  re- 
ceive the  Holy  Ghost.  But  Peter  said  unto  him, 
Thy  silver  perish  with  thee,  because  thou  hast 
thought  to  obtain  the  gift  of  God  witli  money. 
Thou  hast  neither  part  nor  lot  in  this  matter  :  for 
thy  heart  is  not  right  before  God.  Repent  there- 
fore of  this  thy  wickedness,  and  pray  the  Lord  if 
perhaps  the  thought  of  thy  heart  shall  be  for- 
given thee.  For  I  see  that  thou  art  in  the  gall  of 
bitterness  and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity.  And  Simon 
answered  and  said,  Pray  ye  for  me  to  the  Lord, 
that  none  of  the  things  which  ye  have  spoken 
come  upon  me.' 

These  verses  tell  all  that  is  known  definitely 
about  this  particular  Simon.  But  in  subsequent 
Christian  literature  the  name  became  very  pro- 
minent. A  Simon  Magus  was  described  as  an  arch- 
heretic  who  was  the  antagonist  of  Simon  Peter. 
Accounts  of  his  teaching  are  given  in  heresiological 
works.  An  elaborate  legend  became  current  about 
his  conflict  with  the  Apostle.  In  modern  times 
fresh  importance  has  attached  to  this  legend 
because  the  Tubingen  school  have  tried  to  .show 
that  the  oldest  accounts  are  those  in  which  Simon 
Magus  is  represented  as  a  caricature  of  the  apostle 
Paul,  and  the  opponent  of  the  apostle  Peter.  This 
has  been  used  as  a  basis  for  their  reconstruction  of 
early  Church  history  from  the  point  of  view  that 
Peter  and  Paul  were  in  conflict,  and  that  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles  was  a  conciliatory  compromise. 
The  question  of  the  identity  of  this  legendary 
Simon  Magus — the  disguised  ?aul — with  the  Simon 
of  Ac  8  can  be  discussed  best  after  some  inquiry 
into  the  legend  and  into  the  references  to  Simon 
in  Patristic  literature. 

2.  The  Simonian  legend. — There  are  two  chief 
sources  of  this  legend,  (a)  The  Clementine  Homilies 
and  Recognitions.  These  are  two  forms  of  an  early 
Christian  romance,  the  Homilies  in  Greek,  the 
Recognitions  in  Latin.  They  relate  the  story  of 
Clement's  search  for  truth  until  his  reunion  with 
the  long-lost  members  of  his  family.  According 
to  the  Homilies,  in  the  course  of  his  wanderings 
Clement  met  Peter  at  Caesarea  in  Palestine.  The 
Apostle  was  to  dispute  next  day  with  Simon  of 
Gitta.  The  story  of  Simon  is  then  related  by  two 
of  his  pupils  :  that  his  father's  name  was  Antonius, 
his  mother's  Rachel  ;  that  he  was  a  Samaritan  of 
the  village  of  Gitta,  six  miles  from  Samaria;  that 
he  was  educated  at  Alexandria,  and  was  skilled  in 
the  wisdom  of  the  Greeks  and  in  magic.  Peter 
disputed  with  him  for  three  days,  after  which 
Simon  fled  by  night  to  Tyre.  Peter  followed  him 
to  Tyre  and  to  Sidon  and  to  Tripolis,  whence 
Simon  escaped  to  Syria.  They  met  again  in  Lao- 
dicea,  where  the  disputes  were  renewed.  Simon 
managed  to  escape  by  changing  the  face  of  Faustus, 
Clement's  father,  and  making  it  like  his  own.  This 
device,  however,  led  to  Faustus  exposing  Simon's 
impostures.  Meanwhile  Simon  reached  Judaea. 

In  the  Recognitions  only  one  dispute  is  described 
— in  Caesarea.  But  there  is  reference  to  a  visit  of 
Simon  to  Rome,  where  he  is  to  be  honoured  with 
statues.  It  is  probable  that  these  versions  are 
independent  re-castings  of  a  common  original. 
The  question  in  doubt  is  whether  the  original 
story  told  only  of  a  conflict  between  Simon  and 
Peter  in  Syria,  or  whether  it  related  an  earlier 
conflict  in  Syria  and  a  later  one  in  Rome. 

(b)  The  legendary  Acts  of  Peter  and  Paul. 
These  tell  the  story  of  contests  between  Simon  and 
Peter ;  but  they  place  the  scene  in  Rome.  There 
are  two  forms  of  the  story,  (a)  The  Gnostic  Acts 
(Actus  Petri  cum  Simone]  tell  that  after  Paul  left 
Rome,  a  stir  arose  in  the  city  about  a  Simon  who 


worked  miracles  and  called  himself  the  Great 
Power  of  God.  He  came  to  the  city  flying  in 
smoke,  and  created  a  great  sensation.  Therefore 
Peter  was  bidden  by  Christ  to  go  to  Rome.  The 
Apostle  found  Simon  installed  in  the  house  of  a 
Roman  senator,  and  he  attacked  the  Magian  as 
a  ravening  wolf.  When  Simon  refused  him  ad- 
mittance, Peter  sent  a  message  by  a  dog,  whose 
speech  brought  the  traitor  to  the  Apostle's  feet. 
By  the  aid  of  further  miracles  Peter  silenced 
Simon  till  a  public  controversy  was  arranged  be- 
fore all  Rome.  Peter  raised  the  dead,  and  ex- 
posed Simon's  attempts  to  work  similar  miracles. 
Simon  then  promised  to  fly  to  God.  But  in  answer 
to  Peter's  prayers  he  fell,  broke  his  thigh,  and 
was  taken  to  Terracina,  where  he  died. 

(j3)  The  Acta  Petri  et  Pauli  gives  another  form 
of  the  story.  Paul  is  the  Companion  of  Peter  in 
Rome.  The  success  of  their  preaching  made  the 
Jews  stir  up  Simon  against  Peter.  He  convinced 
Nero  of  his  claims,  and  Peter  and  Paul  were  sum- 
moned to  appear  before  the  Emperor.  After  long 
discussion,  Simon  undertook  to  fly  from  a  high 
tower.  Paul  was  distressed,  and  prayed.  But 
Peter  adjured  the  angels  of  Satan  not  to  help 
Simon,  who  fell  to  the  ground  and  died. 

The  Apostolic  Constitutions  contains  the  whole 
story  of  a  conflict  in  Syria  and  a  conflict  in  Rome. 
Probably  this  is  a  piecing  together  of  two  stories, 
originally  independent.  It  does  not  settle  the 
question  whether  the  Clementines  and  the  Petrine 
Acts  depend  upon  independent  documents,  as  G. 
Salmon  thinks  (DCB,  art.  'Simon  Magus'),  or 
whether  they  severally  elaborate  two  parts  of  one 
common  history — an  Ebionite.4cte  of  Peter — which 
is  Lipsius'  theory. 

The  substance  of  the  story  as  it  concerns  Simon 
is  that  he  travelled  in  Syria  and  as  far  as  Rome, 
deceiving  people  by  his  magic  and  winning  wide- 
spread adherence  for  his  claims  to  Divine  power  ; 
that  he  was  opposed  by  Simon  Peter,  who  exposed 
his  deceit  and  brought  to  naught  his  efforts  to 
impose  on  the  people. 

3.  The  Simonian  system. — In  addition  to  these 
legendary  accounts  of  the  contest  between  Simon 
Magus  and  Simon  Peter,  there  are  references  to 
Simon  in  Patristic  literature  which  give  more 
trustworthy  accounts  of  his  life  and  teaching. 
(a)  The  earliest  reference  is  in  Justin  Martyr's 
Apology  (i.  26,  56).  He  says  :  '  After  Christ's  ascen- 
sion into  heaven  the  devils  put  forward  certain 
men  who  said  that  they  themselves  were  gods  ; 
and  they  were  not  only  not  persecuted  by  you, 
but  even  deemed  worthy  of  honours.  There 
was  a  Samaritan,  Simon,  .  a  native  of  the  village 
called  Gitta,  who  in  the  reign  of  Claudius  Caesar, 
and  in  your  royal  city  of  Rome,  did  mighty  acts 
of  magic,  by  virtue  of  the  art  of  the  devils 
operating  in  him.  He  was  considered  a  god,  and 
as  a  god  was  honoured  by  you  with  a  statue, 
which  statue  was  erected  on  the  river  Tiber, 
between  the  two  bridges,  and  bore  this  inscription, 
in  the  language  of  Rome  :  "Simoni  Deo  Sancto," 
"  To  Simon  the  holy  God."  And  almost  all  the 
Samaritans,  and  a  few  even  of  other  nations,  wor- 
ship him,  and  acknowledge  him  as  the  first  god  ; 
and  a  woman,  Helena,  who  went  about  with  him 
at  that  time,  and  had  formerly  been  a  prostitute, 
they  say  is  the  first  idea  generated  by  him.  And 
a  man,  Menander,  also  a  Samaritan,  of  the  town 
Capparetaea,  a  disciple  of  Simon,  and  inspired  by 
devils,  we  know  to  have  deceived  many  while  he 
was  in  Antioch  by  his  magical  art"  (26).  In  56  is 
another  reference  :  '  But  the  evil  spirits  were  not 
satisfied  with  saying,  before  Christ's  appearance, 
that  those  who  were  said  to  be  sons  of  Jupiter 
were  born  of  him  ;  but  after  He  had  appeared  and 
been  born  among  men,  and  when  they  learned 


SIMON  MAGUS 


4-95 


how  He  had  been  foretold  by  the  prophets,  and 
knew  that  He  should  be  believed  on  and  looked  for 
by  every  nation,  they  again,  as  was  said  before, 
put  forward  other  men,  the  Samaritans  Simon  and 
Menander,  who  did  many  mighty  works  by  magic, 
and  deceived  many,  and  still  keep  them  deceived. 
For  even  among  yourselves,  as  we  said  before, 
Simon  was  in  the  royal  city  Rome  in  the  reign  of 
Claudius  Caesar,  and  so  greatly  astonished  the 
sacred  senate  and  people  of  the  Romans,  that  he 
was  considered  a  god,  and  honoured,  like  the 
others  whom  you  honour  as  gods,  with  a  statue.' 
(6)  Later  Patristic  literature  seems  to  gather  its 
accounts  of  Simon's  teaching  from  some  common 
ground — probably  a  lost  treatise  by  Justin.  Simon 
is  said  to  have  taught  that  he  was  the  highest 
power — the  Supreme  God  Himself,  who  descended 
to  the  lower  world  because  its  rulers  ruled  it  all. 
He  passed  through  its  regions,  appearing  in  every 
form  necessary  for  the  restoration  of  the  lost 
harmony.  Among  Jews  he  manifested  himself 
as  the  Son,  in  Samaria  as  the  Father,  and  among 
other  nations  as  the  Holy  Spirit.  Helena  (whom 
he  had  purchased  in  a  brothel  in  Tyre)  was  his 
Trpilirr)  Zwoia.,  mother  of  all,  by  whom  he  had  called 
the  angels  and  archangels  into  being.  She  had 
been  laid  under  bonds  by  her  own  children,  but 
after  many  transmigrations  had  been  rescued  at 
last  by  the  Supreme  God — Simon — who  came  down 
to  deliver  her  and  to  bring  salvation  to  all  men 
through  the  knowledge  of  himself.  He  liberated 
the  world  and  those  who  were  his  from  the  rule  of 
those  who  had  made  the  world.  Those  who  had 
hope  in  him  and  in  Helena  might  freely  do  as 
they  would,  for  men  were  saved  according  to  his 
grace  and  not  according  to  good  works. 

Such  a  system  is  obviously  an  amalgam  of  pagan- 
ism and  Christianity.  It  contains  a  good  deal  that 
is  common  to  almost  all  the  forms  of  Gnostic 
myths,  and  it  borrows  some  of  its  ideas  and  not  a 
little  of  its  phraseology  from  Christianity. 

4.  The  historical  value  of  the  story. — (a)  One 
explanation  of  this  tradition  is  that  it  is  the 
legendary  development  of  the  story  in  Ac  8,  under 
the  influence  of  a  continued  conflict  between  Chris- 
tianity and  the  Simonian  Gnosis.  The  Tubingen 
school,  however,  explained  it  in  a  different  way. 
According  to  Baur  and  his  followers,  the  Ebionite 
Clementine  literature  contains  a  caricature  of  the 
apostle  Paul.  Instead  of  the  Simon  of  the  tradition 
being  treated  as  a  historical  character,  the  name  is 
to  be  interpreted  as  a  term  of  reproach  for  Paul. 
Whenever  Simon  Magus  is  mentioned  in  ancient 
documents,  Paul  is  meant.  The  contest  between 
Simon  Magus  and  Simon  Peter  really  represents 
the  conflict  between  Paul  and  Peter.  So  the  Simon 
of  Ac  8  was  no  real  character  but  only  a  pre- 
sentation of  Paul.  Thus,  Peter's  refusal  to  give 
Simon  Magus  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  a 
covert  account  of  the  refusal  of  the  elder  Apostle 
to  admit  Paul's  claims  to  rank  with  them,  backed 
though  the  claim  was  by  a  gift  of  money  for  the 
poor  saints  in  Jerusalem.  Starting  from  this 
standpoint,  Baur's  school  reconstructed  the  story 
of  early  Christianity  with  the  conflict  between 
Paul  and  Peter  as  the  key.  The  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  was  interpreted  as  a  compromise,  a  book 
written  in  a  conciliatory  interest  but  resting  upon 
Jewish  Christian  myths  only  partly  understood. 
The  journeys  of  Peter  and  his  visit  to  Rome  are 
merely  an  ecclesiastical  tradition  reflecting  the 
journeys  of  Paul,  and  expressing  the  belief  of  the 
Church  that  the  great  Apostle,  who  had  withstood 
the  Simon-Paul  everywhere  else,  must  have  fol- 
lowed up  his  victory  in  the  capital.  This  theory, 
ingeniously  applied  to  Patristic  and  Clementine 
literature,  and  worked  out  with  much  skill,  won 
many  adherents  for  a  time,  despite  the  fact  that  it 


proved  the  presence  of  biased  and  fabricated  history 
within  primitive  Christianity.  But  a  reaction 
soon  set  in.  In  EBr3  (xxii.  79)  A.  Harnack  wrote, 
1  On  no  other  point  are  the  proofs  of  the  Tubingen 
school  weaker  than  in  this.'  In  EBr11  (xxv.  126) 
St.  George  Stock's  conclusion  is,  '  The  idea  that 
Simon  Magus  is  merely  a  distortion  of  St.  Paul  is 
absurd.'  It  is-  not  denied  that  the  Clementine 
literature  is  marked  by  hostility  to  St.  Paul. 
'  The  Clementine  writings  were  produced  in  Rome, 
early  in  the  third  century,  by  members  of  the 
Elkesaite  sect.  .  .  .  One  of  the  characteristics  of 
these  heretics  was  hostility  to  Paul,  whom  they 
refused  to  recognize  as  an  apostle'  (G.  Salmon 
in  Smith-Wace,  DCB,  London,  1877-87,  iv.  687). 
But,  though  P.  W.  Schmiedel  (in  EBi,  art. 
'  Simon  Magus')  defends  a  modified  position  of  the 
Tubingen  school,  most  modern  scholars  would 
probably  accept  St.  George  Stock's  summing  up  in 
EBr11;  'In  conclusion,  there  are  of  course  some 
grounds  for  the  Tubingen  view,  but  they  are 
wholly  inadequate  to  bear  the  structure  that  has 
been  raised  upon  them.  St.  Paul  was  a  hard 
hitter,  and  Jewish  Christians,  who  still  clung  to 
James  and  Peter  as  the  only  true  pillars  of  the 
Church,  are  not  likely  to  have  cherished  any  love 
for  his  memory.  This  is  enough  to  account  for 
the  hostility  displayed  against  St.  Paul  in  the 
Clementines.  But  to  push  the  equation  of  St. 
Paul  with  Simon  Magus  further  than  we  are  forced 
to  by  the  facts  of  the  case  is  to  lose  sight  of  the 
real  character  of  the  Clementines  as  the  counter- 
blast of  Jewish  to  Samaritan  Gnosticism  and  to 
obscure  the  greatness  of  Simon  of  Gitta,  who  was 
really  the  father  of  all  heresy.'  As  F.  H.  Chase 
puts  it  in  discussing  Lipsius'  theory  that  the 
Simonian  legend  originated  the  story  of  Peter's 
visit  to  Rome :  '  Lipsius'  theory  is  really  an  off- 
shoot of  the  Tubingen  theory  of  the  apostolic  age. 
The  main  trunk  is  now  seen  to  be  lifeless.  The 
branch  cannot  but  share  its  decay'  (HDB  iii. 
777b).* 

(b)  If  the  Tubingen  theory  be  recognized  as 
'  lifeless,'  there  are  three  questions  of  importance 
bearing  on  the  historical  value  of  the  Simonian 
legend. 

( 1 )  Is  the  Simon  of  the  legends  a  historical  person  ? 
Salmon's  answer  may  be  accepted   at  once :   '  It 
cannot  reasonably  be  doubted  that  Simon  of  Gitta 
is    a    historical    personage.      The    heretical    sect 
which  claimed  him  for  its  founder  was  regarded 
by  Justin   Martyr  as  most  formidable.  .  .  .  He 
speaks  of  it  as  predominant  in  Samaria,  and  not 
unknown  elsewhere ;  that  is  to  say,  probably,  he 
had  met  members  of  the  sect  at  Rome.     The  exist- 
ence of  the  sect  is  testified  by  Hegesippus  and 
Clement  of  Alexandria'  (op.  cit.,  p.  687  f.).    There  is 
nothing  to  throw  doubt  upon   the  definite  state- 
ments of  Justin  Martyr  about  the  Simon  who  is 
mentioned  alongside  of  Menander  and  Marcion  as 
the  founder  of  a  sect  and  the  object  of  veneration. 

There  is  less  certainty  about  the  details  of  his 
life.  With  regard  to  his  birthplace — Gitta — Justin 
was  a  Samaritan  and  a  good  witness ;  and  the 
statements  of  Hegesippus  about  his  father  and  his 
mother,  and  his  being  trained  at  Alexandria,  are 
quite  possibly  good  tradition.  Also  the  general 
ascription  to  him  of  magical  powers  probably  re- 
flects a  claim  he  made.  The  persistent  story  of 
his  journeys,  coupled  with  the  existence  of  Simon- 
ians  outside  Palestine,  favours  the  view  that  he 
travelled,  though  considerable  haziness  hangs  over 
the  whole  subject  of  his  alleged  visit  to  Rome. 

(2)  Is  the  Simon  of  Ac   8   a  historical   person? 
This  question  also  may  be  answered  unhesitatingly 
in  the  affirmative.     '  The  Simon  of  the  Acts  is  also 
a  real  person'  (Salmon,  op.  cit.,  p.  688).     With  the 

»  Of.  Exp,  8th  ser.,  v.  [1913]  348  n. 


496 


SIMON  MAGUS 


break-down  of  the  Tubingen  theory,  and  the  re- 
habilitation of  Luke  as  a  historian,  all  reasons  for 
doubting  the  essential  accuracy  of  the  narrative  in 
Acts  have  disappeared.  That  narrative  relates  to 
times  of  which  Luke  had  no  firsthand  knowledge 
therefore  it  may  be  coloured  by  later  feeling.  But 
Luke  related  it  because  it  occurred,  and  because 
he  had  reasons  for  relating  it.  What  those  reasons 
were,  and  whether  we  know  very  much  about 
Simon,  can  be  discussed  best  when  another  question 
has  been  answered  : 

(3)  Is  Simon  of  Gitta  the  same  as  the  Simon  of 
Ac  8  ?  This  identity  was  generally  assumed  until 
Salmon  questioned  it  in  the  article  referred  to 
above.  He  believes  that  Justin  Martyr  confused 
Simon  of  Gitta  with  Simon  of  Acts,  and  that  the 
confusion  has  dominated  all  subsequent  references 
to  them.  His  chief  argument  is  that  the  Simonian 
doctrine,  being  a  variant  of  2nd  cent.  Gnosticism, 
could  not  have  been  propounded  by  a  Simon  who 
lived  in  Samaria  c.  A.D.  40.  In  support  of  his 
theory  he  adds :  '  If  Simon  had  been  really  the 
inventor  of  the  Gnostic  myths,  it  is  not  credible 
that  they  should  pass  into  so  many  systems  which 
did  not  care  to  retain  any  memory  of  his  name. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  this  mythology  had  been  in 
Simon's  time  already  current,  it  is  intelligible  that 
he  might  make  use  of  it  in  order  to  justify  to  his 
disciples  his  relations  with  a  fallen  woman.'  Salmon 
thinks  that  'the  Simon  described  by  Justin  was 
not,  as  he  supposed,  the  father  of  Gnosticism,  but 
had  found  at  the  time  of  his  teaching  a  Gnostic 
system  already  developed.  It  follows,  then,  that 
Justin's  Simon  could  not  be  identical  with  the  con- 
temporary of  the  Apostles ;  and  the  name  Simon 
is  so  common  a  one,  that  the  supposition  of  two 
Simons  presents  no  difficulty.'  His  conclusion  is 
that  '  the  Simon  described  by  Justin  was  his  elder 
only  by  a  generation ;  that  he  was  a  Gnostic 
teacher  who  had  gained  some  followers  at  Samaria ; 
and  that  Justin  rashly  identified  him  with  the 
magician  told  of  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles'  (ib., 
p.  683).  This  conclusion  is  supported  generally  by 
St.  George  Stock  in  EBr11  (xxv.  126),  who  says  that 
'  Dr.  George  Salmon  brought  light  into  darkness 
by  distinguishing  between  Simon  of  Gitta  and  the 
original  Simon  Magus.'  His  conclusions  are  :  '  (1) 
That  all  we  know  of  the  original  Simon  Magus  is 
contained  in  Acts  ;  (2)  that  from  very  early  times 
he  has  been  confused  with  another  Simon ' ;  and 
he  adds :  '  Before  such  an  amalgam  of  paganism 
and  Christianity  could  be  propounded,  it  is  evident 
that  Christianity  must  have  been  for  some  little 
time  before  the  world,  and  that  the  system  cannot 
possibly  be  traced  back  to  Simon  Magus.  Is  it 
not  this  early  struggle  between  Jewish  and  Samari- 
tan universalism,  involving  as  it  did  a  struggle  of 
religion  against  magic,  that  is  really  symbolized 
under  the  wild  traditions  of  the  contest  between 
Peter  and  Simon?'  (ib.,  p.  127).  'Justin  Martyr 
was  decidedly  weak  in  history,  and  it  is  not  un- 
reasonable to  suppose  that  he  may  have  confused 
the  Simon  of  Acts  with  a  heretical  leader  of  the 
same  name  who  lived  much  nearer  to  his  own  time, 
especially  as  this  other  Simon  also  had  a  great 
reputation  for  magic.  A  full  century  must  have 
elapsed  between  the  conversion  of  Simon  Magus 
to  Christianity  and  the  earliest  date  possible  .  .  . 
for  the  composition  of  Justin  Martyr's  First 
Apology' (c.  A.D.  152)  (ib.,  p.  126).  F.  H.  Chase 
also  accepts  this  theory,  saying,  in  reference  to  the 
Simonian  legend,  '  the  most  probable  account  of 
its  genesis  is  that  it  grew  out  of  a  mistaken 
identity '  (HDB  iii.  778). 

(c)  Before  this  modification  of  the  view  held  so 
long  as  to  the  identification  of  the  two  Simons 
can  be  accepted,  regard  must  be  had  to  the  follow- 
ing points. 


(1)  Are  the  references  of  Justin  Martyr  histori- 
cally explicable  on  the  theory  that  Simon  of  Gitta 
was  a  2nd  cent.  Gnostic  ?  Even  if  Justin  was 
decidedly  '  weak  in  history  '  (Stock),  he  must  have 
acted  'rashly,'  as  Salmon  allows  (loc.  cit.),  if  he 
identified  two  men  who  lived  nearly  a  century 
apart,  in  a  public  Apology  in  defence  of  Christian- 
ity. His  reference  to  a  statue  to  Simon  in  Rome 
is  generally  regarded  as  a  mistake,  because  in  1574 
the  base  or  a  statue  was  dug  up  in  the  island  in 
the  Tiber  to  which  he  refers,  with  the  inscription 
'  Semoni  Sanco  Deo  Fidio.'  It  is  supposed,  there- 
fore, that  Justin  mistook  a  statue  dedicated  to  a 
Sabine  deity  for  one  erected  to  Simon.  There  is 
considerable  force,  however,  in  the  plea  of  the 
editors  of  the  '  Ante-Nicene  Christian  Library '  that 
this  is  '  very  slight  evidence  on  which  to  reject  so 
precise  a  statement  as  Justin  here  makes  ;  a  state- 
ment which  he  would  scarcely  have  hazarded  in  an 
apology  addressed  to  Rome,  where  every  person 
had  the  means  of  ascertaining  its  accuracy.  If, 
as  is  supposed,  he  made  a  mistake,  it  must  have 
been  at  once  exposed,  and  other  writers  would  not 
have  so  frequently  repeated  the  story  as  they 
have  done'  (Ante-Nicene  Christian  Library,  ii. 
[1892]  29  n.). 

It  has  also  to  be  considered  whether  Justin 
could  repeat  (chs.  26  and  56)  such  a  flagrant  error 
as  bringing  Simon  to  Rome  in  the  reign  of 
Claudius  and  ascribing  public  honours  to  him,  if 
the  man  Simon  was  not  a  generation  older  than 
himself,  as  Salmon's  theory  suggests.  Would 
such  a  tradition  have  grown  up  in  the  Roman 
community  about  a  man  who  was  almost  their 
contemporary  ?  And,  if  there  was  no  tradition, 
was  Justin  likely  to  have  made  such  a  statement, 
even  adding  the  plea,  '  As  for  the  statue,  if  you 
please  destroy  it '  (56)  ?  At  any  rate,  would  the  story 
have  been  left  un refuted  so  that  it  could  be  ac- 
cepted and  repeated  by  later  writers  ?  If  Simon 
of  Gitta  was  a  2nd  cent.  Gnostic  teacher,  either  he 
had  not  been  in  Rome,  in  which  case  it  is  difficult 
to  understand  why  Justin's  fallacious  reference 
was  not  exposed,  or  he  had  been  in  Rome  so 
recently  as  to  make  it  difficult  to  understand  why 
Justin  pushed  back  the  event  for  nearly  a  century. 

(2)  Further,  it  has  to  be  noted  that  there  is  a 
real  parallelism   between    the    Simonian   system 
and  the  slight  account  in  Acts  of  the  teaching  of 
Simon  Magus.     The  magical  element  is  prominent 
in  both.     Simon  in  Samaria  '  used  sorcery,   and 
amazed  the    people,'    a    trait  very  characteristic 
of  the  legendary  Simon.      Acts  (81"-  n)  says  Simon 
gave  out  '  that  himself  was  some  great  one  :  to 
whom  they  all  gave  heed,  from  the  least  to  the 
greatest,  saying,  This  man  is  that  power  of  God 
which  is  called  Great  (TJ  5iW/xts  rov  Oeov  rj  KaXov/^vrj 
/j.eyd\T]).'    And  Simon  is  said  to  have  been  speci- 
ally  struck  with  the  'signs  and  great  miracles' 
wrought  by  Philip  (v.13).     Now,  in  the  Simonian 
system,  Simon  is  said  to  have  taught  that  he  was 
the  highest  God,  ryv  iiirtp  iriivTa  5vva/j.u>.     He  called 
himself  6  eorws,  6  ords,  6  ffr-riff6fj.evos,  implying  his 
pre-existence  and  his  immortality. 

It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  if  the  two  Simons 
are  different,  the  3rd  cent.  Simon  taught  doctrines 
whose  elements  were  taught  by  the  earlier  Simon  ; 
also  that  both  were  distinguished  for  sorcery  and 
for  magical  powers. 

The  amalgam  of  paganism  and  Christianity 
which  was  characteristic  of  Gnosticism,  and  which 
was  specially  obvious  in  the  Simonian  system,  is 
readily  explicable  in  the  teaching  of  Simon  Magus, 
who,  according  to  the  story  in  Acts,  was  brought 
into  intimate  contact  with  Christian  teaching 
without  becoming  a  genuine  believer. 

(3)  Is  it  not  possible  to  find  a  mediating  theory? 
First  of  all,  we  must  think  of  the  Simon  of  Acts 


SIMOX  MAGUS 


SIMON  MAGUS 


497 


as  a  convert  whose  conversion  was  sincere  as 
far  as  it  went,  but  was  very  superficial.  He  is 
not  represented  as  resenting  Peter's  rebuke.  It 
abashed  him,  and  made  him  penitent  to  the  extent 
of  asking  humbly  for  the  Apostle's  prayers.  There 
is  no  contest  between  Simon  and  Peter  in  Acts. 
But  is  it  not  likely  that,  when  Simon  was  brought 
face  to  face  with  the  deeper  meanings  of  Christian- 
ity, he  failed  to  respond?  Instead  of  advancing 
in  Christian  knowledge,  he  seceded  from  a  com- 
munity with  which  his  connexion  had  been  anoma- 
lous. This  view  is  put  forward  also  by  W.  M. 
Ramsay  in  Exp,  8th  ser.,  v.  348.  Discussing  the 
term  '  believe,'  he  writes,  'The  example  of  Simon 
Magus  seems  conclusive.  Simon  believed  (Acts 
viii.  13),  and  was  baptized.  Yet  it  is  hard  to  sup- 
pose that  he  became  in  the  final  sense  a  Christian, 
although  for  the  time  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Church.  The  language  of  Luke,  on  the  whole, 
suggests  the  opposite.  Simon,  it  is  true,  after 
baptism,  "continued  with  Philip;  and  beholding 
signs  and  great  wonders  wrought,  he  was  amazed" 
(f£i<T7-aro).  Yet  no  word  is  said  to  mitigate  the 
filial  condemnation  pronounced  on  him  by  Peter  : 
"  thou  hast  neither  part  nor  lot  in  this  matter  ;  for 
thy  heart  is  not  right."  He  is  described,  not  as 
repenting,  but  only  as  asking  in  fear  of  the  future 
that  Peter  should  pray  for  him. 

It  seems  beyond  question  that  Luke  knew  the 
reputation  which  Simon  acquired,  and  that  he  re- 
garded the  subsequent  history  of  Simon  as  the 
natural  result  of  what  occurred  at  the  beginning 
of  his  connexion  with  the  Christians.' 

But  it  need  not  be  supposed  that  when  Simon 
broke  with  the  Christians  he  renounced  all  he  had 
learned.  It  is  more  probable  that  he  carried  some 
of  the  Christian  ideas  with  him  and  that  he  wove 
these  into  a  system  of  his  own.  This  system  did 
contain  some  of  the  germs  of  later  Gnosticism. 
Thus  he  became  the  leader  of  a  retrograde  sect, 
perhaps  nominally  Christian  and  certainly  using 
some  of  the  Christian  terminology,  but  in  reality 
anti-Christian  and  exalting  Simon  himself  to  the 
central  position  which  Christianity  was  giving  to 
Jesus  Christ.  The  separation  between  Simon  and 
the  Christians  would  probably  be  widened  by  the 
departure  of  Philip  soon  after  the  apostles  left 
Samaria.  Philip  had  been  the  agent  of  the  Chris- 
tian movement,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  on  his 
withdrawal  many  Samaritans  might  easily  fall 
again  under  the  spell  of  Simon,  especially  if  he 
were  offering  himself  as  a  Christian  leader. 

Now  if  Simon  was  a  pervert  who  originated  an 
apostate  sect  —  an  anti-Christian  sect,  though  a 
sect  claiming  Christian  connexion — is  it  not  com- 
prehensible that  two  results  happened  ?  (a)  Simon 
became  the  arch-heretic  in  the  eyes  of  the  Chris- 
tians, and  tradition  was  sure  to  be  busy  with  his 
name,  (b)  The  sect  he  founded  became  absorbed 
in  later  Gnosticism,  but  also  contributed  some- 
thing to  it.  Gnosticism  did  not  enter  the  2nd  cent, 
fully  grown.  A.  C.  Headlam  (art.  '  Gnosticism '  in 
HDB  ii.  188}  remarks  that  '  the  developed  Gnostic 
heresies  of  the  2nd  cent,  presuppose  the  NT,' 
and  that  '  the  embryo  Gnosticism  of  the  NT  takes 
its  proper  place  in  the  history  of  religious  de- 
velopment.'* May  not  Simon  have  been  one  of 
the  forerunners  of  Gnosticism ;  not,  perhaps,  its 
father,  as  tradition  has  supposed,  but  one  source 
of  some  of  its  ramifications?  A.  C.  McGiffert 
refers  to  this :  '  His  effort  to  rival  and  surpass 
Jesus  very  likely  began  after  his  contact  with 
the  Christians  which  Luke  records.  His  religious 
system  was  apparently  a  syncretism  of  Jewish 
and  Oriental  elements,  and  resembled  very  closely 
some  forms  of  second  century  Gnosticism,  if  it 
did  not  indeed  give  rise  to  them  '  (A  History  of 
*  Cf.  Vernon  Bartlet,  in  Exp,  8th  ser.,  v.  32,  33. 
VOL.  II. — 32 


Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  pp.  99-100). 
Without  ascribing  to  Simon  such  prominence  as  is 
demanded  by  tradition,  it  is  permissible  to  believe 
that  he  gave  his  name  to  a  sect  which  became 
Gnostic  but  which  retained  a  historical  connexion 
with  him,  though  its  doctrines  were  modified 
largely  in  process  of  time. 

In  such  circumstances  we  may  find  a  historical 
basis  for  much  of  the  Simonian  tradition,  whilst 
recognizing  that  tradition  had  been  busy  embellish- 
ing the  story  of  Simon  even  long  before  the  time 
of  Justin  Martyr.  It  may  be  assumed  that  he 
was  born  in  the  Samaritan  village  of  Gitta  ;  that 
he  was  a  man  of  unusual  attainments  ;  that  he 
received  some  training  in  Alexandrian  philosophy  ; 
that  he  startled  Samaria  with  his  powers  ;  that 
he  was,  for  a  time,  nominally  a  Christian,  but 
that  he  broke  away  from  the  Christian  Church  ; 
that  his  knowledge  of  Christian  truth  was  very 
shallow,  and  that  he  carried  some  Christian  ideas 
over  with  him,  but  in  confusion  ;  and  that  his 
subsequent  teaching  was  an  amalgam  of  this 
crude  Christian  precipitate  with  Alexandrian 
speculation  and  with  magic.  It  is  probable  that 
he  travelled,  preaching  his  new  doctrines,  practising 
his  magical  arts,  and  winning  for  himself  and  for 
his  teaching  something  of  the  devotion  with  which 
he  was  regarded  in  Samaria.  Whether  he  ever 
exhibited  his  skill  in  Rome,  we  have  no  means  of 
determining ;  but  at  all  events  he  was  brought  to 
Rome  by  popular  legend  and  was  represented  as 
winning  an  extraordinary  success  in  the  Imperial 
city.  His  disciples  became  a  sect  which  bore  his 
name  and  which  persisted  long  after  the  death  of 
the  original  members.  Simon's  teaching  contained 
some  of  the  germs  of  2nd  cent.  Gnosticism,  which 
it  may  have  done  something  to  evolve  and  with 
which  the  Simonian  sect  became  impregnated, 
though  it  still  retained  many  of  its  early  magico- 
Christian  elements.  Beyond  this  it  seems  im- 
possible to  go.  What  was  actually  taught  by 
Simon  cannot  now  be  distinguished^  from  what 
was  taught  by  his  followers.  The  story  of  Helena 
may  be  a  Simonian  doctrine  rather  than  a  fact. 
It  cannot  be  said  whether  Simon  Magus  and  Simon 
Peter  ever  met  again  after  their  encounter  in 
Samaria ;  the  record  of  their  conflict  is  probably 
the  romance  which  tradition  has  woven  round  the 
name  of  one  who  was  known  to  have  been  a  Chris- 
tian once  but  was  rebuked  by  Peter  for  his  ignor- 
ance of  Christian  truth  and  who  became  subse- 
quently an  apostate. 

(4)  Coming  back  to  the  story  in  Ac  8,  there 
seems  no  reason  for  doubting  its  essential  accuracy 
(see  4  (6)  (2)). 

(i.)  Luke's  account  looks  like  history.  There  is 
no  embellishment  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
Christian  romancer.  The  story  does  not  dilate 
upon  the  remarkable  conversion,  and  it  leaves 
Simon  directly  the  purpose  of  the  reference  to 
him  is  fulfilled.  The  plain  record  is  not  em- 
broidered ;  moreover,  there  is  an  almost  tantalizing 
brevity,  as  in  several  of  Luke's  stories,  which 
belong  to  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church  and 
were  not  written  to  satisfy  curiosity. 

(ii.)  This  does  not  deny  that  the  story  may  be 
coloured  somewhat  by  being  seen  through  the 
haze  of  a  considerable  interval.  Luke  was  writing 
about  events  of  which  he  knew  nothing  at  first 
hand.  Perhaps  he  had  met  the  Simonian  sect 
outside  Palestine,  and  there  may  have  been  al- 
ready some  magnifying  of  Simon's  success  in 
Samaria  or  some  depreciation  of  his  motives  in 
Christian  circles.  At  the  same  time,  this  '  im- 
pressionist' account  of  the  incident  would  not 
justify  such  a  criticism,  e.g.,  as  that  of  McGiffert : 
'  Luke's  account  of  Simon's  dealings  with  the 
apostles  can  hardly  be  accurate  in  all  the  details, 


498 


SIMON  MAGUS 


SIN 


for  it  rests  upon  the  assumption  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  given  by  the  laying  on  of  the  apostles' 
hands'  (op.  cit.,  p.  100 n.).  All  that  the  account 
suggests  is  that  in  this  case  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  connected  with  the  laying  on  of  hands 
— a  suggestion  quite  in  harmony  with  the  general 
tenor  of  Acts. 

(iii. )  Why  did  Luke  insert  the  story  ?  Salmon's 
laconic  comment  is,  '  we  need  not  ascribe  to  Luke 
any  more  recondite  motive  for  relating  the  inci- 
dent, than  that  he  believed  that  it  had  occurred' 
(op.  cit.,  p.  668).  This  answers  the  charge  that 
the  incident  is  unhistorical.  But  it  fails  to  take 
into  account  the  modern  estimate  of  Luke's 
methods  as  a  historian.  Two  motives  may  be 
suggested. 

(a)  Is    not    a    sufficient    reason    Luke's    well- 
known   plan  of  describing  the   first   meeting  be- 
tween   Christianity  and    rival    systems?    In   Ac 
136"12  there  is  a  careful  account  of  the  meeting 
between    Paul    the    Christian    and    Elymas    the 
sorcerer  ;  1616"19  tells  of  the  maid  having  the  spirit 
of  divination  whom  St.  Paul  delivered  ;  1716-3i  re- 
lates Paul's  first  argument  with   the   Stoic  and 
Epicurean  philosophers  in  Athens  ;  1918-'20  describes 
Paul's  success  in  conflict  with  the  pagan  dabblers 
in  the  black  art.     Does  not  Ac  89'24  tell  the  story 
of  the  earliest  meeting  between  Christianity  and 
a  rival  system?    Simon  Magus  represented  the 
magic  of  that  time.     When  the  gospel  was  brought 
to   Samaria,  thus  making  its  first  essay  on  non- 
Jewish  soil,  it  was  discovered  to  be  mightier  than 
the  magic  which  exercised  such  a  powerful  influ- 
ence over  ihz  contemporary  world.     It  was  a  not- 
able triumph  for  the  young  Christian  faith  that, 
on   the   first  trial   of  strength   with   the   world's 
magic,  the  gospel  not  only  lured    the  multitudes 
from  the  magician  but  even  won  the  admiration 
of  the  magician  himself,  and  at  least  his  temporary 
adherence. 

(b)  If  we  may  accept  the  existence  in  Luke's 
time  of  a  Simonian  sect  owing  anything  to  this 
Simon  Magus,  would  not  another  motive  urge  Luke 
to  tell  the  story  ?    Evidently  the  Simonian  heresy 
always  had  a  Christian  tinge.     This  made  it  more 
dangerous  to  Christians  than  a  gnosis  which  did 
not  affect  any  Christian  influence.     Luke  there- 
fore would  be  anxious  to  disclose  the  true  circum- 
stances that  accounted  for  the  origin  of  the  sect — 
circumstances  highly  discreditable   to  Simon.     If 
the  story  in  Acts  tells  exactly  what  happened,  it 
was  natural  for  the  Church  historian  to  relate  it  in 
order  to  guard  Christians  against  Simonian  errors, 
and  to  warn  members  of  the  sect  against  the  mis- 
take they  were  making  in  following  such  a  leader 
as  Simon  instead  of  accepting  the  orthodox  Chris- 
tian faith. 

It  only  remains  to  add  that  the  influence  of 
Simon  Magus  lingers  in  two  directions.  (1)  The 
practice  of  presenting  any  person  to  an  ecclesiastical 
benefice  for  money,  gift,  or  reward  is  an  offence 
against  the  law  of  the  Church,  known  as  'simony.' 
An  example  of  the  offence  occurs  as  early  as  the 
3rd  century.  It  was  prohibited  by  many  Councils, 
but  it  became  well  rooted  in  the  mediaeval  Church. 
Dante  refers  to  it  (Inferno,  xix.  1). 

(2)  'Doctor  Faustus'  of  popular  literature  pre- 
serves several  traits  of  the  ancient  magian.  The 
story  is  reminiscent  of  the  Simonian  legend  in 
several  points.  In  Simon  Magus  himself  there  may 
be  a  suggestion  of  Mephistopheles. 

LITERATURE. — The  three  most  complete  articles  on  Simon 
Majfus  in  Enirlish  are  in  HDB  (A.  C.  Headlam),  in  DOB  (G. 
Salmon),  in  £B;-H(St.  George  Stock).  A.  Harnack's  art.  in 
EBr®  should  also  be  consulted.  See  also  F.  H.  Chase,  art. 
'  Peter  (Simon)'  in  HDB,  esp.  pp.  773-775  for  account  of  Gnostic 
Acts  of  the  Clementine  literature,  and  pp.  777-779  for  discus- 
sion of  Peter's  visit  to  Home  and  the  Simonian  legend.  P.  W. 
Schmiedel,  art.  'Simon  Magus'  in  EBi,  gives  the  modern  modi- 


fled  form  of  the  Tiibingen  theory.  There  is  a  brief  summing  up 
of  several  of  the  questions  involved  in  note  on  Ac89  by  R.  J. 
Knowling-  in  EGT,  '  Acts,'  London,  1900.  J.  B.  Lightfoot 
discusses  the  Ebionite  and  anti- Pauline  spirit  of  the  Clementine 
literature  in  his  essa3'  on  '  St.  Paul  and  the  Three"  appended  to 
St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  GalatiansV,  London,  1887,  pp.  324-330  ; 
see  also  p.  61 ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  Bearing  of  Recent  Discovery  on 
the  Trustworthiness  of  the  NT,  London,  1915. 

J.  E.  ROBERTS. 
SIMON  PETER.— See  PETER. 

SIMPLICITY  (lit.  'one-foldedness').— (a)  In  Ho 
1618  the  term  '  simple '  is  used  in  the  AV  to  trans- 
late &KO.KOS.  False  teachers  by  smooth  and  fair 
speech  beguile  the  hearts  of  the  'simple.'  These 
are  inexperienced  Christians,  unfamiliar  with  the 
duplicity  of  guile,  d/caxos  in  He  726  is  used  in  the 
purely  good  sense  of  '  guileless,'  and  is  applied  to 
Jesus,  but  here  the  word  seems  to  be  used  in  a 
slightly  derogatory  sense — so  ignorant  of  evil  as 
to  be  easily  deceived  by  evil. 

(b)  In  Ro  1619  the  word  'simple,'  translating d/cfycuos 
(lit.   'free  from  foreign  admixture,' as,  e.g.,  wine 
unmingled  with  water,  unalloyed  metal),  has  no 
such  derogatory  significance.     St.  Paul  would  have 
his  readers  innocent  without  .being  ignorant;  dis- 
cerning the  wiles  of  Satan,  yet  without  sin-craft : 
in  wisdom  many-sided — in  aim  and  affection  single- 
minded  (cf.  1  Co  1420,  '  Be  not  children  in  mind : 
howbeit  in  malice,  be  ye  babes'). 

(c)  In  1  P  22  SSoXos  is  used  in  the  sense  of  '  simple,' 
'  unadulterated '  :  '  Desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the 
word'  (AV:  the  word  'sincere'  being  used  in  its 
early  English   sense  of   '  unmixed ').     See   R.    C. 
Trench,  Synonyms  of  the  NT6,  London,  1876,  p.  Ivi. 

(d)  'Simplicity '  is  given  as  the  AV  translation 
of  dTrXoY??*  in  Ro  128 :  '  He  that  giveth,  let  him  do 
it  with  simplicity.'    The  Greek  word  indicates  one- 
foldedness  ;  in  regard  to  giving,  the  term  suggests 
that  there  is  no  two-sidedness  in  the  act,  that  the 
impulse  to  help  is  not  checked  by  a  spirit  of  grudg- 
ing selfishness.     Thus  the  sense    of    'liberality' 
became  attached  to  the  word,  and  so  it  is  trans- 
lated in  the  RV  of  this  passage  (cf.  2  Co  82  [AV 
and  RV]  9U- 1S,  Ja  1B). 

In  2  Co  11s  St.  Paul  fears  lest  the  church  at 
Corinth,  like  tempted  Eve,  'should  be  corrupted 
from  the  simplicity  (both  AV  and  RV)  that  is 
toward  Christ.'  The  noun  ((brAcV^s)  would  be 
better  translated  here  '  singleness  of  heart,'  as  in 
AV  and  RV  of  Eph  6s  and  Col  322  ('Obey  your 
masters  in  singleness  of  heart,'  i.e.  in  contrast  to 
the  double-dealing  of  eye-service).  In  Ac  246  ( '  They' 
— i.e.  the  members  of  the  primitive  Church — 'did 
take  their  food  with  gladness  and  singleness  of 
heart ')  the  same  idea  is  expressed  by  another 
phrase  —  d0eX6Ti?n  KapSias — the  figure  suggested 
being  that  of  a  field  clear  of  stony  ground  (d  + 
<t>e\\fts).  The  AV  tr.  'simplicity'  of  2  Co  lu 
rests  on  an  inferior  reading — a.ir\6rrjTi  for  ayidrijTi. 

H.  BULCOCK. 

SIN. — '  Sin'  is  a  term  which  belongs  to  religion. 
Moral  evil  as  an  injury  done  by  man  to  himself  is 
vice,  as  an  offence  against  human  society  crime, 
but  as  affecting  his  relation  to  God  sin.  But  even 
here  we  may  distinguish  a  more  distinctively 
religious  from  the  more  general  moral  sense.  It 
is  distrust  of  the  goodness  and  grace  of  God  as' 
well  as  disobedience  to  the  law  of  God  as  the 
standard  of  moral  obligation.  To  be  forgetful  of 
God  in  one's  thoughts,  to  be  neglectful  of  piety  and 
worship  towards  God,  is  as  much  sin  as  to  dis- 
regard and  defy  God's  commandments.  It  is 
sometimes  insisted  in  writings  of  to-day,  such  as 
Tennant's  (see  Literature),  that  sin  must  be  con- 
scious and  voluntary  distrust  and  disobedience ; 
but  it  will  appear  that  in  the  Scriptures  the 
emphasis  on  the  subjective  consciousness  is  second- 
ary. Sin  includes  departure  from,  or  failure  to 


SIN 


SIN 


499 


reach,  the  standard  of  religious  and  moral  obliga- 
tion for  man  determined  by  the  nature  and  purpose 
of  God ;  the  stress  falls  more  on  the  objective 
reality — the  difference  between  what  man  is  and 
what  he  should  be,  God  being  what  He  is.  While 
it  might  be  convenient  to  restrict  the  term  '  sin '  to 
conscious,  voluntary  acts,  yet  the  wider  usage  is 
too  deeply  rooted  in  religious  thought  to  be  easily 
displaced.  It  must  be  insisted,  however,  that 
moral  accountability,  personal  blameworthiness, 
attaches  to  the  conscious  and  voluntary  acts  alone, 
even  although,  as  regards  the  consequences  of  evil, 
human  solidarity  is  such  that  the  innocent  may 
suffer  with  the  guilty. 

The  term  '  guilt '  is  one  that  requires  careful 
definition.  It  is  not  punishment ;  for  punishment 
consists  of  all  the  evil  consequences  of  sin,  which 
the  sinner  in  his  sense  of  having  sinned  regards  as 
resulting  from  a  violated  moral  law,  or  more  per- 
sonally as  the  evidences  of  the  Divine  displeasure. 
This  subjective  consciousness  is  not,  however, 
illusory,  as  it  does  correspond  with  and  respond 
to  a  moral  order  and  a  personal  will  opposed  to 
sin,  which  are  an  objective  reality.  Guilt  is  the 
liability  to  punishment,  the  sinner  by  his  act 
placing  himself  in  such  a  relation  to  the  moral 
order  and  the  personal  will  of  God  as  to  expose 
him  to  the  evil  consequences  included  in  his 
punishment.  Here  again  our  modern  thought 
with  its  refinements  makes  distinctions  which  the 
Scriptures  for  the  most  part  ignore.  Can  we 
separate,  or  must  we  identify,  guilt  and  sense  of 
guilt?  Is  there  an  objective  fact  and  a  subjective 
feeling?  If  sin  is  confined  strictly  to  conscious 
and  voluntary  acts,  then  guilt,  it  would  seem, 
must  be  measured  by  the  sense  of  guilt,  the  blame- 
worthiness  or  evil  desert  that  the  conscience  of  the 
sinner  assigns  to  him.  If  this  were  so,  then  the 
worse  a  man  became,  the  less  guilty  he  would  be  ; 
for  it  is  a  sign  of  moral  deterioration  to  lose  the 
sense  of  shame  in  wrongdoing. 

The  Scripture  approach — and  surely  this  is  the 
properly  religious  approach — to  the  question  is 
from  the  side  of  God  rather  than  of  man.  A 
man's  guilt  is  measured,  not  by  his  shame  or  sor- 
row, but  by  God's  judgment :  his  relation  to  God 
as  affected  by  his  sin  is  determined,  not  by  his  own 
opinion  of  himself,  but  by  God's  view  of  him.  The 
Divine  judgment  will,  we  may  confidently  be- 
lieve, take  due  account  of  all  the  facts ;  the  de- 
parture from,  or  failure  to  reach,  the  Divine 
standard,  the  moral  possibility  of  each  man  as 
determined  by  his  heredity,  environment,  and  in- 
dividuality, and  his  own  moral  estimate  of  himself 
— all  will  be  included  in  God's  knowledge  of  him, 
and  so  his  guilt  will  be  determined,  not  by  an  un- 
erring wisdom  and  an  unfailing  righteousness  only, 
but  also  by  an  unexhausted  love.  Thus  a  man's 
sense  of  guilt  is  not  the  measure  of  his  guilt :  for 
the  more  callous  he  is  morally,  the  worse  must  his 
moral  condition  appear  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  and 
the  more  sensitive  he  is,  the  better  must  he  appear 
to  God.  In  the  measure  in  which  a  man  judges  him- 
self in  penitence  will  he  not  be  judged  guilty  by  God. 

Further,  in  his  subjective  consciousness  a  man 
tends  to  separate  himself,  both  in  his  merits  and  in 
his  defects,  from  his  fellow-men  ;  but  in  objective 
reality  men  are  so  closely  related  to  one  another 
as  to  be  involved  in  moral  responsibility  for  one 
another.  Saints  as  a  whole  must  bear  the  blame  for 
many  of  the  conditions  which  make  the  criminal  ; 
and  the  saint  will  bear  in  his  heart  as  a  personal 
sorrow  and  shame  the  sins  of  his  fellow-men. 
In  God's  view  also  the  individual  does  not  stand 
isolated  ;  but  the  race  is  a  unity,  one  in  its  guilt, 
yet  also  one  for  God's  grace.  While,  when  neces- 
sary, we  must  insist  on  individual  liberty  and 
personal  responsibility,  we  must  not  ignore  the 


complementary  truth  of  racial  solidarity.  The 
Scripture  point  of  view  is  predominantly,  if  not 
exclusively,  universal  objectivity  and  not  individual 
subjectivity  ;  arid  iinless  we  recognize  this  we  shall 
fail  to  understand  the  apostolic  teaching. 

1.  St.  Paul's  teaching.— As  the  DCG  deals  with 
the  teaching  of  Jesus,  we  are  here  strictly  confined 
to  the  apostolic  teaching  ;  and  we  must  obviously 
begin  with  St.  Paul. 

(a)  The  universality  of  sin. — St.  Paul's  view  is 
the  distinctively  religious  view.     Men,  dependent 
upon  God,  and  capable  of  knowing  God,  'glorified 
him  not  as   God,   neither  gave   thanks,'  but  dis- 
honoured God  in  their  conception  of  Him,  and  in 
their  worship  (Ro   I21) ;  their  moral  deterioration 
followed   religious  perversion  (vv.24- m).     Even   in 
the  Gentiles  this  involved  guilt,  for  the  sin  was 
conscious  and  voluntary,  as  a  disregard  and  de- 
fiance of  a  law  written  in  their  hearts  (I28-32  214'16). 
Not  less  guilty  was  the  Jew  who  failed  to  keep 
the  Law  of  the  possession  of  which  he  made  his 
boast   (223).     By   such   a  historical  induction   St. 
Paul  establishes  his  thesis  of  the  universality  of 
sin  and  consequent  guilt,  and  confirms  it  from  the 
Scriptures,  the  aim  of  which  is  to  bring  to  all  men 
the  sense  of  guilt,    '  that   every   mouth   may  be 
stopped,  and  all  the  world  may  be  brought  under 
the  judgement  of  God  '  (319)  ;  '  the  wrath  of  God  is 
revealed  from  heaven  against  all  ungodliness  and 
unrighteousness  of  men,  who  hold  down  the  truth 
in  unrighteousness '  (I18).     This  thesis  is  advanced, 
not  for  its  own  sake,  however,  but  to  show  the 
need  of  as  universal  a  salvation  offered  to  man- 
kind in  Christ. 

The  validity  of  St.  Paul's  conclusion  here  is  not  affected  by 
the  correctness  or  otherwise  of  the  explanation  which  he  offers 
of  the  origin  of  idolatry  and  the  immorality  consequent  on 
it.  First,  we  must  recognize  the  Hebraic  mode  of  speech,  which 
represents  as  direct  Divine  judgment  what  we  should  regard 
as  inevitable  moral  consequence  ;  and,  secondly,  we  must  to-day 
regard  polytheism  and  the  accompanying  idolatry  as  seemingly 
inevitable  stages  in  the  development  of  the  religious  conscious- 
ness of  the  Divine.  We  may  admit,  however,  that  idolatry  as 
St.  Paul  knew  it  in  the  Roman  Empire  was  closely  associated 
with  immorality ;  and  tbat  Greek  and  Roman  mythology  was 
likely  to  have  an  adverse  moral  influence,  as  Plato  in  the  Re- 
public recognized. 

In  affirming  that  sin  involves  guilt,  exposes  man 
to  the  Divine  judgment,  St.  Paul  was  echoing  the 
teaching  not  only  of  the  OT  and  of  Jesus  Himself 
(Mt  11222337.39)  but  of  the  universal  human  con- 
science, confirmed  by  the  course  of  human  history. 
There  is  a  moral  order  in  man  and  the  world  con- 
demning and  executing  sentence  on  sin  ;  and,  if 
God  be  personally  immanent  in  the  world,  we 
cannot  distinguish  that  moral  order  from  the  mind 
and  will  of  God.  And,  if  God  be  personal,  He 
feels  as  well  as  thinks  and  wills  ;  and  so  we  cannot 
altogether  exclude  an  emotional  reaction  of  God 
against  sin.  St.  Paul's  term  'the  wrath  of  God' 
may  be  allowed  its  full  significance  so  long  as  we 
exclude  any  passion  inconsistent  with  holy  love. 
Thus  we  are  here  dealing,  not  with  an  outgrown 
superstition,  but  with  a  permanent  moral  and 
spiritual  reality — man's  sin  and  God's  judgment, 
man's  need  and  God's  offer  of  salvation. 

(b)  The  development  of  sin. — From  the  universal 
fact  we  may  turn  to  the  individual  feeling  of  sin. 
St.  Paul  was  not  merely  generalizing  his  individual 
experience  in  his  proof  of  the  universality  of  sin, 
but   it  is  certain   that  his  individual  experience 
gave    emphasis    to    his   statement.      The    classic 
passage  is  Ro  T7"28,  which  the  present  writer  must 
regard  as  an  account  of  St.  Paul's  own  individual 
experience,  before  the  grace  of  Christ  brought  him 
deliverance  ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  desires 
us  to  regard  his  individual  experience  as  in  greater 
or  lesser  degree  common   to  all  men.     Sin  is   a 
power  dwelling  in  man,  which  may  for  a  time  be 
latent,  but  which  is  provoked  into  exercise  by  the 


500 


SIN 


SIN 


Law.  The  knowledge  of  the  prohibition  stimu- 
lates, and  does  not  restrain,  the  opposition  of  sin 
to  law  ;  as  the  common  proverb  says,  '  Forbidden 
fruit  is  sweet.'  While  the  mind  knows,  approves, 
and  delights  in  the  law  of  God  as  holy,  righteous, 
and  good,  the  flesh  is  the  seat  and  vehicle  of  sin. 
The  'law  in  the  members'  is  opposed  to,  resists 
and  conquers,  the  '  law  in  the  mind,'  and  so  the 
man  is  brought  into  bondage,  doing  what  he  con- 
demns, unable  to  do  what  he  approves.  This 
passage  raises  three  questions  which  must  briefly 
be  answered. 

(1)  Sin   as  a  power.  — For  St.   Paul    here    as 
throughout  chapters  5.  6.  7  sin  is  personified  as  dis- 
tinct from  the  animal  appetites,  the  physical  im- 
pulses, and  even  the  human  will  itself  as  dwelling 
in  men  and  bringing  men  into  bondage.     It  enters 
into   the   heart  (717<  2U),  works  on  man,  using  the 
Law  itself  for  its  ends  (vv.8-  u),  and  enslaves  him 
(68. 17.  20).     in  Christ  he  is  freed  from  sin  (vv.18-  22) 
and  dies  to  it  (vv.9>  n).     As  freed  from  and  dead  to 
sin,  the  Christian  is  not  to  put  his  members  at  the 
service  of  sin  (v.13),  and  must  not  allow  it  to  reign 
over  him  in  his  body  (v.12).     Is  this  only  personi- 
fication, or  does  St.  Paul  regard  sin  as  a  personal 
agent  ?    As  a  Jew  he  believed  in  Satan  and  a  host 
of  evil   spirits  ;  and   probably,  if  pressed  to  ex- 
plain the  power  of  sin,  he  would  have  appealed  to 
this   personal   agency;   but  we  must  not  assume 
that  when   he  thus  speaks  of  sin  he  is  always 
thinking  of  Satan.     Sin  is  for  him   an  objective 
reality  without  being  always  identified  with  Satan 
(see  Sanday-Headlam,  ICC,  'Romans,'  p.    145  f.). 
For  us  the  personification  is  suggestive  in   so  far 
as  we   must   recognize   that   in   customs,  beliefs, 
rites,    institutions,    in  human  society  generally, 
there  is  an  influence  for  evil  that  hurtfully  affects 
the    individual  —  what    Ritschl    has    called    the 
Kingdom  of  sin  as  opposed  to  the   Kingdom  of 
God.     '  The  subject  of  sin,  rather,  is  humanity  as 
the  sum  of  all  individuals,  in  so  far  as  the  selfish 
action  of  each  person,  involving  him  as  it  does  in 
illimitable  interaction  with  all  others,  is  directed 
in  any  degree  whatsoever  towards  the  opposite  of 
the  good,  and  leads  to  the  association  of  individuals 
in  common  evil '  (Justification  and  Reconciliation, 
Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1900,  p.  335). 

(2)  The  flesh  as  the  seat  and  vehicle  of  sin. — As 
there  is  in  this  Dictionary  a  separate  article  FLESH, 
the   subject  cannot    here   be    fully  discussed :    a 
summary  statement  must  suffice.     The  flesh  is  not 
identical    with    the    body,    animal    appetite,    or 
sensuous  impulse ;  it  is  man's  whole  nature,  in  so 
far  as  he  disowns  his  dependence  on  God,  opposes 
his  will  to  God,  and  resists  the  influence  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.     It  is  man  in  the  aspect,  not  merely 
of  creatureliness,  but  of  wilfulness  and   godless- 
ness.     It  is  as  corrupted  and  perverted  by  sin  that 
human  nature  lends  itself  as  a  channel  to  and  an 
instrument  of    sin  as  a  power  dwelling  in  and 
ruling  over  man. 

(3)  The  relation  of  the  Law  to  sin. — The  Law 
reveals  sin,  because  it  shows  the  opposition  be- 
tween the  will  of  God  and  the  wishes  of  man 
(Ro  320  ?7).  The  Law  provokes  rather  than  re- 
strains sin  (78-  9  ;  cf.  1  Co  1556) :  the  commandment 
is  like  a  challenge,  which  sin  at  once  accepts. 
This  St.  Paul  represents  not  only  as  the  human 
result,  but  as  the  Divine  intention  (Ro  520,  Gal  319), 
in  order  that  a  full  exposure  might  be  made  of  what 
sin  in  its  very  nature  is  (Ro  713),  so  that  men  might 
be  made  fully  aware  of  their  need  of  deliverance 
from  it  (II32).  The  Law  fails  to  restrain,  because 
of  its  inherent  impotence  (rb  yap  adwarov  rov  V&/JLOV, 
Ro  S3),  as  letter  and  not  spirit  (2  Co  38),  as  written 
on  tables  of  stone  and  not  on  tables  that  are  hearts 
of  flesh  (v.s  ;  cf.  Jer  3133).  Thus  sin  as  a  power, 
finding  its  seat  and  vehicle  in  the  flesh,  not  re- 


strained but  provoked  by  the  law  in  the  individual, 
brings  a  bondage  from  which  the  gospel  offers 
deliverance,  even  as  it  sets  a  universal  grace  of 
God  over  against  the  universal  sin  of  mankind. 

(c)  The  origin  of  sin. — What  explanation  can  be 
offered  of  the  fact  of  the  universality  of  sin  ?  How 
has  man's  nature  become  so  corrupted  and  per- 
verted as  to  be  described  by  the  term  '  flesh ' ! 
How  can  sin  be  represented  as  a  power  dwelling  in, 
ruling  over,  man,  and  bringing  him  into  bondage  ? 
While  St.  Paul  does  not  in  Ro  512-  21  formally  offer 
this  explanation,  the  passage  being  introduced  into 
the  argument  for.  another  purpose — to  prove  the 
greater  efficacy  of  grace  than  of  sin,  by  as  much  as 
Christ  is  greater  than  Adam — yet,  as  he  is  there 
dealing  with  his  view  of  the  introduction  of  sin 
into  the  world,  we  must  regard  that  passage  as  his 
explanation  both  of  sin  as  a  power  in  humanity 
and  of  the  flesh  ;  for  it  is  not  likely  that  he  would 
leave  sin  in  the  race  and  sin  in'  the  individual 
unconnected.  In  the  art.  FALL  the  subject  has 
already  been  discussed ;  here  only  the  considera- 
tions bearing  immediately  on  the  subject  of  sin 
need  be  mentioned.  The  relation  of  the  race  to 
Adam  may  be.  conceived  as  two-fold  :  (1)  a  partici- 
pation in  guilt ;  (2)  an  inheritance  of  a  sinful  dis- 
position. 

(1)  Participation  in  guilt.  —  St.   Paul  teaches 
that  all  men  are  involved  in  the  penalty  of  Adam's 
transgression,   for   'death  passed  unto  all    men' 
(v.12),  but  he  does  not  teach  that  all  men  are. held 
guilty  of  Adam's  transgression ;  for  (a)  by  a  sur- 
prising change  of  construction  and  discontinuity 
of  thought  he  affirms  as  the  reason  for  the  univer- 
sality of  death  the  actual  transgression  of  all  men 
'for   that  all  sinned,'  and  (6)  he  guards  himself 
against  the  charge  of  imputing  £uilt  when  there 
is  no  conscious  and   voluntary  transgression,  by 
affirming  that  '  sin  is  not  imputed  when  there  is 
no  law '  (v.13). 

As  regards  (a),  the  clause  4<p  v  ^fores  tfnaprov 
cannot  mean  that  all  sinned  in  Adam  ('omnes 
peccarunt,  Adamo  peccante,'  Bengel),  either  as 
the  physical  source  or  as  the  moral  representa- 
tive of  the  race  ;  for  £$'  $  most  probably  means 
'  because.' 

As  regards  (6),  while  St.  Paul  affirms  that  guilt 
is  not  ascribed  unless  there  is  transgression  of  law, 
as  in  the  case  of  Adam,  yet  he  asserts  that  never- 
theless the  same  penalty  falls  on  all.  For  him, 
therefore,  penalty  may  be  racial,  while  guilt  must 
be  personal.  This  statement,  however,  is  qualified 
by  his  declaration  in  chs.  1  and  2  of  the  responsi- 
bility of  the  Gentiles  as  having  an  inward  law. 
Did  he  really  think  of  any  period  or  nation  as 
having  had  in  this  sense  no  law? 

(2)  Inheritance  of  a  sinful  disposition. — Unless 
the  analogy  with  Christ  is  incomplete,  there  must 
be,   however,   some    connexion    between    Adam's 
transgression  and  the  actual  sin  of  all  mankind. 
How  does  St.  Paul  conceive  that  connexion  ?    It 
has  usually  been  taken  for  granted  that  he  teaches 
that  by  Adam's  transgression  human  nature  was 
itself  infected,  and  that  from  him  there  descends 
to  all  men  a  sinful  disposition.     But  he  might  mean 
no  more  than  that  sin   as  an  alien  power  found 
entrance  into  the  race,  and  brought  each  individual 
under  its  dominion.     He  may  regard  social  rather 
than  physical  heredity  (to  apply  a  modern  distinc- 
tion)  as    the    channel  of    the    transmission    and 
diffusion  of  sin.     In  view,  however,  of  his  teaching 
about  the  '  flesh,'  it  is  more  probable  that  he  did 
regard  human  nature  as  corrupted  and  perverted  ; 
and,  in  the  absence  of  any  other  explanation,  we 
seem  warranted  in  assuming  that  he  did  connect 
this  fact  with  the  Fall.     We  must  beware,  how- 
ever, of  ascribing  to  him  such  definite  doctrines  as 
those  of  '  original  sin  '  and  '  total  depravity ' ;  for 


SIN 


SIN 


501 


later  thought  has  probably  read  into  his  words 
more  than  was  clearly  present  to  his  own  mind. 

It  cannot  be  shown  that  St.  Paul  regarded  all  men  as  involved 
in  Adam's  guilt,  either  because  of  their  physical  descent  from 
him  or  of  any  federal  relation  to  him,  even  although  all  men  are 
subject  to  the  penalty  of  death.  He  does  not  explain  how  there 
is  liability  to  the  penalty  without  culpability  for  the  offence ; 
but  he  does  regard  mankind  as  guilty  in  the  first  sense,  and  not 
guilty  (except  by  personal  transgression)  in  the  second  sense. 
Later  theology  blurred  this  distinction  in  teaching  '  original 
sin'  in  both  senses.  Nor  is  there  any  ground  for  holding  that 
he  ascribed  to  Adam  that  moral  endowment  which  this  theology 
assigned  to  him.  He  does  not,  as  is  sometimes  maintained, 
represent  Adam  himself  as  subject  to  the  flesh  in  the  same  way 
as  are  his  descendants  ;  for  1  Co  15-"  contrasts  not  the  unfalleh 
Adam  with  the  pre-existent  Christ,  but  the  fallen  Adam  with 
the  Risen  Christ ;  but  hedoes  emphasize  the  voluntary  character 
of  Adam's  act :  it  was  disobedience  (Ro  519).  Could  he  have 
assigned  to  it  the  moral  significance  he  does,  had  he  thought  of 
Adam  as  in  the  hopeless  and  helpless  bondage  described  in 
77-25?  This  passage,  however,  represents  that  bondage  not  as 
directly  inherited,  but  as  resulting  in  the  individual  from  a 
moral  development,  in  which  sin  uses  the  flesh  to  bring  it  about. 
Thus  he  does  not  teach  total  depravity  as  an  inheritance. 

(d)  The  penalty  of  sin.— St.  Paul  undoubtedly 
teaches  that  death  is  the  penalty  of  sin  (Ro  512). 
While  he  includes  physical  dissolution,  death  means 
more  for  him  (6*1-23) ;  it  has  a  moral  and  religious 
content;  it  is  judgment  and  doom  ;  it  is  invested 
with  dread  and   darkness  by   man's  sense  of  sin 
(1  Co  1566).     While  we  cannot  in  the  light  of  our 
modern  knowledge  regard  physical  dissolution,  as 
St.  Paul  regarded  it,  as  the  penalty  of  sin  (for  it 
appears  to  us  a  natural  necessity),  yet,  viewing 
death  in  its  totality,  as  he  did,  we  may  still  main- 
tain that  it  is  sjn  that  gives  it  the  character  of  an 
evil  to  be  dreaded.     The  connexion  between  death 
and  sin,  St.  Paul  affirms,  is  not  that  of  effect  and 
cause,  but  of  penalty  and  transgression  (Ro  514), 
or  wages  and  work  (G23);  for  he   thinks  not  of  a 
natural  sequence,  but  of  a  deserved  sentence  (25). 
He  approaches  our  modes  of  thought  more  closely, 
however,  in   the  analogy  of  sowing  and  reaping 
(Gal  6s ;  cf.  Ja  11B). 

(e)  The  deliverance  from  sin.— This  is  for  St. 
Paul  two-fold  :  it  is  an  annulling  of  the  guilt  and 
removal  of  the  penalty  of  sin,  as  well  as  a  destruc- 
tion  of  the  power  of  sin.     Sin  is  an   act  of  dis- 
obedience (Ro  519),  committed  against  God   (I21) 
and    His  Law  (320  77),   which   involves    personal 
responsibility  (I20),  ill  desert  (132),  and  the  Divine 
condemnation  (518-18).     This  condemnation  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  penalty  of  death,  which  is  not,  as 
we  have   just  seen,  a  natural  consequence,  but  a 
Divine  appointment,  an  expression  of  God's  wrath 
against  sin  (Ro  I18,  Eph  5s,  Col  36).     The  work  of 
Christ  as  an  act  of  obedience  (Ro  519)  reversed  this 
condemnation  (81),  and  reconciled   men  with  God 
(510,  2  Co  518- *>).     We  shall  miss  what  is  central  for 
St.  Paul  if  we  ignore  this  objective  atonement  of 
Christ  for  the  race,  and  confine  our  regard,  as  we 
tend  to-day  to  do,  to  the  subjective  influence  of 
Christ  in  destroying  sin's  power  in  the  individual. 

That  inward  change  St.  Paul  describes  as  dying 
to  sin,  being  buried  with  Christ  through  baptism 
into  death,  a  crucifixion  or  dying  with  Christ,  a  re- 
surrection and  living  with  Christ  (Ro  6N11,  Eph  21'10). 
By  this  he  does  not  mean  insensibility  to  temptation, 
or  cessation  from  struggle,  but  a  deliverance  from 
the  impotence  felt  in  bondage  to  sin,  and  a  con- 
fidence of  victory  through  Christ.  Nor  does  he 
mean  a  process  completed  in  man  by  Divine  power 
apart  from  his  effort ;  for  believers  are  to  reckon 
themselves  to  be  not  only  dead  unto  sin,  but  alive 
unto  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  But  they  are  not  to  let 
sin  reign  in  their  mortal  selves,  nor  are  they  to 
present  their  members  unto  sin  (Ro  611'13) ;  and 
they  are  to  mortify  by  the  spirit  the  deeds  of  the 
body  (813 ;  cf.  Col  3s).  Thus  St.  Paul  knows  from 
his  own  personal  experience  a  complete  remedy  for 
the  universal  fatal  disease  of  sin  ;  and  all  that  in 
his  letters  he  presents  regarding  this  subject  is 


presented  that  he  may  commend  the  gospel  to 
men,  as  the  sole,  sufficient,  Divine  provision  for 
the  universal  dominant  human  necessity. 

2.  St.  John's  teaching.— (a)  In  the  Fourth  Gospel 
sin  is  primarily  represented  as  unbelief,  the  rejec- 
tion of  Christ  (I11  16a),  aggravated  by  the  pretension 
of  knowledge  (941).  As  Christ  is  one  with  God, 
this  involves  hatred  of  the  Father  (15-4).  The 
choice  reveals  the  real  disposition  (3'9'21),  and  so 
justly  incurs  judgment.  Sin  is  a  slavery  (8s4). 
One  notable  contribution  to  the  doctrine  of  sin  is 
the  denial  of  the  invariable  connexion  of  sin  and 
suffering  (9s),  although  it  is  not  denied  (514)  that 
often  there  is  a  connexion. 

In  the  First  Epistle  sin  is  described  as  lawless- 
ness (34,  dvo/^la)  and  unrighteousness  (517,  dStda)  ; 
and,  as  love  is  the  supreme  cominandment,  hatred  is 
especially  condemned  (312).  Further,  as  righteous- 
ness is  identified  with  truth,  sin  is  equivalent  to 
falsehood  (222  420) ;  but  this  is  not  an  intellectualist 
view,  as  truth  has  a  moral  and  spiritual  content ; 
it  is  the  Divine  reality  revealed  to  men  in  Christ. 
On  the  one  hand,  Christ  is  Himself  sinless,  and  was 
manifested  to  take  away  sins  and  to  destroy  the 
works  of  the  Devil  (3s-  8) ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
believers  by  abiding  in  Him  are  kept  from  sin  (v.8), 
because  the  Evil  One  cannot  touch  them  (518). 

Hence  arises  what  has  been  called  the  paradox  of 
the  Epistle.  On  the  one  hand,  the  reality  of  the 
sinfulness  even  of  believers  is  insisted  on  ;  to  deny 
sin  fulness  is  self-deception,  and  even  charging  God 
with  falsehood  (I8- 10),  and  confession  is  the  condi- 
tion of  forgiveness  and  cleansing  (v.9).  On  the 
other  hand,  the  impossibility  of  believers  sinning  is 
asserted  ;  whoever  abides  in  Christ  cannot  sin  (36), 
the  begotten  of  God  cannot  sin  (v.9),  because  kept 
by  Christ  and  untouched  by  the  Evil  One  (518). 
The  explanation  is  that  each  of  these  declarations 
is  directed  against  a  different  form  of  error.  Of 
the  first  declaration  Westcott  says :  '  St.  John 
therefore  considers  the  three  false  views  which  man 
is  tempted  to  take  of  his  position.  He  may  deny 
the  reality  of  sin  (6,  7),  or  his  responsibility  for  sin 
(8,  9),  or  the  fact  of  sin  in  his  own  case  (10).  By 
doing  this  he  makes  fellowship  with  God,  as  He 
has  been  made  known,  impossible  for  himself.  On 
the  other  hand,  God  has  made  provision  for  the 
realisation  of  fellowship  between  Himself  and  man 
in  spite  of  sin  '  ( The  Epistles  of  St.  John,  1883,  p.  17). 
Regarding  the  second  declaration,  he  otters  this  ex- 
planation :  'True  fellowship  with  Christ,  Who  is 
absolutely  sinless,  is  necessarily  inconsistent  with 
siu  ;  and,  yet  further,  the  practice  of  sin  excludes 
the  reality  of  a  professed  knowledge  of  Christ' 
(ib.,p.  101).  What  the  Apostle  is  referring  to  is  not 
single  acts  of  sin,  due  to  human  weakness,  but  the 
deliberate  continuance  in  sin  on  the  assumption 
that  the  relation  to  God  is  not,  and  cannot  be, 
affected  thereb.y.  The  one  class  of  errorists  denied 
the  actuality  of  sin,  the  other  declared  that  even 
the  habit  of  sin  did  not  deprive  the  believer  of  the 
blessings  of  the  Christian  salvation. 

(b)  Another  contribution  to  the  doctrine  may  be 
found  in  the  conception  of  a  sin  unto  death  (516),  for 
which  intercession  is  not  forbidden,  and  yet  cannot 
be  urged.     The  reference  is  not  to  any  particular 
act,  but  rather  to  any  act  of  such  a  character  as  to 
separate  the  soul  from  Christ  and  the  salvation  in 
Him.     It  may  be  compared  to  the  sin  against  the 
Holy  Ghost  (Mk  S29)  and  also  to  the  sin  of  apostasy 
(He  64-8  1026). 

(c)  It  must  be  noticed  that  in  this  Epistle  there 
is  a  very  marked  emphasis  on  Satan  as  the  source 
of  man's  sin.     The  Devil  has  sinned  from  the  be- 
ginning, and  he  that  sinneth  is  of  the  Devil  (38),  and 
the   whole   world  lieth  in  the  Evil  One  (519 ;    cf. 
Jn  844,  where  the  Devil  is  described  as  a  murderer 
and  a  liar). 


502 


SIN 


SIN 


3.  St.  James's  teaching. — (a)  St.  James  offers  us, 
as  does  St.  Paul,  although  much  more  briefly,  a 
psychological  account  of  the  development  of  sin  in 
the   individual.     Having  asserted  the  blessedness 
of  enduring  temptation,  he  denies  that  God  does  or 
can  tempt  (I12- 13).     Temptation  arises  when  a  man 
is  drawn  away  and  enticed  by  his  desire  (4iri6v/j.ia). 
This  desire  need  not  itself  be  evil,  but  it  acquires 
a  sinful  character  when  indulged  in  opposition  to 
the  higher  law  of  duty.     This  desire  has  sin  as  its 
offspring,   and  this  sin   full  grown  is  in  turn  the 
parent  of  death  (vv.14-  15).     This  natural  analogy, 
witli  which  may  be  compared  St.  Paul's  figure  of 
sowing  and  reaping  (Gal  68),  does  not,  in  suggesting 
a  necessary  sequence  of  desire,  sin,  and  death,  ex- 
clude either  man's  free  will  in  consenting  to  the 
desire  or  God's  free  will   in  decreeing  death  as 
the  penalty  of  sin.     Nor  does  the  passage  teach 
that  every  sin  must  issue  in  death.     The  sin  must 
reach  its  full  development  before  death  is  its  re- 
sult.    We  can  also  here  compare  1  Jn  516,  'a  sin 
unto  death.'   As  St.  James  teaches  the  possibility  of 
conversion  (519-  20)  and  enjoins  the  confession  of  sin 
and  mutual  intercession  for  forgiveness  (v.18),  this 
development  from  sin  unto  death  may  be  arrested 
by  Divine  grace.     The  sequence  is  a  possibility, 
not  a  necessity. 

(b)  What  appears  at  first  sight  an  echo  of  Rab- 
binic teaching  in  210,  that  stumbling  in  one  point 
makes  a  man   guilty  of  all   the  law,  proves  on 
closer  scrutiny  entirely  Christian.     The  law  is  not 
the  Mosaic  Law,  but  '  the  perfect  law,'  '  the  law 
of  liberty '  (I28),   and  the  'royal  law'   is,    'Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself '  (2s)  ;  and  as- 
suredly the  respect  of  persons  condemned  is  en- 
tirely inconsistent  with  that  law.     Stumbling  in 
such  a  point  is  a  violation  of  the  principle  of  the 
law.     As  has  often  been  pointed  out,  Jewish  as 
St.  James  is,  no  other  NT  writer  has  so  completely 
assimilated  the  teaching  of  Jesus  in  the  Sermon  on 
the  Mount ;  and  it  is  from  the  inwardness  of  Jesus' 
standpoint,  and  not  the  externality  of  Rabbinism, 
that  such  a  saying  is  to  be  judged. 

(c)  In  one  respect  St.  James  does  not,  however, 
closely  follow  the  teaching  of  Jesus.     He  assumes 
the  probability  of  a  connexion  between  sickness  and 
sin  (515),  and  enjoins  not  only  prayer  and  anoint- 
ing with  oil  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  for  the  heal- 
ing of  the  disease,  but  also  personal  confession  and 
mutual  intercession  for  the  forgiveness  of  the  sin 
(vv.14'16).     For  sin  involves  Divine  judgment  (412 
59. 12^     There  is  a  friendship  with  the  world  which 
is  enmity  against  God  (44).     As  for  the  other  NT 
writers,  there  is  in  the  background  of  St.  James's 
thought  about  sin  the  belief  in  Satan  and  demons 
(315). 

4.  Teaching  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. — 
(a)  The  standpoint  of  Hebrews  must  be  understood 
if  the  teaching  on  sin  is  to  be  understood.     The 
Epistle  is   primarily  concerned  with  man's  access 
to  God,  and  sin,  as  guilt  involving  God's  judgment, 
bars  man's  approach. 

In  the  New  Covenant  there  is  no  more  conscience 
of  sins,  for  the  worshippers  have  been  once  cleansed, 
as  they  could  not  be  by  the  sacrifices  of  the  Law 
(101-2).  While  the  Law  failed  to  take  away  sins 
(v.11),  and  could  not,  as  touching  the  conscience, 
make  the  worshippers  perfect  (99),  the  blood  of 
Jesus,  the  new  and  living  Way,  gives  boldness  to 
enter  the  holy  place  of  fellowship  with  God  (1020), 
'  having  obtained  for  us  eternal  redemption  '  (912). 
On  account  of  this  sacrifice  offered  once  for  all, 
there  is  remission  of  sins  (1018)  and  believers  are 
sanctified  (not  in  the  sense  of  being  made  holy, 
but  as  set  apart  for  God's  service,  1010).  This 
guilt,  which  Christ  by  His  atonement  removes 
as  all  the  propitiatory  rites  of  the  Old  Covenant 
had  failed  to  do,  involves  man  in  the  fear  of  death 


with  consequent  bondage  (218)  and  an  evil  con- 
science (102*),  by  which  is  meant  the  sense  of 
guilt.  The  writer  is  thus  concerned  not  with  the 
subjective  aspect  of  sin  as  individual  bondage  to 
the  power  of  sin,  as  is  St.  Paul  in  Ro  77"25,  but 
with  the  objective  aspect  of  God's  judgment  on  sin, 
and  the  echo  of  that  judgment  in  man's  sense  of 
guilt  and  fear  of  death. 

(b)  The  sin  which  he  especially  warns  against  is 
the  rejection  of  this  Divine  provision  for  the  re- 
moval of  sin  in  Christ.     '  How  shall  we  escape  if  we 
neglect  so  great  salvation?'  (23).     There  are  two 
passages  of  very  solemn  warning,  of  even  terrible 
severity    (64'a    1026- 29).      Those    who    have    been 
guilty  of  apostasy,  having  yielded  to  '  an  evil  heart 
of  unbelief,  in  falling  away  from  the  living  God' 
(312),  cannot  be  renewed  '  unto  repentance,'  as  they 
have  crucified  '  to  themselves  the  Son  of  God  afresh, 
and  put  him  to  an  open   shame '   (66)  :   for  them 
'  there  remaineth  no  more  a  sacrifice  for  sins,  but 
a  certain  fearful  expectation  of  judgement,'  because 
they  have  '  trodden  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and 
have  counted  the  blood  of  the  covenant  ...  an 
unholy   thing,    and   have  done  despite  unto  the 
Spirit  of  grace'  (1026'29).     G.  B.  Stevens' interpre- 
tation of   the  two   passages  may  be  added :  '  If  a 
man  deliberately  and  wilfully  deserts   Christ,  he 
will  find  no  other  Saviour  ;  there  remains  no  sacri- 
fice for  sins  (x.  26)  except  that  which  Christ  lias 
made.     The  Old  Testament  offerings  are  powerless 
to  save ;   one  who  refuses  to  be  saved   by  Christ 
refuses  to  be  saved   at  all.     For  him  who  turns 
away  from  Christ  and  determines  to  seek  salvation 
elsewhere,  there  can  be  only  disappointment  and 
failure.     While  such  an   attitude   of  refusal   and 
contempt  lasts,  there  is  no  possibility  of  recovery 
for  those  who  assume  it.     But  this  impossibility  is 
not  an  absolute  but  a  relative  one  ;   it  is  an  im- 
possibility which  lies  within  the  limits  of  the  sup- 
position made  in  the  context,  namely,  that  of  a 
renunciation  of  Christ.     Nothing  is  said  against 
the  possibility  of  recovery  to  God's  favor  when- 
ever one  ceases  from  such  a  contempt  of  Christ 
and  returns  to  him  as  the  one  only  Saviour'  ('1'he 
Theology  of  the  NT,  Edinburgh,  1899,  pp.  521-f>±_'j. 

(c)  Unlike  St.  James,  the  author  of  this  Epistle 
does  not  connect  suffering  with  sin  as  its  penal ty, 
but  urges  his  readers  to  regard  their  afflictions  as 
fatherly  chastisement  (125-13),  for  Christ  Himself 
was  perfected  by  suffering  (vv.1"8 ;  cf.  210  41S). 

5.  St.  Peter's  teaching. — There  is  nothing  dis- 
tinctive about  the  teaching  of  St.  Peter   in   the 
First  Epistle.     He  warns  his  readers,  '  as  sojourners 
and  pilgrims,  to  abstain  from  fleshly  lusts,  which 
war  against    the  soul '   (2n).     He    describes    the 
Christian  redemption  as  from  the  '  vain  manner  of 
life  handed  down  from  your  fathers '  (I18).     Christ's 
atonement   for  sin   by   substitution  is  distinctly 
taught :    '  he  bare  our  sins  in  his  body  upon  the 
tree,  that  we,  having  died  unto  sins,  might  live 
unto  righteousness '  (224) ;  and  he  '  suffered  for  sins 
once,  the  righteous  for  the  unrighteous,  that  he 
might  bring  us   to  God'  (318).     In   sin  he  sees  a 
personal  agency,  '  Your  adversary  the  devil,  as  a 
roaring  lion,    \valketh   about,   seeking  whom   he 
may  devour '  (58). 

In  the  Second  Epistle  (and  also  in  Jude)  the 
demonology  is  still  more  pronounced.  The  re- 
bellion in  heaven  against  God,  and  the  expulsion 
of  the  rebels  to  hell  (2  P  24,  Jude6)— this  is  the 
ultimate  cause  of  the  sin  in  the  world,  on  which 
the  Divine  judgment  by  fire  will  fall  (2  P  37- 12). 

6.  Apocalyptic  teaching. — A  vivid  anticipation 
of   this   last    judgment    pervades   the   Revelation 
(610  151  2012) :   God  will  at  last  triumph  over  sin. 
But  into  the  detailed  account  of  that  victory  it  is 
not  necessary  here  to  enter,  as  it  belongs  to  escha- 
tology  (q.v.). 


SIN 


SIKACH 


503 


Summary. — It  will  be  useful,  having  thus  passed 
the  different  apostolic  writers  in  review,  to  attempt 
a  more  systematic  statement  of  the  apostolic 
teaching.  In  the  background  there  is  the  Jewish 
demonology  and  eschatology,  although  it  would 
be  a  mistake  so  to  emphasize  the  personal  agency 
of  Satan  as  to  give  the  impression  that  sin  was 
always  thought  of  in  this  connexion.  St.  Paul 
distinctly  personifies  sin  as  a  power ;  and  we  must 
recognize  this  personification  as  a  characteristic 
feature  of  his  teaching.  In  accordance  with 
Jewish  belief  also,  the  entrance  of  sin  and  its 
penalty  death  into  the  race  is  connected  with  the 
Fall  of  Adam.  A  morally  defective  nature  is  not 
ascribed  to  Adam  ;  and  such  moral  freedom  and 
responsibility  are  assigned  to  him  as  make  his 
transgression  an  act  of  disobedience  deserving 
punishment.  The  whole  race  is  subject  to  the 
penalty  of  death  ;  but  it  is  not  taught  that  the 
guilt  of  his  sin  is  imputed  as  personal  culpability 
to  his  descendants,  for  the  sin  of  all  is  affirmed, 
and  imputation  of  sin,  where  there  is  no  law,  is 
denied!  The  assumption  that,  when  there  is  no 
outward  law,  there  is  an  inward,  however,  de- 
prives the  latter  statement  of  its  significance. 
While  St.  Paul  does  thus  connect  the  death  of  all 
with  the  sin  of  all,  it  would  be  quite  in  accord 
with  Jewish  thought  if  he  regarded  all  men  as 
guilty  in  the  sense  of  liable  to  the  penalty  of  death, 
while  not  guilty  as  personally  culpable  for  volun- 
tary transgression  of  known  law.  It  is  very 
probable,  if  not  altogether  certain,  that  he  did 
connect  the  perversion  and  corruption  of  human 
nature,  which  he  indicates  in  the  use  of  the  term 
'  flesh,'  with  the  sin  of  Adam  by  physical  heredity  ; 
for  it  is  not  likely  that  he  left  this  fact  unex- 
plained, or  had  another  explanation  of  it  than 
that  which  he  gives  of  the  introduction  of  sin. 
While  the  use  of  the  term  'flesh'  in  this  special 
sense  is  peculiar  to  St.  Paul,  St.  James  indicates 
that  the  desires  of  man  often  issue  in  sin.  All  the 
apostolic  writings  agree  in  recognizing  the  univer- 
sality of  human  sinfulness,  although  St.  Paul  alone 
gives  a  proof  of  it.  The  possibility  of  the  process 
of  sin  going  so  far  that  no  recovery  is  possible  is 
recognized  by  St.  John  in  his  reference  to  the  sin 
unto  death,  and  by  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  in 
its  warnings  against  apostasy.  The  Law  fails  to 
restrain,  it  even  provokes,  sin ;  and  the  gospel 
alone  offers  an  effective  deliverance  from  sin.  The 
worst  sin  is  the  unbelief  that  rejects  the  sole 
means  of  salvation  from  sin.  For  all  sin  there  is 
judgment ;  but  the  severest  judgment  falls  on  the 
neglect  of  the  offered  salvation.  In  Christ  there  is 
both  the  forgiveness  of  sin  and  the  victory  over 
the  power  of  sin.  While  actually  the  conflict  with 
sin  still  continues  in  the  believer,  ideally,  according 
to  St.  Paul,  he  is  dead  to  sin  as  crucified  with 
Christ,  or,  according  to  St.  John,  he  cannot  sin, 
for  he  is  kept  by  Christ.  While  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews  specially  emphasizes  the  objective  aspect 
of  sin  as  guilt  rather  than  the  subjective  aspect  as 
weakness,  in  the  NT  generally  the  need  of  atone- 
ment for  the  guilt  is  probably  even  more  insisted 
on  than  the  need  of  deliverance  from  weakness. 
The  doctrine  of  sin  is  everywhere  presented,  not 
for  its  own  sake,  but  as  the  dark  background  on 
which  shines  the  more  brightly  the  glory  of  the 
gospel  of  the  grace  of  God. 

While  we  cannot  subject  Christian  faith  to-day 
to  Jewish  eschatology,  demonology,  psychology,  or 
anthropology,  even  on  the  authority  of  a  Christian 
apostle,  and  while  the  apostolic  doctrine  must  in 
these  respects  at  least  be  modified  for  our  thought, 
yet,  as  it  rests  on  a  real  moral  and  religious  ex- 
perience, such  truths  as  the  universality  of  sinful- 
ness  in  the  race,  the  reality  of  the  moral  bondage 
of  the  individual,  the  certainty  of  future  judgment 


on  persistent  transgression,  the  necessity  of  for- 
giveness and  deliverance,  the  sufficiency  of  the  grace 
of  God  for  salvation,  will  find  confirmation  from 
the  moral  conscience  and  the  religious  conscious- 
ness wherever  there  has  been  the  obedience  of  faith 
to  the  Divine  revelation  and  human  redemption  in 
Christ  Jesus.  To  most  modern  thought  the  apos- 
tolic emphasis  on  these  truths  seems  dispropor- 
tionate and  exaggerated  ;  but,  whatever  difference 
of  terms  and  even  of  ideas  there  may  have  been 
between  the  disciples  and  the  Master,  they  did  not 
take  sin  more  seriously  than  did  He  who  gave  His 
life  a  ransom  for  many,  and  who  in  His  own  blood 
instituted  the  New  Covenant  unto  the  remission 
of  sins. 

LITERATURE.— The  standard  books  in  NT  Theology  and  Chris- 
tian doctrine  ;  commentaries  on  the  apostolic  writings  such  as 
W.  Sanday  and  A.  C.  Headlam,  ICC,  '  Romans,'  Edinburgh, 
1902;  B.  F.  Westcott,  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  London, 
1889,  The  Epistles  of  St.  John,  do.,  1883;  J.  B.  Mayor,  The 
Epistle  of  St.  James*,  do.,  1910;  H.  St.  J.  Thackeray,  The 
Relation  of  St.  Paul  to  Contemporary  Jeiinsh  Thought,  do., 
1900;  J.  Laidlaw,  The  Bible  Doctrine  of  Man.  new  ed.,  Edin- 
burgh, 1895  ;  J.  S.  Candlish,  The  Biblical  Doctrine  of  Sin, 
do.,  1893  ;  F.  R.  Tennant,  The  Origin  and  Propagation  of 
Sin1*,  Cambridge,  1906,  The  Fall  and  Original  Sin,  do.,  1903, 
The  Concept  of  Sin,  do.,  1912  ;  H.  W.  Robinson,  The  Christian 
Doctrine  of  Man,  Edinburgh,  1911;  F.  J.  Hall,  Evolution  and 
the  Fall,  London,  1910 ;  A.  Ritschl,  Die  chrigtliche  Lehre  von 
der  Rechtfertigung  und  Versohnung  (Eng.  tr.,  The  Christian 
Doctrine  of  Justification  and  Reconciliation,  Edinburgh,  1900). 

A.  E.  GARVIE. 

SINAI. — The  peninsula  between  the  Gulf  of  Suez 
and  the  Gulf  of  Akabah  ;  also  one  of  the  high  peaks 
there.  The  peninsula  is  usually  called  in  Scripture 
'the  desert  (or  wilderness)  of  Sinai.'  St.  Stephen 
(Ac  730)  recalls  how  an  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared 
to  Moses  '  in  the  wilderness  of  mount  Sinai,  in  a 
flame  of  fire  in  a  bush.'  Mount  Sinai  was  a  sacred 
mountain  from  very  early  times,  being  possibly 
connected  with  the  worship  of  the  Babylonian 
moon-god  Sin.  In  the  Jewish  tradition  it  was 
sacred  to  Jahweh,  and  was  memorable  as  the  place 
where  God  gave  to  Moses  the  'lively  oracles' 
(Ac  7s8).  See,  further,  MOUNT,  MOUNTAIN.  For 
Gal  424f-  see  HAQAR.  J.  W.  DUNCAN. 

SINGING.— See  PRAISE. 

SIRACH.— Sirach  (Stipax  or  2tpax)  is  the  Greek 
form  of  the  name  which  in  Syriac  and  post-biblical 
Hebrew  is  written  »ryp,  and  resembles  in  structure 
JOTJ;  and  numerous  other  names  which  appear  in 
late  Hebrew  lists  (e.g.  Ezr  2),  though  its  etymology 
is  obscure.  The  Greek  transliteration  has  been 
compared  to  'A/ceXSayudx  for  Km  Vpn  in  Ac  I19,  and 
appears  to  be  an  attempt  to  render  a  sound  some- 
times called  the  glottal  catch. 

1.  Author. — The  person  who  bore  this  name  was 
the  father  of  a  Jesus,  author  of  a  Hebrew  work  of 
which  the  original  is  lost,  but  which  is  preserved 
in  a  Greek  translation  called  Zo<£ia  'Irjo-ov  viou  Setpdx, 
a  Syriac  translation  called  The  Words  of  Jesus  son 
of  Simon  called  son  of  A  sir  a  (i.e.  the  Captive),  and 
a  Latin  translation  called  Ecclesiasticus  lesujilii 
Sirach.  In  the  Jewish  oral  tradition  it  is  cited  as 
The  Book  of  Ben-Sira,  whereas  according  to  Jerome 
it  was  called  Proverbs.  The  Latin  name  is  ex- 
plained by  the  Latin  Father  Kufinus  as  a  '  non- 
canonical  book  suited  for  churches ' ;  but  this  is 
very  probably  a  conjecture,  and  the  suggestion  in 
the  mediaeval  chronicle  called  aViy  110  (A.  Neubauer, 
Mediaeval  Jewish  Chronicles,  Oxford,  1887-95,  i. 
167)  that  the  title  was  a  Latin  one  derived  from 
Ecclesiastes,  i.e.  '  Book  in  the  style  of  Ecclesiastes,' 
is  attractive.  The  Hebrew  original  doubtless 
perished  when  the  rest  of  the  non-canonical  litera- 
ture in  that  language  was  destroyed  ;  and  such 
specimens  as  are  preserved  in  the  collections  of 
oral  tradition  are  exceedingly  inaccurate,  incon- 
sistent, and  mixed  up  with  biblical  and  other 


504 


SIKACH 


SIEACH 


matter,  while  at  times  sayings  of  Ben-Sira  are 
ascribed  to  other  Rabbis.  In  some  cases  the 
gradual  merging  of  a  saying  of  his  in  some  biblical 
text  can  be  followed  in  different  collections  of 
tradition.  From  this  source,  then,  nothing  certain 
can  be  learned  about  him  or  his  book. 

In  the  colophon  (5027)  some  Greek  MSS  give  the 
grandfather's  name  as  Eleazar,  and,  as  has  been 
seen,  the  Syriac  gives  the  father's  as  Simon,  sup- 
posing Asira  to  be  an  Aramaic  sobriquet.  The 
last  seems  improbable,  since  we  should  have  ex- 
pected the  Hebrew  form  to  be  ben-ha-Asir ;  but 
the  word  may  have  been  a  sobriquet,  and  the  other 
statements  may  be  correct. 

To  the  Greek  translation  there  is  prefixed  a  pre- 
face of  great  interest,  said  to  be  the  only  known 
honest  paragraph  by  any  Israelite  of  this  period, 
in  which  the  translator  states  that  the  original 
was  by  his  grandfather,  a  diligent  student  of  the 
Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  other  national  books  (a 
phrase  which  represents  the  Rabbinical  TNK,  i.e. 
Law,  Prophets,  Writings,  as  a  name  for  the  OT), 
and  that  he  himself  had  come  to  Alexandria  in  the 
year  38  under  King  Euergetes,  and  studied  there 
for  a  long  time.  He  implies  further  that  the  whole 
OT  already  existed  in  Greek.  Though  the  chrono- 
logical expression  is  not  perfectly  clear,  it  seems 
probable  that  it  should  be  interpreted  as  the  year 
38  of  Euergetes  II.,  which  synchronizes  with  132 
B.C.  The  author  in  the  Greek  translation  calls 
himself  in  the  colophon  (5027)  '  of  Jerusalem,'  ac- 
cording to  some  MSS  '  a  priest  of  Jerusalem ' ;  and 
the  list  of  eminent  Israelites  with  which  the  book 
closes  ends  with  an  encomium  on  the  high  priest 
Simon  son  of  Onias  ('  Nathania'  of  the  Syriac  is  a 
corruption  to  be  explained  from  the  Syriac  script). 
If  this  personage  is  to  be  identified  with  the  Simon 
the  Just  of  Josephus,  his  period  of  office  appears  to 
have  been  from  300  to  287  B.C.,  and  the  words  of 
Ben-Sira  imply,  though  they  do  not  distinctly 
state,  that  he  had  seen  this  Simon  officiate.  Vari- 
ous ways  have  been  devised  of  reconciling  the 
dates  of  the  original  and  the  translation,  which  ac- 
cording to  this  would  be  separated  by  about  150 
years,  though  the  translator  was  the  grandson  of 
the  author ;  probably  the  solution  is  to  be  found 
in  the  great  uncertainty  which  attaches  to  the  list 
of  the  high  priests,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  works 
of  those  who  have  endeavoured  to  restore  it  (e.g. 
L.  Herzfeld,  Geschichte  des  Volkes  Jisrael2,  2  vols., 
Leipzig,  1863,  ii.  Excursus  6).  It  is  clear  that  Ben- 
Sira  is  pre-Maccabsean  ;  his  floruit  is  probably  to 
be  placed  near  the  end  of  the  3rd  or  the  beginning 
of  the  2nd  pre-Christian  century.  The  appendix 
to  his  work  (ch.  51),  which  has  the  heading  'A 
Prayer  of  Jesus  the  son  of  Sirach,'  contains  some 
biographical  details,  but  they  are  too  vague  and 
obscurely  worded  to  convey  much  information. 
He  claims  to  have  travelled,  and  this  may  also  be 
inferred  from  his  praise  of  travel  (3110-12),  and  in 
both  passages  he  asserts  that  he  had  many  times 
been  in  great  danger ;  in  the  Prayer  he  specifies 
an  occasion  when  he  had  been  falsely  accused 
before  a  king.  Neither  this  nor  the  other  perils 
which  he  enumerates  are  anywhere  explained  in 
detail.  Since  in  4324  he  quotes  hearsay  for  the 
dangers  of  the  sea,  we  should  infer  that  he  had 
not  himself  crossed  it ;  it  is  noticeable  that  he  gives 
the  correct  seasons  for  the  overflow  of  the  rivers 
Jordan,  Tigris,  and  Nile  (2423-25),  and,  though  the 
first  of  these  may  have  been  got  from  Jos  315, 
the  others  could  scarcely  have  been  learned  from 
the  Bible.  If  (as  seems  likely)  the  account  of  the 
scribe  in  ch.  39  is  autobiographical,  he  must  at 
some  time  have  obtained  employment  at  a  Court. 

The  century  in  which  he  lived  is  one  of  the  most 
obscure  in  Israelitish  history ;  hence  it  is  not 
possible  to  interpret  any  political  allusions  with 


certainty.  Some  have  endeavoured  to  find  a  politi- 
cal programme  in  4524<25,  where  the  author  insists 
that  the  high-priesthood  belongs  for  ever  to  the 
house  of  Aaron,  but  the  royal  title  to  the  house  of 
David.  The  true  explanation  seems  to  be  that  he 
is  projecting  himself  into  the  period  of  national 
independence  for  the  restoration  of  which  he  prays, 
and  indeed  Jewish  authors  of  a  much  later  period 
do  the  same  ;  in  the  Tanna  d'Be  Eliahu  of  about 
the  10th  cent.  A.D.  (ed.  Warsaw,  1893,  p.  563),  the 
'  crown  of  the  house  of  Aaron  and  the  crown  of  the 
house  of  David '  are  still  said  to  be  inalienable. 

2.  Sources. — The  translator  mentions  the  author's 
biblical  studies,  and  in  24'281  w  the  latter  confesses 
that  his  book  is  a  biblical  anthology,  though  in 
391'3  his  enumeration  of  what  the  scribe  should 
study  seems  to  be  rather  too  copious  to  be  confined 
to  the  OT  as  we  know  it.  Besides  the  Law,  he  is 
to  study  the  wisdom  of  all  the  ancients,  prophecies, 
the  dicta  of  renowned  men,  strophes,  mysteries, 
and  enigmas.  From  his  list  of  famous  men  we 
should  gather  that  his  Bible  contained  no  book 
that,  or  at  any  rate  no  author  who,  has  since  been 
lost,  and  in  the  main  the  Torah  (in  the  wider  sense) 
which  he  possessed  was  identical  with  ours.  Thus 
he  utilizes  the  whole  of  Isaiah,  all  live  books  of 
Psalms,  Job,  Ecclesiastes,  and  every  division  of 
the  Proverbs.  He  fails,  indeed,  to  mention  Daniel 
and  Ezra  in  his  list  of  famous  men,  and  this  silence 
is  often  used  as  a  strong  argument  against  the 
genuineness  of  both  ;  nevertheless  he  appears  to 
quote  Daniel  in  338b,  ical  ^XXoiucre  /ccupoi>s  KCU  eoprds, 
from  Dn  221,  dXXoiot  Kaipoi)j  *al  xp°vov*  (perhaps 
D'lyiD),  and  the  name  for  the  Deity,  6  £u>v  eis  rbv  aiwva 
(IS1),  is  found  in  the  OT  only  in  Dn  127.  The 
phrase  elp-rivetiovres  tv  KaroiKlais  aurwv  (446b)  is  from 
Dn  41.  40290,  aXitryricrei  TTJC  ifsvxyv  avrov  iv  eS^cr^-acnv 
dXXorptois,  is  probably  an  allusion  to  Dn  I8.  Further, 
the  passage  3913<  14,  in  which  the  '  holy  sons '  are 
addressed  and  bidden  '  bless  the  Lord  for  all  his 
works,'  is  very  like  a  reference  to  the  hymn  of  the 
'  three  holy  children  '  inserted  in  the  Greek  Daniel 
352.  For  it  is  not  clear  who  else  the  '  holy  sons ' 
can  be,  and  the  words  addressed  to  them,  '  thrive 
as  a  rose  growing  on  a  water-brook,'  are  easily 
interpreted  from  Dn  I15.  It  does  not  appear 
possible  to  demonstrate  acquaintance  on  Ben-Sira's 
part  with  Chronicles  or  Esther ;  on  the  other  hand, 
it  cannot  be  shown  that  he  was  unacquainted  with 
them. 

Besides  the  OT,  Ben-Sira  displays  very  consider- 
able acquaintance  with  Greek  literature,  though 
he  nowhere  confesses  this,  or  even  makes  the 
study  of  Greek  a  necessary  part  of  the  equipment 
of  the  'scribe.'  Homer's  comparison  of  the  race 
of  men  to  leaves  (II.  vi.  146-149)  is  fairly  closely 
paraphrased  in  1418.  There  is  a  reference  to  an 
.'Esopic  fable  in  132.  Many  thoughts  are  borrowed 
from  the  works  of  Aristotle  :  the  sleeplessness  of 
the  stars  (4310)  from  de  Ccelo,  284  A  32  ;  the  change- 
ableness  of  the  fool  (2711)  from  Eudemian  Ethics, 
1239  B  12  ;  the  comparison  of  a  friend  to  wine  (910) 
from  ib.  1238  A  23 ;  abuse  preceding  battle  (22s2) 
from  Metaphys.  1013  A  9  ;  the  enmity  between  the 
hyaena  and  the  dog  (1318)  from  Nat.  Hist.  594  B  3  ; 
the  decoy  partridge  (II30)  from  ib.  614  A  13;  the 
pleasing  effect  of  green  vegetation  on  the  eye  (4022) 
from  Problems,  959  A  25  ;  the  description  of  a  friend 
as  'one  whose  soul  is  like  thine'  (3712c)  from  Great 
Ethics,  1211  A  32;  the  affection  between  animals 
of  the  same  species  (13M)  from  Problems,  896  B  10. 
The  use  of  Plato  is  far  less  considerable ;  still 
the  author  appears  in  438  to  adopt  from  Cratylus 
409  C  Plato's  derivation  of  the  word  '  month,'  ftels 
or  fj.riv,  from  /uetoDo-flcu,  '  to  diminish  '  or  '  wane '  of 
the  moon — a  derivation  which  naturally  applies  to 
the  Greek,  not  to  the  Hebrew,  name  of  the  month  ; 
and  the  puzzle  in  6s2,  '  wisdom  is  according  to  her 


SIEACH  • 


505 


name  and  is  not  manifest  to  many,'  appears  to  be  a 
misunderstanding  of  the  passage  in  the  Cratylus 
(412  B)  where  the  etymology  of  <ro(j>la  is  given, 
and  is  said  to  be  anoriaSlarepov,  'somewhat  ob- 
scure," with  reference  not  to  wisdom,  but  to  the 
etymology  which  he  suggescs.  (The  coincidence 
of  some  precepts  with  those  to  be  found  in  the 
Story  of  Ahikar  is  to  be  explained  by  borrowing  on 
the  part  of  the  latter  from  Ben-Sira,  the  Aramaic 
papyrus  of  Ahikar  published  by  Sachau  being  a 
glaring  forgery.) 

One  or  two  additional  cases  of  borrowing  from 
Greek  literature  will  be  noticed  below  ;  there  is 
of  course  some  danger  of  discerning  a  loan  where 
there  is  only  a  coincidence.  Hence  the  saying 
(2018),  '  A  slip  off  the  ground  rather  than  from  the 
tongue,'  need  have  no  connexion  with  that  ascribed 
to  the  Stoic  Zeno  (Diog.  Laert.  vii.  22),  '  It  is 
1  tetter  to  slip  with  the  feet  than  with  the  tongue,' 
just  as  al-Muhallab  may  have  been  independent  of 
both  when  he  pointed  out  (A.H.  83  =  A.D.  702)  that 
'  a  man  may  slip  with  his  foot  and  recover  ;  but 
if  he  slips  with  his  tongue,  he  will  perish '  (Ibn 
Khaldun,  iii.  53).  Where,  however,  an  author 
acknowledges  to  composing  an  anthology  and  in- 
sists on  the  importance  of  learning  by  heart  what 
wise  men  have  said,  the  chances  of  borrowing  on 
his  part  where  there  is  close  correspondence  in 
thought  and  expression  are  very  great.  We  shall 
probably  be  right,  then,  in  supposing  Ben-Sira  to 
have  got  from  the  Greeks  the  maxim  (II28),  '  Call  no 
man  happy  before  his  end.'  For  this  saying  is 
definitely  associated  by  the  Hellenes  with  the 
name  of  Solon  (Herod,  i.  86  ;  Aristotle,  Nic.  Ethics, 
1100  A  11),  though  it  is  constantly  quoted  as  a 
proverb. 

The  fact  that  Ben-Sira  had  before  him  no 
Hebrew  or  national  literature  which  has  not  been 
preserved  is  of  great  interest ;  and,  as  has  been 
seen,  with  his  grandson  the  biblical  books  were 
classified  as  they  are  still.  In  the  book  itself 
certain  other  names  appear.  Thus  a  portion  of  the 
prophecies  is  called  the  Remonstrances  (4S10),  of 
which  we  recognize  the  original  in  mnnnn  similarly 
used  in  Jerus.  Peak,  ii.  4.  Enigmas  and  Parables 
is  the  title  taken  by  Ps  78,  to  which  there  is  a 
reference  in  393b.  The  Bible  as  a  whole  is  identi- 
fied with  Wisdom  in  2421-  22,  and  v.28  implies  that 
it  had  already  undergone  several  generations  of  ex- 
pounders. The  attitude  of  Jewish  writers  to  their 
Bible  has  so  often  been  dictated  by  that  of  their 
neighbours  to  their  own  sacred  books  that  we  may 
be  justified  in  finding  here  the  traces  of  the  Hellenic 
estimate  of  the  Homeric  poems,  to  which  the 
Greek  translator  makes  a  veiled  allusion  in  the 
phrase  '  narrating  epics  in  writing '  (445b). 

3.  Poetical  form. — To  any  one  who  compares  the 
lines  of  Ben-Sira  with  the  corresponding  passages 
of  the  OT  it  is  apparent  that  the  latter  have  been 
subjected  to  Procrustean  treatment ;  thus  Gn  175, 
'  a  father  of  many  nations  have  I  made  thee,' 
becomes  in  Sir  4419,  '  Abraham  was  a  great  father 
of  many  people ' ;  but  for  Gn  2218,  '  in  thy  seed  shall 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed/  Sir  4521b 
substitutes,  '  that  nations  should  be  blessed  in  his 
seed.'  Sometimes  the  order  of  the  phrases  is  in- 
verted ;  so  EC  314,  '  nothing  can  be  added  to  it  nor 
anything  taken  from  it,'  becomes  in  Sir  186,  'there 
may  be  nothing  taken  from  them,  neither  may 
anything  be  added  to  them.'  Sometimes  the  verse 
reproduced  undergoes  so  much  inversion  and  padding 
that  the  sense  is  seriously  injured,  e.g.  Job  812  in 
Sir  4016.  Since  in  the  first  passages  cited  the  author 
has  altered  a  Divine  etymology  by  the  introduction 
of  a  monosyllable  :n  and  seriously  reduced  a  Divine 
promise  by  the  omission  of  another  monosyllable 
72,  it  is  evident  that  single  syllables  are  of  import- 
ance to  him,  i.e.  that  his  Procrustean  methods  are 


due  to  his  employment  of  a  syllabic  metre  to  which 
he  accommodates  the  biblical  material.  That  he 
should  do  this  is  very  natural,  since,  as  has  been 
seen,  he  displays  considerable  acquaintance  with 
Greek  literature ;  and  from  the  nearly  contemporary 
Pcenulus  of  Plautus  we  find  that  the  kindred 
Phoenician  dialect  was  being  accommodated  to 
Greek  syllabic  metres.  The  metrical  scheme  is 
supplied  by  the  correct  re-translation  of  any  two 
or  three  of  the  lines,  and,  where  they  are  taken 
directly  from  the  OT,  this  is  easy  ;  and  this  scheme 
is  a  trimeter  of  the  rhythm  called  in  Greek  and 
Latin  Bacchic,  in  Arabic  and  Persian  mutaqarib, 
of  which  the  basis  is  a  foot  of  the  form  y  /_  y. 
In  Persian  this  rhythm  is  very  popular,  the  whole 
of  the  great  classic  Shah-nameh  being  composed  in 
it ;  the  Hebrew  variety  (except  in  the  substitution 
of  three  feet  as  the  line-unit  for  four)  resembles 
the  Latin  variety  used  by  Plautus,  e.g.  '  multas 
res  simitu  in  me6  corde  v6rso.'  Where  the  lines 
do  not  correspond  with  this  scheme,  there  is  some 
fault  either  in  the  tradition  or  in  the  re-translation. 
Thus  27 ll,  Sffiyjffis  ei)cre/3oCs  dia  wavrbs  <ro<f>ia,  when 
re-translated  is  one  syllable  short ;  but  the  Latin 
version  which  offers  '  sicut  sol '  indicates  that  nnsn 
is  corrupt  for  nona,  which  gives  the  ninth  syllable 
required,  and  furnishes  a  correct  antithesis  to  the 
changeableness  which  in  clause  b  is  compared  to 
that  of  the  moon.  Where  the  lines  contain  lists, 
the  fact  that  they  are  padded  in  order  to  obtain  a 
metrical  scheme  is  sometimes  very  obvious.  So  in 
the  list  409,  Oavaros  Kal  afyxa  Kal  fyis  Kal  po/j.<f>aia, 
eTrayuyal,  \i(Jifa,  Kal  ffuvrpin/ma  Kal  /wiortf,  Fritzsche 
ejected  tiraywyal,  'utpote  explications  causa  ad- 
sutum.'  It  seems  unnecessary  for  the  sense,  but 
the  two  syllables  which  it  represents  (mix)  are  very 
necessary  for  the  metre. 

The  re-translation,  if  ever  satisfactorily-  accom- 
plished, will  be  of  importance  for  the  study  of 
Hebrew  grammar,  which  at  present  depends  on  a 
tradition  codified  some  1000  years  later.  For  it 
will  be  found  that,  when  the  consonants  are  re- 
stored, the  metre  settles  the  vocalization  (to  a 
certain  extent)  as  in  338,  fyKaiviffov  a-q^fia  Kal  a\\ol- 
u<rov  dav/j.d<ria,  mnSs:  man  ninx  enn,  where  the  metre 
and  the  sense  both  require  that  mtn  should  be  read 
ufshneh,  not  w'shanneh  ('and  repeat,'  not  'and 
alter'). 

4.  Language. — The  language  employed  by  the 
author  was  from  the  nature  of  the  case  mainly 
that  of  the  OT,  of  which  his  book  is  so  largely  a 
metrical  cento  ;  but  here  and  there  the  traces  of  a 
later  development  of  Hebrew,  such  as  we  find  in 
the  Mishna,  can  be  discovered ;    and  indeed  the 
fragments  preserved  by  the  Oral  Tradition  exhibit 
a  considerable  amount  of  this.     No  confidence  can 
indeed  be  placed  in  the  accuracy  of  these ;  it  is, 
however,  01  some  interest  that  the  transmitters  of 
that  tradition  thought  of  his  language  as  Rabbinic. 
One  interesting  technicality,  ni3^n,  'rules  of  con- 
duct,' which  clearly  underlies  wopeiai.  in  I4*1  occurs 
in  an  obelized  passage ;  but  comparison  of  Greek 
and  Syriac  seems  to  reveal  Tim  for   '  to  beg '  in 
4028b,  and  |E"a  for  '  shamefast '  in  4114 ;   while  in 
37lb  the  sentence  rendered  '  there  is  a  friend,  which 
is  only  a  friend  in  name '  meant  '  which  is  really  a 
friend,'  the  usage  which  is  here  hidden  being  that 
of  the  later  Hebrew,  where  '  to  be  named '  means 
'to  be  in  reality*  (e.g.  Bab.  Gittin,  47a).    The  use 
of  late  or  Aramaic  words  seems  at  times  to  have 
been  dictated  by  metrical  reasons ;   so  in  810  'ir-j 
can  be  restored  with  certainty  for  'coals,'  and  it 
would  seem  that  this  word  was  employed  because 
'?ru  contained  a  syllable  too  many.     The  Greek 
word  d7wy<5s  may  have  been  employed  in  4817b,  but 
this  seems  to  be  isolated. 

5.  Subject. — The  subject  of  the  work  belongs  to 
what  is  called  in  Arabic  Adah,  sometimes  rendered 


506 


SIRACH 


SIKACH 


'Miscellanies' ;  it  is  didactic,  devotional,  and  to  a 
slight  extent  historical.  The  last  portion  is  clearly 
marked  off  from  the  rest  and  occupies  the  final 
chapters  44-50,  being  a  record  of  the  great  men 
mentioned  in  the  OT,  to  whom  the  high  priest 
Simon  is  added  ;  it  is  preceded  by  a  description  of 
the  wonders  of  Nature  occupying  ch.  42  from  v.15 
and  ch.  43.  The  matter  which  precedes  seems  to 
fall  into  two  books,  each  of  which  starts  with  a 
hymn  to  Wisdom  (chs.  1-23  and  24-4214). 

Since  the  aphorisms  are  very  largely  counsels  of 
prudence,  rules  of  conduct  and  behaviour,  or  ob- 
servations on  •'  things  in  general,'  even  where  they 
are  not  reproductions  of  OT  verses,  they  contain 
little  that  is  original  or  distinctive ;  man  in  all 
known  societies  has  developed  largely  the  same 
characteristics,  which  therefore  have  been  noticed 
by  observers  in  very  different  countries  and  periods. 
The  interest  of  the  work  consists  largely  in  the 
differences  which  it  exhibits  from  the  OT  on  the 
one  hand  and  the  later  Jewish  literature  on  the 
other.  The  former  are  largely  due  to  the  influence 
of  Greek  culture,  which  in  the  OT  itself  appears 
only  in  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes.  It  has  been  ob- 
served that  in  our  time  contact  of  Orientals  with 
the  West  leads  either  to  contempt  on  the  part  of 
the  former  for  their  own  civilization  or  to  ex- 
aggerated appreciation  of  it ;  Ben-Sira's  case  seems 
to  resemble  the  latter.  He  places  the  home  of 
Wisdom  in  Jerusalem  (24n),  and  ignores  all  celeb- 
rities save  biblical  heroes  in  his  list  of  statesmen, 
authors,  and  musical  composers  (441"6).  Neverthe- 
less his  debt  to  Greek  authors  is,  as  has  been  seen, 
considerable  ;  and  though  in  one  place  he  ridicules 
sacrifices  to  idols  (3019),  which  he  compares  with 
the  practice  of  offering  meats  to  the  dead,  his 
book  is  on  the  whole  singularly  free  from  that 
invective  against  foreign  cults  which  reaches  its 
climax  in  Isaiah  and  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon,  and 
made  the  Jews,  in  the  words  of  Pliny,  notorious 
for  their  contempt  of  the  gods.  Of  the  sacrifices 
enjoined  by  his  own  religion  he  can  only  say  that 
they  should  be  offered  because  the  law  enjoins 
them  (325).  His  theory  of  life  (1411'16)  reproduces 
that  of  Heracles  in  the  Alcestis  of  Euripides  (770- 
802) :  since  man  has  only -.one  life,  and  death  may 
come  at  any  time,  he  had  best  enjoy  himself  while 
he  has  the  chance.  If  this  is  slightly  modified  or 
explained  away  in  what  follows,  in  the  demonstra- 
tion that  the  pursuit  of  wisdom  is  the  happiest 
form  of  existence,  the  Greek  hedonistic  schools 
were  prepared  to  accept  this  gloss,  or  rather  pro- 
vided it  themselves.  Quite  in  Hellenic  style  he 
dilates  on  the  delights  of  a  symposium,  where  there 
is  good  wine  and  choice  music  (3428-358),  and, 
parodying  the  words  of  Mimnermus,  who  declared 
that  life  would  not  be  worth  having  without  love 
(T.  Bergk,  Lyrici  Greed,  Leipzig,  1882,  ii.  25), 
asserts  that  it  would  not  be  worth  having  without 
wine  (3427).  He  is,  however,  by  no  means  inclined 
to  disparage  female  beauty,  as  appears  from  2613'18. 
Comparison  of  this  passage  with  Pr  3110"31,  on 
which  it  is  partly  modelled,  indicates  very 
clearly  the  influence  of  the  beauty-cult  of  the 
Hellenes  on  the  Israelitish  mind.  The  precepts 
on  the  use  of  wine  display  very  close  correspondence 
with  those  of  Theognis  (Lyrici  Greed,  ii.  162-164), 
from  whom  they  are  likely  to  have  been  taken. 

The  influence  of  Greek  thought  appears  very 
strongly  in  the  account  which  he  gives  of  the  train- 
ing necessary  for  the  scribe  (3824-39H).  For  this 
purpose  leisure  is  required ;  and,  although  in  another 
context  he  had  recommended  industry  (1023-  26)  and 
especially  agriculture  (715-22),  he  now  asserts  that 
these  occupations  and  those  of  craftsmen  and 
artists,  e.g.  potters  and  gem-engravers,  are  incon- 
sistent with  the  two  which  Aristotle  in  the  Politic? 
declares  alone  suitable  for  gentlemen,  viz.  the 


service  of  the  State  and  philosophy.  The  service 
of  the  State  is  expressed  in  terms  of  the  Athenian 
Republic,  where  the  governing  bodies  were  the  /3oi/XiJ 
and  the  IKKX^LO.,  while  the  diKaa-r^piov  was  the 
judicial  authority ;  it  is,  however,  clear  that  the 
5iKa<TTris  of  whom  he  is  thinking  is  not  the  Athenian 
juror  but  the  judge,  or  qadi.  Although  there  is 
not  a  little  in  this  passage  which  reminds  the 
reader  of  Greek  treatises  on  preparation  for  a 
political  career,  e.g.  Plato's  Alcibiades  I.,  probably 
it  is  nearer  in  many  respects  to  the  Islamic  disci- 
pline called  Adab  al-Katib,  or  studies  necessary  for 
a  Secretary  of  State.  This  is  doubtless  due  to  the 
changes  introduced  into  Hellenic  life  by  the  fall  of 
the  free  Republics.  Part  of  the  scribe's  training  is 
to  be  got  by  travelling  abroad  and  entering  the 
service  of  some  ruler  (394) ;  but  it  very  largely 
consists  in  accumulating  books  and  learning  them 
by  heart  (vv.1'3),  as  was  the  case  in  Islamic  times. 

Another  profession  to  which  some  attention  is 
devoted  for  the  first  time  in  the  literature  of  the 
Israelites  is  the  medical  (381'18),  the  existence  of 
which  has,  however,  to  be  defended  from  passages 
in  Genesis  and  Exodus.  The  author  expresses 
himself  with  great  caution,  and  implies  that  what 
the  physician  can  do  is  to  pray  for  the  patient. 

As  compared  with  the  later  Jewish  literature, 
i.e.,  the  Talmudim  and  Midrashim  (of  which  the 
general  antiquity  is  certified  by  the  Gospels, 
though  the  process  of  oral  tradition  through  many 
centuries  has  introduced  great  modifications),  Ben- 
Sira's  book  seems  to  exhibit  few  of  the  same 
interests.  He  looks  forward  to  the  coming  of 
Elijah  (4810- n),  on  the  faith  of  the  prophecy  of 
Malachi ;  but  he  knows  nothing  of  a  Messiah. 
He  does  not  even  mention  the  Sabbath  or  the 
food-legislation  (unless  4029c  be  a  reference  to  it). 
His  idea  of  religious  obligations  consists  in  offer- 
ing the  prescribed  sacrifices  and  paying  the  priest 
his  dues,  which  the  Greek  text  assesses  more 
highly  than  the  Syriac  (729'31).  He  thinks  of  the 
glyptic  art  as  a  normal  industry  (3S27),  not  as  a 
violation  of  the  Second  Commandment.  The  pro- 
found darkness  which  covers  Israelitish  affairs  in 
the  3rd  cent.  B.C.  renders  this  phenomenon  difficult 
to  explain.  The  cases  in  which  the  formulae  of  the 
later  Halakhah  and  Haggadah  are  suggested  are 
exceedingly  rare.  In  373  the  irov-qpbv  tv06/ji.i>)/j.a.  evi- 
dently stands  for  the  jnn  is',  which  was  derived 
from  Gn  65,  and  this  faculty  may  be  what  is  meant 
by  dia.pov\ioi>  in  176,  where  a  rather  curious  list 
of  faculties  is  given.  In  v.17  the  theory  is  stated 
that  every  nation  has  '  a  ruler,'  i.e.  guardian  angel, 
which  is  worked  out  in  the  Midrashim  (e.g.  Exodus 
Babba,  21,  32).  In  3Q28  the  '  spirits '  are  identified 
with  forces  whereby  God  wreaks  vengeance  on 
evil-doers ;  this  theme  is  also  worked  out  in  the 
Midrash  (e.g.  Genesis  Rabba,  10).  From  his  ac- 
count of  a  banquet  (3112~32)  we  should  guess  that 
the  '  hand  -  washing '  of  which  we  read  in  the 
Gospels  had  not  yet  been  introduced  as  a  religious 
observance ;  the  only  ceremonial  washing  men- 
tioned is  after  contact  with  a  corpse  (Si28).  The 
only  trace  that  has  been  found  of  Alexandrian 
exegesis  is  in  4416,  where  Enoch  is  said  to  have 
been  a  pattern  of  repentance  to  the  generations. 
This  is  inferred  by  Philo  from  the  Greek  word 
/j,fTt0T)Kfv  used  in  Gn  S24  for  the  Hebrew  np1?, 
'  took '  (de  Abrahamo,  3),  for  '  metathesis '  signifies 
change,  in  this  case  change  of  mind.  If  the  verse 
were  genuine,  we  should  have  to  conclude  that  the 
author  had  studied  the  OT  in  the  LXX  version, 
and  that  the  interpretation  found  in  Philo  was 
some  200  years  earlier  than  Philo's  time.  It  seems 
certain  that  this  verse  is  an  interpolation,  not  only 
because  it  is  wanting  in  the  Syriac,  but  chiefly 
because  Enoch  is  mentioned  in  the  supplementary 
list  of  celebrities  (4914),  where  what  happened  to 


SLRACH 


SIKACH 


507 


him  is  interpreted  according  to  the  Hebrew.  The 
interpolation,  then,  is  later  than  the  time  of  Philo, 
but  it  seems  to  have  found  its  way  into  all  the 
Greek  MSS. 

6.  Place  of  the  work  in  Jewish  literature. — 
The  mode  wherein  '  the  Law '  is  eulogized  in  the 
work  makes  it  clear  that  the  canon  in  the  author's 
time  was  so  well  fixed  that  the  admission  of  any 
later  work  would  be  extremely  dilHcult ;  although, 
then,  verses  of  Ben-Sira  are  at  times  cited  as 
from  the  Hagiographa,  it  is  reasonable  to  explain 
this  as  due  to  defective  memory  on  the  part  of  the 
Rabbis  who  cite  them,  not  to  the  work  ever  having 
been  canonical.  It  is  clear  that  Josephus  was 
either  unacquainted  with  its  existence  or  did  not 
regard  it  as  sufficiently  important  to  deserve 
notice.  It  is  not  actually  cited  in  the  NT,  but 
the  parable  in  Lk  1217-20  appears  to  be  an  amplifi- 
cation of  111&  17,  which  is  based  on  EC  47- 8 ;  and 
the  doctrine  involved  in  '  forgive  us  our  trespasses 
as  we  forgive  them  that  trespass  against  us '  is 
so  clearly  stated  in  261'7  that  we  are  justified  in 
regarding  the  latter  as  the  source.  Further,  the 
precept  against  vain  repetitions  in  prayer  (Mt  67), 
whatever  the  correct  rendering  of  the  phrase  in 
the  original,  is  nearer  714b,  '  repeat  not  a  word  in 
thy  prayer,'  than  EC  52,  the  source  of  the  latter. 
It  is  probable,  then,  that  Ben-Sira's  book  was  at 
this  time  used  in  the  education  of  the  young. 

The  last  person  known  to  have  possessed  the 
original  appears  to  be  R.  Eleazar  b.  Azariah,  of 
the  first  half  of  the  2nd  century.  For  320- 21  are 
cited  on  his  authority  from  Ben-Sira  in  Gen. 
Rabba  8,  where  the  four  hemistichs  are  increased 
to  six,  and  Jerus.  Jlagigah,  ii.  1,  where  they  are 
reduced  to  four,  but  interpolated  from  Job  II8; 
in  Bab.  Hagigah,  13a  they  are  again  reduced  to 
four,  but  by  arbitrary  omission  of  two  synonymous 
clauses.  The  first  of  these  collections  comes  nearest 
to  the  original  as  certified  by  the  Greek  and  Syriac 
together.  Naturally  the  connexion  of  R.  Eleazar 
with  the  citation  may  be  inaccurate,  but  the  fact 
of  its  occurrence  in  two  separate  collections  in- 
spires some  confidence.  Numerous  sayings  which 
approximate  more  or  less  closely  to  verses  of  the 
book  are  to  be  found  in  various  collections,  often 
wrongly  ascribed ;  thus  in  Aboth  4,  Sir  717  is 
quoted  according  to  the  text  of  the  Syriac  version, 
and  ascribed  to  R.  Levites,  a  man  of  Yabneh. 
Sir  II23  is  to  be  found  in  the  Tanna  d'Be  Eliahu, 
i.  61,  without  sign  of  quotation.  An  Aramaic  form 
of  121  is  quoted  in  Gen.  Rabba  22  as  a  proverb. 
Some  of  these  resemblances  may  be  coincidences, 
but  in  other  cases  (e.g.  717)  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  verses  of  the  book  have  been  preserved  in 
a  mangled  form,  with  erroneous  ascriptions.  Since 
the  period  wherein  they  were  transmitted  orally 
covered  several  centuries  at  the  least,  they  furnish 
a  good  example  of  this  mode  of  transmission, 
whereby  accuracy  seems  always  to  be  lost.  The 
date  when  any  of  these  collections  ceased  to  be 
oral  cannot  now  be  determined,  since  Jewish 
writers  invariably  falsify  the  evidence  on  this 
subject ;  examples  will  be  found  in  the  variants  of 
Yahuda's  edition  of  R.  Bachya's  Hidayah,  Leiden, 
191-2,  pp.  145,  146. 

From  the  discussion  in  Bab.  Sank.  lOOi  we  can 
infer  that  the  original  had  been  lost  by  the  time 
of  Rab  Joseph  (4th  century).  This  personage 
couples  it  with  '  foreign  literature,'  by  the  reading 
of  which  eternal  life  is  forfeited  ;  and  the  first 
passage  cited  and  interpreted  quite  certainly  does 
not  belong  to  it.  It  thus  appears  that  the  book 
was  already  thought  of  as  in  the  hands  of  Chris- 
tians, though  originally  Jewish.  Jerome  indeed 
(about  400)  professes  to  have  seen  a  copy  of  the 
original ;  as  he  made  no  use  of  it  for  the  correction 
of  the  Vetus  Itala,  his  statement  is  liable  to  sus- 


picion. Jewish  writers  either  know  nothing  about 
Ben-Sira  or  get  their  information  from  Christians. 
Before  the  book  became  part  of  the  inheritance 
left  by  the  Hellenic  and  Syrian  Jews  to  the  Chris- 
tians, it  appears  to  have  received  some  additions 
which  are  found  in  certain  Greek  MSS  and  are 
obelized  in  the  Hexaplar  Syriac.  Some  of  these, 
e.g.  those  after  I4  and  I8 ,  are  evidently  translated 
from  Hebrew  ;  and  the  long  passage  that  follows 
2616  in  MS  248,  which  contains  most  of  these  addi- 
tions, seems  to  be  certified  as  a  translation  from 
the  Hebrew  by  the  fact  of  its  occurrence  in  the 
Syriac.  The  MS  cited  and  some  others  occasion- 
ally exhibit  variants  which  go  back  to  a  Hebrew 
original,  e.g.  37*6b,  Icrrcu  for  fijcrerat ;  2520,  (j.tap6v  for 
fj-otx^v  (i.e.  naii?) ;  1015,  where  virepT)<pdvui>  is  added 
to  lOvCiv,  doubtless  an  improved  rendering  of  D'NJ. 
Since  it  is  certain,  nevertheless,  that  all  Greek 
MSS  go  back  to  one  copy,  if  the  Hebrew  disap- 
peared about  A.D.  150  these  improvements  must 
all  have  been  made  before  that  date,  though  per- 
petuated in  late  MSS. 

7.  Place  in  the  Christian  Church. — The  process 
whereby  the  literature  of  the  Hellenic  and  Syrian 
Jews  was  appropriated  and  inherited  by  Christians 
is   exceedingly  obscure.      With   this   question   is 
connected  that  of  the  origin  of  the  Peshitta  OT, 
which  is  now  known  to  lie  behind  certain  passages 
in  the  Greek  text  of  the  Gospels,  whence  it  appears 
to  be  pre-Chri&tian  ;   just  as  Christian  books  of 
interest  were  translated  into  Syriac  shortly  after 
their  appearance  in  Christian  times,  we  may  sup- 
pose the  same  to  have  been  done  with  Hebrew 
books  in  Jewish  times.      The  work  of  Ben-Sira 
formed  part  of  the  inheritance  taken  over  by  the 
Christian  communities  from  their  predecessors ; 
but,  though  associated  with  the  canonical  books, 
it  failed  to  obtain  admission  into  the  canon  ;  hence 
it  is  found  in  neither  of  the  canons  preserved  in 
the  HE  of  Eusebius,  who  notices  the  fact  (vi.  13) 
that  although  avTi\ey6fj.evov  it  is  cited  by  Clement 
of  Alexandria.     That  various   Christian   writers 
should  quote  it  as  by  Solomon  is  not  surprising. 
The  Latin  version  is  certainly  early,  and  in  a 
curious  language,  said  to  be  African  Latinity ;  it 
appears  to  have  been  made  from  the  Greek  either 
directly  or  indirectly  with  the  help  of  a  copy  of 
the  original ;    for   not   only  does  it  exhibit  the 
chapters  in  their  right  order  as  does  the  Syriac, 
whereas  in  all  copies  of  the  Greek  there  is  a  seri- 
ous transposition  of  chapters  in  the  middle  of  the 
work,  but  in  a  considerable  number  of  cases  its 
renderings  are  explicable  on  this  supposition.    An 
example  has  been  given  above. 

The  other  versions  add  little  or  nothing  to  the 
criticism  of  the  text ;  of  these  the  Armenian, 
Coptic,  Ethiopic,  and  Syro-Hexaplar  are  from  the 
Greek,  the  Arabic  from  the  Syriac. 

8.  In  Islamic  literature  the  name  of  Ben-Sira 
appears  to  be  unknown,  but  in  spite  of  this  his 
work  is  perhaps  more  frequently  cited  than  any 
other  biblical    oook.     Thus  301'3  are  cited  in  the 
Kamil  of  Mubarrad   (i.   45)  as  the  words  of   'a 
sage ' ;   26.  20  was   cited   by  Malik   b.    Dinar  (t 
A.H.  123  =  A.D.  740)  as   'written  in  the  Wisdom' 
(Mikhlat,  49,  16);  1824  is  cited  by  Ghazali  (Ihya 
'ulum  al  din,   iii.   66)    as    from  the  Torah ;   2921 
is   ascribed   to  the  prophet    Muhammad    in  the 
Musnad    of    Ibn    Hanbal    (i.    62)    as    is    252    in 
the  Sahih  of  Muslim  (i.  41);  while  2626  is  cited 
as  'a  tradition'  by  Yaqut  (Dictionary  of  Learned 
Men,   ed.   D.   S.   Margoliouth,   London,    1913,    L 
15).      Early  authors,   e.g.   the  poet  Abu  Nuwas 
and    the    polygraph    Jahiz  of    Basrah,   occasion- 
ally  employ    phrases    which    seem    traceable    to 
the  book,  though  there  is  no  suggestion  of  the 
source  ;  thus  in  the  Misers  of  the  latter  (ed  H.  van 
Vloten,  Leiden,   1900,  p.  99,  12)  'the  people  call 


508 


SIRACH 


SLRACH 


miser  one  whose  loaves  are  few  in  number '  looks 
like  a  reproduction  of  3424a ;  it  is,  however,  diffi- 
cult to  distinguish  in  such  cases  between  repro- 
duction and  coincidence,  whence  it  is  likely  that 
the  verse  of  Ibn  Hijjah  (Cairo,  1304,  p.  96),  'death 
is  sweeter  than  a  bitter  life,'  is  his  own,  though  the 
words  are  all  but  identical  with  those  of  Sir  SO17. 

9.  Re-translations. — Re-translation,  in  the  sense 
of  restoring  the  lost  original,  is  a  difficult  task, 
yet  somewhat  facilitated  by  the  extreme  faithful- 
ness of  the  Greek  ;  it  is  further  aided  by  compari- 
son with  the  independent  Peshitta  Synac,  which 
seems  to  have  followed  a  mutilated  and  partly 
obliterated  copy,  which  it  often  paraphrased  rather 
than  translated.  In  recent  times  the  task  has 
been  attempted  by  J.  L.  Wolfsohn  (Ben-Zeb),  who 
followed  the  Syriac,  which  he  supplemented  from 
a  German  version  of  the  Greek  (3Vienna,  1814). 
A  more  scholarly  re-translation  is  that  of  I.  Z. 
Frankel  (re-printed  Warsaw,  1894,  in  a  complete 
version  of  the  Apocrypha  made  from  the  Greek). 
Both  these  works  aim  at  providing  a  readable 
rendering  for  those  who  are  accustomed  to  read 
Hebrew  rather  than  at  restoring  for  philological 
purposes  the  ipsisitma  verba  of  the  original. 

In  the  years  1897-99  considerable  fragments  were 
published  in  Oxford  by  A.  E.  Cowley  and  A. 
Neubauer,  and  in  Cambridge  by  S.  Schechter  and 
C.  Taylor,  of  a  re-translation  made  in  the  10th  or 
llth  cent.,  which,  doubtless  owing  to  its  extreme 
badness,  had  been  consigned  to  oblivion  in  an 
Egyptian  Genizah.  This  was,  indeed,  mistaken 
for  the  original  by  the  editors  and  for  a  time  by 
some  others,  but  that  it  is  a  re-translation  is  de- 
monstrated by  all  the  tests  that  can  be  applied, 
and  only  a  few  arguments  need  be  adduced  here. 

(1)  It  borrows  from   the  Talmud,  and  not  vice 
versa.      In    Bab.    Erubin    54a    the    following   is 
quoted  :  '  My  son,  if  thou  hast,  do  good  to  thyself, 
for  there  is  not  in  Sheol  luxury,  neither  is  there  to 
death  delay.'    This  comes  originally  from  Sir  14n, 
'  Child,  according  as  thou  hast,  do  good  to  thyself, 
and  offerings  to  the   Lord  worthily  bring';  v.12, 
'  Remember    that    death  will  not  delay,   and    a 
covenant  of  Hades  has  not  been  shown  thee ' ; 
v.16,     '  Give    and    take    and    deceive    thy    soul, 
for  there  is  not  in  Hades  to  seek  luxury.'    It  is 
clear  that  the  reminiscence  in  the  Talmud  is  of 
vviia.  wb.  ifc       The    Egyptian  document    for    v.12 
gives  the  two  clauses  v.1Bb  and  v.12a  in  the  order 
in  which  they  appear  in  the  Talmud  :  '  Remember 
that  there  is  not  in   Sheol  luxury,  neither   will 
death  delay.'    The  clause  which  in  the  Greek  is 
v.16b  is  here  transferred  to  the  place  before  v.12». 
But  when  we  come  to  v.16  we  find  the  same  clause 
repeated  :  '  Give  to  a  brother  and  give  and  indulge 
thyself ;  for  there  is  not  in  Sheol  to  seek  luxury.' 
The  only  explanation  of    this   is  that,  when   re- 
translating   v.12,   the    translator    recollected    the 
Talmudic  citation  and  inserted  it  whole,  without 
noticing  that  the  clause  about  Sheol  and  luxury 
came  later  in  the  copy  before  him  ;  and  when  he 
came  to  v.18b  he  translated  it  afresh.     Practically 
the  same  thing  is  done  by  Wolfsohn,  who  inserts 
the  Talmudic  quotation  as  v.13,  but  does  not  repeat 
the  clause  about  Sheol  and  luxury  in  v.16  because 
the  Syriac  omits  it. 

(2)  In  numerous  places  where  the  Greek  and 
Syriac  versions  differ  slightly,   yet  quite  clearly 
represent  the  same  original,  the  Egyptian  docu- 
ment has  two  texts,  translating  or  mistranslating 
both  the  Greek  and  the  Syriac.     So  in  3020  where 
the  Greek  has  '  eunuch '  and  the  Syriac  mhaimna, 
i.e.   'faithful,'   but  used  ordinarily  for  'eunuch,' 
the  Egyptian  document  has  two  verses,  one  with 
'eunuch    and  the  other  with  ' faithful.'     Similarly 
in  3017,  where  the  Greek  has  '  Better  is  death  than 
a  bitter  life,  and  eternal  rest  than  constant  sick- 


ness,' but  the  Syriac,  '  Better  is  it  to  die  than  an 
evil  life,  and  go  down  to  Sheol  than  a  sickness 
which  is  permanent,'  the  Egyptian  document  has 
two  verses,  one  with  '  eternal  rest '  and  the 
other  with  'to  go  down  to  Sheol.'  Since  the 
Greek  and  the  Syriac  clearly  represent  the  same 
original,  somewhat  differently  rendered,  it  is 
obvious  and  certain  that  the  Egyptian  document 
is  compiled  from  the  Greek  ana  the  Syriac,  not 
vice  versa. 

(3)  The  Egyptian  document  has  numerous  read- 
ings which  are  easily  explicable  as  mistranslations 
of  Syriac  or  Greek  words,  e.g.  that  already  cited  of 
mhaimna,  4112b,   'wisdom'  for  «njn,  which  really 
means  '  of  injustice,'  but  would  be  certainly  mis- 
rendered  thus  by  one  acquainted  only   with   the 
Jewish   Aramaic;   35s,  'a  judgment  of  song'  for 
<rijyKpi/j.a  /JLOVVIKUV  ( !).     Others  are  explicable  by  the 
medium  of  another  language  ;  for  it  is  not  probable 
that  the  re-translator  had  access   to   the  Greek 
directly.    This  language  is  identified  with  certainty 
as  Persian  written  in  the  Arabic  character  by  the 
mistranslation  in  432  of  diayytXXuv  by  '  pouring  out 
heat. '     This  is  obviously  due  to  the  Persian  skhn, 
which  means  both  '  speech '  (its  Persian  sense)  and 
'  heat '  (its  Arabic  sense).     Since  the  subject  is  the 
sun,  one  who  did  not  remember  Ps  19  might  not 
unreasonably  think  that  he  poured  forth  heat  rather 
than  speech.     Another  certain  mistranslation  from 
Persian  is  in  4313,  'lightning'  for  'snow,'  since  in 
this  language  the  words  are  all  but  indistinguish- 
able (barq  and  barf,  distinguished  by  a  dot).     Be- 
sides   containing  mistranslations    this    document 
sometimes    absolutely    fails    to    understand    the 
author,  e.g.  the  'decoy-partridge'  of  II30. 

(4)  Even  if  the  document  were  not  condemned 
hopelessly  by  internal  evidence,  the  external  evi- 
dence would  condemn  it.     As  has  been  seen,  the 
nature  of  the  references  in   the  Oral    Tradition 
makes  it  certain  that  the  work  had  been  lost  before 
that  tradition  had  been  compiled.     The  only  work 
in  which  the  Egyptian  document  is  quoted  is  a 
mediaeval  squib  called  Sefer  ha-Galuy,  composed  in 
mockery  of  the  Gaon  Saadyah  (t  A.D.  941),  though 
ascribed  to  him ;   but  even  this  work  is  rather 
against  it  than  in  its  favour,  since  it  classifies  it 
with  a  notorious  forgery,  the  Hebrew  Hasmonsean 
Roll,  and*  makes  the  ludicrous  statement  that  the 
authors  of  these  works  provided  them  with  points 
and  accents— inventions  of  the  8th  cent,   at  the 
earliest.     The  real  Saadyah  knows  Ben-Sira  only 
from  the  citations  in  the  Talmud.     In  the  pseudo- 
Josephus,  a  Hebrew  work  of  the  9th  cent.,  the 
latter  is  called   Ben-S7uracA,  a  form  which  must 
come  from  the  Greek  ;  and  in  a  chronicle  of  the 
llth  or  12th  cent.   (Neubauer,  Mediceval  Jewish 
Chronicles,  i.  167)  his  work  is  called  Maqhil,  which 
is  a  rendering  of  the  Latin  Ecclesiasticus.     To- 
wards the  end  of  the  10th  cent,  the  author  of  the 
Arabic  Fihrist  mentions  the  work  as  in  the  hands 
of  the  Christians,  but  not  of  the  Jews.     When  the 
Gaon  Hai  (t  1038)  was  asked  to  account  for  certain 
words  of  Ben-Sira  being  said  in  the  Talmud  to  be 
in  the  Writings,  his  reply  is  '  they  were  written,' 
implying  that  they  were  so  no  longer  (Teshuboth 
ha-Gaonim,  Lyck,  5624,  p.  12). 

(5)  The  appearance  of  the  MS,  in  which  the  text  is 
corrected  with  the  greatest  licence,  resembles  an 
author's  brouillon  more  than  a  copy  of  an  ancient 
work. 

Against  this  evidence  no  argument  can  be  ad- 
duced which  deserves  to  be  refuted  or  even  cited. 
Even  if  it  be  true  that  it  sometimes  has  a  text 
which  explains  both  the  Greek  and  the  Syriac 
where  they  differ,  this  is  fully  accounted  for  by 
the  fact  that  the  re-translator  had  the  two  texts 
before  him,  and  tried  to  reconcile  them  ;  there  is 
no  reason  why  he  should  not  occasionally  succeed. 


SISTEK 


SLAVE,  SLAVERY 


509 


But  that  the  original  author  should  have  written 
a  series  of  verses  twice  with  slight  differences,  and 
the  Greek  and  Syriac  translators  in  each  case 
have  selected  one  and  selected  differently,  is  a 
supposition  which  takes  us  into  the  region  of  sheer 
impossibility.  Moreover,  any  one  mistranslation, 
such  as  that  of  mhaimna  above,  condemns  the 
whole  work  absolutely. 

Since  in  Islamic  States  Jews  were  regularly 
associated  with  Christians  in  the  public  bureaux 
and  the  medical  profession,  they  saw  much  of  each 
other,  and  those  Jews  who  wished  to  consult  Ben- 
Sira's  book  could  easily  do  so  by  borrowing  it  from 
their  Christian  friends  ;  hence  it  may  be  suspected 
that  it  was  translated  into  Hebrew  from  Christian 
copies  many  times.  In  the  Seder  Olam  of  the  llth 
or  12th  cent.,  as  we  have  seen,  it  is  quoted  from 
the  Latin  ;  and  at  least  one  passage  of  the  Egyp- 
tian re-translation  shows  use  of  the  Latin  version. 
This  is  in  3210,  '  Before  thunder  there  hurries 
lightning,  and  before  a  shamefast  man  there  will 
precede  grace.'  The  Latin  renders  this,  'ante 
grandinem  praeibit  coruscatio,  et  ante  verecundiam 
praeibit  gratia.'  The  Egyptian  document  gives 
two  renderings  which  agree  in  substituting  '  hail ' 
for  '  thunder,'  while  one  repeats  nsr  as  a  rendering 
of  prceivit,  but  a  very  erroneous  one,  since  the 
Hebrew  verb  means  (as  Gesenius  renders  it) 
1  can  turn  praeivit.'  Since  lightning  precedes  not 
hail,  but  thunder,  this  Latin  is  a  certain  mis- 
rendering  of  the  original.  But  why  the  re- 
translator  should  in  this  case  have  called  in  its 
assistance  and  in  what  medium  is  unknown. 
D.  S.  MARGOLIOUTH. 

SISTER.— See  FAMILY. 

SLANDER.— See  EviL-SPEAKlNG. 

SLAVE,  SLAVERY.— 1.  Universal  prevalence 
in  the  Apostolic  Age. — Slavery  was  a  conspicuous 
and  unchallenged  feature  of  the  social  order  into 
the  midst  of  which  Christianity  was  born.  Modern 
readers  easily  fail  to  realize  its  presence  in  the 
background  of  the  NT  Scriptures,  so  great  are  the 
social  changes  that  have  been  brought  about  in 
the  course  of  time,  and  so  much  is  the  harsh  fact 
softened  by  the  phrasing  of  our  versions.  The  AV 
'servant,'  with  its  present  connotation,  is  a  very 
mild  equivalent  for  SoOXos ;  the  RV  'bond-servant' 
is  clearer,  but  is  still  a  euphemistic  substitute  for 
'  slave ' — the  term  which  exactly  represents  what 
the  SoOXos  of  the  NT  really  was.  In  the  only  in- 
stance in  which  the  EW  use  the  term  'slaves'  in 
the  NT  (Rev  1813)  it  represents  a  late  but  significant 
use  of  ff&fj.a  ('body').  Similarly,  the  EW  'master' 
stands  for  terms  (whether  Sea-irdrrii  or  the  commoner 
/ctf/Hos)  that  imply  ownership.  The  existence  of 
slavery  must  have  lent  special  vividness  and  point 
to  the  early  use  of  redemption  as  a  figure  to  describe 
the  experience  of  salvation. 

In  the  old  civilization  of  the  world  slavery 
appears  as  a  most  natural  and  inevitable  fact. 
The  well-known  Code  of  Hammurabi,  fragmentary 
as  it  is,  affords  us  considerable  insight  into  the 
social  conditions  of  Babylonia  as  existing  more 
than  twenty  centuries  before  the  Christian  era. 
Therein  we  have  a  number  of  remarkable  laws  re- 
gulating relations  between  slaves  and  their  owners, 
side  by  side  with  others  dealing  with  the  wages 
payable  for  the  employment  of  different  kinds  of 
free  labour.  And,  most  probably  with  a  real  rela- 
tion to  this  older  legal  system,  we  have  at  a  later 
period  the  Mosaic  legislation  similarly  embodying 
slave  laws,  slavery  having  been  just  as  much  a  re- 
cognized part  of  the  system  of  things  among  the 
Hebrews  as  among  otner  ancient  peoples.  Only 
the  Pentateuchal  Code  (or  Codes)  must  be  admitted 
to  be  marked  by  a  conspicuous  humanity  in  this 


as  in  some  other  respects,  and  especially  in  the 
Deuteronomic  form  (see,  e.g.,  Dt  1512ff-).  'The  ex- 
istence of  slavery,  indeed,  was  so  old  and  general 
a  phenomenon  in  human  history  that  St.  Augustine 
could  explain  it  only  as  a  result  of  sin,  so  sure  was 
he  that  it  was  not  the  Divine  intention  that  man 
should  own  and  lord  it  over  his  fellow-man  (de  Civ. 
Dei,  xix.  15).  (St.  Chrysostom  takes  a  similar  line 
in  Horn.  xl.  ad  1  Cor.  x.  5.)  Incidentally  he  com- 
ments more  suo  on  the  fact  that  the  term  '  servus' 
first  appears  in  Scripture  in  the  strange  Genesis 
story  of  the  curse  of  Canaan  (Gn  925) — a  source 
whence,  curiously  enough,  many  a  Christian  owner 
of  negro  slaves  in  modern  times  has  derived  'flatter- 
ing unction '  in  defence  of  his  position. 

But  never  was  slavery  more  conspicuous  as  a 
social  institution  than  it  was  in  the  Roman  Empire 
in  the  1st  cent.  A.D.  Numerous  wars  of  conquest 
had  swollen  the  numbers  of  the  slave  class  to  an 
enormous  extent :  for  all  prisoners  of  war  were 
made  slaves  as  a  matter  of  course.  Slave-dealers 
followed  the  armies  on  their  campaigns  and  pur- 
chased on  the  spot  those  who  were  taken  captive. 
Indeed,  St.  Augustine  (loc.  cit.)  gives  currency  to 
a  popular  etymology  of  the  term  '  servus,'  deriving 
it  from  the  verb  '  servare.'  The  servus  was  a  man 
who  might  justly  have  been  slain,  but  was  preserved 
alive  by  the  conqueror,  though  inevitably  doomed 
to  lose  his  freedom.  There  was,  moreover,  a 
regular  slave-trade  carried  on  in  the  East,  the 
markets  being  abundantly  supplied  from  the  bar- 
barous tribes  of  Western  Asia.  Barbarians  were 
regarded  as  being  naturally  designed  to  be  the 
slaves  of  their  superiors — a  sentiment  not  wholly 
wanting  even  yet  in  many  white  people  towards 
the  '  inferior  races.' 

As  in  the  Greek  States  at  an  earlier  period  the 
slaves  numbered  four  or  five  times  as  many  as  the 
citizens  proper,  so  the  proportion  in  the  Roman 
Empire  must  have  been  similarly  great.  Thus 
Pliny  (/ZiVxxxiii.  47)  mentions  a  wealthy  Roman, 
named  Claudius  Isidorus,  of  the  time  of  Augustus, 
who  left  by  will  4116  slaves  as  part'of  his  posses- 
sions. When,  too,  it  was  proposed  that  slaves 
should  wear  a  distinctive  dress,  the  proposal  was 
abandoned  lest  this  should  reveal  their  strength  ; 
and  Roman  history  had  already  furnished  evidence 
of  grim  possibilities  in  the  serious  slave  wars  of 
Sicily  which  occurred  in  the  latter  part  of  the  2nd 
cent.  B.C.  Similar  considerations  caused  the  enact- 
ment of  severe  laws  that  supplied  drastic  in  terrorem 
methods  for  keeping  slaves  in  subjection.  Tacitus 
mentions  the  case  of  Pedanius  Secundus,  prefect 
of  the  city,  who  had  been  murdered  by  one  of  his 
slaves,  and  under  a  law  requiring  that,  should  a 
slave  kill  his  master,  all  the  slaves  of  the  same 
household  should  forfeit  their  lives,  some  400  of 
the  culprit's  fellow-slaves  were  put  to  death  at 
Rome  A.D.  61  (Ann.  xiv.  42). 

2.  The  'libertini.'— As  an  outcome  of  the  system 
of  slavery,  the  class  of  libertini  or  freedmen,  which 
formed  so  conspicuous  a  feature  of  Roman  society, 
calls  for  passing  notice.  These  were  citizens  who 
either  had  actually  been  slaves  themselves  afore- 
time or  were  the  immediate  descendants  of  freed 
slaves.  They  must  have  far  outnumbered  the  free- 
born,  and  possessed  overwhelming  influence  in  the 
State.  Manumission  was  of  frequent  occurrence. 
The  enormous  numbers  of  captives  reduced  to 
slavery  after  every  war,  and  the  frequent  fluctua- 
tions in  great  Roman  establishments,  all  tended  to 
make  manumission  easy.  Many  slaves  were  per- 
mitted by  their  masters  to  accumulate  savings  and 
purchase  their  freedom  with  the  money.  Some- 
times the  enfranchisement  was  accomplished  by 
the  solemn  rite  of  fictitious  purchase  on  the  part 
of  some  divinity.  The  slave  first  paid  the  purchase 
money  which  he  had  saved  into  the  treasury  of 


510 


SLAVE,  SLAVERY 


SLAVE,  SLAVERY 


3ome  temple  :  then  owner  and  slave  went  together 
to  the  temple,  and  the  latter  was  supposed  to  be 
sold  to  the  god,  the  price  being  duly  paid  to  the 
master.  The  slave  became  technically  the  property 
of  the  god  (and  was  indeed  regarded  as  his  protege), 
but  was  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  and  especially 
as  regards  his  former  master,  a  completely  free 
man.  In  inscriptions  and  papyri  frequent  refer- 
ences are  to  be  found  to  slaves  who  had  been 
bought  by  this  or  that  god  for  freedom.  The 
practice  sheds  much  light  on  the  argument  pursued 
by  St.  Paul  in  Gal  4.  5  (see  A.  Deissmann,  Light 
from  the  Ancient  East  [Eng.  tr.,  London,  1911,  p. 
326]).  Manumission  was  often  regarded  as  a  normal 
result  of  faithful  service.  A  man  would  emancipate 
slaves  in  individual  cases  during  his  own  life-time, 
whilst  very  commonly  a  master  would  set  a  multi- 
tude at  liberty  on  his  death-bed  or  by  will.  But 
such  wholesale  emancipation  was  attended  with 
evils  of  its  own.  One  result  was  to  flood  the 
citizens'  roll  with  crowds  of  'undesirables.'  On 
this  account  Augustus  ordained  (lex  Furia  Caninia, 
A.D.  8)  that  in  no  case  should  more  than  100  slaves 
be  emancipated  by  will. 

When  a  slave  was  set  free  not  by  a  legal  but  by 
an  extra-legal  process,  i.e.  by  a  simple  exercise  of 
authority  on  the  part  of  his  master,  a  kind  of  feudal 
tie  still  united  the  two.  The  freedman  was  his 
master's  diens,  his  master  being  now  known  as 
his  patronus.  A  Roman  noble  depended  very 
much  on  the  multitude  of  his  'clients'  for  his 
political  and  social  importance.  Only  in  the  third 
generation  did  these  restrictions  disappear  and  the 
family  of  the  freedman  come  into  the  enjoyment 
of  complete  liberty.  But  the  power  possessed  by 
this  class  in  the  early  Christian  period  was  very 
great :  emancipated  slaves  or  their  descendants 
occupied  all  kinds  of  State  offices.  The  liberlini, 
too,  prospered  greatly  in  trade  and  commerce, 
being,  indeed,  as  a  class  notorious  for  their  ambi- 
tion to  amass  wealth.  The  literature  of  the  early 
Empire  exhibits  many  of  them  as  playing  the  part 
of  the  nouveaitx  riches  and  vulgarly  emulating  the 
luxury  of  aristocratic  palaces. 

3.  Evils  of  slavery.— The  evils  of  slavery  were 
manifold,  deep-seated,  far-reaching.  If,  as  Matthew 
Arnold  puts  it, 

•  On  that  hard  Pagan  world  disgust 

And  secret  loathing  fell. 
Deep  weariness  and  sated  lust 
Made  human  life  a  hell' 

(Obermann  once  More,  linea'93-96), 

the  evils  of  slavery  contributed  materially  to  that 
result. 

(a)  The  slave  population  was  necessarily  a  hot- 
bed of  vice,  contaminating  all  who  came  into  con- 
tact with  it.     Moral  excellence  was  not  expected 
in  a  slave.     He  was  only  '  an  animated  chattel ' 
(KTTjfj.a.  tfjLij/vxov) :  a  tool  could  similarly  be  described 
as '  an  inanimate  slave '  (&-J/vxos  SoCXos).    (Cf.  Varro's 
classification  of  implements,  in  de  Re  rust.  I.  xvii. 
1  :  (1)  those  with  voice  and  speech,  e.g.  slaves  ;  (2) 
those  with  voice  but  not  speech,  e.g.  oxen ;   (3) 
those  without  voice,  e.g.  wagons. )  The  term '  slaves' 
occurs  only  once  in  EVV  of  the  NT,  viz.  in  Rev 
1813  as  a  crowning  item  in  Babylon's  merchandise  : 
and  there  it  represents  a-w/j-ara  ('bodies').     How 
significant  that  trCifj-a  thus  came-to  denote  a  slave  ! 
The  somewhat  similar  use  of  the  term  'hands'  in 
modern  industrialism — with  subtle  possibilities  of 
suggestion  lurking  in  the  use — has  often  been  re- 
marked upon.     Vast  numbers  of  slaves  hailed  from 
Greece,  from  Western  Asia,  and  from  Egypt,  whose 
great  cities  were  the  notorious  seats  of  the  wildest 
abominations  ;  and  their  vices  flourished  with  un- 
impeded growth. 

(b)  Luxury  and  extravagance  increased  in  society 
as  slaves  increased   in   numbers  and  were  more 


easily  acquired.  Friedlander  points  out  that  in 
great  houses  large  numbers  of  slaves  were  kept 
merely  for  ostentatious  display.  Their  service  was 
often  limited  to  ridiculously  insignificant  functions. 
Some  had  only  to  act  as  torch-bearers,  or  as  street- 
attendants  :  there  were  instances  in  which  slaves 
had  merely  '  to  serve  as  clocks  and  announce  the 
hours '  (Roman  Life  and  Manners  under  the  Early 
Empire,  ii.  219).  Masters  and  mistresses  were  thus 
spared  every  kind  of  personal  exertion.  Clement 
of  Alexandria  gives  a  scathing  account  of  these 
evils  in  Pcedagogus,  iii.  4. 

(c)  A  tyrannical  and  ferocious  spirit  found  easy 
development  in  the  masters.     There  was  always 
the  temptation  to  treat  slaves  worse  than  dogs. 
Moreover,  an  iron  rule  seemed  the  only  means  of 
keeping  slaves  in  subjection  and  guarding  against 
outbreaks  of    violence.      Masters  could  not   feel 
perfectly  sure  even  of  slaves  born  on  their  estates, 
how  much  less  of  those  who  could  be  described  as 
a  rabble  of  various  nationalities  !  (Tacitus,  Ann. 
xiv.  44).     This  state  of  things  gave  rise  to  the  pro- 
verb :  'Quot  servi,  tot  hostes.'    The  master  might 
reckon  every  slave  he  had  as  a  foe. 

(d)  The  economic  influence  of  slavery  was  dis- 
astrous.    Trade  and  labour  came  more  and  more 
to  be  carried   on   by  slaves.     Poor  citizens  found 
themselves  almost  entirely  excluded  from   ways 
of  getting  an  honourable  livelihood,  and  suffered 
degradation  in  consequence.     Many  even  came  to 
regard  trade  with  repugnance.     They  betook  them- 
selves to  corrupt  and  corrupting  occupations,  as 
actors,    pantomimes,    hired    gladiators,    political 
spies,  and  the  like.     Large  numbers  lived  in  idle- 
ness, having  corn  given  them  as  a  right  and  amuse- 
ments gratuitously  provided  ('  panem  et  circenses'). 

(e)  Friedlander  and    others  emphasize    as    the 
most  revolting  feature  of  slavery  its  '  contemptuous 
disregard  of  human  dignity'  (op.  cit.,  p.  221).     But 
this  is  to  speak  from  a  modern  point  of  view.     We 
may  well  agree  with  J.  S.  Mill   that  what  most 
injures  and  dishonours  a  country  is  'the  personal 
slavery  of  human  beings';   but  it  has  taken  the 
world  many  centuries  to  realize  this.     The  average 
Roman  citizen  of  the  1st  cent,  would  be  incapable 
of  such  a  sentiment. 

4.  The  better  side  of  things. — There  must,  how- 
ever, have  been  not  a  few  lights  to  relieve  the 
heavy  shadows  of  such  a  system.  Instances  are 
not  wanting  of  kindly  affection  in  masters  and 
of  loyal  devotion  in  slaves.  Tacitus  tells  of  the 
slave-girls  of  Octavia  who  braved  torture  and 
death  in  defence  of  her  good  name  (Ann.  xiv.  60). 
Slaves  were  to  be  found  who  preferred  to  remain 
slaves  even  when  offered  the  chance  of  manu- 
mission (see  the  case  of  a  slave  belonging  to  the 
famous  Maecenas  referred  to  by  Suetonius,  de 
Gramm.  Illustr.  21).  Dt  1516f-,  it  may  be  remem- 
bered, provides  for  such  a  case  as  a  quite  possible 
thing  as  regards  slavery  among  the  Hebrews. 
There  must  have  been  many  houses  like  that  of 
the  younger  Pliny,  in  which,  as  Seneca  says,  slaves 
were  regarded  as  '  humble  friends  and  real  members 
of  the  family '  (Ep.  47.  See  also  de  Benef.  iii.  21). 
Inscriptions,  again,  often  reveal  a  better  side  of 
slave  life,  testifying  to  mutual  love  between  master 
and  servant,  and  also  to  faithful  love  between 
slave-husband  and  wife,  even  though  de  iure 
slaves  could  not  occupy  the  status  of  matrimony 
(Dill,  Roman  Society  from  Nero  to  Marcus 
Aurelius,  p.  117). 

Many  a  slave  found  some  amelioration  of  his  lot 
in  being  (with  his  master's  permission)  a  member 
of  one  of  the  numerous  collegia  or  sodalities 
which  formed  such  a  feature  of  plebeian  society 
in  those  days.  These  clubs  or  unions,  as  an 
institution,  were  of  great  antiquity,  and  were 
maintained  '  for  protection  against  oppression,  for 


SLAVE,  SLAVERY 


SLAVE,  SLAVERY 


511 


mutual  sympathy  and  support,  for  relief  from  the 
deadly  dulness  of  an  obscure  and  sordid  life'  (Dill, 
op.  cit.,  p.  256).  In  their  gatherings  fraternity 
found  expression  :  slave  could  meet  with  freeman 
on  equal  terms  and  fully  share  in  the  same  rights 
and  privileges.  Such  gilds,  indeed,  most  probably 
furnished  to  some  extent  the  model  on  which  the 
first  societies  of  Christians  were  formed. 

It  must  also  be  said  that  from  the  time  of 
Augustus  onwards  a  growingly  humane  sentiment 
made  itself  felt  in  legislation  which  decidedly 
improved  the  condition  of  the  slave.  The  fact, 
also,  that  many  people  of  superior  ability,  such  as 
physicians,  sculptors,  and  litterateurs,  were  of  this 
class  made  legislative  reforms  urgent.  The  mass 
of  laws  dealing  with  slavery  was  immense  (see 
Buckland,  The  Roman  Law  of  Slavery).  By  the 
changes  that  were  made  from  time  to  time  the 
absolute  power  of  masters  over  slaves  for  life  or 
death  was  curtailed.  Thus,  the  Lex  Petronia  (in 
the  time  of  Augustus  or  Nero)  prohibited  masters 
from  condemning  slaves  to  fight  with  wild  beasts 
unless  with  judicial  sanction.  Under  Nero,  a 
special  judge  was  appointed  to  hear  complaints  of 
slaves,  and  now  masters  could  be  punished  for 
ill-treating  them.  There  is  on  record'  a  case  in 
which  Hadrian  exiled  a  Roman  lady  for  five 
years  for  treating  her  slaves  with  atrocious 
cruelty. 

5.  Christianity  and  slavery.  —  One  thing  is 
clear,  however  surprising  it  may  seem  to  some  : 
it  was  no  part  of  the  Christian  propaganda  to 
attack  slavery  as  a  system  and  seek  its  over- 
throw. But,  as  B.  F.  Westcott  incidentally 
remarks,  '  the  abolition  of  slavery  would  have 
seemed  in  the  first  age  more  impossible  than 
universal  peace '  (Lessons  from  Work,  London, 
1901,  p.  179).  The  existing  social  order  was 
accepted  as  a  fact.  The  Christian  message  ad- 
dressed itself  primarily  to  nien  in  themselves. 
It  had  nothing  to  say  as  to  their  environment, 
their  social  status,  the  government  and  laws  under 
which  they  lived — except  so  far  as  there  were 
usages  and  characteristics  of  society  to  be  de- 
nounced (e.g.  idolatry,  impurity,  cruelty)  as  in 
deadly  conflict  with  the  cultivation  of  Christian 
character.  So  far  from  directly  advocating  efforts 
to  effect  social  changes,  Christianity  rather  coun- 
selled its  adherents  to  acquiesce  in  their  condition, 
though,  as  far  as  the  servile  class  was  concerned, 
their  lot  too  commonly  was  degraded  and  hope- 
less. 

Jesus  Himself  used  the  relation  of  master  and 
slave  to  illustrate  His  teaching,  without  any  word 
condemning  slavery  as  an  evil  in  itself  (see,  e.g., 
Mt  1823tf-).  So,  too,  St.  Paul  in  his  Epistles  has 
nothing  to  say  against  the  institution.  Indeed,  in 
one  important  passage  (1  Co  72°-24)  he  definitely 
counsels  slave  converts  to  stay  contentedly  in  their 
lot,  even  if  they  should  have  an  opportunity  to 
become  free.  The  rendering  of  the  EW  ('  use  it 
rather ')  is  enigmatical ;  and  certainly  from  early 
times  some  have  understood  the  Apostle's  phrase 
(fid\\ot>  xp^ffat)  thus  rendered  to  mean,  '  take  your 
freedom,  if  you  can  get  it,'  but  there  is  more  to  be 
said  for  viewing  it  as  counselling  them  to  stay  as 
they  were.  (RVm  dimly  indicates  this.)  Again, 
in  his  letter  to  Philemon  (that  little  classic  in  the 
literature  of  slavery),  St.  Paul  does  not  dream  of 
suggesting  that  Onesimus  should  be  set  at  liberty 
because  he  has  become  a  Christian.  Nor  is  this 
Jittitude  to  be  explained  merely  by  the  fact  that 
St.  Paul  was  absorbed  in  the  expectation  of  the 
Parousia  and  the  break-up  of  all  society  in  the 
near  future  (as  A.  E.  Garvie  suggests  in  Studies 
of  Paul  and  his  Gospel,  London,  1911,  pp.  73,  304). 
Rather,  surely,  slavery  was  so  ancient  and  estab- 
lished a  feature  in  the  social  framework  as  to  be 


regarded  as  quite  natural.  Besides,  in  the  Apostle's 
eyes,  a  slave  could  be  as  good  a  Christian  as  a 
freeman.  The  life  of  faith,  the  spiritual  experi- 
ence, was  the  one  thing  that  mattered  ;  and  '  in 
Christ '  the  distinction  between  slave  and  freeman, 
like  other  distinctions,  was  of  no  moment  (Col  311, 
etc.).  And  then,  did  not  the  Lord  Himself  assume 
the  tiop(f>r)  SovXov  ? — a  consideration  repeatedly  used 
by  the  Fathers  of  the  Early  Church  in  consoling 
and  encouraging  believers  who  were  slaves. 

From  the  first  both  slaves  and  slave-owners  were 
found  in  the  ranks  of  the  Christian  society.  No 
doubt  the  greater  proportion  of  converts  to  the 
Faith  came  from  the  servile  class — witness  St. 
Paul's  references  in  1  Co  1  and  elsewhere ;  but, 
as  Friedlander  says,  the  evangel  '  certainly  pene- 
trated often  enough  from  the  cell  of  the  slave  to 
the  house  of  the  master'  (op.  cit.,  iii.  195).  There 
was  many  another  Philemon  as  well  as  many 
another  Onesimus.  Otherwise  there  would  be 
little  point  in  the  reiterated  NT  counsels  addressed 
to  masters  and  slaves.  Athenagoras,  the  2nd 
cent,  apologist,  mentions  as  a  simple  matter  of 
fact :  '  We  have  slaves,  some  more  and  some  fewer ' 
(Apol.  35).  In  the  persecution  at  Lyons,  A.D.  177, 
pagan  slaves  gave  evidence  against  their  Christian 
masters  (Eusebius,  HE  v.  1).  And,  again,  from 
Constantine's  time  onwards  we  find  numerous 
laws  in  operation  dealing  with  the  case  of  Christian 
slaves.  Thus,  Jews  (against  whom,  especially  as 
proselytizers,  strict  laws  also  existed  in  the  Early 
Empire)  were  forbidden  to  possess  such. 

i  et  the  principles  of  Christianity  were  bound  in 
time  to  act  as  powerful  solvents  on  this  institution. 
They  contributed  to  its  ultimate  downfall.  For 
one  thing,  Christianity  set  up  a  new  order  of 
relations  that  did  not  recognize  class-distinctions. 
Master  and  slave  sat  together  at  the  Agape, 
received  the  sacred  elements  together,  and  joined 
together  in  public  worship.  The  Epistle  to 
Philemon,  though  written  to  restore  a  runaway 
slave  to  his  master,  had  within  it  the  seeds  of 
revolution  in  the  words,  '  No  longer  as  a  bond- 
servant, but.  .  .  a  brother  beloved '  (v.18).  In  peni- 
tential discipline,  wrongs  done  to  a  slave  were  not 
distinguished  from  wrongs  done  to  a  freeman. 
Church  legislation  carefully  guarded  the  chastity 
of  female  slaves.  Slave-birth  was  no  bar  to 
admission  to  the  priesthood  :  e.g.  Callistus,  a  3rd 
cent,  bishop  of  Rome,  was  originally  a  slave. 
Many  names  of  slaves  appear  in  the  roll  of  the 
martyrs,  and  the  memories  of  such  as  Blandina, 
Felicitas,  and  Vitalis,  who  suffered  in  the  persecu- 
tions of  the  first  two  centuries,  received  highest 
honour. 

Again,  Christianity  placed  a  high  value  on  what 
might  be  called  servile  virtues — the  qualities  that 
any  master  would  esteem  as  most  desirable  in  his 
slaves.  Humility,  obedience,  patience,  gentleness, 
resignation  are  cardinal  virtues  in  a  Christian. 
Jesus  said  to  His  disciples,  when  speaking  of  the 
high-handed  exercise  of  authority  and  power  in 
the  world,  'Not  so  shall  it  be  among  you'  (Mt 
2026),  and  apostolic  teaching  followed  the  same 
line.  It  emphasized  qualities  that  paganism 
neglected  or  under-rated,  as  was  only  natural 
since  Roman  society  in  general  held  slaves  in 
utter  contempt. 

Primitive  Christian  teaching,  however,  in  rela- 
tion to  the  various  duties  of  life,  kept  the  balance 
even  as  between  masters  and  slaves.  That  teaching 
in  its  essence  still  supplies  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciple for  regulating  similar  relations  (masters  and 
servants,  employers  and  employees)  under  whatever 
changed  conditions  they  may  continue  to  exist. 
Masters  were  warned  against  a  tyrannical  spirit,  a 
disdainful  inhumanity  ;  slaves  were  counselled  to 
avoid  '  eye-service '  and  do  their  work  as  for  Christ 


512 


SLAVE,  SLAVEKY 


SLEEP 


(Eph  65ff>)>  and  even  to  be  patiently  submissive 
towards  hard  masters  (1  P  218).  So  also  the 
Didache  (4)  exhorts  Christian  masters  not  to  show 
harshness  towards  their  slaves,  '  whose  hope  is  in 
the  same  God,'  and  slaves  to  submit  to  their  lords 
as  being  a  type,  or  copy,  of  God.  The  regulating 
consideration  for  both  parties  is  summarily  given 
in  the  so-called  Apostolic  Constitutions  (iv.  12)  ; 
it  is  their  common  humanity — '  even  as  he  is  a 
man.'  The  warning  addressed  to  slaves  in  1  Ti  6lf> 
is  noticeable,  and  by  no  means  superfluous,  human 
nature  being  what  it  is.  If  their  masters  were 
fellow-believers,  they  were  not  to  despise  them, 
'  because  they  are  brethren.'  Similarly  Ignatius 
(Ep.  ad  Polyc.  4)  :  '  Do  not  despise  slaves,  yet 
neither  let  them  be  puffed  up  with  conceit,  but 
rather  submit  themselves  the  more  (sc.  as  Christian 
slaves  with  Christian  masters)  for  the  glory  of 
God.'  He  adds:  'Let  them  not  long  to  be  set 
free  at  the  public  expense,  lest  they  be  found 
slaves  to  their  own  desires.'  With  the  continuance 
of  slavery  in  the  Christian  era  the  need  for  such 
counsels  continued.  How  imperfectly  Christians 
sometimes  followed  them  may  be  gathered  from 
the  simple  fact  that  the  Synod  of  Elvira  (c.  A.D. 
300)  could  legislate  for  the  possibility  that  a 
Christian  mistress  might  whip  her  handmaid  to 
death  (Canon  v.). 

The  Church  also  in  the  course  of  time  sought  to 
bring  about  practical  ameliorations  of  the  state  of 
servitude.  A  surprising  illustration  of  this  is 
afforded  by  Apostolic  Constitutions,  viii.  33,  where 
it  is  laid  down  that  slaves  are  to  be  exempt  from 
labour  at  all  the  great  ecclesiastical  seasons,  on 
the  days  of  apostles  and  martyrs,  and  on  both  the 
Jewish  Sabbath  and  the  Lord's  Day.  The  refer- 
ence to  enfranchisement  'at  the  public  expense' 
found  in  the  quotation  from  Ignatius  given  above 
points  also  to  the  encouragement  given  by  Christi- 
anity to  the  liberation  of  slaves  as  its  influence 
increased.  Christian  slaves,  as  such,  had  no  claim 
to  help  from  the  Church  in  order  to  purchase  their 
freedom,  yet  cases  occurred  in  which  such  help  was 
given.  After  the  time  of  Constantine  still  more  is 
heard  of  the  manumission  of  slaves  by  Christian 
masters.  It  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  meritorious, 
and  even  expiatory,  act. 

It  must  be  fully  admitted  that  in  the  ancient 
non -Christian  world  there  were  those  who  felt 
the  manifold  evils  of  slavery.  Sentiments  of 
enlarged  philanthropy  were  not  wanting.  Among 
the  Jews,  the  community  of  the  Essenes,  with  their 
interesting  experiment  in  social  reconstruction, 
must  not  be  forgotten.  Philo  says  :  '  There  is  not 
a  slave  amongst  them,  but  all  are  free '  (Quod  omnis 
probus  liber,  12).  The  Stoics  held  the  fraternity  of 
mankind.  '  We  are  members  of  one  great  body,' 
says  Seneca  (Ep.  95),  and  the  same  spirit  breathes 
in  many  of  his  writings.  Cicero,  too,  emphatically 
proclaims  universal  brotherhood  (see,  e.g.,  de 
Officiis,  iii.  6).  Still,  such  voices  were  compara- 
tively rare.  Men  for  the  most  part  acquiesced  in 
the  system :  some  argued  for  its  necessity.  It  is 
idle  to  ask  if  humaner  sentiments  would  have 
gained  force  in  time  and  brought  about  the  over- 
throw of  slavery,  had  Christianity  not  emerged. 
All  that  we  know  is  that  Christianity,  with  all  its 
imperfections,  is  the  one  power  that  has  most 
effectively  led  to  such  a  result. 

6.  In  no  instance  has  the  incubus  of  slavery  been 
easily  or  speedily  removed.  Serfdom,  that  modified 
form  of  slavery,  lingered  in  Europe  well  into  the 
last  century.  In  Scotland  colliers  were  legally 
serfs  up  to  the  end  of  the  18th  cent. ;  and  Archibald 
Geikie  (Scottish  Reminiscences,  Glasgow,  1904, 
p.  341)  speaks  of  having  talked  in  his  boyhood 
with  men  and  women  who  had  been  born  in 
servitude  and  had  worked  as  serfs  in  the  pits  of 


Midlothian.  And  long  after  the  system  itself  in 
any  particular  instance  has  disappeared,  its  baneful 
effects  are  clearly  traceable,  sometimes  in  condi- 
tions of  national  decadence,  as  Wallon  says  regard- 
ing Greece  :  '  degradation  of  the  man,  disorganiza- 
tion of  the  family,  ruin  of  the  States— these  were 
the  certain  effects  of  slavery'  (Histoire  de  Vesdavage 
dans  Vantiquite,  i.  452).  Our  very  language,  too, 
bears  witness  to  long-lingering  legacies  in  char- 
acter and  temper  derived  from  this  source,  e.g.  in 
'  servility '  and  a  '  domineering '  spirit — both  hate- 
ful things. 

Slavery  still  exists  in  various  parts  of  the  world, 
and  anti-slavery  campaigns  are  not  unnecessary. 
The  sons  of  freedom  themselves  sometimes  succumb 
to  the  temptation  to  make  slaves  practically  of 
their  weaker  fellow-men.  If  the  cause  of  world- 
wide liberty  for  men  is  to  prosper,  the  teaching  of 
the  NT  must  have  full  effect  given  to  it.  Chris- 
tians have,  indeed,  sometimes  defended  slavery 
(as  in  America),  and  often  failed  to  carry  out  the 
Christian  doctrine  of  brotherhood  :  but  the  doctrine 
is  there,  and  its  corollary  is  liberty.  Nor  has 
Christianity  wholly  failed  in  exemplifying  both 
brotherhood  and  the  passion  for  freedom.  It  is 
surely  bias  that  makes  I.  Benzinger  hold  up  Islam 
and  ancient  Israel  as  perfect  examples  of  '  the 
brotherhood  in  the  faith,'  and  declare  that  this 
'  has  come  to  be,  in  the  Christian  world,  a  mere 
empty  phrase '  (art.  '  Slavery,'  in  EBi  iv.  4658  ;  also 
in  his  Hebraische  Archaologie*,  Tubingen,  1907, 
art.  'Sklaven'). 

LITERATURE.  —  H.  Wallon,  Histoire  de  Pesclavage  dans 
VantiquiU1*,  3  vols.,  Paris,  1879;  W.  W.  Buckland,  The 
Roman  Law  of  Slavery,  Cambridge,  1908  ;  L.  Friedlander, 
Roman  Life  and  Manners  under  the  Early  Empire  (tr.  from 
Die  Sittengeschichte  Roms1,  Leipzig,  1901),  3  vols.,  London, 
1908-1909;  S.  Dill,  Roman  Society  from  Nero  to  Marcus 
Aureliug,  do.,  1904  ;  W.  E.  H.  Lecky,  History  of  European 
Morals?,  Z  vols.,  do.,  1886;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Colnssians  and 
Philemon,  do.,  1879,  Philippians*,  do.,  1878  (Excursus  on 
'Caesar's  Household').  J.  g.  CLEMENS. 

SLEEP.— The  English  word  '  sleep,'  derived  from 
O.E.  slcepan,  denotes  that  normal  periodic  condi- 
tion of  the  organism  in  which  the  inactivity  of 
certain  nerve  centres  is  accompanied  by  uncon- 
sciousness, more  or  less  complete.  In  the  OT  the 
two  most  common  words  are  the  noun  njc*,  '  sleep,' 
and  the  verbs,  \y-,,  '  to  rest  in  sleep,'  and  259*, '  to  lie 
down  to  rest,'  the  latter  being  the  most  frequent 
to  describe  the  condition  of  those  who  were  laid  to 
rest  with  their  fathers,  and  who  thus  sleep  in 
death.  In  the  NT  the  noun  CTTPOS  means  sleep 
proper,  whilst  the  verbs  KaOeudetv,  '  to  lie  down  to 
rest,'  and  KoipaaOai,  '  to  fall  asleep,'  are  in  most 
common  use.  Both  these  words  refer  to  ordinary 
sleep,  and  in  a  symbolic  manner  they  are  em- 
ployed with  reference  to  death.  Christ  uses  the 
former  in  describing  the  condition  of  Jairus' 
daughter  (Mt  924,  Mk  53S),  Lk  852),  and  the  latter  in 
respect  of  Lazarus  (Jn  II11).  In  both  these  cases 
natural  death  is  spoken  of  by  Christ  as  'sleep,'  on 
the  ground  doubtless  that  through  the  exercise 
of  His  miraculous  power,  this  '  sleep '  would  be 
followed  by  an  awaKening  in  the  present  world. 
As  in  the  OT,  sleep  is  used  in  the  Apostolic  Church 
as  a  euphemistic  term  for  death.  Stephen  is  said 
to  have  fallen  asleep  when  he  died  as  the  effects 
of  stoning  (Ac  760).  According  to  St.  Paul,  true 
believers  live  and  die  unto  the  Lord,  under  the 
symbolism  of  waking  and  sleeping  respectively 
(1  Th  5'°) ;  hence  the  beautiful  phrases  occur, 
'fallen  asleep  in  Christ'  (1  Co  1518)  and  '  those  who 
sleep  (or  are  fallen  asleep)  in  Jesus'  (1  Th  414}. 
Sleep  is  also  used  as  a  symbol  of  spiritual  torpor 
and  death,  especially  in  several  of  our  Lord's 
parables ;  hence  the  duty  of  watchfulness  (Mt 
251'13,  etc.).  St.  Paul  is  emphatic  in  warning  men 


SMOKE 


SMYRNA 


513 


against  that  suspension  of  spiritual  activity  which 
is  implied  iu  sleep,  inasmuch  as  Christians  are  the 
children  of  the  day  (1  Th  56-  7)  and  not  of  the 
night,  and  he  calls  upon  them  to  awake  out  of 
sleep  (Ro  1311,  Eph  514). 

Sleep  has  always  been  a  profound  mystery,  and 
it  is  still  the  crux  in  physiology  and  psychology. 
The  avenues  of  sense  are  closed  and  the  mind  is 
detached  from  the  outside  world.  There  is  some- 
thing awe-inspiring  in  the  motionless  face  of  the 
sleeper,  temporarily  deprived  of  sight  and  move- 
ment, the  torpor  of  muscle  and  nerve  and  the 
unresponsiveness  of  the  whole  organism  presenting 
a  striking  contrast  to  the  same  personality  when 
completely  awake.  All  the  activities  are  lowered, 
the  pulse  falls  about  one-fifth,  the  circulation  is 
slower,  the  process  of  nutrition  is  retarded  and  the 
excitation  of  the  nerves  diminished.  Whilst  the 
central  activity  islowered,  itis  a  moot  point  whether 
there  is  a  greater  or  a  less  quantity  of  blood  in  the 
brain  during  sleep,  and  there  is  also  some  doubt 
with  regard  to  the  state  of  the  blood  itself.  It  is 
believed  that  the  '  tensional  forces' have  a  chance 
of  recuperating  themselves  during  the  muscular 
inactivity  induced  by  sleep  and  by  the  diminished 
production  of  heat.  Whilst  the  nerves  are  in  a  less 
excitable  condition  during  sleep,  the  organic  pro- 
cesses, which  are  still  continued  in  a  less  active 
degree.make  themselves  felt  in  dreams.  The  mental 
activity,  liberated  from  the  effort  of  attention  to 
outward  objects,  may  co-operate  with  the  organic 
sensations  to  work  up  the  materials  of  dream- 
fancies. 

F.  W.  H.  Myers,  in  harmony  with  his  own 
theories,  treats  sleep  as  a  positive  and  definite 
phase  of  personality  co-ordinate  with  the  waking 
phase.  He  contends  that  in  special  cases  the  power 
over  the  muscles  is  much  greater  than  during  the 
waking  consciousness.  The  mind  is  set  free  from 
the  activity  of  the  organism  to  pursue  its  own 
quest,  and  it  is  refreshed  and  enriched  thereby  for 
the  tasks  of  ordinary  waking  life.  Like  genius,  it 
draws  upon  unknown  and  spiritual  sources,  and 
is  exempt  from  the  limitations  of  connexion  with 
nerves  and  brain.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore, 
that  sleep  should  appear  to  the  onlooker  as  '  Death's 
twin-brother'  and  that  the  old  Hebrews  should 
have  committed  their  dead  to  the  tomb  with  the 
reflexion  that  they  had  fallen  asleep  and  were  laid 
to  rest  with  their  fathers.  And  all  through  the 
ages  death  has  been  spoken  of  as  a  sleep,  but  with 
far  more  appropriateness  under  Christian  influ- 
ence, as  with  the  Christian's  hope  there  will  be 
a  glorious  awaking  to  life  at  its  fullest  and  best. 
Since  we  discriminate  amongst  our  experiences,  as 
to  whether  we  are  dreaming  or  fully  awake,  by 
the  higher  degree  of  vividness  and  of  the  sense  of 
activity  as  well  as  by  the  deeper  conviction  of 
reality  in  the  latter  states,  so  may  we  be  led  to 
expect  that  when  we  see  things  as  they  are,  sub 
specie  ceternitatis,  our  experience  will  be  analogous 
at  least  to  awaking  out  of  sleep,  and  our  earthly 
life  found  to  be  the  stuff  of  which  dreams  are  made. 
See  art.  DREAM.  J.  G.  JAMES. 

SMOKE  (Kairvds). — Smoke  is  the  visible  vapour 
or  volatile  matter  which  escapes  from  a  burning 
substance.  It  is  one  of  the  commonest  categories 
of  apocalyptic  prophecy.  In  St.  John's  imagery 
the  smoke  of  incense  (q.v.),  with  (or  rather  'for,' 
i.e.  '  in  aid  of ')  the  prayers  of  saints,  goes  up  before 
God  (Rev  84).  The  heavenly  temple  is  filled  with 
smoke  from  the  glory  of  God  (158,  Is  64),  a  symbol 
of  the  dark  and  mysterious  side  of  His  self-mani- 
festation, representing  perhaps  the  reaction  of 
His  holiness  against  sin.  The  prophet  Joel's  omens 
of  blood  and  lire  and  vapour  of  smoke  (Ac  219  || 
Jl  230)  may  refer  either  to  carnage  and  destruction 
VOL.  ii. — 33 


in  war  or  to  lurid  appearances  in  Nature.  The 
smoke  which  issues  from  the  opened  pit  of  the 
abyss,  darkening  sun  and  air  like  the  smoke  of  a 
great  furnace  (Ka^ivov),  and  resolving  itself  into 
demons  in  the  form  of  locusts  (Rev  92'-),  was  sug- 
gested either  by  the  mephitic  fumes  emitted  from 
chasms  and  caverns,  or  the  clouds  of  vapour  rising 
from  hot  springs,  or  the  fire  and  smoke  belched 
forth  by  volcanoes,  all  of  which  phenomena  seemed 
to  the  pre-scientific  mind  to  be  connected  with  a 
subterranean  Hades.  Out  of  the  mouths  of  the 
apocalyptic  horses,  which  have  the  heads  of  lions, 
there  come  tire  and  smoke  (917),  as  from  the  mouth 
of  Leviathan  (Job4l2u;  cf.  Diomede's  horses,  Lucret. 
de  Rerum  nat.  v.  29).  The  smoke  of  the  torment 
of  Cffisar-worshippers  goes  up  for  ever  in  sight  of 
the  holy  angels. and  the  Lamb  (Rev  1411),  a  weird 
conception  suggested  by  Enoch,  xxvii.  2.  3,  xlviii. 
9,  xc.  26.  27.  The  smoke  of  burning  Babylon — 
Imperial  Rome — resembling  that  of  the  cities  of 
the  Plain  (Gn  1928),  is  seen  from  afar  by  the  kings 
of  the  earth  (Rev  189)  and  all  shipmasters  and 
mariners  (1817f<)>  as  it  ascends  for  ever  and  ever 
(193).  JAMES  STEAHAN. 

SMYRNA  CZfj-upva). — Smyrna  has  been  an  im- 
portant city  for  at  least  3000  years.  Occupying 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  commanding  posi- 
tions in  the  eastern  /Egean  coastland,  at  the  head 
of  a  deep  and  sheltered  gulf,  it  has  had  a  very 
chequered  but  honourable  history,  and  it  is  to-day 
by  far  the  most  prosperous  city  in  Asia  Minor 
having  a  quarter  of  a  million  inhabitants.  '  Old 
Smyrna' — ij  TraXcuo.  'Z/jivpva.  (Strabo,  XIV.  i.  37) — was 
colonized  by  the  ^Eolians,  captured  from  them  by 
the  lonians,  and  almost  destroyed  (in  the 7th  cent. 
B.C.)  by  the  Lydians.  It  lay  under  Mt.  Sipylos, 
2  or  3  miles  *N.  of  '  New  Smyrna,'  which  was 
founded  by  Lysimachus  (c.  290  B.C.),  and  built 
along  the  southern  shore  of  the  Gulf  and  up  the 
slopes  of  Mt.  Pagos,  the  westernmost  spur  of  the 
Tmolus  range. 

Smyrna  was  the  emporium  for  the  trade  of  the 
fertile  Hermus  valley,  and  the  terminus  of  one  of 
the  great  roads  from  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor. 
It  was  noted  for  its  carefully-planned  streets — one 
of  them  called  '  Golden  Street '  —  and  splendid 
public  buildings.  Its  citizens  owed  much  to  their 
sagacious  friendship  with  Rome.  As  early  as 
195  B.C.  they  dedicated  a  shrine  to  Roma,  and  in 
all  the  struggles  of  the  next  two  centuries  Smyrna 
was  invariably  on  the  Roman — that  is,  the  winning 
— side.  She  was  rewarded  for  her  fidelity  by  being 
constituted  a  civitas  libera  et  immunis,  and  under 
Tiberius  she  was  chosen  from  among  twelve  keen 
rivals,  of  whom  Sardis  was  the  most  powerful,  to 
have  the  honour  of  building  a  temple  to  the 
Emperor  (Tacitus,  Ann.  iv.  55  f. ). 

The  message  to  Smyrna  in  Rev.  (28"n)  is  at  once 
the  briefest  and  the  most  eulogistic  of  all  the  Seven 
Letters.  Like  the  others,  it  unquestionably  con- 
tains a  number  of  pointed  local  allusions.  Words 
which  may  now  seem  pale  and  neutral  were  deeply 
significant  to  the  first  readers.  St.  John  knew 
each  of  his  churches  almost  as  a  living  personality, 
and  no  touch  is  superfluous  or  irrelevant  in  his 
clearly-conceived  and  carefully-etched  portraits. 
The  title  which  he  chooses  for  the  Sender  of  the 
letters  is  in  every  instance  apposite.  The  message 
to  Smyrna  comes  from  '  the  First  and  the  Last ' 
(v.8).  Smyrna  was  the  most  ambitious  of  all  the 
cities  of  Asia,  and  her  municipal  self-consciousness 
was  inordinately  developed.  She  could  brook  no 
rivals  ;  she  coveted  all  the  honours  and  prizes  ; 
she  appropriated  the  title  irpurt]  'Acrt'as.  Her  claim 
to  be  first  in  beauty  was  scarcely  disputed,  Strabo 
(XIV.  i.  37)  calling  her  /caXXfo-rr;  vaaCiv.  She  counted 
the  greatest  of  poets  one  of  her  sons — though  many 


514  SOBERNESS,  SOBRIETY 


SOBERNESS,  SOBRIETY 


other  cities  questioned  the  claim  —  and  built  a 
Homereion  in  his  honour.  She  convinced  the 
Roman  Senate  that  she  '  first  reared  a  temple  to 
the  city  of  Rome'  (Tacitus,  Ann.  iv.  56),  and  she 
wished  to  be  first,  as  a  vewi<6pos  or  temple- ward  en, 
to  pay  divine  honours  to  the  Emperor.  She  was 
like  the  Homeric  hero  whom  nothing  would 
satisfy  but  ai£v  apicrreveLv,  /ecu  vireipo-^ov  ifj.ij.evai 
&\\wv(Il.  vi.  208).  To  this  'First  City'  comes  a 
letter  from  the  First  and  the  Last.  Let  her  but 
once  recognize  His  primacy,  and  she  is  likely  to 
revise  all  her  civic  ideals,  to  renounce  all  her  self- 
centred  ambitions.  Her  first  and  most  illustrious 
citizens  will  be  her  martyrs.  Her  standard  of 
comparison  will  no  longer  be  Ephesus  or  Sardis  or 
Pergamos  or  even  Rome,  but  the  City  of  God,  in 
which  the  last  is  first. 

The  Smyrniote  Church,  for  which  St.  John  has 
not  a  single  word  of  blame,  is  thus  led  to  welcome 
Christian  paradoxes.  She  is  in  poverty,  but  she  is 
rich  (v.9) ;  she  is  reviled  by  a  powerful  synagogue 
of  Jews,  but  they  are  only  '  a  synagogue  of  Satan ' 
(v.9).  Just  because  she  is  so  faithful,  she  is  chosen 
for  the  most  difficult  tasks  ;  because  she  is  so 
brave,  she  is  exposed  to  the  greatest  dangers.  She 
has  to  face  suffering,  imprisonment,  trial  ;  but  it  is 
only  a  ten  days'  tribulation.  Death  by  violence 
comes  within  her  horizon,  but  it  is  transfigured  : 
the  martyr  is  not  to  be  pitied  but  emulated,  for 
fidelity  unto  death  wins  the  crown  which  is  life 
(v.10).  When  man  has  done  his  worst  to  the  body, 
there  is  no  more  that  he  can  do  ;  no  second  death 
shall  hurt  the  spirit  that  overcomes  (v.11). 

'  The  crown  of  life '  (6  o-rtcpavos  rrjs  fw^s)  may  have 
been  suggested  by  one  of  the  most  familiar  elements 
in  the  life  of  Smyrna,  the  athletic  contests  and  the 

Gesentation  of  the  garlands  of  victory  ;  or  it  may 
an  allusion  to  the  fact  that  the  lovely  city  itself, 
on  its  mountain  slope,  was  commonly  likened  to  a 
garland,  as  some  of  its  coins  prove  (B.  V.  Head, 
Historia  Nummorum,  1887,  p.  509).  It  was  not 
for  intellectual  errors  that  the  name  of  '  Jews ' 
was  denied  ta  the  synagogue  of  Smyrna,  while 
that  of  'synagogue  of  Satan'  was  attached  to  it 
(Rev  29).  An  honest  scepticism  regarding  the 
claims  of  the  Nazarene  to  be  the  Messiah  could 
have  been  understood  and  forgiven.  It  was  be- 
cause the  Jews  of  Smyrna  were  morally  wrong — 
hating  instead  of  loving — that  they  forfeited  their 
traditional  titles  and  privileges  (cf.  Ro  228- 29). 
That  they  were  often  fanatically  hostile  to  the 
Christians  is  shown  by  the  narrative  of  the 
martyrdom  of  Polycarp.  When  he  was  sentenced 
to  death  '  the  whole  multitude  both  of  the  heathen 
and  Jews,  who  dwelt  in  Smyrna,  cried  out  with 
uncontrollable  fury  and  in  a  loud  voice,'  and 
the  sentence  '  was  carried  into  effect  with  greater 
speed  than  it  was  spoken,  the  multitudes  im- 
mediately gathering  together  wood  and  faggots 
out  of  the  shops  and  baths,  the  Jews  especi- 
ally, according  to  custom,  eagerly  assisting 
them  in  it'  (irpo0i>/j.(i)s,  iij  -fjdos  at/rots).  It  was  'at 
the  suggestion  and  urgent  persuasion  of  the  Jews' 
that  the  body  of  the  martyr  was  refused  to  the 
Christians,  '  lest,  forsaking  Him  that  was  crucified, 
they  should  begin  to  worship  this  one'  (Mart. 
Polyc.  xii.  f.,  xvii. ).  Modern  Smyrna,  being  pre- 
dominantly Greek  Christian,  is  called  by  the 
Turks  Giaour  Ismlr. 

LITERATFRE. — C.  Wilson,  in  Murray's  Handbook  to  Asia 
Mi'n»r,  1805,  p.  70  f.  ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Letters  to  the 
Seven  Churches  of  Asia,  1904,  p.  251  f. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SOBERNESS,  SOBRIETY.— The  object  of  this 
article  is  to  determine  the  meanings  of  the  two 
word-groups,  vrj(pd\ios  (vfi<t>w)  and  o-6<f>puv  (and  cog- 
nates), which  are  translated  'sober'  in  the  NT. 
(The  term  tyKpdreia  is  discussed  in  the  art.  TEMPER- 


ANCE.) These  two  groups  of  words  differ  both  in 
their  original  and  in  their  secondary  meanings  and 
are  accordingly  treated  separately  here. 

1.  vT)4>o.\io9  (vT]<j><o). — The  A  V  translates  the  adjec- 
tive twice  and  the  verb  four  times  by  '  sober'  (1  Ti 
3",  Tit  22 ;  1  Th  5s-  8,  1  P  I13  58),  the  adjective  once 
by  '  vigilant,'  and  the  verb  twice  by  '  watch '  (1  Ti 
S5,  2  Ti  45,  1  P  47).  The  reason  for  this  variety  of 
rendering  on  the  part  of  the  AV  may  be  the  natural 
desire  to  avoid  dull  uniformity,  but  probably  also 
it  is  due  to  dubiety  as  to  whether  in  the  original 
the  words  are  used  in  their  primary  or  in  their 
secondary  sense.  The  RV  adopts  a  uniform  render- 
ing— for  the  adjective  always  'temperate'  and  for 
the  verb  '  sober.' 

The  primary  meaning  is  clearly  seen  in  a  passage 
such  as  Xen.  Cyr.  vil.  v.  20.  The  elder  Cyrus 
encourages  his  soldiers  to  attack  Babylon,  and  he 
reminds  them  that  once  before  they  overcame  those 
enemies  when  they  (i.e.  the  enemy)  were  awake 
(typrjyopoTas),  sober  (vf](j>ovTa.s),  armed  (ef  wTrXio'/.ie'j'ous), 
and  drawn  up  in  battle  array  (o-vvTfTay/j.evovs). 
Therefore  they  should  overcome  them  now  when 
many  of  them  are  asleep  (Ka0evdovo-i),  many  of 
them  drunk  (/j.eduovo-i),  and  all  of  them  unprepared 
(ao-foraKToi).  The  word  v/i<pw  is  thus  the  direct 
opposite  of  /j,e6i!iw,  and  it  is  excellently  rendered 
'  sober'  (Lat.  sobrius=sine  +  ebrius).  There  is  such 
a  literary  similarity  between  the  above  passage 
from  Xenophon  and  1  Th  56ff-  that,  if  it  were  con- 
ceivable, one  might  say  that  St.  Paul  had  it  in  his 
mind  ;  and  therefore  it  is  especially  instructive  as 
a  parallel.  To  be  sober,  then,  is  more  intensive 
(1  Th  56ff>)  than  to  be  awake  (ypyyoptu),  for  a  man 
may  not  be  asleep  and  yet  not  be  sober.  His  wits 
may  be  wandering,  the  loins  of  his  understanding 
may  be  loose.  (In  1  P  58,  however,  yprjyoptw  seems 
to  be  the  stronger  word.)  From  the  Latin  equivalent 
of  ypyyoptu  we  get  'vigils'  and  the  proper  name 
Vigilantius ;  and  in  the  history  of  the  Church  the 
vigilantes  did  not  always  escape  the  vices  of 
drunkenness  and  lust,  as  even  Jerome,  who  with 
his  usual  coarseness  of  language  defends  them 
against  Vigilantius  (a  curious  irony  in  the  name), 
has  to  admit  (c.  Vigilantium,  9).  The  primary 
meaning  of  vij^w  in  the  NT  thus  excludes  two  ideas 
— on  the  one  hand  the  slumber  of  the  drunkard, 
and  on  the  other  the  listless  stupor  which  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  half-awakened,  or  the  weariness 
which  creeps  over  those  who  watch  long.  The 
word  is  also  used  tropically  in  the  NT,  but  the 
literal  meaning  is  almost  invariably  in  the  back- 
ground, and  in  some  cases  it  is  preponderant.  • 
This  is  probably  largely  due  to  the  influence  of  our 
Lord's  parable  (Mk  i334'37),  in  which  some  are 
depicted  as  overtaken  by  their  lord's  coming,  in 
a  drunken  state  ;  and  it  is  appalling  to  think  how 
many  even  yet  in  Christian  lands  die  in  this  sad 
condition. 

To  describe  the  transition  from  drunken  sleep  to 
sobriety  4Kvri<f><a  is  used  in  the  LXX  (v-fiQu  and 
vi)<pd.\ios  do  not  occur),  of  Noah  (Gn  924),  of  Nabal 
(1  S  [LXX  1  Kings]  2537),  of  the  drunkards  of  Joel's 
time  (Jl  I5).  When  Eli  asks  Hannah  to  put  away 
her  wine  from  her,  his  meaning  is  that  she  should 
sleep  it  off  (IS  I14;  LXX  TrepieXoD).  In  Sir  34- (31)  the 
word  is  used  tropically  and  transitively.  'Wake- 
ful anxiety  will  crave  slumber,  and  a  grievous 
sickness  will  banish  sleep'  (eKvf]\j/ti  tiwvov — the 
reading,  however,  may  be  CTTVOS).  In  the  only 
passage  where  ^Kvrj<f>u  occurs  in  the  NT  (1  Co  1534, 
'  Awake  to  a  righteous  life  of  sobriety  and  sin  not ') 
the  tropical  sense  is  evident  but  the  original  force 
of  the  word  is  not  absent.  The  Corinthians  must 
not  forget  the  Resurrection,  for 'evil  communica- 
tions corrupt  good  manners.'  If  they  did,  their 
motto  would  soon  become,  '  Let  us  eat  find  drink, 
for  to-morrow  we  die.'  Already  at  the  love-feasta 


SOBEKNESS,  SOBRIETY 


SOBERNESS,  SOBEIETY          515 


did  not  some  of  them  get  drunk,  while  their  poorer 
brethren  had  neither  food  nor  drink  sufficient  for 
their  needs  (1  Co  II21)?  It  is  thus  clear  that  the 
danger  of  actual  drunkenness  is  included  in  the 
warning,  'Do  not  err.'  The  ideas  of  sobriety, 
righteousness,  and  the  Farousia  are  here  associated, 
as  in  St.  Paul's  speech  to  Felix,  where  he  spoke  of 
righteousness,  temperance,  and  the  judgment  to 
come  (Ac  24^).  The  word  vri<j>w  indeed  is  commonly 
used  with  a  reference  to  the  coming  of  the  Lord 
(1  Th  561-,  1  P  I13).  To  be  ignorant  of  this  or  to 
forget  it  in  pleasure  is  foolish  and  dangerous. 
Included  in  the  idea  of  sobriety  or  closely  akin  to 
it  is  the  thought  of  vigilance,  as  of  the  sentinel, 
and  of  preparedness  and  armed  security,  as  of  the 
soldier.  There  is  a  military  atmosphere  about  the 
word.  It  is  the  necessary  equipment  of  prayer — 
the  watchful  longing  of  the  Christian  soldier  for 
the  coming  of  his  Lord  (1  P  47).  He  is  not  to  sleep 
on  duty  even  if  his  Lord  should  tarry  till  the  third 
watch.  Nor  should  the  Christian  forget  that  he 
lights  against  a  subtle,  powerful  enemy — the  Great 
Adversary  who  is  ever  on  the  outlook  to  devour 
him  (1  P  5s).  This  is  also  a  favourite  idea  with 
St.  Paul.  The  ignorance  of  the  day  and  hour  of 
Christ's  coming  is  an  additional  motive  to  sobriety 
— cf.  Rev  1615  :  '  Behold  I  come  as  a  thief.  Blessed 
is  he  that  watcheth,  and  keepeth  his  garments, 
lest  he  walk  naked,  and  they  see  his  shame.'  But 
this  ignorance  has  for  its  sphere  a  day  of  moral 
and  spiritual  life  in  which  Christians  are  to  live  as 
children  of  the  day.  So  in  1  Th  56fr-  St.  Paul  con- 
trasts the  Christian  with  the  heathen  who  sleeps 
and  is  drunken  in  the  night.  He  means  not  simply 
the  avoidance  of  intoxication ;  he  means  also 
spiritual  sobriety. 

As  Anaxagoras  appeared  to  Aristotle  (Met.  i.  3) 
like  a  sober  (vri<j>wv)  man  among  a  crowd  of  drunk- 
ards, so  in  a  deeper  sense  must  the  Christian  appear. 
Similarly  in  Ro  1311'14  the  night  is  the  sphere  of 
spiritual  blindness  resulting  in  all  manner  of  riotous 
excess,  but  the  day  calls  for  wakefulness,  sobriety, 
and  spiritual  readiness.  St.  Peter  (1  P  I13)  com- 
pares the  Christians  to  the  Israelites  in  Eg3rpt 
ready  to  march  out.  His  warning  against  a  relapse 
into  their  former  life  of  lusts  indicates  that  he  does 
not  forget  the  possibility  of  actual  drunkenness, 
but  this  is  only  one  symptom  of  spiritual  stupor — 
ignorance  of  God  (1  Co  1534).  Just  as  pleasure  and 
ease  must  not  tempt  to  slumber  and  drunken  stupor, 
so  must  not  danger  and  suffering ;  rather  should 
suffering  warn  them  against  this  sin  and  make  them 
cast  their  cares  on  God  (1  P57-8,2Ti4s).  The  unusual 
compound  dvavrifiu  occurs  in  2  Ti  2M.  Those  who 
resist  the  Christian  evangelist  are  taken  captive 
by  the  devil  to  do  his  will.  (It  is  forced  to  refer 
this  to  God's  will  or  the  will  of  the  Evangelist.) 
They  are  in  his  snare,  but  perhaps  by  considerate 
dealings  they  may  be  aroused  to  sobriety  (avavij<j><d 
only  here  in  the  NT  and  not  in  the  LXX). 

We  may  thus  say  that  v^^ta  on  its  positive  side 
is  the  watchful,  alert  state  of  soul  which  knows 
that  the  day  of  Christ  has  already  dawned,  the 
earnest  expectation  (diroKapaSoKla)  of  the  coming 
of  the  Master,  the  prayerful,  hopeful,  longing  spirit 
of  love  for  the  coming  of  the  full  day  of  Christ. 
On  its  negative  side  it  implies  a  knowledge  of  the 
power  of  evil,  of  the  night  in  which  the  Great 
Adversary  roams  for  prey,  when  sons  of  Belial 
flown  with  insolence  and  wine  are  active,  the  night 
of  secret  sinful  conclaves.  The  Christian  soldier 
is  armed  against  this  by  a  life  of  sobriety,  of  right- 
eousness, of  longing  prayer.  Thus  he  cannot  be 
surprised  by  the  force  of  the  enemy,  or  by  the 
suddenness  of  his  Lord's  returning,  as  the  Baby- 
lonians were  by  Cyrus  or  the  Egyptians  by  the 
angel  of  death.  It  is  specially  indispensable  for 
the  Christian  evangelist  to  have  this  wakeful 


attentive  attitude  for  himself  and  for  those  under 
his  c-are,  for  whom  he  must  give  account  (He  1317; 
cf.  also  Ac  2031,  Mk  1334).  So  St.  Paul  says  to 
Timothy,  '  Be  sober  in  all  things,'  not  like  the 
dumb  dogs,  the  blind  watchmen  of  Isaiah's  time 
(Is  569'12,  an  instructive  contrast). 

The  adjective  vrjfidXios  is  confined  to  the  Pastorals. 
The  bishop  must  be  sober  (1  Ti  32,  ^it  2-),  so  also 
deaconesses  (1  Ti  3n).  The  question  here  is 
whether  the  word  is  used  in  its  primary  meaning 
of  'not  given  to  much  wine'  (fj.ri  otvtf  iroXXy  irpocr- 
<?X°»'T«,  1  Ti  38 ;  /AT)  irdpoivos,  1  Ti  33)  or  in  the  more 
general  sense  of  '  vigilantes  animo '  (Bengel,  on 
1  Ti  32).  The  Greek  interpreters  favour  the  wider 
meaning,  but  much  can  be  said  for  the  more  re- 
stricted one.  Josephus  says  that  Moses  did  not  per- 
mit priests  to  drink  wine  so  long  as  they  wore  their 
sacerdotal  garments  (Ant.  III.  xii.  2),  and  the  word 
vr;(j>d\ios  seems  to  be  a  sacrosanct  term  for  priestly 
sobriety  or  the  prerequisite  of  a  true  worshipper. 
CEdipus  considers  it  a  favourable  omen  that  he 
came  untasting  wine  to  the  seat  of  the  Erinyes, 
who  loathe  the  wine  cup  in  libations  offered  to 
them  (Soph.  (Ed.  Col.  100).  This  is  similar  to  the 
usage  in  1  P  47,  '  Be  sober  unto  prayer,'  and  it  is 
attested  by  inscriptions  (see  Exp,  7th  ser.,  ix. 
[1910]  284).  Fielding's  Parson  Adams  was  never 
wholly  unknown  in  the  Christian  Church.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  warning  to  Timothy,  '  Be  sober  in 
all  things,'  favours  the  wider  reference,  as  does  also 
the  fact  that  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
Christian  ministers  or  members  were  addicted  to 
this  special  vice.  The  wider  meaning  includes  the 
narrower  without  unduly  submerging  it. 

2.  cru(f>povE(i>  and  cognates.— Cicero  found  diffi- 
culty in  rendering  the  ideas  included  in  these  terms 
in  Latin  (Tusc.  Disp.  iii.  5),  and  he  used  three  words 
— temperantia,  moderatio,  modestia  (ib.  iii.  8 ;  cle 
Off.  i.  27).  The  same  difficulty  is  felt  in  regard  to 
our  own  language,  and  as  these  words  were  used  in 
a  technical  sense  in  Greek  philosophy  there  is  a 
danger,  in  fixing  their  connotation,  of  being  over- 
precise. 

(a)  The  words  in  Greek  often  mean  '  sanity '  in 
its  literal  sense,  and  ffuQpovlu  is  thus  used  in  the 
Gospels  (Mk  51S,  Lk  8s5)  of  the  Gadarene  demoniac, 
after  he  was  healed  by  Jesus.  He  was  clothed  and 
in  his  right  mind — 'rationis  usu,'  as  Bengel  has  it 
(in  loc.).  The  opposite  is  fj,avla.  Thus  when  Helen 
is  told  that  Ajax  fell  on  his  own  sword  and  destroyed 
himself  she  exclaims,  '  Was  he  mad,  for  no  sane 
person  would  do  so  ?  '  (/J-av^vr,  ejrel  ris  cwtppovuv  T\air) 
rdd'  &v ;  Eur.  Hel.  97).  Xenophon  also  says  that 
Socrates  '  was  always  discussing  about  human 
affairs,  asking  what  piety  was,  and  what  impiety, 
what  beauty,  what  ugliness  .  .  .  what  sanity 
(ffu<j>po<rvvr))  and  what  insanity  (/wvta.)'  (Mem.  1.  i.  16). 
Insanity  is  the  supreme  example  of  mental  derange- 
ment, of  lack  of  self-control,  and  so  Sai^opi'feo-tfat  is 
the  very  opposite  of  trufypove'iv.  Akin  to  this  is  St. 
Paul's  usage  of  the  word  in  Ac  2625,  2  Co  51S.  Festus, 
as  he  heard  the  Christian  message,  especially  of 
the  Resurrection,  from  St.  Paul's  perfervid  lips, 
exclaimed,  '  Paul,  thou  art  mad  ;  thy  much  learn- 
ing doth  turn  thee  to  madness '  (els  fj.avtai>).  In  the 
ancient  world  the  enthusiastic  utterance  of  an 
oracle-giver  was  attributed  to  a  temporary  sup- 
pression of  the  reason.  '  No  man,  when  in  his 
wits,  attains  prophetic  truth  and  inspiration  ;  but 
when  he  receives  the  inspired  word,  either  his  intel- 
ligence is  enthralled  in  sleep,  or  he  is  demented  by 
some  distemper  or  possession '  (Plato,  Timceus,  71 
E,  tr.  B.  Jowett3,  Oxford,  1892,  vol.  iii.  p.  493). 
St.  Paul's  courteous  but  firm  reply  reveals  that  he 
at  once  grasped  Festus's  attitude.  He  was  not 
mad,  but  spoke  the  words  of  truth  and  sanity.  It 
was  natural  for  a  man  like  Festus  to  imagine  that 
St.  Paul  was  living  in  a  Avorld  of  illusions  and  that 


516          SOBERNESS,  SOBRIETY 


SOBERNESS,  SOBRIETY 


his  reason  was  for  the  moment  obscured.  St.  Paul's 
message  was  utterly  novel  to  him,  and  he  conse- 
quently attributed  his  intense  emotion  to  mental 
derangement,  just  as  he  regarded  the  content  of 
his  message  as  illusion  and  not  reality  (dX-^dfia). 
Similarly,  Penelope  when  roused  from  her  slumber 
by  the  old  nurse  who  came  with  the  message  that 
her  long-lost  Ulysses  is  home  looks  on  the  nurse  as 
one  whom  the  gods  had  deprived  of  her  sanity  (Od. 
xxiii.  13). 

In  2  Co  513  the  opposite  of  awtypovelv  is  tKffTijvai. 
The  phenomena  of  the  Day  of  Pentecost  were 
familiar  in  the  early  Christian  Church.  Men  were 
carried  out  of  themselves  by  a  new  experience  of 
the  Divine  power.  Excitement  and  enthusiasm 
such  as  men  had  never  felt  before  led  them  on  to 
action.  Now  the  cautious  onlooker  was  tempted 
to  put  this  down  to  aberration,  and  unfortunately 
such  might  be  the  case.  Rationalism  is  always 
tempted  to  explain  enthusiasm  as  madness. 
'Quench  not  the  spirit'  was  a  necessary  warning 
even  to  a  Christian  people.  Men  naturally  dis- 
trust emotion,  and  this  was  especially  true  of  an 
emotional  people  like  the  Greeks. 

'  The  Greeks,  or  some  sections  of  the  Greek  race,  were  very 
liable  to  violent  emotions ;  and  hence  it  was  that  the  Greek 
moral  philosophers  insisted  on  control  of  emotion  as  they  did. 
The  Greeks  had  a  sort  of  natural  want  of'  self-respect  and  a 
tendency  to  forget  themselves  which  particularly  struck  the 
Romans  as  unworthy '  (Nettleship,  Lectures  on  Plato's  Republic, 
p.  96). 

St.  Paul  undoubtedly  exhibited  the  signs  of  deep 
emotion.  He  was  an  enthusiast,  but  to  God.  The 
criticism  that  he  was  actuated  by  ffu<f>po<rvvr]  (ironi- 
cal) was  the  best  answer  to  this  (2  Co  513).  Here 
the  word  includes  self-control — constraint  which 
had  reason  on  its  side.  It  was  due  to  the  love  of 
Christ  that  he  was  so  enthusiastic,  and  that  love 
prompted  a  sober  judging  of  man's  needs  and  of 
the  means  to  meet  those  needs.  The  Spartan  king 
Archidamus  (fwerdy  SOKWV  elvai  KO.I  ffdxppwv)  exhibits 
sanity  in  this  sense  when  he  warns  his  people  to 
think  ffufipovus  before  going  to  war  with  Athens 
(Thuc.  Hist.  i.  79  tf. ).  They  should  see  to  it  that 
their  resources  are  sufficient.  There  is  included  in 
the  word  in  this  connexion  a  sober  balancing  of 
ways  and  means,  a  counting  of  the  cost  as  our  Lord 
enjoined — a  distrust  of  a  course  of  action  simply 
because  it  appeals  to  the  fancy  or  the  feelings.  It 
must  also  appeal  to  sober  common  sense.  St. 
Paul  had  done  this  and  so  had  reached  a  ffutppovvvr} 
on  a  higher  level  than  mere  prudence,  a  true  intel- 
lectual love  of  God  and  man,  to  use  Spinoza's 
famous  phrase.*  Philosophers  are  divided  as  to 
whether  will  or  intellect  has  the  primacy  in  man's 
constitution,  and  emotion  is  distrusted ;  yet  the 
true  Christian  o-wcppuv  is  one,  like  St.  Paul,  in  whom 
the  apprehended  love  of  Christ  rules  the  will  and 
illumines  the  intellect.  The  emotional  harmony 
is  in  the  region  of  the  spirit.  Here  is  its  source, 
and  its  sway  is  over  the  whole  man  from  above. 

In  dealing  with  self-control  Plato  has  always  in 
view  unworthy  exhibitions  of  emotion.  '  Is  the 
picture  of  a  hero  rolling  on  the  ground  with  grief 
a  worthy  example?'  he  asks.  From  this  point  of 
view  he  criticizes  Greek  religion,  Greek  poetry  and 
music.  He  was  thus  correcting  a  national  weakness. 
'Throughout  the  treatment  of  these  virtues  we  find 
the  characteristic  Greek  idea  that  excess,  whether  in 
grief  or  in  laughter  or  in  appetite  or  in  any  passion 
or  emotion,  is  intrinsically  bad.  We  have  to 
remember  that  dignity  was  not  a  strong  point  of 
Greek  character'  (Xettleship,  op.  cit.,  p.  96).  St. 
Paul  also  had  to  face  this  question,  especially  in 
Corinth,  but  he  solves  it  by  the  appeal  to  love 
(1  Co  13).  He  philosophizes  on  a  plane  so  different 

*  Cf.  Ecce  flomoii,  London,  1873,  p.  7  :  'No  heart  is  pure  that 
is  not  passionate ;  no  virtue  is  safe  that  is  not  enthusiastic. 
And  such  an  enthusiastic  virtue  Christ  was  to  introduce.' 


from  that  of  Plato  that  in  trying  to  compare  their 
ideas  we  have  no  common  denominator. 

(6)  In  Ro  121"8  ff<a(j)povttv  is  contrasted  with  virep- 
(ppovtiv.  The  Apostle,  as  is  clear  from  the  context, 
includes  in  ffu<J>po<r6vr]the  absence  of  boasting,  of  vain-, 
glory,  undue  emphasis  on  and  opinion  of  oneself, 
et  hoc  genus  omne.  It  implies  the  Christian  grace  of 
humility,  the  recognition  that  all  we  are  and  have 
we  owe  to  God.  Positively  there  is  included  the 
thoughtful  yet  humble  recognition  of  the  nature 
and  place  of  the  powers  that  we  possess,  and  their 
exercise  in  the  service  of  the  Christian  community 
of  which  we  are  members.  The  reference  is  not 
obtrusively  to  the  control  of  bodily  pleasures — 
'  eating  and  drinking  and  sexual  desires '  (irepl  ffirltav 
KO.I  ITOTUV  Kal  TWV  d<ppo5icriwv),  which  is  the  specific 
meaning  in  Greek  moral  philosophy  (see  Green,  Pro- 
legomena to  Ethics4,  p.  327).  This  restricted  usage 
is  not  unknown  in  the  NT.  It  is  found  in  1  P  47, 
where  the  meaning  is  determined  by  the  opposition 
to  tv  aaeXyeiais,  €iri8v/j.iais  (1  P  4s),  and  it  is  pro- 
minent in  Tit  212,  where  prudence  (cru<t>p6vws)  is 
opposed  to  worldly  lusts  and  associated  with  justice 
and  piety.  This  passage  in  Titus  is  valuable  because 
it  gives  us  the  ground,  the  scope,  and  the  hope  of 
Christian  morals.  The  ground  is  in  the  revealed 
grace  of  God ;  the  scope  includes  self-control, 
justice  towards  others,  and  piety  towards  God; 
the  hope  is  the  appearing  of  the  Saviour  God. 
Green  (bk.  iii.  ch.  v.)  shows  how  much  wider  the 
scope  of  Christian  self-control  is  than  Greek, 
and,  though  he  attempts  to  prove  that  the  principle 
is  still  the  same,  few  Christians  will  agree  with 
him.  What  St.  Paul  calls  the  grace  of  God  which 
brings  salvation  for  all  men  is  not  within  the  vision 
of  Plato  or  Aristotle.  In  Romans  (ch.  12)  the  word 
is  used  rather  of  the  humble  temper  of  mind  which 
saves  from  overweening  excess  or  self-depreciat- 
ing defect.  The  former  error  is  more  noticeable  in 
men  in  general,  but  the  latter  is  not  unknown. 
The  talent  may  be  hid  in  a  napkin  or  buried  in 
the  earth,  and  in  this  case  there  is  a  lack  of  <ru- 
tppoatvi)  as  truly  as  there  is  in  self-aggrandizement. 
'  God  does  not  require  of  us  a  false  humility. 
We  are  not  to  think  less  highly  of  ourselves  than 
we  ought  to  think.  We  are  to  think  soberly.  We 
are  to  find  out  the  truth  about  ourselves  and  think 
that.  Then  there  will  be  no  danger  of  our  think- 
ing too  highly'  (Rabbi  Duncan,  Colloquia  Peripa- 
tetica6,  Edinburgh,  1907,  p.  169).  The  sphere  of  <rw- 
<f>po(njvt)  here  is  not  so  much  the  sensual  pleasures 
as  the  Christian  charismata  in  their  social  hearing. 
The  social  aspect  of  this  grace  is  enforced  just  as  it 
is  enforced  by  Plato  in  his  analysis  of  the  same 
virtue  (Rep.  430  D-432  B). 

The  whole  passage  Ro  12'-1314  has  to  be  con- 
sidered if  one  is  to  grasp  the  wide  scope  of  <ru- 
<f>po<rvv7i  in  St.  Paul's  teaching.  It'  moves  in  the 
sphere  of  a  community  redeemed  by  the  mercies 
of  God  (Ro  121),  renewed  in  mind  (122),  endowed 
with  varied  graces  by  God's  Spirit  (12*),  to  which 
love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law  (1310),  and  which  is 
waiting  for  the  day  of  Christ  (1311'14).  On  this  plane 
light  is  thrown  on  the  term  by  the  wider  Platonic 
usage,  and  we  may  go  on  to  discuss  (c)  the  third 
application  of  the  term  by  St.  Paul  in  Timothy 
and  Titus. 

'  The  meaning  of  <ra<f>po<rvn)  is  best  understood  by  its  opposite 
v|3pis,  which  is  the  general  spirit  of  setting  oneself  up  against 
what  is  higher  than  oneself,  whether  by  insubordination  to 
constituted  authority  (cf.  Ro  131)  and  divine  law,  or  by  the 
rebellion  of  the  appetites  against  the  law  of  reason  (cf. 
Ro  1313).  Thus  this  quality  in  some  degree  includes  what 
we  call  humility.  It  is  often  said  that  the  virtue  of  humility  is 
not  recognised  in  the  Greek  moral  code,  but  the  man  who  was 
(TuxfrfHav  in  regard  to  the  gods  would  be  a  humble  man,  and  the 
v/SpioriKo?  is  the  "  proud  man  "  in  the  language  of  the  Bible  * 
(Nettleship,  p.  98). 

It  is  in  this  wide  sense  that  we  are  to  understand 
these  terms  in  1  Ti  28-32  and  Tit  22'6  where  St. 


SOBERNESS,  SOBRIETY 


SONS  OF  GOD 


517 


Paul  shows  the  universal  application  of  this  prin- 
ciple to  conduct.  It  applies  to  all  sections  of  the 
Christian  community  in  all  their  relations,  to  men 
and  women,  to  old  and  young,  in  the  soul,  in  the 
family,  in  the  Church,  and  in  the  State.  In  one 
passage  it  condescends  even  to  the  matter  of  dress. 
Married  women  should  use  decorous  garb  in  adorn- 
ing themselves  with  modesty  and  propriety.  '  In 
"  modesty  "  is  involved  an  innate  moral  repugnance 
to  the  doing  of  the  dishonourable  act'  (Trench, 
Synonyms  of  the  NT6,  p.  65).  Here  it  includes  the 
feeling  of  disgust  at  unnecessary  display,  while 
propriety  points  rather  to  the  sense  of  tact  which 
leads  a  married  woman  to  dress  aright  without 
erring  either  on  the  side  of  shabbiness  or  on  that 
of  show.  But  this  saving  grace  extends  much 
further  and  penetrates  much  deeper  than  the  out- 
ward person.  It  implies  the  gentle,  gracious  sense 
of  subordination  and  obedience  to  authority,  the 
subordination  of  the  younger  women  to  their 
husbands  ;  and  the  older  women  ought  by  their 
own  conduct  to  teach  *  this  virtue  to  the  younger 
(Tit  24-5).  It  implies  the  right  attitude  of  the 
young  to  their  elders  and  their  superiors,  and  to 
their  reason.  It  becomes  the  bishop  and  presbyter, 
for  how  else  can  they  exercise  authority  without 
the  excess  of  rigour  or  the  laxity  of  weakness? 
There  is  an  air  of  graciousness  about  the  word 
which  is  not  found  in  iyKpdreia,  for  tyKpdreia  is 
forcible  restraint,  and  even  Plato  and  Aristotle 
insist  that  a  man  is  not  y&tppuv  '  unless  his  mastery 
of  his  passions  and  impulses  is  so  easy  and  assured 
that  there  is  no  sense  of  constraint  about  it' 
(Nettleship,  p.  97,  footnote).  Harmony  as  well  as 
subordination  is  included  —  a  harmony  resulting 
from  every  thing  and  every  person  being  in  their 
appropriate  place. 

In  1  Ti  216  there  is  doubt  as  to  whether  this  virtue 
is  to  be  understood  of  women  or  of  children  or  of 
parents.  '  She  shall  be  saved  through  the  child- 
bearing,  if  they  continue  in  faith  and  love  and 
sanctification  with  sobriety.'  It  is  possible  to 
understand  this  of  the  women  themselves  ;  it  is 
possible  to  understand  it  of  husband  and  wife  alike 
in  their  home  relations  ;  but  it  is  better  to  refer  it 
to  the  children  who  in  the  atmosphere  of  this 
virtue  have  been  brought  up  in  faith  and  love  and 
sanctification.  Thus  the  mother  will  see  the 
primal  curse  turned  into  a  blessing  in  her  children. 
This  virtue  also  avoids  the  extremes  of  softness 
and  sourness,  of  laxity  and  harshness.  Hence 
Timothy  is  reminded  that  the  Christian  spirit  is 
one,  not  of  fear,  but  of  fortitude,  of  love,  and  of 
<rw0poj'{0>i6s.  This  is  to  be  understood  not  simply 
of  personal  self-control,  but  of  ability  to  control 
others  as  well.  Fear  is  the  vice  which  shrinks 
from  duty  through  terror  of  pain.  Its  opposite  is 
fortitude—  a  virtue  always  associated  with  self- 
control,  which  is  doing  one's  duty  when  pleasure 
would  say  '  No." 

J.  Moffatt  aptly  quotes  Gilbert  Murray  (The  Rite  of  the.  Greek 
Epic2,  Oxford,  1911,  p.  48),  that  (ria^potryirri  'is  something  like 
Temperance,  Gentleness,  Mercy  ;  sometimes  Innocence,  never 
mere  Caution  ;  a  tempering  of  dominant  emotions  by  gentler 
thought.  .  .  .  The  man  or  woman  who  is  sophron  walks  amid  the 
beauties  and  perils  of  the  world,  feeling  the  love,  joy,  anger, 
and  the  rest  ;  and  through  all  he  has  that  in  his  mind  which 
saves.  —  Whom  does  it  save?  Not  him  only,  but,  as  we  should 
say,  the  whole  situation.  It  saves  the  imminent  evil  from 
coming  to  be  '  (Exp,  8th  ser.,  ii.  [1911]  564). 


i  indicates  that  '  each  sex  and  situation 
has  lines  of  conduct  appropriate  to  itself,  and  that 
the  individual  must  have  tact  and  strength  of  will 
enough  to  pursue  these  lines  instead  of  lapsing  into 

*  <ru><t>povi&iv,  '  sophronize.'  The  word  is  sometimes  used  in 
English  ;  cf.  A.  P.  Stanley,  Life  of  Arnold*,  London,  1858,  vol.  i. 
p.  30  :  'I  am  confirmed  in  my  resolution  not  to  do  so  [i.e.  raise 
the  entrance  fees]  lest  I  should  get  the  sons  of  very  great  people 
as  my  pupils  whom  it  is  almost  impossible  to  sophronize.' 


excesses  on  one  side  or  the  other'  (Moffatt,  ib. 
p.  564  f.). 

LITERATURE.  —  The  Lexicons  under  both  words  are  most  in- 
structive ;  R.  C.  Trench,  Synonyms  of  the  NT*,  London 
1876,  p.  66  ff.  ;  T.  H.  Green,  Prolegomena  to  Ethics*,  Oxford 
1899,  bk.  iii.  ch.  v.  ;  R.  L.  Nettleship,  Lectures  on  Plato' 
Republic,  London,  1898,  p.  96  ff.  ;  Plato,  Cratylus;  Aristotle 
jVic.  Ethics,  vi.  5.6  ;  John  Caird,  Essays  for  Sunday  Reading 
London,  1906,  xi.  ;  I.  Taylor,  Natural  History  of  Enthusiasm 
do.,  1829,  Fanaticism,  do.,  1833;  Hugh  Blair,  Sermons,  do. 
1815,  vol.  i.  no.  xi.,  vol.  iii.  no.  xii.  ;  Augustine  Birrell,  Selected 
Essays,  do.,  1909,  p.  258  f.;  see  also  under  'Self-Control'  and 
'  Self-Denial  '  in  DCG.  DONALD  MACKENZIE. 

SODOM  AND  GOMORRAH.—  Sodom  and  Gomor- 
rah are  mentioned  in  Mt  101B,  Jude7,  2  P  2s,  Rev 
II8  as  affording  by  their  fate  a  warning  against 
strange  sins,  whether  moral  or  spiritual.  The 
verb  (tKiropvfvw)  used  in  Jude  is  also  used  in  LXX  of 
Ex  3415-  '«,  Lv  177,  Hos  412,  Ezk  1628-  »•  »  of  '  going 
after  '  other  gods,  and  this  seems  to  explain  the 
use  of  Sodom  in  Rev  II8.  Rome  is  Sodom  beoause 
its  gods  are  no  true  gods.  Beyond  references  in 
The  Testaments  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs  (Test. 
Naph.  3)  and  in  3  Mac  241-  the  symbolism  of  Sodom 
seems  to  have  been  dropped  out  of  sight.  It  is  not 
used  in  the  Apostolic  Fathers,  or  in  any  apoca- 
lyptic or  heretical  books  of  the  Apostolic  Age. 
The  reason  is  possibly  to  be  found  in  the  belief 
(Enoch,  Ixvii.  4)  that  the  angels  who  sinned  are 
imprisoned  in  a  subterranean  burning  valley 
(Ge-hinnom)  which  extended  to  the  Dead  Sea,  so 
that  Gehenna  extruded  Sodom  by  assimilating  it. 

W.  F.  COBB. 

SOLDIER.—  See  ARMY. 


SOLOMON  {SoXo/twi').  —  Solomon  is  mentioned  in 
St.  Stephen's  speech  before  the  Sanhedrin  as  the 
builder  of  a  house  to  God,  such  as  his  father  David 
had  asked  (but  failed  to  obtain)  permission  to  erect 
as  a  habitation  for  the  God  of  Jacob  (Ac  740'  47). 
Stephen  dares  to  put  Solomon's  Temple  into  the 
category  of  houses  'made  with  hands,'  in  which 
the  Most  High  does  not  dwell,  and  contrasts  it  with 
the  universe  in  which  God  has  heaven  for  His 
throne  and  earth  for  His  footstool  (v.49).  The 
speaker's  assumption  that  the  Maker  of  all  things 
could  not  have  a  man-  built  place  of  rest,  with  the 
implication  that  He  was  in  reality  no  more  present 
in  the  Temple  than  in  other  parts  of  His  vast 
world,  was  just  what  roused  the  fanatical  fury  of 
the  audience,  bringing  the  speech  to  an  abrupt 
and  tragic  conclusion.  His  fate  is  all  the  more 
remarkable  because  Solomon  himself  is  represented 
as  protesting,  in  his  prayer  at  the  dedication  of  tlie 
Temple,  against  the  notion  that  God  would  dwell 
on  earth,  much  less  in  the  house  which  had  been 
built  for  His  worship  (1  K  S27).  But  careful 
students  of  history  know  that  there  was  division 
of  opinion,  even  among  the  prophets,  on  this 
question,  and  EzekiePs  conception  of  '  the  glory 
of  the  Lord'  filling  the  Temple  (Ezk  434-  6,  etc.), 
together  with  the  later  Rabbinic  doctrine  of  the 
Shekinah  ('  that  which  dwells'  or  the  'dwelling'), 
which  St.  Paul  calls  the  56£o  (Ro  94),  indicates  how 
deep-rooted  in  the  Jewish  mind  was  the  conviction 
that  God  did  in  some  mysterious  way  inhabit  the 
Temple  of  Solomon,  of  Zerubbabel,  and  even  of 
Herod.  Stephen's  attempt  to  revive  the  spiritual 
conception  ascribed  to  Solomon  was  therefore  an 
assault  upon  the  citadel  of  Jewish  materialism, 
and  cost  him  his  life.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SOLOMON'S  PORCH.—  See  PORCH,  TEMPLE. 

SON.—  See  FAMILY. 

SON  OF  GOD.—  See  CHRIST. 

SONS  OF  GOD.—  See  CHILDREN  OF  GOD. 


518 


SON  OF  MAN 


SOOTHSAYING 


SON  OP  MAN.— The  only  instance  in  the  NT 
outside  the  Gospel  records  of  a  direct  reference 
to  Jesus  as  6  vibs  TOV  hvQpunrov  occurs  in  the  speech 
of  Stephen  before  the  Jewish  Sanhedrin  (Ac  T56). 
Assuming  its  genuineness,  it  is  significant  that  the 
expression  is  used  by  a  Hellenistic  Jew  recently 
converted  to  Christianity.  Even  on  the  assump- 
tion that  the  speech  is  largely  the  composition  of 
the  author  of  Acts,  the  same  significance  attaches 
to  its  employment  here.  Not  only  is  it  evidence 
that  the  gospel  tradition  was,  in  the  main,  correct 
as  to  its  use  by  Jesus  of  Himself,  but  it  shows  how 
early  the  consciousness  of  the  Church  awoke  to 
the  claims  which  the  designation  involves.  The 
strange  hesitation  of  primitive  Christianity  in 
using  this  title  proves  the  sturdiness  of  the  growth 
and  development  of  independent  thought  within 
the  Church  of  the  Apostolic  Age.  The  rage  of 
Stephen's  audience,  on  hearing  the  words  of  the 
speaker,  is  accounted  for  only  on  the  supposition 
that  '  the  Son  of  man '  was  recognized  as  the  Jesus 
whom  they  had  so  recently  done  to  death,  and  who 
now  is  described  as  occupying  the  transcendent 
position,  and  discharging  the  functions,  of  Messiah. 
The  great  and  final  synthesis  —  the  Suffering 
Servant  and  the  Eternal  Judge — had  received  its 
justification  in  the  alleged  exaltation  of  the 
Crucified  to  the  right  hand  of  God.  Now,  no  less 
than  in  the  days  of  His  humiliation,  His  sym- 
pathies were  active  for  the  despised  and  the  suffer- 
ing. It  is,  perhaps,  too  much  to  say  that  '  He  is 
revealed  to  the  eyes  of  His  first  martyr,  that 
Christians  may  learn  that  that  which  is  begun  in 
weakness  shall  be  completed  in  eternal  majesty  ' 
(B.  F.  Westcott,  The  Speaker's  Commentary,  '  St. 
John  and  the  Acts,'  London,  1880,  p.  35),  but  St. 
Luke's  use  of  the  term  in  this  connexion  shows 
how  profoundly  its  implicates  had  affected  the 
Christology  of  the  primitive  Church  (note  the 
word  eoruh-a ;  cf.  fKaditrev,  Mk  1619,  and  udOov, 
Ps  1101). 

The  absence  of  the  phrase  6  vlbs  TOV  dvOpdwov  from 
the  general  body  of  NT  writings  cannot,  therefore, 
be  explained  as  entirely  due  to  a  reverent  or  super- 
stitious disinclination  to  use  a  title  which  Jesus 
had  appropriated  to  Himself.  If  the  details  of 
the  martyrdom  of  James  the  Just  given  by 
Hegesippus  and  quoted  by  Eusebius  be  accepted, 
we  have  the  designation  used  of  the  glorified  Jesus 
Messiah.  On  being  asked  concerning  Jesus  who 
was  crucified,  he  answered  in  a  loud  voice,  'Why 
do  ye  ask  me  about  Jesus  the  Son  of  Man  ?  He 
is  now  sitting  in  the  heavens,  on  the  right  hand 
of  the  great  Power,  and  is  about  to  come  on 
the  clouds  of  heaven'  (HE  ii.  23).  According  to 
Jerome,  the  Gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews 
stated  that  Jesus  had  revealed  Himself  to  James 
after  His  resurrection  as  '  the  Son  of  man '  ('  filius 
hominis  '  \Vir.  III.  2]),  and  we  may  conjecture  that 
the  expression  in  Hegesippus  is  a  reminiscence  of 
that  event.  It  may  be  readily  accepted  that  the 
words  of  James  the  Just  are  '  of  the  nature  of  a 
quotation.'  It  is  not,  however,  so  easy  to  see  why 
the  same  should  be  said  of  '  the  use  of  the  phrase 
by  the  martyr  Stephen  in  the  Acts  and  the  martyr 
James  the  Just  in  Eusebius  and  by  the-angels  in 
Luke  after  the  Resurrection '  (E.  A.  Abbott,  The, 
Son  of  Man,  Cambridge,  1910  [3317] ;  cf.  note  on 
[3317«]).  The  vision  of  Stephen  gives  a  wider  and 
deeper  significance  to  the  Messianic  activities  of 
the  ascended  Jesus.  '  The  Son  of  man  '  stands  on 
the  right  hand  of  God  ready  to  express  His  feelings 
of  love  and  sympathy  with  the  sons  of  the  race  to 
which  He  belongs. 

There  are  two  passages  in  the  NT  where  the 
words  8/j.oiov  vibv  dvQpdirov  are  found  (Rev  I13  1414) 
both  in  descriptive  accounts  of  the  Seer's  visions. 
Quite  obviously  the  references  are  to  Jesus  as 


the  glorified  Messiah  (see,  on  the  other  hand,  H. 
Lietzmann,  Der  Menschensohn,  Tubingen,  1896,  p. 
56),  and  evidently  are  allusions  to  the  apocalyptic 
language  of  Daniel  (713).  According  to  G.  Dalman, 
the  origin  of  the  expression  is  to  be  discovered  not 
in  Dn  713  but  in  105f-  (The  Words  of  Jesus,  Edin- 
burgh, 1902,  p.  251).  The  peculiar  phraseology 
of  the  NT  apocalyptist  shows  that,  although 
he  may  have  known  and  even  been  thinking  of 
Jesus'  self-designation,  his  eschatological  doctrine 
had  its  roots  in  the  soil  of  Judaistic  transcendent- 
alism, moving  in  a  plane  higher  than  that  of 
grammatical  construction  (cf.  SJJ.OLOI  xa^K°^iP°l-vV> 
I15,  etc.),  and  that  we  cannot  equate  his  expression 
with  the  Oewpu  .  .  .  rbv  vlbv  TOV  avdpuirovof  Stephen 
(see  H.  B.  Swete,  The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John2, 
London,  1907,  p.  15).  The  use  of  3/uotos  as  an 
adverb  in  both  passages  may  have  been  due  to  the 
translation  he  was  accustomed  to  use,  but  in  any 
case  the  above  conclusion  is  not  affected  (o/j.oiot 
vi6s  =  ilis  vl6s). 

There  seems,  indeed,  no  reason  to  doubt  that  this 
designation  was  well  known  to  the  writers  and 
teachers  of  the  apostolic  period  in  spite  of  non- 
usage.  We  need  not  stay  to  inquire  into  the 
ultimate  origin  of  the  idea  underlying  the  term  or 
whether  it  is  to  be  traced  to  the  Persian  doctrine 
of  the  Primal  Man  (see  C.  Clemen,  Primitive 
Christianity  and  its  Non- Jewish  Sources,  Edinburgh, 
1912,  p.  150  ff.).  The  expression  has  become  native 
to  Palestinian  thought  and  was  a  terminus  technicus 
of  Jewish  eschatological  speculation.  The  use  of 
the  8th  Psalm  by  St.  Paul  in  1  Co  1527  and  his  dis- 
cussion as  to  the  relative  appearances  in  time  of  the 
'earthy'  (xoiVc6s)  and  the  'heavenly'  (eirovpdvios) 
man  suggest  his  acquaintance  with  the  term  6  vibs 
TOV  dvOpAirov.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  writer 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews.  Jesus'  superiority 
in  rank  to  the  angelic  beings,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  He  is  vibs  dvOpwirov,  is  insisted  on.  The 
author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  not  only 

auotes  this  Psalm  (irdvra  vireTa£fi>,  Eph  I22),  but 
oes  so  as  if  its  highest  application  is  discovered 
in  the  eternal  exaltation  of  Jesus  (virepdvw  irdarjs 
dpxw,  KT\.)  'the  Lord,'  and  in  His  session 
(/catfw-as)  at  the  right  hand  of  God  in  the  heavenly 
regions  (tv  5e£ta  avrov  fv  rots  e-n-ovpaviois  ;  see  J. 
Mott'att's  translation  in  The  Historical  New  Testa- 
ment^, Edinburgh,  1901,  p.  232 ;  cf.  the  use  of  the 
Danielic  visions  in  2  Es  133ff-). 

Widely  different  reasons  are  given  by  scholars  to 
explain  the  absence  of  the  term  '  the  Son  of  man ' 
in  the  writers  of  the  apostolic  period.  All  the 
Greek-speaking  leaders  of  Christian  thought  from 
Ignatius  and  Justin  Martyr  to  Chrysostom  agree 
in  teaching  that  the  title  has  a  special  reference  to 
the  human  nature  of  Jesus,  the  human  side  in  His 
descent.  So  also  do  Tertullian,  Cyprian,  Augustine, 
and  Ambrose.  For  them  its  importance  and  signi- 
ficance were  mainly  dogmatic  and  theological,  less 
suitable  for  the  exigencies  of  practical  instruction 
and  life.  For  whatever  reason,  it  did  not  then, 
and  it  never  has,  become  a  popular  designation  of 
Jesus  by  the  Church  (see  DCG  ii.  664a). 

J.  R.  WILLIS. 

SOOTHSAYING. — A  comparison  of  the  words 
used  in  different  versions  6f  the  Scriptures  to  indi- 
cate the  various  practices  and  practisers  of  divina- 
tion— using  that  word  in  its  very  widest  sense — 
shows  how  indefinite  was  and  is  the  significance 
attached  to  all  these,  and  intensifies  the  desire 
that  research  may  speedily  classify  them  and  de- 
termine the  exact  meaning  of  each.  The  English 
word  '  soothsay  '  strictly  means  '  to  tell  authorita- 
tively the  truth.'  The. phrases  'sooth  to  say,'  'in 
good  sooth '  show  the  primary  meaning.  Men  are 
especially  anxious  regarding  the  future ;  hence  a 
soothsayer  is  a  sayer  of  truth  as  regards  the  future. 


SOPATER 


SORCERY 


519 


'  Soothsayer '  is  used  in  Jos  1322  (AV  and  RV ;  AVm  '  diviner ') 
to  translate  ccip,  Qal  pt.  act.  of  Dfp,  which,  with  its  kindred 
terms,  is  translated  '  divine '  in  Nu  22?  2323,  Dt  18N>-  !•»,  i  s  288, 
2  K  1717,  Is  4425,  Ezk  122-1  136.  7  2121.  22.  »,  Mic  &•  ?,  the  LXX  in 
all  these  cases  employing-  fiavTi?  and  its  cognates.  But  in  1  S 
1523  the  same  Hebrew  word  is  translated  '  witchcraft '  (AV  and 
RV;  marg.  'divination'),  the  LXX  using  duavitf^a.;  in  Pr  1610 
the  word  is  translated  '  a  divine  sentence '  (AV  and  RV ;  marg. 
in  all  three  'divination'),  the  LXX  using  in  this  case  fjMvrdov. 
Finally,  in  Is  32  it  is  translated  'the  prudent"  in  AV,  but 
'  diviner '  in  RV,  and  the  LXX  translates  by  aroxaonii'.  '  Sooth- 
sayers '  is  the  translation  in  Is  28  of  D'JJJ?,  Qal  P*-  act-  of  ]iii  >n 
A V  and  RV,  the  LXX  employing  KAi^'opto-pui',  while  in  Is  573 
njji1  is  translated  'sorceress,'  possibly  because  ' soothsayeress ' 
is  an  impossible  word ;  but  the  LXX  renders  '  ye  sons  of  the 
sorceress"  by  viol  avofnoi.  'Soothsayers'  is  the  translation  in 
Mic  512  of  cn3ij,'9  (AV  and  RV),  the  LXX  in  this  case  rendering 
the  word  by  ajrocf>0eyyonei<oi.  In  Dn  227  47(4)  57.  ll  '  soothsayers ' 
is  the  translation  of  participles  of  the  verb  "IJ3,  '  to  cut,'  '  to 
decree,'  'to  decide,'  the  LXX  employing  participles  of  a  verb 
which  ia  evidently  a  mere  transliteration  of  the  Hebrew.* 

In  Ac  1616  the  word  p-avrfvotMi  is  used  to  indicate 
the  art  of  the  pythoness  of  Philippi.  The  girl's 
work  was  to  predict  accurately,  and  hence  the  word 
is  here  used  in  its  strict  English  sense.  '  Sooth- 
sayer,' then,  is  used  of  one  who  professes  to  indi- 
cate the  future  truthfully  by  a  writer  who  does  not 
helieve  that  the  soothsayer  possesses  such  a  power. 
In  Hernias  (Mand.  xi.  2)  the  man  who  has  the 
Divine  spirit  is  differentiated  by  his  life  from  the 
^evSo-rrpcHpTiTTis  to  whom  doubters  go  as  a  /xdcris. 
The  latter  exalts  himself,  is  bold,  impudent,  talka- 
tive, luxurious,  and  without  reward  gives  no  pre- 
dictions. The  soothsayers  would  appear,  at  least 
at  a  later  time,  to  have  been  superior  to  and  more 
skilful  than  the  augurs.  Perhaps  part  of  their 
success  lay,  as  in  the  famous  case  of  Pyrrhus,  in 
the  cleverness  with  which  they  gave  deliverances 
so  worded  that  whatever  happened  their  reputation 
did  not  sufler.f 

LITERATURE.— E.  B.  Tylor,  PC*,  London,  1903,  i.  145,  147 ; 
HDp  v.  145,  618»  n.,  and  the  literature  under  DIVINATION  and 
PYTHON.  P.  A.  GORDON  CLARK. 

SOPATER  (Ztiirarpos,  a  common  Greek  name). — 
Sopater  is  mentioned  in  Ac  204  as  a  companion  of 
St.  Paul,  who  accompanied  him  from  Greece  to 
Asia  Minor  on  his  return  journey  to  Palestine, 
whither  he  was  bearing  tlie  offering  of  the  churches 
'  for  the  poor  among  the  saints  that  are  at  Jeru- 
salem '  (Ro  1526).  It  has  been  conjectured  that  all 
the  persons  referred  to  in  Ac  204  were  delegates 
of  their  respective  communities  appointed  '  in  the 
matter  of  this  grace'  (2  Co  819).  If  this  was  so,  we 
shall  suppose  that  they  went  all  the  way  to  Jeru- 
salem. We  know  that  one  of  them,  Trophimus, 
did  so  (Ac  2129),  and  evidently  also  Aristarchus 
(272).  Sopater  was  perhaps  the  delegate  of  the 
church  at  Beroea.  He  is  described  as  a  native  of  that 
place  (Bepotcuos),  and  was  perhaps  a  Hellenistic  Jew, 
one  of  those  who  contrasted  so  favourably  with 
the  Jews  of  Thessalonica,  one  of  the  '  many'  who 
believed  during  the  Apostle's  visit  (171(M4).  If  he 
was  not  a  Jew  he  cannot  be  identified,  as  is  some- 
times suggested,  with  Sosipater  (q.v. ),  whose  saluta- 
tion is  sent  by  St.  Paul  in  Ro  1621,  and  who  is 
described  as  one  of  the  Apostle's  'kinsmen,'  i.e. 
fellow-Jews.  Nothing  further  is  known  of  Sopater 
than  that  he  was  '  the  son  of  Pyrrhus '  (ZuTrarpos 
Hvppov),  of  whom,  however,  we  are  entirely 
ignorant.  The  patronymic  is  omitted  by  TR 
and  AV  but  is  found  in  NABDE,  several  ancient 
versions,  and  RV.  See  art.  PYRRHUS. 

T.  B.  ALL  WORTHY. 

SORCERY. — The  indefmiteness  attaching  to  the 
meaning  of  words  connected  with  divination, 
noticed  in  the  art.  SOOTHSAYING,  is  quite  as  ap- 
plicable to  sorcery.  From  sors,  'a  lot,'  come 

*  Augustine,  de  Civ.  Dei,  iii.  11.  17. 

t  For  functions  of  the  Semitic  soothsayers  see  EBrH  xxii. 
319*>.  On  Babylonian  soothsaying  see  ERE  ii.  316b,  319b. 


sortiri, '  to  cast  lots,"  and  sortiarius,  'one  who  fore- 
tells fortunes  by  lots.'  To  enable  the  foreteller  to 
do  his  work,  assistance  was  gained  from  spirits ; 
and  the  latter  conception  gradually  banished  the 
idea  of  lots,  confined  now  to  '  sortilege,'  and  sorcery 
came  to  mean  accomplishing  one's  object  by  means 
of  evil  spirits.  It  is  applied  to  making  the  wind 
blow  in  a  certain  direction,  causing  storms  and 
disasters ;  bringing  on  darkness ;  manipulating 
the  rain-clouds,  etc.* 

From  the  word  rj^r,  not  used  in  the  Qal,  but  evidently  meaning 
'  to  pray,'  we  have  the  Piel  rfi?2,  which  means  'to  pray  intensely 
and  effectively.'  This  word,  which  has  no  connexion  with  lote, 
is  used  in  an  anti-religious  sense,  and  in  2  Oh  336  is  translated 
'used  witchcraft"  (AV),  'practised  sorcery"  (RV);  and  in  the 
LXX  e4>ap/j.aKevcTO.}  The  participle  of  this  word  IB*?!?  means 
one  who  by  intense  prayer,  or  spell,  achieves  supernormal 
results.  It  is  translated  in  Ex  711,  Dn  2-',  Mai  36  '  sorcerers '  (AV 
and  RV),  and  in  LXX  4>ap/ua*o?,  while  the  feminine  riEsyrp  in  Ex 
2217  (18)  is  translated  by  'witch '(A  V),  'sorceress  '(RV)ij'  in  LXX 
<i>ap/ota(covs.  «]»;:?  itself  in  Dt  1810  is  translated  by  '  witch '  (AV)  ; 
clearly  it  should  at  least  be '  wizard,'  unless  '  witch '  is  here  used 
as  a  word  of  common  gender  ;  by  '  sorcerer '  in  RV,  while  in  this 
case  the  LXX  uses  oi<uvi£6nevos.§ 

In  Jer  279,  D5'£^3,  the  practisers  of  the  art,  is  translated 
'your  sorcerers'  in  AV  and  RV,  while  the  LXX  uses  ^mptunidav 
(Jer  349).  ;The  noun  f]BO  in  Is  479-  12  is  translated  by 
'sorceries  (AV  and  RV)' and  by  ^ap^axfia  in  the  LXX;  but 
in  2  K  922,  Mic  5"(12),  Nah  3*  it  is  translated  by  'witchcrafts,' 
LXX  <t>apnaKov,  where  clearly  the  right  translation  is  '  magic 
arts."  ||  But  in  Is  573  the  phrase  Hjjj;  'i3  is  rendered  in  AV  and 
RV  '  sons  of  the  sorceress,"  and  in  LXX  by  viol  ayo/xot.  In  Dn 
120  22.  10. 27  44(7)  57. 11. 15  the  word  r^x,  which  is  translated 
'  astrologers'  in  the  AV,  is  rendered  'enchanters'  in  RV,  and 
in  the  LXX  bj  /xayot.  Herodotus  (i.  101)  uses  this  word  to  indi- 
cate the  Magi,  one  of  the  six  tribes  of  the  Medes,  who  were 
probably  a  sacred  priestly  class,  devoted  to  astrology,  divina- 
tion by  dreams,  and  the  practice  of  magic  generally.^  This 
word  is  applied  by  the  writer  of  the  First  Gospel  to  the  men 
from  the  East  who  visited  the  cradle  of  Jesus  (Mt  21-  "•  ™),  but 
that  incident  throws  no  light  either  on  their  status,  the  rites 
which  they  practised,  or  the  country  from  which  they  came. 

In  Ac  136-  8  the  name  ndyos  is  applied  to  the 
Jew  Bar -Jesus  of  Paphos.  It  is  translated 
'  sorcerer '  by  AV  and  Moffatt,  and  also  by  the 
RV,  with  '  Magus '  in  the  margin.  The  further 
designation  \j/evdoTrpo<f>riTr,s  would  indicate  that  he 
was  by  profession  a  prognosticator,  probably  of 
fortunes  or  events,  but  this  is  the  only  hint  given 
of  his  arts  or  pretensions.**  In  Ac  8s*-  "  Simon  of 
Samaria  is  spoken  of  as  nayetuv,  and  the  art  which 
he  practised  is  named  payflai.  These  are  translated 
in  A  V  and  RV  '  used  sorcery '  and  '  sorceries,'  but 
Moffatt's  translations,  '  practised  magic  arts  '  and 
'  skill  in  magic,'  are  much  truer  to  the  Greek  and 
to  the  facts  so  far  as  we  can  judge.  The  writer 
of  the  Apocalypse,  to  describe  a  sin  or  set  of  sins, 
falls  back  on  the  LXX,  and  uses  words  connected 
with  (pdpfjiaKov.  This  word  means  a  drug  which 
can  be  given  to  a  person,  or  used  magically  by  one 
person  on  another  to  produce  an  effect  hurtful  or 
the  reverse.  <j>ap/j.a.Ktla.  is  the  practice  of  this  art, 
and  <£ap/Aa*6s  is  the  practitioner.  In  the  apostolic 
writings  these  are  used  in  a  bad  sense.  In  Rev  921 
the  unrepentant  are  grouped  into  those  who  have 

»  Exp,  8th  ser.,  vii.  [1914]  21 ;  The  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo, 
tr.  by  H.  Yule2,  London,  1875,  i.  99,  108,  175,  178,  292,  300,  339  ; 
ii.  399. 

t  Exp,  8th  ser.,  vii.  24  ;  EBi  iii.  2900. 

J  Exp,  8th  ser.,  vii.  22,  23. 

§  Exp,  8th  ser.,  vii.  22 ;  VV.  R.  Smith,  JPh  xiii.  [1884-85] 
273  ff.,  xiv.  [1885]  113. 

I!  Exp,  8th  ser.,  vii.  25  ;  EBi  iii.  2900. 

•  II DB  iii.  203;  J.  H.  Moulton,  Karly  Religious  Poetry  of 
Persia,  Cambridge,  1911,  p.  75  ;  G.  Maspero,  The  Pasting  of  the 
Empires,  London,  1900,  pp.  452,  577,  595,  783.  The  Rabmag 
(Jer  393- 13)  was  probably  the  (or  a)  chief  of  this  tribe  who  may 
have  been  either  the  chief  physician  attached  to  the  Court  or, 
more  probably,  a  high  official  charged  with  the  care  of  the  horse 
and  chariotry  (see  A.  H.  Sayce,  The  Higher  Criticism  and  the 
Verdict  of  the  Monuments,  London,  1894,  p.  456 ;  Records  of  the 
Pant,  2nd  ser.,  ii.  [London,  1889]  182  ;  C.  H.  W.  Johns,  Babylonian 
and  Assyrian  Laws,  Contracts,  and  Letters,  Edinburgh,  1904, 
p.  375). 

**  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller  and  the  Roman 
Citizen,  London,  1895,  p.  76. 


520 


SORROW 


SOSTHENES 


not  forsaken  four  vices,  one  of  which  is 
(the  variant  readings  in  this  and  the  following  cases 
do  not  affect  the  sense).  The  word  is  translated  in 
AV  and  RV  '  sorceries,1  by  Moffatt  'magic  spell,' 
and  by  Wey mouth  '  practice  of  magic.'  The 
place  of  the  word  and  the  well-known  custom  of 
the  time  suggest  that  the  true  meaning,  in  con- 
formity with  the  original  designation  of  the  word, 
is  'poisoning.'  In  the  condemnation  of  Babylon 
(Rev  18'-")  it  is  said  :  'all  nations  were  seduced,  h 
rrj  <pa.pfw.Kfiq..'  This  is  translated  in  AV  '  sorceries,' 
in  RV  '  sorcery,'  by  Moffatt  '  magic  spell,'  by 
Weymouth  '  magic  thou  didst  practise ' ;  the 
Twentieth  Century  New  Testament  has  come  nearest 
to  the  right  translation  in  'magical  charms,'  i.e. 
charms  not  natural,  but  produced  by  magic ;  bat 
the  true  meaning  seems  to  be  '  magical  love  philtre.' 
One  class  of  those  who  are  to  be  cast  into  the  lake 
of  fire  (Rev  218)  is  that  of  the  (j>apfj.a.Keus,  which  is 
translated  '  sorcerers '  by  AV  and  RV  and  Moffatt, 
while  Weymouth's  version  '  those  who  practise 
magic '  might  be  improved  by  translating  '  those 
who  practise  poisoning.'  Outside  the  Holy  City 
are  the  <j>ap/j.a.Koi  (Rev  2215),  concerning  whom  the 
remarks  just  made  apply.  In  Gal  520,  among  the 
deeds  of  the  flesh  is  (pap/juucela,  which  is  translated 
in  AV  'witchcraft,'  in  RV  'sorcery,'  and  by 
Moffatt  '  magic.'  Among  the  clauses  of  the  second 
commandment  of  the  Didache  are  ov  fj-ayevo-ei.*,  ov 
faptMKefoeis,  which  H.  D.  M.  Spence  *  translates, 
'  tliou  shalt  not  practise  magic '  and  '  thou  shalt 
not  use  enchantments."  But  the  other  sins  men- 
tioned naturally  suggest  that  the  latter  command 
is,  '  thou  shalt  not  practise  poisoning.'  Sorcery  in 
one  form  or  another  is  practised  in  all  the  religions 
of  the  lower  culture,  t  It  long  survived  among 
Western  Christians,  if  it  does  not  still  survive. 
'A  prefect  of  Honorius  (A.D.  395-423)  proposed  to 
employ  the  Tuscan  sorcerers,  who  offered  the  aid 
of  their  arts  against  Alaric,  and  Litorius,  fighting 
against  a  successor  of  Alaric  in  Gaul,  consulted 
the  pagan  seers  before  the  last  battle,  under  the 
walls  of  Toulouse.  In  the  last  years  of  the  Western 
Empire,  the  diviners  of  Africa  were  practising 
their  arts  among  the  nominal  Christians  of  Aqui- 
taine.'J  In  the  Armenian  Church  there  are  still 
'  good  sorcerers,  who  are  quite  disposed,  with  the 
aid  of  supernatural  powers,  to  render  service  to 
human  beings. '§ 
LITERATURE. — See  under  the  articles  DIVINATION  and  EXORCISM. 

P.  A.  GORDON  CLARK. 
SORROW.— See  REPENTANCE,  GRIEF. 

^  SOSIPATER  (Zuffiirarpos,  a  Greek  name).  — 
Sosipater  is  one  of  three  men,  Lucius  and  Jason 
being  the  others,  who  send  salutations  in  Ro  1621 
and  are  described  by  St.  Paul  as  '  my  kinsmen '  (ol 
ffiryyfveis  fiov),  i.e.  fellow-Jews  (cf.  Andronicus  and 
Junia(s),  v.7,  Herodion,  v.11).  It  is  possible  that 
Jason  (q.v.)  is  identical  with  Jason  of  Ac  175f<,  who 
was  the  Apostle's  host  at  Thessalonica.  Sosipater 
may  be  the  same  as  Sopater  (q.v.) — another  form 
of  the  name — of  Ac  204,  who  is  said  to  have  been  a 
Beroean.  If  these  identifications  are  correct,  we 
shall  suppose  that  these  men  were  visiting  St.  Paul 
at  Corinth  at  the  time  of  writing  or  had  become 
missionary  companions  of  the  Apostle.  We  know 
that  Sopater  did  accompany  St.  Paul  afterwards 
on  at  least  part  of  his  return  journey  to  Palestine. 
It  is  perhaps  in  favour  of  this  theory  that  the 
salutations  of  Lucius,  Jason,  and  Sosipater  are 
sent  with  those  of  Timothy  and  not  with  those  of 
the  Corinthian  Christians,  Gaius,  Erastus,  Quartus 

*  The  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles,  London,  1885,  ch.  ii. 

t  See,  e.g.,  Q.  T.  Bettany,  Primitive  Religious,  London -1S91, 
pp.  20,  36,  90,  113  ;  ERE  ii.  362»>. 

t  Samuel  Dill,  Roman  Society  in  the  Last  Century  of  the 
Western  Empire*,  London,  1905,  p.  5. 

§  ERE  i.  806. 


(v.23),  the  personal  greeting  of  the  amanuensis 
being  interposed  (v.22).  If  we  think  the  identitica- 
tion  unlikely,  we  shall  suppose  Sosipater  and  the 
others  to  have  been  members  of  the  church  at 
Corinth.  It  is  perhaps  easier  to  believe  that 
their  salutations  were  meant  for  fellow-Christians 
at  Ephesus  than  at  Rome,  but  we  must  remember 
that  in  the  Apostolic  Church  sympathy  and  even 
affection  were  possible  between  converts  who  were 
not  personally  acquainted.  It  is  interesting  but  of 
little  importance  for  our  present  purpose  to  know 
that  the  name  Sosipater  is  found  among  the  list 
of  Thessalonian  politarchs  (CIG  ii.  1967). 

T.  B.  ALLWORTHY. 

SOSTHENES.— The  name  occurs  twice  in  the 
NT.  In  Ac  1817  a  Sosthenes  is  '  the  ruler  of  the 
synagogue '  in  Corinth.  Although  in  the  Diaspora 
this  title  gained  a  more  extended  sense  than  in 
Palestine  as  an  honorary  title,  there  seems  to  have 
been  only  one  ruler  of  the  synagogue  in  Corinth. 
In  that  case  Sosthenes  must  have  been  recently 
appointed  when  Crispus  became  a  Christian ;  and 
probably  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  proceed- 
ings when  '  the  Jews  with  one  accord  rose  up 
against  Paul,  and  brought  him  before  the  judge- 
ment-seat' (Ac  1812).  The  charge  having  been  dis- 
missed, Sosthenes  was  laid  hold  of  and  beaten 
before  the  judgment  seat,  but  Gallic  (q.v.)  'cared 
for  none  of  these  things'  (v.17).  RV,  dropping  ol 
"EXXT/ves,  favours  the  idea  that  it  was  the  Jews  who 
beat  Sosthenes,  venting  on  their  own  leader  their 
rage  over  their  disappointment.  Another  view 
has  been  that  Gallio  allowed  the  Jews  to  console 
themselves  by  beating  Sosthenes,  who  was  a  Chris- 
tian. Both  these  views  are,  however,  rejected  as 
historically  inconceivable.  Probably  the  reading 
ol  "EXXijvej  has  dropped  out  through  a  misappre- 
hension of  the  scene  due  to  the  fact  that  a  Sosthenes 
is  mentioned  with  St.  Paul  in  1  Co  I1.  It  cannot 
be  decided  whether  these  two  men  are  the  same 
person.  The  name  was  common  ;  and  nothing  is 
said  in  the  NT  which  identifies  them.  What 
happened  when  Gallio  dismissed  the  charge  against 
St.  Paul  was  that  '  the  Greeks,  who  always  hated 
the  Jews,  took  advantage  of  the  marked  snub 
which  the  governor  had  inflicted  on  them,  to  seize 
and  beat  Sosthenes,  who  had  been  appointed  to 
replace  Crispus  as  Archisynagogos,' — a  '  piece  of 
"Lynch  law,"  which  probably  seemed  to  him 
[Gallio]  to  be  a  rough  sort  of  justice'  (Ramsay,  St. 
Paul  the  Traveller  and  the  Roman  Citizen,  p.  259). 
If  Ac  1817  and  1  Co  I1  refer  to  the  same  person, 
Sosthenes  must  have  been  converted  subsequently 
and  become  a  Christian  leader.  There  is  nothing 
impossible  in  this.  If  one  ruler  of  the  synagogue 
was  converted,  why  not  another  ?  It  is  conceivable 
that  his  sufferings  in  a  religious  riot  may  have 
turned  his  mind  again  to  St.  Paul's  teaching.  As 
a  former  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  his  presence  with 
St.  Paul  in  Ephesus  is  explicable  on  two  grounds: 

(a)  his  presence  in  Corinth  as  a  Christian  might 
irritate  the  Jews  and  make  Christian  work  harder  ; 

(b)  his  social  position  and  ability  would  probably 
mark  him  out  as  a  suitable  fellow-worker  with  St. 
Paul, 'who  would  delight  to  make  an  ally  of  a 
persecutor.    It  is  certainly  in  favour  of  this  identifi- 
cation that  St.  Paul  mentions  Sosthenes  not  as  an 
amanuensis  but  as  a  Christian  of  standing,  whose 
name  is   well   known  in   Corinth  and  will  carry 
authority  with  the  Church.     It  has  been  suggested 
also  that  his  subsequent  conversion  would  account 
for  St.  Luke's  exceptionally  preserving  the  name 
of  St.  Paul's  assailant.     Whilst  these  considera- 
tions favour  the  identification,  it  cannot  be  proved. 
But  it  would  be  an  interesting  coincidence  that 
both  Crispus  and  Sosthenes  should  be  mentioned 
in  1  Co  1,  if  both  were  converted  rulers  of  the 
synagogue. 


SOUL 


SPAIN 


521 


Eusebius  (HE  i.  12)  states  that  Sosthenes  was 
one  of  the  Seventy  ;  but  probably  this  is  a 
worthless  tradition.  Tradition  is  responsible  also 
for  the  statement  that  he  became  bishop  of 
Colophon. 

LITERATURE.—  W.  P.  Dickson,  art.  '  Sosthenes  '  in  HDB  ; 
W.  M.  Ramsay,  art.  '  Corinth,'  ib.  i.  482»  ;  C.  von  Weizsacker, 
Apostolic  Aye,  i.2  [London,  1897]  113,  306-310;  A.  Harnack, 
Expansion  of  Christianity,  i.2  [London,  1908]  321  ;  F.  Godet, 
Commentary  on  1st  Corinthians  (Eng-.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1886); 
EGT,  '  Acts,1  London,  1900,  p.  391,  and  '  1  Corinthians,'  do.,  p. 
758  ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller  and  the  Roman 
Citizen,  London,  1895,  pp.  257-259.  J.  E.  ROBERTS. 


SOUL  (^vxtf)-  —  1.  While  ^i/x^  primarily  denotes 
the  animal  soul  or  vital  principle  (Lat.  anima), 
and  hence  is  equivalent  to  life,  '  soul  '  is  not  used 
in  the  NT  outside  of  the  Gospels  (the  AV  of 
Mt  1628,  Mk  S36'-  ;  but  cf.  the  RV)  to  render  ^v^-f, 
in  this  meaning  of  the  word,  'life*  being  always 
employed  instead  (Ac  2010-  24,  Ph  230,  etc.).  Occa- 
sionally, however,  '  soul  '  is  employed  of  the  subject, 
whether  man  (1  Co  1545,  Rev  1813)  or  lower  animal 
(Rev  163  ;  cf.  89),  in  which  the  principle  of  life 
inheres.  Cf.  art.  LIFE  AND  DEATH. 

2.  Frequently  '  soul  '  denotes  the  subject  in  the 
distinctness   of   his    existence   as   an   individual, 
and  so  is  only  an  emphatic  designation  of  the  man 
himself.     '  Every  soul  '  (Ac  2®  S23,  Ro  131)  is  equi- 
valent to  '  every  one  '  ;  and  the  plural  '  souls    is 
often  used  in  cases  of  enumeration  as  a  synonym 
for  persons  (e.g.  '  three  thousand  souls,'  Ac  241  ; 
'  eight  souls,'  1  P  320). 

3.  While  in  its  original  meaning  '  soul  '  refers  to 
the  physical  or  animal  life,  in  its  ordinary  use  it 
denotes  the  inner  and  higher  as  distinguished  from 
the  bodily  nature  of  man  —  that  in  him  which  is  the 
seat  of  thought,  feeling,  and  will,  and  especially 
that  which  is  the  subject  of  the  Christian  salvation 
(1  Th  28,  He  619  1039  1317,  Ja  520,  1  P  I9,  3  Jn  2).     In 
this  meaning  the  word  is  frequently  associated 
with  '  spirit  '  (irvefyia),  but  usually  in  such  a  way  as 
to  show  that  there  is  no  intention  of  so  distinguish- 
ing between  the  two  as  to  imply  that  man  is  pos- 
sessed of  a  tripartite  nature  —  body,  soul,  and  spirit 
—  or  that  the  soul  is  concerned  with  earthly  things 
while  the  spirit  relates  itself  to  God  and  heaven. 
When  St.  Paul  writes,  '  Stand  fast  in  one  spirit, 
with  one  soul  striving  for  the  faith  of  the  gospel  ' 
(Ph  I27  RV),  it  seems  evident  that  he  is  using  the 
terms  in  a  manner  analogous  to  the  parallelism  of 
Hebrew  poetry  (cf.  Lk  I46*-).     And  when  St.  James 
(226)  declares  that  '  the  body  without  the  spirit  is 
dead'  (cf.  Mt  1028,  'which  kill  the  body,  but  are 
not  able  to  kill  the  soul  '),   he   is  certainly  not 
making  use  of  '  spirit'  in  a  more  exalted  sense  than 
that  in  which  '  soul  '  is  employed  when  he  speaks 
of  the  word  '  which  is  able  to  save  your  souls  '  (I21), 
or  declares  that  he  who  converts  a  sinner  from  the 
error  of  his  ways  '  shall  save  a  soul  from  death  ' 
(520). 

4.  In  a  few  cases  '  soul  '  denotes  the  inner  and 
higher  part  of  man's   being  as  disembodied,  but 
still  living  a  life  of  its  own  after  it  has  been  separ- 
ated from  the  physical  part  which  is  subject  to  cor- 
ruption (Ac  227,  Rev  69  204). 

5.  There  is  another  use  of  '  soul,'  however,  in 
which  it   appears  to  be  definitely  distinguished 
from  'spirit^  (1  Th  5123,  He  412).     These  passages 
might  seem  to  lend  some  support  to  trichotomist 
views,  if  it  were  not  that  the  use  of  the  derived 
adjectives   ^vx'fo's  (lit.    'soulish';   AV  'natural,' 
'sensual')  and  Trvev/j.a.TiK6s  (AV  'spiritual')  points 
not  to  any  psychological  distinction  in  the  elements 
of  human  nature,  but  to  a  theological  distinction 
between  two  stages  of  religious  experience.     This 
distinction  of  soulish  and  spiritual,  which  is  especi- 
ally characteristic  of  St.  Paul  (1  Co  211'16  1542"47; 
cf.  Ja  318,  Jude19),  is  evidently,  as  the  contexts 


show,  one  between  the  natural  or  unregenerate 
man  and  the  regenerate  man  who  is  living  through 
grace  under  the  power  of  the  Divine  Spirit.  And 
so  when  St.  Paul,  in  the  passage  above  referred  to, 
writes,  'And  may  your  spirit  and  soul  and  body 
be  preserved  entire  (1  Th  S23),  he  probably  means 
by  'soul'  the  human  individuality  with  all  its 
natural  powers,  and  by  '  spirit '  that  individuality 
as  charged  with  the  new  Divine  potencies  of  the 
Christian  life.  And  when  the  author  of  Hebrews 
(412)  describes  the  word  of  God  as  '  piercing  even  to 
the  dividing  of  soul  and  spirit,'  this  should  perhaps 
be  taken  not  as  '  a  mere  rhetorical  accumulation 
of  terms'  (A.  B.  Davidson,  Hebrews,  1882,  in  loc.), 
much  less  as  suggesting  a  psychological  distinction 
between  the  sensuous  soul  and  the  rational  spirit, 
but  rather  as  pointing  to  a  power  possessed  by  the 
Divine  word  of  discriminating  between  the  natural 
and  the  regenerate  heart  and  of  bringing  conviction 
to  both  alike.  See,  further,  art.  SPIRIT,  SPIRITUAL. 

LITERATURE.— H.  Cremer,  Bib.-Theol.  Lex.  of  NT  Greeks, 
1880,  p.  582  ;  J.  Laidlaw,  The  Bible  Doctrine  of  Man,  1895,  pp. 
87  ff. ,  135  f . ;  W.  P.  Dickson,  St.  Paul's  Use  of  the  Terms  Flesh 
and  Spirit,  1883,  p.  193  fl. ;  ExpT  x.  [1898-99]  2. 

J.  C.  LAMBERT. 

SPAIN  (Z-iravla). — Spain  was  St.  Paul's  objective 
during  the  later  years  of  his  missionary  activity. 
It  was  characteristic  of  him  that  he  was  always 
thinking  of  '  the  parts  beyond  '  (TO.  wrepticeiva.,  2  Co 
Id16).  Sensitively  regardful  of  '  the  province 
(KOLV&V)  which  God  apportioned '  him,  and  deter- 
mined not  to  intrude  'in  another's  province'  (2  Co 
1013.  is.  16^  he  feik  drawn  to  the  fresh  fields  of  the 
distant  West.  It  is  in  his  letter  to  the  Romans 
(1524-  M)  that  he  first  broaches  the  idea  of  evangeliz- 
ing Spain.  Eager  as  he  was  to  '  see  Rome '  and  to 
preach  the  gospel  in  it,  he  did  not  purpose  to  re- 
main there  long.  The  metropolis  was  not  in  his 
icat>ibv,  for  others  had  already  laboured  there,  and  he 
intimates  that  in  his  visit  to  the  Roman  Christians 
he  would  be  en  route  (Stair  ope  vo/uei'os)  for  his  proper 
sphere.  He  would  'go  on  by'  them  (airf\fi/o-o/j.ai 
di'  vn&v)  as  he  journeyed  westward.  The  Imperial 
width  of  his  horizon  and  boldness  of  his  policy 
were  worthy  of  his  Roman  citizenship,  and  the  fact 
that  Spain  was  the  most  completely  Romanized  of 
all  the  provinces  no  doubt  made  it  seem  a  very 
attractive  and  promising  mission  field.  It  is  true 
that  half  a  century  after  St.  Paul's  time  Juvenal 
could  still  write,  '  Horrida  vitanda  est  Hispania' 
(Sat.  viii.  116),  but  he  was  doubtless  thinking  of 
the  barbarous  tribes  of  the  northern  mountains. 
In  the  beginning  of  our  era  Strabo  (ill.  ii.  15)  says 
that  the  southern  Spaniards,  '  especially  those  who 
dwell  about  the  Bsetis  (Guadalquiver),  have  been 
so  entirely  converted  to  the  Roman  mode  of  life 
as  even  to  have  forgotten  their  own  language.' 
Carrying  over  the  permanent  benefits  of  an  earlier 
Phoanician  and  Carthaginian  civilization,  Spain 
had  become  a  Roman  province  at  the  end  of  the 
Second  Punic  War  (201  B.C.),  and  by  the  days  of 
Cicero  and  Caesar  the  southern  districts  were 
almost  wholly  Italian.  '  If  preparation  was  any- 
where made  by  the  republic  for  the  great  all- 
significant  work  of  the  imperial  period — the 
Romanising  of  the  West — it  was  in  Spain.  ...  In 
all  Spain  under  Augustus  there  were  numbered 
fifty  communities  with  full  citizenship ;  nearly 
fifty  others  had  up  to  this  time  received  Latin 
rights,  and  stood  as  to  inward  organisation  on  a 
par  with  the  burgess-communities.  .  .  .  Like  the 
Roman  dress,  the  Roman  language  was  largely 
diffused  even  among  those  Spaniards  who  had  not 
Italian  burgess-rights,  and  thegovernmentfavoured 
the  de  facto  Romanising  of  the  land '  (T.  Mommsen, 
The  Provinces  of  the  lloman  Em/iire,  1909,  i.  67- 
70).  Many  of  the  writers  of  Rome's  silver  age, 
notably  Lucan,  the  two  Senecas,  Martial,  and 


522 


SPEARMAN 


SPIRITS  IN  PRISON 


Quintilian,  were  Spaniards.    The  Emperors  Trajan 
and  Hadrian  were  born  in  Spain. 

If  St.  Paul  ever  reached  this  goal,  he  must  have 
made  Latin  for  a  time  his  missionary  language, 
for  even  when  half  the  population  of  Rome  was 
speaking  Greek,  Spain  was  never  in  any  degree 
Hellenized.  But  the  question  whether  the  Apostle 
succeeded  in  carrying  out  his  purpose  cannot  be 
confidently  answered.  There  are  only  two  authori- 
ties for  a  Spanish  journey — the  Muratorian  Frag- 
ment on  the  Canon,  and  Clement  of  Rome.  The 
writer  of  the  former  (about  A.D.  200)  may  have  had 
independent  knowledge,  but  it  is  more  likely  that 
when  he  mentions  the  '  profectionem  Pauli  ab  urbe 
ad  Spaniam  proh'ciscentis,'he  is  merely  drawing  an 
inference  that  the  purpose  expressed  in  Ro  1524- 
was  fulfilled.  The  words  of  Clement  (ad  Cor.  v.) 
are  well  known :  '  Paul  .  .  .  having  taught  the 
whole  world  righteousness,  and  having  come  to 
the  bound  of  the  West  (firl  r6  r4p^a,  rfjs  5i5<rews 
4\ffd>v),  and  having  borne  witness  (fj-aprvp^a-a^)  before 
the  rulers,  so  was  released  from  the  world  and 
went  to  the  Holy  Place,  having  become  the  greatest 
example  of  patience.'  Lightfoot  interpreted  'the 
bound  of  the  West'  as  Spain,  but,  since  the  next 
clauses  certainly  refer  to  St.  Paul's  testimony  and 
martyrdom  in  Rome,  it  seems  natural  to  take 
f\dui>  and  paprvpriffas  together,  and  difficult  to 
interpolate  a  journey  between  them.  Sanday- 
Headlam  ('  Romans' 5  [ICC,  1902],  414)  ask  :  '  Is  'it 
quite  certain  that  a  Jew,  as  Clement  probably  was, 
speaking  of  St.  Paul,  another  Jew,  would  not  look 
upon  Rome  relatively  to  Jerusalem  as  the  rtppa.  ri)s 
StVews,  "the  western  limit"?'  It  is  significant 
that  the  Pastoral  Epistles  contain  no  suggestion  of 
a  campaign,  possible  or  actual,  in  the  West. 

LITERATURE. — J.  B.  Lightfoot,  The  Apostolic  Fathers,  1891, 
Biblical  Essays,  1893,  p.  423  f. ;  A.  C.  McGiffert,  A  History 
of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  1897,  p.  415  f. ;  C.  von 
Weizsacker,  Apostolic  Age,  ii.  [1895]  137  f. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 
SPEARMAN.— See  ARMY. 

SPICE.— See  AMOMUM. 

SPIRIT,  SPIRITUAL  (irvevfj-a,  irvevfj.artK6^. — 1. 
In  the  Acts  and  the  Epistles  irveu/j.a  very  frequently 
refers  to  the  Divine  Spirit,  conceived  either  as  a 
power  proceeding  from  God  (Ac  2n,  Ro  811)  or  as  a 
definite  personality  (Ac  S29,  Eph  430).  See,  further, 
HOLY  SPIRIT. 

2.  It  is  applied    to  created  beings  other  than 
human,    whether  angels   (He   I14)  or  evil  spirits 
(Ac  516  1915,  1  Ti  4l,  Rev  1614 ;   cf.  Eph  612,  '  the 
spiritual  hosts  [TO,  irvevfjiaTiKd]  of  wickedness '). 

3.  It  is  used  of  disembodied  human  spirits  (Ac 
238f-),  whether  in  a  state  of  blessedness  (He  1223)  or 
of  condemnation  (1  P  319). 

4.  It  personifies  various  kinds  of  influence,  as  in 
the  phrases  'spirit  of  bondage'  (Ro  815),  '  spirit  of 
stupor '  (II8),  '  spirit  of  the  world '  (1  Co  212),  '  spirit 
of  fear '  (2  Ti  I7),  '  spirit  of  truth '  and  '  spirit  of 
error'  (1  Jn  46). 

5.  It  is  employed  in  contrast  with  'the  letter' 
(ypa.fj.ua.}  to  denote  inward  reality  as  opposed  to 
outward  form  (Ro  229  76,  2  Co  3"). 

6.  Psychologically  it  occurs  in  a  sense  not  to  be 
distinguished  from  '  soul,'  to  designate  the  whole 
of  man's  inner  nature  as  something  separate  from, 
or   contrasted   with,  his  body  (Ac  759,   1    Co    211 
53-B  1M,  Ja  226).     See  art.  SOUL. 

7.  In   St.    Paul's    theology    '  spirit '  receives   a 
specific  religious  meaning  that  must  be  distin- 
guished  from   the  psychological  one  just  noted. 
The  Apostle's  doctrine  of  salvation,  with  its  anti- 
thesis between  sin  and  grace,  leads  him  to  recognize 
an  opposition  between  flesh  and   spirit  which   is 
much   more   than   the   natural   contrast   between 


spirit  and  body  (Ro  81'18).  'Flesh'  (q.v.)  stands 
for  fallen  human  nature,  human  nature  as  defiled 
and  determined  by  sin  (cf.  Ro  83,  'sinful  flesh,'  lit. 
'  flesh  of  sin '),  in  contrast  with  which  '  spirit ' 
stands  for  the  Christian's  new  or  regenerate  nature, 
in  which  the  Spirit  of  God  dwells  (v.9)  in  such  a 
way  as  to  bring  deliverance  from  the  law  of  sin  and 
of  death  (v.2).  And  the  Apostle  had  so  keen  a  sense 
of  the  difference  between  the  unregenerate  and  the 
regenerate  condition,  and  of  man's  fallen  and  sinful 
estate  as  affecting  his  whole  nature,  that  he  found 
it  necessary  to  express  the  contrast  in  a  way 
which  would  make  it  plain  that  the  soul  as  well  as 
the  body  is  subject  to  the  dominance  of  sin.  For 
this  purpose  he  makes  an  antithesis  between 
'spirit'  and  'soul' — though  for  ordinary  psycho- 
logical purposes  he  treats  the  words  as  synonyms — 
and  therefore  opposes  (1  Co  214f- 1544- w)  the  spiritual 
(wi'evfj.a.TiKds)  to  the  psychical  or  soulish  (^VXIKOS, 
AV  '  natural,'  '  sensual ').  The  soulish  man  is  the 
merely  natural  man,  the  spiritual  man  is  one  into 
whom  the  Divine  Spirit  has  entered,  transforming 
the  natural  Trvevpa  and  raising  it  to  a  higher  power 
by  this  indwelling.  This  distinction  which  the 
Apostle  makes  between  '  soulish '  and  '  spiritual ' 
is  not  an  arbitrary  one,  however,  though  he  has 
adopted  it  for  theological  purposes  of  his  own,  but 
rests  upon  a  differential  use  in  the  OT  of  nephesh 
('  soul, ' LXX i/'ux??) and ruah  ('spirit,'  LXX Tn/eD/xct). 
'  Soul '  in  the  OT  stands  for  the  natural  life 
regarded  from  the  point  of  view  of  its  separate 
individuality  (Gn  2?  1714),  while  'spirit'  is  the 
principle  of  life  considered  as  flowing  from  God 
Himself  (Job  273,  Ps  5110,  EC  127),  who  is  thus  fitly 
called  the  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh  (Nu  16^2 
2716).  Even  in  the  OT  'spirit'  stood,  as  'soul' 
did  not,  for  both  the  Divine  and  the  human 
essence,  and  thus  lent  itself  more  readily  to  the 
thought  of  a  vital  connexion  between  the  two,  in 
which  life  is  imparted  from  the  higher  to  the 
lower.  Hence  St.  Paul  was  only  carrying  OT 
usage  and  suggestion  into  a  region  of  clearer  theo- 
logical definition  when  he  contrasted  the  soulish 
with  the  spiritual,  applying  the  former  to  man  as 
he  is  by  nature  apart  from  Divine  grace,  and  the 
latter  to  the  new  man  in  whom  the  Spirit  of  God 
has  taken  up  His  abode  (Ro  89).  This  theological 
use  of  '  spiritual,'  which  is  characteristic  of  St. 
Paul  though  not  wholly  confined  to  him,  is  ex- 
tended from  persons  to  things,  so  that  we  read  of 
spiritual  meat  and  drink  (1  Co  lO3'-),  a  spiritual 
body  (1544),  spiritual  songs  (Col  316),  a  spiritual 
house  and  spiritual  sacrifices  (1  P  25).  In  all  these 
cases  '  spiritual '  points  to  the  presence  of  the  Divine 
Spirit  or  to  the  activity  of  a  human  spirit  that  has 
been  Divinely  quickened  and  renewed. 

LITERATURE.— H.  Cremer,  Bib.-Theol.  Lex.  of  NT  Greek*, 
1880,  p.  503  ff.  ;  J.  Laidlaw,  Bible  Doctrine  of  Man,  1895,  pp. 
131  ff.,  269 ff.  ;  W.  P.  Dickson,  St.  Paul's  Use  of  the  Terms 
Flesh  and  Spirit,  1883,  p.  168  ff.  ;  B.  Weiss,  Biblical  Theology 
of  the  NTS,  Eng.  tr.,  i.  [1882]  346ff.  J.  C.  LAMBERT. 

SPIRIT,  HOLY.— See  HOLY  SPIRIT. 

SPIRITS  IN  PRISON.— This  expression  appears 
in  1  P  319,  and  some  of  its  implications  have  been 
already  discussed  under  DESCENT  INTO  HADES. 
It  remains  to  summarize  the  principal  interpre- 
tations that  the  phrase  has  received. 

1.  Augustine  argues  (Ep.  clxiv.  '  ad  Euod. '  13  ff.) 
that  1  P  3IB  alludes  to  a  preaching  by  the  pre- 
incarnate  Christ  to  the  contemporaries  of  Noah, 
imprisoned  in  the  darkness  of  ignorance,  who 
were  afterwards  overwhelmed  in  the  Flood  for 
their  sins.  He  is  led  to  this  conclusion  by  the 
difficulty  which  is  presented  by  the  apparent 
restriction  of  Christ's  preaching,  if  it  was  in  Hades, 
to  one  section  only  of  the  men  who  lived  before 


SPIRITS  IN  PRISON 


SPIRITUAL  GIFTS 


523 


His  advent,  viz.  the  antediluvian  patriarchs. 
Augustine's  interpretation  has  had  a  wide  influ- 
ence, but  it  must  be  dismissed  as  inconsistent 
with  the  whole  tenor  of  1  P  317'-.  It  was  after 
Christ  had  been  '  put  to  death  in  the  flesh '  that 
He  was  '  quickened  in  the  spirit,'  in  which  He 
'went  and  preached  unto  the  spirits  in  prison.' 
The  words  must  refer  to  a  ministry  of  Christ  in 
Hades,  after  His  Passion.  To  whom  was  this 
ministry  addressed  ? 

2.  •n-veiip.a.ra.  in  the  NT  generally  means  '  angels,' 
and   it  has  been  held  that  the  fallen   angels  are 
indicated   by  TO.  irvfupaTa.  tv  <t>v\a.Krj.     This  would 
agree  with  the  language  of  Jude  6  and  2  P  24,  the 
latter  passage  (as  in  1   P  319)  going  on  to  speak  of 
Noah  and  the  Flood.     So  in  Eth.  Enoch,  x.  12,  the 
sons  of  God  who  had  taken  wives  of  the  daughters 
of  men  (Gn  62)  are  represented  as  bound  fast  under 
the  hills  until  the  Day  of  Judgment ;  cf.  also  Eth. 
Enoch,  xxi.  10,  and  Slav.  Enoch,  vii.  1,  where  the 
fallen  angels  in  the  second  heaven  are  described  as 
'  the  prisoners  suspended,  reserved  for  the  eternal 
judgement.'      So  also  Apoc.   Baruch,  Ivi.    12  f.  : 
'  Some  of  them  descended,  and  mingled  with  women. 
And   then   those  who  did  so  were   tormented  in 
chains.  .  .  .  And  those  who  dwelt  on   the  earth 
perished  .  .  .  through  the  waters  of  the   deluge.' 
But  in  this  literature  there  is  no  trace  of  a  preach- 
ing  by  Christ  to  the  fallen  angels ;  although  in 
Eth.   Enoch,  xii.  4,  xiii.  8,  the  '  watchers  of  the 
heaven '  who  have  fallen  from  their  high  estate  are 
reproved  and  condemned  by   Enoch.     Again,  the 
'  spirits   in   prison '   of   1  P   319  must  be  included 
among  the  vtKpoi  of  1  P  46  to  whom  the  gospel  was 
preached,  and  these  cannot  be  angels.     Augustine, 
indeed,  was  forced  by  the  exigencies  of  his  theory 
to  explain  vexpoi  of  the  spiritually   dead,  but  the 
contrast  between  '  the  quick  and  the  dead  '  in  the 
preceding  verse  (1  P  4s)  proves  that  the  physically 
dead  are  in  view. 

The  objection  of  Loots  (ERE  iv.  659)  that  <rap<ci  in  1  P  48 
proves  that  the  vexpoi  must  be  alive  in  the  flesh  is  not  convin- 
cing. When  they  were  judged,  they  were  in  the  flesh  ;  but '  the 
difference  in  tense  in  Kpi0<o<ri,  fuio-i  makes  the  former  verb  ante- 
cedent in  time  to  the  latter,  and  the  sense  is  the  same  as  if  St. 
Peter  had  written  iva.  KpiBevres  £o><ri '  (Bigg,  ICC,  in  foe.). 

3.  We  have,  then,  to  interpret  irvevnaTa  of  the 
disembodied  spirits  of   men   (as   in   He   1223 ;   cf. 
Lk  2437- 39),  and  ^i/Xa/ci)  of  Sheolor  Hades,  in  which 
after  death   they    are    imprisoned,   according    to 
Jewish  belief.     Thus  in  Apoc.  Baruch,  xxiii.  4,  we 
read  of  '  a  place  prepared  where  the  living  might 
dwell    and     the    dead    might    be    guarded ' ;    cf. 
2    Es  T85-  »5  and  Is  427  49"  611  for  phrases  out  of 
which  the  idea  of  Sheol  as  a  prison  might  have 
grown  (see,  further,  DESCENT  INTO  HADES,  §  3). 
The  idea  was  taken  over  by  the  early  Christian 
Church.     E.g.,  Hippolytus(c.  Grcecos,  ed.  P.  A.  de 
Lagarde,  Leipzig,  1858,  p.  68)  writes  :  rovro  rb  xupiov 
(sc.  "ASys)  ws  <ppovpiov  dirfvffj.Tfi6r]  \f/vx.ais,  and  describes 
Hades  as  divided  into  two  compartments,  for  the 
good   and   the  evil,  both  guarded  by  angels,  the 
unrighteous  being  haled   to   their  own   place  as 
prisoners  (ws  dtfffuoi  AK<5/uepoi).     And  Tertullian  (de 
Anima,   58)  explains  the  </>I>XOK^  of  Mt  S25  as  the 
Hades   of  discipline    for  the    soul.     Indeed,    the 
Peshitta  Syriac  of  TO?J  iv  (f>v\a.K^  -n-ffij^atriv  (1  P  319) 
is  equivalent  to  '  animabus  illis  quse  detinebantur 
in  inferis,'  which  leaves  no  doubt  as  to  the  sense 
which  the  Syriac  translators  attached  to  the  phrase 
under  consideration. 

4.  The  '  spirits  in  prison  '  of  1  P  319  are,  therefore, 
human  souls  in  Hades  or  the  abode  of  the  departed, 
to  whom  Christ  'preached'  after  His  Passion,   a 
further  allusion  to  the  same  mysterious  ministry 
being  found  in  1  P  4".     This  has  already  been  dis- 
cussed under  DESCENT  INTO  HADES,  where  it  has 
been  shown  that  various  opinions  were  held  by  the 


early  Christian  theologians  as  to  the  scope  of 
Christ's  mission  to  the  under  world,  some  confining 
it  to  Jews,  some  to  Gentiles,  and  some  admitting 
all  the  departed,  righteous  or  unrighteous,  to  a 
share  in  its  benediction.  But  in  1  P  319,  where 
alone  in  the  NT  the  phrase  'spirits  in  prison'  is 
found,  it  is  immediately  followed  by  the  words 
'  which  aforetime  were  disobedient,  when  the  long- 
suffering  of  God  waited  in  the  days  of  Noah,'  etc. — 
an  apparent  restriction  of  its  content  which  is  not 
easy  to  understand. 

An  explanation  which  has  much  to  recommend 
it  is  that  the  Noachian  patriarchs  are  here  particu- 
larly specified,  because  the  Flood  was  the  great 
typical  judgment  of  the  ancient  world,  and  thus 
the  '  disobedient  in  the  days  of  Noah '  are  repre- 
sentative of  the  disobedient  in  every  age  (see  an 
excellent  discussion  of  this  by  F.  H.  Chase  in  HDB 
lii.  795).  There  is,  however,  no  suggestion  in 
1  P  320  that  the  Noachians  are  mentioned  as  repre- 
sentative of  all  those  who  died  in  sin.  The 
emphasis  is  on  the  fact  of  Christ  preaching  in 
Hades  after  His  death,  and  not  upon  the  persons 
to  whom  He  preached.  Great  stress  was  laid  in 
the  next  age  upon  this  ministry  as  the  direct  issue 
of  the  Passion.  Irenaeus  actually  says  (Hcer.  iv. 
33)  that  the  final  cause  of  Christ's  sufferings  was 
that,  having  died,  He  might  thus  visit  and  deliver 
the  dead.  And  Origen  (in  Ps  36),  arguing  that 
Christ  effected  by  the  separation  of  His  soul  from 
His  body  much  more  for  the  salvation  of  mankind 
than  would  otherwise  have  been  accomplished, 
quotes  1  P  319  in  proof.  Thus  the  words  davaruOeis 
IA£V  ffapKl,  faoTroiriOeis  52  irvetipuri,  lead  directly  to  the 
recital  of  the  Descent  into  Hades.  -If  any  of  those 
to  whom  Christ  preached  were  to  be  specified,  the 
argument  would,  indeed,  require  mention  of  S.SLKOI, 
as  it  is  the  suffering  of  the  just  for  the  unjust  that 
is  in  question  ;  but  to  proceed  to  specify  any  in- 
dividuals at  this  point  is  a  digression.  It  must 
be  remembered,  however,  that  the  two  topics — 
Hades  and  the  Flood — were  closely  associated  in 
Jewish  thought,  although  to  the  modern  mind 
they  are  quite  distinct.  For  the  Flood  was  caused 
primarily  by  the  breaking  forth  of  the  fountains 
of  the  great  deep  (Gn  7n),  upon  which  the  earth 
rested,  and  which  was  the  mysterious  abode  of 
dread  monsters  and  evil  things  (Gn  I21,  Is  519). 
These  abysmal  waters  were  waters  of  destruction  ; 
and  the  'abyss'  (Lk  83i)  was  the  home  of  devils, 
from  which  the  Beast  of  the  Apocalypse  came 
forth  (Rev  II7  17s).  Now  Sheol  or  Hades,  the 
place  of  departed  souls,  was  conceived  as  beneath 
these  abysmal  waters  under  the  solid  earth. 
'They  that  are  deceased  tremble  beneath  the 
waters  and  the  inhabitants  thereof  (Job  265). 
And  it  was  into  this  '  abyss  '  that  Christ  descended 
after  His  Passion  (Ro  107). 

Hence  the  mention  of  the  Descensus  would  at  once 
suggest  to  a  Jew  the  abyss,  whence  the  waters  of 
judgment  burst  forth  at  the  Flood.  Of  the  count- 
less souls  imprisoned  there,  the  writer  recalls, 
naturally  and  immediately,  those  who  were 
carried  to  its  depths  in  that  overwhelming  visita- 
tion of  God's  wrath.  To  these  (but  not  to  the 
exclusion  of  others)  Christ  preached,  that,  having 
been  judged  in  the  flesh  as  men  are  judged  (/card 
avffpibirovs),  they  might  henceforth  live  in  the  spirit 
as  God  lives  (KO.TO.  0e6i>,  1  P  46).  And  so  was 
Christ's  'quickening  in  the  spirit'  manifest  after 
His  death. 

LITERATURE. — To  the  books  named  under  DESCENT  INTO 
HADES  may  be  added  A.  Schweizer,  Hinabgefahren  zur  Holle 
als  Mythiis  vhne  bMische  Beyriinduny,  Zurich,  1868 ;  E.  H. 
Plumptre,  T  fie  Spirits  in  Prison,  London,  1887  ;  R.  H.  Charles, 
Kschatology,  Hebrew,  Jewish,  and  Christian,  London,  1899. 

J.  H.  BERNARD. 
SPIRITUAL  GIFTS.— See  GIFTS. 


524 


SPIRITUAL  SONGS 


STEALING 


SPIRITUAL  SONGS.—  Spiritual  songs  (Eph  519, 
Col  316}  cannot  be  distinguished  as  such  from 
hymns  and  psalms  (qq.v.).  But  the  meaning  of  the 
epithet  '  spiritual  '  deserves  attention.  St.  Paul 
contrasts  truly  religious  thoughts  and  words  in- 
spired by  the  Holy  Spirit  with  the  effusions  of 
drunkards  or  the  odes  of  heathen  poets  composed 
in  ecstasy.  A.  E.  BURN. 


STACHYS  CZrdxvs,  a  Greek  name).—  Stachys  is 
saluted  by  St.  Paul  in  Ho  16"  and  described  as  '  my 
beloved  '  (rbv  dyairrjT6v  /JMV).  The  only  other  persons 
so  described  in  these  salutations  are  Eprenetus  (v.5) 
and  Ampliatus  (v.8).  A  woman,  Persis  (q.v.),  is 
saluted,  perhaps  with  intentional  delicacy,  as  '  the 
beloved'  (v.12).  The  term  may  indicate  a  personal 
convert  of  the  Apostle  or  one  closely  associated 
with  his  work.  Nothing  further  is  known  of 
Stachys.  We  shall  suppose  him  to  have  been  a 
Roman  or  Ephesian  Christian,  according  to  our 
view  of  the  destination  of  Ro  16.  The  name  is 
comparatively  rare,  but  occurs  in  inscriptions  of 
the  Imperial  household  (J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Philip- 
*,  1878,  p.  174).  T.  B.  ALLWORTHY. 


STAFF.—  The  word  pdpSos  is  translated  '  sceptre  ' 
in  He  I8  and  '  rod  '  in  94,  1  Co  421,  Rev  227,  etc. 
In  He  II21,  'Jacob  .  .  .  worshipped  [leaning]  upon 
the  top  of  his  staff.'  The  reference  is  to  the  act  of 
the  patriarch  when  he  received  the  solemn  oath  of 
Joseph,  that  he  would  bury  him  with  his  fathers 
('  Israel  bowed  himself  upon  the  bed's  head,'  Gn 
4731).  In  Hebrews  the  words  are  an  exact  quota- 
tion from  the  LXX.  The  difference  of  translation 
has  arisen  from  the  different  ways  of  vocalizing 
nan.  The  LXX  read  it  as  nso,  'staff,'  and  the 
Massoretes  as  TO?,  '  bed.'  The  question  is,  Which  is 
the  more  likely  to  be  right?  The  date  of  the 
LXX  is  uncertain  (see  HDB,  art.  '  Septuagint  '), 
and  the  rise  of  the  Massoretic  system  of  vocaliza- 
tion is  even  more  obscure  (see  HDB  iv.  730*).  It 
is  not  improbable  that  the  LXX  gives  an  earlier 
and  more  correct  interpretation.  The  phrase 
'  bed's  head  '  is  both  curious  and  difficult.  It 
suggests  ideas  which  are  associated  with  an  early 
Victorian  '  four-poster,'  and  are  quite  out  of  place 
in  relation  to  a  bed  in  the  East  (see  HDB,  art. 
'  Bed  ').  Usually  the  bed  was  laid  on  the  floor  or 
on  a  low  platform,  but  sometimes  a  slight  portable 
frame  was  used  (2  S  331)-  There  is  a  reference  to 
the  head  of  a  bed  in  1  S  1913.  The  bed's  head  may 
simply  mean  the  place  where  the  pillow  was  laid. 
Dillmann  and  Driver  (Comnn.  on  Genesis)  accept  the 
reading  of  the  Massoretic  text.  To  get  over  the 
difficulty,  Cheyne  (EBi,  art.  '  Staff')  suggests  that 
VK~(,  'head,'  should  be  read  as  sjnx,  'couch.'  There 
is  no  difficulty  of  interpretation  if  the  LXX  is 
followed  :  Jacob  may  have  stood  up  to  receive  the 
oath  of  Joseph.  Equally  it  may  be  said  that 
there  is  no  difficulty  if  the  bed  or  couch  had  an 
end  which  might  be  called  its  '  head,'  and  that 
Jacob  leaned  upon  it.  It  is  impossible  to  decide 
whether  '  staff'  or  'bed'  is  right,  but  the  fact  that 
the  LXX  is  the  oldest  commentary  on  the  Hebrew 
Bible  makes  its  reading  the  more  probable. 

LITERATI-RE.  —  Comm.  on  Genesis  by  A.  Dillmann  (1897),  S. 
R.  Driver  (Westminster  Com.,  1904),  and  J.  Skinner  (ICC, 
1910)  in  loc.  ;  F.  Kendall,  Com.  on  Hebrews,  1883  ;  EBi,  art. 
'  Staff  '  ;  HDB,  artt.  '  Bed,'  '  Rod,'  '  Sceptre  '  ;  Smith's  DB,  art. 
'  Staff  ';  C.  Geikie,  Hours  with  the  Bible,  new  ed.  vi.  [1884] 

28  n.  JOHN  REID. 

STAR.  —  There  are  only  two  passages  in  which 
the  word  '  star  '  occurs  outside  its  frequent  sym- 
bolical use  in  the  book  of  Revelation.  The  first  is 
in  St.  Stephen's  defence,  where  he  quotes  a  passage 
from  the  prophet  Amos  (Am  o25'27),  speaking  of  the 
idolatry  of  the  Israelites  and  mentioning  '  the  star 
of  the  god  Rephan'  (Ac  743).  It  is  admittedly  a 


difficult  passage,  but  the  probable  reference  is  to 
the  Assyrian  star-god.  The  other  is  in  St.  Paul's 
well-known  argument  on  the  resurrection  of  the 
body :  '  One  star  differeth  from  another  star  in 
glory'  (1  Co  1541).  As  in  nature  we  observe 
identity  of  substance  with  diversity  of  form,  so 
will  it  be  in  the  risen  bodies  of  God's  people. 

Turning  to  the  use  of  the  word  '  star '  in  the 
Book  of  Revelation,  we  find  in  the  vision  of  the 
Son  of  Man  that  'he  had  in  his  right  hand 'seven 
stars'  (Rev  I16)  and  that  '  the  seven  stars  are  the 
angels  of  the  seven  churches  '  (v.20).  According  to 
one  view,  the  angels  of  the  churches  are  their 
pastors  or  rulers ;  according  to  another,  they  are 
superhuman  beings  standing  in  some  intimate 
relation  to  the  churches.  The  latter  is  the  ordinary 
use  of  dyyeXos  in  the  Apocalypse  (see  ANGELS  ;  see 
also  Rev  21  31). 

In  the  message  to  the  church  of  Thyatira  the 
promise  to  those  who  overcome  is  :  '  I  will  give  him 
the  morning  star '  (Rev  228),  i.e.  the  conqueror  is  to 
possess  Christ.  '  Christus  est  Stella  matutina  qui 
nocte  sseculi  transacta  lucem  vitae  sanctis  promittit 
et  pandet  aeternam'  (Bede).  In  Rev  2216  Christ 
says  of  Himself :  '  I  am  .  .  .  the  bright,  the 
morning  star.'  '  If  the  churches  are  \vxviai  and 
their  angels  dcrr^pes,  the  Head  of  the  Church  may  fitly 
be  the  affrr/p  6  irpwivbs'  (H.  B.  Swete,  Apocalypse*, 
London,  1907,  p.  47).  See  art.  MORNING  STAR. 

At  the  sounding  of  the  third  trumpet  '  there  fell 
from  heaven  a  great  star  .  .  .  and  the  name  of 
the  star  is  called  Wormwood*  (Rev  8lof>).  This  is 
a  symbol  of  Divine  visitation.  Hence  the  name 
'  Wormwood,'  which  is  associated  with  Divine 
chastisement.  The  waters  are  changed  into  worm- 
wood, and  many  who  drink  of  them  die.  This 
may  represent  the  bitterness  of  the  water  with 
which  men  seek  to  quench  their  thirst,  instead  of 
partaking  of  the  water  of  life.  In  Rev  91  the  Seer 
sees  a  star  already  fallen  (TreTTTco^ra)  and  lying  on 
the  ground,  representing  the  fall  of  some  person, 
perhaps  Satan. 

Lastly,  the  Woman  in  the  vision  (Rev  121)  '  has 
a  crown  of  twelve  stars'  (see  art.  SUN). 

MORLEY  STEVENSON. 

STEALING.  —  The  Apostolic  Church  could 
scarcely  have  increased  in  numbers  without  find- 
ing KXtwrai  within  her  borders  from  time  to  time. 
The  thieving  slave  had  not  gained  his  place  in 
comedy  without  reason,  and  now  when  the  slave 
turned  Christian  the  temptation  to  cling  to  an  easy 
and  profitable  habit  must  often  have  been  specially 
strong.  If  his  master  also  happened  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian, then  a  perverted  notion  of  the  meaning  of 
brotherhood  could  easily  provide  an  excuse  for 
pilfering.  There  was  no  compelling  body  of  public 
sentiment  on  the  matter  in  the  Graeco-Roman 
world,  so  that  it  was  necessary  to  speak  with  some 
emphasis.  Thus  the  exhortation  to  slaves  in  the 
letter  to  Titus  insists  that  they  should  not  be  un- 
worthy of  any  trust  committed  to  them  :  '  Exhort 
servants  to  be  subject  to  their  masters  .  .  .  not 
purloining '  (jj.ri  voa^o^vov^,  Tit  29).  It  is  worthy 
of  note  that  this  word  is  used  also  in  Ac  52  con- 
cerning the  Ananias  and  Sapphira  incident,  where 
the  pair  '  set  apart '  some  of  the  price  obtained, 
and  hoped  to  gain  credit  for  the  gift  of  the  whole. 
The  most  natural  explanation  of  St.  Paul's  words 
to  Philemon  (vv.18-19) — 'if  he  hath  wronged  thee 
at  all,  or  oweth  thee  aught,  put  that  to  mine  ac- 
count ...  I  will  repay  it  — seems  to  be  that 
Onesimus  had  been  guilty  of  some  theft,  and  had 
fled  to  escape  punishment. 

That  theft  was  not  confined  to  the  slave  class  is 
clear  from  the  language  of  both  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Paul.  St.  Peter  warns  the  Christian  that  he  is 
not  to  suffer  as  a  thief  (1  P  41S).  Sfc.  Paul,  writing 
to  the  church  at  Corinth,  mentions  among  those 


STEPHANAS 


STEPHEN 


525 


who  cannot  inherit  the  Kingdom  of  God  forni- 
cators  and  thieves,  adding  '  and  such  were  some  of 
you'  (1  Co  610).  The  most  important  passage  in 
this  connexion,  however,  is  Eph  i28,  6  K\£TTTWV  ^K^TL 
jcXeTT^rw.  This  must  obviously  refer  to  stealing  as 
a  fact  not  of  the  past  but  of  the  present.  The 
thief  still  existed,  and  that  within  the  Church. 
Writing  not  in  the  spirit  of  a  legislator,  and  still 
less  in  the  manner  of  one  formulating  an  '  interim  ' 
ethic,  he  insists  that  the  habit  is  to  be  broken  off. 
They  are  to  cease  from  actual  thefts,  and  are  to 
learn  the  high  principle  which  would  make  thieving 
impossible — so  to  work  that  they  may  be  able  to 
give.  Obviously  it  was  more  lasting  work  to  state 
this  principle  than  to  have  merely  advised  restitu- 
tion. On  this  high  ground  the  atmosphere  is  such 
that  the  thieving  desire  cannot  live.  '  Stealing  is 
the  typical  form  of  using  the  labour  of  another  to 
supply  our  wishes,  while  it  is  our  duty  to  make 
our  own  labour  minister  to  the  needs  of  others' 
(Westcott,  Ephesians,  p.  73). 

LITERATURE. — B.  F.  Westcott,  Ep.  to  Ephesians,  London, 
1906;  S.  D.  F.  Salmond,  EOT,  'Ephesians,' do.,  1903;  E.  von 
Dobschutz,  Christian  Life  in  the  Primitive  Church,  Eng.  tr., 

do.,  1904.  R.  STRONG. 

STEPHANAS.— In  1  Co  I16  St.  Paul  writes  :  •  I 
baptized  also  the  household  of  Stephanas.'  From 
1  Co  1617  we  learn  that  Stephanas  was  with  St. 
Paul  at  the  time.  Perhaps  he  reminded  the  Apostle 
that  his  was  one  of  the  few  cases  of  personal 
baptism  at  St.  Paul's  own  hands.  Usually  he  left 
the  baptizing  to  his  helpers.  Two  reasons  for  the 
less  usual  course  are  suggested  in  1  Co  1615  :  '  Ye 
know  the  house  of  Stephanas,  that  it  is  the  first- 
fruits  of  Achaia.'  It  was  natural  for  the  Apostle  to 
wish  to  baptize  his  first  converts  in  Corinth  ;  perhaps 
there  was  nobody  else  to  baptize  them.  Moreover, 
the  baptism  of  a  household  marked  a  real  footing 
gained  by  Christianity  in  the  city.  These  '  first- 
fruits  '  proved  themselves  valuable  helpers :  '  Ye 
know  .  .  .  that  they  have  set  themselves  to  minister 
unto  the  saints.'  Stephanas  himself  was  one  of 
the  deputation  sent  by  the  Corinthian  Church  to 
St.  Paul,  and  was,  therefore,  a  trusted  leader. 
The  Corinthian  Christians  are  urged  to  '  be  in 
subjection  unto  such,'  and  to  'acknowledge  them 
that  are  such.'  Here  St.  Paul  holds  up  'such'  as 
Stephanas  and  his  household  as  worthy  of  imitation 
and  of  deference.  They  seem  to  have  been  among 
the  first  assistants  of  the  Apostle,  outside  the  inner 
circle  of  his  chosen  companions,  and  they  were 
specially  valuable  to  the  work  in  Corinth.  No 
doubt  their  work  was  a  voluntary  consecration  : 
there  is  nothing  to  indicate  an  ecclesiastical  office. 
ftTa£ai>  tavroiJs  .  .  .  implies  a  systematic  laying 
out  of  themselves  for  service,  such  as  is  possible 
only  to  those  free  to  dispose,  as  they  choose,  of 
their  persons  and  their  time'  (EGT, '  1  Corinthians,' 
London,  1900,  in  loc.).  So  the  family  must  have 
been  of  independent  means,  and  St.  Paul  is  only 
asking  the  spontaneous  submission  and  the  respect- 
ful deference  due  to  character  and  hard  work.  At 
the  same  time,  there  may  have  been  in  such  volun- 
tary service  the  germs  out  of  which  grew  the 
Church's  local  ministry,  as  A.  C.  Headlam  suggests 
(HDB  iv.  613).  J.  E.  ROBERTS. 

STEPHEN.  —  Of  Stephen  we  know  nothing 
beyond  the  short  notice  of  him  contained  in  the 
two  chapters  (6  and  7)  of  Acts.  He  is  said  by 
Epiphanius  (Hcer.  xx.  4)  to  have  been  one  of  the 
Seventy ;  but  such  a  statement  has  little  weight. 
All  we  can  say  for  certain  is  that,  when  elected  Jo 
be  one  of  the  Seven,  he  was  a  man  of  position  both 
within  and  without  the  Christian  community  (Ac 
63).  The  office  to  which  he  was  appointed  was 
that  of  administering  alms  to  the  widows  of 


Hellenists  (i.e.  Greek-speaking  Jews)  who  con- 
sidered themselves  overlooked  in  the  daily  distribu- 
tion from  the  common  fund  of  food  or  money.  But 
to  this  work  Stephen,  like  others  of  the  Seven, 
notably  Philip,  by  no  means  restricted  himself. 
He  was  'full  of  grace  and  power'  (68),  and  was 
impelled  to  engage  in  controversy  with  members 
of  the  Hellenistic  synagogues  established  in  Jeru- 
salem, and  '  they  were  not  able  to  withstand  the 
wisdom  and  the  Spirit  by  which  he  spake'  (610). 
It  is  generally  supposed  that,  as  he  devoted  himself 
to  the  members  of  these  Hellenistic  synagogues, 
he  was  himself  a  Hellenist.  The  inference,  not 
unreasonable  in  itself,  is  confirmed  by  his  name, 
and  by  the  familiarity  which  he  seems  to  show 
with  the  LXX  version  of  the  Scriptures,  perhaps 
even  by  what  seems  to  have  been  the  tenor  of  his 
teaching.  To  the  Hellenist  Jews  with  whom  he 
argued  that  tenor  must  have  been  unmistakable, 
even  from  the  outset.  He  was  at  once  accused  of 
undermining  the  authority  of  the  Law  of  Moses, 
denying  the  permanent  sanctity  even  of  the 
Temple  (6U- 15). 

Those  who  brought  these  charges  are  called  false 
witnesses.  False  witnesses  they  undoubtedly  were, 
as  they  interpreted  the  words  of  warning  and  of 
insight  which  he  uttered  as  threats  thrown  out 
against  the  Temple  and  the  Law.  In  this  it  was 
with  Stephen  as  it  had  been  previously  with  our 
Lord.  Our  Lord  Himself  had  said  that  He  was  to 
become  the  world's  temple  in  the  future,  and  was 
condemned  for  blasphemy  for  speaking  ill  words 
against  the  Temple  in  Jerusalem  ;  Stephen  pro- 
claimed that  Temple  and  Law  had  done  their  work 
and  were  to  give  place  in  time  to  a  more  spiritual 
temple,  a  more  universal  law,  and  was  denounced 
for  blasphemy.  The  speech  which  he  delivers 
when  summoned  before  the  Sanhedrin  makes  it 
plain  that  this  was  his  position  ;  and  the  fullness 
with  which  the  speech  is  given,  as  a  sort  of  intro- 
duction to  the  section  of  the  Acts  which  traces  the 
gradual  reception  of  the  Gentiles  into  the  Christian 
hurch,  makes  it  obvious  that  this  is  the  right 
construction  to  be  put  upon  his  words. 

The  speech  itself  contains  three  lines  of  thought, 
sometimes  kept  separate,  but  oftener  interlaced, 
all  leading  up  to  one  and  the  same  conclusion. 
The  first  line  is  this — that  the  original  covenant 
made  between  God  and  Israel  was  concluded  not 
with  Moses  but  long  before  with  Abraham  and  the 
patriarchs,  and,  since  the  Mosaic  covenant  had 
been  thus  preceded  by  an  earlier  and  more  spiritual 
one,  it  might  also  be  followed  by  a  later  and  more 
spiritual  one  ('A  covenant  confirmed  beforehand 
by  God,  the  law,  which  came  four  hundred  and 
thirty  years  after,  doth  not  disannul,  so  as  to 
make  the  promise  of  noneeflect'  (Gal  317).  Secondly, 
there  is  the  suggestion  that  since  God  was  wor- 
shipped acceptably  long  before  temple  or  even 
tabernacle  (after  which  the  Temple  was  modelled, 
the  tabernacle  itself  being  but  a  copy  of  the 
heavenly  tabernacle  seen  on  the  mount)  was  built, 
and  again  since  God  was  acceptably  worshipped  in 
spots  far  removed  from  the  land  of  Canaan,  and 
Solomon,  at  the  very  moment  of  building  the 
Temple,  declared  that  God  dwells  not  in  '  houses 
made  with  hands'  (Ac  748),  it  is  at  least  possible 
that  God  may  be  worshipped,  and  worshipped 
acceptably,  elsewhere  than  in  the  Temple.  Thirdly, 
the  speech  ends  with  the  warning  to  which  all  the 
earlier  part — the  fate  of  Joseph,  the  fate  of  Moses 
— had  led  up  :  '  Ye  stiffnecked  and  uncircumcised 
in  heart  and  ears,  ye  do  always  resist  the  Holy 
Ghost :  as  your  fathers  did,  so  do  ye '  (751).  It  was 
this  last  lesson  so  emphatically  driven  home  that 
immediately  produced  that  outbreak  of  rage  in  the 
Sanhedrin  which  brought  about  Stephen's  death. 
Its  members  condemned  him  to  be  guilty  of  bias- 


526 


STEWARD 


STOICS 


phemy :  he  had  justified,  not  denied  or  even 
softened  down,  his  previous  utterances;  they  rushed 
upon  him,  and,  when  he  stated  that  he  saw  the 
heavens  opened  and  Jesus  standing  to  welcome 
him  on  the  right  hand  of  God,  the  vision  did,  in 
this  view,  but  increase  the  blasphemy,  so  they 
dragged  him  out  of  the  city  and  stoned  him.  Saul, 
then  a  young  man,  presided  at  the  stoning  and 
gave  hearty  assent  and  approval  to  his  death 
(760  S1). 

Two  questions  relating  to  this  stoning  have  to 
be  answered:  (1)  How  did  it  take  place  at  all, 
seeing  that  the  Jews  had  not  the  power  of  life  and 
death  ?  (2)  What  was  the  date  at  which  it 
occurred  ?  As  to  the  first  point,  the  actual  martyr- 
dom of  Stephen  seems  to  have  been  something  of 
the  nature  of  a  tumultuous  outbreak.  It  was  a 
sudden  fit  of  rage  that  brought  it  about,  similar  to 
that  through  which  St.  Paul  so  nearly  lost  his  life 
had  he  not  been  rescued  by  the  Roman  soldiers 
(2223ff-).  As  to  the  second  question,  it  has  been 
suggested  that  this  outbreak  took  place  during  a 
temporary  vacancy  in  the  provincial  authority, 
which  will  not,  however,  fix  the  date,  as  the  Roman 
governors  were  frequently  changed  during  this 
period ;  or,  as  some  have  thought,  it  may  have 
occurred  during  a  vacancy  in  the  Imperial  throne. 
Tiberius  died  and  Caius  became  Emperor  early  in 
A.D.  37,  and  Stephen's  martyrdom  has  been  put  at 
this  time.  This  is  almost  the  latest  date  assigned, 
and  there  is  more,  perhaps,  to  be  said  for  an  earlier 
date  such  as  Ramsay  suggests — A.D.  32  or  33  (St. 
Paul  the  Traveller  and  the  Roman  Citizen,  p.  376). 
All  that  we  can  gather  with  fair  certainty  is  that 
St.  Paul's  conversion  followed  soon  after  ;  but  the 
date  of  this  event  is  itself  involved  in  much 
obscurity,  depending,  as  it  does,  on  whether  we 
identify  the  visit  to  Jerusalem  mentioned  in  Gal 
11  with  the  visit  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  described 
in  Ac  11  and  12  or  with  that  described  in  Ac  15.  As 
Harnack,  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  p.  29,  concludes, 
it  is  impossible  to  settle  this  point  with  certainty, 
because  St.  Luke,  probably  having  himself  no  exact 
date  to  rely  upon,  has  left  the  chronology  of  this 
section  of  the  Acts  in  intentional  obscurity. 

LITERATURE. — J.  P.  Norris,  Key  to  Narrative  of  the  Acts  of 
the  Ap>stles,  London,  1885 ;  R.  B.  Rackham,  The  Acts  of  the 
Apontles,  do.,  1901 ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller 
and  the  Roman  Citizen,  do.,  1895;  A.  Harnack,  The  Acts  of 
the  Apostles,  Eng.  tr.,  do.,  1909,  Luke  the  Physician,  Eng.  tr., 

do.,  1907.  w.  A.  SPOOXER. 

STEWARD.— 'Steward'  in  English  may  be  taken 
to  represent  two  Greek  words,  eiriTpoiros  and  olKov6/j.os, 
the  former  being  rather  steward  of  an  estate  (as  in 
Mt  208  and  Lk  83  ;  see  W.  A.  Becker,  Charicles, 
Eng.  tr.,  London,  1895,  p.  363),  and  the  latter  of  a 
household.  eiriTpoiros,  however,  occurs  only  once 
in  the  NT  outside  the  Gospels,  and  there  it  is 
joined  with  oiKov6u.os :  6  K\rjpov6fj.os  [while  still 
v!)Trios,  '  an  infant ']  virb  twiTpoirovs  tffrl  KOI  olKovbfiovs 
('sub  tutoribus  et  actoribus'  [Vulg.]  Gal  42)  ;  this 
Lightfoot  in  his  commentary  translates  '  under 
controllers  of  his  person  and  property,'  taking 
eiriTpbirovs  as  the  boy's  legal  representatives  (so 
Vulg.)  and  oli<ov6/j.ovs  as  stewards  or  bailiffs  to 
manage  either  his  household  or  his  property.  No 
doubt  oLKov&fj.os  was  often  used  as  a  general  term 
for  one  who  acted  in  either  capacity. 

The  first  instance  we  adduce  is  that  of  a  public 
official  :  dcrTrdferai  fyttas'Epaerroj  6  olicoi>6fj.os  TT)S  TroXews, 
Ro  1623  ('arcarius  civitatis '  [Vulg.]).  The  city 
here  is  apparently  Corinth,  where  St.  Paul  was  at 
the  time  of  writing  (the  Erastus  mentioned  in 
Ac  1922  as  a  messenger  of  the  Apostle  from  Asia  to 
Macedonia  can  hardly  be  the  same  person  ;  and 
even  the  one  mentioned  in  2  Ti  420  as  still  at 
Corinth  is  perhaps  more  likely  to  be  the  same  as 
the  latter  than  the  former).  The  office  held  by 


Erastus  was  doubtless  that  of  city-  treasurer  or 
something  similar;  cf.  1  Es  447-'19,  where  the  same 
title  occurs.  All  the  other  instances  of  OIKOVO/J.OS 
and  oiKovofj.ia  are  in  the  Epistles  and  occur  by  way 
of  comparison  or  simile. 

(1)  General,  with  further  description  :  el  yap  eicwv 
TOVTO  irpdffffti}  (=evayye\ifofj.ai),  fiicrdbv  HXM'  e'  ^  &KUV, 
oiKoi'Ofj.iav   ireiriffTevfj.ai   (  '  I    have   to   bear  in  mind 
that  I  am  charged  with  a  stewardship  and  must 
carry  it  out  ')  (1  Co  9").     In  1  Co  42,  ^ren-cu  tv  rots 
oiKov6fj.ois  'iva   TriffT6s  TIS  evpeOfj,  the   faithfulness  of 
stewards  in  general  is  spoken  of  ;  but  the  phrase 
follows  directly  upon  a  special  kind  of  stewardship 
(oiKov6fj.ovs  fj.v<TTr}piwv  Oeov). 

(2)  Special  :  stewards  of  God,  acting  for  Him  : 
5e?  yap  TOV  tiriffKOirov  dveyKKrfrov  elvai  ws  Oeov  o'tKovofMov, 
Tit    I7  ;    diaKovos    Kara    TTT\V    OLKovo/niav    TOV    Oeov   TTJV 
SoOelffdv  fj.oi  els  vfj.as,  Col  I25  ;  e'KfrjTrjtreis  .   .   .  /j.a\\ov 
fl  oiKOvofuav    Oeov  rrjv   £v  iricrTei,    1    Ti    I4  (here  the 
sphere  in  which,  or  rather  the  method  by  which, 
stewardship  is  rightly  exercised  is  addea  [*c.  by 
faith]). 

(3)  Stewards  with    the  matter    of  stewardship 
described  (sc.  of  grace,  of  mystery,  or  of  mysteries)  : 
ZnaffTos    Kad/jis   t-Xa/Sev    ;x;d/)«rjua,  e'S    eavTovs   avrb  OLO.- 
Kovovvres    <l>s    KaXoi    olKOv6u.oi    iroiKiXys    "xapiros    Oeov, 
1  P  410  ;  ft  ye  ij/cowrare  Trjf  oiKOvofj.iav  rrjs  x^Plros  r°v 

do6fio~i)s  (JLOI  els  v/mas,    Eph  32  ;   ovrus 


\oyi£f'(j9(i)  avdpuwos  ws  VTryperas  XptcrroO  Kal  olKov6aovs 
p.vaTt]pi<av  Oeov,  1  Co  41  ;  rls  i]  oiKOvofiia  (v.l.,  KOtvuvia) 
TOV  fj.vffTripiov  TOV  diroKeKpvjj./j.ti>ov  dwb  TUV  aluvwv  ev  T<£ 
6e$,  Eph  39. 

(4)  One  very  curious  extension  of  the  use  of  the 
word  occurs  in  Eph  I10,  els  oiKovofiiav  TOV  ir\r)pu/j.aTos 
rCiv  Kaipwv,  which  is  well  paraphrased  and  explained 
by  W.  Alexander  (Speaker's  Commentary,  London, 
1881,  in  loc.)  :  'The  dispensation  is  the  Divine 
arrangement  of  His  household,  or  plan  of  govern- 
ment, which  was  to  be  carried  out  when  the  full 
time  had  come,  which  time  had  now  arrived.' 
Here  the  idea  of  stewardship  almost  disappears,  as 
it  is  the  Master's  own  management  that  is  re- 
ferred to.  C.  L.  FELTOE. 

STIGMATA.—  See  MARKS. 

STOCKS.—  The  Gr.  term  (TO  £5X0*,  lit.  '  the  wood  ') 
tr.  '  stocks  '  in  AV  and  RV  is  used  to  denote  a 
wooden  framework  containing  holes,  in  which  the 
feet  of  criminals  were  confined.  This  ancient  mode 
of  punishment  (cf.  Job  1327  3311)  survived  in  lands 
further  west  till  a  comparatively  recent  period. 
Among  both  Greeks  and  Romans  it  was  employed 
in  the  case  of  freeborn  malefactors  as  well  as  slaves. 
When  Paul  and  Silas  were  thrown  into  the  inner 
dungeon  of  the  prison  at  Philippi,  the  jailer,  who 
was  charged  by  the  Roman  magistrates  (known  as 
the  Duumviri)  to  keep  the  prisoners  safely,  for 
greater  security  took  the  precaution  of  enclosing 
their  feet  in  the  stocks  (Ac  1624).  This  infliction 
was  part  of  the  shameful  treatment  endured  at 
Philippi  to  which  the  Apostle  afterwards  referred 
in  his  First  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  (22). 

W.  S.  MONTGOMERY. 

STOICS  (ol  SrwtKoJ  <pi\bo-o<j>oi}.—  The  Stoics  are 
mentioned  by  name  only  once  in  the  NT  (Ac  1718), 
when  St.  Paul  met  with  them  and  the  Epicureans 
at  Athens.  For  the  circumstances  of  this  encounter 
see  art.  EPICUREANS.  Though  the  Stoics  are  not 
again  mentioned,  St.  Paul's  speech  on  the  Areo- 
pagus seems  framed  with  them  in  mind,  and  one 
of  his  sentences,  '  for  we  are  also  his  offspring  '  (v.28), 
a  quotation  from  Aratus,  is  almost  identical  with 
tl\e  words  of  Cleanthes,  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
sect.  Moreover,  several  other  passages  in  the  NT, 
e.g.  2  P  3s"7-  10'13,  He  412,  suggest  acquaintance  with 
this  system  of  philosophy.  Among  philosophies  of 
this  period  Stoicism  occupied  an  exalted  position. 


STOICS 


STOICS 


527 


The  teaching  of  Plato  and  Aristotle  had  waned  in 
popularity,  the  Epicureans  suffered  from  an  evil 
reputation,  while  Stoicism  claimed  to  enable  men 
to  endure  the  prevailing  hardships  of  thought  and 
life.  Its  cultivation  of  high  ideals,  the  nobility  of 
its  foremost  adherents,  its  repression  of  the  coarser 
and  insistence  on  the  nobler  elements  in  human 
nature,  won  esteem  and  admiration.  Though  its 
unrelenting  severity  prevented  it  from  ever  be- 
coming the  creed  of  the  multitude  and  restricted 
it  to  the  select  few,  Stoicism  has  always  been  a 
potent  influence  among  serious  men  far  beyond  the 
limits  of  its  actual  disciples. 

1.  Circumstances  which  favoured  its  growth. — 
(a)  The  disappearance  of  the  city-States. — Earlier 
Greeks  had  rejoiced  in  their  citizen-life,  and  gladly 
identified  their  individual  lives  with  the  life  of  the 
city.     But  evil  days  arrived,  and  internal  quarrels 
led  to  the  intervention  of  the  Macedonian  power 
and  the  consequent  loss  of  self-government.     Later 
still  came   the    all-conquering   Komans,  sweeping 
them  all  into  the  Imperial  net.     Now,  bereft  of  all 
interest  in  civil  affairs,  the  more  serious-minded 
turned  for  relief  to  those  deeper  human  considera- 
tions in  which  they  conld  think  as  they  would,  and 
adulation  and  sycophancy  would  not  be  required. 
It  was  in  part,  therefore,  a  movement  of  despair. 

(b)  Loss  of  faith  in  the  traditional  religion. — The 
old  mythologies  and  pagan  practices  had  now  lost 
their  power  over  the  Greek  mind. 

(c)  Influx  of  Oriental  ideas. — This  was  due  to 
that  intermingling  of  peoples  which  followed  the 
Alexandrian  conquests.     Comparison  with  the  be- 
liefs of  others  showed  how  abstract,  improbable, 
and  unpractical  were  their  own  philosophies  in  face 
of  the  new  needs. 

2.  The    founders    of   Stoicism   were  not  pure 
Greeks,  although  the  chief  centre  of  instruction 
was  Athens,  nor  was  the  system  a  product  of  the 
true  Greek  spirit.     As  its  later  history  shows,  it 
was  much  more  congenial  to  the  sterner  Roman 
temperament,  and  it  was  at  Rome  that  it  achieved 
its  greatest  triumphs.     The  earliest  teachers  came 
from  Cyprus,  Cilicia,  Babylon,  Palestine,  Syria,  and 
Phrygia,  and  the  universities  of  Tarsus,  Rhodes, 
and  Alexandria  were  its  strongholds.    The  founders 
of  Stoicism  were  Zeno,  Cleanthes,  and  Chrysippus. 
Zeno  (c.  342-270  B.C.)  came  to  Athens  from  Citium 
in  Cyprus.     He  seems  to  have  visited  all  the  exist- 
ing schools  of    philosophy  before  settling  down 
among  the  Cynics.     And  even  they  did  not  entirely 
satisfy  him.     The  Cynics  banned  speculation  ab- 
solutely, despised  all  human  delights,  and  welcomed 
hardships  with  open  arms.     In  the  end  Zeno  for- 
sook them,  and  became  a  teacher  himself  in  the 
'  painted  porch '  (17  irooaXrj  crroa,   hence  the  name 
'  Stoic ').     Of  his  earnestness,  poverty,  and  content- 
ment there  can  be  no  doubt.     Cleanthes  (c.  300- 
220  B.C.),  the  master's  successor,  is  known  test  for 
his  famous  Hymn  to  Zeus,  a  remarkable  production. 
Chrysippus  (c.  280-206  B.C.)  is  usually  regarded  as 
the  second  creator  of  this  system.     '  Had  there 
been  no   Chrysippus,  there   had   been  no  Porch' 
(Diog.  Laertius,  VII.  vii.  183).     He  collected  and 
systematized  the  earlier  doctrines,  but,  while  con- 
tributing to  its  logic,  psychology,  etc.,  made  no 
addition  to  its  ethics.     At  Rome  Stoicism  came  to 
its  own,  and  Seneca,  Epictetus,  and  M.  Aurelius 
Antoninus  stand  pre-eminent  among  its  adherents. 
Seneca  (4  B.C.-A.D.  65),  a  contemporary  of  St.  Paul, 
was  the  tutor  and  later  the  counsellor  of  Nero. 
Between  his  professed    devotion   to  placid  Stoic 
principles  and  his  actual  life  a  strange  contradiction 
exists  (see  T.  B.  Macaulay,  Lord  Bacon,  London, 
1852).    An  advocate  of  poverty  and  self-abnegation, 
he  became  wealthy  and  maintained  his  position  at 
Court  by  abject  flattery  and  perhaps  worse.     In 
Epictetus  (fl.  c.  A.D.  100),  the  poor  lame  slave  of 


Epaphroditus  afterwards  freed,  we  meet  a  kindlier, 
humbler,  and  altogether  more  beautiful  character. 
He  taught  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Brother- 
hood of  man.  Laughing  at  misfortunes  or  even 
denying  their  very  existence,  he  bore  all  hardships 
cheerfully  and  regarded  even  death  as  a  mere  in- 
cident to  be  left  complacently  in  the  hands  of  God. 
M.  Aurelius  (A.D.  121-180),  the  Stoic  Emperor, 
would  have  been  happier  as  a  private  citizen. 
Confronted  with  distasteful  duties  both  without 
and  within  his  Empire,  he  proved  no  great  success 
as  a  monarch.  Meditation  was  more  to  his  liking 
than  activity,  and  his  literary  remains  areatreasure- 
house  of  fine  sayings.  The  persecution  of  the 
Christians,  to  which  he  lent  himself,  must  have 
appeared  to  him  a  political  necessity. 

3.  The  teaching  of  the  Stoics  may  be  divided 
into  the  following  branches  :  Logic,  Physics,  Ethics, 
and  Religion.  Individual  differences  will  here  be 
ignored,  and  indeed  they  are  not  always  easy  to 
determine.  On  the  whole,  Stoicism  laid  emphasis 
on  the  requirements  of  practical  life,  and  every- 
thing was  subordinated  to  this  aim. 

(a)  Logic. — This  term  was  employed  somewhat 
vaguely  and  included  Dialectic,  Rhetoric,  and  Logic 
properly  so  called.     Its  comparative  unimportance 
in  the  system  may  be   gathered  from  two  well- 
known  illustrations  which  were  employed.     Ethics 
was  likened  to  the  yoke  of  an  egg,  physics  to  the 
white,  and  logic  to  the  shell.     Again,  physics  was 
said  to  resemble  the  trees  in  a  field,  ethics  the  fruit 
which   the  trees    produced,   and   logic  the   fence 
around  the  field.     It  need  only  be  said,  therefore, 
that  the  Stoics'  chief  aim  was  to  reach  a  criterion 
of  truth ;  and  this  they  found  in  the  feeling  of 
certainty.     The  mind  is  at  first  a  complete  blank 
and  depends  on  impressions  received  from  the  out- 
side world.    These  impressions  are  either  confirmed 
or  rejected   by   the  reaction   of   the   mind's  own 
reasoning  powers.     Certainty  is  reached  when  the 
impressions  become  distinct  and  overwhelming. 

(b)  Physics. — In  this  branch  of  their  system  the 
Stoics  derived  much  from  Heraclitus,  as  did  their 
contemporaries  the   Epicureans  from  Democritus. 
They  declared  the  primary  element  to  be  a  fiery 
ether  which,  after  assuming  grosser  forms  such  as 
fire,  as  we  see   it,  air,  water,  and  earth,   finally 
resumes  its  original   character.     They  also  held 
that  the  only  reality  is  matter ;  and  in  this  sub- 
stance they  expressly  included  air,  sky,  and  stars, 
the   mind   of   man,   including  even  his  thoughts, 
passions,  and  virtues,  and  finally  God.   The  novelty 
of  their  teaching  lay  in  the  idea  of  tension  which 
they  believed   permeated  all  things.     It  was  ac- 
cording to  the  variations  of  this  quality  that  one 
substance  differed  from  another.     Vet  even  this  is 
material  or  corporeal,  differing  only  in  its  varying 
degrees  of  fineness  or  subtlety  in  different  objects. 
Notwithstanding  this  materialistic  view  of  things, 
the  Stoic  maintained  that  the  whole  world  of  men 
and  things  is  under  the  government  of  reason,  which 
permeates  and  harmonizes  all.     In  this  reason  man 
participates,  and  may  partly  understand  its  larger 
operations  and  in  his  own  degree  co-operate  there- 
with.    Man's  lower  nature  must  be  kept  subordin- 
ate to  these  higher  purposes,  and  in  the  end  he  will 
be  re-absorbed  into  the  Universal  Reason. 

(c)  Ethics. — Here  we  reach  that  branch  of  Stoi- 
cism for  which  all  the  rest  existtd  and  to  which  it 
was  only  preliminary.     It  may  be  summed  up  in 
the  well-known   phrase,  '  live  in  conformity  with 
Nature.'    But  it  is  the  Stoic  interpretation  of  this 
formula  that  is  significant.     As  against  the  Epi- 
cureans, who  made  pleasure  the  object  of  life,  they 
insisted  that  virtue  is  the  only  Good.     All  those 
objects  which  are  usually  regarded  as  desirable 
they   banned — position,    honours,    wealth,  health, 
men's  favour,  etc.     In  this  they  differed  from  the 


528 


STOICS 


STONING 


Cynics,  their  predecessors,  only  in  being  somewhat 
less  harsh  and  severe.  In  opposition  to  the  Epi- 
cureans, who  held  that  pleasure  was  the  motive 
power  of  animals  and  young  children,  they  taught 
that  these  were  guided  rather  by  the  instinct  of 
self-preservation.  And,  though  allowing  that 
pleasure  is  often  associated  with  virtue,  they  de- 
clared that  it  was  too  precarious  a  factor  to  be 
relied  on  and  should  be  ignored  altogether.  The 
aim  of  this  attitude  was  practical,  viz.  to  set  man 
free  from  all  the  varying  chances  and  changes  of 
fortune  and  to  reach  a  condition  of  'apathy.' 
Whether,  therefore,  civil  and  personal  affairs  were 
congenial  or  otherwise,  a  man  must  remain  master 
of  both  his  feelings  and  his  actions. 

'  In  the  fell  clutch  of  circumstance 

I  have  not  winced  nor  cried  aloud. 
Under  the  bludgeonings  of  chance 
My  head  is  bloody,  but  unbow'd ' 

(W.  E.  Henley,  Invictus,  5-8). 

Confronted  with  ordinary  human  affections  and 
passions,  whose  disturbing  influence  is  obvious  to 
all,  they  declared  them  one  and  all  to  be  wholly 
injurious.  Even  pity  and  compassion  should  be 
eschewed.  No  one  suffers  as  much  as  we  suppose. 
It  is  only  just  to  note  that  in  later  times  this 
general  austerity  was  slightly  modified.  Some 
things  might  be  preferred,  others  avoided,  and  the 
range  of  totally  indifferent  things  was  made 
narrower.  But  the  underlying  principle  was  never 
changed.  Man  must  ignore  or  even  laugh  at  cir- 
cumstances and  act  quite  independently  of  them. 
Emotion  is  only  perverted  reason.  Further,  Stoi- 
cism recognized  no  degrees  or  gradations  of  virtue 
or  vice.  A  man  was  entirely  virtuous  or  entirely 
vicious.  The  '  wise  man '  of  the  Stoics  was  perfect 
in  every  way.  This  extraordinary  doctrine,  modi- 
fied later,  was  due  in  part  to  the  emphasis  laid 
on  motive  or  intention.  Right  motives  made  an 
act  virtuous,  however  unfortunate  its  effects.  The 
tendency  to  suicide,  so  marked  a  feature  among 
them,  seems  to  contradict  their  theoretical  indiffer- 
ence to  pain.  They  explained  this  by  saying  that 
a  man  need  live  only  as  long  as  it  was  possible  to 
do  so  with  dignity  and  utility. 

Cosmopolitanism  was  a  striking  element  in  the 
Stoic  system.  The  only  city  to  which  they  ac- 
knowledged fealty  was  the  City  of  Zeus.  All  men 
being  sons  of  God  were  brothers,  and  distinctions 
of  race  and  country  must  be  abolished.  In  theory 
friendships  and  the  customary  relations  of  home 
and  State  might  not  be  prohibited,  but  in  practice 
reasons  for  their  neglect  were  invariably  forth- 
coming. 

(d)  Religion. — This  was  materialistic  pantheism. 
God,  the  ruler  and  upholder  of  all  that  exists,  is 
identical  with  universal  law,  and   like  all  else  is 
material.     Though  believing  in  a  First  Cause  and 
a  Mind  governing  all,  both  are  corporeal.     The 
different  parts  of   the  universe  may  be  finer  or 
coarser,  but  they  are  only  forms  of  the  one  primary 
force.     Cleanthes'  Hymn  to  Zeus,  which  includes 
both  adoration  and  supplication,  seems  in  strange 
conflict  with  all  this.     Perhaps  it  may  be  taken  as 
the  revolt  of  the  devout  spirit  against  the  arbitrary 
theories  of  the  reason.     In  regard  to  the  traditional 
and  often  debasing  ceremonies  of  religion  then  in 
vogue,  the  Stoic  attitude  was  one  of  compromise. 
Essentially  they  could  not  but  be  opposed  to  them. 
Prayer  was  generally  an  error  and  by  implication 
showed    distrust    in    Divine    goodness.      Earthly 
temples  were  unworthy  of  God.    Yet  they  tolerated 
the  popular  forms  of  worship,  and  explained  them 
as  a  picturesque  way  of  setting  forth  poor  human 
ideas  of  the  Deity.     The  age-long  problems  of  Evil 
and  Freedom  proved  insoluble  on  Stoic  assumptions. 

(e)  Relation  to  Christianity. — Many  facts  make 
this  an  interesting  subject  of  study.     Even  the 


OT,  and  Apocalyptic  books  such  as  Sirach,  4  Mac- 
cabees, and  Wisdom  of  Solomon  had  been  affected 
by  Stoicism.  And,  with  so  many  points  of  contact 
in  their  ethical  teaching,  it  is  small  wonder  that 
Stoicism  and  Christianity  have  been  suspected  of 
influencing  each  other.  Again,  Tarsus,  the  home 
of  St.  Paul,  was  likewise  a  great  centre  of  Stoic 
teaching,  and  it  is  supposed  that  the  great  Apostle 
shows  traces  in  his  writings  of  this  early  associa- 
tion. In  regard  to  Seneca,  too,  a  tradition  arose 
that  he  became  a  disciple  of  St.  Paul  and  a  Chris- 
tian. A  full  discussion  of  the  value  and  bearing 
of  these  facts  is  given  in  Lightfoot  (see  Literature). 
On  the  acquaintance  of  St.  Paul  with  Stoic  litera- 
ture and  ideas  as  shown  in  his  speech  on  the  Areo 
pagus  we  have  already  remarked.  Striking  coin- 
cidences occur  between  the  language  of  the  Gospels 
and  the  Pauline  Epistles  and  the  sayings  of  Seneca 
and  Aurelius.  It  may  certainly  be  acknowledged 
that  in  these  two  pagan  writers  we  reach  the  high- 
water  mark  of  non-Christian  ethics.  For  various 
reasons  it  is  not  possible  to  say  certainly  whether 
indebtedness  exists  on  the  one  side  or  on  the  other. 
But  in  relation  to  fundamental  principles  many 
vital  differences  separate  them.  Each  system 
starts  from  different  premisses  and  reaches  different 
conclusions. 

(1)  The  Stoic  conception  of  God  was  materialistic 
and  pantheistic.     Fatherhood   in   any  real  sense 
was  thereby  excluded.     Divine  love  and  paternal 
care  were  impossible  and  fellowship  with  the  Father 
of  our  spirits  was  out  of  the  question. 

(2)  Self -repression,  with  the  object  of  attaining 
complete  '  apathy,'  was  the  fundamental  demand 
of  Stoicism,  but  how   the  ordinary  man  was  to 
effect  this  it  did  not  show.     In  any  case,  his  re- 
sources were  restricted  to  himself :   there  was  no 
place  for  a  Saviour,  and  the  weak  were  left  to  fail. 

(3)  In  regard  to  a  future  life,  the  Stoics  leave  us 
with  a  feeling  of  great  uncertainty.     One  wonders, 
indeed,  that  they  should  have  desired  it.     At  most 
they  thought  of  it  as  a  bare  possibility.     Such 
continuance  could  only  be  an  endless  rotation,  re- 
sulting probably  in  experiences  as  unpleasant  as 
in  this  life.     In  the  presence  of  such  contrasts  we 
are  therefore  obliged  to  conclude  that,  however 
many  or  close  the  resemblances  between  Christi- 
anity and  Stoicism,  they  were  in   vital   matters 
fundamentally  different.     That    St.    Paul   should 
show  some  acquaintance  with  Stoic  teaching  was 
inevitable,  and  that  he  did  not  openly  expose  its 
weakness  was  probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
system  was  never  likely  to  trouble  those  to  whom 
he  preached.     As  for  Seneca,  he  would  doubtless 
encounter  Christians  at  Rome,  but  probably  in  cir- 
cumstances that  would   leave  him  indifferent  to 
their  principles  and  beliefs. 

LITERATURE.— The  leading  sources  are  :  Diogenes  Laertius, 
de  Vitiy  Philosophorum,  vii. ;  Cicero,  de  Finibus  ;  Plutarch, 
de  Stoiconim  Repuynantiis,  and  de  Placitis  Philosophorum ; 
works  of  Seneca,  Epictetus,  and  M.  Aurelius.  Of  modern 
authorities  we  may  refer  to  E.  Zeller,  Stoics,  Epicureans,  and 
Sceptics,  Eng.  tr.,  "London,  1880  ;  H.  Ritter,  History  of  Ancient 
Philosophy,  Eng.  tr.,  iii.  [Oxford,  1839] ;  A.  Grant,  The  Ethics 
of  Aristotle,  2  vols.,  London,  1866;  W.  W.  Capes,  Stoicism, 
London,  1880 ;  W.  L.  Davidson,  The  Stoic  Creed,  Edinburgh, 
1907;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Philippians*,  London,  1878,  'St.  Paul 
and  Seneca,'  p.  270 ff. ;  artt.  'Stoics'  in  JJBr",  HDB,  and  EBi. 

J.  W.  LlGHTLEY. 

STONING — The  three  Greek  verbs  in  the  NT 
tr.  '  to  stone '  are  Xt0o/3oX^w,  \i6dfa,  and  KaraXiddfa. 
The  LXX  almost  invariably  employs  the  first  of 
these  as  the  equivalent  of  the  Heb.  synonyms  'jp? 
and  DJ-J,  which  mean  (1)  the  pelting  of  stones  by 
a  mob  at  a  person  who  has  merited  their  ill-will 
(Ex  S26  174,  2  Ch  24-0ff- ;  cf.  He  II37,  Ac  526) ;  (2)  the 
infliction  of  the  death-penalty  by  stoning  (Lv  202, 
Dt  1310). 

The  method  which  an  enraged  crowd  took  of  exe- 
cuting vengeance  with  the  weapons  lying  readiest 


STONING 


STONING 


529 


to  their  hand  came  to  be  employed  afterwards 
as  a  regular  and  legal  method  of  inflicting  the 
death-sentence  on  a  criminal.  Stoning  is  the  only 
form  of  capital  punishment  recognized  in  the  Mosaic 
Law.  To  stone  an  offender  with  stones  means  the 
same  thing  as  to  put  him  to  death,  the  two  expres- 
sions being  sometimes  used  together  as  synonymous 
(Lv  202).  Wherever  stoning  is  not  explicitly  stated 
to  be  the  mode  of  execution,  it  is  implied.  The 
Pentateuch  gives  no  details  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  punishment  was  to  be  carried  out.  Cer- 
tain restrictions,  however,  were  specified,  as  that  (1) 
the  stoning  should  take  place  outside  the  city  (Lv 
2414,  Dt  175 ;  cf.  Ac  758),  and  that  (2)  the  witnesses, 
of  whom  two  or  more  were  necessary  to  secure  con- 
viction, were  to  cast  the  first  stone,  and  then  all 
the  people  (Dt  139  175ff- ;  cf.  Ac  7s8).  Death  by 
stoning  is  the  penalty  prescribed  in  the  Pentateuch 
for  various  offences  against  religion  and  morality. 
Blasphemy  occupied  a  prominent  place  among  the 
former  (Lv  2416  ;  cf.  1  K  2113,  Ac  6>3). 

For  information  as  to  the  process  of  stoning  in 
NT  times,  reference  is  necessary  to  the  Rabbinic 
law,  which  lays  down  the  rules  and  precautions  to 
be  observed  in  carrying  it  out  (Mishna,  Sank.  vi.). 
These  were  intended  to  secure  (1)  that  the  con- 
demned person  should  have  every  opportunity  of 
obtaining  a  reversal  of  his  sentence  on  the  way  to 
execution,  by  the  production  by  himself  or  others 
of  fresh  evidence  in  his  favour  ;  (2)  that  his  suffer- 
ings should  be  shortened  as  much  as  was  possible 
in  the  circumstances.  After  sentence  was  pro- 
nounced, the  criminal,  in  the  absence  of  further 
evidence  sufficient  to  establish  his  innocence,  was 
preceded  by  a  herald  or  crier,  whose  function  it 
was  to  announce,  in  terms  of  a  prescribed  formula, 
the  name  and  parentage  of  the  offender,  and  the 
nature  of  his  offence,  together  with  the  names  of 
the  witnesses.  The  place  of  execution  was  outside 
the  town.  On  his  arrival  there,  he  was  divested  of 
his  clothing,  apparently  by  the  witnesses,  a  loin- 
cloth alone  being  left  him.  Failing  a  natural 
eminence  somewhere  in  the  vicinity,  he  was  placed 
on  a  platform  twice  the  height  of  a  man.  It  was 
then  the  duty  of  one  of  the  witnesses  to  precipitate 
him  violently  to  the  ground,  in  the  hope  that  the 
force  of  the  concussion  would  produce  a  fatal  effect. 
In  the  event  of  this  effect  not  being  attained,  the 
second  witness  was  to  cast  a  heavy  stone  on  his 
chest.  If  he  survived  this  treatment,  the  by- 
standers completed  the  dispatch  of  the  unhappy 
victim  by  stoning  him. 

Two  instances  of  stoning  call  for  special  considera- 
tion— that  of  the  proto-martyr  Stephen  (Ac  788-60), 
and  that  of  St.  Paul  at  Lystra  (1419i). 

1.  The  stoning  of  Stephen. — In  connexion  with 
the  stoning  of  the  first  Christian  martyr,  a  much- 
debated  question  is  whether  it  was  (a)  tumultuary, 
(b)  legal,  or  (c)  a  blending  of  both. 

(a)  Baur  maintains  that  the  whole  proceedings 
from  first  to  last  were  tumultuary.  Stephen  was 
simply  done  to  death  by  a  fanatical  mob  without 
even  the  pretence  of  a  hearing,  and  the  idea  of  a 
trial  before  the  Sanhedrin,  followed  by  a  regular 
Jewish  stoning,  must  be  summarily  dismissed  (Paul: 
his  Life  and  Works,  Eng.  tr.,  2  vols.,  London,  1873- 
75,  i.  56).  Modern  criticism,  following  suit,  rulesout 
the  references  to  the  Sanhedrin  in  Ac  612>  15,  on  the 
ground  that  they  are  editorial  additions,  or  belong 
to  an  inferior  source,  and  were  introduced  for  the 
purpose  of  making  out  that  a  trial  took  place  before 
that  body.  'Stephen's  arrest,'  says  Mott'att,  'was 
the  result  of  a  popular  enieute,  which  restrained 
itself  just  long  enough  to  allow  him  to  defend  him- 
self before  a  suspicious  and  exasperated  audience, 
which  numbered  —  perhaps  unofficially  —  several 
members  of  the  Sanhedrin  '  (art.  '  Stephen '  in  EBi 
iv.  4789).  '  It  is  plain,'  he  adds,  '  that  Stephen 
VOL.  II. — 34 


died,  not  on  the  testimony  of  witnesses  (61S  7Mb), 
but  on  account  of  his  own  recent  word  and  con- 
fession '  (ib.  4794).  But,  if  the  occasion  which  led 
to  Stephen's  being  put  on  his  defence  was  the 
accusation  of  blasphemy  brought  against  him  by 
the  witnesses  (and  the  statement  of  613  can  hardly 
be  challenged),  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a  self- 
constituted  tribunal  attempting  to  adjudicate  upon 
a  grave  charge  of  the  sort,  involving  the  penalty 
of  death,  with  which  the  supreme  court  of  justice 
alone  among  the  Jews  had  authority  to  deal.  The 
presence  of  the  witnesses  from  first  to  last  (61S  7s8  ; 
cf.  2220)  affords  a  strong  presumption  that  the  case 
was  tried  before  the  Sannedrin,  and  that  the  mar- 
tyrdom was  not  the  result  simply  of  foul  play  on 
the  part  of  an  excited  mob  who  had  lost  all  control 
of  themselves. 

(b)  The  view  that  the  proceedings  were  quite 
regular  and    orderly    throughout    has    also   been 
advocated.     'Stephen  was  formally  accused  and 
brought  to  trial  before  the  Sanhedrim  ;  it  is  prob- 
able that  he  was  formally  condemned  by  that  body, 
and  that  his  death  was  not  the  result  of  a  mere 
tumult,  as  the  account  of  Luke  might  seem  to  imply. 
This  probability  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that 
his  death  was  by  the  legal  mode  prescribed  for  the 
crime  of  blasphemy,  and  that  the  stoning  was  done 
not  by  the  crowd  in   general,  ,but   by  Stephen's 
accusers  in  the  orderly  Jewish  way '  ( A.  C.  McGiffert, 
A  History  of  Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  Edin- 
burgh, 1897,  p.  90).     There  is  no  reason  to  suppose, 
however,  that  the  historian  of  the  Acts  sought  to 
aggravate  the  crime  of  Stephen's  death  by  leaving 
the  impression  that  it  was  the  result  of  a  popular 
tumult  rather  than  of  a  fair  trial  conducted  to  an 
orderly  conclusion.     Some  of  the  formalities,  more- 
over, in  connexion  with  legal  stoning,  were  neces- 
sarily dispensed  with.     If  the  accused  was  con- 
demned on  his  own  confession,  further  evidence  to 
attest  his  innocence  would  not  be  admissible. 

(c)  There  is  no  reason  to  question  the  reality  of 
the  scene  depicted  in  the  narrative,  in  which,  after 
the  utterance  that  excited  the  fury  of  the  hearers 
( '  Behold,  I  see  the  heavens  opened,  and  the  Son  of 
man  standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God '),  the  court 
was  at  once  transformed  into  an  infuriated  mob, 
and  hurried  the  alleged  blasphemer,  now  judged 
out  of  his  own  mouth,  without  further  ceremony  to 
the  place  of  execution  (757f>)-     As  regards  the  sub- 
sequent stoning,  the  narrative  places  it  beyond 
doubt  that  the  witnesses  were  present  (1s8;  cf. 
2220),  and  discharged  the  functions  customary  on 
such  an  occasion.     F.  C.  Conybeare  suggests  (Exp, 
8th  ser.,  vi.  [1913]  466)  that  '  it  was  Stephen's  gar- 
ments which  were  ceremonially  laid  at  the  feet  of 
Paul '  (by  the  witnesses  [p.  469]),  '  and  that  the  true 
reading  in  ver.  58  is  avrov,  and  not  oyrwv.'    But 
the  feelings  of  horror  with  which  St.  Paul  recalled 
the  scene  in  later  years  were  due  to  the  fact  that 
he  kept,  not  the  raiment  of  Stephen  (although  his 
may  also  have  been  there),  but  'the  raiment  of 
them  that  slew  him'  (2220).     It  is  probable  that 
the  Apostle  was  present,  not  as  a  mere  inactive 
spectator,  but  in  an  official  capacity,  perhaps  that 
of  herald,  as  Conybeare  suggests  (op.  cit.,  p.  468). 
If  not  the  prime  mover  in  bringing  about  tne  mar- 
tyrdom, he  was  undoubtedly   one  of  the  active 
spirits  participating  in  it,  and  it  was  not  at  hap- 
hazard that  the  witnesses  laid  down  their  clothes 
at  his  feet.     Some  special  significance  attaches  to 
the  circumstance,  although  it  hardly  justifies  the 
assumption  that  he  was  a  member  of  the  Sanhedrin 
at  the  time. 

2.  The  stoning  of  St.  Paul  at  Lystra. — In  the 
catalogue  of  hardships  and  sufferings  endured  by 
the  Apostle  in  the  course  of  his  missionary  labours 
and  journeys,  he  mentions  the  fact  that  in  one 
instance  he  was  stoned  (2  Co  II28).  This  is  prob- 


530    STRANGER,  ALIEN,  FOREIGNER 


STRANGER,  ALIEN,  FOREIGNER 


ably  identical  with  the  stoning  to  which  he  was 
subjected  at  Lystra  during  his  first  visit  to  Galatia 
(Ac  1419'-)-  He  had  left  Iconium  not  long  before  to 
avoid  similar  treatment,  which  some  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  that  city,  both  Jewish  and  Gentile,  were 
planning  to  mete  out  to  him  and  Barnabas  (145). 
The  same  good  fortune  did  not  attend  him  at  Lystra. 
His  Jewish  opponents  in  Antioch  and  Iconium 
appeared  upon  the  scene,  and  so  wrought  upon  the 
passions  of  the  superstitious  townspeople  that  a  riot 
was  created,  in  which  the  Apostle  was  stoned. 
Although  Jews  were  a  party  to  the  outbreak  of 
violence,  the  stoning  was  simply  the  method  by 
which  the  fanatical  mob  of  a  heathen  city  vented 
their  rage  upon  an  advocate  of  the  Christian  faith. 
The  attempt  on  the  Apostle's  life  proved  unsuccess- 
ful. Stunned  for  a  time  by  the  blows  of  the  mis- 
siles, he  was  dragged  by  his  assailants  outside  the 
city,  and  left  there  for  dead.  But,  as  the  disciples 
stood  around  his  prostrate  body,  he  recovered  con- 
sciousness, and  returned  with  them  to  the  city. 
The  injuries  sustained  were  not  sufficiently  serious 
to  prevent  his  leaving  Lystra  for  Derbe  next  day. 

Although  the  life  of  the  Apostle  was  not  seriously 
imperilled,  he  bore  ever  afterwards  the  scars  left 
by  the  encounter.  Writing  at  a  later  date  to  the 
members  of  the  Galatian  Church,  he  closes  his 
Epistle  with  these  solemn  words  :  '  From  hence- 
forth let  no  man  trouble  me  :  for  I  bear  branded  on 
my  body  the  marks  of  Jesus '  (Gal  617  RV).  Ram- 
say conjectures  that  these  marks  were  caused — some 
of  them  at  least — by  the  stoning  at  Lystra.  '  Obvi- 
ously, it  must  appeal,'  he  says,  '  to  something  that 
lay  deep  in  the  hearts  and  memories  of  the  Gala- 
tians'  (Historical  Commentary  on  the  Galatians, 
London,  1899,  p.  473).  Less  probable  is  the  con- 
jecture of  T.  W.  Crafer  (Exp,  8th  ser.,  vi.  375-384) 
that  the  aaQtveia.  TTJS  trapes,  on  account  of  which  he 
first  preached  the  gospel  in  Galatia,  was  caused 
by  the  stoning  at  Lystra.  There  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  the  maltreatment,  however  painful 
for  a  time,  was  attended  by  permanent,  or  even 
lengthened,  physical  disability.  The  '  infirmity  of 
the  flesh '  in  Gal  413  and  the  '  thorn  in  the  flesh  '  in 
2  Co  127,  are  identical,  and  are  best  explained  as 
caused  by  periodical  attacks  of  a  painful  sort  to 
which  the  Apostle  was  subject. 

LITERATURE.— T.  H.  Weir,  art.  '  Stoning,'  in  DCS  ii.  679 ; 
McClintockand  Strong:,  Cyclopaedia  of  Biblical, Theological,  and 
Ecclesiastical  Literature,  New  York,  1881 ;  E.  Kbnig, '  Stoning, 
Hebrew  Use  of,'  in  Schaff-Herzog,  xi.  105  ;  J.  Poucher, '  Crimes 
and  Punishments,' in  HDB  i.  527a;  S.  Mendelsohn,  'Capital 
Punishment,'  in  JE  iii.  557*  ;  I.  Benzinger,  '  Law  and  Justice.' 
in  EBi  iii.  2722 ;  F.  W.  Farrar,  Life  and  tyork  of  St.  Paul, 
London,  1879,  vol.  L,  Excursus  vi. 

W.  S.  MONTGOMERY. 

STRANGER,  ALIEN,  FOREIGNER.-The  word 
'stranger'  (from  extraneus]  has  been  so  long  in 
possession  as  the  rendering  of  several  distinct 
words  in  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  texts  that  it  is 
difficult  to  introduce  changes  in  translation  that 
appear  desirable  in  order  to  distinguish  those  words 
from  each  other,  and  doubtful  in  some  instances 
whether  an  exact  rendering  would  be  tolerable  to 
the  ear  of  English  readers.*  Take  an  instance 
from  the  OT,  and  one  from  the  NT.  In  Gn  234 
and  Ps  3912,  '  I  am  a  stranger  and  a  sojourner ' 
could  not  well  be  changed  for  '  I  am  a  sojourner 
and  a  settler'  (or  'dweller').  In  Jn  105,  'A 
stranger  (dXXor/x'y)  will  they  not  follow  ...  for 
they  know  not  the  voice  of  strangers  (rCiv  dXXor- 
plwv),'  we  should  not  welcome  the  substitution  of 
'  alien '  for  '  stranger '  in  order  to  distinguish 
dXX6r/)tos  from  £^os.  'Aliens,'  however,  might 

*  '  St.  Augustine,  in  a  well-known  story,  tells  us  that,  when 
a  bishop,  reading  the  chapter  about  Jonah's  gourd,  ventured  to 
substitute  St.  Jerome's  "hedera"  for  the  established  "cucur- 
biti,"  such  a  tumult  was  raised,  that  if  the  bishop  had 
persevered  he  would  have  been  left  without  a  congregation' 
(G.  Salmon,  Introduction  to  JVZ1*,  London,  1889,  p.  126). 


fitly  have  been  put  in  RVm  in  Mt  1728,  'From 
their  sons,  or  from  strangers  (atrb  r&v  d\\orpiwv)  ? ' 
Cf.  Lk  1718,  '  Were  there  none  found  that  returned 
to  give  glory  to  God,  save  this  stranger?'  where 
the  rendering  of  dXXt^evijs  in  RVm  by  '  alien ' 
heightens  the  contrast  to  which  our  Lord  draws 
attention. 

In  the  numerous  NT  passages  in  which  changes 
of  a  more  considerable  kind  were  called  for  by 
fidelity  to  the  true  meaning  of  the  text,  those 
changes  have  been  judiciously  and  consistently 
made  by  the  RV.  In  Lk  2418  the  question  <ru  ju<Wj 
•jrapoiKeis  'Iepovcra\-/ifj.  cannot  mean  '  Art  thou  only 
a  stranger  ? '  and  is  rightly  changed  for  '  Dost 
thou  alone  sojourn  ? '  (marg.  '  Dost  thou  sojourn 
alone  in  Jerusalem?'),  Cleopas  implying  that  none 
but  a  solitary  sojourner,  who  had  not  come  in 
contact  with  other  sojourners  at  the  Passover 
season,  could  be  ignorant  of  the  death  of  Jesus. 
In  Ac  210  ol  £iri8rifj.ovi>T€s  'Pu/mloi  are  mentioned  in 
the  list  of  nations  present  at  Pentecost.  Here  the 
inadequate  rendering  '  strangers  of  Rome '  becomes 
'  sojourners  from  Rome,'  those  meant  being 
'  Romans  who  had  migrated  to  Jerusalem  and 
had  settled  in  that  city '  (Overbeck,  quoted  by 
A.  Harnack,  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  [NT  Studies, 
iii.],  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1909,  p.  67).  In  the  speech 
of  St.  Stephen  (Ac  729,  tytveTo  n-dpot/cos),  we  should 
read  '  became  a  sojourner,'  and  in  that  of  St.  Paul 
(1317,  lv  T-fj  vapoiKia)  'when  they  sojourned.'  Read 
also  in  1721  ('Atfrjvcuot  8£  irdvres  KO.I  ol  tiridrinouvTcs 
&voi),  '  Now  all  the  Athenians  and  the  strangers 
sojourning  there':  'the  large  number  of  foreign 
residents  .  .  .  was  always  a  distinguishing  feature 
of  Athens '  ( J.  B.  Lightfoot  in  Smith's  DB2,  vol.  i. 
pt.  i.  p.  36a). 

The  Christian  communities  addressed  in  1  P  I1 
are  called  ^/cXeKrol  TrapeTriSij/Aoi  StacrTropas.  AV 
loosely  translates  '  to  the  strangers  scattered 
throughout  Pontus,'  and  wrongly  transfers  £K\eKTois 
to  the  verse  following.  Read  with  RV  '  to  the  elect 
who  are  sojourners  of  the  Dispersion,'  or  simply  '  to 
the  elect  sojourners  of  the  Dispersion.'  It  is  now 
generally  agreed  that  '  St.  Peter  had  in  his  mind 
predominantly,  though  probably  not  exclusively, 
Gentile  readers,'  and  that  diao-iropas,  like  the  pre- 
ceding TrapeTri8rifj.oi,  is  used  to  describe  their  religious 
condition,  both  words  being  '  taken  from  the 
vocabulary  created  by  Jewish  history  and  after- 
wards transferred  to  the  Christian  Church '  (F.  H. 
Chase  in  HDB  iii.  783a  ;  T.  Zahn,  Introduction  to 
NT,  Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1909,  ii.  141,  153,  n.  5). 
In  1  P  211  a  strong  moral  appeal  is  made  to 
Christians  as  irdpoLKoi  Kal  7rapeirl8t]fj,ot. :  here,  irdpoiKoi 
having  the  first  claim  to  'sojourners,'  it  was 
necessary  that  Trapeirl8i)[j.oi  should  be  translated  by 
a  different  word,  and  'pilgrims,'  which,  in  its 
Latin  form  peregrini,  is  used  by  the  Vulgate  in 
this  verse,  at  once  suggested  itself.  It  is  to  be 
noticed  that  the  rendering  'sojourners'  for 
'strangers'  in  1  P  211  connects  the  appeal  made 
with  the  exhortation  given  in  I17,  Iv  <£6/3<j>  rbv  rijs 
irapOLxias  V/J.MV  x.P^vov  dvavrpdipriTe.* 

'  Alien '  occurs  twice  in  the  NT  (AV).  In  He 
II34  the  fine  rendering  'armies  of  the  aliens' 
(dXXorpiwi/)  could  not  be  improved  upon.  In  Eph 
212  RV  rightly  substitutes  the  verb  for  the  noun, 
as  required  by  the  Greek  text,  dirr/\\orpiafdvot  rr/s 
TroXtreiaj,  'alienated  from  the  commonwealth  of 
Israel '  (cf.  418,  Col  I21). 

'  Foreigner '  (from  foraneus)  was  not  a  word  in 
common  use  when  the  AV  was  made,  and  in  the 
NT  is  found  only  in  Eph  219  (OVK£TI  tart  £evoi  Kal 
irdpoiKoi).  We  regret  the  disappearance  of  the  in- 
spiriting words  'no  more  strangers  and  foreigners,' 

*  Note  on  firiSyfjifiv,  irapeTriirjuos.  — '  In  distinction  from 
firiSi)iJi(iv,  it  Oapejn'Si)fio«]  emphasises  more  definitely  the 
merely  temporary  character  of  the  residence '  (Zahn,  ii.  139). 


STEANGEE,  ALIEN,  FOEEIGNEE 


STEANGEE,  ALIEN,  FOEEIGNEE    531 


but  must  admit  the  consistency  of  RV  in  trans- 
lating 'no  more  strangers  and  sojourners.' 

In  what  follows,  this  study  of  words  is  supple- 
mented by  some  reflexions  of  a  devotional  and 
practical  nature. 

1.  Christ  and  the  stranger. — Kindness  to  the 
stranger-guest  lias  always  been  one  of  the  most 
attractive  features  of  Eastern  life  and  manners. 
'  From  the  earliest  times  of  Semitic  life  ihe  law- 
lessness of  the  desert  .  .  .  has  been  tempered  by 
the  principle  that  the  guest  is  inviolable'  (\V.  R. 
Smith,  BS~,  London,  1894,  p.  76).  The  description 
in  Gn  182"8  of  Abraham's  entertainment  or  his 
three  mysterious  visitors  '  presents  a  perfect  picture 
of  the  manner  in  which  a  modern  Bedawee  sheykh 
receives  travellers  arriving  at  his  encampment' 
(E.  W.  Lane,  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Modern 
Egyptians6,  London,  1871,  i.  364).  The  humani- 
tarian laws  enjoined  on  Israel  included  the  follow- 
ing :  '  A  stranger  shalt  thou  not  wrong,  neither 
shalt  thou  oppress  him  ;  for  ye  were  strangers  in 
the  land  of  Egypt'  (Ex  2221 ;  cf.  239,  Lv  1933- M, 
Dt  1018<  18).  The  stranger,  who  is  to  be  made 
welcome,  and  whose  rights  are  to  be  respected, 
often  comes  into  view,  e.g.  in  Ru  210,  Ps  946  1469, 
Mai  35.  In  Greece,  Zei)s  dyopa'ios,  the  Protector  of 
the  assembly  of  the  people,  was  also  Zevs  &vtos,  the 
Protector  of  strangers.  The  beautiful  story  of 
Philemon  and  Baucis,  the  aged  Phrygian  couple 
who  received  Zeus  and  Hermes  into  their  hut 
when  others  had  refused  to  take  them  in  (cf. 
J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Colossians  and  Philemon,  London, 
1875,  p.  370,  who  uses  the  legend  to  illustrate  the 
scene  at  Lystra,  Ac  1411),  must  have  had  its  origin 
in  some  mind  which  had  conceived  it  possible  that 
the  gods  might  put  men  to  the  proof  by  visiting 
them  in  human  form.  The  truth  thus  dimly 
shadowed  forth  was  realized  in  Jesus  Christ.  He, 
when  'found  in  fashion  as  a  man,'  accepted  the 
title  of  '  Prophet'  as  one  which,  ' so  far  as  it  went, 
.  .  .  was  a  true  description  of  His  work'  (H.  B. 
Swete,  The  Ascended  Christ,  London,  1910,  p.  53), 
and,  in  His  preaching  ministry,  was  dependent  for 
food  and  lodging  on  those  who  '  received  him ' 
(Lk  1038  19s-  6 ;  cf.  2  K  49- 10).  In  one  of  His  last 
discourses  He  taught  that  the  stranger  was,  along 
with  others  whom  He  named,  one  of  His  '  brethren ' 
or  next  of  kin,  who  had  the  right  to  the  same 
ministering  love  which  had  been  shown  toward 
Himself,  and  solemnly  said  that  men's  final  accept- 
ance before  Him  as  their  Judge  depended  upon 
their  recognizing  and  doing  justice  to  that  right. 
His  authoritative  and  affecting  words  f^vos  •fjfj.^v 
Kal  ffwrjydycTt  pe  (Mt  253S)  impressed  it  for  ever  on 
the  heart  of  the  Church  that  in  receiving  the 
stranger  she  fed  and  sheltered  her  Lord.*  They 
made  care  for  the  stranger  a  standing  rule  of 
Christian  life  (cf.  J.  R.  Seeley,  Ecce  Homo11, 
London,  1873,  p.  194).  Their  effects  are  seen  in 
Ro  1213,  1  Ti  32  51U,  Tit  I8,  3  Jn5,  Clem.  Rom. 
i.  1.  2,  Didache,  xi.  2.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable 
that  in  He  132  our  Lord's  words  are  not  referred 
to.  The  marked  feature  of  apostolic  Christianity 
presented  to  view  in  these  passages  pointed  for- 
ward to  the  systematic  provision  which  was  made 
for  the  entertainment  of  strangers  in  the  £evo5oxta 
of  post-apostolic  times.  'A  "saint,"  i.e.  a  Chris- 
tian, provided  with  a  letter  of  recommendation 
from  his  church,  could  travel  from  one  end  of  the 
Roman  Empire  to  the  other  without  having  any 
anxiety  about  a  home.  Wherever  there  was  a 
Christian  Church  he  was  sure  of  receiving  food  and 

•  Cf.  A.  H.  McNeile,  The  Gospel  according  to  St.  Mattheiv, 
London,  1915,  p.  370b  :  'After  the  Resurrection,  and  helped  by 
the  influence  of  Greek  thought,  Christians  were  divinely  led  to 
the  conception  of  the  mystical  oneness  of  an  immanent  Christ 
with  humanity.  e'6«?  yap,  <J>i)<riV,  TOV  a&f\<t>6ir  <row,  e'Ses  T'OV  8eov 
<rov  (Clem.  Strom,  i.  xix.  94,  H.  xv.  71).  "Vidisti,  inquit, 
fratrem,  vidisti  dominum  tuum"  (Tert.  De  Orat.  xxvi.).' 


shelter,  and  attention  in  case  of  illness '  (G.  Bonet- 
Maury  in  ERE  vi.  804b ;  cf.  Sanday-Headlam, 
ICC,  '  Romans'8,  Edinburgh,  1902,  p.  363 ;  W.  E.  H. 
Lecky,  History  of  European  Morals6,  London, 
1888,  ii.  80).  It  is  not  necessary  to  do  more  than 
allude  to  the  countless  forms  of  helpful  assistance 
and  benevolence  which  Christ's  compassion  for 
the  stranger  has  prompted  in  recent  times  (cf. 
T.  von  Haering,  Ethics  of  the  Christian  Life, 
London,  1909,  p.  402;  H.  L.  Martensen,  Christian 
Ethics  [Social],  Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1882,  ii.  71, 
72). 

2.  The  sheep  and  strangers. — Neither  AV  nor 
RV  gives  the  proper  emphasis  to  3£  ov  y.i]  in  Jn  105. 
These  words  enrich  the  comparison  between  the 
two  voices.     We  should  read  '  But  a  stranger  will 
they  by  no  means  follow,'  or  'will  they  certainly 
not  follow.'    Christ  speaks  with  confident  expect- 
ation  of    how    His    sheep    will    act.      They   will 
assuredly  not  follow  a  stranger  :  '  on  the  contrary 
(d\\d)  they  will  flee  from  him.'     'Fleeing'  implies 
a  feeling  of  danger  and  alarm.     The  voice  of  the 
stranger  whom  they  know  not  scares  the  sheep 
(cf.  W.   M.   Thomson,   The  Land  and  the  Book, 
London,    1864,   p.   203 ;    F.   Godet,    Com.    on  St. 
John's  Gospel,  Edinburgh,  1876-77,  ii.  382).     The 
words    may   be    applied    to    the    Church  of    the 
Apostolic  Age  in  a  variety  of  ways.     They  who 
'knew  that  the  Son  of  God  was  come'  (1  Jn  520) 
were  not  led  astray  by  false  Messiahs.     They  were 
gifted  with  a  quickness  of  apprehension  and  a 
sharpness  of  penetration  that  enabled  them  to  see 
the  tendency  and  temper  of  false  teaching.     They 
accounted  as  strangers  those  teachers  who  came 
'  to  act  as  spies  on  the  liberty  which  they  had  in 
Christ'   (Gal    S4),   as  well    as    others,   still   more 
dangerous,    who  sought    to    lead    them   into   the 
thicket  of  Gnostic  speculation  in  which  they  would 
have  lost  sight  altogether  of  the  nature  and  work 
of  their  Redeemer  (Col  2s).     The  same  faculty  of 
discrimination,  created  and  guided  by  the  Spirit 
of  Christ,  enabled  them  to  take  the  first  steps  in 
sifting  the  writings  of  the  Apostolic  Age,   and 
setting  apart  those  which  spoke  to  them  with  the 
voice  and  authority  of  the  Chief  Shepherd. 

3.  Christians    not    £e'voi    but    irdpoiKoi.  —  It  is 
worthy  of  attention  that  Christians  are  not  called 
j-tvoi  in  the  NT.     The  Gentile  believers  addressed 
in  Ephesians  had  once  been  &voi  rCiv  dia6r;Kwv  rfjs 
£irayye\Las  (212),  but  are  now  ffwiroXirai  rCiv  dylwv  Kal 
oiKfioL  TOV  Oeov  (v.19),  fellow-citizens  with  full  rights 
(cf.  Ph  3'-10),  and  in  household  fellowship  with  the 
family  of  God.     When  Christians  are  described  as 
l-4voi  in  early  Christian  literature,  the  word  is  used 
in   a  typical    or    metaphorical    sense — as   in   the 
Epistle  to  Diognetus,  v.  5  :  vdvB'  vTro/^vovcnv  (is^evor 
irdcra  i-tvij  irarp/j   Iffrtv  avrwv,   Kal  irdcra  irarpls  ^vrj. 
St.  Peter's  impressive  adaptation  of  Hos  2^  to  the 
Gentile  Christians  of  Asia  Minor,  o'i  TTOT£  ov  Xaos 
vvi>  8t  Xaos  Oeov  (1  P  210),  is  immediately  followed 
by  his  appeal  to  them  as  irdpoiKOi  Kal  irapeiri5r)fi.oi. 
They  are  thus  reminded  that  they  are  sojourners 
on   earth,   dependent  on   the  protection  of  God, 
whose  property   the    earth    is,   and  to  whom   it 
belongs  to  determine  the  length  of  their  sojourn 
and  what  mercies  they  shall  receive.     Such  seems 
to  be  the  force  of  the  words  '  with  thee '  in  Ps  3912 
(cf.  A.  F.  Kirkpatrick,  Book  of  Psalms,  Cambridge, 
1902,  p.  207).     In  the  Church  the  Christian  finds 
'a  home  for  the  lonely'  (J.  H.  Newman,  Parochial 
Sermons,  new  ed.,  London,  1868,  iv.  196)  :  but  '  so 
long  as  we  are  still  at  home  (^cSij/aoOirej)  in  the 
body,  we  are  in  a  sort  of  exile  from  our  home 
(tK8rjfjiovn.ev)  in  the  Lord  '  (2  Co  56  ;  cf.  A.  Plummer, 
ICC,   '2  Corinthians,'  Edinburgh,   1915,   pp.   124, 
151).      '  Exilium    vita    est '    was    the    inscription 
carved  above  the  doorway  in  Victor  Hugo's  room 
at  Hauteville,  Guernsey. 


532 


STRANGLED 


STRIFE 


LITER ATURB.—  To  the  works  cited  throughout  the  art.  may  be 
added :  S.  R.  Driver,  The  Book  of  Exodus,  Cambridge,  1911, 
p.  231,  ICC,  '  Deuteronomy '  2,  Edinburgh,  1896,  p.  1(35 ; 
C.  L.  W.  Grimm,  Lexicon  in  Libras  ST,  Leipzig,  1868,  s.v. 
£eVos,  irapotKOf,  7rapem&r)/j.os ',  J.  A.  Selbie,  artt.  '  Foreigner," 
'  Ger,'  and  '  Strange,  Stranger  '  in  HDB. 

JAMES  DONALD. 

STRANGLED  (Ac  1520-  »  2125).— The  interpreta- 
tion of  this  word  has  been  a  difficulty  almost  from 
the  beginning.  Western  texts  substitute  for  it : 
'  not  to  do  unto  others  what  you  would  not  they 
should  do  unto  yon. '  They  thereby  turn  all  the  pro- 
hibitions into  moral  ones.  '  Blood '  means  murder, 
'  fornication '  adultery,  and  for  '  things  strangled ' 
is  substituted  harmfulness.  This  of  course  misses 
the  whole  point  of  the  Council,  which  had  to  decide 
not  on  moral  (except  indirectly)  but  on  ceremonial 
distinctions.  The  Council  wishes  Gentile  Chris- 
tians of  Syria  and  Cilicia  to  keep  from  heathendom, 
i.e.  idolatry  and  its  accompaniment,  fornication  ; 
blood  ;  things  strangled.  Now  blood-offerings  and 
strangled  offerings  are  mentioned  in  the  OT  as 
found  among  idolatrous  Jews  (Ezk  SS29,  Is  654 
663-  ").  St.  James  fears  these  offerings  among 
idolatrous  Christians.  To  eat  blood  in  any  form 
is  contrary  to  the  teaching  of  the  OT.  But 
strangled  things  are  specially  mentioned  because 
they  have  a  peculiar  efficacy  in  heathen  eyes.  They 
do  not  shed  the  blood,  and  it  does  not  therefore 
call  for  vengeance  from  the  ground.  Thus  they 
have  a  magical  influence,  and  have  been  so  used  in 
X.  America  and  Japan  and  are  still  used  in  India. 
The  word  may  therefore  stand  here  as  a  well- 
known  allusion  to  magical  rites  in  Syria,  and  the 
prohibition  may  become  equivalent  to  '  Keep  your- 
selves from  magic.' 

LITERATURE.— F.  J.  A.  Hort,  Judaistic  Christianity,  1894,  p. 
73;  W.  R.  Smith,  RS*,  1894,  pp.  343,  417;  J.  G.  Frazer, 
Golden  Bought,  1900,  ii.  319,  416  ;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Colossians 
and  Philemon,  new  ed.,  1879,  pp.  88-90.  For  another  view, 
W.  J.  Conybeare  and  J.  S.  Howson,  The  Life  and  Epistleg  of 
St.  Paul,  new  ed.,  1889,  p.  172.  SHERWIN  SMITH. 

STREET. — The  only  street  referred  to  by  name 
in  the  apostolic  writings  is  the  street  in  Damascus 
which  is  called  'Straight'  (Ac  911).  The  word 
employed  (pv/j.r],  'lane'  or  'alley')  hardly  applies 
to  this  instance,  for  it  was  a  broad,  straight  street 
on  the  Greek  model,  flanked  by  colonnades,  on  the 
further  side  of  which  foot-paths  extended.  The 
modern  equivalent,  which  still  retains  the  name, 
and  forms  the  principal  thoroughfare  of  the  city, 
is  in  reality  only  the  northern  foot-way  of  the 
ancient  street.  The  proof  of  this  is  given  by  the 
East  Gate,  the  central  and  southern  archways  of 
which  are  now  closed  up  ;  also  by  fragments  of 
columns,  found  in  houses  and  courtyards  con- 
tiguous to  the  present  street. 

The  same  word  is  found  in  1210,  applied  to  one 
of  the  streets  or  lanes  of  Jerusalem,  probably  in 
the  heart  of  the  city,  to  which  it  appears  to  be 
appropriate  (cf.  art.  GATE).  The  use  of  wXareia  in 
515is  somewhat  surprising;  if  taken  in  conjunction 
with  Kara  followed  by  ace.  plur.  it  forcibly  suggests 
alleys  or  lanes  in  which  it  was  necessary  to  arrange 
the  sick  in  lines.  But  it  has  to  be  noted  that  xal 
tls  is  now  read,  following  tfABD,  which  seems  to 
correspond  better  with  the  likely  situation.  The 
sick  were  brought  from  narrow  ways  into  the 
'  broad  places.'  A  comparison  with  Mk  G56  (iv  rcus 
dyopais ;  D  reads  TrXaret'cus)  is  instructive :  applied 
to  villages  and  country,  no  less  than  to  cities,  this 
would  seem  to  denote  no  more  than  'open  spaces,' 
perhaps  as  opposed  to  courtyards.  Such  open 
spaces  in  cities  came  to  be  used  as  business  centres, 
and  were  put  to  other  uses  (see  especially  Ac  1717). 

If  we  keep  in  view  the  smallness  and  the  extreme 
irregularity  of  ancient  cities,  as  revealed  by  recent 
excavation  in  Palestine,  it  seems  best  to  equate 
pvfj.1}  to  '  street,'  and  TrXareta  to  '  square,'  in  the 


modern  city.  The  difference  is  greater  than  the 
similarity,  however,  for  the  average  Hebrew  city 
could  boast  of  only  one  '  broad  place,'  and  that  was 
at  the  gate.  An  exception  must  be  made  for  the 
Apostolic  Age  in  favour  of  recent  cities,  built 
according  to  Graeco-Roman  designs  (cf.  Damascus 
above).  Whether  a  city  was  ancient  or  modern 
would  have  an  important  bearing  on  its  plan. 

TXareid  alone  is  used  in  Rev. ,  notably  always  in 
the  singular  (II8  2121  221).  The  Graeco-Roman 
model  seems  to  be  before  the  writer's  eye.  Here 
irXareta  is  not  a  broad  place  or  square,  but  rather  a 
broad  street  running  from  gate  to  gate.  Had  the 
symmetry  been  detailed  there  would  have  been 
found  a  corresponding  -n-Xareia  intersecting  the 
first  at  right  angles.  Within  the  walls  the  city 
would  thus  be  divided  into  four  segments  which 
were  built  over,  whose  streets  and  lanes  would  be 
dwarfed  by  the  spaciousness  of  the  two  TrXarelai. 
This  principle  is  carried  further  in  the  description 
of  the  Holy  City,  New  Jerusalem,  in  correspond- 
ence with  the  number  of  gates  (twelve). 

H.  B.  Swete  (The  Apocalypse  of  St.  John3, 
London,  1907,  p.  299)  takes  exception  to  the  division 
of  the  verses  in  221-  2RV,  and  follows  AV  and  RVm. 
'  The  picture  presented  is  that  of  a  river  flowing 
through  the  broad  street  which  intersects  the  city, 
a  row  of  trees  being  on  either  bank.'  In  II8  the 
corpses  cast  out  into  the  principal  street  (now 
generally  understood  of  the  earthly  Jerusalem), 
and  left  without  burial,  were  a  purposed  insult 
to  the  martyred  witnesses,  which  was  speedily 
avenged  (vv.11'13).  Such  defilement  stands  in 
marked  contrast  to  the  later  picture  of  purity  and 
life  (water  and  tree).  W.  CRTJICKSHANK. 

STRIFE. — It  was  not  unnatural  that  strongly 
marked  varieties  of  character  and  opinion  should 
appear  in  the  living  Apostolic  Church,  for  the 
proverb  '  many  men,  many  minds '  had  its  applica- 
tion there  as  elsewhere. 

1.  Party-spirit  (£/>«,  fpideia),  which  was  stimu- 
lated by  the  free  institutions  of  the  Hellenic  city- 
States,  soon  invaded  the  equally  democratic  Chris- 
tian communities.      The  result  was  a  species  of 
religious  warfare  which  no  doubt  afforded  a  certain 
evidence  of  the  vitality  of  the  primitive  faith  ;  but 
the  last  thing  which  St.  Paul,  Apollos,  and  Cephas 
desired  was  that  they  should  be  constituted  leaders 
of  rival  sects  and  acclaimed   by  eager  partisans. 
In  his  First  Letter  to  the  Corinthian  church  St. 
Paul  gravely  rebukes  a  divisive,  quarrelsome  spirit, 
and  endeavours  to  divert  the  strong  currents  of 
religious  life  into  better  channels  (1  Co  11(MS). 

2.  But  St.   Paul    himself    was  compelled,   like 
Jeremiah  (1510),  to  be  a  man  of  strife.     Against 
Jews  and  Judaizers  he  had  to  fight  the  battle  of 
spiritual  freedom.     His  gospel  inevitably  created 
antagonisms  wherever  he  preached  it.     '  Fightings 
(/idxai)  without '  as  well  as  '  fears  within '  were  his 
appointed  lot  (2  Co  75).     In  things  indifferent  he 
was  the  most  yielding  of  men  (1   Co   919'22),   but 
on  matters  of  principle  he  would  not  give  place  to 
any  one  for  an  hour  (Gal  25).     He  withstood  even 
St.   Peter  to  the  face  (211).      And,  when  he  had 
largely  succeeded  in   exorcizing   the   legal   spirit 
from  the  Church,  he  was  obliged,  in  his  old  age, 
to  sharpen  his  weapons  once  more,  and  begin  an 
entirely  new  battle  with  an  incipient  Gnosticism 
(see  COLOSSIANS). 

3.  Whilst  St.  Paul  was  a  keen  controversialist, 
he  never  wrote  a  letter  that  did  not  contain  the 
word  '  peace.'     He  pleaded  with  his  fellow-workers 
(e.g.  Euodia  and  Syntyche,  Ph  42;  cf.  Ro  1216  155, 
2  Co  13n)  to  be  of  one  mind ;  and  he  urged  the 
Christians  of  Rome  to  be  at   peace,  if  possible, 
with  all  men  (Ro  1218).     His  dispute  with  Barnabas 
is  described  as  a  irapo£vo-fj.6s,  a  sharp   contention 


STRIFES 


SUFFERING 


533 


(Ac  1539).  Human  frailty  mingled  in  both  these 
apostles  with  what  was  very  noble  and  honourable. 
Their  quarrel  was  one  of  which  only  good  men  were 
capable.  It  was  essentially  a  conflict  of  ideals,  a 
strife  between  justice  on  the  one  hand  and  gener- 
osity on  the  other.  6  IlaOXos  e^rei  TO  SLKO.IOV,  6 
Bapj/cfySas  TO  4>i.\a.vdptaTrov  (Chrysostom,  Horn,  in  Ada, 
Apost.  xxxiv.). 

4.  The  infection  of  the  sub- Apostolic  Church  by 
the  subtleties  of  the  full-blown  Gnostic  system  led 
to  a  widespread,  barren  warfare  of  words  (Xoyopaxia., 
1  Ti  64),   far  removed   from  the  realities  of   the 
Christian    conflict  with   sin.      This  condition    of 
things  is  reflected  in  the  Pastoral  Letters,  which 
charge  all  believers  '  that  they  strive  not  about 
words,  to  no  profit '  (2  Ti  214).     Empty  discussions 
merely   engendered  strifes  (/xdxas,   v.23),   and   the 
bond-servant  of  Christ  must  not  strive  (oi>  8ei  pax- 
cffOai,  v.24). 

5.  There  is,   however,  an    altogether  different 
kind  of  strife,  which  at  once  commends  itself  to 
the  Christian  heart  and  conscience.     St.  Paul  in- 
dicates its  nature  by  two  words  of  the  arena — dyu- 
vl£of*cu  and  d6\tw,  with  their  compounds.     To  strive 
for  the  incorruptible  crown  (1  Co  920) ;  to  labour 
and  strive  as  a  servant  of  God,  cheered  by  a  sense 
of  His  own  mighty  working  in  us  (Col  I29) ;  to 
invite  others  to  strive  with   us  in  their  prayers 
(Ro  lo30)  ;  and,  again,  to  strive  for  Christ's  sake 
in  the  spirit  of  a  soldier  or  an  athlete,  and  to  do  it 
lawfully  (2  Ti  25) ;  to  strive,  in  spiritual  fellowship 
with  others,  for  the  faith  of  the  gospel  (Ph  I27) — 
all  this  seems  to  the  Apostle  to  be  of  the  very 
essence  of  the  Christian  life.     In  that  life,  as  the 
writer  to  the  Hebrews  indicates  (124),  men  may  at 
last   have  to  resist  unto  blood,   striving  against 
(antagonizing)  sin.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

STRIPES.— See  BEATING,  SCOURGING. 

SUBSTANCE  (Gr.  MffTcuris,  Lat.  substantia). — 
It  is  only  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  that  the 
term  'substance'  is  used  with  anj'thing  approach- 
ing a  philosophical  connotation.  The  meaning  of 
the  word  in  this  Epistle  is  of  unusual  interest 
owing  to  the  crucial  place  which  it  came  to  occupy 
in  the  Trinitarian  controversies  of  later  times.  The 
history  of  its  use  as  a  theological  term  is  given  by 
T.  B.  Strong  in  JThSt  iii.  [1901-02]  22  ff. 

In  AV  the  word  '  substance '  is  used  to  translate 
both  (torct/>£ts  and  vtrforaffts.  The  former  is  better 
rendered  '  possession '  (IIV),  as  in  the  passage,  '  Ye 
have  in  heaven  a  better  possession  (forapl-iv)  and  an 
abiding'  (He  1034 ;  cf.  Ac  245).  Interest  centres 
then  in  the  word  vTr6crTa.ffis,  which  occurs  only  five 
times  in  the  NT.  In  two  passages  it  means  '  con- 
fidence '  (2  Co  Q4  II17).  But  in  the  remaining  three, 
all  of  which  are  in  Hebrews,  a  philosophical  con- 
ception is  probably  involved.  (1)  He  314 :  '  \Ve  are 
become  partakers  of  Christ,  if  we  hold  fast  the 
beginning  of  our  confidence  (T^J  im-oo-racreajs)  firm 
unto  the  end.'  Both  AV  and  RV  render  uTnkrrao-is 
as  'confidence.'  Most  modern  commentators  con- 
cur in  this  subjective  reference.  The  Vulgate 
renders  it  objectively  (substantice  ejus),  and  many 
Patristic  commentators  take  this  view — e.g.  it  is 
'the  faith,'  TTJV  irivTLv  (Chrysostom,  Theodoret)  or 
fidem  Chriiti  (Primasius).  This  rendering  is  im- 
probable. There  is  yet  a  third  possible  explanation 
in  view  of  what  is  said  under  (2)  and  (3).  If  in 
He  II1  viroffToffis  is  'the  giving  substance'  (RVm) 
to  unseen  realities,  the  beginning  of  our  i/Tr&rrao-is 
may  well  be  the  beginning  of  that  progressive 
spiritual  state  of  realizing,  or  '  giving  substance 
to,'  in  actual  Christian  experience,  those  eternal 
verities  which  Judaism  only  dimly  adumbrated. 
As  Christ  (He  I3)  is  the  xapa/trifa  ('perfect  ex- 
pression ')  of  the  Divine  V7r6<rra<ns  (or  '  essence '), 


Christians,  as  '  partakers  of  Christ,'  may  in  some 
measure  embody  (hypostasize,  substantiate)  the 
Divine  reality  eternally  existing  in  Christ.  The 
word  of  exhortation  in  this  verse  is  then  to  '  hold 
fast  the  beginning '  of  that  process  of  actualizing 
in  Christian  experience  eternal  spiritual  realities. 
That  such  experience  should  lead  to  'confidence' 
is  inevitable.  (2)  In  He  II1  faith  is  described  as 
'  the  substance  (i>7r<5cmicrts)  of  things  hoped  for.'  In 
RV  vir6<rTa<ris  is  rendered  'assurance'  or  'con- 
fidence' (as  in  2  Co  94  II17,  He  314).  But  in  the 
margin  RV  suggests  'the  giving  substance  to' 
(favoured  by  Westcott,  Davidson,  Peake,  Wick- 
ham).  Both  meanings  may  well  have  been  in  the 
mind  of  the  writer ;  for,  if  faith  enables  the 
believer  to  'give  substance'  to  spiritual  experience 
and  embody  the  objective  realities  of  his  religious 
hopes,  it  naturally  affords  him  a  ground  of  assured 
confidence  in  them.  The  use  of  the  antithesis 
'  substance '  and  '  shadow '  (see  art.  SHADOW) 
found  in  this  Epistle  (85  101)  shows  that  the  writer 
is  familiar  with  the  Platonic  and  Philonic  concep- 
tion that  the  things  seen  are  but  shadows  cast  in 
time  and  space  by  eternal  archetypal  realities. 
The  latter  are  the  truly  'substantial,'  and  he 
asserts  that  faith  is  that  state  of  mind,  or  experi- 
ence, which  actualizes  the  things  as  yet  unseen 
and  which  proves  that  they  alone  have  '  substance ' 
or  reality.  (3)  In  He  1s  there  is  contained  the 
metaphysical  embryo  of  later  theological  specula- 
tion. Christ  is  spoken  of  in  relation  to  God  as  the 
'very  image  of  his  substance'  (xapa-KTrjp  rrjs  \nro- 
<TTa<rews).  In  AV  virdyracris  is  translated  'person,' 
but  the  rendering  is  inappropriate  and  misleading. 
The  philosophical  conception  of  personality  did  not 
emerge  until  long  after  the  Apostolic  Age,  and 
then  largely  through  the  contentions  of  the  Greek 
and  Latin  Fathers  over  the  question  as  to  whether 
there  was  one  hypostasis  in  the  Godhead  or 
whether  there  were  three  hypostaseis  (or  '  persons '). 
The  writer  of  Hebrews  does  not  say  that  Christ  is 
the  express  image  of  the  Person  of  God.  The 
substance  (viroffTacris)  of  the  Godhead,  of  which 
Christ  is  the  'express  image'  (xapiKr^p),  is  the 
Divine  'essence'  or  'nature.'  'Substance*  (Lat. 
substantia)  etymologically  is  'that  which  stands 
under'  (as  a  foundation  or  pedestal).  Then  it 
came  to  mean  that  in  a  thing  which  makes  it  what 
it  is  (its  'essence'),  the  substratum  beneath  all  its 
qualities.  In  its  more  modern  philosophical  mean- 
ing 'substance'  is  the  reality  which  exists  behind 
all  phenomena.  The  theological  and  metaphysical 
associations  of  the  word,  as  a  technical  term,  cause 
most  recent  commentators  to  prefer  the  translation 
'  essence '  or  '  nature '  in  this  passage  as  best  inter- 
preting the  view  of  the  writer  as  to  Christ  and  His 
relation  to  the  Godhead.  He  is  the  perfect  expres- 
sion in  human  life  and  history  of  the  essential 
nature  of  God.  In  harmony  with  the  teaching  of 
the  Fourth  Gospel  Christ  is  the  Divine  Logos,  and 
He  alone  can  assert,  '  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath 
seen  the  Father '  ( Jn  141J). 

M.  SCOTT  FLETCHER. 

SUFFERING.— 'Suffering' is  the  usual  transla- 
tion of  irddTina  (found  in  sing,  only  in  He  29)  in 
AV  and  RV.  In  AV  the  Gr.  word  is  also  tr. 
'  afflictions  '  (3  times  ;  RV  '  sufferings '),  '  affec- 
tions'  (Gal  S24 ;  RV  'passions'),  and  'emotions' 
(Ro  7*  ;  RV  'passions').  The  cognate  verb  TTCUTXW 
is  always  tr.  '  suffer '  in  AV  and  RV,  with  two 
exceptions  (Ac  I3,  '  passion,'  AV  and  RV  ;  285,  AV 
'feel,'  RV  'took').  The  same  verb  appears  in 
compound  forms  in  '  suffer  before  '  (1  Th  2*,  AV  and 
RV)  and  'suffer  with  '  (Ro  817,  1  Co  1226,  AV  and 
RV).  In  RV  KaKoirdfffia  is  rendered  '  suffering ' 
(Ja  510 ;  AV  'suffering  affliction');  Ka.Koiro.6tta, 
'  suffer  hardship '  (2  Ti  48,  A  V  '  endure  afflictions ' ; 
2  Ti  2s*,  AV  'suffer  trouble'),  'be  suffering' 


534 


SUFFEKING 


SUN 


( Ja  51S ;  AV  '  be  afflicted ')  ;  trvyKaKOTraOtw,  '  suffer 
hardship  with'  (2  Ti  I8,  AV  'be  partaker  of  the 
afflictions  of ' ;  and  2  Ti  23,  AV  '  endure  hard- 
ness'). In  AV  Tra6r)T6s  is  rendered  'should  suffer,' 
in  RV  '  must  suffer,'  in  RVm  '  subject  to  suffering ' 
(Ac  2623). 

Other  words  rendered  by  'suffer'  are  driyudfw 
(Ac  541 ;  AV  '  suffer  shame,'  RV '  suffer  dishonour ') ; 
frtubw  (pass.),  '  suffer  loss  '  (1  Co  315,  Ph  38  AV  and 
RV  ;  2  Co  79  RV;  AV  'receive  damage') ;  KCLKOV- 
Xfo/j.ai  (He  133 ;  AV  '  suffer  adversity,'  RV  '  be  evil 
entreated ') ;  na.Kpo6v^u  (1  Co  134,  AV  and  RV, 
'  suffer  long' ;  2  P  39,  AV  and  RV,  1  Th  514  RV, 
'  be  longsuffering,'  elsewhere  '  be  patient,'  1  Th  514 
AV,  Ja  57f-  AV,  Ja  57f-  RV,  or  '  patiently  endure,' 
He  618,  AV  and  RV) ;  vavaytw,  '  suffer  shipwreck ' 
(2  Co  II28,  AV  and  RV) ;  6vei$ifa  (pass.),  'suffer 
reproach'  (1  Ti  410  AV ;  RV  'strive');  ffrtyw 
(1  Co912;  AV  'suffer,'  RV  'bear' ;  also  tr.  'bear' 
1  Co  137,  AV  and  RV,  and  '  forbear,'  1  Th  31-  5,  AV 
and  RV) ;  <rvyKa.KovxfOfjLa.i  (He  II25  ;  AV '  suffer  afflic- 
tion with,'  RV  '  be  evil  entreated  with ') ;  vwfxu 
(Jude7,  'suffer,'  AV  and  RV) ;  inrofdvu  (2  Ti  2l- ; 
AV  'suffer,'  RV  'endure';  usually  rendered 
'  endure '  in  AV  and  RV,  but  also  '  be  patient,' 
Ro  1212,  AV  and  RV,  '  take  patiently,'  1  P  220»ls, 
AV  and  RV). 

1.  The  sufferings  of  Christ.— The  sufferings  of 
Christ  were  foretold  (Ac  318  2622f-,  1  P  I11).  'It 
behoved  the  Christ  to  suffer'  (Ac  173 ;  cf.  He  926). 
Moses  and  the  prophets  showed  how  that  must  be 
(Ac  2G23;  cf.  173).  He  suffered  throughout  His 
earthly  life,  'in  the  flesh'  (1  P  41).  He  suffered, 
being  tempted  (He  218).  On  the  Cross  His  suffer- 
ings culminated.  He  suffered  for  sins  once  (1  P318), 
suffered  without  the  gate  (He  1312  ;  cf.  Ac  I3). 
His  sufferings  revealed  His  character,  and  had  a 
reflex  influence  on  His  own  nature.  '  When  he 
suffered,  he  threatened  not'  (1  P  2s3).  'He 
learned  obedience  by  the  things  which  he  suffered  ' 
(He  58).  Of  these  sufferings  St.  Peter  was  one  of 
the  chief  witnesses  (1  P  51),  and  he  points  out 
Christ  as  the  great  example  (221).  It  was  for  His 
followers  that  He  suffered  (ib. ). 

2.  The  sufferings  of  Christ  shared  by  Christians. 
— Though   Christ  suffered,    His  disciples  are  not 
saved  from  suffering.     Rather  does  their  relation- 
ship to  Him  cause  them  to  suffer  also.     If  they  are 
faithful  to  Him,  the  enmity  and  opposition  He  met 
with  will   also  to  some   extent  fall   to  their  lot. 
Hence  St.  Paul,  who  endured  so  much  on  behalf 
of  the  gospel,  could  with  reason  speak  of  sharing 
the  sufferings  of  Christ.     '  The  sufferings  of  Christ 
abound  unto  us,'  he  says  (2  Co  1s).     He  longs  to 
know  '  the  fellowship  of  his  sufferings '  (Ph  310). 
Others  who  belong  to  Christ  also  suffer  with  Him  ; 
and  those  who  thus  suffer  will   share  His  glory 
(Ro  817).     '  Insomuch  as  ye  are  partakers  of  Christ's 
sufferings,  rejoice'  (1  P  413).     'If  we  endure,  we 
shall  also  reign  with  him '  (2  Ti  212). 

3.  Suffering  on  behalf  of  the  faith.— The  suffer- 
ing of  the  NT  is  almost  entirely  suffering  in  the 
cause  of  Christ.     St.    Paul   is  told   that  he  is  to 
suffer  for  the  Lord's  name's  sake  (Ac916).     He  tells 
Timothy  that  he  suffers  because  he  is  an  apostle 
and  a  teacher  (2  Ti  I12),  suffers  hardship  even  unto 
bonds  (29).     He  speaks  of  his  sufferings  in  such  a 
way  as  to  show  that  they  were  chiefly  persecutions 
(311).     Accordingly,  Timothy  is  exhorted  to  suffer 
hardship  with  him  (2  Ti  23).     '  Be  not  ashamed  of 
the  testimony  of  our  Lord,  nor  of  me  his  prisoner ; 
but  suffer  hardship  with  the  gospel '(I8).     'Suffer 
hardship,   do    the  work    of    an    evangelist'   (45). 
St.  Paul  suffered,  and  was  shamefully  entreated  at 
Philippi  (1  Th  22).     There  he  endured  stripes  and 
imprisonment  (Ac  1619ff-,  esp.  v.23).    He  also  suffered 
because    of    the  perverse    ideas    of    his   converts 
(1  Co  912,  2  Co  I6).     His  converts,  too,  frequently 


suffered  on  account  of  the  faith.  The  Galatians 
suffered  many  things  (cf.  Ac  142'5- l9-22).  The 
Philippians  suffered  on  behalf  of  Christ  (I29).  The 
Thessalonians  suffered  for  the  Kingdom  of  God 
(2  Th  I5)  at  the  hands  of  their  fellow-countrymen, 
as  the  churches  of  Judaea  did  at  the  hands  of  the 
Jews  (1  Th  214).  The  readers  of  1  Pet.  were  also 
subjected  to  suffering.  They  suffered  wrongfully 
when  well-doing  (2'9>  20),  for  righteousness'  sake 
(314 ;  cf.  v.17),  as  Christians  (416).  St.  Peter  told 
them  that  those  who  are  called  to  God's  eternal 
Kingdom  in  Christ  may  nevertheless  suffer  (510), 
just  as  St.  Paul  had  told  Timothy  that  'all  that 
would  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  perse- 
cution' (2  Ti  312).  Among  the  things  which  the 
Christians  of  Smyrna  have  to  suffer  is  imprisonment 
(Rev  210  ;  cf.  He  133).  The  Hebrews  are  reminded 
that  after  they  were  enlightened  they  '  endured  a 
great  conflict  of  sufferings ;  partly,  being  made  a 
gazingstock  both  by  reproaches  and  by  afflictions  ; 
and  partly,  becoming  partakers  with  them  that 
were  so  used  '  (He  1032).  The  heroes  also  suffered 
for  their  faithfulness.  Moses  preferred  to  suffer 
affliction  with  the  people  of  God  (He  II25).  The 
prophets  gave  an  example  of  suffering  (Ja  510). 
The  early  Christians  seem  to  have  concerned  them- 
selves little  about  what  we  call  the  problem  of 
suffering,  except  perhaps  in  so  far  as  their  suffer- 
ings were  ascribed  to  the  activity  of  the  devil 
(1  P  59).  Their  chief  anxiety  seems  to  have  been 
that  they  should  suffer  according  to  the  will  of 
God  (419),  i.e.  for  well-doing  (317  418). 

4.  The  fruits  of  suffering. — Jesus  because  of  the 
suffering  of  death  was  crowned  with  glory  and 
honour  (He  29).  Glories  followed  His  sufferings 
(1  P  I11).  Through  them  He  was  made  perfect  (He 
210 ;  cf.  58).  In  the  case  of  His  followers  suffering 
has  a  similar  result.  Those  who  suffer  for  righteous- 
ness' sake  are  blessed  (1  P  314).  Those  who  are  called 
to  God's  eternal  glory  in  Christ  and  suffer  a  little 
while  shall  be  perfected,  established,  and  strength- 
ened by  God  (510).  One  who  suffers  as  a  Christian 
has  reason  to  glorify  God  (416).  To  do  well  and  to 
suffer  for  it  is  acceptable  with  Him  (220).  '  Where- 
fore let  them  also  that  suffer  according  to  the  will 
of  God  commit  their  souls  in  well-doing  unto  a 
faithful  Creator '  (419). 

There  is  a  great  mass  of  modern  literature  on  the 
problem  of  pain  or  suffering,  but  how  little  of  it  is 
concerned  with  sorrow  at  the  slow  progress  of 
righteousness  or  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  !  It  was 
otherwise  in  the  Apostolic  Age.  There  is  very 
little  in  the  NT  about  purely  personal  suffering 
(Ac  285,  1  Co  1226).  In  one  case  at  least  suffering  is 
distinguished  from  sickness  (Ja  513f-). 

LITERATURE. — R.  Winterbotham,  The,  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
Here  and  Hereafter,  London,  1898,  pp.  234-240  ;  J.  Weiss,  Die 
Schriften  des  NT,  Gottingen,  1907,  s.v.  'Leiden'  in  index; 
Handkommentar  zum  NT,  Freiburg,  1892,  s.v.  'Leiden'  in 
indexes  ;  Grimm-Thayer,  s.vv.  ;  DCG,  s.v.  ;  H.  W.  Beecher, 
1  ser.,  London,  1870,  pp.  271-297  ;  A.  B.  Bruce,  The 
]>,-<irid>'iiti<tl  Order  of  the  World,  do.,  1897,  pp.  125 ff.,  259ff.  ; 
F.  W.  Robertson,  Expository  Lectures  on  the  Corinthians,  do., 
1859,  pp.  317  ff.,  446  ff.,  Sermons,  5th  ser.,  do.,  1904,  serins. 
i.  and  ii.  WILLIAM  WATSON. 

SUN. — Mention  of  the  sun  in  the  Apostolic  Age 
is  almost  entirely  confined  to  the  book  of  Revela- 
tion. In  the  Heavenly  Jerusalem  the  sun  shall 
not  light  upon  the  blessed  nor  any  heat  (Rev  716). 
There  will  no  longer  be  any  need  of  the  sun 
(2123).  Dread  judgments  are  symbolized  by  the 
obscuring  of  the  sun,  e.g.  '  The  sun  became  black 
as  sackcloth '  (612) ;  see  also  Rev  812  92  168  and 
Ac  2-°,  Joel's  prophecy  quoted  by  St.  Peter.  It 
is  twice  used  in  similes,  i.e.  in  the  description 
of  the  Vision  of  the  Christ,  '  His  countenance 
was  as  the  sun  shineth  in  his  strength'  (I16),  and 
in  the  description  of  an  angel,  '  His  face  was  as 
the  sun '  (101). 


SUPERSTITIOUS 


SUPPER 


535 


In  Rev  121  the  woman  in  the  vision  is  'arrayed 
with  the  sun.'  The  idea  may  be  taken  from 
Ps  1042,  '  Who  coverest  thyself  with  light  as  with 
a  garment.'  The  author  may  also  have  had  in 
mind  the  description  of  the  Bride  in  Ca  610,  '  clear 
as  the  sun.'  If,  as  some  think,  the  woman  repre- 
sents the  Jewish  Church,  then  she  appears  in  all 
the  glory  of  the  patriarchs  (see  Ro  9s).  But 
Semitic  writers  were  apt  to  decorate  representative 
persons  with  the  heavenly  bodies. 

Lastly,  in  Rev  1917  the  angel  who  is  entrusted 
with  the  overthrow  of  the  Beast  and  the  false 
prophet  is  represented  as  '  standing  in  the  sun  '  — 
probably  that  he  may  be  able  from  his  position  in 
mid-heaven  to  summon  the  great  birds  of  prey  to 
feed  on  the  flesh  of  the  king's  enemies  lying  on  the 
battle-field.  MORLEY  STEVENSON. 


SUPERSTITIOUS  (Ac  1722, 
RV  'somewhat  superstitious,'  marg.  'somewhat 
religious  ').  —  The  Greek  word,  derived  from  deiSeiv, 
'  to  fear'  and  Sa.ifj.wv,  '  demon,'  was  originally  used 
in  a  good  sense  (Xenophon,  Cyrop.  III.  iii.  58  ; 
Aristotle,  Pol.  \.  xi.  25  ;  Polybius,  VI.  Ivi.  7)  but 
underwent  a  change  of  meaning.  It  is  used  in 
a  bad  sense,  for  instance,  by  later  writers,  as 
Josephus  (Ant.  XV.  viii.  2  ;  Plutarch,  efe  Superstit. 
10).  The  authorities  are  divided  as  to  the  sense  in 
which  St.  Paul  used  it,  the  majority  at  the  present 
day  being  in  favour  of  the  rendering  '  religious  '  ; 
so  Knowling,  Ramsay,  Verrall,  Farrar,  T.  K. 
Abbott,  Page,  Rackham,  Trench,  Blass,  Renan, 
Weiss,  Holtzmann,  Weizsacker,  and  many  others. 

In  favour  of  this  view  it  is  stated  that  St.  Paul 
was  hardly  likely  to  have  offended  the  audience  at 
the  opening  of  his  apology.  The  prevailing  prac- 
tice of  commencing  a  speech  in  an  ingratiating 
tone  is  followed  by  him  at  Caesarea.  '  It  was  not 
St.  Paul's  habit  to  affront  and  by  affronting  to 
alienate  his  hearers,  least  of  all  at  the  outset  of 
a  discourse  intended  to  win  them  to  the  truth' 
(R.  C.  Trench,  Synonyms  of  the  NT8,  London, 
1876,  p.  172).  Further,  the  usual  Greek  word  for 
'piety'  was  fuaefida.,  and  he  uses  the  cognate 
verb  €i)<Tfj3«re  in  the  next  verse.  Once  more, 
dficri.Saifj.ovla  is  used  of  the  Jewish  religion  in 
Ac  2519,  and  must  there  have  been  intended  in  a 
good  sense. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  philosophers,  to  whom 
St.  Paul  was  addressing  himself,  at  least  in  part, 
must  have  understood  the  word  as  meaning  '  super- 
stitious,' and  they  would  have  heartily  concurred 
in  such  an  epithet.  A  doubtful  passage  in  the 
Characters  of  Theophrastus  (xvi.)  gives  a  picture 
of  the  dfiffiSai/j.(uv  as  one  who  had  frequent  recourse 
to  soothsayers  and  was  a  strong  believer  in  omens  ; 
while  the  Stoic  emperor  Marcus  Aurelius  (Meditat, 
i.  3)  expresses  his  thankfulness  that  he  takes  after 
his  mother  in  the  matter  of  devotion  (dfoaepfy),  and 
that  his  father  escaped  the  fate  of  a  Sei<rtSal/j.wv  (ib. 
i.  16).  Nestle  has  pointed  out  (ExpT  xi.  [1899-1900] 
378)  that  the  ominous  word  '  demon  '  could  never 
have  conveyed  anything  but  a  bad  sense  to  a  Jew, 
which  is  borne  out  by  Josephus'  use  of  the  word. 
The  force  of  the  comparative  may  be  '  too,'  '  very,' 
'rather,'  or  'somewhat.'  We  can  certainly  agree 
that  St.  Paul  would  never  have  commenced  a 
speech  with  a  studied  insult,  but  he  was  a  man 
who  said  what  he  thought,  and  the  word  was  most 
applicable  to  the  popular  religion  of  the  day.  It 
is  unlikely  that  he  meant  to  convey  the  idea  of 
reproof,  but  he  certainly  meant  'superstitious.' 
The  philosophers  would  understand  as  much  and 
would  agree  with  him,  while  the  populace  would 
be  merely  interested  and  wait  for  an  explanation, 
since  for  them  the  word  did  not  contain  the  note 
of  contempt  that  it  held  for  the  philosophers. 
Here  are  some  of  the  renderings  :  Ramsay,  '  more 


than  others  respectful  of  what  is  divine ' ;  Renan, 
'  le  plus  religieux  ' ;  Holtzmann,  '  Gottesf  lirchtige ' ; 
Zockler  and  Weiss  agree  with  the  latter ;  Nestle 
and  Moflatt,  '  rather  superstitious ' ;  Chase,  '  very 
superstitious.' 

LITERATURE. — Besides  the  commentaries  of  those  mentioned, 
see  F.  Field,  Notes  on  the  Translation  nf  the  1ST,  Cambridge, 
1899 ;  T.  K.  Abbott,  in  CQR  xxix.  [1890]  284 ;  F.  H.  Chase, 
Credibility  of  the  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  London,  1902  ; 
ExpT  xviii.  [1906-07]  485  f.  p.  W.  WORSLEY. 

SUPPER  (Sfiwvov,  1  Co  II30- ai,  Rev  199-  "  ;  cf.  Mk 
621,  Lk  1412- 16-  »•»,  Jn  122 132-4  2120).— Of  the  two 
principal  daily  meals  common  to  the  Jews  in  NT 
times,  '  supper '  was  the  more  important.  It  WHS 
usually  taken  about  sunset  or  shortly  after  (Lk 
1412  177.8)  •  Dinner'  (&piffrov)  was  a  lighter  meal, 
being  taken  about  noon  or  a  little  before.  Prayer 
was  offered  before  eating  (Ac  27M,  Mt  1419  1536,  Lk 
916  2217,  Jn  611),  and  the  hands  were  scrupulously 
washed  (Mt  152),  sometimes  also  the  feet  (Lk  744). 

There  are  really  only  two  passages  in  apostolic 
history  which  fall  within  the  scope  of  this  article. 

(1)  1  Co  II20'21,  'When  therefore  ye  assemble 
yourselves  together,  it  is  not  possible  to  eat  the 
Lord's  supper  (Kvpiaicbv  Selirvov) :  for  in  your  eating 
each  one  taketh  before  other  his  own  supper  ;  and 
one  is  hungry,  and  another  is  drunken.'  This  is  the 
only  passage  in  the  entire  NT  which  gives  us  the 
name  '  Lord's  supper,'  and  even  here  the  name  is 
not  to  be  restricted  to  the  Eucharist  (q.v. )  alone, 
for  at  this  time  it  was  not  dissociated  from  the 
love-feasts  (q.v.)  or  Agapae  (d7<i7rai,  Jude12;  cf. 
2  P  213  RV)  which  preceded  the  ordinary  evening 
services  of  the  Church.  Other  passages  of  course 
refer  to  it,  but  not  by  name  (cf.  1  Co  101H- 21).  The 
emphasis  of  the  passage  is  on  '  Lord's.'  St.  Paul  is 
here  rebuking  the  Corinthians  concerning  their 
manners  and  worship.  In  the  first  instance  he 
reminds  them  of  the  unbecoming  boldness  of  their 
women,  who,  taking  advantage  of  the  freedom 
allowed  by  the  gospel,  appear  in  public  unveiled. 
Only  harlots  were  accustomed  to  do  so  in  Corinth  ; 
therefore  let  women  take  heed  not  to  abuse  their 
liberty  in  Christ.  He  next  addresses  himself  to 
their  selfish,  greedy,  haphazard,  disgraceful,  even 
scandalous  conduct  in  eating  their  supper  in  the 
sanctuary.  Originally  it  seems  to  have  been  their 
custom  to  come  together  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week  to  break  bread  together  (Ac  207).  The  meal 
was  what  might  be  appropriately  called  a  club  or 
church  supper,  after  which  the  religious  service  of 
worship  took  place.  It  was  a  kind  of  enlarged 
family  meal  (cf.  246),  the  object  of  which  was  prim- 
arily social.  In  keeping  with  Greek  custom  among 
certain  gilds,  each  one  brought  with  him  his  basket 
of  provisions,  and  these  were  spread  indiscrimin- 
ately before,  and  partaken  of  by,  the  company 
present  as  a  corporate  body.  But  there  had  de- 
veloped factions  in  the  church  at  Corinth.  A  self- 
ish spirit  was  manifesting  itself.  Instead  of  com- 
ing together  as  brethren  in  Christ,  the  worshippers 
came  and  hastily  devoured  that  which  they  had 
brought  themselves,  not  waiting  to  share  it  with 
the  poor  or  others  who  had  failed  to  supply  them- 
selves. The  consequence  was  that  social  differences 
were  accentuated,  and  the  prayer  of  consecration 
was  omitted.  But,  more  shameful  even  than  this, 
the  indigent  who  had  brought  nothing  had  nothing 
wherewith  to  satisfy  their  hunger,  while  the  rich  ate 
and  drank  to  satiety,  becoming  actually  drunken. 
Such  conduct  was  unbecoming  in  the  Lord's  house 
and  unfitted  the  worshippers  to  celebrate  in  any 
sense  worthily  the  'Lord's  Supper.'  Against  this 
manner  of  worship  the  Apostle  vehemently  protests. 
It  was  unbecoming  for  the  followers  of  Christ : 
there  was  a  want  of  love  in  the  exercise  ;  the  cor- 
porate spirit  was  absent ;  the  unity  of  the  brother- 


536 


SURNAME 


SURNAME 


hood  was  destroyed  ;  and,  consequently,  the  Corin- 
thian Christians  were  rapidly  becoming  '  weak  and 
sickly'  in  a  spiritual  sense  (1  Co  II30).  Not  many 
years  subsequently  to  this  the  Eucharist  and  the 
Agape  were  celebrated  separately  for  the  sake  of 
greater  decorum,  until,  finally,  the  latter  so  degener- 
ated that  it  became  extinct. 

(2)  The  second  passage  contains  a  double  picture  : 
(a)  Rev  199,  '  And  he  saith  unto  me,  Write, 
Blessed  are  they  which  are  bidden  to  the  marriage 
supper  of  the  Lamb.'  Here  the  bliss  of  the  next 
world  is  depicted  under  the  figure  of  a  banquet. 
The  Rabbis  were  accustomed  to  interpret  Ex  2411 
to  mean  that  the  sight  of  God  was  like  meat  and 
drink  to  the  beholders.  Here  it  is  the  picture  of  a 
marriage-  feast.  The  Lamb  has  come  to  claim  His 
bride,  who  has  long  been  betrothed  and  waiting  for 
the  bridegroom.  It  is  a  vision  of  the  final  consum- 
mation of  the  Kingdom,  including  the  overthrow  of 
the  kings  of  the  earth,  the  binding  and  loosing 
again  of  Satan,  and  general  judgment.  With  this 
picture  the  climax  is  reached  in  the  imagery  of  the 
book.  But  out  of  it  grows  another  picture  of  very 
different  hue  :  (b)  Rev  1917-  18,  '  And  I  saw  an  angel 
standing  in  the  sun  ;  and  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
saying  to  all  the  birds  that  fly  in  mid  heaven,  Come 
and  be  gathered  together  unto  the  great  supper  of 
God  ;  that  ye  may  eat  the  flesh  of  kings,  and  the 
flesh  of  captains,  and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men,  and 
the  flesh  of  horses  and  of  them  that  sit  thereon,  and 
the  flesh  of  all  men,  both  free  and  bond,  and  small 
and  great.'  This,  then,  is  'the  great  supper  of  God,' 
and  the  invitation  is  to  the  birds  of  prey.  Most 
vividly  the  Apostle  here  sets  forth  the  tragic  con- 
trast between  the  '  marriage  supper  '  of  the  Lamb 
(v.9)  and  the  destruction  of  the  slain,  on  whose 
carcasses  the  birds  shall  feed.  To  be  left  unburied 
and  devoured  by  birds  of  prey  the  Orientals  con- 
sidered the  worst  misfortune  possible  for  the  dead. 
For  example,  the  most  awful  penalty  that  could 
possibly  be  inflicted  on  the  opponents  of  Zoroas- 
trianism  is  that  their  corpses  should  be  given  over 
to  the  ravens.  The  symbolism  here,  which  seems 
to  us  crude  and  ghastly,  is  based  on  Ezk  3917-  18, 
'  Speak  unto  the  birds  of  every  sort,  and  to  every 
beast  of  the  field,  Assemble  yourselves,  and  come  ; 
gather  yourselves  on  every  side  to  my  sacrifice  .  .  . 
upon  the  mountains  of  Israel,  that  ye  may  eat  flesh 
and  drink  blood,'  etc.  But,  in  this  vision  of  the 
Messiah's  final  victory  over  His  foes,  it  must  be 
remembered  that,  though  He  is  pictured  as  a  silent 
and  implacable  conqueror,  who  has  vanquished  all 
His  foes  and  disposed  of  them  in  huge  masses, 
leaving  them  to  their  inexorable  doom,  yet  He  is 
not  described  as  a  merely  human,  vindictive  con- 
queror. His  garments  are  indeed  sprinkled  with 
blood,  but  it  is  His  own  blood,  not  that  of  others 
(v.13)  ;  He  smites  the  nations  with  a  sword,  but  it 
is  the  sword  of  His  Word  which  proceedeth  out  of 
His  mouth  ;  He  has  trodden  the  winepress  of  God's 
wrath,  but  He  has  trodden  it  alone  (v.15;  cf. 
Is  633)  ;  and  He  is  not  pictured  as  gloating  over  the 
torments  of  His  enemies  (cf.  Is  6G24). 

LITERATITRB.  —  Percy  Gardner,  The  Origin  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  1893  ;  F.  Schultzen,  Das  Abendmahl  im  NT,  1895; 
J.  C.  Lambert,  The  Sacraments  in  the  NT,  1903  ;  R.  M.  Adam- 
son,  The  Chriatian  Doctrine  of  the  Cord's  Supper,  1905.  Cf. 
the  articles  'Supper,'  'Eucharist,'  'Lord's  Supper,'  '  Meals'  in 
the  various  Bible  Dictionaries  and  Religious  Encyclopaedias, 
notably  Hastings',  Piercy's,  Cheyne-Black's,  Herzogr's,  the  Stan- 
dard, and  the  Temple.  See,  further,  Literature  under  art. 

GEORGE  L.  ROBINSON. 


SURNAME.  —  It  seems  probable,  as  indicated  in 
the  art.  NAME,  that  originally  a  name  was  the 
designation  of  a  stock  or  tribe  —  like  the  Grants  or 
Howards  —  applied  by  outsiders  to  a  group  and 
subsequently  adopted  by  it.  When  the  stock  in- 
creased, personal  names  seem  to  have  been  intro- 


duced to  distinguish  the  different  members.  When 
the  number  of  persons  still  further  increased  and 
intercourse  became  easier  and  more  common, 
certain  designations  derived  from  some  peculiarity 
were  used  to  distinguish  or  designate  different 
individuals.  All  varieties  of  these  may  be  classed 
under  the  general  designation  'surnames.' 

An  indication  of  something  similar  to  this  in  the 
naming  of  deities  is  to  be  found  in  the  Roman 
religion.1  Royal  personages  use  only  their  bap- 
tismal name,  or  the  first  of  these  when  there  are 
more  than  one.  In  Europe  surnames  became 
common  in  the  Middle  Ages,  first  of  all  among  the 
land-owning  nobles.2  Surnames  are  of  rare  occur- 
rence in  the  OT.  In  the  NT  when  a  person  is 
referred  to  by  only  one  name,  especially  if  that  be 
a  common  one,  identification  is  difficult  if  not  im- 
possible. Thus  of  John  mentioned  in  Ac  46  we 
know  nothing.  At  least  five  persons  are  called 
Alexander  ;  and  of  these  the  Alexanders  referred 
to  in  Ac  46  1933,  1  Ti  I20  are  names  and  nothing 
more. 

1.  Surnames  are  to  be  distinguished  from  — 

(a)  New  names.  —  Apion,  an  Egyptian  of  the  2nd 
cent.     A.D.,     on     entering    the    Egyptian    army, 
changed  his  name  to  Antonis  Maximus.3    Similar 
changes  are  recorded  of  Abram,  Joseph,   Jacob, 
Solomon,  Daniel,  Pashhur,  Tophet,  and   even  of 
Jahweh  Himself.4 

(b)  Explanatory  descriptions  to  designate  any- 
one more  clearly,  derived  from 

(1)  Trade.  —  In  Nazareth  Joseph  was  known   as 
6   rticTuv,6  and  Jesus  by   the  same  appellation.8 
Alexander,  as  6  xa^Ke^>7  occupied  a  similar  posi- 
tion in  the  town  in  which  he  lived,  while  Simon's 
designation,  fivpfffvs,6  indicates  that  he  was  one  of 
many  who  followed  the  occupation  of  a  tanner. 

(2)  Business.  —  Manaen  is  designated  as  'Hpwdov 
ffvvTpo<pos,9  Matthew  as  6  TeXwi^s,10  Chuza  as  twl- 


(3)  A  physical  peculiarity.  —  A  certain  Simon  is 
differentiated  as  6  Xeir/>6s,12  another  as  6  Ka\ov/j.fvos 
Xiyep,13  while  a  third   the   Church   has  named   6 
fiayo*,1*  though   that  surname   is  not  given   him 
either  in  the  Acts  or  in  Justin  Martyr. 

(4)  Some  outstanding  feature  in  a  man's  life, 
as  John   6  jScurTia-rTjs,  15   Thomas  6  \fy6/j,fvos   Aidv- 
^os,16  Simon  who  was,  but  is  not  surnamed,  &a.pi- 

<T(UOS.17 

(5)  Names  of  places.  —  Cases  in  which  there  is 
annexed  to  the  name  a  phrase,  compounded  of  d-n-6 
with  the  name  of  a  place,  forming  a  designation 
given  to  a  person  from  another  town  or  district  to 
distinguish  him  from  those  of  the  same  name  in 
the  town,   much  as  we  speak  of   'Robertson   of 
Brighton.'    Examples  of  this   are  :  Jesus    6    a.irb 
Nafa/><?0,18    Joseph    djr6    'ApiMa^a/as,19     Philip    awb 
ByOffaidd.™  Lazarus  curb  Edemas,21  Nathanael  dn-6 
Kaca  T?)S  FaXiXa/as.22 

(6)  Names  of  relatives.  —  Cases  in  which  one  with 
a  common  name  has  annexed  the  name  of  another 
person  with  whom  he  is  closely  connected,  as  'Id/cw- 

1  ERE  vii.  413. 

2  H.  Hallam,  View  of  the  State  of  Europe  during  the  Middle 
Ages*,  London,  1841,  pp.  112,  138  ;  Thomas  Carlyle,  Frederick 
the  Great,  10  vols.,  do.,  1872-73,  i.  67. 

s  G.  A.  Deissmann,  Light  from  the  Ancient  East,  Eng.  tr., 
London,  1911,  pp.  169,  170. 

4  On  175-  is  41*5  3228,  2  S  122»,  En  17,  Jer  732  203,  Hos  218. 

5  Mt  1355.  6  Mk  63. 

7  2  Ti  414.  8  Ac  943  106-  32. 

9  Ac  131  ;  for  meaning  see  G.  A.  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies, 
Eng.  tr.,  Edinburgh,  1901,  p.  310,  and  Ramsay's  criticism  in 
Exp,  7th  ser.,  vii.  [1909]  364. 

10  Mt  103.  11  Lk  83  ;  Exp,  5th  ser.,  ix.  [1899]  118. 

12  Mt  266,  Mk  14».  13  Ac  131. 

n  Ac  89  ;  Justin,  Apol.  i.  26,  56,  ii.  15,  Dial.  120. 

ISMtSl.  16  Jn  11'6  2024  212. 

"  Lk  740.43.44.  18Mt21". 

is*  Mt  2757,  Mk  1543,  Lk  2351,  jn  1938.  May  Arimathcea  have 
been  the  name  not  of  a  town  but  of  an  estate  or  even  a  farm  ? 

20  Jn  145  1221.  21  jn  HI.  22  Jn  212. 


SURNAME 


537 


/Jos  6  roO  'AX^cuoi',1  'Idjc&^os  6  roO  ZfflfSalov,2  'Iot/3as 
'IaKwj3oi>,3  Mapt'a  ^  roC  KXwTra.4  This,  however, 
may,  in  some  cases,  be  a  mere  explanatory  note, 
more  akin  to  those  in  which  a  relationship  is 
actually  stated,  as  James  the  brother  of  John,5 
Mark  6  ave^to*  Bapvdpa,6  Mary  the  mother  of 
James  and  Joses,7  Mary  the  sister  of  Lazarus,8 
Mary  the  mother  of  Mark,9  Mary  the  mother  of 
Jesus.18 

(c)  Names  compounded  with  13. — Closely  akin 
to  the  foregoing  is  a  group  of  names  whose  first 
component  is  the  Aramaic  word  13,  meaning  'son.' 
These  are  divisible  into  three  classes  : 

(1)  Those  in  which  only  one  name  is  given,  repre- 
sented by  Baprifj-cuos,  that  is,  '  the  son  of  Timseus ' 
— a  word  whose  meaning  and  derivation  are  both 
uncertain.11 

(2)  Those   in  which   the  name   may  be  a  sur- 
name. —  If    Nathanael,   mentioned    only    in    the 
Fourth   Gospel,12  is  the  Bartholomew  mentioned 
only   by   the  Synoptists,18    then    Nathanael   bore 
the    surname    'son    of    Talmai.'      Matthias    the 
successor    of    Judas14    is    called    by    Aphraates 
'D^n,  and  in  the  Syriac  translation  of  the  Church 
History  of  Eusebius  this  is  everywhere  substituted 
for   Matthias.      Nestle   therefore  suggested   that 
there   were    two    Bartholomews,    one    known   as 
Nathanael,   and   the    other  as   Matthias.15      But 
Burkitt16  holds  that  the  substitution  of  'oWi  for 
Matthias  'is  no  mere  palaeographical  error,  but 
that  the  Old  Syriac  Version  of  the  Acts  must  have 
had  'D^in  also.     This  name  occurs  as  Qo\o/j.aios  in 
Josephus  (Ant.  XX.  i.),  and  is,  of  course,  the  second 
part    of    the    name    Bartholomew.     An    obscure 
name  'oSn  does  occur  in  Judges  and  Samuel,  but 
*D^n  is  nothing  more  than  Ptolemy  in  a  Semitic 
disguise.  .  .  .  Why  the  Old  Syriac  of  Acts  should 
have  represented  Matthias  by  this  name  cannot 
now   be  ascertained.'      Considerable   interest    at- 
taches to  the  name  Bar-Jesus,  a  name  variously 
spelt  in  the  Western  texts.     In  the  Peshitta  there 
is  given  as  an  equivalent  KBiena,  Barshuma.     This 
is  an  old  family  name  in  Edessa,  but  its  meaning 
is  quite  unknown.     The  magician  is  also  called 
'EXtf/xas,  '  for  so  is  his  name  translated.'17    Elymas 
may  be  a  Greek  form  of  allmd,  an  Aramaic  word 
meaning   '  strong,'   or  of  'alim,   an   Arabic  word 
meaning  '  wise," 18  but  it  cannot  be  a  translation 
of  Bar- Jesus.     Codex  D  reads,  instead  of  Elymas, 
'Eroi/ias,   meaning   'son   of  the  ready,'  a  reading 
adopted  by  Ramsay  and  Blass.     Elymas  is  some- 
what akin  to'ATo/iov,  the  reading  of  the  Ambrosian 
MS  A  in  a  well  known  passage  of  Josephus.19 

(3)  The  third  class  carries  us  into — 

2.  Genuine  surnames.  —  Among  these  are  (a) 
patronymics,  as  those  in  which  there  is  added  to 
the  name  another  name  compounded  with  13. 
Joseph  the  Cyprian  Levite  is  6  iiriK\-r)6ds  Bapvd/3as 
by  the  apostles,  that  is,  'son  of  Nebo.'20  It  has 
been  suggested  that  this  surname  was  given  to 

1  Mt  103.  2  Mt  102. 

s  Lk  616,  Ac  IS  (Jn  1422,  jude  1). 
*  Jn  1925.  5  Ac  122. 

«  Col  4io.  7  Mt  2-5«,  Mk  16«-  «  161. 

SJnlli.  9  AC  12'2. 

1°  Ac  I14.  It  is  noticeable  that  neither  as  a  title  nor  as  a 
surname  is  the  word  n-apOeVos  ever  applied  to  her.  Another 
Mary  is  mentioned  in  Ro  168. 

11  Mk  1046 ;  H  DK  i.  248.  12  jn  i«  212. 

13  Mt  103,  Mk  3'8,  Lk  6™,  Ac  1".  H  Ac  123. 26. 

is  ExpT  ix.  [1897-98]  566;  see  also  Ramsay,  Exp,  6th  ser., 
vi.  [1902]  291. 

16  F.  C.  Burkitt,  The  Syriac  Forma  of  NT  Proper  Names, 
London,  1912,  p.  23. 

17  Ac  !3«-8. 

18  See  E.  Renan,  Saint  Paul,  Eng.  tr.,  New  York,  1869,  p. 
£4. 

19  Burkitt,  p.  22  ;  HDB  i.  247*  ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the 
Traveller  and  the.  Roman  Citizen,  London,  1805,  p.  73  ;  J.  Rendel 
Harris,  Exp,  6th  ser.,  v.  [1902]  192  ;  Jos.  Ant.  xx.  vii.  2. 

20  Ac  4:« ;  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  pp.  187  ff.,  307  ff. ;  ExpTx. 
11898-99]  233. 


distinguish  him  from  Joseph  6  /caXoifyiepos  Ba/xra/3- 
/Sfis,  a  name  meaning  most  probably  '  Saturday's 
child.'  He  had  also,  according  to  a  common 
custom,  adopted  the  Roman  name  of  Justus.1 
He  may  have  been  a  brother  of  Judas  6  KaXovftevos 
Bapffa/ifySas.2  In  this  connexion  the  name  Barab- 
bas  deserves  notice.  The  Sinaitic  (and  Palestinian) 
Syriac  version,  some  good  minuscules,  and  MSS 
known  to  Origen  read:  'Whom  will  ye  that  I 
release  unto  you  ?  Jesus  Barabbas,  or  Jesus 
which  is  called  Christ?'8 

(b)  Additional  names. — From  the  want  of  sur- 
names arises  the  difficulty  of  identifying  different 
individuals  having  the  same  name,  as  the  various 
Symeons  arid  Simons  mentioned  in  the  NT.  |ij?c?' 
is  translated  in  the  LXX4  and  the  NT  by  2v/j.euv. 
There  was  a  genuine  Greek  name  closely  resem- 
bling it,  ~2.iiJ.wv,  and  this  was  often  substituted  for 
ZvfjLeuv.*  It  was  one  of  the  commonest  names 
among  the  Jews,  twelve  being  mentioned  in  the 
NT.  Of  these,  we  know  nothing  of  Symeon  of 
Lk  330,  of  Simon  the  brother  of  our  Lord,6  or, 
except  one  incident,  of  Symeon  of  Jerusalem,7 
Simon  the  Cyrenian,8  or  Simon  the  Pharisee.9 
We  have  already  noticed  Simon  the  tanner,  and 
Simon  Magus,  but  by  far  the  most  outstanding 
bearer  of  the  name  was  the  Apostle.  His  father 
was  called  'low/as  or  'Iwdv-ns.10  The  former  may 
have  been  a  contraction  of  the  latter,  or  he  may 
have  borne  a  double  name,  'luvas-'lwdvqs.  The 
Apostle  himself  would  seem  originally  to  have 
borne  the  common  Jewish  name  as  transliterated 
into  Greek  Zi/yuec&y.  This  is  the  reading  of  Ac 
1514 ;  and  2  P  I1  opens  with  the  words  Su/ieui/ 
n^rpoj,  which  is  the  reading  of  KAKLP,  ^.i/j-wv 
being  found  in  B5.  '  The  name  of  Simon  Magus  is 
spelt  po'o  (Simon)  in  Syriac,  as  distinguished  from 
Simon  Peter  and  Simon  the  Tanner,  who  are  given 
the  same  name  as  Simeon  (p^'OP,  Shimon)  the  Patri- 
arch,' n  but  owing  to  Greek  influence  there  is  little 
doubt  that  2,1/j.wv  would  be  frequently,  if  not 
commonly,  used.  He  seems  to  have  been  distin- 
guished from  other  Simons  by  the  name  Zfyiow  6 
vibs  'Iwawov,1*  or,  more  shortly,  'Zifj.wv  'ludwov.™ 
In  Mt  1617  he  is  called  2ip.uv  Bapiuva.  This  form 
may  be  either  a  contraction  of  the  former  or  an 
instance  of  a  double  name,  the  Apostle's  father, 
in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  the  time,  having 
added  the  Greek  name  'lowlj,  as  being  similar  to 
his  own  proper  name  'luawrjs.14  According  to  the 
Fourth  Gospel,  Jesus  on  His  first  meeting  with 
Simeon  said  to  him  :  '  Your  name  is  to  be  KTJ^SS,' 
the  Evangelist  adding  fl  ^uijcetfercu  rUrpos.15  The 
Hebrew  p,3,  Chald.  K?'?,  is  in  Greek  Il^rpos,  but 
neither  of  these  names  is  borne  by  any  other 
person  in  the  NT  .save  the  Apostle.  The  Syriac 
'NBND  is  not  a  transliteration  at  all,  but  the  Syriac 
for  "stone":  the  translator,  or  possibly  Syriac 
Church  custom,  recognized  that  S.  Peter's  name 
was  Simon  Stone,  and  they  called  him,  where 
necessary,  by  this  appellative.' lfl  The  name  K-rj(f>as 
is  not  used  in  the  Gospels  or  the  Acts.  It  is 

1  Ac  123 ;  HDB  i.  247  ;  Exp,  6th  eer.,  v.  414,  n.  3  ;  Burkitt,  p.  6. 

2  AC  1522-33  ;  MABODEL  read  icoAouVevov,   but  HP  ejriicoAov- 
fievov. 

3  Mt  271*-17  ;  HDB  i.  245.    This  reading,  which  is  supported 
by  v.22,  is  adopted  by  R.  C.  Trench,  Studies  in  the  Gospel*.-*, 
London,  1878,  p.  306  ;  E.  Renan,  Life  of  Jesux,  Enj,r.  tr.,  do., 
1873,  p.  279  (who  thinks  that  the  correct  reading  is  Bar-Abba,  or 
Bar-Rabban);  and  J.  Moffatt,  The  NT :  A.  New  Translation*, 
do.,   1914.     Note  the  use  made  of  this  by  J.   M.    Robertson, 
Christianity  and  Mythology*,  do.,  1910,  p.  367,  and  the  reply  ol 
C.  Clemen,  Primitive  Christianity  and  its  Non-Jewish  Sources, 
Edinburgh,  1912,  p.  185,  and  J.  O.  Frazer,  GB*,  pt  vi.,  Tht 
Scapegoat.  London,  1913,  p.  419. 

*  Gn  2935.  6  sir  601. 

6  Mt  1355,  Mk  63.  7  Lk  225. 

8  Mt  27»2,  Mk  1521,  Lk  2326.  9  Lk  736.  40. 

10  Mt  1617,  jn  142  211W7.  11  Burkitt,  p.  6. 

12  Jn  1*3.  «  Jn  2115-17.  14  HDB  il.  676. 

15  jn  143(42).  16  Burkitt,  p.  5. 


538 


SUKNAME 


SURNAME 


used  alone  by  St.  Paul  in  his  First  Epistle  to 
the  Corinthians,1  and  in  Galatians.2  Hort  was 
of  opinion  that  KTJ^CIS  was  a  form  of  Kaunas, 
but  that  is  not  the  case.3  In  the  list  of  the 
Twelve  the  Apostle  is  called  2ilfj.wv  6  \ey6fji.et>os 
IKTpoy,4  ttrtQriKfv  dvofta.  ry  21/uwi  Tltrpov,*  2,1/j.uva 
6V  Kai  wv6fj.affev  FLerpov.6  We  find,  then,  six 
distinct  appellations  —  Simon,7  Simeon,8  Simon 
Barjona,9  Peter,10  Simon  called  Peter,11  Simon 
Peter.12 

(c)  Adjectival  names. — These  maybe  still  further 
divided  into — 

(1)  Those  derived  from  the  name  of  a  place. — In 
the  NT  seven  persons  bear  the  name  of  'lotfSay,  the 
Greek  equivalent  of  'TUT.  Among  these  are  an 
ancestor  of  Jesus,13  Judas  of  Damascus,14  Judas 
or  Jude,  a  brother  of  Jesus,15  Judas  distinguished 
as  'not  Iscariot,'18  probably  the  same  as  Judas 
IcLKtifiov,17  and  Judas  Barsabbas,  who  has  already 
been  noticed.  But  of  the  seven  the  most  notable 
is  Judas  the  traitor.  In  regard  to  his  surname, 
scholars  are  now  practically  agreed  that  the  term 
translated  'Iscariot'  is  the  Greek  for  ninp»*j<.18 
The  reading  a.wb  Kapvdrrov19  clearly  indicates  a 
place.  If  a  place  be  meant,  what  is  its  correct 
designation?  The  MSS  oscillate  between  S/ca- 
pi/u>0,20  'IffKapi&O,21  SKaptcirijs,22  and  'lovcaptc&rj/s,23 
but  the  reading  'la-KapuiiTirjs  seems  clearly  prefer- 
able.24 Kerioth  can  scarcely  be  nVnj?  of  Moab,26 
and  is  much  more  likely  to  be  jVwp  of  Judah,28 
meaning  the  twin  cities  or  twin  fortresses.  It 
is  identified  with  a  place  variously  spelt  Kur- 
yetein,27  Kuryezein,28  and  Karjetein,29  4£  miles 
to  the  N.W.  of  Arad.  Conder,  indeed,  found- 
ing upon  the  reading  in  D  of  Jn  124,  etc.,  &irt> 
Kapvurov,  thinks  that  the  place  indicated  is 
Ischar,  which  (according  to  the  Samaritan 
Chronicle)  was  the  old  name  of  the  present  Askar, 
near  Jacob's  well,  the  Sychar  of  Jn  45.  In  that 
case  Judas  most  probably  was  a  Samaritan.30 
The  reference  to  the  Traitor  in  the  Fourth 
Gospel31  would  indicate  that  his  father  bore  the 
surname  'IffKapuaT-qs,  which  he  transmitted  to  his 
son. 

Another  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus  is  designated 
2i/j.tav  6  Kai'az'cuos,*2  or  Kavavlrriv,33  and  the  same 
person  is  designated  by  Luke34  21/j.uva  rbv  /caXoi/- 
/j.evov  ZT/XWTTJJ'  and  21/j.uv  6  f^XwrTjs.  Kavavaios 
is  the  transliteration  of  the  Hebrew  NJJXjp,  'the 
Canansean,'  and  is  to  be  distinguished  from, 
though  it  may  be  connected  with,  the  geographi- 
cal term  'Canaanite.'  In  Syriac  this  surname  'is 
rendered  N'JJp,  and  so  is  properly  distinguished 
from  the  Canaanite  woman  (Xavavala),  who  is 

1  1  Co  112  322  95  155. 

2  Gal  118,  but  NDEFGKLP  read  rierpov ;  29,  but  DEFG  read 
Herpes ;  211,  but  DEFGKL  read  Herpes ;  214,  but  DEFGKLP 
read  Udrpw. 

3  ExpT  x.  186  4  Mt  102.  s  Mk  316. 
6  Lk  6i4.                              7  Mt  1728.                 8  AC  1514. 
9  Mt  16".                           10  Mt  814.                 11  Mt  418. 

12  Mt  1616.  13  Lk  330.  14  Ac  9H. 

15  Mt  1355,  Mk  6».  16  Jn  1422.  17  Lk  618,  Ac  !«. 

18  But  see  W.  B.  Smith,  in  HJ  ix.  [1911]  531,  892. 

19  Jn  671  X*  124  132.  26  1422f  a]l  of  0. 

20  Mk  39,  Lk  616,  both  in  D,  and  Jn  671  in  BCGL. 

21  Mk  39  in  BOL,  Lk  616  in  BL,  Mt  104  in  C. 

22  Mt  104  in  D. 

23  Mt    104,    etc.,   also    the    readings    in    R*    and   D   noted 
under  19. 

24  E.   Nestle   and   P.    H.   Chase,   ExpT  ix.   140,    189,   240, 
285. 

25  Jer  4824. 41,  Am  22.  26  jos  1525  ;  HJ  ix.  531. 

27  E.   Robinson,    Biblical   Researches  in  Palestine.  3  vols 
London,  1841,  ii.  472. 

28  E.  H.  Palmer,  The  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  2  vols.,  Cambridge, 
1871,  map  to  vol.  ii. 

29  HDB  ii.  836. 

30  PEFSt,  April  1905,  p.  157  ;  HDB  iv.  635. 

31  Jn  671  in  KBCGL,  124  A(E)IKM,  132-  26  BLM. 

32  Mt  104  BCDL,  Mk  318  NABCDL. 

83  Mk  318  ArH.  84  Lk  615,  Ac  118. 


The  Cananaeans  or  Zealots  were  a  well- 
known  Jewish  sect.2 

The  name  Mary,  in  Hebrew  onp,  in  Greek  Mapla 
or  Mapt'a/a,  seems  to  be  used  in  the  NT  of  eight 
persons.3  Of  these  Mary  the  mother  of  James, 
Mary  of  Clopas,  '  the  other  Mary,'  are  generally 
admitted  to  be  the  same  person  indicated  by  differ- 
ent designations.  Mary  the  sister  of  Lazarus, 
Mary  the  mother  of  Mark,  Mary  saluted  by  St. 
Paul,  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus,  have  been  already 
referred  to.  There  remains  the  eighth,  Mary  of 
Magdala,  Mapta  TJ  McrySaXTjpiJ.  This  is  the  form 
found  in  Mt.,4  Mk.,6  and  Jn.,8  while  Lk.  uses  the 
form  Mapict.  i)  Ka\oufj.frri  Ma-ySaX'jjj'T},7  and  i)  M.ay- 
da\ir)v?i  Mapta.8  Most  probably  she  got  this  sur- 
name from  being  a  native  or  resident  in  Magdala, 
or  Magadan,  now  Mejdel,  a  short  distance  from 
Tiberias.9  . 

Mention  is  made  in  Ac  5s7  of  'lotfSaj  6  TaXtXatoj, 
Judas  the  Galilaean,  a  surname  derived  from 
the  fact  that  he  was  a  native  of  that  province,10 
though  Josephus  in  one  passage  rather  indicates 
that  he  came  from  Gamala,  which  lies  east  of 
Galilee.11 

In  Ac  131  among  the  teachers  and  prophets  of 
Antioch  mention  is  made  of  A.OIJKIOS  6  Kv/wcuos.  He 
may  or  may  not  have  been  the  same  person  as  is 
mentioned  in  Ro  1621,  but  at  any  rate  he  was  a 
fellow-countryman  of  Sfytwi'  Kvprjvcuos.1* 

The  purple-seller  whom  St.  Paul  met  at  Philippi 
was  named  Avdia.13  That  may  have  been  the 
woman's  proper  name,  but  was  most  probably,  as 
Ramsay  hints,  a  designation  from  the  district  of 
Lydia,  of  which  Thyatira  was  an  important  town. 
If  this  be  so,  it  accounts  for  the  fact  that  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Philippians  St.  Paul  does  not  men- 
tion her,  though  it  is  possible  that  she  was  Euodia 
or  Syntyche.14 

(2)  Those  derived  from  other  sources. — Various 
explanations  have  been  given  of  a  surname  Boan- 
erges given  by  our  Lord  to  James  and  John,  and 
applied  to  them  but  once.15  None  of  these  is  very 
satisfactory,  but  by  far  the  most  likely  is  that  the 
two  were  not  merely  brothers  but  twins,  and  that, 
since  the  superstitions  attached  to  twins  and  the 
worship  of  the  Dioscuri  were  well  known,  something 
in  character,  conduct,  or  appearance  caused  Jesus 
to  give  them  the  surname  'Sons  of  the  Sky.'18 
The  strange  ideas  associated  with  twins  remind  us 
of  another  disciple  whose  name  we  do  not  know, 
though  we  know  his  surname.  In  three  passages 
in  the  Fourth  Gospel17  reference  is  made  to  an 
apostle  QU/J.O.S  6  \ey6/j.fvos  Ai'Siyws.  Thomas  is  not, 
as  it  has  become,  a  personal  name  ;  it  is  simply  the 
Aramaic  word  for  twin.  DiNfi  is  transliterated  into 
Greek  as  Guccis,  and  A/3v/ios  is  a  Greek  translation 
of  the  word.  In  the  Acta  Thomce  he  is  called 
Judas  Thomas,  and  very  early18  a  legend  arose 
that  he  was  the  twin  brother  of  Jesus. 

1  Burkitt,  p.  5. 

2  Schurer,  HJP  i.  [Edinburgh,  1890]  ii.  80,  177,  229 ;  HDB  i. 
348  ;  Jos.  BJ  iv.  iii.  9, 13, 14,  iv.  5,  v.  1,  vi.,  vii. ;  ExpT  xxvi. 
[1914-15]  341  f. 

3  Exp,  7th  ser.,  viii.  [1909]  68,  307;  HDB  iii.  278. 

4  Mt  2756-  61  281.  5  Mk  1540. 47  161-9. 
6  Jn  1925  201- 18.  7  Lk  82. 

8  Lk  2410 ;  there  is  a  difference  in  the  MSS,  some  reading 
Mapta,  others  Mapi'a/«. ;  some  also  read  MaySoAcVr). 

9  But  see  HDB  iii.  202. 

10  Jos.  Ant.  xviii.  i.  1-6,  xx.  v.  2,  BJ  n.  viii.  1,  xvii.  8,  9,  vn. 
viii.  1. 

11  Jos.  Ant.  xvin.  i.  1 ;  Schurer,  HJP  i.  ii.  4,  80. 

12  Mt  2732,  Mk  1521,  Lk  2326 ;   8Ome  MSS  have  in  the  latter 
case    KvpT)?ai'ov ;     R.    C.    Trench,    Studies   in   the    Gospels*, 
p.  144. 

13  Ac  1614-  40.  14  HDB  iii.  176  f .  l»  Mk  3". 

16  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  [1907]  146;  ExpT  xxv.  [1913-14]  100  f., 
xxvi.  45f.,236f. 

17  Jn  1116  9024  212. 

18  In  the  Sinaitic  Syriac  Gospels,  discovered  by  Mrs.  Lewis, 
Judas,  the  brother  of  our  Lord,  and  Thomas  are  identified  in  Jn 
14--  ;  HDB  iv.  753  ;  Exp,  7th  ser.,  iii.  381 ;  ExpT  xiv.  [1902-03] 
397  ff.,  xvii.  [1905-06]  338. 


SUKNAME 


SURNAME 


539 


In  Mt  10s  a  disciple  is  named  QaSScuos  according 
to  KB,  but  C2EFGHKLM  have  Ae^S/Satoj  6  twiK\r]8fis 
GaSScuoj.  Mk  318  has  GaSSaiof,  D  reading  Ae^alov. 
Lk  616,  Ac  I13  h&ve'Iovdav  'Ia/ct&/3ov.  There  seems, 
from  a  collocation  of  these  passages,  to  be  only  one 
person  meant,  but,  the  meaning  of  the  two  names 
being  at  present  quite  doubtful,  the  reason  of  the 
triple  name  is  impossible  to  determine.  He  may 
be  the  '  Judas  not  Iscariot '  of  Jn  1422.1 

3.  The  surnames  of  our  Lord. — These  are  of 
special  interest  and  of  special  difficulty,  (a)  Those 
derived  from  some  word  like  Nazar. — (1)  One 
theory  connects  this  word  with  the  place-name 
variously  spelt  Nafapct,  Nafapdr,  Nafapatf,  Nafap^r, 
tiafrpte.  Mt  413  and  Lk  416,  where  Nafapd  has  the 
support  of  NB,  are  not  in  Mk.,  and  therefore  are 
most  probably  taken  from  Q.  If  that  be  so, 
Nafapd  was  most  probably  the  spelling  of  Q.  The 
note  of  universality  in  our  Lord's  teaching  and 
His  freedom  from  the  restrictions  of  Jewish  legal- 
ism  have  naturally  raised  questions  as  to  His 
nationality  and  descent.  Renan,  in  pointing  out 
that  the  Galilaeans  were  a  mixed  race,  declares  it 
impossible  '  to  ascertain  what  blood  flowed  in  his 
veins," 2  while  Gwatkin  cautiously  says, '  TheGospel 
sprang  up  on  Jewish  soil,  its  Founder  was  a  Jew, 
though  only  a  Jew  of  Galilee.'8  It  has  been  sug- 
gested that  Nazareth,  or,  better,  some  name  which 
underlies  that  corrupt  form,  is  an  old  synonym  of 
Galll,  i.e.  Galilee,  but  that  supposition  is  contra- 
dicted by  the  fact  that  it  is  clearly  stated  that 
Nazareth  was  a  town  in  Galilee,  situated  on  a  hill.4 
The  effort  to  find  a  more  probable  solution  has  led 
to  a  discussion  of  the  connexion  of  Jesus  with 
Nazareth,  along  two  lines.  One  set  of  scholars, 
anxious  to  prove  Jesus  an  Aryan,  insist  that  He 
was  born  in  Nazareth.8  That  He  was  not  a  Jew 
was  argued  by  Emile  Burnouf.6  Ihering  says, 
'  From  the  very  commencement  there  is  a  touch  of 
the  Aryan  in  him.  Some  have  tried  to  account  for 
this  link  between  him  and  the  Aryans  by  accept- 
ing his  descent  from  an  Aryan  father.'7  Cheyne 
quotes  with  approval  the  words  of  Percy  Gardner, 
'  According  to  all  historical  probability,  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  was  born  at  Nazareth.'8  Very  strong 
support  has  been  given  to  this  in  various  papers  by 
Paul  Haupt.9  Evidence  in  its  favour  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  on  one  occasion,  we  are  told,  Jesus 
went  and  preached  e£s  rrji>  -rrarpida  avrov.10  This  is 
rendered  in  AV  and  RV,  English  and  American, 
'into  his  own  country';  in  the  20th  Century  NT 
(2London,  1904),  'his  own  part  of  the  country' ;  in 
R.  F.  Weymouth's  translation  (The  NT  in  Modern 
Speech,  London,  1903),  '  His  own  country,'  with  this 
added  note,  'literally,  "fatherland"  ;  while  J. 
Moffatt  in  his  Historical  NT  ('Edinburgh,  1901) 
translates  accurately  '  his  own  native  place,'  and 
in  his  translation  of  the  NT  'his  native  place.' 
The  words  of  Mk.  are  very  significant,  as  in  the 
Second  Gospel  no  account  is  given  of  our  Lord's 
birth,  and  no  mention  is  made  of  Bethlehem  ;  and 
this  significance  is  intensified  if  the  passage  was 
taken  by  the  writer  of  the  First  Gospel  from  Mark. 
If  Jesus  was  born  in  Nazareth,  His  surname  with 
dir<5  gains  significance  and  force,  as  'Ii?<roDs  6  airb 

1  HDB  iv.  741. 

2  Quoted  by  David  Smith  in  Religion  and  the  Modern  Hind, 
London,  1908,  p.  171. 

3  H.  M.  Gwatkin,  The  Knowledge  of  God*,  Edinburgh,  1908, 
ii.  55. 

4  Mt  223,  Mk  429 ;  cf.  Jn  !«• « ;  HJ  ix.  892  ;  Burkitt,  p.  17. 

5  ExpT  xxii.  [1910-11]  4,  xx.  [1908-09]  531.    This  was  the  view 
of  Joseph  Priestley  ;  see  H.  McLachlan,  The  NT  in  the  Light  of 
Modern  Knowledge,  London,  1914,  p.  229. 

6  Transactions  of  the  Third  International  Congress  for  the 
History  of  Religions,  Oxford,  1908,  i.  304. 

7  Rudolph  von  Ihering,  The  Evolution  of  the  Aryan,  London, 
1897,  p.  241. 

8  EBi  ii.  1631. 

9  ExpT  xx.  531,  xxii.  4 ;  Transactions,  p.  303. 

10  Mt  1354. 67,  Mk  61. 


Nafap^fl.1  But  this  connexion  of  Jesus  and  Naza- 
reth must  not  be  held  as  settled,  for  another  group 
of  scholars  take  quite  a  different  view  and  carry 
on  the  discussion  along  another  line.  (See  W.  M. 
Ramsay,  Was  Christ  born  at  Bethlehem  ?,  London, 
1898.) 

One  set  are  doubtful  if  any  such  place  as 
Nazareth  existed.  They  point  out  that  no  town 
bearing  that  name  is  mentioned  in  the  OT  or 
Josephus,  and  that,  although  the  Talmud  mentions 
sixty-three  towns  in  Galilee,  it  mentions  none 
bearing  that  name  till  as  late  as  A.D.  900.2  If 
there  be  left  'out  of  consideration  the  narrative 
of  the  address  at  the  opening  of  the  Ministry  in 
the  Synagogue  at  "Nazara,"  a  narrative  peculiar 
to  S.  Luke,  and  apparently  composed  by  him  out 
of  Mk  61'8  together  with  some  very  probably 
genuine  sayings  of  our  Lord  which  he  took  from 
another  source,  there  is  nothing  whatever  in  the 
New  Testament  to  individualize  Nazareth  at  all 
beyond  the  mere  letters  of  its  name.  .  .  .  The  fact 
is,  that  the  identification  of  the  Gospel  Nafap^r  or 
Nafapd  with  a  place  spelt  mxj  ...  is  a  piece  of 
early  Christian  archaeology,  rather  than  of  primi- 
tive tradition. ' 3  Burkitt  further  points  out  in  regard 
to  the  woe  pronounced  on  Chorazin,  Bethsaida, 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  Capharnahum,  that,  while 
Bethsaida  and  Capharnahum  were  the  centres  of 
our  Lord's  ministry,  no  mention  is  made  of  any 
work  in  Khorazin,  while  in  Nazara  Jesus  had 
actually  been  rejected  ;  and  '  with  some  misgivings ' 
he  ventures  'to  suggest4  that  the  name  "Nazareth" 
.  .  .  may  have  arisen  from  a  literary  error,'  and 
that  '  we  ought  to  consider  the  possibility  that  the 
city  of  Joseph  and  Mary,  the  irarpis  of  Jesus,  was 
Chorazin.' 

W.  B.  Smith,  founding  on  the  fact  that  the  Tell 
el-Amarna  tablets  and  the  Annals  of  Tiglath- 
Pileser  III.  mention  a  town,  Hinatuni,  which  means 
'defence,'  'protection,'  argues  that  to  this  ancient 
town  a  new  name  Nazareth,  also  meaning '  defence,' 
was  given ;  and,  as  Nazareth  did  not,  as  we  shall 
see,  yield  the  requisite  adjective,  it  was  written 
Nazara.8  Cheyne  (who  identifies  Hinatuni  with 
Hannathon)  denies  that  either  name  means 
'  defence,'  and  Conder  identifies  Hannathon  with 
Kefr  'Anan  in  Upper  Galilee.6  But  from  a  place 
Nafap^0  or  Nafapd  the  adjectival  surnames  of  Jesus 
— Nafapij»/6s  and  Nafwpcuos7 — cannot  be  derived. 
Burkitt  says,8  '  it  is  not  easy  to  understand  the 
form  Nafupcuos  in  any  case,  but  the  difficulty  is 
greater  if  we  have  to  make  it  an  adjective  denot- 
ing an  inhabitant  of  Nazara  or  Nazareth.'  The 
name  of  the  place  in  the  Syriac  Texts  is  written 
mx3,  vocalized  Ndsrath  in  the  Peshitta,  the  adjec- 
tives Nafapr?fi5s  and  Nafupcuos  being  rendered  by 
N'-IS:.  Here  it  is  to  be  noted  that  f  stands  for  s, 
but  in  hardly  any  other  instance  is  this  the  case  ;  the 
equivalent  of  f  is  not  s  but  t.9  If,  then,  the  town 
was  msj,  the  Greek  should  be  Natrep^r  or  Na<rapd. 

(2)  This  fact  has  given  rise  to  two  theories. 

(i. )  The  theory  which  connects  the  word  with 
TTJ  (from  •)!},  '  to  separate,'  '  consecrate,'  '  purify'), 
meaning  'the  consecrated  one.'  The  Nazirites 

1  Mt  21"  (cf.  Jn  I4*-  46),  Ac  1038 ;  D  omits  6,  NBCDEHK  read 
Nafxpe'0,  FGLM  Na^apeY,  A  NafapcW. 

2  HJ  ix.  867  ;  EBi  iii.  3360 ;  ExpT  xxii.  4. 

3  Burkitt,  p.  17. 

4  Pp.  17-18 ;  H J  be.  892 ;  Lk  1013-is,  Mt  1120-24. 

»  HJ  ix.  541,  865.  «  76.,  p.  892  ;  HDB  ii.  299. 

7  Na£aprjv°«   in  Mk  124   1Q47  (NAC  read  Na^patos)  1467  16« 
(LAk  read  Kafrpalov),  Lk  434  ig:n  (with  D)  2419  (ADIP  read 
Nafwpatov),  Jn  188  (with  D)  ;  Na£»P<"o«  in  Mt  223  2671,  Lk  1837 
(D    reads    Na^aprjiw),   Jn   18»  (D  reads    Xa£api)v6v)  187  1919, 
Ac  222  36  410  014  228  26«  ;  cf.  95  (with  ACE)  245. 

8  Burkitt,  pp.  18,  21,  24. 

8 Nestle  says 'all  examples  for  the  transition  of  X  intof=l 
...  are  not  to  the  mark'  (ExpT  xix.  [1907-08]  524);  E.  A 
Abbott  (The  Fourfold  Gospel:  the  Beginning,  Cambridge,  1914, 
p.  324)  differs. 


540 


SURNAME 


SURNAME 


were  a  Jewish  sect.1  John  the  Baptist  was  a 
Nazirite  ;  Jesus  was  not  a  full  Nazirite.2  Burkitt 
throws  out  the  suggestion3  'that  "Nazoraean" 
was  a  nickname,  meaning  possibly  "  this  odd  sort 
of  Nazarite"  —  one  who  calls  for  repentance,  and 
yet  eats  and  drinks  like  other  folk.  .  .  .  The  true 
origin  of  nicknames  is  easily  lost,  and  it  may 
have  been  supposed  that  the  name  referred  to  some 
place  in  Galilee.'  Abbott,  while  unable  to  support 
Burkitt's  idea  that  t  is  made  to  represent  the 
Semitic  x,  heartily  agrees  with  his  dictum  that 
'  the  ordinary  view  of  Nazareth'  is  'wholly  unproved 
and  unsatisfactory.'4  He  favours  another  solu- 
tion — 

(ii.)  The  theory  which  connects  the  word  with 
a  root,  is},  meaning  '  flowering,'  '  growing.'  Mt  2s3 
says  that  Joseph  came  and  dwelt  in  a  town  called 
NafaptB  that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken 
by  the  prophet  '  he  shall  be  called  Ncifwpcuos.' 
But  Nafwpouos  cannot  be  derived  from  NafaptO.  Be- 
fore the  age  of  Jesus  there  was  a  belief  that 
the  Messiah  would  be  isj  or  Rod  of  Jesse  of  Is  II1. 
The  Targum  paraphrases  13?.},  '  branch,'  as  Messiah, 
so  that  '  it  need  not  surprise  us  if  among  the 
Messianic  names  in  the  first  century  the  Branch  of 
the  Tree  of  Jesse  became  familiar  and  popular  so 
that  the  Messiah  might  be  hailed  as  Netzer.'6 
Hence  when  Jesus  became  famous  as  a  healer  the 
people  began  to  play  on  the  words  Nazarene  and 
Nazorsean,  and  His  disciples,  who  felt  His  residence 
from  childhood  in  Nazareth  had  been  ordained  to 
fulfil  a  Messianic  prophecy  that  He  should  be  called 
a  Nazora3an,  connected  some  form  of  Nazareth  or 
Nazara  with  a  form  of  Netzer,  a  word  used  in 
prophecy  to  indicate  the  Messiah.  Thus  Jesus 
the  Nazarene,  i.e.  the  man  of  Nazareth,  became 
known  as  Jesus  the  Nazoraean,  i.e.  the  Netzer,  the 
Lifegiver  and  Healer.6  Abbott  supports  this  by 
several  lines  of  evidence.  Taking  such  passages  as 
Mk  !24=Lk  4M,  where  the  demoniac  addresses  our 
Lord  as  'Irjirou  Nafa/nprl,  he  contends  that  Nazorsean 
in  a  Messianic  sense  is  much  more  appropriate 
than  Nazarene,  a  name  referring  to  an  obscure  place 
Nazareth,  and  that  this  was  used  by  the  demoniac, 
but  wrongly  rendered  by  Mark.7  Mk  1467  reads 
<n>  perk  TOU  Nafaprjvov  fada,  TOV  'I^croO.8  Mt  2671  reads 
'IijtroO  TOV  Hafapalov.9  Abbott  argues:  'if  "Nazo- 
raean," meaning  Netzer,  was  regularly  used  about 
Jesus  by  His  Galilean  followers  in  Jerusalem,  it 
would  naturally  be  repeated  by  the  Roman  soldiers, 
and  afterwards  by  Gentiles  in  general,  as  a  mere 
place-name  —  "  Nazornean  "  being  regarded  by 
Mark  and  other  Greek  writers  as  an  inaccurate 
form  of  "  Nazarene."  '  10  Again,  the  Talmud  calls 
Jesus  or  His  followers  Ndtzri.  This  does  not 
resemble  Nazara.  But  it  closely  resembles  a  form 
of  '  branch  '  (Notzer)  extant  in  the  text  of  Ben 
Sira  —  '  the  branch  of  violence  shall  not  be 
unpunished.'  And  it  is  easy  to  believe  that  the 
Jews  parodied  a  form  of  Netzer,  to  distinguish  the 
Branch  of  the  Christians  from  that  true  Netzer  of 
Jesse  which  God  might  call  '  the  branch  of  my 
planting.'  Thus  the  Talmud,  as  far  as  it  goes, 
favours  Ndtzer,  not  Nazara.^1  Again,  while  Jesse 
in  Jewish  mystical  thought  is  typical  of  old  age, 
the  shoot  growing  up  from  the  root  of  Jesse  indi- 
cates life  and  vigour,  and  would  suggest  thoughts  of 
strengthening,  healing,  vivification,  resurrection  ; 
and  it  is  most  significant  that  the  first  proclama 
tion  of  the  gospel  concerns  'Irja-ovv  TOV 


1  HDB  Hi.  497  fl.  ;  Nu  6i-«  ;  Jos.  BJ  n.  xv.  1  ;  W.  R.  Smith, 
flS2,   London,  1894,  pp    332,   482  ;    H.  Schultz,   OT  Theology, 
Edinburgh,  1892,  i.  161,  401  ;  Abbott,  p.  311. 

2  Mt  1119,  Lk  734,  a  passage  not  in  Mk. 

s  P.  18.  •»  Burkitt,  p.  18  ;  Abbott,  p.  324. 

6  Abbott,  pp.  809,  315.  6  /fe.,  p.  309. 

7  P.  310.  8  Mt  2669  reads  'ITJO-OU  TOU  TaAiAatov. 
9  Mk  1469  reads  OUTOS  e£  ainiav  iirnv. 

10  Abbott,  p.  314.  11  Ib.,  p.  318. 


the  first  miracle  is  done  tv  ry  6v6/j.a.Ti'It]<rov  Xpio-rov 
TOV  NafwpcUov,  and  the  title  which  our  Lord 
used  when  He  spoke  to  St.  Paul  on  the  Damascus 
road  was  'Irjffovs  6  Nafwpcuos.1  '  Most  readers  —  if 
they  approach  these  stirring  announcements  with 
a  desire  to  realize  them  as  if  hearing  them  for  the 
first  time  —  will  feel  (I  think)  that  there  would  be 
something  flat  in  the  mention  of  "  the  Nazoraean" 
if  it  only  meant  "  born  at  Nazara,"  —  a  name 
suggesting  "Where  is  it?"  —  but  that  it  would 
sound  an  inspiriting  and  stirring  note  if  it  also 
alluded  to  "the  ever-living  Prince  of  Life,  the 
Ne'tzer,  the  Branch  of  the  Lord's  Planting.'"2 
Finally,  Abbott  argues  that,  when  Nazara,  Netzer, 
Nazir  were  transliterated  into  Greek  in  Mark's 
Gospel,  they  were  inevitably  confused.  Eusebius 
did  confuse  them,  Jerome  actually  indicates  that 
'  Nazirite  '  was  an  early  interpretation  of  Matthew's 
'  Nazoraean,'  while  Tertullian  takes  Nafapi?^  as 
applied  to  Jesus  in  Lk  4s4  to  mean  Nazirite  and 
then  applies  that  term,  in  this  sense,  to  the 
Christians.3  In  this  connexion  the  words  of  the 
demoniac  (Mk  I24,  6  ayios  TOV  0eoO)  are  significant. 


The  Holy  One  of  God  (Jg  137  1617)  is  rendered  6 
OeoO.  The  words  of  the  demoniac  may  '  indicate 
a  tradition  that  called  Jesus  Nazir  instead  of 
Netzer  and  that  took  Nazir  to  mean  "  holy  one 
of  God,"  '  and  in  recording  the  words  '  Mark  might 
naturally  add  —  in  accordance  with  his  frequent 
habit  of  combining  two  interpretations  —  "  thou 
Nazirite  of  God"  in  the  sense  of  "thou  holy  one  of 
God."'* 

A  consideration  of  the  evidence  for  and  against 
these  two  theories  shows  at  least  the  need  of  a 
thorough  philological  and  historical  investigation 
of  the  terms  and  their  use  before  an  answer  can 
be  given  to  the  question  which  Nestle  propounded, 
'Did  not  the  whole  tradition  of  Jesus  living  at 
Nazareth,  and  being  called  after  that  town,  arise 
from  a  misunderstanding  of  this  designation 
"  Nazarene"?'8 

(b)  Xpt(TT<5s.  —  Another  surname  of  our  Lord  is  that 
of  Xpioro's.     Throughout  His  earthly  life  our  Lord 
bore  the  simple  name  'Irjffovs.     But  in  His  time 
there  was  a  general  feeling  of  the  approach  of  the 
Messiah  :    a    Hebrew  official   title    meaning    one 
anointed  for  a  special  office,  the  Greek  equivalent 
of  which  was  Xpiords.     Whether  any  person  was 
XpioT6s  was  a  question  the  answer  to  which  depended 
on  evidence.      It  was  disputed  whether  or    not 
John  the  Baptist  was  Xptoros.8      Whether  or  not 
Jesus  was  Xp:<rr6s  was  also  disputed.     His  disciples 
came  to  believe  that  He  was;7  His  enemies  ridi- 
culed the  idea.8    But  by  the  time  the  Gospels  were 
written  His  followers  had  come  to  call  Him'I^o-ouj 
Xpto-r6s,9  and  to  describe  Him  as  'ITJO-OUJ  6  \cy6fj.evos 
Xpi<JT6s.10    In  this  way  Xpicrrfc  became  a  surname, 
and  finally  passed  into  a  distinct  personal  name.11 

Other  two  names  applied  to  our  Lord  may  be 
either  surname  or  title  — 

(c)  vlds  tylffTov.  —  The  primitive  Semitic  concep- 
tion of  God  was  embodied  in  *?«,  and  the  different 
aspects  of  ^>N  were  expressed  by  additions,  one  of 
which  was  fify*  "jx.12    The  assertion13  that  'there 
must  have  been  a  Western  Semitic  deity  who  was 
known  by  this  name'  lacks  proof,  but  the  incident 
in  Gn  14  indicates  the  worship  of  a  god  bearing 
that  title,  to  which  further  support  is  given  by  a 

I  Abbott,  pp.  815,  320  ;  Ac  222  36  410  22«.       2  76.,  p.  320. 

8  Ib.,  p.  311.  4  Ib.,  p.  313.  8  ExpT  xix.  524. 
6  Lk  315-  16.                7  Mt  16J6.                          8  Mt  27",  Jn  O22. 

9  Mt  I1-  is,  Mk  I*,  Jn  117  173  ;   in  Mt  231<>  the  reference  is 
Impersonal. 

10  Mt  lie  ;  in  Mk  1»*  the  reading  of  N  BCGLM  is  clearly  an 
addition,  and  in  Mt  238  6  Xpiorrfs  is  a  gloss. 

II  As  in  Mk  9«. 

12  ERK  i.  664  ;  HDB  ii.  198  ;  Schultz,  OT  Theology,  ii.  128. 

13  K.  Homrael,  Ancient  Hebrew  Tradition  as  illustrated  by  the 
Monuments,  Eng.  tr.,  London,  1897,  p.  157. 


SWEAKING 


SYNAGOGUE 


541 


statement  of  Philoof  Byblus.1  The  title  would  seem 
to  have  been  assimilated  by  n'yv,  and  the  writer  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews2  practically  identifies 
this  deity  with  nin;.  '"God  the  Highest"  was  a 
widespread  pagan  expression.'3  In  the  NT  God  is 
named  "Ti/wros,4  John  the  Baptist  was  designated 
7r/>o0i7T>7j  vif/iffrov,6  the  beneficent  and  helpful  are 
called  viol  tyitrrov,6  Stephen  in  his  speech  before 
the  Sanhedrin  emphasized  the  omnipresence  of 
niir,  His  superiority  to  Jewish  conceptions  of  Him, 
and  His  exaltation  over  the  gods  of  paganism  by 
naming  Him  6  Ci/'wroj.7  The  slave  girl  of  Philippi 
describes  St.  Paul  and  Silas  as  servants  rov  6eov  rov 
v\j/i<TTov.8  In  the  Annunciation  the  angel,  while 
instructing  Mary  to  name  her  child  'lyo-ovs, 
announces  that  He  will  be  called  vidj  v^/la-rov.9 
He  is,  however,  never  so  called,  the  only  approach 
to  it  being  the  words  of  the  Gergesene  demoniac, 
who  salutes  Him  a,s'Irjcrov  vtt  rov  deov.10 

(d)  '  E/j./j.avoviti\. — This  name  is  mentioned  in  a 
passage  in  the  First  Gospel n  where  the  writer 
quotes  a  prediction  from  Is  714,  and  applies  the 
words  '  his  name  will  be  called  'E/a/iavoi^X,'  as 
indicating  that  the  name  and  what  was  said  of  the 
child  there  was  true  and  would  be  fulfilled  in 
Mary's  son  ;  but  so  far  as  the  Gospels  go  this  name 
was  never  given  to  Jesus. 

4.  Roman  surnames. — The  conquest  of  Palestine 
by  the  Romans  and  the  dispersion  of  the  Jews 
throughout  the  Empire  caused  a  considerable 
number  of  them  to  adopt  Gentile  names.  Thus  a 
certain  Jesus  adopted  the  surname  Justus.12  If 
Levi ls  be  Matthew,  then  it  would  seem  that 
the  tax  collector  dropped  his  name  of  Levi  and 
assumed  that  of  Matthew  on  his  becoming  an 
apostle.  A  companion  of  St.  Paul  named  John 
seems  to  have  assumed  the  Roman  name  Marcus.14 
At  Corinth  St.  Paul  lodged  with  one  Titus  or 
Titius  Justus,  about  whose  name  there  is  very  much 
variation  in  the  MSS.15  The  most  distinguished 
personage  who  adopted  a  Roman  name  was  the 
Apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  Deissmann  has  shown 
that  the  alteration  in  the  name  in  Ac  139  is  due  to 
the  writer  of  the  Acts,  and  that  it  had  no  reference 
to  the  proconsul  but  simply  indicated  that  Saul, 
like  many  Jews  and  Egyptians  of  his  time,  had  a 
double  name  chosen  by  him  very  probably  because 
of  resemblance  in  sound.18 

LITKRATUEK.— This  has  been  sufficiently  indicated  throughout 
the  article.  P.  A.  GORDON  CLARK. 

SWEARING. -See  OATH. 
SWORD.— See  ARMOUR, 
SYCHEM.— See  SHECHEM. 
SYMEON.— See  PETER. 

SYMEON  (SIMEON)  called  NIGER.— Symeon  is 
mentioned  second  in  the  list  of  prophets  and 
teachers  at  Antioch  (Ac  131).  His  sobriquet  of 
'Niger'  has  led  some  to  suppose  that  he  was 
African  by  descent  and,  if  so,  may  have  been  one 
of  those  men  of  Cyprus  and  Cyrene  by  whom  the 
Gentile  Church  at  Antioch  was  founded  (II20). 
The  suggestion,  however,  is  a  doubtful  one,  resting 
on  a  doubtful  foundation.  W.  A.  SPOONER. 

1  BOB  iii.  450.  2  He  1418. 

3  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller,  p.  215. 

4  Lk  1».  6  Lk  1-6.  «  Lk  633. 
7  Ac  7*8.                      *  Ac  16".  »  Lk  132. 

10  Mk  57,  Lk  828.        n  Mt  123.  12  col  4H. 

13  Mk  2",  j,k  527.  29. 

14  Ac  1212-  25  135. 13  1537. 39.  etc. ;  ExpT  xxvi.  372. 

is  Ac  18' ;  HDB  ii.  829 ;  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller, 
p.  256. 

18  Ac  139  ;  Deissmann,  Bible  Studies,  p.  313,  with  the  refer- 
ences therein  to  1  and  2  Mac.  and  Jos.  ;  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  t.hc 
Traveller,  p.  81 ;  HUB  iii.  697. 


SYNAGOGUE.— 1.  The  name.— The  name  'syna- 
gogue' (a-waywyri,  Aram.  Kpy'j?,  Heb.  rcj|,  'as- 
sembly,' like  fKK\rjffia,  LXX  for  either  rny  or  SnR, 
'  congregation ')  denotes  primarily  the  'religious 
community  of  Jews  (Sir  24s3,  Lk  12",  Ac  92  2611 ; 
also  used  by  the  Judseo-Christians  [Epiphan.  Hcer. 
xxx.  18 ;  Harnack,  ad  Hernias  Mand.  xi.  9])  but 
became  afterwards  the  regular  term  for  the  Jewish 
place  of  worship.  Aram.  K^USS  (see  E.  Levy, 
Neuhebr.  und  r.hald.  Worterbuch  iiber  die  Talmud- 
im  und  Midraschim,  Leipzig,  1876-89,  s.v.)  =  Heb. 
n^?n  rrs,  '  the  house  of  the  congregation '  (Mishna 
throughout) ;  so  Philo,  ed.  Mangey,  ii.  458  ;  Jos. 
Ant.  XIX.  vi.  3,  BJ  II.  xiv.  4-5,  VII.  iii.  3;  Cod. 
Theodos.  xvi.  8.  Often  •jrpoo-tvx'o  is  used  for  oZ/cos 
wpoa-fvx^,  'house  of  prayer'  (LXX  to  Is  567  and 
GO7 ;  Philo,  ed.  Mangey,  ii.  523,  535,  568,  596,  GOO ; 
Jos.  Vita,  54;  Ac  16'3),  for  wpocrevKTripiov  (1'hilo, 
ed.  Mangey,  ii.  168),  and  for  (raBpareiov  ='  Sabbath 
place '  in  an  edict  of  Augustus  (Jos.  Ant.  XVI.  vi.  2). 
.Through  the  Pauline  writings  ^/cK\ij<rt'a  (Fr.  eglise) 
became  the  exclusive  name  for  the  Christian 
Church  in  the  double  sense  of  congregation  and 
house  of  worship  (Schurer,  GJVii.3  [Leipzig,  1898] 
433,  443  ;  but  cf.  F.  Spitta,  Zur  Geschichte  und 
Litteratur  des  Urchristentums,  ii.  [Gottingen,  1896] 
343). 

2.  Origin. — Like  the  beginnings  of  all  great 
movements  in  history,  the  origin  of  the  institution 
is  wrapped  in  obscurity.  The  ancients  ascribed 
it  to  Moses  (Philo,  ed.  Mangey,  ii.  168  ;  Jos.  c. 
Apion.  ii.  17  ;  Ac  1521,  Targ.  Ex  1820 ;  cf.  Targ.  Jg 
52,  1  Ch  1639,  Is  I13,  Am  512).  But  the  Mosaic 
system  of  sacrifices  had  no  provision  made  for 
regular  prayers ;  and  so  the  identification  of  '  the 
house  of  the  people'  (Jer  398  [see  Rashi  and  Kimhi]) 
with  the  synagogue  is  without  foundation.  The 
synagogue  is  a  new  creation  for  which  the  Exile 
alone  offered  the  conditions  (see  Wellhausen,  Isr. 
undjud.  Gesch.6,  pp.  149,  194).  As  the  prescribed 
sacrifices  could  not  be  offered  on  foreign  soil,  which 
was  regarded  as  '  unclean '  (Am  717,  Ezk  413),  another 
organized  form  of  worship  became  an  imperative 
necessity.  In  place  of  the  priesthood,  whose  ex- 
clusive domain  was  the  Temple  with  its  sacrificial 
cult,  a  new  class  of  men  in  the  Exile  voiced  the 
needs  of  the  people,  accentuating  the  significance 
of  prayer  and  song  as  the  more  spiritual  elements 
of  the  Divine  service,  and  at  the  same  time  appealed 
to  the  people,  like  the  prophets  of  old,  by  words  of 
warning  and  consolation,  offering  public  instruction 
through  the  Word  of  God,  whether  spoken  or  read. 
Such  a  class  of  men  were  the  'andvim,  '  the  meek 
ones,'  hastdim,  'the  godly  ones,'  or  feddshim,  'the 
holy  ones,'  of  the  Psalms ;  they  had  devotional 
assemblies  of  their  own  (Ps  I8  2612  897  10732  1111 
1491).  To  them,  in  fact,  the  Psalm  literature  owes 
in  the  main  its  origin,  and  they  coined  the  language 
of  prayer  (see  I.  Loeb,  La  Literature  des  pauvres 
dans  la  Bible,  Paris,  1892) ;  hence  the  abundance 
of  prayers  in  the  post-Exilic  literature  (1  Ch  1716-27 
29io-i»>  2  Ch  614'42  14n  20«-12,  Ezr  96'15,  Neh  g6"38, 
Dn  220-23  94'19,  also  Is  3615'20),  not  to  mention  the 
apocryphal  books  such  as  the  Maccabees,  Enoch, 
Judith,  etc.  Music  and  song  likewise  occupy  a 
prominent  place  in  the  Chronicles  and  the  Psalms, 
while  they  are  ignored  in  the  Priestly  Code.  The 
very  fact  that  the  Exilic  seer  speaks  of  '  an  house 
of  prayer  for  all  peoples'  (Is  567 ;  cf.  LXX  to  Is 
607)  indicates  the  existence  of  places  for  devotional 
assemblies  of  the  people  in  the  Exile.  King 
Solomon's  dedication  prayer,  which  was  composed 
in  the  Exile  (1  K  8™"-),  also  shows  that  the  exiled 
Jews  prayed  'in  the  land  of  the  enemy'  with  their 
faces  turned  towards  Jerusalem,  exactly  as  did 
Daniel  (Dn  610).  Such  devotional  assemblies  were 
held  on  the  banks  of  rivers  (Ps  1371 ;  cf.  Ezk  1s, 
Dn  82),  the  Sabbath,  which  assumed  a  higher 


542 


SYNAGOGUE 


SYNAGOGUE 


meaning  in  the  Exile  (see  Wellhausen,  loc.  cit.), 
as  well  as  the  feast  and  fast  days  ottering  the  in- 
centives to  the  same  (Is  5S4- I3,  Zee  75 ;  cf.  2  K  423). 
To  such  assemblies  the  writings  of  Deutero-Isaiah 
were  in  all  likelihood  addressed  (cf.  L.  Herzfeld, 
Geschichte  des  Vplkes  Israel,  Leipzig,  1871,  i.  132) ; 
and  the  composition  of  the  prophetical  books  in 
their  present  shape,  with  the  message  of  comfort 
at  the  end  of  each  portion  or  book,  if  not  also  that 
of  the  Pentateuch  (cf.,  for  instance,  Lv  2734  as  the 
conclusion  of  the  Holiness  Code),  seems  to  have 
been  made  with  such  devotional  assemblies  in  view. 
Whether  the  new  religious  spirit  which  emanated 
from  Persia  under  Cyrus  exerted  a  re-awakening 
influence  on  Judaism,  as  E.  Meyer  (Geschichte  des 
Alterthums,  Stuttgart,  1884-1901,  iii.  122-200) 
asserts,  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  Parsiism  had  a 
large  share  in  the  shaping  of  the  synagogal  liturgy, 
as  pointed  out  by  Graetz  (Geschichte  der  Juden,  li. 
[1876]  409-418,  note  14)  and  J.  H.  Schorr  (He-galuz, 
vii.  [1865],  viii.  [1869]). 

3.  History.— The  words  of  Ezk  II16  (see  Targ. 
Meg.  29a),  '  To  Israel  scattered  among  the  nations 
I  shall  be  a  little  sanctuary,'  were  actually  verified 
through  the  synagogue,  as  Bacher  (see  art.  '  Syna- 
gogue '  in  HDB)  states.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the 
synagogue  at  Shaf  Yathib  near  Nahardea  in  Baby- 
lonia was  in  the  2nd  cent,  taken  to  be  the  work  of 
King  Jehoiachin,  who  was  said  to  have  had  the 
stones  and  the  earth  brought  from  Jerusalem  ;  and 
it  was  claimed  to  be  the  seat  of  the  Shekinah  like 
the  Temple  of  yore,  the  statue  erected  there 
(against  the  Jewish  Law)  being  probably  a  Persian 
symbol  of  the  Divine  Presence  (Meg.  29a  ;  B6sh 
hash.  246;  Kohler,  MGWJ  xxxviii.  [1893]  442). 
The  claim  of  being  the  seat  of  the  Shekinah  was 
also  raised  for  another  old  synagogue  at  Huzul 
(M_eg.  29a).  Another  one  was  ascribed  to  Daniel 
(Erub.  21«). 

The  earliest  testimony  for  the  existence  of  the 
synagogue  in  Palestine  is  found  in  Ps  748 :  '  They 
have  burned  up  all  the  synagogues  of  God  in  the 
land'  (so  Symmachus  and  Aquila  for  "?><-Hi?.ib). 
Most  commentators  refer  the  psalm  to  the  Mac- 
cabsean  time,  though  it  seems  strange  that  the 
destruction  of  the  synagogues  should  not  have  been 
mentioned  in  the  Maccabsean  books.  H.  L.  Strack 
(PEE3  xix.  224)  refers  the  psalm  to  the  war  of 
Artaxerxes  Ochus  (359-333  B.C.).  Wellhausen 
(loc.  cit.)  thinks  that  the  synagogue  took  the  place 
of  the  ancient  bdmdth  ('high  places') — a  view 
which  seems  to  be  confirmed  by  Targ.  on  1  Ch  1639 
and  1  Mac  S48  ;  cf.  l£imhi  on  Jg  201.  Possibly  the 
rule  to  have  the  synagogue  in  the  heights  of  the 
city  (T6s.  Meg.  iv.  23;  cf.  Tanh.  Behukkothai,  ed. 
S.  Buber,  Wilna,  1885,  p.  4 ;  Shabb.  lla  ;  Epiphan. 
Hcer.  Ixxx.  1)  has  some  connexion  with  this  ancient 
practice.  On  the  other  hand,  the  site  of  the  syna- 
gogue was,  on  account  of  the  necessary  ablutions, 
preferably  chosen  near  some  flowing  water  or  at 
the  seaside,  as  is  shown  by  the  Halicarnassus  de- 
cree (Jos.  Ant.  XIV.  x.  23  :  '  They  may  make  their 
proseuches  at  the  seaside,  following  the  customs  of 
their  fathers ' ;  cf.  Ac  1613).  Hence  also  the  inter- 
pretation of  '  the  well  in  the  field '  (Gn  292),  that  is 
the  synagogue  (Ber.  B.  Ixx.  8).  Owing  to  this, 
the  synagogue  was  frequently  outside  the  city 
(Kid.  736,  Shab.  246,  Rashi ;  Tanh.  gaye  Sarah, 
ed.  Buber,  p.  7 ;  Tur.  6.  II.  236 ;  cf.  Mekilta  B6, 
1 ;  Sh'mdth  E.  on  Ex  V® ;  Philo,  ed.  Mangey,  ii. 
298).  There  being  no  special  provision  made  for 
a  synagogue  within  the  Temple,  the  Hall  of  the 
Hewn  Stones  was  used  for  the  daily  prayer  (Tamid 
iv.-v.),  but  Rabbi  Joshua  of  the  1st  cent.  (T6s 
Suk.  iv.  5)  speaks  of  a  synagogue  and  a  school- 
house  on  the  Temple  hill  near  by.  The  term  'nx1?,1? 
(  =  481,  being  the  numerical  value  of  the  letters/in 
Is  I21  causes  the  Haggadist  to  speak  of  480  syna- 


gogues which  Jerusalem  had  besides  the  Temple 
(Jer.  Meg.  13d,  Keth  B.  35c,  'Ekah  R.  Introd.  12 ; 
Babl.  Keth.  has  erroneously  394).  It  is  certain 
that  the  number  was  quite  large,  as  may  be  seen 
from  Ac  69  (cf.  25'11),  according  to  which  each 
settlement  of  foreign  Jews  had  a  synagogue  of  its 
own  —  Alexandrians  (cf.  Tos.  Meg.  iii.  6,  iv.  13), 
Cyrenians,  Cilicians,  and  Asiatics.  Epiphanius  (de 
Mensuris,  14)  speaks  of  seven  on  Zion.  Josephus 
( Vita,  54)  mentions  the  Great  Synagogue  at  Tiberi- 
as, where  during  the  Roman  war  political  meetings 
took  place  (see  also  'Erub.  x.  10).  In  the  5th  cent. 
Tiberias  had  thirteen  synagogues  (Ber.  8a),  one  in 
the  village  of  Tiberias  (Pesik.  B.  1966).  The  syna- 
gogue at  Csesarea,  where  the  revolt  against  Rome 
was  started  (BJll.  xiv.  4-5),  continued  its  existence 
under  the  name  of  the  synagogue  of  the  revolution 
to  the  4th  cent.  (Jer.  Bik.  iii.  65d),  and  was  prob- 
ably the  one  in  which  Rabbi  Abbahu  had  his 
frequent  disputes  with  the  Church  Fathers  (H. 
Graetz,  Geschichte  der  Juden,  iv.3  [1893]  288). 
The  Gospels  mention  the  synagogues  of  Capernaum 
(Mk  P1  and  ||s)  and  Nazareth  (Lk  416  and  ||)  wherein 
Jesus  taught.  The  former  was  built  for  the  Jews 
by  the  Roman  centurion,  a  proselyte  (Lk  75<  6). 
About  the  interesting  ruins  discovered  in  recent 
times  of  many  synagogues  in  Galilee  from  the  1st 
and  2nd  centuries,  possibly  even  that  of  Capernaum, 
see  Schiirer,  GJV  ii.4  [1901]  517,  note  59.  At 
Sepphoris,  the  seat  of  the  academy  of  Rabbi 
Judah,  the  prince,  of  the  2nd  cent.,  one  synagogue 
was  called  '  the  great  Synagogue '  (Pesik.  1366) ; 
another  one,  probably  after  an  engraved  symbol, 
'  the  Synagogue  of  the  Vine '  (Jer.  Ndzir,  vii.  56a). 
The  wealth  spent  on  the  synagogue  at  Lydda  gave 
the  Rabbis  cause  for  complaint  (Jer.  Shekalim,  v. 
496).  As  Philo  (ed.  Mangey,  ii.  168)  says,  each  city 
inhabited  by  Jews  had  its  synagogue  '  for  instruc- 
tion in  virtue  and  piety '  (cf.  Tot.  B.M.  xi.  23  and 
Sanh.  176). 

The  oldest  synagogue  on  record  is  that  built  in 
Alexandria  under  Ptolemy  III.  ('247-221  B.C.)  and 
dedicated  to  him  and  his  sister  Berenice  according 
to  the  inscription  discovered  in  1902  (Schiirer, 
GJV  ii.4  497,  iii.4  [1909]  41).  The  large  Jewish 
population  had  many  synagogues  in  the  different 
quarters  of  the  city  (Philo,  ed.  Mangey,  ii.  568), 
the  largest  and  most  famous  of  which  was  the  one 
built  in  the  shape  of  a  basilica  and  described  in 
glowing  colours  (T6s.  Suk.  iv.  6,  Jer.  Suk.  v.  55a, 
Babl.  Suk.  51a) ;  it  was  totally  destroyed  under 
Trajan  (Graetz,  Gesch.  der  Juden,  iv.3  117).  The 
legendary  narrative  3  Mac717'20  tells  of  the  founding 
of  a  synagogue  at  Ptolemais  in  Southern  Egypt 
under  Ptolemy  IV.  In  Syria  the  most  famous  was 
the  Great  Synagogue  at  Antioch,  to  which  the 
brazen  vessels  carried  off  from  the  Temple  at 
Jerusalem  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes  were  presented 
by  his  successors  (BJ  VII.  iii.  3).  Damascus  also 
had  a  number  of  synagogues ;  in  these  Paul  the 
Apostle  preached  (Ac  92-20).  Throughout  Asia 
Minor,  Macedonia,  Greece  and  its  islands,  in  cities 
such  as  Ephesus,  Philippi,  Thessalonica,  Athens, 
and  Corinth,  the  synagogues,  being  the  gathering- 
places  for  Jews  and  '  God-fearing '  half-proselytes 
(Ac  1316-  <*• «  17"),  offered  a  sphere  of  activity  to 
St.  Paul  and  his  fellow- workers  (Ac  135- 14  141  1613 
171- 10-  n  184- 7).  In  Rome  there  were  quite  a  number 
of  synagogues  at  the  time  of  Augustus  (Philo,  ed. 
Mangey,  ii.  569),  and  the  inscriptions  discovered 
in  recent  times  mention  nine  different  ones  named 
either  after  persons,  such  as  Augustus,  Agrippa, 
and  Volumnus,  or  after  places,  such  as  Campus 
(Martius)  and  the  Subura,  or  after  the  language  of 
the  members,  Hebraic  or  the  vernacular,  one  after 
the  trade  'lime  burners,'  and  another  after  an  en- 
graved symbol  'the  Synagogue  of  the  Olive  Tree.' 
A  synagogue  of  Severus  is  mentioned  in  Ber.  B.  ix.  5 


SYNAGOGUE 


SYNAGOGUE 


543 


quoted  by  £imhi  on  Gn  1s  (Schiirer,  GJV  iii.4  83?). 
On  disputes  held  there  by  Palestinian  maMcrs 
with  Romans  and  Christians  under  Domitian  see 
H.  Vogelstein  and  P.  Rieger,  Geschichte  cler  Juden 
in  Rom,  i.  [Berlin,  1896]  29. 

4.  Form  and  furniture  of  the  synagogue. — Like 
the  Alexandrian  Great  Synagogue  and  the  Hall  of 
Hewn   Stones    in   the  Temple   (Y6md,   25a),   the 
synagogue  at  Tiberias  had  the  form  of  a  basilica 
with  a  double  row  of  pillars  (Midr.  Tehillim  on 
Ps  93  [end]).     As  to  the  style  of  the  synagogue, 
as  shown   by  the  ruins  in   Galilee  see  Schiirer, 
GJV  ii.4  446 ;    their    orientation,   however,   does 
not   conform    to   the    rule   that   they   should   be 
directed  towards  the  East,  corresponding  with  the 
tabernacle  (Nu  S38).     However,  the  same  was  also 
the  rule  for  the  Church  (Apost.  Const,  ii.  57.  3.  14 ; 
cf.  Tylor,  PC3,  London,  1891,  ii.  426  11'.). 

The  chief  furniture  was  the  n^n,  'ark'  (Me.g,  iii. 

1,  Ta'an.  ii.    1),  in  which   the  scrolls  were   kept 
covered  with  cloth  or  put  in  a  case,  over  which  was 
spread   a  baldachin  (kilah)  or  curtain   (pardketh, 
Ex  2631 ;  Jer.  Meg.  13d,  lob).     It  was  placed  near 
the  upper  end  of  the  synagogue,  and  in  front  of  it 
stood  the  'delegate  of  the  congregation,'  who  offered 
the  prayer  (Ber.  v.  3,  4  and  elsewhere).     In  the 
centre  was  the  bemah  (  =  prj/j.a,  '  platform ')  made  of 
wood  (S6ta,  vii.  8 ;  Suk.  516  ;  cf.  Neh  84  AV,  '  the 
pulpit  of  wood'),  called  in  more  modern   times 
almemar,  the  Muhammadan  al-minbar  (JE,  s.v. 
'  Almemar ') ;  upon  it  stood  or  sat  in  a  chair  called 
1  the  seat  of  Moses '  (Mt  232 ;  cf.  art.  '  China '  in  JE 
iv.  37a)  those  who  read  from  the  scroll  of  the  Law 
or  other  sacred  books,  which  were  placed  upon  the 
lectern,  called  after  the  Greek  dvaXoye'iov  (see  Levy, 
Worterbuch,  s.w.   pa^JK  and  no'3),  or  the  tablets. 
There  were  also  chairs  set  for  the  elders  and  the 
scribes  (T6s.  Suk.  iv.  6,  Mt  236  and  ||).     For  the 
candelabra  (menorah)  see  T6s.  Meg.  iii.  3,  Jer.  Meg. 
74a. 

5.  Organization  of  the  synagogue. — The  members 
of  a  religious  community  having  a  synagogue  for 
its  centre — and  there  were,  as  shown  above,  often 
many  in  the  larger  cities — were  called   bene  hak- 
kfneseth,  '  sons  of  the  synagogue '  (Meg.  ii.  5,  iii.  1). 
The  number  required  for  the  formation  of  a  syna- 
gogue community  was  ten  (Bekdr.  v.  5,  Zabim,  iii. 

2,  T6s.  Meg.  iv.  3,  Sank.  i.  6).     At  the  head  was  a 
ruler,  r6sh  hak-kfneseth  (Ydma,  vii.  1,  S6td,  vii.  7) 
=  dpxtffwdyvyos  (Mk5M,  Lk  1314,  Ac  1318  ;  cf.  Lk  841), 
whose  function  was  to  maintain  order  in  the  syna- 
gogue and    to    decide  who  should    conduct    the 
service.     The  subaltern  officer,  who  had  to  carry 
out  the  orders  of  the  former,   assisting  him  in 
keeping  order,  hand  the  sacred  scroll  to  the  reader 
and  return  it  to  its  place  (S6ta,  vii.  7,  Lk  420),  take 
charge  of  the  palm  branches  of  the  Sukkdth  feast 
(Suk.  iv.  4),  and  give   the  signal  for  the  service 
(T6s.  Suk.  iv.  6,  Sifre  Nu  39)  and  for  the  suspension 
from  work  on  Sabbath  and  Holy-day  Eve  (Tus.  Suk. 
iv.    12),  was  called  hazzan  hak-keneseth=vin)p£ri]s 
(Epiph.  Hcer.  xxx.    11).     He  also  assisted  in  the 
instruction  of  the  school  children  by  showing  the 
passage  that  was  to  be  read  (Shab.  13)  and  acted 
as    lictor    of    the  synagogue  court  in  scourging 
offenders  (Mak.  iii.  12,  T6s.  Mak.  v.  12).     In  the 
course  of  time,  however,  he  rose  in  rank  while 
officiating  in  smaller  congregations  as  leader  in 
prayer  and  as  instructor  (Jer.  Yeb.  xii.  13«,  Jer. 
Ber.  ix.   12,  Babli  Meg.   23A,  Mas.  SCferfm  x.  8, 
xiv.  1 ;  Pirke  de  R.E.  xii.  [end]).     For  the  various 
functions  of  the  service  itself  no  permanent  official 
existed  in  the  ancient  time,  and  he  who  was  to 
lead  in  prayer  was  selected  by  the  congregation — 
mostly  through  its  ruler — as  the  representative,  or 
'the   delegate  of  the  community,"  slieliah  zlbbur, 
and  upon  being  invited  in  the  usual  formula — at 
least  in   the  Talmudic  period — '  Come  and   bring 


for  us  the  offering,'  he  stepped  in  front  of  the  ark 
to  offer  the  prayer  (Ber.  v.  3-5,  Jer.  Ber.  iv.  86). 
In  Mishnaic  times  it  seems  that  the  functions  of 
reciting  the  Shema  (the  proclamation  of  the  Unity 
of  God,  Dt  64-a,  and  its  corollaries  Dt  II13'21  and 
Nu  1537'41),  with  its  accompanying  benedictions,  of 
reading  from  the  Prophets,  and  of  offering  the 
Priestly  Blessing  at  the  close  of  the  service  were 
all  preferably  assigned  to  one  person  (Meg.  iv.  5) ; 
but  this  was  by  no  means  the  case  originally  (see 
below).  For  the  reading  from  the  Pentateuch 
different  members  of  the  congregation  were  called 
up,  on  Sabbath  seven,  on  the  Day  of  Atonement 
six,  on  festival  days  five,  on  New  Moon  and  semi- 
festivals  four,  and  on  the  second  and  fifth  week- 
days and  Sabbath  afternoons  three  (Meg.  iv.  1-2), 
and  as  a  rule  Aaronites  first  and  Levites  afterwards 
(Gittin,  v.  5).  The  one  who  was  to  translate  the 
text  into  the  vernacular  (Aramaic),  called  meturge- 
man  (Meg.  iv.  4),  was,  however,  permanently  en- 
gaged. The  more  learned  men  of  the  congregation, 
and  especially  learned  guests,  were  as  a  rule  invited 
to  read  the  last  portion  and  some  portion  from  the 
Prophets,  which  they  afterwards  expounded  in  a 
sermon.  This  prophetic  portion  was  called  in 
Aramaic  aphtarta  (Heb.  haphtharah — word  of  dis- 
missal ;  whence  the  name  of  the  last  reader, 
maphtir  [see  Levy,  Worterbuch,  s.v.  itmaEK],  Tanh. 
Terumah,  1 ;  Lk  416f-). 

It  was  principally  on  Sabbath  and  festival  days, 
when  the  people  were  at  leisure,  that  the  service 
was  well  attended,  and  accordingly  the  weekly 
lesson  from  the  Torah  was  read  in  full  (cf.  Philo, 
ed.  Mangey,  ii.  282,  630,  458);  wherefore  the 
synagogue  was  called  the  '  Sabbath  place '  par  ex- 
cellence (Jos.  Ant.  XVI.  vi.  2  ;  cf.  Bacher's  quotation 
from  Payne  Smith,  art.  '  Synagogue,'  in  HDB  iv. 
636b).  On  Monday  and  Thursday  the  villagers 
coming  to  the  cities  for  the  court  or  the  market 
attended  the  synagogue  in  sufficient  numbers  to 
have  a  portion  of  the  Torah  read  (T6s.  Ta'an.  ii.  4). 
On  week  days  only  larger  cities  had  the  required 
'  ten  men  01  leisure '  (batlanim  \\  Meg.  i.  3,  Sanh. 
lib  ;  see  JE,  art.  '  Batlanim ')  for  the  daily  service  ; 
later  it  became  a  fixed  custom  to  engage  '  ten 
men  of  leisure '  for  the  holding  of  the  daily  service 
where  the  attendance  was  too  small. 

6.  The  service :  its  elements  and  its  develop- 
ment.— The  Divine  service  assumed  at  the  very 
outset  a  two-fold  character :  it  was  to  offer  common 
devotion  and  public  instruction.  But  the  devo- 
tional part,  again,  consisted  at  the  very  beginning, 
as  far  as  we  can  trace  it,  of  two  elements  :  (a)  the 
confession  of  faith,  (b)  the  real  prayer  (tefillah). 

(a)  The  confession  of  faith,  termed  in  the  Mishna 
'  the  acceptance  of  the  yoke  of  sovereignty  of  God,' 
Kabbalath  '61  Malkut  Shamayim  (Ber.  ii.  2),  by 
the  recital  of  the  Shemd  (Dt  64-9  II13-  21,  Nu  1537'41), 
was  preceded  by  two  benedictions,  one  containing 
the  praise  of  the  Lord  as  the  Giver  of  light  in  view 
of  the  rising  sun  each  morning,  and  of  the  With- 
drawer  of  the  light  of  day  each  evening,  and 
another  containing  the  praise  of  the  Lord  as  Giver 
of  the  Law  to  Israel,  His  chosen  people,  and 
followed  by  one  benediction  beginning  with  a 
solemn  attestation  of  the  monotheistic  truth  pro- 
claimed in  the  Sh'mal,  and  ending  with  the  praise 
of  God  as  the  Redeemer  of  Israel  with  reference  to 
the  deliverance  from  Egypt  mentioned  in  the  clos- 
ing verse  of  the  Sh'tna  chapters  (Nu  1541).  That 
this  part  is  very  old  is  shown,  not  merely  by  the 
discussion  of  the  oldest  Rabbinical  schools  concern- 
ing the  details  of  observing  the  commandment 
found  in  Dt  67  :  '  When  thou liest  down,  and  when 
thou  risest  up,'  but  by  Josephus'  source  (Ant.  iv. 
viii.  13),  which  ascribes  to  Moses  the  recital  of  the 
Sterna!  and  of  the  benediction  for  Israel's  redemp- 
tion. But  what  Philo  tells  of  the  Therapeutes, 


544 


SYNAGOGUE 


SYNAGOGUE 


that  '  they  prayed  each  morning  and  evening  for 
the  light  of  heaven '  (ed.  Mangey,  ii.  475),  and 
Josephus  of  the  Essenes,  that  '  they  offer  prayers 
handed  down  from  their  fathers  towards  the  rising 
sun  as  if  supplicating  for  its  rising,"  that  is  to  say, 
with  hands  outstretched  towards  the  streaks  of 
light  coming  forth  (BJ II.  viii.  5  ;  cf.  Enoch  Ixxxiii. 
11,  Wis  16^,  3ib.  Orac.  iii.  591  f.),  which  corre- 
sponds with  what  the  Talmud  says  (Ber.  96,  Jer. 
Ber.  i.  3a)  of  the  V'tMkim,  'the  enduring,  con- 
scientiously pious'  (another  name  for  the  Essenes), 
that  '  they  recited  the  Shema  at  the  time  of  the 
radiance  of  the  morning  sun,'  points  almost  with 
certainty  to  Zoroastrian  influence  (see,  besides 
Graetz,  Schorr,  and  Kohler,  also  T.  K.  Cheyne, 
The  Origin  and  Religious  Contents  of  the  Psalter 
[BL],  London,  1891,  pp.  283,  448),  and  thus  indicates 
a  time  when  these  prayers  were  offered  under  the 
open  sky. 

(6)  The  real  prayer  (tefilldh)  consisted  of  either 
eighteen  benedictions  or  seven  benedictions  on 
Sabbath  and  festival  days.  In  both  cases  the 
three  opening  and  three  concluding  benedictions 
were  the  same.  On  week  days,  however,  twelve 
specific  prayers  are  offered  between  these,  six  con- 
cerning human  life  in  general  and  five  concerning 
the  national  life  of  the  Jewish  people,  the  twelfth 
containing  the  supplication  that  all  the  prayers 
offered  either  collectively  or  individually  be  heard, 
whereas  on  Sabbaths  and  festivals  only  one  specific 
prayer  with  reference  to  the  day  is  offered. 
_The  three  opening  benedictions  are  :  (1)  Birkath 
Abtith,  '  the  praise  of  the  God  of  the  fathers,' 
dwelling  on  the  merits  of  the  patriarchs  and  closing 
with  the  words  '  Shield  of  Abraham ' ;  (2)  Geburdth, 
'  the  praise  of  the  Divine  Omnipotence,'  as  mani- 
fested in  cosmic  life  and  in  the  future  resurrection  : 
it  closes,  '  Blessed  be  Thou  who  revivest  the  dead  ' ; 
(3)  Kedushdh,  '  the  sanctification  of  the  Lord  by  the 
heavenly  hosts' :  it  closes  with,  '  Blessed  be  Thou, 
the  holy  God.'  The  three  concluding  benedictions 
are  :  (1)  'Abdddh,  prayer  for  the  favourable  accept- 
ance of  the  Divine  service  in  the  Temple,  which, 
since  the  destruction  of  the  Temple,  has  been 
changed  into  a  prayer  for  the  restoration  of  the 
sacrificial  cult :  it  now  closes,  '  Blessed  be  Thou 
who  restorest  Thy  Shekinah  to  Zion ' ;  (2)  Hddddh, 
thanksgiving  for  all  the  bounties  of  life  and  the 
wondrous  doings  of  Providence  ;  (3)  Birkath  K6ha- 
nim,  the  benediction  connected  with  the  Priestly 
Blessing  (NuG24'27),  which  formed  the  conclusion  of 
the  service. 

The  twelve  week-day  benedictions  are:  (1)  prayer 
for  knowledge  and  wisdom ;  (2)  for  spiritual  re- 
generation ;  (3)  for  Divine  forgiveness  ;  (4)  for  the 
redemption  of  those  in  bondage  ;  (5)  for  the  heal- 
ing of  the  sick  ;  (6)  for  the  produce  of  the  year ; 

(7)  for  the  gathering  of  the  dispersed   of   Israel ; 

(8)  for  the  restoration  of  a  reign  of  righteousness  ; 

(9)  originally  for  the  destruction  of  the  kingdom 
of  arrogancy  (  =  the  heathen   powers):  after  the 
Bar  Cochba  war,  however,  it  was  changed  into  a 
curse  of  the  heretics  and  (Christian)    informers 
in  the  service  of  Rome  ;  (10)  prayer  for  the  leading 
authorities,  the  Zaddikim,  the  IJasidim,  the  elders, 
the  remnant  of  the  S6ferlm,  and  the  proselytes ; 
(11)  originally  a  prayer  for  the  restoration  of  the 
Davidic  dynasty  in  Jerusalem,  afterwards  divided 
into  a  prayer  for  Jerusalem's  restoration  as  the 
city  of  God  and  another  for  the  Branch  of  David — 
hence  arose  nineteen  instead  of  eighteen  week-day 
prayers  (cf.   TVS.  Ber.  ii.  25,  Jer.  Ber.  ii.  4d-5d, 
iv.  Sac,  R6sh  hash.  iv.  49c;  Lekah  Tob  Waethhanan; 
Yalkut  on  1  S  2  ;  Ber.  286 f.) ;  '(12)  prayer  for  the 
acceptance  of  all  petitions  (see  Schiirer,  GJV  ii.4 
540).  As  to  the  age  of  these  prayers  in  their  original 
form,  the  mention  of  the  Sanhedrin,  elders,  and 
the  remnant  of  the  Sofedm  in  the  10th  (resp.  13th) 


Sayer  indicates  the  Maccabsean,  if  not  the  pre- 
accabaean,  time  (cf.  also  Sir  5 112  and  Schiirer, 
GJV  ii.4  542  n.,  156).  The  three  opening  and  three 
concluding  benedictions  have  been  preserved  in  a 
more  elaborate  and  original  form  in  the  ancient 
Church  liturgy  that  came  down  under  the  name 
of  Clement  (Apost.  Const,  vii.  33-35,  37-38,  viii. 
37),  the  opening  and  concluding  formulas  being 
almost  identical  (see  art.  '  Didascalia '  in  JE  iv. 
593  ff.).  The  Sabbath  and  Holy-day  benediction 
(Apost.  Const,  vii.  36)  has  also  the  original  Jewish 
character.  All  these  prayers  evidently  originated 
in  Hasidaean  circles,  and  were  only  afterwards  re- 
duced in  length  to  suit  the  people  at  large,  as  the 
synagogue  became  a  common  institution  (see  also 
L.  Zunz,  Gottesdienstliche  Vortrdge  der  Juden'*, 
Frankfort  a.M.,  1892,  pp.  379-383,  and  G.  Dalman, 
Die  Worte  Jesu,  Leipzig,  1898,  p.  299  ff'.).  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  the  entire  angelology  of  the  first 
Shema'  benediction  and  of  the  third  01  the  eighteen 
benedictions  is,  like  those  in  the  ancient  Church 
liturgy,  altogether  Essene  in  character,  intended 
only  for  the  initiated  into  the  'higher  wisdom,' 
and  the  popularization  of  these  prayers  was  as  much 
the  work  of  the  synagogue  as  was  the  propaga- 
tion of  religious  knowledge  among  the  people — a 
work  begun  by  the  Levites  (Neh  87  95,  2  Ch 
198  3122  35s ;  Test.  Levi,  viii.  7  ;  Y6ma,  26a  ;  Tanh. 
Waera,  4  ;  Num.  R.,  i.,  iii.,  v.)  and  achieved  in  the 
course  of  centuries  through  the  synagogue  by  the 
Pharisees  (see  R.  T.  Herford,  Pharisaism,  London, 
1912,  pp.  80-83). 

The  reading  from  the  Law  introduced  by  Ezra 
(Neh  8s)  became  soon  afterwards  a  fixed  custom 
for  each  Sabbath,  and  so  the  Pentateuch  was  com- 
pleted at  first  in  triennial  (possibly  originally 
septennial  [cf.  Dt  3110])  and  later  in  annual  cycles 
(Zunz,  op.  cit.,  p.  3f.),  it  having  been  divided  at 
first  into  154  and  afterwards  into  54  sections 
accordingly.  The  seven  men  called  up  for  public 
reading  seem  to  have  been  originally  identical 
with  the  seven  leading  men  of  each  community 
(Meg.  26a ;  Jos.  Ant.f  iv.  viii.  14,  BJ  II.  xx.  5), 
probably  the  Heber'Ir  (T6s.  Bik.  iii.  12,  Ber.  iv. 
7,  and  elsewhere),  but  were  afterwards  chosen 
from  among  all  the  members  of  the  synagogue. 
The  reading  from  the  Prophets  which  followed 
that  from  the  Pentateuch  (Ac  131B)  is  probably  of 
an  older  origin  than  the  latter ;  its  selection  was 
left  to  the  preacher  of  the  day  (Lk  417),  but  after- 
wards the  selection  for  each  Sabbath  and  Holy-day 
was  fixed  so  as  to  correspond  with  the  character  of 
the  day  or  the  Pentateuch  section. 

7.  Women  in    the  synagogue. — Women    could 
not  be  members  of  the  synagogue,  though  they 
seem  to  have  performed  synagogal   functions  of 
their  own,  and  so  prominent  women  were  elected 
as  mothers  of  the  synagogue  ( '  Mater  Synagogaa ' 
[Schiirer,    GJV    iii.4    88]).     They    attended    the 
service  (Ac  1613,  Ab.  Zdrd  386,  S6ta  22«),  but  could 
take  no  part  in  the  common  service  (T6s.  Meg.  iv. 
11,  Bab.  Meg.  23a).      They  were  without  doubt 
at  all  times  \T6s.  Suk.  iv.   11,  Bab.  Suk.  516  ;  cf. 
Philo,  ed.  Mangey,   ii.  482 ;  fid.  81a  ;  Chrysos. 
Horn.  74  in  Matt.,  quoted  by  Loew)  separated  from 
the  men  by  some  sort  of  wall  or  barrier  (against 
Loew,  Gesammelte  Schriften,  iv.  62  f . ,  and  Bacher, 
loc.   cit.}.     See  also  Schiirer,  GJV  ii.4  521,   527, 
where  the  emporium  found  in  the  ruins  of  the 
ancient  synagogue  is  correctly  assigned  by  him  to 
the  women. 

8.  Schoolhouse.  —  The  synagogue  was    at    the 
outset  the  place  for  public  instruction  (Philo,  ed. 
Mangey,    ii.    168 :  '  Their  houses  of  worship  are 
nothing  but  schools  of  wisdom  and  virtue';  and 
Jos.  c.  Apion.    ii.   17-18),  and  at  an   early  time 
elementary  schools  for  the  young  were  established 
therein,  or  near  by  (Jer.  Keth.  xiii.  35c; 


SYNAGOGUE 


SYNZYGUS 


545 


iii.    31rf;   Bab.    Kid.   30a  ;  Ber.    Ha;   Meg.   286; 
B.B.  21  ;  Gift.  58a). 

9.  Other  uses  of  the  synagogue.— To  eat,  drink, 
or  sleep  in  the  synagogue  was  regarded  as  profana- 
tion, but  it  was  used  for  funeral  addresses  ( Tos.  Meg. 
iii.  7  ;  Bab.  Meg.  286),  for  public  announcement, 
especially  of  charity  donations  (Lev.  E.  xxxii.  6  ; 
Scourer's  quotation  of  Mt  62  refers  to  the  Temple 
[see  aitt.  'Alms 'in  JE  i.  and  '  Didascalia,'  ib.  iv. 
591d-592a]).     The  ancient  Hasidim  or  Essenes  seem 
to  has-e  had  their  meals  in,  or  near,  the  synagogue, 
and  the  poor  were  housed  and  fed  in  rooms  adjoin- 
ing it  (Pes.    lOla;  Kohler,  MGWJ  xxxvii.   494). 
Punishment    by  scourging  was    inflicted    in  the 
synagogue  (Mt  10"  23s4,  Ac  26"). 

10.  The  synagogue  discipline.  —  The  mainten- 
ance of  the  synagogue  community  required  certain 
disciplinary  measures  to  keep  obnoxious  or  hostile 
elements  out.     The  following  were  the  different 
forms  of  exclusion  or  excommunication  used  against 
unsubmissive  members. 

(1)  Herem,  anathema — a  term  used  since  2  Es 
108   (see  artt.   'Anathema'  and  'Ban'  in  JE)  in 
the  sense  of  absolute  exclusion  from  the  congrega- 
tion (M.K.  16«  ;  1  Co  1622,  where  the  Greek  AvdOffw. 
is  followed  by  the  Aramaic  formula  Maran  atha 
['  thou  art  accursed ']  Gal  I8),  for  which  also  the  term 
dwoffvvdyuyos  is  used  (Jn  922  124- 162 ;  Apost.  Const. 
II.    xliii.    1,    Hi.    viii.    3,   IV.  viii.    3;   the   Syrian 
Didascalia  is  less  exact). 

(2)  Nidduy,  conditional  or  temporary  exclusion 
— a  term  used   chiefly   in   Mishna   (Ta'an.  iii.  8, 
M.K.  iii.  1-2 ;  'Eduy.  v.  c  ;  Midd.  112 ;  Jer.  M.K. 
Bid;  Bab.  Ber.  19a;  M.K.  16-17;  B.K.  1126  tt.  ; 
Ned.   76,    and    elsewhere).     It    corresponds  with 
d<j>opifcii'  (Lk  622 ;  Apost.  Const.  II.  xvi.  3,  4  ;  xxi. 
3,  7;  xxviii.  2,  4  ;   xl.  2  ;   xlvi.,  xlvii.  3;   xlviii. 
1  ;  III.   viii.    2  ;   VI.   xliii.  and  VII.  ii.   8 ;   also  in 
the  later  ecclesiastical  rules  [viii.  xxviii.  3,  7,  8 ; 
xxxii.  5;  xlvii.  5,    8ff.]);  probably   also  with  £K- 
{id\\fiv  £K  TTJS  tKK\riiria.s,  3  Jn  10. 

(3)  Neziphdh,  severe  public  reprimand  implying 
a  seven  days'  seclusion  in  accord  with  Nu  12"  (cf. 
Sifre,  ad  loc.  :  M.K.  16a;   Shab.  115rt),  found  as 
early  as  the  1st  cent.  B.C.  in  Apost.  Const.  II.  xvi. 
3-4  ;  cf .  art.  '  Didascalia '  in  JE  iv.  589d,  against 
Hamburger,  art.  '  Bann,'  p.  150. 

(4)  Skammata,  handing  over  to  desolation  (from 
shammah  =  shemdmdh  =  ira.pa.§ovva.<.  rip  Zaravp,  1  Co 
55 ;  cf.  Jos.  BJ  II.  viii.  8  &ndJE  i.  561-562  ;  M.K. 
Ha). 

(5)  Lut,  execration — a  milder  form  of  shammata 
resorted  to  by  the  Talmudic  leader  in  Babylonia 
(see  art.  ui1?  iii  Levy,   Worterbuch  ;  M.K.  IQd ;  cf. 
Jg  S28,  Dt  2715'26). 

(6)  Corporal  punishments  such  as  the  thirty-nine 
stripes  for  transgression  of  Mosaic  commandments 
(Dt  253,   2  Co  II'2*)  or  beating   for  rebelliousness 
against  the  Rabbinical  authorities — MakkaihMar- 
duth  (Nazir  iv.  3,  2  Co  II-5,  Ac  16-).     The  entire 
disciplinary  system,  which  in  the  course  of  time 
became  rather  less  severe  in  the  same  measure  as 
heresy   and   antagonism  ceased  within  the   syna- 
gogue (M.K.    I6ab),  was  no  longer  clearly  under- 
stood in  Talmudic  times  ;  it  receives  better  light, 
however,  from  the  Essene  Church  rules  preserved 
in  the  Apost.  Const.  II.  xl.  2-43  and  47,  as  shown 
above.     It  is  from  the  ancient  Hasidaean  synagogue 
that  the  Christian  Church  adopted  her  own  dis- 
ciplinary system. 

LITERATURE.— E.  Schiirer,  GJV  ii.-l  [Leipzig,  1907]  497-541, 
where  the  entire  literature  is  given;  W.  Bacher,  art.  'Syna- 
gogue,' in  HDB.  Especially  to  be  mentioned  are  L.  Loew,  Der 
synagogale  Ritus(  =  G>-sammelteSchriften,  Szegedin,  1889-1900, 


The  Religion  and  Worship  of  the  Synagogue,  London,  1907  ;  W. 
Bousset,  Religion  des  Judentums2,  Berlin.  1906,  pp.  83,  197  f., 
VOL.  II. — 35 


197  ff. ;  J.  Wellhausen,  Israelitische  undjiidisehe  Gfischichte®, 
do.,  1907,  pp.  193  f.,  109  f.  ;  I.  Elbogen,  Der  jiidische  Gottes- 
dienst  in  seiner  geschichtlichen  Entwicklung,  Leipzig,  1913. 

K.  KOHLER. 

SYNTYCHE  (Swri^).— Syntyche  was  a  Christian 
lady  of  Philippi  who  seems  to  have  held  a  promi- 
nent place  in  the  Church,  and  who,  at  the  date 
of  the  Apostle's  letter  to  the  Philippians,  had  a 
difference  of  opinion  with  another  lady  called 
Euodia  (q.v. ).  St.  Paul  exhorts  them  'to  be  of 
the  same  mind  in  the  Lord  '  (Ph  42).  It  is  impos- 
sible to  form  any  certain  conclusions  regarding 
the  nature  of  the  controversy  between  the  two 
women,  who  may  have  been  deaconesses,  but  who 
were  more  likely  prominent  female  members  of 
the  Church,  of  the  type  of  Lydia  of  Ac  1614-'5.  In 
fact,  the  conjecture  has  been  put  forward  that  one 
of  them  may  have  been  Lydia  herself,  as  '  Lydia ' 
may  not  be  a  personal  but  a  racial  or  geographical 
designation  signifying  '  the  Lydian  '  or  the  native 
of  the  province  of  Lydia,  where  the  city  of  Thya- 
tira,  to  which  she  belonged,  was  situated.  This 
cannot  of  course  be  verified.  Nor  can  we  say 
whether  the  difference  between  the  two  partook  of 
the  nature  of  a  religious  controversy  or  of  a  per- 
sonal quarrel.  Before  this  date  both  had  rendered 
signal  service  to  the  cause  of  the  gospel  in  Philippi, 
and  the  Apostle  adduces  this  as  a  reason  why  they 
should  be  helped  towards  a  reconciliation.  St.  Paul 
expects  that  they  will  get  help  in  their  differences 
from  one  whom  he  describes  as'Synzygus'  (AY 
'  true  yokefellow,'  but  probably  a  proper  name  ; 
cf.  art.  SYNZYGUS),  probably  a  prominent  official 
of  the  church  of  Philippi.  The  names  of  both 
Euodia  and  Syntyche  are  found  frequently,  and 
there  is  no  reason  for  supposing  them  to  be  alle- 
gorical names  for  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christianity, 
as  is  done  so  arbitrarily  by  the  Tubingen  school. 

\y.  F.  BOYD. 

SYNZYGUS  (IiHiryos,  erroneously  in  TR  cri/firyos, 
from  ffnvfctiyvvfju.,  '  fasten  or  yoke  together ' — '  yoke- 
fellow,' 'comrade,'  'consort,'  'partner,'  'col- 
league').—  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Philippians  (43) 
the  apostle  Paul  refers  to  a  dispute  that  had  arisen 
between  two  female  members  or  the  Church,  Euodia 
and  Syntyche,  and  entreats  one  whom  he  describes 
as  Synzygus  (AV  '  true  yokefellow  ')  to  assist  the 
women  to  come  to  a  reconciliation.  Either  the 
name  is  the  proper  name  of  a  person  or  a  descrip- 
tion applied  by  the  Apostle  to  oneof  his  companions. 
If  the  name  is  a  proper  name,  the  bearer  was  a 
leader  in  the  Christian  Church  at  Philippi  when 
the  Epistle  was  written.  The  difficulty  with  regard 
to  this — the  natural  explanation— is  that  Synzygus 
is  a  very  unusual  name  and,  in  fact,  does  not 
seem  to  occur  at  all  in  extant  literature,  though 
C.  von  Weizsacker  (Apostolic  Age,  i.2  [London, 
1897]  282)  suggests  that  the  name  may  have  been 
assumed  at  baptism  as  a  proper  name.  Meyer, 
who  regards  it  as  the  name  of  a  person,  points  out 
that  many  names  occur  only  once,  and  that  the 
adjective  yv-^crif,  'real,'  'true,'  'genuine,'  empha- 
sizes the  fact  that  the  character  of  the  man  was 
well  expressed  by  his  name  (cf.  the  use  of  Onesimus 
in  Philem  ").  The  meaning  would  thus  be  :  '  I 
beseech  thee,  Synzygus,  truly  so  named,  a  fellow- 
helper  in  very  deed.'  We  may  also  compare 
Abigail's  use  of  her  husband's  name  'Nabal,'  to 
describe  his  character :  'Nabal  [fool]  is  his  name, 
and  folly  is  with  him'  (1  S  2525).  It  is  to  be  as- 
sumed that  Synzygus  had  done  much  for  the  pro- 
gress of  the  gospel  in  Philippi,  and  the  Apostle 
applies  to  himself  and  his  friend  the  common 
biblical  comparison  of  the  pair  of  oxen  ploughing 
or  threshing  together  under  the  same  yoke,  as  this 
was  naturally  suggested  by  his  name  (cf.  1  Co  99, 
1  Ti  518). 

The  other  view,  that   the  word   means  'yoke- 


546 


SYEACUSE 


SYEIA 


fellow,'  as  in  classical  Greek,  is  far  less  probable 
and  at  once  raises  the  question  as  to  which  of  the 
Apostle's  companions  is  to  be  understood  by  the 
term.  Lightfoot  (Philippians,  p.  158)  thinks  it 
most  probable  that  Epaphroditus,  the  bearer  of  the 
letter,  is  intended,  as  in  this  case  there  would  be 
no  danger  of  making  the  reference  unintelligible 
by  the  suppression  of  the  name.  Others  have  sug- 
gested that  Barnabas,  Silas,  Timothy,  or  Luke  is 
to  be  thought  of  as  the  '  true  yokefellow.'  Ramsay 
(St.  Paul  the  Traveller  and  the  Roman  Citizen, 
p.  358)  says  definitely  :  '  Luke  is  either  the  "  true 
yokefellow  "  addressed  in  Phil.  iv.  3,  or  was  actually 
the  bearer  of  the  letter  to  Philippi.'  If  the  name 
is  not  a  proper  name,  the  person  addressed  was  one 
present  with  the  Apostle  when  he  wrote  to  Philippi 
— either  Epaphroditus  or  some  other. 

The  suggestion  of  some  early  commentators 
that  the  Apostle  was  addressing  his  wife  is  impos- 
sible, both  historically,  in  the  light  of  1  Co  78,  and 
grammatically,  as  the  adjective  is  masculine.  It 
is  also  improbable  that  the  husband  of  one  or  other 
of  the  women  is  referred  to,  while  the  suggestion 
of  ilenan  (St.  Paul,  Paris,  1869,  p.  148)  that  the 
allusion  is  to  Lydia,  who,  he  assumes,  had  become 
the  wife  of  the  Apostle,  is  hardly  to  be  taken 
seriously. 

LITERATURE. — H.  A.  W.  Meyer,  Kom.  uber  die  Briefe  an 
die  Philipper  .  .  .3,  Gottingen,  1865 ;  J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Philip- 
pians*, London,  1878;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller 
and  the  Roman  Citizen,  do.,  1895 ;  J.  C.  M.  Laurent,  '  Cber 
Synzygus,'  in  Zeitschrift  fur  die  luther.  Theol.  und  Kirche, 
xxvi.  [Leipzig,  1865]  1  fl. ,  fleutest'amentliche  Studien,  Gotha,  1866; 
H.  A.  A.  Kennedy,  EGT,  '  Philippians,'  London,  1903,  p.  465  ; 
J.  Gibb,  art.  '  Synzyg:us,'  in  HDB;  W.  C.  v.  Manen,  art. 
'  Synzygus,'  in  EBi ;  Grimm-Thayer,  s.v. 

W.  F.  BOYD. 

SYRACUSE  (EvpdKova-ai,  now  Siragosa). — Syra- 
cuse was  situated  on  the  east  coast  of  Sicily,  about 
midway  between  the  modern  Catania  and  Cape 
Passaro,  and  was  the  wealthiest  and  most  power- 
ful of  the  Greek  cities  in  the  island.  'So  great 
riches,'  says  Strabo  (vi.  ii.  4),  'have  accrued  to  the 
Syracusans  that  their  name  is  embodied  in  the 
proverb  applied  to  those  who  have  too  great 
wealth,  viz.  that  they  have  not  yet  attained  to  a 
tithe  of  the  wealth  of  the  Syracusans.'  In  the  4th 
cent.  B.C.  Syracuse  defied  Athens,  when  the  latter 
was  at  the  height  of  her  power,  and  came  off  victori- 
ous. And  Syracuse  coveted  a  higher  fame  than  that 
of  warlike  prowess.  At  the  Court  of  her  kings  were 
to  be  found  such  men  of  letters  as  Pindar  and 
^Eschylus,  while  the  splendid  site  which  Nature 
had  given  her  was  adorned  with  some  of  the  finest 
buildings  in  the  world.  There  was  that  in  Syra- 
cuse which  led  her  admirers  to  exaggerate.  Cicero 
(in  Verr.  II.  iv.  52)  calls  her  '  the  greatest  of  Greek 
cities  and  the  most  beautiful  of  all  cities.'  But 
in  the  year  of  Cicero's  death  (43  B.C.)  Syracuse, 
and  indeed  the  whole  of  Sicily,  suffered  terribly  at 
the  hands  of  Sextus  Pompeius  ;  and,  though  Strabo 
(loc.  cit.)  praises  Augustus  for  sending  thither  a 
colony  and  to  a  great  extent  restoring  the  city 
to  its  former  importance,  the  geographer's  other 
words  scarcely  bear  out  this  flattering  statement. 

In  the  Greater  or  the  Lesser  Port  of  this  city, 
under  the  citadel  of  Ortygia  and  close  to  the 
fountain  of  Arethusa,  the  Alexandrian  corn-ship 
in  which  St.  Paul  was  sailing  from  Melita  to 
Puteoli  had  to  tarry  three  days  for  a  favourable 
wind.  How  the  Apostle  spent  those  days  can  only 
be  conjectured.  Conybeare  and  Howson  not  only 
suggest  that  Julius  was  probably  courteous  enough 
to  let  him  go  ashore,  but  have  no  difficulty  in  giving 
credit  to  the  local  tradition  which  makes  St.  Paul 
the  first  founder  of  the  Sicilian  Church  (The  Life 
and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  1877,  ii.  429  f.).  W.  M. 
Ramsay,  on  the  other  hand,  holds  that,  as  the  ship 
was  simply  waiting  a  suitable  wind,  no  prisoner 


was  likely  to  be  allowed  leave  of  absence  (HDB  iv. 
645b).  Between  these  theories  of  a  fruitful  activ- 
ity and  an  enforced  idleness  there  may  be  room 
for  a  via  media.  If  St.  Paul  was  permitted  to  go 
into  the  city,  with  a  charge  to  note  the  wind  and 
return  the  moment  it  veered  to  the  right  direction, 
he  would  probably  find  that  there  were  many  Jews 
and  proselytes  in  that  great  centre  of  commerce, 
though  no  ancient  writer  seems  to  allude  to  a 
Jewish  colony.  And  that  he  would  redeem  the 
time  is  certain.  But  as  to  the  actual  introduction 
of  Christianity  into  Sicily,  whether  then  or  at  a 
later  date,  history  is  silent,  though  the  extensive 
catacombs  in  the  Achradina  quarter  tell  their  own 
tale. 

LITERATURE.— W.  Smith,  DGRG,  1868,  art.  'Syracuse';  J. 
Fiihrer  and  V.  Schultze,  Die  altchristlichen  Grabstatten 
Siziliens,  1907 ;  C.  Baedeker,  Southern  Italy  and  Sicily15, 
1908,  pp.  406-420.  JAMES  SXKAHAN. 

SYRIA  (Zvpio.). — This  term  is  employed  in  the 
LXX  as  the  equivalent  of  the  Heb.  Aram.  It  is 
probably  the  same  word  as  the  Babylonian  Suri, 
which  was  applied  to  a  N.  Euphratean  district. 
'Syria'  was  distinct  from  'Assyria,'  though 
Herodotus  (vii.  63)  confounds  'Acnrtfpioi  and  Sty/not 
as  barbarian  and  Greek  forms  of  a  single  ethnic 
term.  As  defined  by  Strabo  (XVI.  ii.  1),  who  is 
followed  by  Pliny  and  Ptolemy,  Syria  was  bounded 
on  the  W.  by  the  Mediterranean,  on  the  N.  by  the 
Tauric  range  of  mountains,  on  the  E.  by  the 
middle  Euphrates  and  the  Hamad  or  desert  steppe, 
and  on  the  S.  by  the  Sinaitic  peninsula.  Its  com- 
ponent parts  (ib.  XVI.  ii.  2)  were  Commagene, 
Seleucis,  Ccelesyria,  Phoenicia,  and  Judaea.  The 
whole  country  was  about  400  miles  from  N.  to  S., 
with  a  mean  breadth  of  150  miles.  But  there  was 
a  special,  and  a  still  prevalent,  usage,  wherein 
Syria  was  restricted  to  that  part  of  the  wider  area 
which  lies  N.  of  Palestine,  exclusive  of  Phoenicia. 
Under  the  Ottoman  system  Syria  denotes  no 
more  than  the  district  of  Damascus,  for  the 
vilayets  of  Aleppo  and  Beyrout,  as  well  as  the 
sanjaks  of  Lebanon  and  Jerusalem,  form  separate 
areas. 

The  most  prominent  physical  features  of  Syria 
are  two  parallel  mountain  ranges  trending  N.  and 
S.  The  western  range,  springing  from  Taurus, 
includes  Mt.  Casius  and  Lebanon,  and  broadens 
out  into  the  table-land  of  Galilee,  Samaria,  and 
Judaea.  The  eastern  system,  which  rises  into 
Anti-Libanus  and  culminates  in  Hermon,  may  be 
traced  in  Jebel  Hauran  and  the  mountains  of  Moab 
as  far  as  Horeb.  Between  Lebanon  and  the  sea 
is  the  plain  of  Phoenicia,  which  has  only  a  few 
torrent-streams.  From  the  high  lacustrine  district 
of  Ccelesyria,  between  Lebanon  and  Anti-Libanus, 
the  Orontes  flows  northward,  the  Litany  and 
Jordan  southward.  To  the  east  of  Hermon,  the 
Abana  (or  Barada),  after  creating  the  oasis  of 
Damascus,  loses  itself  in  desert  marshes.  The 
district  of  Commagene  has  two  river-basins,  which 
belong  respectively  to  the  Cilician  and  the  Euphra- 
tean river-systems. 

Most  of  the  nationalities  which  have  settled  in 
Syria  have  been  of  the  Semitic  stock.  Separated 
from  one  another  by  great  mountain  barriers,  they 
have  never  formed  a  political  unity,  but  during 
the  centuries  in  which  their  freedom  was  undis- 
turbed by  the  military  powers  on  the  Nile  and 
Euphrates  valleys  they  developed  types  of  civil- 
ization and  culture  which,  through  the  commerce 
of  Phoenicia  and  the  religion  of  Judaea,  have 
powerfully  influenced  mankind.  The  Arabs  who 
founded  the  Nabataean  kingdom,  with  Petra  as  its 
centre,  were  largely  affected  by  the  manners  and 
customs  of  their  Aramaean  neighbours. 

The  foundation  of  Greek  cities  in  Syria  after  the 


SYRTIS 


TABERNACLE 


547 


time  of  Alexander  the  Great  was  of  primary  im- 
portance for  the  country.  Antioch  was  built  as 
the  seat  of  the  Seleucid  dynasty,  and  became  the 
third,  if  not  the  second,  city  in  the  world.  The 
Graeco-Syrian  civilization  extended  far  down  both 
sides  of  Jordan,  and,  but  for  the  crazy  policy  of 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  and  the  consequent  Macca- 
bzean  revolt,  might  have  absorbed  Judsea  itself. 
Syria  was  conquered  for  the  Romans  by  Pompey 
in  63  B.C.  The  province  of  that  name  which  he 
constituted  did  not  embrace  the  whole  country  of 
Syria  in  the  wider  sense.  It  extended  from  the 
Gulf  of  Issus  in  the  N.  to  a  little  beyond  Damascus 
in  the  S.  The  rest  of  ancient  Syria  was  to  be 
found  partly  in  the  territories  of  numerous  free 
cities,  and  partly  in  petty  principalities  subject  to 
Rome,  while  Commagene  had  become  an  independ- 
ent kingdom  before  the  time  of  Pompey's  conquest. 
Syria  was  geographically  related  to  Cilicia,  with 
which  it  easily  communicated  by  the  Pylce  Syrice 
(Beilan  Pass),  and  Avigustus  formed  the  great  triple 
province  of  Syria-Cilicia-Phcenice,  which  subsisted 
throughout  the  1st  cent.  A.D.  Syria  and  Cilicia 
formed  a  single  mission-field  for  the  Apostolic 
Church,  and  are  therefore  several  times  named 
together  in  the  NT  (Ac  1523-  41,  Gal  I21).  Hadrian 
constituted  the  three  provinces  of  Syria,  Syria- 
Phcenice,  and  Syria- Palestina.  Antioch  remained 
the  capital  of  Syria  till  the  time  of  Septimius 
Severus,  who  gave  the  honour  to  Laodicea  (now 
Latakia),  making  it  a  colonia.  After  the  Muham- 
madan  conquest  (A.D.  636)  the  old  Semitic  capital, 
Damascus,  regained  its  ascendancy.  Syria  suffered 
greatly  at  the  hands  of  the  Mongols  (A.D.  1260), 
and  never  recovered  its  old  prosperity. 

LITERATURE. — J.  L.  Porter,  Five  Tears  in  Damascus,  2  vols., 
1855;  G.  A.  Smith,  HGHL*,  1897;  H.  C.  Butler,  Archi- 
tecture and  other  Arts,  1903 ;  G.  L.  Bell,  The  Desert  and 
the  Sown,  1907.  JAMES  STRAHAN. 

SYRTIS  (AV  'quicksands,'  Ac  2717).— The  Great 


and  the  Little  Syrtis  (Stf/ms  ^670X77  KO.L  juicpd)  were  the 
eastern  and  western  recesses  of  the  great  bay  on  the 
North  African  coast  between  Carthage  and  Cyren- 
aica.  Drifting  before  an  E.N.E.  wind  (see  EtJRA- 
QUILO),  the  crew  of  St.  Paul's  ship  knew  that  they 
were  being  carried  in  the  direction  of  the  Greater 
Syrtis  (now  the  GulfofSidra),  'the  Goodwin  Sands 
of  the  Mediterranean  '  (F.  W.  Farrar,  The  Life 
and  Work  of  St.  Paul,  1897,  p.  568).  The  best 
comment  on  Luke's  words  is  supplied  by  Strabo 
(XVII.  iii.  20) : 

'  The  difficulty  of  navigating  both  this  and  the  Lesser  Syrtis 
arises  from  the  soundings  in  many  parts  being  soft  mud.  It 
sometimes  happens,  on  the  ebbing  and  flowing  of  the  tide,  that 
vessels  are  carried  upon  the  shallows,  settle  down,  and  are 
seldom  recovered.  Sailors  therefore,  in  coasting,  keep  at  a 
distance  from  the  shore,  and  are  on  their  guard,  lest  they  should 
be  caught  by  a  wind  unprepared,  and  driven  into  these  gulfs.' 

The  name  'Syrtis'  may  be  derived  from  the 
sucking  action  of  the  treacherous  tides — '  Syrtes 
ab  tractu  nominates'  (Sail.  Bell.  Jug.  77).  But  it 
is  sometimes  connected  with  the  Arabic  serf,  'a 
desert,'  which  would  refer  to  the  desolate  and 
sandy  shore  that  marked  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Syrtes  (W.  Smith,  DGRG  ii.  [1868]  1081).  Virgil 
(JEn.  iv.  41)  speaks  of  the  '  inhospita  Syrtis,'  and 
there  were  many  ancient  tales,  probably  not  a 
little  exaggerated,  of  armies  on  land  and  even 
ships  at  sea  being  overwhelmed  by  clouds  of  drift- 
ing sand  (Diod.  xx.  42 ;  Sail.  Bell.  Jug.  78 ; 
Herod,  iii.  25.  26,  iv.  173  ;  Lucan,  ix.  294  f.). 

The  crew  of  the  scudding  ship  avoided  the 
foreseen  danger  by  laying  her  to  on  the  starboard 
tack,  i.e.  with  her  right  side  to  the  wind.  Luke's 
phrase,  xakayavre^  TO  ffKevos  ('lowered  the  gear," 
Ac  2717  RV),  only  imperfectly  describes  this  opera- 
tion, as  it  leaves  out  an  essential  detail — the  set- 
ting of  the  storm-sail.  See  J.  Smith,  The  Voyage 
and  Shipwreck  of  St.  Paul,  1880,  p.  llOf.,  and 
W.  M.  Ramsay,  St.  Paul  the  Traveller  and  the 
Roman  Citizen,  1895,  p.  328  f. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 


TABERNACLE  (<rKi)vf),  tabernaculum). — Taber- 
nacle is  the  name  given  in  the  English  Bible,  since 
the  time  of  Wyclif,  to  the  moving  sanctuary  which, 
according  to  the  OT  priestly  writers,  was  prepared 
by  Moses  as  the  place  of  worship  of  the  Israelites 
during  their  wanderings  in  the  wilderness.  This 
tabernacle,  which  is  described  with  elaborate 
detail  in  Ex  25-31,  and  which  supplies  the  writer 
of  Hebrews  with  the  premisses  of  his  great  argu- 
ment, is  now  almost  universally  regarded  as  a> 
post-Exilic  product  of  the  Hebrew  religious 
imagination,  working  upon  a  foundation  of  his- 
torical fact.  Suggested  by  the  Divine  promise  to 
Israel,  '  My  dwelling  shall  be  with  them '  (Ezk 
S727) — where  '  dwelling '  (j|yo)  gives  the  literal  sense 
of  the  word  usually  rendered  by  '  tabernacle ' — it 
was  an  attempt  to  give  ideal  expression,  by  out- 
ward and  visible  symbols,  to  a  people's  faith  in  the 
real  presence  of  God.  Realizing  the  double  truth 
of  the  Divine  nearness  and  mysterious  unapproach- 
ableness,  the  priests  in  a  manner  materialized  the 
conditions  under  which  the  right  relation  between 
God  and  His  people  could  be  renewed  and  main- 
tained. Their  sanctuary  was  evidently  a  develop- 
ment of  the  sketch  of  Ezekiel  (40-48) ;  but,  whereas 
his  ideal  was  a  hope  to  be  realized  in  the  Messianic 
age,  theirs  was  represented  as  a  reminiscence  of 
the  Mosaic  time.  In  some  respects  following,  but 


in  others  widely  diverging  from,  the  arrangements 
of  the  first  Temple,  its  ritual  was  in  all  essentials 
actualized  in  the  second  and  third  Temples. 
Various  allusions  to  the  tabernacle  are  found  in 
the  apostolic  writings. 

1.  The  writer  of  Hebrews  delights,  like  Philo, 
in  the  typical  and  allegorical  interpretation  of  the 
OT  Scriptures,  which  seem  to  him  pregnant  with 
hidden  spiritual  meanings.  His  aim  is  to  prove 
that  the  Christian  has  passed  '  ex  umbris  et 
imaginibus  in  veritatem.'  Never  referring  to  the 
Temple,  always  to  the  tabernacle,  he  lingers  over 
the  description  of  '  the  vessels  of  the  ministry ' 
(921),  entering  into  details  which  would  have  been 
superfluous  had  he  been  writing  merely  to  Jewish 
readers.  While  he  recognizes  the  splendour  of  the 
old  order,  and  reverently  unfolds  the  significance  of 
its  ritual,  he  regards  all  the  Levitical  institutions  as 
prophetic  types  which,  having  at  length  been  ful- 
filled by  Christ,  may  now  be  set  aside  without  com- 
punction or  regret.  His  philosophical  presupposi- 
tion, or  view  of  the  world,  is  the  Platonic  and 
Philonic  one,  that  heaven  is  the  place  of  realities, 
while  earth  is  the  place  of  shadows ;  and  his 
central  doctrine  is  that  Christ,  having,  as  a 
'  minister  of  the  true  tabernacle  (^  CT/CTJI/TJ  TJ  dXijtfu'T?), 
which  the  Lord  pitched,  not  man'  (82),  entered 
within  the  veil,  has  won  for  every  Christian 


548 


TABITHA 


TAESUS 


the  right  of  personal  access  to  God.  Holding,  like 
the  most  enlightened  Israelites  before  him,  that 
the  Mosaic  ordinances  were  no  more  than  Divinely 
appointed  ceremonial  forms,  and  asserting  the 
spiritual  ineffectiveness  of  the  whole  ritual,  even 
of  the  supreme  sacrifice  of  the  Day  of  Atonement, 
he  declares  'the  first  tabernacle'  (96- 8),  though 
made  in  all  things  according  to  a  heavenly  pattern 
(rinrov,  85),  to  be  superseded  by  '  a  greater  and 
more  perfect  tabernacle'  (911),  and  the  Levitical 
priesthood  by  '  a  more  excellent  ministry '  (dia- 
(popurtpa,  \eirovpyia,  86). 

2.  The  writer  of   the  Fourth  Gospel  illustrates 
the  Incarnation  by  saying  that  the  Logos  taber- 
nacled (effufywev)  among  us  (Jn  I14).     As  God  once 
dwelt,    in   visible  cloud    and    flame,   among    His 
people,  so  Christ  has  sojourned  among  men,  who 
have  beheld  His  glory,  which  in  this  instance  is 
the  spiritual  glory  of  a  perfect  manhood. 

3.  The  author  of  the  Revelation  depicts  the  final 
state  of  Messianic  happiness  in  the  words :   '  Be- 
hold, the  tabernacle  (<TKrjv/i)  of  God  is  with  men, 
and  he  shall  dwell  (a-Kijv^fi)  with  them '  (213).    '  So 
closely  does  Shekinah   resemble  aKt\vt\,    that  the 
former  has  even  been  thought  of  as  a  translitera- 
tion of  the  latter  '  (C.  Taylor,  Sayings  of  the  Jewish 
Fathers2,  Cambridge,  1897,  p.  44).    That  was  no 
more   than    a  linguistic   fancy,    Shekinah    being 
really  derived  from   the  same  verb  as  mishkan, 
1  tabernacle.'      But    the     Messianic     promise    is 
partially  fulfilled  in  an  intenser  realization  of  the 
Divine  Immanence  in  the  world,  where  '  earth's 
crammed  with   heaven,   and  every  common   bush 
afire  with  God'  (E.  B.  Browning,  Aurora  Leigh, 
bk.  vii.  line  844  f. ),  and  a  modern  mystic  declares 
that  '  there  is  but  one  Temple  in  the  world,  and 
that  is  the  Body  of  Man.     Nothing  is  holier  than 
this  high  form.     Bending  before  men  is  a  reverence 
done  to  this  Revelation  in  the  Flesh.     We  touch 
Heaven,  when  we  lay  our  hand  on  a  human  body' 
(Novalis,     Carlyle's    Critical    and    Miscellaneous 
Essays,    London,    1872,   ii.   216).     Cf.    St.    Paul's 
words,    '  ye  are  a   temple  (va.6s,  from   valeiv,    '  to 
dwell ')  of  God  .  .  .  the  temple  of  God   is  holy, 
which  temple  ye  are'  (1  Co   316- 17).     But  when  a 
promise  is  to  be  fulfilled  by  Christ,  the  best  is  yet 
to  be. 

LITERATI-RB.  —  W.  Nowack,  Letirbuch  der  hebrdischtn 
Archfwloyie,  Freiburg  i.  B.,  1894  ;  I.  Benzinger,  lli-braische 
Archdologie,  do.,  1894  ;  R.  L.  Ottley,  Aspects  of  the  OT(BL), 
London,  1897,  pp.  226  ff.,  261  ff.  ;  A.  R.  S.  Kennedy,  artt. 
'  Tabernacle  '  in  HDB  and  EBr^. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 
TABITHA.— See  DORCAS. 

TABLE  (rpcb-efa).—  This  word  is  used  in  the  NT 
in  various  senses.  On  a  technical  meaning  which 
it  has  in  the  Gospels  see  art.  '  Bank '  in  DCG. 

1.  In  the  primitive  Church  the  apostles  deemed 
it  unfitting  that  they  should  turn  aside  from  their 
proper  task  of  preaching  the  Word  of  God  and 
give  themselves  to  that  of  serving  tables  (diaKovelv 
rpairtfais,  Ac  62).     They  accordingly  secured  the 
appointment  of  the  Seven,   which  left  them  free 
to  give  their  undivided  time  and  strength  to  the 
ministry  of  the  Word  (ry   BiaKovlq.  rov  \6yov,  64). 
Two  kinds  of  '  service,'  or  '  deacpnship,'  are  thus 
specified,  both  of  them  evangelical  and  honour- 
able, but  each  so  arduous  and  absorbing  that  a 
division  of  labour  became  imperative.     The  'serv- 
ing of  tables '  probably  included  not  merely  the 
literal  provision  of  repasts  for  the  poor,  but  the 
task  of  determining  the  fitness  of  applicants  for 
relief  and  the  allocation  of  a  central  fund. 

2.  It  is  in  one  of  St.  Paul's  letters  that  we  first 
find  the  Eucharist  called  '  the  table  of  the  Lord ' 
(Tpawtfts  Kvpiov,  1  Co  1021).     It  would  be  interesting 
to  know  whether  he  coined  the  phrase  or  found  it 


already  in  use  in  the  primitive  Church  (cf.  Lk  2230), 
but  the  point  has  to  be  left  undetermined.  Con- 
trasting 'the  Lord's  table'  with  'the  tables  of 
demons,'  as  he  scornfully  calls  the  riotous  feasts  of 
pagan  idolatry,  he  urges  the  moral  impossibility  of 
passing  from  the  pure  atmosphere  of  Christian 
fellowship  into  the  tainted  air  of  heathen  licence 
and  debauchery. 

3.  Among  the  furniture  of  the  Holy  Place  the 
writer  of  Hebrews  names  '  the  table '  (i]  rpdTrefa, 
92),  meaning  the  table  of  shewbread,  for  the  con- 
struction and  ornamentation  of  which  directions 
are  given  in  Ex  2523'30.  See  SHEWBREAD. 

Another  word  tr.  '  table '  is  7r\e££,  which  is  used 
in  the  LXX  for  mV.  St.  Paul  contrasts  the  tables 
of  stone  on  which  the  Ten  Commandments  were 
written  by  the  '  finger  of  God '  with  the  tables 
that  are  not  of  stone  but  are  '  hearts  of  flesh,' 
whereon  the  Holy  Spirit  writes  the  laws  of  the 
New  Covenant  (2  Co  33).  JAMES  STRAHAN. 
I 

TALENT. — As  a  translation  of  the  adjectival 
aia  (fern,  sing.),  'weighing  a  talent,'  this 
word  is  found  only  in  Rev  1621.  The  reference  is 
to  weight,  and  not  to  money.  Even  with  the 
recovery  of  a  supposed  actual  specimen  (see  art. 
'  Weights  and  Measures '  in  HDB  iv.  906)  we  are 
still  dependent  on  an  average  estimate  of  the  weight 
of  a  talent.  This  may  be  given  as  a  little  over 
90  Ib.  avoirdupois  (  =  125  librae,  Roman).  This 
means  that  each  hailstone  was  about  as  much  as  a 
man  of  average  strength  can  lift.  It  is  usual  to 
compare  Josephus,  BJ  V.  vi.  3,  where  stones  cast 
by  engines  of  war  are  spoken  of  in  similar  terms. 
W.  CRUICKSHANK. 

TANNER See  SlMON  (the  Tanner). 

TARSUS  (Ta/w6s).—  This  city  is  famous  as  the 
capital  of  Cilicia  and  the  birthplace  of  St.  Paul 
(Ac  22s  ;  cf.  911  2139).  It  was  built  on  both  banks 
of  the  Cydnus,  in  a  rich  and  extensive  plain,  about 
10  miles  N.  of  the  coast  and  30  miles  S.  of  the  vast 
mountain-wall  of  Taurus.  The  river  descends  swift 
and  cold  from  the  snow-clad  heights — if/vxpov  re  /ecu 
TOLXV  Tt>  pev/J-a-  tern?  (Strabo,  XIV.  v.  12) — and  Alex- 
ander the  Great  almost  lost  his  life  from  the  effects 
of  an  imprudent  bathe  in  its  icy  water  (Plut.  Alex. 
19).  Flowing,  200  ft.  wide,  through  the  heart  of  the 
city,  it  entered,  some  miles  down,  a  lake  called  the 
Rhegma — now  a  fever-breeding  marsh,  30  miles  in 
circumference — which  served  as  an  excellent  har- 
bour for  the  shipping  of  the  Mediterranean.  But 
the  Cydnus  was  navigable  as  far  as  the  city  itself, 
and  all  the  world  knows  of  Cleopatra's  pageant  on 
those  waters  (Plutarch,  Antony,  25 f. ;  Shakespeare, 
Antony  and  Cleopatra,  act  II.  sc.  ii.  line  19211'.). 

The  great  trade-route  from  the  Euphrates  by  the 
Am  anus  Pass  joined  the  one  from  Antioch  by  the 
Syrian  Gates  about  50  miles  E.  of  Tarsus,  and  the 
single  road,  after  traversing  the  city,  turned  sharply 
northward  towards  the  Cilician  Gates — a  natural 
pass,  70  miles  long,  greatly  improved  by  engineering 
perhaps  about  1000  B.C. — which  gave  access  in  peace 
and  war  to  the  vast  central  plateau  of  Asia  Minor. 
Highways  of  sea  and  land  thus  combined  to  make 
Tarsus  one  of  the  most  important  meeting-places  of 
East  and  West. 

The  1st  cent.  Tarsus,  whose  most  famous  son  was 
a  Jew,  a  Hellenist,  and  a  Roman  citizen,  resembled 
a  composite  photograph,  in  which  the  Greek  type 
had  been  superimposed  upon  the  Oriental,  and  the 
Roman  upon  both. 

Tarsus  is  mentioned  in  the  'Black  Obelisk'  in- 
scription as  one  of  the  cities  captured  by  the  As- 
syrian Shalmaneser  about  860  B.C.  (Records  of  the 
Past,  ed.  A.  H.  Sayce,  new  ser.,  6  vols.,  London, 
1888-92,  iv.  47).  Under  the  Persian  Empire  it  was 
governed  sometimes  by  satraps,  sometimes  by  sub- 


TAKSUS 


TATTLERS 


545) 


ject  kings.  Xenophon  (c.  400  B.C. )  found  it  a  wo\iv 
/*ey6.\T)v  KO.I  evdal/jiova.,  where  Syennesis,  king  of 
Cilicia,  had  his  residence  (Anab.  I.  ii.  23).  The 
victories  of  Alexander  the  Great  changed  the  face 
of  the  East,  and  Tarsus  was  one  of  the  many  cities 
that  were  Hellenized  by  the  Seleucids.  Antiochus 
Epiphanes  IV.  visited  Cilicia  about  170  B.C.  for  the 
purpose  of  allaying  discontent  in  Tarsus  and  the 
neighbouring  town  of  Mallus  (2  Mac  430'-),  and 
Ramsay  thinks  it  probable  that  this  king  recon- 
stituted Tarsus  as  an  autonomous  Greek  city,  and 
that,  according  to  the  practice  of  the  Seleucids,  he 
planted  a  colony  of  Jews  there,  giving  them  equal 
rights  of  citizenship  (lffortfj.ia)  with  the  Greeks  (The 
Cities  of  St.  Paul,  London,  1907,  pp.  165,  180). 
The  citizens  of  Greek  towns  were  divided  into 
'  tribes'  (<f>v\al),  each  observing  its  own  special 
religious  rites ;  and,  as  the  individual  could  not 
enjoy  civic  privileges  except  in  his  relation  to  the 
tribe,  there  must  have  been  a  </>i>Xr)  of  Jews  in  Tarsus, 
each  member  of  which  could  boast  of  being  '  a  Tar- 
sian  of  Cilicia,  a  citizen  of  no  mean  city'  (Ac  2139). 
The  far-reaching  change  which  this  Antiochus,  who 
was  at  first  no  enemy  of  the  Jews,  made  in  Tarsus 
was  commemorated  by  the  new  name  given  to  the 
city — '  Antioch  on  the  Cydnus ' — which,  however, 
was  soon  dropped,  as  there  were  already  so  many 
Antiochs,  and  as  Tarsus  was  still  essentially  an 
Oriental  city.  When  Pompey  reconstituted  the 
province  of  Cilicia  (in  64  B.C.),  Tarsus  became  the 
headquarters  of  the  Roman  governor,  but  it  lost 
this  honour  when  Augustus  formed  the  great  joint- 
province  of  Syria-Cilicia-Phcenice  (probably  in  27 
B.C.).  Tarsus  took  Caesar's  side  in  the  Civil  War, 
and  in  memory  of  a  visit  which  the  dictator  paid 
it  in  his  march  from  Egypt  to  Pontus  it  either 
received  or  assumed  the  name  of  Juliopolis.  The 
republican  Cassius  plundered  it  on  that  account, 
but  Mark  Antony  made  it  a  civitas  libera  et  im- 
munis,  and  Augustus  confirmed  its  privileges. 
Under  a  strong  and  j  ust  Roman  government,  Tarsus 
was  left  to  the  peaceful  development  of  its  great 
resources,  and  reached  the  zenith  of  its  prosperity, 
while  its  Hellenization  now  went  on  apace.  In- 
spired with  an  enthusiasm  for  learning  and  the 
arts,  it  established  a  university,  which  was  not  in- 
deed BO  splendidly  equipped  as  the  older  founda- 
tions of  Athens  and  Alexandria,  but,  according  to 
Strabo  (XIV.  v.  12),  even  surpassed  them  in  zeal  for 
knowledge.  At  the  same  time  Tarsus  developed  a 
higher  civic  consciousness,  and  under  the  benign 
rule  of  Augustus'  old  preceptor,  the  Stoic  Athene- 
dorus,  who  received  divine  honours  after  his  death, 
and  of  Nestor,  the  teacher  of  Marcellusand  perhaps 
of  Tiberius,  it  for  a  time  realized  the  Platonic  ideal 
of  government  by  philosophers.  T.  Mommsen 
has  called  Asia  Minor  '  the  promised  land  of 
municipal  vanity'  (The  Provinces  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  Eng.  tr.,  2  vols.,  London,  1909,  i.  328,  n.  1), 
and  it  is  curious  to  see  how  Tarsus,  like  so  many 
other  cities,  arrogated  such  high-sounding  titles  as 
Metropolis,  Neokoros,  Free,  First,  Fairest,  Best. 
But  this  was  only  the  defect  of  her  qualities,  and 
all  that  was  highest  and  worthiest  in  her  life  was 
associated  with  the  intense  local  patriotism  of  her 
citizens. 

We  have  not  the  means  of  accurately  measuring 
the  eflect  of  such  an  intellectual  environment  on 
1  Saul  of  Tarsus '  during  his  formative  years.  It 
cannot  be  proved  that  he  received  a  liberal  educa- 
tion in  his  native  city  before  he  went  to  study  in 
Jerusalem.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  Tarsus  was 
one  of  the  great  seats  of  Stoic  philosophy,  and  '  it 
is  not  mere  conjecture,  that  St.  Paul  had  some  ac- 
quaintance with  the  teachers  or  the  writings  of 
this  school '  (J.  B.  Lightfoot,  Philippians*,  London, 
1878,  p.  304).  It  is  equally  evident  that  he  ob- 
tained in  Tarsus  an  insight  into  civic  and  Imperial 


politics,  which  exercised  a  profound  influence  upon 
his  thought  as  a  Christian.  He  learned  to  give 
full  value  to  the  words  71-0X^77?  (Ac  213!>),  o-i/^TroXfrijs 
(Eph  2ltf),  TToXiTda  (Ac  22®,  Eph  212),  vo\lreviM 
(Ph  32*).  He  not  only  enjoyed,  like  all  his  com- 
patriots in  Tarsus  (the  o-vyyevels  of  Ro  167- 1K  21),  the 
freedom  of  his  native  city,  but  he  had  the  far  higher 
privilege,  of  which  only  few  of  them  could  boast,  of 
being  a  Roman  born  (Ac  2228).  While  his  Tarsian 
citizenship  availed  him  little  outside  the  city,  his 
Po)/ia?6j  eifj.i — Civis  Homamis  sum — was  a  talisman 
which  afforded  him  protection  almost  everywhere. 
And  his  double  citizenship  not  only  was  in  itself  a 
privilege,  but  became  a  fruitful  ideal.  The  thought 
of  a  citizen-life  worthy  of  a  Tarsian  and  of  a 
Roman  early  penetrated  his  mind,  and  reappeared 
by  and  by  in  the  sublimated  form  of  a  civic  con- 
duct worthy  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  (iro\iTf<jfcrOe, 
Ph  I27),  a  conscientious  citizen-life  led  always  be- 
fore God  (ireiro\iT€vfji.a.i  rtf  6e$,  Ac  231). 

After  his  conversion  St.  Paul  spent  several  years 
in  Tarsus  and  other  parts  of  Cilicia  (Gal  lai),  labour- 
ing and  learning  there  in  unrecorded  ways,  and  it 
was  in  his  native  city  that  he  was  found  by  Barna- 
bas (Ac  II28).  At  the  beginning  of  his  second  mis- 
sionary tour  he  was  again  in  Cilicia,  confirming  the 
churches  which  he  had  probably  founded  (Ac  1541), 
and  he  could  not  avoid  Tarsus  on  his  way  through 
the  Cilician  Gates  to  Derbe  and  Lystra  (Ac  161). 
His  third  tour  also  began  with  a  journey  from 
Syrian  Antioch  to  the  region  of  Phrygia  and  Gala- 
tia  (Ac  1823),  no  doubt  via  Tarsus,  which  he  then 
probably  saw  for  the  last  time. 

Captured  by  the  Arabs  in  the  7th,  and  by  the 
Crusaders  in  the  llth  cent.,  Tarsus  ultimately  fell 
into  Ottoman  hands  in  the  16th  century.  lit  has 
now  a  population  of  25,000,  a  congeries  of  many 
nationalities. 

LITERATURE.— W.  J.  Conybeare  and  J.  S.  Howson,  The  Life 
and  Epistles  of  St.  Paul,  2  vols.,  London,  1877,  i.  26  f.,  69  f.  ;  A. 
Hausrath,  A  History  of  the  NT  Times,  4  vols.,  do.,  1895,  iii. 
4  ff. ;  W.  M.  Ramsay,  The  Cities  of  St.  Paul,  do.,  1907  ;  C. 
Wilson,  in  Murray's  Handbook  to  Asia  Minor,  do.,  1895,  p.  184  f. 

JAMES  STRAHAN. 
TARTARUS.— See  HELL. 

TATTLERS.— '  Tattlers '  is  the  translation  of 
<t>\vapoi  in  1  Ti  513.  As  a  noun  the  word  is  found 
only  here  in  the  NT.  Asa  verb  <f>\vaptw  occurs  in 

3  Jn  10,    where    it    stigmatizes    Diotrephes.      In 

4  Mac  510  it  is  used  as  an  adjective,  and  applied  to 
a  worthless  kind  of  philosophy  (airb  TTJS  <j>\vdpov 
<pi\oao(pla.s). 

In  classical  Greek  the  word  is  in  common  use 
to  denote  '  foolery,'  '  silly  chatter,'  and  generally 
'playing  the  fool';  and  not  infrequently  with  a 
tinge  of  moral  blameworthiness.  In  1  Ti  513  the 
word  <t>\6apoi  ('trifling  silly  talkers')  is  applied  to 
the  baser  sort  among  the  order  of  widows,  and 
especially  to  the  younger  women  of  that  order  : 
'  And  withal  they  learn  also  to  be  idle,  going  about 
from  house  to  house  ;  and  not  only  idle,  but  tattlers 
also  and  busybodies,  speaking  things  which  they 
ought  not.'  '  From  leisure  springs  that  curiosity 
which  is  the  mother  of  garrulity '  (Calvin).  Bengel 
translates  by  garrulce.  '  The  social  intercourse  of 
idle  people  is  naturally  characterised  by  silly 
chatter'  (EGT,  Edinburgh,  1910,  in  loc.). 

We  have  here  one  of  the  vignettes  of  character, 
so  abundant  in  the  Pastorals,  where  one  sees  as  in 
a  mirror  the  frivolous  side  of  the  Greek  tempera- 
ment, its  restlessness  and  curiosity,  its  'itch'  to 
hear  or  to  tell  some  newer  thing.  In  the  land  of 
gossips  this  propensity  had  invaded  the  Church,  and 
threatened  to  become  (as  we  can  well  believe) 
troublesome  to  good  order,  as  well  as  hurtful  to 
the  grave  and  restrained  life  which  was  impera- 
tive on  Christian  women  in  the  relaxed  moral  con- 


550 


TAVERNS 


TEACHING 


ditions  of  the  cities  of  the  Empire.  Timothy  is 
therefore  warned  to  hold  a  tight  rein  over  the 
troops  of  gadabout  women  with  their  prurient  talk 
(\a\ovffai  TO.  /JLTJ  dtovTa).  See  BABBLER. 

W.  M.  GRANT. 
TAVERNS.— See  THREE  TAVERNS. 

TEACHER Comparison  of  Ac  131  with  Ro  127, 

2  Ti  I11  4s,  Ja  31  shows  that  '  teachers'  (di86<rKa\oi) 
are  not  a  separate  order  of  officials,  but  a  class  of 
men  endowed  with  a  particular  gift,  which  they 
exercised  in  congregations  already  established. 
As  distinct  from  the  ecstatic  exhortations  of 
'prophets,'  the  instruction  given  by  'teachers' 
would  be  exposition  of  the  OT  and  of  the  words 
and  acts  of  Christ.  '  Teachers '  were  inferior  to 
'apostles'  and  'prophets,'  and  were  connected 
with  'pastors'  (1  Co  1228-  M,  Eph  411).  'Apostles' 
always  had  the  gift  of  teaching ;  '  prophets '  and 
'pastors'  usually  possessed  it:  but  men  might 
have  it  without  belonging  to  any  of  these  classes. 
See  CHURCH  GOVERNMENT,  MINISTRY. 

A      Pf  TTTVtlVf VR 

TEACHING  (dtdaxt,  diSaffKa\ta).—The  place  and 
function  of  teaching  in  the  establishment  of  Chris- 
ianity  are  facts  of  great  historical  interest  and 
practical  importance.  That  its  effectiveness,  as 
an  instrument  for  the  diffusion  of  the  Christian 
religion,  was  recognized  by  the  Jewish  rulers  is 
apparent  from  the  prohibitions  and  persecutions 
with  which  they  sought  to  prevent  the  apostles 
teaching  '  in  the  name  of  Jesus '  (Ac  418  5s8).  As 
in  the  ministry  of  Jesus  teaching  occupied  a  pro- 
minent place  (together  with  preaching  and  healing), 
so  also  with  His  followers  it  was  one  of  the  main 
features  of  their  evangelical  work.  It  was  a 
chosen  instrument  for  the  spread  of  the  new  re- 
ligion, and  it  gradually  tended  to  reduce  the  truths 
which  expressed  the  faith  of  the  early  Church  to  a 
recognized  body  of  doctrine. 

A  distinction  is  to  be  drawn  between  the  process 
of  teaching  and  the  subject-matter  of  teaching. 
To  speak  of  the  '  teaching  of  St.  Paul,'  for  example, 
is  ambiguous,  since  'teaching'  may  mean  either 
'instruction'  (the  act  of  imparting  truth)  or 
'doctrine'  (the  body  of  truth  imparted).  Some- 
times, indeed,  the  biblical  usage  includes  both 
meanings.  The  NT  employs  two  terms  for  '  teach- 
ing,' viz.  SiSaxtf  and  5iSa.<TKa\la.  Generally  speak- 
ing, the  former  signifies  the  act  and  the  latter 
the  substance  of  teaching.  This  distinction  is  not 
made  so  apparent  in  the  AV,  where  both  diSaxt 
and  SidatTKaXia  are  usually  rendered  '  doctrine,' 
whereas  in  the  R V  diSax^  (which  occurs  16  times) 
is  always  rendered  'teaching'  (Ro  1617  RVm),  and 
diSavKoKia  (occurring  17  times)  is  rendered  '  doctrine ' 
(11  times),  'teaching'  (5  times),  and  'learning' 
(once).  To  render  Sidaxtf  by  the  somewhat  ambigu- 
ous word  'teaching'  is  convenient,  as  it  always 
signifies  the  act  and  in  many  instances  both  the 
act  and  the  content  of  Christian  instruction, 
whereas  Sidaa-KaXia  more  frequently  denotes  the 
content  alone,  and  is  well  expressed  by  '  doctrine.' 
Literally  5i8a<rKa\la  means  '  that  which  belongs  to 
a  teacher '  (StSdo-vaXos),  and,  in  the  judgment  of  H. 
Cremer  (Eibl.-The.ol.  Lex.  of  NT  Greetf,  Edinburgh, 
1880,  p.  182),  is  used  '  for  the  most  part  in  the 
objective,  and  therefore  passive  sense,  that  which 
is  taught,  the  doctrine.  That  the  content  of 
teaching  is  suggested  by  this  term  is  apparent  from 
such  phrases  as  '  precepts  and  doctrines '  (Col  2a), 
'sound  doctrine'  (1  Ti  I10,  2  Ti  4s,  Tit  I8),  and 
absolutely  « the  doctrine'  (1  Ti  61- ',  Tit  210). 

1.  The  work  of  teaching.— The  ability  to  impart 
Christian  truth  was  looked  upon  by  the  members 
of  the  early  Church  as  a  spiritual  gift  of  Divine 
grace.  Teaching  was  therefore  numbered  among 
the  charismata  (xaplff/JMra)  which  resulted  from  the 


bestowal  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  which  included 
such  gifts  as  prophesying,  healing,  working  of 
miracles,  and  '  tongues  y  (Ro  126,  1  Co  1210L). 

(1)  Teaching  and  preaching. — While  mentioned 
in   close  association  with   preaching,  the  gift  of 
teaching  was  regarded  as  conferring  on  its  recipient 
a  distinct  function  in  the  ministry  of  the  Word. 
As  in  the  Gospels  our  Lord  is  described  first  as 
'preaching'  the  glad  tidings  of  the  Kingdom  (Mk 
I14)  and  then  as  'teaching'  His  disciples  the  inner 
meaning  and  principles  of  the  gospel  (41),  so,  in  the 
early  Church,  preaching  was  one  thing  and  teach- 
ing another,  although  in  both  instances  they  were 
often  combined  (Mt  423,  Ac  S42  2831).     Preaching 
was  primarily  the  proclamation  of  the  good  news 
of  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ,  whereas  teaching 
was  the  calmer  and  more  systematic  instruction 
in  the  details  of  Christian  truth  and  duty  which 
followed  the  summons  to  repentance  and  saving 
faith.    While  preaching  and  teaching  were  distinct 
as  functions,  they  might,  in  some  cases  at  least,  be 
united  in  the  ministry  of  one  person  (1  Ti  27,  2  Ti 
I11),  especially  as  the  content  both  of  the  preaching 
and  of  the  more  elaborated  instruction  was  neces- 
sarily often  the  same  (Ac  S42  1589,  Col  I28). 

(2)  The  position  of  teaching. — In  the  two  more 
formal  lists  of  the  spiritually  endowed,  given  by 
St.  Paul,  'teachers'  are  mentioned  after  apostles 
and  prophets  (1  Co  1228'-,  Eph  4n),  and  in  a  less 
formal  list  of  spiritual  functions  '  teaching'  is  men- 
tioned after  '  prophecy '  (Ro  126'-),  whereas  in  1  Cor. 
the  '  word  of  wisdom '  and  the  '  word  of  knowledge,' 
which  together  constituted  charismatic  teaching, 
are  placed  before  prophecy  (128- 10),  and  '  a  teaching ' 
comes  before  'a  revelation' (1426).     Prophecy  was 
a  specialized  form  of  teaching.      'The  difference 
between  the  two,'  says  A.  C.  McGiffert,  '  lay  in  the 
fact  that  while  prophecy  was  the  utterance  of  a 
revelation  received   directly  from  God,  teaching, 
specifically  so  called,  was   the  utterance  of  that 
which  one  had  gained  by  thought  and  reflection. 
The  teacher  might  be  led  and  guided  by  the  Spirit, 
— indeed,  he  must  be,  if  he  were  to  be  a  true 
teacher  and  his  teaching  truly  spiritual, — but  what 
he  said  was  in  a  real  sense  his  own '  (History  of 
Christianity  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  Edinburgh,  1897, 
p.  529).     Some  prophets  were  able  also  to  teach, 
but  not  all  teachers  were  able  to  prophesy.     The 
apostles  might  also  teach.     St.  Paul  speaks  of 
himself  as  appointed  to  be  both  an  apostle  and  a 
teacher  (1  Ti  27,  2  Ti  I11).     Teachers,  like  apostles 
and  prophets,  travelled  about  from  place  to  place, 
being  greatly  honoured  (Did.  iv.  1)  and  having  the 
right  to  expect  support  (ib.  xiii.  1-3).     They  were 
not  officials  appointed  by  any  ecclesiastical  body. 
Teaching  was  not  a  clerical  office,  for  even  as  late 
as  the  5th  cent,  laymen  are  mentioned  as  teachers 
(Apostolic  Constitutions,  vill.  xxxii.).      But  local 
congregations  tested  both  the  message  and  the 
moral    character    of    these    visiting    instructors. 
Teachers   were    more    likely  than    apostles    and 
prophets  to  settle  down   in   one  place,  and  the 
reference  to  'pastors  and  teachers'  (Eph  4U)  shows 
this  tendency  at  work.     At  a  later  stage  it  was 
one  of  the  qualifications  of  a  bishop  that  he  should 
be  'apt  to  teach'  (1  Ti  32). 

(3)  Limitations  and  dangers. — Women  were  not 
permitted  to  teach  (1  Ti  212) — at  least  in  public — 
although,  apparently  in  harmony  with  St.  Paul's 
'healthful  teaching'  (Tit  21),  it  was  allowable  for 
aged  women  to  impart  moral  instruction  (privately, 
it  would  seem)  as  part  of  the  Christian  training 
of  young  women  in  such  duties  as  love  of  husband 
and  children,  sobriety,  chastity,  and  kindness  (Tit 
24f>).      Warnings  against   'false    teachers'    occur 
frequently  in  apostolic  and  sub-apostolic